Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Thursday, September 24, 1992
J3be amidltgau tai1
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
764-0552
Editor in Chief
MATTHIEW D. RENNIL
OpinionEditors
YAEL CITRO
GEOFFREY E aARLEB
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.
Does the ICC have your money?
r ,. NOW, 1fF I TOL D Y>OU W77-AT YOUR
--> PFKSoAt/IL C0/M f-U7wER E )L-vFC' VFgOA
~ q(A PoCR&-r CALct41-o1, You'D S A,
'-/ "l~x MIKE rYo'ouFk&9 NOT fLA~lN&
L / :3 lft F LLL7 ECr/f
Y I6 K ARE ALL1
/1 " ifA y
~n l
G, 1 '
A~ LL-
~T-7t-4E S
/REfR CA/S.
:09
M ichigan law states that landlords have 45 And the
days to return security deposits to their delay. The
tenants. Despite this, the almost 200 students who poorly trai
left the Inter-Cooperative Council (ICC) lastApril intern to ba
have yet to retrieve their $200in "shares," because calculating
this law does not apply to co-ops. Even worse, consuming
thanks to an obscure law called the Michigan Former
Consumer Cooperation Act, what the ICC is doing spring can
is legal. That law needs to change. But until that October.
time, the ICC needs to clean up its books and give But the
its members their money back. charges is
The ICC claims laws regarding the prompt have littler
return of security deposits do not apply, primarily Michigant
because the ICC issues shares in the corporation, little moti
not security deposits. But the ICC effectively spirit of th
levies these shares against its members when they The co
don't pay their bills or if they damage the house - process. T
a security deposit in practice, if not in name. ance its bo
In houses and apartments, landlords are al- deadlineso
lowed 30 days to inform tenants how much of their tion of char
deposit will be returned, and 15 additional days to streamline
return the money. The ICC
If the landlord fails to do so, the tenant is students ch
legally entitled to receive double the amount of the affordable1
security deposit. But the ICC is holding out for six turn of stud
months before returning security deposits, and concerned
students have virtually no recourse. limits of le
The ICC's method of calculating charges for As it sta
former members is incredibly lethargic. The orga- loophole v
nization spends the summer months waiting for money lon
house treasurers to submit budgets, for the final houses. Co
utility bills to come in, and checking up on the found in o
houses to make sure they accurately balanced their keep in mi
books. $200 less t
Religious rigt strikes
O regon, the state that invented the "ballot ques- feel that if]
tion" as a tool for progressive reform, is now into the clo
the center of a national religious war. Lou Mabon, job securit
the leader of the Oregon Citizens Alliance placed sexual orie
Measure 9, a statute that equates homosexuality The nati
with sodomy and pedophilia, on the November 3 over Meas'
ballot. While open racism and anti-Semitism are candidate P
unacceptable today, this bill capitalizes on wide- lican Conv
6pread acceptance of anti-gay discrimination. that leadin
The referendum states that, "State, regional and Gov. Willia
local governments ... including specifically the ers, stand in
State Department of Higher Education and the McCarthyi
public schools, shall assist in setting a standard for same exclu
rOregon's youth that recognizes homosexuality ... Measur
as abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse and drives the r
that these behaviors are to be discouraged and cilman in S
ravoided." "We'rein a
Unfortunately, the 19th century logic and preju- a God-fear
,dice that lies at the heart of Measure 9 is also the pagan nati
foundation of the religious right's cultural and Measur
religious war against non-"traditional" Americans. down in d
In effect, Measure 9 would legalize discrimina- Washingto
lion by denying homosexuals government ser- So long
vices and would encourage the censorship of such tively cam
books, as "The Color Purple," because of its sexu- segment'so
ally-explicit content. to keep itsr
Many homosexuals in Oregon understandably power.
e ICC leadership is full of excuses for the
y claim individual house treasurers are
ned; that the organization only has one
llance the books for 17 houses; and that
g the balances is a difficult and time-
g process.
co-op members who moved out last
expect to have their shares returned by
problem isn't that calculating house
so difficult, the problem is the co-ops
motivation to speed up this process. But
tenant laws were created to provide a
vation. Sadly, the ICC is neglecting the
at law and students are suffering.
-ops need to find a way to accelerate this
lie ICC should hire more people to bal-
oks, it should impose sanctions and strict
on houses to insure the prompt calcula-
rges, and it should clean its own house to
for efficiency.
