Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 28, 1990
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109

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NOAH FINKEL
Editor in Chief

DAVID SCHWARTZ
Opinion Editor

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TKU OE

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.

11

111

Il

College football
Bowl game decision process must be reformed


vi

THE VIRGINIA CAVALIERS MAY
have a sweet time in New Orleans this
upcoming New Year's Day when they
play in the Sugar Bowl, and the
Fighting Irish of Notre Dame may trade
their shamrock shakes for orange pop
when they play in the Orange Bowl,
but neither team should be there.
Virginia, which lost three of its fi-
nal four games of the season, was in-
vited by the Sugar Bowl committee
several weeks ago, before their season
turned to rot. Notre Dame was invited
to Miami before their impotent perfor-
mance against Penn State two weeks
ago which removed them from the
coveted #1 perch in the polls.
Consequently, because of back-
room negotiations and early-season
deal making, Virginia and Notre Dame
will benefit from a shady bowl system
while other deserving schools will play
in glamorous places like El Paso,
Texas and Tempe, Arizona.
Bowl games are big business in
college football. Besides generating
millions of dollars in revenues for se-
lect schools and the conferences they
represent, they provide invaluable
exposure for schools that have earned

the right to play before a national
audience on New Year's Day.
But when powerful bowl commit-
tees jump the gun in mid-season and
invite a marquee school to play in their
game, such as what happened with
Virginia and Notre Dame, and a season
turns sour for such a team, the
inevitable bowl game is a major disap-
pointment.
The College Football Association,
the policy making arm of the NCAA,
presently forbids official bowl invita-
tions from being made until the third
week in November. But unofficially,
deals are being made in October be-
tween bowl committees and schools.
Next year, there will be no specific
date which bowl committees will have
to observe when making invitations. In
other words, under the new system,
Notre Dame can theoretically and le-
gally be invited back to the Orange
Bowl in 1992 after it plays Colorado,
before next season even starts!
This inadequate system needs re-
form and the best way to accomplish
that is through a playoff system. There
are pros and cons to such a college
football playoff. One of the clearest
benefits is that the ranking polls will
not mean as much as they do now, and
every year will end with a college
"Super Bowl" when the two top teams
in the country will play for the undis-
puted National Championship after
some kind of multi-game playoff.
The obvious disadvantage to such
a system would be the end of tradi-
tional bowl games as they now exist,
but recent events show that it is time
for such a change.
In the interim, before such a radical
change is supported by the NCAA,
there has to be some kind of oversight
implemented on the way bowl commit-
tees operate.
Fans deserve the best possible
matchups in these once-a-year events,
not contests arranged during Spring
practice. Eventually, though, a playoff
seems the best way to correct the flaws
in the system with minimal harm, and it
might be the only way Michigan will
ever get a chance to play for the
National Championship.

.. S211' I Iv
/ja

0


I

Segal looks to alleviate Israel-Palestine tensions

By Maude Mandel
and Warren Rosenblum
Increasingly, we hear American sup-
porters of Israel say that they object to
Israel's policy in the occupied territories
but do not feel that they should openly
criticize it. This stance has always been
logically questionable. Today it is both
morally and strategically bankrupt.
The present Israeli government is un-
dermining all hopes to a just solution to
the Palestinian problem and leading the
nation of Israel down the path to catastro-
phe. It has harassed, censored, and arrested
moderate Palestinians working for a two-
state solution.
It has failed to carry out an open and
complete investigation of the massacre in
Jerusalem. It has elevated Ariel Sharon and
Rafael Eitan - the men condemned by
Israel's own investigating committee for
their role in the Sabra and Shatilla mas-
sacres in 1982 - into leading positions
within the ruling cabinet.
Recently, Prime Minister Yitzhak
Shamir again announced his determination
to "keep the land of Israel from the sea to
the Jordan River for future generations and
for the mass immigration and for the
Jewish people." How many such
statements will it take before they realize
Mandel and Rosenblum are Rackham
Graduate Students and members of the
Jewish Peace Lobby at the University.

