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Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Tuesday, January 21, 1992
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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
... , ..
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.
'U' COPS UNLEASHED
Alittle more than a year ago, students turned out in large numbers to protest the University's plans to
1-1.deputize its own police force. And despite the .hree-day standoff between the protesters and the
administration, .the. University went ahead wztk . The University's response was particularly
disturbing because it disregarded a poll co i Daily, the Michigan Review and Consider
magazine that showed a majority of student, o d'p. ke on campus.
Sadly, since that time, debate among std w0 i atization has all but ceased. The Michigan
StudentAssembly, students active in the anti 'k vement, and even the Daily have let the issue
slide.}v :, "
But the police are still here, active and ar #'sber of recent developments suggest to us that
we re-focus our attention on the University pa ..
... Earlier this year, Washtenaw Cp.=: W 1 issue of deputization.
Ronald Schebil announced in a letter r, the University has not publicly
ment of Public Safety that he is n- Y Jm y effort to ensure that either of pro-
willing to deputize the University of ''rs .. s are adhered to. There have been no
gan police-force. This is understan:: releases concerning the develop-
considering that he is currently liable t of deputization; there have been no
everything the police do. Schebil ptstoinstitute mechanismsby which
clear in his letter that he wanted the demons for faculty, students or staff can
versity to assume full accountability %Ww { i. place.
the police no later than March 31 eoversight committee is critical to
year. a campus police presence that is
That, however, may not be so ea ; ;grievances against the police depart-
Michigan Public Act 120 - whi w* be enough for the regents to simply
versities to deputize police under tl=!b rresentatives to sit on the board.
erning bodies - mandates that t r>=-s .: :yimportant that the regents hear what
create an oversight committee comp w t E *#'ty has to say about the police force.
staff, two faculty, and two students, to oversee the If indeed the University is to meet the March 31
deputization. deadline, these requirements must be properly
In addition, the act requires that public hearings fulfilled ...
Cops with guns - gearing up for a war on snowballers
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Meanwhile, the University police officers who
are already deputized are performing at a substan-
dard level, while at the same time the Department
of Public Safety (DPS) is purchasing a startling
and unprecedented amount of firepower. Unfortu-
nately, the University arsenal is not suitable for the
routine duties performed by campus security.
With the arrival of winter's first major snowfall,
the University police have engaged in a variety of
petty "plice actio -'Lat Frfdyi12PSJ.lv
spnt acnsierab~ a&rtt'tm n *ey
ticketing students -°: L. ?
Last December, po cf tl'ee
to break up the anniA ew ee;:
West Quad and South bt these are
ridiculous activities fe to e spend-
ing its time on.
Nevertheless, ;r... .:.:
tine jobs typical ,ice fore. Why
then, must a pol le for perform-
ing activities "g mall security
guards, have ti1n inner-city drug
enforcement t
A document detailing weapons ordered by the
University police force contains a frightening list
of the security team's hardware. The University
recently purchased 9 mm, semi-automatic pistols;
it ordered more than 5,000 rounds of ammunition.
The police force also purchased hollow-tipped
bullets, which are designed to deal immediately
fatal blows. When the missile impacts, the lead
matter behind the hollow tip drives forward and
blows immense holes into human flesh. This am-
munition is actually used to kill large wild game.
The force also purchased hundreds of bulletproof
vests.
The list of University-ordered weapons goes on
and on. It seems as if the University police is
~ ~U~*t ~ ~ stdents. Its
xdftyb .: "M Ive& Ome ;a*werIied ques-
Whw|u | T1ce order
eW~agdo:.:ir~hti?:ad o litenWn of using
them? Is there really a need for weapons such as
semi-automatic handguns or hollow-tipped bullets
when breaking up a student snowball fight? Will
those weapons help prevent rapes or sexual as-
saults on campus? Are bullet proof vests necessary
to protect University officers from "student snip-
ers?"
The fact that the police are continuing to in-
crease their offensive weapons must be considered
in the public hearings that will precede the
deputization of the campus police force by the
regents. The pointlessness of purchasing these
weapons in preventing crime, as well as the danger
they pose to students, must be examined at that
time ...
Reasons for rules
To the Daily:
This letter is in reference to
Steven Ricci's letter (1/16/92).
