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OPINION
e 4 Friday, October 25, 1985'
CIA protesters, hotel plan put
The Michigan Daily
on ice
4 4 Most students suffer the sweaty-palm
A syndrome when they approach the office of
Career Planning and Placement on the
p: third floor of the Student Activities
Building. Facing those recruiters is scary
stuff.
This Tuesday and Wednesday, however,
the tables were turned as recruiters for the
" Central Intelligence Agency faced a crowd
of demonstrators gathered to protest the
CIA's presence on campus in an effort to
recruit people to carry out the "dirty work"
of the U.S. government.
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telligence Agency protests on Tuesday and
Wednesday. Other students had already
complained of violence during last week's
Today show filming and Vice-President
George Bush's recent address in honor of
the 25th anniversary of the Peace Corps.
Several of the protesters arrested during
the CIA protests claim they were hit, kicked
or had their hair pulled during the arrest
procedure. The police have begun a formal
investigation of the charges.
Graduate students Barbara Kritt and
Kathy Savoie have filed charges against the
police for preventing them from displaying
a sign at the Today broadcast. The banner
read, "NBC: Report on the bombing in El
Salvador." Kritt said she hopes her com-
plaint will, "lead to some kind of change in
the current escalation of policy aggression
that we've been seeing on campus the last~
few weeks."
Although no charges have been filed,
several student protesters report having
been shoved during the Today filming by
other students.
Although the only complaints that have
been filed so far are against the police,
there is some question over the University's
role in the arrests. On Tuesday evening the
Michigan Student Assembly passed a
resolution calling on University President
Harold Shapiro to clarify the University's
role in calling the police to the CIA demon-
stration and asking Shapiro and Vice-
President for Student Services Henry John-
son to "apologize for the actions of the Ann
Arbor police and support the charges of
brutality filed against the Ann Arbor Police
Department."
Hotel plan parked
The City Council's Monday night vote to
deny changes in a building ordinance which
would have allowed for the construction of a
hotel and conference center in the down-
town area is an interesting indication of city
residents' desire to curb Ann Arbor's
tremendous commercial growth.
Apparently the concerns of local residents
who lament the loss of charm and ac-
cessibility in Ann Arbor's business districts
influenced individual council members'
decisions. "I've received over 50 phone calls
and letters about the project. We must be
responsive to the community ... and con-
sider the increased traffic flow in the areaO
increased development in the city, (among
other things)," said Doris Preston (D-Fifth
Ward).
Council member Lowell Peterson (D-
Fifth Ward) said that the parking plan was
not appropriate for the city's needs.
On the other hand, Jeannette Middleton,
(R-Third Ward) said that the proposed
change in the building ordinance would
have been "a good way to make developers
pay for their own parking." By subtracting
underground parking from the totalof
usable floor space allowable, the ordinance
change would have made the current
project plan legal.
The project developers said they would
now remove the plan for underground
parking and resubmit their proposal to the
city. The developers then plan to take legal
action against the city should their project
plan not pass the City Council.
The Week-in-Review was compiled by
Opinion page editors Joseph Kraus ar
Jody Becker and staff writer Henry Park.
1
Y
5
With the aid of campus security officials,
Ann Arbor police rounded up 26 protesters
over the two days.
While several students signed up to meet
with the recruiters were escorted into the
building through a side door with police
protection, others complained that they
missed job application deadlines due to the
disruption.
Protesters were charged with disorderly
conduct, and in some cases trespassing and
hindering and opposing police officers. The
25 students who had scheduled interviews
with the CIA all succeeded in meeting with
the recruiters.
Daily Photo by DEAN RANDAZZO
Non-violent protests are met with increasing police force, protesters say.
Armed forces
Ironic violence associated with non-
violent protests at the University seems to
have gotten worse this week with students
and Ann Arbor police charging one another
with misconduct during the Central In-
LETTERS:
rIie Lidpgan ai1
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Conservative spies stifle education
Vol. XCVI, -No. 37
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board
War of words
T HERE ARE several individuals
and groups on campus that are
seeking refuge under the umbrella-
statement of "academic freedom",
to justify various and conflicting
claims.
