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Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Wednesday, March 25,1992
Wh ihgn Baily
Editor in Chief
MATI'IIEW D. REiNNIE
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420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48 1091
764 - 0552
Opinion Editors
YAEL CITRO
GEOFFREY EARLE
AMITAVA MAZUMDAR
Edited and Managed
by Students at the
University of Michigan
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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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Byany m--eansnecessary
ver since violence erupted at the February
deputization protest, voices within the
Flemming building have been calling for action.
Little thought has been given to exploring the
reasons behind student unrest or the atmosphere of
distrust fostered by an unyeilding administration.
But key administrators have devoted consider-
able thought to the violence that occurred on their
doorstep and how to ensure that someone is pun-
ished for it. The administration's pursuit of this end
without regard for the means it uses to achieve it is
alarming; it was this type of implacable behavior
that plagued the deputization process in the first
place.
No one has the right to hit a police officer. A
.student who assaults a police officer should be
punished. On the surface, the administration's ini-
tial arrests of two people at the site of the violence,
,,,and the recent arrest of a third suspect, seem to be
based on this indisputable assumption. Unfortu-
nately, it is not clear that these people were arrested
for the right reasons.
Rather, they appear to be scapegoats; these
three students were not arrested because they were
particularly violent toward the police, but because
they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong
time. They are caught in the crossfire between a
group of students who turned violent, and an
administration desperate to place blame.
The administration has become literally ob-
sessed with convicting involved students, and is
even targeting leaders of the protest. It has adopted
the same determination to prevail "by any means
necessary" it finds so abhorrent in groups like the
Black Student Union. But the administration fails
to acknowledge that the violence was not one
sided. Without a doubt, some students wrongly
lashed out at police officers. Likewise, some offic-
ers wrongly lashed out at students.
When the violence erupted, the administration
was locked up in the upper floors of the Fleming
building. It is simply not in a position to judge what
happened and who was at fault.
Moreover, the University's case against the
three suspects is based largely upon shaky evi-
dence provided by University videotapes of the
incident and testimony given by police officers
present at the scene - testimony no doubt as
biased as that one would expect from the students.
The disagreement caused by the deputization
issue has brought student-administration relations
to a new low. The administration should examine
its motives before it continues with these cases and
before it decides to go after other students. Right
now, bridging the chasm, not retribution, should be
the priority.
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City's environment can
,TheAnnArbor City Planning Commission dem- But trees ha
onstrated unusual leadership and foresight one owner and+
when it drafted its plan to save the city's natural gen, which is n
features. However, the Natural Features Preserva- pollution. They
tion Ordinance has since caused a controversy without trees,v
among landowners and developers in Ann Arbor Citizens ha'
and may be watered down and become a victim of and trees are d
the political process. ordinance wasi
The ordinance, in its current state, mandates nity a means to
that every person who wants to cut down a tree or ronment.
till wetlands must first obtain a permit and inves- Trees have a
tigate other options. Itimposes significant fines for taken for gran
those who deliberately destroy natural features become an exte
without a permit. Council claims
The City Council unanimously approved the cerns by postp
ordinance at its first reading. The Council then sent ordinance. Ma
the ordinance back to the planning commission for support some f
further consideration and planned to vote the ordi- tion ordinance,
nance into law on March 9. But the vote never Itis obvious
hoccurred. elections first.'
After hearing complaints from constituents, political incon
and fearing negative press only one month before inconvenience
elections, the Council delayed discussing the issue valuables that d
further. Landowners and developers said the ordi- The Ann Ar
nance infringes upon their private property rights. from an ordin
A person who owns the land, owns the trees on that effective differ
land, and has every right to cut down that tree, they the victims of t
tsay. so frequently cc
not wait
ave a value which extends beyond
one generation. They provide oxy-
ecessary to counter the effects of air
y offer a habitat for animals, who,
would suffer extinction.
ve an aesthetic interest in the city,
efinitely a part of that interest. This
intended to allow the local commu-
maintain the quality of their envi-
lasting social value that is too often
ted.No one wants Ann Arbor to
ended slab of concrete. Yet the City
to be furthering constituent con-
poning the second reading of the
ny councilmembers say they do
orm of a natural features preserva-
but they want details first.
however, that they want to wait for
The ordinance has proven to be a
venience to councilmembers. But
may be the price required to save
do not carry a price tag.
bor City Council is cowering away
ance which could have made an
rence. All the councilmembers are
he same political games, which they
ondemn during their campaigns.
