4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, April 6, 1994
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420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed
by students at the
University of Michigan
JEssIE HALLADAY
Editor in Chief
SAM GOODSTEIN
FINr WAmIEss
Editorial Page Editors
'There are a lot of things I have no Idea about.'
-former Miss America Kaye Lani Rae Rafko, weighing whether or not torn
for the Michigan Senate
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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.
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I I 51%OFIVI I / I&- VP BL.I I
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On Washtenaw, in the dark
City, 'U' off icials should cooperate to improve lighting
Washtenaw Avenue at night is a dark
and foreboding stretch of roadway.
Amber lights bathe the street in a dim glow,
providing little protection for the students
who walk the road after dark.
Washtenaw Avenue at night has been the
scene of several sexual assaults, robberies
and other crimes. While there is no single,
simple solution to the lack of safety along
this street, much of the criminal activity
could be deterred by a simple measure:
upgrading the existing street lights and in-
stalling new ones. Cost is the major ob-
stacle, but it could be overcome if the Uni-
versity and the City of Ann Arbor would
pool their resources. Though the city faces a
budget shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year
and belt-tightening is a top priority, city
officials must not lose sight of safety in Ann
Arbor.
As city officials draft a budget for next
year, the Michigan Student Assembly is
pushing the lighting issue. In a March 14
letter to city council members, LSA Rep.
Andrew Wright, MSA's representative to
the city, asked the city to hire an indepen-
dent engineer to evaluate the lighting situa-
tion along Washtenaw Avenue, an action
that would be a first step toward the goal of
relighting the area. While city leaders seem
receptive to the idea, they claim that Univer-
sity funding is essential to buying new street
lights and upgrading existing ones with high-
intensity sodium bulbs.
There are many reasons for the Univer-
sity to heed the city's request for financial
help on this issue. First, while it is true that
the University also faces financial uncer-
tainty, its resources dwarf those of the city.
Furthermore, it also has a strong interest in
improving safety in student areas. Unfortu-
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nately, University officials are strangely
mum about their role -- if any -- in secur-
ing funding for a lighting upgrade. Public
Affairs Director Lisa Baker says only that
discussions are in a "very, very prelimi-
nary" stage. The University is unwilling to
commit itself even in concept to sharing the
costs of new lights with the city. While the
city seems more receptive to the cost-shar-
ing idea, nothing can be done on this impor-
tant issue without cooperation and willing-
ness to act from both parties.
The University and the city must work
together on this issue, for the very simple
reason that they both have a strong interest
in safety in Ann Arbor. The city, by virtue of
the very nature of city government, has a
responsibility to protect its residents, in
whatever way necessary - from an ad-
equate police force to a well-equipped fire
department to streets that are well-lit and
comfortable for walking at night. In addi-
tion, the University, though nominally not
responsible for streets that are not on Uni-
versity property, has at least as strong an
incentive to ensure safety. The students
who walk along Washtenaw Avenue at night
are constituents, as it were, of the Univer-
sity, and have a right to expect the Univer-
sity to be interested in their well-being.
It is time for all parties involved to stop
hiding behind bureaucracy and move for-
ward on this matter. MSA should be com-
mended for bringing the issue out into the
open, and the University and the city should
follow its lead. Budget constraints are, in-
deed, a serious concern. However, in the
face of sexual assault, robbery and other
serious crimes, both the University and the
city must place highest priority on the safety
of students and other residents.
I
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jNqa '
I responds to
Department of
Communication
rumors
To the Daily:
We write to correct any
misconception generated by
any recent news story or letter
to the editor concerning the
review of the Department of
Communication that has been
directed by Dean Edie
Goldenberg. Dean
Goldenberg fully consulted
with us and with the
University's legal counsel
before taking steps to suspend
departmental rules and to
appoint Associate Dean John
Chamberlin as interim chair.
Most importantly, Dean
Goldenberg is taking exactly
the right step in directing that
the department be reviewed
by a faculty committee. This
committee will include
members of the Department
of Communication as well as
other departments. We look
forward to evaluating the
results of this much-needed
review.
We believe an essential
point has been lost in the war
of words over the department
and in the gossip and
innuendo that has resulted
frofth the resignation of the
chair, Neil Malamuth. That
point is this: our focus should
always be on making our
academic programs as good as
they can possibly be. We
concur with Dean Goldenberg
that the Department of
Communication does not
provide an educational
experience comparable to the
best available among other
colleges and universities.
In May Dean Goldenberg
will charge the review
committee. While not wanting
to pre-empt her charge, we are
sure it will contain the goal of
providing the College with
advice on how to improve this
situation. We do not know
what that will entail, but we
will await the committee's
suggestions.
At Michigan we set high
goals for our academic
departments and for our
undergraduate experience.
Dean Goldenberg has been
unwavering in her
commitment to these goals.