Certainly the most outlandish in-
terpretation is that of the recently
established "Accuracy in
Academia" - a nation-wide, self-
appointed monitoring group, com-
prised of students intending to
report cases of "left-wing" bias in
any college classroom.
Various administrative and
student organizations have
withheld any endorsement of the
AIA and such a non-response
should be applauded because it
leaves room for a more serious
discussion of the issue.
The Board of Regents interprets
academic freedom as an open
ticket; allowing the University to
pursue any project that it deems
profitable - as in the case of
Strategic Defense Initiative
research on campus.
In the resolution pertaining to the
University's encouragement of SDI
research, it is stated that
"Whereas the University of
Michigan upholds the primacy of
academic freedom . . . be it
resolved that the University of
Michigan recognizes and defends
the individual decisions of its
scholarly community to participate
or not participate in specific
research programs."
Yet the regents overlooked the
primary importance of academic
freedom. It seems of little con-
sequence to the regents and the
research groups who have en-
thusiastically welcomed "Star
Wars" that a commitment to the
SDI office will unavoidably oblige
the university to the Pentagon --
regarding research funding and ob-
jectives.
Clearly then, the definition of
academic freedom as viewed by
the regents come into direct con-
flict with the concept of academic
autonomy - a value of
unquestionable importance to a
University.
The decision to allow SDI resear-
ch here at the University is without
question a political statement. Ac-
cordingly, the AIA was refuted for
its attempts to redirect or en-
courage any specific political sen-
timent in the University classroom.
In both cases, the protection of
academic freedom was cited as a
primary factor in the debate.
The notion of academic freedom
has become so open to misinter-
pretation that it serves as am-
munition for conflicting viewpoints
in much the same way as the Bible
is used to justify warring causes.
Academic freedom should be an
unconditional objective of all
university communities. This
ideal is so critical to the main-
tenance of a University's prin-
ciples that its validity cannot be
jeopardized through irresponsible
misuse.
Individuals, who rightfully per-
ceive an organization such as the
AIA as a threat to academic
freedom - but confidently refer to
the same value as the basis for an
argument in favor of SDI research
- need to re-examine the standar-
ds by which their freedom is
defined - in order to preserve it for
all the community.
To the Daily:
After Vice-President Bush
honored the Peace Corps twenty-
fifth anniversary celebration, let-
ters were run in the Daily about
whether it was appropriate for
Bush to speak and crowd
behavior. What has not been
mentioned, however, was Bush's
comments to the protesters
which display the Reagan ad-
ministration's narrow minded
views. When the people of the
United States have a legitimate
concern, such as the United
States contributing to the bom-
bing of innocent human beings in
El Salvador, it would be ap-
propriate if our government
would take us seriously. Instead,
the Reagan administration men-
tality which is used if someone
opposes it was used. "I'd like to
see you try that in old Lenin
Square," Bush retorted.
I love freedom! I do not want to
try that in "old Lenin Square." I
am not a Communist. I just hap-
pen to be appalled at the thought,
let alone the actual carrying out,
of the killing of innocent people.
Bush addressed the protestors
on October 8 about as well as
Reagan did on November 11,
1982. Reagan's response to
almost 1,000,000 people protesting
in New York City for a nuclear
freeze was, "There is no question
about foreign agents that were
sent to help instigate and help
create and keep such a
movement going." Not once did it
occur to our president that some
of us are scared shitless of
nuclear war. Nuclear winter and
the end of human life aren't ap-
pealing. These people were not
protesting about governments at
all. They just want themselves
and the people of the future to be
permitted to enjoy life without
too much radiation around.
