4
OPINION
Monday, September 26, 1988
Page 4
The Michigan Daily
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Vol. IC No.13 420 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.
Mazrui
contested
4
'Dangerous
IT'S TIME to play monopoly except
this time it's for real. The players are
the Detroit News and the Detroit Free
Press vs. the Michigan Citizens for an
Independent Press. The News and the
Free Press want to combine their busi-
nesses, resulting in a monopoly over
the Detroit's newspaper industry and
threatening the quality of news cover-
age.
Michigan Citizens for an Independent
Press, representing a small group of
readers, advertisers, and an indepen-
dent newspaper, the Arkansas Demo-
crat, is trying to prevent the merger
through a court battle. The merger was
approved by then-Attorney General
Edwin Meese and upheld by a federal
court ruling. The only hope now for the
Michigan Citizens for an Independent
Press is a federal appeals court injunc-
tion temporarily blocking the merger
until it reaches a decision.
If this monopoly goes through, ad-
vertisement and subscription prices will
shoot up, while the quality of the news
will decline due to a lack of competi-
tion. The newspapers will also have no
incentive to print the news quickly.
They will leave out important stories
while shortening the coverage on oth-
ers.
It is likely that the merger will be up-
held since the press is influential in
shaping public policy. The News and
the Free Press are part of the two
largest newspaper chains in the coun-
try, Gannett and Knight-Ridder. Their
combined influence dwarfs that of the
Michigan Citizens for an Independent
Press.
A monopoly is made possible by the
Newspaper Preservation Act of 1970,
which states that failing newspapers are
exempt from anti-trust laws. The asser-
tion that the Detroit newspapers are
failing is puzzling because both were
prosperous up until nine years ago.
Apparently though, the Free Press
was not prosperous enough for its.
owner, Alvah Chapman, who nine
years ago decided that he wanted a
monopoly
monopoly over the Detroit newspaper
industry. Chapman started cutting
prices to drive the Detroit News into
bankruptcy, but the News fought back.
Now both papers are still in business
but losing money as a result of this
pnce war. If Chapman had not been so
greedy, the Free Press and the News
would still be making money.
Chapman is trying to blackmail his
opponents by threatening to shut down
the Free Press should the courts rule
against him. He argues that closing the
Free Press would eliminate 2,200 jobs.
This is unlikely because Chapman
would lose a great deal of money and
his company's largest newspaper. He
has enough resources to easily keep the
newspaper running until it starts mak-
ing money again. As demonstrated by
the period preceding the price war, the
paper could still turn a profit. Even if
the merger is allowed, Chapman would
still have to eliminate at least 500 jobs.
The precedent that this merger could
set for the newspaper industry is
frightening. Other newspapers across
the country would soon start forming
similar monopolies. After all, they need
only prove that they are a failing news-
paper. And what better way to make a
newspaper fail than to start a price war?
Such newspapers would have nothing
to lose because if they succeed in the
price war, they win control over their
market. If they do not succeed in the
price war, they use the Newspaper
Preservation Act in order to form a
monopoly. Either way they make a lot
of money.
Corporate raiders would soon start
feeding on the newspaper industry. A
monopoly would make it possible for
them to ruin not just one company but
a whole sector of the industry. They
would milk the newspaper industry for
every last penny, then move on to their
next prey. Meanwhile, this industry, so
influential in shaping public policy,
would die a slow death..
How ironic it would be that the great
power of the press precipitated its own
downfall.
By Marc J. Brennan
Ignorance is contagious. I am referring
to the interview with Dr. Ali Mazrui in
"Allies: Israel and South Africa," (Daily
9/22/88), and his subsequent lecture that
evening which prove that even the most
educated individuals can be stereotypical,
hypocritical, and oblivious to historical
and present situations.
This letter was originally intended to
protest the heaping of Israel and South
Africa in the same boat by Mazrui and Is-
rael's detractors. However, Mazrui's
speech uncovered a more serious aspect of
his anti-Israel activity: anti-Semitism.
