Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 14, 1990
C1J1E LidiganBait
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
ARTS 763 0379 PHOTO 764 0552
NEWS 764 0552 SPORTS 747 3336
OPINION 747 2814 WEEKEND 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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Minimum wage

Bush plan serves only to
AS THE RESULT OF A BILL PASSED
by Congress last November, the mini-
mum wage will increase from $3.35 to
$3.80 an hour beginning April 1st. In
April of 1991, it will increase a second
time to $4.25 an hour. The bill also in-
cludes provision for a subminimum
wage of $3.35 an hour for young peo-
ple aged 16 to 19, which will go to
$3.61 an hour in April, 1991. Employ-
Aers can pay teenagers at the submini-
mum rate for a maximum of 90 days -
180 days if the employer has a training
program. A stronger version of this
bill, mandating a nationwide minimum
wage of $4.55 an hour with no sub-
minimum, was passed by the Congress
only to be vetoed by President Bush
last June.
That the minimum wage increased at
all is amazing. The Bush administra-
tion, according to Senate Republican
leader Bob Dole (R-Kansas), wanted to
cut the capital gains tax and was embar-
rassed to do this while continuing to
block a minimum wage increase.
Democrats finally acquiesced to Bush's
call for a youth subminimum wage.
The result, according to Senator Ed-
ward Kennedy (D-Mass.), was a com-
promise marking progress "only to the
50-yard line." He added that the new
rates were "not as much as the working
poor deserve."
This is an understatement. Despite
all the Reagan-Bush anti-inflation
rhetoric, the consumer price index has
increased over 37 percent since the old
minimum wage took effect in 1981.
This means that a new minimum wage
would have to be set at $4.59 an hour
just to keep up with inflation. The
$4.25 an hour wage is only worth
$3.10 per hour in 1981 dollars and will
be worth even less when it goes into
effect a year from now. A full-time
employee earning $4.25 an hour only
makes $8,500.00 a year before taxes
and (barring overtime) lives well below
the poverty line.
Provisions for a youth subminimum
wage are downright obscene. Its pro-

empoverish workers
ponents claim the bill gives employers
an incentive to hire young people with
no work experience; but there are other
ways (such as tax credits) to do this
without victimizing the target group. A
$3.61 an hour wage is only worth
$2.63 in 1981 dollars. That's plenty if
the teenager in question is living with
his or her parents and holding down a
job just to earn spending money; but
many teenagers today are primary
wage-earners. They have children to
support, are living away from their
parents because of abuse, or are saving
for college.
It is true that a subminimum wage
may increase total teenage employment;
but it comes with a 180 day limit. Busi-
nesses will simply hire a rotating corps
of youths to be discarded every six
months. Furthermore, economic analy-
ses show teenage school enrollment in-
versely related to their employment
rate. This means large numbers of
young people will be hired, drop out of
high school or college, get fired after
six months, and finally become delin-
quent. Because minimum wage jobs
require little training, the work experi-
ence this program is supposed to pro-
vide won't do much to help them get
rehired. Because the subminimum
wage is so low, they won't have saved
much. From a social planning perspec-
tive, subminimum wages are a disaster.
The philosophy behind minimum
wage laws is to balance society's need
for a high employment rate with its
need for high quality employment.
High employment is only good if those
employed are reasonably well off. The
youth subminimum wage will encour-
age delinquency among high school
students and make it difficult for poor
college students to complete their edu-
cation. The regular minimum wage is
not being increased enough to keep up
with inflation and cannot stem Amer-
ica's growing underclass. Far from a
war on poverty, this inadequate rise in
the minimum wage is a war on the
poor.

1

-T E

Bev

wan.

CON/tINUE

BSU should focus more on understanding.

