OPINION
Page 4
Thursday, January 21, 1988
The Michigan Daily
. ... .......
die mt bibsn ya n1Q
-Edited and managed by studehts at The University of Michigan
Vol. XCV1II, Nq. 77.
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.
Censoring youth
ONE OF THE ONLY MEANS of ex-
pression for students in grade
school - the student newspaper -
can now be censored. The Supreme
Court just made a ruling giving
school officials the right to censor
their students' publication almost at
will, effectively stifling the voice of
students. Censorship will force the
students to conform to the moral
and political choices of those with
control over them.
The case concerned two pages of
proposed articles about teen-preg-
nancy in the newspaper of Hazel-
wood High School in Minnesota.
Robert E. Reynolds, the high
school principal, found these to be
objectionable and "inconsistent"
with the school's "educational mis-
sion," and removed the two pages
from the paper.
The students challenged the prin-
cipal's authority to do this, but the
Supreme Court voted 5-3 in favor
of the school's power to determine
" what the student's can and cannot
say.
The Supreme Court decision has
cut off the only major avenue the
students have to express them-
selves. The articles and editorials in
any student newspaper reflect the
students thoughts and concerns.
The court's decision to regulate
these amounts to thought control:
the students are not able to get their
ideas to others without having them
approved by officials. If these ideas
are not acceptable to the school
. officials, they would be removed,
denying students the opportunity to
be exposed to ideas that might not
be found elsewhere.
Another problem with the deci-
sion was that the school was given
: the right to censor on a very vague
basis. The court deemed that the
school can censor its students
whenever the school's "educational
mission" or the "shared values of a
civilized social order" was thought
of as being "inconsistent" with the
article. In this case, the principal
tried to impose his conservative
philosophy of keeping students ig-
norant about topics dealing with
sex. What these "shared values" or
the "educational mission" may be is
anyone's guess. The court conve-
niently leaves this up to the school's
highly biased judgement.
In the Hazelwood incident, the
stories censored were about teen-
age pregnancy and divorce of par-
ents. Although Reynolds claims he
censored because of bad writing,
the controversial nature of the sub-
ject matter cannot be ignored.
. Even if the schools mission was
contradicted, the principal's action
would still be unjust. After all, no-
body expects a student newspaper
to be. a professional journal. Rather,
it is a training ground for potential
journalists who are bound to make
some mistakes (as the Daily can at-
. test), but learn from them in the
process.
Adolescent youth are already de-
nied many rights by state and fed-
eral laws; the court ruling adds
freedom of speech to this list.
Youth cannot afford to buy and
run a press by themselves. While it
is true that the school finances the
paper, it is the duty of any govern-
ment institution to ensure that large
groups of people without resources,
such as students, have access to
some, means of expression them-
selves.
Don't panic: it appears this ruling
will not apply to the Daily. Al-
though it is not beyond Fleming to
try and use the ruling to his advan-
tage, the Daily is largely financially
independent, and the ruling does
apply.
LETTERS:
Prof. s
To the Daily:
For some time now this
Universityhas been waiting for
a clear, strong statement from
one of its top administrators
proposing some direct and pur-
poseful response to sexist or
racist speech and acts: instead,
we have had to be content with
platitudes and million-dollar
Prospects for
To the Daily:
I'm writing in response to
Eric Bronstein's letter to the
editor (Daily, 1/19/88). I, too,
was at the January 12 demon-
stration protesting Israel's
policies in the occupied
territories, and I heard no one
shouting anti-Jewish slogans
("Hitler was a saint"), as Bron-
stein claims. The Palestinian-
Israeli conflict is just that. We
oppose Zionism, not Judaism.
The demonstration, which
was cosponsored by 12 differ-
ent organizations (including
two Jewish organizations), was
not a PLO rally, as he claimed.
It was about peace in the occu-
pied territories, which can only
come about if the chosen
representatives of t h e
Palestinians (the PLO) are in-
cluded in the peace process.
I agreewith Bronstein on
one point - the way to peace
is not through violence. But if
initiatives. President Fleming,
at last, has had the courage of
both conviction and decency to
say what we all (I had naively
thought) wanted to hear -
that there is some behavior and
certain attitudes that are unac-
ceptable in a community such
as ours, that the expression of
bigotry will not be tolerated.
Mideast peace
you are going to condemn vio-
lence, you should condemn it
regardless of its source. The
Zionist state of Israel has
committed many acts of terror-
ism. For example, 1948 mas-
sacre of the entire population
of Der Yaseen, the 1982 Sabra
and Shatilla massacre i n
Lebanon (where 2,000 civilians
were murdered), and the recent
killing of Palestinian demon-
strators.
