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 .. ...... .... ............. .... ................. . ...................... ....................... . .... ................ . ...................... . .............. ............. 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 I " " s " M """ " tw: ti w "tr wY ', ", "" M :ta "f .may{". afa " l 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 - '- - .don't like what you see ? Tell ouir eaders what you thiink. Write to the Michigan Daily at 420 Maynard Street, or send your letters via MTS to "Michigan Daily." 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 M 'h;.,^ ,, , i i ow -waaer A~a G4+s k4w maA r cr