OPINION
R
C
Page 4 Thursday, January 11, 1990 The Michigan Dal
9
Ebe£ b aiv a Michiganj
Edited and mnanaged by students at The University of Michigan
Standing small in Panama
Vol. C, No. 69
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
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.
1st annual trivia quiz
As 1989 came to an end, the media all over the country celebrated by reviewing
some of the big moments from 1989 and the decade. Notably missing among the
many highlights was coverage of the University of Michigan. In an effort to fill
this gap, the Opinion Page has put together a Fall 1989 Trivia Quiz as a way of re-
capping some of the important events of last term. Answers and explanations will
appear in tomorrow's paper, though the Daily will be glad to accept written re-
sponses. Good luck.
1) The Coalition to Boycott Domino's A) 60%
Pizza lists which of the following as B) 25%
a reason to support its boycott? C) 90%
A) Domino's supports right-wing D) 72%
political activities in Central E) 41%
America.
B) Dojmino's owner Tom Monaghan 12) U.S. troops have recently been active
pays his Salvadoran workers $5 a day in all but which of the following
to produce men's pants which he copuntie?
exports to the U.S. and sells for $200 A)
a pair. B) El Salvador
C) Domino's uses unfair and C) Phillippines
discriminatory employment practices. D) Puerto Rico
(For example, women employees are E) Honduras
required to wear skirts or dresses while F) Cuba
working.)
By Mike Fischer
The U.S. invasion of Panama has been
greeted with accolades from the main-
stream press and, with few exceptions, a
deafening silence from this country's pro-
gressive community. It is easy to see why:
in Panama, unlike El Salvador or
Nicaragua opposition to U.S. intervention
seems to imply support for the Panama-
nian dictator, Manuel Noriega.
But acknowledging that Noreiga is a
corrupt, tyrannical ruler provides no. ex-
cuse for supporting the Bush Administra-
tion's decision to flex its muscle and, in
the process, kill an estimated 3,500
Panamanian civilians (El Sol, January 2,
1990). As Panamanian Jesuit Xabier
Gorostiaga argued recently in discussing
the invasion, "if the struggle of the Pana-
manian people [under Noreiga] is a clean
flag in dirty hands, the U.S. intervention
is a dirty flag in dirty hands."
Going back to the raising of that first
Panamanian flag in 1903 - which had
been designed and made in upstate New
York and which was first hoisted by a
U.S. Marine as U.S. gunboats waited off-
shore - the United States has consis-
tently soiled the Panamanian flag and
thwarted the Panamanian people's right to
self-determination. The U.S. has invaded
Panama 19 times, not to mention its con-
tinuous occupation of the Canal Zone
since 1903. It created the School of the
Americas there in 1946 - directly contra-
vening the Panama Canal Treaty of 1903
- to train Latin American officers in
counterinsurgency techniques. And it cre-
ated the Panama National Guard in 1956,
modelling it on Anastozio Somoza's noto-
rious National Guard in Nicaragua.
The U.S. bolstered this military domi-
nation with an almost as complete control
of Panama's political scene. The Panama-
nian Constitution, dictated in Washington,
guaranteed the United States the right to
intervene "in any part of Panama, to
reestablish public peace and constitutional
order." It is a liberty Washington has exer-
cised frequently, participating or acquiesc-
ing in numerous coups and fraudulent elec-
tions, which explains why Panama had 38
governments in the first 65 years of its in-
dependence. As one U.S. official admitted
in 1944, "as a matter of fact, there has
never been a successful change of govern-
ment in Panama but that American author-
ities have been 'consulted' beforehand.
In an ironic but all-too-appropriate in-
version of this candid statement, the invad-
ing U.S. forces made sure to "consult" the
puppets they were about to install in
power a healthy three hours in advance of
the actual invasion. Guillermo Endara and
his two Vice-Presidents, in a fitting replay
of that first invasion in 1903, were sworn
into office on a U.S. military base. Presi-
dent Bush, a man who had previously
demonstrated his commitment to democ-
racy by toasting Ferdinand Marcos for his
love of democracy and praising the butch-
ers of Beijing for moving in a democratic
direction, heralded Endara's installation on
the points of Marine bayonets as proof of
Washington's commitment to democracy.
What Bush didn't bother to say - even
as his press secretary pointed to Noriega's
alleged portrait of Hitler as part of the,
Administration's tedious campaign to de-
monize Noreiga - was that Endara got
his start in politics in league with the out-
and-out fascist and Hitler sympathizer Ar-
nulfo Arias, whose politics were so abom-
inable that the United States - with a
record of support for Nazi-loving govern-
ments from Argentina to El Salvador -
couldn't stomach him. Nor does Bush
mention that Endara's probable victory in
last May's Presidential election is more of
a commentary on Panamanians' rejection
of Noreiga and absence of legitimate alter-
natives than an affirmation of Endara him-
self.
The United States is responsible for
Panama's political vacuum, just as, given
10 years of staunch support and encour-
agement for Noreiga despite ample evi-
dence of his drug running and human
rights violations, it is responsible for cre-
ating the very situation that cost so many
Panamanian and U.S. lives to "correct."
