Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 16, 1990
CiXe 3idigtn itaily
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
I
ARTS
NEWS
OPINION
763 0379
764 0552
747 2814
PHOTO
SPORTS
WEEKEND
764 0552
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.
r
w
r
.9 /
d p o
d
19
r
l
rd LA8CR 15
r
.. F
" i
1
r
J y
i
t
x
9
, !
i
t
i
i
Y
N
t
}
t
R
i }
t
{
I
i;
J
.
. #
. }
i
i
a
1
u
,,
d j
___
The
World Cup
'U' should pursue a bid for 1994 championship
THE CITY OF ANN ARBOR AND THE
University of Michigan have a unique
opportunity; the city has been chosen
as one of 22 possible sites to host the
month-long World Cup Soccer Chain-
pionship in 1994. Despite the prestige
and monetary benefits to be gained
from hosting a tournament of intema-
tional acclaim - not to mention the
boon it would create for local soccer
fans - the University has taken a less-
than-enthusiastic stance on the offer,
basically saying, "we're not inter-
ested."
If Ann Arbor were chosen as the
tournament site, the contests would
conceivably take place in Michigan
Stadium, which currently has an astro-
turf surface (the tournament requires a
grass playing field) and does not meet
World Cup specifications for size. The
University has made no attempt to
assess the feasibility of the stadium
being converted for the tournament.
Interim Athletic Director Jack Weiden-
bach says he doesn't even know what
the specifications are.
However, Kansas City, another site
that is under consideration, has devised
a plan in which its Arrowhead Stadium
could be temporarily converted to
World Cup specifications with no dam-
age to the facility. This conversion
would cost an estimated $800,000-$1
million, however the tournament is ex-
pected to bring in $165 million.
While Weidenbach cites cost and
stadium structure as the major obsta-
cles, another factor seems to be the im-
portance placed on the University's
football program and the lack of atten-
tion paid to soccer, which is no longer
a varsity sport at the University.
"That's the only way we exist down
here," said Weidenbach of the revenue
brought in by the football program.
According to Mayor Jerry Jemigan,
the city officials would support Ann
Arbor's pursuit of a World Cup bid,
but since the games would take place at
the University, active promotion is in
the hands of University officials.
Weidenbach and other members of
the athletic department have been treat-
ing the bid callously. When Ann Ar-
bor's chance for a bid was first men-
tioned, an administrative assistant told
the World Cup Association not to ex-
pect a call back from the University re-
garding this opportunity, according to
Weidenbach. At that time, as now, the
capability of the University to host the
tournament had not been researched at
all.
Weidenbach expresses reluctance to
deal with members of the World Cup
Association. "Somebody told me
they're due in the area in April," he
said. "Certainly if they're here I'll be
happy to have them stop by." These are
not exactly words of encouragement
for the World Cup association, for the
Ann Arbor businesses that would reap
the benefits of such a large-scale event,
or for soccer fans throughout the Mid-
west.
By his unwillingness to consider the
opportunity, Weidenbach and other
University officials are sending a mes-
sage to the citizens of Ann Arbor they
are unwilling to put forth the effort to
bring an event to the city which would
greatly benefit the community.
A SITr
'I1tOfAL. TY LQ
Black Student Union needs to respon4
By Lori Feigenbaum, Jon
Polish, and Steven Susswein
Perhaps this letter is a bit overdue.
Perhaps the Jewish community should
have responded to Steven Cokely's anti-
Semitic remarks the day after he said
them. Yet, they were so shocking, and so
antithetical to a civilized community that
we needed time to come to terms with our
feelings of remorse and hurt. Moreover,
we were waiting expectantly for the Black
Student Union to distance itself from
Cokely's hateful and violent message.
This however did not happen, and it is
time for us to speak out.
Initially, the BSU invited Cokely, a
well-known anti-Semite, to speak at the
University. This action, alone, goes
against the spirit of tolerance and mutual
respect that this University should repre-
sent. Once he got to campus, Cokely
wasted no time in spreading his anti-
Semitic rhetoric. Those in the fishbowl
during his visit heard talk of Jewish doc-
tors infecting Black babies with the AIDS
virus, of a Jewish-Anglo-Saxon world
The writers are members of Students
Fighting Anti-Semitism.
conspiracy, and of the Jewish cooperation
with Hitler designed to purify the Jewish
gene pool. This was coupled with the
classically anti-Semitic assertions that
Jews control Wall Street, Hollywood, and
the press.
