Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Tuesday, December 1, 1992
I1E 31cb43u gttn vtj
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
764-0552
Editor in Chief
MATTIIEW 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.
Student regent must be MCC goal
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Last week, the Michigan Collegiate Coalition
(MCC) - a student lobbying organization -
met to outline its goals for next year. One proposal
bandied about was to amend the state constitution
to mandate a student representative on the govern-
ing board of every state university. The effect of
such an amendment on this campus would be to
enact a student regent, a much-needed reform to
protect student rights and interests.
The University is governed by a board of
regents, which consists of eight party officials
who are elected at-large by Michigan voters. The
logic behind allowing the entire state to select the
University's regents is thatthe University is funded
in part by state tax dollars, so tax payers should
have a say in how their money is spent.
The problem with this system is that those who
are affected most by the policies of the regents -
i.e, the University community - have little say in
the process. University students and staff repre-
sent only a tiny fraction of the state's population,
and many students vote in their home states. The
University Board of Regents, in short, represents
an authority imposed on the University from with-
out.
In recent years this schism has manifested
itself in a massive communication gap between
regents and the student body. The regents have
made decisions on crucial issues such as
deputization and the code with little or no student
input.
. Typically, interaction between students and
regents in recent years has consisted of protestors
chanting and hurling epithets as the regents briskly
stride from the Fleming Building to their cars. This
is not communication.
The administration, on the other hand, has main-
tained a splendid dialogue with the regents. It is a
relationship of trust and cooperation. It should be
no surprise, then, that the regents favor the
administration's policies over student interests.
One logical solution is to include an elected
student on the board. It is true that state taxpayers
help support the University. But student tuition
dollars account for an even bigger share of the
University budget. If those who pay for the Univer-
sity should have a say in how it is run, then it
follows that students deserve at least one voice in
the process.
A student regent would have only one vote, of
course. But he or she would provide a liason be-
tween the student body and the board. Presumably,
this would balance the opinions heard by the re-
gents. Even if the regents were to disagree with the
student regent's opinion, they would at least have
the benefit of student input before making a deci-
sion.
MCC - whose funding, incidentally, the re-
gents cut this summer - could help introduce a
student regent by following through on its proposal
to lobby for this amendment in the State House.
Such a lobbying effort could very well face oppo-
sition in Lansing. But the goal of a student regent is
an important one. Students at public universities
throughout the state deserve at least a modicum of
self-determination.
harassment
havior had been taken for granted. The era where
sexual misconduct is part of Washington job de-
scriptions must come to an end; and it seems the end
may be on the distant horizon.
The Senate will boast seven female members
when the new session begins in January. Suppos-
edly, committee chairs are reserving seats in Judi-
ciary and Ethics, among others, for potential fe-
male applicants. By appointing women to these and
other major committees, the Senate can keep from
repeating the Clarence Thomas fiasco and investi-
gate sexual miscon-
duct more vigor-
ously.
Packwood is not
the only one accused
ofsexual harassment.
Sen. Daniel Inouye
(D-Hawaii) may also
face a similar ethics
investigation. There
is some evidence that
the press and other
interested organiza-
tions (including
feminist groups) are
placing less pressure
aura Roche, two of ten women on Inouye, however.
ackwood of sexual harassment, There may be a
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Senate must fight
The U.S. Senate seems genuinely unable to go
a few months without scandal. If it's not Sen.
Ted Kennedy's (D-Mass.) drunken shenanigans,
then Sens. Phil Gramm (R-Texas) and Orin Hatch
(R-Utah) are cuddling up to some now-defunct
savings and loan. Now, accusations regarding
Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.) are threatening his
recent campaign victory. Ten women have come
forward to accuse Packwood of sexual harass-
ment. Such accusations are not new. Packwood
has a reputation inside the beltway of treating
w o m e n
unprofessionally, to say
the least. Considering
the seriousness of the
accusations, and per-
Packwood's own re-
quests, the Senate
should convene an eth-
ics investigation and x
get to the bottom of the
sexual harassment is-a
sue.
Packwood denies
some of the accusa-
tions, and blames an
alcohol problem for the
others. However, Julie Julie Williamson, left, and M
Williamson, analleged accusing Oregon Sen. Bob P
victim of Packwood's speak out in Portland Friday.
misbehavior, insists
that she never smelled alcohol on the senator's
breath during the incidents.
Moreover, Williamson claims she was threat-
ened by Packwood allies to keep silent during the.
election campaign, otherwise unsavory facts about
her life would be revealed to the press. The
Packwood team has given little reason to doubt
these accusations of blackmail, especially consid-
ering the fact that Williamson provided specific
names, while nobody has rushed forward to deny
them.
