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OPINION

Page 4


Wednesday, November 9, 1983
Stewart

The Michigan Daily


Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan

,

420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Vol. XCIV-No. 55

Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
Moving a sluggish 'U'

SHUTTING DOWN a University
research lab for one or two or
however many days is a bold action.
But often drastic actions are the only
thing that moves this sluggish Univer-
sity.
Hundreds had to protest before the
University would pull its investments
out of companies which operate in
apartheid South Africa.Thousands had
to boycott classes in 1970 to force the
University to set ambitious black
enrollment goals. Students blockaded
the LSA building just to get the U-
Cellar bookstore. f
And so the story goes, this time with
defense department-sponsored resear-
ch. Twenty-seven activist students
blockaded a University laboratory
Monday where they suspect weapons
research is being conducted. They
were still there at press time last night.
The sit-in is needed to make a point
the University doesn't seem to want to
acknowledge. Several research projec-
ts on campus are obviously
questionable and should be examined
thoroughly and objectively to deter-
mine if their purpose is to create better
weapons.
The faculty is the most logical body to

do this but up to now they have
dismissed any investigation by
claiming it would amount to a wit-
ch hunt. If they review these projects,
they will have to review every resear-
ch project, they say.
But this is not true. Official descrip-
tions for many of these projects
describe possible military applications
for simulating bomb detonations,
missile guidance systems, and the
evasion of conventional radar. The
faculty has every reason to single them
out for closer examination, and should
do so.
It is their responsibility to show the
University community that either
these projects are legitimate or they are
not. Until such an investigation is con-
ducted, the community is forced to
guess, to rely on rumor and conjec-
ture, and to act on little substantial
evidence.
There are members of the com-
munity, both for and against weapons
research, who want to act. They at
least wonder about these projects.
They deserve answers.
And if a research lab has to be closed
for one or two or however many days to
get those answers, it will be worth it.

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LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
'Wave' cheer could cause tragedy

PLO fight Begin's triumph

T IRED OLD Menachem Begin, the
former prime minister of Israel,
must be smiling these days. The final,
master stroke of his tenure as the
leader of the Jewish state - the in-
vasion of Lebanon almost a year and a
half ago - is proving more successful
every day.
The main objective of the invasion
was to split the Palestinian Liberation
Organization to sap its strength as a
force threatening Israel. The current
fighting between those loyal to PLO
Chairman Yasser Arafat and rebels
backed by Syria gives Israel the
security it sought to gain through the
invasion. As long as the PLO fights it-
self, it will not fith Israel.
Arafat has made blunder after blun-
der since the Israeli invasion. He tried
to paint a dismal loss in Beirut as a vic-
tory. He appointed two men known to
be corrupt to key positions within Al
Fatah, the most powerful organization
within the PLO. And he kicked rebel

leaders out of Al Fatah instead of
negotiating.
Those mistakes coupled with
military losses at the hands of the
rebels over the past few days in nor-
thern Lebanon have taken virtually all
military and political power away
from Arafat.
Yet even if Arafat leaves, the
organization would still be split. He
still has a large following among
Palestinians in the West Bank.
Leaders there apparently are ready to
fill the void; and with Jordan's King
Hussein they are preparing to push for
a settlement with Israel along the lines
of the Reagan peace initiative opposed
by Syria and PLO rebels. In fact, it's
becoming more apparent that the
rebels and Syria don't want any com-
promise with Israel.
But as long as the PLO continues to
fight itself - and a long fight it is going
to be - Menachem Begin will sleep in
peace.

To the Daily:
Increased use of the "Wave"
cheer by Michigan Wolverine
football fans had recently
received widespread attention. In
light of this phenomenon, we en-
vision (but never expect to read)
this ridiculous hypothetical news
report :
Bad vibes in Ann Arbor
7,000 students and alumni / meet
untimely death / in Michigan-
Ohio State confrontation.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -
Tragedy struck the University of
Michigan football stadium crowd
Saturday afternoon when fren-
zied fans, using the new "Wave"
cheer, produced vibrations
causing the structure to collapse
suddenly late in the fourth quar-
ter of an otherwise uneventful
match-up between archrivals
Michigan and Ohio State.
It was a typical Wolverine-
Buckeye battle until the final
seconds of play. With the score
tied at 3, Michigan quarterback
Steve Smith faked an option to
running back Rick Rogers and
rambled 87 yards for a Michigan
big six. This stirred the home
crowd into a state of delirium,
and a Wave cheer originated
from the student section. (The
Wave cheer, introduced by the
Michigan cheerleaders, involves
entire sections of the audience
rising and cheering in sequence
creating a wave effect encircling
the stadium.)
Observers reported that two
simultaneous waves moved in
opposite directions around the
oval stadium. Upon meeting at
the south end, the two waves
produced a note that shook the
stadium so fiercely that the press
box tumbled onto thousands of
students and cheering alumni,
killing an estimated 7,000.
Physicists later explained that
the meeting of the opposing sine
waves resulted in destructive in-
terference. However, game of-
ficials failed to make this call at
the time.
University Prof. Fred
Frequency, noted author of Wave
Theory and Audience Behavior,
claimed that "this was a highly
unpredictable event, since the
frequency of the waves was exac-
tly at the resonant frequency of
the supporting structure of the
stadium.
"In fact," he said, "the
frequency was so exact that had
one man gone to the concession
stand for a hot dog at this
moment, the entire tragedy
may have been avoided."
Residents of cities as far away
as Alpena were reported to have
experienced the aftershocks of
the wave.
At the post-game press con-
ference, Woverine head coach Bo
Schembechler was quoted as
saying, "I had my headset on at
the time, and was unaware of any
problem until my assistant offen-

