4 OPINION Page 4 Tuesday, February 5, 1985 The Michigan Daily I I ie atudets a nihig an Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Struggling for civil rights Vol. XCV, No. 104 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board A good step I n a positive step toward affirming student freedom, the University Council last week agreed to take a new approach to the controversial code of non-academic conduct. Instead of sim- ply revamping previous drafts of the code, the influential panel will start off by evaluating the problems a code is supposed to address. Previous attempts to develop a code suffered from an overly ambitious quest to solve all campus safety prob- lems at once. The council, which was re- surrected just a few months ago to give a code more credibility with students, is starting off on the right foot by trying to find out what's broken before trying to fix it. Administration officials tried to justify a comprehensive code by recounting horror stories about alleged criminals who are released on probation pending trial, while the University is unable to prevent their return. The council, with the advice of the safety department, should first deter- mine just how common such instances are. There may well be a few isolated cases like the ones the administration describes, but it is still not the Univer- sity's place to determine an accused offender's guilt or innocence. The criminal justice system is often slow and. frustrating, but that doesn't give the University the right to bypass the system, especially when the ac- cusations are very serious. Previous drafts of the code covered everything from illegally using someone's library card to committing a felony. The flaw was that the Univer- sity didn't seriously consider alter- native solutions to the problems-possibly because they didn't fully understand those problems. It seems that the University was in- tent on coming up with a document to solve all of its safety problems with one blow. Unfortunately, the safety problems on campus - like rape, assault, and arson - are too complex to be solved by simply passing a code. Past attem- pts have further muddied the situation by trying to bring other, unrelated problems - like lying to a University official - under the scope of the same code. Before launching into a campaign to develop a comprehensive code, the council has to look at just how far the University should intrude in students' lives outside the classroom. One coun- cil member suggested that a code should extend beyond the confines of the University and into private, off- campus apartments-a frightening prospect. Such a move would be a dangerous step backward to in loco parentis and a blow to student freedom. The University Council has taken a step in the right direction. The first step in addressing any problem is to determine exactly what that problem is. The administration has avoided the question throughout the numerous revisions of the code; now it's time to find some answers. In his unflagging committment to the civil rights movement, Dick Gregory has pushed the legacy of sixties activism into the 1980s. A biting social critic and obser- ver of blacks in American culture, Gregory maintains a vision of world unity and has been curiously described by the FBI as "demented" and "dangerous -. Gregory recently journeyed to Ethiopia to assist in relief efforts in the famine striken country. During a visit to the University last week, Gregory addressed a crowd at Rackham Auditorium and spoke with staff writer Jody Becker about the continuing struggle for civil rights in the United States. Dialogue D: Jesse Jackson has been a highly visible black leader in the eighties and especially in his recent bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Do you think Jackson is suc- cessfully leading the black people? G: He always has been successful. When Jesse ran for President of the United States, he wasn't running as a black candidate. I mean the things he said would solve the problems with defense and solve the problems with war. One of the most in- teresting things is when we had that first Presidential debate it was obvious out of all those white men sitting there who was the brightest. And if God had to sit and pick one of those, it would have been Jesse. Jesse is not only qualified to lead America, he could govern the whole world. D: You recently returned from Ethiopia. Did you see American aid dollars working towards famine relief? G: Sure, the money is getting through. But it's not only that, it's pressing the government and pressing the church, pressing the large institutions to do more. It's an em- barassment... that one British rock star whose 45 record (Bob Geldof's Do They Really Know It's Christmas?) sold out in 12 hours. They hear that and they listen to that and because of that a lot of aid is generated. D: The South African policy of apartheid has recently attracted a lot of attention in The United States, especially with