Ulle Ei1 iigFn atlg New Student Edition T (IIV-Es Section Thursday, September 8, 1994 q p. Indifference, apathy are the true evils t et' s be brutally honest. If you peel off the layers of superfluous appeals to one's most base sense of sandbox justice, most columns or speeches about activism on college campuses are saying exactly the same thing: fuck off, Lazy Reader, and be active like me. That probably sounds harsh. After all, I once attended the school of make-the- sses-feel-guilty suasion. I egotistically walked along the moral high road, telling anyone who would listen that I was fed up. Fed up with a campus that apathetically watched as the University administration set up FINT &angaroo Court WAINESS under the auspices of the so-called Activism Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities; fed up with a community of students who wouldn't take an hour out of their schedules to rally against a Diag policy that blatantly cut off access to one of the great bastions of speech and protest students have ever known; fed with classes filled with students who .ld tell you everything you wanted to know about profit margins, but wouldn't know their House representative or senator if he or she stepped on their big toe. Fed up and not going to take it. Notice how I use the past tense, folks. It's not that I no longer think activism is important. Insidious, highly repressive policies still exist at the University level. And on the national level, some of the most tent issues of our time are beginning to take center stage. Clearly, student mobilization is a key that can unlock a great many doors to a better and brighter future for all. But, and perhaps I am too young to bow to this approach, there is a time for idealism - and there is a time for realism. When it comes to activism, realism is essential. I can plead for mobilization until I turn blue, it won't make it happen. Here's why: 1. Student activism never centered around tearing down administrative hierarchies. Tom Hayden, Al Haber and the rest of the Students for a Democratic Society once ruled this campus. But they built a movement based on a national and generational disconnect, a feeling that Jim Crow racism and a savage war needed to be stopped. They simply could not have nerated the same support if they were using on exclusively local issues. 2. The soldiers of activism were, quite clearly, bourgeoise. Generally, they were white. Almost exclusively, they were affluent. The children of the poor, the oppressed, even most middle-class students, simply don't have the time or resources to spend the majority of their day fighting with the Dude. 3. Tuition is out of hand. Again, Vdents' time is limited, as so many now ve to work like hell just to pay the bills. This, of course, is probably the most counterproductive argument I can make. As editorial page editor of the Daily, I spend the majority of my time trying to rile students up, trying to convince you to join the fight for libertarian freedom and economic responsibility. However, I do understand that this is not for everyone. Unfortunately, activism has become an allusive ball game. Tickets are only sold to those that pass a rigid test - that's not fair. To me, activism is about individual freedom. It is about standing up for your right to speak and live freely, and it is about ensuring that the economy's Invisible Hand doesn't also render four fifths of our ..::.:... r .::.:.:. ...::.:... :.:.....:r ".......: .::::.:. 'U' restricts student rights, freedom By PATRICK JAVID Daily Opinion Staff College is just around the corner and you have finally achieved the freedom you deserve, right? Wrong. The University has implemented sev- eral policies to make sure student freedom is held in check on campus. The most controversial policy on x campus is the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities, a.k.a. the code. The University has tried for more than 20 years to impose a code ' of non-academic student conduct, and the current code lists a series of ac- P tions punishable by the University in- h eluding hazing, sexual harassment and y..criminal misconduct.Enforcement pro- ceedings allow the accused to have the r Y ^ case heard by a mediator, a University official or a panel of six jurors. Signifi- ks'cantly, the hearings are closed to the public, and the six jurors are randomly T f - chosen University students. wY h , The code goes against the very fabric of the American legal process. .. The United States already has a sys- tem of civil and criminal laws de- ti <7W __4 signed to protect society. The code places students in double jeopardy - those accused of a felon and misde- meanor can face both academic and criminal punishment through both a law enforcement agency and the Uni- versity. The University, in effect, has placed itself in loco parentis, through the use of a mockery of a court system where the University itself picks the jurors,trains them, and supervises them. y Therefore, the code of non-aca- h .. a demic student conduct is not neces- sary, as civil and criminal law provide sufficient protection and the code lacks basic legal provisions to protect .