Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, December 6, 1990
EDITED ANI MANAGED BY STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
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Viewpoint
t[At4:'PLUG'
THlE VAfl?
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.
'4%
No Israel-Iraq link
Connection is Hussein's attempt to rally support
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CULF
E VER SINCE HIS INVASION OF
Kuwait, Saddam Hussein has lost sup-
port from the other Arab nations. Many
nations of the world, including Arab
countries, have joined, at least in spirit,
the forces calling for Hussein's with-
drawal from Kuwait. In the attempt to
win back some allies and possibly rally
:up new ones, Hussein has linked the
Gulf crisis with Israel, demanding that
any U.S.-Iraq talks on the invasion of
Kuwait also discuss the Israeli-Pales-
tinian conflict.
Politically, this was a smart move
by Hussein, whose alternatives have
been largely exhausted at this point.
Hussein is aware of the continued exis-
tence of anti-Israel sentiment in the
Arab world, accentuated by Arab
losses in the intense fighting during the
Six-Day and Yom Kippur Wars. The
peace treaty between Egypt and Israel
in 1979 helped to ease tensions some-
what, but resulted in Egypt being
shunned by many within the Arab
world. Iraq does not want a similar
treatment because of the present con-
flict. So the use of Israel as a bargain-
ing chip is a way for Iraq to save face
with its neighbors.
By involving the Israeli-Palestinian
question in talks, a link is created be-
tween supporting the United States -
the major proponent of actions in the
Gulf - and Israel. In this light, Arab
nations now a part of Operation Desert
Shield may be forced to choose be-
tween helping the United States and
thereby Israel, or refusing to aid the
U.S. actions in the Gulf. Arab sup-
porters of the United States, like Saudi
Arabia and Syria, might then be forced
to consider the possible repercussions
of their involvement with the United
States and could consider withdrawing
from the war effort.
But, as wise as Hussein's move is
politically, it makes no sense logically
with the issues at hand. The problems
in Israel do not relate in any way to the
invasion of Kuwait. Hussein is simply
using this case as a tool to gain support
for his increasingly difficult campaign
in Kuwait. By proclaiming this an Arab
war against Israel and its supporters
(namely the United States), Hussein
hopes to rally the divided Middle East
countries into helping him stay in con-
trol of Kuwait.
Bush Administration officials were
quick to recognize Hussein's inten-
tions, denouncing any attempt to con-
nect the two issues. By pointing out
Hussein's motives, the United States is
enabling the world to see that Hussein
is not the confident and well-equipped
general the Iraqi government has de-
scribed. He is trying to get as much
support as he can find, realizing that
large-scale American military action is
almost certain.
Hussein should be condemned for
his attempt to stir up more conflict than
he already has; but to further compli-
cate matters by encouraging anti-Israeli
sentiment is not helping the problem.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is an
important international concern, but it
should not be linked through propa-
ganda to the Gulf confrontation, a sep-
arate crisis in the world.
_a_
How did he come up with his figure?
Work-study
Michigan senate failed
THE MICHIGAN STATE SENATE
concluded the 1990 session without
addressing a new work-study bill
which would have allowed students in
work-study programs to work for
community service and other non-profit
organizations while receiving full
funding from the state for their efforts.
Currently, non-profit organizations
are required to pay 20 percent of the
salaries of students on work-study.
This is extremely difficult for many
non-profit organizations, many of
which operate on scarce budgets. The
burden of paying for volunteers keeps
some organizations from participating
in this program and limits student vol-
unteer opportunities.
Under the new bill, which passed
the House last Wednesday, the state
would use already available funds, so-
called "under-utilized" in the budget, to
cover all of these costs. This increased
funding would allow many more non-
profit groups to employ work-study
students. Students could then apply
their skills to more productive volunteer
work instead of what many consider to
be menial University jobs, like posi-
tions at dorm information centers,
computer centers, and offices. By ex-
panding the volunteer aspects of work-
study, the house bill would allow stu-
dents to work in an area of their interest
or expertise, or serve a worthy cause,
rather than providing a student labor
force for the University.
