Page 4--The Michigan Daily- Wednesday, March 24,1993
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420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed
by students at the
University of Michigan
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Editor in Chief
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OpinionEditor
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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.
I
PORN 'IM 'AGE'RY
New exhibit may make up for past censorship
AFTER A GROUP of Law School students tween leftist feminists, detennined to end sys-
were accused in October of censoring a temic biases that oppress women, and right-wing
film aboutprostitution, disapproval from religious ideologues bent on stamping out evil
the public poured in from every side. But Uni- and human sin, is a frightening relationship with
versity administrators mayren reatening implications. The
have ebbed public criticism issue of pornography has
last Wednesday by agreeing brought these two polar ex-
to a settlementwiththe Ameri- tremes together in a united ef-
can Civil Liberties Union fort to suppress sexual maga-
(ACLU). The video tape was zines, videos, and exhibits that
pulled from an October Law propagate the exploitation and
School symposium entitled denigration of women. These
"Prostitution:From Academia forces are gaining haunting
to Activism," on the grounds momentum.
that it contained footage from Thefallsymposium willhelp
commercialpomography.The to expose what happens when
out-of-court settlement is not censorship goes too far. Free
an official admission of guilt, KRISTOFFER GILLETTE/Daily speech advocatesdo notneces-
but by offering to reinstall the censored exhibit sarily support the pornography, nor the publica-
at a similar event in the fall, and paying each of tion or distribution of such media, but defenders
the five censored artists $3,000, the Law School of freespeechwill never advocatetheviolationof
takes positive steps toward correcting past mis- the basic principles of liberty as a means to
takes, repress unpopular views.
There isno doubtthatthisovertcensorship of In additionto seminars on feminist theory and
art is anathema to the inalienable liberties and sexual expression, the new symposium will in-
rights guaranteed to people in a democracy, and elude a Bollinger-led public forum to address the
Law School Dean Lee Bollinger should have issues of censorship and artistic freedom. This
taken a further steps to admit the law students forum will promote discussion of censorship and
who removed the exhibit made a grave error. pornography and bring these issues back into the
However, the new symposium may reverse the spotlight. The community will have the opportu-
negative impact of this mistake and make an nity to see the video "Pom'im'age'ry: Picturing
even greater impact on future of free speech on Prostitutes." And the University will have the
this campus. opportunity to fulfill its necessary role: to discuss
The emerging pro-censorship coalition be- conflict, not to ignore it and run the other way.
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Editors' note: Unfortunately, sexual assault has become an issue of statistics. We often see so many
numbers, we forget human beings are involved. It is for this reason that the Daily dedicates this
space every Wednesday to sexual assault survivors. Some pieces will be signed. Others will not. All
of them present real situations from survivors who respond in their own way to assault.
Rape story must be told 'over and over~
I'll go through Argo Park first today, I
haven't been through there in along time
and it's nice to get away from these roads.
I'm really glad to be jogging, sometimes I
wonder if I ever accomplish things that I set
out to do, but obviously I'm getting better.
It's really not worth getting depressed about
it like I have been.
blur and a woman screams, loudand fright-
ening, almost angry - but nobody would
hear, we're too far away from everything.
He's grabbing me- so this is what it feels
like, what I'd never thought would happen.
Now he's pulling me down and I'm
going to die, this is real, this is my life that's
ending; I'm falling, everything is going to
That scream again, not one, but a million
women out there to tear this creep off of me,
make me strong, fight him off.
N THEIR SEARCH for a new president, the
trustees at Michigan State University (MSU)
have repeatedly attempted to avoid compli-
ance with Michigan's Open Meetings Act. The
act, passed in 1976, mandates public bodies -
including state colleges and universities-keep
decision-making meetings accessible to the
public. But MSU last week revealed its most
recent attempt to side step this law -manipu-
lating a specific clause that allows apublic body
to privately review applications at an applicant's
request. While the trustees' creativity is duly
noted, they do not have the right to subvert a law
that clearly and expressly applies to them. In
addition, this disregard for the public's right to
know sets a dangerous precedent that our Uni-
versity will only be too happy to follow.
While the MSU trustees acknowledge this
clause does not allow them to determine quali-
fications or make judgements regarding candi-
dates, they maintain they have the right to
deliberate and label applications as "strong" or
"weak." Obviously, regardless of what they
want to call it, labeling applicants in such a
manner is equivalent to making judgements.
