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Page 4-The Michigan Daily-- Thursday, April15, 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
ERIN LIzA EINHORN
OpinionEditor
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.
As the
seems
end of the semester approaches, it
as if more and more people have ideas
and issues that need a place to be heard. We
on the Daily staff use this page every day to
display our own political convictions, but all
ideas deserve a forum. It is for that reason
the Daily donates the entire opinion page
today to the opinions and perspectives of the
community.
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D06- tSFoFEE you 66 T, THE DiA6-
Students Against Coffee Shops oppose arabica bean, promote good for all
Students Matt Bennett and Peter
Dresslar raised a significant amount
of concern about the CSACS
organization,and its premises recently
in letters to the Daily. I, as president
of CSACS, would like to address
these concerns and hope to straighten
this undertaking out, so all can
understand what CSACS is for and
about.
First of all it is obvious to me that
neither of these students attended our
rally or read the article in the Daily
(March 29). CSACS, in response to
Dresslar, is not trying to destroy the
economy of Ann Arbor by targeting
the coffee shops, although our main
argument does hinge upon coffee
shops and the beans they use in their
beverages. There are two types of
beans used in the coffee industry, the
arabica and the robusta beans. The
latter of the two is the type you buy
off you local grocers' shelf. The
arabica is the gourmet of the two and
it is the sole bean used in the produc-
tion of beverages in Ann Arbor's
cafes. This bean, versus the robusta, is
very difficult to grow. It must be
germinated in steep hillside terraces
which makes it very hard to cultivate,
often resulting in the exploitation of
third world coffee bean workers. It is
also, because of its weak immune
system, very susceptible to disease
and attack by varying insects.
Therefore it is often treated with
ecologically unsound chemicals such
as DDT, a chemical not yet forbidden
by these underdeveloped nations. The
robusta bean, on the other hand, is
grown on flat terrain and has a much
heartier immune system. It is not the
coffee shops that we are directly
attacking, but the use of the arabica
bean. These coffee shops have the
alternative to use the robusta bean in
their mixes but ont not to do so. it
produces the same beverages, but
with not quite as smooth or rich of
taste. Our main goal is to further
promote the switch from the one bean
to the other by asking students to be
conscious of what they are drinking.
Bennett stated that it is amazing
that we are concerned with something
such as coffee instead of "protesting
against those who are clearly a larger
threat to our society." This miscon-
strued garble is far off base. The
coffee industry represents the second
highest import on basis of volume in
the world and the first in terms of
value, representing one percent of
total world trade. So, as you can see,
this is a threat to our society.
Finally I would like to address
the criticism received about the use of
Christian in the acronym CSACS. Its
intention was not to offend those
believers of the Christian faith, nor
omit those from our group who were
not. The Christian was added to the
name because all the founding
members happened to follow in the
footsteps of the Christian beliefs. We
welcome all who intend to make a
difference in the world through
change in a big way, it is not in our
beliefs to preclude those with varying
beliefs from our own.
There are obviously some
misunderstood facts about CSACS
and hopefully this clears many of
them up. As for Jesus not drinking
coffee, this is a true fact. Coffee
wasn't discovered until 300 A.D. We
believe that Jesus, if he were around
today, would support our cause
unconditionally. Without him here we
can only be his disciples and try our
best for the promotion of good for all.
Tony Jenkins
Christian Students Against
Coffee Shops
'U' officials way too restrictive
University Towers Apartments responds toe
resident concerns about safety, water
To the Daily:
Over the last four years, I have
grown increasingly disgusted with
the attitudes that the University's
administrators and Regents seem to
hold towards the students. Where to
begin? Two years ago, an incredibly
expensive campus police force was
deputized without regard for any
student opposition, and when the
administration felt compelled to
comment, they mailed their argu-
ments home to students' parents,
rather to the students themselves.
This year, the Code of student
conduct was implemented with little
student input. Arbitrary tuition hikes
occur nearly every summer. Regent
meetings regarding items objection-
able to students are held during exam
times, vacations, and holidays.
Today, the University is still fighting
to justify its closed-meeting searches
for President Duderstadt. And for
three years in a row, the University
has demonstrated its commitment to
free speech and diversity of opinion
by illegally attempting to prohibit
NORML's Hash Bash rally.
Is there any recourse for students
as appalled by these actions as I am?
Protesting is obviously ineffectual and
seems to just add fuel to the adminis-
trative fire. Fortunately, as a graduat-
ing senior, I have discovered that the
University does indeed care for my
opinion - in the form of alumni
donations. I was delighted to receive a
mailing asking me to have my "gift"
ready when University solicitors call.
Well, once I have the University's ear,
I hope they enjoy my gift of one
Acerbic Tirade. If anyone else shares
my disgust for the University's
attempts at in loco parentis decision-
i
making, then I encourage you to
demonstrate that their heavy-
handedness does indeed have
consequences. It would be a shame if
it took a financial threat to get the
administration to wise up, but they
have done nothing to encourage me
to add to the exorbitant sums I have
already given them.
Lee Ranieri
LSA senior
To the Daily:
On behalf of University Towers
Apartments I am responding to the
letter regarding University Towers
concern for the safety of its residents,
"'U' Towers disregards tenant safety"
(3/30/93).
