OPINION
Page 4
Saturday, March 17, 1984
The Michigan Daily
Joan Mondale
speaks for her husband*
Joan Mondale, wife of
Democratic presidential contender
and former Vice President Walter
Mondale, flew into town Thursday
to speak at the Michigan Union. She
also took time out from her hectic
day of campaigning to speak with
Daily Opinion Page Editor Jackie
Young about her family, her in-
terests, her political campaigning,
and her stands on women's issues.
Daily: Who is Joan Mondale? Cer-
tainly you are more than just the wife of
former Vice President Walter Mondale.
Could you give a brief personal history?
Joan: I think I can say I met Fritz
when he was a law student at the
Dialogue
University of Minnesota and I was an
assistant in education at the Min-
neapolis Institute of Arts giving guided
tours and lectures to children and
adults. We met ona blind date and I'd
been dating all these Republican boys
and all we did was argue about politics.
Then I met Fritz Mondale, and what a
relief it was to agree with someone. He
wanted a political career and that in-
terested me a great deal. He's a real
Democrat, I'm a real Democrat. We've
been Democrats all or our lives. And we
believe in the principles of the
Democratic Party which means
honoring and helping and working for
the average American. Not the rich
ones, but the ones that need help. So we
were married and Fritz became Min-
nesota's Attorney General and then he
became a U.S. Senator and we moved to
Washington and then he became vice
president. Throughout these years, I've
always campaigned for him and par-
ticipated in that way. But also I have
kept my own interests and I am a pot-
ter. I have a studio with three others. Of
course, I don't have time for that these
days. But I've always been interested in
the arts. And when Fritz was vice
president I spent four years focusing at-
tention on the arts, working hard to in-
crease the budget for the National En-
dowment for the Arts and the National
Endowment for the Humanities. I served
really as an advocate of the arts for
those four years.
Daily: Could you tell about your
family - how many children you have
and their part in the campaign.
Joan: Our oldest son, Teddy, is cam-
paigning full time for his father. It's his
third national campaign. In 1976, he
flew in his father's plane and helped
with the baggage. In 1980, he cam-
paigned with all different kinds of
groups. And this year he's also cam-
paigning. He spent two days in
Michigan. Wednesday he was in the
Upper Penninsula. Thursday he was in
Midland for Congressman Albosta's
Polka Party. He speaks on the issues,
answers questions, and handles
press interviews. He wants to go to law
school and he wants to run for public of-
fice himself. He's our oldest. He's 26.
Our daughter Eleanor is 24 and she's an
actress who lives in Hollywood, Calif.
She had a part in one of the segments of
Three's Company. She played opposite
of John Ritter. She had three lines and a
giggle. She also is the Yoplait Yogurt
girl. So if you've seen the Yoplait
Yogurt add with the beautiful, blond
young woman eating yogurt with the
wind blowing in her hair-that's
Eleanor Mondale. She campaigns on
the weekends in Oklahoma, Nevada,
Wyoming, and in the state of
Washington, in California too. William
Mondale is 22. He should be a senior at
Brown University in Providence, R.I.
Daily: Where did you go to college?
Joan: I went to McAlister College
which is a Presbyterian College in St.
Paul, Minn. Fritz went there and he
also went to the University of Min-
nesota.
Daily: What does it mean for you'to
have a husband running for the U.S.
presidency? Does the campaigning get
in the way of your career and your per-
sonal life? Do you.really, you're
playing an important role in your
husband's campaign?
Joan: Well, Fritz and I talked about
whether or not he should run for
president for one year in 1981. So we got
it all sorted out. And I encouraged him.
I think he is the most qualified, the most
able, and the most prepared of all the
candidates to be president because he's
been there. He's been in the Oval Office
for four years. And there were some
good decisions made by the prior ad-
ministration and there were some bad
decisions. But you learn from those
mistakes as well. So he would not make
those mistakes. I am campaigning for
my husband. I hope that I help. I am
speaking to groups talking about his
stands on the issues - what his voting
record has been, what he sees as
America's needs for the future, what
needs to be changed to get this nation
going in the right direction again. And I
hope that I can reach out to this nation
of 250 million people - and there are a
lot to reach. So we are conducting our
campaign on the issues. Whether or not
we look good on television is not impor-
tant to us. People should get to know the
difference between Walter Mondale
and all the other candidates. I think
that's one way I can contribute. I can
tell people about those differences.
Daily: Your husband has been endor-
sed by the National Organization for
Women. Would you consider yourself
an active feminist? How do you feel
about E.R.A. and abortion?
Joan: My husband has always been
working for women way before it was
the thing to do. He worked hard on day
care programs. In the '70s he got his
national day care program passed by
the Congress. But Nixon vetoed it. He's
worked for equal opportunity ir
education - that means women as well
as men. He's always been in the
forefront of issues that affect women.
