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OPINION
Page 4 Wednesday, January 8, 1986 The Michigan Daily


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Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan

Wasserman


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Vol. XCVI, No. 69

420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Editorials represent a majority opinion of the Daily's Editorial Board


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World campus

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ALIT o & oRPoToNS
ORGA\NIZED TIDE1EOVT1OI41

A S 1986 UNFOLDS to a new
year and a new semester,
there is much that remains the
lame. Drop/Add lines wind
through the corridors in Angel
Hall. Book lines meander out the
door at Ulrich's and University
;Cellar, and the Daily, happily, is
'till free.
But the promise of potential is
everywhere. It is time to get
organized, set priorities, and ac-
cept the challenge and respon-
sibility that the new semester
:presents. The _ University com-
munity is the base, but it is only a
part of the larger world com-
pnunity. Community members
must take the initiative to learn
from the past and change the
future.
r 1985 had its moments. The sum-
mit meeting between President
~Reagan and Soviet leader Gor-
tbachev culminated in an un-
'precedented exchange of New
dear's greetings to the citizens of
bach others' countries as well as a
ledge that communication bet-
:ween the two nations will continue.
: South Africa has remained a
representation of inhumanity and
k.acism. The white minority gover-
*bment has become uncreasingly
#?epressive of the black majority,
4nd has instigated fighting among
blacks by questioning property
rights of different ethnic groups.
The recent 10,000 strong demon-
stration at the funeral of white an-
ti-apartheid activist Molly Black-
burn reflects the growing tur-
bulence and inability of Pretoria to
forsee black and white living
together as equals in South Africa.
Terrorist leaders in the Middle
East. have tapped into a well of
young soldiers, nurtured with
hatred in Palestinian camps. The
murder of 19 innocent people near
El Al airlines ticket windows was,
according to the terrorists, just the

beginning of an onslaught of
violence, which for these groups, is
both a means and an end of their
cause.
Members of the University
community have been instrumen-
tal in focusing local concern on
global issues. The Free South
Africa Coordinating Committee
has been particularly successful in
raising awareness through
programs, demonstrations, and
teach-ins about apartheid.
The regents voted to divest all
but one percent of University
holdings in companies doing
business with South Africa. Unfor-
tunately, the regents also voted to
encourage military research with
Strategic Defense Initiative im-
plications.
Among other noteworthy events
on campus in 1985 was George
Bush's, however ironic, com-
memoration of the 25th Peace Cor-
ps anniversary, reminding studen-
ts of the original intent and sub-
sequent deterioration of that noble
institution.
Allegations of Ann Arbor police
misconduct in dealing with
University students became com-
mon following the live broadcast of
the Today show from the Diag and
the CIA's recruitment at the
Student Activities Building.
The battle over the proposed
Code of Student Non-Academic
Conduct continued throughout the
year. With President Shapiro
claiming that members of the
University Council are not making
sufficient progress toward an
alternate proposal, the battle looks
as if it will continue.
Back in Ann Arbor it is often
easy to forget that the world is our
campus. But at the beginning of the
new year it is time to reflect on the
problems of 1985 and resolve to
make this year better all over the
world.


OF~ THE PTIRTUE

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LETTERS:
Daily halfhearted fighting prejudice

41

'To the Daily:
It was the middle of the Holiday
Season and Finals were in less
than a week. This was very ap-
parent to me as I viewed your
Opinion Page of December 10 and
discovered a unique gift. The gift
was in the form of a political car-
toon portraying the hijacking of
Santa Claus by "Fundamentalist
Christians who're going to bomb
the neighborhood Planned Paren-
thood Center." I cannot think of a
more appropriate gift for the
Holiday Season than this festive
cartoon.
Contrary to the cartoonist's
assertion, there is no respect-
table organization, Fundamen-
talist Christian or otherwise,
which supports the bombing of
Planned Parenthood Centers.

