OPINION Page 4 Tuesday, September 30, 1980 The Michigan Daily die mbtuig an 46, Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Confessions of a sell-out Vol. XCI, No. 23 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Editorials represent a majority opinion of The Daily's Editorial Board The faculty is grieving I had almost been able to forget about it. It was more than two months ago, there has been little mention of it in the press, and my family and friends have not broached the sub- ject lately. But yesterday, my Selective Service Registration Acknowledgement came in the mail. IT WAS WAITING for me when I walked in- to The Daily offices-where I get most of my mail-yesterday morning. A co-worker, cat- ching me quickly shove the letter into my notebook, couldn't resist a crack about my "selling out." And that started all the guilt, bitterness, and fear I had managed to suppress for two months flowing into the open. I did sell out. And though I hate myself for having done it, I have tried not to rationalize Then too, I had to contend with my own worries. I was terrified of living every day in fear, expecting federal agents to arrest me at any moment. Certainly that fear was exaggerated, but it was nevertheless legitimate. If the government chooses to crack down on resisters, I reasoned, it will search for those who will make good exam- ples. And I, in my position as editorial page editor of a major student newspaper, would have been a good example. millions of other 19- and 20-year-old men across the country who trooped complacently to their post offices last summer because the president told them to. WHEN I TRY to lift myself out of my depression, I allow myself to believe that I am not like those others, because I thought long and hard about registering and let the decision torment me. I let myself think I somehow purged myself of culpability and guilt for selling out by suffering in the process W HEN JONATHAN MARWIL lost: his suit against the University last week, the entire faculty lost right along with him. The fact that Marwil had to go into a court of law to plead his case for a tenure review because no effective grievance procedure exists within the University was the first defeat for the faculty. And the legal precedents established in the wake of the University's victory could prove a devastating blow to junior faculty who expect a review of their ,qualifications to receive tenure after six years on the faculty. The details and merits of Marwil's case are not important here. Suffice it to say Marwil expected a tenure review in his sixth year as an assistant professor in the engineering humanities department, was denied that review by department ad- ministrators because he was con- sidered a divisive influence, appealed the department's denial through all available University channels, and finally lost his bid for a review, in federal district court. What is important is where the faculty goes from here. Faculty leaders have indicated that creation of an effective grievance procedure to replace the impotent Senate Advisory Review Committee is among their highest priorities. SARC is supposed to be the faculty's grievance board. But it can issue only advisory decisions, which in recent years have been consistently ignored and discounted by administrators. SARC unanimously supported Mar- wil's request for a tenure review; the engineering department did not concur with SARC's opinion and diplomatically ignored it. Only a faculty grievance board with some authority to enforce its decisions can ensure due process in the Univer- sity's justice system. Yet, a creation of such a board is not simple. The individual faculties of the University's schools and colleges cherish their autonomy; they have traditionally resented attempts to for- ce decisions upon them. Therefore, a general faculty grievance board with clout to effect its decrees would necessarily step on some faculty toes. The faculty must eliminate this problem before it can create a power- ful grievance board. We hope the difficulty is solved quickly. To allow University grievan- ces to be settled in the legal system means that the courts can continue to disrupt accepted University customs. One Marwil case is enough. a SE u SELECTIVE SERVICE SYSTEM REGISTRATION ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Witticisms By Howard Witt Mixing art and politics my decision to register. When I filled out my form in July, I included my social security number. I did not scribble "conscientious ob- jector" across the form; I did not affix a sticker indicating that I was registering un- der protest. THOSE ALL WOULD have been feeble, guilt-assuaging attempts to deny the surren- der of my will. You can't half-register, I realized. Once you've crossed the moral line and given your name to the Selective Service, you can't turn back with half-assed protests. The only true protest against registration is not registering. I sold out, and I am paying a heavy emotional price for it. It hurts me deeply every time Ihave to write an editorial decrying this country's renewed militarization, knowing that