Page 4 --The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 7, 1993
be fEiditoran &Ciu
Editor in Chief
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
764-0552
MATHIEW I. RENNIE
Opinion Editors
YALE (ITRO
GEOFFREY EARLE
_7-iHE HOLIDAYS ?
r ~To 6jvE -ri
r~-
Edited and Managed
by Students at the
University of Michigan
AMITAVA MAZUMDAR
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.
4
1 A 1
ROM THE DAILY
Chalk one up
Thanks to some deft negotiating by Ga
co-chair of the Board for StudentI
tions, and swift, responsible decision-ma
University administrators, a difficult First
ment conflict was resolved between the G
magazine and University Printing Servic
The conflict arose when Robert Hu
manager ofPrinting Services,
refused to print last month's
edition of Gargoyle Maga- Car
zine, the humor magazine
published by University stu- ".
dents. Evidently one of
Hubbard's employees found
part of the magazine offen-
sive, and even considered the
material to constitute sexual
harassment.
Though Hubbard refused
to state exactly what it was that he found o
Gargoyle's editors assumed it was th
"Jesus fucking Christ," which appearedi
the cartoons.
An overzealous printer and a powerles
publication could have been a combina
lead to disaster. It also could have been a s
some embarrassment - or perhaps ev(
trouble - to the University, since prin
vices is an arm of the University.
Fortunately, the Board for Student1
3 , nJ
for First Amendment
yl Ness, tions and some University administrators stepped
Publica- in. An employee of Student Publications contacted
aking by the President's Office, which contacted Elsa Cole,
Amend- the University's general counsel, and Executive
iargoyle Director of University Relations Walter Harrison.
es. Cole advised that there were clearly First Amend-
bbard, ment issues at stake, and that it was questionable
whether the printer had the authority to censor the
students.
ego Eventually, the board dispatched Ness, who
ae informed Hubbard of the free speech issues at
stake. Thankfully, Hubbard backed down, and the
issue was resolved in a matter of days, and without
a light.
But it was not without its costs. The Gargoyle
came out 12 days late because of the dispute,
rendering at least one advertisement obsolete. And
sadly, after they had won the dispute, the Gargoyle's
editors decided to pull the material the printer
ffensive, considered offensive anyway.
e phrase But at least the decision was one made by
in one of students. Such editorial freedom is essential to all
campus publications.
s student And there may even be a positive outcome to the
tion that incident. The Board for Student Publications has
source of charged one if its members to draft a statement
en legal condemning editorial manipulation of student pub-
ting ser- lications by the Board, or anyone else. That should
serve the Gargoyle, and the entire campus well in
Publica- the future.
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Keitel feature ignores 1988 Judas performance
103rd Congress promises change
T he 103rd U.S. Congress began work
on Tuesday, swearing in new and returning
members of Congress, with congressional chil-
dren sitting impatiently on incoming congres-
sional laps and - protocol permitting - scam-
:pering up and down the aisles. With the 120 new
and eager representatives in Congress, President
of the Senate Dan
Quayle and a clerk in
the House of Represen-/
tatives gaveled in a new
session with promises
of reform and the cur-
tailment of "business as
usual."
In the upper house,
Carol Mosely-Braun
(D-Ill), the first Black
woman senator, and her
other new women col-
leagues have aided sit-
ting Sens. Barbara
Mikulski (D-Md.) and
Nancy Kassebaum (R-
Iowa) to prop open the
doors of the tradition-
ally exclusive rich,
white, male U.S. Sen-
ate. "Business as
usual," characteristic of
the Clarence Thomas-
Anita Hill fiasco, seems
to be fading into his-
tory.
Sen. Joe Biden, chair'
of the Senate Judiciary
Committee, has already
offered seats on the im-'
portant committee to
California Democrats
Barbara Boxer and
Diane Feinstein, making such lewd and offensive
hearings less likely in the future.
Unfortunately, business as usual has tradition-
ally included shamefully disrespectful behavior
toward women. The controversy and anger sur-
rounding Sens. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.), Daniel
Inouye (D-Hawaii) and Brock Adams (D-Wash.)
are indicative of the growing, albeit delayed, intol-
erance of sexual harassment.
