Page 4- The Michigan Daily -Wednesday, February 21, 1990 CIgb Aidbigau Uailg EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 ARTS NEWS OPINION 763 0379 764 0552 747 2814 PHOTO SPORTS WEEKEND 764 0552 747 3336 747 4630 Unsig ned 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. r . , - ,,j11 ,,/,,/ 1 ! , ff f 4L , I / i f , f f " /r ,- -'' . : -r . . j r ' r f t .. ' . ,s - -- _ ____-- / . r } ° Z-v- _ f Civil Rights Congress must undo damage of Supreme Court THE REHNQUIST SUPREME Court, blatantly hostile toward the civil rights movement, has taken it upon it- self to gradually undo the anti-discrim- ination and anti-prejudice legislation of the 1960s. Under the pretense of judi- cial restraint, the conservative court dealt a serious blow to employment- rights laws in three cases this summer. If not rectified by Congress through the Civil Rights Act of 1990, these deci- sions will only make employees more vulnerable to discrimination and big- otry in the workplace. The first damage delivered by the court all but overturned a unanimous decision made in 1971. This decision had outlawed unnecessary regulations which kept minorities and women from being hired or promoted. One such discriminatory regulation deemed un- constitutional was the requirement of a high-school diploma for promotion to upper-level positions in which a high- s4ool education was completely un- ngcessary. This prerequisite had the effect of keeping minorities and women in low- paying jobs despite their qualifications far higher positions. Thanks to Rehn- quist and four other justices, the burden isnow back on employees to prove that these discriminatory practices are in fact unnecessary. In an equally ludicrous decision by the same five justices, it was deter- mined that employees can only sue their employers for bigoted action per- petrated before the making of a con- tract, not for events which transpire after agreements are made. Needless to say, this decision, if unchallenged by Congress, will be devastating to em- ployees who are discriminated against after signing a contract. The Reagan era ushered in members of the Supreme Court who are deter- mined to dismantle the Civil Rights Act of 1964. And with three of the liberal Justices being more than 80 years old, it is probable that the leadership of the Supreme Court will be joined by more like-minded regressives within the span of George Bush's term in office. Because of this, it is imperative that Congress works to undo the Court's damage by passing the Civil Rights Act of 1990. This Act would make clear that no action of the Supreme Court will allow harassment or discrimination to be legalized within the work place. Supreme Court justices virtually have the most secure jobs in the coun- try. Unfortunately, this is not the case for the vast majority of minorities and women in the work force, who by the year 2000 will comprise 91 percent of the jobs in this country. If the Supreme Court insists upon turning its back on this growing population, Congress must take the lead in speaking up. (('i CT's A LL. EcLL~"3ID IN THE 5A/uETO~ ,.iv r4'AWI' A 1ocMWNI A 'O 4p eLA l. IO 6'J(, T4 5LTU L~ I~FO I TI NN( OMThIS HEE E2. J* C, N Daily aims to divide Black students, SThe wrong man angler's campaign slogan is offensive to women By Francis Matthews and David Maurrasse The new Daily Opinion Page editors have laid out their plans to carry out a weekly forum where an issue is introduced and people are solicited for responses. For the first "issue" the Daily had originally planned to ask the question of whether UCAR is fighting racism in the correct way. They sought out representatives from various organizations to give their opinion on the issue; one of these organizations was the Black Student Union. For 6000 years, white civilization has waged war on people of the Afrikan dias- pora in several forms, including the media in this technological age. The destruction of Black people today, from economics to culture, has been a continuation of the op- pressive history of slavery - developing a dominant empire by oppressing Black people and maintaining it by keeping Black people from concentrating on fight- ing back. Pitting UCAR and BSU against each other in the Daily is a much less blatant form of today's war against Afrikans and other people of color, but the results are the same. An example in recent history was the FBI's successful attempt to de- stroy the Black Panther Party by creating and sensationalizing differences between them and other groups such as US (a Black organization based in Oakland). The two groups eventually came to gun fight- ing over the passing of nasty notes written by FBI informants. The media has always presented a dis- torted view of the Black community - from happy slaves to today's version of