4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, February 14, 1994
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'There's nothing intrinsically appealing to me in coming
home and retching my guts out. I think that's an inherently
bad thing, and something one would usually try to avoid.'
-Brigham Smith, LSA sophomore quoted in Friday's Daily
explaining why he does not drink.
420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed
by students at the
University of Michigan
JESSIE HALLADAY
Editor in Chief
SAM GOODSmLN
FIr WAINESS
Editorial Page Editors
7-c1I ~
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.
- r-mr
Harford's olive brnch
Last week, University Vice-President for
Student Affairs Maureen Hartford an-
niounced that Housing Director Robert
Hughes, recently named the new executive
director of development and external rela-
tions, will be ii charge of - among other
things - setting up an "emergency student
appeal fund." As the name implies, this fund
would enable students in a financial bind to go
to Hughes's office and obtain funds that might
be needed in an emergency. Any student who
faces an unusual financial situation, such as
mhedical bills from an accident or the need to
suddenly fly home to be with an ailing family
member, may appeal to this emergency fund.
the student will be required to show proof
that all other means of obtaining funds have
teen exhausted. If there is sufficient need, the
rponey will be loaned. It is not mandatory that
the money be paid back, but strongly encour-
aged.
At first glance, students might be skeptical
of this plan. As with any program that in-
olves money, there are several questions:
first and foremost, who is going to pay for it?
Students are understandably concerned about
where their hard-earned money goes once it is
turned over to the University -and no matter
how beneficial a program may seem, many
students may not agree that the cost is justi-
fied. Fortunately, this program will be funded
by revenues generated in the Campaign for
Michigan - not student tuition dollars. This
fund has enormous merit and has the potential
to become an outstanding program.
Proof that a program of this type can work
is found at Washington State University
'Nevergain'
The time has come to rearrange- to rear-
range the geopolitical map of the plun-
dered Bosnian state. The market massacre in
Sarajevo last week, horrific and surreal, was
displayed in the mass media across the free
world - demanding action, demanding a
response. 68 innocent Bosnian civilians were
killed and 200 hundred injured. And once
again televised death has led to a call for
Western military action in the Balkans. UN
Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali,
immediately following the massacre, asked
NATO to explore the potential use of air
power in forcing the Serbs to end their inhu-
mane and ruthless siege of Sarajevo. And now
NATO, with the full support of the United
States, has given an ultimatum to the Serbs-
all heavy artillery placements within 12.4
miles of the capital city must be handed over
to UN peacekeepers by Feb. 21, a week from
now. If the Serbs fail to accept NATO's
demands, French, British, Dutch, Turkish and
American warplanes, from bases in Italy and
from aircraft carriers in the Adriatic Sea, will
strike Serb positions in the hills surrounding
Sarajevo.
However, this NATO threat is a first step
- and only a first step - in ending the
bloodshed in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The inter-
national community, through NATO, should
demand and oversee the full withdrawal of
Serbian and Croatian military forces inBosnia,
the recognition of the sovereign borders of all
the republics of the former Yugoslavia, and
the signing of a comprehensive regionalpeace
plan that is consistent with the principles of
democracy, state autonomy and, above all,
human rights.
These are the facts: For over a year, NATO
has been flying round-the-clock flights over
Bosnia and has pinpointed 200 to 300 heavy
artillery pieces around the outskirts of Sarajevo
- sites that those who may have to carry out
the bombing next week are well acquainted
with. NATO has over 100 state-of-the-art
Cold War aircraft in the region to enforce its
pledge, including 78 American fighter jets
and support aircraft. Yet it is abundantly clear
that selective NATO air strikes, while a force-
ful portrayal of Western resolve in ending the
conflict, will not accomplish the goal of re-
storing the nation of Bosnia-Herzegovina,
(WSU), where Hartford - who held a post
there before coming to the University -
initiated one in November 1988. So far, the
program has been successful in helping stu-
dents, without costing WSU a cent beyond
the original allocation of endowment funds.
