OPIN

ION

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E and m tudentsatnivrt oa n
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan

Vol XCVII, No.105

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.

Forget your resumes if there's a code:

Yuppies unite!

F OR ALL THOSE who have ever
entertained thoughts of owning a
BMW, being an investment
banker, purchasing a house, or any
of the other requisites of an
upwardly mobile lifestyle, now is
the time to protect the chance of
attaining such a goal. The code of
non-academic conduct is coming
and with it are severe threats to the
future of this new American dream.
The proposed code of non-
academic conduct wields the power
to alter the student's academic
record, and thus his/her future,
based upon actions outside the
classroom.
.Unless students fight to reject the
code of non-academic conduct
now, they might, for example,
have to think twice about
neglecting unpaid parking tickets
because the University will have
the privilege of noting such
"atrocious conduct" on one's
transcript.
Unless students fight to reject the
code of non-academic conduct
now, they should leave their fake
IDs home. Getting caught for the
falsification of records will follow
the student for the rest of his/her
life on the student's transcript.
Unless students fight to reject the
code of non-academic conduct
now, they should forget about the
occasional use of marijuana. Gone
will be the days of the "hash bash"
and other innocuous get-togethers.
After the code of non-academic
conduct is passed, all of those
Fortune 500 companies for which
so many students aspire to work
may see any citations for drug use
on the student's permanent record.
Unless students fight to reject the
code of non-academic conduct
now, they should plan not to have
parties in the future where music is
played or beer is served. Under the
code of non-academic conduct, the
University will be. able to inform
prospective employers that students
have been convicted of holding
"noisy parties" (when music is

audible beyond the property line).
If a student happens to be caught
serving alcohol to those under 21,
his or her transcript may be
amended to include such
convictions. Even though such
"crimes" will not affect your
qualifications as an employee, the
University will have the right to
taint your record with such
additions.
Unless students fight to reject the
code of non-academic conduct
now, they should definitely plan to
be passive, apathetic information
sponges rather than active,
opinionated members of an open
university system. No longer will
students wish to protest
disagreeable policies or "university
guests, " or speak out to win
reforms from the administration for
fear of endangering their
employment prospects. Students
will not be caught heckling Gary
Hart or Jack Kemp in 1988 as such
actions may hinder their career
prospects. Students will have to
abandon other means of peaceful
protest, such as sit-ins to press for
more financial aid, increased
campus safety, and racism-free
radio stations, to mention a few.
Such "trespassing on University
property" is but another "crime"
which the code of non-academic
conduct would prevent by fear
tactics.
Obviously, the proposed code of
non-academic conduct will not only
negate the student's unalienable
right to party, but will also inhibit
the right to demand change by
threatening to maim the student's
transcript. Students must fight now
to preserve not only their rights as
current University citizens, but
their future right to gainful
employment. The code of non-
academic conduct is an insidious
threat to each and every student's
future, one which may prove to be
an undeserved but unshakeable
Scarlet Letter.

Detests
By Anonymous
As a victim who suffered greatly for
several decades under communism I was
particularly offended by John Silberman's
article "Socialism is superior" which
appeared in the Michigan Daily on
January 7, 1987. Mr. Silberman, who
admits to having never lived under
"socialism" - much less the
"communism" which he repeatedly cites
in his examples mistakenly glorifying
that system - attempts to portray the
image that he really knows what he is
talking about. As one who was actually
there, witnessed the slaughter of many
relatives, friends and other countrymen, I
am forced by his extreme naivete to speak
out even at the great peril which such an
action may pose to remaining family
members still enduring the "superiority of
socialism."
,There is barely a single sentence in Mr.
Silberman's account which is not badly
divorced from truth and reality. In the
first place, he speaks of "socialism" but
builds his case with examples of
communist-totalitarianism. I can under-
stand arguing about the possible benefits
of socialist systems such as that found,
for example, in Sweden. But the police
states of the People's Republic of China,
the Soviet Union and Cuba have about as
little in common with true "socialism" as
did the "National Socialism" of Hitler's
Nazi Third Reich.
Mr. Silberman states that "China
(socialist), only 25 years after its
revolution, totally eradicated starvation,
in India (capitalist), millions upon
millions of people continue to starve
while the country continues to export
food." Astounding ignorance for a
supposedly well educated law student!
First of all, India - at least by its own
account - is much more of a socialist,
than "capitalist," state. Moreover, it is
much more closely allied with the Soviet
Union than with the West. This just
cannot be disputed. Sorry. But even so,
India has become self-sufficient in
agricultural production and while many of
its citizens remain poor and under-
nourished, it is simply untrue that
"millions upon millions" are starving.
Why does Mr. Silberman not know
that 27 million - that's 27 million! -
people starved to death in China from
The editor has verified that the author is
indeed from a socialist country. The
editor granted the author anonymity
because of the author's fears of
retribution in his country.

