0 4A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, December 9, 2002 OP/ED GIbe allidligtIn :ialg 420 MAYNARD STREET ANN ARBOR, MI 48109 letters@michigandaily.com EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SINCE 1890 JON SCHWARTZ Editor in Chief JOHANNA HANINK Editorial Page Editor 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. NOTABLE QUOTABLE It's not our fault we're morally superior to (the) U.S." - The headline of a column from yesterday's Toronto Star. SAM BUTLER Tnr SOAPBOX -r Y \ #o c c n0 . o\\ - 9 V1 Z. canoe-- 1! 2 C C/ 0 0 -A R-ffl mmmv.-_w-Bwmm pm i i ' . ./ /,1J Y "':' i " '/i It isn't lying if it's just a cover-up PETER CUNNIFFE ONE FOR THE ROAD campus housing - it is nearly always overpriced and often of substandard quality. At the moment, Integroup has a good track record in this area; rent for a one-bedroom apartment runs for $483 in the East Lansing development. If Integroup wants to endear itself to stu- dents, it should publicly make a long- term commitment to keeping rent for its units down while keeping quality up - prices such as East Lansing's should not be temporary. By doing so, not only will Integroup be saving students sorely-needed money, but it will also be setting a stan- dard that other landlords will have to follow if they wish to remain competi- tive. Furthermore, Integroup ought to follow the example set by University Housing, whose full-time workers are unionized. Integroup must treat its workers like it should' treat'its tenants with respect and professionalism, and not as potential subjects of a fleecing. students on campus. The University administration needs to learn from housing developments like Integroup's. There is a clear demand for affordable housing on campus, and Inte- group is pursuing this market. The Uni- versity needs to reclaim leadership in this area and get working on student life issues. The President's Commission on the Undergraduate Experience's report, released in 2001, made several ambi- tious proposals, including both more residence halls as well as expanding the sense of community within them. At the moment, the administration says it wants to complete yet one more study before taking action and moving on its past proposals. However, the University has researching this topic for years - it is time for the administration to stop talking and start acting. The state of stu- dent housing on campus is reaching a critical point, and no one is in a better position than the University to address the shortage. ix months after the release of the ;;:.. Environmental Protection Agency's "U.S. Climate Action Report 2002" - a study finding global warming is a problem and humans are responsible for it - the Bush administration has finally decided to do something about global warming. Last week it announced the government should consider mandating pollution cuts, right after 10 years of research to make sure that's really a good idea. Why wasn't the first study good enough? In fact, why aren't the years of research that has led about every scientist not being paid by the oil industry to con- clude that global warming is a serious problem enough? George W. Bush's "sci- ence" advisors claim that they have to fig- ure out exactly what will happen because of global warming. They can't specify-the exact environmental and economic effects it will have, so they need to take the next decade to decide what, if anything, to do. This is no surprise. A year before the EPA report came out, Bush stated, "No one can say with any certainty what consti- tutes a dangerous level of warming, and therefore what level must be avoided," telling us what the administration's response to any climate change studies would be. What does "certain" mean though? We know the basics. The Earth's cli- mate is changing because of human gener- ated emissions. We know what the effects are. Rising temperatures are leading to drought in large areas of the world and rising sea levels that threaten coastal areas. We're also aware of the health problems caused by pollution. Bush's "certainty" standard can't be met. Whatever is learned, it is unlikely anyone will ever be able, as he is demanding, to say exactly how or when changes will occur. This is a problem of trends, not inci- dents and deadlines. Some still deny there is any such thing as global warming, but realizing reality couldn't be denied to quite that extent any longer, Bush has decided to try to redefine the problem. It's no longer about power plant and car emissions causing the earth to slowly but steadily heat up, it's a problem of undefined consequences that we'll do something about if we figure out what they are. In 10 years. Maybe. And that wasn't last week's only instance of Bush trying to bury an issue he has no interest in facing the truth of. After resisting pressure for an indepen- dent investigation into U.S. intelligence failures before the Sept. 11 attacks for.over a year, he finally agreed to one. However, to chair the investigation, he promptly appointed someone known for lying to Congress and the public, whose consulting firm has financial ties with the same regimes trying to weasel out of any blame for producing terrorists, who is an apolo- gists for tyrants the world over, and whose sycophancy towards those in power is leg- endary. Henry Kissinger is not known for being particularly concerned with uncover- ing the truth. But Bush