OPINION
Page 4
Tuesday, January 16, 1990
The Michigan Daily
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Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
420 Maynard St.
Vol. C, No. 72 Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Unsigned editorials represent a majority of tne Daily's Editorial Board. All other
cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion
of the Daily.
Don't let the fervor die
Noriega's drug deals with the United States:
Justification for invasio n?
YESTERDAY'S UNITY March and
subsequent rally in commemoration of
Martin Luther King, Jr. demonstrated
the power of a unified student voice on
campus. When a large number of stu-
dents gets together and works towards
a common goal, even a University as
large and as stubborn as this one can be
put in motion. The struggle to convince
the University administration to cancel
classes in honor of MLK Day was not
an easy one, but the victory was more
meaningful because it was so hard-
won. Students have proven that by
uniting, they can successfully pressure
the University to change.
Hopefully, the enthusiasm shown
yesterday will be sustained throughout
the year. The necessity of a day to re-
member and honor King and his work
is evident. What is not so evident is the
importance of student unification and
student involvement in the causes
which affect the University commu-
nity. Thousands of students marched
and rallied yesterday, showing that
student apathy does not dominate on
campus. Students care about this Uni-
versity and what happens here; if not
all students, certainly enough to start
getting things done. As one speaker
said yesterday, there are 350 days left
in the year - one day of studet in-
volvement is not enough.
In addition to those at the rally, hun-
dreds of students attended the ex-
panded programs offered throughout
the day. But education about racism
and Black history should not be limited
to one day of the year. If the University
administration is committed to eradicat-
ing racism and racial tension on cam-
pus, it must make significant changes
in the structure of the University. The
lack of courses which examine the
history and causes of racism, as well as
the lack of minority professors, are ma-
jor obstacles to. achieving a racist-free
University.
University President James Duder-
stadt is committed to creating a positive
public image for the University. But
actual changes, not public relations and
media events, are necessary to effec-
tively fight racism on campus. If all the
students present at yesterday's rally got
together, they could pressure the Uni-
versity to institute a mandatory course
on race and racism, as well as an
African History department.
Students must not let the fervor die; it
is not enough to sit back and talk about
what's already been accomplished.
Students can make a difference - it's
up to you to continue playing your
part.
By Dean Baker
What does a crime syndicate boss do
when one of the underlings stops taking
orders and tries to go into business for
himself? George Bush's answer, in keep-
ing with long underworld traditions, is to
go to war. In this case, since one boss is
the President of the United States and the
other the de facto ruler of Panama, the bat-
tle between competing crime syndicates
amounted to the U.S. invasion of Panama.
As usual, the U.S. media cooperated
completely in efforts to legitimate the
U.S. invasion as a mission in support of
democracy, an effort to combat drug traf-
ficking, or an attempt to save U.S. lives.
However, none of these "official stories"
can begin to hold water. While Noriega
almost certainly was involved in drug traf-
ficking, stealing elections, and brutalizing
his population, these are attributes that
usually win one U.S. aid and adulation
from the U.S. media. The list of death
squad governments that rule by terrorizing
their population is jam packed with big
recipients of U.S. aid (i.e. El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Haiti). Their
leaders can count on warm receptions
when visiting the U.S. and courteous
treatment from the U.S. media. Clearly
drug dealing, election fraud, or human
rights abuses have never gotten a nation in
trouble with the U.S. government and cer-
tainly have never been the basis for a U.S.
invasion. Even killing U.S. citizens has
never been a major concern, as El Sal-
vador, Israel, and the Nicaraguan contras
can all hold up their share of bodies of
U.S. citizens and not be concerned about
cutbacks in aid, much less armed attacks.
Why then did Bush feel the need to in-
vade Panama? The answer is quite simple
and requires no further investigation than
reading an old newspaper, a task that
mainstream journalists find all but impos-
sible. On May, 10, 1987, the Detroit Free
Press printed a front page article which de-
tailed efforts by the Reagan-Bush adminis-
tration to intimidate Latin Ameri-an na-
tions into supporting the U.S. pclicy of
overthrowing the Nicaraguan government.
The article begins, "The Reagan adminis-
tration in 1985 and 1986 conducted a se-
cret campaign of threats and intimidation
against five Latin American governments
in an effort to scuttle Central American
peace talks and win support for
Nicaraguan rebels, according to classified
documents and interviews with U.S. and
foreign officials."
The article then goes on to detail the
sorts of pressures that were brought to
bear on the governments of Honduras,
Mexico, Argentina, Costa Rica, and
Panama. In the case of Panama the pres-
sure centered on the disclosure of Nor-
iega's involvement in drug dealing (the ar-
ticle appear several months before Nor-
iega's indictment). The article states, "A
senior Panamanian official said Poindexter
[Reagan's National Security Council
chief] asked Noriega for greater co-opera-
tion on contra aid during a secret meeting
in Panama on Dec. 12, 1985... Poindexter
said the United States did not appreciate
Panama's role in Contadora [a Latin
American peace plan opposed by the U.S.
government] because it affected U.S.
strategies for the region."
Obviously, events since the article ap-
peared have been a continuation of this
strategy. Noriega's unwillingness to co-
operate fully with the Reagan administra-
tion's efforts to overthrow Nicaragua's
government is the reason for the cortinued
U.S. hostility towards him and ultimately
the U.S. invasion. Noriega's drug dealing,
election fraud, and human rights abuses
were all perfectly acceptable as long as he
dutifully obeyed the orders of the State
Department. When Noriega chose to stop
obeying orders it became necessary for
Reagan and Bush to demonstrate that such
disobedience would not be tolerated, so
that U.S.-backed thugs elsewhere in the
world would not get any ideas about set-
ting off on their own.
