Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Monday, October 7, 1991

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420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
Edited and Managed
by Students at the
University of Michigan

ANDREW K. GOTTESMAN
Editor in Chief
STEPHEN HENDERSON
Opinion Editor

I',

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.
MSA
Assembly was right to implement automatic recognition

WE~ ACCEPT':
MA STERCA RU
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CAN THEY
p 0 THAT?

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n the past, the Michigan Student Assembly
(MSA) has often been the battleground for
disputes over the policies of student organizations.
Two years ago, the Cornerstone Christian Fel-
lowship (CCF) temporarily lost its MSA recognition
because of policies which allegedly kept Gays and
Lesbians out of leadership positions. Last year,
MSA almost denied recognition to the student
group Michigamua because of ceremonies which
were offensive to Native Americans.
While numerous organizations behave in ways
that are offensive to people for one reason or
another, it was never appropriate for MSA to make
moral judgements about the policies and practices
of student groups. The Daily applauds MSA's
decision last Tuesday to put an end to its role as the
arbiter of "politically correct" behavior.
MSA has instituted a policy of automatic rec-
ognition of student organizations. They have done
away with vague anti-discrimination and anti-
hazing policies, and retained simple guidelines
regarding non-profit-making and student partici-
pation.

Students have the right to assemble in groups
with other students who share their interests. Stu-
dents come to the University from a variety of
social and economic backgrounds and hold a va-
riety of different political and religious beliefs.
MSA is in no position to censor the behavior of
students by abridging their right to assemble.
MSA is funded by student fees, and is therefore
responsible for serving the interests of all students.
Moreover, it is in no one's interest to attack dis-
crimination through de facto censorship. MSA
should use free and rational discourse as a means
for addressing these issues.
MSA's leadership deserves commendation for
the long-overdue move to automatic recognition,
though it is worth pointing out that the idea origi-
nally came, not from the ruling Conservative
Coalition, but from the now-defunct Abolitionist
Party.
Indeed, the conservatives originally opposed
the proposal for being too radical for the students
to accept. Nonetheless, theirrole in finally pushing
the measure through is appreciated.

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0

Daily errs in Taiwan story

OSU Lantern
Student newspaper deserves complete editorial freedom
ewspapers play an important role in our soci- While neither of the paper's regulatory policies
Nety: They act as a watchdog on government, is new, we commend the Lantern staff for now
record history and provide entertainment, among asserting their editorial freedom.
other duties. Student newspapers have an added The issue is not one of financial control, or -
reponsibility - education. for that matter - the First Amendment. Every
In order to carry out these duties, editors of newspaper is to some extent managed by non-
re.wspapers, student or professional, need to have editorial personnel. In the Daily's case, the Board
tjie freedom to print whatever they see fit. We at the for Student Publications fulfills this role; at the
Daily have fought numerous battles to protect this . Lantern, it's the School of Journalism.
right. Now, we join the Ohio State Lantern in that But it is imperative that these "parental" bodies
paper's current battle for editorial freedom. grant journalists the leeway to make their own
Last week, controversy erupted in Columbus decisions, and their own mistakes. Editorial free-
over who has the right to edit final copy. The paper, dom is the fundamental principle by which news-
which is run as a journalism class, is governed by papers operate.
a policy manual that contains contradictory rules. To violate this freedom is to violate the moral
One states that the faculty advisor has the au- basis upon which the First Amendment was
t'ority to withhold any copy that is "potentially founded.
libelous" from going into the paper. Another says, Taken literally, the First Amendment protects
"the editor has final authority on all decisions on little editorial freedom. It does not stop the State of
wviether a story should be covered." Michigan - or The Ohio State University - from
Last Tuesday - to protest the faculty advisor's censoring the media. But it embodies the principle
Claim that she could browse through the paper's of the free exchange of ideas and thought.
stories and spike those she felt were libelous-the Regardless of the Lantern's structure, and
student editors ran one story about the conflict and whether staffers get graded for stories they write,
filled the rest of the paper's pages with repetitions the paper needs to enjoy the same freedom all
ofthe First Amendment to the Constitution. others do.
ssm
Z ion ism is not racism l

To the Daily:
Regarding the article on the
protest by Taiwanese students
("'U' Taiwanese Students
Protest Chinese Interference in
Taiwan," Daily. Sept. 26,
1991), I would like to com-
ment on two points.
In the first place, the protest
was not aimed at the Center for
Chinese Studies, as the article
strangely implied. The protest
was, in fact, aimed at a visiting
Republic of China representa-
tive.
The Republic of China is
led by the Guomingdang
(KMT) political party. The
representative, Raymond Y.F.
Pai, of the Chicago Offfice of
the Coordination Council For
North American Affairs, was
at the Center for Chinese
Studies in order to give a talk
covering both recent develop-
ments on Taiwan and the state
of affairs between the island
and the Chinese mainland.
As a student at the center, I
can assure the Daily that our
department is not a campus
KMT headquarters. The Daily
seemed intent on conveying
this impression in its article.