the demon- strations at the South African embassy in Washgington. Do you think the demon- strations are a valuable forum for pressuring the South African government? G: I think it's a valuable forum for more than just pressuring the South Africans, but to say to all the freedom fighters that there is a lot of us who are concerned about your cause, and you might not have to die, you might not have to kill if there is enough of us that's con- cerned. People listen. In Poland that priest was killed, and theynthought they could just kill that priest and nothing would be said, but world opinion was such that they had to indict some of the top people. So world opinion does make a difference. If we'd a took a gun in the civil rights movement, that's what they wan- ted. Cause they can match that with missiles. But they cannot match us when we come out and say. "I'm willing to die for what I believe in. And if you choose to kill me, see what the world says." D: Do you think President Reagan is serious in his intentions of pressing the South African government for reform? G: Oh, I think he has to be. He cannot let it move to the level of corporate America get- ting in trouble. And I think it gives this coun- try and the administration a way out, because now they can say we went along with you but now this whole thing is tearing our society apart and we've got to do something. So I think it gives them a legitimate excuse to do things they should have been doing all along. D: Black student enrollment at the Univer- sity of Michigan is below five percent. How do you think the University could make itself more attractive, or how do you think black enrollment might be increased? G: The black folks here and in the com- munity have to bring the type of pressure and organize the type of boycotts to ask black athletes not to come here. And once you touch that, things will begin to change, because there is a whole lot of money made in the sports department and if you raise enough hell, there is enough schools they can go to And the other schools in the conference would use that to recruit against them. D: You made some remarks during your speech about black fraternities and sororities not coming to the aid of Ethiopia in any significant way. What methods do you see as best for organizing black students on cam- pus? G: I think black fraternities and sororities are fine, if they stop playing those crazy games. They already have the institutions already there. God, you think about black fraternities and sororities; they could raise so much money for Ethiopia it's incredible. The United Negro College Fund shouldn't have to worry about it. All these fraternities and sororities should be able to keep that going... and they are going to have to show leadership in the black community. They've got to stop playing and having a good time on the college campus. They've got to be groomed to go back into that community and make that change. Becker is a Daily staff writer. Daily: Do you see the human rights movement as having died out for all intents and purposes in 1985? Gregory: No, I think if the civil rights movement has partly died out, it's becuase it has led to the human rights movement. In '65, nobody understood that women had rights they weren't getting, or that elderly folks had rights they weren't getting, or people on welfare who have certain rights and deserve a certain dignity. I believe the civil rights movement has grown so broad; even the cor- nerstone of the women's movement came af- ter the civil rights legislation. I would say when you look at the awareness it is in- credible because of that movement. D: What would you say the agenda should be for the black community regarding civil rights? G : We need to change priorities to see to it that we get our share of the jobs. Letters Abortion story slanted against choice All in a name THE NAME Siam conjures up im- ages of sultans and flying carpets. Thailand, on the other hand, is easily confused with Taiwan and makes the average American think about the Vietnam War and refugee crisis. So claimed Serm Phenjati, a Thai citizen educated in the United States, in a let- ter to the Bangkok Post. Saying that Thailand was a name imposed on the country by a military government in the 1940s, Phenjati and a growing number of others are calling for a return to Siam as the country's name. In addition, the "Siamists" claim that Thailand implies a country of only Thai people, whereas there are a sub- stantial number of Burmese, Khmer, and Malay, descendants currently living in the country. The name Thailand was adopted as a temporary measure in 1939 when the absolute monarchy was overthrown, and was permanently accepted in 1949. the "Siamists" note that under the current constitution, the monarch is still referred to as the king of Siam. There doesn't appear to be much formal opposition to the proposal within Thailand. Although changing a country's name entails considerable expense, the proposal may