We are confident that the
review which will begin
shortly will help us provide an
even better education for
Michigan students, who
should always demand no less
than the best from us.
JAMES J. DUDERSAD
President
GILBERT R. WHITAKER, JR.
Provost
With Sarajevo as an example, West must save Gorazde
O n Sunday, Defense Secretary William
Perry indicated that the United States
would not intervene to stop Serbian forces
from overtaking Gorazde, a Bosnian city
designated as a United Nations safe area.
When asked if the Clinton administration
was prepared to let the primarily Muslim
city of 65,000 fall to Serbian forces, Perry
said that the American military "will not
enter the war to stop that from happening."
Perry's announcement comes after the
Serbian capture of the Bosnian city of
Prijedor last week, an offensive which left
20 Muslims dead in what was described by
one UN official as a "campaign of murder
and arson." In the wake of this offensive,
Western officials - citing the Serbians'
repeated failure to honor their own assur-
ances of protection of ethnic minorities -
reversed a long-standing policy and began
to evacuate Muslim and Croat refugees. The
International Red Cross had long refused to
evacuate these refugees, because to do so
would have only helped the Serbians in their
policy of ethnic cleansing by removing these
minorities from Serbian-held territory. Now,
however, in response to the killings in
Prijedor, the International Red Cross has
begun to evacuate the city.
The Clinton administration has backed
down from the stance it took over one month
ago when it threatened to use air strikes to
stop the Serbian advance on Sarajevo. When
the administration threatened military inter-
vention at Sarajevo, it gave a clear signal to
the Serbs that the American people would
not tolerate the continued persecution of the
Muslim minority. The administration be-
haved commendably at the time, leading the
world in standing up to the murderous war
campaign waged by the Serbs.
In the face of foreign intervention, the
Serbs backed down. The stance taken at
victory for the Clinton administration. It
showed that the administration was able to
act effectively to stop Serbian force. It
showed the world that the United States
would not tolerate brutal aggression, that
American power would be there to stop the
advance of the barbaric Serbian forces.
Yet now, when the Serbs are waging an
increasingly violent campaign of terror and
murder on the Bosnian Muslims, it appears
that the Clinton administration is content to
reverse direction on its Bosnian policy and
walk away from Gorazde with its tail be-
tween its legs.
It appears that the "firm stance" taken by
the Clinton administration was nothing more
than bravado, mere words used to appease
an American public outraged at Serbian
aggression.
By refusing to use military power to
defend Gorazde, the administration has
shown that it is not prepared to fight to stop
the war crimes being committed by the
Serbs. It has shown that it will allow Ameri-
can power to be silenced in the face of
Serbian assault. As one official put it, "we
made Sarajevo real nice, but the rest of the
place is going to pot."
The administration should maintain the
course of action taken at Sarajevo, and be
prepared to use military force to stop the
occupation of Gorazde. If Sarajevo had led
to an Anierican disaster, it would be under-
standable for the administration to back
down in Gorazde. However, the action takenj
resulted in a resounding success, not a fail-
ure. It effectively halted the advance of
Serbian aggression. Why, then, does Presi-
dent Clinton want to back down from the
stance taken at Sarajevo?
President Clinton must return to his origi-
nal strong stand on the Bosnian question.
The United States should not let Gorazde
Campus activism too
hot for Daily
To the Daily:
Is campus activism too hot
for the Daily to handle? When
the Daily is silent after a
coalition of six student and
community groups holds a
rally on the Diag attended by
75 students, what are we to
conclude?
In an editorial last week,
the Daily opined that Diag
policy was an undue obstacle
to the legitimate humanitarian
and political activities of the
Arab-American Students,
Association (ARAMSA) in its
attempt to address the Hebron
massacre of Palestinian
worshippers and its root
cause, the occupation of the
West Bank and Gaza. We
appreciate the sentiment, but
we'll take a delay in staging a
protest over a Daily news
blackout any day!
The Daily was notified
about the event at least three
times with plenty of advance
notice, and the campus was
covered with fliers. We can
only conclude that some editor
took to heart the op-ed, "Daily
coverage of Hebron massacre
shows anti-Semitism," in
which a student accused the
Daily of anti-Semitism for
covering the massacre, its
aftermath, and student
activism in its wake.
As Karima Bennoune
pointed out at Friday's rally,
Arabs are Semites. Regardless
of the identity of the
perpetrator or victim of
terrorism, violence against
civilians, it must be
condemned. Four Semitic
groups, ARAMSA, the Arab-
American Law Society, New
Jewish Agenda, and
Progressive Zionist Caucus,
along with Palestine Solidarity
Committee and Solidarity, did
just that on Friday. And the
Daily ignored it and hoped it
would go away. We who
strive for peace in the Middle
East and sovereignty for the
Palestinians will not go away.
