4 OPINION Page 4 Tuesday, March 8, 1988 The Michigan Doily Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan Vol. XCVIII, No. 105 420 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. To address the trade deficit. candidates should stress: Education, not taxation Sister school reps visiting 'U AMERICA'S STATUS AS the world's foremost economic power is falling into question, and ana- lysts see our trade deficit as a vivid example of these concerns. Recti- fying the trade situation is conse- quently a major issue of the 1988 presidential campaign and, as might be expected, several candidates of both parties have prescribed protec- tionist measures. Although Americans have time and again heard the arguments against protectionism, many have obviously fallen prey to deceptive advertising and rousing, ethnocen- tric speeches. Richard Gephardt, (D-Mo), has parlayed this economic jingoism into a surprisingly strong political force appealing especially to the {displaced workers of the heavy in- dustrial sector. These workers, be- set with long-term unemployment in the face of a flood of foreign manu- factured goods, are susceptible to Gephardt's plan to restrict imports from those nations which do not increase their intake of U.S. ex- ports. The efficacy of Gephardt's mes- sage became evident in Iowa as Gephardt pulled off an unexpected coup in that state's Democratic pri- mary. He garnered a surprising victory after a media blitz which claimed that a $10,000 Chrysler could cost as much as $48,000 after taxes in Korea. The commercial stated that Gephardt would attack El Salvador Week The U.S. government gives El Salvador over $300 million a year in aid, most of which goes to the Salvadoran military. De- spite the huge U.S. influence, North American media coverage of the civil war in El Salvador is curiously lacking. MSA is sponsoring "El Salvador Week" this week to publicize the state-sponsored repression, sanctified by U.S. tax dollars, in El Salvador. Students should take this opportunity to make themselves more aware of what is really going on in El Salvador. In addition, money raised during El Salvador Week will benefit the University of Michigan's sister school, the University of El Salvador. such discrepancies with import fees. Beneath the rhetoric of the adver- tisement, however, lay the fact that comparable automobiles produced and sold in Korea cost over $30,000 as well. Gephardt failed to mention that luxury taxes in Korea make all autos, whether Korean or American, extremely expensive. Gephardt's commercial, while os- tensibly factual, neglected details which would significantly weaken his claims. Gephardt's tactics continue to succeed. A New York Times/CBS News poll released last week found that 18 percent of southern Demo- cratic voters viewed Gephardt fa- vorably, but the favorable rating rose to 41 percent among those Democrats who had seen Gephardt's commercials. Gephardt's plan is flawed in many ways. It would punish other nations for their cultural traditions and domestic policies while failing to address those practices in the United States which hurt the world economy. For example, Gephardt's plan could conceivably punish Japan for not purchasing enough U.S. armaments and Germany for not importing enough American beer. But Japanese and German citizens have exercised their prerogativeanot to demand these products. Actual tariffs do not con- stitute much of the perceived barri- ers to American goods. Conversely, the rest of the world may choose to retaliate for Ameri- can domestic policy which drains international monetary resources to pay for the United States' cultural liability - profligacy. Rather than punish the world for the United States' economic woes, candidates with protectionist ten- dencies such as Gephardt and Re- publican candidates Bob Dole and Jack Kemp should present plans, as have Jesse Jackson and Paul Si- mon, to rebuild America's edu- cational system and provide re- training for the millions of workers formerly in manufacturing trades but now unemployed. The United States can only revive its economic pre-eminence by helping its citizens acquire the skills necessary to produce high-quality,, high-technology exports, not by raising trade barriers and thriving on its internal consumption. By Cathy Haybach and Tina Meldrum On October 20, 1987, the Michigan Student Assembly established Sister Uni- versity relations with the University of El Salvador (UES). The University of El Salvador is the only public university in El Salvador, providing education to over 35,000 students. Like the University of Michigan (and most university campuses), the University of El Salvador is an institution where students organize for political causes and rise to positions of leadership. Unlike the University of Michigan, however, because students at the University of El Salvador practice free speech and organize to better express their beliefs, the University of El Salvador has been the target of military police in- vasions, occupation, abductions, and indiscriminate harassment. From 1980 to 1984, the military occu- pied the university. During the military occupation, much of the university equipment was sold on the black market; most of the remaining books and equip- ment that was not