Page 4-Thursday, February 28, 1980-The Michigan Daily -' Ninety Years of Editorial Freedom Go the easy way-take MSA! Vol. XC, No. 123, News Phone: 764-0552 I Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan -j 0 Fight HEN THE drin gan was raise students solemnly v change in the law. petitions, and refer back and forth like sc ber; students vowe famous Proposal D. Pne year later, stu tAste for alcohol, bus 14t interest in wor dinking age. On Tuesday night, Fair Drinking Age ( atdrive on this cam d inking age to 19 p ople showed up. t's clear that Pro a d ineffective. In f led miserably: All p event high scho for lower dr ink age king age in Michi- drinking and decrease alcohol-related d to 21 last year, traffic accidents, statistics show in- owed to work for stead a six per cent increase in traffic Talk of rallies, fatalities since Proposal D went into enda was passed effect. 3 many pitchers of This increase has been attributed to d to repeal the in- poor enforcement of the law, and-more significantly-to greater dents still have a numbers of young people drinking in t apparently have parks and in cars. king for a lower Aside from its failure to reduce traf- fic deaths, Proposal D is quite an in- the Citizens for a convenience for most college students. CFDA) kicked off In short, there are ample reasons why apus to lower the students should band together and . Fewer than 20 work for its repeal. Nearly 300,000 signatures are needed )posal D is unfair on petitions to place the lower drinking fact, the law has proposal in the November ballot. though intended to. Fewer than 20 students cannot help the of students from petition drive significantly. Sober up! Money always seems to turn up when you really need it. At least that's the way it works at- the Michigan Student Assembly (MSA). Even when they are ap- parently strapped for money, our dedicated student leaders are always ready to put in that extra effort when they hear the call to duty to represent us in faraway conferences. Last term, after hearing requests for financial aid from 31 student organizations, MSA decided it could not afford to finance half of the almost $30,000 requested. YET, AT THE end of January, MSA found almost $1,000 to send three MSA mem- bers and one former member on an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, D.C. for a conferen- ce of the American Student Association (ASA). Most recently, MSA picked up the tab for MSA President Jim. Alland's trip to Washington to take part in a White House discussion of PresidenteCarter's draft registration proposal. Alland's trip cost University students $600. In financing two expensive junkets to Washington while simultaneously allocating a slim $8,600 to student groups-shaving off over $11,400 worth of requests and flatly denying funds to two groups-MSA has made its priorities clear. PARTICULARLY outrageous is the jaunt to Washington for the ASA conference. Former MSA Member Brad Canale who went on the trip described the ASA conference as an "organizational meeting." The conference, which lasted from January 31 to February 3, was designed to begin structuring the ASA, a student lobbying group in Washington. By David Meyer whether the benefits of sending the students to the organizational meeting were worth the $922 it eventually cost University students. The junket did not require the full $1,200 allocated for it. Presumably, the reason students are required to hand especially those who got to see the Lincoln Memorial and the- Washington Monument, will con- tend that students interests are best served by flying their mem- bers about the nation to par- ticipate in organizational meetings. THIS UNUSUAL logic can be questioned without even touching 0 upon the lengthy debate over the competency of MSA members. Although MSA's representation at these national meetings ultimately and indirectly benefits students to some degree, studen- ts' money might be better spent, by supporting University and, student organizations in their ef- forts to provide more direct op- portunities for students here on campus. Student organizations, whether . they be the Spartacus Youth League or the Young. Republicans, provide a crucial service to the University com- munity, enriching the campus educationally, , culturally, and. politically. Student organizations offer vital opportunities for in- volvement and there is no reason they should starve financially while MSA sends its members on costly excursions to Washington. Daily Assistant Night Editor..' David Meyer covers student gov ernments for the Daily. WASHINGTON, D.C. WAS the destination of two recent trips taken by various members of the Michigan Student Assembly. Some have questioned use of student funds to pay for these trips. Out of the Rose Garden NTIL THE Iowa caucuses, it ap- peared that President Carter's p licy of attacking international problems from the White House (while s ering clear of the campaign trail) vas justified. The approach of the of- f ial campaign season, however, brought to mind Carter's silence on ny important domestic issues ever sice the international situation wor- sned. It seemed that the time had cme for the president to fall into line w4th the other candidates, and to begin speaking out on the