The average loan is $330 and approximately
six students per term receive emergency
funds. Since the program was started through
an outside benefactor and is self-sufficient,
WSU has never had to use money from its
own budget to support it. There is little ad-
ministrative cost because the responsibility
of running the program did not require the
hiring of new staff, but simply was assigned
to a current administrator. Here at the Univer-
sity, oversight of the fund will be absorbed by
Hughes as one of the many responsibilities of
his new post.
One of the most intriguing and creative
programs to be proposed in a while, this
program has enormous potential to help all
students. To those who need the money, this
fund may mean the difference between re-
maining at the University and having to leave
because of temporary financial difficulties.
The University's current image, as perceived
by students, is one of cold and impersonal
bureaucracy. It is of a place where people are
numbers, and any appeal for help must go
through fifteen different channels before
someone actually pays attention. If properly
implemented, this will help make the Univer-
sity more user-friendly. Hartford should be
commended for recognizing this, and for
taking steps toward a plan that will directly
help students.
been raging for two and a half years - in
which 200,000 people have already died and
in which hundreds of thousands of regular
and irregular troops are currently engaged. It
is conceivable though that the quick, decisive
and successful use of air power, including the
bombing of the Bosnian Serb military head-
quarters in Pale, will force the Serbs to give
up their "strangulation" of Sarajevo and be-
gin a gradual retreat from this theater of
operations. But it will most likely require
much more military and assertive diplomatic
action by the so-called civilized nations of the
world to bring about Serbian acquiescence.
This NATO ultimatum must be supple-
mented by a complete UN-NATO unified
plan, with the explicit approval of the Bosnian
Government, to deploy a sizable interna-
tional military contingent to push the Serb
and Croat invaders back and ultimately, out
of Bosnia. This aggression cannot stand. Yet
the Western powers must maintain a sem-
blance of realism in assessing the options on
the ground in Bosnia, and it is well known that
a large-scale military exercise in the rugged
terrain would be difficult and costly. The
United States cannot go at this alone - the
Western Europeans, especially France and
Great Britain, must be willing to contribute a
proportional number of troops, aircraft, sup-
plies, funding and leadership in this multilat-
eral, multinational force.
This is a historic moment. Will the United
Nations and the major world powers continue
to stand in virtual silence while an indepen-
dent nation is torn apart and divided by invad-
ers? Will the West ever recognize that hu-
manitarian crises are sometimes just as im-
portant to world peace, security and stability
as are direct security threats? And finally, will
Western leaders permit an unjust partition
that provides for no distinction between ag-
gressor and victim, and continue to rational-
ize an arms embargo that leaves the victim
unable to fight for itself?
If NATO can pull together, pool its re-
sources and manpower, and lay down a co-
herent policy, the horror and devastation in
Bosnia can be stopped. The Serbs, and future
aggressors, will have been taught a valuable
moral and political lesson. As Eli Weisel
reminded the audience at the opening of the
4}
IAN
PgA
'Membership has its
privileges'
To the Daily:
Membership has its
privileges, because it's
everywhere you want to be, so
get all the credit you deserve,
it pays to discover. Sound
familiar? Don't worry, in the
next four years these slogans
will be second nature. How?
Watch your mail and you'll
find another pre-approved, no
annual fee, high speed, low
drag credit card offer to get
you into debt before you can
legally drink. If you can't
wait, go to the Union. There's
a new credit card offer almost
daily from another sheister the
University allows to set up a
display.
I'll be the first to admit
that I owe more than last
term's tuition and Entree Plus
bill combined, way more. It's
called Credit Rating 101.
With no class schedule or
syllabus, it's cross-listed as
the University of Michigan
credit card. It has a generous
limit of $5000 and we are
asked by our alumni
association to forsake all
others, get the card that pays
them back. I wonder if they
have considered how many of
their current students are now
in such financial trouble that
they can't even get a loan for
a new car when they graduate.
