Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Friday, January 22,1993
c 1 E Yt tgttn ttil
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 mnajority of the Daily's Editorial Board.
All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.
Dry U-Club better than nothing
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There once was a time when the U-lub was one
of the hippest night spots on campus. Stu-
dents flocked to the Union on weekends for danc-
ing, drinking and fun. Now, administrators are
looking for a way to restore the one-time hotspot,
bringing back the dancing and fun, but this time
without the drinking.
In anunusually enlightened move by an admin-
istration that is usually unresponsive to student
needs, Vice-President for StudentAffairs Maureen
Hartford developed an idea for a "place for stu-
dents to be able to dance and socialize without
alcohol," after talking with students last year.
This year, Hartford headed a task force com-
posed of University counselors and residence hall
staff which discussed ways to implement this idea.
Hartford decided to apply for a grant from a
special Department of Education program which
earmarks money to colleges and universities for
anti-alcohol activities.
Rather than using the funds for another preachy
seminar which would be sparsely attended,
Hartford's task force proposed a much-needed
plan to improve alcohol-free social opportunities
on campus.
Under-aged students have few legal opportuni-
ties on campus to gather in large areas to dance and
socialize. Many people have pointed to the dearth
of alcohol-free activities as a contributing factor to
the large, sometimes dangerous crowds that gath-
ered in the streets after the NCAA championships
and some football games last year. Offering alco-
hol-free alternatives is one way to diffuse the prob-
lem.
Fortunately, renovating the U-Club is not the
limit of the University's plans. The University also
wants to use the annual $125,000 government grant
to keep the Central and North Campus recreation
buildings open longer on weekends, and to grant
$1,000 to student organizations planning alcohol-
free activities. If obtained, the money would pro-
vide students a greater variety of social opportuni-
ties on campus.
The best feature of the University's proposal is
that students would have a voice in planning and
organizing the activities. As currently envisioned,
Business Administration graduate students would
organize activities funded by the grant. They also
would suggest changes to the U-Club. Though
limited, this would give students a measure of
control over their own social events.
The University expects to learn in June whether
or not it will receive the grant. Hartford says the
University does not intend to go forward with the
program if the grant falls through. Even if denied
the grant, however, the University should try to
fund this worthwhile endeavor. Students should
come to the University knowing that they have
somewhere to relax other than hot, crowded and
drunken fraternity parties.
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The Daily would like to welcome Terry Rudd, a new cartoonist who will be working alongside Greg Stump.
::: :TERS..................................i : i' ^
Elders shows concern for youngers
News that America's youth is growing increas-
ingly unhealthy is not new. But when Surgeon
General-designate Dr. M. Joycelyn Elders spoke
at a University conference on children's health,
she offered interesting insight on two important
health topics: sex education and tobacco. Elders'
agenda is a breath of fresh air after the failure of
Reagan and Bush to effectively address these
health issues.
Elders proposed to provide students from kin-
dergarten
through 12th
grade with in-
formation about
sex, sexually-
transmitted dis-
eases and con-
traception. She
emphasize that
students would
receive appro-
priate informa-
tion, depending'
on their age. In
particular s :,,
young women
must be taught
about abortion
and birth con-
trol - both taboo topics in today's educational
system.
As of yet, most schools are not providing
students with pertinent sexual information. The
standard sex-ed class, taught by the school gym
teacher (not yet a thing of the past), still places
more emphasis on how leg hair appears at adoles-
cence than on the various sexual diseases. Further-
more, schools often wait to discuss sex until stu-
dents reach high school- years after many have
had their first sexual encounter.
Even with AIDS spreading at an alarming rate,
schools have failed to to teach students effective
and realistic ways to avoid disease and unwanted
pregnancy. Public schools must ensure that if teen-
agers decide to have sex, they at least know what
precautionary measures they can use to protect
themselves.
Young people today are also assaulted with a
continuous flow of advertisements geared toward
hooking them on tobacco. Ignoring the complaints
and disregarding the studies which have shown that
morechildren
recognize Joe
Camel than
Mickey
M o u s e,
Camel still
uses its infa-
mous icon to
lure children
into buying
cigarettes.
