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