OPINION


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Page 4

Friday, January 23, 1987

The Michigan Doily

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Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Vol. XCVII, No.81 420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board
All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.
Toxic waste crackdown

LETTERS:

Daily pro-Greek bias shows

THERE ARE OVER 1500 toxic
waste sites in Michigan and an
inestimable amount of
contaminated water resulting from
them. Legislators at both the state
and nationals level have launched a
two-prong approach to remedy the
situation, but are encountering
major opposition.
On the state level Senator Lana
Pollack has introduced legislation
that calls for strengthening laws to
prevent further air and water
pollution and to improve
prosecution of those responsible
for past and present pollution.
On the national level, the Clean
Water Act passed the Senate
yesterday and the House last week
by overwhelming majorities. The
Reagan administration tabled the
same bill last November.
The toxic waste issue has special
significance in the state of
Michigan for many reasons. Not
only are the residents of Michigan
endangered by' a contaminated
water supply, but the state
economy is threatened. Tourist
trade generates one third of .
Michigan's state revenue. If toxic
waste continues to accumulate in
our water, tourists will find other
unpolluted vacation spots. Many
entrepreneurs and small businesses
that exist on.the.towit.marketwil:. ~
fail. The state as awxlewUill lose.
badly needed revernes, revenues
that are critical on the road to
Michigan's economic recovery.

Unfortunately, strict
environmental laws are one of the
things that most large industries
run away from. If by itself
Michigan passes adequate
environmental laws, the state risks
losing current and future industries
to other states. If it does not pass
some environmental legislation,
Michigan jeopardizes the tourist
trade and endangers the health of
its residents.
Ultimately, it is Reagan's so-
called budget plan that is thwarting
the necessary national legislation.
Like other domestic needs, the
need for a clean environment takes
a back seat to military spending in
the Reagan budget.
Reagan has proven himself an
enemy to the environment by
tabling the last clean water bill and
by continuing to cut the
Environmental Protection Agency's
funding so it cannot even
investigate potential violations of
environmental laws.
It is critical to Michigan and the
country to keep pressure on
senators and congresspeople.
Concerned citizens and groups
such as PIRGIM will have to fight
against the administration for a
two-thirds majority in Congress
when Reagan vetoes the current
Clean Water Act. Legislation that
resembles Senator Pollack's
proposal is desperately, needed on a
federal level to keep a healthyy
populace and environment off the
list of industrial sacrifices.

To the Daily:
Winter fraternity rush has
descended upon us; once again
the diag is full of banners and
the campus is littered with
fliers inviting males to join the
Greek community. Many
students will enjoy 'themselves
at rush parties, taking
advantage of free beer and food.
But beware of Greeks bearing
gifts. Before you "rush" to
join a fraternity, slow down
and think about the Greek
system and all the other
options available to you.
While the campus is
engulfed in"rush-mania,"
students may feel pressured to
join a fraternity knowing
relatively little about the Greek
system or other options
available. Indeed, this one
sided presentation not only
takes over the diag banners and
the kiosks, but is even seen on
the cover of the Daily.
Perhaps it's time for the Daily
to be a bit more objective in
reporting alternatives to the
Greek system.
Infected with "rush-mania,"
the campus community and the
Daily tend to ignore many of
the questionable values that the
Greek system represents. The
process of rush itself entails
fraternities choosing members
in a nonobjective manner,
resulting in an elite few
entering the Greek system.
These elite few then tend to
isolate themselves not only
within the Greek system, but
also within their own
homogeneous houses. Greek
diversity is further limited by
the expensive rates charged by
fraternities (nearly the highest
cost of any campus housing).
Carried away with "rush-
mania," the University
community and the Daily
'ignore the realteeds of the
majority of the students.
While financial aid is dwind -
ling, tuition costs growing and
affordable housing becoming
harder to find, students are in
need of low cost, quality
Women and
minorities
To The Daily:
The headline of the Daily's
report on Barbara Scott
Winkler's talk ("Women's
studies ignore minorities,"
Daily, 12/2/86) was very
misleading. It is generally
acknowledged that women's
studies, like academic programs
throughout the University, has
often "ignored minorities."
But Winkler's talk discussed
two women's studies programs
that have been very successful
in including women of color
and responding to their
concerns. And it was presented
here that week precisely
because we are making an
effort to do that in our own
program. The article, and
especially the headline, give
exactly the wrong impression.
The title should have been
"Women's Studies reaches out
to minorities." The

undersigned women's studies
teachers, students and staff
hope that you will help us to
do that by printing this letter.
-June Howard
Lorraine Gutierrez
Dorothy Bradshaw
Barbara Ransby
Laurie Lytel
Patricia Armstrong
David A. Wolfe
Ximena Zuniga
Heather Thompson
Susan Saylor
Janet Sudak
Su Penn
Joanne Taylor
Cindy Calhoun
Mara Silverman

