OPINION
Page 4
Sunday, March 27, 1983
The Michigan Daily
Gov.
Blanchard gets tax hike
M ICHIGAN CAN NOW lay claim to du-
bious distinction other than having the
nation's highest unemployment rate. The state
legislature voted to give Michigan the highest
flat tax rate of any state in the land. Michigan
residents need not feel overly burdened,
though, only a few states have flat tax rates and
Michigan is only one of 33 states expected to
take action on tax hikes this year.
nor. "I feel like this is my first day in office,"
he said.
It's better than Harvard's
A N AFFIRMATIVE ACTION plan adopted
by the Michigan Law Review this week
may prove that the University has outgrown its
reputation as the "Harvard of the Midwest."
The Review's editorial board approved a
plan that will offer membership on the
prestigious student journal to two minority
students whose writing samples rank in the top
50 percent of their law school class.
Michigan follows a number of colleges across
the nation, including Harvard, who have taken
steps to remedy the almost non-existant
minority representation on their law review
staffs.
The Michigan plan, although modest, is
bolder than the one Harvard adopted which ony
considers minorities in staff selection, making
no guarantees to them.
Before Harvard's affirmative plan took ef-
fect, their 89-person staff had no blacks, one
Asian American and 11 women. In the past 17
years, the Michigan Law Review has had only
one black staff member. Presently, blacks ac-
count for five percent of law school students.
Harvard's plan only considers race and sex
in staff selection. As a result, this year's 40-
person staff includes two black students. 12
percent of Harvard's law school is black.
Toga party
C OMPETITION WAS FIERCE and the
stakes were high as fraternity and
sorority members risked hangovers, in-
Shell-shocked guidelines
ONE SIDE claimed"U-M military research
kills"'; the other side argued restrictionsi
on research could lead to "witch hunts" and
the loss of academic freedom.
The battleground was the long struggle to ex-
tend the University's policy restricting
classified research to include non-classified
research as well.
Last Monday, the faculty senate agreed 40-15
on a compromise. For the first time they put;
some restrictions on what kind of non-classifiei
research can be done, but they allowed more
leeway than for classified research. The Senate'
Assembly also voted to let individual schools-'
and colleges enforce the decision, instead of a
central committee - a setback to opponents of
defense-related research at the University. -
Last April the senate charged the Research
Policies Committee with developing a way to
extend the classified research guidelines to'
non-classified research, but their recommen-
dation did not escape unscathed.
One amendment changed the committee"C7
wording from prohibiting research "the%
primary purpose of which is to destroy human
life, "to "substantial purpose..."
Another amendment changed the commit-
tee's words from research that will "in-
capacitate human beings" to "temporarily in'
capacitate human beings," in order to meet ob-
jections that the wording would prohibit such'
benign work as anesthesiology research.
Governor James Blanchard and other
Democrats supporting the measure say the tax
boost will help pull the state out of its $800
million deficit. University officials are hoping
the measure will spare higher education from
further aid cuts or deferrals like. the recent
deferral, totaling $45 million.
The 38 percent tax hike is retroactive to
January 1 and is supposed to raise more than $3
billion over the next four years, with $635
million of that being applied to the long term
'cash problem.
After the virtually straight party line vote,
exuberant Democrats claimed they had faced
up to the state's problems. According to House
Speaker Gary Owen, "We voted to solve the
problem."
All this made Blanchard very happy. So hap-
py that he said he can now begin being gover-
~ I
digestion, and bed sores for the right to be
crowned the 1983 Greek Week champion.
This year's version of Greek Week, entitled
"It's All Greek to Me," featured the annual
beer chug, the Spaghetti Chow-Down, a pizza
eating contest, the ever-popular bed race, and
the crowning jewel - the Greek Olympics. All
this merriment aims at promoting the Greek
system on campus, as well as raising money
for charity.
"It's great to see the Greek system unite and
show their strength on campus," said Denis
Hall, a member of Alpha Delta Phi. Just how
united they are might be judged by the success
or failure of the Alpha Delts' "Big, Fucking
Party" held over this weekend.
Some women sorority members were a little
miffed that, though they got to participate in
most of the fun, they were excluded from the
beer chug. One can probably understand why
they wanted a little liquid refreshment after
the excitement of the ice cream social and the
Mr. Greek Week competition.
Week-in-Review was compiled by.
staff writers Rob Frank, Barbara.
David Spak, and Jim Sparks.
Daily
Misle,
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Vol. XCIII, No. 139
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
N LAUNCH
developm
technology,
essentially t
nuclear deter
But in asserti
nuclear mis
years, the
dreaming, bu
from the pro
cessant nucle
There isn't
laser and x
proposed by-
tually be able
of the thousan
both the Soli
before they to
More subtl
concerns are
violate an an
with the Sov
:Soviats or An
thus more lik(
ch to preempt
A 1972 tre
Soviet Union
both countr
testing, and
missile syste
maintains thc
the system, bi
"research" a
at all clear
secretary Cas
treaty would
Nuclear Dreams
ING A research drive for scrapped once the system is deployed
ent of anti-nuclear missile anyway.