the Black community being made up of gangs, criminals, and drug addicts, who Matthews is president of the Black Student Union. Maurrasse is a steering committee member of the United Coali- tion Against Racism., have brought all their problems onto themselves. One media focus is on the marketing and distribution of drugs to the Black community, neglecting the fact that most of the drugs, not to mention the guns, are brought in and consumed by white communities. This is all instigated by the worship of the almighty "green pa- pered drug" (the dollar bill). Also consider the constant intrusion of the white media in exacerbating certain differences between Blacks such as Afrikans and Afrikan Americans, men and women, light-skinned and dark-skinned, and Bloods and Crips (gangs in L.A.), and the BSU and UCAR. Although the BSU and UCAR do have different agendas, within them is a com- mon goal; the improvement of the situa- tion and the self-determination of Black people. The aim of the Daily's forum, in effect, was to force Black students to choose between one group of the other. In this "tool of power," students of color are forced to make a "choice of struggles," with the white power structure determin- ing the criteria for that choice. Because of this, UCAR and BSU have not partici- pated in this Opinion Page forum and will never settle our differences through the Opinion Page. UCAR, in itself, is not an issue nor is BSU. What we work around are issues the concerns of students of color on the campus and in our communities. Although we may have some differences in approach, we can take care of them among ourselves. It is not the place of the Daily, nor any other group, hostile to the development and self-determination of people of color, to decide whether people of color organizations should have a pub- lic debate or not. Thus, it is certainly not the Daily's place to determine the future of the Black community on campus. Let it be under- stood that a divided and unconscious Black people cannot successfully change the sit-' uation, but united and vigilant, we stand strong. 0 "Just think what the right man could do." - Campaign slogan of Michigan gubernatorial candidate John Engler The campaign slogan introduced last week by Republican gubernatorial candidate John Engler is an insensitive and sexist message to the voters of Michigan, 52 percent of whom are women. Engler, the state senate majority leader and leading candidate to oppose incumbent Gov. James Blanchard in November, has come under attack by women's groups upset with his cam- paign message. Much criticism has also come from Michigan Lt. Gov. Martha Griffiths, who said his campaign is an insult to every woman in the state. "It's the same old Engler," Griffiths said. "In his political world, there are no women." The "man" who Engler is promot- ing, namely himself, can hardly be seen as a serious threat to Blanchard. Engler has been accused throughout his career of being a generally boring speaker and an uninspiring political figure. He is hardly the kind of leader the fragmented Republican party in Michigan can rally around in their quest for the governor's seat. Nonetheless, he is raising a huge sum of money for his impending campaign, and his "Just think what the right man..." television commercials have already begun to ap- pear. Engler's campaign should be seen for what it is: sexist. This is an uncar- ing and callous message to give women in this state, especially since women have historically been excluded from the powerful world of politics. Carol Norris, the executive director of the Michigan Democratic Party, said this will be a "major issue among women and the population as a whole" come the November elections. Engler's insensitivity and sexism should not be forgotten; the people of Michigan should consider, when they vote, what the right person could do. Editor's response In pursuing an IssuesForum on the methods employed by UCAR, the Daily sought only to provide a forum for debate which was already taking place on campus. The. Daily did not set out to stir up criticism, it aimed only to provide its readers with arguments both for and against UCAR's methods. Issues Editor Laura Sankey and I were concerned that an IssuesForum dealing with UCAR's effectiveness might upset anti-racist activists on campus. Before continuing, we asked several people what they thought of such an IssuesForum. One of the people we spoke with was Francis Matthews, who encouraged us to continue with the project. The Daily approached one individual in BSU about writing an article, but contrary to, Matthews' and Maurrasse's assertion, we never solicited an article from BSU as a group. When Matthews later submitted the above letter, I told him we only decided to proceed with the IssuesForum after hearing his