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OPINION
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Page 4 Monday, December 12, 1988 The Michigan Daily
£Eb4 u tlj
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Protect Tagar &
CCF
j."
Vol. IC; No.66
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.
Sales of rhino horns finance warfare in southern Africa:
1 Wildlieen*dangered
TWO DECADES AGO, more than The black rhino horns involved in the
70,000 black rhinoseroses lumbered Connecticut transaction were appar-
across the plains of southern Africa. ently taken from rhinos killed by troops
'Today fewer than 4000 remain - a in Angola.
drop of 96 percent in less than twenty This revelation has startling implica-
years. tions for anyone concerned with
The near annihilation of the black wildlife conservation. Unita, headed by
rhino has not gone unnoticed by First Jonas Savimbi, is directly supported by
World conservationists who have the United States. And the SADF
launched educational campaigns to operates all throughout southern Africa
publicize its plight at the hands of the with tacit consent from Washington.
poachers. A few weeks ago, CBS ran While there is nothing really new
an hour-long program on efforts by about U.S. war policies wreaking
rangers and animal breeders to save the environmental havoc all over the Third
black rhino from extinction. World, the black market sale of endan-
But recent events here in the United gered species to fund these covert op-
States reveal a gruesome untold story erations is a novel twist on the old cor-
as not become part of this public ruption.
,;don. It is time for the environmental com-
s, month in Connecticut, three munity to wake up to political realities.
forth Americans and three South For too long, conservationists have
Africans were arrested on charges of somehow believed that that ecological
conspiring to import rhino horns and concerns can transcend the dirty world
other game trophies from endangered of war and politics.
species into the United States. As re- The black rhino is not a symbol of
ported in Africa News (11/14/88), "mankind's penchant for destruction"
these arrests followed a nine-month in- as the CBS show proclaimed. Rather,
vestigation by the U.S. Attomey's of- the fate of the black rhino in southern
fice. Africa is tied very directly to U.S.
As it turns out, two of the accused geostrategic interests in that region. No
are members of the South African De- breakthroughs in captive breeding re-
'fense Force (SADF) which is now be- search (conducted on black rhinos at
lieved by the U.S. Attorney to play a- the Cincinnati zoo) or game ranching
arge role in black market trafficking of (supported by wealthy big game
rhino horns. Apparently, SADF troops hunters in Texas) or shoot-to-kill
Stationed in Angola and Namibia are ranger squads (in Zimbabwe) can
dart of a significant international group change this fact.
hchrhinos and Elephants and black rhinos are now
sells their horns on the black market. beig slaughtered by armies wielding
Africa News also has evidence that machine guns, and their body parts are
rhino homs and trophies from other sold to fuel their bloodycampaigns.
endangered game species are being Meaningful efforts to "save the rhino"
sold to finance the activities of counter- and help other endangered wildlife in
revolutionary armies harbored by southern Africa means working first to
South Africa-- namely Unita (in An- understand and then to end U.S.-
gola) and Renamo (in Mozambique). backed war policies.
By Brent Taggart and Kenneth
Sparks
The Michigan Student Assembly's
(MSA) recent attempt to censure student
groups because of their political and
religious viewpoints is a flagrant and
deeply disturbing violation of the first
amendment. We refer, of course, to MSA's
attempt to derecognize two student groups,
Tagar and Cornerstone. Christian
Fellowship, because of viewpoints these
groups expressed on the Diag. This action
is even more disturbing because it limits
speech on the Diag, considered a public
forum for unrestricted speech. Even the
Code, which MSA feels is overly
restrictive, recognizes that the Diag is a
place where speech of this sort is pro-
tected.
MSA justifies its action by its desire to
fight racism and homophobia. While the
ACLU opposes racism and homophobia as
a general matter, we are unwilling to
overrun the first amendment and other
constitutional protections in pursuit of
this goal. Unfortunately, MSA has decided
that it operates under no such restraints.
Censorship in our society is not justified
merely because the censor's goals are
laudable. What would MSA's position be
if the Regents attempted to punish MSA
because it disagreed with MSA's position
on South Africa or the inauguration of
President Duderstadt?
