01
Page 4 -The Michigan Daily-- Thursday, March 26, 1992
d(it()r ini Chief
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
764 - 0552
MATI HIEW D. RE NNIE
Opinion Edilors
YAEL CITRO
GEOFFREY EARLE
AMITAVA MAZUMDAR
Edited and Managed
by Students at the
University of Michigan
Unsigmed editorials represent a inajority of the Daily's Edlitorial Board.
All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.
Spike Lee does the wrong thing
Spike Lee, the iconoclastic Black film-maker students.
Swho has prompted heated debate over racial Lee, who is currently working on a film about
issues across the country, will be speaking on the civil rights activist Malcolm X, has become an
campus next month. Unlike many of the speeches important figure in Hollywood, as both an insider
at the University, however, Lee's - - - -- --and a critic. His films have received
appearance will not be free. a great deal of critical acclaim and
People who want to hear the film- financial success.
maker will have to pay $6.50 just to Surely Lee has earned enough
get in the door. The justification for money charging movie-goers $6.00
ticket price: Lee, who's fame has per film that he doesn't need to hit
been spiraling since the release of his fans with a double burden and
his film Do the Right Thing, carries charge them to hear him speak.
a $15,000 price tag. Moreover, speeches serve a differ-
In an unusual feat of coopera- ent function than do movies and
tion, theBlackStudent Union, Hillel, other paid events.
the Inter Cooperative Council, and In a university setting, students
the University Activities Center have do not have to pay to hear a profes-
joined forces to put up the money to sor give a lecture outside of the
bring Lee to campus. This assort-- classroom. It is the nature of a
ment of strange bedfellows is a good university to conduct intelligent dis-
sign considering the deteriorating cussions over critical issues. Lee
condition of race relations on cam- should come to the University and
pus, and Lee certainly has the right add to the debate without needing
to carge whatever he wants for his oe shid$d1aveO00to
servces.No ne soul hav topay t
But while Lee has a valuable message - one have for this type of intellectual experience, espe-
which all students should be entitled to hear - it cially if it concerns the topic of race relations,
is discouraging that he would be so concerned with which Lee finds so important he addresses it in all
earning a profit. A $6.50 ticket price is enough to of his films.
discourage even some of the most avid fans from The next time Lee comes to town, we hope he
attending the speech, and it effectively and un- does the right thing, instead of doing what is
fairly passes the cost of Lee's $15,000 speech on to profitable.
'The school of LSA announced last week that it Gov. John Engler has vowed not to cut higher
..will eliminate one of its associate dean posi- education. Technically, he has remained true to his
tions because of budget constraints. One of the pledge. But Engler refuses to allow University
other associate deans will take up the responsibili- funding to increase even with the rate of inflation,
ties of the old position, and will handle both so in effect, the University suffers a small cut each
undergraduate education and long-range planning. year.
While it is discouraging that economic condi- In order to keep pace with a stagnant budget,
tions are such that the University must make cut- something has to be cut. It is far better to get rid of
backs, if the cuts must come, it is best to take them an associate dean position than to cut an important
out of the bloated administration, class or an important academic department. One
For years, the University's bureaucracy has has to wonder why, if LSA can suddenly live
multiplied at an almost exponential rate. Dur"ig without an associate, it hired one in the first place?
the 1980s, the number of University administra- The LSA administration may have to struggle
tors increased 28 percent, while the number of with only four, instead of the five associate deans
faculty positions increased by only 7.1 percent, it currently employs, but that is what associate
and student enrollment increased a mere 1.8 per- deans are best at - figuring out how to reshuffle
cent. Including other hirings in medical and re- the administration and keep themselves busy.
search departments, administrative growth was Who knows? Perhaps the University will hire
actually 47.7 percent. For years, as the University some more associates to study how the associates
receivedincreased funding, it channeled that money -deal with the loss of one of their associates. But
into the Fleming building instead of into the class- that's what the University of Michigan, Inc. is all
room. Now that the money is gone, the University about.
must make some tough choices.
Kennedy:'Ido.' Does he?
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01
Homosexality
contributes to decay
To the Daily:
The reaction of Bennett
Seacrist's article of 1/28/92 has
been so disturbing to me, that I
feel I must respond.
True, Mr. Seacrist was
incorrect in stating that man is the
only species in which homosexual
relations occur. The point is that
such sexually deviant behavior
within the animal kingdom does
not justify its existence amongst
humans. Have we not been called
to a higher plateau of moral
conduct relative to animals which
act solely on instinct?