has made quite clear he isn't either. So we can have our investigation, as long as it won't say any- thing the administration doesn't like. Remember the late 1990s when it was obligatory for every Republican officehold- er in the nation to go on TV, wringing their hands, and bemoaning what Bill Clinton's lies were teaching our children? How come nobody is asking what Bush is teaching our children? That if you don't like the way something is, just cover it up. That the truth is whatever you want it to be as long it's mouthed by handpicked cronies. Sound like lying? It is, but on a much grander scale and about (to make a monumental understatement) much more important things than what we went after Clinton for. Two nights ago conservative commenta- tor Cal Thomas was on TV asking why everybody was concentrating on what a liar Kissinger is when it never mattered for Bill Clinton. Excuse me? The story dominating the news for about three straight years was what a liar Clinton was. Despite Republican revision- ism, the president's lies were believed to matter a great deal. What's shocking is how Bush's lies are ignored. Clinton was accused of covering up everything you could think of and his (usually trivial or contrived) transgressions were harped on ceaselessly. This president's blatant bury- ing of any truth he dislikes get little, if any, scrutiny before the press moves on. What's that teaching us? Maybe something regarding that old saw about the liberal media. 0 Peter Cunn e can be reached atpcunnmJ@umich.edu. LETTER TO THE EDITOR Keeping platform promises Impending budget cuts may mean tuition hikes State governments all over the country are suffering from crippled budgets and Michigan is no exception. Last week, the state Legislature attempted to balance the budget, leaving significant cuts throughout many important financed areas including higher education. The University is among the institutions that will suffer the most and will be receiving $9 million less than the pre- vious year. The state Legislature needs to recognize that financial cuts toward higher education are only hin- dering the state's educational reputa- tion and ignoring the long-term benefits of funding higher education. Despite the difficult financial climate, the University has planned ahead and students will not have to worry about a mid-year tuition increase. University officials such as Provost Paul Courant believe tuition will not rise for Winter 2003, but a hefty tuition increase could be in place for Fall 2003. While cuts were expected for the next fiscal year, the severity of the cuts was not foreseen. Republican Gov. John Engler's executive order aimed to cut funding for universities and colleges by 2.5 percent. Legisla- tors were still dissatisfied and the Senate supported a proposal to reduce the cut to 2 percent. The state House has not yet voted on this plan that would allocate surplus Michigan Merit Award funding to decrease the budget cut by .5 per- cent, without reducing the number of Merit scholarships. One kink in the bill's eventual pas- sage is that the state House linked the use of the Merit Award surplus with a separate bill that would mandate that the state's boards of higher education be elected regionally instead of state- wide. The creation of districts would be a troubling move and through their decision, certain legislators have decided to play politics instead of best serving the state's educational system. Fortunately, state Sen. John Schwarz (R-Battle Creek) believes the Senate will take this hostile amendment out of the budget. This budget cut gives students a chance to see their newly-elected offi- cials in action attempting to follow through with their tuition-reducing platforms. In light of this November's elections, now is an appropriate time for those elected officials who stressed tuition control in their plat- forms to take advantage of the situa- tion and act to ease the burden of excessive tuition. Regent Andrea Fisher Newman (R-Ann Arbor) based most of her successful campaign for re-election to the board on her voting against tuition increases, and it will be inter- esting to see if she controls herself even with such slack funds. Others who emphasized lower tuition include officials at all state levels all the way to Democratic Gov. -elect Jennifer Granholm herself. These officials owe their constituents a solution to this problem. The state is dependent on an affordable higher education system to maintain an edu- cated and competitive workforce and spur on the state's long-term eco- nomic well-being. Dow's Parker showed 'willful disregard' for Bhopal victims TO THE DAILY: In reply to the Daily's article on Bhopal on Dec. 6 (Contamination from Bhopal gas disaster highlighted in film), I feel it's important to make a couple of points. Few besides Dow Chemical Co. could claim that only 4,000 people died as a result of the Bhopal disaster; an article in The New York Times on August 29, 2002, cites an official government figure of 14,410, and even that is considered conservative by many of the Bhopal victims. Our offer to pay for Mike Parker's plane fare to Bhopal was so that he might see the scene of the accident and its victims with his own eyes. Our hope was that after doing so, he might be moved to some action; although Dow has helped to fund the Midland Symphony Orchestra and the renovation of a Bay City lighthouse, it