4 OPINION Page 4 Sunday, September 16, 1984 The Michigan Daily On the warpath against scalpers 4 WHAT DO you do with a state law you don't want, but can't entirely get rid of? A law that is unenforceable? A crime that is really not that serious and occurs more often than Northwestern's football team loses? If you're the City of Ann Arbor you simply- create a local alternative law-de-criminalize the crime, and for the most part, forget about it. City officials did it in 1972, when they all-but- legalized possession of small amounts of marijuana. The Week in Review 4 Faced with the prospect of policing and prosecuting thousands who regularly use the drug, the city basically decided it wasn't worth the effort and set a $5 fine for the minor offense of possessing less than one ounce. City'Council now looks like it's ready to try a similar law concerning ticket scalping. Last Monday, council rejected6-4 a motion to simply fine scalpers $5. But this Monday there will probably be enough support to pass an only-slightly-higher $25 fine for the offense. Several members of council who balked at the $5 fine have already said they would sup- port the higher fine. Reasons for the measure vary. But most council members supporting the measure say it will allow police to punish scalpers without going through the hassle of running them into the station, as current state law requires. It also prevents the court system from snarling amidst hundreds of cases it would have to process if the law were enforced as it currently stands. And even if the $25 fine didn't work out, the city can always choose to prosecute scalpers under the stiffer state law-$100 fine and 90 days in jail-which the city currently functions under. An open letter Dear Environmental Research Institute of Michigan and Applied Dynamics International Thought you could stop us, didn't.you?, But when Washtenaw County Circuit Judge Ross Campbell ruled in our favor, you lost the first round of your battle to get a proposal baning all military research in the city off the ballot. Sure, you'll probably lose millions if the proposal is passed by city voters on Nov. 6. You won't be able to do military research. But we'll have done our part to stop the arms race. Your arguments that the free zone is a zoning matter and therefore not an issue which could be put on the ballot through a citizens' initiative is all washed up. We got about 8,000 registered voters to sign our petitions which got the proposal on the ballot and the judge said we were right when he refused to tamper with the scheduled ballot vote and the elective process. And when you said the rule was uncon- stitutional, the judge said you were putting the cart before the horse because the con- stitutionality of a proposal can't be decided unless it becomes a law. So now, you'll launch into your campaigns to defeat this proposal and we'll begin ours to get this passed. So, hey, maybe we'll see you at the polls. Peace, love, and no nukes nuclear free zone supporters A festive festifall Festifall '84 hit the Diag yesterday with 100 booths representing various organizations all bidding for those University students who wish j to indulge themselves in some extra-curricular excitement. For those who suffered through a full and rigorous week of Calculus 400 and Chem 250, there was the rubbing club-oops, that is the rugby team. Martha Mikolaski probably won't Join the squad that grabbed the 1984 Big Ten title, but apparently they rubbed her the right way and she was impressed. "I know the rugby players have the best hands," said Mikoloski, an LSA senior. For those heavy-handed politicians, Kappa Sigma fraternity held a mock election. Win- ning the election on the independent ticket was a candidate some might call a softie-Stay- Puff Marshmellow Man. The character who gained exposure after its first appearance in the movie Ghost Busters, succeeded in beating President Ronald Reagan and Democratic candidate Walter Mondale. But Festifall wasn't all fun and games. University Health Service capitalized on the crowds and set up an immunization booth. Students Vwere encouraged to get their shots', from the University, instead of from a bottle of Shop to shut down soon. Cianciola said the new bookstore will be just one part of a Union shop- ping mall. It's good to know that students have more than one shopping mall in the area to blow all the money they don't have. Thanks, Mr. Cin. ciola. James Bond on campus Most students upon seeing an armed man running around a University building would probably think of taking one course of ac- tion-getting the heck out of the man's way. 4 I I .4 But for whatever reason LSA sophomore David Homyak took a nobler course last Thursday-perhaps he had seen one too many James Bond flicks-when he spotted a man toting a gun on the third floor of the Frieze building. His heroics were put on hold, however, when he tried to phone the police and a University secretary told him she was expecting an im- portant call from Japan. But this didn't stop Homyak. In a flash he explained to the secretary that while her phone call was undoubtedly very im- portant, he had just glimpsed a man with a gun. The secretary got the message and within minutes two Ann Arbor policemen began sear- ching the building for the suspect. Soon