0I Page 4 -The Michigan Daily- Wednesday, January 6, 1993 1E Mtcxitgan &titt l -~ 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 764-0552 Editor in Chief MATITHJEW 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. w a. Top fri r \ r\ It IN . "- = - -- Sweet victory in Pasadena - F or a welcome change this year, Michigan fans went to bed happy on New Year's Day, thanks to the Wol- verines' 38-31 victory over the Washington Huskies in the Rose Bowl. The game lived up to its w billing of the "Grandaddy of Them All," surpassing all other New Year's Day games in both excitement and sus- pense. Michigan came from behind three different times to earn the victory. The Wolverines overcame a fine game by Washington quarterback Mark Brunell and somequestionablefofficiating by the Western Athletic Con- ference officials to give coach Gary Moeller his first Rose. Bowl victory. The victory was an appro- priate farewell for the out- standing groups of seniors on this year's squad. Players like Chris Hutchinson, Tony McGee and Elvis Grbac cul- minated their careers in win.- ning fashion. Grbac, who shouldered much of the blame for Michigan's tie with Notre Dame, is worthy of special commendation. As the Wolverine quarterback, he has handled the atten- tion that the position entails with poise and class. That poise enabled Grbac to represent Michigan consis- tently well in the public spot- light. Michigan proved its supe- riority long before this game even started. While seemingly more than half of the Wash- ington team was serving time at the state penitentiary, Moeller proved that his pri- orities are consistent with the Michigan tradition. Moeller left behind one of his key performers when the r. Wolverines headed west. The player in question had com- a mitted some "social indiscre- tion," and Moeller did not feel comfortable with him mak- ing the trip. While this punishment f..........................may seem harsh, it proves that Moeller is more concerned with the character of his play- ers than with winning foot- ball games. The players who did make the trip demonstrated that they are capable both of represent- DOUGLAS KANTER/Daily ing the university well and of performing at a top level in the athletic arena. With their perseverence and determination, this group of Michigan Wolverines proved they are indeed worthy of being called "The Champions of the West." WORKED SO "WELL 'HE RESIt)ENTiAtL Slim .. -// 0 w U&wiiIIMR SXtI4wiMfw:JPGR :.IX.::Ai. ' S AtV .---I ':":ti" r :": J:...... : :":}::ti":ti"::ti": :": :':.:"::::: :":'::"::i "i:":ti .':ti"::"::':: "{r:::":! 1"a",r.! ..! ": !.ttt11t1'"! ":: ar!,!.;. .!!.:!!:!!!::.:.: :"..:':":":": :":":'::":ti": :': ,:": ":":':" :'::.^:. .'.,.'.'."':"."r":"}i' "::':^:,:"." L .! raJ.a r.. r,. r... rra..'! a..:a. Via! rte! .. ..r ar.ar. r.!.ra:tit' " .11 :: "::ti! { ti! a: ti!.':t . . {":""'::: " :::.': :'::ti"{:\;. ," : :":':':":':':".":'::":::^^::':":":': :":: :::"".": }: .":::':'.':": .":":"::': l:':":": !. .y. .. "":. " "rr."r. raa r. rM. r .a " r, " r':Y!. ' .. "a 1]II I IfI" I :.V:::!:"!!:"::.1ti :':S::titiY!:"}}::1'.":a:...'!:ti":" :.....:...:..:.r:r:"......t ..!r!!:.::.."::.:.:...::!: ...". a.... .. a. .r a ::'.": .rra....,.. "r" .. r.... a....a1 ..... a....,..,.. ..rr.,.:":ti i'.a. .rr........ "... r..,.... .:.1 !r,...... "... .. Bush almost finished strong ... Daily wrongs MCC, owes apology To the Daily: I am extremely disappointed in your December 7 editorial "MCC needs support of all schools," regarding the funding of the Michigan Collegiate Coalition (MCC). MCC is the state student association which conducts legislative education, organizing and lobbying for the students of Michigan's public universities. In the editorial you propagate the myth that this school is the only school that financially supports MCC. Nothing could be further from the truth. Of all the dues-paying members of MCC, it is only the University's Ann Arbor campus which is behind on its payments due to the double whammy of a hostile Board of Regents and a student government being very careful with funds allocated for MCC. Western Michigan University, Michigan State University, Eastern Michi- gan University, Central Michigan University, Ferris State Univer- sity, and UM-Dearborn are all paid up on their dues. UM-Flint and Saginaw Valley State are in the process of joining MCC. MCC has never had more support from the students across the state than it has now that MCC is facing "almost certain extinction" or that all the other universities have withdrawn their support is untrue. MCC is only four years old, but it is the fastest growing state student association in the nation. If the Daily editorial staff did a little research, it could have discovered for itself that the premise of their opinion was ass- backwards. As a result, you severely insulted all the other member schools and MCC itself. The MCC Board, composed of Governors from the dues-paying schools, has been very generous in allowing the University to remain in good graces with MCC. As MCC Governor from the University, I would be glad to present your apology to the MCC Board at its January meeting. Roger De Roo MCC Governor To the Daily: In response to "Women Will Not Be Silent" (12/8/92), we must intercede on behalf of the