4 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 9, 1994
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420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, 48109
Edited and managed by students at
the University of Michigan
Jessie Halladay
Editor in Chief
Samuel Goodstein
Flint Wainess
'This is the most talented Michigan team I've seen
since I've been here.'
- Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz, who
has a knack for aggrandizing opponents
ATURDAY AFTERNOON WTH THE NATIONAL
ENDOWM~.ENT FOR THE ATRIT-.
yiWID 4W IM -V
The
disappearing
Diag
1
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.
4
The University has apparently
abandoned its attempt to remove
all protests from the Diag. Instead,
the University is actually trying to
remove the Diag itself.
A rapist by any means
MEN
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Civil liberties and 'U'
pring,on Saturday, May 7, an +
unfamiliar terror struck the city of Ann
Arbor and the campus of the University of
Michigan. Christine Gailbreath, a Univer-
sity admissions assistant was found bru-
tally raped and murdered on the city's west
side. It was only after this tragic event that
the Ann Arbor Police publicly admitted
the presence of a serial rapist in Ann Arbor
- a man police say has raped at least three
women, probably raped and killed Chris-
tine Gailbreath and has possibly attempted
up to seven other rapes inthelast two years.
The rape and murder of Gailbreath un-
leashed a torrent of emotion and accusa-
tions from the community. In July, the
police released their updated description
of the perpetrator, a Black male between
the ages of 25-35. And just last week, a
man who identified himself as the rapist
phoned the Ann Arbor Police Department
and identified himself as Hispanic. He
went on to relay his sick fantasy of raping
a young teenage girl.
It almost goes without saying that the
residents of Ann Arbor, including Univer-
sity students, must be aware of the serial
rapist and must take necessary precau-
tions. But one precaution that is not needed
in such a situation is uncontrollable fear, or
hysteria. In any such situation, it is critical
to balance the need for public safety with
the rights of individuals. Since the rape and
murder on May 7, residents of the city who
match the broad description of the rapist
have, in some cases, felt uncomfortable
within their own community and around
their neighbors and peers. Blanket suspi-
cion and distrust must come to an end. Ann
Arbor's goal is to apprehend the serial
rapist, not to frighten and offend members
of its own community.
Adding to the hysteria is the issue of race.
Based on witness accounts, the police be-
lieved the rapist was Black, and race took
on its divisive character that so often ruins
a community. But when the caller claimed
to be a dark Hispanic, and not Black, the
community seemed to shift gears, and its
eyes, to another race. As one speaker elo-
action are central
quently said at a town meeting in May, all
of us - regardless of race - must work
together as a community in solving this
crisis. Race must not be allowed to divide
the community, and we must remember
this the next time we hear a description of
the rapist.
A final question to be considered: What
can the University do, if anything, to in-
form students and aid the city of Ann
Arbor throughout this crisis?
The Sexual Assault Protection and
Awareness Center (SAPAC) is offering a
number of classes in self-defense in addi-
tion to their counseling services and can
also answer questions about the serial
rapist that students may have. But the
University can play a vital role in this
situation and in the future safety of its
campus. The issue of street lighting has
been a hot topic in the city for the past year,
and the Michigan Student Assembly
(MSA) has formed a liaison between the
University and Ann Arbor City Council.
However, proposals for increased lighting
along Washtenaw Avenue have gotten
bogged down in bureaucracy and fiscal
misanthropy,eand the City Council has yet
to vote on the idea claiming the costs of
new lighting complicate the solution. The
University can help by providing money
to the City Council to construct new light-
in , both on large streets such as
Washtenaw and smaller (hence, darker)
campus streets where students may be
most vulnerable.
The serial rapist represents a crisis that
everyone within the city of Ann Arbor
must learn to deal with effectively. How-
ever, the fact remains: Most rapes are
committed by acquaintances, such rapes
are frequent, and many occur on college
campuses. All rape must be fought, pun-
ished and eliminated in our society.
The foremost responsibility of any com-
muni is to protect its citizens. Thus far,
the University - by failing to inform
students and by not taking the lead in
efforts to light up our streets - has not
lived up to this standard.
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In defense of Jennifer Ireland
By JEAN CAMPBELL, LOIS
COHN, REBECCA
McGOWAN AND SIX
OTHER SIGNATORIES
As members of the Leader-
ship Council of the University
of Michigan Center for the Edu-
cation of Women, we feel com-
pelled to raise our voices in
concern over Judge Raymond
Cashen's recent decision to re-
moveJenniferIreland's daugh-
ter Maranda from her care. The
stated rationale of the decision
was that Jennifer is a student at
the University of Michigan and
will rely on day care while she
attends classes.