The point of the Open Meetings Act is to
keep public bodies accountable not only for
their decisions, but also for the way those deci-
sions are made. Unfortunately, state public uni-
versity administrators deem themselves above
this law. Our University disregarded the Act
most notably in 1988 when it subverted the
entire selection process that resulted in the hiring
of University President James Duderstadt. Even
though the University has been challenged in
court for its behavior, the regents have continued
to disobey the law with the subsequent hiring of
VicePresident for Student Affairs Maureen Hart-
ford. MSU's attempt to ignore the act is not as
blatant as the University's, but if the actions go
unchecked they may fuel the regents' case when
it goes to the Michigan Supreme Court in April.
Throughout its search for a new president,
MSU has continually echoed the complaints of
ourUniversitythattheOpenMeetings Actmakes
finding top applicants difficult. Republicans in
Lansing have responded to these complaints by
introducinglegislationto exemptpublic colleges
and universities from the Open Meetings Act,
Although there may be some validity to MSU's
fear that the lack of privacy drives potential
applicants away, the public's right to know su-
persedes this concern. Furthermore, the Open
Meetings Act does not require the entire process
be made public, but only once the list has been
narrowed down to serious candidates.
Whether or not the trustees want to admit that
they are bending the law beyond its breaking
point, they cannot deny they are blatantly break-
ing the spirit of it. They have made it clear that
they don'tlikethe OpenMeetings Act and will do
anything in their power to ignore it. They cannot
continue to refuse the public its right to know
about the selection process.
I've been so down on myself lately and
it's scary to find myself thinking that life is
not worth living.But anyway, now I'm jog-
ging and I feel great.
It's so peaceful here, it's impossible to
let things bother me. Concentrate on for-
ward motion. Maybe someday I'll be good.
There's someone fishing - what a differ-
ent lifestyle than mine, but we both enjoy
the same things, getting out here with na-
ture and quiet. It's odd that there aren't
more people, considering that it's almost
noon.
Oh my god, he's just standing there
with his pants open. Maybe he didn't real-
ize that I was here, just turn around and get
out of here, pretend I didn't see, I suppose
I should pick up the pace a little, it's not too
hard, maybe I should jog at this pace all the
time. But why do men do that? It's not the
first time and it just doesn't make sense to
me.
Oh my god, he's beside me, there's a
end like this, I'm going to die. No! Damn it,
I'm not going to let this happen. You shit,
I've got a life that you can't take away.
That scream again, notone, butamillion
women out there to tear this creep offof me,
make me strong, fight him off. If he has a
knife, it's going to cut into me - I can feel
it cutting into my side. No, I'm not going to
let it happen, I'm going to survive - I'm
the one who's screaming, screaming be-
cause it gives me control, because he has to
defend himself against it.
All the shit that I've ever taken from all
the bastards in this world that has been
burning inside of me is like a torch that I'm
shoving in his face. You asshole, you made
a mistake if you thought that you could hurt
me when all you have is this thing that you
don't know what to do with while I've got
a life an no piece of shit like you is going to
take it away from me. Get your dirty hands
off of my face, that's not a scream that you
can stop.
He's off of me, oh my god, just run, go
faster, why can't I run faster, he could still
get me, I'm not going to let him. Look back,
keep on running, but the street is so far
away, I'm not going to make it, I can't
breathe. No, I'm going to make it,I'm going
togetoutofthis,I'm going to live,-finally
some cars. Am I alive? Yes, slow down, I
don'tneedtostopacar,justkeep insight,go
to that store.
"Can I use your phone? I need to call the
police," as if I'd rehearsed it, it seems so
unreal, it even looks like a toy1.hone. 911.
Like a story I'm telling, I tell it over and
over. They listen and they look so shocked.
But I'm okay. I'm alive. Oh my god, I'm so
afraid. No, I can't go outside, he's still out
there.
SEXUAL ASSAULTS
REPORTED TO SAPAC
IN 1993: 31*
Involving penetration: 17
No penetration: 5
Acquaintance: 21
Stranger: 0
On Campus: 1
Reported to police: 6
* No additional information
available for some reports
FROM SCROOGE TO SANTA
Election spirit brings cure for Michigan children
NASA's endeavors benefit
To the Daily: ozone layer, you are learning
I am responding to your about a problem that was
editorial "Budget Cuts; Pres. discovered and is now
holds up his end of 'sacri- continuously monitored by a
fice' bargain" (3/10/93) that satellite.
criticized NASA as a The commercial commu-
government agency which nications satellites that
receives "countless govem- enable the global exchange
ment funding that never of information are a direct
seemed to produce anything outgrowth of pioneering
meaningful". Obviously you NASA efforts. The vast
are not aware of the extraor- majority of international
dinary range of benefits that telephone calls are carried by
have resulted from the space a satellite as well as most
program at the current cost domestic and international
of only 1 percent of the television coverage. If you
federal budget. enjoy CNN live from
The explosion of Moscow and the Olympic
scientific knowledge about telecasts from Barcelona, you
the solar system and universe are directly benefiting from
since the dawn of the Space the space program.
