4 OPINION Page 4 Sunday, September 23, 1984 The Michigan Daily Regents F THE controversial Voter's Choice disclosed amounto proposal is approved this November, the alumni, students, f University could face a disasterous economic fluenced by. the 1 shortfall, the University regents resolved this Proposal C. week. At their Friday meeting, the regents con- demned the populist tax cut measure by a vote of 6-0. Regent Deane Baker (R-Ann Arbor) ab- UGL stained, and Regent Paul Brown (D-Petoskey) was absent. Proposal C would reduce all state and local condemn ba of money trying to persuade aculty, and other groups in- University to vote against i computers poperty taxes to their December, 1981 levels-substantially lower than current rates-unless voters backed a tax increase in a special election. Opponents of the measure claim that such a drastic cut in revenue would lead to chaos in the state's-still fragile economy. But proponen- ts say the Michigan Legislature has wasted the taxpayers' money too long, and a tax rollback is overdue. According to Richard Kennedy, University vice president for state relations, the regents may have to consider the possibility of raising tuition in the middle of the school year in order to make up the nearly $20 million cut in state appropriations the University will face if this passes. To try to help defeat the proposal, the regents ordered the University officers to campaign against it. The University will spend an un- Just when you thought it was safe to go to the library to escape the advance of computer technology by settling into a chair and letting your eyes dive into an old leather-bound book, the UGLi replaces its lounge chairs and tables with Michigan Terminal System computers. Forget pop machines and candy dispensers, in a high tech world there is no need for such things in a library. Besides, University officials say the com- puter center needed more space for their MTS terminals, the engineering school needed to expand their existing facilities for their studen- ts, and the library wanted to use its limited space efficiently. Who needs a lounge anyway? David Norden, director of the UGLi, said the University felt that the need for a computer facility for general student use would be a good trade off for the lounge, especially considering the Michigan Union's new food places and study area. Though it is not yet known how much the project will cost or which computers will be in stalled, Norden estimates there will be at least 40 or 45 Zenith Z150's as well as a large number of MTS terminals. One of the few flaws in the idea is that it was not planned sooner so that it would be ready this fall. But officials say they expect the project to be completed by the end of this academic year. lot prop resolution for a lower fine, says he hopes the state will heed the city's example and lower the penalty for scalping. Blow spouted that famous, oft-quoted line borrowed from President Reagan that "the government should stay off the backs of the people." Why this means a $25 fine instead of no fine whatsoever seems a puzzle. Well alas, the city must make money just like the scalper. Councilmember Dick Deem (R-Second Ward) voted against the lower fine, claiming that it would encourage the professional scalpers in the area without benefiting the city. LSA Senior John Haughton, who had cam- paigned to change the ticket scalping law since last November when he was picked up by two police officers, ended his personal battle to decriminalize ticket scalping. And, he was un- doubtedly happy. As for the scalpers, they are as numerous as ever-perched in front of the Michigan Union like seagulls hovering about fishing boats in the ocean. "I'm here every Saturday. And I'll be here every Saturday. I mean I clear at least $65 on any given Saturday morning. You think I'm going to quit because of a $25 fine?" declared one anonymous scalper standing in front of the Union. City Council members and police officials may feel they have found a new cure to treat those individuals who feel compelled to turn a buck by selling University football ticktets. But you can't drive seagulls away from the ocean, and you can't keep scalpers away from the front doors of the Union. An exclusive club University Club officials face a day of reckoning next week as they try and explain to This young University Club patron isn't even interested in drinking a glass of pop much less a beer. But if he were of age, he couldn't drink without proving U-Club membership. The indomitable scalper The ticket saga continues. Monday Ann Arbor City Council made their move with united force and voted 10-1 to lower the penalty for ticket scalping to a $25 fine. The law will go into effect Sept. 27. What was really accomplished by this action remains to be seen. City police officers will still have the option of arresting the scalper and