4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, December 4, 2000 Ul fitij £iu )&ig Alls comparatively quiet on the Western Front 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, Ml 48109 daily. Ietters@umich.edu MIKE SPAHN Editor in Chief Edited and managed by I EMILY ACHIENBAUM students at the OEditorial Page Editor University of Michigan 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. Cities should be able to institute living wage " F ears Voiced Over Prospect Romanian Racist May Win" "Quebec's Separatists Lose More Ground" "Pakistan Vows 'Restraint' at Kashmir Line of Control: Reply to India Truce Omits Rebel Groups" "'Mad Cow' Dis- ease Unites Europe inY Fear: As Affliction Spreads and France Panics, EU Pushes for f Continental Response" "The Balkans Are Still Trouble" So read the interna- tional headlines in the New York Times and The Washington Post yesterday afternoon. And this was definite- ly not a banner day for Spahn their coverage. Just P another day, another paper and another set Rain of rebel uprisings, separatist movements and near armed con- flict. With large headlines and much effort put into coverage of Election 2000 in the United States, the world went on. And on a day not unlike any other, there sure was a lot going on around the globe. In Romania, the second leading vote get- ter in that nation's national elections is an open and honest racist who regularly attacks Jewish commentators and the nation's entire Arab and Gypsy population looks as though he may actually win the runoff election. Running against him: A former top member of the Nicolae Ceausescu's Communist party referred to by his opponent as a "Stal- inist taking orders from the K.G.B." One of these men will lead the Romanian govern- ment as it pursues membership in the Euro- pean Union and a greater role in the global economy. Talk about picking between the lesser of two evil. Our friends to the north have themselves in yet another pickle after re-electing their prime minister last week. It seems the once- strong separatist movement in Quebec has lost some of its power, though they've vowed to continue to fight for a new nation. Meanwhile, our neighbors to the south are having their own separatist problems. In a positive sign for the constantly scrutinized Mexican government, the Zapatista rebel movement stuck out an apparent olive branch this weekend. Saying he wants peace, the leader of the resistance - which has fought the government for seven years - said he would be willing to enter peace negotiations if the government agreed to troop movements and previously negotiated concessions. But the armed conflict continues, as evidenced by the high powered rifle the leader of the group held throughout his press conference in the Zapatista jungle hide out. In everybody's favorite hotspot, the Balka- ns, unrest still rules, despite the selection of a new, democratically elected leader who seems to embrace democracy. The ousted leader, indicted war criminal Slobodan Milo- sevic, was re-elected leader of the Socialist party, cementing his role in Serbian politics for at least a while longer. And the leader of the new government is going to have a very tough time bringing any type of cohesion to the war-torn nation. In Kashmir, a disputed Indian territory on the Pakistani border, two nuclear powers are looking to settle their conflicts just months after both tested weapons of mass destruction in an apparent show of force toward the other. The land, which both sides claim as their own, is not particularly large, yet some analysts say it is the area of the world that could most likely lead to a nuclear war. And in the European Union, they've got a problem of their own - again. A new break- out of "Mad Cow" disease has the continent up in arms over their meat consumption, wor- ried that with every bite of a Big Mac, Whop- per or back yard burger they may go the way of cow they thought would nourish them. So they may ban meat for a period of time, but ' they will certainly think twice every time a friend or co-worker says, "Let's go grab a burger." These stories all came about in a seemingly quiet news weekend internationally. Mean- while, a group of well-behaved lawyers filed: briefs and argued in front of judges in court-°. rooms across the United States, while candi-. dates for the presidency made plans for a;: possible transition. Protesters gathered in front of the highest' court in the land cheering and chanting, with no shots fired or buildings stormed. There were no death threats or major:- revolts. Everyone was well behaved, though pas-,. sionate. The major players in this election drama? traded barbs via the media, but never caused- any true catastrophes, and neither appeared;. with heavy armaments in hand during their': appearances. This "most unbelievable time in the coun- try's history" probably didn't even make the; front page in some foreign newspapers. Zero armed conflicts, zero separatist move-, ments and not a single rebel uprising. R' Maybe this whole process isn't quite so' crazy after all. --Mike Spahn can be reached via e-mail at mspahndumich.edu. T he Michigan state house approved House Bill 4766 close- ly along party lines on Friday, which, if approved by the state Senate, would prohibit municipalities from imposing a "living wage" greater than the minimum wage. Currently, four Michigan municipalities have living wage ordinances. Proponents of the bill argue that minimum wages should be federally regulated and that living wages negatively impact the economy. This bill is a bad idea: Local governments