As a student at the
center, I can assure
the Daily that our
department is not a
campus KMT head-
quarters. The Daily
seemed intent on
conveying this
impression in its
article.
Secondly, in 1949, the
KMT government retreated
from the Chinese mainland to
the island of Taiwan. Retreat
followed victory on the
mainland by communist
forces. On Taiwan, the KMT
established The Republic of
China on Taiwan. This
government in limbo claimed
to represent not just Taiwan
but the entire Chinese nation.
The fervent desire of the KMT
became, and remains, the
reunification of Taiwan with
the mainland and the reinstate-
ment of the KMTleadership
over all China. Therefore, it is
not a question of the KMT
wanting "improved relations

with China" as the Daily put it.
The KMT, in fact, wants to
return to the mainland and
regain a position of leadership
lost in 1949. I would like to
think that the Daily's point
about the KMT wanting
"improved relations" with the
mainland was an effort at wry
understatement. But I doubt that
this is a real possibility.
The problem is that there are
some on Taiwan who do not
want reunification with the
mainland. Moreover, they view
the KMT as a occupying force
that does not value the interests
of native Taiwanese. The
question of Taiwan indepen-
dence is a complicated, emo-
tional issue and I do not feel
qualified to even begin to try
and explain it.
Nevertheless, if the Daily
intends to report on demonstra-
tions relating to the indepen-
dence movement or the status of
the Republic of Taiwan China, I
feel very strongly that it needs
to do a far better job of it!
Peter Davidson
graduate student,
Center for Chinese Studies

0


U.N. should heed Bush's call to
Two weeks ago in the General Assembly of the
United Nations, President George Bush called
for the repudiation of Resolution 3379, the U.N.
statement which declares that Zionism is racism.
This resolution does not discuss specific land
areas such as the West Bank or Gaza Strip and it
does not discuss specific political parties or mili-
tary actions of the Israeli government (there are
other U.N. resolutions that do this). U.N. 3379
declares simply that the idea of Zionism - the
belief that the Jewish people, as a nation, have a
right to their own state - is racist.
Bush is right. Zionism is not racism and the time
is ripe to repeal the hateful resolution declaring
that it is.
Zionism is the idea that led to the establishment
of a home for the Jewish people. This idea had been
the focus of Jewish history for thousands of years.
Itwas not until after World War II that the global
;cpmmunity finally acknowledged that the need for
a-Jewish state was not merely one of comfort and
-Cenvenience, but was indeed one of life and death.
Since then the U.N.'s commitment to self-de-
termination has been applied selectively and un-
fairly to different nations, and at the same time
many actions of the Israeli government have vio-
lated the principles of humanity upon which the
state was founded. These patterns, although ex-
'&mely important, are not relevent to the Zionism
isracism issue. There is an important difference
6elween the ideology of Zionism and the specific
actions of the United Nations or the Israeli gov-

repudiate Resolution 3379
emnment.
Twenty-seven years after Israeli independence,
a coalition of Arab states and third-world clients of
the Soviet Union passed U.N. 3379 in response to
actions of the Israeli government. Rather than
criticizing the specific actions of specific political
parties in Israel, this coalition of states thought it
fitting to condemn the entire existence of Israel.
The United Nations was founded on the prin-
ciples of self-determination for nations and equal
representation in the global community. Resolution
3379 is an affront to these principles and an obstacle
to peace.
The United States has always opposed this
resolution. Our 'eaders did not initiate its repeal
until last week for several reasons. This measure
may assuage Israel's indignation regarding the
United States' delay of Israel's request for loan
guarantees. In light of the peace process, it is a
sound diplomatic move. Moreover, with the end of
the Cold War and stronger Arab allies as a result of
the Persian Gulf War, it is more likely than ever that
a repudiation of the 1975 resolution will pass.
Whatever President Bush's motives, his move
is good. To equate Zionism with the evil of racism
is to distort history and forget the plight of Jews,
who were historically at the mercy of other states.
But morality aside, the UN cannot claim to seek
peace and at the same time challenge Israel's right
to exist. By repealing this resolution uncondition-
ally, the United Nations will enhance its credibility
and serve the cause of peace.

Daily editorial
was (gasp) good
To the Daily:
I completely agree with the
Daily's editorial from Thursday,
Oct. 3. ("Marching menace: Band
makes too much noise - and gets
away with it!"). Also an annoy-
ance is the lack of respect by band
members in crossing streets and
the traffic jams created by on-
lookers at the practice field.
Thanks for airing an opinion
that I share.
On another subject - I was.
struck today by the coverage
about the CBS tour, and the
comments made by both the UAC
representive and Interim Vice
President for Student Services
Mary Ann Swain.
I think that the Elias Brothers
booths that stand outside the
football stadium are also
commerical, but they will never
be removed. I think we can find
many examples of a commerical
nature that occur on campus.
Keep putting the fingers to the
keyboard and cranking out those
editorials.
Arthur McViccar
Students need
to take action
To the Daily,
I am responding to the trend of
abuse of police authority on
campus, lack of respect for
student opinion in changing the
Michigan Union policy, the
infrastructure fee, and other cases
of the University administration
steam-rolling student interests.
The administration works hard
for the University. As students,
we. have to understand that.

to protest. That lost us a lot of
credibility with the general public
and the administration. And we
have cops anyway, who have (and
use) guns.
Current MSA President James
Green has no credibility problem,
because he doesn't do anything.
- MSA investigates and passes
resolutions of protest, to be sure,
but until it can represent student
concerns to the administration
effectively, it will continue to be
greeted by numbing student
apathy.
If we care to change things,
we have to talk to the administra-
tion where they will listen -
finance. A group of students
writing letters to influential,
generous alumni, explaining what
is happening to their alma mater,
discussing the decline of freedom
on campus, and appealing for help
can make a difference. Money
talks.
If the administration won't
listen to us about our concerns,
we have to find people they will
listen to. I'd rather pay for a few
stamps than for a bullet-proof vest
and a gas mask.
Brian Kalt
LSA sophomore
Cough, cough...
To the Daily:
This letter is for all of the
students that ruined Professor
Peterson's Psychology 172 lecture
last with their hacking coughs.
Though I usually leave that
lecture in a good mood, one day
last week, I, as well as many other
students, left the auditorium
extremely annoyed. It's difficult
to hear everything in there as it is,
but with the addition of at least 80
students hacking away it becomes

pack for the next time.
Juliet Rogers
LSA sophomore

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