4
OPINION
Page 4
Sunday, September30, 1984
The MichiganDai
MSA takes bold actions against code
1. , 1. 1
N A SHOW of discontent, the Michigan
Student Assembly took several actions this
week designed to unify student opposition to the
proposed code of nonacademic conduct.
The assembly voted to organize, fund, and
promote a public forum on the code and asked
President Shapiro in a letter to attend. Fri-
day Shapiro responded to the letter and agreed
to attend such a forum.
MSA also passed a resolution asking the ad-
ministration to give the assembly the right to
approve the proposed code and its accom-
panying judicial system. At least three regents
have said, however, that if MSA continues to
reject the code, they would not hesitate to
amend a bylaw in order to bypass the student
governmeit's authority. A majority of the
regents said this week that they support a code.
Nonetheless, MSA, determined to abolish the
code which would crack down on student
behavior outside the classroon, approved plans
for a "No Code Show",.during the University's
Homecoming football game on Oct. 13.
Alumni, faculty, and students who gather on
homecoming expecting to see a football game
may be startled to see members of MSA
engaging in a round of political hardball.
Organized students against the code plan to
arm themselves with balloons and banners.
They also plan to unleash some "No Code"
cheers and a "big surprise", according to Eric
Schnaufer, head of MSA's code committee.
Follett's closes down
For almost forty years, students walking
down State Street on the edge of the Diag
looked at window displays featuring textbooks,
'M' insignia clothing, and school supplies. Last
week the windows were covered with brown
paper. The only display in the window of Follet-
t's Michigan Bookstore was a sign saying
"We're closed for good."
Company officials said the store closed
because of problems with the lease. The books
and supplies are being shipped out to other
branches of the Chicago-based chain, and the
Go Blue clothes are on the way to the Follett's
store on the University's Dearborn campus.
Although the store closed because of lease
troubles, Follett's Ann Arbor outlet did not
have a smooth last few years. In 1982 they stop-
ped selling textbooks, leaving that trade to the
University Cellar and Ulrich's Bookstore.
Several months ago the Michigan Union an-
nounced plans for Barnes and Noble, a New
York firm, to open a bookstore in the Union's
new ground-floor shopping mall. The Union has
closed its General Store and Candy Counter
and will soon close the Emblem Shop, giving
Barnes and Noble the right to sell a wide
variety of merchandise.
Follett's loss of its lease comes at a time
when the whole textbook/clothing/supply
market may be about to undergo a radical
change. Ann Arbor has lost an established
business, but Follett's closing may be just the
first in a series of changes in local bookstores.
Burning down the house
Wednesday night, it seemed like a disaster.
The residents of Alpha Gamma Delta sorority
were standing outside on Hill Street watching
firefighters cut a hole in their roof and spray
thousands of gallons of water into the house.
Thick black smoke and an occasional burst of
flame were visible on the roof.
But by 2 a.m. Thursday morning, the fire was
nearly out. Sorority president Dawna Phillips
told the women in the street to meet in the mor-
ning to discuss plans for the future. Nearby
fraternities and sororities sheltered the women
for the night and made plans to give the AGDs
food and money.
When the smoke cleared and the sun rose
Thursday, the house was still there. There was
smoke and water damage to much of the house,
and the roof and third floor will need major
repairs. Some personal belongings and clothes
were destroyed.
The women were allowed to enter the house
and collect their belongings Thursday, and
they are staying in other houses or hotels. The
fire came in the final week of sorority rush, but
U-Club violations
Doily Photo by JEFF SCHRIER
Firefighters battle a blaze at the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority Thursday morning. Nearby
fraternities and sororities sheltered the displaced women for the night.
their t-shirt - alcohol references and all - yet
they are more aware of the University's con-
cerns about those students who don't drink,
alumni who might be offended, and people who
have experienced family drinking problems.
If only the negotiations between students and
University officials regarding the proposed
code for nonacademic conduct could go so well..
Perhaps students are more willing to rally
around a t-shirt with Budweiser beer on it.
house officers said rush would continue
elsewhere.
No one was hurt in the blaze, and the house
was covered by two insurance policies. The
house will be repaired in the coming weeks and
the AGDs will move back in and return to life
as usual.
T-shirt or no t-shirt
Residents of the Gomberg House Council
within South Quad dormitory had some dif-
ficult decisions to make this week. But students
are always facing mind-bogling homework
assignments and confronting crucial career
choices, so, of course, the quaddies were
prepared to make their move. To listen to their
wise building director, or to keep their t-shirt
design - that was the question.
It all began two weeks ago when the House
Council announced its t-shirt design contest to
all members of the house. Then on Sept. 16 they
discussed the entries, eventually chosing one
that depicted a man with a beer mug in his
right hand and a keg underneath his left arm
with the words "Gomberg . . .Ahhh! !" above
his head. The back of the t-shirt featured a
Budweiser label with "Gomberg" on it.
The problem arose when the resident direc-
tor found out the building director thought the
shirt "flaunted irresponsible use of alcohol"
and so she suggested Gomberg pick another
design.
Undoubtably wishing to avoid a conflict with
the University's new drinking policy instituted
last January, the resident director informed
the residents of the fate of their t-shirt.
But Gomberg residents formed "The Voice",
a newsletter from the "Gomberg Un-
derground, and attacked the building director for
censoring the t-shirt and for trying to become
their "moral guardian."
