4
OPINION
Poge 4
Tuesday, November 15, 1983
The Michigan Daily
"I
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Sinclair
I4NATS tMCREViBLE
_ .
4
z
C"; U I J
Vol. XCIV-No. 60
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
-F-~
I
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
Nuke Ann Arbor nukes
M E M O S L E T M F A N A~ T I h CLC M ~ T
To~ M~AEWAR ON
T I~ kR 7' A
S
CIDE7,
9
UCLEAR FREE Ann Arbor. The
idea may sound a little strange.
After all, this little mid-western town is
not West Germany, it is not Greece.
There are no nuclear weapons here;
and there is only a miniscule amount of
research done on them within the city's
boundaries.
But the movement to ban nuclear
weapons work in this city is a sound
one.
The arms race has burgeoned over
the last several years. It is now the
primary threat to the world, and as a
part of that world, Ann Arbor citizens
are threatened. Granted, the nuclear
threat to this city is not as intimate as
to Bonn, London, or Rome. Ann Arbor
does not have these weapons pointed at
its head. It is, however, a threat. And
this proposal is an attempt to lessen
that threat.
Although it may be a very small
fraction of the total, there is research
and production done in this town which
can be applied to nuclear weapons. But
even a small amount of this work is
gignificant. In some small way, it is
contributing to the growing instability
of world politics. The money spent on
this research and production could be
used for much more beneficial projec-
Playing the
IRST TERM congresspersons -
freshmen, as they are affection-
ately referred to by their more ex-
petiere peers - are often advised to
stay in the shadows and learn how to"
play the game. One of the rules they
learn early on is to talk up a big storm
about federal budget deficits but don't
really mean it.
So when an emergency ap-
propriations bill came to the floor of
the House of Representatives last week,
26 freshmen Democrats decided not to
play nice. They voted against the
measure - which kept government
agencies from running out of money -
as a protest. "I anybody here really
serious about deficits?" asked Marcy
Katur (D-Ohio), one of the renegades.
Year after year, Congress and the
president answer "no" to that querie.
This year is no exception, as
Congress approaches its end-of-the-
fiscal year recess with a Ronald Reagan
budget that probably will run in the red
by more than $200 billion. Instead of
grappling with the deficits, the
seasoned veterans of the Washington
ts. Ann Arbor voters have every reason
to end their small contribution to the
arms race.
The amount of real weapons produc-
tion this proposal could stop may be
small, but the symbolic value of the
statement is, great. Passing it would
send a clear message to federal of-
ficials: supporting the arms race will
cost votes. With the 1984 elections just
around the corner nothing delivers a
message better than a display of voter
strength.
This proposal does merit some con-
cern, however, especially for the
University. It is a small, but definite,
restriction of academic freedom. The
proposal would, to a small extent, for-
bid certain types of research.
But freedom of inquiry is not ab-
solute. There are limits to it. Resear-
chers cannot use human subjects for
dangerous experiments, and they
cannot conduct psychology experimen-
ts without telling the subjects.
Academic freedom cannot be stret-
ched until -it becomes a danger to
people.
The arms race has become such a
threat. The citizens of the world are
trying to reduce that threat. And a
nuclear free city is a good start for Ann
Arbor residents.
deficit game
scene spend the year screaming about
how the other party is responsible for
the problem. Then they scramble to
pass emergency pork bills, pork:
barrel programs, and boondoggle
wastes of money, creating ever-
increasing deficits along the way.
This year's last minute rush included
silos full of money for Reagan's glut-
tonous Department of Defense; a dairy
lobby measure to pay milk producers
for not producing; the MX missile
production funds; and cash for a nerve
gas weapon. The rush also included
several calls for tax increases -
ignoring the fact that revenue from in-
creasing taxes is not used to reduce the
deficit, but to increase spending.
So the freshmen decided to cry out.
What did they get in return? Scorn
from their elders. Rep. Jim Wright (D-
Tex.) said he felt like he'd been tackled
by one of his own teammates. House
Speaker Tip O'Neill said the freshmen
"just didn't think it out very well."
Or is it that they just decided not to
play the game ?
E"
!. -a
c- /'
i
J
"
f / ^'
i _
, i
_ ,
C
_
F
...r. , , _-
_ _ _
c yr '.
" _ -.-
r_ _
- t l- ,
i < - -
- -'
,.
c' _
<>
_ _ !
a ' -
,<--'
;4
A,. , : _ _
LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
Alumni are the strength of the,'U'
To the Daily:
Karen Tensa's article on alum-
ni ("Dreading the future as a 'U'
graduate," Daily, November 5)
raises many problematic issues,
not the least of which is the
question of what possible benefit
the Daily finds in printing an ar-
ticle so filled with inaccuracies
and inadequacies, and is so
degrading to the real strength of
this public institution - its alum-
ni. Some corrections may at least
set the record straight.
First, an alum is a double salt
- a chemical, not someone who
has attended or graduated from
an institution. That introdues the
next point, that University alum-
ni include'those students having
completed one semester, not just
those with the 120 hours required
to graduate. Sorry, Karen, unless
you're a freshwoman, you're
probablyaalready an alumna.
With regard to the misconcep-
tion that preferential seating is
given to alumni donating to the
University, the fact is that
preference may be given based
on donations made to the athletic
department, funds not available
to the University in general. If
Miss Tensa feels that she has
already made her contribution
to the University by paying her
in-state tuition, she must realize
that Michigan taxpayers have in
large part subsidized the true
cost of her education - consider
unsubsidized out-of-staters
paying three times as much.
