4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, September 30, 1996
iIue gAhdl' rag1
420 Maynard Street RONNIE GLASSBERG
Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Editor in Chief
Edited and managed by *" ADRIENNE JANNEY
students at the ZACHARY M. RAIMI
University of Michigan Editorial Page Editors
Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of the 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 DAILY
Paying for papyrus
ITD saps students to make up funding
he University's Information accounts. The overhead cost of printing a
Technology Division recently page could hardly increase twofold in a
announced a change in the cost structure of year. The administration should not force
campus computing: The price of printing at students to subsidize underfunded areas of
University computing sites has increased the ITD budget.
100 percent. Meanwhile, ITD decreased Most college students need to find ways
the monthly computing allocation for both to cut costs. With a decreased allocation and
faculty and students. The new fees are larger printing fees, all of a student's com-
unreasonable. puting funds might have to be used for
The monthly allocation for computing is printing. Since printing is essential, stu-
now $10 per month. Compared to last year, dents will have less room to prioritize. For
this is a decline of $3:50 per month for fac- instance, many will not have the funds to
ulty and doctoral candidates, and $1.50 per pay ITD for the additional memory neces-
month for students and staff. The allocation sary to set up an Internet homepage. Others
will significantly affect the number of free will no longer check e-mail from their
computing services students can use. homes. Through increasing costs, ITD is
Without paying out-of-pocket, students will making campus computing a luxury rather
not be able to add as much memory to their than a service to students.
IFS accounts, which allocate personal space The University takes pride in its superi-
on University accounts servers. Moreover, or technology. At every campus tour for
those dialing into the University computing prospective students, guides announce that
system with a modem will need to be espe- the University has the second largest collec-
cially careful about the use of their funds. tion of Macintosh computers in the nation
With costs ranging as high as $0.44 per - second only to Macintosh itself. Never
hour to access the system, many students do the tour guides mention that full use of
who subscribe to several ITD services this technology is only available because
might need to pay to check e-mail from students pay a fee in addition to their hefty
their home. Throughout the year, students tuition bill. In today's workforce, knowl-
will feel the pinch from the increased cost edge of the Internet and other computer
resulting from the new allocation. resources is becoming a prerequisite for any
The cost of University printers has risen job. The University has the responsibility to
from four to eight cents per page. Many stu- give all students the chance to acquire these
dents and faculty members do a significant skills - whether or not the students have a
amount of written work each month. tight budget.
English and political science majors, or stu- ITD's new cost structure raises questions
dents writing dissertations or honors theses about the University's commitment to pro-
- all of whom produce many papers - viding comprehensive technological
may print several hundred pages per month. resources. Charging more to print while
Coupled with the decreased monthly alloca- giving students less money to spend on
tion, the increase in printing fees will force computing is counterintuitive. The
many students to add cash to their ITD University needs to change its priorities.
Unjust a mpizng
DNA bill would infringe on citizens' rights
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
'I don't think it's Washington's job to go
out and help average Americans.'
- Lyn Nofzinger, former presidential adviser to
Ronald Reagan, referring to welfare policy
JIM LASSER
SHARP AS TOAST
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LErFERS TO THE EDITOR
L ast Wednesday, the Michigan
Legislature approved a bill that would
allow the police to draw DNA samples from
convicted murderers, rapists and kidnap-
pers. Under the bill, law enforcement
agents would keep the samples in order to
identify repeat offenders. The measures
also would allow law enforcement officials
to take similar action with juveniles con-
victed of certain crimes - an extension of
current law, which only allows DNA sam-
pling of juveniles convicted as adults.
The bill is objectionable on seteral
fronts. First, it violates the right to privacy
by allowing the government potential
access to a great deal of personal informa-
tion that is irrelevant to suspect identifica-
tion. Unlike fingerprints, private medical
histories could become public knowledge.
Second, one of the bill's assumptions is
that criminals will commit crimes again -
which makes rehabilitation obsolete. In that
climate, convicted criminals would become
pariahs in society, and the effect would be
cyclical.
While proposing the legislation, state
Rep. Gerald Law (R-Plymouth) said, "...
someday they are going to get out and com-
mit other crimes." A lack of rehabilitation
efforts would have more serious ramifica-
tions for juveniles, making it more difficult
to correct youthful wrong turns on the way
to becoming productive members of soci-
ety.
Furthermore, the information will have
no significant effect on the pace or success
rate of criminal investigations. Crimes in
which DNA information is critical to iden-
the samples' integrity would be expensive.
The legislaiion is irresponsible on a cost-
benefit analysis alone.
Moreover, these measures could dis-
courage thorough crime investigations, par-
ticularly in highly publicized cases, where
police departments experience significant
pressure to make an arrest. Many remem-
ber the fiasco with the Ann Arbor rapist
case - the man convicted was not among
the 190 people rounded up to match their
DNA to the police sample. The legislation
could make it easier for the authorities to
find a fall guy instead of completing an
effective police investigation.