The to-
bacco indus-
try is hardly
subtle with its
advertising
ploys, placing
MICHELLE GUY/Daiy an exces -
sively dispro-
portionate number of cigarette billboards in the
city, virtually surrounding minority youth with
large pictures of healthy, smiling smokers.
Obsequiously catering to the demands of the
powerful tobacco lobby in Washington, the imme-
diate past government has done little to counteract
these despicable advertising techniques. Elders
promises to change this apathetic attitude toward
the health of the American youth.
Hopefully she will be able to pass her agenda
and help ensure that today's children grow up in a
safer, more responsible society.
Celebrate 20 years of
reproductive freedom
To the Daily:
Although I expect the usual
back and forth arguments between
the pro-choice and anti-choice
students on this campus on the
20th anniversary of Roe vs.
Wade, I would like to simply
address what the decision has
meant to women in the United
States. In the 1950s and 1960s the
estimated annual number of
illegal abortions ranged from
200,000 to 1.2 million. As we all
know, many of these caused
severe health problems and
sometimes death.
Twenty years ago today, the
United States Supreme Court
ruled that under a citizen's right
to privacy, safeguarded by the
U.S. Constitution, women had the
right to control their fertility.
Since then, women have had the
option of a safe and legal abortion
when faced with an unwanted
pregnancy. Who knows how
many women's lives have been
saved since that landmark
decision. I know the answer that
the anti-choice people will give:
how many "babies" lives have
been lost since Roe vs. Wade?
The abortion rate in this country
is too high, regardless of the
controversies that surround the
issue itself. This is due to the lack
of adequate education and
availability of contraceptives. The
Roe vs. Wade decision at least
brought attention to women's
issues that had been ignored for
so many years.
Unfortunately, I don't see this
issue ever being settled because of
the fundamental difference in
ideas about where life actually
begins. As it stands, abortion is a
safe and legal choice for women
in the United States today because
of the Supreme Court decision on
the case of Roe vs. Wade. And, in
my opinion, this is a time to
celebrate 20 years of much
needed attention to women's
reproductive health care.
Susie Nasr
LSA senior
To the Daily:
On a day meant to honor a
great leader of the Black people,
Martin Luther King Jr., a dream
of separation was reborn by the
proponents of Malcolm X's pre-
Mecca ideals. Albeit, the Nation
of Islam and all speakers are
protected under the First
Amendment, however their
dominant presence during a
supposed "day of unity" was
very unscrupulous. Within the
largest lecture hall in the Modem
Languages Building, for some
four hours, two speakers were
invited to voice their beliefs on
"Building and improving
African-centered organizations
and institutions," and "The role
of students in struggle."
The first speaker, Haki P.
Makbuti, dictated a need for
Black education and separation
from the white race. He told the
predominately Black crowd to
stay away from marrying
"pigheads" and "balloon heads"
(in reference to white people),
because the preservation of the
Black race was of supreme
importance.
The second speaker, Khallid
Muhammad of the Nation of
Islam, was not able to attend,
amidst prodigious protests,
r
MLK's message overshadowed
1
because of his racist and anti-
Semitic views.
His replacement was a young
Black political scientist named
Errol Henderson. This man, clad in
a Malcolm X shirt, took Makbuti's
insults one step further by calling
whites "crackers" and imitating his
impression of a white man's voice
very frequently. Henderson's
constant use of "cracker" to
describe the white members of the
audience showed a large weakness
in his argument. He said that the
Blacks in present society should
forget about their years in slavery,
yet he would not let whites forget
about their past.
Henderson generalized all
whites as those working against
Blacks - holding no hope for
integration. The anger that I feel
from these two seminars does not
come from the insults that were
doled out to the white people in the
audience. The message of equality
and peaceful cohabitation by
Martin Luther King Jr. was
overshadowed by a group of pre-
Mecca Malcolm X followers who
obtained top billing on a day meant
to spread the concept of unity, not
separation.