That's why NOW endorsed Walter
Mondale because he's been there. He
has a consistent record. He doesn't vote
with women one time and vote against
them another time. From the very
beginning, he supported the Equal
Rights Amendment. He wants to make
sure that it is an addition to the Con
stitution. Also along with the ERA isthe
concept of pay equity. This is equal pay
for work of comparable worth. In that
Fritz is the only candidate who had a
consistent, prepared, thought-out
program to put pay equity into effect.
That also s'ets him apart from the other
candidates.
Daily: What are some of your specific
concerns as a woman voter?
Joan: These are my views. He
agrees. He and I were brought up in
ministers' families. His father was a
Methodist minister, my father was) a
Presbyterian minister. The reason we
fell in love in 53 days and he asked me to
marry him is that we agreed on basic
beliefs and basic values. We do not
disagree - everybody is so surprised.
But it's far better for your marriage if
you agree, otherwise you would. be
fighting all the time. So these are my
opinions. I would never give an opinio!
that wasn't mine as well.
Daily: What kind of an image would
you portray if you became the first
lady?
Joan: I'm not interested in images.
I'm interested in being myself.
Dialogue is an occasional feature
of the Opinion Page.
Daily Photo by TOD WOOLF
Joan Mondale says she is an artist turned political campaigner and an
advocate of stronger funding to the arts and humanities.
but he is taking the year off. He is cam-
paigning full time as well. He was in
Mississippi Thursday. Friday he'll be in
Arkansas and Saturday he's going to'
Puerto Rico because he speaks
Spanish. He speaks to all kinds of
groups but he's our very special secret i
weapon for the Hispanic community.
hP Rubtigan 743 atilij
LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
Mondale looks good for students
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Vol. XCIV-No. 132
42A Aynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
} ,,
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board1
Confronting racism
T HIS CENTURY has known no
greater horror than the calculated
mass murder in Nazi concentration
camps. It was and continues to be a
horror found in the recognition of
man's native capacity for evil. The
violence of Auschwitz, Dachau, and
Buchenwald was not perpetrated by
random individuals, but was a societal,
premeditated expression of hatred. It
forces every individual to ask: "Does
the potential for such behavior lie
within me, as well?"
Even though it is difficult to
imagine a tragedy akin to the
Holocaust occurring during our time,
the possibility cannot be denied.
During the first half of the century,
Eastern Europe was the most
enlightened region in the world, and
yet it spawned a violence previously
thought impossible. The only con-
ceivable good arising out .of the
Holocaust lies in its power to teach that
no people is immune to the possibility
of endemic racism. Only through a
confrontation with the memory, can
man better insure that it will not hap-
pen again.
This past week's conference on the
Holocaust provided such a confron-
tation. In listening to survivors of the
horror, it is impossible to squelch
memories that seem better forgotten,
and it is realized as well that man's
failures teach much more than his suc-
cesses.
A group will be marching in Ann Ar-
bor today, however, that seeks not to
learn from failure, but to perpetuate it.
The Nazis are coming, and their
presence provides a reminder that no
society is free from hatred. Their
presence will also bring out in many a
hatred that is certainly more under-
standable, but no more noble.
In past years the Nazi march has
provoked acts of violence on the part of
anti-racist groups and brought in-
flammatory rhetoric speaking of a
hatred for the "Nazi scum." A confron-
tation with the Nazis, however, is not a
confrontation with the painful
memories of a terrible period in
history, it is a surrender to the means
exercised by the Nazis themselves.
Hurled rocks and insults attest to the
power of the Nazis, they do not attest to
the sensitivity of the anti-racist.
A hatred for the celebrators of Hitler
is virtually impossible to overcome,
and yet in doing so one is able to deny
all that the Nazis stand for and learn
the ultimate lesson that the Holocaust
can teach - that as evil as man may
be, it is completely and equally within
his power to be truly good.
To the Daily:
On Saturday, Democratic
Michigan voters will be given the
opportunity to take part in the
candidate selection process for
President of the United States.
Students will play an important
role in this selection. Therefore,
before voting we as students owe
it to ourselves to become
educated about the candidates
who are running.
Two candidates, in particular,
have become the front-runners in
Michigan. Yet, we must not take
anything for granted. We must
look at the candidates carefully,
examining their records -
especially on issues pertinent to
students.
Nuclear arms are important to
the maintenance of a safe future.
We must look at the candidates
on this issue. Senator Gary Hart
first refused to support the
nuclear freeze movement. Ten
months following the introduction
of the freeze, Senator Hart rever-
sed his position. Walter Mondale,
on the other hand, was the first
candidate for the Democratic
presidential nomination to en-
dorse the freeze, and he has
never waivered on his position.
