OPINION
Page 4 Monday, January 18, 1988 The Michigan Daily


Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan

King's message speaks to 'U'

Vol. XCVIII, No.74

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.
Israel should negotiate the return of the territories with PLO

Free Palestine

DURING THE PAST few weeks,
Palestinians in the West Bank and
,Gaza Strip have faced Israeli troops
with live ammunition. There is no
justification for Israel shooting and
.!,killing demonstrators who are
a 'armed with little more than rocks.
These confrontations between the
Palestinians and Israeli troops have
left 40 protestors dead and several
hundred wounded, while only one
Israeli soldier has been injured and
none have been killed. The severity
of the repression indicates that Is-
rael is an unwanted regime which
denies Palestinian self-determi-
nation.
The Palestinian riots in the occu-
pied territories are an expression of
frustration over prolonged repres-
sion. First, the Jordanians and
Egyptians and now the Israelis have
imposed a military dictatorship .on
the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Curfews, random and sporadic ar-
rests, military censorship boards,
and demolition of homes are all a
part of a Palestinian refugee's life.
Through martial law, mass ar-
rests, and the deporting of suppos-
ed ringleaders, Israel violates basic
human rights. Other infringements
r include: the exclusion of Palestini-
ans from the governing processes,
denial of land ownership and water
rights, the ability to travel freely,
and numerous other privileges en-
joyed by the Israeli settlers living in
their midst. These conditions make
the living environment of the Pales-
tinian people one of the most dismal
anywhere.
Demonstrations and riots have
harnessed more support and have
become more violent since Israel's
military presence in the area was
stepped up. The government policy
simply increases regional tensions.
Israel continues to make a com-
plete mockery of justice while end-
ing all rights of freedom of expres-
sion. Palestinians are arrested in-
discriminately and without charge.
Imprisonment lasts months, without
trial, bond, or even a formal accu-
.sation.
Israel even degradates the Geneva
convention, of which it is a co-sig-
r nator, by deporting Palestinians
0'-who supposedly organized violent
resistance.
In protesting the occupation,
t°..,Palestinian youth might have been
less destructive and violent.
Nonetheless, Israel persecuted non-
violent activists such as Mubarak
Awad and Gideon Spiro with de-
tention and deportation. Further,
numerous non-violent protests at
rll.,Bir Zeit University have resulted in
r o'-violent reprisals and arrests from
" the Israeli army. Considering the
044 violent nature of the repression, it is
not surprising that Palestinian youth
who have grown up under Israel's
iron fist are expressing their oppo-

sition to Israel's hostile rule.
To find a solution to the Pales-
tinian-Israeli problem, some
groundwork must be laid.
. First, the Palestinian refugee
problem is not exclusively an Arab
problem, just as the South African
problem is not exclusively a Black
problem. They are both concerns
for all people.
Alternatively, expecting Jordan to
absorb the ethnically and culturally
different Palestinians, just because
both are Arabs, is a racist concept.
The Palestinians are entitled to their
own identity.
Second, the Palestinian Liberation
Organization (PLO) should be rec-
ognized by Israel and the United
States as a representative of the
Palestinian people. Polls by many
institutions including official elec-
tion results have consistently shown
this to be true.
Conversely, the PLO should rec-
ognize Israel on a reciprocal basis.
It has shown a willingness to do
this on many prior occasions which
Israel and the U.S. media have
conveniently overlooked. While it is
true that some factions of the PLO
have brutally killed civilians, this
should not prevent recognition.
The PLO's actions, however, pale
in comparison to the brutality prac-
ticed by Israel. The Israeli state em-
ploys indiscriminate bombings of
highly populated areas, attacks on
refugee camps, and routine use of
torture by the Shin Beth. It is
hypocritical for Israel not to recog-
nize the PLO over its use of vio-
lence.
Third, Israel and the PLO should
negotiate the return of the occupied
territories to the Palestinians. This
doesn't necessarily mean that the
PLO will run the territories; rather,
this question should be decided by
the Palestinians themselves.
The option for the West Bank and
Gaza to become separate nations
should not be ignored. The riots in
these areas show Palestinians do
not want to live under Israel's
jurisdiction. Negotiations with the
Palestinians' representatives for a
Palestinian homeland is Israel's
way out of the immediate problem.
Fourth, all prisoners held by Is-
rael for protesting the occupation
should be released. Many of the
prisoners have been detained with-
out a trial, and the few trials held
are conducted in military courts
with partial judges. Currently,
lawyers boycott the trials in protest
of the kangaroo court.
Israel must recognize the Pales-
tinian nation's right to self-determi-
nation. Prolonging the vicious re-
pression and crushing simple aspi-
rations toward basic human rights
will only make the solution more
violent.

