Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Thursday, February 4, 1993

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420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed
by students at the
University of Michigan

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Josti Dunow
Editor in Chief
YAE. M. CITRO
ERIN LIZA EINIIORN
Opinion Editors

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Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily editorial board.
All other cartoons, signed articles and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.

GAYS IN THE MILITARY

'U'

must lead in promoting gay rights...

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HILE THE BATTLE over allowing homosexu-
als to freely serve in the military rages in
Washington, officers and cadets of the
University's Reserve Officer Training Corps
(ROTC) remain firmly entrenched behind walls of
silence. For the past several years University Presi-
dent James Duderstadt and the University Board
of Regents have claimed that ROTC's status on
campus does not allow the University to include
gays and lesbians under the protections of nondis-
crimination policies, without alienating ROTC.
Although ROTC, as an arm of the U.S. Depart-
ment of Defense, must abide by whatever decision
comes out of Washington, this does not excuse the
University from using ROTC to justify unjust
policies. ROTC has no power to change on its
own. The University does.
Currently, the University forbids discrimina-
tion on the basis of sexual orientation for admis-
sions or employment purposes. But according to
Regental bylaw 14.06, the University's nondis-
crimination policy, the University does not protect
homosexuals from other types of discrimination.
This bylaw states, "The University ... shall strive
to build a diverse community in which opportu-
nity is equal for all persons regardless of race, sex,
color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry,
age, marital status, handicap, or Vietnam-era vet-
eran status." So although homosexuals can enter
the University as students or employees, they may
not live in family housing and do not qualify for
spousal health benefits.
Duderstadt says that gays, lesbians and bisexu-
als are excluded from bylaw 14.06 because ROTC,
a campus organization, discriminates against ho-
mosexuals. If gays, lesbians and bisexuals were
protected under bylaw 14.06 - before the U.S.
military reverses its stance - then members of
ROTC would be excluded from receiving family
housing and other University benefits.

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forence was inlue inafdrpplc"(iete
Df" nse Depatment poIcy./n",hrwods1 b-
sexuasaganst dscri Int In owl h -
arl Unvesiy.
Duderstadt maintains that the University would
change the bylaw - which is based on federal
affirmative action policies - only "if sexual pref-
erence was included in a federal policy" (like the
Defense Department policy). In other words, be-
cause the federal government fails to protect homo-
sexuals against discrimination, so will the cow-
ardly University.
If Duderstadt and the regents are really commit-
ted to building "a diverse community in which
opportunity is equal for all persons," then they
should protect homosexuals from discrimination
by changing bylaw 14.06, with or without prece-
dent from the national government.
It is ironic that the U.S. military, which defends
equality, fairness and tolerance around the world,
does not reflect these values. It is equally ironic that
the University, which teaches these values in the
classroom, does not practice these values in policy.
There is no reason why the University cannot
establish policies that set it a step above other
institutions in our country. The University must
change bylaw 14.06 to reflect these higher values,
thereby setting an example for institutions across
the country.

CAVE

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United States indifferent to Bosnian conflict

by Kathleen Kooshe
Ann Arbor resident
On December 7, 1992, ABC's World
News Tonight reported once again on the
"War in Yugoslavia." The way this subject
was treated, so nonchalantly, repulsed me.
Let's look at the facts: 1. At present,
Sarajevo is being mercilessly bombarded
by more that 1,500 mortar attacks daily. 2.
Some 2 million people - most of them
Muslim -are in eminent danger of death,
either from the fighting itself, or as a result
of starvation or exposure to diseases such as
cholera and typhoid. This number is ex-
pected to increase dramatically as the win-
ter and war rage on. 3. Another 2 million
people (again mostly Muslim) have been
displaced from their homes by Serbian ag-
gression. 4. Over 200,000 people (as best
we can estimate) have already died at the
hands of Serbian Aggressors.
As if these facts are not shocking and
appalling enough - there's more: The
Serbian aggressors have already swallowed
up more than 70 percent of the independent
nations (recognized as such by the United
Nations) of Bosnia and Herzegovina in it's
campaign of "ethnic cleansing."
What is "ethnic cleansing?" It is a cam-
paign designed to force the indigenous
Muslim peoples of the area to submit to
Serbian tyranny and domination-to adopt
Serbian culture, to completely abandon their
own culture, language, religion and way of
life. And ... if they don't? They are, at least,
expelled, and at the worst, brutally mur-
dered in cold blood.
A young Muslim Bosnian Boy, 14-
years-old, recently shed some light in what
happens to those who try and defend them-
selves and stay (as printed in the Washing-
ton Post): "I was two yards from my family

