4 OPINION Page 4 Thursday, December 5, 1985 The Michigan Daily Jousting with windmills GTNEL CER MARCOS PRUUTtU.. 4 If they ever make a movie about Don Quixote, they should cast Perry Bullard in the lead. Bullard, of course, is the state represen- tative from Ann Arbor fighting for students in Lansing. His initiatives often fail because college students aren't a potent political -force in the state, so legislators tend to Eric Mattson regard them as chunks of Alpo beef produc- ts. This time, Bullard is lobbying for a con- stitutional amendment that would automatically put a student (or students - the details of the bill haven't been worked out) on the governing boards of state universities. If all goes well, the bill may be introduced by next February. Sounds like a good idea, right? It is, but it has a snowball's chance in a microwave of being passed. One reason for this is that get- ting students on the Board of Regents requires a constitutional amendment, so two-thirds of the Legislature has to approve it. It's tough enough to get two-thirds of the Legislature to agree on anything, much less controversial issues like student regents. One reason some people oppose the idea is that students already can become regents the same way other regents do - by running in the statewide election. The problem with that argument is that it's virtually im- possible for a 19-year-old to gain enough political clout to win the party nomination. One student tried it last year and he was wiped out in the primary. Besides, the regents each serve eight-year terms, and even students on the five-year plan should be able to graduate by then. It would be more fair if a student were elected to a two-year term in his junior year. That way, he would have time to make an impact on the direction of the University. Students' having tangible power at the University is frightening to a lot of people. For one thing, they say, students would tend to vote for their self-interest instead of the best interests of the University. This argument is triple-whipped hooey. For one thing, a bill passed in the mid-'70s exempts students serving on governing boards from the conflict of interest statute. In addition, the reason for having a student on the board is simply to institutionalize student power, not take over the board. The way things are now, every single committee a student or faculty member serves on at the University is simply advisory; the regents and the upper-level administrators have the option of disregarding everything those committees suggest. If a student - and a faculty member, because the faculty has the same problem the students do - served on the board, the University community would have a con- crete way to affect the University. The conflict of interest argument espoused by several current regents can easily be turned against them. Since they often pay their children's tuition, they, in ef- fect, have a conflict of interest when they vote on tuition increases. The student regents proposal has received support from Gov. Blanchard, but that's because he expects that he would appoint the students regents and the regents. If that is how the proposal turns out (Bullard and his staff have given conflicting statements aboutrwhether the regents would be appoin- ted or elected) it could have disasterous consequences. The last thing the University needs is a Board of Regents appointed by the gover- nor. That could easily change the board from a group of people concerned about the University to a group of people concerned with politics. But if a student and faculty member were on the board in addition to the current members, it would simply make the ad- ministration and the board as a whole. take student and faculty concerns more seriously. And that's an issue worth fighting for. Mattson is a Daily reporter. His column appears on alternate Thursdays. CNAR.YOU4. --A L tRnD \AWIJThA FRES\DWRNTIAL ELICTIOS NLY~flONTN.. Yi NOThUING CAN STEP TE M&VRINA I I 6 0 i I Eibed t dts3ant iciI Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Vol. XCVI, No. 64 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 A dream of pleasant things Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board Clean, white parks IN A long war, even the small battles test the attitudes and en- durance of both sides. Dearborn, a Detroit suburb with a 60-year history of racial bigotry, is the site of the most recent battle between black activists and defen- sive citizens. Last month, Dear- bornites voted overwhelmingly to adopt an ordinance to restrict the use of most of the city's parks to Dearborn residents. Ostensibly, the law seems har- mless and ordinary, but the NAACP and the ACLU contend that it is both racially motivated and unconstitutional. Detroit black leaders, including Rosa Parks, protest the measure as another attempt to keep blacks out of Dearborn. They planned a boycott of Dearborn businesses, but dropped it pending the outcome of their lawsuit questioning the constitutionality of the ordinance. Dearbornites are outraged. They see the parks as their own, and their right to restrict them above the cries of "Racism!" They claim the parks are littered and over- crowded. The safety of their children is at stake. They pay to maintain clean, safe parks and those people from Detroit cannot be trusted. These transparent arguments do little to cover the fundamental racist attitudes of the majority of Dearborn residents. The city, which is filled with working class neighborhoods not at all economically inaccessible to area blacks, has a black population of less than 0.1 percent. As protesters contend, blacks are not at all welcome in Dearborn. Under the reign of 40-year mayor Orville Hubbard and city benefac- tor Henry Ford (admired by Adolph Hitler for his anti-black and anti-Semitic attitudes), blacks were afraid to walk on Dearborn streets. Blacks' applications for housing were thrown away. The city was known across the nation for its blatant emphasis on a clean white appearance. Much of the anger behind the race riots of 1967 was focused on the bigots of Dearborn. 