4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 31, 1994 (ibe £tdci grn :Bulg ML a APRL muo m 'a a 0 Alw I I IL~I ) i aii* !T :1 I I v r-wa.w rr.v w r wi. I 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 'We all know those types - critical of everything, impossible to please, indifferent to nuance, inca- pable of compromise.' -Influential Pennsylvania Republican Teresa Heinz, ripping into GOP Senate candidate Rick Santorum F1 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. An alliance for safety Campus safety depends on 'U'-city cooperation WE 9911 i After the recent rape at Community high chool and the abduction of a student on campus, students' risk of becoming a "victim" has been shoved into the spotlight as never before. Following these incidents, the inad- equacy of campus area safety has also become a significant issue. This is a particularly diffi- cult problem to tackle because it entails Uni- versity and city cooperation. Since students live both on and off University property, the city's help is necessary in solving security problems for students. Last Wednesday's Campus Safety Aware- ness Walk-Through was a major step toward collaboration between the city, the University and-most important-students, the biggest group at risk. The Michigan Student Assem- bly sponsored event gathered a group of stu- dents, University and city representatives, in- cluding Mayor Ingrid Sheldon, Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen Hartford, Uni- versity Department of Public Safety Director Leo Heatley and Associate Dean of Students Frank Cianciola. The participants divided into groups and walked different parts of the cam- pus and surrounding areas, critiquing safety and making suggestions for improvement. MSA should be commended for bringing together University and city officials and start- ing a hopefully fruitful cooperative dialogue between thetwo. With student safety concerns on the rise it is high time students got the ear of both city and University safety officials. MSA is an ideal body to do this, as they are-at least in theory - representatives of the student body, responsible for bringing student con- cerns to the administration's attention. Al- though the walk-through is only a first step, not an ultimate solution, it opens the door to a new kind of relationship between the Univer- sity, the city and students. The participants in last week's Safety Walk all agreed that poor lighting and overgrown shrubbery were a large problem. Many areas had streetlights that were not turned on; in others, lights were obscured by overgrown bushes. Large shrubs caused further problems at sidewalk level by providing possible hiding places for attackers. Porch lights were found to make a vast difference in sidewalk lighting. These seem like simple problems to solve, involving simple replacement and installation of light bulbs and trimming of greenery. Yet they become ridiculously complex when the University and the city are called to work together for solutions. Even during the course of the walk it became apparent there will be problems over who is going to pick up the tab. The city has suggested that the University donate a sum of money toward off-campus safety improvements, while additional money would be raised in Ann Arbor taxes. The Uni- versity has balked at this suggestion, saying that donating such money would take away from on-campus safety funds. This is a very weak excuse. Surely the University can find sufficient money in its vast budget for such an essential matter as student safety. However, the responsibility falls equally on the city's shoulders - instead of simply waiting for the University to come through with money, city officials must take the lead in planning and pushing through safety improvements for Ann Arbor residents and students alike. The MSA safety walk was an excellent step toward solving campus area safety problems. However, because the University and the city have so much difficulty acting cooperatively, it is up to students to maintain and hopefully widen the channel between the city and the University. Students must continue to voice complaints and suggestions, or the small vic- tory claimed last Wednesday will quickly fade from memory and student concerns will once again be swallowedupby University-city stub- bornness and stinginess. College Republican V.P. is way off the mark BY ROBERT WAY In response to the letter from the esteemed V.P., U of M College Republicans, "Abraham Is A Voice For Change," I have had several rancorous thoughts come to mind. But rather than enter into the Limbaughesque dia- tribe that she represents in her letter I would like to take a moment to examine the truth (or falsity) of what she has to say. It is true, as she says, that Abraham and others have been campaigning in Ann Arbor before football games. But it is also true that there a lot more non-students that attend those events than there are students. To imply that show- ing up to press flesh at the tailgate party is effective and participatory campaigning is at best specious, and at worst an attempt to make a false impression. Ms. Larmer rebukes the Daily for continuing to "miss the message that Abraham and other Republican candidates stand for." Given her vehe- mence in this regard it is sur- prising that she, as a concerned Way is an LSA sophomore Republican, fails to rescue the Daily and the rest of the appar- ently (by her view) ignorant masses