Page 4-The Michigan Daily - Thursday, December 3,1992
1 E , it igttn+ ttYl
, 7-
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
764-0552
Editor in Chief
MATUHIEW D. RENNIE
Opinion-Editors
YAEL CITRO
GEOFFREY EARLE
AMITAVA MAZUMDAR
/ IrUTF f1 LL 7THEaCHARES
OF &Ad iS'Ml 3ouGHAG AAW S-rME
ANYONE kvHO KNOkV-' /MJ K,'/OWS
1"H,4TSofv1EfOF MfY 6CS7T FgiENDWS
~ hWHAT MrDD rSAY ?
Edited and Managed
by Students at the
University of Michigan
,yiCN GAN PALLY 9Z ;
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.
AIDS day: educational opportunity
A bout 100 students gathered on the private morality. It merely serves the very moral
Diag Tuesday to raise awareness of the AIDS purpose of keeping children alive and healthy, no
crisis, which shows no signs of abating. Their matter what behavior choices they make.
message - that AIDS is everybody's problem - According to University Health Services (UHS),
is an important one, since many people would like increased awareness of the disease and improved
to believe that AIDS affects only homosexuals or access to'free, confidential testing have resulted in
drug users. World AIDS Day en- a dramatic rise in the number of
couraged the University commu- people tested for HIV on cam-
nity and the world to understand A pus. While only 604 people
the importance of safety, educa- were tested in 1990, last yeir
tion and compassion. Moreover, 1,035 people underwent the
membersof this community should screening. This year's figures
take advantage of the events sur-q promise to be even higher, since
rounding World AIDS Day to edu- UHS this fall changed its test-
cate themselves about HIV and ing procedure to accommodate
AIDS. the rising demand for the test.
Worldwide, 11.8 million adults 2,,Testing may also be facilitated
are now infected with HIV. Pro- by a new screening procedure
jections indicate that by 1995 that which yields results in as little
number will have risen to more as 10minutes.
than 17 million. The deadly virus 1990 HIV testing at UHS
is now spreading most rapidly found nine HIV-positive re-
among heterosexual women, teen- suits, and 1991 statistics found
agers, and people of color. Re- seven. However, these statis-
search continues, but researches tics may include people who
have not yet found a cure forAIDS. test again to confirm their HIV-
For the present, the best solu- NTER/Da *
tions to this public health crisis DOUGLAS KANTER/a iy Various University offices
entail limiting sex partners, not The metal sculpture in front of the Mu- and community groups have
sharing intravenous drug needles, seum of Art was covered by a white sheet endeavored to bring AIDS
practicing safer sex, and regular as part of World AIDS Day activities, education activities to theAnn
testing of at-risk individuals. On _sprt__f Wor d __D _____ivtis Arbor area.
the social level, it is important not Next Tuesday, the Wizard
to stigmatize people with HIV and AIDS. of AIDS troupe from Chicago will be performing
People with HIV/AIDS should not be ostra- free at Bursley at 8 p.m.
cized by those who falsely believe that they can AIDS posters from around the world are exhib-
contract the virus through casual contact, nor ited at North Campus Commons through the 17th,
should they be denied health care coverage by and the AIDS memorial quilt will be on display at
stingy insurance companies and discriminatory Eastern Michigan University through tomorrow
government policies. and at Washtenaw Community College on the 7th
In addition, we need comprehensive sex edu- and 8th.
cation at all levels, beginning with schoolchildren. The only way to stop the AIDS epidemic is to
This imperative has been too long stalled by those keep this issue in the forefront. We must make it a
who fear that their children will get the "wrong concern in our personal life, social interactions and
message" about sex from such programs. But public policy.
providing information about HIV/AIDS and other Otherwise, the loss of human life will continue
sexually-transmitted diseases need not replace at an unacceptable rate.
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Code must not stand
To the Daily:
I am outraged at the passage
of the Statement of Student
Rights and Responsibilities. It is
appalling and, quite frankly,
frightening, that the University
Board of Regents can enact a
code that affects us so profoundly
when over 80 percent of students
oppose it. If the student body
supported a code, I would be
content with the regents' deci-
sion, even though I personally
oppose the code.
I oppose the code because it is
an unjustifiable infringement of
students' rights. Students, like all
citizens, should be subject only to
the laws of the state. The sections
of the code that deal with illegal
acts are unnecessary because the
law already covers these acts.
The sections that deal with acts
within the bounds of the law must
not stand because the University
has no business regulating
students' lives outside the
classroom.
