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OPINION
Page 4
Tuesday, December 4, 1984
The Michigan Daily
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Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Holding class in Washington
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Vol. XCV, No. 73
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
Walled Lake protesters
deserve support
By Andrew Hartman
It is all too easy for a University student to
bury his head in the books and lose sight of
what's happening in the world outside of the
classroom. Often one begins to question how a
certain class is going to be relevant to one's
future career. So it is unusual and surprising
when a student has the opportunity to directly
apply the textbook knowledge to the real
world. This past week, a group of about 100
students traveled to Washington, D.C. to
gather information for two of Prof. Ray Tan-
ter's 400-level political science courses. More
students and professors stand to benefit by
mingling academics with practical, on the job
observations and experiences, as those of us
in Tanter's class have had a chance to do.
Last Thursday our class left on a University
bus at 5:30 a.m. and as soon as the plane
touched down in Washington, D.C. it was non-
stop business all day. In the morning we were
briefed on the Star Wars weapons systems
(SDI) and in the afternoon, until 4:00 p.m., we
were involved in discussion at the Depar-
tment of State. Ambassador Fred Nitze an-
swered questions about the Intermediate
Nuclear Force Talks. Our group also heard
from the CIA, technology experts, and exper-
ts on Soviet relations.
AFTER THE long day, the class returned to
the hotel located in the center of Georgetown.
Later, during a reception/party arranged by
one of the students, Fred Ikle, the under-
secretary of defense for policy, chatted with
us about arms control progress under
Reagan. Also present at the party were
congressional aides for arms negotiations and
other informed people. In this relaxed at-
mosphere, the tactical information flowed as
easily as the beer.
On Friday, we met with Middle East and
nuclear forces policy makers. The facts
presented to us were clearly inadequate and
often distorted. Ironically, Present Reagan
received nearly the same briefing as we had.
The briefings were obviously aimed for
someone with a simple mentality and in-
cluded many colorful pictures and graphs. If
this were the president's only source of
knowledge, he would be grossly underinfor-
med.
Tanter, a former assistant to the secretary
of defense for Middle East affairs and a
negotiator to the Mutual and Balanced Force
Reduction Talks in Geneva, felt that it was
worth the numerous hours he spent on the
phone to Washington making preparations for
the trip.
ACCORDING TO Tanter, the "field trip"
accomplished two primary goals: to demon-
strate the complexity of nuclear weapons and
arms control decision making; and to allow
the rather well-prepared students to match
wits with the often ill-prepared government
officials.
Said one class participant, Adam Martin:
"We did not obtain much more new infor-
mation. But we obtained a vital hands on feel
for the issues that could not be aquired from
any textbook. The trip was a success."
Some of the important issues brought up in
the trip included the trade offs between future
U.S. defensive technolgies and the Soviet
Union's current offensive systems that must
be made if an agreement is to be reached. It
also raised the question as to whether or not a
trade off could be negotiated between our
numerous manned bombers and cruise
missiles versus the Soviet Union's very large
land based intercontinental ballistic missiles
(ICBMs). I found the general consensus in
Washington is that the differences are so
great that such an agreement is highly
unlikely.
IT WASN'T easy organizing this trip. As
Tanter noted: "The University isn't set up for
this kind of thing-no one moves 100 students
1,000 miles." But the practical experience the
class gained about the operations of the
government and how this relates to arms con-
trol made it worthwhile. The trip gave all in-
volved valuable insight into how various
government officials interact with each
other.
The success of my experiences on this trip
leads me to highly recommend that other
professors take the time to arrange such ex-
cursions. If possible, the University should set
up an agency to assist interested faculty in
making the plans. Tanter is considering
assessing a lab fee to his future classes in or-
der to cover the cost of the trips. This would
greatly simplify matters. And, it would add
another- dimension to the textbook learning
which too often students have a hard time
relating to their future professions.
Hartman is president of the campus
College Democrats.
:1
THE FIVE University students
arrested yesterday at Williams
International Corporation in
Walled Lake deserve support for their
efforts to force a questioning of U.S.
weapons policy.
The students and eight other
protesters were arrested after they
violated a court injunction prohibiting
tresspassing on the company's property.
It is the sixth time since August 1983
that arrests have been made as a
result of protesters' attempts to block
the entrance to the Williams facility.
The largest actions resulted in 53
arrests last winter.
Williams has been targeted by peace
activists because it is a major
manufacturer of cruise missile engines
and the third largest defense contrac-
tor in Michigan. The actions are not in-
tended, nor should they be, as a
specific attack on the Williams
operations. Rather, the protest is
directed at drawing attention to the in-
sanities and excessive monetary costs
of the arms race. There needs to be
a reevaluation of the U.S. military
budget to slow the arms race and
direct money toward programs that
are beneficial to society, rather than
potentially destructive.