* student rights. Fortunately, as it stands now, the code is only an interim policy PHOTO MANIPULATION BY DOUGLAS KANTER/Daily atthe University. Without studentvoices Students plaster kiosks scattered across campus with posters and announcements. Note the burn marks on the protesting and attempting to amend this concrete. Vandals sometimes ignite the kiosks at night. University intrusion and restriction of freedom, however, the code will most likely become a permanent fixture on campus within the next year. Another controversial and restric- tive policy on campus is known as the Diag Policy (or more exactly, the Common Areas Policy). This policy concerns student usage of the main campus crossway - known as the Diag - as well as the North Campus Commons. Before changes were recommended this spring, the policy limited student protests and demonstra- tions on the Diag to a specific time period every week and required aseven- day waiting period to reserve the Diag. However, after the administration thankfully sought and received stu- dent opinion, changes are being made. The waiting period and specific time blocks will no longer be limited. Still, student groups will be held respon- sible, both legally and financially, for the attendees and participants of their activities, and this begs to be revised. The Diag is one of the social, cultural and political centers of the University. Our Diag must be a area where students and Ann Arbor resi- dents are free to demonstrate for and against social issues. Until the Diag Policy is abolished, however, this will not be the case. And the mere fact that the administration attempted to limit students' free speech on the Diag should tell students that the adminis- tration does directly affect students' lives on campus. Yet another administration policy that deeply affects students is the re- cently implemented University smok- ing policy. The policy's provisions, while backed by good intentions, are relatively useless and nearly impos- sible to enforce. First, there shall be no smoking inside a University build- See RIGHTs, Page 2B Welcome to the zoo' Does true multiculturalism really exist at the 'U' By SETH ABRAMS Daily Opinion Staff "Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., 1963. Efforts by the University to cre- ate a "rainbow" campus representa- tive of the nation's racial and ethnic minorities six years ago have cer- tainly created an environment with more minority faculty and students. Yet the bold initiative, called the Michigan Mandate, has yielded mixed results. Minority enrollment has grown to 22.8 percent, almost doubling the number from 1988. A student can be surrounded by many different minorities now at the Uni- versity. Students can go to class and experience a variety of people. Un- fortunately, that is where it ends. After class, minorities each go into their own separate group, until class begins the next day. The University strives for multiculturalism. However, its ver- sion of multiculturalism has ended up like a zoo, with the different races on exhibit for other races to see. An African American student can see a white student on campus, and white students can see African American students. Just the sight of a person from another race does not solve the problem of racism. The University's policy, as well as other cultural fac- tors, have led to extreme segregation at the University, much worse than King ever could have imagined would still exist 31 years after he uttered those famous words at the Lincoln Memorial. "Separate but equal" was not good enough for the Supreme Court in 1954, and it shouldn't be good enough for us now. As long as every- one has the same opportunity on cam- pus, no one cares whether everyone remains segregated. TheUniversityhassupportmecha- nisms in place that work to build com- munities of the minorities, but not a community of human beings. If you want to see for yourself, walk around campus one day andtellmehowmany times you see people of a different race eating together. For a University that is supposed to help us grow as human beings, attention needs to be paid to building interracial relationships. Above all else, we are people. "Self-segregation" is rampant on DOUGLAS KANTER/Daily See Zoo, Page 2B A student enters Lane Hall -home to Asian studies departments. Special interest or service-oriented, student groups thrive on campus INSIDE For one stop shopping to campus groups, visit r- :., ^% - % t : ri Editor's Note The Perspectives section of The Michigan Daily New Student Edition contains editorials and columns written POLITICAL CORRECTNESS 5B Before you utter a lewd remark, beware. Big Brother is listening. By Jason Lichtstein and Jim Pinkham. to attract new members. The raindate is set for Sept. 23.