Quite simply, MSA proposes to penal-
ize these groups because it finds their
viewpoints racist, homophobic and repug-
nant to the student body. The first
amendment does not exist to protect only
popular viewpoints, however. Nor does it
exist to protect only viewpoints that are
officjally sanctioned by the powers that
Brent Taggart is President and Kenneth
Sparks is Vice-President of the University
chapter of the ACLU.
be, in this case, the MSA. Such popular
or officially sanctioned viewpoints do not
need special protection since they gener-
ally are not subject to attack. The first
amendment's importance is in the protec-
tion it provides for unpopular views such
as those expressed by Tagar and Corner-
stone Christian Fellowship. For those
who oppose these viewpoints, the proper
response is to express opposition and out-
rage-not to penalize the speech.
It has been argued that withdrawing
inate between viewpoints it finds accept-
able or unacceptable. Unequal treatment
based on viewpoint is prohibited by the
Constitution even where the government
has voluntarily chosen to provide support.
The positions we express are not new to
the law or to the courts. In the landmark
1969 case of Brandenburg v. Ohio, the
Supreme Court rejected the position that
inflammatory racist speech is not protected
by the first amendment. And in Healy v.
James (1972), the Court held that Central
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'While the ACLU opposes racism and homophobia as a gen-
eral matter, we are unwilling to overrun the first amendment
and other constitutional protections in pursuit of this goal.'
4
official recognition does not prevent a
group from continuing to express their
viewpoints and, therefore, that no speech
restriction exists. This argument fails for
at least three reasons. First, withdrawing
recognition of these groups does limit
their abilities to communicate a message.
As noted in a recent issue of the Daily,
derecognition prevents a group from using
certain campus' facilities such as display
cases and Diag boards to advertise their
meetings and positions. Second, derecog-
nition infringes associational rights by
preventing the derecognized groups from
participating in the campus debate on an
equal footing with other student organiza-
tions. And third, freedom of speech not
only protects the right to express a view-
point, it also protects a group or individ-
ual from retribution once that viewpoint
has been expressed. While the University
has no general obligation to provide sup-
port to persons wishing to form a group
or express a viewpoint, if the University
chooses to give support it cannot discrim-
Connecticut State College must recognize
the campus chapter of Students for a
Democratic Society unless the college
could meet a "heavy burden" of demon-.
strating that the group would significantly
disrupt the college's ability to function as
a college. An example of this would be
disturbing classes, something Tagar and
Cornerstone Christian Fellowship have'
not done. The Healy decision was reaf-
firmed in Widmar v. Vincent(1981), where,
the Court held that the University of Mis-
souri at Kansas City could not prevents
Cornerstone, a group of Christian stu;,
dents, from using campus facilities be-'
cause of the religious content of the
group's speech.
The outcome here is just as clear. MSA
cannot punish Tagar or the Cornerstone
Christian Fellowship based on the content
of their speech. For this reason, the Uni-
versity of Michigan Chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union calls on
MSA to cease its efforts to derecognizq,
and otherwise harass these groups.
E
Prof's words offensive
By Twenty-five Concerned
Students in Sociology 303
-"Malcolm X was a red-headed pimp."
-"Marcus Garvey was a fraud, who thought
he was king because he
wore feather plumes in his hat."
-"Asian stereotypes are beneficial."
-"Mexicans are lazy because of poor mal-
nutrition."
-"Jews and Catholics are drinkers."
-"(Women live longer than men) because
men work harder."
These are not random statements taken
from different racist, sexist and offensive
flyers that were put under students doors.
Unfortunately, they are only a few of the
offensive comments made by sociology
professor Reynolds Farley in his class so-
ciology 303: Racial and Cultural Con-
tacts.
Individual students in the class have
expressed throughout the term to Professor
Farley that they are concerned about his
statements. These comments are reinforc-
ing negative stereotypes about people of
color, women and white ethnic groups,
They do not address the sociological per-
spective and importance of these groups,
or individual leaders within them. Unfor-
tunately, Professor Farley's methodology
in discussing the sensitive and important
issues of race, racism and sexism has not
changed. He has continued to be offensive
through sarcastic and misleading state-
ments in class.
We believe that it is particularly
harmful that this class, one of the few
classes dealing with the issues of race and
racism in the University, is taught by
someone who reinforces oppressive
stereotypes about people of color, women
and white ethnic groups. By permitting
professors such as Farley in the classroom
the University is effectively approving of
racially insensitive and offensive attitudes
as part of its curriculum. This class is
contributing to the already hostile climate
for people of color at the University. As
students we refuse to sit silently and let
this dangerous miseducation about op-
pressed peoples continue.
