I' a Page 4-Sunday, April 6, 1980-The Michigan Daily NinesI1Y Yealrs (ofIEdito)rialI Freedoml Anderson should stay in race Vol. XC, No. 146 News Phone: 764-0552 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan MSA endorsements Realistic Party: A needed philosophical freshness A S THE Michigan Student Assem- bly (MSA) approaches the end of yet another ineffective year, students will be asked on Tuesday and Wed- nesday to select next year's represen- tatives. Of the five parties and the in- dependent candidates; the Realistic Party offers the most admirable can- didates and platform. The Realistic candidates aren't as informed on the issues as many of their opponents. Their ideas aren't as solidified. Instead, the Realistic can- didates dwell more on a philosophical. change for MSA-one which we believe is essential if MSA is ever to become effective., As Realistic presidential candidate Mike Ryngaert puts it, MSA has too long been a "parliamentary pre-school" for representatives who "think they're up on Capitol Hill." indeed, Assembly members have wasted much time and energy on bureaucratic red tape. It's time for our representatives to under- stand their function and scope. They. are University students representing other students, not a powerful body that should spend time advising President Carter and condemning the Iranian government. So what, then, should the Assembly be doing? Ryngaert and his vice- presidential candidate, Tom McDade, are insistent that the body act only on issues about which students have been vocal. For instance, two projects they would like MSA to work on are im- proving counselling and increased security. Both issues have been central student concerns for quite some time. The Realistic candidates see one of the prime tasks of the Assembly as ad- vising and educating students and in turn gathering student opinion to bet- ter formulate the group's views. As is currently the case with several ballot issues, the University administration will certainly take the Assembly more seriously if it clearly represents student opinion. Several of the other president/vice- president slates are also ap- pealing-particularly those of GATOR and the Independent Students Party. But as nice as their ideas sound, they're too much like proposals can- didates have espoused since MSA was founded; every year there las been lit- tle progress. MSA will never be effec- tve unless candidates like Ryngaert and McDade can change the philosophy of the Assembly. You almost have to feel sorry for John Anderson. It seems the poor man just can't win. Back in January, before the primaries had even begun, a New York Times editorial-which since then has been effectively incorporated into Anderson's campaign literature-questioned why a man who many people think is the best candidate in the race should also be regarded as having no chance to win. It is certainly true that Anderson, though admired and respected in Congress, started with practically no national recognition, let alone constituency. Yet, as a Congressman who has proven his claim of bi- partisanship by voting according to the issues rather than party lines, he does have some appeal to Republicans, Democrats, and independents alike, and that should count for something. THE MAIN THING Anderson's open- minded approach to politics has brought him, however, has not been votes, but criticism from candidates and commentators both to his left and right. Understandably, it was the conservative Republicans who first disclaimed this "maverick" who, over the course of 10 Congressional terms, has gradually and thoughtfully adjusted his overall position leftward from one they would have found more to their liking. Phil Crane went as far as telling Anderson he" had no business being a Republican and that he should get out of the party, while Ronald Reagan asked him whether he would favor Ted Kennedy over him. Recently it has become fashionable for Democratic liberals to attack the man who they thought was really one of them. Their bitter disappoinftment-and even repulsion-is all the stronger for their having been "deceived." WHICH ONLY GOES to show that labels are not very helpful these days. Or perhaps the trouble is that Anderson simply defies labelling because his mix of social liberalism and fiscal conservatism-a mix particularly well-suited to today's problems-cannot be averaged to yield a quotient of moderation. His views, though they are combined in a nontraditional way, are not those of a fence- sitter and are strongly, not moderately, held. Still, candidates like Anderson, whose positions do not lie consistently either to the right or left, are commonly called moderates, and, because they affiliate themselves with no single political party, cause the electorate some consternation. After all, voters often claim they like a "real choice," and when these types are running against each other how is aneasy selection to be made? AMAZINGLY ENOUGH, however, when moderates compete against those with more extreme views, the moderates seem to fare extraordinarily well; it is not the Goldwaters or McGoverns that get .elected. Why a candidate whom everyone agrees is somewhere in the middle of the political spectrum should not do well is not clear. By Carl Cormany