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OPINION
cage 4 Wednesday, March 23, 1988 The Michigan Daily
9
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Et aed by Michigan
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Vietnam war needs holiday
Vol. XCVIII, No. 116
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.
Vote Yes
N APRIL 4, the residents of Ann
Arbor and University students will have
the opportunity to make democracy
work for the less privileged, despite
overwhelming odds.
The landlords misunderstand
Proposal C, they use skewed figures to
demonstrate the effects of rent control
and much of their data from other cities
such as New York and Berkeley about
deteriorating rental housing does not
apply because of Ann Arbor's stricter
housing code.
Citizens for Ann Arbor's Future,
however, refuses to participate in public
debate upon the subject. They rely
upon an immense amount of expensive
advertising to reach more voters, rather
than the soundness of their arguments,
or the validity of their evidence.
Housing supply remains
Proposal C will not create hardship
for landlords. Rather, it will stabilize
rents so that more elderly and moderate
income people will not be forced to
leave Ann Arbor. Although landlords
are interested in getting as much return
on their investments as they can, Ann
Arbor Citizens for Fair Rent believes
that most Ann Arbor landlords are
already receiving an adequate return.
The ordinance allows landlords to
increase rents by 75 percent of the
Consumer Price Index and to pass on
to consumers all increase in heating
costs, property taxes, and in making
improvements. National rent control
advocates have called the ordinance an
extremely moderate proposal.
Citizens for Ann Arbor's Future also
emphasizes that Rent Stabilization does
not solve the housing crisis in Ann
Arbor. Although this is true, not having
the ordinance only solves the crisis in
the perverse sense that only the "fittest'
would survive in Ann Arbor.
Rents drive out poor
If present trends are allowed to
continue, only the wealthy will be able
to live here, and all others, including
students, will have to live somewhere
else. Already many people of lower
incomes have been forced to live in
Ypsilanti or Dexter and commute to
work in Ann Arbor. This is not a
solution to the housing crisis.
The landlords claim that Proposal C
would actually worsen the housing
crisis because it would discourage
investment in new housing. Empirical
studies in cities similar to Ann Arbor,
however, show that Rent Stabilization
does not actually have this effect
because in cities that ask for Rent
Stabilization the profit made from rental
housing is already outrageously high:.
Ann Arbor has been, and will
continue to be, a good place to invest.
Moreover, Rent Stabilization has no
effect on setting the initial rent for a
C
)n Prop. C
new housing unit: luxury apartments
could still have luxury pnces.
Prop. C guarantees rights
The landlords' most implausible
argument is that rent stabilization hurts
the tenant both through discouraging
improvements, and through leaving the
owners with neither the capital nor the
incentive to keep up their property.
First of all, many landlords in Ann
Arbor do not adequately maintain their
property today because the Housing
Code is not enforced. Under Proposal
C, landlords would not be able to raise
their rent annually without being up to
Code. This would provide a much
stronger incentive for providing decent
living conditions than the present
system.
Secondly, routine maintenance, such
as replacing a dishwashers, is clearly
already included in the cost of rent: if
the landlord can afford to replace a
dishwasher now, he would still be able
to do so under Proposal C. And finally,
Proposal C would also allow landlords
to pass on the cost of capital
improvements to their tenants with a
rent increase.
Prop. C protects profits
The landlords complain that Proposal
C only allows rent -to increase at 75
percent of the inflation rate each year.
But they neglect to mention that a
substantial portion of a landlord's cost
is fixed in the form of a mortgage,
which does not rise as fast as the rate of
inflation. If landlords were allowed rent
increases at 100 percent of the inflation
rate, their profits would continue to
increase substantially each year.
Furthermore, a landlord who, for
whatever reason, was losing money
from their property could appeal to a
rent stabilization board and thereby
raise their rent to a more reasonable
rate.
Proposal C should be amended, if
passed, to exempt the Greek system
because of the special circumstances of
fraternity and sorority residents who,
like the co-ops, are partially in control
of the maintenance and upkeep of their
houses. This exemption would be
easily granted, as it has already been
written into the ordinance for the co-
ops.
Vote for rent control
The landlords have spent a lot of
money in hopes that their interests will
be represented in the upcoming
election. It is up to the voters,
however, to look beyond the television
commercials, newspaper ads, and mass
mailings sent out by Citizen's for Ann
Arbor's Future, and instead look at
what is best for them. Vote "Yes" on
Proposal C on April 4, and maintain
Ann Arbor as a place where a diverse
group of people can live.
By Charles D. Tackett
In all that is humane and just, the
national Vietnam Memorial holiday
should be put on the calender for many
reasons. Number one, just to remember
and enjoy the peace as we travel around
every day. I, along with many others,
seem to just take peace for granted as we
are so busy in our everyday lives. On May
7, 1975, a whole nation was set once
again free and at peace, and many families
were reunited. The Vietnam War was the
longest fought in American history.