We have asked Farley to enter into dia-
logue with us addressing our concerns,
only to be put off. Jim House, the chair of
the Department of Sociology, - has agreed
to take an active role in addressing our
concerns. We hope that the Department of
Sociology and the University will take
actions to rectify their past negligence of;
its responsibilities to all students in
insuring a non-racist and non-sexist enviu
ronment and education.
We have three demands that we believe
must be met in order to begin redressing'
the past offenses, misinformation and,-
miseducation, and to prevent this from
happening again.
1. Professor Farley must publicly)
apologize for the offensive remarks he has"
made and for speaking sarcastically whern
talking about race, racism and sexism. '
2. The Department of Sociology must
provide an accurate definition of the role of
leaders in the movements discussed, and
the movements themselves so that the
sociological and historical significances'
are known to the students presently taking;
Sociology 303.
3. The University must hire a professor
to teach the class who has proven
sensitivity on the issues of race, racism
and sexism to teach the class if there is
not someone in the department who is
qualified to teach the class.
Professor Farley has proven his in-'
sensitivity to these issues and is therefore,
not qualified to continue teaching this,
class.
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An elephant slaughtered by poachers for its ivory tusks. Members of the South
:African Defense Force have been arrested in Connecticut for international traf-
ficking in elephant tusks, rhino horns and trophies of other endangered species.
According to Africa News, such black market sales are used to fund rebel groups
in southern Africa.
Spray-painted racism
Torturing the sciences'
By Sandra Steingraber critical attention, feminist scholars have
MONDAY NIGHT, vandals spray-
painted anti-Jewish graffiti over the
palestinian shanty and the Palestinian
board in the Diag. This attack is an
attack upon Jews, and an attack on the
Palestinian struggle and people.
'The graffiti consisted of swastikas
and statements like "Kill the Jews" and
; Abu Nidal Lives On." This graffiti is
platantly racist against Jews, and is as
utrageous as many other recent racist
incidents that have occurred on
campus, such as the anti-Black fliers.
Fhe swastika, the symbol of the Nazis,
conjures up painful memories of the
government's rejection of peace
initiatives. The presence of the anti-
Jewish graffiti on these symbols
implies that the Palestinian struggle and
the pro-Palestinian movement itself is
anti-Jewish.
It is significant that the pro-Israel bus
built by Tagar nearby was not defaced
at the same time as the Palestinian
constructions. This implies that the
attempt to equate only the Palestinian
constructions with anti-Jewishness was
deliberate and conscious The graffiti
perpetuates both anti-Jewish sentiment
and anti-Arab sentiment. The continued
"Torturing-secrets out of Nature" is how
Francis Bacon described scientific experi-
mentation and methodology more than
three centuries ago.
For Professor Susan Wright, a lecturer
in the Residential College, this choice of
metaphor reveals much about both the de-
velopment of modern science and its vari-
ous end-uses. This past week I had the
privilege of sitting in on Wright's class
on science and social responsibility. These
kinds of metaphors received close scrutiny
by her students.
In the development of Western science,
"nature was always she," Wright observes,
"and the scientist is always he. Always."
Wright asked us to consider the social
context of Bacon's 17th century world.
Women thought to hold "secrets" were
routinely labeled as witches and indeed
were literally (and publicly) tortured to
only recently embarked on a comprehen-
sive analysis of the sciences. Wright says
she sees three levels of critical inquiry
currently operating.
The first focuses on the barriers that,
prevent women from entering science and
becoming active and valued participants.
Last spring, the University sponsored a
symposium on "research and diversity"
that supposedly put this question high on
the agenda of inquiry. After a lot of empty
administrative platitudes about the glories
of women in science, Anne Fausto-Ster-
from human societies that are used to ex-
plain "natural" phenomena. "Slavery" in
ants. "Rape" in ducks. "Competition"
among plants.
Finally, at the third and deepest level of
feminist inquiry, lies the metaphysical
foundations of science. It is here that
Wright seems to find greatest meaning. ,
Epistemological models that stress con-
trol of natural processes are part of
masculine partiality, argues Wright. There
is nothing "objective" or "neutral" in this
understanding. Such models need to yield
to those that stress complexity and
interaction, and feminism has much to of-
fer to such an understanding. "What we
see in the data is what we bring to the
data," Wright asserts.
It is no accident - according to Wright
or to me - that the scientific models of
control have produced the technologies of
warfare, another male activity that has
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