Nonetheless, Anderson has in fact had his problems in the primaries-although few would disagree that his performance has been infinitely more successful than was thought possible when he declared his candidacy. Maybe this can be explained as being a result of the criticisms leveled against him lately, or of the nature of the primary system. In any case, Anderson has had no wins, a few close second-place finishes, and some true disappointments. He is becoming less and, less likely to win the Republican nomination. This weekend Anderson is taking a break from his campaigning to consider running as an independent, or "third party," candidate. Although many have encouraged him to do so, the decision is not an easy one: he knows the deck is stacked against him. He has already missed deadlines to get on the November ballot in some states and will miss more before the Republican convention. He would be at a severe financial disadvantage because he would not qualify for the federal money ($29.5 million each) the major party not enjoy the support of the hard-line Democrats because he is not one of them. And if things in Iran continue as they have been going, November 4 will be Day 368. A large number of people swear they will not vote for Kennedy under any circumstances because of Chappaquiddick and other reasons. And Reagan, while trying to broaden his base of support, is still just the leader of a. faction (admittedly, the controlling one) of a minority party. His lack of desire, or simple. inability, to discuss the issues realistically and truthfully is undermining his credibility. SO WHETHER ANDERSON is in the race or not, the winner just might be the candidate who is least unpopular on election day. Anderson would certainly not be favored by some whose opinions he does not entirely agree with, but if the voters are looking for someone who is intelligent and willing to take bold action when necessary, he could actually 3 get some votes from those who do not want to settle for the lesser of two evils. Perhaps the best thing for Anderson to do now, therefore, would be to declare his ,intention to run in November, whether he gets the nomination or not, and to begin to lay the groundwork for the independent campaign AP Photo JOHN ANDERSON OFTEN takes a -swim in a hotel pool while on the campaign trail. If he con- tinues in the presidential race as an independent, Anderson will have to struggle against strong political currents. candidates will receive. And there is the matter of support among the voters: independents have made consistently unsuccessful showings in Presidential elections. THE BIGGEST QUESTION indeed may be whether Anderson has a chance of winning. Polls taken in the last few months have shown Anderson a big loser when matched against either Kennedy or President Carter, and the primaries have previewed his chances against Reagan. But the other candidates have shown weaknesses of their own recently, too. Carter's old "love" platform and current promises (usually made through Rosalynn) that "everything will be all right" are finally becoming unacceptable to the people as they realize how ineffective, and possibly , angerous, he has been as President. He does that may be necessary. This may lose him some of the vote in the remaining primaries, but he would be no worse off than if he were to abandon the party now. He could find himself in a better position, because he would show he really wants to work within the system, and because that- would not keep him from obtaining the federal money he would get if he should still somehow find himself the Republican nominee. Anderson may well lose if he runs in November. But even if he does, he could do a lot to keep the others honest in a year when much needs to be done. And that is nothing to feel sorryabout, after all. Fee increase justified HE CHANCES that students will approve the MSA ballot proposal to' increase the mandatory student government fee assessment from the current $2.92 per term to 14.25 seem pretty slim. Anticipating huge tuition hikes and higher living expenses, students will probably be unwilling to pay more money to a student government with which most never even have contact. Unfortunately, what many students will fail to realize as they mark "no" on their ballots is that more than 90 per cent of the increase will go to Student Legal Services (SLS). SLS, which provides free legal assistance to all University students, lias not received a funding increase in several years. It has become increasingly difficult to retain well- qualified SLS lawyers because the" salaries SLS can offer are far from eompetitive. SLS will have to cut back its services if the ballot proposal is not approved. In the long run, these service cutbacks will cost students much more than the fee increase. Students will have to go to outside legal offices and pay high legal, fees for advice they can get from SLS for free. The proposed increase requires the approval of the Regents, and this approval depends in large measure on favorable response from students on the ballot proposal. Carl Cormany is a third-year University law student and an associate editorial page editor. .x r.: , ... , , ,. _. .. _. New boyfriend, new smell 6 w lb7 Zvi th ca fe fo th ju w w Cc W: Preferential voting