Age is certainly one of the Hurricanes used to kill
greatest achievements of this hundreds of people. Thanks
century. The adventure of to the warnings received
this exploration has been an from satellites, even the most
inspiration to millions, ferocious storms now take a
Pulsars, supernovas, Martian far smaller toll.
deserts and spectacular lunar The microcircuit technol-
mountain ranges were ogy that forms the heart of
unknown a generation ago. computers, car engine
Now they are available to controllers and thousands of
anyone who can read a other devices was originally
magazine or take an under- developed to fill the need for
graduate science class. a compact and reliable
If you are concerned computer that could fit in an
about the destruction of the
the nation
Apollo spacecraft The
microcircuit is the source of
the multi-billion dollar
electronics, computer and
telecommunications
industries and their millions
of jobs. This is but one
example of how the
technological demands of
space exploration force the
growth of technology, which
then diffuses through the
rest of the economy.
Monitoring equipment
used in hospital ntensive
care units was derived from
the biomedical instrumenta-
tion originally invented for
astronautical applications.
Thousands of lives are saved
annually by the use of these
Space Age devices.
Last fall the Daily
endorsed for president a
candidate who promised to
invest in America's future.
The money that has been
spent on NASA has been an
extraordinarily good
investment, funding of one
of the most exciting-
endeavors of our time.
Kenneth Katz
Rackham student
Daily headline
seems misleading
To the Daily:
This letter is in response to
an article you recently
published titled"Anti-abortion
protesters shoot doctor outside
Florida clinic (3/11/93).dYou
are incorrect to * ht such a
title.Agroupofpeople did
not shoot Dr. Gun. One
person did and he, hopefully,
will be punished for doing so.
Mr. Griffin (the criminal in
this case) did somethin that
only a person who proas
"pro-choice" could logically
agree with. He took thelifeof
one person for the sake of
creating an environment that
is more convenient for
himself.
The murder was not easy
for him or he would have
done it years ago. But out of
his raging anger caused by
fear (a lack of understanding)
and confusion, he found the
action necessary. Fortunately,
actions suchar. Griffins
are against the law. Unfortu- 4
nately, actions that society
coerces women into doing
(ie.-abortion), in which the
result is 100 percent s_ to
Mr. Griffin's, are legal.
SEASONAL SPIRITS HAVE descended on
Michigan politics - the election season,
that is. With the 1994 gubernatorial race
only a year away, Gov. John Engler, Michigan's
very own Ebenezer Scrooge, has exhibited sus-
picious signs that he may have been visited in
the night-notby the ghost
of Christmas past, but the y
ghostofelectionfuture. Like
Scrooge, our governor has:
awoken a changed man, de-
termined to prove he is not
the ogre his political record
has shown him to be.
Thelatestevidenceofthisa
change is the plan he intro-
duced last week regarding r
health care for Michigan's Enger
doctor despite extreme illness. Thisleads to more
serious illness and trips to emergency rooms.
Furthennore, this plan addresses one of the
largest problems with Michigan's welfare sys-
tem: the fact that it acts as a "disincentive" to
adults who wish to obtain jobs. Currently, em-
ployed adults areineligible for Medicaid, even if
their jobs offer no health insurance. Therefore,
many choose not to work rather thanlose cover-
age for themselves and their children. Under
Engler's proposal, families earning less than
$18,000 perfamily ofthreeor$30,000 perfamily
of six would still be eligible for government
insurance. This would allow parents to obtain
jobs without feaiing outrageous debt should their
children become ill.
This proposal, which only addresses the needs
of young children and limits coverage to families
Micheal Nemec
SNR&E Alumnus
Protesters missing point, issue not labor-management
To the Daily:
I read with skepticism
Yet the grievance, filed by
the Anerican Federation of
now, however, no evidence, or
even accusation, has been
argue with such a statement,
we at least can note that it fails