that this Israeli is not committed to peace?
Over 50 percent of the land and 70 per-
cent of the water in the West Bank and
Gaza has been taken by Israel since the oc-
cupation began. While American Jews
hold their tongues (apparently waiting for
Yasser Arafat to metamorphize into
Mahatma Ghandi), the foundations for any
kind of eventual Palestinian self-determi-
nation are being whittled away.
Supporters of Israel have deluded them-
selves into thinking they can remain aloof
from political conflicts within Israel. In
fact, silence concerning Shamir's policies
actually constitutes de-facto support for
the right-wing forces setting Israel's
agenda.

not speak for all friends of Israel. Tonight
at Hillel, Jerome Segal of the Jewish
Peace Lobby will describe how concerned
Americans can play a constructive role in
peaceful settlement in the occupied territo-
ries.
Mr Segal is a founder of the Jewish@
Peace Lobby and a research scholar at the
University of Maryland's Institute for
Philosophy and Public Policy. He is a
philosopher yet his writings suggest the
kind of matter-of-fact, pragmatic attitude
more associated with engineers.
He does not ask questions about the na-
ture of the abyss. He asks how we can
build bridges across gaping holes.
Never has the need for such pragma-*

Never has the need for such pragmatism been more
pressing. Campus debates are mired in abstractions and
obsessions about past atrocities and missed
opportunities.

This is so, first because of the billions
of dollars sent to Israel from our taxes and,
more importantly, because "mainstream"
Jewish groups like the American Israeli
Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and
the American Jewish Committee consis-
tently trumpet their approval for even the
most outrageous Israeli policies while
claiming to speak for all American's con-
cerned with Israel's welfare.
It is time to show that these groups do

tism been more pressing . Campus debates
are mired in abstractions and obsessions
about past atrocities and missed)
opportunities.
In allowing this, we have, as Justice
Holmes would say, used a pound of his-
tory in place of an ounce of logic. Yet the
recipe for peace in the Middle East allows
for no such substitution. Jerome Segal's
talk tonight could mark a welcome return
to fundamentals in campus discussion.

Michigan kicker J.D. Carlson boots the
winning field goal in last weekend's 16-13
win over Ohio State. Michigan will play in
the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day.

Blameit on who.?
Milli Vanilli typify the music industry today

THE RECENT DISCOVERY THAT
Milli Vanilli, a popular Top-40 group,
never actually sang on their album has
shocked popular music fans and
solicited harsh criticism.
Though the group itself was
stripped of its Grammy award and has
been defamed by its once-dedicated
fans, the entire issue reflects more on
the hypocrisy of the more than 7 mil-
lion people that purchased the album
than on the group itself.
It is true that Milli Vanilli attempted
to dupe the American public into
believing they were actually musicians,
and that should be recognized. On the
other hand, the entertaining qualities of
the group are in reality no different
now than before.
The attraction to Milli Vanilli was
based in the first place on the enter-
tainment value of the music, dancing
and overall showmanship of the group.
These things remain unchanged by the
knowledge that they don't sing, yet the
opinions of the group's one-time fans
have reversed, and the careers of these.
two young men may very well be over.
The fact of the matter is, many very
popular "musicians" are not appealing
because of their singing, but because of

the overall entertainment they provide.
Large concert stage shows and intrigu-
ing music videos are more typical today
of popular artists than exceptional
singing ability. Many stars even en-
hance their voice quality through use of
synthesizer equipment, and in concerts
and videos, the number of entertainers
who lip-sync is overwhelming.
Yet, these celebrities still sell mil-
lions of records, not to mention concert
tickets. Their lack of singing ability
doesn't compromise their entertainment
value. Pop stars like Janet Jackson and
Madonna are both great entertainers,
but their actual level of "musicianship"
remains to be seen.
The music industry today relies
more on showmanship than actual mu-
sical quality. The populace is aware of
this and has continued to patronize the
artists despite.
If any blame is to be placed in the
case of Milli Vanilli, it must be on the
American public. If non-musicianship
is not worthy of support in the case of
this group, then it should not be wor-
thy of support at all.
For if this criterion for support were
applied universally, many more artists
would suffer a fate similar to this duo.

