4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 21, 1996 $fe £kbit &dUl g 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor. MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan i t RONNIE GLASSBERG Editor in Chief ADRIENNE JANNEY ZACHARY M. RAIMI 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. FROM THE DAn.Y Take a hike Residence hall rate increase will hurt students NOTABLE QUOTABLE I got much more out of this experience than drinking with my friends in Daytona Beach.' - LSA junior Tito Pando explains why he participated in Project SERVE's Alternative Spring Break program. JIM LASSER SHARP AsTOAST - ~ New Hampshire lke alitleextansomthig he lp my standng MUD. inth plls Beids dmagngmyoppoent, ud ligin isth What a Surprise wen yugeads perat. fo oe a e ta ust ht h p P doctor ordered. LETTR s To THE EDiToR i N ext year, students will have to pay more for the privilege of sharing closet-size rooms with one or more other students, eat- ing sub-quality meals at dictated times and fighting for showers before class. The University Board of Regents voted Friday to increase residence hall fees for the 1996-97 school year. Because Alice Lloyd and Couzens halls are in line for renovations - $10 million worth - and the residence halls' contractual costs are increasing, the housing planning committee called for a price hike. But the fee increase for traditional resi- dence halls exceeds the University's calcu- lated inflation rate by 1.4 percent. With cur- rent residence hall fees bordering on absurd, the fee increase will push it over the edge. The housing planning committees-con- sisting of staff and undergraduate students - calculated a general rate of 3.5 percent. It reached this number by taking a weighted average of expected increases in contractual costs such as food service, insurance, phone and other utilities, equipment and mainte- nance. The fee will increase by 4.9 percent for traditional residence halls and by 4.7 percent for family housing. The cost-pad- ding - passed directly on to students - is insensitive and increases students' financial burden. University housing may no longer be an option for students who cannot afford to pay so much for so little. Many first-year students may now opt for off-campus hous- ing. The switch would cheat these students out of the traditionally valuable residence hall experience. By pushing up the cost of University housing, the regents may have unwittingly LAsT-DITcH APPEALl CmOssingyour own momiz line hurt most students who live in off-campus housing as well. Ann Arbor's landlords now will have an increased margin for rent hikes - making the situation worse for off-cam- pus residents who already deal with skyrock- eting rent and added fees. Students are run- ning out of affordable options. The regents spent an insignificant amount of time at last week's meeting discussing the increase - an issue of this magnitude, con- cerning such an important facet of student life, clearly deserved more attention. Regent Andrea Fischer Newman (R-Ann Arbor) voiced the sole opposition to the fee increase, suggesting instead that the housing commis- sion investigate cost-cutting options. The other regents failed to heed Newman's voice of reason, passing the increase 6 to 1. The housing committee would have been wiser and more responsible to follow Newman's suggestion - the board should have examined cost-reduction plans before jumping to increase student fees. Anyone who lives in the residence halls can attest to the inefficiency and waste that occurs on a daily basis. Instead of automatically passing the costs on to students, the committee should have investigated ways to reduce waste, thus cutting utility and food service costs. At the very least, if the regents had to raise fees they should have limited it to the rate of inflation - certainly not above it. If this trend contin- ues - the housing committee is predicting similar fee hikes next year - students will weigh the substantial costs of University housing against its limited benefits, and resi- dence hall life could become not only im- practical but obsolete. 'U' needs Women's Studies for diversity To THE DAILY: I am writing in response to a letter printed Feb. 1 ("Men's right are ignored"), in which Christopher Godwin questions the vast amount of programs on women and women's health. Throughout the history of academia, studies of history, literature, human biology, health and psychological development have been based on studies and experiences of men. Just as the pronoun "he" is often used as generic, referring to both women and men, theories based on the study of men are often assumed to represent the generic human, reflecting the experiences of both men and women. Slowly, we have realized that this is not the case. The women's health movement has grownpartly out of this realization. Godwin suggests that women's health spending is inflated since women live longer than men. I would argue that women live longer not because of their treatment by the medical community but in spite of it, as health concerns particular to women have until recently been largely ignored. Godwin also notes that there is no mens studies department at the Univer- sity. To have a men's studies program is as redundant as having a Caucasian studies program. What sort of curriculum would a men's program entail? One could make an argument for calling almost anything not labeled "women's studies," men's studies. In our patriarchal society, when oppressed groups try to change their positions there is often great resistance (or "backlash"). Godwin's letter is an example of a backlash against the gains of the women's health movement. It shouldn't be a movement that threatens people like Godwin, as it