socialist
1959 to 1962 during possibly the greatest
famine in human history? (See, Carl
Lawrence, The Church in China, Prof.
Ansley Coale of Princeton and Judith
Banister of the U.S. Census Bureau) This
holocaust has yet to be adequately
accepted inhthe Western consciousness,
and has yet to be even acknowledged
officially in China itself. This was
followed by the horrors and hundreds of
thousands (quite' possibly millions) of
casualties of the Cultural Revolution.
Why does Mr. Silberman not know of the
14 million Ukrainian peasants
deliberately starved to death by Stalin in
1932-33 because of their opposition to
his great "socialist" Soviet collectivi-
zation drive? (See Robert Conquest, The
Harvest of Sorrow, Oxford University
Press: Oxford, 1986). This other
holocaust is denied to the present day by
Soviet authorities. And what about the 4
million Cambodians slaughtered in less
than three years by the "socialist" (to use
Mr. Silberman's word) Khmer Rouge
from 1976-78? This is only a meager
sampling of some basic historical facts
anyone should be aware of before offering
his/her opinions on which systems other
people should be "happy" to live under.
The grand fiction of phenomenal
successes made by communists in
providing their subjects with enough food
is a myth now out-of-date for quite some
time. Only fools (mostly in the West)
can still believe such patent lies
shamelessly created by communist leaders
with wide-open eyes brazenly ignoring
the hard evidence of widespread bloodshed
in controlling the populace and of dismal
failures in the industrial and agricultural
spheres of decaying economies.
It is not "socialism," nor
"communism," but rather a kind of
"capitalism" which is saving millions
from starvation in China today. Where is
the superiority of the former over the
latter here?
India releases detailed statistics and
numerous reports on malnutrition and
economic shortcomings. In the U.S.,
Canada, Japan, Australia and western
Europe a plethora of statistics is available
on crime, unemployment, poverty, the
"homeless," etc. A diverse and inde-
pendent media is given free reign to
uncover social problems and corruption.
All this goes to show that capitalist
countries with the free flow of
information are not perfect countries. But
Mr. Silberman has found the purely
perfect countries of this world -
countries where perfect propaganda,

reality
perfect censorship of information, and.
perfect control of the people has made
everything horribly perfect. Can you read
about starvation, massacres, concentration t'
camps, torture, and genocide in Moscow's:
Pravda (which mean "truth") and the chief
papers of other communist countries? Of;
course not. In this sense, to "eradicate"..
malnutrition India does not need more.
food - it only needs a good newspaper.
like Pravda.
Communist leaders the world over have
always relied on a certain "food test" to
justify their rule. Mao Zedong, for
example, noted "We sufficiently feed the
people, we clothe them we shelter them .
. . what a perfect society we have
created!" Mr. Silberman also relies on
this "food test" to argue for the
superiority of socialism/communism. As
shown above, such claims are almost
always based on blatant lies and the cover
up of a much more morbid reality. But
even if the "food test" were not a
complete lie, would it still provide
justification for arguing that communism
is superior to capitalism? p
If there was no distinction between
humans and animals, such a beautiful
"food test" resting on lies could stand as a
universal truth. Aristotle pointed out that
free people prize liberty whereas slaves
would prefer to be protected. If only a
system's ability to "provide food" were to
be the sole standard for distinguishing a
good system from a bad one, then jail
cells might be better than dorms; animal
farms would be better than village
communities, and in the end any process
of transforming humans into animals
would be justified - as long as they got
enough food! Just because communism
(falsely) claims to provide enough food
does not make it superior. If
communism is so wonderful, Mr.
Silberman should go live there, like in a
cage - where the state will give him its
choice of food, clothes and a job. Maybe
he will even survive if he never changes
his mind and never tries to publish an
article that perhaps socialism is not really
so desirable.
In the 1960s, pigs in China's peoples'
communes were fed nothing but human
feces freshly excreted by hungry com-
mune members. Thus the pigs were
provided with "food" and kept from
starving to death. Let's hope that some-
day Mr. Silberman - a western born and
western bred gentleman who knows little,
but means well - will not be forced to
sacrifice his freedom merely for such
"food" provided by a system which he
now admires so much.

LETTERS:

Meese rally impressions are many

:.