Ethics committees are finally being forced to
consider financial indiscretions and outright rob-
bery as serious infringements, rather thanjustsweep-
ing them under the rug.
Congressional powerhouse Dan Rostenkowski's
(D-Ill.) alleged misuse of the House post office to
collect cash for personal use may end his long and
influential career. The facts of Sen. Phil Gramm's
fishy financial dealings
-- may finally see the light of
A day.
Since the American
people finally put their bal-
lots where their mouths
were and swept a record
number of members out of
Congress, the new session
will most certainly be one
where more members will
police their own activities
and abide be ethical guide-
lines - maybe not out of
respect for the institution,
but for the sake of political
well-being.
So be it.
Equally important is the
energy with which the
president-elect and the
Democrats in Congress are
approaching the new year.
Bill Clinton's apparent in-
tention to make the first
100 days a whirlwind of
policy-making reminiscent
of Presidents Ronald
y Reagan and Franklin
Roosevelt's successes, in
combination with Con-
gress' hopes of finally
AP PHOTO transforming past Demo-
cratic priorities into law,
could make the coming honeymoon period one for
the history books.
The United States may be on the verge of a new
era of progress. But the American people would do
themselves a disservice by naively trusting the
current momentum to last. The president and Con-
gress must be kept to their promises and commit-
ments. The atmosphere in Washington may easily
revert to business as usual, ensuring repeat of past
mistakes.
To the Daily:
In "Keitel: troubled saint or
tortured sinner?" (12/7/92),
Megan Abbott praises actor
Harvey Keitel for his "realistic
portrayals." Ms. Abbott cites his
numerous roles in movies with
both mainstream and peripheral
appeal, though certainly most are
more peripheral than mainstream.
She also mentions Mr. Keitel's
collaboration with director Martin
Scorsese in four films.
Although she repeatedly
mentions Mr. Keitel's ability to
depict ambiguity of character -
at once naive and sensitive,
Biblical argument
poorly thought out
To the Daily:
I found Kara Bucci and
Amy Worden's attack on Mattie
Mierzejewski's convictions and
character to be deplorable. I
doubt these two have ever met
Ms. Mierzejewski; therefore
their tirade lacks any basis. The
authors' supposedly Biblical
argument on homosexuality was
even more poorly thought out.
Their most blatant logical error
was the ending of their introduc-
tion with "The Bible does not
condemn homosexuality." The
next paragraph begins with
"Only once in the Old Testa-
ment are homosexual acts
condemned ..." Do the authors
not consider the Old Testament
art of the Bible, or do they
believe only one command is
not sufficient for God to make
himself clear?
The pair go on to spout and
exposit Biblical references like
true scholars, twisting the
interpretations to fit conve-
niently into the box into which
they've put their god.
I would implore Ms. Bucci
and Ms. Worden to get to know
Ms. Mierzejewski before they
accuse her of being a false
prophet; to refrain from personal
attacks on anyone whose
theology does not match theirs;
and to examine the character of
God in order to understand His
requirements, rather than
deriving their concept from so
many verses taken out of
context.
Those who attack Ms.
Mierzejewski do so on the basis
of "judge not lest you be
judged." But what are they who
call someone whom they have
never met a self-righteous
hypocrite and a false prophet
doing?
Howard Scully
Business School senior
Objection to Gates was not
over ideas, but student funds
villainous and charming,
"troubled saint and tortured
sinner" - Ms. Abbott ignores
Mr. Keitel's poignant perfor-
mance as Judas Iscariot in Mr.
Scorsese's "The Last Temptation
of Christ" (1988). Mr. Keitel
gives Judas a humane sensibility
which underscores the film's
central theme - piety in the face
of mundane adversity.
I trust that Ms. Abbott has not
willfully omitted "The Last
Temptation" from her litany of
Keitel-Scorsese films, not a few
of which fall short of its stature.
Her article is justified in praising
an unrewarded actor whose
integrity seems to have out-
stripped his need for commercial
gain.
In her bald omission, however,
she risks joining the Academy in
all but black-listing a controversial
yet beautiful film, allowing the
moral needs of a commercially-
minded audience to outstrip her
critical integrity. If her omission is
unintentional, I submit that the
article offers only a partial
evaluation of Mr. Keitel's
achievements.