C was founded with the intent of offering
heap and affordable housing. But part of
housing should involve the prompt re-
dents' money. Co-ops are supposed to be
with helping students, not pushing the
:gal standards.
ands now, co-operatives possess a legal
which enables them to keep tenants'
ger than residence halls, apartments, or
-operatives do have several benefits not
ther places to live, but students should
nd that if they sign up, they will have
o spend the next fall.
again
Measure 9 passes, they will be forced to
oset. Legal rights, public housing, and
y could all be denied on the basis of
ntation.
onal religious right's fingerprints are all
ure 9. Former Republican presidential
Patrick Buchanan's speech at the Repub-
ention is a good example of the dilemma
g conservatives face. Jack Kemp and
am Weld of Massachusetts, among oth-
n stark opposition to the religious right's
te crusade, and yet, they stand on the
asionary platform of "family values."
e 9 shows the dangerous thinking that
eligious right. Ralf Walters, a city coun-
pring field, supports Measure 9. He said,
war of values here ... At what point does
ing nation cross the line and become a
on?"
e 9 will probably, and hopefully, go
defeat. But that won't be the end of
n's - and America's - problem.
as an arm of the political process ac-
paigns for the subjugation of whole
of society, voters have the responsibility
representatives out of office and out of
, ;tt A/
I
b
d
1
c
JI
' , :LY."i:.tlti."
Daily's attack of 'U'
police uncalled for
To the Daily:
I just loved the Bottom Line
"AAPD: the new easy riders" (9/
17/92). The article begins by
(somewhat) praising the Ann
Arbor Police Department (AAPD)
for introducing the new bicycle
patrol program. It then moves on
to how this program leans toward
the community policing concept
and how effective it has been in
places like New York City.
Now, in comes the immaturity
which has come to be the norm
with your paper. Your attack on
the University police was so
uncalled for and irrelevant to this
story that I almost threw the paper
in the recycling bin before I
finished.
Who cares who was the "first"
one to put the bike program on the
streets? This program has been
around for many years, starting
with the Las Vegas Police
Department. Does that make
AAPD and other followers cop-
wannabes?
Your reference to snowball
fights in the Arb is also a miscon-
ception.
What you are seeing is a
positive response to complaints of
snowball fights which are
reported by faculty and staff at the
University.
What you don't see are the
injuries that some have suffered
as a result of this "innocent game"
or the broken windows in the
caretakers house at the Arb.
Yes, this article once again
proves that no matter what the
issue is, the Daily will try to make
a mockery out of the University
Police.
If this represents the future
articles which will appear in the
Bottom Line then I am confident
that I have found the perfect paper
to line the bottom of Fido's cage.
J.L. Knight
LSA junior
Code: More harm than good
To the Daily: who are most likely to favor strict
As many critics have demon- enforcement of these code
strated, the University's State- provisions and a broad definition
ment of Students' Rights and of "harassment" and "discrimina-
Responsibilities is dangerously, tion" under the code.
and perhaps unconstitutionally, In the past five years, many
vague. Moreover, the proposition students writing to the Daily's
that a University judiciary is Opinion page have regularly
needed to punish behavior already accused fellow students of
punishable by federal, state or racism, sexism, homophobia,
local authorities is a highly anti-Semitism, ethnocentrism,
dubious one. etc. under inappropriate circum-
But one aspect of the State- stances. For example, "PC
ment has not received the scrutiny thought police" often brand a
it deserves: the composition of the student as racist for opposing
hearing panel that is to determine affirmative action or sexist for
whether a student has violated the advocating restrictions on
policy and what sanctions are women's reproductive freedoms.
appropriate if a violation is fourd Imagine if such people all
to have occurred. volunteered to serve as hearing
The Statement provides that, panelists. There are enough of
"[t]he hearing panel will consist these students so that the Univer-
of six students. At the beginning sity would not need to select any
of each academic year, students students randomly for its hearing
will be randomly selected from panelist pool. Students accused of
the student body to serve as discrimination or harassment
potential panelists until a pool of wouldn't stand a chance.
50 eligible students." Perhaps thoughts of such a
In an era of "political correct- scenario are a bit paranoid.
ness," such a procedure poses a Nevertheless, it appears the
significant hazard for those hearing panelist selection process
accused of sexual harassment, will result in hearing panels
harassment "that unrea'sonably predisposed toward sanctioning
interferes with an individual's accused students. If the Univer-
work, educational performance or sity insists on moving forward
living environment," or of with the code, it should first
"discriminating... on the basis of remove the opportunity for
race, ethnicity, gender, religion, students to volunteer to sit on the
sexual orientation," etc. hearing panels.
0
Those who would express avj
willingness to serve as potential
hearing panelists would be those
Noah Finkel
second-year law student
Bring back Calvin & Hobbes
To the Daily:
Where are Calvin & Hobbes?
I'd really appreciate it if you
could reinstate Calvin and Hobbes
to the pages of the Daily. I'm sure
many of us miss the humor of the
Nuts and Bolts cartoon that had to
make the move along with its
talented creator, but this is no
excuse for bumping off the
courageous Spaceman Spiff and
his talented tiger. Please
transmogrify them back to the
Daily.
Thanks!