Ms. Hauck made a mistake
incorporating scripture into her
argument.
The Bible unequivocally
condemns same-sex physical
relationships as immoral and
shameful (read Romans 1:25-32).
Her implication that Ruth and
Naomi were lesbian lovers is not
only sacrilegious, but belies her
inability to comprehend a deep
friendship and self-sacrificing
love based on a common faith, not
on a sexual relationship.
Homosexuality is a sexual
preference possessed by some in
our society. This does not
condone its practice, however.
Just as alcoholics or compulsive
gamblers are expected to resist
their respective weaknesses, so
homosexualityemust be resisted.
I do not feel frightened by
homosexuality. I simply feel it is
wrong and is contributing factor
to the decay of our country's
moral structure. Wouldn't the
world be a better place if instead
of appealing to whiptail lizards
and monkeys for direction on
acceptable behavior, we looked to
the revealed word of our Creator?
Daniel Styles
Engineering graduate student
Daily hypocrisy
To the Daily:
Many thanks for the special
slick-paper non-recyclable insert
and throw-away (3/16/92).
All your editorials about our
environment and social responsi-
bility go straight to hell when you
do your weekly money-making
stunt.
Don't you think the Daily
could afford to be a bit more
thoughtful?
Maybe you guys should have a
principle or two?
Maybe an environmental
policy of your own?
Thanks.
0l
Bert G. Hornback
English professor
Tyson victim of racist system
To the Daily:
I was dumbfounded when I.
read Vince Wilk's letter in the
daily ("Race Not An Issue," 3/11/
92). Blind ignorance: such as that
displayed by Wilk, is one of the
main reasons why there are so
many problems confronting
African Americans and whites.
I would first like to address
Mr. Wilk's opinion on the Mike
Tyson trial in comparison to the
William Kennedy Smith trial. A
person would have to be a
complete fool or a racist to
believe there was not a degree of
racism or bias involved in the
Tyson trial. In both cases there
were discrepancies in the
women's stories, so why was
Tyson sentenced and Kennedy
acquitted? Simply because Tyson
is a Black male who dame from
virtually nothing. Smith, however,
was born into the Kennedy
family, and in case no one had
noticed, the Kennedy family is
basically immune from American
laws.
I feel it necessary to remind
the readers of the case when
Edward Kennedy, while driving
drunk, drove into Chappaquidick
Bay, killing the young girl that
was in the car with him. Of course
he was acquitted as well. If Mr.
Wilk wishes to speak on accept-
able and unacceptable behavior
maybe we should discuss the
behavior of the young lady Tyson
supposedly raped. Mike Tyson
made it clear to her what he
wanted. In plain words he said he
wanted to f--k her. They had
kissed several times and she went
to his room in the early hours of
the morning. What other reason
could she have has for going to
his room?
I feel Mike Tyson is the
victim of a racist judicial system.
It makes no difference that the
jury was Black. What does make
a difference is that the United
States legal system is run by
white males who are able to
manipulate juries regardless of
the race of the people on the jury.
Oh, by the way, there are Blacks
who are racist against Blacks, just
as there are whites who are racist
against Blacks.
Due to length restrictions I am
forced to cut this letter short, but
I do have one more thing to say
to Mr. Wilk: you must not refer
to the leaders of the African-
American community as foolish!
Just as George Washington, Abe
Lincoln and John F. Kennedy are
your leaders and hold great
importance to you, Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and
many other important African
Americans are my leaders and
hold monumental importance to
me.
Michael Davis
LSA first-year student
10
wo years ago, GQ Magazine published a
devastatingly detailed account of Sen. Ed-
ward Kennedy's (D-Mass.) personal life. The
senator's exploits, reported GQ, have included
sexual encounters in public places with enough
alcohol to available to please the most booze-
mongering fraternity. But there
seems to be good news for the
Kennedy family and the Kennedy
reputation. The senator has tenta-
tively agreed to groundI his high-
flying playboy lifestyle and an-
nouncedhisplans to marry anestab- N
lished Washington lawyer.
The scandal at the Kennedy es-
tate in Palm Beach prompted .
'Kennedy to publicly recognize the
"faults in the conduct of (his) pri-
vate life' in a speech to the John F.
Kennedy School of Government.