The protesters' actions are not
significantly interfering with the
plant's operations and Williams em-
ployees are not being denied their right
to work. The University students are
participating in constructive civil
disobedience, not corporate inter-
ference. They are making clear their
dissatisfaction with U.S. arms policy
and showing lawmakers and society in
general that they are afraid.
The five students' willingness to be
arrested while participating in a
peaceful protest against misguided
weapons policies deserves support.
Strip show is porn,
Incomplete medical
miracles
By Andy Weine
I was thoroughly disgusted by Dennis Har-
vey's article last week on the male strip show
at the Michigan Theater, "World Series Strip-
pers score," (Daily arts, November 30). I do
not think that a pornographic event deserves
coverage in any paper. That men were
featured rather than women does render the
event an oddity to which we should pay atten-
tion. Pornography can feature men or
women, still remaining true to its practice of
exploiting bodies as sexual instruments. In no
way is this just fun or good play-it's ex-
ploitation of people's bodies and sexual
desires, and it's contemptible no matter what
gender participates. Arts writers might as
well cover the XXX flicks on Fourth Ave. or
at the State Theater's midnight shows.
What's worse than covering the show was
placing it on an arts page. Are we supposed to
conclude from this that stripping is an art? It
isn't, I'm appalled that anyone would suggest
that it is. Should an arts page cover strip
shows regularly? Should it have someone who
writes solely on pornography, telling us which
shows and flicks are good exploitation and
which are bad? Gag me with any arts page
that covers porno.
IT ISN'T that I want to hide the truth from
anybody or that I want to bar people from at-
tending pornographic entertainment. But an
arts page is necessarily selective and
critical-more so than a news page-and this
coverage of "art" displays the aesthetic
values of an Animal House.
Harvey goggled along with the rest-saying
"Big pecs, man!" and "Big haunches"-and
exercised none of the critical skills I would
expect of any arts writer.
Worse than covering the show and placing
it on an arts page was Harvey's seemingly
approving commentary on it as a "post-
liberation women's revenge fantasy come
true." He declared "Women, you got it!" This
not art
unjustly assumes that the majority of women
were with him. I suspect they're not. I don't
consider male pornography a triumph for
women, as Harvey seems to suggest, and I'm
sure a whole lot of women, particularly
feminists, wouldn't either. One of feminism's
basic tenets is that women's bodies should not
be exploited, but this reaches further to in-
clude all bodies, male or female.
HARVEY was really into stripping as art.
He assumed readers cared to learn the grimy
details of the show, from the men's bikinis, to
their 1975 hairdoes, to their stage thrusting:
So this is art?
Let me just say, as one Daily reader,
writer, and editor, that this is not the kind of
story I would want to read, write, or publish,
and that it deserves our fullest contempt. For
stripping is anything but art.
Weine is a Daily associate arts editor.
BABY FAE'S struggle to live with a
baboon heart transplant and ar-
tificial heart recipient William
Schroeder's apparently successful
operation have captured the nation's
attention and brought forth an out-
pouring of sympathy and concern for
their fight to live.
The doctors-now famous-have
held news conferences, the drama is
followed on the six o'clock news, and
the parents tell their story in People
magazine. After all, these are medical
miracles. The baboon heart that is not
rejected and the mechanical heart that
does not malfunction testify to the
power of modern medical technology
to stave off death, if only for a little
while. What could be more interesting
than man battling the grim reaper with
his most sophisticated tools?
The battle is especially entertaining
because it is simple. It does not require
the involvement of those watching it
played out since really there is nothing
that can help these people once the
money has been allocated. So everyone
just sits back and watches the story un-
fold on the front pages. The average
person cannot be expected to do
anything except ask, "Can the best
minds and most sophisticated
techniques do it? Will the baby be
saved by man's ever-increasing
knowledge? And if death ends up win-
BLOOM COUNTY
ning in the end, well, everyone can say
they were able to live a bit longer and
that their struggles will make it easier
for the next history-making patient.
The whole dramatic air seems kind
of misplaced, however, when one
realizes that there are far more
dramatic and complex battles against
death taking place every day-battles
that society has largely ignored. Hun-
dreds of thousands of Ethiopians have
died of starvation this year and
millions face famine. Is the exhor-
bitant price of medical technology
aimed at extending the lives of people
like Baby Fae and William Schroeder
worth it in view of the more fundamen-
tal "health" problems facing millions
of human beings?
Replacement hearts seek to extend
life already threatened by disease or
congenital defects, but food for
Africa's starving would in a real sense
provide life for those who have not yet
been allowed to live.
Baby Fae and William Schroeder's
battle for life should not be demeaned
in any way, nor should funds for all
medical research be diverted toward
providing food. But the "success" of
these new techniques should be kept in
perspective. A society that produces a
workable artificial heart has not
triumphed over death if at the same
time millions of humans are dying of
starvation.
