4 OPINION I Page 4 Friday, February 19, 1988 The Michigan Daily ,i Gli fidligan tlU Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Vol. XCVIII No. 98 420 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. Students fighting racism Don't rag on this fat boy 4 LAST FRIDAY almost 200 students at the University of Massachusetts- Amherst began occupying the African Studies building on their c ampus in protest of racial discrimination at their school. The occupation ended yesterday. The similarity of circumstances between ",this campus' and Massachusetts' puts students at both schools in solidarity. - Tensions began to flare i n " Amherst after the final game of the World Series in 1986, between Boston Red Sox and New York Mets fans. The post-game celebra- tion erupted into a racially charged fracas that left ten students injured. Students at UMass placed de- mands, similar to those here, on their administration to address racism. The sit-in at U M a s s demanded University action against five white males who allegedly as- saulted two Black men and a white woman on campus. - Racial discrimination is a disease which plagues our entire society. The university campuses of this j' country are in no way the only arena of our racism, but of late they have become the battlefield of those fighting for civil rights. The Uni- versity of Massachusetts is but one of many institutions of higher learning that has experienced mass & demonstrations against racism in the last two years. Universities strive for excellence in many in fields. At Michigan, students are faced with an adminis- tration which will settle for nothing less than the finest academic and athletic programs in the country. As the University so proudly claims during half-time of nationally tele- Vised football games, it has "A -Ieritage of Leadership." Although the University brags about its leadership in academic and athletic endeavors, it is steadfastly W---4/i ) - /y ria JJLA a unwilling to provide national lead- ership in the anti-racist field. The administration has not moved to implement a mandatory class on racism, sexism and classism as the University of Wisconsin and Stan- ford University have. The adminis- tration has not even admonished LSA Dean Peter Steiner for of- fending Black students and faculty. Finally, they have taken almost no action to try and alleviate the prob- lem of racism on this campus or decrease racial tension. It is foolish to assume that racism only exists on college campuses. In fact, there may be even less racism on college campuses than in the rest of the country. At present there are cries of racial injustice and incidents of racial violence arising on college campuses across the country. Stu- dents should unite in their struggle the shirk the status quo and help ar- rest racism. The bounds of their in- fluence have often extended outside their own university communities. The anti-Vietnam War movement and the civil rights movement of the late sixties and early seventies proved that the influence of student movements can have profound ef- fects on the entire nation. The uprising at the University of Massachusetts, underscores the fact that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not end racial discrimination, it only served to pacify the strong national movements which centered around civil rights. The two Black Action Movement (BAM) strikes of the 1970's virtu- ally closed the University and then President Robbin Fleming was forced to meet all of the student de- mands. The students of UMass used a similar model and won. The cause of racial equality is just, and the soldiers who have proved willing to fight for the free- dom of humanity will surely arise victors. "A public challenge to the Daily." That is what "Drew and Allen" the edi- tors of the latest campus (not dish) rag is- sued to the Daily. Well, you picked the wrong little fat boy to push around this time. I figger I've got to do me a little ex- plaining here cuz I know most of my loyal fans have never heard of this tripe piece of trash. Well, see, it's some sort of goofy mag-e-zeene for our favorite posse of geeks - the Greeks, and we definitely ain't talking 'bout Plato. "The Greek system is an active and im- portant part of the University of Michigan campus life," they say. Uh-huh, uh-huh. Well, first thing's first. Why did this here fraternal system name themselves after a bunch of decadent, little-boy raping, orgy lovin', slave holdin' drunks anyhow? Kind of tips you off to the whole kitten kaboo- die, huh? I've got my hands full with my natural born clan of 12 siblings. I sure don't need me no art-e-fish-al brothers. Alright, back to the facts at hand. Let me quote to you some more from this lurid piece of ridiculous trash. Right after the public challenge, they say "we know our magazine is better than your rag will ever be. Is this why you try to pretend we don't exist?" No, sirreebob. We pretend you don't exist because you don't. You are a piece of crapola. I wouldn't even wipe my fat ass with your ragola. Let me fill in the folks out there who are smart enough to have never seen your trash. Here's some choice samplin's. "Finding a date is the first step in the most important event of your life, next to owning your first BMW." Very nice people. This will go a whole long way in changing the reputation of your twisted system. But there's more. "There are certain levels of 'wasted- ness.' One may hook up with a 'cool buzz' while other (sic) lay in the snow making 'snow angels.' Or in extreme cases, one may puke either on their date or with their date." Stop, please! Us here at the Daily are just aquakin' in our boots at the threat FAQT SA L t r. your journalistic excellence poses. Heh- heh- heh. But wait a speck. Lord have. mercy, there's more where that fine stuff came from. "One must prioritize when considering the look for the evening. 