4 OPINION Page 4 Friday, November 20, 1987 The Michigan Doily Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Vol. XCVIII No.52 420 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. Shapiro responds, sometimes V I Motown handgun freeze DETROIT CITY COUNCIL will con- sider legislation next week to freeze handgun ownership. The proposal prohibits the sale of handguns within 9} days of its passage. It also man- dates registration and safety courses every three years for those who own guns. Mayor Coleman Young, an unlikely ally of the National Rifle As- sociation and local gunshop owners, opposes this resolution. Gun control opponents usually paint a picture of an upstanding citi- zen, alone at home, who is forced to shoot an intruder in order to defend their life and home. Though this sce- nario occasionally occurs, opponents give it undue emphasis and conve- niently overlook the 314 Detroit chil- dren, under the age of 17, who have been victims of handgun violence this year. They also ignore the 34 children whose experience with guns was fa- tal. Detroit has clearly reached a crisis situation for which there a r e undoubtedly many causes. One can attribute the situation to crack, poverty, or lack of education - handguns are an integral element. Guns are why suburbanites are afraid to venture into the city, guns are in- volved in drug buys, and now guns are an unforgettable part of the lives of the children of Detroit. Some may say this situation makes the "right to bear arms" crucial and that this is the time for every citizen concerned about their own safety to arm themselves. However, Detroit is already coming dangerously close to fitting the definition of a war zone, a siege mentality is the last thing the city needs. Carrying a gun automatically iso- lates one from others. Possession of a handgun gives one power over those without guns and a confrontational role against others with guns. What Detroit needs now is a concerted ef- fort toward public safety. Crime- watches, neighborhoods non-vio- lently ganging up against drug houses, and adults setting a safe, peaceful, non-criminal example for their kids will create a sense of com- munity Detroit seems to be lacking. These measures will hack away at the cycle of violence every child in De- troit is currently born into. A cycle handguns only perpetuate. Equating a gun in the home or on the body with self-protection is mis- taken. The FBI reports that 44 percent of gun deaths begin as arguments, not attempted crimes, and 60 percent of those killed with handguns were shot by someone they knew. The theory of the right to own a gun in order to protect your family may be comfort- ing in a crime-infested world, but in reality handguns in the home do more to endanger families. Others may wonder if freezing handgun ownership is the right an- swer to Detroit's high number of handgun deaths. Washington, D.C. is a stellar example of the effectiveness of this legislation. The district re- ported a large drop in handgun deaths after it passed such a freeze. Chicago also instituted a freeze which was followed by a ten-year low in homi- cides. Of course, the criminal element will be able to obtain guns outside of the city by proving citizenship in the town where they purchase the gun. But the freeze will make it harder for everyone to obtain guns, provide stronger penalties against criminals caught with illegal guns, and ensure safe use by those who legally own handguns. Mayor Young and the Council should unanimously endorse this proposal. And maybe Detroit will lose a few hundred less children to handgun deaths next year. By Henry Park .It takes a lot to make University Presi- dent Harold T. Shapiro respond. It is heartening that in his editorial "Shapiro responds to racism," (Daily, 11/17/87) Shapiro acknowledges a responsi- bility to set the record straight on "the Uni- versity's response to the problems of racism." Typical of Daily readers who respond to letter-writers or the Daily itself, however, Shapiro starts out with obligatory'if'oblique insinuations of "misinformation" and "inaccuracy." In a fashion similar to that of many letter-writers who claim that the "Daily sucks," Shapiro gives no specific reference from the allegedly "inaccurate" edi- torial. Shapiro's claims are impossible to refute or set straight. Usually letters to the Daily charge "inaccuracy"'or the vaguer "irresponsibility" because of a basic intolerance for the opin- ions expressed by other letter-writers or the Daily. The intolerant writer hopes that the reader will not notice that his/her charges were unsubstantiated. In a verbal rebuke to the Daily's editor in chief, Shapiro made it clear that he was un- happy with the statement in the Daily edito- rial that said Shapiro shows "no interest in racism." Indications from the grapevine, not Shapiro's editorial itself, are that Shapiro and other administrators thought they weren't getting any credit for the work on racism that they have done. Past editorials and articles by the current crop of editors at the Daily have already credited Shapiro with all the actions against racism he cited in his editorial ("Black lead- ers reach agreement with 'U,"' 3/24/87; "A first step forward," 3/25/87; "'U' develops anti-racism workshops," 