4 - The Michigan Daily -- Monday,_March 14, 1994 1 E Sidigrtn t z 'Basically, we choked.' -Michigan basketball player Juwan Howard on Saturday's 97-94 loss to Northwestern 420 Maynard JEssIE HALLADAY Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Editor in Chief Edited and managed JuUE BECKER by students at the JASON LIcHrsTEIN University of Michigan Acting Editorial Page Editors Unles.s 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. I I If it isn't broken... Hartford's residence hall proposals are misguided Yovivb~c'~nA FISTATtME .WHAM ARE THEY YELLlNC-, At? HOW Is 'rHAI LONA LOOK ON t tuR RESU/Mc? ZopNor!I? Ip = 010 NarT. WHAT.. i ~~ IQ N E T D A t 'ur M SA 10 n Monday, March 7, in a speech fo the LSA faculty, Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen A. Hartford outlined several new proposals for residence hall life begin- ning in 1996. Later this week, the task force on Y first-year living, headed by Hartford, will offer a report that plans radical new changes in the residence hall format. The most radical of these changes will be the requirement that every incoming student participate in a "Living, Learning Environ- ment" during his or her first year at the Uni- versity. New programs, similar to the Resi- dential College and Pilot programs, would be created at every hall. These programs offer valuable experiences to most of their mem- bers, and developing similar programs for other disciplines is a worthwhile idea that deserves attention. However, requiring par- ticipation in these programs for all students would be a mistake. One of the ways the University hopes to improve residence hall life is to group stu- dents according to "broad interests." The fact of the matter is that any such grouping dimin- ishes the diversity of people found in each hall. Learning how to deal with diversity is one of the most important lessons taught at the University, and the residence halls are one of the most fundamental components of this experience. In this case, diversity not only refers to racial and ethnic groups, but also to students with different backgrounds and in- terests. Furthermore, students do not need the administration's "groupings" to prod them into developing their social and educational networks.'This already occurs, simply through the nature of residence hall life. Hartford also noted other plans for the future. "Para-professional" staff members, most notably resident advisors, would be re- quired to take a psychology course designed to improve their ability to deal with situations that may arise among residents. While this may be a good idea on the surface, in reality, the best training that residence staff members receive is the training that comes on the job- more administrative training will never be as effective. Not all of Hartford's proposals are objec- tionable. She suggested expanding the resi- dence hall libraries to make them more useful and accessible to students. And while it is unlikely that any new configuration will al- low the libraries to compete with research libraries such as the Grad, plans to enlarge the computer capacity of the libraries, and to connect them to the growing information highway, are excellent. Another proposal is to dedicate four resi- dence hall cable channels to University pro- gramming. New stations will be doled out to LSA and the Office of Student Affairs, and other programs will address music, arts and athletic interests. This is an idea that deserves further consideration. It is not the administration's role to control students' living environments. If anything, it should work to enhance them. Proposals such as those regarding the libraries and cable channels are such examples, and are where the University should focus its attention. The residence halls already provide envi- ronments for living and learning. It is not the administration's place to structure students' lives, but rather to provide an environment that makes those lives as pleasant as possible. This can be done in rather mundane ways, such as fixing rusty pipes and replacing tat- tered shower curtains, as well as in extremely important ways, such as making sure that the elevators run and that computers are avail- able and functioning. By maintaining and improving existing residence hall conditions, the administration can best serve its clientele - the students. I ______________________________________________________ .4 Self-defense no excuse for Peoples To the Daily: I am writing in response to D. Bailey's letter ("Police erred in their investigation," 3/4/94). While I, too, thought the police's actions seemed somewhat uncalled for and do indeed raise questions, I do not believe that Shonte Peoples' actions were at all justified. Bailey mentions the anger Peoples must have felt upon knowing strangers were in his car, and points out that he called 911 immediately. Peoples should have stopped at that - without taking it upon himself to take further action against the police. I strongly believe that every law-abiding citizen has the right to own a gun and use it to protect himself and those around him from personal bodily harm. The justification in a court of law for such an action is self-defense. Was Peoples in fear for his life? I think not. I wonder what Bailey's thoughts would be if one of the police officers had been shot. The reports say that Peoples fired seven to 10 gunshots at the men. Did he deliberately aim to miss? All involved are very lucky that none of the bullets hit its target. If one of the officers had been shot, or killed, Peoples's defense of "protection of property" would not have counted for much in court. While a car is worth a lot of money, its protection is not worth a human life. The point is, what Peoples did was dangerous and rash. I hardly think he stopped to consider what the conse- quences of his actions could have been. Guns should be used only to protect people, not material property that can be replaced. There was no need for him to carry his actions that