The Senate Government Appropria-
tions Committee stated that only orga-
nizations which are tax-exempt under
the tax code are eligible to participate in
this program. There are currently 140
students working at 22 different non-
profit organizations in the work study
program. The office of financial aid
expects these numbers to rise for the
next school year. With the increased
funding provided by this bill, the num-
-ber of participating organizations
to address important bill
would skyrocket. This means that un-
der the bill, more students would have
been able to work for such worthy or-
ganizations as homeless shelters, recy-
cling centers, food banks, and mental
health and senior citizen facilities.
After the bill passed the House last
week by a large majority, there was
hope that it would speed through the
Senate before the end of this session.
Unfortunately, the bill was sent to the
Government Operations Committee,
which killed it.
This is a painful example of a good
opportunity wasted. Senators claimed
that this bill had the popularity to easily
pass in the Senate. The funding for the
changes was already in the state's
work-study program budget. Senate
Majority Leader John Engler (R-Mt.
Pleasant) recently won his gubernato-
rial bid pledging that he would empha-
size education while not raising taxes.
This bill would have been a feasible
way to accomplish these often contra-
dictory goals. But according to the
Michigan Collegiate Coalition, the stu-
dent group representing 15 public uni-
versities in Michigan that forged this
legislation, Engler and the Senate Ma-
jority Floor Leader Phil Arthurhultz (R-
Whitehall), both of whom are members
of the Government Operations
Committee, are largely responsible the
bill's demise.
It is disheartening when popular and
sensible legislation is kept from the Se-
nate floor. Our representatives should
know that most people want to volun-
teer, they just need a push in the right
direction. It is likely that students, once
involved, would continue to volunteer
for the rest of their lives. In this era of
inflated budgets on the national, state
and local level, government may plan
to make cuts in critical education pro-
grams. The next Senate should make
this bill, and education in general, a top
priority.
To the Daily:
The central administration of the Uni-
versity has recently addressed the Univer-
sity community about misinformation
concerning the deputized police force on
campus. We have been told that the cost
of the police force being formed is in the
range of $600,000 not the $2.5 million
previously quoted. President Duderstadt is
a very thoughtful administrator, and he is
surrounded by some of the best business
minds in the country. We must therefore
assume that his cost estimates are accurate
and not meant to deceive.
I suspect that the $600,000 figure is
derived from multiplying the 24 persons
on the police force by an average cost of
$25,000 per person. That comes to a
neatly rounded $600,000. Since the Ad-
ministration does not want to contribute
to the misinformation it accuses its stu-
dents of spreading, I must assume this
$25,000 includes not only base salary, but
also covers the full University benefit
package, which includes, among other
things, retirement benefits, medical insur-
ance premiums, life insurance, the costs of
vacation and sick days, and so forth. It
also must include the cost of office space
and equipment, squad car acquisition and
maintenance, uniforms, weapons, radio,
and other high-tech equipment necessary
for a modern police force. Other costs in-
cluded would be additional liability insur-
ance, training, both start-up and in-service,
supervision and oversight, projected over-
time pay, so forth and so on.
In light of all these expenses, the aver-
age cost of $25,000 per police officers is a
good deal. It does, however, suggest that
we expect to find people willing to take
on tremendous duties at bargain basement
salaries. My question is simply this: Will
such low base pay coupled with the reward
of being associated with such a great insti-
tution be enough to attract the brightest
and the best.
Tom Croxton
Professor of Social Work
Gay discrimination is
right for U.S. forces
To the Daily:
This is in response to "Marines dis-
criminate by sexual orientation"
(11/26/90) by Martin Roscone. I wish to
correct Roscone's assumptions.
Roscone's assessment that the United
States Marine Corps discriminates due to
sexual orientation is correct. However, all
United States Armed Forces deny the entry
of homosexuals into military service. This
is done unilaterally, not by the Marines
exclusively.
Currently, the United States Govern-
ment does not recognize homosexual
rights as legal ones. This is a correct posi-
tion to take since no where in the United
States Constitution does it say that homo-
sexuals are accorded the rights of hetero-
sexuals. Until this change is made
(hopefully it never will be), homosexuals
cannot, and should not, be protected under
the same laws that the rest of society is
protected under.