Secondly, there was no thanks
whatsoever to the veteran who came home
from the conflict, more accurately called
war. I, along with all of America, have
watched combat veterans literally die on
the streets. There was no help in sight for
these people for as long as 18 years - a
long hole in any person's life. The rights
and benefits came late, if at all, and
much was already lost. The families had
Colonel Charles D. Tackett is a
homeless veteran of the Vietnam war and
works with the Michigan Student
Assembly.
to suffer along with the veteran since
America willfully set the veteran out on
the street without proper rehabilitation to
re-adjust to society. Many wives had to
file for divorce since they could not handle
the stress and much personal income was
lost.
The war had a huge impact o n
universities across the nation as anti-war
protests raged. They personally shed their
blood to try to get us home. That took a
lot of courage and I deeply thank the
students for the pressure their actions put
on Congress.
Many Americans felt they had to move
to Canada to get away from the whole
issue. They made a heavy decision to leave
their families and friends, possibly forever.
They had to decide on a road of self-exile.
Many families, in fact, the entire
nation, were split by the war. The nation
was split by civil unrest that scared me.
The wounds of the aftermath of the
Vietnam War were evidenced in the
unemployment that occurred beginning in
1975. Even lost jobs were blamed on
Vietnam after all the corporations made a
lot of money on the war effort. As I see it,
the post-Vietnam economy still is not as
sound. I say, "make jobs, not a war."
The Vietnamese war had the first fully-
integrated force which I feel says a lot in
itself. In Vietnam I was so proud to be
able to stand beside my brothers and share
each others thoughts and lifestyles.
Additionally, it is important to learn from
our history and teach our children to think
twice before employing our armed services4
overseas. I deeply feel that it is our
responsibility and duty to hold down our
war mongers within our own countries. It
is also crucial to pass on rights and
benefits to the veterans and not to play
around with the patriots who serve our
great nation. I must remind everybody that
once you take the life and mind out of a
body, it is impossible to replace. When
anyone takes a life, that life will never be
put back; the person is buried and gone
forever.
The Vietnam Memorial Holiday Project
should be brought to life as the simple
reminder that our decisions could cause a
whole nation to have a lifetime of
suffering, even death. To have a better
future with peace and justice for all and
not just a few, we must always be teachers
and learners. We must not just flow along
with everyone else, but remember pasts
errors. This wisdom will provide a safe
and better future; another Vietnam is not
the answer.
LETTERS:
Daily misinterprets PLO terrorism
To the Daily:
The purpose of this letter is
to address your consistent mis-
use of quotation marks, to dis-
cuss the ignorance of certain
individuals you choose to in-
terview, and to discuss the
journalistic ethics of your edi-
torial staff.
On February 16, Muzammil
Ahmed interviewed Paul Mc-
Closky, and Paul was kind
enough to share his views on
the PLO with us: "To call the
PLO today a "terrorist" organi-
zation is unfair ... some of the
folks are still 'terrorists' in the
sense that they will try to wipe
out Israeli Army installations."
Paul, are you sure these folks
only target army installations?
On February 28, five Pales-
tinian guerillas were discovered
floating towards the Israeli city
of Nahariya, with instructions
to stage a raid on civilians.
They were members of Al Fa-
tah. They were members of
the PLO.
On February 29 (the very
next day), the Daily Editorial
Board writes: "Claims that the
PLO is a 'terrorist' organiza-
tion are just attempts by Israel
PIRGIMc
To the Daily:
Your editorial board did not
read the Engin Council resolu-
tion on PIRGIM carefully. The
resolution that was passed did*
not call for the PIRGIM fee to
be terminated immediately.
The resolution only en-
dorsed a petition and a potential
MSA referendum that, if
passed, would terminate the
fee. The bulk of you editorial
was based on a completely in-
PIR G'EM
To the Daily:
While money taken from us
without our consent earns in-
terest in the coffers of a group
which we never agreed to sup-
port, we wonder aloud, "When
are we going to get our PIR-
GIM refunds?" For roughly
three months now this sup-
posedly non-partisan orga-
nization have had their hands
on our money and we're tired
of waiting.
If the Michigan Student As-
sembly would take a brief rest
from its vital task of passing
resolutions condemning war,
famine, and who knows, per-
haps even death itself, they
could investigate this matter. It
and its proponents to discredit
the PLO politically." In other
words, the PLO is not a terror-
ist organization - people just
call them terrorists.
On March 5, in the Weekend
section, Caleb Southworth
(Daily Opinion page Editor, no
less) interviews Sami Ismail,
who claims that "you cannot
accuse an entire population of
being terrorist. The PLO is a
people's organization which
really commands the respect
and support of the vast me -
ity of the Palestinian people.'
Dare I ask how the PLO com-
manded this respect?
On March 8, The New York
Times reports (the Daily got
around to printing this on the
ninth, by the way), that "Three
Palestinian guerillas hijacked
an Israeli bus, killing one
hostage before they and two
Israeli women died in a blaze of
gunfire when Israeli troops
stormed the bus ... Al Fatah,
Yasir Arafat's organizational
base within the PLO, took re-
sponsibility for the hijacking."
This incidents demonstrates
that your use of quotation
marks around the word terror-
overspends
accurate assumption.
