Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Wednesday, November 25, 1992

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420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
764-0552

Editor in Chief
MATMIEW D. RENNIE
Opinion Editors
YAEI. CITRO
GEOFFREY EARLE
AMITAVA MAZUMDAR

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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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The University shell game

The court case regarding the University Board
of Regents' surreptitious hiring of University
President James Duderstadt entered its final stage
last week when the Michigan Sate Supreme court
decided to hear an appeal. Last year, a Michigan
appeals court ruled that the process the regents
used to hire the president violated the Open Meet-
ings Act. Now, the University wants a reversal.
But if the University has any sort of a case, it is one
based on expediency, not the spirit or the letter of
the law. Appealing this case could take years, and
will undoubt-
edly siphon
off undue
amounts of
t h e
University's
capital.
T h e
University's
primary argu-
ment is that if
small cliques
of regents, or
sub-quorum
groups, con-
duct inter-
views of pro-
spective can-
didates (as
they did when
hiring Duder-
stadt) the
board as a
whole is not
convening, and thus not violating the Open Meet-
ings Act.
"There is nothing in the language of the act that
forbids that practice," said Elsa Cole, general
counsel of the University. Indeed, the Act does not
specifically prohibit sub-quorum groups. The re-
gents have found a loophole, and exploited it to
conduct secret interviews of the candidates.
But regardless of how the regents conducted
the individual interviews when hiring the presi-
dent, they must have communicated with each
other at some point to narrow down the prospec-
tive candidates from 250 to one.
That means the University Board of Regents, a

publicly elected body, made its selection behind
closed doors - a clear violation of the Open
Meetings Act.
Hoping to avoid further complications with
litigation pending, the regents met with counsel last
month to determine what course they should take
when selecting the chancellor of the Dearborn
campus. The board was advised against following
the same procedure it used to select Duderstadt, and
delegated the search to the administration, in full
compliance with the law. At last week's meeting,
the regents
voted in the
new chancel-
P lor.
But this is
the wrongles-
son to learn
R, from the cur-
rent debacle.
The Act exists
to ensure the
public is in-
formed of de-
cisions that
affect it.
Handing off
key public de-
ci sions to
bodies which
are in no way
accountable
FILE PHOTO/Daiyto the public
only further
subverts the
intention of the Act, and makes the University less,
not more accountable. Instead of engaging in this
shell game, the University should be opening up the
process of selecting University officials.
If the regents want to lobby in Lansing to amend
the law, that is their prerogative. This would hardly
be a sensible use of University funds, but surely
changing the law is prefferable to breaking it. But
for now, meetings of the Board and interviews of
presidential candidates are to be conducted in pub-
lic.
By following the letter and the spirit of the Open
Meetings Act, the regents will be fulfilling their
obligation to the public.

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Battering of inflatable
doll shows sexism
To the Daily:
In my four years of participat-
ing in the "football culture" that
overtakes this campus every Fall,
I have come to learn that going to
a game means much more than
simply cheering the Wolverines to
victory. No game would be
complete without multiple rounds
of "Hail to the Victors, "cowbells
that get the whole section dancing
in rhythm or the resonating beat
of the marching band as they
finish their half-time show.
One tradition, though, which
has bothered me in the past, now
serves as the catalyst for an
incident at the Illinois game
which is not only a poor reflection
of the student body as a whole but
more particularly - the sexist
and misogynistic attitudes which
continue to flourish on this
campus.
At some point in each game,
my attention is diverted from the
field onto a student who is being
"passed up" through the rows of
the section. Grabbing onto
whatever parts of their body or
clothing they can get a hold of,
spectators keep the streak going
until the person falls down on top
of a group of fans or resists hard
enough to persuade others to put
him/her down. While I find this
problematic in and of itself, the
replacement which I saw today
was much worse.
During the second quarter, I
looked over and saw an inflatable
doll of a naked woman being
passed through the stands. As I
watched the many fans punch the
doll, grab her much exaggerated
chest and send her flying through
the air, I could not help but see
the connection between the way
in which students were treating
this "toy" and the objectification
that women confront on a daily
basis. In the future, I hope that
University students can enjoy
themselves at football games
without perpetuating and expand-
ing sexist attitudes and stereo-
types.
Abbey Frank
LSA senior