And its arbitrary arrests of those Panama
nians who dare to oppose the invasion;
courageously reported by Philip Bennet of
The Boston Globe, promises to perpetuate
that vacuum - not to mention how ie
helps explain why a frightened and cowed
Panamanian population, approached by the
foreign press, goes out of its way to swear
its support for the invasion.
The United States wants that population
frightened - just as they always have. Be
fore imposing economic sanctions on the
Noreiga regime two years ago, it had more
investments in Panama than the rest of
Central America combined; 12% of its
trade and 12% of its oil pass through the
Canal every year. Visiting Panama in
1974, David Rockefeller observed, rathet
transparently, that "our increasingly inter-
related global economy needs additional
stable money centers to mobilize effi-
ciently the very vast amounts of produc-
tive capital now flowing around the world.
Panama is an ideal new center in the
Western Hemisphere."
Under the Endara regime, that capital'
will flow through Panama once again. But
just because big capitalists have cause to
celebrate this turn of events hardly necessi-
tates that we celebrate with them. It would
make more sense to get past our media-
generated fixation on Noreiga and reflect'
on the consequences of an invasion which,'
as Gorostiaga sadly observes, "takes u§
back to the colonial period in Central
'American history." If Panama is ever to
emerge from this period - which, really,
it has never left - Washington must stop
relegating the Panamanian people to the
role of passive spectators of their own his-
tory.
Mike Fischer is a Daily Arts staffer.-A
D) Domino's pizza tastes terrible.
E) Domino's and Detroit Tigers' owner
Tom Monaghan has supported the
destruction of Tiger Stadium.
F) Domino's owner Tom Monaghan has
been responsible for irresponsible and
environmentally unsound
development practices.
2) The University was found in violation
of the First Amendment to the
Constitution for which of its
policies?
A) The protest policy
B) The anti-discriminatory harassment
policy
C) The Affirmative Action Policy
D) The Michigan Mandate
3) Which University official resigned
without ever apologizing for his racist
comments?
A) Provost Charles Vest
B) President Robben Fleming
C) LSA Dean Peter O. Steiner
4D) Coach Bo Schembechler
E) Director of Public Safety Leo
Heatley
4F) All of the above
4) Which striking University workers were
forced by a court injunction to go
back to work without a contract?
A) Graduate Student Teaching
Assistants
B) University Administrators
C) University Maintenance Staff
D) University Hospital Nurses
E) University Clerical Staff
5) Landlords are obligated to provide
tenants with
A) Clean housing
B) A copy of the Tenants Rights
handbook, published by the city
C) Two copies of an inventory checklist
covering all parts of the building that
the landlord owns
D) Advance notice before entering the
rental unit
E) All of the above
6) Prior to the legalization of abortion in
the U.S., Black women in New York
accounted for what percent of deaths
caused by illegal abortions?
A) 5%
B) 25%
C) 50%
D) 15%
7) Regental By-law 14.02 protects
individuals in the University
community based on all of the
following criteria except:
A) Religion
B) Race.
C) National Origin
D) Sexual Orientation
E) Sex
F) Vietnam Veteran status
8) A building on campus was named after
which multinational corporation?
A) Exxon
B) Nest6
C) Coca-Cola
D) Dow Chemical
E) General Electric
9) Notre Dame lost to Michigan by how
many points?
A)5
B) 6
C) 3
"D) 17
E) None of the above
1) Which campus group was derecognized
13) What is President Duderstadt's favorite
phrase?
A) Multicultural
B) 21st Century
C) Diversity
D) Reason
E) Tolerance
F) Civility
G) Go Blue
H) All of the above
14) How did President Duderstadt respond
to the occupation of the Fleming
Building by students concerned about
the U.S. role in the massacre of
Salvadorans and the bombing of the
University of El Salvador - U of
M's sister school?
A) He met with students in an open
forum to discuss their concerns
B) He issued a public statement
condemning the massacre
C) He issued a public statement
demanding an immediate end of aid to
the Salvadoran government
D) He sent a letter of sympathy to the
University of Central America
E) He did not respond
15) How did President Duderstadt respond
to the painting of swastikas on
students' cars?
A) He met with students in an open
forum to discuss their concerns
B) He issued a public statement
condemning anti-Semitism on
campus
C) He issued a public statement
demanding educational forums on the
history of anti-Semitism and Jewish
persecution
D) He did not respond
16) How did President Duderstadt respond
to the Lesbian and Gay Rights
Organizing Committee's demands for
gay male and lesbian rights on
campus?
A) He met with students in an open
forum to discuss their concerns
B) He issued a public statement
condemning anti- gay and lesbian
bigotry
C) He issued a public statement
demanding an amendment to Bylaw
14.02
D) He did not respond
17) How has President Duderstadt
responded to the repeated destruction
of the anti-apartheid and the Palestine
solidarity shanties?,
A) He met with students in an open
forum to discuss their concerns
B) He issued a public statement
condemning the South African and
Israeli governments for their repeated
human rights violations
C) He issued a public statement
demanding that the shanties be
protected until the South African and
Israeli governments recognize the
rights of Blacks and Palestinians
D) He has not responded
18) Under the University Council's
proposed implementation guidelines
for the University protest policy,
students can be punished for engaging
in protest in all but which of the
following ways?