3/26/87; "Search for vice provost continues," 4/1/87; "UCAR begins petition drive," 4/3/87; "UCAR con- tinues fight," 4/9/87; "UCAR keeps up pressure;" 4/10/87; "Ransby speaks out on campus," 9/10/87; "Six point plan," 9/10/87;etc. Daily). If anything, the Daily is guilty of leaving the impression that the racism problem is resolved since it has given front-page coverage to every proposal and promise the administration has made, including those not yet implemented by the administration. Taken literally and out of context the statement "no interest in racism" is strong and inaccurate if not taken as a matter of Park is an Opinion Page Co-Editor. opinion. The editorial in question, however, asserted that Shapiro was using the case of a disc jockey's racist remarks on a University station to implement a code. The Daily has written this before. Indeed, in a front page editorial, which the Daily indulges in less than once a year, the Daily criticized Shapiro on this very ques- tion last year. ("Cheap Solutions," 4/15/87) Ironically, Shapiro's assertion that he has some responsibility to set the record straight on University efforts on racism only under- scores the Daily's point made in the editorial "Shapiro's power grab" (11/9/87) that Shapiro has no interest in racism, only some sense of what is politically opportune. There is no other way to explain why Shapiro re- sponded to a short editorial buried in the bottom corner of the fourth page, but he did not publicly respond to the following: -The Daily's front page "Cheap Solu- tions" editorial of last spring. -Regent Baker's printed assertion last spring in the Detroit Free Press and Ann Arbor News that 10 percent Black enroll- ment was "impossible" and that the high schools, not the University were to blame. -Incidents directed against Mary Clark in- cluding "Funky Black Bitch." -The incident where a Black woman was pushed around in an elevator by whites ask- ing to see her "tail." Why did Shapiro respond to some of these incidents and not others? Some inci- dents created political opportunities either to pacify protesters or gain supporters, others did not. The Daily's front page "Cheap solutions" appeared at a time of intense anti-racist activity on campus last spring. Regent Baker's editorial started out with abundant praise for President Shapiro, as if to say Shapiro has done enough and the rest of the problem is in the high schools. The Mary Clark incident seems to point directly at the University administration. On the other hand, the Sevransky case had national publicity despite its existence as a mere symptom of minority underrepresenta- tion at the University and other serious racial problems on campus. By attacking the Daily's editorial, Shapiro could also capital- ize on the frustrations of various administra- tors who believe they do not get any credit for anti-racist work. (One might ask why Regent Baker and various administrators have so much praise for University efforts when so much work remains to be done and why should pulling the knife half-way out of someone's back receive credit in the Daily.) On a related note, it is interesting that Shapiro cites programs of action in the Housing Division as a case where the Uni- versity is working on racism and sexism. At the same time, he told a group of women concerned about date rape that the University has no responsibility toward the Greek housing system. As an economist, however, Shapiro is certainly aware that with overcrowding and deteriorating conditions *in the dorms year after year - 112percent occupancy this year - its tearing down of University Terrace housing, its refusal to build a new dorm or limit admissions, is one of the factors driv- ing thousands of students into the Greek system. What is more, Housing's authoritarian policies makes the Greek system seem like not only a lot of fun, not just the only place where students can have a party of ten or more people without getting permission from the University, but also the only place where students can just be left alone. This brings the issue back to the code, which is what the editorial "Shapiro's power grab" was about in the first place. Regula- tions in some dorms such as those concern- ing parties, which infringe on the so-called right to free assembly, drive students into the Greek system' The Greek system despite some brave exceptions and blatant tokenism, is a pillar of class, race and gender segrega- tion. Thus, Shapiro's dormitory regulations, which are a taste of the code he wants implemented across-the-board, drive students into institutions known for their segregation. The Sevransky case is another case where the code actually fuels racism. Shapiro is well aware of long-standing opposition to his proposed code of non-academic conduct. When he sought to punish Sevransky through the establishment of a code, he knew very well that student opinion would be divided. Indeed, nothing could be worse than to set two of the strongest movements on campus against each other - the anti-code move- ment and the anti-racist movement. Perhaps Shapiro perceived this when he backed off the idea of a mini-court system to try Sevransky. Nonetheless by confusing the complicated issues of civil liberties and racism, Shapiro consciously or