Laughing at the Daily

's hypocrisy

To the Daily:
I laughed aloud at the
hypocrisy of the Daily upon
reading the statement on the in-
vasion of Grenada: "This coun-
try, however, cannot continue to
shove a U.S.-type democracy
down the throats of peoples who
do not want it," ("Paranoia in
Reagan's eyes," Daily, October
27). For years the liberal com-
munity of this country, claiming
perfect knowledge of what is good
for another country, has
pressured the U.S. government to
shove U.S.-type democracy down
the throats of peoples who either
do not want it or, more often, are
apathetic toward it.
As a rule, the countries facing
such pressures have
authoritarian right-wing gover-
nments (which provide some
civil rights) and are friendly to
the United States; but these
nations never have totalitarian
Marxist governments (which
provide no civil rights) and are
openly hostile to the United
States. Examples of the former
are Chile, Turkey, South Korea,
El Salvador, and what used to be
South Vietnam. Examples of the
latter are Angola, Ethiopia, any
Eastern European satellite of the
Soviet Union, and the present
Vietnam.
The recent invasion of Grenada
following a bloody radical
Marxist coup is a welcome excep-
tion to this rule.
Most countries facing such
American pressure for im-
mediate American-style
democracy have absolutely no
tradition of government being
responsible to the will of its
people. The concept of one man-
one vote is completely alien to a
native of such a country. Our
present form of democracy
required two centuries of
evolution and a millenium of
English background to become
what it is.
To expect an American ally
with no such heritage to achieve
the same in a few short years is
not only unfair but potentially
destabilizing, sometimes
resulting in an even more op-
pressive state. Iran comes to
mind here. The Shah was a
staunchly pro-American dictator
under whom Iran prospered and
moved into the 20th century. Our
BLOOM COUNTY

Athletic Director Don Canham
was reported in stable condition
at University Hospital following
his 50-foot plunge from the press
box onto the marching band sit-
ting below. After removing his
head from a tuba, Canham said,

failure to support him in a
precarious situation resulted in
the wholesale slaughter of
thousands of citizens by "the
people's government."
In short, America must regain
its ability to tell a friend from an

enemy, an ability it has lost in the
past decade, and to formulate an
appropriate policy on a case-by-
case basis.

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"Aside from some miscues by
our defensive secondary, the
team overall played a solid
game. Right now, prospects for a
major bowl bid look good."
In an official statement
released today from the Univer-

sity president's office, Harold
Shapiro invited all injured fans to
his home on South University for
cider and cookies.
- J. Adam Kellman
Len Weinberger
Scott Winkelman
November 7

-Jim Scheuerle
October '7

The Boston Retirement Fund

To the Daily:
I wanted to be among the first
to send in my contribution to the
Boston Retirement Fund ("Pay,
don't play," Daily, November 1),
and herein enclose my check for
that cause.
I take the greatest of pride in
my student newspaper for again
going beyond the call of duty and
rallying around a cause of such
ungainly proportion, but so vital
to the health of all Americans. It
seemed as though concern for the
ecology movement dropped off

last decade; but not at the Daily,
as fine editors forge ahead to
fight the deafening, retarding ef-
fects that Boston albums III-V
would have on the listening
public.
Your courage to stand up for
the rights of vinyl procurers like
myself should serve as an in-
spiration to all, putting many at
awe, and others to shame for not
taking the swift and unselfish ac-
tion that you have.
And I thank you.

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--H. Michael Buhler
November 1
636

H. MICHAEL BUHLER
[IC, 6-460-302-603-91j
263 CLOVERLY
GROSSE POINTE FARMS. MI 46236 19 9-161-2
PAY TO THE O )/)4


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9-7000/2720

$ -

ORDER o f) u- +"wn- r -rte' "' . -G^ '" i

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End bullshit, watch games

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To the Daily:
It must be somewhat in-
timidating for fans, players, and
coaches from opposing schools to
face the Wolverines in Michigan
Stadium. The prestige of the
program, the success of it's
coach and the size of it's crowd
make Michigan football
something that many schools
emulate. The Michigan Stadium
crowds are known for quality as
well as quantity, displaying
tremendous spirit while taking

their football very seriously.
Unfortunately, this quality is
decreasing rapidly. Fans who
disrupt the game by not allowing
players to hear the signals or by
yelling "bullshit" every time a
penalty flag is thrown, are
severly damaging the reputation
that a Michigan fan currently en-
joys. In the interests of spor-
tsmanship and the proper
decorum of a Michigan fan,
please ... watch the game.
-Benjamin Smith
November 6

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Unsigned editorials appearing on the left
side of this page represent a.majority opinion
of the Daily's Editorial Board.
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