Page 4- The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, November 13, 1990
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EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
NOAH FINKEL
Editor in Chief
DAVID SCHWARTZ
Opinion Editor
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.
From the Daily
MSA elections
A change is overdue -vote for the Abolitionists
IN THE PAST TWO MICHIGAN STU- assembly's composition.
dent Assembly presidential elections, The Abolitionist party has demon-
students have been duped into support- strated its willingness to avoid party
ing parties that promised more efficient politics and concentrate on meeting the
representation. Both the Conservative needs of the student body. Despite their
Coalition and the Action party have deceiving name, they are not for the
used this tactic to lure students to cast destruction of the assembly. Instead,
ballots in their favor. they favor transforming the body into a
Now that both parties have had an networking entity rather than an admin-
opportunity to lead the assembly, how- istrative one.
ever, it is evident that neither achieved Their platform is based on the as-
more adequate representation of stu- sumption that MSA, in its present op-
dents,, and both abused their power eration, does not serve the average
once in office. University student. Whatever else the
During the 1989-90 Aaron Williams Abolitionist candidates may favor,
administration, students witnessed in- above all else they intend to transform
tense political fighting on the assembly. the assembly into a body which exists
The internal squabbling perpetuated by primarily to serve students, not a vehi-
his Conservative Coalition precluded cle for personal power.
any ability to protect student interest. The Abolitionists are not perfect,
The following year, the Action party though clearly they surpass their oppo-
ran on a platform of ending the political nents. In particular, we are troubled by
infighting, and Jennifer Van Valey was the Abolitionists' suggestion that stu-
elected largely as a reaction to the dent funding of MSA be voluntary; the
Williams administration. way to reform MSA is not to disband
However, there has been little it, but to fix its operation so as to better
change in the political nature of the serve students.
assembly; the greater student interest is MSA provides much-needed func-
still sacrificed for partisan bickering tions for students and student groups.
and political power plays. Allowing the assembly to fade into
The ineptitude demonstrated by both oblivihn would hinder the ability of
major parties has left students without students to meet and pursue their ac-
the representation they deserve - and tivities, resulting in a campus with
the students have responded through fewer opportunities and fewer events.
their apathy. Less than 20 percent of Still, even with a major Abolitionist
the student body voted in MSA's victory, the majority of the assembly
spring elections, and even fewer stu- will still be made up mostly of repre-
dents voted in contests before that. sentatives from other parties. But per-
The general frustration of the stu- haps a vote for the Abolitionists will
dent body with MSA has translated into serve as a wake-up call for other mem-
the low voter turnout typical of so bers of the assembly, who up to now
many elections. This year, however, have been dormant in their attention to
students should vent their frustrations the students they ostensibly serve.
in a more constructive way. Help change MSA. Vote ABOLI-
By recognizing the past failures of TIONIST. Neglecting to vote will not
the two dominant parties on the change the make-up of the assembly,
assembly and voting against them, stu- and will only perpetuate its ineffective-
dents can make a major change in the ness.
Pause to remember
Killing 6 priests looms as reminder of U.S. policy
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In defense of the
To the Daily:
On October 8, 1990, the University
passed a diversity requirement with a 139-
90 vote. For a course to fulfill this re-
quirement, it must discuss the meaning of
race, ethnicity, and racism; racial and eth-
nic intolerance and the resulting inequality
as it occurs in the United States or else-
where; and comparisons of discrimination
based on race, ethnicity, religion, social
class, or gender.
However, even after the requirement
wa3 passed, many people continue to ar-
gue against it. Some say that since the
course is compulsory, real learning will
not take place, and an understanding of
these issues can only be realized outside
the classroom.
To this, I would like to make some
counter arguments. First of all, through-
out our pre-college education, we are all
required to learn American history, Ameri-
can literature, and what it means to be an
American. Most of the history and litera-
ture taught in those courses, however, are
mainly of white Anglo-Saxon men.