Secondly, Roscone asserts that His-
panic people have been slaughtered by the
United States Armed Forces, especially the
U.S. Marines. This may have been true
during the Spanish-American War, but the
U.S. Marines have been using Hispanics
as an integ-rl nart of the U nited State
it is a choice and not a tendency from
birth) then he should accept the conse-
quences of his actions. Roscone needs to
stop and see that he is perfectly welcome
to his sexual preferences, but he then must
pay the price. If being unacceptable to the
United States Marine Corps is the price,
then he should just accept it and stop mak-
ing wild accusations. In short, Roscone,
be whatever you want, just stop being so
closed-minded.
Michael J. Corbin
_ LSA junior
Don't let us go to war
To the Daily:
We are on the brink of hideous vio-
lence which, if allowed to happen, must
mean the deaths of tens of thousands of
innocent Iraqi men, women, and children,
and tens of thousands more young Ameri-
cans.
There are four reasons for this: (1) the
illegal invasion of Kuwait by Saddam
Hussein's forces; (2) the absurd and arro-
gant "loss of patience" of Saddam Hus-
sein's forces; (3) the absurd and silly "loss
of patience" of one silly macho man in
Washington; and (4) the dumb quiescence
of American citizens like you and me.
.r1 - '- -
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gets and only recognizes the turmoil and
destruction.
The trained military personnel involved
in the Israeli army, the Tzahal, are warned
not to fire unless they are in immediate,
life-threatening danger. Those individuals
who do not abide by this standard are
severely reprimanded by their commanders
and other high-ranking officials. This
principle protects their worldly image; Is-
rael does not want to be viewed, by the
rest of the world, as the aggressor or the
"bad guy."
If I were to ask any person on the street
if they believed Israel was acting cruelly to
the Palestinians, most of them would re-
ply in the affirmative. This ignorant and
unjustifiable response is due to the slanted
media coverage the individual comes into*
contact with on a daily basis. The only,
way any person can become world,
"literate" is through the newspapers, the
magazines, and the television; the content
of news relayed to them is what they be,
lieve is actually occurring in Israel.
While I know there is not too much I
can one-handedly change, I feel that the
public should be made aware of the actual
events happening in Israel. Do not try t
spoon feed the American society off of 0
silver platter; tell us the facts! We are an(
advanced "civilization" with intelligence,
so please do not insult it by placing us
back into the Middle Ages by screening
our potential thoughts.
Let me and my fellow Americans make
our own decisions about the world. The
press cannot correct their errors made
while slanting the news; however, the me-
dia can change their style and give us all'
the facts. The American population de
serves the right to know the truth about
Israel; it is not in a constant state of rioft;
but rather, a beautiful country, unfortu-
nately in a hot pot, with much to offer a
world that has made them look so inhu-
mane.
Jennifer Spiegelman
LSA first year student
Did you vote Nov. 6?.
To the Daily:
Lately, I've noticed all the energy that
has been spent on chalking, demonstrat-
ing, and the posting of flyers in efforts to
get the Regents to "listen" to us. Well, I
certainly hope that the same people who
are upset, showed up to the polls on
November 6 with the same enthusiasm.
Two seats on the Board of Regents
were open, and there were six, not four (a
point overlooked by the Daily) candidates
vying for the position. Think about it.
Reginald Humphrey
LSA senir
Video reviewer misses
the point of the film
To the Daily:
How does Mark Binelli ("The Rocky
Horror Picture Show" (11/29/90)) expect
to appreciate the film without the Rocky
Horror Picture Show Experience? His
first mistake was watching it alone. His
second was doing it on video.
The reason the film has been released
15 years later on video is that the Rocky
Horror Experience can't be reduced to
one dimensional, single viewing, which is
exactly what he did. The movie must be
taken as a whole: experiences, interac-o
a
The United Nations has established a
carefully designedand thoughtfully orga-
nized policy of sanctions to force Saddamn
Hussein's withdrawal from Kuwait.
Meanwhile, George Bush presumes in
best Nero-style to become the world's dic-
tator - and his only policy is petulance.
And Americans like you and me sit and
watch. We will be responsible - must be
held responsible by historians of democ-
racy - if George Bush is allowed to begin
the war he so much wants to start in the
Middle East
The only people who will be more to
blame than you and me will be the toads
of the American media.
Bert G. Hornback
Professor of English
Media skews proper
perception of Israel
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