4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 28, 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
Samuel 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.
I think he's one of the strongest student advocate
voices I've encountered on this campus. I've
worked here for 16 years.'
- Elaine Nowak, assistant director of the Office of Financial Aid, com-
menting on fired 'U" ombudsman Don Perigo
WHAT 15 THAT S5ME L L 7
D Ar
r'
-'
Harassment officers
'U' must protect faculty as well as students
"Sexual harassment can come in many
forms. Sometimes, it manifests itself in
an ugly incident between two students in a
residence hall. Other times, it becomes an
issue of power - a student feeling threatened
'by a teacher. In either case, it is a problem that
requires more than a voice, more than the will
to speak out. It requires the means to proceed,
the knowledge to know where to turn if you
feel unsafe.
At least in rhetoric, the University agrees.
As one of many initiatives under the
University's Agenda for Women-President
Duderstadt's pet project to increase the role of
women at the University -- the University
plans to deal with the problem of faculty and
staff harassment of students by educating the
community about sexual harassment as well
as focusing on the coordination of investiga-
tions and legal issues.
Toward this end, the University is hiring
two new officers to handle sexual harassment
cases under the University's revised harass-
ment policy..
One of the jobs is a training position that
will help University staff and administration
identify and prevent sexual harassment and
create educational programs. Education about
sexual harassment is a much needed thing.
Already, many women and men do not know
who to turn to when they experience harass-
ment. Finding the courage to speak up is
difficult enough. But wading through the com-
plexities of where to turn next muddies the
situation even more.
The new office that is being created will
hopefully mitigate this problem. This educa-
tion office needs to inform teachers, RAs and
others that work with students how to identify
and prevent sexual harassment. Special dorm
programs as well as educational role plays are
important in teaching students how to under-
stand sexual harassment as well as deal with
how to seek recourse. Other programs need to
explicitly address sexual harassment in the
classroom and educate about the appropriate-
CHealth care:
C risis remains, along wit
But which ones
ness of certain actions and gestures. Many
times students are offended without the teacher
realizing that his or her comment upset a
student. This new office created by the Uni-
versity is an important step in preventing sexual
harassment in the classroom.
In order to protect the rights of those that
are accused and to focus on a fair investigation
for both parties in a harassment case, the
second post focuses on the legal matters in-
volved in protecting the rights of the accused.
If this new position is to be created, its charge
must be one of balance. The line between
sexual harassment and academic freedom is
often a slippery one, and today's academic
climate often becomes hostile to teachers with
unconventional styles.
What was perceived as Sociology Prof.
David Goldberg's harassing ways two years
ago was really a case of a conservative profes-
sor that wanted to provoke thought and discus-
sion. On campuses across the nation, examples
abound of innocent professors who have found
themselves in the nightmare of publicly de-
fending themselves against the assumption of
their guilt.
It would be wise to remember the case of
the theology professor who related a story
from the Talmud to his class. A harmless story
really, and one that illustrates some of the
central tenets of Jewish thought. But the story
alludes to sexual penetration, and a woman in
the class decided her being uncomfortable
meant the teacher had harassed her. In cases
like this, faculty often are fired or moved into
different positions, and are forced to redress
their grievances in a court of law. Their repu-
tations, however, almost never recover.
In order to move forward on the conten-
tious issue of sexual harassment, education as
well as prevention are key. Indifference can
destroy the fabric of a strong community, but
so can impediments to open discussion and
debate. Professors and students alike must be
protected by the University's two newest ad-
ditions.
an obituary
h obstructionism
lation. As the President moved toward the
center, Bob Dole moved to the right. By the
time spring rolled around, the GOP would
only cast votes for the incrementalism of pro-
hibiting insurance companies from excluding
those with pre-existing conditions. By Sep-
tember 1, they decided Congress should pass
no legislation at all. And if the Democrats
tried, Dole promised obstructionism on all
fronts. Once again, majority rule becomes the
slave of the filibuster.
And so it goes, 39 million Americans re-
main uninsured. Pharmaceutical costs, doctor's
fees, hospital costs, deductibles, insurance
premiums - all continue to rise and rise, well
above the rate of inflation. Bringing only
people with pre-existing conditions into this
system will only intensify the problem of
affordability. Only comprehensive reform with
universalcoverage will suffice. Aperfectmodel
for reform: Hawaii, which can boast that an
employer mandate and universal coverage
have led to incredibly low health care costs
combined with very low unemployment and
economic growth. Everyone wins.
It may now be the time to cast blame -
especially toward those Republicans whohave
proven they have absolutely no interest in
governing. But a crisis enveloping one-sev-
enth of the U.S. economy will continue, and all
Leadership 2017 makes sense
To the Daily:
Once again I found myself
in tacit rage at yet another inane
and slanted opinion from the
Daily - this time taking aim at
Leadership 2017.
