4 -- The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 1, 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.
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Since AIDS Awareness Week in mid-October, a
debate has raged on this campus and on this page
with regard to flyers posted by members of the U-M
College Republicans.
These flyers suggested, among other things, that
"family values," can cure AIDS. Others on campus
have rightfully pointed out that there is no cure for
AIDS. But the truth of the matter is that AIDS is a
disease that can be prevented.
Here are the facts: AIDS is caused by a virus
called Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). This
virus is spread through direct contact between cer-
tain bodily fluids of two individuals. These fluids
include blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast
milk. There is no other known way to contract the
virus.
Once the full-blown AIDS disease develops from
the HIV virus, the human immune system is ren-
dered incapable of fighting off other, "opportunis-
tic" diseases that, in absence of an immune system,
lead to death.
So, if AIDS can only be contracted through those
fluids, then by avoiding contact with other people's
blood, semen, vaginal fluids, and breast milk, you
can avoid getting AIDS.
How can you avoid this? Not using intravenous
drugs is one way. Not having sex is another. But for
those people who choose to engage in these activi-
ties, there are ways to protect yourselves as well.
If you use intravenous drugs, use a needle once
and throw it away. Don't share your needles. If you
are sexually active, always use a condom and a
spermicide. Condoms serve as a barrier for the
fluids, and spermicides have been shown to kill the
disease in laboratory tests.
Many of you may know this already. But,judging
from the statistics, many people either don't know
these facts or don't act on them. That's where the
"Time to Act" theme comes in.
Action can be as simple as following the preven-
tative guidelines listed above. But standing up and
taking responsibility for other people is an equally
valuable contribution toward the quest to do nothing
more than potentially save their lives.
The kind of action necessary is painfully simple.
Read what was written above about preventing the
disease and share it with a friend. Even if you're
telling people what they already know, you are
reinforcing that knowledge and giving them an
Far too often in the debate with regard to AIDS,
it has become evident that some people have forgot-
ten the value of a human life.
People with AIDS are people.
A life is a life.
These people, though stricken with a deadly
disease, make a contribution to this society. Yet, in
a manner uncharacteristic to most other deadly dis-
eases, onlookers see fit to ignore their contributions
to society and reduce AIDS patients to value judge-
ments about how they contacted the disease. Point-
ing fingers and labelling people cures nothing.
Here are the facts: AIDS afflicts conservatives
and liberals, children and adults, Black people and
white people, men and women, heterosexuals and
homosexuals. It may sound trite, but it's true: AIDS
doesn't discriminate.
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For four years, art galleries, museums, and the-
aters across the United States have commemorated
World AIDS Day as "A Day Without Art." Today,
in recognition of the contributions AIDS patients
make to society, paintings will be covered or re-
moved. A library in New York will be featuring
works that were not completed because the artist or
author died.
These exhibits serve as proof that dying is not as
simple as a value judgement, and that people with
AIDS are people.
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome is a
deadly disease. The people who have it, no matter
what the circumstances, do not deserve it. But only
sustained awareness and action - teamed with the
diligent work of scientists scrambling for a cure -
will finally end this growing nightmare.
Indeed morality is an important issue in the fight
against AIDS in one important way: It is immoral not
to help fight against a disease that will afflict 40
million of your fellow human beings.
Today is World AIDS Day.1,
Now is the Time to Act.
No such thing as
'reverse racism'
To the Daily:
I am writing in response to Matt
Outlaw's recent letter "Reverse
Racism in Los Angeles" (11/15/93).
There is no such thing as reverse
racism. This is a term coined by
angry white people to express the
contempt they feel when their racist
system has backfired against them.
Yes. The heinous crime the two
men perpetrated against Reginald
Denny was horrible and I agree they
should be punished. However, please
do not forget that the fact that they
were not punished to the fullest
extent of the law was not because of
reverse racism, but because Denny
refused to testify against them. As far
as rioting is concerned, reverse
racism carries no weight here either
because there was no one physically
preventing Denny supporters from
expressing their anger on the streets
of Los Angeles.
You also point out that Reginald
Denny received one of the "cruelest
beatings in American history"
because of his race. Well if you truly
knew your American history you
would know that there were millions
of people, namely African
Americans, that were beaten and
tortured so bad by white people, that
they are not even here to talk about it
like Denny is today. I am not saying
in any way Denny's plight is at all
justified, but his situation could have
been worse. I'd like to point out also
that it was black people who risked
their lives during the riot, to save
Denny's life. Would you say that the
fact the media didn't publicize the
race of his rescuers in greater
magnitude than they did his attackers
was racist? Probably not.
Racism is a systematic oppression
of one race of people by another. It is
extremely complex because it can be
implemented not only on the
physical level, but on mental, social
and political levels as well. The
atrocity America saw these black
men commit against Denny was not
racism, but anger.
In order for reverse racism to
exist the following would have to
occur; Black people would have to
leave their native land, travel across
the Atlantic ocean to a huge
continent inhabited totally by white
people, kidnap them, force them to
live in a foreign country and work
against their will, beat them, rape
their women, wipe out their history,
culture and all other basic human
necessities. Then after a few
centuries of whites struggling for
their rights, being lynched, tortured
and experiencing other forms of
legalized humiliation, black people
finally allow them to exercise the
rights that they were born with in an
oppressive system black people
created. This has never happened in
America to date, therefore reverse
racism is non existent.
NATOSHA MORRIS
LSA senior
Amino acids can
be stored
To the Daily:
I am writing to you regarding the
Daily article entitled "Vegetarian
students eat their greens and smile"
haven't complemented their proteins
... If you like your hormones you
might want to learn it".
Herzog is referring to the idea that
all amino acids must be eaten at the
same time to form complete proteins.