LETTERS TO THE DAILY
Half quote gives inaccurate impression
To the Daily:
I hate to beat a dead horse, but
"A lack of ADVICE" (Daily The
Week in Review, December 2)
the use of a half quote by Daily
reporter Jerry Markon draws an
image of me as being profligate.
Not only do I find this distressing,
it is patently inaccurate (not to
mention libelous).
I was interviewed by reporter
Markon' on Monday, Nov. 26
about the delays with the
publication of ADVICE. This
resulted in the publication of an
article and an editorial on
Tuesday, Nov. 27.
In the course of the interview,
Markon made a point on "how
much money is spent on AD-
VICE" and the fact that it was
late. My first response was, as I
recollect, "Ten grand! Ten grand
is nothing. That's less than
(President) Shapiro's salary in-
crease this year!" Only the first
two sentences of this three sen-
tence quote were included in the
Tuesday article. Furthermore,
only the second of the three sen-
tences was quoted in the Sunday
article.
The point I was trying to make,
and discussed with Markon at
great length, was that the costs of
the ADVICE project ($5,000 for
printing, $2,000 for computer
programming, $1,000 for typeset-
ting and related costs, $1,000 for
computer time, etc.) add up very
quickly and, that $10,000 isn't
very much money for a
publication with the scope of AD-
VICE (especially considering the
complexity and sophistication of
our 2,800 line computer
program).
same time increasing the press
run by 3,000 copies/term. Second,
we eliminated the duplication of
data collection at CRISP and in-
class-a savings of $3,500 total in
data collection, copying, and
computer time expenses resulted
each year. Third, we have started
selling advertising to augment
revenue without increasing the
amount of money assessed to
students each term.
I could be wrong, but this
strikes me as prudent and
responsible financial
management.
There are other problems with
the article as well. It goes on to
employ sarcasm to denigrate me
yet further, as after a discussion of
my wasteful ways, the article says:
"Fortunately, Layman hopes to
do something with all that money
and says he plans to have the
manual out by Dec. 6. Unfor-
tunately, only five days later
Crisp (sic) ends."
Ignoring the fact that the Daily
never thought it important
enough to tell students when AD-
VICE would be coming out before
the Tuesday article, how about
some facts on the usefullness of
ADVICE after the primary
registration period?
Did you know that there will be
more than 13,000 course adds and
drops for LSA students by the
third week of next term (some of
these changes will be ad-
ministrative and will not require
direct student effort); that there
will be a few thousand changes on
the part of other undergraduates
as well? Probably you didn't
know, you didn't check.
When preparing the article, did
Thus, it requires different stan-
dards for judgement as com-
pared to a newspaper.
However, there is at least one
similarity between ADVICE and
newspapers-the overwhelming
necessity for total and complete
accuracy. If we publish data that
is erroneous we greatly
misrepresent the teaching
abilities of professors, not to
mention the quality of the
teaching environment in general.
There is no sense in our continued
existence if we are not com-
pletely accurate in our presen-
tation of quantitative or
qualitative information. Correc-
ting such problems is why AD-
VICE is late this term.
Newspapers have a respon-
sibility to be completely accurate
as well. Incorrect information
misinforms the reading public.
Half quotes mislead the public.
Neither should be consistent
policy for a regularly published,
seemingly objective newspaper.
It is ironic that both the article
and editorial published in the
Daily on Nov. 27 were sparked
by my letter that appeared in the
same issue. (The letter was writ-
ten on Nov. 26.) I wrote the let-
ter to inform students that AD-
VICE would be late and why.
Only after my initiative did the
Daily deem it important to writ
about ADVICE (so says an
unimpeachable source who wishes
to remain anonymous).
If I hadn't bothered honoring
my responsibilities to students as
project director for the ADVICE
project, and didn't write the let-
ter to begin with, would the Daily
have written any articles on AD-
VICE at all?
I hate to sound so negative
because the Tuesday article and
editorial were fairly sound pieces
of writing and because in my
opinion, this year is an excellent
year for Daily editorial writing
Nevertheless, I am chagrined to
find myself maligned in the Daily
on the basis of a half quote, a cer-
tain focus chosen by the Daily for
the Sunday piece and
inadequately researched "fac-
ts."
-Richard Layman
December 3
Layman is project director
of the course evaluation
guide, AD VICE.
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Yoko Ono replies
To the Daily:
Editor's Note: This letter came
in response -to Dennis Harvey's
review of Every Man Needs a
Woman (Daily arts, October 11).
In that review, Harvey wrote that
he enjoyed the album, a com-
know. We can all shine on-in-
cluding you. John was hardly
"lame" in Double Fantasy chur-
ning out stuff like "I'm Losing
You" and "Watching The
Wheels." Remember, also, that
he had tracks like "Nobody Told
Me", "Stepping Out" and "I
Don't Want To Face It" in the can
BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breathed
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