By Sarah Babb
The events of this past week have served
as a timely illustration of the cause to
which the Reverend Martin Luther King
Jr. dedicated his life, namely the struggle
against the racism inherent in the institu-
tions of this nation. Institutionalized
racism can be as blatant as a law rele-
gating nonwhites to the back of a bus, or
as subtle as a remark concerning the unde-
sirability of having a larger proportion of
minorities at the University of Michigan.
But in neither case can the solution to
these problems be left in the hands of the
institutions which perpetuate them.
Reverend King showed that it is the re-
sponsibility of the people to decide what
is and is not acceptable, and to change in-
stitutions when they conflict with these
standards. When Police Commissioner
Eugene "Bull" Connor turned police dogs
and fire hoses on demonstrators in Birm-
ingham in 1963, the civil rights move-
ment created a conflict with a system of
discrimination that had existed for many
years, with the help of various institu-
tions, including the State of Alabama:
consequently, King and his followers were
thrown in jail.
Today, institutionalized racism is no
longer as blatant as the Jim Crow Laws of
the 1950s and 60s. But as we saw last
week when Dean Steiner's remarks were
publicized, it is no less a part of our soci-
ety. President Fleming has proposed that
the elimination of racism from this cam-
pus be left solely in the hands of Dean
Steiner and other administrators of the
University of Michigan. Nevertheless,
Sarah Babb is a Daily Opinion page
staffer.

whether the institution in question is the
State of Alabama, the U.S. government or
the University of Michigan, it is impera-
tive that the power of decision in these
matters not remain in the hands of the
Bull Connors or the Dean Steiners of this
world.
The idea that the institutions that are
themselves implicitly racist will single-
handedly eliminate racism is not only lu-
dicrous, it is dangerous. Reverend King
demonstrated that it is up to us to change
the institutions that are supposed to repre-
sent our interests; otherwise, systems of
oppression will perpetuate themselves in
various ways. Dean Steiner, for example,
almost certainly attended schools with all-
white, mostly-male faculties, at a time
when universities employed minorities as
cooks and custodians, and women as'
secretaries, when nobody had dreamed of
such a thing as a women's or an afro-
american studies department.
Steiner is certainly not the originator of
the school of thought that implies
inequality between the races: he acquired
these ideas from a system that he himself
would continue to perpetuate if President
Fleming's code were implemented. There
is no excuse for the University of Michi-
gan to be producing graduates with views
resembling Steiner's. The time has come
for the circle to be broken: the students of
this University must demand immediate
changes within an institution that is" im-
plicitly discriminatory.
For example, every honors student at
this University is required to take either
Classical Civilization or Great Books,
both of which are concerned with the
foundations of Western thought: the great
books therein were written exclusively by
and for men. There is no similar require-
ment for the study of Eastern, African or

feminist art, history or philosophy: the
implication is, of course, that the study of
these would somehow be "less important."
It should be required that not simply hon-
ors students, but all students at the Uni-
versity, study a number of these "less im-
portant" disciplines.
Furthermore, it must be made manda-
tory for U of M first-year students to take
a course exploring such issues as sexism,
racism and homophobia. Such a course
would help students explore and come to
terms with their feelings regarding these
issues, and to have a better understanding
of the discrimination pervading this nation
and this University.
Finally, the University must be forced
to recruit more women and minorities into
higher-level faculty and administrative po-
sitions. Young people who come of age in
an environment. in which women are
mostly secretaries and minorities are
mostly janitors are more likely to consider
(whether they know it or not), the possi-
bility that women and blacks are in-
tellectually inferior, and hence more fit for
these menial tasks.
The current situation is particularly ap-
palling because the University is supposed
to be an institute of higher learning. For
an educated man like Dean Steiner to be
incapable of recognizing the racism in his
own remarks and attitudes is absolutely
inexcusable. If the students fail to set the
standards for right and wrong at this Uni-
versity, it will continue to perpetuate its
system of discrimination. Unfortunately,
as Reverend King demonstrated, when
people's values conflict with the well-en-
trenched immorality of institutions, they
will inevitably be met with opposition.
We are in for a long, hard struggle.


LETTERS

Putting King's visions into action

4

To the Daily:
In recognition of the birth of
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
responsible citizens are required
to ask themselves: "What does
the challenge of Martin King
hold for me?" Indeed, the
celebration of this day calls for
us to take a careful look at
where we are in the progression
of civil rights and what
distance must be travelled
before we are where we ought
be. It also calls for us to search
ourselves individually to find
how we have contributed to, in
the common word, "making
the world a better place", how
we have decided to respond and
correct ills that are seemingly
ever present and how we
chosen to meet the challenges
of ournpresent age. It is in the
more individual survey to
which this article will speak.
It is at this time of the
calendar year, while resolutions
are fresh in our minds (though
many already broken), to look
at thescharacter that was Dr.
King's and to study our own
characters in order to revive,
refurbish, renew, refresh and
refine them, making them what
they should be. The memory of
this leader serves to remind us
of what "good." character is.
Believing sound character to be
necessary for progress, both
individual and aggregational,
one asks do we possess the
characters needed to improve
our communities (local, world,
etc.)? Or have we allowed that
our characters reflect
mediocrity, tiredness and an
unwillingness to view the
world from a positive
prospective?
We should be thinking of
that which will enable us to
have the wherewithal to create
a new type of tomorrow that is
free from all conditions that we
have a growing dislike for
today. If you like the fact that
Martin King was a peaceful
man, work until peace
permeates the hearts of
everyone in every place and
hostile men and women find