Though America prides itself on its
rich culture and history shaped by all eth-
nic groups, that diversity has not been ad-
dressed adequately. It is lacking in all
levels of our educational system.
Secondly, most people are not aware of
the diversity that exists on and off cam-
pus. Many are not even aware of the sig-
nificant impact racism has on people of
color, nor do they have a good understand-
ing of these kinds of social issues and the
meaning underlying these concerns.
Finally,'taking a course on diversity
will not teach one everything there is to
know about ethnicity or racism; but it
should provide a basic understanding and
allow one to be more open and sensitive
to these issues in the future.
Whether a difference can be made de-
pends upon us. Through the new diversity
requirement we can start to educate our-
selves and make this difference.
Manyee Wong
Athletic Dept. doesn't
take students' money
To the Daily:
This letter is in regard to Brian
Hirsch's editorial about the University's
priorities being misguided in changing
Michigan stadium's surface from less ex-
pensive turf to natural grass ("University
has misguided spending priorities,"
11/7/90).
Hirsch's inferences are absurd that this
proposed expenditure would take money
away from the University's educational
budget. Once again, this is a classical ex-
ample of a University student shooting his
mouth off without knowing the facts. The
facts are that Michigan is one of the few
Universities in the nation that have a fi-
nancially independent athletic department.
This means absolutely no tuition or
tax dollars are spent on athletics. The de-
partment's entire budget comes from dona-
tions, TV revenue, ticket sales, and post
season play.
Judging by the long history of athletic
University's diversity requirement
success here at Michigan, I believe the de-
partment is completely capable of making
the correct decisions. Who knows, if
Michigan was chosen as a sight for World
Cup Soccer (which cannot be played on
turf according to the rules), the switch
would bring millions of dollars in revenue
to the Ann Arbor area.
Ron Volmer
LSA senior
'Pippin' review errs
To the Daily:
Regarding Beth Colquitt's review,
"'Pippin' suffers technical difficulties"
(11/5/90), of MUSKET's production, I
find that she undeservedly trashed an excel-
lent theatrical experience. From past expe-
rience, I realize that the Daily, in general,
does not give favorable reviews of a Uni-
versity production, however, I believe Ms.
Colquitt was excessive in her criticisms.
I don't know which performance she at-
tended, but I was at both the Friday and
Saturday night performances, and they
were tremendous! Of course they had a few
insignificant glitches, as any show will,
but for her to say that the show provided
its entertainment "with no help from the
technical crew, set designers or the pit or-
chestra" is not only extremely harsh but
entirely wrong.
Maybe Ms. Colquitt attended the
Thursday night production, and maybe it
had a few "technical difficulties," but in no
way is she justified to so fully tear apart
one the the most exciting musicals done
by MUSKET in years.
Congratulation to Kevin, Jim, Louis,
Al, Steph, Matt, Julie, Jenny, and Lynne
for a job well done and worthy of praise!
Russ Hagen
LSA sophomore
Diag pesticides may
put public in danger
To the Daily:
Some time last Thursday or Friday
(remember that beautiful weather?), the
Diag was sprayed with pesticides. Thou-
sands of students could have been unwit-
tingly exposed to residual chemicals, as
the little pesticide flags that were put out:
were too few in number;
resembled gas pipe line flags, and;
had no date or time of spraying
marked on them.
After the application of any chemical
pesticide, the area is supposed to be
avoided for at least 24 hours. How could
we know if we were exposed?
As chair of the Environmental Issues
Commission, I felt I should investigate.
Between Friday afternoon and Wednesday,
Vice Chair Stephanie Andelmen and I
placed six to eight calls to Fran Jade, the
groundsperson in charge of these applica-
tions. Unfortunately, we have not been
able to make contact with her.
A YEAR AGO THURSDAY, A
squadron of 30 uniformed officers de-
scended into a Jesuit rectory in El Sal-
vador, torturing and murdering six
priests housed there. Two witnesses, a
servant and her child, were also
slaughtered. The crime not only blood-
stained the hands of the Salvadoran
government, but also stained the hands
of the U.S. officials who backed, and
still back, the regime.