While his message was disconcerting,
it was by no means as shocking as what
followed. The very next day, students rep-
resenting the BSU were quoted in the
Daily as agreeing with Cokely's anti-
Semitic statements. We were told that it
was the Jews who were, in fact, unedu-
cated. Most appalling however was that
we were told of Cokely that "he's not anti-
Semitic, he's just telling the truth."
We do not wish to get into a discus-
sion about the merits of Cokely's state-
ments. His themes are traditionally anti-
Semitic. They are very old and have his-
torically been used to persecute Jews. We
seek, on the contrary, a response from the
BSU regarding its defense of Cokely. We
write this letter not to hinder dialogue, but
to promote it.
It is our hope that this incident will
draw members of both of the Black and
Jewish communities into the existing
Independence
Lithuania should be able to choose its freedom
Black-Jewish dialogue on campus. We
cannot, however, address this incident in a
meaningful manner without input from
Black students. We have attempted to.a
contact the president of BSU on numerous -
occasions, but we have received no
response. Based on the BSU's indifference,
we can only assume that it endorses
Cokely's hatred.
History shows us that movements
which incorporate anti-Semitism into their
doctrine do not succeed. It is for this rea-
son that we seek a response from the d
members of the BSU. We respect Black
nationalism. The Black people, like the
Jewish people, have been a traditionally
oppressed group. If their efforts are to
flourish, however, they must reflect a set ,
of beliefs based on the eradication of hatred
and not the promotion of it.
If the BSU truly believes what Cokely
says about Jews, we are afraid there is no ,
reconciliation. By nature, Jews and anti-
Semites cannot be friends. However, if
they believe otherwise, they have an obli-
gation to make this clear to the students
and faculty of the University. The Jewish
community at the University is waiting. ;
comments have been thrown at me this
year. Each time, I explain that there is no
way soccer will be a varsity sport next
year, but it will be sometime in the fu-,
ture. The "sometime" sounds indefinite,"P
but it does exist.
A little-known fact is that the athletic
board does support the idea of soccer going
varsity. The setback is that there is no,1,
funding for a team. The women's soccer, w
team attended a meeting of the athletic.
board last last month. The meeting was
hysterical in a way, because it was Bo's.
last. After the meeting, Bo was very cor-
dial and he expressed a lot of interest in
our plight. He made a few suggestions
that will help strengthen our fight. And he
stressed that we will be varsity - time is
the key.
When I answer peoples' questions
about the negative attitude towards soccer
going varsity, I feel like I have to defend
the team. I have to explain all of the
above and then go on to respond to the
next typical question, "Why is there no
varsity team at this Big 10 school when
soccer is such a popular spot?"
NOT TO BE LEFT OUT OF T H E
sweeping changes occurring through-
out Eastern Europe, the freely-elected
Lithuanian Parliament voted 124-0 on
Sunday to declare itself independent
from the Soviet Union. In so doing,
the Lithuanian people have boldly
stepped out from the shadow of Soviet
domination hovering over them since
their absorption by Stalin's troubled
empire in 1940.
However, Lithuania's difficult jour-
ney to independence is hardly over.
The Baltic state faces considerable re-
sistance from the Moscow government
and from the other republics. In a
strong affirmation of Gorbachev's op-
position to Lithuanian independence,
the Soviet Congress of People's
Deputies - representing the remaining
republics in the Soviet Union - voted
overwhelmingly on Monday to Gor-
bachev more sweeping power under
the national constitution. Shortly after
the vote, Gorbachev, who had until
then remained silent on Sunday's
events, declared Lithuania's actions as
"illegal" and "invalid." Clearly, the
President was waiting until his long
sought-after constitutional reforms
were in place. He then took the
deputies' action as a political nod from
some republics to issue strong state-
ments against Lithuania.
But the fate of Lithuanian indepen-
dence may equally hinge on world re-
action to their secession. In the midst
of delicate arms control negotiations
and German re-unification, Lithuania's
actions have placed the NATO coun-
tries into a difficult situation. If they
choose to recognize an independent
Lithuania, they may be jeopardizing
future negotiations with Moscow. If
they do not, the Western powers will
be contradicting a long-standing politi-
cal stance, one that opposed Stalin's
trampling of Lithuanian sovereignty. It
is ironic that the success or failure of
Lithuanian freedom may be determined
in Bonn, Paris, London, or Washing-
ton, rather than Vilnius.
If Lithuania successfully secedes
from the USSR, it will nevertheless be
taking with it an economy that has fully
collapsed under the dual weight of a
collectivized and unproductive agricul-
ture and a mismanaged, nationalized
industry. Now Lithuanians face the
seemingly impossible task of correcting
a 40 year legacy of ruinous Soviet
control, and independence seems like
the logical place to begin.