unconsciously abets racism by dividing the student body. Wasserman f1" &1AV R~I~iTS attic UNWWA1VdAND MP ~ tD you. CORRgUPT CIILt)IXV/ CATSF* YRZYu XJAE ~/ o ~~VICTI MS of gjSMIMINoM? t/ 3 4 More Iran hypocrisy LETTERS. Anti-racists support LaGROC demand R ECENTLY, THE United States sowed the export of high-technol- ogy products to China in an effort 0o prevent China from selling Silk- worm missiles to Iran. This effort by the United States is hypocritical it light of U.S. arms sales to Iran which precipitated the Iran-Contra affair. t The United States is asking China to stop selling arms to Iran while the prosecution of the perpe- tiators of the Iran-Contra affair has not concluded yet. What's needed is a coherent approach to guide arms sales. The United States continues a tremendous oil and oil-products trade with Iran. Although the Rea- gan administration and others have said that a trade embargo is in the works, it does not make sense to cut off trade with China to prevent it from trading arms to Iran, before the United States has cut off its own trade with Iran. China should stop sending arms to both Iran and Iraq, but the United States must coordi- U.S. allies can also use weapons for oppressive purposes. The lives of people in the U.S. bloc are just as valuable as those in the Soviet bloc or Iran, and U.S. arms trade policy should reflect that fact. Instead of arming and trading with both Iran and Iraq in order to obtain influence over them, the United States should consistently work toward preventing arms from flowing to both belligerents in the tragic Iran/Iraq war. If the United States were consistent in its actions toward Iran, Iraq and the United States' oppressive allies, then it would have some credibility in its actions against China. It is easy to become cynical about the U.S. arms trade, but is impor- tant not to despair for lack of solu- tions. There are many groups and people that offer differing solutions for the apparently anarchic arms trade that run from electing Democrats in favor of more restric- tions on the arms trade to trans- forming the economic system to rid tha n.ne ,.aPof ite nrfit mtivp To the Daily: The United Coalition Against Racism (UCAR) stands in complete solidarity with the efforts of Lesbian and Gay Rights on Camp u s (LaGROC) to end all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation. Specifically, that means complete support for a change in the regental by-laws to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, just as the University supposedly prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion, etc. UCAR realizes that the daily victimization of lesbians and gay men usually g o e s unreported and unnoticed - except by the victims themselves. We see the very fear of reporting anti-gay incidents or biases a s symptomatic of the depth of the hatred against lesbians and gay men that this system fosters. The lack of education about the lives of gay people, of l-eian .av ..., rvat. th action-must cement these links in an organized response. For example, at the same time that racist violence has sharply increased (Howard Beach, Forsythe County, lynchings in Central Park in New York and Concord, California), reported violent attacks against gay men and lesbians has risen one hundred percent (emphasis added) since 1985, according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. In addition, AIDS continues to affect the Black and Latino/a communities at a rate of double both group percentages in the total population. AIDS continues to ravage Africa and Haiti, areas still oppressed by United States imperialism, while the government and right-wing groups attack gay and minority peoples with AIDS, not the disease itself. UCAR stands against racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, and all forms of oppression. We realize that nnne nf n will h free until nl broken, the chains must be broken. Only by linking our struggles can we achieve victory. A luta continua! -Cristina Antworth Pedro Bonilla Paul Carmouche Dave Fletcher Decries anti- To the Daily: Over the past two weeks several incidents have startled me considerably. Scrawled across an entire blackboard in the Frieze Building was "DEATH TO ISRAEL- LONG LIVE ABU NIDAL, SAVIOR OF THE ARAB RACE." As a supporter of Israel, this statement w as upseting in itself; even more disturbing however, was the audience that this was directed towards--a group of 30 stud- ents taking Hebrew 201, or more significantly, a group of Jewish students. Adding to my alarm, was the fact that similar antwnanizine remarks Bruce B. Graves Tracy Hervey Paul Lefrak Erika Smith Kim Smith Michael Wilson, for membership ofTUC AR November 19 Semitic acts ment hidden under the guise of an anti-Israel slogan. Anti- Semitism,as with any other form of bigotry and prejudice, is intolerable and must not be not only anti-Israel, but on a larger scale anti-Semitism. Similary, the bloody attack on a synagogue in Turkey by Abu Nidal, killing many inn- ocent worshippers, was proof that his targets and hatred are directed towards Jews in general. People are entitled and encouraged to hold and to express their opinions; in as much that it is not filled with bigotry and senseless malice tnwards nthers Is this what 4 -4 U