Senator Hart also supports
Ronald Reagan's Nuclear-Build
Down Resolution-a proposal
which allows America and the
USSR to develop and deploy new
and more powerful nuclear
weapons. Walter Mondale op-
poses this resolution because it
undermines the nuclear freeze
movement and allows for the
production and deployment of
new and destabilizing nuclear
weapons. Walter Mondale is also
against Ronald Reagan's bloated
defense budget, something
Senator Hart supported on April
27, 1981.
The records clearly show who
is closer to the issue positions of
students on these critical issues.
Yet defense is not the only issue
in which Mr. Hart's record does
not match up to students'
positions. Senator Hart voted to
force students to pay interest on
loans while still going to college,
at a time when they don't have
any income. Walter Mondale
Therefore, Saturday, 'before
exercising your right to vote, I
must urge you to examine the
candidates in detail, before jum-
ping on the bandwagon with you-
eyes closed. Students must
research and investigate the
GEO promotes adversarial relationship
To the Daily:
In a recent column, Mr. Gene
Goldenfeld asks "Why haven't we
heard from many GSTA/SAs?"
(Daily, March 14). The answer is
simple - the vast majority of
those would prefer not to affiliate
themselves with the G E 0 were
it not for the union's intimidation.
Those who are paying their dues
are doing so under threat of being
fired.
The union is controlled by a
small group of political ex-
tremists who seek to create an
adversarial relationship with the
faculty and administration.
During one meeting that I atten-
ded we were told that if the
University would not yield to the
demands of the GEO, we would
strike and "bring the University
to its knees." There were less
than thirty graduate students in
attendance.
In my department nearly all
eligible TAs have signed a petition
calling for an end to the agency
shop clause. Why? The reasons
are many. First, the TAs of this
department do not feel our needs
are at all represented by the
GEO. While the union proudly'
points to the tuition reduction
won in the last contract, we in
chemistry have always paid little
if any tuition. The fact is, there
was nothing "won" in this con-
tract that we haven't enjoyed for
years.
Second, despite protests to the
contrary, the gains made in the
last contract are less a result of
the GEO than simply competition
for graduate students by other
universities. The University is
paying more because they must
in order to attract new graduate
students.
BLOOM COUNTY
Thirdly, the union creates con-
frontation between students and
the University where none need
exist. We in chemistry have
traditionally enjoyed a strong
rapport with our faculty. When
problems arise, our needs and
complaints are listened to and
then acted upon. We certainly
don't need the GEO to disrupt a
system that works.
Finally, when the union tells
you it is not the money, it is the
principle of the thing, you can bet
it is the money.
- Kent S. Kokko
March14
issues and understand who is the
best qualified candidate for the
Democratic nomination. Upon
doing so, I believe that students
will realize that there is a dif-
ference between new ideas and
good ideas, and that they will
support . Walter Mondale for
President.
- Lawrence Kaplan
March 13
Kaplan is campus coor-i
dinator for Stude'nts for Mon-
dale.
Primary proving ground
To the Daily:
Student issues are indeed im-
portant to a university com-
munity, but for residents of the
state, Michigan will be an impor-
tant proving ground for the selec-
tion of the Democratic nominee.
Choices must be made. This
Saturday, March 17, Michigan
voters will have an opportunity to
select the candidate best suited to
carry the future of this state and
this nation.
The Reagan recession left
millions of people unemployed in
Michigan. The Chrysler load
package was sought as a solution
to this mass unemployment and
economic despair. 300,000
Michigan jobs and 20,000
Michigan small businesses were
saved. One man was a leading
force behind its enactment. His
name is Walter Mondale. Another
man voted against it, saying it
was "bad economics and poor
public policy, now and for the
future." His name is Gary Hart.
Yet another issue that is per-
tinent to Michigan voters -
decontrol of natural gas, is a
measure that would cost the
average Michigan family an ex-
tra $250 per year in fuel costs.
Walter Mondale is against this
measure because it would be ad-
ding insult to injury to this
already battered state. Gary
Hart though, is in favor of the
idea because he is a product of
the oil lobby.
True, these are not the only
" issues that will determine the
outcome of the Michigan
Democratic Caucus. Howevere
for Michigan residents, it is yet
another battle in a long war that
has yet to be won. On Saturday'
March 17, I urge all those who are
interested in the future of
Michigan to choose the candidate
best suited to win this war. His
'name is Walter Mondale.
- Sheri L. Silber
March1
Sexist trash
To the Daily:
I found the so called cartoon
"Malicious Intent" on Page 3 Of
Tuesday's paper (Daily, Marl
6) an example of a tasteless
piece of sexist trash. It, in my
opinion, discounted women as
well as a life-saving medical
technique.
If it is too much to hope that
these adolescent doodles be ban-
ned forever from the pages of the
Daily, then I strongly recom-
mend an apology to your
readers. -Gerald Avrin
March 12
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