Who you gonna call? AATU

To the Daily:
What are your rights as a
tenant? What is the Ann Arbor
Tenants Union (AATU)?
Too often the answers to
these questions are unknown by
many students and faculty
members at the University. Too
many times tenants of
Washtenaw County - especially
University students - are getting
cheated, swindled and bullied by
their landlords. But this does not
have to happen. It should be
reassuring to know the simple
fact that a landlord cannot evict
you or lock you out until they
have taken you to court and have
won the court decision. Even
then the landlord cannot touch.
you or lock you out - you have
to be evicted by the county
sheriff.
Tenants have many other
rights. These include the right to
withhold rent because of inad-
equate repairs, the right to'
privacy, the right to start a
tenant's union of your own
without retaliation from the
landlord, and the right to safety
and security in your apartment.
These are your rights as a tenant
and they should not be taken for

granted by you and definitely not
by your landlord.
Still, many people know very
little about what the AATU
actually does, if they know
anything about the organization
at all. The AATU is a non-profit
organization that offers tenants
information and counseling
services. Counselors explain your
rights as a tenant so your landlord
cannot take advantage of you.
Over half of the counseling helps
University students.
The AATU does more than
counsel tenants about their rights.
We help push for laws that are
beneficial to tenants, publish
handbooks, brochures and
newsletters to spread the word
about your rights as a tenant,
conduct tenants' rights work-
shops and countless other things.
The AATU provides invaluable
services that University students
and the whole county cannot go
without.
Youtcan talk with an AATU
counselor about a problem you
are having with a landlord by
calling 763-6876.
Richard Rountree
AATU counselor.

a

AIDS coverage disappointing


Giving tanks for our blessings

Thanksgiving, the day of family tradition and
over-eating, has come again to bless us. But
before tearing into the turkey, we must take the
time to remember what this holiday represents.
Thanksgiving is the day of harmony. Accord-
ing to popular belief, the Pilgrims and Native
Americans ate together in peace. Likewise, stu-
dents will return to their homes to eat in peace with
their families and enjoy a wonderful reunion - at
least until approximately the third quarter of the
Detroit Lions football game, when they remember
why they were so anxious to move out in the first
place.
We offer a few suggestions for celebrating this
wonderful, and uniquely American (besides for
Canada) holiday.
1. Stock up. This holiday was clearly created by
students who have been forced to choose between
Peanut Butter Captain Crunch and Jello for every
meal or have been politely sampling housemates'
tofu creations so they could eat enough so that
they don't require nourishment for weeks. This
weekend is an opportunity to access an almost
unlimited supply of quality food.
2. Teach your younger relatives a vital Thanks-

giving skill that will prove invaluable later in life:
drawing turkeys by tracing your hands on construc-
tion paper. This is still the most effective way to
draw a turkey, yet the technique is dying out. The
younger generation is not taught how to make hand
turkeys, and this is a shame.
3. Be sure to watch the "Charley Brown Thanks-
giving Special," which is the story of a prematurely
bald eight year old who is forced to eat popcorn for
Thanksgiving, with no turkey or cranberry sauce.
Then he goes trick-or-treating and is given rocks
instead ofcandy. This will help you appreciate your
own Thanksgiving even more.
4. Don't confuse "giving thanks" with "giving
tanks." This is a crucial distinction. The federal
government has often bungled Thanksgiving by
trying to give thanks and ending up shipping ar-
mored vehicles to some Third World dictatorship.
5. Vandalize your neighbors' Christmas decora-
tions. If they have the gall to decorate their homes
with tacky plastic reindeer in November, chances
are that they will keep them up until May. Do you
really want to come home from school in May and
see Christmas decorations? Of course not. Nip the
threat in the bud.