'I'd like to get a light blue dress,' said one sorority mem- ber. 'But my date insists on wearing his red and green plaid vest and tie.' Or what if your date is really tall and you have a strapless dress on?" Lordy lord have mercy, what would you do? I'd rather be a muskrat in heat than face such unpleasant prospects. But it makes me feel right fine that you good ol' boys over at Eminence are confronting the pressing issues of today's angst filled modern world. Heh- heh -heh. You guys are pathetic. All of the above asininely absurd quotes are from one (article?) on the rough and tumble Greek formals. Hmm-hmmm. But lest you 'cuse me of bein' unfair, I'd like to issue a hearty reminder that aside from your pubic challenge to the Daily, there ain't but three stories in your entire mag- e-zeene - and I use the word lightly. Coursin' I know it's difficult to come up with more than two or three articles a month. Specially since you got to find space to run all them real purty photos of bozos and bimbos with beer cups in their hands. Yessiree, seven out of nine pictures in your rag feature fellers or gals armed with loaded beers. Watch out! Course you are right 'bout one thing. The Daily does "report only the news (we) see fit" and you definitely ain't fit. The only reason I wrote this here column is I know half of my loyal fans have already hit the ol' four lane on their way barreling out of town. I didn't want to waste this column space on a half-way decent sub- ject. Dear Al, Jt's me... Billy Bob and I'm madder than a 'gator with lockjaw atfeedin' time. Like New Age music and a lot of other stuff in the Daily, the word "JAP" is a joke that's gotten way outta hand. It was coined as an innocent kibbitz but it turned into Frankenstein. The truth is that, in some circles, "JAP" has taken on some nasty racial connotations. The word "JAP" is not only derogatory 'n' racist, but it doesn't even apply. My granpappy used to say: "if the shoe don't fit, maybe you need a new one." (He was a profound guy) Well these people aren't all Jewish, they're not all American, and the only royalty in Ann Arbor are the meter maids who are a royal pain. As y'all can see, it don't take no linguistics professor to figure "JAP" is obsolete. Hell, there ain't nothin' wrong with wanting to offend obnoxious materialistic snobs. There should be a holiday for it, but "JAP" just don't cut it. It's collapse was inevitable, that is, you could see it comin' for a long time. A word as flimsy 4 as it was could never stand up to the over- use and abuse that it took. There's still a problem. What we need is a word for Winy, Obnoxious, Materialis- tic, Bitchy, Anal Types. Al, the world we're lookin' for is: WOMBAT. Folks who embody those traits deserve to be ha- rassed and WOMBAT is the right acronym for the job. It combins the right amount of offensiveness with the accuracy of a laser sighted .38 Winchester. But beware, some folks don't appreciate bein' called names, so when you insult, -always be careful who you're callin' a WOMBAT cause they tend to travel in packs. Billy Bob A hearty thank you Billy Bob boy. You know the key to my heart, slick. I love inventin' new words for outdated ones and yours hits the mark. Keep up the good 4 work. By the way, you're right 'bout New Age. music. Just give me Hank and the Wolf. Have a good break, y'all. I'm headin' off for the salt flats of Utah for some ramblin' good times. Middle East needs solution 4 Gay discrimination unfair By Suha Hamid Palestinian resistance of the "Iron Fist" policy of Israel still continues, and Israel is maintaining brutal measures to try to put it down. For 2 months the Israeli military has kept virtually all Palestinian refugee camps in the Gaza Strip and many camps and villages in the West Bank under all-day curfews. Then they reinforced their terror even more by declaring that food supplies would be cut off until the general strike by workers and merchants was called off and "calm" returned to the camps. Rather than gunning down the innocent masses, now the Zionist regime has im- plemented a "new" way to handle the Palestinians: systematic, vicious beatings deliberately carried to the point of breaking bones. Defense Minister Rabin said, "The first priority is to use force, might, beat- ings." A new set of directives ordered soldiers to club demonstrators "if possible with blows on the hands and legs." This is not the military going "out of control," but rather "decided upon and in- Suha Hamid is an LSA junior . stituted by the government as a whole," said Israel's Prime Minister Shamir of the beating policy. One military analyst for the Israeli newspaper Jerusalem Post described the intentions behind the beatings: "A de- tainee is set free in 18 days unless the au- thorities have enough evidence to charge him. He may then resume stoning sol- diers, but if the troops break his hand, he won't be able to throw stones for a month and a half." Another Israeli "expert" added that a broken leg could idle a would-be rock thrower for weeks. Israeli officials dare to claim that