when they started shooting. I was looking
straight at them. I watched them fall ...
After the shooting, I heard the soldiers
talking. They said no one was alive, that
they killed everyone. I waited until it was
dark, then I called to my family but no one
answered." Another tidbit, for those of you
who picture the fighters as warriors -
young, strong men. Wrong. They are
women, children, babies, old men, inva-
lids, etc.
How many scores of children have
been orphaned at the hands of the Serbian
fascists? How many women have been
brutally raped? How many more young
and old men must die of disease and starva-
tion in Serbian concentration camps?
We may never know. Because, if Serbia
is allowed to continue its reign of terror
against people simply trying to defend their
homes and families, there will be a Bosnia-
Herzegovina no more. There will benoone
to tell us.
Bosnia-Herzegovina will become a
country we read about only in history books,
whose people, if any survive, will be scat-
tered around the globe with no home to call
their own.
How many previous examples do the
American people need to remember before
they realize what these Serbian terrorists/
fascists are up to?
Is America's "democracy" selective?
Do we preach democracy abroad only when
the land we support and defend is sitting
atop rich oil reserves? Or when the country
is "strategically located" to serve our own
best interests? Apparently so.
Unfortunately, the American
government's policy of "democracy at
home, hypocrisy abroad" will be coming
home to roost if our own citizenry cannot
open its eyes.

The fascistmentality is spreadingacross
Europe at an alarming rate - Example:
Germany (need I say more?) And now
Bosnia. How many more children must
die? How many more women must be
brutalized? How much longer can people
of good conscience allow this reign of
terror to continue?
As Ali Izetbegovic, president of the
rapidly-disappearing Bosnia, recently said,
in an address to the U.N. General Assem-
bly:
"While the world community remains
uncommitted in acting resolutely to stop
the aggression against us, it must not pre-
vent us from exercising our right to defend
ourselves. The present arms embargo ties
our hands. It deprives us of the only effec-
tive means of self-defense."
The Bosnian people are not asking that
American blood by shed in defense of
Bosnia - they will gladly shed their own.
They are asking for the right to defend
themselves!
"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of Happi-
ness..." Whatis supposed tobe morea part
of the American consciousness than these?
But what we must ask ourselves is this:
are these "rights" allowed only to the Ameri-
can public? Are Americans superior to
others? Are we, alone, thought to be al-
lowed these freedoms, while others must
be made to die in torture while we turn our
backs?
Any American with good conscience,
regardless of religious affiliation, cannot sit
idly by while the entire world watches
Bosnia disappear.
If we do, we will be no less than sup-
porting a growing world perception (cor-
rect?) - that America's "democracy at
home, hypocrisy abroad" foreign policy, is
the rule.

... Clinton must continue to push agenda ...

P RESIDENT BILL CLINTON'S campaign
pledge to overturn the Pentagon's ban on
homosexuals in the armed forces was put
on hold last week, due to growing opposition from
Congress and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The gay
rights lobby, assured by Clinton of immediate
action on this issue, fell prey to pressure from the
conservative triumvirate - Senate Minority
Leader Bob Dole,
Senate Armed
Forces Commit-
tee Chair Sam
Nunn, and Cohn
Powell, Chair of
the Joint Chiefs
of Staff. These C,
three powerful,
W ashington in-su s
sidlers success-
fully thwarted the r 9
immediate out-
right removal of
the ban.,
A 1 t h o u g h
Clinton was
forced to com-
promisehisorigi-
nal social agenda when he agreed to wait six
months before lifting the ban, the pro-civil rights
forces that supported Clinton still hold the moral
high ground in defeating historic cultural preju-
dice and mainstream intolerance. However, the
real victory comes in a federal district court's
decision last Thursday that declared the discrimi-
natory military ban blatantly unconstitutional.
This should provide Clinton and his advocates
with enough ammunition to shoot down the far-
right's biased logic.
The new interim policy states that the military
must stop asking recruits questions concerning
their sexual orientation and that gays and lesbians
can still be shifted from active military duty to
unpaid, standby reserve status. But Judge Terry
Hatter's landmark decision permanently enjoins
the military services from discharging or denying
enlistment to gays "in the absence of sexual con-