Marc Ramirez
LSA sophomore
U.S., Europe ignore Balkans
v ho1s iVV af
My house is avery, very, very fine house
Y savage and bloody civil war has engulfed the
former Yugoslavia in a vicious manifestation
of historical ethnic and religious enmities in East-
ern Europe. This conflict differs from Iraq's inva-
sion of Kuwait in two ways: The fault is not quite
'as clear cut, and there is no oil in the region.
Primarily for the second reason, the European
i Community and the United States' response to the
bloodshed has been shameful and inadequate.
} ,Both Lord Carrington of Britain and Francois
Mitterand of France have travelled to the precari-
ous war zone to assess the situation and initiate
cease-fires, but they only displayed the impotence
.ofthe E.C., as hundreds of people still die each day.
Since the world community seems reluctant
;and unable to help the defend the Bosnians from
Croatian land-grabbing and Serbianethnic cleans-
:ing, Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovitch head
for a negotiating table. Anyone can understand
a lzetbegovitch's reluctance to negotiate away
Bosnian land. But unless he does so, he may
sacrifice the Bosnian population.
The E.C., lacking the will to resolve a clearly
European problem, abdicated its responsibilities
e to the United Nations and General Secretary of the
-U.N. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. Since the deploy-
ment of peacekeeping forces this past summer, the
U.N. has so far led a respectable and fair interna-
tional approach to the hostile military situation in
- n.nnin. .Upnninn T TnfnrhinnotPu thP TT N hiec
possible. This includes the territory outside
Sarajevo.
Part of the real tragedy, is that the break-away
republics of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and
Macedonia have long-since been recognized by the
world community and currently hold seats in the
U.N. General Assembly. Moreover, the republics
have all established democratically elected and
legitimate governments. Because of this, the United
States - in light of Europe's cautious involvement
- has the moral responsibility to play a more
assertive diplomatic role. The only remaining su-
perpower, and the self-proclaimed defender of
freedom, appears curiously detached from the most
violent fight for freedom in Europe since World
War II. The lack of U.S. involvement has signaled
to the warring factions that the lone superpower
just doesn't care enough to help.
- f
The best way to meet people at
college is, without question, sum-
mer subletting. When you sublet
your room over the summer, your
life can become forever intertwined
with that of a complete stranger,
even after he moves out of your
room and into prison.
Actually, this is a bit of an exag-
geration. While the police have
come to our house asking questions
about one of our subletters, he has
not actually
been im-
prisoned
yet,as far as JONA - ANn
we know.
And while ITI
it is true that
the guy
w h o
subletted
my room has suddenly come upon a
large sum of money and tempo-
rarily retired at the age of 21,1 have
no evidence that he has ever en-
gaged in illegal behavior.
But my point is that his influ-
ence over my life has remained
strong. He helped to solidify this
bond by leaving most of his posses-
sions in the room after he left. So
now, thanks to his generosity, I own
several Victoria's Secret Cata-
is that I have expanded my musical
tastes, albeit involuntarily. Our
next-door neighbors, correctly as-
suming that I do not own any rap,
have generously played their mu-
sic at a volume sufficient for me to
share in the experience day and
night.
They have this one particular
song which has no tune or lyrics,
but consists of the subwoofer pul-
sating on and off. Our windows
actually rattle. The song goes like
this:
"Whooooooom" (sound of pul-
sating subwoofer which cannot be
closely approximated in the En-
glish language.)
[pause]
"Whooooooom"
[pause]
(repeat infinitely)
While it is not the most artisti-
cally complex song ever composed,
it contains deep social commen-
tary.
I realize that there is very little I
can do about the fact that my life
now has a rap soundtrack. How-
ever, I'm certain that I have the
right to a glass shard-free environ-
ment. For justice, I went to the Ann
Arbor Tenants Union (AATU) for
advice. My one previous encounter
need to do to receive better living
conditions in my room is to follow a
simple, two-step process:
1) Overthrow the oppressive
capitalistic system which allows
parasitic landlords to exploit my la-
bor and force me to live in unimag-
inable squalor.
2) Enjoy free, spacious housing
in a socialist worker's paradise.
Easy enough! Where can I get
some Molotov cocktails?
Also, the AATU provided a
bunch of facts and strategies on with-
holding rent to my landlord to make
repairs, none of which will ever be
used by me on account of the fact
that my landlord weighs more than
270 lbs. and could snap my neck
with one hand.
Actually, my landlord is very
kind and understanding. His basic
strategy when dealing with us is to
agree to all of our demands, and then
not follow through. This is our typi-
cal conversation:
Me: "I would like it if you re-
paired the holes in my wall."
Landlord: "Sure thing."
Me: "And I still need a desk."
Landlord: "You bet. I'll takecare
of it."
Me: "And a suitcase filled with
$600,000 in nonsequentially num-
I-