Page 4 -The Michigan Daily- Monday, March 2,1992
MATTHEW).R&ENNII
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420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
764 - 0552
Opinion Editors
YAEL CITRO
GEOFFREY EARLE
AMITAVA MAZUMDAR
Edited and Managed
by Students at the
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.
CC....... aks" sy...i.....ati.
C makes "Gastly" nomination
The Conservative Coalition (CC) held their
party caucus on Feb. 9 to nominate their
candidate for the coming Michigan Student As-
sembly presidential elections. Scott Gast, the force
behind MSA's Alcohol Awareness Week, was cho-
sen to carry the campus' right-wing banner this
spring. Of all the conservative politicians on cam-
pus, why Gast was deemed most fit to serve is
curious.
The CC nomination of Scott Gast is remarkable
because Gast is hardly someone who should be
recognized wghin his party for his electability.
When students vote in MSA elections next month,
they will not only be questioning Gast's political
ideologies, but also his competence to hold MSA
office.
During Gast's tenure on MSA, his sole contri-
bution to the University was Alcohol Awareness
Week - a week full of programs that cost thou-
sands of dollars which students avoided like the
plague. Beyond this grotesque failure, Gast has
done virtually nothing worth mentioning. Gast
rarely attends MSA steering committee meetings
and almost never contributes any comments to
discussions.
The questionable nature of Gast' spastis matched
only by the past of his running mate - vice
presidential candidate Beth O'Connor - who is
currently a member of LSA Student Government,
but has never served on MSA. Many MSA repre-
sentatives are wondering how O'Connor earned
the VP. spot. Surely a more qualified and experi-
enced candidate can be found.
Since there's little to say about Gast and
O'Connor's pastbesides Alcohol Awareness Week,
students may wish to consider Gast's future plans
for MSA. The phantom CC candidate claims that
he's interested in putting a cap of $6.27 on the
MSA fee. Gast's interest in limiting MSA spend-
ing is extremely curious in that he saw fit to
squander so much money on Alcohol Awareness
Week.
Equally curious is Gast's desire to end MSA
funding of Student Legal Services (SLS) and the
Ann Arbor'Tenants Union (AATU). Student Legal
Services helps nearly 3,000 students each year and
the AATU serves 2,000 students each year; whereas
two students attended the closing event of Alcohol
Awareness Week.
The SLS and AATU have continually proven
their usefulness to University students. Any move
to eliminate or slash funding would be a baseless,
deplorable and politically-motivated step.
This March, even the most conservative stu-
dents at the University will have a hard time voting
for Scott Gast. Students who share his ideology
will have to question his competency and leader-
ship ability. After all, most Republicans in this
country wouldn't vote for Vice President Dan
Quayle if he ran for president.
Doing business
with China is good
To the Daily:
Should a survey be done, I feel
pretty certain that almost all the
Chinese people (including
Chinese students here) would
strongly disagree with your
editorial ("No Business with
China," 2/5/92).
"Who cares?" you may say.
Well, if you are concerned, as you
seem to be, about human rights in
China, you probably should be.
The reason is simple. Business
with China has drastically
improved Chinese political and
economic life in the past decade
and, yes, is continuing to do so
today in spite of the tragic events
in 1989. This is a fact that can not
be explained simply by labelling
the country "communist."
China is a huge developing
country. Like other developing
countries, it takes time to finally
adopt a truly democratic system.
So far, business (political,
commercial and cultural ties) with
China has proved to be the most
effective way to introduce new
ideas and systems into the
country.
To stop doing business would
force the country to close its
doors again, thus realizing the
worst fear the Chinese people
have. After all, it is they, not you,
who have to live there.
Zhong Yan
Rackham student
Daily bandwagon
To the Daily:
After reading the Op-Ed piece
("Jeffries represents hate and
racism," 2/18/92) and the front
page story titled "Professor
decried for racist remarks to speak
tonight,"(2/18/92), I became
interested in learning how the
Daily, both the News and Opinion
editors, had formed their opinions
on Professor Leonard Jeffries, and
from where they got their
information.