I have played a part in it. It's demoralizing to work with Daily staffers who no longer respect me because I did not stand up in opposition to this giant step toward war. Of course, none of the pain comes as any real surprise. I began agonizing over whether to register shortly after President Carter an- nounced the insidious program last January. As registration week approached, I grew in- timately acquainted with the repercussions of either course of action. ON THE ONE hand, I knew that a decision not to register could be the most important choice in my life. It would have tested me in ways I had never before been tested, forcing me for the first time to risk severe punish- ment for what I honestly believed. I honestly did (and do) believe that the suc- cessful registration of millions of compliant men will make a return to the draft, and then an actual war, dangerously possible. A strong military, I am convinced, leads to the tem- ptation to use it. My conscience dictated that I refuse to register. And the activist buried somewhere within me demanded that I publicize my refusal to register and try to urge others to resist also. But on the other hand, my philosophically pure desires to resist were cluttered with selfish considerations. FIRST; I HAD to contend with the sadness and worry in my father's eyes. I have never seen him as concerned as he was the night I told himI was considering not registering and risking a prison sentence. The two weeks during which I was pondering my decision must have been the worst two weeks of my parents' lives. Dear Registrant: Thank you for registering with the Selective Service System. This letter is your record of evregistering with SelectiveService and you should keep a copy of this acknowledgement as evidence of your registration. Your Selective Service record contains the information shown below. Please check this information carefully, especially any information with asterisks ( *) next to it. If you find any errors in your record, you should enter the right information on the change of information form provided and return the form to Selective Service. It is your legal responsibility to notify Selective Service of any errors in your record within len (10) days of receipt of this letter. There has been some confusion about the requirement that each registrant provide Selective Service with his social security number. Failure to do so is a violation of law,. and could result in legal action. If you withheld your number at registration, you must enter it on the change of information form and return it to Selective Service within ten (10) days. If your Selective Service record has no errors, you should keep the enclosed change of information so that you may notify us of any future change in your record. The law requires you to notify Selective Service of any changes in your current or permanent address or any legal name change within ten (10) days of the date of that change. To notify Selective Service of changes in your record, you may use either the change of information form enclosed in this letter or the change of information forms which are available at any U.S. Post Office or overseas at an American Embassy or Consulate. Thank you again for registering with the Selective Service System. Bernard Rostker Director Si usted desea que esta carta u otra informacion le sea enviada en espahlol, marque el encasillado en el formulario incluldo. Selective Service Registration Record Selective Service No Social Security Nb Sex Date of Birth Telephone Number Date of Record NAME f, t Gave permission for Name. Ad- dress and TelephoneNo. to be given to Armed Forces Recruiters. CURRENT MAILING ADDRESS PERMANENT ADDRESS Number and Street Number and Street r f r ri FiF S(41 a; :{;4 d cii' 4£ I .-Iy . ai Fz i.d City State Zip Code Cit Stale Zip Code 91 TT HAS BEEN 30 years since Senator Joseph McCarthy and his cohorts went on a rampage against individuals and organizations they believed were Communists or "fellow travelers." In Hollywood, actors and writers who had ever taken part in any progressive cause or been associated with a left- leaning organization were subject to blacklisting. This notorious period in history has been evoked quite recently as the screening date for Playing for Time, a television movie, has approached. The film airs tonight. Actress Vanessa Redgrave has been cast in the film's leading role. She plays a Jewish inmate in a Nazi con- centration camp during World War II. Off the set, Redgrave has avidly sup- ported the Palestine Liberation Organization, a group that has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel. Many members of the film com- munity and numerous Jewish organizations have protested the casting of Redgrave, whom they see as an enemy of the Jewish people, in the part. Most of the protesters deny that their efforts can be described as blacklisting. They say they only object to Redgrave playing this particular role; they are not attempting to keep her from earning a living in other films or television projects. But any attempt to curtail an artist's professional activities because of his or