Page 4- The Michigan Daily- Friday, April 9, 1993

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

JOSH DuBow
Editor in Chief
EIN LZA EnioRN
Opinion Editor

.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.

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SPECIAL INTEREST

Legislators should listen
OSE WHO VOTED to support the Michigan
*Collegiate Coalition (MCC) in the March
Michigan Student Assembly elections have
helped to secure one of the only student voices
fighting to keep tuition costs down. Unfortu-
nately, this solitary voice, in a storm of inflation
and a tight state budget, is going unheard. The
House Higher Education Committee has found
it much easier to turn its head and ignore the
huge emotional and financial burden rising tu-
ition costs place on college students. Boxed in
by state budget concerns, committee members
will soon vote to cut funding to state universi-
ties, inevitably resulting in higher tuition.
The committee fails to understand the com-
plex problem from a student perspective. For
those students who are unable to keep up with
the rising costs of higher education, the tuition
increase means not returning to school next
year. But the committee is so far removed from
these disastrous consequences that it blindly
supports the rise in tuition without even lending
a sympathetic ear to the struggles of students.
At a special session of the committee on last
Monday, only 45 minutes of a two-hourmeeting
were devoted to hearing student concerns from
MCC members. Approximately a dozen stu-
dents argued against the governor and the legis-
lature for not increasing the higher education
budget. Obviously the committee preferred ig-
norance of the problem over harsh criticism -
only three committee members remained half-
way through the students' statements. Although

to student lobby
the committee itself may be unable to find other
alternatives due to state budget restraints, it
could at least listen and try to understand the
student viewpoint. If it continues to ignore this
perspective, it will only increase a widening gap
between itself and students. Such a gap would
make it easier to blindly increase tuition in the
future before exploring otheroptions and would
alleviate essential student pressure to keep tu-
ition costs down.
Beneath the surface ofthese tuition increases
lie the struggles of students everywhere to ob-
tain a higher education. Contrary to what stu-
dents were told growing up - that hard work
would open the doors to the world of opportu-
nity - they are now learning that the almighty
dollar is the only real ticket to success in this
world.
To most students, the lack of strong financial
support makes attending college a shaky pros-
pect. It is too easy for good colleges to be
accessible to the rich rather than the intelligent
Despite the pessimistic situation, students must
continue to pressure the state. Remind the deci-
sion-makers who you are and where you stand
-and don't make it easy for them to give their
support to decisions that will keep you from
what you've earned through hard work. Let
them hearyourvoice throughcontinued support
for MCC. If these voices are loud enough,
maybe foronce they'llbeheard and students can
achieve a significant victory in a game where
defeat is known too well.

Working people must unite against fascism

By Becky Richards
for the Revolutionary Workers
League
Your editorial ofMarch22,"Free speech;
Even fascists haveFurstAmendmentrights,"
attacked anti-Nazi demonstrators for "vio-
lating the free speech rights" of the SS
Action Group and the so-called National
Association for the Advancement of White
People (DavidDuke-ites) byattacking them
with ice-balls, rocks, machine parts and
fists when the fascists tried to rally at City
Hall on March20. We of the Revolutionary
Workers League (RWL) never made it a
secret that we wanted the Nazis toberunout
of town by militant action-thatis why we
made "no free speech for fascists"a central
slogan in our efforts to mobilize people for
the demonstration.
By "no free speech for fascists" we
mean there must be mass mobilizations of
Blacks, Latinos, Jews, lesbians and gay
men, organized labor and all progressive
people to smash them ourselves. As you say
in your editorial, the anti-Nazi demonstra-
tors"... imposed their own censorship law
on SS Action and enforced this law with
violence."
Yes, our own law, which is the law of
workers and the oppressed struggling for
their survival in the face of an organization
building a movement for genocide. But
what about "the marketplace of ideas" asks
the editorial. The marketplace of ideas" did
not stop Hitler's Nazis from exterminating
6,000,000 Jews and hundreds of thousands
of Gypsies, gay people, trade unionists and

communists. It has not stopped white su-
premacists from fire-bombing Black fami-
lies' homes near Flint, or from burning
crosses on the lawns of Black families in
Lenawee County in recent months. The
only thing that can stop a force organizing
for racist, anti-lesbian/gay murder and
union-smashing attacks isnot "reason," but
a superior force mobilized to stop them.
By "no free speech for fascists," we
naturally do not mean that we are asking the
city, state or federal government to "ban the
Klan."
In the first place, we do not wish to
strengthen the precedent for state repres-
sion, because we fully expect this repres-
sion to be used against the left and all
progressive struggles, as it has been histori-