The letter stated that the water at
University Towers contains "heavy
metals and poisons." This statement is
in fact, grossly untrue. University
Towers has Ann Arbor city water.
The fact is, water traveling
through pipes will pick up sediment
as it moves and when the water has
been turned off and then back on,
even more sediment breaks loose and
will come through the faucets. This
sediment is not harmful. After the
water runs through the pipes for a
short period of time, this condition
corrects itself.
There was never, at any time, a
need to warn our residents not to
drink the water.
Mr. Camp, in his letter, also
stated that University Towers rents
had been raised "exorbitantly" for
new leases. In fact, the opposite is
true. On average, new leases for the
93/94 school year have been
decreased by one half a percent for
12 month leases and slightly more
than that for eight month leases.
I understand that free speech is a
right in our country and am pleased
that the Daily gives University of
Michigan students the opportunity to
state their views. However, it is
disturbing to me to have a letter
Daily editor
appear which, because of its lack of
accurate facts, could damage the
reputation of an area business.
University Towers cares a great
deal not only about the health and
safety of its residents, but also about
their well-being and happiness
while living in our building.
I would also like to take this
opportunity to assure all present and
future residents that the manage-
ment of University Towers does
and always will do its best to create
a safe and happy environment for
students while studying in Ann
Arbor.
Joyce Maschke
Office Manager, University
Towers
ial on SS rally
misrepresents RWL, TL
Frankly, I think some people around
h'ere take you all for granted. They don'
appreciate you or care about what you
do for their institution. The one thing
some people do seem to care about is
how many games you win. They act as
though because you have a title, "The
Fabulous Five," and that the media and
the university gives you much atten-
tion, that every time you step on the
court you are supposed to win a game.
It is expected of you. Somewhat de-
manded. These people treat you as if
you are robot ball players specifically
designed to play basketball and provide
entertainment. Sometimes I wonder if
people see you as human beings with
feelings-joys, pains heartbreaks etc.-
just as they have? Where does the re-
spectcome in? Even though you may be
bombarded with autographs, followed
by groupies and superficial women
ready to drop their panties on sight,
most of these people see you as one
dimensional cartoon-like figures, dis-
pensable, viewed as unintelligent and
not taken seriously about anything other
than basketball.
This is why brothers you must keep
your head on straight. We all under-
stand what you are here for, but please
don'tallow yourself tobe niaved (taken
To the Daily:
Your editorial of March 22
attacked anti-Nazi demonstrators for
"violating the free speech rights" of
the SS Action Group and the so-
called National Association for the
Advancement of White People
(David Duke-ites) by attacking them
with iceballs, rocks, machine parts
and fists when the fascists tried to
rally at City Hall on March 20. We of
the Revolutionary Workers League
(RWL) never made it a secret that we
wanted the Nazis to be run out of
town by militant action - that is 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 mobili-
zations 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 demonstrators
"... imposed their own censorship
law on SS Action and enforced this
law with violence." Yes, our own law,
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
fmm P..raminntin a Amllimes
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 movement
in Europe, the United States, and
throughout the world should be a
wake-up call. The cops protect the
fascists now for a reason. At some
future point in time, the capitalist
ruling class may have to turn the reins
of power over to the fascists when its
usual means of rule over workers and
the oppressed no longer suffices. This
is what they did in Germany, Italy,
and Spain. The fascists are struggling
to build a mass fascist movement that
can take power in the future by
offering false, racist answers to the
problems of unemployment and
declining standards of living which
can attract disaffected white youth.
Those who would oppose the fascists
must offer a truthful answers to the
economic crises - the necessity for
whites, Blacks, and all working
people to unite against capitalist
oppression. And we must deliver
tactical blows to the fascist now to
inhibit their growth while they are
still small.
Ironically, your editorial places 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 disagreed strongly*
mwih thi-1.r nerke.41vheene they
chose to dwell on the negatives (losing
the championship, the miscall etc.)
These people were so busy focusing on
the idea of losing, that they overlooked
the point that only winners could have
made it to the championship in the first
place.
I was a bit upset those first few
minutes after the game, not because of
the outcome, but because of the silence
and long faces that greeted me on my
way to South U. I was pissed because I
felt that for all the time and effort you
five asd the rest of our team put forth,
mnmi neonle cnnld do nothing more
that society has purposefully unedu-
cated people to overlook this most ob-
vious fact.
Donotforget where you came from;
But at the same time don't allow where
you came from to get mixed up with
where you're at and most importantly,
don't allow it to hold you back from
where you want to go. Please under-
stand that you all are not simply players
in a game, but products in a business;
And we all know what that means, its
all aboutcustomer service-buying, sell-
DOUGLAS KANTER/Daily
treat us, to think about how important it
is that we walk around stressed jeopar-
dizing out psychological well being
attempting toattain goals that we should
accept are beyond our reach. Time out
to consider our values, morals and be-
liefs how they shape us as individuals
the choices we make and the control we
have over our lives and others. Time out
to think about how important it is that
we win or lose or how well we play the
game.
In essence, we need to take time out