4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 18, 1994 aIje £iuitowun taig 420 Maynard Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan JiEsSIE HALLADAY Editor in Chief SAM GOODSTEIN FLINT WAINESS Editorial Page Editors Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of a majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters, and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. A new agenda for women Duderstadt takes the lead in creating policy for women The agenda has been set; now, all that Tremains is for it to be fulfilled. Last week, the University unveiled its new "Michigan Agenda for Women: Lead- ership for a New Century." This plan, com- ing directly from President Duderstadt's office, states as its "vision" that "by the year 2000, the University of Michigan will be- come the leader among American universi- ties in promoting the success of women of diverse backgrounds as faculty, students and staff." The plan goes on to outline sev- eral ways of reaching this goal, from re- evaluating the tenure process to reaching gender equity in varsity sports. First and foremost, Duderstadt should be commended for initiating this effort. A plan such as this is long overdue -one only need look at University statistics to understand that. In fall 1993, there were 281 senior (tenured and tenure-track) women faculty, and 1,683 senior male faculty. Yet 53 per-, cent of lecturers - a non-tenure track posi- tion - are female. Currently, women com- prise 48 percent of undergraduates, but only 40 percent of graduate students. Clearly, the University has a long way to go in achieving gender equity - and creating the Agenda for Women is the first step in this process. There are several areas on which the Agenda must shine its focus. The first, and perhaps most important of these, is faculty. The need for more women faculty is obvious for several reasons, having to do with both the faculty and their students. Women have historically been the victims of discrimina- tion in academia, as in the rest of society, and deserve to have this situation rectified and their accomplishments recognized and valued. Furthermore, having more women faculty will be a great benefit to female students, many of whom have few role mod- els to whom they can look for support in academic life. The Agenda for Women addresses this need in several ways. It pledges to appoint 10 new senior women faculty over the next five years, a bold and important step. Yet this will not fulfill the real goal - long- term, institutional change. In order to do this, the University must - as it has also pledged to do - seriously reevaluate its tenure process, a process that was formu- lated decades ago and does not reflect the needs of women and families in the '90s. It must take into account differing demands on men and women, and not, as it currently does, force female faculty to choose be- tween family life and professional advance- ment. The process must also become more flexible across academic disciplines - cur- rently, tenure requirements are the same for all faculty, whether their field is physics or art history. The Michigan Agenda for Women pledges to establish a Presidential Commission to study the tenure process, and make it less rigid and uniform - this is an important promise, and it will help all faculty members, both male and female. Another area on which the Agenda for Women must focus is undergraduate and graduate representation. Duderstadt has pledged to make the University a nation- wide leader in women's education, a place where female students will want to come study. This is an intangible goal, involving less a change of structure than of culture. Yet the University can contribute to this culture change with widespread educational programs on women's issues, including sexual assault and violence against women. The Agenda for Women provides for cre- ation of these programs, and should move forward quickly in this plan. The Michigan Agenda for Women is a bold plan, with the potential for outstanding results. However, the University must com- mit itself wholeheartedly if the plan's broad goals are to become reality. Simply putting the plan on paper is not enough - it is now up to the administration, with Duderstadt's leadership, to follow through. Five years ago Duderstadt created a simi- lar plan, the Michigan Mandate, to ensure the participation of all racial and ethnic groups in University life. His commitment to the plan was both personal and unshak- able, and positive effects are beginning to show as a result. If Duderstadt and his administration - from the President's office to individual departments - commit themselves to this new plan in the same way, the Michigan Agenda for Women can truly make the University a leader for women in the 21st century. 'University culture was created by white men to benefit white men.' - President James J. Duderstadt, on the reasons for creating the Michigan Agenda for Women 4E V CLINTON ! MAY {o/ WANT to HEAR ABOur MY HEALTH.4 CARE PLN --'f Anger at Arafat provide "mere words" which obvious double-standard would project even the which serves to cheapen To the Daily: illusion of decency and Jewish lives, especially Last week, a suicidal sincerity. Israeli lives. Angry, but not fanatic drove a car filled with The PLO chairman's surprised. Arafat, the U.N. explosives into a passenger reaction is far more and the world have never bus in Afula, Israel. When congruent with the image of really reacted to terrorist the smoke cleared, eight "Arafat the Master Terrorist" actions against Jews. In this people along with the than "Arafat the President of instance, the red-hot coals of terrorist, were dead and at Palestine." Furthermore, it is my genuine wrath are stoked least 30 were