Allen Oh
Engineering senior
Clinton support
begis to waiver
To the Daily:
I found a common theme in
Monday's Daily: President-elect
Clinton cannot and will not be
able to keep his campaign
promises. Clinton's pledge for a
middle-class tax cut will now
only occur, "If we can work it
out "
Even the Daily, which so
vehemently supported Clinton in
the election, stated in an editorial
that "The President-elect has
already shown his ability to
temper his views as a result of
new pressures: His stances on
Where Daily does not belong
To the Daily:
Your article "Illinois mascot
offends..." (11/13/92) was a clear
and well-written summary of the
main arguments against the half-
time dancing of Chief Illiniwek.
As an alumnus of the Univer-
sity of Illinois, I am familiar with
the controversy surrounding the
Chief - I was a student there
when the protests began four
years ago. I agree that some may
consider the Chief to be offen-
sive, and that the controversy
does not directly affect the U-M,
and so I was left wondering why
this article should be in the Daily
at all, much less the headline and
the longest news article of the
day.
The only reason why the
Daily might possibly be justified
in running a story and editorial
was if the Chief were coming
here to perform with the band,
which some on campus might
consider inappropriate. The
writer of the article states that
"Chief Illiniwek, will not perform
tomorrow ... because the band will
not be here. The UI band (and
hence the Chief) travels to only
one away game each year."
The implication is why does
the Daily feel an obligation to
comment on the internal affairs of
the University of Illinois when
they in no way affect the U-M
campus? The answer is that those
affairs and controversies should
not be an issue here, and the
article and editorial were irrel-
evant and unnecessary.
The Chief does not affect the
U-M, and the Daily should not
pretend that it does. The Daily
made a poor choice and stepped
out of bounds by commenting on
the internal affairs of another
campus.
It would be more appropriate
of the Daily contented itself with
reporting on issues that directly
affect the U-M.
Brian Meyer
Biology department staff
0
Court right to refuse Guam case
China, Haiti and homosexuals in
the military have been clearly
watered-down or intentionally
marginalized." I find it ironic that
the same "trust" ads run by Bush
questionirg Clinton's integrity
were seen a month ago as trash
- and today as truth.
Steve Kuiper
Engineering junior
Kennedy ramblings
To the Daily:
Your editorial "Release the
Kennedy Files," (11/30/92) was .
very disappointing. You wrote
that "the incoming President can
put a lot of minds at ease by ...
removing the veil from the
Kennedy mystery."
Frankly, Clinton could put my
mind at ease a lot more effectively
with decisive action on the
economy, the German problem,
education and crime in 1993, not
1963. While I agree that it is
important to open up the CIA
more, I do not understand how
you could possibly consider this
one, of the most pressing issues
facing our troubled nation.
While I agree that Clinton's
broken promises should be
watched closely, I think that his
recent backpedaling on the
Guaranteed College Tuition Plan
is of more concern to students
than Oliver Stone's ramblings.
Brian Kalt
LSA junior
01
Trhe Supreme Court this week denied an appeal
. to uphold a Guam law which would outlaw
virtually all abortions. This was the first time it
refused a major abortion case since Roe v. Wade
20 years ago. The court's close decision to uphold
Roe in the Pennsylvania case last June, while
allowing for specific restrictions, apparently did
as much damage as the Court wished. The Court's
,refusal to accept this case reaffirmed its commit-
ment to a woman's basic abortion rights.
This decision was the latest in a series of
failures by the anti-abortion rights forces to pum-
mel the court until it eventually overturned Roe v.
Wade. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor explained in
her majority opinion on the Pennsylvania case,
"The United States, as it has done in five other
cases in this decade, again asks us to overturn
Roe..." This was a rebuke to the administration's
repeated attempts to challenge abortion rights.
This feeling prevailed in the court's refusal to
hear the Guam case. The court justly upsets prece-
dent only in the face of a major societal change.
According to the Pennsylvania decision, "No evo-
lution of legal principle has left Roe's doctrinal
footings weaker than they were in 1973." The
commitment to consistency in this case was posi-
tive, proving that the court, unlike the legislature,
should not flip-flop on policy with every change in
its members. If it did, each time presidential power
changed hands, the court could reverse every deci-
sion of the previous one. The courts are not like the
legislature, and cannot change policy every time
the vote count changes.
Though the court's conservative ideology was
apparently strong enough to overturn Roe v. Wade,
it balked, citing its responsibility to uphold prece-
dent. It is ironic that justices appointed by the
Reagan and Bush administrations to overturn Roe
are using decisions based on judicial conservatism
to uphold it. The two administrations' attempts to
stack the Court against Roe failed.
Unexpectedly, Justice Clarence Thomas broke
his record of voting with conservative justices
William Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, and Byron
White. His apparent belief in consistency took
precedence over his opposition to abortion.