sold were destroyed by the military. University buildings were also destroyed. Furthermore, since 1980, 1,314 students have been assassinated, 265 students have been captured, and 301 stu- dents have disappeared. More often than not, these atrocities have been connected to the Salvadoran Armed Forces or right- wing Death Squads. On October 11, Maria Victoria Hernan- dez Gonzalez, a student from the Univer- sity of El Salvador, was arrested and tor- tured for allegedly working with the Non- Governmental Human Rights Commis- sion. Salvador Ubau, President of University Unity, a coalition of students, faculty, and workers at the University of El Salvador, Cathy Haybach and Tina Meldrum are MSA representatives was abducted on October 1, 1987. His whereabouts are still unknown. On January 11, Moises Eliezar Pena, a student from the University of El Salvador at Santa Ana, was harassed at his home and later gunned down by the Treasury Police, leaving him in serious condition in a hospital in Santa Ana. Moises is a member of the student government and a prominent student leader. These are only a few of the many gross human rights violations which commonly occur at the University of El Salvador. Although the university is public and is therefore theoretically allotted a set budget by the constitution of El Salvador, the university actually receives very little governmental aid. In 1986, an earthquake destroyed much of El Salvador, and further devastated the university; because of the lack of financial assistance from the gov- ernment, reconstruction of the university has been minimal. Currently, because many of the buildings have not been re- paired, classes are often held in tents or shacks. This type of environment is cer- tainly not conducive to quality education. Education at the university has also been greatly strained due to a lack of sup- plies; students are forced to share the very limited materials that do exist, e.g., in one class of over 200 students, only five books are available for student use, and at the medical school, only twenty micro- scopes are available.. The Michigan Student Assembly has established sister university relations with the University of El Salvador in order to promote better conditions at the Univer- sity of El Salvador. Many other universi- ties around the country and the world have also sited the need to promote better conditions at UES and have established Sister University relations, e.g., Harvard University Medical School, University of Pennsylvania, University of California Santa Barbara, Brown University, Rutgers University Engineering School, Univer- sity of Oregon, and the university in Frankfurt, Germany. Because the University of El Salvador has been our Sister University, students at the University of Michigan have raised money for material aid which has been sent to UES, have had student exchanges with the UES, have sponsored letter-writ- ing campaigns and opinion-grams denouncing human right violations di- rected at members of the university, and have provided education at U of M about UES through inviting speakers from the University of El Salvador, as well as through workshops in dormitories and or- ganizations. Because the situation at the Universitys of El Salvador is not rapidly improving through indigenous means, it is impera- tive that this type of work continues. The week of March 6-13, the Michigan Stu- dent Assembly Peace and Justice Committee and the Latin American Soli- darity Committee are sponsoring El Sal- vador Week. The week will entail educa- tion for U of M students about our sister university and El Salvador, i.e., Dr. Char-- lie Clemmons, M.D., author of Witness4 to War, Dr. Gustavo Adolpho Noyola, President of the University of El Salvador at Santa Ana, Oscar Chacon, worker for the resettlement of Salvadoran refugees, and Victor Rubio, member of the FMLN- FDR, will speak about the situation in El Salvador, an information table will be set up in the fishbowl, and videos will be shown in the fishbowl throughout the week. Also, students at U of M will work- to raise money for material aid to send-to the University of El Salvador, mainly through a benefit which will be held on Sunday, March 13 in the U-Club, begin- ning at eight o'clock; the Trinidad Tripoli Steel Band will perform at the benefit. For more information about El Salvador Week or El Salvador in general, please contact the Peace and Justice Committee of MSA: 764-3241. I LETTERS, Daily incorrect on Nicaraguan Church To the Daily: Once again, the Daily edito- rial board takes its apologies for the Marxist-Leninist San- dinista government of Nicaragua to an extreme. In its editorial "Religious freedom" (Daily 2/15/88), the Sandin- istas are describes as being "remarkably fair and humane" to the Catholic Church. In support of this claim, the Daily editorial board uses the following examples: They describe Nicaragua's Archbishop Obando y Bravo as being a former supporter of the Somoza dictatorship. This is completely ignoring the fact that Obando negotiated the re- lease of numerous Sandinista prisoners and publicly asked Somoza to resign. In addition, Obando was well known for his work with the poor, including organizing Nicar- agua's first peasant unions. The Daily cites America's