women who find this to be slightly exaggerated. How is it an errone- ous assumption on the part of Ms. Rosman can be inflated to the point of sexual violence? Prank phone calls exist, and probably always will. We agree that this kind of call is the product of an immature mind, not necessarily a violent one. It's unfortunate that she was rattled by this call, but if this was so offensive to her, why didn't she hang up? Ms. Rosman doesn't speak for all women. It is unfair to catego- rize all men in terms of every move they make as symptomatic of sexist behavior. To draw a link between a prank phone call and rape seems unfounded. A view like this not only negates our credibility, but perpetuates the ideology that we have no control over our lives. We don't wish to belittle Ms. Rosman's experience, but to make the generalization that all rude acts made by men are indicative of widespread sexism is absolutely unfair. People say rude things, but both women and men perpetuate sexism. We need to stop male- bashing. Kimberly Conley Victoria Diromualdo LSA Seniors iould unite Oppressed groups s P erhaps the Halcion is wearing off. President Bushhas displayed marked improvement since voters threw him out of office Nov. 3. On Sunday, for example, President Bush and Russian Presi- dent Boris Yeltsin signed the most far-reaching nuclear arms-reduction treaty of all time. The president, who would "do anything to get elected" and whose realpolitik both at home and abroad has been devoid of ethical considerations, has dis- played deft leadership on a variety of fronts now that he is free of the yoke of an upcoming election. It started with his concession speech to Presi- dent-elect Clinton - a display of cooperation and class. Since then, Bush has made a noble effort to include and inform Clinton of policy matters dur- ing the transition. Bush strongly stood up for U.S. interests when he stood up to unfair French trading practices, threatening to launch an all out trade war if the French didn't stop subsidizing agricultural prod- ucts. Then, he responded to the ongoing famine in Somalia by sending in the U.S. armed forces and cooperating with the United Nations. Some of the policy goals of the mission remain undefined, but Bush's decisive humanitarian action should be commended. In the world's other major trouble spot, what was Yugoslavia, Bush has stepped up the rhetoric, saying he will not allow continued Serbian aggres- sion. Finally, he and his counterparts in Europe are discussing the actual enforcement of the no-fly zone, rather than just waving their collective finger at Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. Luckily for the president-elect, the sluggish economy that dogged the president during his elec- toral bid has taken an upturn. If voters (rightfully) gave George Bush the blame for his poor economic policies, they might as well give him some of the credit for his policy successes. Last week, after Bush paid a New Years' visit to the U.S. troops in Somalia on "that majestic plane" (his words) Air Force One, he travelled to Moscow to sign START II, an historic arms agreement, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. The Previous START treaties took years to negotiate, but the Bush administration managed to wrap up START II negotiations in only a few months. All of these accomplishments are commend- able. Of course, it should be noted that they are exclusively on the foreign policy front, where Bush has always displayed more interest. During his four-year term, he has failed to present a cohesive domestic program, and even his New World Order remains a sketchy buzzword. But in the last few months Bush has been at least an able, if not a visionary, commander in chief. History might have even shown him some pity. Unfortunately, he dis- credited all the improvement he had shown with the stroke of a pen on Christmas Eve. To the Daily: On April 25, 1993, hundreds of thousands of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, and their supporters will gather to march in Washington to demand and build the movement for our liberation. The Ann Arbor/Ypsi Gay! Lesbian/Bi March on Washington Committee has formed locally to help mobilize the largest contin- gent possible from this area and from Michigan as a whole. We aim to concretely link the struggle against homophobia with the struggle against racism and sexism in order to mobilize as integrated a contingent as possible - connecting with other groups of oppressed people. infoil unately, in our early efforts to mobilize such a group our committee has already suffered internal controversy. Representatives from the regional Michigan/Indiana March on Washington committee have attempted to block us and all other local committees from issuing political statements or building demonstrations. They have done this in order to Rude acts are not all sexist monopolize the power and political views of the march, saying the sole purpose of local March on Washington meetings should be to mobilize for the April 25 March on Washington. But we think the best way to mobilize for the march is to demonstrate locally with other oppressed peoples (Blacks, workers, women, etc.), to link all oppressed peoples' struggles together and build an integrated