Joseph L. Rife
Rackham graduate student
To the Daily:
You continue to miss the main
point of the student anger over
ex-police chief Daryl Gates' visit
to our campus. We are not in any
way attempting to limit Gates'
first amendment rights, nor are
we suggesting that he shouldn't
have a right to speak here at
Michigan if he wants to. There
are plenty of people who speak
for free on the Diag every
semester. The issue is the
thousands of dollars of student
tuition money that he was paid to
speak. There are many Nobel
prize winners, respected profes-
sors from other schools and
nations, respected business
leaders, and nationally elected
political leaders whom the
student body would give a warm
welcome to. Such speakers offer
rich educational opportunities and
represent a much better use of our
tuition money. There is no first
amendment right to thousands of
dollars of student tuition money
"
Gates
that the people responsible for
paying Gates can hide behind.
His visit was a serious error in
judgement and I can not under-
stand how the Daily can possibly
justify it.
David Allison
Graduate student
Daily loses integrity, exploits
women with Deja Vu article
To the Daily:
It was my understanding that it
is your policy to reject advertise-
ments that are harmful or degrading
to women. Therefore, I was
surprised to find the free half-page
"advertisement" for Deja Vu,
"Adult entertainment club's
amateur night lets contestants
reveal all," (1217/92). I find it
difficult to believe that our world is
so devoid of any meaningful
activities that you had to resort to
plugging the already over-hyped
trade in women's bodies in order to
fill space. What could possibly be
newsworthy about examining this
exploited topic from the standard
view of those who profit from it,
ignoring the harm it may do? If you
wish to transform the campus
newspaper into the campus tabloid
by reporting on titillating non-news,
please refrain from insisting on your
pretense of journalistic integrity.
Deborah Pugh
RCjunior
START II signals end of arms race
Daily article tries to 'clone the American mind'
resident Bush and Russian President Boris
Yeltsin's START II agreement, if properly
implemented, may be the greatest step toward
reducing the threat of nuclear holocaust in history.
"During his visit to Washington, D.C. last summer,
Yeltsin surprisingly announced his intentions to
drastically reduce nuclear stockpiles. The pro-
posal became the foundation of what became
immediately dubbed as START II.
, Due to the significantly improved relationship,
the two nations were able to successfully complete
wantitienncin rcintinil chnrt nrinri of timn'
implementation. The other three nuclear republics
in the former Soviet Union-Kazakhstan, Ukraine
and Belorus - authorized President Yeltsin to
negotiate on their behalf. But ratification in each of
the republics is not a done deal, especially since
Ukraine, Russia's rival republic, has decided to
remain a nuclear power. Contrary to its earlier
promises to dismantle all its nuclear weapons,
Ukrainians are now scrambling to crack the codes.
needed to launch their arsenal.
Naturally, START II had other purposes, namely
to i mnrnve the renntatinnq of the currentnre-.rlentc
To the Daily:
Your editorial "But what
comes after Nutcracker Barbie?"
is yet another example of how
liberals want to control what
people buy, decided what is
"politically correct" for little girls
to like, and determine how much
manufacturers and stores should
charge for things.
The whole essence of femi-
nism is "choice," is it not? Why
shouldn't a a little girl or a little
boy have a choice to buy his/her
fantasy doll? And is it any of your
distorted view of events because
of the dangerous "politically
correct" crowd.
In case you haven't learned
this yet, political correctness is
the beginnings of socialism and
communism. Fight now, we
thankfully live in a society where
no one can tell you that you
cannot create a "Nutcracker
Barbie" doll. If the politically
correct crowd had it their way,
they would ban everything they
"determine" wasn't "fit" in the
case of the Barbie doll, citing
this wonderful, diverse country we
live in. No one is forcing you to
buy anything. And finally, if you
hate American capitalism so
much, why don't you find another
country that's more suitable to
your tastes? As the Hall and Oates
song goes, "The strong give up
and move on ... the weak give up
and stay."
The problem is not with
society - it's with people like
you, with your communistic
"politically correct views. It's
indicative of what is happening in*