I find it interesting that you
referred to last year's referen-
dum on the fee. PIRGIM won
the election by massively out-
spending its opponents, by us-
ing a fallacious campaign slo-
gan "SAVE PIRGIM" (at a
timewhen PIRGIM was run-
ning a $ 70,000 surplus), and
by completely vandalizing the
opposition campaign. When
will you editorialize about
that?
I hope that you are more
careful and complete in your
future coverage of the PIRGIM
issue.
-Steve Angelotti
February 10
ists is incorrect. It is not just
that some people call the PLO
a terrorist organization - the
PLO is a terrorist organization.
They did not attack an army
installation; they shot and
killed an innocent man in cold
blood, while also causing the
deaths of two women. Mr.
Ismail, is this what the Pales-
tinian people respect?
The final point I would like
to make relates to the Daily's
editorial board's journalistic
ethics, or lack thereof. I would
High tuition,
To the Daily:
One of the greatest barriers
to real diversity here at U of M
is the high price of education.
Here are some facts. Next year,
U of M tuition is going to be
approximately twelve percent
higher than this year. That
might be the biggest one year
tuition increase in U of M his-
tory.
Each in-state undergrad stu-
dent will pay at least $300
more next year. Out-of-state
students will pay at least $900
more. For freshmen and
sophomores that cost increase
does not even include cost in-
creases that will come in
dorms.
In-state graduate students
will be paying at least $500
more next year. Out-of-state
grad. students will be paying
over $900 more than this year.
The increases a r e
"necessary," says the U.
Administration, because state
funding of education is ex-
tremely low this year. But, all
is not lost. This is where con-
cerned student lobbyists like
MSA and MCC come in. Ev-
eryone knows that the Michi-
gan Student Assembly, our
student government, does a lot
of lobbying.
The Michigan Collegiate
Coalition (MCC), however, is
less known. MCC is the state
think that the idea of an opin-
ion page is to allow for the
equal expression of all view-
points. However, you choose
to present only the Palestinian
perspective. Sure, you printed
my letter, but compare that to
your frequent anti-Israel
editorials and interviews of
Palestinians -- there is no
comparison. You folks can
count on quantity, whereas I
must settle for quality.
-Jack Nahmod
March 11
less diversity
student association of Michi-
gan and represents the 200,000
students at Michigan's 15 state
universities. MCC knows Pell
Grants are being cut and is do-
ing something about it. MCC
sees levels of financial aid
dropping and takes action when
no one else does. Members of
MCC regularly meet with leg-
islators and argue for affordable
and accessible education.
MCC also works for smaller
class sizes and better instruc-
tional quality. In other states,
student associations have actu-
ally written legislation that
helps students. To work even
more affectively for students,
MCC needs a permanent office
in the state capitol. MCC
wants to be stronger. It's an
investment. All students will 4
benefit from MCC's work.
Show your support for the
Michigan Collegiate Coalition
and vote yes on 5 in the
MSA elections today and to-
morrow.
-Zachary Kittrie
LSA Rep. to MSA
Fat Al would like to hear from
you. To let Al know what you
think about his column, the
'U', or life in general, send a
letter to him, c/o the Daily's
Opinion page, 420 Maynard
St, 48109. He's waiting.
Fraud in El Salvador
T HE ELECTIONS in El Salvador last
Sunday are being heralded as an ex-
periment to see if the tiny nation is ca-
pable of governing itself. News reports
portray the elections as free and uncor-
rupted except for their "disruption" by
leftist Salvadoran guerrillas. As usual,
the North American public is only get-
ting the U.S. media's presentation of
the Reagan administration's propaganda
as if it were fact.
Actually, the tainted elections were
virtually meaningless since El Salvador
is a military-ruled U.S. puppet. The
administration likes to portray the Sal-
vadoran situation as a fledgling:,
democracy fighting the expansion of
Soviet communism embodied by the
guerrillas. They prefer to ignore the
immoral role the United States has so
painfully played in El Salvador's recent
past to ensure it is ruled by U.S. inter-
ests which the U.S. labels
"democratic."
been documented as carrying out nu-
merous death squad murders since the
1970s. Robert D'Abuisson is the leader
of Arena and has been charged by hu-
man rights groups of orchestrating the
killing the Archbishop of El Salvador,
Oscar Romero.
The mainstream U.S. press claims
Arena's victory will threaten the recent
moves toward freedom of expression
and bringing political murderers to jus-
tice by President Duarte. In fact, politi-
cal freedoms have been just as restricted
under Duarte as under his military pre-
decessors. The masses live under the
same terror and fear of death squads
since they still operate with the gov-
ernment's tacit approval. The popula-
tion fears continuous violent govern-
ment action in the name of fighting
communism.
Salvadorans cannot be helped by
meaningless exercises falsely labeled as
"free elections," they can be aided by a
cut-off of U.S. aid to their repressive,
Zinn
IF WE HADN'T SHOT
THOSE TERRORISTS
IN GIBRAiLTAR, A LOT
OF PEOPLE COULD
HAV/E BEEN KI.LED.
T' .
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(W\oP5.