injured. A ominously indicative of how by the words of Israel's caller to Voice of Israel little his Palestinian Police representatives. Radio, speaking in Arabic, Force will do to control I'm sick of Israeli Foreign claimed responsibility for the extremist elements, such as Minister Shimon Peres glibly terrorist attack on behalf of Hamas. For organizations repeating the mantra, "these the Palestinian Hamas like Hamas, Islamic Jihad, are the costs of peace." organization. the Popular Front for the Acceptable costs for Peres Within HOURS of Liberation of Palestine but never for Arafat. Well, Baruch Goldstein's terrible (PFLP), and the Fatah they shouldn't be for Israelis, shooting spree in Hebron, Hawks terrorist acts are trial Palestinians, Jews, Muslims Israel and worldwide Jewish balloons. They gauge the or anybody. Then there are communities responded degree of their organization's the astounding comments by immediately and clearly to legitimation by the reactions Israeli Ambassador Eli condemn the massacre. The to their deeds. Arafat's Dayan, who repeated the government of Israel has silence has made it clear that "price for peace" mantra and taken concrete steps, he will never be an obstacle then provided a reporter with including the outlawing of to their goal of eradicating the analogy that one cannot extremist Jewish Israel. buy fruit without money. In organizations, to prevent Will the United Nations Dayan's transaction, the future Jewish terrorism. Will draft a resolution "fruit" is peace and the PLO chairman Yassir Arafat condemning this massacre? currency is the loss of Jewish even bother to acknowledge If history is any indicator, life! This is not diplomacy the Afula bombing? there will be a noticeable but self-immolation. According to news accounts, silence on the part of that I'm beginning to feel that when a reporter in Cairo worldwide body which the price is becoming asked Arafat for some claims to speak for human prohibitively expensive and reaction to the butchery dignity and coexistence. Arafat's fruit appears to be committed for the cause of Global condemnation of rotten. Until the Palestinian Palestinian nationalism, the Palestinian terrorism doesn't leadership is willing to come PLO "statesman" turned and seem forthcoming either. to terms with its walked away. Critics of There are not even calls for responsibility to act in good Israel's willingness to make Arafat to restrain the faith toward peace, Israel concessions were wrong murderous actions of his should not return to the peace when they complained that own Fatah Hawks, let alone talks. I'm not against the Israel was squandering condemnation of Hamas and peace process. I just want strategically crucial territory Islamic Jihad. one that works for both for "mere words." Arafat has So, I'm angry with Israelis and Palestinians. become so cocky that he Arafat, with the U.N. and J. MICHAEL JAFFE doesn't even bother to with the world for the Ph.D. Student, Dept. of Communication Stfling dissent Yesh G'vul means "there is a boundary" in Hebrew. It is also th name of an Israeli organization that should give us all something to think about. Military service is mandatory in Israel, and the military's presence in daily life is much greater than in the United States. Being in the army is part of being an Israeli Jew, in a way that many Americans do not understand. Yesh G'vul was founded by a group of Israeli reservists after the invasion of Lebanon in 1982. They believed in the concept of mandatory service, but only to defend Israel, not to fight what they considered to be a foreign war of oppression. Yesh G'vul applies the same standard to the intfada. Its members refuse to serve in Gaza o the West Bank for their annual reserve duties. Conscientious objectors to military service, in Israel as in the United States, are those who have moral and religious objections to fighting, not people who oppose specific political policies. As a result, for the one month each year that they would otherwise be serving in the army many members of Yesh G'vul ar imprisoned for not following orders and denied miitary benefits. The organization helps to support the families of the resisters, and has tried to inform Israeli students who are about to begin their mandatory service just what sorts of things they will have to do if they are sent to the Territories. Israel, obviously, is not th United States. The intifada is local; American wars usually take place across the ocean. There is no Canada to which Israeli "political objectors" can flee. Those Americans who refused to goto Vietnam were thrown in prison for a lot longer than a month. By U.S. standards, then, Israel treats Yesh G'vul with remarkable lenience. The issue facing Israel, however, is not how long to put members of Yesh G'vul in prison. The problem, as Yesh G'vul rightly asserts, is the Occupation itself. Within recent months, especially since the Hebron massacre, more Israelis have begun to question their nation's proper role in the Occupied Territories. The conduct of the military at Hebron, as revealed in subsequent hearings, was shocking. Whether or not occupying the West Bank and Gaza is essential for Israel's security, it is clear that land, water, settlement and military policies in the Territories are inherently flawed, and it is no longer 'radical' to say so. Yesh G'vul was right to argue that the things tha Israel does in the Territories are not what the government had in mind when it instituted mandatory military service, and certainly not what Judaism and Zionism really stand for. Israel has an army to run. To maintain discipline and defend its country effectively, any army needs to minimize political divisiveness, and it usually makes sense to take action against those who break