her political beliefs is certainly equivalent to the treatment doled out en masse 30 years ago. Then, blacklisting kept some of the most talented people in Hollywood out of work during what might have been the most productive part of their careers. That the effort to squash Playing for Time is of a smaller scale does not ex- cuse the small-minded enthusiasts who participated. SSS Form 3A (JUN 80) Keep this copy for your records. Finally, I weighed my potential value out of prison against my value in prison. What little ability I have to stir others toward action would be lost in jail; at least in a daily newspaper I can contribute something, however small. I WOULD BE lying, however, if I did not admit that fear of prosecution was the primary motivation for my decision. Although I am deathly afraid that a draft and a war is just around the corner, and I fear I will someday have to explain to my gran- dchildren that I played a part in allowing that war to occur, I have chosen to embrace the thin hope that I am wrong. Perhaps there is no real link between registration and a draft,, inwhich case resisting registration and going to jail would be a sacrifice for nothing. I'll make my stand when it's absolutely necessary, I tell myself. I'll go to prison when an actual draft begins, I promise myself. I hope I never have to test that resolve. So now I am #60-1712669-6. I have joined the of doing it. As if writing a column about my guilt can have some magically cathartic ef- fect. But that relief from depression does not last long. It's a lie. I am no different than those few of my peers who also agonized over registration and those millions who didn't. Now I just wait for the Selective Service to tally up its figures showing a successful registration program. I wait for Carter to point to this successful registration as a man- date from the country for greater military spending, more nuclear weapons, a peacetime draft, and a war. I wait. AndI despair. Howard Witt is the co-editor of The Daily's Opinion Page. His column ap- pears every Tuesday. Two anonymous women have asked that he include the word "llama" in his column this week, so here it is: Llama. LETTERS TO THE DAILY: Cheerleader article insulting, worthless To The Daily: We are writing in response to your insulting article entitled, "Cheerleaders-The American Wet Dream" (Daily, Sept,. 9). In your article you state that "Cheerleading is perhaps the most worthless and degrading of human activities." In our opinion your article should be considered the most worthless and degrading article we have ever read. We are a group of high school cheerleaders and found your ar- ticle not only insulting but very one sided. Who are you to decide what profession is worthless or degrading? In our opinion your entire article was sickening. You make it sound like all cheerleadersarenothing but brainless, sexually-exploited in- dividuals. That may be your opinion, but it is not ours and it is not fact. Needless to say, there may be some individuals who fit your description, but that gives you no right to stereotype all of skill-we beg to differ with you. She learns coordination, how to work as a group (not just as an individual), and how to dedicate herself to something she is proud of-her school and her squad. At least we are becoming in- volved in our school and you con- demn us for involvment-for trying to create spirit and devotion to our school. We're sorry, but we see nothing wrong with this. We do generate spirit and enthusiasm and most athletes would rather hear the crowd cheering them on than compete to silence. Next time you decide to write such a disgusting article, we urge you to get your facts straight-all Critic takes To The Daily: Maybe the people who attend events for your paper should be called reviewers and not critics. It seems too many of your the facts. Ask athletes, coaches, teachers, students, etc. whether they would rather hear spirit or silence. Ask us why we cheer (our answers might surprise you), ask us how hard we practice, find out what is really involved; but don't make judgments on a few in- dividuals. We are proud to be cheerleaders and not even your degrading article can change that fact. Oh, by the way, we are not urged to "stick out those bosoms" as you indicate, but we are urged to smile. However, we didn't realize there was a law against smiling. Maybe you should try it-it's good for the "spirit"-which we have. School spirit. -Wayne Memorial High School Cheerleaders Doris Blanchard Cheryl Bologna Joanne Brumlow Dianna Carroll Ingeborg Fuchs Lynette Guch R. Lynn Hadrian Mary Martin Nancy Norton Lora Oliphant Amy Rakotz Angela Rakotz Terri Reighard Wendy Reinink Penny Schlamb Robynn Thomas September 22 01 his position too seriously I don't think it would be fair to dispute Mr. Coleman's opinions, but as to certain facts that he alleges, they just aren't true. "The only time these Bees showed any extra enthusiasm they had on, nor is it terribly im- portant. Now this may seem like a small point to quibble about but it gets to the point of the whole snot- nosed attituded expressed in the um - -s -.