enacting the steeper state punishment of a $100 fine and 90 days in jail. And the scalper lives on. James Blow (R-Second Ward), sponsor of the osal the State Liquor Control Commission why they have, on occasions, allowed non-members of the club to indulge in alcoholic concoctions. Apparently, it's a case of the U-Club not being exclusive enough. which has sent local bar owners into a tizzy. An Ann Arbor bar owner who declined to be named, suggested that the liquor control com- mission investigate the club's practices. For the U-Club has a "private club" liquor licerce which restricts sales to students, professors, staff members, alumni who apply for member- ship, and guests of members. Who doesn't that include? Why none other than one liquor control commission officer who was served a drink on July 18 and is now, bringing the violation to the attention of U-Clubi officials. Another non-member slipped through the club's censors on Sept. 8, according to one liquor control commission official. Possible penalties for the mess-ups range from fines of up to $300 for each violation, to suspension or revocation of the club's license, officials say. However, it is not yet apparent if the club will be penalized. The crackdown on the club has resulted in confusion over concerts already scheduled;to be open for the general public and a stricte4 policy for checking membership has been im- plemented. Not only do patrons have to get stamps to prove they are over 21, but they must wear plastic bracelets if they want to drink. Die-hard U-Club fans should bask in the unique service the club provides now because there's an outside chance it may lose its licen- se. As the famous latin term suggests, diem-seize the day-and get those drinkb hoIev are ~taken awav. carpe U-Club The Week in Review was compiled by Daily staff writer Eric Mattson and Daily Opinion Page editor Jackie Young. i -__..__ -I D~ON'T UNDERTAND1 Youiz \S O21&w POICY I SLIVELY &ht oICRb tgauttni Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Vol. XCV, No. 16 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board America's 1 IHEMCRAB APPLE National Wildlife Refuge in Williamson County, Ill. used to be the Sangamon dump-a disposal site for a local electrical com- pany. It is now the federal site listed as most hazardous in terms of toxic waste. Instead of providing an en- vironmental sanctuary, high levels of lead and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB's) have poisoned the soil and wildlife of the area. Sangamon dump left a deadly legacy-a legacy which is repeated at countless sites throughout the country. Unfortunately the Environmental Protection Agency, whose job it is to correct such disasters, and the Reagan administration are playing politics with this lethal subject. New Jersey Rep. James Florio released Friday a new list of toxic waste sites prepared by the EPA and leaked by of- ficials within the agency who were frustrated by the delay in publicly identifying the sites. The EPA is required within a prescribed 12-month period to update its priority list, and an update should have come at the begin- ning of the month. The sites listed were to be added to those that represent a "substantial and imminent threat" to health and the environment. So why would information of such urgent public importance be delayed by the EPA? The assistant ad- ministrator for toxic waste programs, Lee Thomas, explained that the list was in "final review" and that, regar- dless, 128 sites had already been ad- ded, complying with the annual revision requirement. Those 128 sites, however, were proposed a full year ago and had just not been formally put on the list. toxic legacy The real reason for the delay is that the administration would like to block legislation calling for an extension of the toxic waste clean-up fund. The legislation has passed through the House and is currently in the Senate. President Reagan has already said that he does not want any legislation this year. Public alarm that might be caused as a result of the expanded list would place very undesireable political pressure on the president to increase funding for the clean-up of those sites. Last summer the House voted for a five year extension to the cleanup fund and an expansion of funding from the current $1.6 billion to $10.2 billion. The reason? There are currently 538 toxic waste sites on the priority list and Thomas himself estimates that could grow to 2,000 in the next two years. The agency has also estimated that there may be as many as 22,000 waste sites in the country which will even- tually need to be cleaned up. Those are staggering numbers that represent an ominous threat to the environment and the health of millions of Americans. But the administration turns the other way-as it has turned away from the acid rain problem-and says it needs more "reviews," more "studies," and