far, and he justly deserves whatever punishment his charge brings. H. MATIYOW LSA first-year student The Power Macintosh is here To the Daily: The newest revolution is here. But, unlike most technological revolutions that seem to leave everyone in the dust, this one is all inclusive and affordable. This revolution is the Apple's Power Macintosh line of computers. These new models combine the lightning-fast PowerPC chip with Macintosh ease of use. Virtually all of your favorite Macintosh software will work on the new Power Macintosh computers. There is no need for costly software upgrades. Many computer software developers will be releasing new software that is specially written to take full advantage of the speed and features of the Power Macintosh. These companies will be offering upgrades for as little as five to 15 dollars. In the past, computer manufacturers have priced new technology beyond the budget of most people. A complete Power Macintosh system with a color monitor starts at only $2,100. Competing systems from manufacturers can start at almost double the price. The Power Macintosh will run virtually all of the current software at Quadra speeds. Any programs that are graphics intensive will run even faster. Programs written specially for the PowerPC will run two to five times faster. Math intensive programs such as graphics, statistics, and spreadsheets will run up to eight to 10 times faster. This much power has never before been available on a personal computer at an affordable price. Although they are widely touted as the most powerful machine on the market, the Pentium-based PCs are an expensive outdated solution. The PowerPC gives Macintosh computers a large price performance advantage over Pentium computers. In addition, studies have shown that Macintosh users are 43 percent more productive than Windows users. Therefore, Power Macintosh enhances productivity to a new level. To introduce this new technology, representatives from Apple Computer will be in the Computer Showcase in the basement of the Michigan Union to answer all your questions. There will also be hands- on demos of the new Power Macintoshes, door prizes and food. ALAN STEREMBERO JONATHAN FREEMAN DANIEL ABRAMS Apple student representatives Orwell ' vision: on the mark I liked 1984. All that Big Brother stuff was sort of interesting, but what really struck me was the book's geopolitical vision. Orwell wrote of a world with three superpowers, Oceania, Eurasia and Eastasia. Since dynamics changed quickly, the nations shifted overnight from being enemies to being allies, and the public was manipulated into following along zealously. Out of all the predictions (or warnings) in 1984, this was the most accurate. The government of the United States "manipulates us into zealously following along" in its silly little adventures. And we love it. Things used to be simple. The Russians were our simple Chosen Enemy in the old, bipolar world. Now, of course, things have changed. Like Orwell's Oceania, the USA switches its allegiances overnight. Noriega? Take him off the CIA payroll and send in an arresting party. Saddam? Call him Hitler and try not to flinch when our troops are killed by American-made weapons. Deng Xiaoping? Keep stalling and bluffing; he'll die soon, and then we can start from scratch. In the meantime, Americans give their government ridiculously wide latitude. Not only can presidents pretend that places like Grenada and Panama suddenly represent a threat to us, they can bump their approval ratings up ten gazillion points by invading them. We love it when our presidents get tough, so we overlook inconsistencies with blissful ignorance. What we really hate is inaction. If President Bush had sent troops into, say, Georgia (the one by Russia) to restore Gamsakhurdia to power, the general public would have rallied behind the effort. As long as we won. The government can manipulate us like this because we are ignorant. The world is changing quickly. Right now, Russia has designs on regaining influence in its former empire, and has essentially retaken control of Georgia and Belarus. Japan is a net importer of TVs: Suharto is facing a grassroots social welfare protest that could realign power in Indonesia, the world's fourth largest country. Do these things matter? Of course they do. Do people notice, know, or care about them? Of course they don't. So if President Clinton's team of foreign policy doofuses decides to react to any of this, they can count onus, the public, believing whatever we are fed in glitzy Pentagon briefings. Americans do care about some things. If a plane crashed in China and 600 people were killed, it would make the headlines. If an American happened to be aboard. When we fight a war people care; they go out and buy maps and flags. But caring and questioning are two different things. The public challenged U.S. policy in Indochina, but it took 25 years. Lots ofpeople died needlessly in the meantime, and they weren't all Americans. Certainly, if you are going to fight a war, you should win it. But if a war is avoidable and pointless, can it ever be a victory? Even though the draft is long gone, I still feel sorry for our troops sent to fight these pointless campaigns. I didn't join in the Gulf War protests for that reason. It wasn't that I disagreed with the people who criticized U.S. policy, though I felt that their protests came about 10 years too late. It was that our troops deserved our support, even if our government did not. The U.S. government will never stop redirecting its favors overnight and sending Americans off to die in. countries they have never heard of. As long as we care more about Tonya Harding than Nursultaq Nazarbaev (he's the President of Kazakhstan), the government will be able to do this. This is not a prediction it is what has been S S S Vote YES on Proposal A Ballot plan is lesser of two evils Michigan voters will decide tomorrow how to rebuild the system of school taxes that lawmakers leveled last summer