A similarly restrictive abortion law in the state
of Louisiana will soon be reviewed by the court. It
must hold firm in its resolve to leave Roe in place.
Nothing has changed in the last 20 years but the
makeup of the court-the 1973 decisionis one that
must hold.
.. i.
".. .that good people do nothing"
See no evil in Guantanamo Bay
A few weeks ago, a man was
beaten to death in Detroit by a group
of seven police officers. Some of
the officers participated in the beat-
ing, and some stood by and watched
as a fellow human was murdered.,
Many were struck at the violent
act, and the fact that white police
officers murdered a Black man. But
what interested me was not the of-
ficers who actually killed Malice
Green, but rather those who stood
by and did
nothing.
I at-
t e nd ed JONKTHAN
su mmer
c a m p:C H A '
when I
was 13.
Like al-
most ev-
ery summer camp, ours had a vic-
tim. His name was Steve.
Steve endured unconscionable
abuse daily. I never picked on him,
butI didn't defend him either. In'my
thinking, that was enough. I knew it
was unfair, but it wasn't my prob-
lem. Besides, I was friends with
many of the kids who bullied Steve.
One night, as I was reading in
bed, the door of my cabin suddenly
flew open. A gang of boys burst in,
grabbed Steve and ran out. I hurried
outside to see what was going on.
I followed along and saw Steve
kicking and screaming. Somebody
body heard. I ran back to my cabin
and tried to forget about Steve.
I should have told the scum that
did this what I thoughtof them. But
I wanted to stay friends. So I pre-
tended that it never happened.
I believe that people who are
evil enough to beat another human
being are incapable of knowing that
they did wrong. So their conscience
was clear. But I still wake up in the
middle of thenightand hear Steve's
cries.
U..
Honors English, high school.
Our teacher often discussed his-
torical events in class with a right-
wing slant. For instance the Span-
ish Civil War, according to her,
was a fight between the democrats,
led by Franco, against the commu-
nists. She wasn't particularly
knowledgeable about history,
which is why she taught English.
I often challenged 'ier inaccura-
cies in class, and she hinted that I
was acommunist. It was completely
untrue, of course, but it was a way
to discredit me without having to
discredit my ideas. I heard this ac-
cusation daily. Once, while analyz-
ing "Animal Farm," she explained
how the Soviet Union broke the
Nonaggression Pact with Germany
during World War II. I raised my
hand:
"Um, I think it was Hitler that
hwrj, th~ e nr'~ ei in ,Part '"
here?"
No answer.
"Come on! You know this! Hitler
invaded Russia, not vice versa!"
They knew it.
But this was one of the most high
pressure classes in the school. Ev-
erybody wanted to get an "A." They
looked down at their notebooks, as
the teacher continued: "So after
Stalin broke the Nonaggression
Pact..."
Some of the students in that class
were my friends, and some merely
acquaintances. "It wasn't my place
to argue with the teacher," some
later explained. Or: "It really wasn't
that important. It wasn't worth it."
The worst lie was: "I wasn't really
sure if you were right. I still don't
know whether it's true."
Perhaps a few of them really
were that ignorant, but most were
lying. They were the smartest stu-
dents in the school, they had taken
history and at least a few knew that
I wasn't a communist. But they sat
silent.
I know what motivated them. It
was fear and greed. They could have
stood up for me, but it would have
pitted them against prevailing senti-
ment, however slanderous and false
that sentiment may have been. At
summer camp, I could have stood
up for Steve and maybe even" pre-
vented him from being beat up. But
that would have jeopardized my
T he U.S. government has banned any media
from observing the situation in Guantanamo
Naval Base, where 290 Haitian refugees are being
detained - 230 of which have tested HIV posi-
tive. Reportedly, the conditions are abhorrent, but
because of the ban, rumors can be neither refuted
nor confirmed. On Nov. 9, a group of journalists
and publications filed a lawsuit against the federal
government, claiming that the ban is both uncon-
stitutional and violates pertinent laws and regula-
tions. Exclusion of the press in Guantanamo is a
clear violation oftheFirstAmendment, and should
not go unchecked. Moreover, the reports of gross
violations of constitutional rights must be ad-
dressed.
charges, Amnesty International has not been al-
lowed to enter and make its own decision.
If the reports of poor living conditions and
human rights violations are inaccurate, then the
government would do itself a favor, while uphold-
ing the First Amendment, by allowing international
media and humanitarian groups access. But
Guantanamo Naval Base remains illegally under
lock and key.
The lawsuit alleges that the Navy placed the ban
to cover up a previous order preventing lawyers
seeking to represent the Haitians from entering the
base. Wanting to avoid accusations of a discrimina-
tory policy against lawyers, the Justice Department
encouraged the ban to be extended to all outside
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