Page 4 -The Michigan Daily- Tuesday, December 10, 1991
be Lirbigan
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
747-2814
Edited and Managed
by Students at the
University of Michigan
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L -rH E C o " R S E 0 &
ANDREW K. GOTTESMAN
Editor in Chief
STEPHEN HENDERSON
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.
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D.C. sttho
Congress should act to grant full representation to all citizens
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Once again, proponents of granting statehood to
the District of Columbia, have introduced
legislation to recognize Washington D.C. as the
nation's 51st state. This important measure would
extend voting representation, autonomy in local
affairs, and the ability to regulate its own spending
td Washington. Washington residents pay higher
per-capita taxes than more than 30 states and has a
greater population than several states.
Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) introduced
the D.C. statehood legislation this fall. This mea-
sure would grant Washington two seats in the
Senate and one seat in the House of Representa-
tives. As it stands today, Washington has one non-
voting member in the House, Eleanor Norton, and
a "shadow Senator," the Rev. Jesse Jackson.
Neither member can vote in Congress. Jackson
is not allowed to speak or stand on the floor of the
Senate. This quasi-representation relegates citi-
zens of the District of Columbia to second-class
status.
In addition, without an active voice in Con-
gress, it is almost impossible for Washington resi-
dents to have a voice in federal appropriations that
directly affect them.
Last year, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), chair of
the Senate Appropriations Committee, moved an
FBI fingerprinting unit from Washington, D.C., to
West Virginia. This represented the loss of $30
Million and 4,000 jobs to Washington, but there
was no one in the Senate who could raise oppo-
sition.
Even though Washington was granted lim-
ited autonomy last year, its government does not
have authority to regulate garbage pickups, snow
removal rates, or other locally oriented city ser-
vices.
President Bush has repeatedly vetoed legisla-
tion that would allow poor women in living in
Washington to get abortions subsidized by medi-
care, even though the vast majority of D.C. resi-
dents and Congress supported the measure.
This veto is indicative of how national lead-
ers exert their own beliefs overWashington, rather
than allowing its residents to decide for them-
selves.
In a city besieged by crime, poverty, and a
spiraling population increase, the interests of the
city can be best addressed at the local level.
In 1964, Washington, D.C. residents were
finally allowed to vote in presidential elections.
Today, despite opposition of the Bush administra-
tion and radical conservatives, Congress must
begin the ratification process necessary to restore
equal rights and representation to residents of
what will be the state of New Columbia.
91
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Circa 1492
Art exhibit treats history fairly,
he National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C.
has made its contribution to the 500th anniver-
sary of Columbus'voyage to the New World. It has
entitled its exhibit "Circa 1492, Art in the Age of
Exploration.".
The issue this exhibit attempts to address is a
difficult one. In recent years, Cristopher Columbus
has come under fire by the academic community.
Thorough investgation of Columbus' role in his-
tQry indicates that many of our elementary school
nations of the explorer are outright false. Facts
have surfaced that indicate Columbus held utter
contempt for the indigenous people he encoun-
tered and executed many of them personally. His-
torically, in a sense, Columbus aided the eventual
genocide that was forced on the peoples of both
American continents.
But whether one admires Columbus for his
bravery and spirit, or despises him for his murder-
ous actions, the fact is his voyage helped shape the
niodern world. It is for this reason that the 500th
anniversary of his voyage is - and should be -
addressed.
The National Gallery's exhibit does this with
does not glorify explorer
equity and tactfulness. "Circa 1492" categorizes
art of this time period by its place of origin. It
contains three divisions: the Mediterranean, Asia,
and the Americas. By doing so, the exhibit refrains
from under-valuing any particular culture. In the
same exhibit, one can view early European maps of
the New World, drawings by Michaelangelo,
sculptures from Nigeria, pottery from Ming dy-
nasty China, and tapestries of the Inca culture.
What is refreshing about "Circa 1492" is that it
manages to display many cultures without token-
ism or value judgement. In contrast to other Co-
lumbus events, like the Rose Bowl Parade, which
will be led by a descendant of Columbus joining
hands with a prominent Native American, "Circa
1492" manages to construct an exhibit that recog-
nizes the importance of Culumbus' voyage with-
out going gaga over the "establishment" of culture
in the Americas.
If anything, Circa 1492 discounts the impres-
sion that Europe and the United States are some-
how the center of the world. It is with this sort of
judgement and consideration that others should act
when they celebrate Columbus' voyage.
