0
Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Tuesday, November 26, 1991
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 ANDREW K. GOTTESMAN
747-2814 Editor in Chief
Edited and Managed STEPHEN HENDERSON
by Students at the Opinion Editor
University of Michigan
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.
ROTC
E MU discrimination should prompt University action
An Eastern Michigan University (EMU) stu- move ROTC from campus, land grant institutions
II.dent recently filed a discrimination and ha- are prevented under federal law from doing so.
rassment complaint against the U.S. Army Reserve Under the Morril Act which established the nation's
Officers'Training Corps (ROTC) with the Univer- land grant institutions, including Michigan Statc
sity. Lee Neubeckcr, an EMU sophomore, claims University (MSU), schools must uphold "military
his military science professor harrassed him by tactics," which has been applied to mean the forced
making anti-homosexual remarks in class, continuation of ROTC.
Neubecker was forced to withdraw from ROTC The Military continues to purge homosexuals
after declaring on a form provided by the military from its ranks, with silent consent from the public,
that he was gay. This practice of systematic and Congress, and universities. No Congressional ac-
baseless discrimination against homosexuals can- tion has taken place since a Supreme Court ruling
not be endorsed by universities, including the upheld the right of the military to bar homosexuals.
University of Michigan. The majority of universities have given their tacit
Over 50 schools across the country are fighting approval because of the threat of losing military
to remove ROTC from their campuses. Harvard research spending
and many other schools have already expelled its g
ROTC program. The Michigan faculty voted last Considering the fact that the University of
yearo opos th ROC'santi-homosexual policy, Michigan received $13 million from the Department
yeatoi opodsus texpCso. Dept hswv of Defense last year, it is no wonder why the
protest, the ROTC continues to operate on campuses disrnatoy pactie.e ociiie hsbaaty
and maintains its discriminator policies.dsnmtrypatc.
These discrimiatory policies operate on an .Considering the University's supposed corn-
economic level as well. ROTC provides scholar- mitment to diversity and opposition to discrimi-
ships that cover tuition, room and board, books, nation expressed in the Michigan Mandate, thc
and stipends to all ofits students.For students from presence of ROTC is a glaring hypocritical state-
low-income families with limited resources ment. The University cannot let this discrimina-
available, ROTC is a valuable service. But forlow- tion continue. Only by the elimination of a bigoted
income homosexuals, this service is not an option. ROTC, can Michigan restore meaning to its empty
Despite the efforts of some universities to re- credo claiming equal protection for all.
Bush veto demonstrates contempt for women and doctors
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his week the Dallas Cowboys successfully
ended the winning streak of the Washington
Redskins. Unfortunately, Congress failed to end
the winning streak of Washington's other powerful
team: the Bush Administration. President Bush is
now 24 and 0, having successfully vetoed Con-
gress on every attempt he has made in his presiden-
tial career.
Lastweek's veto was perhaps the most disturbing
yet. Bush vetoed legislation that would have
overturned the notorious gag rule. The gag rule
refers to the decision of the Supreme Court last
May in Rust v. Sullivan that prohibits federally
funded medical clinics from discussing abortion
with their patients.
The issue of whether or not a medical profes-
sional should be permitted to discuss abortion with
pregnant women extends far beyond the question
of legalized abortion, and beyond the question of
whether or not federal funding should pay for
abortions.
Even many opponents of abortion recognize
the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship. Fed-
eral restrictions on a physician's ability to freely
discuss all medical options with a pregnant woman
violate the privacy of both parties. Moreover, such
restrictions infringe on a doctor's freedom of speech
and his or her professional code of ethics.
The gag rule accentuates the President's dis-
dain for the rights of women, the rights of the poor,
and the rights of minorities. While abortion and
abortion counseling will continue to be available
to women who can afford to pay forprivate medical
care, these freedoms will be denied to women who
use federally funded clinics. Thirty percent of
these women are under 20, and 80 percent of them.
are poor.
All women are entitled to basic privacy rights
and an unrestricted relationship with medical
professionals, regardless of the woman's race or
economic status. Bush's veto and his support of the
Rust v. Sullivan decision relegates basic freedom
to a commodity which only the well-to-do can
afford.
Congressional representatives who voted to
sustain the President's veto must also be held
accountable for the gag rule. Polls show that an
overwhelming 78 percent of Americans supported
the vetoed legislation.