To the Daily:
We would like to express
concern over the article "Gay
men, lesbians express concern
about AIDS," (11/10/92).
First, the title of the article
began "Gay men, lesbians.... "but
no lesbians were actually inter-
viewed in the article. A bisexual
woman as well as a bisexual man
were quoted, but the word
"bisexual" is nowhere to be seen
in the title.
Secondly, this article regres-
sively re-establishes AIDS as a
queer disease. Heterosexual
students get AIDS too, but were
not included in the article.
Thirdly, a woman was quoted
as saying that women do not have
to worry about AIDS as much as
men. This is false and misleading
information. Women are one of

the fastest growing groups of
people who are HIV positive.
Lastly, we find it very strange
that in an article supposedly about
students and AIDS, no HIV
positive students were inter-
viewed.
AIDS is an issue that is
important to all of us. We are
disappointed that this article,
which could have provided
meaningful information and a new
prospective on this crisis, was
content to echo old stereotypes
and misleading information.
Jeanette Bractbey
RC, School of Art junior
This letter was co-signed by
16 other members of the Ann
Arbor Social Group for Bisexual
Women
(Letters continued on page 7)

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h -eadin
"T runk 1 9 the drunk

Jodi Jacobson's recent "insight"
into the Middle East Peace talks
("Cling to hope in Middle East,"
11/11/92) contains more than
enough misinformation to merit a
response. She suggests that the key
problem is that "Jordan wants
Jerusalem, not peace." In reality,
the talks are based on U.N. resolu-
tions 242 and 338. The resolutions
are based on the premise that it is
impermissible for any country to
hold on to territories conquered in
war.
East Jerusalem, together with
the West Bank, Gaza Strip and the
Syrian Golan Heights, were all con-
quered by Israel in the 1967 war,
and have been militarily occupied
ever since. The resolutions - in
accordance with international law
-require that Israel withdraw from
these lands in return for peace.
All the negotiating Arab states
have accepted the principles of these
resolutions. Israel continues to
eauivocate, while refiingnto even

However, Jacobson would do well to reflect on
Israel's inability to "keep agreements." For
example, it broke a long-kept cease-fire with
Lebanon when it invaded that country in 1982
- eventually killing 20,000 civilians.

ed by Israeli occupation
threat of arrest, and detention with- the problem with the Middle East is
out charge or trial. Amnesty the lack of "reason" there, and that
International's most recent report unlike the West, "where we usually
testifies that once arrested, Pales- abide by laws," this is untrue of
tinians are"systematically tortured Arab governments, After a decade
or ill-treated." Might this contrib- of extraordinary corruption in U.S.
ute to "tension?" government, with Irangate leaving
Jacobson also fails to mention a mind-boggling trail of lies and

(f you were from the Panhellenic Association,
1 and you had to pick a movie to show for an anti-
alchoholism benefit, which movie would you pick?
Films such as "Clean and Sober," "The Lost
Weekend," "The Great Santini" - all of which
show alchoholism's devastating impact - could
top your list.
As you might have guessed, the question is not
hypothetical. Last week, the Panhellenic Associa-
tion staged a fundraiser to combat alchoholism by
showing "Animal House."'

"Look at John Belushi consuming vast amounts
of alchohol and acting ridiculous. He may be laugh-
ing now, but later in life he'll wish he took his
studies more seriously. I should be sure not to
repeat his terrible mistakes."
Somehow, we doubt that the moviegoers re-
acted this way.
Again, this is not to denigrate the quality of the
movie. "The Godfather" was also a terrific film, but
it would not be used by the FBI to notify the public
about the evils of organized crime.

that the Jewish settlement of East
Jerusalem continues unabated. On
the eve of present Israeli Prime
Minister Yitzhak Rabin's visit to
the United States this summer -
Rabin has himselfadvocated break-
ing the bones of Palestinians to
crush their resistance - 13 fami-
lies of Jewish settlers moved into
seven Arab homes in the Muslim
quarter of the Old City, claiming
that Jews had the legal right to

deceit, this is particularly ironic.
However, Jacobson would do
well to reflect on Israel's inability to
"keep agreements." For example, it
broke a long-kept cease-fire with
Lebanon when it invaded that coun-
try in 1982 - eventually killing
20,000 civilians. It has also persis-
tently flouted the fourth Geneva
Convention, transporting Palestin-
ian prisoners/hostages across bound-
aries, and expelling Palestinians

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