These points, in combination
with the flagrant stereotyping of
University alumni as eccen-
trically clad boring boozers with
no depth of thought, represent the
unabashed unobjectivity of the
article and of the irresponsibility
MSA fronts
vocal activists
To the Daily:
This letter is written in protest
of what we feel to be irrespon-
sible use of student money by the
Michigan Student Assembly. As
recent Daily articles have poin-
ted out, MSA has become a front
for a plethora of tiny but active
political organizations. MSA is
giving financial aid and therefore
political support to these groups
on behalf of University students,
whose majority, we feel, does not
support the political views of
these groups.
Granted, it is vital that
University students be aware of
the world around them. Student
politics should be encouraged.
Nevertheless, MSA must
recognize that it has a commit-
ment (amounting to $4.50 per
semester) to every student on
for the opinions expressed. The
Daily must assume responsibility
for the consequences of running
so shoddy a piece in such
prominence on a day when alum-
ni are in town and in light of the
kickoff of a $160 million capital
campaign two weeks earlier, of
which $30 million goes directly to
students. Does the Daily have $30
million for students?
- William F. Mellin
November 6
Mellin is a vice president of
the Student Alumni Council.
Daily missed LSA-SG independents
To the Daily:
We would like to take this op-
portunity to comment on the
Daily's coverage of the LSA
Student Government elections.
We weredismayed by the lack of
initiative taken by the DaiLy staff
to present a full picture of all thef
candidates running for office.
As independents running a joint
campaign, we attempted to
present our ideas, but were
denied an opportunity to express
our views by the Daily. We un-
derstand the extra attention
given to the presidential can-
didates, but the result was an en-
dorsement of a slate of 13 can-
didates based on interviews with
the presidential candidates.
While it is important to evaluate
party ideas as a whole, it is
equally important to examine in-
dividual capabilities and ex-
perience.
We feel the Daily has the
capabilities of being a forum for
varied, independent points of
view. However, in this instance,
the Daily has taken the easy way
out, opting only to interview
members of established parties,
and avoiding those of us who have
original, creative, and indepen-
dent ideas.
-Ruth Bard"
Larry Bottiniek
Cheryf Goldfarb
Margie Liboff
Robin Morgan
Jimmy Rosenberg
November 13
4
4
IGNITE offers a realistic change
To the Daily:.
I am writing in response to
your endorsement of Eric Berman
and his SAID party. Last year,
around election time, SAID was
running on the platform' of
raising black enrollment and
raising teaching assistant com-
petency, among others. Since
they were in office, black
enrollment has fallen to an all-
time low of 4.9 percent. About his
idea for centralized TA English
tests, each department has a
formal, detailed written test.
This is not the waytoraise TA
English fluency. IGNITE
proposes that TAs must meet
with LSA-SG and be approved or
disapproved before hiring.
IGNITE is proposing START
(student anti-rape team)
modelled somewhat after a
similar and successful Stanford
program. Not only would there be
expanded escort services (which
already exist), START will also
provide voluntary coed patrols
and increased community
awareness and involvement. The
whole anti-rape plank of Ber-
man's platform will be ineffec-
tive because there already exists
escort and Nite-Owl services.
BLOOM COUNTY
dorm residents all have picture
ID cards, and dorm doors are
already locked after 10:00 p.m. In
addition, some dorms already
have security guards posted at
night. IGNITE will work on,
deterring and stopping rapes, it is
our primary goal.
Last year the LSA Executive
Committee siad that these will
never be a student sitting with
them in any role. With this goal
being impossible to attain, all of
SAID's platform will not work.
IGNITE is proposing ideas that
will work. Another year with
SAID will be another wasted,
apathetic year in student gover-
nment. To say we have no ex-
perience is totally absurd. In ag1-
dition to being active in student
government in the past, we have
a business sense and sincerity
that the other party lacks. To
vote for SAID will be like trying
to save the sinking Titanic,
IGNITE recognizes what the real
situation is. It is time for 4
change, I urge you to vote'
IGNITE for a change.u 'i
- Andrew Hartmanh
November 4,
Hartman is a candidate for
LSA-SG president.
1 /1
11
, ! , ,Ie1t
I,1 ,
,tv~
We encourage our readers to use this space to discuss ;
and respond to issues of their concern. Whether those
topics cover university, Ann Arbor community, state
national, or international issues in a straightforward or
unconventional manner, we feel such a dialogue is a
crucial function of the Daily. Letters and guest columns
should be typed, triple-spaced, and signed.
by Berke Breathed
4
4
7g6 rG& AT A577RO W6 PAAIN
5115 96fW H5 IN5TRU/MEW.-
PR.FiIN& FOR? H15 GKEA7W5
cHAuzENe: lH CIT7MRNK
ACCOUNT FIS -. FRST A WWP
GGeSS ArT HE PASS WOWt..
TIC
/
CLICK... CLIC
lic . PING~!
:
,
PA65WORP
APPTOVEP.
PROP.
1/
GIFIAETrgOb, lIKE GREAT
CAPITALI5iS, HAVE A KEE.N 5EN56
OF HUMOR . Ft&5E CONTINUE'
JiHANK YOV.
QUIET IN'IH
A CONY, PPI5E.
_ I II
1 1 1 I I l Y'I.Y/Zr
ou", I've JUST
II
t 4,rru rmr)
I
I