has yet to contribute anything to clean up the site or provide safe drinking water to the 120,000 survivors of the Bhopal tragedy. Finally; Parker appeared anything but intim- idated by our presence. He spoke with us for 20 minutes, consented to be videotaped, praised our intentions and concern and told us that he respected our efforts. If anything has pushed the limits, it is Dow's willful disregard for the vic- tims of this horrifying tragedy. RYAN BODYANI LSA senior The letter writer is the co-facilitator of Justice for Bhopal. Daily failed to explain anti- American sentiment in Korea To THE DAILY: I'm not sure how many of the readers of the Daily really know the meaning of your notable quote of the day on Dec. 4 that said "Americans are not welcome here" - signs of businesses in South Korea. While the Daily clearly notes that there are anti-Amer- ican sentiments in Korea, it forgot to tell us why there are such resentments against Americans in South Korea. Toclear the readers of all misunder- standing, let me briefly explain what the mass media in the United States, including that the driver of the tank was not in a good position to see the girls and that the soldiers who were in a good position to see the girls tried to warn the driver by radio, but the radio failed due to noise factors. What we, the Koreans find hard to believe is how the American judges freed these men knowing among other facts that these radios are designed to function even in the loudest of battle situations. And if the radios were not working, isn't that the responsibility of the U.S Army and its soldiers? I wonder what would the reaction of the American public be if Korean soldiers on American soil had been freed by a Korean jury after running over two American girls with a tank. Recently, in a popular Korean website, I saw an anti-American cartoon depicting bin-Laden being found "not guilty" by a jury of all "al-Qaida" soldiers. Isn't this what's happening with the American sol- diers responsible for the deaths of these two girls. It is natural that the United States demands justice and want bin-Laden and his soldiers pay for the attacks of Sept. 11. It is also natural that Korea demands those American soldiers to pay for the deaths of thesetwo children. I hope this explains the quote and the anti-American sentiments that exists in South Korea. Furthermore, I hope in the future, The Michigan Daily and the rest of the American mass media inform the Amer- ican public not only about the unfortunate casualties of American forces, but also about the equally unfortunate deaths of their civilian victims. CHIYUN LEE LSA senior The letter writer is the president of the Korean International Student Association. An open letter to Webber from a disgruntled University alum TO THE DAILY: As an incoming freshman along with your- self and the other members of the "Fab Five" I was given the great pleasure and privilege to watch you play for the two years you spent at Michigan. I was also a freshman at the time you all lived in South Quad and although you would never remember, actually held a few conversa- tions with you in the lounge and lobbies. to attend the games that now never took place? TYLER RHEEM Alumnus Army not to blame for breach of 'don't tell' part of policy To THE DAILY: I'm quite amazed at the propagation of ignorance by The Michigan Daily in its article on the Army's dismissal of gay linguists, Trans- lation: discrimination (12/02/02). I realize that it was an editorial, but the Daily was incredibly misleading with its arguments. The Daily blames the Army for wasting money by training gays, only to later dismiss them. Well, there hasn't been a draft for quite some time; those people knew exactly what they were getting into when they volunteered to sign on the dotted line. The waste of taxpayer money should be blamed on those who chose not to follow the "don't tell" part of the policy and not on the Army. The Daily goes on to say that bigotry should not be placed ahead of national security. While this statement is very powerful, it's dangerously flawed. The Army wasn't looking for a way to discriminate against gays, it was looking to maintain good order and discipline, which is essential to our national security. The Daily also states that "It is foolish to think that in the middle of combat soldiers would engage in inappropriate sexual behavior instead of fighting for their country and their lives." Are you kidding me? Does the Daily actually believe anybody thinks this way? The order and discipline that I speak of isn't just on the battlefield, but in everyday military life. A large percentage of even the most combat oriented war-fighter's time is spent in training and in day to day operations. Those of us in the military take pride in knowing we are aiding in a common good; that giving up some of our freedoms results in a more effective combat force. Military members give up the right to see their family whenever they want. They give up the right to live wherever they want. They give up the right to say no to their boss, even if it means a dangerous outcome. We all knew this, and willingly accepted it. One of the freedoms that those dismissed gays gave up was the free- dom to openly express their sexual orientation. They knew this, and willingly broke the rules. Their lack of dedication causes resentment and severely degrades the cohesion necessary to 01 wI