Over exposure
To the Daily:
The earth, when viewed from
outer space, has no marked
borders, and any semblance of
conflict is dissolved by the
distance. This idealistic vision of
peace is far from reality, but at
least it does not discriminate
along lines of nationality or
region. However, by the Daily's
standards, only three regions exist
on this planet: the United States,
Israel, and the Rest of the World.
Occasionally, articles and
editorials appear that pertain to
that third region, for example, a
lonely editorial on the Sudan, or a
few brief updates of the situation
in Haiti. However, not much
extensive reporting of these, and
many other areas, have made print
in the Daily - a situation not
unique among the rest of the
media.
An extremely disproportionate
amount of print is devoted to
Israel. Is it the Daily's search for
truth, and the staffs commitment
to reporting and commenting on
the most important region in the
world? Doubtful. The situation in
the Middle East - and most any
regional conflict - is much too
complicated for a simple college
newspaper's analysis.
The conflict in the region is
singled out, primarily,rbecause the
public already has a (very
superficial) knowledge of it, and
the continuous wealth of informa-
tion that streams out of Israel.
In other words, the Daily staff
- and much of the media -
jump onto this overabundance of
freely dispensed and highly
controversial information, rather
than conducting thorough
research into other important
stories worldwide.
What about Tibet? What is
happening in Peru? These topics
have been glossed over by the
Daily, but where lies the in-depth
reporting and the background of
these conflicts? Both sides suffer
from undue attention: the Israelis
consistently and undeservedly
lose respect and integrity in the
eyes of the public due to over-
reporting of insignificant events,
and other nationals worldwide
lose support and understanding
due to the under-reporting of their
dire situations.
The Daily should not stop
reporting - by all means, no, for
a newspaper is a resource of
information that should be
treasured when even-handed; but
this periodical suffers from the
same malady as any other
sensationalist news source. The
Daily is not beating a dead horse:
It is beating a live one because it
likes to hear it squeal, and
meanwhile, the rest of the herd is
at the glue factory.
Ron Blum
LSA junior
Barriers to peace
To the Daily:
Never before have I seen such
emotional claptrap. If you bought
the Daily's "Copping out: Israel's
absence reveals disregard for
peace process" (Dec. 6), you
probably envison every Israeli
soldier and citizen as vicious
nasty people who are out to
systematically destroy the Arabs.
I'm certain that most of the Arab
citizens of Israel, along with
numerous Arab members of the
Israeli parliament, would take
exception to that.
You might also think that
Israeli soldiers just gas and shoot
Arabs for the heck of it. Never did
the author mention the fact that
the "defenseless" Arabs who were
killed at the Temple Mount last
year were throwing big rocks
down on worshippers before the
shooting started. That's a rather
important point, wouldn't you
think?
Another important point that
the author totally ignored was the
fact that it was the Arabs who
initiated the wars on Israel during
which the West Bank was
captured from Jordan. Assam
Pasha, the Secretary General of
the Arab League, announced in
1948 his intentions "to conduct a
war of extermination and momen-
tous massacre" against Israel.
It was the process of evacua-
tion in preparation for this
onslaught that brought the refugee
status of the Palestinians, not
Israeli rejection. In fact, it is
easier for an Arab to become an
Israeli citizen than a citizen of the
United States. Calling the
Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) "legitimate" is laughable at
best. They are the real barrier to
peace when they refuse to
consider peaceful coexistance
based on secure borders.
Mike Pelletier
Engineering senior
Thanks, ROTC
To the Daily:
A hypothetical letter to
members past and present of
Michigan's ROTC program from
the editors of the Michigan Daily:
Thank you for destroying the
institutions that supported slavery
in this country. It was a brutal and
thankless war, but someone had to
do it.
Thank you for crossing the
Atlantic in 1917 and attempting to
stamp out the imperial designs of
Kaiser Wilhelm so that Woodrow
Wilson could try to bring his
fourteen points of life in the
world.
Thank you for guarding the
convoys in the Battle of the
Atlantic months before the
Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor,
allowing Great Britain to keep
feeding her people and fight the
Nazis when the rest of Europe
stood prostrate before Hitler.
Thank you for doing the best
you could in Southeast Asia. The
people who put us into that war
certainly did not support you, and
the people who did not want the
war certainly did not help matters
either.