18 years later, the tension is still strong but tacit. Area blacks are invited to spend their money at Dearborn businesses, but silently warned not to dare live in the city. Dearborn has done nothing to make up for its past. Of its 90,000 residents there are currently just 83 black families. Dearbornites do not want to see blacks, whether in their schools, neighborhoods, or parks. They still hope for and vote for a perfectly white city. This ordinance, if Dearborn is living up to its history, is indeed another attempt to keep blacks out of the city. A boycott or lawsuit is wholly justified and long overdue. By Peter Ephross When I woke up one morning last week, I looked over at my roommate, Jim, and ex- claimed, "Wow, what a dream I had last night!" Jim, in his role as roommate par excellence, asked me to describe my dream in detail. "It was incredible," I began, "I dreamt that the U.S. got out of El Salvador and Nicaragua, the Soviet Union relieved pressure on its Warsaw pact allies and allowed more Jews to emigrate, Vietnam got out of Cambodia, and all other foreign armies returned home. " "Sounds like another one of your radical, hippie-like dreams," replied Jim. (He can be quite cynical at times.) "Maybe," I admitted, "but there was more. I also dreamt that repressive gover- nments in Iran, Albania, Cuba, the Philip- pines and a host of other places suddenly Ephross is a Daily arts staffer. metamorphosized into shining bastions of human rights and freedom. Handguns and murderers disappeared from the U.S., not because of forced gun control, but because there was no need to have either offensive or defensive weapons. " "Now I'm getting interested," said Jim. "You actually admitted that Communist regimes oppress human beings and you know that although I'm a bit conservative, I'm a peacenik at heart." "That wasn't everything that was in my dream," I continued, beginning to gather some steam. "I dreamt that apartheid en- ded in South Africa, and that the South Africans set up a government based on fair representation and tolerance. No tribal wars, no repression, no revenge, no white flee." "Well, now you satisfied all international problems, but the local ones remain un- solved," said Jim smugly. "There, you're wrong. I also dreamt that University professors didn't have to be en- couraged to do Star Wars research. Gor- bachev and Reagan put aside ideological differences, bureaucracy, and image and reached an arms agreement. Rape decreased in Ann Arbor, the preachers didn't yell in everybody's ears in the Diag, and tuition went down." "Anything else?" asked Jim "Oh yeah, one more thing. Peace was given a chance in the Middle East. Israel and her Arab neighbors co-operated with Palestinian leaders in order to set up a Palestinian state. Terrorism even stopped, at least for a short while." "So what was the result of all these dreams coming true?" "Well, people didn't rush through life, they were open to, and searched for, new challenges." I noticed myself yawning sur- prisingly, and remembered the real result of the dream. "It was boring," I said. 6 0 0 LETTERS: Language requirement seems arbitrary To the Daily: I'm a philosophy major and as such, am writing torencourage the University to require all students in LS&A to take four semesters of philosophy. I urge the adoption of this requirement for two reasons. First, the study of philosophy contributes impor- tantly to a liberal education by considering different systems of thought on such topics as ethics, values, knowledge and reality. Second, the study of philosophy improves analytical skills,awhich would benefit students in almost all fields of endeavor. Now, I'm sure at least one student will object to this proposal. If he is in a generous mood, he may even that I have of- fered valid arguments for the study of philosophy. However, he is sure to object that while there are sound reasons to study philosophy, there are equally sound reasons to study mathematics, political science, physics or almost any academic discipline. Yet would I, he asks, advocate that all these be required, too? Certainly part of a liberal education consists of the freedom to elect for yourself what you will study. At this point I must acknowledge the force ofmy critic's argument. There cer- my own language requirement and can vouch for the merits of such study. However, I question whether the arguments for studying a foreign language are so compelling as to make it a requirement while there seem to be equally compelling arguments to study philosophy, mathematics, political science, etc. It seems to this observer that a foreign language is required, not because the modern language departments protect their vested interest through a strong lob- bying effort directed at the ad- ministration. Let the students decide what is worth their while and let the language departments rest on their merits, rather an arbitrary requirement. -Scott T. Rickman November 26 Many dorm bathrooms are unsanitary I mosooy evm aces -ro JhJL. J To the Daily: I am writing to you to bring to your attention the possibly un- sanitary conditions of the restrooms of many of the dorms and some of the other buildings on campus. The problem lies not in the actual condition of the bathrooms, but in the notable lack of paper towels and toilet paper. Now, the reason for this condition is very obvious to even the most recent residents of the dorms. To those of you who might not know of the problem, the paper towels were often collected by residents of each hall, for use in their own rooms. The University, thinking to save itself the trouble of constantly replacing the paper towels, decided to simply not put any in the restrooms. The studen- ts themselves account for the lack of toilet paper, by taking it BLOOM COUNTY for their rooms in place of paper towels, or by collecting it for football games. The solution to the problem with the paper towels is so ob- vious, That I am very surprised that the University has been so lax in dealing with it. The in- stalling of air dryers certainly cannot be such a major expense as to be prohibitive. And the problem with the toilet paper cannot be impossible to solve. Perhaps the University should look into other alternatives, or at least make an attempt at doing so. The situation currently could not get significantly worse. I am writing in about this in response to several derogatory comments I overheard from some visitors to the campus. They believed it reflected on the* state of the University in general, which may seem appalling, yet perhaps not to an outside obser- ver. "If they cannot even keep the restrooms stocked, then maybe they are not as great as they claim to be," might reflect a visitor. Have you ever washed your hands in a bathroom, and were disgusted to find that you had to wipe your hands on your pants, because there was nothing* to dry them with?... -Paul Andrew Feusse October 22 i a Letters to the Daily should be typed, triple-spaced, and signed by the individual authors. Names will be withheld only in unusual circumstances. Letters may be edited for clarity, grammar, and spelling. by Berke Breathed Of aVMw Iv R