Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 2, 1990
Qlre 1fridligfan IDailI
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
ARTS
NEWS
OPINION
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PHOTO
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WEEKEND
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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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!addicted babies
Fix the system, don't blame pregnant women
I14 THE UNITED STATES, ABOUT 35
cases involving substance abuse by
:pregnant women are currently pending
:iiT the courts. These cases are the result
of an attempt to curb the number of
t)abies born with birth defects because
of their mothers' drug or alcohol use
:during pregnancy. The women are be-
ing charged under either child abuse or
drug laws, both of which are felonies.
This new use of the courts stems
:from frustration with the growing
number of drug-addicted babies enter-
ing the world. While the goal of putting
an end to the suffering of newborn ba-
:bies because of their parents' drug
problems is an important one, the prac-
tice of prosecuting pregnant women for
these offenses is dangerous.
-To begin with, there is the question
of whether or not the legal system is
the proper arena to combat this type of
health problem. Furthermore, it is also
'important to note the dangerous prece-
dent that is being set for women in
general, and pregnant women in par-
ticular.
Illegal drug and alcohol abuse is
running rampant in all sectors of soci-
ety. The recent appeal to the courts to
ebb the growing number of drug-ad-
dicted babies is due in large part to the
unavailability of treatment programs.
Existing treatment centers have long
waiting lists, and pregnant women are
often the first to be turned away when
they seek help. Failings of the nation's
drug treatment facilities should not re-
sut in jailing women for being addicted
to drugs.
Additionally, placing blame solely
on pregnant women discounts the pos-
sibility that harmful chromosomal dam-
Duarte
Flowery obituaries can'
THE DEATH OF JOSE NAPOLEON
Duarte last week has brought forth a
wave of obituaries which epitomize the
mythology that substitutes for honest
discussion of El Salvador in the United
States. Duarte, who was president of
El Salvador for most of the past
decade, has been variously portrayed
by network and print media as the man
,who brought democracy and an end to
mnilitary rule in El Salvador, a coura-
-eous moderate caught between
"extremes of left and right." While it is
ufiderstandable that people would want
:td say nice things upon the death of a
.famous person, the harsh facts in this
:tse would better serve the public in-
Sterest.
Between January, 1981, and
Mdarch, 1982, Duarte presided over one
of the worst slaughters in modern Latin
American history. More than 40,000
ctvilians were murdered by the military
.aid their affiliated death squads. The
- best that one can say for Duarte during
'Vhis time is that he did not personally
order anyone to commit atrocities. But
,his role in the repression was no less
:crucial: he provided the face of mod-
eration and "liberal" cover that enabled
-tie United States to continue and even
escalate military aid to a government
*tfiat was internationally condemned for
its brutality.
* Duarte's value to the United States
inthis regard increased dramatically in
.his second term. In 1984, he was re-
trned to power with the help of $2
:miillion of CIA money in an "election."
age may have resulted from the man's
drug usage, and requires that pregnant
women are held to different standards
than men. Also, because the increase in
drug-addicted babies is largely a result
of crack use in the nation's inner-cities,
filing suit against women for harming
their babies will continue the current
trend of imprisoning poor people and
people of color.
Finally, cases charging pregnant
women for abusing their babies under
child abuse and drug laws will have an
effect on the status of the fetus. The
use of child abuse laws implies that a
fetus is a living baby, for it is afforded
legal rights. The outcome of these law-
suits could set a dangerous precedent
which would have a massive impact on
abortion legislation. Charges under
drug laws have been handed down to
pregnant women in order to bypass the
fact that fetal abuse laws do not exist
and that the law does not give a fetus
the same rights as it does a human
baby. Here, a mother is charged with
delivering drugs to a minor before the
umbilical cord is cut. This use, how-
ever, ignores the original intent of the
law.
Everyone recognizes the danger of
the ever-increasing number of babies
born dependent on drugs. But bringing
cases against pregnant women into the
court system ignores the reality that
drug-addicted babies are a symptom of
the drug problem pervading the United
States. Prosecuting pregnant women is
not going to help resolve the situation;
increasing the number and effective-
ness of treatment centers and drug edu-
cation programs will.