housing. Students need to
know that affordable housing is
out there. The Daily and the
University need to inform
students about available
affordable housing.
One affordable form of
student housing not receiving
the attention it deserves is
student owned and controlled
cooperative housing. The
Inter-Cooperative Council
Pro-l fers
To the Daily:
I used to support "Right to
Life." I no longer do.,
Their arguments sounded
convincing to me at first, as
they would to any naive person
with an ounce of compassion
for the helpless. But it takes a
knowledgeable person to fully
understand where the "pro-life"
movement is coming from. It
claims to be rooted in com -
passion. At first such a claim
sounds admirable. After all,
one would not expect to see
abortions performed in the best
of all possible worlds.
But the best of all possible
worlds would also be a world
without war, nuclear weapons
rampant poverty, Third World
hunger, racism, sexism, or
child abuse. Have you ever
noticed that the "pro-life"
movement all too often refuses
to recognize these as problems?
I often wonder how they
envision the best of all
possible worlds.
I used torsupport them, and
I believe I now have an
insider's view of their situa -
tion. It is not "compassion for
the sanctity of human life" that
moves them. I do not believe
that for a minute.. That slogan
is only used to "expose" the
left and charge us with "incon -
sistencies." They are, in effect
saying "You claim to believe
in the sanctity of human life,
but.. ." They are motivated
by a mythology. It is a
mythology that is based on the
superiority of the United States
of America and the white race.
They are God's chosen people,
and therefore have every right
to kill off those who would
stand in their way. It could be
the Indians or the Nicaraguan
government. But since God
lacks the ability to protect his
people, they must use the arms
race, capital punishment , and
terrorism (Biblical references
about love, peace, and justice,
then, cannot be interpreted
literally).
In the midst of all this, God
has commanded the American

coordinates 17 student owned
houses on campus. These co-
ops are open to all students, are
co-ed, and monthly charges are
below market rates. The
members of the I.C.C. take
pride in attracting a diverse
membership, welcoming
students from all social,
academic, religious and ethnic
backgrounds. Instead of
rushing, take the time to
are no longer
people to end the practice of
abortion lest the country lose
its prestige and supremacy. Let
it not be forgotten, then, that a
fear of a national downfall, not
a "belief in the sanctity of
human life" is what moves the
anti-abortionists. I will respect
their wishes and call them
"pro-lifers" when they respect
mine and call me "pro-choice"
rather than "pro-abortion."
Since I find it hard to accept
their mythology, then, I am
not moved by their graphic
descriptions of the abortion
Five cents is
To the Daily:
Are they getting a little
paranoid over at the MSA anti-
military research clique? Or
could it be, as Ingrid Kock
suggests, that the University's
Division of Research and
Development Administration's
charging of five cents per page
of information on the
University Research Initiative
is "to make certain that
information on URI doesn't get
to the community?"
More likely the five cents is
the copying cost that the
DRDA pays to provide copies'
to interested people. After all,
providing Ms. Kock (or anyone
else) with copies of documents,
is not a matter of saying
"abracadabra," and it appears in
the speaker's hands. Much as

consider all your options; the
I.C.C. will be holding a masss
meeting on Saturday, Feb. 14,
at 3:00 p.m. in the Kuenzej
Room in the Michigan Union.
-Michael J. Burton
I.C.C. Vice President
for Education
Joshua Laird
I.C.C. Vice President
for Membership
January 20
convincing
process. Gory descriptions of
far greater horrors make their
stories seem far too insig -
nificant to be worthy of my
attention.
Would abortions be per.:
formed in the best of all
possible worlds? Perhaps not.
But as long as the evidence for
their compassion is outweighed
by their callousness toward the
world's most serious problems,
I cannot support them!
Pro-choicers, you are right!'
-Timothy West
January 21
not too much
one may wish, Department of
Defense technology is not quite;
that good.
But this raises an interesting
question. Is it possible that
MSA has wasted so many of,
our five dollar fees, that they
no longer have the money toa
pay for five cents per page
documents? If so, if Ingrid,
Kock or someone else over at
MSA will get in touch with)
me, I will be happy to donate a0
dollar so that they can get
twenty more pages, provided
that when it arrives, I would bf.
able to take a look at the
documents. As a supporter of
military-funded research op
campus, I, too am curious to
see what is being done.
-Charles D. Lipsiq
January 20
-I-

Rape awareness sit-in

.,A I

T HIS WEEK TWO YEARS ago
students seized the office of Vice-
President for Student Services
Henry Johnson to protest a lack of
attention to the issue of rape on
campus. The office take-over has
had many positive effects-that
students should not take for
granted.
Johnson had said in the Metro -
politan Detroit magazine that rape
was not a problem at the Uni-
versity. "I just don't see some-
thing labeled rape 'prevention
clinic' or 'office' as necessarily
germane to the mission of the
institution." He seemed to feel that
the University image was more
important than the rape problem.
In this atmosphere where
problems were papered over and
not frontally attacked, students
empowered themselves and
subsequent generations of students
by using confrontational methods.
One of the tangible effects of the
sit-in was the creation of the Sexual

Assault Prevention and Awareness
Center with a budget of $75,000.
Today it has $135,000. Also since
the sit-in, the University has
installed emergency phones on
campus, expanded the Nite Owl
route and added a second Nite Owl
bus. The educational workshops
on date and acquaintance rape
awareness are available to the
whole community and have been
used by dormitories, fraternities,
sororities, and even The Daily.
Outreach programs like the
workshops, as well as a centralized
informational and supportive center
for women, have helped to create a
more open atmosphere on campus.
Instead of hiding behind security,
the issue of rape is now being
'discussed and taken seriously, as a
responsibility of the entire com-
munity to prevent. Such
heightened awareness contributes'
to women's self-empowerment and
male sensitivity, both of which are
essential to a less violent, abusive
society.

The Daily welcomes letters from its
readers. Bringing in letters on personal
computer disk is the fastest way to publish
a letter in the Daily. Readers who can not
bring their letters in on disk should include
their phone numbers for verification.Call
747-2814 for details.

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Help us to offer a more diverse, representative viewpoint.
The Daily is looking for minority and women writers. If
you're interested, stop in The Daily, upstairs in the
Student Publications Building, 420 Maynard St. or call
747-2814 (Opinion), 764-0562 (News), 763-0379
(Arts), or 747-3036).