Rules like no sledding and no
drinking in the Arb are made for
safety reasons. My sister broke
her leg last year while sledding in
the Arb. She couldn't (or didn't)
read the warning signs. It's
obvious you knew you were
doing something you shouldn't
be, otherwise you would not have
run. Am I right?
Don't blame your ignorance
on the police. If you want to sled,
go to the park which is equipped
to handle sledders and the injuries
which occur.
As for your friend from China,
what does being big, sweet and
gentle have to do with obeying
the rules?
It's time to grow up and take
responsibility for your action!
Even if it means showing up in
court. And if your attitude is
anything like your letter, the
judge will probably address you
as "Mr. Smart Ass" also.
LisaASchneider
LSA sophomore
Name that tune
To the Daily:
Why does the Daily bother to
print record reviews? Apparently
you do not consider them to be
very important, or you would
have demanded better work from
Jeff Rosenberg, whose shallow
and shoddy review of Marc
Almond's Tenement Symphony
showed how little he knew or
cared about his subject. Copying a
few lyrics (did Jeff even listen to
the song? Marc sings the word
"records," rather than "record," as
printed on the lyric sheet),
mentioning the inclusion of
another song which is labeled
sobbing, does not constitute a
record review. It was completely
superficial from the start, when
Rosenberg linked the two -bands
for seemingly no other reason
than that he would better be able
to write less about each. Also, he
mentioned only two songs from
the album, neither of which Marc
wrote or produced, one of which
he doesn't even sing. I hardly
think that this is representative of
the album.
On the subject of representa-
tive, it "hurts just knowing" that
the only Soft Cell song with
which Rosenberg is seemingly
familiar is "Tainted Love," which
again, Marc did not write, and
they have three other albums
besides.
Speaking of Soft Cell,
Rosenberg's failure to note that
this is the first time since the
break up of Soft Cell that Marc
and Dave Ball (you know, that
other "Soft Cell guy") have
collaborated on new material, is
particularly noticeable and
negligent.
Rosenberg's superficial
summing up, in which he theo-
rizes that a horde of other
musicians were responsible for
the content of the album, shows
that he is obviously missing how
very representative it is of Marc
in terms of themes and trade-
marks, as with the fact that
"Jacky" is a Jacques Brel song.
Perhaps if Rosenberg had dealt
with more songs, including those
that Marc wrote and produced, he
might have been able to write a
more cohesive and informed
review.
Lisa McEwen
RC sophomore
Susan McDougal
LSA first-year student
Think first
To the Daily:
The editorial about the
drinking age you printed yester-
day was perhaps the most pathetic
piece of journalism I have ever
seen in your paper. It is amazing
that such a poorly reasoned
argument could ever come from a
group of students at this univer-
sity. The first reason you gave for
lowering the drinking age was
that by making the legal age 21,
the state of Michigan is making
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most underage university students
"criminals." There are many laws
which we violate every day. Does
that mean these laws should be
changed or abolished in order to
reduce the number of people
breaking the law? Should we get
rid of the copyright laws because
they make nearly all of us
"tcriminals" at some time or
another?
Next you stated that the
drinking age was somehow an
"unjust" law because the federal
government threatens to withhold
highway funds unless all of the
states comply with the federally
mandated drinking age of 21.
Does this mean that all laws that
have been created as a result of
this government "extortion" be
eliminated?
Perhaps you do not know
your own Constitution of the
United States which limits federal
control over the states to little
more than taxation and interstate
trade. Anything that does not fall
under these very specific guide-
lines cannot be set by the federal
government unless it uses
methods such as withholding
highway funds.
I suppose i would be a much
safer and richer country if the
federal government was not
allowed to lower the speed limit
to 55 mph during the oil embargo.
There are a large number of
good arguments for lowering the
drinking age. You could have
pointed out that we are considered
responsible enough to vote at age
18, so we should be responsible
enough to drink at 18. You could
have stated that 18 year old
people can fight and die for their
country, and are entrusted with
tanks, ships, and aircraft worth
millions, yet they cannot buy a
beer. Instead you printed com-
plete nonsense.