How is this misinformation con-
sistent with the current Daily
emphasis on eradicating
prejudice of individual beliefs?
In an editorial on December 3
("Signs of intolerance") the
Daily Editorial Board commen-
ted on the recent increase of
racial graffiti on campus,
stating, ". . . the University
community ought to reconsider
the social structures here which
contribute to cultural ignorance
and conformity and undermine
the free exchange of ideas and
beliefs which are the very basis
of education." Cartoons which
create "cultural ignorance and
conformity" on the abortion
issue, do not promote dialogue
and understanding.
The editorial also stated, ".. .

the recent increase in graffiti
seems to indicate a distressing
decrease in social pressure to be
tolerant of others." Claiming
that Fundamentalist Christians
are responsible for these bom-.
bings, provokes intolerance of the
Fundamentalists' position con-
cerning abortion. Therefore, I
view this cartoon no differently
than the racist graffiti: offen-
sive, intolerant, and ignorant.
Hunger isn 't
To the Daily:
Some people feel the reason
that hunger exists today results
from a combination of the fact
that there are too many people
and there is not enough food or
land to feed them. This assum-
ption,.however, is false.
Thehreason that hunger exists
in such countries as Ethiopia and
Nicaragua is not because of a
land or food scarcity. In fact, the
world as a whole produces
enough food for everybody. Each
day more than two pounds of
grain per person is produced
globally. This would provide suf-
ficient protein and 3000 calories
for every single person in the
world every single day. Even
more startling, this estimate does
not include other food such as
meats, fruits and vegetables.

Abortion is a charged issue.
Resolving the problems connec-
ted with it, will occur in an
environment of respect and under-
standing. Singling out a small
group of misguided people who
bomb Planned Parenthood Cen-
ters, is not helpful in creating this
environment. Accurate, respon-
sible journalism is.
-Rich Vescio
January 6
hopeless fight
Thus, it is an impossibility that
world hunger exists as a result of
a food shortage. .
What then, causes starvation?
A misuse of a country's resources
resulting -from undemocratic
control over these resources. In
many Third World countries
luxury and cash crops like tobac-
co and flowers expand while
basic food crops like corn and
beans are grossly neglected. The
end result is that a few prosper
while a majority are deprived,
landless, and worse yet -
hungry.
I hope I have cleared up some
misconceptions and illusions
concerning world hunger and
food scarcity.
Christine A. MacDonald
December 6

No food shortages

Express opinion

A S THE NEW semester begins,
Ann Arbor echoes with the
sound of New Year's resolutions.
As in years past, students most
commonly resolve to lose weight,
quit smoking, and improve their
grades, but an untold number of
students have added to this
traditional list the promise "to get
involved."
Getting involved can entail
anything from taking part in
demonstrations to running for of-
fice on a dormitory hall, but in all
cases it means expressing an
opinion. With this in mind, the
Opinion staff of The Daily en-
courages students to express their
views in letters to the editor and
guest editorials.
The Daily is a student

newspaper whose goal is, in ad-
dition to reporting the news, to act
as a forum for student views, at-
titudes, values, and ideas. In order
to achieve this goal, wide par-
ticipation is essential.
Dissent is the mark of a healthy
society. Individuals are forced to
reexamine old notions to see
whether they still apply, and a bet-
ter understanding of issues often
results. The Daily encourages this
process, and welcomes the con-
tribution of fresh ideas.
Letters to the editor should be
typed, triple-spaced, and mailed to
420 Maynard or dropped by the
Student Publications Building. For
longer articles, contact Karen
Klein or Ron Schechter to make
special arrangments.

To the Daily:
As a concerned American
citizen I wanted to find out what I
might be able to do to help the
starving people of this nation, as
well as in third world nations.
Until recently I thought the an-
swer was in giving money. After
studying the topic of hunger for
some time I've come to realize
that though this is a common
response to the problem, it is in
fact not the answer. U.S. foreign
aid policy tends to support the
need to give money to poor
nations as the solution to the
problem. What the general
public doesn't know is that the
root of hunger is in the concen-
tration of the control of food
producing resources in the hands
of a few people, namely
priviliged elites. Thus by giving
money to countries where
economic control lies in the hands
of a few we are only increasing
the restrictive power that they
have over land and productive
resources. We are therefore hur-
ting instead of helping; our of-
ficial aid is reinforcing power
relationships that already exist.
As Americans it is our duty to get
rid of these power plays. It's up
to us to realize that aid cannot
reach thehpowerless majority
through the hands of the
dominating elite. The answer,
thus, is to limit our aid to those
countries were the money will go
to the majority, the poor. That is,
we must send our aid to countries
where . restructuring or
redistributing of power has or is
taking place in favor of the
needy.
As it stands now our aid is sent
to countries not with the greatest
poverty, but to those with op-
presive rulers, where the money
goes to the wealthy and

and resources. But our military
aid is helping to put down these
efforts.
We as Americans must be
aware toward what and where
our tax dollars are going. We can
help. It isn't a hopeless battle.
However it is not just enough to
give. We need to educate our-
selves and be aware of what ef-
fect we have on others' way of life.
-Jennifer Loeb
December 25

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