For the last 30 years, the
Center for the Education of
Women has encouraged and
assisted women returning to
school. We can tell literally
thousands of stories of women
who have overcome gender ste-
reotypes, educational disadvan-
tage and financial hardship to
successfully complete there
education and go on to out-
standing personal and profes-
Mc~owan serves on the
Board of Regents and all are
members of the Leadership
Council of the University of
Michigan Center for the
Education of Women
sional achievement that makes
us proud to have helped. In
recentyears, 45 percentof those
women have been parents; al-
most all who have young chil-
dren have had to rely on child
care for help.
Many of the children of
women the Center has served
over the years have themselves
attended colleges and univer-
sities, in large measure because
their mothers were able to con-
tinue their education and se-
cure good jobs. Advanced edu-
cation for women pays off for
many generations by ensuring
economic self-sufficiency and
raising the national standard of
living.
A well-established body of
research indicates that good-
quality child care enriches
children's experience, en-
hances their readiness to learn
and improves their social skills.
Far from hurting children, it
helps them. Indeed, even in the
Ireland decision Judge Cashen
stated that, "The child was in a
program at the University
which apparently was appro-
priate and resulted in the child
having a meaningful experi-
ence."
The decision has placed
Jennifer Ireland in the worst
sort of double bind. Salutato-
rian of her high school class
despite the pressures of raising
an infant, she was a good enough
student to win three scholar-
ships to the University, one of
the most selective universities
in the country. She is perform-
ing successfully on her way to
independence, securing a high-
quality education and ultimately
a job that will enable her to
support her daughter responsi-
bly and well. Had she elected to
stay home to raise Maranda,
her choices would have been to
seek welfare assistance or to
place Maranda in full-time child
care and accept a low-paying
job. We support her in making
the choice that pays long-term
dividends for her and herdaugh-
ter.
This decision struck fear in
the hearts of single parents
across the country who are do-
ing their best, often under diffi-
cult circumstances, to advance
their education, care for their
children and find work that pays
a living wage. It has offended
all of us who worry about the
welfareof women and children.
This decision should be over-
turned!
Notall atonce,ofcourse. Where
would they put it? Instead, the
administration is slowly but surely
taking the Diag away froman un-
suspecting student body, whic
let's face it, is happy to shut up an
pay outrageous tuition bills as long
as the basketball team keeps win-
ning.
The University is taking the
Diag away by building on top of it,
making it smaller and smaller un
til allthatis leftis the "M",Preacher
Mike and an old Snickers wrap-
per.
One administrator, who asked
to remain unidentified on the,
grounds that he/she doesn't exist,,
confirmed as much.
"The whole thing is expected
to be gone by June 12, 1996, a
about 4:30 in the morning," the
administrator said. "By the time
we're done, all that's gonna be left
is the "M," Preacher Mike and
old Snickers wrapper. Ha, ha, .aY
That's a good one. You can use
that if you'd like."
Some of the construction is
obviously needless. Take the con-
struction going on at the corner of
State Street and North University.
What looks like randomly strewn
orange fences and a few holes in
the ground is actually sidew
expansion. Is this necessary?
don't think so. Just the other day I
was standing on that very side-
walk with four of my friends and
not one of them said, "You, know,
this sidewalk really isn't big
enough."
(A little sidenote on those or-
ange fences: Why do we need
them? Are they really stopping
anybody from getting into a co
struction area? Have you ever seen
somebody start trying to sneak
into a construction area, see the
orangefe'nces and then turn around
and walk away?)
There is also some kind of Ran-
dom Academic Building being
built near West Engineering which,
quite frankly, I don't see myself
entering any time this century.
knowwhatyou'rethinking:Whic
one won't he enter? The Randonm
Academic BuildingorWest Engi
neering? Well, I was referring td
the Random Academic Building,
but I probably won't enter West
Engineering either. I only have
one class there.)
Other construction has been
reported. The small number of s
dents who have tried registerin
for classes in the past six months
have noticed a severe thinning of.
the hallways at CRISP (Computer
Registration Is Such A Pain). Most
of us have to carefully maneuver
to fit through these hallways, and
several really fat students have
just given up trying to make it to
CRISP and transferred to Eastern
Michigan.
The same administrator says
there are good reasons for the con-
struction.
"We truly felt that, on the whole;
CRISP was simply too easy," he/
she said. "We had a few students
- granted, it was only a few-g
tell us that they had walked int ,
CRISP and walked out a half hour
later with all of the classes th
had wanted to take. What's th
challenge in that? So we made th
hallways smaller in the hope that
CRISP would be more confusing'
Also, we felt it would force some,
of our fatter students to transfer'
So we killed two birds with one
stone."