A new Domino theory
To the Daily:
The Nicaraguan people have spoken
and terrible was their roar. Terrible at least
to the Sandinista regime and to their
sympathizers here at the University. Poor
Mr. Ortega, rejected by his own people at
the polling sites dejectedly cut short his
post-election meeting with former Presi-
dent Jimmy Carter and other observers. A
meeting he had hoped for the world to see
him gloat over what he thought would be
his victory.
Instead, it would be a silver-haired
grandmother who would be celebrating not
only her victory but the victory of all her
fellow Nicaraguans. For with this triumph
of democracy in a hitherto Marxist state,
comes the friendship of democracy's
firstborn - the United States. Now the
Nicaraguan people can be able to enjoy the
fruits of democracy that it could not hope
for while under the repressive rule of a
Don't fly on Eastern
To the Daily:
March 4 is the first anniversary of the
International Association of Machinists
strike against Frank Lorenzo's Eastern
Airlines. To almost everyone's surprise,
the 8,000 machinists endure on the picket
line.
Coverage by the establishment media
has been spotty. I'm sure Daily readers
would be interested to know three facts
about the present situation. First, though
the pilots and flight attendants have
dropped their sympathy strikes, they have
not been called back to work. In other
words, not only are the planes not being
serviced by their regular mechanics, but
they are being flown by inexperienced
crews.
Second, in the Bankruptcy Court, the
creditors' committee and preferred share-
holders have broken with Lorenzo over re-
organization of the airline. They are, in ef-
feet, corroborating the unions' charges that
Lorenzo has milked Eastern's assets.
And finally, Congress is considering
overriding President Bush's veto of the
"Eastern Blue Ribbon Panel Bill" (H.R.
1231). The bill does not call for imposi-
tion of a settlement, but only for
"investigation and recommendation" by a
bipartisan panel. Even this tepid plan was
too much for Bush.
It is time for America to enter the
1990's with an approach to labor relations
appropriate to the demands of the decade.
Western Europe, under the influence of
Social Democratic, Socialist, and Labor
parties, follows much more enlightened
policies. Inspiration now comes from the
changes underway in Eastern Europe as
well. One of the main fronts in the fight
for more labor justice in this country is
the Eastern strike.
Remember that when you make your
travel plans for Spring Break. Don't fly
Eastern or Continental.
Eric Ebel
Chair, Ann Arbor Local
Democratic Socialists of America
Cokely preaches hate
To the Daily:
Last week, we read about Steve
Cokely's visit to campus and his subse-
quent confrontation with students in the
Fishbowl. Regrettably, we find no other
recourse than to express our outrage and
sympathy towards students and student
groups that endorse Cokely's blatant mes-
sage of hatred against Jews.
We feel outrage at the fact that fellow
students have the need to perpetuate and
support blatant, spiteful, flat-out lies.
Cokely's remarks that there "was a con-
spiracy of Jews and Hitler to kill Jevs for
the purpose of ethnic purity among Jews"
is as ludicrous as claiming that Black
South Africans have collaborated with the
Apartheid government in order to oppress
their fellow brothers and sisters.
Unfortunately, our brothers and sisters,
who only 50 years ago were slaughtered at
Auschwitz and Birkenau, cannot testify to
the fact that this is not the first time that
Jews have heard remarks similar to those
of Cokely.
We feel sympathy towards those indi-
viduals (and we like to think that it is just
individuals) who feel the need to preach
hate as part of their cultural and national
agenda. Jews and African-Americans could
and should work together in order to
achieve full equality.
There is a concept called Black pride. It
is viable and it is legitimate. There is also
a concept called Jewish pride. It is equally
as viable and it is equally as legitimate.
Cokely's attempts to invalidate Jewish
pride simply will not work. We will not
sit passively until people like him are
seen for what they really are - racists.
Aaron Frank
JeremySarnat
machismo ruler who defiantly shook his
fist at democracy for more than ten years.