as to what exactly Spence Abraham does stand for. While it is clear that he stands against Car andtothers, she offers very little informa- tion about what his programs and platform stand for. This leads me to her vitu- peration about the misleading nature of Carr's ads, and the sincerity and truth of Abrahams. This is perhaps the worst insult she offers to the intelligence of the Daily's readers. Anyone who has any concept of reality and politics can clearly see that both candidates' ads are full of hollow rhetoric and mislead- ing innuendo. In the same para- graph she rails against Wash- ington politics and the social institutions that Americans rely so heavily upon. She welcomes the breakdown of these institu- tions, and the lowering of taxes. I'm not sure how the two can co-exist, but then, I'm not a Republican. So, Ms. Lamer, the ques- tion remains: which social in- stitutions would you choose to break down first? Public edu- cation? Tax breaks for America's wealthiest individu- als? Perhaps we should cut the farm subsidies that help line the pockets of Robert Dole, or the free lunches, junkets and othergoodies that the lobbyists hand out, and which the Re- publicans refused to disallow. Maybe obstructionism is the answer. Should we sit on our hands and do nothing while the deficit rises, the class gap wid- ens and our infrastructure con- tinues to crumble? Please en- lighten us, oh wise young Re- publican, how does one deal with a deficit (created by Re- publican administrations) that our children's children will be paying for by lowering taxes? I do not stand in defense of the Daily, Bob Carr, Bill Clinton, or any particular po- litical party. The truth is what I seek, and honest politicians are truly hard to find. I am glad that Ms. Lamer and her herd of invective throwing Republican lackeys are around. Her notion of honesty in campaigning makes all of us take pause to reflect on what is the truth, what is innuendo and what is simply rhetorical fluff-all fury and invective but totally lacking in substance, reasoned argument, or philo- sophical ideology. Friends can be rapists, so lets be on guard I was impressed by how many women and men shared their lives with 200 strangers last week at the 10thannual speakout for sexual vio- lence survivors. They openly - even proudly - told their class- mates how they had overcome sexual assault or incest. They are brave and all deserve congratula , tions. What struck me most was how many survivors were assaulted by dear friends or by someone they trusted, someone helping them in a time of need. None of them had been walking in adimly-lit parking garage or down anempty,shaded street in the middle of the night. This man we've been fearing - the evil one lurking be- hind bushes and dwelling in the shadows-was not the villain chas- tised Wednesday night in the Union. That villain, more frighteningly, can be our friends. We can't protect ourselves from him by calling Safewalk or glanc ing behind us as we walk, keys protruding from our fingers to be used as weapons if necessary. Uni- versity vice presidents, MSA mem- bers and the mayor of Ann Arbor cannot make him go away by taking fieldtrips like they did Thursday night through near-campus streets looking for dark corners. Since reports started circulating about this Ann Arbor rapist, we've been double-locking our doors, stay- ing in when we would have gone out and asking our male friends to walk us home. But while these safety precau- tions are important and should con- tinue to be made a priority, we can- not allow them to substitute for real anti-rape action. Rape can only be addressed through programs like speakout and other events sponsored by SAPAC during last week's Sexual Assault Awareness Week. It can only be addressed when society begins to respect women and see us not as toys or sluts but as human beings- deserving of equal respect. I know I'm dreaming in rhetoric and that my empty words do noth- ing more than bemoan sexism in the purest "victim feminist" form. As a columnist I'm supposed to support my words with real solutions. So what can we do? How can we protect ourselves in our daily lives if buying a can of mace won't cut it' and we don't have time to cure sexism before that date Friday night?. The anti-violence movement tells us that rape is never the victim's fault. That a woman cannot be blamed for rape even if she was drunk, had a reputation for "putting out" and was wearing a short skirt. SoI won'tcall fora behaviorchange., We have the right to put out, get drunk and to wear short skirts. The student politicians Three students work toward election r ww i '" T he writing is on the wall: University stu- dents consistently fail to vote in local elections. Turnout averages 10 percent; stu- dents rarely appear on the ballot as candidates, and when they do, it is often as fringe or single- issue office seekers. The University adminis- tration has repeatedly quashed efforts to im- panel a student regent. The University's stu- dent government exercises only limited pow- ers. Small wonder student voices are often lost in the political din - even on the local level. While politicians pay lip service to student interests - and no doubt some of them are sincere - when it comes time to make diffi- cult decisions, they heed the wishes of the voters. And when students constitute only a tiny fraction of those voters, their interests often fall by the wayside. Election '94, while hardly a