By Farah Arabo
Every recognized student organization's
purpose is to foster thoughts and ideas. It
is therefore not surprising that I find the
Black Student Union doing the same. Yet,
I am as shocked as I am disappointed at
the recent developments which have taken
place within BSU. Specifically, it is those
extreme, fundamentalist views most
prevalent which BSU members project
towards society; views which demoralize
the perspectives and histories of all those
not included within the group's own.
In reference to a speech given by Steve
Cokley, I have come to understand that
individuals within the group, recognizing
Cokley as a great intellectual thinker as
well as believing that bigoted remarks
such as the ones he makes are "backed up
with documents" or made just "to prove a
point," demonstrate ignorance on the part
of the group. Here are some examples
why:
When I hear that the BSU defended
generalized statements, such as "whites
feel the need to be Black" and are jealous
since the latter are direct descendants of
God, then I perceive a narrow mindedness
within the group. Did Cokley do extensive
research regarding this firm remark? I
highly doubt it.
When I learn that the BSU
supported bigoted anti-Semitic remarks,
such as all Jews have created a "secret
society" and labeling them "violent
people," then it is with great shame and
fear that I am aware of such racism within
our University. The racism which you

choose to project is towards all groups of
people with the obvious exception of your
own. All Blacks do not hail Cokley's
message, but those of you who do are
praising racism, and any kind of racism is
ugly.
It's frightening when students of the
University recognize and praise the bigotry
Cokley preaches. BSU considered
Cokley's messages as enlightening and
valid. It is bad enough to say that they

well as defending my honor and dignity. I
always believed that no one understood the
horrible problems I was faced with.
From the time I was a child, I
struggled for an acceptance amongst my
peers, while subjected to racism. At home,
we were subjected only to more, many
times from parents of the neighborhood
children. I learned the hard way that a
minority group is always overwhelmed by
the majority. The arduous task is the

The arduous task is the realization that both groups
must accept the other as well as the effort it takes to
follow it through.
-Farah Arabo,
LSA senior

have been accepted, let alone praised
within your community. Thus, it is
imperative that the members of BSU
understand that hateful messages such as
these only instigate further hostility and
racism not only on campus, but in the
larger society as well.
It is also unfortunate that, instead of
confronting current issues facing the Black
individual today, BSU chooses to foster
statements which preach superiority and
blatant lack of respect towards other
groups of people. Throughout American
history, Blacks have constantly struggled
against the oppression that has confronted
them. Other groups have also done the
like. There has been no denial that Blacks
have had a painful history in this country,
just as no one has denied that every group
has had its own corner on pain.
As an Arab-American student, I can
wholeheartedly back up my statement.
Throughout my life, I have constantly
needed to struggle in gaining respect as

realization that both groups must accept
the other as well as the effort it takes to
follow it through.
As I grew older, I learned to maintain
that my heritage in relation with any other
was to be justly considered no better and
no worse. That philosophy, I contended,
was the only thing which would create a
harmony among all groups of people,
Arab or Jew, Black or white. It is
unfortunate that I have been confronted
with individuals who have failed to
understand this thought, individuals such
as those who support Cokley. There has
been a failure on the part of BSU to
acknowledge that the bigotry which
Cokley preaches is an obvious
provocation to racism, something tragic in
itself.
I believe, as I am sure many others
also do, that there are alternatives other
than the ones which BSU has undertaken.
Speakers who preach biased and bigoted
remarks such as those given by Cokley
should not be one of them.

March Madness
Congratulations to the 'M' basketball teams

Arabo is an LSA Senior.

THE NCAA BASKETBALL TOURN-
ament pairings have been announced
and teams all over the nation are
preparing for their first round oppo-
nents. But for the first time in history,
two Michigan teams have a chance to
reach the pinnacle of college basketball.
The men's team will try to defend its
first national title as the number three
seed in the West region and the
women's team will make its debut in
the '48-team tournament as the tenth-
seed in the Midwest region.
Congratulations are in order for both
squads, but the surprising success of
the women's team is especially sweet.
After their best Big Ten season (11-7,
tied for fourth place in the conference)
and a team record 19 overall wins, they
yere rewarded with their first ever
tournament berth. In addition, the Big
Ten Coach of the Year Award went to
head coach Bud VanDeWege.
The women's team is led by a
" strong nucleus of seniors who have