Yet, one must wonder if Mr. Ortega does
not imagine the laughter of his archnemi-
sis, Ronald Reagan, somewhere in the
back of his mind. The laughter of victory
and the final realization of goals. Goals
that not only included the halting of
commurism but also the repelling of the
red tide which had threatened to envelop
many third world nations during the Ford
and Carter eras.
Even as democracy triumphs in Latin
America, however, misguided individuals
in the faculty still seek to condemn Amer-
ican foreign policy as the root of all evil
in the lands south of the border.
They overlook Fidel Castro and point
their fingers at the U.S. liberation of
Panama and the eight unforgivable
murders in El Salvador at the hands of a
free-lancing right wing death squad (or was
it the FMLN in army uniforms hoping to
reap political profits off such a horrible
ruse?). Yet, they turn a blind eye to the
massive destruction in Peru at the hands of
the Sendero Luminoso where many cam-
pesinos live in fear and my family grieves
over the murder of my grandfather by the
Columbian Cartel-backed communist
rebels. They forget the thousands that are
starving in Ethiopia - compliments of
the well-fed Marxist regime in Addis
Ababa whose only challenge comes from
the brave Eritrean contras. They overlook
the brave Chinese people who dream of
someday being able to enjoy the fruits of
democracy that many of us Americans take
for granted.
The United States is the only hope for
many of these suffering peoples. As
imperfect as the United States is, it offers
hope to an imperfect world with imperfect
problems.
David S. Maquera
LSA Junior
Member, College Republicans
Copeland suspension is extreme
To the Editor:
This is in reference to your editorial
calling for Todd Copeland's suspension
from the University of Michigan hockey
team (2/13/90). To set the record straight,
the "malicious destruction" involved was a
broken chair. To call for Copeland's sus-
pension from the team, and the end of a
promising academic and athletic career
over a broken chair. seems to be a little
extreme.
The damage occurred during a boy-
friend-girlfriend argument - obviously
something that never happens to any other
student on campus. Copeland has apolo-
gized in person for his actions, and made
restitution of the damages.
Addressing the other points in your ar-
ticle, comparing Red Berenson with Jim-
my Johnson and Barry Switzer is not only
uncalled for, but blatantly wrong. Beren-
son has built a respected and esteemed
hockey program with an extremely high
graduation rate and one of the highest team
GPAs of any athletic team at the Uni-
versity of Michigan.
Not only has he built the Michigan
hockey program to national prominence,
but he has done it with integrity and hon-
esty. To compare yelling at students on,
the Diag with Switzer's players' gang rape
and murder escapades is immoral.
David Shand
LSA junior
volunteer assistant
to the Hockey Team
Former roommate
defends Copeland
To the Editor:
I never planned on writing a letter to
your paper, but after what I've read in the
last few weeks, I think it's about time you
people get the proper perspective concern-
ing Todd Copeland. I lived with him dur-
ing my last year and know him quite well.
To start off, I'd like to say that in re-
gards to the incident a few weeks ago,
there is no doubt he made a mistake.
However, I do not think the Daily or the
self-proclaimed psychologists who have
written in know it more than he does. I
know for a fact that he deeply regrets what
happened. Obviously you people don't
seem to want to let it go. I can't believe
the attention the Daily has given to the
story. Do you people get that much plea-
sure from burying a person like this?
The person who wrote in with her psy-
chological analysis should spare the public
by not pursuing such a field. Todd
Copeland loses his temper in some situa-
tions just like the thousands of other stu-
dents in Ann Arbor. What happened in-
volved an emotional situation like many
similar on campus.
The fact is the Daily is trying to make
an example of Todd, due to his status as a
hockey player. Any other incident involv-
ing an everyday student would never have
been so publicized. I could name examples
to prove this. All this junk you're print-
ing isn't even worth the paper it's written
on, and re-affirms many reasons why the
Daily is distributed free.