I checked in the University
library computer system, and
found that there is not single
primary source on Jeffries; no
printed speeches, copies of
publications, or articles.
In fact, the only thing the
University has on Jeffries are a
couple of opinion pieces in the
New York Times Weekend
Magazine, written by people
advocating for the removal of Dr.
Jeffries from his post at CCNY.
None of the allegations made by
either the Weekend Magazine or
the Daily have ever been substan-
tiated.
It seems peculiar that editors
of the Daily were so adamant in
denouncing Dr. Jeffries with little
or no knowledge about him, other
than gossip information.
If the Daily were truly
interested in learning about Dr.
Jeffries, the editors might have
gone to the group that sponsored
him, the Black Student Union.
Criticism and opinion on such
a controversial person should
follow thoughtful research of his
views and ideas.
In the future, the Daily should
avoid jumping on popular
bandwagons which jeopardize its
questionable reputation and
integrity.
Zeid Zalatimo
LSA senior
Tyson conviction just
To the Daily:
Pamela Shifman, not all
American women (I checked with
two), are angry with Tyson's
conviction, as stated in your
Feminist Perspectives ("Tyson
conviction is a hollow victory," 2/
13/92). In writing, "I am not
arguing for a different outcome in
the Tyson case," you prove you
would still be angry if he were
acquitted.
Damned if you do, damned if
you don't. What would make
Pamela happy? If Tyson were to
step up to a television camera,
reach around behind his head, and
unzip the black man disguise
revealing the scrawny white man
inside and then was convicted
without the jury (what do they
know anyway?), Pamela, and the
American women she thinks she
represents, would be happy.
Rick Shick
RC senior
Polk's real intentions revealed
To the Daily:
The viewpoints of Michigan
Student Assembly representatives
are so rarely seen in the Daily
that it was unfortunate to see a
MSA representative use the
opportunity to attack other
representatives. However, Amy
Polk's use of the Daily to slander
her fellow representatives'cannot
be ignored. Starting in the Dec.
11 issue of the Daily , Polk
accused Conservative Coalition
(CC) members of voting "the
party line" in order to secure
every committee and commission
chair on MSA. In an opinion
article in the Jan. 15 Daily, she
continued spewing her lies which
included:
Lie 1: Budget Priorities Chair
Sejal Mistry had "almost no
previous experience with budgets
or finance." In fact, Sejal had
served on the Budget Priorities.
Committee before.
Lie 2: Brent House, the
Budget priorities vice chair had
"no such qualifications" for the
position when Brent had also
served on the Budget Priorities
Committee.
Lie 3: "MSA representatives
from opposition parties, indepen-
dent representatives from small
schools and interested students
with no previous affiliation to
MSA were all rejected by the CC-
dominated assembly."
First, an independent and a
student who had run against CC in
the Fall elections were both
elected chairpersons.
Secondly, only one small
school representative ran for a
vice-chair position. The CC
candidate won by nine votes
because of the support of indepen-
dents on the Assembly.'The same
representative was later selected
for a vice-chair position by the
same "CC-dominated assembly".
Finally, after criticizing the
supposed inexperience of several
candidates, Polk states that the
assembly should have elected
students with no previous affilia-
tion to MSA and therefore no
concept of how MSA works or
how it us structured.
Fortunately, for the average
student, it is easy to see that Ms.
Polk's motivations are entirely
political in nature. Her demand
that the voters remember "CC
robot-like voting" in the next
election show where her real
intentions lie.
Andrew Mutch
Engineering sophomore
0
Ann Arbor shelves homeless issues
Ann Arbor has always seemed to be a pleasant
liberal town, extremely sensitive to issues
ranging from the environment to the homeless.
Unfortunately, the city's record in dealing with
social problems is far from shining - particularly
in the area of low income housing and with the
grim predictions of the budget for the coming year.
It looks as if this problem will be put on the shelf
once again.