King was a prudent person,
work until everyone will desire
wisdom and be given the
opportunity to be educated. If
you are impressed that Martin
King was determined to correct
the wrongs of society, work.
too that our streets would be
safe, our prisoners
rehabilitated, our drug abusers
Drum major)
To the Daily:
This week many of us are
pausing to remember one of
the world's greatest human be-
ings. If he had not been assas-
sinated nearly 20 years ago, he
would be c'elebrating his fifty-
ninth birthday. Reverend Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr., was
indeed a multi-faceted individ-
ual- a preacher, a "prophet," a
husband, a father, a theologian,
a visionary, a dreamer, a n
achiever, a Black man, and a
"drum major for justice."
Why is it important to re-
member him? Dr. King needs
to be remembered because he is
worthy of being honored. Dr.
King gave us another visible
demonstration of the fact that
one could live beyond the self.
He showed us once again that
life is not measured simply by
longevity. He showed us once
again that greatness can be
achieved by serving rather than
"lording" over humanity. He
Realize other
To the Daily:
UCAR believes t h a t
realizing an anti-racist agenda
is two-fold. We must educate
ourselves as well as translate
that education into concrete
social action. In light of the
University's refusal to cancel
classes on Martin Luther
King's Birthday and its stress
on a eurocentric education,
UCAR is calling for a boycott
of classes and is offering
workshops, films and dramatic
presentations which pertain to
Dr. King's philosophies.

cease to have need of drugs, our
unemployed become employed,
our leaders not be committed to
putridity but hold to advancing
our culture. If it excites you
that Dr. King had vision and
insight, look for that which
none other has seen before and
then do something!
The University of Michigan

Chapter of the NAACP joins
this campus in celebrative
recognition of the day that this
day represents. We bid you all
the happiest and richest of Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Days!
--:Michael Nelson
President, U of M
Chapter, NAACP
January 15

for

justice, worthy of honor

needs to be remembered be-
cause he reminded us of so
many things that we often
don't want to remember. If we
don't remember, then psycho-
logically it will be easier to
forget that "injustice anywhere
is a threat to justice every-
where;" that racism, sexism,
and other negative "isms" still
exist; that economic injustices
prevail; and that if we dedicate
ourselves to justice and equal-

ity we can make a difference.
Thank God for Dr. King. We
needed him sociologically,
psychologically, religiously,
and spiritually. Therefore, for4
all of these reasons and more,
we need to remember him this
week and in the future.
-Lee N. June
President, Michigan
Association of Black
Psychologists
January 11

Discriminating assumption

To the Daily:
Hidden among the many un-
fortunate stories of discrimina-
tion in the January 13 issue of
the Daily was one which may
have been missed by many of
your readers but which is also
widespread and insidious and
reflects the attitude of many
people in this society. I am re-
ferring to a statement by Ann
perspectives
relevant to understanding and
evaluating different disciplines
within the humanities, social
sciences and natural sciences.
Many professors fail t o
incorporate or introduce im-
portant figures or ideas that had
been neglected due to historical
racism and sexism. This does
not mean that these figures or
ideas are not now of value.
Furthermore, v a r i o u s
departments do not require
classes or even offer classes
other than ones that focus on
Western, white male thought.

Arbor Police Sergeant Jan
Suomala that "a college-age
male" held up a 4th Ave. Adult
Entertainment store. Why not a
"young working-aged male" or
"a male in his late teens" or
some other neutral description
that doesn't implicate college
students in stealing "adult"
material? Our college students4
can learn about the harsh reali-
ties of life by simply reading
the Daily.
-Robert E. Beyer,
Department of Biology
January 13
Support Steiner
To the Daily:
We, the elected members of
the LSA Executive Committe,
have been meeting weekly with
Dean Peter Steiner. From this
experience we have complete
confidence in the strength and
depth of his commitment to
increasing both the diversity
mand alitv of th rnMep xW

Boycott Classes

14,7 y
T ODAY IS SET ASIDE to honor the
. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Daily encourages students and

to learn about racism at the Univer-
sity.
Today, A wide variety of educa-
tional nrorrams are beini offered in