It never fails to amaze me
how the Daily opinion writers
are able to recount the "good
old days" when we had such
civil liberty violations as to
prompt the actions of Tom
Hayden or the Black Action
Movement. But that was then
and this is now. Today's colle-
giate leaders are people who
don't necessarily complain
about the way things are and
should be, but actually make an
effort to find a reasonable solu-
tion to problems and go about
having them instituted by legal
and reasonable means.
I might be wrong, but the
way I read the article a leader
must be some sort of radical
hoodlum in order to fulfill the
Daily's definition. Iquote, "Stu-
dent leaders must be at the fore-
front leading the masses of stu-
dents in protests and standing
up to administrators at every
turn." WHY? This is just the
kind of skewed thinking that
leads to distrust on the sides of
both students and administra-
tors. Isn't the purpose of effec-
tive leadership from the stu-
dent ranks to break down the
barriers instead of raising yet
further ones.
I commend Maureen Hart-
ford for promoting this positive
interaction between some ofthe
premier student groups and the
administration. By teaching the
democratically elected leaders
of these organizations how to
be more effective, it cannot fail
to have a trickle down effect to
the groups which will further
promote more effective leaders
in the future.
At the same time, if these
groups demonstrate an excel-
lence in there fields at achiev-
ing there goals, it can only re-
flect well upon the University
and thus justify a minor ex-
pense in the budget of the Of-
fice of Student Affairs.
In the future, if you are to
take cheap shots and condemn
a program of the administra-
tion, at the very least can some
of the facts be considered be-
fore putting fingers to keyboard.
I understand the need to brain-
wash some of your readers into
activism (as can be seen when a
rally of a mere 10 people got
front page coverage), but please
show both sides of the issue.
Patrick Whittaker
LSA Senior
Moeller beats
the Wolves
To the Daily:
After reading Chad
Safran's column in Monday's
sports section,Iam notentirely
certain that we watched the
same game, orperhaps that Mr.
Safran has been all that obser-
vant in other games played
under the leadership of Gary
Moeller. The only goat out on
that field last Saturday was the
head coach. The defense did
perhaps the bestjobI have seen
them do in years in defensing
the pass. Certainly, Colorado's
option did give them some
problems -they ran it far bet-
ter than Notre Dame two weeks
ago.
But in the end, the game
comes down to passing. If the
defense did not force a fumble
or penalty to kill a drive, it was
knocking down passes consis-
tently after Colorado's first two
touchdowns. No, the defense
is not where the blame should
be placed.
Face it, football fans: Michi-
gan will never win a national
championship under Gary
Moellerbecause he simply does
not know how to win a game.
Year after year he has the tal-
ent, but his lack of skill and
imagination in determining a
game plan will continue to be
the biggest hole in the Wolver-
ine offense. Just as in the Notre
Dame game, he refused to leave
the ground game until the third
quarter, and stuck with a more
balanced and much more po-
tentattackuntil wehad atwelve
point lead. Then, it was back to
the conga-line game plan -
one-two-three-kick. Todd
Collins said it best after the
Notre Dame victory; basically,
that we do have an explosive
air game and that if Coach
Moeller would just let them
loose, they would put the points
on the board.
Anyone watching the game
should have been able to see
just how hard all the Michigan
players were working, and they
all performed excellently. I feel
bad for them because over the
many years I have played sports
I have learned just how much
such losses hurt. I feel worse
because it really was, in the
end, out of their hands - the
blame lies higher up. Sitting on
a twelve point lead with four
minutes left in the game - an
eternity foran offense as skilled
as Colorado's - is a cardinal
sin in football. Not trying harder
for a first down, particularly
when Collins and thereceiving
crew were moving pretty much
at will against the Colorado
defense, is what lost the game.
Keeping our defense on the
field for far too long so they
could get enough rest is what
lost the game. It was not the
nlav of the athletes~ that lost th
are the good
guys?
When an "invasion" is pre-
ceded by network TV crews, we
get vivid views and live sound
of our troops pouring in; but we
still wonder "What is it like?
How do they feel? What are
they thinking?" as we watch and
listen.
One group with aunique ex-
perience was the 82nd Airborne
Division: fully rigged foracom-
bat parachute jump, they were
recalled to Fort Bragg to unload
and watch the operation on TV
like the rest of us. It's traditional
in the airborne that the bravest,
loudestparatroopers in the world
are the ones who just had their
jump cancelled: they all love to
jump. Some may have felt that
way last week, but more spoke
of the disappointment and let
down of a well-trained team that
just had its big game cancelled.