The first part of Mazrui's speech echoed
most of what appeared in the Daily. Of
course, he neglected to mention that Is-
rael's trade with South Africa is dwarfed
by that of Europe, Arab states, and Black
African states, and that South Africa re-
ceives over 75 percent of its oil from Arab
states. This demonstrates that Mazrui, the
Palestine Solidarity Committee (the
sponsors of this event along with Rack-
ham Student Government), and the Arab
states are not only hypocrites but are also
only using the Israel-South Africa
"alliance" to further their own anti-Israel
goals by disseminating negative Israeli
images.
Even the allegations of an Israel-South
Africa "alliance" (as the Daily proudly,
Marc J. Berman is the President of the
Union of Students for Israel.
prominently, and in a typically misleading
fashion printed as the title of the inter-
view) were completely unsubstantiated.
Mazrui produced no concrete evidence of
such an association, providing only
generalizations and comparisons that were
more contrived than real.
I need not continue on this issue be-
cause the more significant second part of
Mazrui's speech must be addressed.
Mazrui proceeded to switch the subject
from Israel and her relationship with
South Africa to a subject that made me
sick to my stomach: Israel and her rela-
tionship to Nazi Germany.
Mazrui warned that Israel's current role
in the Arab-Israeli conflict is becoming a
parallel to Nazi Germany. "Judeo-Naziism
is no longer a contradiction in terms," he
proclaimed, continuing that the "German
picture is becoming part of the Israeli pic-
ture." He also stated that "German experi-
ence is Israeli experience," claiming that
"Israel has the most efficient war machine
since Nazi Germany."
Mazrui's anti-Israel opinions then turned
into anti-Semitism and racism. He com-
pared Israel to Nazi Germany because of
its "racial arrogance and exclusivity"
through encouraged Jewish intrafaith mar-
riage to create a racial purity, though he
obviously doesn't realize that there are
Black Jews, Asian Jews, and converts who
create a varied ethnic diversity. He then
told stories depicting Israelis as arrogant,
rude, obnoxious, and "echoing of Aryan
self-confidence." He continued to criticize
Jews as "monopolizing the Holocaust as
an experience."
Finally, Mazrui noted that generous
American support to Israel is maintained
because the Jewish lobby controls the
American government and media.
Mazrui is completely ignorant regarding
Jewish faith and history. To compare Is-
rael to Nazi Germany is the ultimate racial
slur. Nazi atrocities were responsible for
the ruthless massacre of six million Jews,
including one million babies. Of those
who survived, many are mentally scarred
for life. The Jewish people are still scarred
and will never forget.
To digress from politics to anti-Semitic
tones only fuels the fire of hatred.
The disturbing part of this experience is
that the opinions expressed by Mazrui are
shared by many others including the ma-
jority of the attendees at this event.
Racism and anti-Semitism are dangerous
situations which have been proven by
history time and time again. It is upset-
ting and scary that such points of view
still have so much support.
It is disgraceful that the Palestine Soli-
darity Committee invited a speaker with
such convictions. It demonstrates that they
would rather increase hostility between
Jews and Arabs, making negotiations for
peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict more dif-
ficult.
I urge all students on campus to be
aware of and protest anti-Semitism on
campus, be it open or under the shadow of
anti-Israel propaganda.
I understand that not all who are anti-Is-
rael are anti-Semitic, however, Mazrui and
his supporters certainly are both.
:m.
M
4
,
H "
6'U,
cheats
students
By Jon Zimring
"There is no money," came the reply as
Prof. Peterson began the second day of his
Psychology 475 class. "I asked the de-
partment to open more sections and they
said there is no money. I'm sorry. I can't
help you. I tried." Professor Peterson did
try, but the University failed to honor his
request. The result was that many students
were turned away from a class in which
they were genuinely interested, and were
forced to compromise themselves in order
to obtain enough credit hours. It is an all
too familiar story and one which is alto-
gether inexcusable at a school with the re-
sources of the University of Michigan.