have found a powerful ally within the government: the Thai Foreign Ministry. the ministry claims that it needs to per- petuate the image that it is "an old country with a long history" in order to combat its current image as a crime center. The proposal to change Thailand's name to Siam is little more than a move to change the country's image, but it represents a flexing of traditional feelings on the part of a on- ce glorious civilization. The change should be supported. To the Daily: As members of the Women's Collective, we were very offen- ded by the treatment of abortion in your magazine article, "Abor- tion - A Local Dilemma" (Weekend, February 1). The entire article undermines abortion, which is a very significant emotional issue for all women; it is not, as the article suggests, a "local" issue. The ar- ticle blames women for being irresponsible; it ignores men's responsibility for their actions; it omits the issue of rape and in- cest; and it neglects to point out that the majority of college-aged women cannot afford to support a child. Also, the photos on the cover are impersonal and in- timidating, and the quotes selec- ted for publication seem to trivialize both the women and the subject of the article itself. The unrespresentative nature of the article is also problematic. The reasons the women in the ar- ticle give for their decisions are valid, but we don't believe most women have babies out of curiosity, nor can most women support a child as freshmen in college. In regard to the "pro-life" movement, we feel that any organization whose tactics in- clude physical and mental terrorism via midnight phone calls, pictures of dead fetuses, direct intimidation at abortion sites and the bombing of abortion clinic - of which there have been over 30 in the past year, an ap- palling and quite frightening statistic - is not worthy of being associated with the word "life." The seemingly ethical term "right to life" contradicts the reality that anti-abortion tactics prevent women from controlling their own bodies, their own futures, their own lives. Pro-life, in this case, means anti-choice for women. It is of significance that men spearhead the anti-choice thew Gutchess' idea of taking responsibility for unwanted pregnancies? Finally, we take issue with his assertion that Planned Paren- thood convinces women to have abortions; first, that he could know this information first-hand Daily should To the Daily: If it is true, as reported in The Ann Arbor News, that The Michigan Daily is enduring a decline in circulation, adver- tising, and income, maybe the time has come' for some fun- damental changes to occur. Such changes could happen under the guise of a marketing strategy that would appeal to a more diverse and larger selection or readers. The Daily could soften its stan- ce as the vanguard of liberalism at the University and begin reporting, in a more objective mannner, the truths which are confronting today's students, faculty, and world at large. It would be quite possible for the Daily to objectively approach the new "conservative" attitudes espoused by so many of today's youths, without pandering to the so called dubious morals and shallow interests attributed to the conservative stereotype. Just as easily, the Daily could BLOOM COUNTY is highly unlikely; second, it is t just plain false. Planned Paren- thood conducts a series of required counseling sessions, c both one-on-one and in groups, tk before an abortion can be per- d formed. Planned Parenthood gives women more of a choice address new at retreat from the idealistic morals and utopian interests of today'st liberals, without abandoning the fundamentals of responsible journalism. The survival of your Misinterpreted To the Daily: In a personal conference, Reporter Eric Mattson agreed that remarks I made to him were misinterpereted in an article in Wednesday's paper (Daily, "Daily to attend board meeting," January 30). I did not say the Daily "should suggest journalists other than Urban Lehner" for the Board for han does the anti-choice'i novement. This article, because of its anti- hoice slant, only contributes to he oppression women face every ay. - Lisa Oram February 5 titudes newspaper depends on its ability to change. - Stephen E. Biegun January 30 suggestion Student Publications, but rather that the paper should name up to five additional professionals of his high quality, as specified in University regulations. - Charles R. Eisendrath January 31 Eisendrath is chairman of the Board for Student Publications. Letters to the Daily should be typed, triple- spaced, and signed by the individual authors. Names will be withheld only in unusual circum- stances. Letters may be edited for clarity, gram- mar, and spelling. 4 mm AM YOU LOOK LIKE TIO y,^ 1 JI' iii by Berke Breathed I r -iL0qy, w~rA 556x£"few WITH A4 W6 TNO5 AP WRIA~N6 WHAT *I ' ro\ iq Pge. J~ RTE6 M1Ae qNP PINMIW/~ Mw Th7'Metqi XIFA"4 7 afM r" 1 t POLICE SKETCH Q®®eee A MH tOH. i -1 4 __ Ii W . . II J