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