Crowd of children
To the Daily:
I found Tsongas' speech in the
Union (3/17/92) truly annoying. It
drove me to sit in the corner of
the Ballroom and stew.
I really liked what he had to
say. The problem was the students
around me. I watched two girls
form a physical blockade to guard
their line of vision as a third girl
tried to get by them to allow more
people into the Ballroom.
The guy sitting behind me was
there solely for the photo opportu-
nity. I heard him gawking over
the fact that Tsongas could be
president some day and he was
about to see him in person. Much
of the crowd shared his tourist
mentality, heckling the press for
blocking their all-important view
and shouting "Who cares?" at
anyone less famous than Tsongas.
As Tsongas spoke of this
generation's "hunger for pur-
pose," the crowd continued to
fight for visual positioning and
cheered wildly whenever they
heard the name Michigan men-
tioned. I don't know where this
campus gets its politically active
reputation.
All I could see at this rally was
a bunch of shallow selfisha
children trying to get a look at
someone famous.
Amy Bernthal
LSA senior
To the Daily:
Why do so many people think
Dr. Jeffries is a racist?
This is so sad, it's funny. Dr.
Jeffries speaks truth, and many
racist whites can't handle it.
America has been lying in a bed
of Eurocentric lies for too long,
and it's time to wake up.
For instance, we, as students,
are told that what is called the
Pythagorean Theorem was
invented by Pythagoras. Yet
Black Egyptians used this
equation many, many years
before Pythagoras was even born.
Africans were the first
mathematicians, scientists,
doctors, architects, philosophers
and artists by thousands of years.
Africans discovered the British
Isles and the Americas far before
the Vikings, let alone Columbus.
While Europeans wallowed in
filthy, dark caves living like
savages, Africans had a far
advanced culture, governmental
system, system of learning, and
were surrounded in vast knowl-
edge and riches.
Many white scholars are
scared that America will find out
Africa fled the world in riches,
discovery, knowledge and
invention for nearly 600,000
years, until the 16th and 17th
centuries. Also, that Europe is
responsible for Africa's condition
today.-
Even in the United States
(Snakes), a Black doctor per-
formed the first heart transplant
and Blacks were the first to
preserve blood plasma. Black
"Americans" invented the traffic
light, gas mask, cotton gin and are
responsible for every form of
American music. All this from
oppressed people considered
three-fifths human.
Being Anti-Semitic is like
being Anti-Black. The Bible itself,
along with many Black and white
scholar's accounts, states that
Jesus, Moses and many other
Biblical characters were Black!
Yet we are shown pictures of a
white Jesus.
Dr. Jeffries is not a racist, but a
scholar.
People who think he is
"pathetic, not profound" (like Jeff
Miller, a "writer" for the Michigan
Review), and racist are close-
minded, ignorant and seriously
pathetic themselves.
Linda Goudsmit, you want the
KKK to come up here, bring them
on. Like frogs in an ocean, we will
drown your boys in knowledge.
To the world, I urge you to
throw a fist in the air and prepare
for Afrocentricity!
Jeffries speaks complete truth
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Richard G. Mack
LSA first-year student
Help promote Rape Awareness Month.
Dow Corning: too little, too late
D ow Corning has had a lot of explaining to do
since the danger posed by silicone breast
implants was brought out into the open. Informa-
tion regarding the possible dangers of breast im-
plants, which the company manufactures, has been
an embarrassment to Dow Corning and an affront
to women. The silicone that makes up these breast
implants has been found to cause immune disease
in some women if it leaks into their blood stream.
Now that Dow Corning has announced that it
will no longer manufacture breast implants, many
women may sigh in relief. Others may not forgive
so easily; the company was reckless and irrespon-
sible for distributing the implants without proper
testing, and no research funds or apologies can
reverse that mistake.
In a $7 million verdict, a California jury found
that a woman developed an auto-immune disease
from an implant, and Dow Corning was to blame
for failing to present her with the possible dangers
posed by the implants. Dow Corning has been
aware of these dangers for quite some time.
In 1970, Dow Corning scientists conducted
tests on the safety of silicone breast implants on
dogs. After six months, one of the dogs died, others
developed immune-inflammatory diseases, and one
even developed a tumor right next to the implant.
Yet Dow Corning promptly killed the dogs, and
in a 1973 report found the condition of the animals
to be unchanged. In 1983, in yet another example
of the company's contempt for the safety of its
clients, a Dow Corning scientist stated "we have no
long term data to substantiate the safety of (sili-
cone) gels for long-term implant use." Meanwhile,
the company was making $1.84 billion by selling
potentially dangerous silicone breast implants to
women.
