Page 4 -The Michigan Daily --Monday, December 10, 1990 EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 2 0 NOAH FINKEL ditor 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. $I\ T WE EA-J 1< 1I Q Vk TRE! S The other cheek University could help alleviate homeless crisis Viewpoint LL>%7A EfLQ-T}*/S IS Atl1ArA tt LIKE To MA ODER A -REy PZEZEA A&Am DIK t& F YouET AA- tfE5 E mvtC &S L.D ) r') 1e e CDT -A MA ,j E- CD"Al~N S A?'J) ' -5 c0-} I wtES I j B .. # t t t J 4 \k+y\ T / 1 - THE ARREST OF A HOMELESS MAN last Tuesday night for trespassing (i.e. sleeping) in the Michigan Union brought to light an issue of primary concern on campus and in the com- munity at large. Despite what the Ann Arbor police claim, it is evident they ar- rested him not because he wasn't a stu- dent, but because he was homeless. It is clearly a question of who he was, rather than what he was doing. Non-students have traditionally been allowed to utilize Union facilities, and have been openly welcomed to do so. Many functions that take place in the Union are even sponsored by members of the community, and the eateries in the MUG area are patronized to a large extent by non-students. The incident Tuesday night therefore represents a marked inconsistency in Union policy. If the Union is open to members of the community, and stands as a facility for student and community use, as Vice President for Student Services Mary Ann Swain explained during her open forums, then it should be open to all members of the com- munity, not a select group. The University's treatment of the homeless is shameful, but the high cost of living in Ann Arbor, compounded with the fact that the city administration is more interested in parking structures than affordable housing, lies at the root of the situation. Until the city recog- nizes and effectively combats home- lessness, none of us can ignore the city's ever-increasing homeless popu- lation. Although the University alone can- not solve the problem, there are mea- sures it can take to help. Opening Uni- versity buildings at night during the winter months to provide shelter for the homeless would be a start. This is a common practice in Washington, D.C., where federal buildings often remain open at night for the homeless. Though not a long-term solution, this is a posi- tive step which addresses the immedi- acy of the problem by assuring that people don't freeze to death on the streets. The University~' could also build more student housing. Becausebstu- dents, for the most part, cannot obtain housing in University residence halls after their second year, they move off campus. This has effectively driven up housing costs in the city, and therefore contributed to the rate of homelessness. The University, as an integral part of Ann Arbor, must do its part to ad- dress the societal problems plaguing the city. Being blind to the homeless, and marginalizing their status as resi- dents of the community by ousting them from the Union, only makes the University culpable in perpetuating the problem Only through the cooperation of the entire community will the reality of homelessness be dissolved, but it is in- cumbent on the city council and the University to use their resources to lead the way. 4A S C -C S! JMC l , a P '1 t , , .,, , " ' 1 . it ;,'- n V I t, t a . t University officials abuse community trust By Eric Ferguson, Andy Melnick, and Benjamin Phillips Recently, many have been critical of the University's attempt to "improve communications" with the community, including Mary Ann Swain's forums and letters from James Duderstadt and Provost Gilbert Whitaker. We feel that most of these have missed perhaps the most insult- ing aspect of this sham attempt: the abuse of community trust. Swain, Whitaker, and the Dude assure us that there is no intent to use deputized University officers to silence or intimidate dissenting students. The Dude wrote in his letter to students: "This fear is groundless; and frankly, it makes no sense... we value, respect, and enforce (the right to express such dissent)." Really, the administration can use their police however they choose, so their assurances are only promises which rely on the assumed trust of faculty and students. Actually, the University is infamous for its effectiveness at curbing dissent. The efficiency of the anti-chalk units, armed with high pressure water hoses, is amaz- ing, but they don't stop at chalk. On Nov. 16, they proceeded to soak protestors' per- sonal belongings as well (according to the Ann Arbor News). Anti-chalk units even make "arrests," asking students to assume the proverbial "position" against their trucks. On Nov. 19, during the teach-in at the Union, employees at the Student Activi- ties Building warned tour groups of prospective students and their parents not to visit the Union or Diag, implying that they may be in physical danger from dis- senting students there. guard as security forces video taped the' students involved. While Swain could provide no justifi cation for this action, Dude does: "(The University cops will) respond to requests for assistance in dealing with potential felonious assaults and suspected presence of weapons, but they will not be on rou-@ tine patrol except in special circum- stances." What constitutes special circun- stances? Dissenting students? Are thes' the students who will be subject to th' "other University sanctions" mentioned, but not specified, in the interim drug and Somehow, Dude's promises are not reassuring to us. In light of past events, we are insulted by his frivolous attempts to take advantage of our trust. Computing centers Dude's letter and Swain's forums have also "established" some guidelines as to how their deputies will be used. Swain said at her first forum on Nov. 27 that University deputies would only be called in during felonious crimes. This promise was broken only two days later at a peace- ful funeral for students' rights on Nov. 29. At least one armed deputized officer stood- alcohol policy? Swain has conceded, in the first forum and a personal MTS message, that a description of these special bonus sanctions is unavailable. Somehow, Dude's promises are not re=: assuring to us. It is tempting to believe that he is best able to watch out for our interests. In light of past events, we ar@ insulted by his frivolous attempts to take advantage of our trust. Reduced hours show skewed budget priorities THE UNIVERSITY'S DECISION TO cut computing center hours due to fi- nancial restraints is another example of misguided spending priorities. Begin- ning Jan. 9, the first day of classes, several of the computing centers' hours will be severely restricted for the first month