Thank you for throwing out of
Kuwait Saddam Hussein's
barbarians, barbarians who took
glee in pulling babies out of
incubators and raping families.
Thank you for helping put out
the fires in Kuwait before any
major permanent ecological
damage.
The Haitians thank you for
setting up refugee camps in
Guantanamo Bay this week.
Yes, members past and present
of the ROTC program, thanks for
everything. Now get lost.
Michael Barron
Law student
*I
Rose bowl
Good luck in Pasadena, football relieves 'U' woes
.t starts with CRISP, the nightmare that always
seems to occur about one hour after the class
you really wanted to take is filled. Then classes
bdgin, and along with them comes the guilt of
paying large amounts of money and not going to a
single 9 a.m. lecture. As the semester progresses,
many students' bodies adapt themselves to low
levels of sleep, and become immune to the ill
affects they continually suffer at the bars.
Suddenly, mid-terms are around the comer and
the realization sets in that you have to go buy the
coursepacks soon. Without warning, your immune
system lapses and in addition to the sleep depri-
vation and the nev r-ending work load, you must
now make time for a trip to health services. Add to
this equation the burdens of a job or group affili-
ation, and the mirror begins to show one huge ball
of stress. This is the course of events of the fall term
bat the University.
Amidst this turmoil, which dominates student
lste, there stands one redeeming entity. This glorious
institution supersedes Monday's assignments, and
interrupts the every day routine. Rain or shine,
blizzard or scorcher, for six Saturdays a year more
than 100,000 faithful students march down Hoover
Street to enter the promised land that is Michigan
Stadium. Like clockwork, they flock there to pay
homage to our maize and blue grid iron warriors.
Names like Desmond and Elvis ring through the
crowd as the Wolverine football team rolls over its
feeble opponents.
This scenario has been a Michigan tradition for
years. But this year we have had a special treat -
an outstanding 5-1 record at home, a perfect 8-0
Big Ten record, and a 10-1 season overall.
The Wolverine team has great depth. Quarter-
back Elvis Grbac is statistically the nation's top
passer. Linebacker Erick Anderson was awarded
the Butkus award over the weekend for his supe-
rior performance. Greg Skrepenak is nationally
recognized as a top lineman. And Desmond Howard
is clearly worthy of the Heisman trophy.
Thank you, Wolverines, for disrupting the ordi-
nary, and bringing Saturdays to life. Regardless of
the opinion of the Associated Press, there is no
Michigan student who doubts the Wolverine's
superiority.
Concentrate, play hard, and feel the students'
support as you ramble through Pasadena and tame
the Washington Huskies. Good luck in the Rose
Bowl, and thanks again formaking Michigan reign
supreme over the college football world.
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Latin America neglected
by David Vila
I wish to voice the great
discontentof many students with
the lack of attention that the
political science department has
given to Latin America. Being
part of such a large university
which has adopted a policy of
diversification and multi-
culturalism, it is inconsistent with
stated policy that out of 52
professors in the department only
one specializes in Latin America.
Furthermore, out of 110 courses
offered, only two deal with this
dynamic part of the continent.
Of particular concern to
students is the fact that beginning
with the winter of 1992, Daniel
Levine, the only expert on Latin
America in the department, will
be on sabbatical for two years.
Although the department has been
aware of Levine s plans since at
faculty members have shown
concern about the situation, it is
still unknown who will eventually
substitute for Professor Levine,
and, as indicated by Professor
Saxonhouse, it might be a
graduate student.
by dept.
Lambda Beta, SALSA,
Trabajadores de la Roza, Women
for Guatemala, and others. Most
indicative of the need for more
Latin-Americanists, however, is
the fact that the waiting list for
Professor Levine's course
The lack of faculty specializing in Latin
America is a misrepresentation of student
interest in the area.
0
Nuts and Bolts
mmlol
by Judd Winick
C- A . -
A letter signed by several
concerned students was sent to the
political science executive
committee. The letter asked that a
qualified professor substitute for
Professor Levine in his absence,
and that the overall number of
faculty specializing in Latin
America be increased. It has been
two months since the letter was
sent, and there is still no response
from the department.
Government and Politics of Latin
America is usually twice as large
as the number of class seats.
It is my understanding that
three positions have been opened
this semester: International
Political Economy, Political
Development, and Regional
Studies - all of them ideal for a
professor with a strong knowl-
edge of Latin America. Students
hope that the department takes
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