I hope in the future you will
try to print editorials which,
regardless of their political slant,
are well thought out and soundly
reasoned. Until you do so no one
will ever take you seriously
Sean Sweda
Engineering junior
. 'SRC in exile' seeks to restor student power
... The fight against deputization and the prom=- Public Act 120, which establishes the Univer-
tion of students' rights has been largely a beind- sity police force, calls for an oversight committee
the-scenes battle. While the current Stude eights gompo e. of students, faculty and staff. In addi-
Commission (SRC) piddled aroundg ihe "SRC in ti|n, it grafts the committee the authority to disci-
exile," a grass-roots group of stunts, was acting pline office: who engage in misconduct. Before
constructively to softenthe blowofthe University's th. University''...putizes its own police force, it
unrelenting drive toward& 4eputization. mlitelect that comittee.
Admittedly, one of.:the SRC's greatest weak- Th6 SRC in exia is working to ensure the
nesses in 1990 was that it failed to effectively UniversitY:4oes not byass these elections, either
channel the emotions it irred during proteo. But by hand-pickhg committee members sympathetic
to its credit, it was actij constructiveW4(i make to the administron, orby securing appointments
the University more acountable tq.> students. from "representat" bdies like MSA or the
This year's SRC in exile, impose-6f membersf Senate Advisory Comitteon University Affairs
the former commission, his Trnaged to workon (SACUA).
behalf of students' rightsbyetting hold of impor By demanding true eleions, the SRC in exile
tant documents such as Unive ity Police records, willtwpAke sure tt the oversight committee
letters regarding the University utization of'1ts h"sas thisConsiderig the relatively unskilled na-
officers, and order forms detailing'::e extensive)"ture of the Univiity police, their shoddy record of
arsenal of University munitions. ''r .:e otr their tendency toward overreacting
While the deputization of University.police to petty pres, and the fact that they seem to be
maybe anirreversibletrend, one thing studeftcan armin for an all out war against students -
do is try to hold this force accountable to''e hojlow-tipped bullets and all - it is blatantly
community - and to students. This is whvus that this committee will have its work cut
SRC in exile has been doing this year. 'ut :rit.
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Compact disc long box is wasteful
by Brian Seller
The end of the compact disc
long box has to come. The
packaging of CDs in cardboard
wastes an estimated 21 million
pounds of paper per year. That is
quite a bit when you consider they
have been around for nearly a
decade now. This unnecessary
waste brought on the Ban-the-Box
campaign, led by artists like
Crosby, Stills and Nash, Sting,
and Bonnie Raitt.
The result has been the
decision by some record manufac-
turers to phase out the long box
starting this year. There are half a
dozen new packaging ideas, but
two remain the most popular.
Starting in April, all releases
on Warner Bros. records will be
packaged in the Eco-Pak, a
package the size of a long box,
made of recycled plastic and
paperboard. It folds into about the
size of a jewel box, which is the
plastic container now used to
store CDs. Other companies are
awaiting marketing tests before
adopting this idea. To see an
example of the Eco-Pak, check
out Paula Abdul's new release,
Spellbound.
The other big contender is the
DigiTrak, a cardboard long box
size package with recyclable
is funded mainly by Dow Plastics,
has launched a major campaign to
keep the jewel boxes. JAM
recently place a full-page "save
the jewel box" ad in Billboard
magazine, and has even lobbied .
before the House subcommittee
on hazardous materials, promot-
the Environmental Commission, supports
the end of the long box and encourages you,
the students, to do the same.
plastic rails on each side. It also
folds into the approximate size of
the jewel box. New releases using
the Digi-Trak include Sting's
Soul Cages, Bonnie Raitt's Luck
of the Draw, and Grateful Dead's
One From the Vault.
Probably, the simplest idea so
far is reusable, plastic long box
frames that can be removed at the
checkout register, but no one has
been so bold as to try this.
There is one group that is
opposing the switch from jewel
boxes to something more ecologi-
cally sound. Jewel box Advocates
and Manufacturers (JAM) which
ing jewel boxes.
We, at the Environmental
Commission, support the end of
the long box and encourage you,
the students, to do the same.
Write a letter to a record company
or two expressing your views and
asking for a safer alternative to
present packaging. If there is a
streak of the radical in you, we
suggest taking the CD out of the
long box at the store and giving
the box to the clerk at the counter,
expressing your displeasure with
this wasteful practice. Some
stores will even take the box and
send it hack to the manufacturer
Nuts and Bolts
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by Judd Winick
YOU I, , jARAG, -eAN
Seller is a member of the MSA
Environmental Commission
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