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October 13, 1988 - Image 4

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The Michigan Daily, 1988-10-13

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4

OPINION

Thursday, October 13, 1988

The Michigan Daily

4

Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
420 Maynard St.

.......... ......... ......... ......... .......... ......... ......... ....... . .
Letter to t~~ e~Lior....

Vol. IC, No. 26

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.
Get the facts straight

IN AN ANN ARBOR NEWS article on
Monday, Regent Philip Power saw fit
to criticize the Daily because members
of its staff protested President James
Duderstadt's inauguration. Power's
remarks were ominous, and were
inappropriate for a government official.
Regent Power attacked the Daily for
its supposed newly-found ideological
stridency. However, whether the Daily
is ideologically strident or politically
milk-toast, it is not Power's place to
comment. The Daily is independent of
government officials like Power. He
failed to recognize this fact, however,
in the article.
Power also opposed the activism of
some Daily staffers. Yet, the vast ma-
jority of the Daily did not attend the
protest at Duderstadt's inauguration.
Those that did, did so as private indi-
viduals and not as representatives of
the Daily.
,Power fails to recognize that Daily
staffers still retain their rights to free
speech and assembly. And while there
4s considerable variation among news-
papers, some such as the Boston Globe
do allow employees to exercise their
political rights.
*Regent Power objects to participant-
journalism. Factually speaking,
demonstrators from the Daily did not
,cover the event that they participated in.
Even if they had, however, there
would be plenty of precedents for this
in the world of professional journalism
including reporters John Reed and
Joan Didion.
Power incorrectly substitutes an
anti-activist bias in place of a standard
of fairness in reporting. There is no in-
herent reason to suspect that activists
:will be more biased in reporting than
non-activists or vice-versa. What
:ounts is the product, what comes out
in print. To make a legitimate charge of
bias against the Daily, Power would
have to show that the Daily's news
coverage gives unequal treatment to the
different sides in a controversy.
Power complained that Daily front-
page editorials are supposedly becom-

ing regular. This is not for him to de-
cide. In the past year, the University
administration made some landmark
decisions - the selection of a new
president, the deputization of Univer-
sity Public Safety officers, the first im-
plementation of a policy concerning
discriminatory acts including acts of
speech, the attempt to take over the
student-run radio station WCBN, the
gutting of University Council and the
passage of new protest guidelines.
These developments are worthy of the
play that the Daily has given them.
Finally, Power is simply incorrect to
say that the arrest of a Daily co-editor is
unprecedented. Police arrested Photo
Editor Dan Habib when he was cover-
ing a demonstration. Police also ar-
rested the then Opinion Page co-editor
Henry Park while he was standing in
the press credentials line at Pat Robert-
son's presidential campaign speech in
Ann Arbor. In fact, Daily staff people
have always participated in demonstra-
tions from coast-to-coast and have
suffered arrests in various circum-
stances including protests. By the way,
the first edition of the Ann Arbor News
incorrectly reported that two Daily edi-
tors were arrested when in fact only
one was.
What Regent Power really seems to
find unprecedented is the opposition of
students - including journalists - to
the repressive policies that he as a re-
gent has had a part in. He along with
the other regents met in secret to pick
Duderstadt as president. They voted in
secret to deputize Public Safety offi-
cers and passed guidelines restricting
protest. Not surprisingly, journalists
oppose this kind of repressive atmo-
sphere.
Regent Power bears part of the re-
sponsibility for the arrest of students at
Duderstadt's inauguration. The admin-
istration he oversees used policies he
voted for in order to repress demon-
strators protesting those very policies.
Now he is criticizing the press for
merely pointing out what he has done.