of the term. There has been a panic on campus because a substantial number of stu- dents will be affected by such a deci- sion. Although some students own computers, a majority use the centers for class work, including paper writ- ing, printing, class conferencing, and sending messages via the Michigan Terminal System (MTS). Because of the University's budget deficit, the administration must priori- tize and withhold funding from th~ie least important areas. The situation be- comes more difficult when the admin- istration is out of touch with students and does not view students and student services as a priority. This is a question of how tuition and state funding are spent, not whether it is available. The administration used statistical data to determine the computer centers' busiest and slowest times. It is inevitable that there will be more com- puter use during finals then in the be- ginning of the term, but that does not justify cutting funding for less busy times. This greatly needed service, for which students pay $200 yearly, is not the place to maximize costs. The cut in hours has a number of ramifications: Because of the limited hours, students can expect longer lines as ev- eryone is forced to use the computer centers at the same time. The large number of students who work primar- ily late at night will be funnelled to only two 24-hour centers, NUBS and UNYN. Now that it has been established that computing centers are not a fund- ing priority, students can expect addi- tional cuts in the future as the Univer- sity's budget contracts even more. The safety factor: Late at night, women will have to walk farther to the nearest computing center. For instance, many students in East Quad use the 611 Church Street computing center at night because it- is only two blocks away. Angell Hall is also closed, a second place that is centrally located and well lit. Unfortunately, one must travel either to NUBS or the Union, which, by the way, are both smaller than either the Angell or Church cen- ters. The University must view students and their work as a priority; too often, money is spent in areas where students do not benefit. For example, the Uni- versity's bloated bureaucracy has grown at more than five times the rate of the faculty or student body in the last five years. The University cannot jus- tify the size of its administration, and unneeded pencil pushers should be axed before widely used computing centers. The decision to discontinue funding necessary to maintain the centers is in- sulting to students, and shows great irresponsibility on the part of the ad- ministration. Students should voice their outrage by signing the petitions available in the computer centers or by writing to Vice President for Student Services Mary Ann Swain or President James Duderstadt. The writers are LSA students. Daily makes campus seem more liberal than it is To the Daily: I think it's about time someone at this university wrote a letter to this newspaper about something that is long overdue. I can summarize my main point in just one sentence: U-M is not nearly so liberal as you Daily staffers seem to think it is. Not even close. When I first came here at the beginning of September, the reputation of the Uni- versity as a place filled with left-wing lib- erals had me believing it to be the truth. And after three months here, I do agree that U-M is much more liberal than many other universities. But the way you people at the Daily write your stories, it is obvi- ous you think this university is more to the left than Perry Bullard (and he's so far to the left he's practically off the face of the earth). For some reason, the staffers find it necessary to write every single news story with the overall goal to create a contro- versy on campus. You have this ridiculous notion that all the students around here are on the edge of their seats reading the Daily and just waiting for something they can protest and demonstrate against. It is such an arrogant attitude. You Daily staffers have the idea in your heads that you have so much power around the University when the true case is the majority of the students couldn't give a rip one way or the other what is printed in the Daily. A good example would be the "controversy" over the deputization of campus police officers. About a week ago, around 150 students held a protest on the Diag, and the Daily, of course, came out with a huge story on it. Oooooooooooh! My, oh my, 150 students showed up for the rally! Let's see... by my calculations, that turns out to be around .4 percent of the student population. Doesn't a paltry turnout of .4 percent, in snite of the fact that there were flier all for being an ultra-liberal university be- cause of the vocal minority, who go around protesting everything imaginable. And I can guarantee I'm not the only one around here who feels this way. Most of the people around here care more about the Knicks than they do about police deputiza- tion and other such matters. The problem is, the Daily is an enthu- siastic part of that irritating "vocal minor- ity." Wake up. You're not as powerful as you perceive yourselves to be and the opinions you put into your news stories are your own, not ours. What we need around here is a real paper with unbiased views and just plain professionally done articles. Now, where is my latest copy of the Michigan Review? Jay McNeill First-year LSA student Young shirks duty by standing up students To the Daily: What if you had a civil rights move- ment and nobody showed up, including the key spokesperson of that alleged move- ment? Well, that's what it felt like Dec. 2 at Rackham. Coleman Young, the mayor who declared a few years back that he would not disarm Black Detroiters because. of the severe rift between that city and its suburbs, was supposed to speak and set., the agenda for the civil rights movement. of the 1990s. Instead he decided to cancel. If he had shown up, there would of. only been a handful of people to greet, him. The sad part is that only about half. of those in attendance were Black. Are there only 10 or 15 Black students- on this campus who are interested in a civil rights movement in this decade? Or, is it that having gotten one foot out of the door of bleak inner-city existence, they would turn their backs on such a move- - ment? These are some of the questions that went through my mind as I left Rack- ham auditorium Dec. 2. Let's hope that Sunday was not a lit- mus test for Black activism in this decade. After all, such a movement requires peo- ple, not just mean-sounding rap songs, garish necklaces and slogans! Michael James Monkman LSA junior _ SI~-PKKI (JUAflONAL . ..A D 16 t [ GSoA g F .