duct which interferes with the military mission." It
seems that the military's 50-year-old policy has
been targeted and is within the crosshairs of a
presidential and judicial order for change.
The deadlock in Washington stems from the
fundamental neglect of our government to address
the basic human rights of gay and lesbian Ameri-
cans. It is imperative that sexual orientation be-
come a federally-
o protected civil right
0 in matters of hous-
ing,employment and
education. To ac-
complish this neces-
sary social objective,
Congress should
craft inclusive legis-
lation that specifi-
cally enumerates the
rights and liberties of
the homosexual
EI R Icommunity.
Powell defends
the ban on dubious
grounds. He main-
tains that in order to
sustain the discipline
and morale of the armed forces, gays and lesbians
should not be allowed to serve. He claims homo-
sexuals would violate the privacy rights cf hetero-
sexuals. Judge Hatter's ruling clearly invalidates
Powell's reasoning: "(Department of Defense)
policy is based on cultural myths and false stereo-
types ... these justifications are baseless and very
similar to the reason to keep the military racially
segregated in the 1940s." Powell, as much as any-
one, should be able to see through the falsehoods
and vicious bigotry, and side with the forces of
equality.
There is no time to waste. On Oct.27 a gay naval
sailor, Allen Schindler, was brutally murdered in
Yokosuka, Japan, allegedly by a fellow
crewmember. This horrific attack demonstrates the
immediate need for federal action. Congress and
the President must understand the urgency of this
issue. People's lives are at stake.

Blue basketball fans need enthusiasm

To the Daily:
Having watched college
basketball all week at places
like the Dean Dome of North
Carolina or Cameron Indoor
Arena at Duke, the reality of
Crisler Arena's mortuary
environment has finally
become too much to handle.
The student section created
by Steve Fisher and com-
pany has certainly improved
the excitement at Crisler, but
this hasn't been enough.
Despite the presence of
nearly 5,000 students at
every home game, the arena
just does not reflect the
intense fervor generated at
other college stadiums.
Although the fans may erupt
at an artistic Chris Webber
slam dunk or a Jimmy King
trey, the enthusiasm is
simply not sustained.
Students must lead the way
in transforming a solemn
Crisler crowd into a deafen-
ing sea of rabid fans.

If you missed
MLK day, learn
from Chicano
history week
To The Daily:
This letter is addressed to
all those students that were
unable to attend MLK
activities for one reason or
another. I am challenging you
to take some time to learn
about other peoples' cultures,
and specifically and specially
for these next two weeks, to
attend Chicano (Mexican-
American) History Week
Events. I encourage everyone
to take this opportunity to
learn some history about the
second largest and fastest
growing minority group in the
United States. Chicano
History Week events are
getting publicized by the
Michigan Daily, among other
media.

S

Furthermore, the alumni who
attend U-M home games must
realize that they are attending
a college basketball game
where cheering loudly is part
of the experience. When rivals
such as Ohio State, Michigan
State, and Indiana come to
town they must be intimidated
by Crisler; they must realize
that Michigan's proverbial

sixth man is among the most
fearsome in the Big Ten. So
Michigan fans, cheer like you
appreciate one of the most
talented, exciting and
entertaining teams in college
basketball; a team like ours
deserves it.
Scott Swerdloff
LSA junior

...who's monitoring heterosexual conduct?

Danilo Gutierrez
SALSA Steering
Committee Member

E VEN AFTER CLINTON signs the executive
order allowing homosexuals into the armed
forces, fear and false stereotypes will con-
tinue to plague perceptions of gay and lesbian
forces. Many of the ban's original supporters plan
to fight the integration of homosexuals into the
military every step of the way. One of their most
corrosive demands is a plan to segregate the ranks,
forcing avowed homosexuals to live and train
separately from the rest of the military.
These demands are based on completely un-
founded prejudiced and homophobic assumptions.
Some officers have expressed fear that homo-
snnexuasmould sexuallyharms or make unwanted

included lining a hotel corridor and groping women
as the women were passed through the line, as well
as stripping a 17-year-old girl of her pants and
underwear and passing her down the hallway.
Many similar crimes are documented within the
heterosexual ranks.
Are these the soldiers ban proponents seek to
protect through homosexual segregation? When
crimes like these are committed against women,
there is hardly a reason to single out homosexuals
as the dangerous faction.
Homosexuals have proudly served in the mili-
tary for years, proving that sexuality does not affect
nerformance. Seareatin the ranks would only

Clinton 's abortion orders step backward

To the Daily:
I am writing in response to
the editorial, "Windfall for
abortion rights." When I
finished reading the editorial,
it was clear to me that the

"RU-486-the promising
French abortion pill." I would
like to know where she came
up with the word promising to
describe this pill. Newsweek
magazine regretfully, but
honestly, reported, "RU-486 is

they found that "abnormal
uterine metrorrhagia"
developed "in more than 90
percent of the cases." Finally,
they noted "a strong stimulat-
ing effect by RU-486 on the
growth of a breast cancerous

of another human being has
never been acceptable.
To die at the hands of
another man is a shame. To
die at the hands of your
mother is a disgrace to what
we stand for.

I ,