By the way, did you know
students have the worst credit
rating of all age brackets? I
am sure they do.
Is it right for our
prestigious institution to allow
every direct marketer to
obtain our personal
information for their junk
mail? What does the
University gain? That's easy,
our money. Did you know we
attend the most expensive
public institution in the
country? Do you ever wonder
why Entree Plus is restricted
to businesses the University
has a major stake in? Did you
notice how many texts we buy
written by our professors for
classes not taught by them,
but our brilliant graduate
students who do most of the
research for these texts. Sold
back for less than half of what
we paid, they jack the price
back up and sell them to the
next number, I mean student.
Well, it's a business. Get used
to it. Membership has its
privileges.
PETER C. ARNOLD
Engineering/Business senior
Fields can play, too
To the Daily:
We are greatly dismayed
by a front-page headline that
appeared on 2/8/94 which
read, "Jackson, King to play
in IU game". As far as we're
consider it a possibility that
Fields might play. Although
his playing time has been
limited so far this season, he
still has an opportunity to play
each and every night. The
Daily's failure to include him
is even more inept now in
light of the fact that Fields did
play in the Indiana game.
Yet this problem extends
further than a headline. For
the most part, Fields and the
other players who get only
"garbage time" are
overlooked. It is not easy to
practice hard and know that
you are not likely to play
much, if at all. Nonetheless,
the great spirit of these
players is very valuable. Their
enthusiasm is demonstrated
when they stand and wave
towels or give high-fives. This
not only helps to raise the
intensity of the team but also
gets the crowd more excited.
Still another way that these
players are important comes
in practice when they provide
solid competition for the
starters. The Daily has printed
numerous articles about the
woes of the women's team
which doesn't even have five
players for the starters to
scrimmage against.
So lets stop taking players,
such as Fields for granted,
before it's too late. I'd hate to
hear a staff writer complain
about how terrible it is that
Coach Steve Fisher injured
himself while practicing
against Jalen Rose.
TOM HUBER
LSA first-year student
GEOFF BUHL
Engineering first-year student
Open Markley
computing center
To the Daily:
I am confused. See if this
makes any sense to you. Some
prepubescent cretin who was
probably frustrated because he
or she couldn't figure out how
to work a Macintosh decided,
"Hey, if I can't figure out how
to use a mouse I'll make sure
no one else can either." With
this thought in his or her mind
the alleged computerphobe
cut the cables on two mice
and a keyboard. Now the
entire Markley lab is closed so
no one can use the-computers.
Looks like the culprit got
what he wanted, useless
computers.
I would like to know why
the powers that be decided to
shut down the lab just because
one person is too immature to
know how to respect public
property. The labs are meant
to be used and should be kept
open so that the students
whose tuition money went
into buying the computers can
use them.
I am also annoyed at the
statement that $200 worth of
damage was done. Sure, that's
The way I figure it, you
just ask one of the electrical or
computer engineers from
North Campus to come down
and reconnect the cables.
Even if the lab had to buy the
equipment to fix the cables it
would only be about $50. The
repairs themselves would take
less than an hour and then the
people of Markley could once
again use their computers.
Personally, I would be
more than happy to donate my
time and services to putting
the computer cables back
together if it meant that the lab
would be reopened so that it
could do the job it was
designed to..
NATHAN GOSLEE
Engineering first-year student
Not all drinkers are
irresponsible
To the Daily:
This is in response to your
piece on alcohol consumption
at the University (2/11/94)
which showed the problems of
alcohol consumption on
campus.
First off, I totally agree
that there are a lot of people at
this University who drink
about as well as they fly the
space shuttle. They don't
know when enough is enough
and end up making total asses
out of themselves, as well as
putting themselves (and
others) in unnecessary danger.
However, you failed to
point out that there is still a
large chunk of the University
community who actually does
have self-control and can
think for themselves. Don't
sign us all up for AA yet.