A) A warning
B) Expulsion
C) Suspension
D) A fine
E) Mandatory community service
19) The Homeless Action Committee
took over a Citv Couincil metini¢ in
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Stop racist.
destruction
To the Daily:
Local racists rang in this
new year by ripping off walls
of the anti-apartheid and anti-
racist shanties, and totally de-
molishing the Palestinian
shanty. As a member of the
organizations that constructed
and has continually re-built the
anti-racist and anti-apartheid
shanties over the past several
years, I am repeatedly angered
at the attacks on these struc-
tures. The rebuilding and the
anger have become all too typ-
ical, unfortunately time has
dulled the edge of my disgust.
For I realize that there have al-
ways been and there will al-
ways be violently racist men
and women who rip off pieces
of, tear down, deface and cover
up their words and symbols,
and even attempt to burn them
down.
But, since the construction
of and repeated destruction of
the Palestinian shanty, my
anger at these attacks has in-
creased tremendously. Anti-
Arab racism and right-wing
Zionism has visibly increased
since the Palestinian Solidarity
Committee has drawn our at-
tention to the plight, struggles
and immeasurable courage of
the Palestinian people.
The attacks on these anti-
racist and anti-fascist symbols
are further evidence of the rise
of racist activity on campus
and in the surrounding com-
munity. It is interesting to
note that the pro-Israeli bus,
constructed by the conservative
Zionist group Tagar, has re-
Nazis and Klan members held
marches in the South last
week. In a news clip that re-
minded me of South African
police brutality against Black
South Africans and current po-
lice brutality against people of
color in the United States, I
saw Israeli police attack peace
marchers at the walls of
Jerusalem's Old City. Water
cannons, tear gas and rubber
bullets were shot at members
of the human chain that sur-
rounded the walls, while others
were beaten with night sticks.
Knowledgeable people have no
doubt who the real terrorists
are. A closing word to our of-
fenders; you will not deter us,
our dedication is steadfast. We
will rebuild and continue our
struggles.
-Nikita Buckhoy
January 10
Sexism
rampant at
the 'U'
To the Daily:
Here we go again with one
of the many "isms" so often
read and/or written in this pub-
lication. The point of this let-
ter is not to rant and rave, nor
am I purporting to be a die-hard
feminist. I simply wish to
point out how many women
and their bodies are institution-
ally looked upon as objects,
and the consequences of such
attitudes.
One night, I was innocently
doing some research in the
UGLi. I picked a random desk
at which to take some notes.
On this particular desk, I no-
list was given to each pledge of
the house, with instructions to
match each question with its
respective active member. By
itself, this seems like a per-
fectly harmless little activity.
The offensive part becomes
evident in some of the lan-
guage of the questionnaire, par-
ticularly in the title, and in a
select number of the questions.
It was called (no joke): "Active
Hunt/Cunt." Two of the ques-
tions went as follows: "Whose
girlfriend is a Ho?" and "Who
has also been known as Swen
in order to pick up chicks?"
Allow mew to get right to
the point. Eliminate the word
"hunt" from the title, and what
remains is a blatant example of
the objectification of the fe-
male body. It is not a woman
that is described; instead an ex-
tremely derogatory slang term
for her genitalia is substituted.
How about the public humilia-
tion of the victimized girl-
friend, so sensitively addressed
as a "Ho"? To top it off, ac-
cording to the questionnaire,
women are not people, but
they are little, helpless,furry
animals whose first instinct in
life is to cling to the first liv-
ing organism they see.
Is it obvious yet? If not, let
me address the ramifications of
my findings. These descrip-
tions of women are not only
sexist, they also. hold ex-
tremely dangerous connota-
tions. The title connotes
women as objects to be used
for sex, which, believe it or
not, further condones inher-
ently wrong actions such as
rape and domestic violence.
I am not saying that these
pledges will read the described
set of questions and immedi-
who "sleep around" are sinners,
men who do it are cheered on.
Finally, illustrating women as
chicks is equally harmful. It is
description like this that helps
to perpetuate current notions of
women as weak and helpless *
individuals.
I am not out to slander the
men of this particular fraternal
organization. I cannot blame;
them directly for what society
has taught them. They proba-
bly did not mean their ques-
tionnaire as anything but a
joke among "brothers."
I have merely attempted to
illustrate just how institution-
alized and subtly accepted sex-
ism is in our society, and more
specifically, at this institu-
tion-which notably claims to
be liberal-minded and non-dis-
criminatory. Perhaps this little;
tidbit will open some people's
eyes to the fact that sexism is
not a concoction of radical fem-
inist groups. It is here, it is
blatant, and most unfortu-:
nately, it is accepted.
Everyone must take that cru-
cial first step in finding a solu-
tion to the problem. That step
is recognition. Become familiar:
with sexism's existence and
from there work to abolish it.
The power is in YOUR hands.
- Jill Gurvey;
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