Daily editorial is crude
To the Daily:
As someone who has served in both
the Regular Army and the National Guard,
I found your editorial, "The army"
(2/28/90), to be error-ridden and crude.
First, the process of mobilizing the
National Guard for war is one of several
weeks or even months, not several days. It
took the forces involved in both the
Grenada and Panama operations almost
three days to mobilize. Clearly, those ex-
tra days did not facilitate "a more demo-
cratic discussion of the merits or disadvan-
tages" of military intervention - as you
suggested they would.
Second, your assertion that soldiers in
the National Guard are more likely to
"behave humanely" in combat is beyond
inappropriate - it's obscene. What you
suggest, essentially, is that there are more
or less humane ways to kill people. Only
a knave could entertain such a notion;
those who have served in the Armed
Forces of this nation know that such a be-
lief is at some distance from reality.
Third, I am offended by your "matter-
of-fact" assertion that soldiers on active
duty are "constantly brainwashed." How do
you know? Have you been there? I think
not.
Fourth, your argument for the with-
drawal of U.S. troops from both Asia and
Europe belies your myopia. In this time
of extraordinary change in our global vil-
lage, perhaps only equalled by the last 100
days of WWII, American forces in both
Europe and Asia serve as a critical source
of stability. They are a deterrent to those,
who would, for example, continue to tun-
nel under the DMZ or waffle about the sta-
tus of Poland's borders.
I agree with your observation that de-
creased tensions in the world make reduc-
ing the Pentagon's budget a "no-lose
proposition." However, in my view the
question is not "which service should we
eliminate," but rather "how should the
American Armed Forces be reshaped to fit
the changing security needs of the United
States and its allies?"
Jim Heller
LSA senior
Now I don't know Copeland, and I had
never even heard of him until the Daily
started writing articles about this, but I
think the simple fact that he plays on the
hockey team is not justification for creat-
ing a huge scandal out of something that
would probably not even be mentioned in
print otherwise. By no means am I sug-
gesting that the things he did were excus-
able. I just question their newsworthiness.
But since you did go on and on about
how President Duderstadt wasn't doing the
right thing, and how Copeland wasn't
being punished enough, and about how
they put him back on the team just to win
some games, I have to admit being a little
bit confused when the most recent article
condemned Duderstadt for finally taking
some action. Just what is the Daily's
stance? It seems that the Daily is now
trying to bash the president at every turn.
Furthermore, the article claims that
"Copeland is now in a position to be ex-
pelled or suspended from school for rea-
sons having nothing to do with his aca-
demic standing," yet, The Daily is quite in
favor of suspending Copeland from the
hockey team for reasons which have noth-
ing to do with his behavior on the ice.
If Copeland is to be punished, then he
should be punished in the same way that
anyone else who committed his crimes
would be punished, whether or not they
belong to any team.
Also, the Daily mentions the dangers
of a conduct code, citing a case at Dart-
mouth where the editor of a newspaper
was suspended from school after the paper
printed a controversial article. .
What they didn't mention is that first
of all, that case was taken to court, and the
editor was reinstated into the school. Sec-
ondly, the reason he was suspended was
not because he printed the article. Rather,
it was for his methods in getting informa-
tion for the article - he carried a con-
cealed tape recorder into the professor's
room and began harassing him.
Now I'm not saying that there should
or should not be a conduct code, nor am I
saying that Copeland should be punished
within the University. I'm just saying
that I believe the Daily has made this
story far more than it ever should have
been, and while doing so has exposed its
It is not the questions that annoy me
and the other players who are asked, but
that we do not know the answers. We, as a
team, do what we can to be successful in
hope that if we work hard enough, the
questions will cease to exist.
Success has come in the form of a
winning season - with wins against Illi-
nois, Indiana, Purdue, Ohio State, and
others - and placing second in the Big
10, losing to Minnesota's varsity team,
without the assistance of a coach.
Sometimes our non-varsity status was
really put into perspective despite our suc-
cess, however. On degrading example was
when Schoolcraft Community College's
varsity team showed up in matching uni-
forms and proceeded to beat us - donned
in our mismatched shorts and socks.
The point is that we really would like
to be a part of Michigan's respected Ath-
letic Department. However, it is difficult
to do so when the money does not exist
for travel expenses, uniforms, or a coach.
The one thousand dollars we do receive
from the Michigan Student Assembly
i i
r
i
r
a
r
t
r 'ii
M
k' -
i
t
1
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.
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
la n ... w nr . i :.o fnr ann .ri .at ..%