Drinking responsibly is not a
problem. I am certain that
drinking is not a requirement
for having fun for most
alcohol consuming students as
parts of your piece suggest.
I do understand how this
misconception can be made.
Anyone would agree that the
sight of someone doing the
old "technicolor yawn" or the
smell of a dormitory bathroom
by Sunday night would stick
in their mind a lot better than
seeing a couple friends at a
local bar and grill having a
few beers with their dinner,
talking together, sometimes
even acting more civil than
some of the non-drinking
patrons, paying the bill, and
walking out in a straight line.
Drinking alcohol is not a
requirement for some people,
but an option, weighed
equally with countless other
things to do. I admit, I enjoy
having a few beers sometimes,
but it is not the only thing on
my list of things to do, nor is it
even near the top. I am sure
that the case is the same for
many other students who were
so misrepresented by your
piece.
I am so certain that the
Is the 'U'
planning to
up housing
rates?
Most of us think that we pay too
much money to go to the University.
Now, however, you have a chance to
watch the process in action.
The Daily ran two stories last
week about Robert Hughes. A story
on Monday told of Hughes' transfer
from the Housing Division to the
Office of Student Affairs. Tuesday's
story cited anonymous sources who
said that Hughes was not leaving "of
his own accord." At first glance this
looks like simple office politics,
irrelevant to students. I have reason
to believe otherwise. I think that this
power play will result in higher bills
for students.
The Duderstadt administration is
notable for the clever ways in which
it takes our money. Duderstadt likes
subtle devices like the infrastructure
maintenance fee (IMF) and the
registration fee. Do you think that
without the IMF Angell Hall would
have collapsed? Of course not.
University infrastructure would just
be maintained out of standard
revenue sources. Instead, the IMF
pays for maintenance, while your
tuition pays for more Fleming
Building bureaucrats. Do you really
think that it costs $80 for you to
CRISP? Of course not. It is just a
slick way to take extra money from
students without raising the more
publicized tuition rate.
So, after 16 years at his job,
Hughes is tossed out. Why all of the
sudden? Because, I think, Duderstadt
wanted to use housing fees as his
newest tool for squeezing extra
money from hapless students. It is
the sort of thing that Duderstadt does.
It is the sort of thing that a principled
Director of Housing might not do.
So Duderstadt tries to ease Hughes
out quietly and replace him with
someone who doesn't have the
annoying habit of standing up for
students. End result: dorm residents
get ganked on their next bill from the
University.
The Housing Division; as the
Daily reported two weeks ago, just
ran a deficit. The dorms were not full
last term. The shortfall came from
Bursley, probably because it is
inconvenient to live there while the
Fuller Bridge is being repaired. A
little light bulb goes off over some
administrator's head; this is a golden
opportunity to raise prices.The
University could claim that it was
adjusting to the deficit. In a little
while, the bridge would be fixed, the
dorms would be full and prices would
be higher. Housing would make a
profit instead of a loss, and the extra
money would line bureaucrats'
pockets.
Thegoal ismore revenuewithout
higher tuition. Duderstadt is
embarrassed (or should be) that the
University is one of the most
expensive public schools in the
country. It is much pricier than it was
ten years ago; in the meantime its
national prestige has slipped. The
University has made cuts and many
departments are underfunded, yet the
number of administrators continues
to grow. As anyone who hasworked
with bureaucracies knows,
administrators make a living by
fighting for resources. They are
certainly not above kicking dedicated
people out of their jobs if it means a
chance to siphon off more money for
themselves.
Mr. Hughes has offered no
comment on the matter (would you?).
My theory is based on hunches, hints,
history and the laws of bureaucracy.
I have no (publishable) evidence to
support my theory. By the same
token, I have seen no evidence that
my explanation is wrong. So, I am
issuing three challenges.
First, to President Duderstadt. If
I am wrong, prove it publicly.
Promise not to increase Housing
revenues above Housing costs. I have
only stated a theory, but if you can
demonstrate that it is an invalid one,
I will retract everything anyway.
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