__PINION
Thursday, April 16, 1987 TeMcia ol
Page '4
The Michigan Daily)
te m btst a nersichigan
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Vol. XCVII, No 135
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.
Drinkmg Dirge
THE DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL Because of Gelman Science's
Resources (DNR) released its negligence, forty private and
annual report on environmental commercial wells, some as far
contamination ranking Gelman from Gelman as two miles, are
Sciences Inc. as the second worst polluted with high traces of
polluter in this state. Contamination dioxane.
because of inadequate storage of Gelman does not hesitate to
waste products affects groundwater admit that it is creating hazardous
sources nearly two miles away environmental conditions in the
from the industrial site. area. The company agreed to
Gelman is not a newcomer to the finance an extension project of Ann
environmental enemy list. The Arbor's water lines, enabling their
company ranked 89th on last year's usage in the contamination affected
list and was projected to retain that areas. However, Gelman is in-
position. However, newly acquired effective and slow in implementing
information exposed contamination independent cleanup efforts. The
problems originating from Gelman state is carrying the cleanup
Sciences to be more extensive than burden, having spent over $21,000
previously estimated. The great to distribute bottled water to nearly
jump in the severity of Gelman's sixteen families and businesses
contamination problem evolves under the emergency water supply
from the number of private wells program.
that are being polluted because of Nearly $11.3 million will be
leakage from Gelman waste released this year for the statewide
lagoons. cleanup program, by the state
The new ranking indicates that government. However it not be
the state government is only now sufficient, by itself, to solve
admitting what has long been Gelman's problems. The
suspected by local residents. The groundwater quality staff of the
responsible government agencies DNR Jackson District office.
and especially Gelman itself, have requested over $1,000,000
tradion ally been slow and exclusively for the Gelman cleanup
ineffective in their approaches to efforts and investigation into other
solving the problems affecting the possible violations.
Gelman area.
In 1984, Gelm requested that Gelman should seriously review.
irt be9drope r arq teDRhlis its options and consider the
a serting that they were guilty o community and the state that allow
aeninental contamegintion it to thrive. Cleanup proposals set
no environmental contamination forth by Gelman include operations
violations. Later that year, a
Universtiy graduate student ran that would pump contaminated
tests in water depositories located groundwater and discharge it into
just off Gelman property. The the existing deep well at Gelman
student discovered traces of 1,4- Sciences, Ann Arbor sewer system
dioxane in the water samples. or treating it and later releasing it
Dioxane is known to cause nose into surface stream water.
and liver cancer, especially by The company should not wait
means of contaminated drinking for the state to appropriate funds
water. A poisonous chemical, it is for a cleanup effort. Spending
included in the Critical Materials taxpayers money to alleviate
Register, a record of hazardous problems that the taxpayers are not
chemicals compiled by the DNR. directly responsible for is ludicrous
Local and state health officials and injust. A source is positively
discounted this evidence taking no identified as the responsible party
serious steps to solve or in the contamination problems in
thoroughly investigate the the Gelman Sciences area. Gelman
contamination problem until Sciences Inc. should take all
residents organized and pressured responsibility and finance the
governmental agencies to take cleanup efforts independent of the
action. state and government money.
To 'B' or'notto B'
LETTERS:
April 1 e
To the Daily:
The recent April Fool's Day
editorial, "God is Dead," has
certainly brought out the fools.
I can't believe people are so
upset at the article that they are
clamoring for the dismissal of
those responsible. Further-
more, members of the MSA
have even said the editorial
"promotes blatant bigotry
towards Catholics and all other
religious sects." Really! Am I
(or anyone else with a degree of
intelligence) supposed to think,
"Gee, even though there's a
disclaimer stating that the
article is purely satirical, I
think they're basically
reporting the truth about the
Pope, Catholics and other
religions."
I had thought most people
at the U possessed enough
common sense to differentiate
between deliberately libelous
acts and purely satirical
articles. Now, the flyer slipped
under the lounge door of
Couzens dormitory certainly
constituted a malicious and
derogatory incident. However,
a satirical editorial on religion
should be taken as just that: a
piece of satire.