The most frightening aspect of
an administration which can
sweep any type of opposing views
under the rug with a "They must
be a Communist because they
don't buy everything we throw at
them hook, line, and sinker" is
that the administration only sees
one way, theirs, and can not
imagine that an alternative view
Reagan et al miss protesters' points
To the Daily:
Recently, readers of The
Michigan Daily have become
aware of the existence of the
latest conservative watchdog
group, Accuracy in Academia. A
spin-off group of the right-wing
Accuracy in Media, AIA intends
to have sympathetic students
monitor their professors' lectures
for signs of liberal bias. When
they note such slanted viewpoin-
ts, the group will put pressure on
the offending instructor to
present a more balanced one.
Certainly, there is nothing
inherently wrong with wanting
one's political views fairly
represented, or taking steps to
see that they are, if one takes
pains to proceed fairly and
honestly. To censor opposing
views as "offensive" or "slan-
ted," though, is unethical; it is
propaganda of the worst kind.
AIA's activities will not be fair
or balanced. Although Les Csor-
ba, executive director of the
group, claims they will not act
exclusively against liberal bias,
he has stated that they intend to
counter "the threat...from the
left." And we have yet to see
AIA's parent organization, Ac-
curacy in Media, censure any
media source for being too con-
servative.
Furthermore, the need for AIA
is a dubious one. If a student
disagrees with his instructor he is
encouraged to say so. I have yet
to meet a professor who does not
welcome a challenge from one of
his students. The only use for a
group such as AIA is to serve as a
political tool of fear devoted to
preventing liberal viewpoints
from being expressed. In a recent
interview on National Public
Radio's "All Things Considered,"
Csorba announced the group's in-
tention to "get in contact with"
the people in charge of hiring and
firing professors.
The efforts of AIA, if suc-
cessful, would hard the Univer-
sity's ability to function as an in-
stitution of higher learning. The
University community thrives on
the controversy created by free
and open discourse. Original
thought cannot occur in an at-
mosphere where free inquiry is
stifled.
Some critics of AIA have
characterized the group as
"frivolous" and see it as posing
little threat. We hope this is the
case. As of yet, AIA has gained no
student membership here at U-M
that we are aware of. Still, many
times in the past, people have un-
derestimated the power of a
fledgling political movement.
McCarthyism started on a small
scale, too.
Don't let AIA rob you of
educational opportunities. Stay
informed of the group's ac-
tivities. Support your instructors'
rights to express themselves
freely. Freedom of expression is
the University's most valuable
commodity.
-Paul Carmouche
October 20
exists.
If Bush would have said "We
have evidence that indicates we
need to bomb innocent women
and children" or if Reagan would
have said, "I understand your,
concern about nuclear war, but
we really do need more
warheads," that at least would
have shown the administratio
acknowledges there are alter-
native views. But for our present
administration to claim all
people with different views than
their own are Communists is
ludicrous.
- Dave Homyak
October17
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Soldiers follow orders
We encourage our readers to use this
space to discuss and respond to issues of
their concern. Whether those topics
cover University, Ann Arbor com-
munity, state, national, or international
issues in a straightforward or unconven-
tional manner, we feel such a dialogue is
a crucial function of the Daily. Letters
and guest columns should be -typed,
triple-spaced, and signed.
To the Daily:
Professor Taussig, in his letter
to the Daily ("Hidden militarism,
ads and escalation," Oct. 16),
refers to the armed forces as
'killing services' and its mem-
bers 'hired killers.' It appears
that Prof. Taussig has allowed
his opinions of government
policies to blind his common sen-
se. He implies the military is in-
trinsically evil. Does this mean
the good professor would prefer
the armed forces disbanded?
situations where it shouldn't be
involved, however the fault lies
not with the privates and
sergeants who find themselves
there, but rather with the
congressmen and president who
sent them. Failing to recognize
this distinction, Prof. Taussig
seems likely, upon hitting his
thumb with a hammer, to call the
hammer a hired killer.
- Scott T. Rickman
October 17
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BLOOM COUNTY
by Berke Breathed.I