Society,
not Greeks,
to blame
To the Daily:
As a member of the Greek
system, I find it necessary to
refute the allegations set forth
in Rollie Hudson's editorial
"The Greek Alternative,"
(Daily 10/10/88).
The essay starts off by pro-
claiming the Greek System as
an alternative to the scared and
homeless at the University.
Simply put, this is not true.
Each house selects new mem-
bers based upon virtue, not
need. Each person who is of-
fered a place in a fraternity or
sorority, is done so on his/her
merits as an individual.
The second point made in the
essay is even more intolerable
(and it gets worse), and that is
the linkage of fraternities to
rapists. The statistics offered
are not accurately correlated in
regards to the nation as a
whole. Instead of giving all the
facts, a select few were tailored
to implicate a particular group;
in this case it was fraternities. I
am stymied at how to defend
such a baseless attack. I can
only rebut the accusation with
a question on the facts. What is
the national average of gang
rapes? What are all your
sources? How do you make
your accusations of alcohol,
drug, and sexual abuse stand
up? The Greek System, led by
the Interfratcrnity Council and
Panhellenic Association, has a
well documented and demon-
strated policy on alcohol and
substance abuse; evidenced by
our willingness to support and
join in efforts to eradicate them
both. Our record on Rape Pre-
vention follows suit with
nearly all fraternities and
sororities participating in Sex-
ual Assault Prevention Work-
shops, sponsored in part by
SAPAC. An appeal to the facts
seems to demonstrate the falla-
cious nature of your essay,
Rollie Hudson.
But let us tackle the next is-
sue - racism. Is racism not
the belief that one race is better
than the next? Are not bigotry
and discrimination key ele-
ments? Are you not telling us,
Rollie Hudson, that non-
Greeks are better than Greeks?!
How are you freed from charges
of discrimination? Why do the
lines get drawn around you?
After all you wrote, you still
found more - a truly
outstanding creative feat. Ex-
cept once again, you missed
the facts. Ever hear the phrase,
"Charity comes from the
heart"? We have. But you just
want to count dollars and cents;
well here are a few statistics to
chew on: How does over
$30,000, raised for charity dur-
ing Greek Week 1988, taste?
How about the multitude of
charities picked up by every
house? Do you want more?
How about IFC's Compufare
and the Panhellenic Plant sale?
We raise money, a lot of it; no

doubt about that. Just ask any
Greek if their house is in-
volved, or will be involved
with some charity this year.
Full yet? Come on Rollie,
now let's look at Community
Service - Big/Little
Brother/Sister programs, blood
drives, Leaders in Prevention,
and more. The real problem
here seems to be a rather active
imagination, not an inactive
Greek System.
The Greek System has
demonstrated its ability to not
only withstand allegations such
as yours, but to grow in spite
of them. But even the mighti-
est needs a voice to cry out
against the injustices levied
against them - I am one of
those voices. The Greek Sys-

cause of all your problems -
try and sell that idea some
place else, the Greeks here are
just not buying it.
-Ricky Nemeroff
October 10
Proposal A
must not
pass
To the Daily:
Concerning the letter to the
editor "Just Say No," (Daily,
10/5/88), Mr. Allen makes
several inaccurate assumptions.
First of all, there needs to be a
clarification of what Proposi-
tion A entails. Women who are
victims of rape or incest are
not protected by this proposi-
tion. If Proposition A passes
only women whose lives are
threatened will be permitted to
receive abortions.
Secondly, one must not be
so ignorant as to blame indi-
viduals for their lower socio-
economic status. The govern-
ment is obligated to guarantee
certain rights to all citizens,
not only to those who are fi-
nancially secure. Medicaid
serves the needs of lower in-
come people because they can-
not afford the high costs of al-
ternative health care. We be-
lieve it is discriminatory to
deny lower income people of
the same health care that is
available to other women and
men.
In addition to the above
points, the blatant sexism of
Mr. Allen also concerns us. In
response to, "Men have the bi-
ological right to tomcat around
and not directly bear the burden
of their action. Women do
not." For some reason, we
were under the impression that
it takes TWO to procreate.
Therefore, both are responsible
for their actions, regardless of
the fact that women get preg-
nant. When two mutually con-
senting adults engage in sexual
activity, both are responsible
for their actions and decisions
concerning birth control.
Lastly, your friendly advice
about where one can buy a $6
box of condoms is not
appreciated. Once again, should
the burden fall on the woman
to buy these when they're not
even made for her? Besides the
fact that $6 is two hours of
salary for many people.
As co-chairs of MSA's
Women's Issues Committee,
we believe a woman has a right
to choose what decisions she
makes about her own body. We
are devoting the next five
weeks to educating people
about the Medic-aid funded
abortion issue. If you would
like more information, call
MSA at 763-3241.
-Susan Sherman
Christine Fulton
October 6
'Get your
head out of
the toilet'