Daily gives erroneous
story of ACT-UP rift
To the Daily:
The Daily news article detailing the re-
cent split in ACT-UP/Ann Arbor
(11/9/90) along with the editorial piece au-
thored by Patrice Maurer and David
Rosenberg, leaders of the right-wing split
in ACT-UP/Ann Arbor contain so many
factual errors, distortions, and outright lies
as to warrant an immediate reply on the
part of the Revolutionary Workers League
(RWL) to set the record straight.
The overwhelming majority of quotes
in the article were given to supporters of
the right-wing. This includes both sup-
porters of the RWL and those not in the
RWL, including an Adrian 17 defendant
active with the defense campaign.
The issue is political. Unlike the
Maurer/Rosenberg clique, the RWL be-
lieves that the fight against AIDS can
only be won by linking the fight against
the AIDS crisis with a mass militant
movement against racism, both in health-
care and throughout society. At the Oct. 4
ACT-UP meeting, Patrice Maurer repeat-
edly stated that "whites can only organize
whites" and that in order to fight racism,
the AIDS action movement should instead
focus on confronting the individual racism
of white activists.
The RWL sees racism, anti-lesbian/gay
oppression, imperialism, and poor health-
care worldwide as all having their roots in
the capitalist system, a system that has al-
lowed AIDS to spread virtually unchecked
around the globe. It will take far more
than individual consciousness raising to
defeat these institutions.
M)irp Arand nrIflnnk a..n nnnane- n .. .1-. aa

against this sham were told by Patrice
Maurer that they too had to leave!
Both Maurer and Rosenberg lie and
claim that the RWL "disrupted" the Oct.
18 ACT-UP meeting by bringing in over
30 people "who had never before been,
mostly straight people" to try and "take
over." Most of the people who attended
that meeting were in fact lesbian and gay
AIDS activists, both Black and white, so-
cialist and non-socialist, all of whom have
either been active in ACT-UP/Ann Arbor,
ACT-NOW/Detroit, ACT-UP/New York,
at groups at U-M and a few new activists.
All came to express their outrage over the
authoritarian, illegal purge of the RWL
and over the attempt to impose a liberal
racist line upon ACT-UP. The Daily
echoes the lie of "disruption" by reporting
it as fact.
Maurer and two of her supporters
walked out of the Oct. 18 meeting just as
a few left-wing AIDS activists walked in
prior to the start of the meeting. Seeing
that they lacked the votes to maintain their
political dictatorship, they quickly bolted
before the start of the meeting.
Maurer, Rosenberg, and several of their
supporters have held private meetings in
private homes threatening to call the po-
lice in order to bar political opponents.
Instead of allowing for healthy political
debate, Maurer and Rosenberg were quite
willing to try and hijack the organization.
The RWL has never tried to "forcibly" set
an agenda in ACT-UP, LaGROC, or any
other organization which we've been part
of.
We have, however, always asserted our
democratic right to make proposals and
agree or disagree with other proposals in
order to build real united front actions.
MaAnr~r ani nA ?,c wIu-ra id(wAw, ,the T ail.A

disagreements can be debated and voted on
and democratic decision-making is carried
out. We urge Patrice Maurer, David
Rosenberg, and their supporters to return
to ACT-UP and build a democratic move-
ment.
Short of that, we repeat our challenge
for a full public debate on the real issues
of the split. To those who care about
fighting racism, anti-lesbian/gay bigotry,
sexism, and the AIDS crisis: join ACT-
UP now. We meet every Thursday at 7:30
in the Michigan Union.
Paul L.efrak
Lewis adds 'breath of
fresh air' to 'M' band
To the Daily:
The sports editorial of November 12 by
Mike Gill shows a complete lack of un-
derstanding and knowledge of the world of
marching bands. It's unfortunate that such
uninformed opinions are allowed to be
presented without rebuttal.
Gill has painted the new director of the
Marching Band, Gary Lewis, as a revolu-
tionary in his treatment of the Band. All I
can say is that it's about time. I marched
in the U-M Band for four years, and have
taught high school marching bands for 17
years, and Lewis is the first breath of fresh
air to be brought into Michigan Stadium
in years.
Unfortunately, the Michigan audience
sees little of what is possible with march-
ing bands, because all the Big Ten bands
are performing in the Dark Ages. Gill
would have us go back to drawing steam
engines on the field and playing "Choo
Choo Charlie." Those times are long