4 OPINION Page 4 Thursday, January 28, 1988 The Michigan Daily Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Vo. XCVIIINo.82 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 tunsigned 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. Regents give poor excuses for rejecting gay rights clause: Support LaGROC "Its my understanding that Mason Hall is being used as a meeting place for members of the homosexual community to perform sexual acts in the men's Fat Al says the Bowl's a bore The Super Bore. Let's face it fellars and gals, the Super Bowl is the second most overrated day of the year. Only New Year's eve delivers less thrills per expectations. The Rose Bowl is a close third. But the Super Bore, FAT AL toilet rooms."--Deane Baker (R-Ann A ONLY ONE of the regents, Deane Baler, has openly subscribed to the notibn that homosexuality is an in- sidibus disease that breeds in bath- roons. But the motivations of other Regents for rejecting a clause pro- hibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation should be ex- amined as well. In fact, the reasons some of the regents gave for doing this at their meeting this month were so weak that one is forced to consider the possibility that they share some of Deane Baker's paranoid fears. Gay men and lesbians deserve the same consideration and protection as any other minority group o n Campus. Although Shapiro and Fleming endorse this stance, a by- law would more effectively repre- sen the policy of the University as a whole, and would result in the in- clusion of sexual orientation in the public affirmative action logo on University documents. Including sexual orientation in the byl'aw is absolutely necessary if discrimination against gay men and lesbians on this campus is to be ac- kndwledged and addressed. Nevertheless, the Regents voted it down 7-0. Regent Roach contended that the language of bylaw 14.06 ("Tbe University shall exercise its leadIership..."), would force the University to adopt a policy of ac- tiv; recruitient based on sexual orintation. This argument is absurd, first, because gay men and lesbians are estimated at 13 percent of the- stu- dent body, as opposed to 10 percent of the general population: no such recruitment policy would be neces- sary. Secondly, there have been no recruitment measures based on age, Arbor) marital status or veteran status on this campus, despite the fact that these groups are currently covered by bylaw 14.06. The most unconvincing argument against LaGROC's proposal was presented by Regent Brown, who pointed out that non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was not mandated by State or Fed- eral law. That neither the State of Michigan nor the federal government have such legislation is appalling, and should give the University all the more reason to take a progressive stance. Such progressive action would not be without precedent: MSU, Western, and the cities of Ann Arbor and Detroit, have all adopted official policies of non-dis- crimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Regent Roach also asserted that including sexual orientation in the bylaw and on the logo would force the University to stop dealing with the CIA and ROTC. But La- GROC's next move will consist in proposing an alternatively worded bylaw that is not written in language implying recruitment, and which will carry a disclaimer stating that it does not apply to the federal gov- ernment, the military or ROTC. The University should support LaGROC's attempts to convince the regents that they should be pro- tected by an official non-discrimi- nation policy. LaGROC's new pro- posal leaves no room for excuses on the part of the administration. If the regents reject their demands, they will have succeeded only in making their homophobia grossly apparent. The students of this Uni- versity will be watching. the Super Bore. Man, I hate the Super Bore. "Quit your blubbery blabberings!" you bellow. Don't watch the damned thing if you hate it so much. I wish I could just turn my back. But godblammit, every year, I hunker down with a steamin' pot of chili and an icey six pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon to catch me the Super Bowl. It's a compulsion, it's an illness. It's ridiculous. I watched maybe two NFL games all year. I basically don't give a coyote's howl about the league or the games. I'm a Steelers fan but it's been ten years now since Ernie Holmes cruised the highways of middle America, snorting drugs like a wildman and shooting down police helicopters. Ten years since the steel curtain rusted through, ten years since Mean Joe Greene spit in peoples's faces. You get the point. Ten years! And just what's gone on in these ten years? Diddley squat. Which brings us back to the point. The Super Bore. Yet each year I watch the thing. Holy guacomole! The damn game's just like a review session. Firstly, they both suck. When was the last time you learned anything at a review session? It's been a while. Yet, each term I drag my fat frame to class one more time to hear some Jr. Joe Pro blab on about all the crapola you've already got in your notes. "Think broadly," they tell you. Thanks a lot ace. I always sit in review sessions