To the Daily:
Jim Poniewozik's article,
"Like, Wow, Man...Forget the
Calendar - It's still the six-
ties" (Daily, 9/30/88) is a little
off base when he states that the
80s generation has no identity.
Granted, our generation does
not include the likes of Elvis
or the Beatles. Today's songs
don't have the emotional plati-
tude of those released during
the chaotic Vietnam era. How-
ever, a generation does not need
a war in Vietnam or a revolu-
tion in rock and roll in order to
create an identity.
The 80s generation has a
cultural identity. When people
describe the music of the
eighties, they will talk of
"progressive music" such as

dye doesn't mean that he or she
lives and dies for the Grateful
Dead. True, a lot of people lis-
ten to the Dead. But then
again, the Beastie Boys have a
large audience too. Though in-
fluential in the past, the Dead
have influenced eighties culture
more in line of fashion than in
music.
-Niko Dounchis
October 2
Regret
displaying
flag
To the Daily:
I am writing in regard to
Chau-Ye Wu's letter of
September 28, 1988. The
imperial Japanese flag he
mentioned appeared at the
booth of the Asian Studies
Student Association - not the
Asian Studies Department -
during Festifall. The flag was
an unfortunate choice for dis-
play and we regret it.
Representatives from our
group and Mr. Wu have met
and come to a resolution of the
matter. It is the aim of our or-
ganization to promote better
understanding of Asia.
Thoughtfulness and sensitivity
will complement our energy
and enthusiasm while striving
to reach this goal.
-Anne M. Hooghart
Asian Studies Student
Association
October 8
Writer
fightingfor
homeless
To the Daily:
Jonathan Kozol, a noted cru-
sader against homelessness, il-
literacy and inadequate public
education, will be speaking on
October 13. Mr. Kozol was
first noted for his work as an
educator in the Boston public
schools in the late 60s. His
books Death at An Early Age
and The Night is Dark and I am
Far From Home both dealt
with the inequality that per-
vades school systems in
America in the 60s and today.
He continued researching and
observing the crisis of illiter-
acy in the U.S. throughout the
70s, and published Illiterate
America.
In the 80s he has concen-
trated on issues of homeless-
ness. Rachel and Her Children,
his most recent book, consists
of interviews with homeless
people and an attempt to come
to terms with this national cri-
sis, and published Illiterate'
America. In the 80s he has
concentrated on issues of
homelessness. Rachel and Her
Children, his most recent

book, consists of interviews
with homeless people and an
attempt to come to terms with
this national crisis.
The MSA Academic Affairs
Committee invites Students
and the University and Ann
Arbor Communities to hear
Mr. Kozol and students discuss
the subject of "American
Priorities," and to participate in
the discourse, on Thursday Oc-
tober 13, at 4 pm in Schorling
Auditorium, School of Educa-
tion.
-Jennifer Kohn
October 10
Stop sexist
violence
To the Daily,
On October 5, seventy-five
women boldly marked three
hundred locations where a
woman has been raped in the
last three years. One rape is too
many. Three hundred rapes is a
nightmare and an outrage. In
fact the FBI calculates that
only 10% of all rapes are re-
ported so its more like three
thousand rapes. LaGROC con-
gratulates the women who took
their time and energy to care
fully investigate violence
against women and took action
to publicize this problem.
Hopefully their work will not
only educate - and alert our
community, but will serve as a
catalyst for increased organiz-
ing against sexist, racist, anti-
lesbian/gay bigotry and vio-
lence.
Unfortunately the University
of Michigan administration
chose not to see the educational
value in the October 5 action.
Not only did they not see the
value, but the administration
ordered the immediate sand
blasting of each sign on cam-
pus property and therefore de-
nied the entire University
community this additional
chance to see and respond td
sexist violence. When
swastikas and other racist, sex-
ist, anti-gay graffiti appears o
campus it stays for weeks an4
months to torment already op
pressed students, faculty and
workers.
The University administra
tion thus strikes twice in the
same blow. A creative and se-
rious message was put out by
seventy-five women and the
administration took steps
against both free speech an4
against the effort to fight sexis
violence.
Despite the sandblasting of
valuable words LaGROC urges
all women and men to take se-
riously the message. Violence
against women is on the rise
and must be fought by all of
us.
-Linda Kurtz
Judy Levy
Kieth Aller
Lesbian and Gay
Rights Organizing
Committee
October 11

4

Inauguration
Observers:
Anyone who observed the student protest or the
arrest of three members of the Daily in front of Hill
Auditorium on Thursday, October 6, and who is
willing to state what they saw, even anonymously,
should call Amy at 761-8076.

-1t ~
,\ -i.-

I

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