60 OPINION . ....... .. Page 4 Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Thursday, February 18, 1982 The Michigan Daily 0 Editor's note: The political cartoons of artist Pete Sinclair will now be appearing on the Daily's Opinion Page on a regular basis. Sin- clair, who graduated from the University in 1975 with a bachelor's degree in fine arts, lives and works in Midland, Mi. Sinclair N Vol. XCII, No. 115 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, M1 48109 r ...THIIS TDFENKSE. OU REPRESENTS, THEI 50B Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board A lesson on tenure ASSSMENT OF OOF T MMNWII- -VER AT U-LETQ0.. hA)C.T 'RFc: KI 12 F N LSA committee claimed Tues- Aday that it was concerned with the way tenure is granted at this Univer- sity. Such concern is extremely valid. Members of the LSA Curriculum Committee raised the possibility Tuesday that perhaps too many professors were being granted tenure on the basis of their research abilities and not enough were being granted tenure on the basis of their teaching abilities. Specifically, thy cited the case of English Prof. Barbara Bono,. wh' was denied tenure last year. From allreports Bono is a fine teacher. Last year she received the Class of '23 Distinguished Teaching Award. And et she was denied a tenured status. If she was denied this tenure because her research record did not meet up to her teadhing record, then the University may be headed for trouble. There undoubtedly is a shift of focus toward research at the University. Fromn the introduction of a robotics center to the preliminary plans for a Michigan Research Corporation, the University seems bent on placing its, money on the profitable fields of research. But if this shift spreads to the hiring and tenuring of teachers, then the University may be making a drastic Playing S ECRETARY OF State Alexander Haig and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, with their recent feuding, have helped turn U.S. foreign policy into a complex guessing game. For allies, who traditionally look to America' to provide the rules of the game, the object is to guess which secretary expresses the actual ad- ministration position. Hiaig and Weinberger have a netriously long history of mutual, animosity. Now the two are letting their personal differences threaten s4ch sensitive foreign affairs issues as the Mideast and Poland. With their petty squabbles, the secretaries may be on the way to undermining U.S. credibility in the entire international arena. The secretaries' differences sur- fced dramatically this week during Weinberger's Mideast tour. Wein- berger paved the way for a major policy contradiction by publicly sup- porting an advanced air weapons sale to Jordan. Israeli leaders, fearful of an arms sale that could damage their air superiority, justifiably demanded a policy clarification. The' ad- Ministration promptly discounted any intention of such an arms sale, while Haig staff members quickly spread mistake. The University's primary responsibility is teaching students, not turning out technical reports. Professors who excel in research do not always excel in teaching. Because a professor spends most of his or her time in laboratories does not mean he or she will be able to educate students in an intelligent and productive man- ner. If teaching is not stressed when making tenure decisions, it reflects a gross neglect of the student body's wishes. Students do not enroll 'in the University at the undergraduate level because three-quarters of the faculty had articles published in scientific or literary journals. The administration's desire to keep a prestigious member at the University is understandable. A famous faculty certainly looks good in national academic circles. But perhaps the administration has lost sight of what a quality faculty really is-teaching is just as important, if not more so, than research. The ability to educate-students on a quality level should be one of the basic priorities of this University. If it isn't, then maybe someone should do a little research on the subject to find out why. to lose rumors of Weinberger's pro-Arab stance,. These official antics have extended to the administration's sanctions on Poland. While Weinberger presses a -hard and threatening line on allied cooperation with Reagan's sanctions, Haig projects a conciliatory tone. Haig, too, urges allied support, but claims that European realities may rule out severe action against neigh- boring Russia. European leaders, con- fused about where to place their bets, have expressed doubts on just what the American stand on sanctions really is. These fun and games by Haig and Weinberger carry serious consequen- ces - contradictory policy statements could undermine allied faith in U.S. foreign relations. This is one area in which allies still consistently look to America for leadership. Unfortunately, the follies of Haig and Weinberger may be leading our political reputation down a dangerous path. In a game assensitive andtas immediate as foreign policy, the United States must be able to provide its allies with intelligent and com- prehensive answers to intricate questions. If the United States can't find the leadership to do so, then we, and our allies, will end up as the big lners MILITAM MIND' P .- - ' ,... P'LAN\hUIJN ii. M NUKE 'IDJ% NUKE EM TILL EYF& rF~ !