acursin' up 'n down about what a goddmaned waste of time they are and how I'd be better off spending the hour studying by my lonesome or chillin' out with some Merle Haggard and a few PBR's. Yet, I keep on agoin' to the blamed things year after year. It's just like the Super Bowl. Yes, indeedy, both the Superbowl and review sessions are stupid, overrated waste of times. And y'all know I speak the straight truth. The only thing that keeps you going or watching is that overriding fear that this year might justa be the year that it's different. The Super Bowl will go into triple overtime and be won 41-38 on a 62 yard field goal, the TA will distribute the final. And you'll miss it. Hch-heh-heh. It's this fear which keeps you coming back for more punishment year after year. Hell, it keeps me moving and I'm not afraid of nuthin'. I'm trying to avoid the cursed Super Bore this week but I just don't know if I'm strong enough. I might even catchathe pregame show. Dear Fat One, Last Saturday night I was curled up in my favorite brown (almost leather) Laz- E-Boy, cleaning my shotgun and watch- ing the headbanger's Ball on MTV. It was an ideal evening. The Twinkies, chips, and brew were still in abundance to last well into Sunday. Like I said everything seemed perfect, but it was not to last. The realities of 1988 were about to give me a pile driver/body slam combination that I think maybe more of us could use. Back to back they played a band called White Snake,followed by one called Great White. my buddy Joe Bob turned to me and says, "How come there ain't no Black heavy metal bands on MTV?" Is MTV neglecting Black heavy metal? I hit the lever on my chair and sat up with a lump in my throat and a cold sweat on my forehead. Is MTV guilty of institutional- ized racism?...Should we have a rally on the diag? Just then I noticed they had changed the packaging of the Twinkies!...My world had come to an end. The shotgun went off and blew a two foot hole in the wall just over the T.V. set. Joe Bob's eyeballs bugged out and he threw his beer at me screaming something about my mom. I didn't care for I had seen the light. "It's not more Black heavy metal bands that we need," I yelled, "It's not more shanties, and we certainly don't need a code. What we need is for Fat Al to set things right, and lead us to the promised land where we can all live together in peace and harmony. Only he can save us!" Joe Bob shook me to me senses and pointed out that the "light" was just a street light shining through our new win- dow...whatever it was, we really do need a level-headed intelligent person in a position such as yours(writin' for the paper and all) to take up the cause! Someone like yourself who packs a shotgun, knows the value of a '71 Ford pickup and ain't afraid to fart in public. Because we all know, deep down inside, that it ain't Blacks against whites, and it ain't UCAR against the administration, it's got to be people against stupidity. So come on and take a stand with us Al, or at least pull up your Laz-E-Boy. Sincerely, Billy Bob PS: And for the sake of all that's holy,, get rid of the new Hostess packaging. Shucks, Billy Bob, I'm flattered. Genuinely so. I'm with you boy. Look for my next column and you'll see where I'm coming from. In fact, you'll be right proud of me. Backwards, backwards, the world is backwards. I'm foaming at the mouth...it's Super Bore weekend...Howl at the moon, baby, howl at the moon... Aiii-eeeee! 4 LETTERS People should promote racial unity Mee se ATTORNEY GENERAL Edwin Meese III has lost even more credibility with the indictment of two of his closest associates - E. Robert Wallach and W. Franklin Chinn - on charges surrounding the Wedtech Corporation. This is the latest in a career of mishaps which demonstrate that Meese is unfit for office. Not only did Meese fail to disqualify himself from the Wed- tech case, he abused the power of his office by arranging profitable deals for the company, an obvious conflict of interest. Wallach asked Meese to convince the Army to award a $32 million no-bid contract to Wedtech at a special White House meeting in May, 1982. Seeking influence with Meese, Wedtech paid Wallach $1.2 million in cash and stocks for arranging the meeting. Through a blind trust run by Chinn, Meese made over $35,000; from speculative one-day stock trades on Wedtech which were not available to the public. When the Wedtech scandal started to unfold, Meese was repeatedly caught lying. He claimed he did not know about Chinn's ties to Wed- tech and his lawyers said he did not benefit from the company's stock. However, James C. McKay - the third special prosecutor to investi- vatP MPc fn,nd ul-n- o a disgrace knew about the deal. These asser- tions later proved false. His decision to allow Oliver North access to his office for a three-day shredding party indicates either incredible naivete or a blatant attempt to cover up for members of the Administration at the expense of the law. Meese's actions signal his waver- ing respect for the law and indicate a belief that he can apply the rules subjectively. The Attorney Gener- al's misinterpretation of laws in the pursuit of personal gain and increa- sed executive power is unacceptable