Page 4-The Michigan Daily - Monday, February 5, 1990
(he d gnBal
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
NEWS 313 764 0552
ARTS 763 0376
OPINION 747 2814
SPORTS
WEEKEND
747 3336
747 4630
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.
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Change
Opinion Page announces some innovations
YOU MAY NOTICE SOME CHANGES ON
the Opinion Page.
Beginning next week, there will be
a weekly Issues Forum appearing ev-
ery Monday on the Opinion Page. The
forum will offer several perspectives
on a given issue, and will be coordi-
nated by Issues
Editor Laura
Sankey.
The Issues Fo-
rum is designed to
provide space for
discourse on a
wide range of What's your c
topics.
Inaddition,the Daily wants to
Daily has insti- Send or bring
tuted a new let- Student Public
tars policy. In the at 420 Mayn(
past, the Daily has
refused to print you can bring
racist, sexist, Macintosh dis
homophobic or via MTS to "N
anti-Semitic let- _
ters. Unfortu-
nately, not everyone has agreed with
the former Opinion Page editors' defi-
nitions of these societal problems.
To remedy this situation and to
provide a wider range of debate on the
Qpinion Page, the Daily won't be so
quick to reject a letter with which the
pi
let
ati
a rd
in
k o
Mich
editors may not agree.
This does not mean we will print
every letter. In addition to the obvious
space constraints, we want to provide
as diverse a group of opinions as pos-
sible.
Still, the Daily wants to hear from
you. If you have
an opinion, a
p9 complaint, or
ire even the ever-so-
rare compliment,
don't hesitate to
write and tell us.
nion? The Send or bring
yourletters to the
ear rom you. Student Publica-
ters to the tions Building,
ons Building located at 420
Street. Or, Maynard Street.
letr In addition, you
letters on can bring in let-
)r send them ters on Macin-
higan Daily." tosh computer
disks or send
them on MTS to
"Michigan Daily."
The Daily looks forward to hearing
from you, and we hope you enjoy the
changes on the Opinion Page.
David Schwartz
Opinion Page Editor
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-..
UCAR misrepresents minorities
By C. Delro Harris
It is no secret that the United Coalition
Against Racism has been extremely active
in the anti-racist movement here on cam-
pus ("UCAR demands action from 'U',
1/31/90). Many students, regardless of
whether or not they agree with UCAR's
politics, have benefitted from their activ-
ity. Nevertheless, one of the major con-
cerns of minority students on this campus
is of how representative UCAR is of the
minority community.
Doubtless, none of us would be against
seeing appropriate numbers of minority
students here. The University's track
record of recruitment of minority students
has been, at best, embarrassing, regardless
of how we compare to other universities.
The same goes for retention of minority
students. There needs to be a complete
overhaul of Financial Aid, Admissions,
Comprehensive Studies Program, and a
number of other offices here, and herein
lies the problem.
The creation of an Office of Minority
Retention to deal with these problems
would be extremely ineffective on a num-
ber of counts. The Office of Minority Af-
fairs, Office of Financial Aid, Affirmative
Action, Comprehensive Studies Program,
and Minority Student Services all serve to
address major aspects of the proposed new
office.
In addition, the Minority Affairs
Commission has been in the forefront of
pushing these and other offices and de-
partments to make the changes necessary
to make these offices as effective as possi-
ble. Given the University bureaucracy, one
of the last things students of color need are
more offices. Another issue to consider is
the future of these offices, if, indeed, an
Office of Minority Retention is instituted.
Given the numerous threats of staff and
program cuts in various offices, this
would stand to only endanger these offices
more. Countless services beyond those
listed in the demands would be lost, requir-
ing more protesting and revisions, and
shake ups in the future. Our goal should
not be to sacrifice one office for another,
but to give support and direction to the
ones we have.
The problems lie not so much with bad
communication, but a lack of communica-
tion. It would be one thing if people were
informed, even if the concerns of other
people of color were not incorporated into
the demands, but consistently, even this
has not happened. Communication is the
key. Misunderstood meetings and misun-
derstood demands will not benefit the mi-
nority community, they will only help to
tear us apart.