Thomas Prichard, leader
of Students Against Religious
Intolerance (SARI), says that
the editorial attacks individuals
on a personal level because
"religion is fundamental to the
lives of some people." Well,
I'm sorry to disenchant Mr.
Prichard, but good satire should
be on a personal level. Look
at any major newspaper: the
leaders of our country, and
indeed, of many other
countries, are being ridiculed
on an extremely personal level.
But that doesn't necessarily
make any of the attacks true.
What most intelligent
people do is use the satirical
piece as a prompt to examine
what, if anything, might have
justified such ridicule. For
instance, The Daily's editorial
mentions "peace breaking out
in Ireland and the Middle East"
due to God's death. This might
cause one to reflect on the role
relgion plays in these areas.
While numerous groups may
use religion as an excuse to
justify the endless cycle of
violence, political differences,
power-hungry factions and just
plain intolerance of others lay
at the root of the problem.
What the members of
SARI seem to be advocating is
the outlawing of satire. Are
we then not allowed to poke
fun at anyone, including our-
selves? The atmosphere on
ca
w
w
Is
A
fe
th
li
te
sh
th
ha
an
editorial brings out the fools
4
A.
impus seems to be one of you find an article offensive, folks, it's just a joke!). It
atchful paranoia. People don't read it! No one's forcing would be a shame if our jokes
onder, "Can I tell this joke? you to. were reduced to dealing with,
this anecdote acceptable? People are overreacting to plants, home appliances and an
m I going to be reported?" I anything that bothers them. If assortment of small animas.
el like I'm being watched by these students want to protest Humor shouldn't be regulaed,
e KGB! C'mon everybody, against something, why don't but free and spontaneQus,
ghten up! Humor relieves they work against a really because after all, "laughter is
nsion and stress. Everybody pressing problem such as the best medicine."
could be able to laugh at crime, rape, the homeless,--My Nguyen
emselves: otherwise, they whether or not God told Chris Scirol
ave no business laughing at Tammy Bakker it was OK to April' 9
iyone or anything else. If cake on the makeup.... (relax:4
Disease recognized; now, apply the cure:,
o the Daily: nority student on our campus action can facilitate chaie.
Racism. A word that is, or has felt as one time or another. The problem has been recog -
ould be an integral part of Education and interaction are nized, it now must be con -
'ery University of Michigan the two most effective grounds quered.
udent's life. The word and of combating racism on our -Gary Perlian
e concept should not be campus. Education and inter - March:28
Tc
sh
ev
st
th
important to us because of the
publicity that racism on our
campus has received. Racism
should not be a concern of our
student body because the
Michigan Daily, Eyewitness
News, or the New York Times
says that there is a crisis at the
University of Michigan.
The fact is, racism at Mich -
igan is probably not any worse
than it is in many other
universities in our country.
The difference is that at Mich -
igan, we have the benefit of
having an enlightened, sen -
sitive, and dedicated student
body. The difference is, that at
Michigan, people are finally
beginning to re-realize that the
status quo is unacceptable.
There is no sure-fire method
of eradicating racism or social
biases on our campus. If a
product was devised that could
clean our campus, our country,
and our world, of many of the
flaws in our socialization, it
would be a welcome relief, an
undeniable good. Unfortun -
ately, such a product does not
exist.
What then, can we do to
combat bigotry at Michigan?
Initially, we as students, can
support UCAR's demands. I
do not believe that every stu -
dent will agree with every de -
mand. Rather, it is essential
that the student body realize the
impetus behind the demands.
In four years at Michigan, I
have had one Black instructor.
I have learned nothing of Black
history, Black literature, or
Black politics. I have gone to
great lengths to educate myself
outside of the classroom.
Still, the University must fa -
cilitate the education of the
student body.
If any student at Michigan
questions the gravity of the
situation, let him or her go to
a minority student lounge. Let
him or her experiencethe feel -
ing of isolation that every mi -
ROTC cadets rein-force image
4
To the Daily:
I would like to take a few
moments to thank the mem -
bers of the University of Mich -
igan's ROTC program. Today,
a few of these young men and
women reaffirmed my stereo -
type of the military character.
While walking home from
classes today, I realized what a
beautiful world we live in.