Patrick Sarkissian
LSA first-year student
Vandalism at Hillel
To the Daily:
"In spite of everything, I still
believe that people are good at
heart."
--Anne Frank
We at the Peace and Justice
Commission of the Michigan
Student Assembly are beginning
to find Anne Frank's innocent
and peaceful attitude of inclu-
sion a little hard to swallow in
light of the blatantly anti-Semitic
attacks on the University Hillel
Foundation building during Fall
term. This is a building which
provides valuable services to
thousands of students and Ann
Arbor residents. The attacks on
the Hillel building cannot be
ignored and we condemn this type
of hateful and spiteful behavior
against any and all groups of
people.
In the spirit of MLK Day, we
would like to ask each and every
reader to look in the mirror and
realize that a change to a truly
peaceful and democratic society
begins with the person we see
reflected back at us.
Peace and Justice
Commission of MSA
Write
the Daily!
S
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'UI closes crucial health care program
Roe v. Wade, going strong?
Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the
Supreme Court's rendering of the Roe v.
Wade decision. Roe v. Wade was the landmark
decision which legalized abortion nationwide.
Since the controversial decision, fighting between,
pro-choice and pro-life groups has risen to a
ferocious level.
Since legal abor-
tion was weak-
ened by the
Pennsylvania-
case oflast year,
the "gag rule"A
must be lifted
and legislation
passed that
makes safe abor-
tions more avail- RICH CHOVDaiiy
ahle to women across the country.
afford to travel to privately-funded abortion clin-
ics. It grievously impaired the ability of women to
obtain the best medical care possible and have all
available options explained to them by a doctor.
The most significant challenge to Roe v. Wade
came in June of last year, when the Court upheld
Pennsylvania's restrictions on abortion: a 24-hour
waiting period, parental consent and "informed
consent." The latter was the most insidious, requir-
ing women who want information on medical abor-
tion to view pictures of developing fetuses.
The informed consent requirement is reminis-
cent of the scare tactics used by groups like Opera-
tion Rescue, which displays posters of fetuses and
dead fetuses in jars to intimidate women entering
clinics. Requirements such as these jeopardize the
important intimacy that must exist between a doc-
tor and patient.
President Clinton has said that he will sign an
by Sarah Thomsen and
Christine Kolars
As Masters of Public Health
students we were stimulated by the
words of Ms. Faye Wattleton,
former President of Planned Par-
enthood of America, during her
Martin LutherKing, Jr. Day speech.
Ms. Wattleton stressed the impor-
tance of focusing on minority and
women's health. She pronounced
the need for all health care workers
to involve themselves in the politi-
cal side of our work. We com-
pletely concur with her prescrip-
tion.
We cannot help but wonder what kind of signal
this move by the University sends to
theAmerican academic and health
communities, and indeed, to the nation as $
whole.
This department has trained
many of the professionals respon-
sible for the policies and programs
lauded by Ms. Wattleton.
It is now being threatened due
to "pressing fiscal problems" de-
women's health care and research,
is swornin as the 42nd president of
the United States is highly distress-
ing to those of us committed to im-
proving women's health. We can-
not help but wonder what kind of
We were, however,
struck by the irony of
her message in light
of the University's
recent decision to
close the Department
of Population
Planning and
International Health
in *a fi-nlo
spite the fact that it is home to over
70 students and hundreds of
alumni, many of whom are em-
ployed by some of the most pres-
tigious health organizations in the
world, such as the World Health
Organization, UNICEF, the Na-
tional Institute for HealthPlanned
Parenthood Federation of America
and the United States Agency for
International Development.
Ms. Wattleton repeatedly
stressed the importance of provid-
ing adequate health care to women
of all races and classes.
signal this move by the University
sends to the American academic and
health communities, and indeed, to
the nation as a whole.
Faye Wattleton inspired those of
us who attended her speech on Mar-
tin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. We
are ready and willing to meet her
challenge to become the political
leaders of tomorrow, but when re-
sources such as the Department of
Population Planning and Interna-
tional Health are taken away from
us and from future generations, how
is the necessary training to be ac-
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