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