does not call for inattention to issues that effect men's health, but simply calls for the alloca- tion of time, money and resources to study women's health to attempt to make up for past inattention. Sadly, notions of women's health programs are threatening to many, as this is the nature of sexism and oppression. LAURA KATZ SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK Uproar over law fliers reveals immaturity TO THE DAILY: In the Feb. 9th edition of The Michigan Daily, the article titled "Fliers protest law school publication" was quite interesting. First off, the publication is the" res gestac," not "rae gestae" (first rule of journalism - get the spelling right). Secondly, the article seems to report the apparent lack of approval of the material contained in the r.g. This is fine, and my response to what should be knowing, adult law students is: Grow up! You don't have to read it if you don't like it. And if you have any problems with that, maybe you should study the Bill of Rights in your next Constitutional law class - the First Amend- ment therein seems to say something about being able to have freedom of press. Addtionally, (with no slam to the r.g. staffers intended) it is a student publication, what are you expecting - The New York Times? JEFFREY J. KRUSSELL ENGINEERING SOPHOMORE B eethoven said, "Like the state, every man must have his own constitution." Since Beethoven wasn't a political philosopher, he didn't have to say whether one's personal "constitution" could over- ride the state's, although we can assume he would have said that it could. The idea is that each indi- vidual should know what he or she would and would not do under given cir- This implies two' things. One is that the indi- vidual is em- powered, not just limited, by his or her "own ORDAN constitution." This is because STANCIL a constitution, written or otherwise, does not just limit power, but is in fact the source of power. Further, the proposition implies that the individual should use reason when making choices and will apply already-determined "constitutional" principles to new ethical dilemmas. In this view, it is wrong for an individual, just as for a government, to act capriciously and- to make decisions that might risk- violating one's own principles.. Beethoven might have said, "Ev- eryone must have a moral line, they have to recognize the linetas such, and they can never cross it." How we would love it if every politician had his or her "own con- stitution" - and we could read it. Of course, in reality, too heavy a reliance on the prudish Beethoven's dictum might lead us to vote for Pat Buchanan. Most people understand that politicians who are completely uncompromising are dangerous. But surely we expect leaders to stand up for something. There has to be some core principle that the leader won't betray. We don't want fanatics run- ning our country, but neither did we want George ("I'll do anything to get re-elected") Bush. At the same time, more and more people seem to believe that the "system" makes corruption inevitable and that all politicians lie all ofthe time. It seems that to be a leader in America, you have to have no constitution, or at least a very vague one. In the recent movie "The Ameri- can President," the president has to determine exactly what it is he stands for. In other words he has to write his own constitution, albeit while in office. At first, he is willing to obey the conventional wisdom that it would be better ifhe were to support crime legislation that he doesn't re- ally like while distancing himself from a proposed environmental bill that he supports in his heart. He wants to do this in order to co-opt his conservative rival who attacks him as being soft on crime. Finally, after much suspense, the president goes on TV and stands up for himself. He says that he will not support the crime bill because he knows it won't really stop crime. And he will support the environ-4 mental bill because it's the right thing to do. At the end of his speech, in response to his opponent's slo gan, "I'm running for president," he says, "I'm Andrew Sheppard, and I am the president." His moral stand makes him worthy ofhis title and- surprise, surprise - brings big po- litical benefits. Besides appearing to have been made for the edification of our cur- rent president, the movie is also a liberal voter's fantasy. Wouldn't it be nice if there were a real leader who had his own constitution like the fictional president? In the new movie "City Hall," the mayor of New York has a bit of a problem. His rhetoric shows that his heart is in the right place, but he is up against a system that requires corruption merely to function. As Dr. Johnson remarked, the road to hell is paved with good inten- tions. (Most people attribute this comment to Bernard Shaw. I used to do so myself until I was gently cor- rected by Prof. Roy Cowen.) The mayor may be in favor of the right things. He may even be a pretty good mayor, able to deliver on his promises. But what sinks him is that he goes over the line. The mayor makes one deal too many with a party boss, agreeing to use his influ- ence to spring a drug dealer con- nected to a mob family to whom one of his lieutenants owes a favor. The result is that the drug dealer kills a child and the mayor falls. 