wise EMBERS OF the Michigan Stu- as cliques of people who vote as a dent Assembly have proclaimed group solely for the sake of politics. udly and at length that they desire a Preferential voting has some ide range of student viewpoints to faults-ballots marked preferentially ater into MSA decisions-especially are tedious to count, and the system is lose that involve using money sometimes confusing. The advantages, llected from the mandatory student however, suggest that MSA members e assessment. should continue to be elected through a But there is a proposal on the ballot preferential system, r this week's MSA general election First, students who run iat would deprive the Assembly of independently or with small parties ist such a spectrum of student input. stand a better chance of getting y voting "yes" on the proposal to elected. Second, preferential voting bolish preferential voting, students establishes, in essence, an automatic ill effectively be limiting their run-off election; a preferential ballot udent government representatives to says to the voter: 'If your first choice is embers of large, well-organized not elected, who would you next like to ampus political parties-parties see as your representative in student hich have been more aptly described government?' Certification plan desirable Q. A year ago I broke up with a guy I had gone with for three years. Since then I have dated some good-looking men, but I find myself not being attracted to them. What I think is bothering me is that they don't smell as good as my old boyfriend! It's.not that they smell bad, it's just dif- ferent. A. You are probably one of those people who is very sensitive to the way people smell,or at least more'aware of your sensitivity. Ezvery individual has a distin- ct body odor, even though most of us in this society spend a lot of time covering it up or enhancing it through perfume. One reason we do this is to enhance our sexual attractiveness. However, the ir- . ony of this is that there is quite a bit of evidence that certain natural odors are much more sexy than anything Faberge or Revlon produce. Researchers have been studying the relationships bet- ween sexual attraction and specific smells for more than 30 years. James Hassett, in a review article in the March, 1978 Health Service Handbook issue of Psychology Today, described a series of experiments done in 1952 by a French scientist on a substance called exaltolide, the musky fragrance used in many perfumes. This substance, it, turned out, is produced in the human body, and males produce female mice kept separate from males returned to normal when the smell of males' urine was made available to them, and spayed female monkeys, who are normally unattractive to the males, became more desirable to them when they had been rubbed dates is due to the quality or make-up of chemicals they produce. There is one other plausible ex- planation. Perhaps you have learned to associate certain smells, such as those of your old boyfriend, with pleasant feelings. Scientists are aware that smell may be the last sensory memory6± to fade, and are leaning toward the idea that learned relation- ships between sex and smell are more important than any instin- ctive reactions to certain odors that we may possess. If this is true, you may find that your memory of your boyfriend's smell fades over time, or that you learn to enjoy other smells as well. Health Service Handbook answers a variety of health-. related questions each Sunday on this page. Questions should be directed to Gail Ryan, Health Educator, University Health Service, 207 Fletcher Ave. twice as much as females. The interesting finding was that men and pre-pubertal children had difficulty smelling exaltolide, while women were quite sensitive to it. It was hypothesized that this supstance played a role in the sexual attraction of the males by the females which was necessary for species survival. Studies with lower animals have produced other fascinating results. For instance, the irregular menstrual cycles of with the vaginal secretions from non-spayed monkeys. The chemicals in the urine and vaginal secretions with 'these "aphrodisiac" qualities, have been named copulins. There has been no study with humans, however, that consisten- tly points to either the presence or importance of copulins in xhuman sexual behavior. As a result, it is difficult to conclude with any confidence that the unattractiveness of your recent is Hi0ggiiins~v ' \ ".BUUlOiAT THE BRIGWT SDE AT LEAST Tfr4S SOLVES OUR NUCLEAPRWASTE DISPOSAL PROBLEM! .\ I T SEEMS ALMOST ridiculous to decide whether the Central Student Judiciary (CSJ) or the Election Board should certify the MSA elections. After CSJ refused to certify last year's fouled-up balloting, University Vice- President Henry Johnson stepped in and overruled the CSJ decision. As long as fhe University collects MSA's funds, semblance of dignity and legitimacy, a student board should have the power to certify MSA elections-even though the certification is only a token gesture. That student board should be the Election Board; we urge students to vote "yes" on the ballot proposal that would transfer certification powers from CSJ to the Election Board. 6 I~ t i { __/ ' , . i 1 I't. I I A MWAP, - ~8~g I I