initiates little construe- tive action. America's toxic legacy affects everyone because it affects the en- vironment. There is no such thing as an isolated environmental crisis, especially when there are 22,000 of them. The health of the nation, and of the planet, demands action-action that the administration and EPA are far too slow to give. To LEAD To ANWOTHAER tECESION T~taT's wHAT Atn~iAXZC AR LEADEP U. 1 I I To ,LEAD US INTOWA cip S } In debates over capital punishment, liberals have traditionally called for mercy while conservatives demand retribution. The debate still is framed largely in these terms, yet there now is some blurring at the edges-some people from each camp do not react predic- tably when discussing the fate of the 1,400 people now on death row. When the Senate considered a federal death-penalty bill earlier this year, several liberal Democrats voted for capital punishment. ON THE OTHER hand, several moderate Republicans opposed the bill. "New Right" fundraiser Richard Viguerie and a former Richard Nixon aide, Charles Colson, also have taken firm positions against the death penalty. Only time will tell whether these men are simply mavericks or whether others in the right will follow their lead. Certainly it would be ironic if conservatives were to lead a swing of public opinion against the death penalty. Conservatives generally have led the swing in the other direction. Conservatives and moderates opposed to capital punishment use a variety of arguments. Colson bases his opposition squarely on skepticism about big government. "I'm opposed to the death penalty," Colson said in a 1982 interview. "As a nnliticsal Conservatives may be changing views on death penalty By Mary Meehan Viguerie also opposes abortion. While he reached his positions of these two matters independently, he does see a connection. "To me, life is sacred. And I don't believe I have a right to ter- minate someone else's life either way-by abortion or capital punishment." Sen. John Danforth (R-Mo.) challenged the effectiveness of the death penalty as a deterrent. The federal bill covers such acts as assassination, and Danforth said these are "crimes of terrorism" that probably cannot be deterred. Quoting an expert who suggested some terrorists are "suicidal schizophrenics," Danforth commented that the death penalty for such people "might be an incentive to crime rather than a deterrent." Some other points against the death penalty seem essentially conservative in nature. Prof. James Barber of Duke Univer- sity has said, "You do not have to be a pacifist to be against killing convicts. It is one thing to kill Although President Reagan sup- ports capital punishment in the' United States, he has requested clemency for prisoners abroad on at least two occasions. IN LATE 1980, he urged South Korea to spare the life of its chief opposition leader. His appeal, joined with those of the outgoing Carter administration and other governments, was successful. Last year Reagan appealed to Iran to stop executing members of the Bahai faith without effect. Certainly Reagan could protest executions in Iran and elsewhere with greater force and eloquence if we were to halt our own. Another figure much admired by conservatives, Pope John Paul II, has requested clemency for both political prisoners and criminals. Although his appeal for a death-row prisoner in Florida was unavailing last year, it could not have gone unnoticed by conservative Catholics. The U.S. Catholic bishops also have taken a stand against cnnital nlnishment While eon- sorieimpact. WHAT REMAINS to be seen is whether'criticisms of the death penalty from the right and the center will have any practical ef- fect. So far, they have not. There have been 13 executions alredly in 1984-more than the total of the seven previous years. The death- row population, which now stands at about 1,400, is growing by 15 to 20 inmates per month. If conservative and liberal critics of the death penalty could agree on an alternative to it, they might form a powerful coalition. There are signs that some liberals understand this. Last year Democratic Senators Ed- ward Kennedy, Howard Metzen- baum and Patrick Leahy suggested life in prison without parole as an alternative to capital punishment. A leading organizational opponent of the death penalty, the Southern Coalition on Jail and Prisons, has taken a similar position. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R- Wis.) a conservative who suppor- ts capital punishment, told the press earlier this year, "I wouldn't advocate the detth penalty if we had life imprison- ment without parole, with per- sons convicted of a very henious crime locked up and the key thrown away. But in many in- stances, these people get back ouit on the streets." The assurance that murderers no longer will be turned loose I Unsigned editorials annearin2 I