01 01 Il 01 r W 01 Prescription for pain Governors' proposal leaves young uninsured H ailed as a miracle cure to the mounting national headache over health care re- form, the Governors Commission's biparti- san solution is actually a dangerous mistake. It gives power and responsibility for health care over to the states. Until an inclusive set of national guidelines is established, these block grants serve only as incentive for states to deliver the minimum in health care. Under the current proposal, which was drafted earlier this month, Medicaid recipi- ents would retain continued access to hospi- tal services including waivers for medical and nursing fees, lab charges and family planning services. But the scope ofcare Med- icaid patients will receive remains question- able -states would be granted the authority to determine the length ofhospital stay, depth of coverage, hospital reimbursement and definition of disability. Loose guidelines and unchecked latitude provide for creative interpretations of states' legal responsibility. The ability to redefine illness and prescribe medical protocols from the state capital -not the doctor's office - will effectively demolish the support system currently in place without substituting a vi- able alternative. State-controlled health care plans will be vulnerable to the whims of each newly elected governor - consistency, con- tent and accountability will shift with each election. Only prenatal care and general care for children under age 6 would be guaranteed nationally for all citizens living 33 percent above the poverty line, leaving many with- out coverage. States also would be required to provide health care to children between the ages of 6 and 12 if they are living at or below the poverty line; this leaves the lower- working class stranded and teen-agers with- out care. Current national guidelines dictate that once children reach the age of 13 the state is no longer required to provide them with health care coverage -unless they become pregnant, which the Government prefers teens not do. Preventative medicine is most effec- tive when introduced at an early age. Screen- ings, monitoring, violence prevention, con- traceptive counseling and nutritional educa- tion can drastically reduce health costs and save lives. Since teens cannot vote in guber- natorial elections, teens will be the first to be neglected. Block grants will offer communities the independence to tailor programs to their needs, but they will not provide the neces- sary organization or funding to launch fully effective, comprehensive initiatives. Care will be unevenly dispersed. Correcting the inadequacy in state plans will be virtually impossible because of the ambiguity of state responsibility for care. Many will be ne- glected without means of recourse. Crafty budgetary maneuvers drafted to deflate the deficit for the sake of the next generation should not be made at its expense. VIEWPOINT BPC funding not irresponsible BY MATT CURIN The Michigan Daily has recently made several errone- ous statements about the fi- nancial affairs of the Budget Priorities Committee of the Michigan Student Assembly. I would like to point out the actual facts of the situation and address the statements of members ofthe assembly who claim that BPC is "in crisis." There are three major asser- tions about BPC which I would like to address: the fact that BPC was "irresponsible" in its allocation, the nature of the assembly's involvement in the process and finally the pro- posal I brought forth last week to increase the amount of money available to student groups through BPC. For groups who go through the BPC process, which in- cludes completion of a five- page form, a 10-minute indi- vidual meeting with a com- mittee member, a 15-minute presentation to the full com- mittee and finally rigorous debate before the entire as- sembly. I am sure they would challenge the notion that their requests are irresponsibly al- located. In BPC, all requests are seriously and impartially vaadand airly oaed.oa President for Student Affairs and other "administration" sources. BPC is one of a few remaining funding sources that allow student groups to determine, and fund, theirown programming. BPC alloca- tions this year have not been irresponsible and I firmly stand behind the recommen- dations of my committee. Secondly, whether we like it or not, the assembly by its nature is a political body. For this reason, and with elections about a month away, it is now the time for certain members of the assembly to begin to relegate serious, important and Through voting, Students should decide whether to raise BPC funding levels. worthwhile decisions to the background discussions and allow theirownpolitical agen- das to take the spotlight. Mem- bers of the assembly consis- tently "override" the recom- mendations of BPC. In fact, many ofthe most vocal critics of the co-called "crisis" have stantly monitored by the Trea- surer of the assembly and indi- vidual members. It is difficult for me to understand how the assembly wants to be in com- plete review of the committee on a weekly basis now, when early in the year no one in- quired about the rate we were allocating money. I take my share of the responsibility for these actions, it is only appro- priate for the assembly to do the same. Finally, my proposal to in- crease the amount available to groups was not designed to "bail out" BPC this year. The proposal was rather meant to address the continuously rais- ing rates of requests from BPC for next year. While we al- ways have groups who ask for more funds than we can pro- vide, the committee attempts to be equitable to all the groups who come before it. It is my feeling that the ballot question would increase the amount of funding to a more appropriate level. Also, it is important to re- member that almost any stu- dent who is a member of any group which comes before BPC will receive much more back than they actually pay to fund the Budget Priorities I :1 How TO CONTACT TEm ALAN LEVY DIRECTOR OF HOUSING PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND INFORMATION 1011 STUDENT ACTIVITIES BUILDING ANN ARBOR, MI 48104 763-4104 I i II