matters of his record and his intentions for the next f~ar years, should he be re-elected. Now Iowa has come and gone, as has tle traditional kickoff of the campaign, tl ,New' Hampshire primary. Unfor- t ately, voters in both the Midwest aid New England keystone states have given approval to the incumbent without benefit of hearing him defend his policies on domestic issues. The 1Dose Garden Strategy has worked very well, and it would be surprising to see Carter abandon it now. Candidate Edward Kennedy, after a t of dancing back and forth on the iolitical spectrum, has finally settled into a consistent array of stances on ,te various issues, and has been trying tp goad the president into debate. It is past time for Carter to talk about his record, even if most voters seem not to ble demanding that of him. How does Carter explain the way the inflation rate has' swelled under his leadership? What about -the charge that Carter's wavering over the matter of the Soviet troops in Cuba en- eouraged the invasion of Afghanistan? To these, and to a dozen other questions to which Americans deserve a reply, Carter has somehow managed to affix an aura of irrelevance. All that mericans need to think about, the president seems to be saying, is the threats posed by Karmal in Afghanistan (if indeed he is still heading the government) and Khomeini in Iran (the same). It's certainly possible that Carter may be privy to secret dealings with the Iranians-ones he cannot afford to make public if the hostages are ever to be released. There may be important communications going on between the White House and the various in- telligence agencies concerning the recent Soviet threat, as well. But there is a distinctly irresponsible quality about a candidate-even if he happens to be a president-who will not speak openly about his record, while simultaneously calling criticism of his actions "unpatriotic." As long as Carter is busily engaged in flag waving, we would encourage him to "patriotically" leave the sweet smell of the White House roses behind, even though the electorate has not yet in- sisted that he do so. In the long run, it will serve his own political purposes, as well as the information desired by the citizenry, to discuss and debate his political past. The voters will soon see that mere Cold War blustering does not a president make. Editorial policies Unsigned editorials ap- pearing on the left side of this page represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board. Letters and columns represent the opinions of the individual author(s). naamanaamiasessosessnas .ma:: While MSA's attendance at the ASA organizational meeting may have been worthwhile, the necessity of sending four studen- ts, one of whom was no longer a member of MSA, may be questioned. Equally debatable is over $2.92 to student government each term is so groups like MSA can use that money to serve student interests and promote educationally and culturally enriching activities at the University. MSA, members, Will Marcos follow 1 Despite the victory claimed by the Philip- pine government's New Society Party in the January elections, evidence continues to mount that the eight-year dictatorship of President Ferdinand Marcos is heading for a fate, similar to that of the Shah of Iran, Somoza of Nicaragua, or even President Park of South Korea. The rising level of popular unrest in the Philippines, fed by a deteriorating economy, has already caused a number of American of- ficials and businessmen to send up cautionary alarms. The potential loss of yet another strategic U.S. ally is not a welcome prospect in Washington. THE GOVERNMENT victory in the elec- tions has done little to reassure anyone of the government's stability. Philippine elections are characterized by a long history of fraud, and this latest-conducted under conditions of severe martial law-was no exception if the opposition is to be believed. At the root of the current .unrest is the wor- sening poverty and rising inflation throughout the Philippines, fueled in part by the recent rises in oil prices and the failures of the ex- port-based economy. The cost of- living has more than doubled since 1972, and inflation is expected to exceed 30 per cent this year. In Manila, one-third of the population lives in some of the worst slums of Southeast Asia, and 15 per cent of the city's population has been reduced to begging. The nation's foreign debt soared to $10 billion last year, an 800 per cent increase from the time martial law was imposed eight years ago. The government now has to borrow 'fun- ds simply to meet its $1 billion annual debt payment. In addition, the balance of paymen- ts deficit reached nearly $500 million last year, almost a ten-fold increase from 1978. The recent 40 per cent rise in the price of rice, compounded by the continuing rise in the price of oil-80 per cent of which must be im- ported-promises to create an even greater By Robin Broad drain on the national economy in the im- mediate future. THE ECONOMIC woes have been worsened by a persistent and, some say, growing armed. rebellion in rural areas, where 80 per cent of the population lives. Although Secretary of Defense Enrile promised a year ago to rid northern Luzon of the communist New