Even worse, 80 percent of the recipients did not
even need these implants for medical purposes,
these women elected to have the procedure for
purely aesthetic and cosmetic reasons. More than
1.5 million women risked their lives and had the
operation, many because they were not aware of
the facts and because of the monolithic societal
views that beauty is found in the form of a woman's
body and not in the content of her mind.
Dow Corning has earmarked a substantial
amount of money to research the safety of breast
implants. The company has agreed to help women
pay to get the implants removed, but has offered
only $1,200 for an operation that costs more than
$5,000.
It is Dow Corning's responsibility now to see
that the women who have suffered from the firm's
insensitivity receive sufficient funds for implant
removal and just compensation for their suffering.
by Rona Kobell
According to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation statistics,
at least one in three women and
one in 10 men will be sexually
assaulted in their lifetimes. The
traumatic affects of such assaults
are devastating.
In order to increase awareness
about sexual assault and sexual
harassment -on campus, the
University Sexual Assault
Prevention and Awareness Center
(SAPAC) is hosting a series of
events to commemorate National
Rape Prevention Month begin-
ning March 23 and ending April
17.
The information presented
throughout the month will focus
on demonstrating solidarity with
Kobell is a SAPA C volunteer.
survivors while continuing the
work to end sexual assault on
campus and across the nation.
Rape is still the most
underreported crime in the United
States. The survivors often suffer
silently because they fear they
will not be believed, that their
assailants will come after them
with an even stronger vengeance,
and that nobody will listen to or
empathize with them.
We need to show both those
who suffer silently and those who
have told their stories that we are
committed to eradicating this
crime wherever it is manifested
against women and men of every
race, class, sexual orientation,
and ability.
SAPAC volunteers will be
distributing green ribbons at
information tables in the Fish-
bowl and around campus during
Rape Prevention Month to show
our continued support for survi-
vors. The green color symbolizes
a rebirth and rejuvenation,
signifying our celebration of the
ability of survivors to overcome
the trauma of rape.
We sincerely hope that each
student, faculty member, and staff
member will wear a ribbon
throughout this month to commu-
nicate their commitment to
creating a world without rape. We
also hope that the University
community will attend events to
learn more about this crucial issue.
We thank you for supporting
the healing process of survivors
and the work to stop sexual
assault. For more information,
please call the SAPAC office at
763-5865.
0
March Madness:"It's awesome baby"
Correction: The debate between the Conservative Coalition and the Progressive
Party MSA presidential candidates is tonight at 7 P.M. IN THE KUNZEL
ROOM of the Michigan Union. Everyone is encouraged to attend.
by Stuart Glass
As I was watching a recent
college basketball game on CBS,
a commercial appeared for March
Madness. One of the students in
the room asked what was so
special aboutthis yearly event.
Since I consider college basket-
ball to be one of my main areas of
expertise, I thought that answer-
ing this question would be
relatively simple. However, I
could not accomplish this task in
one or two sentences because
March Madness is so many
different things.
It's 64 teams sitting in front of
the television on that Sunday
evening in March waiting for the
have never heard of. It's the
ultimate in excitement and
unpredictability.
It's CBS, it used to also be
ESPN. It's Jim Nantz, Billy
Packer, Greg Gumbel, Quinn
Buckner, Mike Francesa, Lesley
Visser, Pat O'Brien, Dick
Stockton and Len Elmore. It's the
road to Minneapolis, Denver,
Seattle, New Orleans or wher-
ever.
"It's awesome, baby," said
Dick Vitale
It's skipping class on Friday
to stay home and watch Austin
Peay vs. East Tennessee State.
It's single elimination; the winner
goes on, the loser goes home. It's
It's Derek Whittenberg to
Lorenzo Charles.
It's Cinderella going to the
dance. It's Villanova playing "the
perfect game" in 1985. It's Keith
Smart from thebaseline to beat
Syracuse in 1987.
It's the tool that measures and
determines the legacy of the great
players.
It's Danny Manning carrying
his Kansas team on his shoulders
in 1988. It's Princeton almost
shocking Georgetown in 1989.
It's Michigan under interim
coach Steve Fisher winning it all
with Rumeal Robinson's two
clutch overtime free throws. It's
Richmond, Xavier, and Arkansas
Nuts and Bolts
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