AttheFeb. 10 Ann Arbor City Council meeting,
Homeless Action Committee (HAC) members and
six other special interest groups rallied for more
low-income housing. The city has closed the door
on the possible renovation of the Ann Arbor Inn on
Fourth Street, saying the project would be too
costly. Renovation of the Downtown Club, also on
Fourth, is strongly supported by HAC and other
groups, but no moves have been made to approve
it.
Estimates ofhomeless in Ann Arbor range from
1,000 to 1,500 people - a substantial number.
Contrary to popularbelief, mostof these people are
not mentally incompetent minorities, but white
males in their mid to late 20s, and many of them
would be off the street if the housing were avail-
able for them.
Unfortunately, according to a city report en-
titled "Comprehensive Housing and Affordability
Strategy" (CHAS), "There has been no new con-
struction of subsidized housing in Ann Arbor dur-
ing the past 10 years." This is deplorable, as is the
fact that the waiting lists for cooperatives -which
generally have affordable monthly fees -"range
from six months to as long as five years." In a city
that has one of the highest average rental rates in
the country, low-income housing is more than
necessary. It is vital.
The city's planuses a confusing network of nine
different committees, departments and boards to
oversee its housing strategy. Furthermore, this
spiderweb has absolutely nothing to show for its
efforts, save a few "proposed plans."
Construction of new units is further stymied by
the current recession. In the recent State of the City
address, it was revealed that the 1992-93 budget
will increase by only one-half a percent, in contrast
to the 30 percent increase of the past three years. A
decreased budget means cuts in social spending
which will hit CHAS where it most hurts: in the
wallet.
The CHAS outlined a plan with a final goal
simply stated was to provide more affordable hous-
ing. It seems that once again good intentions have
been strangled by bureaucratic red tape and eco-
nomic chaos, leaving people stranded in the streets.
Think about the words of Ann Arbor homeless
resident Terry Todd at the City Council meeting:
when you go home tonight "you people will be
sleeping in your nice beds, we'll be freezing our
butts off."
A call for action: elect a "smart government
:1992 should be about issues
To the Daily:
America's economy is falling
into a deep recession. Every day
we hear more and more about our
economic woes. And the major
contributor to our country's
economic demise is the lack of
"smart" spending. This lack of
.smart' spending is evident -
just look at our country's national
debt. America is the single largest
debtor nation in the world. And
all of our economic troubles can
not be blamed on something as
simple as just plain bad luck. To
get a debt as large as ours, you
have to work at it. That we have
done. Every year, year after year,
our government has managed to
spend more money than it has
available to spend. So just what
should be done to save our
economy? Should we just dump
our present form of government
and go for an entirely new
system? Or is the real answer a
need for new officials?
I believe the answer lies in our
officials. Why do I feel this way?
Well, here is a simple economics
lesson: if you have x amount of
dollars available to spend, but you
spend more than x dollars, you
must come up with the difference
elsewhere. Our government
officials tend to borrow this
difference, thus incurring what is
referred to as a debt. This debt
must then be paid back over time,
but with additional money called
interest. Now here is the kicker
- if the debt is not paid back on
time, the interest will keep adding
to your debt. Continued borrow-
ing without repayment will then
cause your debt to grow at an
alarming rate. Presently, our
government has fallen into such a
predicament. As it stands now,
our country is having trouble just
trying to pay off the interest on
our debts. Right about now, you
might be thinking to yourself that
this is dumb on our part. Well,
that is exactly why I claim there
is a lack of "smart" spending in
our government, using our
national debt as but one example.
The lack of "smart" spending
not only encompasses the amount
our government spends, but what
it is spent on as well. Another
extremely good example is our
country's defense spending. First
and foremost, the United States
allots nearly one-fourth of its
spending to defense. Now it is
time for another little economics
lesson.
For the most part, military
wares only benefit society by
providing a sense of security.
Military wares do not put back
into the economy anything close
to what they take from it. Since
such a large portion of our funds
is being spent on goods that do not
give back to the economy, the
result is rather easily predicted -
a stagnation in economic growth
due to the reduction in available
funding. What then does a
stagnant economy lead to? Does
the word "recession" ring any
bells?