when they eliminated property taxes for edu- cation. Proposal A, the lone issue on Tuesday's ballot, gives voters two means of replacing the more than $6 billion the Legislature wiped out in July. If the ballot plan is adopted, the sales tax will increase in May from 4 to 6 percent. The backup plan, which would auto- matically go into effect if voters reject Pro- posal A, would raise the income tax from 4.4 to 6 percent. As tools to construct a new system of education funding, both Proposal A and the backup plan are inadequate --like the choice between a paintbrush and a sander. Both apply cosmetic touches to a system in disre- pair, but only Proposal A spares the economy the most crippling tax hikes. Proposal Ashould be approved Tuesday. The alternative to Proposal A, dubbed the statutory plan, would retain 12 mills of prop- erty tax on homestead property. Each mill represents $1 in taxes for each $1,000 of property value. Lawmakers voted in June to wipe out this particularly burdensome and inequitable form of taxation, but it has resur- faced in both plans, as Proposal A would maintain the property tax at 6 mills. For years, property taxes have supported massive inequities between richer and poorer school districts. Schools presently derive nearly two-thirds of their operating revenue from property taxes, which are levied based on the value of property inside the school district. Districts in high-income areas can receive ample funding without saddling resi- dents with onerous tax burdens. Low-income districts, on the other hand, must impose unreasonably high taxes to stay afloat. poor school districts. Both will slowly in- crease state funding to low-income districts, yet inequities will be preserved. This will be accomplished through a so-called local op- tion tax, which would allow school boards to levy up to 3 mills above the base level, with voter approval in a special election. Regardless of the outcome of Tuesday's election, the Legislature's half-solution will be implemented in May. Proposal A's sales tax increase will be written into the Michigan Constitution, guaranteeing the stability of the plan. As a legislative initiative, the backup plan is subject to further dickering by law- makers - a dangerous prospect considering the unstable split between Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature. Furthermore, Proposal A would impose a 50-cent hike in the cigarette tax, as opposed to a 15-cent hike under the backup plan. While some object that this tax burden will be borne most heavily by the poor, this will be out- weighed if the tax encourages people to stop buying cigarettes-therefore helping to elimi- nate a major health care problem. The chief drawback of the backup plan is the income tax hike, a proven deterrent to economic development. While neither tax will come as a boon to the state's economy, the sales tax will at least draw revenues from out-of-state tourists. The income tax, by con- trast, is borne entirely by Michigan residents. The backup plan also increases the single business tax while Proposal A does not. Eco- nomic analyses conclude that Proposal A will not harm Michigan's economy as much as the alternative. Neither plan offers a concrete solution to the inequities that exist between rich and poor districts, and both impose new taxes. But with the future of Michigan public schools on the line, Proposal A offers a more secure source By BRADY BUSTANY The Viewpoint printed by the Daily on March 9 ("Hebron coverage displays Daily's anti-Semitism"), by Aryeh M. Caroline is abhorrent yet predictable - and very saddening. Caroline espoused a great deal of hatred and resentment toward Arabs in his opinion piece. Many will be quick to note the blatant racism in his thinking. "Most particularly," he wrote, "I am disturbed by the media's attempt to equate Jewish and Arab terrorism. In fact, the two are so different that to compare them is an absolute injustice." Here, Caroline clearly tips his hand. He cannot tell me and have me believe that he is respectful of all innocent peoples, regardless of ethnicity. Terrorism is terrorism - an act of terror. The perpetrator is, by definition, irrelevant. To suggest that a Jewish terrorist is somehow less guilty of an homework and is very obviously misrepresenting myths as facts surrounding the Hebron massacre? Perhaps. Or, is my concern that Caroline, who is obviously a product of his environment, has simply taken from his upbringing a host of inaccurate and harmful stereotypes and woven them into a web of frighteningly hateful attacks on all Arabs? Suddenly I realized the latter was at the heart of my pain. I cannot sit idly by while someone espouses such blatant anti-Arab sentiment. ("My Muslim friends," I read in disbelief, "tell me that such violence also violates the Qur'an. Perhaps the Arabs have a different version of the Qur'an than the other Muslims.") You see, anti-anyone sentiment serves only harmful intentions. First-year students who pick up the paper without the armament of any classes on these issues might blindly agree with Caroline. After all, Aras are denicted as evil. therefore, being Arabs, have a lesser right than Jews to basic human rights, including self determination. But what to do about it? I noticed that Caroline himself is a first-year student. To that, I sighed a cautious sigh of hopeful relief. If Caroline diverts a fraction of the energy he expends on promoting racist anti-Arab sentiment on taking a class or two on the subject, he may come to realize what college is all about. We must all remain accountable for what we convey to others, even our opinions. Thankfully, there are a great many in Israel and elsewhere who recognize the tragedy at Hebron as horrific and unacceptable. Indeed, the time is not to defend any act of terrorism, period. The time is to shed our stereotyping, our hatred, our misrepresentation of fact and representation of myth as fact, our rage and our outrage, our bitterness and our tendency toward nolitical