Undisguised contempt

R ECENT COMMENTS by
University regents show their
contemptuous disregard for
students. In an interview with the
Daily, Regent Dean Baker (R-Ann
Arbor) said, "I don't really sense
that there is a broad scale of dislike
for the code." Regent Paul Brown
(D-Petosky) also recently pointed
out that the administration could
pass its own code for students
without consulting students.
In other words, if-the students do
not write their own rules for life
outside class, the administration
will. Contrary to Baker's dim
understanding of students, stu -
dents have long opposed the code,
but administrators such as Regent
Brown continue to argue that they
know best for students. Whether
through ignorance of student life or
ntenrnalkm_ the regents worke

tive Michigan Reviewcame out in
January in opposition to the code.
Opposition outside the student
body is also awakening. The
faculty's governing body - Senate
Advisory Committee for University
Affairs (SACUA) - assigned their
Civil Liberties Board (CLB) to
analyze a part of the proposed code
of non-academic conduct. As a
result, the CLB issued a strong
statement in opposition to the code.
Political opposition also includes
the students' state representative
Perry Bullard and the Ann Arbor
Democratic Party.
Surely all these groups would not
oppose the proposed code of non-
academic conduct if there were not
widespread student opposition.
The isolation of the regents who
govern this university from
A . *'.mt-c.a.. .. AI4.tPA t C.PT.a i 1

To the Daily:
Gee, I can see just how
angry the Meese protesters
were last Wednesday: they look
like they're trying to get their
genitalia back from the CIA. I
know how crucial abortion is
going to be to this gathering of
semi-rich white kids any day
now; and the Miranda
rulee-related vehemence is
certainly understandable, in
light of exactly who it has
been helping to keep out of
jail. The real question is, who
was that cartoon character the
demonstrators quoted? After all,
anyone openly having dinner
with Gerald Ford must be a
serious threat, at least to
himself. But let's get serious,
too: where are all the faces
contorted with anger, scream -
ing obscenities about Mr.
North's folly, the billions
spent on weapons and other
implements of death while
Americans starve, or for that
matter, historical issues such
as the assassination of Allende,
Nixon's pardon (which I'm
still paying for), or Ann
Arbor's shoddy
sidewalk-clearing, which
nearly killed me last week?
Frankly, I don't know why
these students bothered; but the
use of the slogan, "I hate
Meeses to peeces" sure was
cute. Since Thursday I've been
trvino tn nail-dnwn exactly

twelve or so (which they appar-
ently adhere to through their
lives, or until they marry and
go to work for Hughes), and
are just-aboutfed-up with the
same politicians with whom
college students are disgusted.
As usual, though, these kiddies
might just as well have stayed
in front of their TVs. I am
reminded of the same mis -
informed objections raised over
"Star Wars" research funding: a
case where a larger number of
misguided individuals were

certain that they waned no part
of funding a defense project
which might never become
practically destructive, but
somehow didn't mind that
hundreds of time more dollars
were going into weaponries
already proven practical and
effective (i. e. deadly). Great.
We don't seem to have any say
about how much money is
dumped into deathproducing
armaments, but by all means,
let's avoid those drawingboard,
impractical weapons since they

Democrats support inclusive language

may kill people ten or twenty
years down the road. Similarly,
this protest of Meese smacks
of candyassed, bored kiddies
who should have stayed home
watching cartoon shows. They
might not be able to explain
supporting issues which don't
really personally concern them
but could, at minimum, tell all
of us trivia fans which purple
or pink kitty they were-
quoting.
-Dan Adgat
February .9:

I

To The Daily:
At the College Republican's
January 22nd General
Membership Meeting,
President Debbie Buchholtz
condemned the use of inclusive
language. Inclusive language
incorporates all the meanings
of a word and reduces feelings
of alientation and discrimin-
ation. Some examples of
inclusive language are
replacing words like
"policeman" and "mothering"
with words such as "police
officer" and "parenting." In
particular, the College Repub-
lican's Spokesperson denoun-
ced MSA's funding to educate
students on the inclusive
language issue. When contacted
for an explanation, MSA

believe that a diversity of
opinion is educational, we also
feel that sexist language
impinges upon the equal rights
of women. As a supporter of
MSA's Resolution on
Inclusive Language and
PIRGIM's inclusive language
contest, the College Democrats
support the use of non-
discriminatory language. Not
only do we back MSA's
inclusive language resolution,
but we also support its efforts
to educate the student body by
bringing awareness to the
issue.
The College Democrats look

forward to the day when
inclusive language is
incorporated into everyday-
discussion. More importantly,
we envision a student body that
understands the issue behind
the word. That issue being
non-discrimination and
equality. Furthermore, ignor-
ance of equality is a fault that
can be reversed. Perhaps, some-
members in this community
should take advantage of the
rich curriculum offered in
Womens' Studies.
-Jonathan J. Bhushan
January 29