The specifics, however, are less relevant than
the broader issues. Washington has long been a
haven for sexual harassers. In the past, such be-
Don't misrepresent
Malcolm X's message
To the Daily:
I'm not writing to agree or
disagree with Aaron Hamburger's
opinion of Spike Lee's "Malcolm
X," ("How I learned to stop
worrying and love Spike Lee,"
11/23/92). What I yearn for is
verification of a rather severe
statement that Hamburger makes,
about Malcolm X being "a man
who advocated Black separatism
and supremacy. ks
I've noticed in the past how
desperately Hamburger has
needed to make the irrepressible
Spike - a great artist in his own
right - answer to Hamburger's
own priorities as a white male and
film critic. This is why it stuck me
as bold that Hamburger took to
insulting the intelligence of Lee's
Afrikan (sic.) audience by
somehow equating that early
Malcolm's separatist ideology
with "Black supremacy."
Hamburger's statement is
false. The truth is, El Hajj Malik
El Shabazz, better known to the
world as Malcolm X, was a
driven, intelligent, bold and
passionate man who struggled for
Black liberation from the status
quo of white supremacy - by
any means necessary.
Hamburger should realize that
the inevitable destruction of
whiter supremacy does not
automatically mean its replace-
ment with something so banal as
"Black supremacy." White
supremacy should only be
replaced with truth, justice and
correctness - the presence of
which will produce peace.
Forrest Green III
LSA junior
To the Daily:
Due to the concerns from
some student groups regarding
the event which featured Nadine
Strossen and Daryl Gates, we
would like to clarify the event's
purpose. This event was created
to express growing concerns
about the practical application of
criminal justice in our society.
Our intent in bringing Daryl
Gates to campus was not to
offend any members of the
community of affirm his ideals or
values.
The format of this debate
promotes the competition of ideas
that is cherished in the First
Amendment. Lee Bollinger, Dean
of the Law School and expert on
constitutional rights, was invited
to meditate the debate to insure
an open, intellectual expression
of ideas. Nadine Strossen,
President of the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU), was
invited to present a contradictory
analysis of American criminal
justice.
The sponsors of this event
would like to apologize to anyone
who was offended by the decision
to invite Gates and Strossen. The
basis of this decision was that the
debate would raise important
issues of criminal justice and
allow the free expression of ideas
in the hope that intellectual
analysis would be encouraged. As
the co-sponsors of this event, we
respect the decision to express
opposing views and feelings
through a boycott, even though we
believe that all members of the
University community would have
benefited from the participation of
the protesters in this event.
Thechallenge now is to insure
that the input of the University's
diverse student groups are
consistently acknowledged during
the program planning process. It is
our hope that the sponsors and
concerned groups sit down in the
near future, discuss and evaluate
this debate and the larger Univer-
sity programming process.
Jason Hackner
UAC president
Lisa Tafuri
UAC/Viewpoint Lectures Co-
chair
Bhavin Shaw
UAC/Viewpoint Lectures Co-
chair
Rajiv Shaw
UAC vice-president of
publicity
UAC responds to criticisms
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Daily butchers
Michigan tradition
To the Daily:
I feel that I rust write to
correct your article "U-M band
plays for Regis and Kathie Lee,"
(11/24/92). I realize that none of
the Daily staff ever goes to
Michigan football games, let
alone listen to the Marching
Band. However, I could not let
you butcher an old Michigan
tradition. The name of the song i
"Hawaiian War Chant," not
"Hawaiian March In." At least
you did not call our fight song
"The Wolverine Waltz."
Jim Koti
Michigan Marching Band
alumnus
Church needs to embrace its women
C
double standard for
public figures who
are political allies of the women's equality move-
ment. This trap is a dangerous one. Washington will
never be swept clean until sexual misconduct is
made entirely unacceptable, regardless of the al-
leged perpetrator's political positions.
Naturally, we have yet to see if Packwood and
Inouye are truly guilty of anything. The Senate
should begin its investigations as soon as possible
to find the truth. If they are guilty, they deserve
censure and ought to resign. If the Ethics Commit-
tee hasn't enough evidence to justify censure, then
it can at least spread the word that accusations of
sexual harassment will be investigated with vigor
and will not be taken lightly.
Every year about this time, the
hype surrounding the Virgin Mary
starts to get on my nerves.