In addition to your hatchet job on
Todd, I can't even believe you would print
articles that insinuate Red Berenson being
concerned with Todd as a hockey player
more than as an individual. I know for a
fact that he has never let a player's talent
influence the way he runs his team. Beren-
son is nothing short of a first-class
gentleman.
I'm ashamed as a graduate of this great
university that there exists as pathetic a
paper as the Daily, which delights in kick-
ing people while they're down. Todd is a
great individual who deserves to enjoy his
last two months on campus. This situa-
tion reminds me of the same sort of pro-
paganda the Daily used last year to make
the minor verbal incident involving him
and others into as major a story as the
Trump divorce.
Greg Alexop oulos
University graduate '88
t cover up atrocities
By this time, most of the opposition
leaders to the left of Duarte's Christian
Democrats had been murdered, and the
few survivors could hardly be expected
to campaign under conditions of mass
terror. Nonetheless, Duarte's trip to
Washington that year succeeded in
providing the proper public relations at
a time when the House of Representa-
tives was just a few votes short of sus-
pending military aid to El Salvador.
After Duarte's election and lobbying,
the U.S. Congress would never again
come that close to expressing any seri-
ous concern about human rights in El
Salvador.
The defeat of Duarte's Christian
Democrats last year by the Arena party,
which was founded by death squad
leader Roberto D'Aubuisson, led some
observers to fear that U.S. aid to El
Salvador (now $1.5 million per day)
might not be sustainable under an
overtly murderous regime. However,
their fears have proved to be prema-
ture. The media and Congress have
graciously accepted a new image for
the party of the death squads, in the
person of Alfredo Cristiani.
After eight years of the unapologetic
aggression of Reagan's foreign policy,
it appears that the image of a reform-
minded leader for U.S. client states is
no longer a necessary part of the manu-
facture of consent. It is ironic that
Duarte's life came to an end just at the
time that his services to "the colossus
from the North" were no longer
needed.
i
tively agreed to allocate nearly $8,000 to
our group, largely subsidizing speaking
expenses for consumer and environmental
advocate Ralph Nader, and nationally
renowned ecologist Barry Commoner.
Although MSA overwhelmingly sup-
ported our cause, the few dissenting opin-
ions in the assembly cited the great
amount of money, as well as what the
money is financing, as reasons why we
should not have been assisted. MSA's al-
location was large, granted, yet its deci-
sion signalled the extent to which envi-
ronmental reform has become a priority in
our country, and the 120 countries that
will be participating in Earth Day 1990.
The Earth Day Organizing Committee
at the University is a diverse body of peo-
ple whose collective voice is striving to
create an awareness and expanded base of
support for the many environmental prob-
lems that we face today, and will face to-
morrow. In 1970, the University attained
national media attention as home to the
first Earth Day celebration, while becom-
ing the leader and pacesetter for nationwide
environmental action and change.
Now, on the twentieth anniversary of
Earth Day 1970, Michigan will again be
thrust into the national spotlight as the
site of the first 1990 Earth Day events.
Over 2,000 U.S. colleges and universities,
also subsidized largely through their stu-
dent governments, will be following our
celebration with activities of their own.
We believe that MSA recognizes Michi-
gan's legacy as an environmental leader,
and the significance of this week in April
as the first of its kind in twenty years.
The Earth Day Organizing Committee
is designing the most competent, diverse,
and beneficial program possible for the
'U' prof, calls Boston
U. president a bigot
To the Daily:
The Feb. 22 New York Times quotes a
letter from Professor John Westling,
acting president of Boston University and.
overseer of the Chelsea, Massachusetts
school district.
In this letter, Westling berates Chelsea
school superintendent Diana Lum for
holding up Nelson Mandela as a model for
young people in her schools. Westling
refers to Mandela as a "killer."
Westling agrees with the position of
former South African President, P.W.
Botha. Such an attitude is unacceptable.
As the attitude of a university president, it
is insulting not only to Black people, but
to people - and to the idea of education.
May I recommend that you join me in
protesting Westling's bigotry? You can
write to him at Boston University, 121
Bay State Road, Boston, MA, 02215.
Bert G. Hornback
Professor of English
RINK
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