People's Party (NPA), guerrilla warfare still rages despite the infusion of $162.5 million in U.S. military aide to the Marcos regime since January, 1979-roughly one-quarter of the Philippines' military budget. Another rebel front, led by the Muslim- backed Moro National Liberation Front in Mindanao, has evidently gained en- couragement, if not manpower, from the rise of Muslim power elsewhere. In Manila and the suburbs, new militant opposition has arisen on college campuses with a series of anti-Marcos demonstrations led by the recently formed League of Filipino Students. MARCOS HAS reacted to this swelling tide of militancy by dependingever more heavily " on the military force to enforce civil order and quell outlawed opposition. The Philippine army now stands at nearly a quarter-million men, up from just 60,000 when martial law began. The army's campaign to rout out the military opposition has resulted in increasing charges of abuse against innocent citizens,. including evidence of numerous assassinations. All of this has begun to translate into a growing sense of unease among the nation's business elite, which is dominated by U.S. and Japanese firms. U.S. business periodicals, which until recently trumpeted the advan-' tageous business climate'in the Philippines, have now begun warning of the "volatile en- vironment." A U.S. banker in Manila recently told Business Week that "Just a short time ago there was a positive consensus in the in- vestment community (here). Now there is no consensus." In fact, in the first six months of 1979, more than $37 million of investment capital left the Philippines, five times more than in the first half of 1978. And in the first quarter of 1979, new investment capital was down to two- thirds from the same period of 1978. Similar, if greater, capital outflows also characterized the months leading up to the overthrow of the pro-U.S. governments in Iran and Nicaragua. THE COMPARISON of the Philippines' situation to those two countries may be "facile," said a State Department source, "but it is constantly being made. The sense we get is that there is a feeling among staffers and some Congressmen that the Philippines could be another Iran," he added. Congressman Tony Hall (D-Ohio), a mem- ber of the House Asian and Pacific Subcom- mittee, acknowledged last December that "There is a growing number of U.S. officials L- he Shah?, who believe that if we continue with the policies of the past administrations, there will be more 'Irans, and the Philippines will be- one." Needless to say, the U.S. does not want a< radical coup of Muslim seccession in thOe Philippines any more than Marcos does. given the importance of the islands as a staging area for U.S. military air and naval forces. But there are signs in the shifting Car- ter administration attitude towXard the Third World that the U.S.. might be able to live without Marcos, given a moderate, pro- Western successor. Just as the assassination of President Park in South Korea, and hiSa - replacement by a more moderate gover- nment, sent no alarms through Washington, so a moderate-led coup against Marcos ma be the solution that some officials are secretly hoping for. P THERE IS certainly no shortage of pro- Western opposition forces, even though leaders most threatening to Marcos have been jailed or exiled. The National Union for Democracy and Freedom, a group of former' senators and congressmen formed in 1978, has in the past few months raised its voice to play up the comparisons to Iran an Nicaragua. Former Philippines President Diosdado Macapagal, a member of the group, has declared that the disarray of Nicaragua is already upon the Philippines, and former Senator Jovita 'Solonga has warned that "a radical solution will surely be dictated by supervising events" if Marcos' martial law continued. Among the exiled opposition leaders the same theme is sounded by former Senator Raul Manglapus and his Movement for a Free Philippines, headquartered in Washington. This new boldness by the loyal opposition is* also finding increased support among the Catholic clergy. The army's violations of human rights against the population (which is 95 per cent Catholic) has turned nuns and priests into opposition activists" or sym- pathizers. Even Cardinal Jaime Sin, the highest ranking Catholic in the Philippines, has recently spoken in praise of the im- prisoned opposition leader Benito Aquino. Cardinal Sin praised him for "what is best what is good and courageous in the, Filipino; character," while adding that "the greatest punishment God could give any country is. civil war." The message that something must be done, and done soon, to avert civil war was carried to Marcos personally by a recent U.S. Congressional delegation. As Congressman Lester Wolff (D-NY) said to reporters at the Manila airport, "It is important that the Philippines, having been . a model -of democracy, return as soon as possible to democratic processes." President Marcos promised during the recent elections to consider that possibility in 18 months. Many observers doubt that he will have the opportunity. Higin \. '\. \ 4.. 'U2 41N"N Robin Broad is a specialist in Philip- pine affairs at Princeton. He wrote this article for the Pacific News Service.