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OPINION
Monday, October 16, 1989
Page 4
The Michigan Dail
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
420 Maynard St.
Vol. C, No. 29 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.
'Reform the bus system
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PROPOSED CHANGE IN ROUTE
existing route
® proposed addition
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affected buildings
STUDENTS LIVING on North Campus
are often deprived of cultural events
and weekend activities on Central
Campus because of inadequate busing.
There are too few buses on weekends;
the last bus from Central Campus usu-
ally leaves at 2:15 a.m. Intervals be-
tween buses are about 25 minutes long.
North Campus residents are discour-
aged from coming down to Central
campus if they are dependent on the
bus to return. Further, to endure the
long wait for a bus (after midnight,
alone in the cold) can be a daunting
prospect, and many students prefer to
spend the night in friends' rooms.
During the morning rush hour, stu-
dents coming from North Campus and
getting off at Geddes have a long walk
ahead of their bus ride if they have
classes at Angell, Mason, or Haven
Halls or East and West Engineering.
Also, students who have classes on
North Campus and who live in any of
the Quads face at least 15 minutes of
walking (usually with instruments,
large drawing boards, or portfolios).
The trek to C. C. Little is even longer
for those living in Greek Houses, Co-
ops or Apartments in surrounding
neighborhoods. The numerous LSA
students who take classes for non-ma-
jors at the Art and Architecture Build-
ing in the evenings are hindered by a
bus schedule inordinately sparse in
spite of this heavy traffic. These expe-
riences can be excruciating when stu-
dents are under pressure from heavy
exam schedules, not to mention during
cold winter months.
The major stop on Central Campus,
Geddes, is centered on the campus
map, ostensibly serving both Main and
Medical Campuses. However the main
areas of commuter traffic are far from
it, and the Medical Campus is well
served by the stop outside the Medical
Science Library. The Bursley Baits bus
and the North Campus buses should be
re-routed, as shown in the map, to
service E. Washington, S. State and S.
University. There should be four stops:
-West Engineering
-the Union
-the Frieze Building
-as well as the current Geddes and
Medical Center stops.
The Northwood Bus would maintain
its current route because of its already
long tum-around time of 50 minutes.
More buses would be needed, both
to accommodate this complex schedule,
and to increase their frequency. A 24-
hour schedule should be adopted and
the frequency of buses on the weekend
similarly increased.
In addition to greater convenience to
the students, other advantages of the
reform would include a gradual de-
crease in the number of student-owned
cars, especially on North Campus, as
students have better access to public
transportation. An added minor advan-
tage would be the increased opportuni-
ties for student employment at the uni-
versity as drivers of these buses.
An effective public transportation
system would also be environmentally
sound in that it would eventually re-
duce private car traffic. The proposed
changes in the bus system should be
considered as part of a long term plan
to eliminate car use altogether in the
campus area.
These changes will cost money. But
the investment in a comprehensive
public transportation system should be
considered crucial to building a cohe-
sive community.
The use of State street as part of the
route of the University buses would
increase congestion in the area. How-
ever this must be weighed against the
all-too prevalent use of cars on cam-
pus. The new route and other modifi-
cations to the bus system would dis-
courage car use and decrease conges-
tion in the long run.
The University must reform its bus
routes. North Campus is culturally se-
cluded from the rest of the University,
primarily due to its physical separation
from Central Campus. The Schools of
Art, Architecture and Music are all sit-
uated there, as well as the North Cam-
pus Commons and the Crysler Center.
These cultural centers have the potential
to be much more vibrant if they could
attract more students from outside these
departments. The difficulties presented
by distant location of these centers and
in travelling to and from North Campus
could easily be ameliorated by the Uni-
versity through a better commuting
system and a closer inter-relationship
could thus be fostered between the
campuses.
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Consider
lounges again
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By Marina Barnett
On October 2, 1989 Consider reprinted
an article that appeared last summer enti-
tled "Look who's for segregation now."
This article is filled with racist and patron-
izing statements that cannot be ignored.
The misinformed ideology this author rep-
resents is all too common on a campus of
'higher" learning. To set the record
straight, the issue of separate lounges for
Blacks and other people of color can in no
way be equated with segregation when
viewed in its proper historical context.
Segregation is a legal imposition by
the white majority on people of color in
this country. Separation signifies a con-
scious choice among Blacks and other
people of color to come together as a
means of reaffirming their culture, resist-
ing forced assimilation into the racist cul-
ture surrounding them, and a desire to take
control over their communities.
Given the climate that exists or. this
university and in this country, it boggles
the mind to think how far we must have
regressed for whites to feel that they have
the right to delegitimize our organizatioas
and cynically dismiss our demands. This
ideology is clearly an attack on the rights
of any autonomous formation of Blacks or
other people of color.
The cultural lounges that exist on these
campuses were demanded by the members
of the Black Action Movement in the
early 1970s. The lounges were not in-
tended to exclude people on the basis of
color but to create an environment where
our culture and history could be displayed
and affirmed, and where we could discuss
the nature of our oppression and the libera-
tion of our people.
racism, whereas people of color have come
together with the purpose of combatting
this sentiment and thus liberating our
people from its adverse effects. So when
viewed in its proper historical context
those who promote separation like Mal-
colm X and racist segregationists like
David Duke are in no way analogous to
one another.
