Page 4 -The Michigan Daily- Monday, November 30, 1992

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420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
764-0552

Editor in Chief
MATTHEW D. RENNIE
Opinion Editors
YAEL CITRO
GEOFFREY EARLE
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.
Diversity sees encouraging progess

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According to the University's faculty racial and
ethnic profile, the percentage of minority
faculty is up to 13 percent. The percentage has
risen roughly 2 percent since 1989, which is a
significant increase. The University seems to be
working in the right direction toward bringing
about a more diverse faculty.
A 2-percent increase over a three year period
may seem paltry at first. But it represents a laud-
able achievement for several reasons.
First, University faculties have a low turnover
rate, as they should. This means that even if the
University were to hire nothing but minorities to
fill vacated positions, it would still take years until
the faculty took on a racial composition reflective
of society as a whole.
Second, many African Americans and Hispan-
ics face barriers which obstruct the path to educa-
tional advancement, which is necessary to be-
come a professor. Furthermore, minority gradu-
ates from disadvantaged backgrounds often choose
- understandably - to enter the workforce and
seek the financial security that they might not have
enjoyed previously.
White, upper-middle -lass graduates, on the
other hand, can afford to spend several more non-
lucrative years studying toward a PhD. Therefore,
it is difficult for the American educational system
to produce enough Black PhDs to even replace
existing Black faculty. The primary barrier to a

more diverse faculty is society as a whole.
Third, increased awareness of the need for a
diverse faculty has led to fierce competition among
universities to lure existing faculty of color.
Wealthier private institutions can attract minority
professors by offering salaries which the Univer-
sity of Michigan has difficulty matching. While
recruitment of quality teachers -with an emphasis
on faculty of color - is a precondition for the
University's position as a world class learning
institution, the University would be wise to engage
in bidding wars with caution.
Considering all of these factors, the University
has done a respectable job of recruiting faculty of
color. The job is, of course, not finished. The
University faculty is still disproportionately male,
white, and from financially comfortable back-
grounds. It would be naive to think that the
University's faculty could plausibly reflect the ra-
cial composition of American society anytime within
the near future. But if the University can continue
its recent progress, it will have taken a giant step
toward creating a diverse community.
Minority faculty provide role models to stu-
dents of color, and high numbers of minority pro-
fessors sends the message to minority students that
they truly belong on campus. By actively taking
steps to diversify the faculty, the University admin-
istration is creating a better learning environment
for everyone.


Somalia is in chaos, needs U.S. help

The Bush administration finally announced its
intention to send some 14,000 troops on a
relief mission to Somalia. A bloody and ruthless
civil war, now two-years old, decimated whole
villages, and resulted in a devastating famine that
threatens the existence of a whole generation of
Somalians. During that time, the international
community did little to curb the violence and the
suffering. The United Nations sent an under-armed
relief force of 500 troops; they have been unable,
for the most part, to distribute relief in the war
zone. President
Bush's decisionto
send help is wel-
come.
The two-year
civil war has left
Somalia without
government and
without rule-of-
law. This chaos
has made peace a
nearly impossible
goal - impos-
sible, at least, un-
til the outside
world recognizes
the need for at
least minimal in-
tgrvention.____________
General of the
U.N. Boutros-Boutros Ghali recognized the need
to focus international attention on Africa, long
relegated beneath European concerns. Boutros-
Ghali's reluctance to commit great resources to
the Balkan crisis is, thus, understandable. Unfor-
tunately, both the U.N. and the international com-
munity have failed to act adequately or responsi-
bly in both situations. A mere 500 U.N. relief
troops couldn't begin to temper the crisis in Soma-
lia.
The increasingly isolationist sentiments in the
United States made the announcement to send
troops a surprise. The fact that the president com-
mitted U.S. forces during a transition period made
the move that much more surprising. But at least