Also, the law could open a Pandora's
box of attacks on personal privacy. It is not
difficult to imagine someone making the
argument that all citizens should have DNA
files on record to speed identification
should they one day commit a criminal act.
Finally, in the court of public opinion,
the jury is still out on DNA "fingerprint-
ing." The public has yet to be educated con-
cerning the specific value of DNA testing.
Recent court cases have demonstrated that,
at a basic level, many do not understand the
premise behind DNA identification - and
these same people sit on juries. Before law
enforcement officials become dependent on
the new identification form, the public
needs time to make educated decisions on
the issue.
As technology advances, DNA finger-
printing should become as widely under-
stood and accepted as traditional finger-
printing. Until then, the Legislature should
halt the nrocess of the legislation - and, at
Writer misses
benefits of
environment
TO THE DAILY:
Just a couple of quick
comments regarding state-
ments made by Nicholas Kirk
and quoted in the Daily
("Environment concerns key
to Great Lakes campaigns'
9/26/96). Kirk maintains that
"Bill Clinton would rather
save the environment than
save American jobs."
If we don't save the envi-
ronment, there will be no
America in which to save
jobs, or no Americans to give
jobs to. And as for his stipu-
lation that Republicans are
pro-environment and pro-
business ... businesses are
some of the most prominent
in theicountry in regards to
polluting the environment.
Unless support only goes to,
shall we say, "environment-
friendly" businesses, I hardly
see a way to support both at
the same time. Jobs can even
be created to help solve the
problems of environmental
degradation, helping to offset
any jobs that might be lost
due to environmental legisla-
tion. Sounds to me like Kirk
and his supporters are more
concerned with their own
pocketbooks than with pollu-
tion.
JEAN ADAMS
LSA SENIOR
Do not offer
praise to lTD
TO THE DAILY:
I find it difficult to
believe that anyone would
praise the Information
Technology Division's waste-
ful administration ("Get in
line," 9/20/96). Only TD
could make CAEN look like
a computing panacea.
JOEL PARRIOTT
RACKHAM
Kirk's letter
does not tell
whole truth
TO THE DAILY:
I am getting very tired of
the half-truths that students,
such as Nicholas Kirk, are
spreading through the
University community. In his
letter to the Daily regarding
Clinton's tax increases
("Reagan years helped grow
the economy," 9/17/96), Kirk
says, "The United States was
slapped with the largest tax
increase in history."
of all wealth increases
between 1983 and 1989 went
to the wealthiest 20 percent
of Americans. More, 62 per-
cent of wealth increases went
to the wealthiest 1 percent of
Americans. If this does not
bother anyone, rest assured
they are probably among that
top 20 percent. Be clear on
the facts: The only people
that benefited under Reagan
were thevwealthy.
Kirk says, "(Income
inequalities are) not the fault
of Republicans."
Of course they are. But
don't forget that it took a
Democrat-controlled'
Congress to pass the tax cuts
that enabled the economy to
"grow." Make no mistake,
those who supported
Reagan's tax cuts knew they
would benefit the rich and
subsequently hurt the poor. In
every budget plan Congress
passes, Congress chooses
how much it redistributes
income.
It's important to note the
effects of Reagan's tax cuts
when looking at Dole's new
proposal. Dle claims that an
across-the-board tax cut will
stimulate the economy and
relieve the burden off over-
taxed families.
More likely, it will
decrease servicessprovided to
the poor, increase the wealth
of the already wealthy, and
increase the budget deficit.
If Bob Dole wants to help
working people, he should
lower taxes on the poor and
middle classes and raise them
on the wealthy.
NOAH ROBINSON
RC JUNIOR
A balanced
budget?
TO THE DAILY:
I'd like to respond to
Juliette Cox's letter to the
editor ("Rivers is inept: Vote
Fitzsimmons," 9/25/96) about
Republican congressional
candidate Joe Fitzsimmons.
Cox referred to three specific
policies in her support of
Fitzsimmons, which, when
taken together, are ridiculous,
if not contradictory.
Cox indicated that
Fitzsimmons "emphasizes
passing the balanced-budget
amendment and cutting more
taxes to help revitalize our
economy." Additionally,
Fitzsimmons is interested in
promoting or "protecting
educational funding, making
'student loans more afford-'
able." It seems to me that
these three policies, taken
together, would be nearly
impossible to accomplish, not
to mention dangerous.
Initially, a balanced bud-
get would be a terrific thing,
but legislation to limit
dence is absent, we shouldn't
tie their hands with economic
sanctions, but rather vote-in
competent individuals in the
first place. Balancing a
deficit budget requires cut-
ting expenses and/or increas-
ing revenues. Notice, howev-
er, that Fitzsimmons' other
platforms are cutting taxes
and increasing spending, or
reducing interest revenues on
educational funding. Perhaps
Fitzsimmons is confused -
maybe he is lying - or pos-
sibly he plans to cut funds
from other areas and increase
revenues from citizens in
another way that he is not
telling us about. In any case,
is this who you suggest
replacing U.S. Rep. Lynn
Rivers (D-Ann Arbor) with?