been working for four years to achieve
this goal. Forwards Tanya Powell and
Joan Rieger, guards Leslie Spicer and
Tempie Brown, and center Val Hall are
all playing in their final season repre-
senting the Maize and Blue. In addi-
tion, the team is anchored by junior
guard Carol Szczechowski and first-
year players Trish Andrew and Char
Durand.
After playing in front of sparse
crowds at Crisler Arena and visiting
other Big Ten schools such as Iowa,
where women's basketball is intensely
followed, the team proved they are
winners regardless of their small atten-
dance. It takes a lot of courage to work
and struggle throughout the course of a
Big Ten season without fan support
and still end up in the upper division of
the conference.
The women play seventh-seeded
Oklahoma State tonight in Stillwater,
Oklahoma in the first round of the
tournament.

Roach should praise
'U' recycling efforts
To the Daily:
University Regent Thomas Roach's re-
cent displeasure over the Diag recycling
demo (2/28/90) demonstrates anthropodic
thinking. If Roach doesn't like trash, he
should support all reasonable efforts to
promote recycling. I'm sure any alumni
passing by that day would have been proud
to know the University is doing their part
to curb escalating waste disposal costs and
protect the environment.
The Diag demo was neat and orderly: a
snow fence was placed around the 6 cubic
yards of South Quad's daily garbage to
prevent the spread of litter. In contrast,
this spread of litter will be very evident
when students demonstrate for relaxation
on sunny days, and leave their recyclables
behind. But unlike those days, the Diag
demo was cleaned up perfectly by 2 pm.
The demo was a promotional success.
The University recycling program and Re-
cycle U-M's agenda received media atten-
tion from The Ann Arbor News, The
Michigan Daily, and the University
Record. Two thousand pieces of literature
were passed out describing the Univer-
sity's outstanding recycling progress to
date - and our future challenges.
Does Roach realize that convincing the
University community to change their
deeply ingrained waste habits requires cre-
ativity, boldness, and publicity? Recycling

Renaming stadium Don't censor the arts

would be a mistake
To the Daily:
In response to Rob Allaer's letter
(3/12/90), I agree that a building should be
named in honor of Bo Schembechler.
However, renaming Michigan Stadium
would be a mistake.
As the late Bob Ufer put it, Michigan
Stadium is "the hole that Yost dug,
Crisler paid for, Canham carpeted, and
Schembechler fills up every Saturday
afternoon." Bo made a significant contri-
bution in building a perennial power-
house, but Fielding Yost, Fritz Crisler,
and Don Canham also played significant
roles in perpetuating the rich football tra-
dition at Michigan.
Not to be forgotten, the players who
wore Michigan uniforms like Dan Dier-
dorf, Rick Leach, Anthony Carter, and
Jamie Morris also contributed to Michi-
gan's rich football tradition. Keeping the
name Michigan Stadium would salute all
the men who contributed to the great foot-
ball history here.
The Center of Champions should be
named in honor of Bo because he initiated
and established the funding necessary to
build this building. Also, the building
will symbolize the integrity and excellence
Bo strived for as Michigan football coach.
Garrick H. Wang
first-year LSA student

To the Daily:
Recently at the Espresso Royal Cafe, a
group of Jewish students caused the cen-
sorship of one of my artworks. I would
like, here, to express a few of my emo-
tions.
First, I was surprised that to some
people, my art is important enough to get
angry at. I usually take pride in having my
art or my ideas made controversial, and
have a number of such actions in my port-
folio.
But what gets me is that the work "Ode
to a Hitler Youth" was on a subject totally
different from this action of censorship. I
would've never dreamed of anyone pro-
claiming that the arts was pro-Nazi, or
should I say, anti-Semitic.
I wonder if, in fact, these students (as I
was told they were) looked into the art at
all. I think that these fellow citizens did
not, but just reacted blindly and igno-
rantly. This is the kind of power that riles@
me up; that blind reaction can issue the
censorship of artistic subjects. My fellow
citizens should have sought the inside of
the story before ordering it to be "burned."
For those people who may be inter-
ested, the work in question will be up at
the Ann Arbor Artist Co-op at 918 N.
Main.
Chuck Dodson
. Local artist

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