4 - The Michigan Daily -- Thursday, February 9, 1995
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JASON LICwTSTEIN
JASON's LYRc
420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed by
students at the
University of Michigan
MICHAEL ROSENBERG
Editor in Chief
JULIE BECKER
JAMES NASH
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.
Sunset
Bill pulls shutters on residential searches.
T he University is continuing the fight to
exempt itself from the state Open Meet-
ings Act and Freedom of Information Act,
this time with the help of state Sen. John
Schwarz (R-Battle Creek). Schwarz has in-
troduced a bill that would allow all 15 state
universities in Michigan to subvert existing
open meetings and Freedom of Information
Act laws by restricting public access to the
names of candidates for the position of uni-
versity president. The bill comes in response
to the Michigan Supreme Court ruling of
1993 that the University's last presidential
search - which resulted in hiring University
President James J. Duderstadt in 1988 - was
illegal. Essentially, the University and its
friends in the state Legislature have deter-
mined that since the last search violated ex-
isting laws, the laws themselves should be
altered to fit the University's agenda, rather
than changing how presidential searches are
conducted.
Schwarz's bill rests on flawed logic. He
claims that if the search process is opened to
the public, "people simply won't apply."
Moreover, he claims that qualified individu-
als do not want to go through the scrutiny
inherent in vying for a high-ranking univer-
sity position. This line of thinking is short-
sighted and irrational. Michigan is one of the
premier public institutions in the country,
and the job of its president is consequently
one of the most sought-after. There should be
very few cases where a candidate for Univer-
sity president is not already highly regarded
in the academic arena. His or her job would
presumably not be at risk merely because of
consideration as a candidate to lead the Uni-
versity of Michigan - such consideration is
an honor and should come as no surprise.
The bill as introduced also is a slap in the
face to students and taxpayers. There are
parts of the extensive process that students
and the public deserve to know about. Like-
wise, they deserve to know who the finalists
for the positions are and what credentials
they would bring to the job. Closing the
search process disrespects faculty members
of the state's universities by not allowing for
their input in the process. It also insults
students, who have a legitimate right to know
the qualifications of the candidates for the
highest authority position on campus - a
position their tuition dollars support.
Schwarz has said there is a possibility that
an amendment may be introduced to the bill
that would open up the search during the final
selection process, at which time the field
would be narrowed to three candidates. This
is a step in the right direction, but it should
not end with the three finalists. Initial lists of
potential prospects could be restricted until
they officially apply for the job. Once inter-
ested parties throw their hat in the ring,
ho.wever, their candidacy should be public
knowledge. As long as Michigan universi-
ties are supported with public funds, the
public deserves the right to review the pro-
cess of determining who is best qualified to
lead them.
Ti
e i th
Now that I am in my last semester of
this inglorious undergraduate expe-
rience, I have the pleasure of attending a
course - actually, a seminar - on the 6th
floor of the Institute for Social Research.
That's right folks, the ISR building - the
virtual birthplace of modern American
social science and survey-based research.
So, as the story goes, I was milling around
the 6th floor a couple of weeks ago and I
came across a book, from a bygone era,
slated for clearance by the literate ISR
library staff, called The American Teen-
ager, by a tandem of Purdue researchers,
H.H. Remmers and D.H. Radler. And be-
cause I find popular culture and the ilk so
fascinating, I actually bought this heap of
parchment set in a hefty 14-point type, the
type and size of font used regularly when
those of the first-year orientation find them-
selves in a desperate bid to lengthen a
tedious Great Books paper, concerned with
the strategies of the Peloponnesian War
(The Honors College taught me all about
that beautiful dung beetle, and its flight to
the heavens!).
Plus, a former Dailyite and bespeckled
housemate of mine had the pleasure to ven-
ture over to the first-come, first-serve
Ticketmaster outlet at Wherehouse Records
in Jackson, Mich., on Friday evening -
the renowned, sprawling metropolitan cen-
ter ranked dead last in overall quality of
life in the annual survey of American
cities. The occasion: REM tix, and the
biggest concert of the year, of the decade
actually, except for the fact that Mikey
Mills, unibrow, Buck, Stipe, the legally
minded Bertis Downs and Ambassador
Holt are set to play a historic centennial
bash on Dec. 31, 1999 in Athens, Ga.
Gotta find that treehouse if I ever make it
to Athens. So off we drove, westward, and
by some stroke of divine justice, we man-
aged to claim the third slot in line. So for
16 hours we froze - I meanwhile took the
opportunity to head over to a nearby Video
Watch and read the back of some hundred
videos. I also bought a prehistoric Violent
Femmes album (remember that 8,8,8 ... I
forgot what 8 is for). The point is, we hung
out with a cohort of 15- and 16-year-olds
who made the drive down from Brooklyn,
Mich. - dyed-hair, Cure CDs, pimples
and teenage angst aplenty. So what makes
this age group tick? Is it more than Friday
night dates gone awry, tawdry notes
scrawled on notebook paper, Corey Feldman
films and social dejection for the Music for
the Masses crowd? Well, here's where The
American Teenager comes in. Let's turn to
Chapter Three: "TheProblems He Has -
Physical, Sexual, Social." This is what
those learned ones at Purdue discovered:
Most teen-agers believe that "poli-
tics is over their heads, and besides, it's a
dirty game run by unscrupulous insiders."