At some future point in time, the capitalist
ruling class may have to turn the reins of
power over to the fascists when their usual
means of rule over workers and the op-
pressed no longer suffice. This is what they
did in Germany, Italy, and Spain.
The fascists are struggling to build a
mass movement that can take power in th4
future by offering false, racist answers to
the problems of unemploymentand declin-
ing standards of living, which can attract
disaffe 'ted white youth. Those who would
oppose the fascists must offer truthful an-
swers to the economic crises -the neces-
sity for whites, Blacks, and all working
people to unite against capitalist oppres-
sion. And we must deliver tactical blows to
the fascists now to inhibit their growth

... the alarmingly rapid growth of the fascist move-
ment in Europe, the U.S., and throughout the world
should be a wake-up call.'

STILL SHUT OUT
'U' still defies Open Meetings Act in searches

MICHIGAN'S SUPREME COURT is now
hearing arguments in a suit originally
brought by area newspapers in protest
to the closed hiring of President James
Duderstadt. The University wants the court to
allow the hiring of University officials in closed
meetings,
without public
input, just as
Duderstadt
was hired ins
1988. Also at
this time,3
Michigan State
University
(MSU); which
is currently
looking for ax
new president,
is asking the
state legisla-
ture to amend
the Open'
Meetings Act
to exempt high-level university job interviews.
If University officials, in their all-too finite
wisdom, and MSU prevail, aserious blow to the
public's right to know will have been struck.
As the University would have it (and cur-
rently does), no unsolicited public or student
input would be accepted in the hiring of all-
important officials such as a university presi-
dent, vice president, college dean, or, as is the
case now, athletic director. Allinterviews would
be held behind closed doors and the University
would not be required to give out infonnation
regarding the status of candidates. This would
allow the administration and the Regents to hire
whomever they pleased, even if the proposed
candidate was wholly unacceptable to students
or to the people of the state of Michigan.

The University's assertion that itmust either
hold closed-doormeetings orsacrifice qualified
candidates is not true. It seems that the Univer-
sity is attempting to perpetuate its own kind of
"old-boy network," where high-level officials
are able to operate however they want, withoutj
being an-
noyed by the
clamorofpub-
lic opinion.
The situation
is analogous
. to that of a
Spowerful, pri-
vate club, with
decisions
made in pri-
vate and with-
out public re-
view. If this is
the only set-
ting in which
good candi-
FILE PHOTO/Daly dates can be
hired, then perhaps they aren't so good after all.
What kind of interest would such candidates
have for student concerns? Probably very little.
As usual, the University is trying to keep
itself above public review. But the public's
rights at a state-run institution like this one must
be the overriding concem.
The legislature should see the folly in amend-
ing the Open Meetings Act and should vote to
keep it strong. Of course, the law won't mean
anything without strong legal precedents behind
it, and the Supreme Court should recognize the
importance of keeping university administra-
tions accountable. Thankfully though, if the
University can't come up with any better argu-
ments in court than it usually does, it will prob-
ably be slapped with yet another court defeat.

cally 99 percent of the time. Secondly, we
know that the cops (the armed power of the
state) are inevitably on the side of the fas-
cists. The cops provided the SS Action
groups with a cordoned-off area to demon-
strate. They disarmed the anti-Nazis while
allowing the fascists to remain armed with
shields and clubs.
Clearly, the fascists in the United States
are nowhere near ready to take power any
time soon. This is not Germany, 1932. But
the alarmingly rapid growth of the fascist
movementinEurope, theU.S., and through-
out the world should be a wake-up call. The
cops protect the fascists now for a reason.

while they are still small.
Ironically, youreditorialplaces the blame
for all that happened on the Trotskyist
League (TL). While the RWL and the TL
disagreed in coalition (along with other
forces) to build the demo, we disagreedm
strongly with the TL precisely because theyW
argued against raising the idea of "no free
speech for fascists" in the coalition leaflet to
organize for the demonstration. Unlike the
TL, supporters of the RWL believe that a
mass, anti-fascist movement with the per-
spective of confronting and smashing the
fascists can only be organized by putting
out this idea front-and-center.

