4 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 14, 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
ANDREW LEVY
Editorial Page Editor
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the majority opinion of the Daily editorial board.
All other cartoons, articles and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.
QNXWLY ONE OF ESE AP4JrVALS CAN THINK D A5< N,
.T5S 1 -HFE PRO6LEM, OR Th1E S OLUTL ION?
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Contributing writer
Looking back on 'No cops, no code!'
Imagine for a moment a small and
common Midwestern town that is
suffering an increasing crime rate,
threatening all its
residents. Now
suppose the city
manager of this
make-believe
town were to
propose a policy r
that is regularly<
found in other ,
similarly situated
communities.
The policy Amitava
would not only MaZumdar
slow the growth in crime, but reverse
the trend at no real additional cost
and without resorting to the
dangerous tactics of a police state.
Who would oppose such a policy?
Fellow students in the real-life
college community of the University
would oppose it - passionately,
sometimes violently.
In November 1990, nearly three
years ago, student demonstrators at
the University forced their way into
the Fleming Administration
Building, chalking messages on the
walls, chanting, and making general
nuisances of themselves in protest
against the establishment of a
campus police force. Then-Michigan
Student Assembly President Jennifer
Van Valey demagogued the
deputization issue in an outdated,
1960s, siege mentality: "(The
regents) are trying to make us believe
deputization is for our own safety,
(when it actually) serves their own
repressive agenda." The Daily wrote
in a September 1990 editorial,
"(Students) will end up suffering ...
for a change that in no way will
Mazumdar is an LSA senior. His
column will appear every other
Tuesday in the Daily.
SPICMACAY thanks 'U'
aid community
To the Daily:
Over the Memorial Day weekend,
an important event took place on this
campus.
The Society for the Promotion of
Indian Classical Music and Culture
Amongst Youth (SPICMACAY)
organized a series of concerts of
Indian classical music featuring some
of the most renowned artistes from
India. These events were part of the
First Annual National Convention of
the SPICMACAY (USA). The
capacity attendance at these
programs even though it was during
the summer, and the overwhelming
positive response of the attendees in
the audience survey questionaires
testify to the success of these events.
SPICMACAY is a voluntary
movement among the lovers of
Indian classical arts and culture to
help preserve, promote and enhance
the ancient traditional artforms of
India. This is very important,
especially among the Indian youth, as
there is a great threat to these age old
traditions from the onslaught of
modern civilization.
reduce crime on campus."
Neither assertion has yet proven
defensible. According to Department
of Public Safety (DPS) crime
statistics, crime rates have fallen in
seven of eight categories, with an
astounding reduction in total criminal
activity by 25 percent since 1990.
Granted, only three years have
passed since the original eight police
were deputized; that only means that
rather than being cause for
immediate celebration, these
statistics should at least be cause for
optimism. But the pros for
maintaining a campus police
department do not end with an
improving crime rate.
Prior to the establishment of the
police force in January 1991 the
University paid the city of Ann Arbor
$500,000 every year for seven
officers, two detectives, and a
growing crime rate. In addition, the
city, rather than the University,
collected a half-million dollars in
campus parking violations.
Consider the established
alternhtive. The University's Office
of Parking Services is now receiving
a percentage of the fines collected by
the city for campus violations. Even
if the amount the office receives is
only half of the $500,000 the city
collects, subtracting that from DPS's
current $900,000 budget means that
in real terms students are receiving
more cops and fewer crimes at a
comparable price tag.
The issue of repression is more
difficult to address; the use of police
officers as tools of repression is
always a possibility at every level of
government. But since deputized
cops first patrolled campus, the
administration has passed up a
number of occasions to enforce
University policies with 'U'-cops.
The first opportunity was during the
actual deputization hearings, when
members of the Black Student Union
climbed atop the hearing tables,
chanting and delivering threats. The
administration could have also
curbed the violative anti-Diag policy
demonstrations, but again chose not
to.
The University administrators
aren't fools. Brutal enforcement of
University policies with armed thugs
is simply not politically tenable and
would leave the school vulnerable to,
among other things, poor publicity
and greater litigation. Moreover,
students must remember that today's
school administrators are in many
cases products of the free speech
movement and civil rights era, and
are unlikely (and probably unwilling)
to curb dissent with billy clubs.
Admittedly, I also opposed
campus deputization, having naively
bought into the faddish fascists-in-
Fleming mentality. But any sort of
intellectual honesty requires that
facts be examined objectively, not
twisted or reconstructed to match
(generally leftist) ideological
preconceptions. Those who are new
on campus should not underestimate
the extent which the anti-deputization
movement's fear-mongering had
reached; the Van Valey quote above
about repressive agendas was typical
of the studer.t leadership's rhetoric.
In this case, the unmolested facts
speak for themselves. The
predictions of ineffectiveness,
costliness, and repressiveness have
so far proven false. Walter Harrison
called the decision to deputize "one
of the best investments we have ever
made over the past two years." With
little evidence existing to the
contrary, it is clear that the campus
police force has functioned
successfully and its establishment has
proven to be a sound policy decision.
0
Volunteer, and make a difference
through our activities we will provide
an opportunity for many to imbibe
the beauty, grace and wisdom
inherent in the Indian culture to the
betterment of their own lives.
We at SPICMACAY are indeed
greatful for many at this university
who have been very encouraging and
supportive of our efforts. Without the
kind support of the Office of
Multicultural Initiative, the Office of
Student Affairs, the Michigan
Student Assembly, the Rackham
Office of Minority Affairs, Rackham
Student Government, the School of
Music and others, we wouldn't have
been able to achieve the success we
have in the last one year of our
existence on this campus. We are
also thankful that the we were chosen
the best new student organization for
the year 1992-93. A special mention
of gratitude goes toward the Inter
Cooperative Council and the North
Campus Cooperative for voluntarily
housing the delegates to our
convention, numbering more
than100, and representing more than
30 universities.
Through this convention not only
did the University chapter establish
itself as one of the leading groups in
the SPICMACAY movement hut
By DONNA SHALALA
Imagine being 11 years old again.
Only this time, you're from a foreign
country and you don't speak English.
You've just moved to America.
Everything is new and confusing.
You can't read the street signs. You
miss home terribly and don't have any
friends.
That's how a boy named Jorge was
introduced to our country in 1986.
He struggled for an entire year,
barely talking to anyone. His grades
dropped, and he refused to go out and
:play. Jorge's mother thought that only
sometimes watching movies.
Today, ahigh schoolgraduate, Jorge
speaks English so well that he is taking
classes at George Washington Univer-
sity. And Richard learned a lot about
the culture and struggles of immigrant
families in our country.
This is just one story, but it's em-
blematic of the good you can do by just
spending time with someone younger.
People whocease tohavehopecease
to be alive. Every 12 seconds of the
school day, an American child drops
out. Every 30 seconds, a child runs
away from home. And every minute, a
gram andmake adifference in achild's
life - a child just like Jorge. Share
yourself with someone who's younger
- you'll make a lasting impression,
learn a great deal yourself, and help
build a better society.
Of course, volunteering isn't just
about working with children. You can
work with the elderly or the disabled,
clean up parks and neighborhoods, or
help build housing for low-income
people.
And as you move through your
college years, consider taking a year or
two after college and being a part of the
The Michigan Daily
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Daily's reader response
dine, (313) 764-0553.
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