Watch as "proof' of the lack of religious persecution in Nic- aragua. This leftist human rights organization is so soft on the Sandinistas that their estimates of political prisoners in Nicaragua are actually lower than those of the Sandinistas. So much for credibility. The Daily points out that the Sandinistas have reopened the Catholic radio station (which Shouldn't have been closed in the first place) but ignores that the station is still forbidden from broadcasting anything p o litical. The Catholic Church's human rights agency and social welfare office still remain shut down. Roberto D'Abuisson, the extremist death-squad leader in El Salvador, is described as a "close ally of President Jose Napoleon Duarte." If this is so, why has Duarte publicly ac- cused D'Abuisson of plotting to murder Archbishop Romero ._ , nn1.. r _. - in the murders of ministers Alfonso Galeamo and Daniel Ocum in 1982, the murder of religious worker Yamilet Se- quira de Lorio in 1983, and the attempted murder of protestant pastor Pruderrio de Jesus Baltodano Selva in 1984. Bal- todano was left for dead after being tied to a tree, having been stabbed in the neck, and having had his ears chopped off. The purpose of the "Popular Church" in Nicaragua is not to "emphasize Christ's solidarity with the weak and his teach- ings of social justice" but rather to indoctrinate the people with Sandinista propaganda-. Followers of the "church" are taught to worship such "saints" as Karl Marx, Che Guevara, and Sandino. One member, of this church who holds a posi- tion in the government, Ernest Cardenal, is an avowed Marx- ist-Leninist. In his book "In Cuba," he dexcribes Castro- land as a kingdom of God. Cardenal was quoted as saying to a cadre of Sandinista troops, "you boys have to understand that God does not exist, that Jesus Christ does not exist ei- ther, that God is the revolution and Jesus Christ are you, are all the Sandinistas. . ." It is no wonder that he was reprimanded by the Pope. The Daily owes its readers an apology for printing such a bi- ased and misinformed editorial. Next time they attempt to apologize for a a communist dictatorship I suggest that they get their facts straight. -Josh Shackman, , February 18 Editor's Note: The Daily wai incorrect in naming D'Abuisson an ally of Duarte. However, D'Abuisson is closely linked with the Sal- vadoran military. Laws attempt to curb homosexuality Psychology department exploits student labor: Pay, MONDAY MARKED .for students currently .introductory psycho sign up for required These experiments do ily provide studentsm experience although educe free data for ps partment studies. Students are c "volunteering" fort ments even if the ex unrelated to the cla Those who do not w pate must opt for a tin alternative project, u form of a paper. Althomneh the~ course for experiments gone through these experiments THE deadline have said that they were treated enrolled in an well. The department does allow logy class to students to choose non-deceptive experiments. experiments if they wish. But just not necessar- because the experiments do not in- vith a valuable volve pain and suffering does not they do pro- mean that this is a just requirement. sychology de- The real benefactors of this policy are not the students who pay to take oerced into the classes with their tuition, but the these experi- department and the graduate stu- periments are dents whose research relies on stu- ass material. dent participation. Normally they ish to partici- would have to pay between five and ne-consuming ten dollars per experiment hour; in- usually in the stead they get four free hours per student. e descrintions The requirement is nierhans a To the Daily: I would like to raise a ques- tion about a comment in a let- ter, "Accept sexual orientation" (Daily 2/17/88). In the context of advocating a slight release of the discrimination our society places on homosexuals by re- moving such explicit forms as are in the Regental Bylaws, the letter says: "It is a common misconception that being gay is a choice." This itself is a commonplace about what it means to be ho- mosexual but it seems this statement might actually play into the hands of those who would repress homosexuals. It depicts the homosexual as a victim of their uncontrollable "innate" urges. One such reac- tion could be to say that we all have urges that we must sup- press to live in society and homosexuals must learn to control theirs as well. A simi- larly wrong-thinking attack would be not to persecute ho- mosexuals, since that "can't be helped" but make homosexual acts illegal thus restricting something that can be "helped." The state might WE~ MM ~ TNOT 0 9iFEictis SG~ us W'O1 o 5 ?ot.VEciss FTIhE ?ST - TNT FOULSi ofETAX ID TW, SADP DS N of my homosexuality but I am completed and defined by it." It seems only in this second framework could there be any- thing like "Gay Pride." The relationships then become clear; The homosexual is not "abused" by nature but by a culture that is majoritarian. Perhaps a better, more truly 4 pluralistic society can be forged out of America, but it will re- quire a restructuring of thought as well as of bylaws. -Jim Leach March 2 4 N /_1 4 ~°1 e WE m'ug STIC14 WNt TE NEW POLCY I NVE PUT IN ?lJCe sP a V i , x /A