Page 4-Wednesday, August 8, 1979-The Michigan Daily l Michigan Daily LETTERS TO THE DAILY To the Daily .was routinely approved by the To the Daily: Eighty-nine Years of Editorial FreedomnIn April of this year, there was Regents without any comments The time has come t some concern over a possible or questions. long hard look at the conflict of interest in that It is a matter of public record power industry a: Vol. LXXXIX, No. 61-S News Phone: 764-0552 Patricia Longe, chair of the that a Regent intends to in- legislation protecting Senate Advisory Committee on troduce a motion calling for unlimited liability in the Financial Affairs (SACFA), divestiture of University holdings a nuclear disaster. Edited and managed by students which the University Board of in companies operating in South Presently, the Weiss at the University of Michigan Regents charged in March to Africa when the SACFA reportis before Congress, whici '_____.i_ _ __ _.__ ___ r P itp d (ri a brla i in S - P- dann h rn - nlr I to take a nuclear nd the it from event of Bill is h would MSA'ks au tonomy must be restored THE ADMINISTRATION never should have intervened in the Michigan Student Assem- bly's (MSA) affairs following last Spring's elec- tion. Further, the Office of Student Services (OSS) should not have taken control of MSA's funds or maintained control this long. Negotiations between Student Services Vice- President Henry Johnson and MSA President Jim Alland have continued throughout the summer. The administration has suggested MSA formulate guidelines on granting legitimacy and funds to student organizations. While Mr. Alland's efforts to understand the administrative point-of-view seem constructive, he must exercise extreme caution. It is hoped that Mr. Alland fully understands the difference bet- ween cooperating with the administration and conceding student interests. Some of the administration's suggestions ap- pear constructive. MSA should devise guidelines to decide which groups are recognized student organizations and set standards of funding. Although MSA's Budget Priorities Committee does have some funding guidelines, they are vague and should be clarified. Likewise, the idea of creating an appeals procedure within MSA for student groups that are denied funds or have grievances about the amount granted sounds reasonable. But these suggestions must be processed by MSA alone; the administration should not be in the position of approving the specifics the Assem- bly formulates. Guidelines must not restrict the certification of groups on the basis of ideology. And the ad- ministration should not have a role in deciding which projects, such as specific speakers, are ap- proved. Apd to safeguard MSA from future unwarran- ted intervention, a committee composed of Regents, administrators, and students should be set up to devise a proposed Regental bylaw clarifying MSA's relationship to the ad- ministration. Guidelines for justified ad- ministrative interference should be written to discourage intervention. The ,administration should only intervene in MSA affairs if gross mishandling of funds occurs. Even then, a new judiciary body which MSA may create in the fall should be permitted to exhaust all channels of action before the administration interferes. If students are to have a governmental voice in this University, autonomy is essential. I review the University's policy on investment in companies doing business in South Africam also sat on the Board of Directors of Warner-Lambert Corp. which has a South African subsidiary. At the time, the University owned $804,000 of stock in Warner-Lam- bert (Michigan Daily, April 5). At the end of that month Yale University divested itself of its holdings in J.P. Morgan because "the banking company said its policy was to decide South African loans on a case by case basis and added that it was willing to make loans directly to that country's government" (Michigan Daily May 2). According to the monthly in- vestment report presented at the Regents' July meeting, the University had purchased $27,567 of stock in Warner-Lambert and $55,208 of stock in J.P. Morgan since the previous report. This presente tpresumai yin ap- tember). One must assume that this motion will be seriously con- sidered, and that it could be adop- ted if sufficiently convincing arguxments are presented on its behalf. Why, then is the University now increasing its investments in companies operating in South Africa? Under the circumstan- ces, that the Unversity is about to decide whether to end all invest- ments there, these increases are rather irresponsible. Either the administrators responsible are assuming that the Regents will not divest regardless of what happens at the September meeting, or they are deliberately increasing the University's commitment in order to make more difficult a decision to divest (also the implementation of such a decision if made). -Dave Kadlecek repeat the ritce-Anuerson Act which places a ceiling on the liability of a utility, no matter how disasterous an accident should occur. If nuclear power is the safe form of energy that Detroit Edison would have us believe it is, why shouldn't they accept the full financial respon- sibility in the event of an ac- cident, just as the airlines and chemical companies are required to do? It's also about time to study nuclear power and its long term environmental effects rather than continue the building of plants, apparently without heed to the general public good and without considering viable alter- natives such as solar power. Write Congressman Carl Pursell in Washington, or call his Ann Arbor office (971-5760) to let him know that we want action now! -Grant Sutton JEEY., I MUST LOOK JUST 807T I M IMPRESED/ IUKE A TYICALAWE1 AND HECK, WHY'SHOULD)I ISTRX O-OTO1nWbNER' PUT ON FOR ANYON E 7 STAARINGVPj ~AT TALL 9,9 Bl LD 1 146J L m' TIS !Iil.. WAIT I WoULD YOu DON'T- LIKE TV HEf R THE WORD T6 sONNYTAY, BROT HE R . ZE5ER1M 7WORERILL.Rf ANDr' T$ REw-- USfTIRIS1 THE GuIDE TO SPIPXUUAL ME A!P4 IT'$ AU1 BUT WE Do MEED MNEY!1 THE SECTI OF L-ESTrR To BARELY t MAKEG JN ENDS NEE 7!