Daily bias affects credibility of rape pieces

To the Daily:
Is the Daily's "Perspec-
tives" column dedicated to
bringing the pain and frustra-
tion of rape victims to its
readers, or simply a soapbox
for it to take jabs at random
elements of American
society? I refer in particular to
"Legal system places rape
survivors on trial" (3/31/93).
After the victim/author
described her harrowing
experience, the writer
concluded by making
irrelevant comments such as:
"It makes me furious when
lawyers bring up ... a victim's
sexual history or what the
victim was wearing," and then
went on'to say how ridiculous
the U.S. justice system is, as if
she herself had actually taken

the witness stand after the
incident She didn't.
Therefore the Daily had no
reason to slap on such a
ridiculous headline based on a
few lines that were inappli-
cable to the story and were
clearly beyond the author's
realm of knowledge. And if
that weren't enough, the Daily
highlighted her quote: '"My
sincere hope is that someday
courts and the general public
willnot-..address-.. the
victim's sexual history or
what they were wearing [at
the time of the rape] ... " I'm
appalled at how the Daily
demeaned the victim's
experience in order to
emphasize its own malcontent
with the U.S. legal system. It's
unbelievable that a University

newspaper could take this
woman's frightening tale and
not only leave in these few
unwarranted, unrelated, and
worst of all, unjustified
comments, but highlight them
in order to rail against society ,
(under this woman's anony-
mous protection). The act was
indicative of inconsiderate and
irresponsible journalism, and
if anything, only succeeded in
keeping the real agony of rape
from your readers.
Use the column to discuss
the issue you set forth: rape.
For your credibility's sake,
stop shoving your political
leanings down our throats.
Joshua Kline
LSA junior

Webber


COMBAT BOOTS
Navy move a good step for women in military

Entire team,
and Webber,
deserve praise
To the Daily:
After seeing the final
game, and the following press
conference,we can only say
how appalled we are at the
press. Chris Webber is the
most talented player in the
NCAA, and should have been
commended,not badgered, at
the press conference. Four
reporters in a row asked
Webber the same question,
despite his obvious distress.
Howard, Webber, and
Coach Fisher acted graciously
under enormous pressure, and
handled ludicrous questions
from the media admirably.
We should all remember
that without Chris Webber, we
wonid never have made it to

A S THE DEBATE over homosexuals in the
military drags on, another form of mili-
tary discrimination continues to rear its
ugly head-women stillcannot serve incombat
positions.
Fortunately, Defense Secretary Les Aspin
has not forgotten about the rampant discrimina-

this week by opening most combat positions to
women. But most is not nearly far enough. All
people, iftheydernonstrate the ability, should be
permittedto serve in combat. There is absolutely
no justification for this discrimination beyond
that some men simply think women are not
capable of participating in combat..

To the Daily:.
The editorial on Wednes-
day, March 17, "Deadly
weapons; Waco incident
shows need for Brady Bill,"
suggests that the Waco
incident is another reason to
pass the Brady bill, which
would further restrict the
rights of law-abiding citizens
by requiring a national seven-
day waiting period for
firearms purchases. I find this
argument illogical, unfair and

Bill would only hurt the law-abDdg

ing the legal firearms for some
time already. Finally, the
Brady bill, by definition,
would only affect the law
abiding citizens; most
criminals purchase their
firearms on the black market
anyway.
The L.A. riots are a prime
example of how waiting
period legislation is ineffec-
tive in preventing crime and
can in fact exacerbate the
problems of civil unrest. In the

that they would have to wait
several days to be able to 0
purchase a firearm due to the
waiting period in California.
As a result, the gun stores
were forced to close their
doors and turn away desper-
ately frightened customers.
Over sixty people were killed
in the ensuing chaos.
This bill is just another
misguided effort by our
legislators to restrict our
fundamental civil rights and

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