So, Mr. Bronstein, "people
who live in glass houses
shouldn't throw stones." I
recommend that people who
desire to understand this issue
better attend former Congress
member Pete McCloskey's talk
on "American Politics and
Prospects for Middle East
Peace," January 21 att8p.m. in
Hutchins Hall at the Law
School.
-Tahani Abbouslu
January 20
The result? An immediate tually done - to rpose in a
torrent of abuse from the draft (and therefore presumably
Daily, from MSA leaders, from for civilized discussion) that we
UCAR, all of whom seem to (not the Deans, not the admin-
be striving to outdo each other istration, but the community
in calling upon the irrelevant, - students, teachers, all of us)
the confusing and inappropri- will no longer condone racist
ate, and appealing to the inane, or sexist behavior.
You have to listen very hard, -David 0. Ross
in this storm of petulant anger, Classical Studies
to hear a single word of thanks January 13
for what Pres. Fleming has ac-
Code violates lstAmendment
To the Daily: hand pick a panel that hasthe
Interim President Fleming's power to suspend a history
proposed code violates the First graduate student for repeatedly
Amendment of the U.i. saying that "Vietnam vets are
Constitution. Under murderers" in a seminar. If a
Fleming's code, students may law student refused to
be expelled for spoken or apologize for w r i t i n g
written comments about 'Palestinians should be shot if
marital status, handicap, they riot" in letter to the Daily,
Vietnam Veteran era status, Law School Dean Bollinger
race, sex, national origin or could put him on academic
ancestry, age or creed that probation.
anesygeor ed may Fleming's code gives deans
seriously offend many the power to be the ideological
Since Flemings code applies, cops on campus. They may
everywhre F ominseentiresdetermine what is offensive to
capus the Universityent various religious, ethnic,
expel students for offensive racial and-gender groups on
speech on the Diag, in dorm campus. They may sanction
cafeterias as well a s students with whom they
classrooms.disagree.
LSA Dean Peter Steiner can doef course,ve stuents de
place an LSA student o n oerntgv sntion
probation for calling Steiner power to sanction
administrators or deans for their
and "old fart" or a "white male "seriously offensive" written
bigot" during a Diag rally and spoken remarks on race,
against racism. A n gender, ethnicity etc. In fact,
engineering student may be some University officials
punished by Dean Vest for stridently defend their right to
persistently telling anti- make comments that "seriously
abortion groups on campus offend many people."
that the 'Pope is . t he -Eric Schnaufer
Antichrist."'Jaur11
Rackham Dean D'Arms can January 11
Shouting doesn't help
To the Daily: be expressed in a manner which
The unruly heckles, chants, invites dialogue. Shouting in
and boos by Palestinian sup- the Michigan Union does
porters during Israeli Ambas- nothing to help the Palestini-
sador Zvi Brosch's talk Monday ans in Gaza. It only deafens
night disappointed me. the ear to points which deserve
Though different opinions need mention.
to be voiced to encourage
thought on difficult questions -Dan Sac
in the Middle-East, they shouldJanuary
upports Fleming code
4
Republican opposes code
March to support gender equality and human rights:
Fund abortions
TODAY is the fifteenth anniversary
of the Supreme Court decision Roe
vs. Wade. This landmark case gave
women the legal right to abortions
and the right to control their own
bodies.
On Friday the Ann Arbor Coali-
tion for Women's Rights is spon-
soring a rally, in commemoration of
Roe vs. Wade and to support hu-
man rights in general. They are or-
ganizing around the following de-
mands:
*Free, safe, and accessible abor-
tions upon request.
.Defense of Medicaid funding for
abortions.
'End to violence and harassment
of abortion clinics.
*Stop anti-abortion organizations
from posing as abortion clinics in
order to harass women in need..
'Free, safe, and effective contra-
ception on demand, in conjunction
with expansion of contraception re-
search.
*End of all forced sterilization.
*More sex education in schools:
reproduction, parenting, sexuality,
and lesbian-gay sexuality.
.Health care for people, not for
profit. Organized health care under
health care worker-patient control.
addition to consistent pressure from
Anti-abortion groups since this
precedent was established, this right
is now being jeopardized by the
Michigan legislature.
Every woman should have the
right to choose what she wants to
do with her body. The existence of
poverty should never be an im-
pediment to exercising Constitu-
tional rights.
The cutoff of abortion funds for
those who cannot afford safe abor-
tions will not end abortion. Rather,
poor women will be forced into il-
legal, "backyard" abortions which
could result in damage to the
woman's body if not her death.
Women without access to adequate
health care will suffer.