the law or disobey commands. Historically, however, nations often find in retrospect that they prosecuted the people who were loudest in opposition to flawed policies. When bad policy is insulated from criticism, it becomes stubbornly entrenched. until, inevitably, bad things start to happen. The U.S. experience in Vietnam, among others, shows that Israel's 'Iron Fist' is not the only example of this. It has been said that for extremists (like ultra-Zionists), raising questions has no effect; for their equally extreme opponents (like Hamas), there are no satisfactory answers. People are naturally dogmatic; everyone has an extreme position on something. If you have defined some part of your identity according to your position on an issue, however, it is often too threatening to change your I 1 0- 01 50 feet of smoke Inside and outside are not the same thing ith the finalization of the University's W new smoking policy, many a dis- gruntled smoker will surely be asking one question: why? With what seemed to be good intentions, the University has created a policy with some extremely odd rules. First, there shall be no smoking inside a University building; second, there shall be no selling of cigarettes on University prop- erty; and third, there shall be no smoking within 50 feet of a University building. While the first rule is reasonable and appro- priate, the other two, regarding the sale of cigarettes and smoking near buildings, are just plain silly.I No one is disputing the intentions from which this policy arose. There is definitely good reason for a smoking policy. Many people are bothered by cigarette smoke and its potential health hazards. However, this policy is misguided. Does the University feel that by allowing tobacco products to be sold on its property that it is somehow en- couraging smoking? Does it feel that by banning their sale it is discouraging people from smoking? Either of these reasons are ridiculous. If an adult wishes to buy ciga- rettes, he or she should. be allowed to buy them. purchase cigarettes. Equally absurd is the 50-foot "no smoking" zone around all University build- ings. This regulation now makes it illegal for a person to smoke and walk through central campus. On several paths through the Diag area, there are spots that are com- pletely covered by this zone (the West En- gineering Arch, in between the UGLi and the graduate library and in between Tappan Hall and the Museum of Art, to name a few). There is no reason for someone to have to move 50 feet from a building to smoke. Simply moving a few feet from entrances will allow all smoke to dissipate in the open air. If the University is trying to stop smok- ing in enclosed entrances such as the gradu- ate library, it should move the no smoking signs to the outside front of the building. Again, no one is suggesting that a smoking policy is not a good idea, and it is essential that the University protect the rights of non-smokers. But, there is no reason that the University needs to begin making arbi- trary smoking zones that unfairly restrict the rights of smokers. Perhaps University officials will realize how silly parts of this policy are. With seemingly arbitrary and unenforceable regulations, they might see Administration speaks out on racist E-mail To the Daily: We are outraged over the recent incident that involved the use of a stolen University of Michigan student account name and password to send a racist electronic message through the Internet computer network to computer systems worldwide. We personally and collectively denounce such incidents within our institution, and as executive officers of the University, we would like to clearly communicate to the entire community that this behavior will not be tolerated. Freedom of expression is one of the core values at the University of Michigan, yet we deplore expressions that create a hostile environment and demean individuals, their race, gender, ethnicity or religion. What we find equally appalling is that this incident strikes at the heart of anothe~r of our ce values. action itself. A lack of awareness and silence will allow such abhorrent acts to be repeated time and time again. Only through sharing the hurt experienced by those targeted by such acts and the distress experienced by others can we hope to create an environment where such acts simply do not occur. We ask you to join us in encouraging and participating in open discussions of such incidents, and in condemning this type of activity. It has no place on this campus. We must continue to work together as a community to make certain it does not happen again. Various units will be sponsoring community forums where we can share our concerns, and we encourage everyone to participate along with this dialogue. EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Mason Hail activities miust StoD example was more than my otherwise strong stomach can take. I am certain that the person responsible for the contents of the picture is very proud of his extensive work, but I don't think I needed to see it. Furthermore, I am now terrified of entering any restroom on campus. Perhaps the University should look into designating some bathrooms as ones for "traditional bathroom activities only" - sort of a parallel to the "substance free halls" in the dorms. On the other hand, I do look at this as a positive article because my parents did save some money this afternoon because of the lunch that I did not eat at the Union. As I look back on my college career that will be ending in less than three weeks, I have many fond memories of Michigan. Hopefully this story will not be one of them. I would urge the University to take steps to cure this epidemic, as the possibility of fearful male students like myself finding II 01 { I