Tax cuts will revitalize
our economy, Cox and
Fitzsimmons maintain.
How? What is the multiplier
effect of consumer (or busi-
ness) spending on the econo-
my? It seems to me that the
1980s proved supply-side
economics are not a practical
long-term solution to an ail-
ing economy. Also, since
when is the economy in need
of revitalization? We have
moderate, sustained econom-
ic growth now, and interest
rates are incredibly static.
Once Fitzsimmons is
done cutting taxes and bal-
ancing the budget, where is
the money going to come
from to subsidize education?
I know that crazy Democrats,
like myself, don't know a
thing about economic policy,
but I think that cutting rev-
enue and increasing expenses
doesn't balance a deficit bud-
get. If you can explain it to
me, I'd be glad to listen:
fnn@umich.edu.
JASON FINN
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
ADMINISTRATION
Signing is not
universal
TO THE DAILY:
In the article "Louder
than Words," (9/25/96) a stu-
dent was quoted saying sign
language is universal. That is
far from the truth. Every
country around the world has
its own sign language.
In the past year, I had the
privilege of volunteering my
services as an interpreter at
the World Deaf Magician's
Festival. There were some
deaf gentlemen from Japan,
and another deaf man from
the island of Cyprus. The
sign languages they use are
very different from American
Sign Language. It is true that
deaf people tend to be able to
communicate with deaf peo-
ple from other countries.
Indeed, American Sign
COMl VTCHEST
At the antique
store:Ater a
hundred years,
it gains value
"Recognizing that the University
was away behind the times in a most
important feature of college life, and
that the develop-
ment ofjournal-
ism was all in the
way of specializa-
tion, the staff of
tihe DAILY pro-
posed to set the
ball rolling by
establishing a
paper which
should attempt to
do but one thing ADRIENNE
-give the news JANNEY
- promptly and
accurately. The DAILY pretends to do
nothing else." - The Michigan Daily,
Oct. 2, 1890
D a-dada-da. Da-da.
Recognize it?
Guess not. It's easy to be tone deaf
on paper.
Da-dada-da. Da-da.
OK, I'll try another route.
One hundred six.
No, I'm not talking about a pack of
first-years on the way to fall rush.
And I don't mean the number of 12-
ounce glasses of beer in a keg.
Yesterday we celebrated The
Michigan Daily's 106th year of editor-
ial freedom.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO US! (Oh,
that's what she was trying to sing.) I
know. I'm a regular musical genius.
That's why the arts department won't
let me write music reviews.
But some idiot told me I could write
this column.
I'm getting old and senile. It's true.
In less than two weeks I will be 22
years old. I'm over the hill. Washed
up. Past my prime. I hit adulthood
while I was still in high school. I'll be
a fifth-year senior at age 23 - tell me
THAT isn't depressing.
After all, after you pass your 21st,
it's just not as much fun. Those of you
who are 22 understand me. The rest of
you will figure it out eventually.
One hundred and six isn't all that
exciting in the scheme of things. The
Daily has already passed her centenni-
al. Halfway to 200 she might get a lit
tle rowdy. But 106?
So we took a break from our work-
day to pause for a moment to eat cake.
(But there was no champagne con-
sumption. Not in a University build-
ing. That would be against the rules
and if we broke the rules, they might
come after us with the Code.)
We ate marble cake, in fact. And I
reflected - something I've only taken
to now that old age is approaching and
I will not have my faculties much
longer.
TheDaily has a history that I did not
help form. But now I am irrevocably a
part of it, linked to all my predeces-
sors. The editorial positions they chose
for the Daily, the impressions - good
and bad - that they left on campus are
now part of me. Maybe five years from
now, the editorial page editor will
wonder how they did business in the
106th year.
Or not.
But it's all part of a chain.
Consider that the Michigan Union
used to be men-only. The League was
built to accommodate women. Dorms
used to enforce curfews.
Former University President James
Duderstadt's Agenda for Women can-
not be evaluated without its historical
context.
Nor could the fight against the a
code of non-academic conduct. Poring
through old bound volumes of the
Daily, I found then-Law student Eric
Schnaufer's opinion on the former
University President Robben
Fleming's (that's right, Fleming) pro-
posed code.
Schnaufer had helped to organize a
1984 "No Code" movement and said,
"This is the vaguest, nastiest, most
obnoxious code proposed to date.
Fleming's statement on discrimination
is the boldest and loudest fuck you' to
students in years."
Schnaufer so eloquently brought.
together a past and future context for
the code.
It's a context that's much bigger than,
you or me.
Once a Daily staffer who shall
remain nameless - caught me wear
ing my Daily T-shirt on campus.
"You wear that thing in public? Are
you crazy?"
And proudly. But in his mind it made
me a sitting duck.
And in mine, it displayed my link to -
more than a hundred years of tradition