The only construction that has,
been universally welcomed is tie
renovation of the Undergraduate
library. The consensus seems to
be that even surrounded by scaf-
folding the thing looks better than
itdidbefore. Going to school while
all this construction is going on
a
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Foreign fliporflopping
Domestic concerns drive foreign policy
Outlandish book prices prevail
Presidents live or die by the sword. Or,
as it may be said in today's world, they
live or die by the bomb.
The obvious example: the Persian Gulf
War, which temporarily gave George Bush
the hi hest approval ratings of any modern
president. AndPresidentClinton gave him-
self a shot of popularity by bombing a
communications outpost in Iraq.
Of course, in the end, it's the economy,
stupid. Avoiding the realities of the
homefront is a surefire way to end up being
anex-president. But in many ways, George
Bush was defeated not because the
economy was weak or strong, but because
of the perception that Bush was indifferent
either way. The satire of Dana Carvey,
mocking the president as a man on his
knees, begging the electorate to "not make
me a one-termer," summed up the feelings
of a nation. That is, a nation that failed to
see a leader in the Oval Office.
To govern is to choose. The tough
choices are most often and easily recog-
nizable when the president makes them in
the international arena. And since the abil-
ity to govern-- the ability tobreakgridlock
- is what the American people are look-
ing for, a president that cannot lead on the
international front is bound to fail domes-
tically also.
Lyndon Johnson learned that lesson the
hard way. It seems President Clinton is on
his way to doing the same. From Cuba to
Haiti, from Bosnia to China, the
administration's foreign policy team has
flip-flopped its way to a point of vastly
diminished international credibility.
For instance, even if you agree with the
gime in Cuba, you cannot help but be
struck by the fact that on the same morning
of the presidential press conference that
reversed decades of American policy to-
ward Cuban refugees, Janet Reno held a
press conference stating unequivocally that
the United States' policy toward Cuba
would not change. Moreover, it is virtu-
ally impossible to intellectually defend a
policy that treats authoritarian commu-
nists inChina with kid gloves, and concur-
rently treats authoritarian communists in
Cuba as Lucifer.
Quite clearly, these policies directly
result from the lens of domestic politics
that Clinton views all foreign issues
through. Ironically, his attempts to boost
his approval ratings by catering to special
interests has backfired, creating the im-
pression of a spineless president.
We certainly do not yearn for the
Reagan/Bush foreign policy chess game,
in which humans were the pawns in an
economic crusade. The days of the "brute
force" doctrine are behind us, and thank-
fully so. But the president's failure to treat
foreign affairs without constantly reacting
to domestic pressures is damaging to his
abilities as an effective world leader.
In Haiti, the president had a firm policy
- until the Congressional Black Caucus
protested. In Cuba, the president an-
nounced a firm policy-- until Cuban-
Americans protested. In China, the presi-
dent was a firm proponent of human rights
- until big business demurred.
And the list goes on. Hopefully, consis-
tency and a firm hand will eventually steer
the Clinton ship. Probably, it will be who-
ever has a dime in his pocket and a micro-
To the Daily:
Your editorial on June 29,
1994 entitled "Textbook
Travesty: Will the 'U' help?"
caught my eye.
First of all, permit me to
answer the question posed by
the title. The 'U' is part of the
problem not part of the
solution. Who permitted
Barnes and Noble to occupy
the Union and pose as a
student bookstore?
Secondly, if you await a
legislative inquiry, you're
postponing a prompt solution
to the problem.
Thirdly, the MSA proposal
would improve efficiency but
not necessarily impact price.
Price is a function of supply
and demand, and we have a
controlled supply with
unlimited demand, i.e. there is
no competition. The result:
monopoly pricing.
Finally, after 40 years of
university teaching, I have in
retirement returned as a
student to the classroom.
Never, in my adult life, have
I met such avaricious
behavior as in the Union
bookstore. Permit me two
examples.
Example #1: "American
Odyssey, 1607-1789" by
Paul Lucas, published by
Prentice-Hall in 1984, sells
now in paperback at $41 plus
6 percent sales tax. Including
index, it is 311 pages.
Prentice-Hall doesn't even
list the price of the book in
the standard "Books in
Print."
Example #2: Used books
frequently have all earlier
price notations blocked out
or, as in this case, the price
printed on the cover had been
"punched out," so there are
holes in both covers thereby
obliterating the price. My
used copy of "Franklin D.
Roosevelt and American
Foreign Policy, 1932-1945"
by Robert Dallek, cost
$11.95. Being unable to know
its original cost I was unable
to know how badly I was
being overcharged. It, too,
was out of date, having been
published in 1979.
Here we have two ex-
amples of outdated books,
without evidence as to their
true retail prices, being sold at
Alice-in-Wonderland prices.
It is up to the customers -
namely students - to
pressure the faculty to
demand fair prices from the
bookstores. Otherwise, the
abuses will continue.
Albert K. Steigerwalt
Ph.D., American History
I
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