As citizens of the United
States, we must do something
about our government officials'
lack of "smart" spending and
soot. The longer we wait to act,
the worse off we will all be. The
answer is not just to get rid of the
present officials and replace them
with more people who are just as
incapable of running our govern-
ment, but to find the right people
for this job. First we must figure.
out where to find these people. So
here it is - a call for action, a
request for help. Let's find these
people and let them do the job.
Daniel Goddard
LSA first-year student
M anyagree that the 1988 political campaign
" a was a fiasco. Issues were never discussed;
commercials slung mud; television viewers saw
then Vice President George Bush in a flag factory
and Gov. Michael Dukakis in a tank. Promises
were made; none of them were kept. 1992, we
hoped, would be different.
To this day, some issues
have been discussed. The
faltering economy has
broughthealthcare andem-
ployment to the top of the
political priority list. Newh
Hampshire voters will tell
you, they're not tolerant of,
rhetoric anymore. One
needs only to look at fringe-
Republican candidate Pat
Buchanan's 37 percent
moral victory.
Hopefully, the impor-
tant issues will remain the
important issues. Gov. Bill
Clinton (D-Ark.), once
billed as the front-runner,
come in second to the
former senator from Mas-
sachusetts, Paul Tsongas in
New Hampshire and has
failed to win any of the
three primaries or caucuses
since. Whomever the vot-
ers choose is clearly up to them. But all voters
should make certain that the rational they use to
choose a candidate is one based on record, not
scandal.
Clinton suffered a double-blow in New Hamp-
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the Clinton campaign. Neither of these two "is-
sues" address Clinton's view of United States and
its future. Debate over such gossip won't help
voters choose the candidate with the best health-
care program or tax-reduction plan or domestic-
spending proposal. Let's stick to the issues.
The Vietnam "issue" is
an unfortunate one. Cer-
tainly, the story was released
to question Clinton's patrio-
tism and courage. Ifthe Viet-
nam story says reveals any-
thing at all, it should reveal
Clinton's courage in avoid-
ing animmoralwar. Records
show, however, that he
didn't really dodge any-
. '*'. thing.
Itis unfortunate that fel-
low candidate Sen. Bob
Kerrey (D-Neb.) has felt
compelled to use Vietnam
to close the gap betweenhim
and Clinton in Georgia.
Gov. Clinton has served
as Arkansas governor twice.
During that timehehas built
a record, as have the others,
withits successes and faults.
His support of workers and
unions is commendable,
some say. Others say his
treatment of racial issues has been insensitive.
Where ever voters stand on Bill Clinton, the deci-
sions should be made on this type of information,
not on gossip and hearsay.
This country can't afford to make the mistakes
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Hate counterproductive for everyone
by Patrick Patillo
A friend recently asked me if I
thought the oppressed were
justified in hating their oppressor.
Let me start by saying the world
is not simply black and white,
spiritually, philosophically or
racially. I am not discounting the
unconscious feeling of superiority
that most whites have over people
of color world wide. Nor am I
ignoring the effects of being
subjected to dehumanization.
The question that I raise is
what does it benefit me to
reciprocate ignorant hate and
resentment?
As of late the argument has
henn the, nnrwpcce tin not havep
has been, in total disarray if I
believed my fate was in the hands
of the people that despised me.
It is also growth-stunting to
have my feeling of self-worth
totally dependent on the people of
need not make excuses for my
situation in the world.
Personally, I am grateful -
though sometimes it is difficult-
to anyone that God sends me to
assist me in life. My gratitude
By hating and being condescending to the
cultures of others it hinders the growth of my
own culture as well as the growth of
humanity.
the race of which I belong.
Similarly, no one person or
ideology represents a culture, race
or nation. A point of fact are the
Dubois-Washington and King-
Malcolm X debates. These
extends to white people _ though
I question some of the means by
which they obtain their wealth
who I have to go to for assistance.
My loyalty is to God and human-
kind to whom I can give and
I