Then there was those men-
acing lights of ugly Blackhawk
helicopters flaring to land on the
Port-auPrince airport, and the
soldiers of the 10th Mountain
Division clambering out of them
under huge rucksacks. They
half-ran, half-staggered a few
yards and then flopped down on
the concrete behind their packs
like the old cavalry troopers be-
hind their horses: very much a
combat technique, and all close
under the lenses of the news
cameras. "Emotions were run-
ning high," said Sergeant
Damon Arnett of the 10th,
"Then, when we landed over
here, I saw a bunch of press,
which was good. I assumed if
the press was here, then the en-
emy probably wasn't." That
experience typified the confu-
sion of the troops during the
landing. Last night on the
Eisenhower they were getting
ready to fight; this morning
they're wading through the press
corps. How do you tell the good
Haitians from the bad Haitians?
You mean the cops and the army
are the ones we're cooperating
with? They were supposed to be
the enemy. Wow, these people
on the streets are really happy to
see us! My God, the police are
beating that guy to death! Now
what are we supposed to do?
The generals called it deploying
"an adoptive-force package"
into a "fairly benign, fairly se-
cure environment." The GIs
called it "disgusting" and "re-
ally bad," and waited for new
"rules of engagement," orders
telling them when to shoot
whom.
Up north, the Marines
stormed ashore at Cap Haitien
the way Marines always storm
ashore, but without shooting.
"This will be a greater chal-
lenge," said Marine Captain
Rich Diddams, "Let's hope our
government knows what it's do-
ing."
"I don't care what they do to
themselves," growled Sergeant
Gus Sturrock, "as long as they
leave my men alone."
A few days later, some badly
misinformed policemen made
gestures that looked threatening
to a Marine patrol; the Marines
quickly blew them all away.
"So it goes," Kurt Vonnegut
would say. TheAmerican troops
in Haiti at this stage do not ap-
pear to be looking forafight, but
they are trained to solve prob-
lems with firepower, and they
have lots of it. Many of their
officers and sergeants served in
Somalia, and a few in Vietnam,
1
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p
4
0
ealth care reform is dead. Sure, there is
talk of an almost unheard of post-No-
vember congressional session to give change
;one more shot. Butfor all intents and purposes,
*the status quo will remain king for years to
come.
The historical trends are uncanny. From
the progressives to Harry S. Truman, from
Richard Nixon to Bill Clinton, comprehensive
health care reform was shot down by a coali-
tion of business, insurance companies and
conservatives. These are the forces that ben-
efit most from health care, the industry, and
have a vested interest in opposing the type of
system adopted by all other major industrial-
ized nations outside of South Africa-health
care as a service, a right.
Inmany respects, this was aquintessentially
Clintonian loss. After a brilliant State of the
Union address, and the resulting groundswell
of popular support for universal coverage,
change seemed imminent. But astute observ-
ers recognized that in American politics, prin-
ciples are much easier to turn into law than
policies - and when push came to shove,
those recalcitrant special interests would be
there to fight tooth and nail against that which
is new.
The result: paralysis. The Republican lead-
ership made a decision from the beginning to
What really
motivates
foreign policy
To The Daily:
I am writing in response to
Mr. Bouterse's thoughtful and
well constructed letter of 9/22.
Allow me to begin by saying
that I share Mr. Bouterse's
ambivalence to U.S. involve-
ment in Haiti, but I disagree
with his arguments, and there-
fore his motivation.
As space is limited I will
only address Mr. Bouterse's
first argument (on democracy)
and hope that he and the reader
can draw appropriate connec-
tions to his other points. Mr.
Bouterse's argument smacks
heavily of U.S. Cold War pro-
paganda. I do not use the word
propaganda lightly, nor do I
wish it to convey a negative
image. Propaganda is a power-
ful, and necessary, tool which
all governments must rely on.
If anyone would be so foolish
as to believe that the U.S. gov-
ernment has never employed
propaganda, they should go to
the library and look up some of
the posters produced by The
War Department during WW
II. InatiredrehashoftheReagan
Doctrine, Mr. Bouterse claims
that the U.S. "fought the Rus-
sians ... to restore democracy".
eign policy always has, always
will and always should be based
on political realities rather than
philosophical ideology. It is
when the government tries to
propagandize reality into ideo-
logical "sound bites" that we
get into trouble. No one truly
believes (I hope) that we "liber-
ated" Kuwait from a "evil and
ruthless dictator (George Bush
Jan 16,1991)"becausewewere
interested in democracy. We
went to war for oil, a necessary
evil. It was only after we had
restored the centuries-old mon-
archy of the Emirs that we
pressed forward democratic re-
forms in that country (an effort
that seems to have gone by the
wayside). When the United
States engaged in covert war-
fare in Central and South
America, it was not because we
really had strong feelings about
the forms of government prac-
ticed, but, to keep an opposing
power (the Soviet Union) at
bay, and away from our shores.
This is a legitimate survival ac-
tion, proven during the Cuban
Missile Crisis.
In closing I would say that
when the United States and
people like me and Mr. Bouterse
climb onto our ideological high-
horses and start tossing around
terms like "democracy"we usu-
ally tend to work opposite to
our own ends. Remember that
we should be fighting to allow
the will of the people to suc-
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