Now, don't get me wrong. The
mother of Jesus was a strong and
brave woman who played a pivotal
role in history. But there seems to
me something fundamentally wrong
with a virgin mother being the pri-
mary female role model for Catho-
lics. Women will be forced to rely
on Mary's example for guidance
until the Church starts to emphasize
feminineaspects
of God.
The crux of
the difficulty in
emulating Mary
is this: no one
else can be both
a virgin and a
mother at the
Katherine
Metres
October Surpnse story goes untold
entailed great personal sacrifice.
The young teenager had to face
frightening consequences: the dis-
belief and wrath of her strictly reli-
gious parents and community, the
alienation of her betrothed, and a
lifetime of fearing for her son's
safety. To accept this challenge
willingly was an act of great faith.
Still, the Church chooses to
emphasize what she didn't do -
have sex. Why has "virgin" be-
come a permanent fixture of her
name? Being a virgin was not the
most extraordinary accomplish-
ment of Mary's life. It is the way
she lived that sets her apart from
others.
And as long as we're on the
topic, why didn't Mary ever con-
summate her marriage with Joseph
- her beloved and life partner?
They weren't married at the time of
Jesus' conception and, as devout
Jews, they wanted to delay inti-
macy until after marriage.
However, presumable they did
not have sex even after they tied the
knot. This leaves the impression
that sex, even in marriage, detracts
from one's piety. It ignores the role
of sexual intimacy in fostering a
deep loving bond that helps couples
weather tough times and keep their
faith intact. A relationship with God
is no substitute for physical affec-
tion between spouses.
Problems in presenting realistic
female role models are certainly
not confined to Catholicism. Mono-
thrnetir r~lainn hnv re~lnr ,s th
ally exclusive.
At the same time, an impossible
paradox was promulgated: sex is
bad, but motherhood is good. Thus
Catholicwomen havehreceived
mixed messages about how to be
what God wants them to be. If they
choose a life of religious celibacy in
order to remain "spiritually pure,"
they miss the opportunity to play the
"highest" role available to women
- motherhood. If they choose to be
mothers, they first have to over-
come the taboo against sexual activ-
ity.
Some women don't even have
this "lesser-of-evils" choice.At least
one-fifth of females lose their vir-
ginity to incest or another form of
rape. Women who have been abused
in this way must find the Catholic
culture's emphasis on virginity ex-
tremely painful. By the same token,
women who cannot have children
or whose careers preclude it must
feel devalued by the limitedness of
women's role as constructed by the
Church.
.Women - and men -- need to
have their sexuality appropriately
affirmed, not unilaterally repressed.
For this reason, the active mother
role may be a more healthy ideal
than the passive virgin role.
But that is only half the battle.
Women should be recognized for
their religious value outside of the
virgin-mother dichotomy. Roman
Catholics ought to emphasize the
feminine wisdom figure, as Melkite
,,isas,;dn ,Melkit;,es cal upn
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The U.S. Senate released the results last week
of its October Surprise investigation of the
theory that Ronald Reagan's campaign team ne-
gotiated with members of the Iranian government
and terrorist organizations to keep the 52 Ameri-
can hostages captive until after the 1980 election.
The Senate concluded that little evidence exists to
support such a theory, and consequently dropped
the ball. The Senate's conclusion is premature.
William Casey, CIA chief under President
Reagan and the mastermind of the Iran-contra
operation, headed Reagan's campaign and is al-
leged to have met with Iranian officials during the
campaign. Then-Vice President George Bush, in
fact, may have been in attendance at some of the
meetings.
The House Republican leader may or may not be
correct. But private interference in U.S. foreign
policy is certainly an activity worth investigating.
The Senate's investigation is difficult to accept
at face value, primarily because it didn't have
subpoena power, and suffered from limited access
to intelligence and Reagan campaign files and few
resources. The House is currently conducting its
own investigation, but they, too, are forced to
operate under similar restrictions. Those concerned
with the preservation of constitutional law should
hope for a broader and more persistent investiga-
tion.
Realistically speaking, the House will probably
come up with little more. Had Congress extended
the special prosecutor law, it could have called for
same time. Most women have to
choose.
The story of Mary relies on a
strange paradox. On the one hand,
Catholic doctrine teaches that Mary
never had sexual intercourse. She
conceived Jesus through the grace
of God alone. This is why Jesus is
considered the son of God - not
the son of Joseph, his adoptive fa-
ther.
On the other hand, Mary is ven-
erated as the model of motherhood.
She earned this distinction by ac-
cepting God's call to be Jesus'
mother, raising him to be a good
Jew with extremely progressive
values and standing by him through
th _.,.nlA nt_ %.h. n h stae.. it-.to
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