0
S
Harris is a member of the Minority Affairs Commission. The following people and
groups signed on to the Viewpoint: Ravi Gadhia, MAC Chair; Scottlin Rucker, MAC
Vice Chair, Exec. Board of the BSU; Melissa Lopez, Native American Student
Association President; Aaron Williams, MSA President; Lawrence Wu, Asian-
American Association President; Edward Sun, AAA Delegate to MAC; Lourdes Puig,
MAC; Kofi Boone; Thomas Fujita, MAC; Kevin Ramon, MAC; Crystal Gardner; Ping
Shih, MAC; Jody Blanco; Victoria Kuohung; U of M Asian Student Coalition; Roger
Fisher, Committee for Campus Unity; Melissa Burke, MSA rep.; David Maquera; Kari
John stone, Intl Student Affairs Commission Chair; Mike Carithers, MAC; Rob Ferrett,
MAC; Crystal Young.
I i
Birth control
Senator defends state appropriations to 'U'
Bush should not cut funding for family clinics
LAST WEEK PRESIDENT GEORGE
Bush announced that he would not
support a funding increase for the same
birth control program he helped co-
sponsor two decades ago. The pro-
gram, created by the Family Planning
Services and Population Research Act
of 1970, promotes a nationwide net-
work of birth control clinics.
The Reagan-Bush era has not been
friendly to the program, cutting its
funding from $162 million in 1980 to
$139 million this fiscal year. Currently,
supporters of the program believe they
have sufficient backing in Congress to
attain an increase in funding to $200
million. The Bush administration's ve-
hement opposition to the increase rep-
resents another in a long string of in-
cremental moves to restrict a woman's
right to choose a safe and legal abor-
ton.
*It is illogical that the very people
who claim to be against abortion would
oppose a program designed to prevent
the unwanted pregnancies which often
result in abortion. A University of Cali-
fornia study found that the best way to
reduce the one million unwanted preg-
nancies and 40,000 abortions per-
formed on unmarried teens each year is
improved family planning.
But anti-abortionists seem to believe
the only alternative to abortion is absti-
nence or adoption. Their opposition to
the funding increase indicates that they
de not see prevention as a viable solu-
tion.
Family planning clinics provide
birth control services, reproductive
health care and counseling, and some
AIDS and other sexually transmitted
di$ease testing. The money allocated to
family planning helps finance 4,500
public and private family planning
clinics, which see more than four mil-
lion women each year. Most of these
women are from low-income back-
grounds and about a third of them are
teens.
According to Daniel Federman of
Harvard Medical School, adolescent
sexual activity in the United States is
not greater than in any other Wastern
country; however, the United States'
rates of pregnancy and abortion are
higher because of the lack of widely
available and effective family planning.
President Bush not only opposes an
increase in funding for family plan-
ning, but he also wants to chan-e the
current system - which makes grants
to 88 public and private agenci :s that
run family planning clinics - into a
program that sends funds directly to
state governments. The Bush adminis-
tration argues that such a shift would
encourage local control over the pro-
gram, making it more efficient and
flexible. But giving the states ( rntrol
over the funds for family ploining
would only make it easier fo anti-
abortionists to lobby for stricter
restrictions on abortion and f mily
planning clinics, for example by
requiring teens to obtain parental
consent before receiving birth control.
In 1970, then-U.S. Rep. George
Bush said, "No one has to be timid
about discussing birth control any-
more." It is unfortunate that in this era
of AIDS, teen pregnancy, and abor-
tion, President Bush is showi g his
own timidity in wanting to reveL back
to a time when discussing birth control
was taboo. It seems that after two
decades of relative reproductive free-
dom for women, the United States is
continuing to regress back to the days
of coat hangers and back alley abor-
tions.
Family planning is the best A ay to
educate women on how to avoi I un-
wanted pregnancies. Congress s'hould
support an increase in funding for fam-
ily planning facilities, and even over-
ride a probable Bush veto if necessary.
Also, the program must continue to be
controlled by the federal government so
individual states are unable to restrict a
women's right to choice.
Pro-choice activists have bi come
too dependent on Roe v. Wade. It has
now become painfully obvious ( at the
struggle for reproductive freedom for
women has not ended.
By William Sederburg
I have been following with great inter-
est the recent discussion in Ann Arbor
concerning whether or not the University
of Michigan is being treated fairly by the
Governor and the State Legislature. There
appears to be a strong belief that the Leg-
islature in general - and the Senate in
particular - is working against the best
interest of the University.
The Michigan Legislature is very
committed to the vibrant, financially
strong, and innovative U-M. While
Michigan may have lost some of its
hegemony over the state's image of uni-
versity dominance, feelings that we have
somehow mistreated the University are
inaccurate.
