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 by Berle Breathed i WE WERE VORCED'TO wWDRW out MDtEW FW(LY tS t~ v, HERE WHA -rr u-v irn.er 1W/5 ? OH MAN, IAT !T5 0" ISM r P l'Tf W nnin r_/W7 1 60 TflIOM Wt1 qr -Jlle.,XL2Tr All--1i 7/ ?! W -WHY rn -' ,q" ____-_._____.T._ . .