The confrontation ended, however, when the
residents and the building director entered into
negotiations and decided both sides had valid
concerns. The outcome of the negotiations
means residents have the final choice over
When you stayed out past curfew once, mom,
and dad punished you with a quick scolding and
a warning not to let it happen again. But when 4
you stayed out past curfew a second time you
were grounded - for weeks.
When the Union's University Club bar
received one citation frm the State Liquor Con-
trol Commission for violating its liquor license,
there was reason to be concerned. But when the
U-Club received a second citation last week,
liquor control officials were distressed.
The U-Club operates under a "private club"
license which enables members only - studen
ts, staff and alumni - to buy drinks. However,
last summer, and again this fall, the U-Club
sold drinks to liquor control officials. These
sales resulted in violations of the state's liquor
control laws.
The first violation was made official at the
end of the summer. And the second violation
was made official last week.
Even though liquor control officials said they
expected the second citation to be finalized,
they admitted last week, they were distressed
that the same violation has occurred twice at
the U-Club.
And it is likely that the punishment the U-
Club receives for the second violation will be
harsher than the punishment it gets for the first
violation, liquor control officials said.
Looks like the liquor control commission is
just like mom and dad. But instead of facing
the ultimate punishment of being grounded, the
U-Club could be facing a maximum punish-
ment of a $300 fine and suspension or
revocation of its license for each violation.
Well, maybe a little worse than mom and
dad.
The Week in Review was compiled by
Daily editors Neil Chase, Georgea Kovanis,
and Jackie Young.
I
Sinclair
)Jt)i WA
drip £Istijgan 4 lI
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
iffEIRUT--WHNERE TOLITICS AND RLGIOtN
ARE Ih&EPERABLE.
Vol. XCV, No. 22
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, M{ 48109
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
Blame it on Reagan
P RESIDENT Reagan has outdone
even himself on the latest attempt
to distance his administration from the
failures of its policy. On September
20th the United States Embassy in
Beirut was devastated and several
people killed when a suicidal car-
bomber skirted several makeshift
roadblocks and penetrated the em-
bassy grounds.
Instead of accepting the disaster as
the result of gross failures in security
and planning, the president implied
that the bombing was due in part to the
Carter administration. Such an im-
plication is ridiculous. Even had the
previous administration placed less
emphasis on intelligence, that in no
way explains why proper barricading
and security measures were not im-
plemented by this administration.
It is particularly difficult to under-
stand since this was the third such
bombing of an American post in
Lebanon in the last 17 months. Last Oc-
tober 241 servicemen lost their lives in
a frighteningly similar incident. And
still the lesson wasn't learned. At that
time, as in the recent attack, Reagan
refused to place any direct blame for
the policy failures.
The sleight of hand that enables the
president to distance himself from his
failures is found in a diffusion of ac-
countability: Reagan refuses to accept
or assign responsibility for any
failures. Instead, fault is placed in un-
supported, ambiguous ideas such as the
"near destruction of our intelligence
capability in recent years and 'the
difficulty in anticipating terrorist ac-
tivities." After the bombing, the
president said, in reference to alleged
failures in the Carter administration,
"We're feeling the effects today." This
is wrong. The nation feels the effects of
nothing more than an inexcusable
failure on the current administration's
part to adequately protect its own em-
bassy in an area where animosity is
liberally and painfully documented. It
is impossible and ludicrous to argue
otherwise.
It is safe to assume that no blame
whatsoever will be placed. Amidst all
of the past failures no responsibility
has been admitted. Speaking to this,
Sen. Joseph Biden exclaimed,
"What I can't understand is why this
administration and the president can't
cut out all of the malarky and buck-
passing and admit that they made a
mistake and assess some respon-
sibility." The reason is that it is
politically expedient to evade ac-
LETTERS TO THE DAILY
Anti-abortion doesn 't mean no sex
To the Daily:
In his four columns for the
Daily, Brian Leiter has attacked
free markets, called conser-
vatives "functionally illiterate,"
elevated Fidel Castro to
statesman, and now, impugned
the motives of those of us who
sincerely oppose abortion in
"Defenders of the asensual
lifestyle" (Daily, Sept. 26).
According to Leiter, I, as an
opponent of abortion, believe that
sex is only for procreation.
resentment in the attack upon the
thriving sexual lives of others."
Well said, Brian. Each of his
claims is false in my case and in
the cases of any pro-lifer he wan-
ts to name. Leiter spends so
much time in the ivory towers
that he has little contact with the
real world. This isolation makes
his generalizations ridiculous and
completely false. How many pro-
lifers has he talked to? Did he call
up the local Right-to-
Life/Lifespan group and ask
They are opposed to the dismem-
berment of fetuses, but that
cruelty is pretty far removed
from the pleasures of sex.
Leiter sets up interesting
criteria to determine when a life
is valuable. Fetuses are not
valuable because a fetus is "a life
for which the conception of self -
understood as something capable
of cognitive and emotional ac-
tivities in any of the ways
familiar to us" - this makes no
sense. His criteria also apply to
Anyhow, Leiter's claim that
fetuses have no sensations is
wrong. A fetus being aborte
thrashes to get away from the
suction tube as its body is pulled
apart and its head is crushed.
Fetuses feel the pain of abortion.
Leiter does not. Who's the one
that lacks "sensitivity"?
It figures that Leiter would
make such elitist statements,
since his essays come across as
Zeus descending from Mount
Olmypus. Unfortunately, Leiter's