Thus, what we have in Panama is a
large-scale gang war. While neither group
of gangsters, the Bush administration or
Noriega and his cronies, merit much sym-
pathy, the war itself is tragic. It has al-
ready lead to the death of nearly two thou-
sand Panamanian civilians, and it indicates
yet again that the U.S. is willing to inter-
vene in Latin America to overthrow unco-
operative governments. This means that
governments like Nicaragua's or Cuba's
that have not been sufficiently hospitable
to U.S. multi-national corporations, will
have to spend billions more on defense to
protect their populations from the threat of
U.S. intervention. It also means that,
while Eastern Europe's state sanctioned
media has been destroyed by revolution,
the state sanctioned media in the U.S. con-
tinues to eagerly masturbate at the thought
of serving those in power. At this point,
an independent media is something which
we in the United States can only hope for.
Baker is a professor of Economics at
Bucknell University in Pennsylvania.
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JULIE HOLLMAN/Daily
Students rallied on the Diag yesterday to commemorate MLK Day. Speakers re-
minded them that King was not just a dreamer, but a committed activist. Students
on this and other campuses must continue to fight for institutional change.
Defending white privilege:
Segregation
YESTERDAY, Martin Luther King
3rd, (MLK, Jr.'s oldest son), spoke at
a community center in Yonkers, N.Y.,
a city which has for the last 40 years
resisted Federal laws mandating deseg-
regated housing. Referring to his fa-
ther, King said, "If he were here, I
think he would be embarassed."
Even the Reagan Administration,
with its abominable civil rights record,
recognized racism in Yonkers' history
of segregation by means of housing
and zoning codes. Over the years the
city has put up all of its new low-in-
come housing in Black neighborhoods
and forced developers to do the same.
In 1985, the Department of Justice told
the city to stop ghettoizing - their
word - its people of color population
and to start housing projects where
Yonkers' whites live. Since then,
Yonkers council members have
thumbed their noses at the desegrega-
tion order. And in a decision handed
down Wednesday, the Supreme Court
let them off the hook.
The issue in the Court's decision was
whether the individual council mem-
bers could be fined for contempt be-
cause they voted to contradict a federal
Yonkers
Be a part of recycling drive
quist's Court said they could not. Con-
servatives have congratulated it for op-
posing what they call judicial activism.
But far more important than the legal
debate is the decision's message. Min-
utes after it was announced, the
Yonkers officials - one of whom,
Henry Spallone, was elected mayor last
fall - were mugging in front of TV
news cameras, giving thumbs-up signs
and declaring that they had won a vic-
tory.
In a sense, they have won. Federal
fines against Yonkers have been
mounting since 1987, but the fines
have not budged the council, which has
recently been using zoning laws to stop
private developers from building 200
units in a white neighborhood. Without
personal accountability for illegal and
racist votes in council, it seems
Yonkers will remain segregated.
A generation ago the Supreme Court
ruled that separate can never be equal.
Nor will there be equality as long as the
court makes itself the defendant of
white privilege. On Wednesday, the
property rights of four white Yonkers
city council members were set before
the civil rights of a whole people. The
By Jim Hartman
Everyone can be a part of recycling at
the University. The first step is to see the
overall picture, which I will briefly de-
scribe. Later I will outline how each per-
son, from his or her own particular niche
on campus, can assist the recycling
movement.
Recycling is here to stay. State goals
administered at the county level indicate
the University will achieve a 30 percent
recycling rate by 1993.
There are exciting and dramatic changes
taking place in the way we manage solid
waste on campus. A centralized, univer-
sity-funded recycling operation is expand-
ing and building upon the small, decentral-
ized efforts which have catalyzed the Uni-
versity's commitment. The dedicated work
of hundreds of students (primarily Recycle
U-M) and staff who refuse to "throw a
good thing away" has built up momentum
for continued success. It was clear to sev-
eral university representatives at the Na-
tional Recycling Coalition conference in
Charlotte, NC last November that our
university program is one of the best.
Aggressive programs are being planned
for the future. Within weeks 10 to 15
drop-off stations will be established for
mixed office paper. This semester several
buildings will begin intensive office-paper
recovery programs. This will be followed
by 50 buildings throughout the coming
year.
The residence hall recycling program
will improve as well, thanks to recent
This means that die-hard recyclers who
want to recycle every material right now
must be patient. Use this enthusiasm to
educate your peers on How's and Why's of
recycling.
Here's how you can help:
-All students: Encourage your professors
to have coursepacks printed on recycled
paper, or double-sided.
-If you live in residence halls: Learn
The dedicated work of hundreds of students
(primarily Recycle U-M) and staff who refuse to
"throw a good thing away" has built up momentum
for continued success.'
funding of a half-time student position de-
voted to education and promotion. Shortly
after Earth Day (April 22), an expanded,
massive end-of-the-year move-out will be.
launched in the residence halls.
Serious negotiations with the Daily, by
both the University and Recycle U-M,
should bring about the use of recycled pa-
per by September. We must create a mar-
ket for all the resources we are recycling,
especially since the consumption of virgin
timber is highly subsidized by our gov-
how to recycle newspaper and cardboard
from your R.A. or from posters, and then
tell your neighbors. To assist with move-
out recycling efforts later in the term, call
Recycle U-M (Juli) at 769-1564.
-If you live in off-campus housing: Use
curbside recycling with Recycle Ann Ar-
bor.
-If you live in Northwood V: Be patient.
In the short run, your recycling will be
less convenient. The University will soon
pick up your newspaper, taking over for
Recvcle. Ann Arbor. Tocontiniue to recv-
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