President Bush and certain members of Con-
gress may have won the veto battle for the 24th
time, but they have failed 78 percent ofthe American
people.
When elected officials are so far out of touch
with popular opinion, the only solution is to vote
them out of office.
Look at issues
To the Daily:
It appears that the Daily has
become complicit with the
growing tendency to document
sensationalism rather than issues.
The Daily has repeatedly reported
petty bantering while neglecting
important issues relevant to the
election.
For instance, in the article on
the Progressive Party's fine for
allegedly defaming two indepen-
dent candidates, it is clear that it
is superficial logistics at work
rather than quality and substance
of message.
A real concern would be Van
Houweling's poster depicting a
man beating up the radicals with a
baseball bat. I find that image
explicitly violent and harassing. It
seems that a more appropriate
vehicle for such discourse would
have been to contend issues.
The reality is, these past two
election weeks have been con-
cerned with ambiguous and vague
Progressive bashing rather than
addressing agendas.
The Progressive Party wishes
to leave all this irrelevancy behind
and begin to discuss the issues.
Thus we have opted not to press a
suit against CC for their question-
able interviewing policies.
Lyda Ness
LSA senior and
former Progressive Party
Candidate for LSA
Daily blew it
To the Daily:
I would like to express my
deepest and sincerest thanks to the
Department of Public Safety
(DPS) for making the University a
safer and better place to both live
and work in. Thanks to their
efforts, people throwing marsh-
mallows (and we all know how
dangerous they can be) can now
be arrested for assault.
At least when college students
want to relax and have a good
time for a few hours after long
and arduous hours of studying,
their fun will quickly end and
undercover cops with fake IDs (I
guess the fine and jail sentence
for the fake IDs don't apply) shut
the party down. So what if the
DPS (or was it the Ann Arbor
Police Department (AAPD) _
their municipal counterparts)
advised residents to use 911 as a
party and noise violation line (so
what if lesserscrimes of assault
and robbery wait on hold).
To the Daily and to those who
support you, I now turn my
attention. While you are more
concerned with Cracker Barrel's
hiring policy against homosexuals
(what is the connection to the
University?), making a buck off
anti-Semitic ads, and worrying
about Ann Arbor's recognition of
same sex residences, you had the
chance for an uncontested and
open attack on the DPS and its
follies. You missed it.
You had the opportunity to
bring about a change of great
importance. But instead, you
floundered in the moments of
action and decision.
The power of the press is
awesome, but as long as you and
a few others have your own
private agenda to take care of, the
student body as a whole will
suffer. To the Daily and the DPS,
a sincere thank you for your
accomplishments.
Dan Reback
LSA first-year student
Kugh letter wrong
To the Daily:
I am writing in response to
E.Kugh's letter on Tuesday, Nov.
5. I am appalled and angered by
the ignorance exhibited in the
letter to the Daily. My reaction is
not simply due to the fact that I
am Jewish and have lost relatives
to the atrocities committed during
World War II. I am more dis-
turbed that any individual would
support such an obviously
unsubstantiated and uneducated
view when there is historical
evidence, personal accounts and
death tolls in the millions to
support the contrary.
E. Kugh tells us that he can't
substantiate what he is about to
write us, and that his parents have
long lost the letter his mother's
nephew wrote in moving. The
reason for Kugh's lack of
evidence is that there is none.
Whether or not the Holocaust
occurred is not up for question. It
did happen. The evidence is in the
concentration camp remains, the
personal accounts of survivors,
and the millions of missing Jews,
homosexuals, and other perse-
cuted individuals.
Perhaps if Kugh could show
me the letter he claims to have
seen, or any shred of evidence to
support his stand, then maybe I
would begin to entertain the idea
that the holocaust did not occur.
However, like other revisionist,
he can not.
My only reaction left after my
initial anger and disgust is to pity
Kugh and others who share his,
viewpoint. The revisionist
philosophy is nothing more than
oppressive, anti-semitic, racist
and generally unsubstantiated
viewpoint that does nothing more
than contribute to our already
troubled society.