lesbian/gay/bisexual movement that isn't just talk. At the Nov. 24 meeting of the Ann Arbor/Ypsi committee, the committee adopted a resolution calling for a break with the Democrats and Republicans, no reliance on the cops or courts, independent defense guards to end gay bashing and other bigoted attacks, and other actions that we feel can further the movement. Paul Carmouche Brian Matuszewski Anna Goldsmit Ann ArborlYpsi Gay/Lesbian/ 8C March on Washington Committee I 0 Affirmative Action neglects injustices ... but then came the pardons For a few moments, it appeared that outgoing PresidentBush would end his term strongly as he tidied up his failed presidency. Unfortunately, he forever soiled his improving image when he pardoned former Secretary of Defense Casper Weinberger and five others implicated in the Iran- contra affair. His reason: these men were patriots of the Cold War and were victims of Congress' attempt to illegalize differences in foreign policy. On the contrary, these men were not patriots, but criminals. Between the six of them, they deliberately violated laws explicitly banning the sale of U.S. arms to Iran or the arming of the Nicaraguan contra rebels, and they lied about it to Congress. Such scurrilous acts deserve harsh retribution, not passionate vilification from the president of the United States. But by letting his friend Weinberger off the hook, Bush is sending a tragic message to the American people: that those with left. But he may be a fair one. Weinberger's notes, which Walsh had subpoe- naed, make clear that Bush was present at least one major policy meeting during the planning of the arms-for-hostages deal. Now, according to Walsh, Bush is stonewalling,,and he has been reluctant to cooperate with Walsh's investigation from the be- ginning. In fact, these two are now embroiled in another skirmish. Walsh wants Bush's notes to see if they contradict his sworn testimony. Bush and his new high-powered lawyer say they won't turn over the notes until they see the testimony. For now Bush and Walsh seem to be in a stalemate. But this ongoing feud would probably not even occur if Bush wasn't afraid he'd fudged on the truth in his testimony. Pardoning Weinberger just two weeks before he was to go to trial further lends an appearance that Bush is covering his tracks. A lot of relevant testi- rtinnr_ inilr'iir- tnctrnnn., ml tn t o * flchl, By Leo McNamara The Daily has been perform- ing a valuable service by printing Professor Carl Cohen's critique of affirmative action as presently construed and practised (10/23/ 92) and Mr. Zachary Morgan's and Professor Ingo Seidler's rejoinder. I hope that this willing- ness to allow public debate on the issue may be fostered and continued. The essence of Cohen's attack on affirmative action in its present form is that it is an unjust practice and that the affirming of an injustice as a response to injustice produces bad consequences. Morgan's position is that affirma- tive action, while imperfect, is the only effective response available at this time to the historic underrepresentation of minorities in academia. He concedes that white students are unfairly displaced by affirmative action but calls this "an unfortunate side effect of the system". He goes on to point to the fact that often other defend affinmative action in its theory and current application, claiming that since it is extremely doubtful that objective measures of intellectual potential avail to admit the best qualified students, we need to take into account the advantaged or disadvantaged starting point of each respective candidate. The trouble with this reasonable enough proposal is that affirmative action does no such thing. It blithely assumes that race and minority status are sufficient indicators of 'advan- tage' and 'disadvantage' and that "the mechanical version of justice" this remedy offers effects a positive good. But it does not. It substitutes, once again, new injustice for old, producing predictable results. If affirmative action did indeed take the form of discerning academic potential in individual cases, each judged on its own merits, as when Seidlers early nineteenth century head- master discerned and nurtured the poet Stifter's ability, then we might indeed rejoice: for this is what nnaht *to tin And iA, th But we're not talking about little Austrian Counts, and about Stifter. We're talking about the places denied Jewish Kids from Duluth and Sturgis, Irish kids from South Boston and Detroit, Italians and Poles and other assorted Americans in Pinckney, Michigan. Seidler's fixation on Grosse Point is indeed quite besides the point. The real objection is not, of course, to finding, recognizing, fostering academic talent wherever it camn be discerned, and in any race, class, or gender. The real objection is to the two-fold error of regarding higher education as merely or mainly an avenue to personal aggrandizement and social success and setting up engines (separate applicant pools, preferential treatment accorded to presumed disadvantage', quotas) to facilitate and perpetuate new injustices in place of old ones, or alongside old ones. Affirmative action as origi- nally conceived was it seems a generous and willing response to diffipilt ;n nfdnA ,rnf,,1 cAc.