for the person who supposedly em- bodies the American system of justice. Meese's "serious concerns" about the constitutionality of the special prosecutor law are hardly surpri- sing, considering he has been under investigation by such prosecutors three times. He chose to defend the law only on procedural grounds when two of his Reagan Admin- istration cronies, Michael Deaver and Lyn Nofziger, challenged it in court. It is not the prerogative of the. Attorney General to choose which laws are more valid than others by limiting his defense of those with which he disagrees. Meese has a lot to fear from the proliferation of truth and justice. The Attorney General's self-right- eous attitude, displayed in his To the Daily: Once again the problem of racism has emerged as a front- page issue on the University of Michigan campus. Once again UCAR has reached a stalemate in its confrontation with the administration. And once again racial understanding has failed to progress. The question "Is LSA Dean Steiner a racist" is not the correct one. The atten- tion of the University commu- nity must be redirected if progress is to be made on this issue. Two key questions (a) what was the nature of Steiner's re- marks and (b) what was the in- tent behind these remarks, must be addressed. Were Dean Steiner's remarks insulting? Absolutely. They are demeaning to Black values and to the Black community, and are enormously offensive to numerous people, Black and white. Dean Steiner's com- ments clearly demonstrate a need for better understanding on his part of issues of race. Did Steiner make these comments out of a desire to promote racist ideology? I don't think so. At a January 13th meeting with UC A R , Steiner repeatedly expressed his belief in racial equality and his desire to increase minority stu- dent enrollment and recruit more minority staff members. Is a man who makes racially offensive remarks out of igno- rance a racist? UCAR says yes, Steiner says no. Herein lies the stalemate. It is time for those of us who are truly interested in combatting racism to refocus our efforts. The goal of the anti-racist movement on this campus should be to promote racial understanding and racial equal- ity. Steiner, and o t h e r administration members have demonstrated a lack of under- sored campus-wide program - a "Racial Understanding Day" would do a great service to the members of the University community. Soviet h To the Daily: One of the most unfortunate occurrences resulting from the upheaval in Israel is that incorrect parallels are being drawn between two human rights issues. These parallels are not grounded in historical or current fact. In response to the editorial cartoon ,that ap- peared on Friday, January 8 in the Daily, we find it necessary to separate the Soviet Jewry human rights violations from the controversial relations be- tween the Israelis and the Palestinians. Jewish persecution and anti- semitism has been rooted in Soviet ideology for hundreds of years. Today, Jews are still being denied the right to prac- tice Judaism and to emigrate. We recognize that human rights violations are happening in many countries. Each cause is important in its own right but it must be addressed inde- pendently. Parallels cannot be drawn between these very dif- ferent issues. At the same time, one issue must not be negated or diminished at the expense of another. The plight ewery separate to Soviet Jewry should not be linked or lessened in light of the current Palestinian situa- tion. Not only did the cartoonist show his ignorance by drawing false parallels, but he further demonstrates his ignorance by grossly stereotyping h i s characters. Israel's To the Daily: I am writing this letter in response to those written by Josh Klein and Laura Cibul. You guys are right. I cannot believe the nerve of those Palestinians in demanding their civil rights. Who do they think they are wanting a decent place to live, jobs to support their families, and food for their children? Israel has already been so gracious in confiscating their country, deporting some We feel the Michigan Daily also made an ignorant and in- appropriate judgement by re- printing the cartoon. -Phyllis Glink and Jodie Pearlman Co-Chairs Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry January 11 generosity from their homeland, forcing the rest into that haven of luxury, the Gaza Strip, and the list of noble deeds continues. Don't the Palestinians realize how good they have it? It just goes to show how ungrateful they are, attacking those poor, defensele'ss Israeli soldiers with enormous, deadly pebbles. You guys are right. There is n o justice in the world. -Deyar Jamil January 20 Until both the administration and UCAR agree together to assert positive moral leadership on the issues of racism and racial misunderstanding - two issues which are mutually reinforcing - true progress cannot be achieved. -David. Levin January 14 4 A issue The Daily opinion page staff is actively seeking minorities and women interested in writing and discussing editorials. Staff requirements consist of two meetings, one editorial, and production work once per week. Call Jeff or Cale 747-2814 or 764- 0552. Zinn RGEs SP- 0 *.