The coalition is calling for
the disarmament of all settlers,
the immediate deployment of
an armed U.N. peacekeeping
force to protect the
Palestinians from the settlers
and the Israeli Defense Forces
(who have killed at least
thirty-four unarmed protesters
since the massacre), the
cessation of all settlement
construction in West Bank,
Greater Jerusalem, and a
commitment to dismantle the
settlements in accordance with
international law, the release
of the 13,000 Palestinian
political prisoners (most of
whom are being held without
charge or trial), and self-
determination for the
Palestinians in their own state
alongside Israel. Until there is
a modicum of justice for the
Palestinians in the occupied
tetr,iec and in ref,1flpe
Stuents in
the 'U':
test taking
vs. social
change
There are two alternative
models of the student: a student is
a studier, enrolled at an institute
of education, driven by the desire
to receive a certificate that will
grease the wheels on the ride to
success. The point is to keep the
GPA up, to score big on the next
standardized test of mediocrity
(GRE, LSAT, MCAT, UFOOL,
etc...), to put your time in so
daddy's law firm can be proud of
their new partner, or the CEOs
can provide you with a spot at the
feeding trough. That is one point
of view. There is another.
A student is an element of
social transition. The wisdom of
the past is passed on to the student,
so that she and he can use that
wisdom in the construction of the
world for the next generation. But
the passing of that wisdom is not
done very efficiently. During its
passage it becomes modified,
altered not only by those doing
the passing, but by those receiving
the wisdom. It mutates, so to
speak. For example, the professor
says "we live in a democracy" and
the student says "then why do rich
people have more of a say than
poor people," and our society is
forced to mutate either the
professor's statement or the
definition of democracy. And
herein lies the true importance of
this second point of view. The
student - not a simple recipient
The wisdom of the past
is passed on to the
student, so that she
and he can use that
wisdom in the
construction of the
world for the next
generation.
of the secrets that permit entrance
into the sanctuary of whatever is
regarded as high status today, but
rather as the selective filter that
not only receives information but
changes it, embellishes itrectifies
its errors, challenges the authority
of those who tell lies.
As a teacher I see people who
self-identify with both of these
concepts. The agent of social
transition asks questions like
"what's your evidence for that?"
"What are your underlying
assumptions?" "How will that
make the world a better place?".
The certificate recipient asks "will
that be on the exam?" When I
teach, one of my goals is to change
the latter into the former.
Did you students (the agents, I
mean) see the news last week?
You all seem to be fired up, at
least some of your counterparts
are. More than 20,000 French
students demonstrated in the
streets of Paris, celebrating their
victory over the French
government's attempt to reduce
the minimum wage. And the
students in South Korea were in
the streets challenging the
deploymentof patriot missiles?
Students (the agents again) are on
the move, and the forces that seek
unmutated transmissionare giving
more exams - stick to the proper
questions, they WILL be on the
exam you know.
In 1969 Phil Ochs gave a
concert at Hill Auditorium. His
song about students contains a
line "they (the students) even
helped to overthrow the leaders of
the land." As he sane that line the
0
'Cathy's wry self-
awareness is a gift to us
all'
To the Daily:
Four years ago, the
University established a new
pattern for its commencement
activities. Instead of a mass
graduation ceremony for the
entire University, each school
agreed to hold its own
commencement celebration,
thus allowing each college to
design an event appropriate to
itself. The College of-
Literature, Science and the
Arts decided at that time to
invite as its speakers members
of the LS&A family, alums
who, in one way or another,
have made a mark on our
society. The first LS&A
commencement speaker was
screenwriter and film
director Lawrence Kasdan
'70, and two years ago
Carole Simpson '62, of ABC
World News, addressed
LS&A graduates. The pattern
of separate commencements
has been twice interrupted:
in 1991, then President
George Bush spoke to all
University graduates, and
last year, Hillary Rodham
Clinton addressed an
audience of LS&A and
Rackham graduates.
This year, we are pleased
to welcome another member
Guisewite '72 is a deft
ironist whose work has
lightened and enlightened
our lives. By exposing the
foibles of a cartoon character
whose vulnerabilities are like
our own, Cathy Guisewite
has helped us laugh at
ourselves, our obsessions
and our pretensions -- no
small accomplishment. For
any of us prone to self-
aggrandizement, "Cathy"
provides an antidote - and
academia may need
inoculation against self-
importance as much as it
needs large declarations, even
of its best ideals. "Cathy's"
wry self-awareness is a gift to
us all; so, too, is her tenacity.
An LS&A commencement
is a time for celebration, a
time for honoring the
accomplishments of students
and the accomplishments of
LS&A alums. Graduating
students are guests on this
celebratory occasion, but
they are also hosts, as they
welcome parents,
grandparents, siblings, friends
and alums to campus to share
their joy. What pleases me
about this year's graduation
event is that it gives us a
chance to welcome back a
warmly witty woman, whose
work has brought smiles of
recognition and humanity into
our often too-solemn
preoccupations.
uns N . LMNUBRP