This notion was popularized by
Francis Moore Lappe's "Diet for a
Small Planet" and was based on
erroneous conclusions from scientific
studies of that day. We now know
that incomplete proteins can be
stored in the body for many days to
be combined with other incomplete
proteins. As long as all essential
amino acids are in the diet, it does
not matter if the proteins are
complete or incomplete. A varied
diet consisting of grains, legumes,
fruits and vegetables is sufficient to
meet the USRDA for protein,
without having to worry about
careful protein complementation. It is
also prudent to ensure that there is a
source of vitamin B-12 in the diet
which can be obtained through
fortified cereals, nutritional yeast or
vitamin supplementation.
NELSON MARTINEZ
Inter-university Consortium for
Political and Social Research
Cable workers are an
unnecessary intrusion
To the Daily:
I wish to complain about the
installation of cable services
currently going on in residence halls.
This is my second year in East
Quad, and for the second time in the
last six months residents have been
inconvenienced by the intrusion of
cable servicemen in their rooms. In
addition to the constant noise from
the corridors, the necessity of
clearing one's closet for several days
upon the request of Columbia Cable
(the exact date and time of entry not
being specified) is a further
annoyance. To make matters worse,
members of the residents' association
have passed on reports of servicemen
going through residents' personal
property and similar unprofessional
behavior.
This work has been going on
since February.
My question is: Why wasn't the
work completed during the four
month period over the summer when
the dorms were empty? Why
inconvenience residents twice (so
far)? The Housing Division is
already charging top dollar, and we
residents are hardly getting our
money's worth. If this is the
University's way of making a fast
buck by making endless reruns of the
"Police Academy" films available in
a supposedly intellectual
environment, I wonder what further
"services" are in store for dorm
residents and students in general.
JOHN MORGAN
LSA junior
Irony in free speech
debate
To the Daily:
This Friday afternoon, a small
group of emotionally-charged
speakers held a march, trying to
recruit people in their attack of
another small group. Their speech
attracted a small crowd, and it
appeared that they were winning
rums enr .anrfn ..h i nvtnm,
the "No Free Speech For Fascists"
group. I find it ironic that the anti-
fascists are using the very techniques
-including denial of freedoms -
that the group which they wish to
smash uses to oppress. I have no
respect for either group. Both are
driven by hate, yet both have the
right to speak what is on their
underdeveloped minds. I wonder if
the "No Free Speech For Fascists"
realize that, should they succeed in 0
wooing anyone important, they will
be setting a precedent that would
allow any individual or group to be
silenced solely on the basis of an
arbitrary judgement system -
including themselves.
WARREN LAPHAM
LSA sophomore
Arts Chorale is good
even though it's free
To the Daily:
While I am grateful that the Arts
Chorale fall concert was featured in
the "Who What Where When"
column in the Daily (11/8/93), I did
not appreciate the insinuation that the
Arts Chorale is not a good choir ("If
you don't want to shell out the dough
to go to a good choir concert..)
This may not have been
intentional, but I think the
implication was obvious. Arts
Chorale may not have the same
following, nor the same backing
from the School of Music, as the glee
clubs, but we work hard to make our
concerts enjoyable. We deserve the
same level of respect the Daily has 0
given the other campus choirs. Our
concert may be free, but that doesn't
mean we aren't worth paying to see.
MAGGIE LA PIETRA
Arts Chorale Publicity Manager
Daily forgets Veterans
Day anniversary
To the Daily:
I'm writing this letter to let you
know that I cannot believe that the
Daily printed a picture on the front
page of two representatives of the Y-
chromosome engaged in a horizontal
liplock (isn't this position considered
sexual assault in the new bylaws?)
and yet the 75th anniversary of
Veterans Day goes by without so
much as passing thought.
The issue that I'm bringing up
isn't that of homosexuality vs. God,
country and Corps; it's the fact that
hundreds of thousands men and
women (gay and straight) paid the
utmost price for your freedom and
you can't even bring yourself
remember them.
Yet Veterans Day isn't just for
remembering the dead, it's for payin
tribute to all who have served their
country, in peace and in war. Get
with the program! There's more to
life than promoting the liberal
agenda. I hate to think that I, and
even the homosexuals that I knew
and served with, would have
graciously given our lives so that you
could have the freedom to forget
about us.
MICHAEL SCHUILIN
LSA junior
THE DAILY WANTS
TO HEAR FROM YOU
Pageants exploit; protest was wrong
Setting standards of beauty drew
many types of protesters recently at the
Miss East Lansing Teen of the Nation
and Ms. East Lansing American
Woman contests inside the Lansing
Civic Arena.
ASMSU's Women's Council mem-
bers protested peacefully outside the
arena. Some members wore evening
gowns to draw attention to the objecti-
fication of women occurring inside.
Another group, affiliated with Sisters
to Overthrow Patriarchy, charged the
itage and displayed a banner stating
'Pot-ant Hurt All Women."
members interrupted a completely le-
gal, albeit hypocritical, competition, to
grandstand and seek publicity.
Beauty pageants as a whole have
come a long way from their inception
during the 1950s. Today, they are sup-
posed to showcase personality, talent
and intelligence. But they still exploit
women.
Although the East Lansing pag-
eants offered an option not to partici-
pate in the bathing suit competitions,
the concept of showcasing beauty per-
petuates the wrong idea of what women
shnuld he
natural beauty.
Many pageants provide an op-
portunity for sponsors to showcase
their products. It is true that some
pageants give scholarships and offer
a vehicle for models to start their
careers. Many contestants, who feel
it necessary to artificially alter their
looks for the competition, invest so
much time and money in these trans-
formations, it offsets the monetary
reward of a scholarship. And only a
small percentage even attain the ul-
timate goal of supermodel.
The Women's Council members