The underclass, in this country,
is dominated by women and chil-
dren. Denying women access to
abortions insures' that cycle will
continue. The feminization of
poverty has become the norm in the
United States.
Racial minorities and specifically
Blacks are more dependent on state
supported health care. To deny the
poor the same health care opportu-
nities available to others, will inten-
sify the racial stratification of our
To the Daily:
As a student at the Univer-
sity, a Republican candidate for
Ann Arbor City Council, and a
resident of Ann Arbor, I feel
that the proposed code for aca-
demic misconduct is a severe
violation of civil liberties,
rights to free speech, and could
easily be used to discriminate
against political activists.
The University of Michigan
is a state-operated institution;
its students are adults, and
should therefore be expected to
adhere to public laws just as all
other citizens are expected to.
Under present law, incidents of
racial and sexual harassment
can be dealt with via criminal
prosecution, eviction, civil
suits for damages, civil com-
mitment, and civil suits of in-
junction.
Civil suits of injunction
serves the same goal as an ex-
pulsion, the removal of the
discriminatory party from
campus, but the former is a
much more effective policy. It
is absurd for the University to
set up its own justice system
because it doesn't trust the
U.S. Courts - the greatest
Justice System in the world.
Bible is a c
To the Daily:
In your editorial "Teach Re-
ality" (Daily, 1/11/88), you
rightly noted that "the reality is
the world is greater than the
mainstream." You are wrong to
imply, however, that recogniz-
ing a "classic" is a "subjective"
matter dictated by a faculty
with "deeply ingrained biases
on what defines literature" in
an undergraduate curriculum.
I, too, eagerly look forward
to learning how my colleagues
in the English department de-
fine a "classic." I know noth-
ing about the department be-
yond what I read in a recent
piece in the Ann Arbor Ob-
server. But I am willing to bet
that at least a simple majority
would deem the Bible a classic.
Studying the Bible meets
your litmus test. It was written
by a diverse group of men and
women who hardly can be
characterized as "establishment"
types. But let me offer a better
test to determining the classics.
The Bible is a "classic" be-
cause it engages - and for
than a millennium has opened
the minds - of readers from
What proper channels of
appeals would be available?
Where are the rights of the ac-
cused? What happened to the
Bill of Rights?.
If the administration was
truly interested in making the
Ann Arbor campus less dis-
criminatory, it would get its
act together by ridding itself of
discriminatory behavior. It
would recruit more women
faculty members, minority
faculty members, and minority
students. It would recognize the
holiday of Martin Luther
King's birthday and cancel
classes on Monday, January
18.
Instead, as a result of this
code, by picketing classes next
Monday, I may be expelled
since it could be interpreted as
disrupting the "Caring, re-
spectful, and understanding
social climate in the class-
room, residence halls, libraries,
and everywhere on the entire
campus."
-Dan Rosenberg
Republican candidate
for City Council, Third
Ward
January 12
lassic book
haps Mr. Shapiro defined the
value of having university
teachers grapple with the clas-
sics in his inaugural address at-
Princeton. Shapiro noted that
"too few of us or our students
understand the difference be-
tween the mastery of what is
true and the mystery of what is
good and beautiful, but not
now accessible as truth." (New
York Times, 1/9/88).
-W. Andrew Achenbaum
January 11
To the Daily:
Re your story, "Pro-
Palestinian protestors mar Israeli
consul general's speech"
(1/12/88). This headline refers to
one of many incidents in recent
years in which campus activists
have disrupted democratic
intellectual life.
There are Palestinian
sympathizers and Israeli,
sympathizers, as well as people
who support different sides in
conflicts in other parts of the
world. They come here as guests
to appeal to our intelligence and
humanity. Frequently they are
subjected to interruptions insults,
and jeers.
I am fairly confident that I am
with the majority in my belief
that these methods of protest are
To
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completely unacceptable in an
institute of higher learning.
Nevertheless, here are a few
basic questions for the entire
university community:
1) Do we believe in the right
of freedom of speech?
2) Do we believe that
speakers ,have a right to an1
uninterrupted hearing?
3) If we answer yes to 1 and 2,
what specific steps should
University of Michigan officials
take against those who violate
freedom of speech and disrupt
speakers?
Unless these questions are
answered unambiguously,
Michigan cannot lay claim to
providing for the free exchange o
views and ideas.
-William C. Price
January 12
Is UCAR true to King?
the Daily: members to stand in front of
r. Martin Luther King is Angell Hall shouting through
ect in believing that racism bullhorns, "All of you who are
only be ended by exchan- going to class are racists; we
g ignorance with knowledge are watching you!"?
peaceful disobedience; but -Brian Hirsch
ild he have wanted UCAR January 18
Don' t disrupt speakers
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