The author goes on to attempt to define
'Given the makeup of this university, it is not necessary for
white students to come together and have "white lounges." To
usa the words of a fellow student, "this whole town is one big
white lounge." '
Given the makeup of this university, it
is not necessary for white students to
come together and have "white lounges."
To use the words of a fellow student, "this
whole town is one big white lounge."
There are no Black faces on the walls of
the Law Quad, The Michigan League, An-
gell Hall, Stucci's, or the Brown Jug, not
to mention that all of the buildings on
campus, with the exception of the Trotter
House (Another BAM Demand), are named
after white people.
Historically, whites have come together
in exclusively white formations such as
the KKK and the skin heads, to perpetuate
th° struggle of the 1960s movement. The@
struggle of Black people and other people
of color in this country has never been one
of assimilating into a majority culture that
has been permeated by white supremacist
ideology. The struggle has been one for'
establishing economic justice and political'
and social equality. If this is what the au-
thor of the Consider article was truly fo,
why doesn't he struggle against the sys-
tematic exclusion cf people of color from
this campus rather than attacking the oneO
positive aspect of this university for peo-
ple of color.
Marina Barnett is a member of the United
Coalition Against Racism.
Remember the deficit
Wasserman
IN THE NEXT three days Congress is
supposed to pass a budget that falls
within this year's $100 billion Gramm-
Rudman deficit constraints. But its
ability to do so remains doubtful. For
the past decade, the U.S. has run a
sustained budget deficit. The Depart-
ment of the Treasury has written bonds
and the Federal Reserve Board has
tightened the money supply in order to
overvalue the dollar and attract domes-
tic and foreign investment.
Currently, foreign nations own ap-
proximately 16 percent of the U.S.
debt. If they were to sell their holdings,
the value of the dollar would decrease,
t':e prices of foreign commodities that
the U.S. depends upon would go up,
and the country would experience
drastic inflation. Economists predict
that the Federal Reserve Board would
then tighten the money supply to raise
interest rates and sustain investment. A
period of stagflation - both high in-
flation and high interest rates - would
destroy economic growth.
This debt is the result of utter fiscal
irresponsibility. The Reagan Admin-
istration slashed income taxes on the
richest U.S. citizens from 70 percent to
28 percent. It labeled social programs
for poor people in the U.S as meaning-
less and cut them to the bone, choosing
instead to fund the defense industry.
In addition to facing deficits every year
since, the U.S. now has a homeless
population of 3 million, a shrinking
middle class, an educational crisis, and
a rise in the number of people living
below the poverty level.
The government can begin to address
the problems of the majority of U.S.
citizens by lowering interest rates,
thereby sustaining domestic investment
in the economy and making it easier
for everyone to obtain loans. At the
same time, in order to combat inflation
and raise federal money, the Bush ad-
ministration can raise taxes for the
wealthy to at least 50 percent, without
returning any of the deductions that
were eliminated by the tax reform act of
1986 . Finally, the government must
shift the amount it spends for defense
and instead spend this money on pro-
viding more jobs and a cleaner envi-
ronment.
Whatever it decides to do, the gov-
ernment owes us more than to tell us
whether or not we have the right to
burn our own flag.
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A plea for reason, tolerance and civility:
Let CCF be recognized
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By Jim Huggins
In your editorial "MSA Gets It Wrong:
CCF Gets Recognition" (Daily,
10/11/89), you state: "The Cornerstone
Christian Fellowship as a group promotes
offensive, homophobic causes in the name
of religion. Student government support
of such a group is inappropriate and irre-
sponsible." I feel you have inaccurately
characterized CCF's activities. I would ar-
gue that allowing CCF to exist asfan
MSA-recognized organization is in fact
appropriate and responsible.
You claim that CCF promotes
"offensive" causes, referring, I assume, to
CCF's stated position that homosexual ac-
tivity is sin. Certainly this position is of-
fensive to the lesbian and gay community.
However, I can think of many other stu-
groups from campus because their views
are "offensive" to others? Of course not. In
the same way, CCF's "offensive" nature
should not be sufficient cause for denying
the group MSA recognition.
You claim that CCF promotes
"homophobic" causes. The only event I
can recall in recent history which was bla-
tantly homophobic was a concert by Mike
Deasy sponsored by CCF, during which
Deasy sang a song entitled "God Hates
Queer (And So Do I)." CCF has repeatedly
apologized for this concert (including at
the MSA Meeting of October 3), stating
that Deasy's song was not authorized in
any way by CCF and that Deasy would
never return to campus. Must CCF be
Right Organizing Committee (LaGROC)
held a rally on the Diag to encourage sup-.
port of lesbians and gay men. LaGROC
holds public meetings weekly in Univer-
sity-owned property to promote the causes
of lesbians and gay men. If CCF is denied!
MSA recognition, it will not be able to
hold a public rally on the Diag to present
its side of the issue. It will not be able to
hold public meetings in University-owned
property to present its arguments. Such a
state of affairs would not promote dialogue
on this issue; rather, it would seek to sip
lence dialogue.
In an institution dedicated to the search:
for truth (whatever that nature may be), I
Opinion Page Letter Policy
'I find it dismaying that one group of people would seek to den