The United States funded the sol-
diers'who pulled the trigger, making us
all accomplices to the crime.
The anniversary of this barbaric act
should promote serious introspection.
Colonial policies responsible for U.S.-
sponsored terror are still very much
alive, under a plethora of different dis-
guises. In Columbia and Peru, for ex-
ample, governments are bombing
civilian populations with monies ob-
tained from the supposed War on
Drugs.
The United States routinely supplies
enormous sums of money to regimes
claiming to support U.S. interests,
which then proceed to commit heinous
violations of human rights. As another
case in point, until recently the United
States even supported Iraqi leader Sad-
dam Hussein, who ordered soldiers to
use poison gas to kill thousands of his
own citizens.
These short-sighted excuses for
foreign policy have irreparably, and
justifiably, damaged the reputation of
the United States.
Still, the easing of cold war tensions
has allowed both the United States and
the Soviet Union to reevaluate Third
World interventionist policies. Coop-
eration between the two military poles
offers a real chance for global self-de-
termination, and may limit any per-
ceived necessity to wreak havoc around
the globe in search of a minimal
"advantage."
Our foreign policy has littered the
world with innocent corpses. The an-
niversary of the Jesuit killings should
encourage more than simple mourning
of the dead. The United States must
depart the from the trail of state-spon-
sored terror.
International cooperation must re-
place murderous interventionism.
We would like to get the scoop on thi#
issue, as it could affect the health of all
Diag-loungers.
If you are concerned about possible
pesticide exposure, please call the Grounds
office to find out exactly when this spray-
ing took place. Additional efforts may
help bring this information to light.
Aberdeen Marsh
Chair, MSA Environment
Issues Commission
'Letters to mom' was
a beneficial editorial
To the Daily:
I wholeheartedly applaud the "Letters to
Mom" editorial which appeared Nov. 7.
You can bet that I sent mine home right
away, and I encourage all other Universi.
students concerned about the deputizatio
of campus police do the same.
For the first time in a long while, it
seems that the Daily has happened upon a
brilliant strategy for addressing a serious
problem: it should never be underestimated
what lengths parents, particularly my par-
ents, will go to if they feel their children's
rights are in jeopardy. Congratulations on
a job well done.
Adam J. Sant
Residential College sophomore
Leaf rakers are needed
To the Daily:
I have a simple question for Paul
Childs' relating to his leaves on the Diag
letter (11/6/90). Where have you been
during every fall season of your life? Per-
haps in a concrete jungle? Or a stainles
steel penthouse?
Maybe it is just me. I have always
thought that leaf raking was necessary, for
the upkeep of any yard or lawn. I've
noticed that if fallen leaves are not col-
lected before the snow falls, they create an
unsafe and unsightly mess in the spring.
Because the University owns square
miles of "yard" instead of a homeowners'
paltry square feet, they have two options.
Either they can put thousands of "lea*
rakers" on the University payroll or they
can use fast, efficient, and relatively inex-
pensive "Turbo-Vac" machines commonly
used on golf courses, city-parks and other
college campuses throughout the country.
Let's be realistic. Leaf collection is a
necessity not a luxury ask anyone in
any neighborhood in any community. Ex-
cept that "treeless neighborhood" that Paul
Childs hails from.
Sue Balowski
LSA Sophomore
Correction: Daily errs
To the Daily:
In describing the Conservative Coali-
tion's now-famous toilet poster, the Daily
states that the poster says: "Don't let Ac-
tion throw our money down the toilet,
Vote CC." In fact, the poster says: "It'
time for MSA to stop flushing your
money down the toilet on foreign trips."
Proclaiming that the money MSA al-
located for the foreign "fact-finding" trips
was money down the toilet seems to me
to be a pretty strong condemnation of this
practice and an indication that, if elected,
CC will oppose such practices in the fu-
ture.
James Green
Coordinating Chair@
Cnseratie Cnalitin
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