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OPINION
Page 4 Sunday, April1, 1984 The Michigan Daily
I
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Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Students pick a new MSA
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Vol. XCIV-No. 145
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, M1 48109
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
City CounCil elections
O N THE FIRST day some polling places
opened late, and some never even
opened. The director was dismissed on the
second day of the elections and the entire
group was charged with inadequate publicity.
This week's Michigan Student Assembly elec-
tions did not prove to be a pleasant experience
for those in charge.
MSA president Mary Rowland took the bull
by the horns Wednesday night by relieving
MSA elections director David Surovell of his
administrative duties. Rowland said that she
wasn't "at all pleased with his performance"
as election director and she barred him from
counting ballots after the election.
Rowland said that Surovell, who also direc-
V OTERS WILL have plenty of
incentive to head to the polls in
Ann Arbor's city elections as Democrats
and Republicans will be vigorously fighting
in all but one ward. The reason for the
higher stakes this year is that for the
first time since 1969, Democrats could
easily win a majority of council seats.
It is also possible, though less likely,
that Republicans could regain a
decisive 7-4 majority which they will
have enjoyed from 1978 up until next year.
However, the partisan battle is less
important to watch than the
qualifications of the candidates.
Democratic incumbent Larry
Hunter, who is running unopposed in
the First Ward, deserves praise as well
as reelection. Hunter has tried to keep
Council away from bickering on
partisan issues. He has won respect
from Democrats and Republicans
alike for evaluating issues on an
individual basis while remaining an
advocate for the traditional groups of
Democratic voters. Hunter, who was a
minority researcher for the Michigan
Student Assembly, has shown social
and financial responsibility: One
example of this is his influence in
involving both city and private
organizations in fiiding a permanent
shelter for the city's homeless
population.
Second Ward Democrat James
Burchell offers a strong challenge to
incumbent Republican James Blow.
Blow's positions are too blindly
conservative. Burchell has a depth of
political experience, dedication, and.
pledges support for. needed human
service programs. He is no less aware
of financial issues and has a creative
proposal for a standing budget
committee. Burchell stands apart
from Blow in his emphasis on "quality
of life" issues. Energy conservation
and weatherization programs are
important to Burchell who sees them in
terms of aiding economic development
in the long run. Burchell's only
weakness is perhaps his lack of -
familiarity with Ann Arbor. But he has
served on the New Hampshire state
legislature, the city council in
Rochester, N.H., and is currently a
legislative aid to state Rep. Perry
Bullard. Burchell knows how to work
effectively in the system.
The Third Ward contest is more
difficult to call. But Republican
newcomer Jeannette Middleton,
though she lacks the experience of the
Democratic incumbent Raphael
Ezekiel, would hopefully take a more
active role on city council. Ezekiel's
contribution to Council has been in the
area of high-sounding rhetoric. While
his consistent defense of social justice
is laudable, it often seems to contribute
to partisan squabling that leads to
stagnation. Middleton has been very
active in community affairs and
makes it clear that she would not
sacrifice either roads or human
services when making budget cuts. She
has an enthusiasm to work toward
bipartisan solutions to city problems
and a vote for Middleton should be a
vote for a more productive and less
verbose Council.
The Fourth Ward race pits
incumbent Republican Gerald
Jernigan, a University financial
analyst, against Democrat John
McNabb, a University political science
undergraduate who served six years in
the U.S. Navy. While Jernigan needs to
widen his focus beyond issues such as
improving roads and city services and
show greater support for human
services, he has more specific
proposals for implementing his ideas
than McNabb. McNabb is simply too
vague on the issues and has little
experience with or knowledge of the
community or the functioning of city
politics. Jernigan is not the ideal.
candidate, his habit of evaluating the
merit of city projects primarily in cost-
benefit analysis terms is disturbing.
But he has shown a good level of
flexibility.
Democratic candidate Doris Preston
is easily the best choice for the Fifth
Ward council seat. Preston, a
University librarian, is much more
experienced than her Republican
challenger Sally Pennington, a real
estate saleswoman. Preston is well-
known for her work on the city and
county Planning Commission. She has
a sound political style and proven
leadership abilities developed over her
years as a council campaign manager
and Democratic ward chairperson.