The sun was shining brightly,
the birds were singing and
most everyone I saw had a
smile on his or her face. As I
walked past Stockwell Hall, a
group of seven ROTC mem -
bers jogged past me. As they
jogged away, I couldn't help
but notice the T-shirts three of
the joggers were wearing. On
the back of the shirts was the
saying, "I want my M16." An
M16 is an automatic assault
rifle.
As I thought about the
shirt, I began to appreciate its
meaning more and more. 'The
M16, apart from being a
machine whose only purpose is
to kill, represents all U.S.
military hardware, and:the
people who advocate their:use,
either as a deterrent, or as death
machines.4
So thank you to thos0
members of the ROTC whO
have chosen to wear thesd
shirts. Thank you for demon
strating the common U.S:
mentality that puts military
might before diplomatic right.
Thank you for proving that, in
this day and age, we here in the
United States advocate force
over nonviolence. And thank
you for removing the smil#
from my face on this sunny,
beautiful day.
-Kevin Kelly
April 9
Daily staff members lack respect
To the Daily:
On April 8, I had to go to
the Daily on business. Outside
the Daily, the Students Against
Religious Intolerance were
picketing. While I do not be -
long to that group, I agree with
them on the issues behind the
protest, the article, "God Is
Dead" editorial in the April 1
issue.
Inside, the reporters and oth -
er employees were mocking the
pickets, making comments and
jokes about the protest saying
things like: "Isn't this great"
while giving each other high
fives, "Hey, they changed
directions - I wonder how
they managed that," and "The
were getting dizzy going jq8l
one way."
Their behavior makes ie
wonder about the comment'
they may have made abo<
other student protests on can
pus. Were they equally si
castic about racism, seximrit
and gay rights pickets?
Because of the lack of pri
fessionalism these repor te
displayed on April 8, I susp,4
the only place I will see the
by-lines will be in the Natiob
Enquirer.
-Kim Romberg
April 10
The Daily welcomes letters from its.3
readers. Bringing in letters on personal"
computer disk is the fastest way to publish...
a letter in the Daily.
LAST MONTH THE BLACK Action
Movement (BAM) gave the
University a list of ultimatums to
end racism on campus. Among
them was a demand pertinent to the
Daily: "we demand that all
University publications cease
degrading and insulting the
integrity of Black people by the use
of lower case 'b' when referring to
the Black race." The Daily has
officially adopted this policy, and
we urge other print media to follow
suit.
The first large wave of Blacks
came to the United States as slaves
captured by slave traders in Africa
about 300 years ago. The Blacks
were different than most other
people entering America at the time
in that they were brought here
forcibly.
Black families were often
arbitrarily seperated and given
names by their white owners. This
is the nrimarv raacnn manvmRaae
Asian are capitalized. The word
"Black," when referring to Black
Americans, should also be
capitalized. However, this does
not warrant that the word "white"
be capitalized also. White Ameri -
cans do not comprise an ethnic
group. White Americans are a
conglomerate of different ethnic
groups. Rather than identifying
themselves as white, they identify
themselves as Italian, Irish,
German, Polish, etc. and maintain
some traditions from these cultures
at home.
Most Black Americans focus
their ethnic pride on being Black,
though there is a growing minority
of Blacks who have recently
immigrated from a country with
which they hold firm ties. But most
whites have ethnic pride in the fact
that they come from a Polish, Irish
etc. background, rather than the
fact that they are white.
Life versus death
To the Daily:
The Greek system advocates
life-improving research through
its donation of thousands of
dollars each year to
humanitarian institutions such
as the American Cancer
Society. As members of the
Greek system, we believe that
researching better ways to kill
with our tuition dollars is not
in accordance with Greek
values of community service.
Greeks For Peace is joining
over 75 religious leaders in
Michigan and other peace and
social justice groups in support
of the end-use clause. Today,
the Regents are scheduled to
vote on the future of the clause
which prohibits life-
endangering research on
campus. We ask all sorority
and fraternity members to
uphold the social responsibility
for a peaceful community.
Please join us at the Vigil For
A Weapons Research Free
University, today in Regents
Plaza (the Cube) at 3:00.
Following, Mark Wurfel, a
r '-- ,