should have the freedom to establish a living wage. The federal minimum wage of $5.50 is simply not enough money for employees to live comfortably. As a result, many cities and munici- palities around the nation including Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, San Antonio, Baltimore and Detroit, have instituted living wages. Currently, Ypsilanti, Ypsilanti Township, Detroit and Warren all have living wage ordinances that will be overridden by this new state law. Ypsilanti was the first to establish a living wage ordinance, passing their law in May of 1999. Since that time, no negative impact on the economy has been observed. Rep. Ruth Ann Jamnick (D-Ypsilanti Township) said that the living wage established in May 1999 benefits 70,000 people and has not scared away businesses. Ypsilanti currently has a living wage similar to the one proposed for Ann Arbor's city contractors last year: Either $10 per hour or $8.50 per hour with health benefits. Detroit has a similar wage: $10.50 per hour or $8.44 per hour with health insur- ance. The living wage considered in Ann Arbor for city contractors last year was vetoed by mayor Ingrid Sheldon, citing a possible increase in costs for the city. Despite the eco- nomic arguments, there has been lit- tle evidence to show that the living wages in more than 40 municipalities around the nation have negatively impacted the respective communi- ties. A study by the Preamble Center for Public Policy of Baltimore's liv- ing wage revealed that the wage costs each citizen 17 cents annually - a small price to pay for the bene- fits enjoyed by many employees. Some argue that an increased min- imum wage will negatively impact the area economically and somehow make certain communities appear less "business-friendly." Even if this is the case, the local governments that institute the living wages are able to repeal the ordinances if the economics seem to override the social benefits. The $5.50 per hour federally man- dated minimum wage is too low to prevent workers from living in pover- ty in many parts of the nation. In lieu of a national minimum-wage hike, local living wage ordinances can help many people earn enough money to live comfortably. If the bill passes, some municipal- ities plan to try to maintain their liv- ing wages by requiring them for tax abatements or other municipal ser- vices. Still, the state should not pre- vent municipalities from establishing living wages to benefit their citizens. Municipalities should have the right to establish them and existing ones should not be taken away from the workers already benefitting from them. 'There's more to frats than just Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.' -.Engineering junior and Delta Chi President Andrew Lamb on Greek commitment to community service. Not the ste's place Eighteen should be legal age to strip T here's something rotten in the state of Michigan. That's right, politically minded college students! Your favorite state legislature is at it again. Last Thursday, the state Senate voted unanimously to raise the legal age limit of performers in adult enter- tainment venues from 18 to 21. The decision to raise the adult dancer age limit is unfounded and unnecessary. The measure comes as part of a package of nine bills united in the common purpose of regulating the adult entertainment industry. Senators vigorously defend the constitutionality of the bills under the pretense that pornography raises public health issues from which the state is bound by its constitution to protect. Citing the prevalence of illegal drugs and prostitution rings at adult establish- ments, they say that their new set of regulations (which also states that alcohol-serving venues must be closed by 2 a.m and that patrons must be at least six feet away from performers at all times) will reduce certain health risks. But this bill is clearly not about public health; it is about the restriction of personal freedom. Just ask the women between the ages of 18 and 21 who have been dancing to pay their way through college. Many of them would probably answer with a question of their own: Why am I allowed to voice my vote or serve in this nation's armed forces, but am restricted on how I choose to earn money for tuition? When confronted with that ques- tion, Sen. William Van Regenmorter (R-Georgetown Twp.) said that he did not consider lap dancing an appropri- ate way to finance a college education. This type of personal judgement should not have any bearing on a per- son's ability to choose an employment position. Some people may consider working 72 hours a week in residence hall cafe- terias, earning eight dollars an hour to scrape half eaten food off of plates and dig coffee-soaked napkins out of 8-oz. water glasses to be demeaning; others may consider taking one's clothes off and performing for nameless cus- tomers to be demeaning. But regard- less of anyone's personal opinion, it is not the state's job to decide what is an appropriate way for 18- to 20-year olds to pay for their education. The onset of legal adulthood at age 18 brings with it many responsibilities; it should also bring the freedom to be employed in legal establishments if one so chooses. When you're old enough to sign the lease, should you not also be old enough to pay the bills? A person becomes the sole proprietor of his or her body when he or she becomes an adult. Working as erotic dancers is a matter of personal choice, and the government has no place restricting adults from pursuing a career of their choice. Editorial on concealed weapons lacked