Every year students receive a letter from
the University apologizing for tuition
which is "undesirably high." Every year
undergraduates are required to pay hefty
tuition increases or tack-on fees so that the
quality of education at the University of
Michigan need not be compromised. It
seems that one way or the other, the Uni-
versity always needs more money and al-
ways finds a way of getting it. It is there-
fore more than peculiar that the University
seems to have such a difficult time ac-
commodating its undergraduates due to
monetary deficiencies. If the average
Michigan student were to stop and think
about it, he or she would realize what an
insult to his or her intelligence the Uni-
versity is getting away with by refusing to
open classes.
Where is all the money going? There are
plenty of answers to that question. Where
should the money be going, first and
foremost? There is only one answer to this
question. The students at the University of
Michigan pay, and pay dearly, for excel-
lence in education. Excellence in educa-
tion, however, should not mean scram-
bling to get classes for the credits alone. If
undergraduates are turned away from the
classes they really wish to take, they are
not getting what they paid for. After all,
how much money does it take to pay TAs
to teach a few extra sections so that
classes can be opened? Certainly, the TAs
wouldn't mind answering this question.
with the business. No matter what else it
claims to be, the University of Michigan
is a very poorly run and exploitive enter-
prise if it can't provide for the most basic
needs of its students. Wherever it is
possible to allow higher enrollment with-
out sacrificing quality, the University has
a duty to do so. The bottom line is that
the University is failing miserably at this
duty!
Every year the University of Michigan
recruits from a pool of the best and the
brightest students from around the nation.
Those who are reading this letter represent
the chosen few who were convinced that
the University would serve their best in-
4
4
FBI's sordid history
'No matter what else it claims to be, the University of Michigan
is a very poorly run and exploitive enterprise if it can't provide
for the most basic needs of its students.'
THIS AFTERNOON MARKS the can-
cellation of the Federal Bureau of In-
vestigation's scheduled recruiting visit
to the University. For most people, the.
FBI represents nothing more than an-
other official branch of the U.S. gov-
ernment. A sordid history suggests
otherwise.
A report from the "Supplementary
Detailed Staff Reports On Intellegence
Activities and the Rights of Americans"
shows FBI policy and practice to in-
clude hundreds of warrantless entries of
questionable legality; techniques which
deeply intrude "into the privacy of tar-
geted individuals." Though these tactics
were discerned as surreptitious in the
sixties and seventies, the Justice
Department still permits them in the
form of "Black bag jobs." Over 500
such intelligence gathering break-ins
have been conducted by the Bureau
since 1960.
Organizatons affiliated with progres-
sive politics have been heavily victim-
ized by the FBI's investigations. Inci-
dents of harrassment and intimidation
have been reported by the Center for
Constitutional Rights (CCR) in associ-
ation with the National Lawyers Guild.
"The FBI utilized wire-taps,
undercover agents, and informants," in
addition to the "intensive physical
surveillance" normally reserved for
investigation of serious crimes.
The Bureau also keeps thousands of
files on people who attend peaceful
demonstrations, who openly criticize
the Reagan administration's foreign
policy iniatives in Central America and
South Africa, or who are somehow af-
filiated with such activities. Several ex-
FBI agents testify to the use of these
seized or became subjects of FBI files."
The FBI's actions and files released
under the Freedom of Information Act
demonstrates the Bureau's right-wing
orientation. According to the CCR, if
the FBI does not conduct the extensive
break-ins experienced by dissident
groups then "the break-ins are often
carried out by right-wing groups who
in turn give the information they collect
ot the FBI."
According to another UPI article, a
Special Agent instructed a subordinate
to compile sketches on hundreds of
Americans critical of the Reagan
administration's policies, and to draw
from "literature from the John Birch
Society and other right-wing groups."