Rebecca Glaser
LSA junior
01
Two-faced
Bush signs bill and tries to dismantle affirmative action
01
I n the past several weeks, America has seen a
resurgence of racial politics. David Duke, a
former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, finished
a highly publicized gubernatorial election with the
support of 55 percent of the Louisiana's white
voters. The turbulent election led to attempts by
Duke's fellow Republicans to distance themselves
from his racially divisive agenda.
Even George Bush, who sank to overtly racist
tactics in 1988 with his infamous Willy Horton
commercials, has taken drastic steps to show
America that he has compassion for the needs of
minorities.The Presidenthad a sudden and dramatic
turn of heart and decided to sign the Civil Rights
Bill of 1991.
This legislative measure will protect women,
minorities, and the disabled from discriminatory
hiring practices in the work-place. This protection
has been diluted recently by Reagan and Bush
appointees to the Supreme Court.
The President had previously vetoed similar
versions of the bill, calling them quota bills. Clearly,
the President's about-face has nothing to do with
any substantive change in the new bill, but rather
with the pressure that Bush is under to distance
himself from the racial politics of David Duke.
Under the circumstances, Bush's belated sign-
ing of the bill should have been emphatic and
unconditional. Surprisingly, Bush, an otherwise
cunning politician, stumbled and allowed his ad-
ministration's true racist tendencies to be exposed.
Prior to Thursday's scheduled signing of the bill,
the President's counsel, W. Boyden Gray, circulated
a statement saying that executive agencies should
cancel all affirmative action programs within the
executive branch. The statement was supposed to
have been read by Bush at the signing.
Instead, an outrage swelled even among the
President's moderate Republican allies. The ad-
ministration, hoping to minimize the damage,
quickly announced that Gray had acted without the
President's consent.
Whether or not Gray's statement was condoned
by Bush is irrelevant. The statement was a bone
which the Bush administration was throwing to its
far- right constituents. The racism of Bush's old-
boy cronies tainted the signing of the Civil Rights
bill, and demonstrated to the American public that
Bush is incapable of distancing himself from the
likes of David Duke.
IFC overt
by Matt Adler
What are your most vivid
memories from your first few
weeks as a Michigan student?
You probably remember the
nervous feeling of meeting your
roommate, the excitement of
attending your first football game,
and the night you spent hugging a
toilet bowl and puking your guts
out after going to a big frat party
and drinking too much.
This last memory might not be
such a pretty picture, but it's a
memory nonetheless. Currently,
this first-year rite of passage is
being threatened. The Inter-
Fraternity Council (IFC) and the
Pan-Hellenic Council (Pan-Hel)
have created an ad hoc committee
which is in the process of forming
a new alcohol policy for fraterni-
ties. d
Fine. IFC and Pan-Hel have
suddenly decided to get together
and get responsible about alcohol.
Wrong!
In realityt is nenplrrhn1
stemppng
Allow me to explain. Purch
ing liability insurance for a
fraternity is like trying to buy 1
insurance for a witness who ju,
testified against John Gotti. In
order to deal with the high cost
insuring a fraternity, a bunch c
old geriatric white men with tii
like "Grandus Hegemon du
Fratemitus Nationalis" got
together to form something cal
the Fraternity Insurance Purchs
ing Group (FIPG). Together, d
Grand-Poobahs were able to
swindle someone into selling
them a really cheap insurance
policy. The only problem is th,
the policy has some outlandish
stipulations. The most absurd
stipulation is that fraternities
covered by the policy are not
allowed to serve alcohol at they
parties.
As you may have already
guessed, there are a handful of
fraternities on this campus whi
have the resources to buy their
own insurance policies, and ar
authority
las- offices have told them not to
serve alcohol at their parties, the
ife entire Greek system should
st institute a BYOB policy.
If these selfish, spiteful
t of individuals are successful,
>f fraternities which have no
ties practical reason not to serve
alcohol at their parties will be
forced to suffer along with the
led FIPG organizations.
as- Proponents of the BYOB
he policy often claim that the policy
should be instituted in order to
combat problems like acquain-
tance rape. This argument is an
at absurd cover-up of their true
motivations.
While acquaintance rape is a
problem which the Greek system
should address, rape is a function
ir of our sexist society which will
not change simply because people
bring their own beer rather than
drinking out of kegs.
ch There is nothing illegal about
a fraternity serving alcohol at
e parties. Moreover, if the fraternity
Nuts and Bolts
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