Presdident Reagan has The administration argues that
urned the conventional regardless, the new technology will
rence theory on its head. make successful targeting of nuclear
ing the plan will make all missiles impossible. That assertion
siles obsolete in 20-30 belies the probability that the two
president is not only superpowers will not develop such
t drawing attention away systems at the same time, leaving one
blems posed by the in- side more vulnerable than the other.
ar arms race today. Such a scenario would increase ten-
much evidence that the sion, with one paranoid and one power-
particle beam system ful nation facing each other. One minor
the president will even- conflict and ...
to detroy all or even one But regardless of the efficacies of the
ids of nuclear missiles on proposed system, it won't be until after
vet and American sides the year 2000 (if ever) that the
uch down. technology will be available. That
le but equally weighty leaves the world at least 20 years to
that the new plan may deal with the present ominous
ti-ballistic missile treaty situation.
iets and may make the The administration's blundering,
nericans less secure and lethargic attempts at arms control
ely to throw the first pun- have been woefully inadequate. Talks
other's power. on intercontinental and intermediate
aty signed by both the range missiles are currently
and United States bars stagnated, while both sides -are
ies from developing, building more missiles.
deploying such anti- While the president's futuristic plans
ims. The administration are inviting to some, the world is still
at it only is researching stuck in the 20th century. If more
ut the difference between serious effort and energy were spent
nd "development" is not on reducing the weapons now instead
Regardless, defense of on a grandiose but uncertain
spar Weinberger said the technology, the need for such a system
h ave to be changed or might disappear.
Stewart
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LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
RHA explains Campbdls boyc
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To the Daily:
In the past week, I have
listened to reactions to the Resid-
ence Halls Association (RHA)
decision rejecting a housing food
service boycott of Campbell's
food products. The Farm Labor
Organizing Committee (FLOC)
has described themselves as
being victimized by Campbell's
forcing migrant workers to ac-
cept substandard wages and
living conditions in Ohio. The in-
formation gathered on this issue
is on file in the RHA office and is
open to anyone wishing to view it.
It is not my intent to debate
FLOC. RHA has made its
decision. However, I do wish to
address concerns over our
meeting procedures.
FLOC brought this issue to an
RHA council meeting in January.
The residence hall represen-
tatives took their information to
their respective hall councils
where it was discussed. FLOC
representatives attended at least
three general council meetings
between January and March. Af-
ter hearing FLOC's version of the
issue, it was only fair to hear
Campbell's speak. Campbell's in-
formed us in advance that they
would send a spokesman from
did not understand the request
made of them, then perhaps they
should have sought clarification.
The following week, FLOC
failed to meet the agenda
deadline of Tuesday 5 p.m.
for the Wednesday night council
meeting. This decision to leave
FLOC off the agenda was reaf-
firmed at the council meeting the
next day. Due to a prior commit-
tment, I was unable to attend and
Vice President Pam McCann
chaired this meeting in my place.
With consent of the council,
Pam placed a time limit on
.discussion of this issue and the
vote was taken. I stand by my ac-
tions and those of my executive
board members. FLOC claims
that they should have been
allowed to speak again to refute
Campbell's statements and that
we treated them unfairly.
Also scheduled to be addressed
on that evening's agenda was
RHA's participation in
Michigras, the distribution of
nuclear arms literature, an RHA
recommendation to the housing
Il
ott stance
department concerning false fire
alarms, and discussion of the
housing division's Alcohol Task
Force.
I'm sorry if our "apathetic.,
representatives "frightened, ap-
palled, and disgusted" FLOC
supporters. In the future, I wil
attempt to focus my
"hypocritical biases" and "peft-
sonal views" in seeking more
socially relevant topics for our
agenda. -Brian Woolery
Residence Halls Association
president
Teaching institutions human values
To the Daily:
In a remarkably lucid piece en-
titled "Bringing Community
Values to Hardened In-
stitutions," (Daily, March 19),
Robert Honigman contrasts the
characteristics of (hardened) in-
stitutions with those of (com-
passionate) communities. In the
end he asks the question: "How
can we teach human values and
the meaning of community in an
institution?"
This is the question which none
of us can ignore. Teaching at the
In my opinion we teach human
values in an institution, the
university especially, not by
teaching them per se, but by per-
sonal example, through osmosis,
by standing behind the values we
believe in. This is not easy in the
present context, for it often
requires swimming against the
current. More specifically, it
requires courage, and sometimes
calling'lies lies.
Richard Falk of Princeton
University has insisted that we
must make the lie transparent -
dinarily complex beings with all
sorts of problems which we
ignore but which we must try to
understand.
Honigman's question should be
reformulated to read: How can
we teach human values in an in-
stitution which so often is an-
tithetical to human values? Our
real problem is not human beings
as human beings, who in-:
dividually (and on the intuitive
level) respond well to human
values and humanness in each
other, but institutions which hold
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