A majority of teenage respondents
believe that history is full of lies, all lies
actually; and some even have a odd habit of
biting their nails.
Many boys try valiantly to prevent
nocturnal emissions, only to find that they
cannot be controlled. Quite a revelation.
he land of the free and
e home of the pimpled
0
S
E A third of boys and irls worry espe-
cially about pimples. Says an ith-grade
girl: "My complexion is my greatest per-
sonal problem. I ha e had acne since I was
in the 6th grade, and it's just now beginning
to clear up even though I have used doctors
"prescriptions and suggested medications
faithfully." Retin-A to the rescue.
Although only I percent of Protest1ant
youth agree with the statement that "people
dislike my race or nationality," some 43
percent of the Jewish teens say that this
feeling is one of their major problems. Also,
the authors concluded that .Jewish youth
seem to have the most personal problems
among the three major religious groups,
especially in worrying about "little things."
Luckily causation has been established, and
the culprit is the Jewish mother.
This passage is my favorite: "Grow-
ing up isn't a steady,smooth proccss. On the
way to adult poise, (teens) pass through
awkward misery. Their ierstwhile smooth-
working bodies turn into gang:ix",ill-coordi-
nated machines ... Their rosy skins, glow-
ing just a moment ago with the bloom of
childhood, now look to them like some
nightmare field of black pits and erupting
volcanoes. This newly strange body of theirs
is the battleground for spiritual upheaval."
Oh, the American teen-ager, "confused.
afraid, dependent or seeking independent
... Soon we will place future history in his
hands." All hail the new king in town.
- .1SL is actuallv 20 cears old. A note:
last week's "psychiatric all v-inclines " re-
allvimeant tosay "pst hiatricallinclinec."
" MAR.ILYN iAo!NRC
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StARn AS T~OAST
V 5ET A
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b r,
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
"You have to pay
$3 to go have a
cup of tea with
your aunt?"
--- Georges Rioux, a
Canadian embassy
spokesman in Washing-
ton,n- n a proposed $3
entry fee for travelers
from the United States to
Canada
Taming the Dragon
U.S. moves boldly with sanctions on China
L ast week the Clinton administration acted
both swiftly and firmly by imposing a
wide range of well-targeted trade sanctions
on the Chinese government. Washington's
new stance solidifies a developing trend of
bold foreign policy initiatives by the Clinton
administration.
This recent measure came in reaction to
Beijing's failure to address the mounting
problem of intellectual piracy of copyrighted
American goods. The problem has grown to
stunning proportions - costing American
businesses an estimated $1 billion or more
per year. The Chinese government has re-
peatedly assured the United States that it is
cracking down on the piracy, but its words
have been followed by little action. China's
inadequate response has continued for more
than two years in which the two nations have
met more than 20 times regarding these is-
sues. In addition, because a large majority of
the piracy is being committed by state-owned
enterprises, China's response to U.S. con-
cerns can be characterized as nothing short of
offensive. As the insatiable hunger for Ameri-
can intellectual property continues to grow
rapidly throughout the burgeoning Asian
economies, the problem becomes particu-
larly alarming. Given the growing desire and
illegal availability of such technology and
copyrighted property, tacit approval of pi-
racy would be a grave error. In light of this,
the Clinton administration's recent actions
were both wise and timely.
The administration's new, punitive mea-
sure placed a 100-percent tariff on a wide
range of Chinese goods. Goods targeted for
sanctions were carefully selected; most of
these imports are easily available from other
nations, a measure taken to avoid angering
American consumers. Sanctioned goods were
HOW TO CONTACT THEM
University Regent Nellie Varner
(D-Detroit)
771 E. 8-mile Rd.
Detroit, MI 48220
also selected so as not to disrupt U.S. busi-
ness. Not only has the American business
community expressed support for the recent
maneuver, but congressional leaders from
both political parties have followed suit.
As tensions mount in China over the im-
minent death of ailing leader Deng Xiaopeng,
the issue of succession looms large. While
Jiang Zemin was officially appointed the
new president of the People's Republic, his
political power base is extremely weak among
the younger Chinese officials. In addition,
contention over political and economic re-
forms makes China's domestic political en-
vironment increasingly hostile. The combi-
nation of these issues makes diplomatic deal-
ings with China unsure and tedious. It is
precisely because President Clinton has acted
so boldly, in spite of the current power vacuum
in China, that his recent foreign policy mea-
sures deserve praise.