Under the Reagan administration, the
Bureau is no longer required to ques-
tion the way in which information is
obtained from private individuals.
Legally, executive order may allow the
FBI to use "special techniques" in
matters involving foreign pow-
ers/agents. They are labeled as
"terrorists," and dealt with accordingly.
Thus the "possible connections with a
foreign government" stipulation by ex-
ecutive order allows the FBI a free hand
in circumventing American's civil
liberties.
The Privacy Act is one legal form of
defence against the FBI to which citi-
zens have recourse. It forbids the filing
or investigation of how individuals ex-
ercise the rights granted them by the 1st
Amendment "unless expressly autho-
rized by statute." However, strictures
embedded in the Act make it extremely
difficult to sue successfully or to en-
force it to specification.
It has been observed that an institution
as large as the University of Michigan
must necessarily be run like a business.
Perhaps so. A couple of very important
characteristics of a successful business are
' its ability to allocate its resources properly
and to maintain the goodwill of its cus-
tomers. When University departments
don't have the financial flexibility to open
a few extra sections of a -popular class;
when frustrated, disgruntled students feel
cheated and helpless in the shadow of a
large and unwieldy University bureaucracy;
and when even the best of University pro-
fessors aren't able to push hard enough to
open channels that will ameliorate the sit-
uation, there is something very wrong
terests. If the University can't or won't
figure out for itself what its duties to its
undergraduates must be, then it is every
students' obligation to let the administra-
tion know exactly how to fulfill those du-
ties. If each student who has been aggra-
vated and abandoned by a system which is
unable to provide and lacks the allocated
resources to be adequately flexible would
take ten minutes at the library to write a
note to President Duderstadt, maybe he
would take more than ten minutes to read
them. And maybe then the University
would stop making ludicrous excuses and
provide the educational opportunities sup-
posedly paid for by ever-increasing tuition
bills.
Zimring is an LSA Senior.
:;.i "j j... t e ed eE:::........................:
Nursing's
vital role
To the Daily:
I am writing in response to
the article "Major stymie 'U'
students," (Daily, 9/12/88).
I am alarmed at the percep-
tion by Sheila Gomez relative
to the -position of Nursing as
stated in the article. Nursing is
recognized internationally as an
independent profession, free-
standing and separate from
Medicine. Nursing collaborates
with Medicine in today's
healthcare delivery systems and
facilitates many of the thera-
pies determined by physicians.
Nursing's scope of practice as
apies, and evaluate patient re-1
sponse to interventions with-
out the direct guidance of a
physican.c
Your article greatly repre-
sents the largest group of
health care providers in the
United States. I strongly sug-
gest that you think of a way to
correct the image you have
displayed in this article. I alsot
suggest that you visit one oft
the health care facilities withinI
the community and see for
yourself how the care of pa-
tients in those facilities occurs.
You will surely find the nurse
is the heaalth care provider who
is at the bedside and available
to the ill patient twenty-four
hours a day.
grant sexism. The Student As-
sembly was, you will recall,
about to enclose misogynist
douches in the care packages
given to female University
housing residents, had Buckhoy
and Paige not stopped them.
Unfortunately, Buckhoy and
Paige seem to have overlooked
yet another insensitive act by
the care package committee:
the inclusion of peppermint
mouthwash in packages for
both sexes.
For ages, humanity has been
made to believe that our
mouths are dirty and malodor-
ous, and in need of extra spe-
cial cleansing. But the inside of
a healthy mouth does not need
to be washed or "freshened,"
contrary to what the mouth-
wash industry would have us
think. Furthermore, mouth-
wash contains ethyl alcohol,
known to cause damage to the
kidney, the liver, and the brain.
-Alex Eulenberg
September 20
Daily Opinion Page letter policy
Due to the volume of mail, the Daily cannot print
all the letters and columns it receives, although an
effort is made to print the majority of material on a
wide range of views. The Daily cuts letters and
I