the White House illustrated, however reluctantly,
the United States' willingness to stay active within
the international community.
Somalia had received little press attention until
many pointed out that the situation was in many
ways more serious than the spot-lighted Yugoslav
crisis. Then, pictures of starving and malnourished
children covered news magazines and filled televi-
sion screens. In many ways, it was reminiscent of
the American response to the Ethiopian crisis. But
this time, the solution cannot be a year of sympathy,
fu n d -r ais ing
and rock con-
certs. Millions
of Somalian
children are not
expected to sur-
vive the middle
of next year.
A whole
generation of
Somali ans may
have been
wipedoutbythe
senseless war
and its famine.
If an interna-
tional commu-
nity of nations
has any respon-
AP PHOTOsibilities, surely
one of them
must be resuscitating a dying country.
Somalia was a cold war ally of the United State's
during the 1970s, and was thus a recipient of
American military training and hardware. Natu-
rally, much of that training and hardware is now
being used on fellow Somalians. The United States,
thus, has a clear moral responsibility to help those
devastated by the famine and the civil war.
The deployment of troops can do only good. By
protecting the seaport and airport at Mogadishu,
accompanying convoys of relief supplies, protect-
ing the lives of volunteer and independent relief
workers, and distributing food to the millions who
need it, the United States may help salvage some-
thing from this international tragedy.

Hockey fans can take
care of themselves
To the Daily:
This letter is in response to
Bob Crespi's letter "How to be a
better hockey fan," (11/12/92).
I have been to many Cornell
home games, and I have never
seen a more putrid display of
hockey fan wannabes. Often,
Cornell fans cause the team to
receive bench minor penalties for
throwing various items onto the
ice. In addition, their cheers are
unbelievably stupid and inane.
Please disregard Mr. Crespi's
suggestions.
Jeffrey raufman
Rackham graduate student
Now is not a good time
To the Daily:
I am sitting in the Angell Hall
Computing Cen er waiting for a
two-page document to print out.
There about 30 students are
currently standing around the
three laser printers.
Instead of alleviating the
problem, the employees here
decided that this would be a fine
time to print out copies of the
Uniquename application forms.
Aren't the printers supposed to
be used as printers and not
copiers? Why can't the people
here take the final copy of the
form to one of the printing
companies in Ann Arbor and
make a million copies without
making it impossible for me to
print my document and leave in
less than half an hour?
Andrew Varner
LSA senior

Some people s
To the Daily
I would like to commend
Carol Genyea Kaplan's op-ed
piece ("Brutalization of inflatable
doll is symbolic," 11/23/92)
regarding certain activities at the
Michigan-Illinois game. I felt it
ironic that she should state the
similarity between bouncing this
doll around and the Anita Hill
testimony. That was the first
thing on my mind as I saw the
inflatable being punched around
the stands. I almost wept at the
thought of Anita Hill's memory
going to waste, and this poor
inanimate doll not being able to
defend itself.
Not only do we men violate
women's rights by using inflat-
able women for purposes other
than intended, but we commit the
same travesties when we bounce
beach balls and blow-up
Godzillas. We do not stop to
think of the thousands of little

hould lighten up
beach balls watching the game on
television. Nor do we consider
Mr. Godzilla who is watching the
game and sees a replica of himself
being tossed around a stadium.
But the nonsense does not stop
at inflatable toys. Think of those
poor marshmallows being thrown
around by mostly male students. It
obviously represents the forcing of
one's gonads upon our female
students. I believe the only
solution to problems like these is
to ban men from football games
- only then would women feel
safe from these sexist activities.
The list could go on and on,
but I'm laughing too hard at the
pettiness of it all - just as I did
when I read Genyea Kaplan's
article. Call me a woman hater,
but this is out of hand. I have two
words for Carol - lighten up.
Jon McDonnell
Engineering junior

01

Accept everyone's experiences

To the Daily:
This letter is in response to
Karmen Hall ("Give police a
break," 11/20/92). I would like to
say that I am not surprised by
your ignorance on race relations
and everyday happenings on this
campus and in society otherwise.
I am, however, surprised at your
resistance to education about the
situation. This type of resistance
is indicative of the larger society
and is largely responsible for
some of the problems we have
with race relations today.
There is a history of problems
between African-Americans
males and police. The Rodney
King incident and now the Malice

Green incident have succeeded in,
if nothing else, bringing to the
attention of the public injustices
that many African Americans
experience on a smaller scale day
in and day out.
It's the refusal by people like
yourself to listen to and accept the
truth that helps perpetuate many
of these problems. My advice to
you is that you try to imagine that
the world you live in is not
necessarily the world I live in. The
next time someone shares with
you experiences that are different
than yours, you try to learn instead
of dismissing them.
Cedric Small
School of Education senior