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Daily Photo by DAN HABIB
The Taco Bell on East University has been the site of increased vandalism and violence in the
wee hours of the morning.
ted this years LSA elections, was not fired but
that she will have a meeting with him on
Monday.
The results of the controversial election put
the SMART party's Scott Page and Steve
Kaplan in the offices of president and vice
president. SMART also captured six
representative seats on MSA.
LMNOP put ten of their reps into the
assembly, the once dominant IOU party got
eight, YOU had six, RAP had two and three
independant candidates managed to win seats
on the distinguished body.
Voter turnout was as awesome as ever,
with 5,500 voting for representatives and 3,929
total voters in the presidential race. With
around 34,000 students at the Univercity,
surely MSA once again feels that they have
the mandate of the students to really make
some progress in the coming year. Isn't
democracy great?
Late-night nastiness
"Everyone after 10 p.m. can be considered
dangerous," complained a manager of the
Taco Bell on East University in reference to
the restaurant's patrons.
Thesestablishment and others in the vicinity
have been plagued with violence and van-
dalism attributed to late-night revelers retur-
ning from nearby bars. Tables have been
stolen, and fires set within the Taco Bell. The
most recent and disturbing violence came
early last Saturday morning when more than
20 persons engaged in- a late-night brawl that
left the restaurant "trashed.'.
The fight is believed to have resulted from
racial tensions. A white male is reported to
have thrown a half-eaten burrito at a black
male standing at the counter. The two men
proceeded to argue, hurling racially
derogatory terms at each other. "It im-
mediately occured to us that this would be a
racial fight," one witness said. "It was made
clear (through the shouting) that the burrito
was thrown because he was black."
Police arrived at the scene after the parties
had dispersed and the incident was labeled a
"food fight" since no one wanted to file a
complaint. No arrests were made.
In order to curb the nocturnal nastiness,
Taco Bell's management is considering
locking their doors early or hiring security
guards. Steve Chapman, manager of Stop 'N'
Go, located next door to Taco Bell, said his
store has been "a madhouse zoo lately."
Those with late-night munchies beware.
Research approved
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
Or so goes the old adage. Take, for exam-
ple, the classified research proposal of elec-
trical engineering Prof. Theodore Birdsall.
Birdsall's proposal was rejected by the
Classified Research Review Panel last month
when former student representative Erica
Freedman, an LSA junior, said the proposed
research violated the University's 1972
classified research guidelines.
The guidelines prohibit research which
could be used to harm human life. But the
guidelines also outline a specific procedure
classified proposals must endure before being
rejected.
The next step after Freedman's rejection
was the Research Policies Committee, a
faculty andestudent body that endorsed the
proposal 8 to 4 on March 9. And then on the Vice
President for Research Alfred Sussman for the
final decision.
No surprise to anyone involved, Sussman
decided "based on his own judgement," to
push the proposal through for possible defen--
se department funding. The RPC endor-
sement of Birdsall's work was, in Sussman's
words, "a paramount consideration."
Freedman, who resignedther post on the
review panel following the RPC's endor-
sement, was not convinced that the guidelines
were being enforced. Nor was she convinced
that Birdsall's research itself - which deals
with sound and underwater currents - fell
within those guidelines.
A member of the Progressive Student Net-
work, Freedman said that she will continue
her opposition to this proposal, and to
military research on the U iversity campus
in general, through "civil disobedience." She.
believes that that is the only alternative the
administration has left her.
Department preserved
The University's Linguistics Department
had a slight anxiety attack this week when
rumors, that the Department might be
changed into an LSA program were confir-
med.
Interim Chairman Eric Rabkin said that
changing the department into a program was
under consideration.
But LSA Dean Peter Steiner came to the
rescue by saying that the Linguistics Depar-
tment will remain intact for at least another
year. "We felt we couldn't make a change
without knowing what to make a change to,"
said Steiner.
Steiner said an internal committee will be
set up to eveluate whether the department
should be continued or converted to a
program.
Possibilities for the future of the depar-
tment include having it remain as a single
department, dividing it into "general" and
"applied" linguistics that would be classified
either as separate departments or pro-
grams, and shifting it to an inter-depar-
tment program.