the policy of beatings was "humane" - an alternative to simply gunning down demonstrators. "No demonstrators have died," Rabin said, "from being thwacked by soldiers dispersing riots in the areas." The newspaper Ha'aretz said of the beatings in the West Bank: "A discussion with some of those assaulted showed the beatings were often done in a demonstra- tive way, deliberately, in order to set an example, and often the victims were quiet residents, adults and children, who are not suspected in violent or illegal activity." Hospitals and clinics in the West Bank and the Gaza are being flooded with injured Palestinians who have been beaten by Is- raeli troops. Men and women of all ages are showing up with hands and legs smashed by rifle butts and two-by-fours. On January 22 fla'aretz reported that in the previous three days, 197 people had been treated for fractures in Gaza hospitals. But there are hundreds of others with broken bones and other injuries who are not going to hospitals for fear of coming to the the attention of the military and being ar- rested. The Palestinians through their resistance have rekindled international support for their just cause and they have exposed the fact that Israeli power rests on the use of savage violence against masses of people. It is now the time for Israel to come forth and negotiate a just and durable solution for the region - an independent sovereign nation for the Palestinians on the West Bank and the Gaza in return for recogni- tion and safety of its pre-1967 borders. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PL-O) under the leadership of Yasser Arafat has taken the initiative for peace, it is now time for Israel to come forth and show peoples all over that it was and is a nation "reborn" on Jewish pillars - pillars of love and respect for all of humanity. LAST WEEK THE U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth District ruled that the Army's refusal to reinstate a soldier on the basis of sexual ori- entation violated equal protection guarantees under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Writing for the majority, Judge William Norris compared the Army's regulation excluding homosexuals with anti-miscegena- tion laws. Moreover, Judge Norris argued that homosexuals were enti- tled to the same protection afforded to members of racial minorities against discrimination. This ruling is a significant depar- ture, albeit nonprecedential, from recent cases challenging the consti- tutionality of consensual sodomy laws, in general, and armed ser- vices homosexual prohibitions, in particular. The court's stance is commendable since laws that sanc- tion consensual homosexual con- duct unjustly infringe on individual rights of privacy and are inherently discriminatory. This case revolves around whether or not the Army can dis- charge individuals on the basis of sexual orientation. A lthon zh con- discipline, and the effectiveness of the combat unit. Judge Norris counters these claims by pointing out that legal prohibitions on certain aspects of sexual conduct cannot be translated into "a state license to pass 'homosexual laws' - laws impos- ing special restrictions on gays be- cause they are gay." In other words, though the constitutionality of state sodomy statutes have been upheld, laws restricting or selec- tively sanctioning those who are merely homosexuals are impermis- sible. This analysis can be taken further by asking the Army if a per- son who doesn't pay taxes is designated as a tax evader and are grounds for that person's dismissal. The Army's second claim, that the morale of the soldiers will be harmed, is answered by Judge Norris as an attempt "to cater to private biases." Furthermore, if the plaintiff had been on active duty for seventeen years (he was discharged in 1984), then why didn't the morale or combat effectiveness of his different units become seriously compromised? LETTERS Eminence' misrepresents Greeks To the Daily: Webster's defines "eminence" as a position of great distinc- tion or superiority. Eminence's only distinctions are bad. It achieves superiority only in tone, never in content. The editors cutely introduce themselves as "Drew & Allen," then adopt the reasoning of an- gry six year olds. "Our maga- zine is better than your rag will ever he" thev taint "T this formal-"the most important event of your life, next to owning your first BMW." Damn them. Eminence's first article vaguely addresses the excite- ment and difficulties of rush. Its most correct idea is to put the word "issues" in quotes. More than half of the piece fo- cuses on the snacks sororities offer rushees: "more specifi- cally, what to eat, how to eat anA w.eh.. at .".T t A. .kt its various forms and offering arguments for and against it, however, Eminence just floats over the issue. Its perspective is superficial, literally what hazing looks like from across the diag or the classroom. The "best"reasons for why men and women put up with hazing, Eminence explains, are "it's cool" and "it's, instant popular- ity." If Eminence's simplicity xc.n .n n-,.....2 n-, T .. lri- . f.. enough. That thoughtlessness does more than misrepresent Greeks, it propagates insensi- tivity. Eminence's subject matter is insubstantial. Articles are poorly reasoned and undirected. Its trite, "just-between-you-and- me," tone is insulting. Even its layout is rudimentary and sloppy. Paragraphs float on the page, headlines lean, typos jar the already humiliated Greek