positive response, and assured him that: we had decided to abandon the idea anyway. K0 The Daily sought only to provide a forum for debate, not to divide or alienate4 anyone. The Daily is not planning to do an IssuesForum on UCAR's effectiveness in the: future. -David Schwartz; Opinion Page Editoi Former MAC chair apologizes, criticizes Daily F* #' f a No Styrofoam in university food services Hello Marriott, hello landfills. Since the takeover of the Union food service by Marriott Corporation, there have been more changes in the food ser- vice that could ever have been predicted by an unsuspecting college population. Food workers have a mandatory "uniform" to wear, Sugar 'n' spice sells frozen yogurt instead of ice cream. And instead of the innocuous waxed- paper cups that once bore the IMUnion slogan, Marriott has replaced the beverage cups with Styrofoam. Bad move, Marriott. Styrofoam, the trade name of polystyrene foam, a non-biodegradable plastic, contains millions of air bubbles, which keep the cups light... But once thrown away, there is no way to recycle Styrofoam as there are ways to recycle aluminum, glass, and paper prod- ucts. The only place Styrofoam ends up is landfills, where it sits for approximately 400-500 years before finally leaving. - Indiana Daily Student Indiana University January 31 By C. Delro Harris A number of weeks ago, I, along with another prominent Black student leader, was contacted about a proposed IssuesFo- rum dealing with the student organization known as the United Coalition Against Racism. At that time, we were asked whether or not the topic would be "kosher." At the time, we both were fairly enthusiastic about the article and, although we both declined to write anything against the organization, we gave our support for it. As human beings, we all make mis- takes. That was one of them. In the end, we both came to the conclusion that it was a bad idea, and expressed this to the Opinion Page editor. That Issues Forum never appeared. Naturally, one is inclined to ask why the change in heart. I'm about to explain. First, and foremost, one must look at intentions. A number of minority organi- zations have legitimate problems with Harris is former chair of the Minority Affairs Commission. UCAR. However, it is generally acknowl- edged that UCAR has been the major anti- racist group on campus. In our frustration over certain aspects of the group, we had initially supported the Issues Forum as a way to "get them," which is unwise, at best, immature and childish at worse. If there is legitimate concern about a group, then the way to achieve better rela- tions is not to come out ripping at each other's throats in the media, but to create a dialogue between the groups and make an effort to gain a better understanding of where each group is coming from. Criti- cism is one thing, but to debate over the existence of an organization makes no sense. Hiding behind the IssuesForum would've only helped to polarize people and cut off what communication there is. Secondly, history does come into play. While there have been a number of changes, the Michigan Daily does not have a history of being a friend to minor- ity student organizations. My first year as Minority Affairs Commission chair, I lis- tened in on a conversation between a Michigan Student Assembly officer and an Opinion Page editor as they planned on manipulating information in hopes of get-, ting UCAR and the NAACP to start fight- ing. My second year I angrily listened to the current Opinion page editor tell minor-, ity students that they were lucky to see anything concerning minorities in print because we were "in the minority." And this year, I'm aware of at least two articles that were submitted as opinion that were edited not for reasons of space but for what had been deemed as "factual inaccuracies" (in someone's opinion) and confusion over why certain paragraphs were written. Outside of that, misleading headlines in numerous articles, bad report ing, and other incidents have, in effect, misrepresented the minority community. For two minority student leaders to play into all this was irresponsible, but also, for the Daily to target an organiza- tion like that was also irresponsible. Hopefully, this sort of situation will be avoided in the future, but only time will tell. fight anti-Semitism To the Daily: We connernedstudents of the Tniver- and prejudice to join us in our quest for a more enlightened campus. With this goal in mind, members of spiracies and Jewish exploitative power. These are traditional anti-Semitic themes. His words speak for themselves. Abortion 'Zone' would be dangerous punishable with a $5 fine, it will not pre- vent doctors that administer abortion; from having their licenses revoked. Thus, there wonid still he a strong- diincentive 0