Kennedy seems to have finally rec-
ognized that his playboy reputation
has interfered with his ability to
meet his responsibilities as a U.S.
Senator.
The senator sat conspicuously
quiet during the Clarence Thomas
hearings, despite the fact thathe has been one ofthe
Senate's most ardent supporters of women's rights.
In light of the accident at Chappequidick -- where
a young woman was killed when the senator's car
drove off a bridge into the bay - and the Palm
Beach scandal, Kennedy would have looked ri-
diculous speaking against Thomas' nomination
because of alleged sexual harassment.
Hopefully, the upcoming marriage will help the
senator rebuild a life more becoming of an elected
official. Currently, Kennedy is considered the most
powerful liberal in the Senate, often referred to as
the King of Capitol Hill. His 30 years in the upper
chamber has allowed him to build a record any
representative would envy.
Friend and colleague Sen. Orin
Hatch (R-Utah) has referred to
Kennedy as one of the five most
influential senators in history. His
performance will only improve if
he can regain the respect of the
American people.
Considering his record, many
may be skeptical about Kennedy's
ability to commit to a single part-
ner. But things look bright. His fi-
ancee is an established lawyer who
neither needs Kennedy money (the
senator is worth some $40 million)
nor Kennedy fame. There may ac-
tually be something deep to this
relationship.
Imagine.
For those who are supporters of
the Massachusetts senator, this mar-
riage could even be a step toward
the White House.
Kennedy proved in 1980 that he could never
win the Democratic nomination, primarily be-
cause of memories of Chappequidick. This mar-
riage could bring renewed respectability in the
eyes of the American people and new chance to
prove his electability.
Could it be?
President Kennedy in 1996? Imagine.
by Judd Winick
Melmg ~tbuilt throughrpesign
Patrick Buchanan has consis-
tently won a significant proportion
of votes in the Republican presi-
dential primaries with the slogan
"America First." But the year 2000
is just around the corner and there is
every indication
that the United ~**~ti**
States will limp
into the next mil- :
lennium well be-
hind other first- '
world countries,
notjusteconomi-
cally, as every-
one fears, but in
terms of social Elizabeth Cole.
policy as well.
For years the United States has
stood with the Republic of South
Africa at the back of the line for
progressive social movement. These
countries share the distinction of
being the only industrialized na-
tions without some form ofnational
health insurance, for example. But
recent events suggest that ourcoun-
terpart may be slowly advancing
down the road toward ajust society
without us.
Whites in South Africa went to
the polls last week to determine
whether their constitution should
be reformed to extend power to the
nation's Black majority. About 70
similar question. Last December,
he posed this hypothetical to the
electorate: "If we had to take a
million immigrants in, say Zulus,
next year, or Englishmen, and put
them in Virginia, what group would
be easier to assimilate?" Buchanan
will put America first," he says, "we
mean our Western heritage is going
to be handed down to future genera-
tions, not dumped onto some land-
fill called multi-culturalism."
The Buchanan campaign is a
backlash against minority group
America has always absorbed foreign peoples
into its population, but these immigrants were
largely forced to cast off their native cultures in
return for full citizenship.
constructed this scenario to sug-
gest that the absorption of non-
white peoples and their cultures
into the American mainstream is
unnatural, arguing that Europeans
are most similar to "us," and of
course are more welcome neigh-
bors.
In truth, America has always
absorbed foreign peoples into its
population, but these immigrants
wex largely forced to cast off their
native cultures in return for full
citizenship. Blacks and Native
Americans, coming under the ju-
risdiction of the U.S. government
involuntarily, were not even ac-
corded this option, and were essen-
tially denied any political power
whatsoever.
The illusion of a homogenous
1, f . . r±- - - - --. 11 A t~n Af
demands forjust representation. His
supporters would erase the real con-
tributions of Blacks, Asians and
other non-white peoples who lived,
worked and died in this country from
the heritage that we will bequeath to
our children. They are the real his-
torical revisionists. And is it merely
a coincidence that he chose the
Zulus, a group indigenous to South
Africa, to personify the feared
"other?" Or was thecommentmeant
to recall a time not so long ago,
when Blacks living within the bor-
ders of this country were neverthe-
less socially, politically and eco-
nomically locked outside of it by a
system of apartheid known as Jim
Crow?
In Michigan's presidential pri-
mary last week, 25 percent of Re-
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