Under the leadership of the Republican
Senate, the Legislature has added more
than $104 million to what the Governor
has recommended. If we had not done this,
tuition would be 17 percent higher than
what it is presently (assuming the same
expenditure rate). This extra money is not
enough to adequately fund everything our
Sederburg is a Republican state senator
from East Lansing. He chairs the senate's
Higher Education Subcommittee.
universities have requested, but it is better
than the previous decade-old policy of
merely rubber-stamping the Governor's
recommendations for spending levels.
I must point out that of the $104 mil-
lion, the University of Michigan has re-
ceived $15.3 million. This is second only
to Michigan State University, which re-
ceived $18.9 million. Legislative policy
has not been punitive against the Univer-
sity of Michigan.
We hive also attempted to apply some
of the new funds towards providing greater
equity in funding among the graduate in-
tensive institution. When we compared
state aid per student enrolled in graduate
programs, MSU received substantially less
than the U-M. Because of our concern over
equity, MSU received slightly larger in-
creases in state dollars than did the U-M.
A second reason why the University of
Michigan has not fared as well in the Leg-
islature as some might wish is that they
have been out-hustled by some of the
smaller schools. Legislators like to fi-
nance specific programs. A small increase
of $300,000 for a program at a smaller
schools makes a lot of difference. An in-
crease of $300,000 at MSU or the U-M
makes relatively little difference. Thus,
some of the new initiatives that have been
financed have benefited the smaller schools
more than the U-M.
I have received many letters from U-M
supporters who feel that the out-of-state
enrollment controversy has hurt the U-M
in the Legislature and that the Legislature
has no business raising the issue. I dis-
agree on both counts. It is the Univer-
sity's business how many non-residents to
admit, but it would be foolish for the state
not to incorporate into its financial deci-
sions the fact that the University benefits
by $3 million for each percent increase in
out-of-state enrollment.
The Legislature appreciates the interna-
tional reputation of the University of
Michigan as one of the nation's finest re-
search universities. I believe we want to
strengthen the University, not weaken it.
Our priorities over the past few years have
been to address inequities among the
schools. We have done this with money
added to the Governor's recommendation.
In large measure we have succeeded in re-
ducing some of the most glaring inequities
among our smaller schools. It is now my
intent to place a priority on our graduate
intensive institutions.
Conservative Coalition should have gone to regents
To the Daily:
Well, I can see that the nationally-ac-
claimed Daily has once again slightly got-
ten the facts mixed up in the editorial mas-
terpiece titled, "In Bed with the Regents
(1/30/90)." The editorial cited how
Michigan Student Assembly President
Aaron Williams and Conservative Coali-
tion Chair Jeff Johnson proceeded to "get
in bed with the administration and the Re-
gents."
What you forgot to inform your readers
was that when I addressed the Board of Re-
gents on Jan. 18, I informed the regents
that "I ask nothing for myself or my col-
leagues." All I wished to do during that
meeting was to bring to their attention
that certain principles that most Ameri-
cans feel strongly about had been violated
at my expense, my fellow comrades, and
our constituency, so that certain egotisti-
cal individuals could cling to their seats on
u4 A frr nt j.nwt nn ,.,.r
.,,
i
to represent them and they were denied
their original choices. Instead, they get
four individuals to represent them that
have no right to be on MSA. The Daily
can damn us to hell if they think the Con-
servative Coalition is going to deny the
students their first choice representatives
in the next election.
I did enjoy, however, the closing para-
graph of the editorial: the warning to all
students that the Conservative Coalition
will drive the student government into the
gutter. I'll tell you one thing, if you really
believe what you print in your editorials, I
hope you save us a couple spots!
David Maquera
LSA junior
Ellis is off-base in attacks on all Jewish people
To the Daily:
In an attempt to disguise their animos-
ity towards the Jewish people and the
State of Israel, the Daily enlisted the aid of
Marc Ellis, himself a Jew (2/1/90). How-
ever, this absurd scheme failed to temper
the offensive nature of many of Ellis' bla-
tantly anti-Semitic remarks.
In his interview with the Daily, Ellis
provided shocking examples of the way in
which an individual can combine criticism
ment policies should be critical of every
Jew in the world. Indeed, Ellis denounced
the world's entire Jewish population by
asserting that "[Jews] have become a peo-
ple who oppresses another people."
Of course, this reaction is no less racist
than, for instance, lashing out at all Arabs
when a government such as Saudi Arabia's
adopts an unpopular policy. That Ellis'
views on the Middle East are horribly
skewed is clear: that he uses those views
U