basis TO THE DAILY: The Daily's editorial on concealed guns ("Concealed danger" 12/1/00) shows that no one on the editorial staff did any inde- pendent research on the matter before writ- ing it. I challenge the Daily to get a list of everyone who applied for and received a concealed weapons permit in Washtenaw County during the last few years. Then find out why each person was given a permit and then find the reasons for denial on all the applications that were not accepted. The results are surprising, mainly because I know the information is unavailable. The county permit board will not release that information even under the Freedom of Information Act. Therefore when the Daily gives us sta- tistics in its editorial about the demograph- ics of the people that get permits, I know that either the numbers were made up or the Daily is taking the word of someone in the county government without being able to verify it. The reality is that the permit board in this county only gives permits to people with political connections or ex-law enforcement ties and that is a violation of the concept of "equal protection under the law." The Daily should send 20 law abiding citizens without any government ties down to the county board to apply for a permit and have each one of them state that they carry large sums of money and need pro- tection. I would be willing to bet that not a single one of them get a permit. The real facts are that more than 30 states now have a "shall issue gun permit" system and yet crime has not increased nor have permit holders gone on any shooting rampages as the Daily's editorial predicts. People have a fundamental right to protect themselves and their families and legisla- tion such as House Bill 4530 needs to be passed whether liberals like it or not. Finally I find it amazing that a newspa- per that is always going on about freedom of the press, so willingly ignores our state constitution, namely Article I, Section 6: "Every person has a right to keep and bear arms for the defense of himself and the state." That simple statement should be clear to anyone with an IQ over 60, includ- ing the Daily's editorial board. DOUGLAS WRIGHT UNIVERSITY STAFF Weekend section missing girls' favorite '80s cartoons TO THE DAILY: I loved the "Childhood Nostalgia" star), Rainbow Brite, Strawberry Shortcake (who didn't say, "Have a berry good day?"), My Little Pony (only the toy that all girls had more of than any other toy), and Care Bears. Then there was the whole Disney afternoon, with Gummi Bears, Duck Tales and Chip & Dale's Rescue Rangers. And finally, we all know that She-Ra was way more interesting than He- Man (Or that could just be gender bias ...). ABIGAIL SHORT LSA FIRST-YEAR STUDENT 'Demagoguery' in Daily editorials is unacceptable TO THE DAILY: I am writing in response to the Daily's editorial "Concealed danger" (12/1/00). The passionate, albeit baseless, arguments only serve to perpetuate the misinformation preva- lent regarding concealed carry legislation. Such demagoguery is unacceptable in an institution of higher education. I would like to direct Daily readers wishing to be more informed on the concealed carry issue to the following article: http://www.rea- son.com/0001/fe.js.cold.html and the research of John Lott (Yale University). I hope the editors take the time to become more informed on this issue and are more resistant to other social myths in the future. It is fine to come out and say "I hate guns," but to present arguments without merit is irresponsible and only serves to further polar- ize the issue. BILL ZIEHLER RACKHAM Labor code needed before additional contracts are signed TO THE DAILY: The Daily reported on Friday in "Labor Committee Prepares Final Code" that "the committee voted 8-2 to approve the language of the newly revised code." While it is true that the committee took a vote, this vote was specifically on the "basic needs" language in the code not on the entire code itself. Because this section was the final piece of the code that needed to be reviewed by the" committee it is true that the entire committee agrees on the code as it now stands. In fact one of the two dissenters on the specific wording of the compensation clause made the motion to recommend by next week the final code to University President Lee Bollinger for, implementation. While it is a good sign that the committee has finally finished reviewing the language of the code, the task of writing the code into licensee contracts still remains. It has been near-' ly two years since Bollinger released his policy statement on sweatshops and labor standards. For all intents and purposes, the current language of the code reflects his sentiments in that statement. For this reason the administration should have no trouble quickly implementing the current code. At the last Board of Regents meeting" Bollinger himself told me that "I keep my promises." In order for him to keep the promise made by his policy statement in March 1999 this newly finalized code must@ be implemented. Each week that passes more contracts are being signed without this code of con- duct. Seeing as there is a finished code awaiting recommendation there are no.- more reasons for this delay to continue. It'- is up to Bollinger to receive the finished code and quickly implement it. JACKIE BRAY, LSA FIRST-YEAR STUDENT SOLE MEMBER LAVE AN OPINION LIKE TO SHARE IT? APPLY TO BE A DAILY COLUMNIST NEXT TERM! E-MAIL NICK AT nwomer@urichtedu AND MIKE AT mgrass@umich.edu FOR MORE INFORMATION. DANE BARNES DISTURBED SLEE CO LL E &E DORM 1,A)(M1U5 ur'y a r T Ao. nA .