{6 y Boosting Michiganeconomy with dollars for defense Phil Ruppe, a former Upper Peninsula representative to Congress, is running for the Republican nomination for Michigan's 1982 senatorial race. Ruppe, whc left Congress in 1978, hopes to replace Sen. Donald Riegle in the fall. Ruppe has already received the backing of 46 state representatives. He spoke to Daily Opinion Page Editors Andrew Chapman and Julie Hinds last week about Michigan 's declining economic condition and federal defense spending. BEDTIME FORELSAL'ADOR .Daily: What do you think about the economic future of Michigan? Do you think that growth in fields such as high technology and robotics is the answer to our economic problems? Ruppe: We need jobs in Michigan; we need a change in the economic climate and direc- tion of the state. We can, at the state and federal level, assist the auto industry in tur- ning around its sales and production. But there's no question that new business is im- portant. I feel strongly that even if the auto industry is restored to health and vigor, there will still be three, four, perhaps half a million people needing jobs in Michigan. It's been said that these new industries have the means to provide some 200,000 new jobs, plus future growth. To look even further, the defense budget could be very important for Michigan. We get a very poor return in terrs of defense dollars for Michigan-we get back only 35 or 36 cents for every dollar we send to Washington. The defense budget is going to be spent, so I think it's up to our senators to find out how more of this research and more of these production dollars can be spent in Michigan. Daily: How would you work in the Senate to stimulate Michigan's economic climate? Ruppe : We're not getting our share of defense contracts in Michigan. We should be finding out why we don't get defense produc- tiop jobs into Michigan. From a long-term perspective, we also need the federal gover- nment to increase its investment in basic research, much of which would flow into the University system. I think we may have to have a retraining program for industrial workers. We should put a strong emphasis into a retraining program for those industrial employees who have lost their jobs because of foreign com- petition. These people obviously are skilled and want to work, they have all the attributes we need for this country. Daily What about easing auto restrictions? Ruppe: On autos, I think our senators should take the lead in passing legislationathat would ease emissions standards in cars for the next couple of years. It would save large amounts on cars. Daily: What about the effect on the en- vironment? Ruppe: Well, the National Council on Air Quality said that there would be no more damage to air quality. In fact, you could have an easing of the standards for the next couple of years and still have an improvement in air quality, because for every new car you sell and every old car you scrap you havean automatic increase in quality. Daily: Do you support President Reagan's "New Federalism" swap? Ruppe: I think federalism would work out; I think we have to think it out a little more carefully. You wouldn't want a system where some states do better in terms of providing services, and other, less fortunate states give their citizens substa'ntially less. And one has to be sure that if a state took over a federal program it would meet the various requirements of minorities and of urban populations around the state. Daily: Do you think "Ne'w Federalism" would particularly affect Michigan? Ruppe: It's too early to say. But the head of social services has indicated that by taking over basic welfare and food stamps and giving the federal government Medicaid, the swap would result in large savings for the state. Daily: Do. you think $:eagan has ,put too many federal programs, especially social, services? Ruppe: Generally, last year I would have supported his budget cuts. Last year we looked at the civilian programs for waste, duplication, overlap, etc. I think this same type of examination should be given to the defense budget. And in my opinion, if that's done, we can save anywhere from eight to twelve billion dollars. It's important that people who have been affected by cuts in social programs, that before they're affected any more, they have to have a sense that all aspects of the federal budget, including defense, get the same careful scrutiny. Daily: What about cuts in federal and state aid to higher education? Ruppe: When I was in Congress I was a very strong supporter of federal aid to education. I would have voted for the Reagan cuts last year, but before we make any fur- ther education cuts, we've got to take a look at other budget areas, such as defense. Daily: What do you think about the Reagan sanctions against Poland? Ruppe: It's very difficult to initiate tougher sanctions against Poland when we don't have world cooperation. We can only initiate an embargo if we have support. I would hope that we would make every effort to ensure that we don't' ship high technology infor- mation or products to Japan, and other foreign allies not backing our sanctions. 4 RONAL1D } t Daily: 'What about an issue like El Salvador? Ruppe: I think we should give them aid. I don't think we should put American troops- here, and I think we should put heat on the' Salvadoran government to stop tortures and come up with an agrarian reform policy. I would like to see us pressure for reform by using a combination of carrot and stick with foreign aid. Dialogue is a weekly feature of the Daily's Opinion Page and appears every Thursday. Weasel TS FTORMIFA CONTNUES... 1xi You 150ys KNOW THAT 1UN719 IS I U. AL Iiff S 5STATE By Robert Lence S Po T KN 4.4, FKEZ7. 2 NS fAVE 15ISNAW6MFUaNi( 74AT WE LrfT SO ML tiIN(. %tilN>AT rs 14T a~o J , r *R WE M4ADE IT! FINAL1Y!' yM14! .-..: * I' I i ii : . i I J