Associate LSA Dean Jack Meiland would
oversee the committee which is scheduled to
report its findings to the department chair-
man by the:fall of 1984. Changes may be
coming for the department, but they're not
coming as fast as many feared they would.
The department chairman for next year
will be Linguistics Prof. John Catford, accor-
ding to Steiner. Catford will replace Interim
Chairman Eric Rabkin.
q
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The Week in Review was compiled by
Daily staff reporters Andrew Eriksen,
Tom Miller, and Pete Williams, and
Daily editor Jim Boyd.
Wasserman
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City ballot proposals
(1ITY VOTERS will have three
rather uncontroversial ballot
proposals to decide on Monday.
Proposal A calls for an amendment of
the City Charter to allow voters to
initiate the adoption of ordinances by
petition. Proposal B asks for an ad-
ditional tax of up to 1.5 mills to finance
major road reconstruction or resur-
facing. Proposal C is a measure which
would enable the city to borrow
$950,000 for bike path improvements
and reconstruction. All three proposals
would improve the community and
deserve adoption despite the respec-
tive costs.
Proposal A would bring about in-
creased citizen involvement in city
government by stimulating com-
munication between council members
and the general public. Currently city
residents can only propose amendmen-
ts to the City Charter by petition. This
causes problems because laws, such as
the weatherization amendment
proposed unsuccessfully last year, are
inappropriately tacked on to the City
Charter which is, in effect the city's
constitution. Proposal A would add
more flexibility to the system because
- -;irnc onidn nunnono ordinan-
Proposal B would be an effective ap-
proach to solving a long-standing
problem in Ann Arbor: potholes in city
streets which make for hazardous
driving and wrecked tires. Although a
homeowner with a house whose
market value is $50,000 would pay an
additional $37,50 per year for the next
five years, the cost is well worth it. The
proposal has rightly achieved bi-
partisan approval.
Some Council members, however,
believe dollars for road repair should
be drawn from the city's general fund.
But this solution to the problem is not a
reliable answer to the city's road
problem because, general fund money
is always fluctuating depending on
council's spending priorities. City
roads have been neglected too long and
if taxpayers don't pay now, they will
have to pay more later in safety and
reconstruction costs.
Proposal C would restore the bike
route at Huron Parkway from
Washtenaw to Plymouth Rd. This
proposal is particularly appealing to
students since it would extend the bike
route to Briarwood so that students
could ride the Eisenhower or State
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LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
More complaining than campaigning I
To the Daily"
After reading the Daily this
morning, I pinched myself to
make sure it was a former RAP
candidate complaining about the
election.
I agree with Mr. Koenig's
claim that Dave Surovell did a
very poor job running the elec-
tion. However, the problem was
not being timely and organized
rather than playing favorites.
The parties that campaigned
the hardest were hurt the most by
Surovell. The greater magnitude
of their efforts was not translated
into a proportionate greater
number of votes because of his
incompetence.
As far as election officials
campaign than any other party.'
During the two days of the elec-
tion, I campaigned for twenty
hours. I do not believe that those
who campaign the most always
deserve to win. I do, however,
feel that the amount of time
committed is a good reflection of
Does Daily
To the Daily:
Thank you for your editorial
comments on the sorry state of
current English grammatical
practice. "Honor thy language,"
(Daily, March 23). Your point is,
well taken, and it is refreshing to
see that someone is concerned
with the rampant abuse of our
ones ambition, and degree of in-
terest in being elected.
Mr. Koenig, and the rest of his.
party lacked, at the least, the
commitment it takes to run a
serious campaign.
It was a poorly run election but
nevertheless a legitimate one.
The only thing that wasn't for
real was the RAP party.
- Mark Gittleman
Marcd 31
Gittleman was elected = to
next year's MSA as a can-
didatefor LMNOP.
A
offer grammatical hope?
I
of that paragraph ("to oc-
cassionally flub") yet another
example of common blunders (to
say nothing of the deviant
spelling)? I pose a similar
question in reference to the first
sentence of the concluding
paragraph: "One shred of hope is
that Mortar Board made the
everyone I knew was on his toes
or her toes, but no one I know is
on their toes, unless his expertise
on the dance floor leaves
something to be desired.
I only hope that I may share
your shred of hope by placing con-
fidence in the Daily's editorial staff.
"Let's cross our fingers."