In addition, Clinton's stance serves as an
important message to the Chinese govern-
ment. The U.S. government has not been
effective in eliciting Chinese cooperation on
preventing illegal arms sales or nuclear pro-
liferation from China. The Clinton adminis-
tration would be wise to link Chinese coop-
eration on these issues to entry into the Gen-
eral Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, a long-
desired goal of the Chinese.
President Clinton's recent foreign policy
endeavors, which include his executive ini-
tiative to rescue the faltering peso and the
commissioning of troops to Haiti, mark a
new, bolder trend in the administration's
foreign agenda. Moreover, China's encour-
agingly quick response - inviting the United
States back to the bargaining table next week
- is a good indicator of the wisdom of the
administration's recent measure.
University Regent Philip H. Power
(D-Ann Arbor)
412 E. Huron St. P.O. Box 7989
Ann Arbor, MI 48107-7989
LETTERS
Posting more
than fantasy
To the Daily:
Once again, we have a turbu-
lent situation raging concerning
freedom of speech and the
Internet. Unfortunately, one of
the most important issues con-
cerning this case is being lost in
the hectic, "Free Speech" shuffle:
the ever-present terrorism against
women in U.S. society.
Certainly, the University stu-
dent who wrote the "sexual"
(thinking people agree that sex
has little to do with torture and
mutilation) fantasy piece and dis-
tributed it on the 'Net had every
right to do so. That's what free
speech is all about, and I wouldn't
change it for the world. What he
did not have the right to do is use
the name of a living, breathing
female University student and
insert this name in his disturbed
fantasy, thereby reducing this
woman into a mere object to be
raped, tortured and maimed for
the "sexual" release of others. It
doesn't matter if he ever spoke to
this woman or not. It doesn't
matter if he has motives to ha-
rass her - what does matter is
that he used her name, her
"selfness," because he wasn't
even creative enough to think
up a name for his brutal sce-
nario. He had no right to do that,
and he has robbed that woman
symbolically by his immature
act. I think the fact that he chose
American society is guilty of
terrorizing women. It's time to
speak up and call people like the
University student who wrote
the torture story what they are
- mentally sick individuals
who steal self-esteem and the
sense of security from women,
and perhaps even helping to sow
the seeds of violent acts.
I, for one, will not keep quiet
about my outrage at the story this
student wrote for fear of seeming
against free speech. I honestly
believe that free speech is abso-
lutely essential in our society,
and that student had the right to
compose and post that story.
However, I believe just as
strongly that it is crucial to speak
up about the other issues in this
case, issues about stealing a
woman's name and objectifying
her into a role where she is imag-
ined to be raped and tortured for
the "sexual" gratification of one
very disturbed, obviously uncre-
ative, would-be student writer.
Marlfrances Conrad
LSA senior
Deviant
deserves
what he got
To the Daily:
Cheers to President
Duderstadt for dealing with por-
nography the way it should be
dealt with! Finally, an adminis-
trator acts autonomously, with
no qualms or second thoughts
responsibility for student devi-
ants into their own hands, but
hey! Blah blah blah! We're talk-
ingaboutnakedpictureshere!!!!!
And another thing we should
consider is what an incident like
Baker's may do to the
University's reputation! I mean,
none of us want to have to deal
with telling someone where we
go to school and having them
reply, "Oh ... aren't you guys a
bunch of sicko freaks?" Thanks
for looking out for us again,
President Duderstadt.
People like Baker don't even
deserve rights - I mean, he's
lucky we even let him live!!!
Thank you for your time, now
I am going to be sick.
Oh, and for anyone who took
any of that literally, please do not
harass me.
Jesse Ackles
Student Civil Liberties
Watch
Viewpoint
lacks facts
To the Daily:
I take exception to several
points made in Damon Jamaal
Walker's article published on
race-based scholarships ("Race-
based scholarships necessary,'
2/3/95). However, I'll only
point out one of the article's
flaws.
Damon states: "First of all.
the University has been proven
by studies and by the Black Ac-
not-so-well-thought-out opin-
ions. The Journal of Blacks in
Higher Education: The Michi-
gan Business School "is the only
(B-School) with a double-digit
percentage of Black students. It
graduates more Black MBAs
than any school in America."
'The journal also praises our
University along with Harvard,
as having the most African
American faculty members.
I salute your dedication to
helping the poor and disadvan-
taged gain as much education as
possible. However, do not let
this dedication lead you to opin-
ions grounded in what you want
to believe, rather than in what the
facts logically dictate.
I would never have returned
to this University as a graduate
student if not for the diverse
backgrounds of my professors
and classmates. I hope the Uni-
versity continues to attract per-
sons from all walks of life.
Mark D. Kalinowski
First-year graduate student
Better Review
To the Daily:
I feel as though I should add
the following comments regard-
ing the Michigan Review: In re-
cent months the staff appears to
be making attempts at broaden-
ing their spectrum of interests
and reporting. It's nice to see
intelligent reviews of jazz reis-
sues. In the past I've only seen
white rock bands and occasional