0
6

Co-4''INIEF ;
Censored artist, activist speaks out

by Veronica Vera


Release the Kennedy files

An open letter to University of
Michigan Law students and the
readers of The Michigan Daily:
N..
First, I would like to thank artist
and activist Carol Jacobsen who
was brave enough to mount a show
that offered a view of sex work by
choice, going right to the heart of
the Catherine MacKinnon and An-
drea Dworkin "prostitute-as-vic-
tim" theory. I commend the Michi-
gan Law & Gender Journal staff
who invited her to present a view in
opposition to the dominant view of
the symposium.
It seems the opposition was a lot
more than you bargained for. The
difference was that Ms. Jacobsen
stuck to her side of the verbal con-
tract, but those who offered her a
forum reneged.
I say this from the vantage point
of having seen my tape, "Portrait of
a Sexual Evolutionary" -the piece
that contained the commercial im-
ages that seemed to have fueled the
conflict. Since most of you have not
seen the video program, I will give
a little background.
"Portrait" was made after I had
testified in 1984 before the Senate
Judiciary Committee. The meetings
were called by the government in
response to proposals that there be
more laws instituted t..garding por-
nography. The --, osals were those
initiated in Minneapolis and then in

A dominant patriarchy? Wake up folks. The
patriarchy is dead and as any good whore can
tell you, it never existed in the bedroom.

al

and so I created "Portrait," using as
illustration still photographs, film
and video clips from my own expe-
riences. It was great fun to make. In
creating the piece, I was granted
even more insights. The decision to
use explicit clips was a decision to
stay true to my experience.
It is very gratifying to me that
"Portrait," which is my propaganda,
has infiltrated your campus to land
right in the laps of MacKinnon and
Dworkin who helped inspire its cre-

Before the November election, candidate Bill
Clinton promised the American people that
he would release all government files concerning
the 1963 assassination ofPresident John Kennedy.
His pledge was most probably a result of the
Oliver Stone's controversial film "JFK." The presi-
dent-elect, however, has already shown his ability
to temper his views as a result of new pressures.
His stances on China, Haiti, and homosexuals in
the military have been clearly watered-down or
intentionally marginalized. Clinton should be sure
not to repeat this mistake by similarly distancing
himself from the pledge to release the Kennedy
files.
Clinton has given few clues about what role the

example, Rep. Don Edwards (D-Calif.) amended
the bill to not allow access to those files which are
privately owned, like the autopsy photographs.
Clearly, such legislation hinders the search for
truth. But the vast majority of pertinent information
is not private property, but lies within the archives
of the CIA and the FBI.
Politicians, the press and historians have called
conspiracy theorists buffs and their theories ludi-
crous. They may or may not be correct. But the'in-
coming president can put a lot of minds at ease by
doing what he promised to do: removing the veil
from the Kennedy mystery.
For those that feel the CIA and FBI probably
have little to offer to the century's greatest murder

as a virtue and I promote the divine
power of sexual pleasure. Whatl do
not choose to support is sexual an- 4
ger. I do not get off on it. I will leave
that to MacKinnon and Dworkin -
for it is their right.
This incident; which I am sure
has become most embarrassing, of-
fers a great opportunity to Univer-
sity Law students. Fear of sex, bred
by ignorance, imprisons us all. Laws
regarding prostitution and pornog-
raphy imprison us all - personally

ation. It's ironic thatthe tape's stron-
gestopponents become its bestpub-
licists.
The incident at the University
of Michigan is part of a much
broader picture. There are growing
pains in society that is slowly com-
ing to grips with its sexuality, in-
cluding the laws surrounding it.
If you were trying to study any
other subject, you would study the
experts. Carol Jacobsen offered you
practical experts. I think one reason
our work was devalued was be-
cause prostitution and pornogra-
phy are considered illegal. As fu-
ture lawyers, you have a responsi-
bility to study these laws, from all
sides. If you are a woman, that goes
double.
I understand that sexually ex-

and politically. As Law students,
you can accept the challenge that
lies in your midst and examine these
laws with open hearts land open
minds.
Carol Jacobsen has initiated a
statement, supported by all the art-
ists involved, that petitions Dean of
the University of Michigan Law
School Lee Bollinger to reinstall the
exhibit and call a forum to discuss
the events. Consider signing it. Don't
let fear make you deaf to the voices
of those with different opinions;
dumb when you are offered the
opportunity to engage in dialogue;
and blind to visions beyond your
imagination.
A dominant patriarchy? Wake
up folks. The patriarchy is dead and
as any good whore can tell you, it