01 Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Wednesday, March 25,1992 Wh ihgn Baily Editor in Chief MATI'IIEW D. REiNNIE 4 .A ~ (*~( >' + f _1 O7 O 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 .4 f 1 'Go oooo J/fi ,§Z,.( ?1 z I ...,. 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. : r1" V:."tY. rt .............. . . .:.Y.1"::.:.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .: ".:':. . : ::*::::.'.".r."*. 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. 1~ 1 ti ----n r-- +r+ rr l r r j~viJ /v Ul 12_G_ -_ , LLAi i _ r DO - -- - 9;;;A tl f l * 1 r / - s ( -. I'll B A SIC- IN TINC-T i J.I ..1 : ti:i..1Y "::: ^: :: :;L: :ti:. :ti i:i: :":"::;: ':{} ::::;:;":::::::::::.Rr.".1":.1L1Y::. .".L'i. i."i:.:"i::::::i:':::":^:"::;'::;'i:':"::' ""::":"s "':;."1''" :.\rr 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 I *I 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 RAWt7Y,'1l/E F.C.C. IS P'FWI1 .Y JrST TM IT EASY... IIE.LO, WERE BACK.Z'VE ti)ST6M INRRH0Zt 4~T ' BOYcS AT W& F.G.G.. I A t nosr jftmi- U.S7N& TLomy. KI D4AT& OKYa LAI~P nI FAUST sums. "I, . by Judd Winick - CW--E or HrM! Y }