watershed in student political activism, offers hope to re- capture some of the spirit that sent legislators like liberal legend Perry Bullard to Lansing in the late 1960s. While Mike Christie Jr., Daniel Cherrin and Andrew Wright are no Perry Bullards, they represent a resurgent student political activism that should be commended. Christie is running for the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners in the 11th district, which includes a part of campus. Cherrin is seeking a seat in the Michigan House of Representatives from West Bloomfield. And Wright is running for the Ann Arbor Citv Conncil in the 1 st Ward. These three University students represent divergent political interests: Christie is a Re- publican, Cherrin is a Democrat and Wright is an independent opposing a liberal Democrat incumbent. Although Christie, Cherrin and Wright differ on many issues, they share a concern for student interests. That concern has been painfully lacking on many levels of gov- ernment, particularly local offices. Students' lack of political clout has allowed unfriendly zoning ordinances to penalize fra- ternities and sororities, tuition to skyrocket and unsafe conditions to prevail in student-popu- lated areas around campus. As chair of a Michigan Student Assembly commission, Christie testified in Lansing on the runaway costs of student textbooks. Wright headed MSA's External Affairs Commission, representing student interests in Ann Arbor city government and beyond. Both of these efforts, while praiseworthy, have been ham- pered by poor student representation in Lan- sing and locally. Now Christie, Cherrin and Wright want to change that. The student candidates are not running on explicitly pro-student platforms, to their credit. Demonstrating political maturity that belies their youth, the three have cam- paigned on numerous issues that touch all segments of the community. Still, none of the three is likely to ignore student concerns. This voice, personified by Christie, Cherrin and Wright, has an indispensable place in govern- ment. All men not accountable for all rapes To the Daily: Regarding Joshua Meisler's Wednesday, Oct. 26th letter: I take serious ex- ception. How on earth can you hold me accountable for vio- lence against women? Mr. Meisler so brazenly states that "we must take the responsibil- ity as men for rape" and "with- out [men] there is no rape." Let's forget about the po- liticized nature of the rape is- sue for a moment. Rape is a violent crime, a violent act, levied almost all of the time by men against women. Does the fact that one sector of society seems to contain the compara- tively small amount of rapists mean that they are all respon- sible? This is identical to con- sidering all "shady-looking" African-Americans in Detroit some kind of criminal. And though developing opinions and using past data to help us make choices is wise, these types of generalizations and preconceived notions, preju- dices if you will - are danger- ous. If assuming that a hooded ir nemcnn c nna in t h my own problems. I try to make my contact with everyone as worthwhile as possible to the best of my ability. I don't have time to think about rape much less anything else during the day. Maybe I should make time? No. Rape is "our prob- lem" insofar as it is a devastat- ing violence that exhibits itself all over ourcommunity, all over our country. But it is not my problem because I am a man. Viewpoints need to be changed, rethought, realigned, to make our streets and homes safe for women. But alas, you cannot shove the blame for this down my throat. As a male, I will not along with you accept this guilt, this misguided emotion that you feel, simply because you are a man. It is the criminals' (rap- ists') responsibility, and our responsibility is to respect one anothers rights, including women's, and to take responsi- bility for our individual actions. I don't know, Mr. Meisler, maybe you should work as an assistant to Catharine Mackinnon? Dave Schroeder Engineering junior LASC American Solidarity Commit- tee (LASC) broke up the speech by protesting in the room and drowning out Mr. Vega. By censoring politically un- popular speech as they did, the LASC protesters breached here the same principles of freedom and openness that they would condemn the violation of else- where. We do not mean to ap- prove of CIA activities, past or present; but we do maintain that Mr. Vega had a right to speak and to be heard. The LASC protesters not only vio- lated the rules of the University community; they deniedtooth- ers the very constitutional pro- tections that uphold their right to protest. Stephen Kuperberg John, Paraschos Gwendolyn Payton Kate Ross First-year law students Daily columnist rewrites laws of nature To the Daily: But when it comes down to it, we still have to look out for our- selves and be wary of everyone - even very close friends. Now I have on occasion taken this idea too far. Before going out this summer with someone I worked with I stressed for days, called ev-.' eryone I knew for advice and made all sorts of back-up and emergency plans -just in case. My housemates advised: "don't lethimknow where you live." Good plan, I said. He could end up stalk- ing me. Another friend said: "Whatever you do, don't go back to his house. You want to be in familiar terri- tory." Also good advice. We ended up driving separately, both getting lost and, in the end, hoth gettina nrking tickets - mIa m 0 I