thereafter the police had the rifle- carrying man. Unfortunately for Homyak, there was to be no medal of honor presented for his courageous deed-the man who rushed by Homyak had been carrying a theater prop. Though the onlyccasualty was Homyak's bruised pride, it could have been a real, situation. University students should feel safe, we've not only got University security officers looking after us, but David Homyak's on the prowl. Daily Photo by DAVID FRANKEL Some people will pay anything to get inside to see a University football game. liquor on Saturday night, so that they could ward off a case of measles and avoid a repeat of last winter's mild epidemic. Battle of the books Can't find that book for history class? Well, come January that shouldn't be a problem as Barnes and Noble, a book distributor with scores nationwide, moves into the'ground floor of the IVichigan Union. While the book market on campus has become increasingly competitive with Follet's bookstore closing last year, Barnes and Noble will have exclusive rights to any memorabilia bearing the University's insignia. Frank Cianciola, director of the Union, said the new bookstore will hold the space once oc- cupied by the student organized University Cellar bookstore. U-Cellar moved out two years ago because of high rent, high renovation costs, and Union officials' refusal to give up the right to sell items carrying the Michigan in- signia. Under the agreement with Barnes and Noble, the University has already closed down its first floor General Store and ground floor Candy Counter, with plans for the Emblem The Week in Review was compiled by Daily editors Georgea Kovanis, Bill Spin dle, and Jackie Young. -zI Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Vol. XCV, No. 10 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board Wasserman V1t- Yo U CAN{TLG T -\t M PUSSA /O U A12OU ND q~-~ ~Q~~ NY~l;T YOU (otTPA CoME OUT FAST AND COt\S OUT SLU&N& --I .. _ . 11 1 Peace starts with this part of the world F you suffer from nuclear fear and political despair there is a perfect opportunity to assert your morality, expose your apprehension, and maybe even make the word a bit safer: Sup- port nuclear-free Ann Arbor. . It's easy to think that the situation is hopeless. After all, the most politically powerful institutions in the world have stacked the deck against you. But small acts can still mean a lot. An in- dividual can't get Reagan or Cher- nenko on the phone and plead the case for sanity. He or she can, however, get their friends and neighbors on the phone, get a few votes together, and prohibit the design, research, development, testing, and production of nuclear weapons in their own little part of the world. Peace Begins at home. Too often, the fear of these weapons and hope of change get buried deep in the mind. It is psychologically risky to live with such painful emotions day in and day out-so one doesn't. Until the November 6 city ballot, though, this community should dedicate itself to an expression of fear and hope. 'Much is Michigan-are feeling the heat and have been attempting to block the legislation. They've been charging that the proposal would be unconstitutional because it interferes with interstate commerce, infringes upon the first ammendment, and usurps the right of government to provide for the common defense. The bottom line is that they stand to lose millions in weapons research contracts. Their loss would be the victory of those who stand to gain from an end to the arms race. It would be everyone's victory. Representing an enlightened com- munity while at the same time possessing groups actively pursuing nuclear weapons research, Ann Arbor finds itself with the ability to affect:the escalation of nuclear arms production in a concrete way. Laurence Schultz, the attorney for Applied Dynamics International, ac- cused members of the Campaign for a Nuclear Free Ann Arbor of using- the proposal as "a political tool to gain nothing for their cause except notoriety and publicity for their issue." Well even if that's true, so what? The f- ' . 1' w -. - '_'© 1 1 I THE IWT~ot)UTON d 2 r4 LETTERS TO THE DAILY: The fanatical basis of 'Leiterism' 4 To the Daily: Surely, even the Daily can find more enlightening contributions for the Opinion Page. The latest work of Brian Leiter, "That Malaise Called Conservatism," (Daily, September 13)resembles the simplistic but absurd views of a fanatic. This is not to say that "Leiterism." I do nonetheless find three aspects of this dogma particularly intriguing. The first notable aspect is that Brian Leiter is omniscient and consequently knows among other things, where the interests of America's electorate lie. "Leiterism" does not presuppose Point two of "Leiterism": The American electorate is largely ignorant, brainwashed, and fun- ctionally illiterate (which vote Republican) or apathetic (which do not vote). Well, I deeply regret that most Americans "lack the ability and resources for a critical understanding of political ideology of the noted Daily columnist. It involves the prescriptions for our political system. The prescriptions are absent. What good could happen to a society of apathetic. ignorant, illiterate, reprehensible, and pathological people? 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