4 Opini0 Page 6 The Michigan Daily Vol. XCII, No. 54-S Ninety-two Years of Editorial Freedom Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan Wednesday, August 4, 1982 The Michigan Daily LETTERS TO.THE DAILY: 'U' ignores non-faculty staff Neee:Israeli* moderation AS THE TENUOUS cease-fire continues to hold in Lebanon, the Reagan administra- tion is hinting that it may pursue a tougher policy regarding Israel. In light of Israel's policies and practices in its two-month-old in- vasion of Beirut, such a policy is long overdue. Since the invasion began, the Israeli gover- nment has been infinitely more concerned with its goal of rooting out the Palestinian Liberation Organization, than the heavy loss of innocent lives or the concerns of its chief benefactor, the United States. To place sole blame for the Lebanese crisis on the Israelis would be ridiculous. The PLO has woven its military forces and violence into the fabric of Lebanese civilian life, to deter Israelis from retaliating when it shelled Israeli set- tlements. However, the Israeli response, a full- scale invasion, was way out of proportion to that violence. By anyone's count, civilian casualties in Lebanon have been very heavy. The Israelis seemingly have abandoned their lofty goals of limiting those casualties as much as possible. To keep pressure on the PLO, Israeli jets have often bombed west Beirut, but in the process have hit hospitals and areas that have virtually no Palestinians-guerrillas or otherwise. Israel also has continually broken cease-fires in Lebanon as its military machine has seen fit. It has blockaded food and water to west Beirut, further increasing the suffering of innocent civilians. And negotiations sponsored by the United States have been continually hampered by Israeli intransigence and bombings in violation of one cease-fire or another. Abandoning support of Israel, of course, is not the answer to the Lebanon problem. But neither is unconditional support for a nation that continues to flout both U.S. policy objec- tives and peace initiatives in the Mideast. Peace in Lebanon is possible, but only if the Israeli government comes to realize that negotiations cannot be one-sided-they involve give and take. Already the PLO has agreed to leave Beirut if a peace-keeping force is in- stalled between themselves and the Israeli ar- my, but Israel has refused. If there is to be peace in Lebanon, Israel must offer hope instead of guns for a solution. If it refuses, the United States has no recourse other than to fundamentally reassess its unwavering, but often thankless, support of Israel. To the Daily: It has been suggested that the University administration con- sistently undervalues the con- tributions of it's non-academic staff. That suggestion now ap- pears to be fact given the results of the July 23 Regents' meeting, where a $5 million salary package for faculty only was approved. One wonders what kind of back-door politicking oc- curred to get this board to pass such an outrage without so much as a question. While there is no doubt that faculty members have the closest relations with students in regard to teaching and research, one wonders it the administration realizes where the support for this activity comes from. Who types the lecture notes, research papers, and appointment forms? Who sets up meetings, schedules rooms, and class hours? Who provides the background infor- mation and data for the several hundred meetings that occur on Sinclair. OUR NU EK IDEA. RO~c --\1s ug SAS 1C campus daily? Who deals with students in regard to problems with their academic records, financial aid, housing, fellowships, etc? Certainly not faculty members! The bulk of the $5 million saved under the financial reallocation plan has come from doubling and tripling the work of the non- academic support staff-the very people who provide all and more of the functions mentioned above. And yet, the non-academic staff pay the same prices at the market, utility companies, and doctors' offices as faculty mem- bers. We are just as concerned about a quality life for our families. Even in the best of times when everyone at the University received a raise, 5 percent of $40,000 is certainly muchemore than 5 percent of $10,000. With the buying power of a dollar decreasing daily, are we now CF ANI 0\f 4JiMN being asked to "volunteer" our services? Mary Jarrett Ethel M. Thoms Tonza J. Phenix victor N. Palacio Joanne Beck Doris M. Knight Carol Brown Marilyn Gordon July 29, 1982 Partisan politicking To the Daily: Some recent political ads in your paper . imply that Washtenaw County is foolishly spending large sums to prepare for a nuclear disaster. In fact, the Office of Emergency Prepared- ness spent about $150 of county funds on this topic in all of 1981. It was to plan a meeting to discuss crisis re-location planning with public officials. So far this year. the office has spent about 15 to 20 hours of professional time working with Peace Coalition volunteers to prepare a pamphlet on the horrors of nuclear war. It will take good people of many persuasions working together if we are to avert nuclear insanity. To take this critical issue and distort it for partisan political gain is unconscionable. -Janet Klaver August 1, 1982 Of bigotry and ignorance To the Daily: I was shocked at the bigotry and ignorance displayed in the letter attributed to one Cari ver- Planck published in the Daily on July 28th. The author appears to have a personal irrational distaste for unnamed men who are old, overweight, or have a receding hairline. Furthermore, the author's characterization of "preppies" is not only prejudicial and grossly unfair, but also inaccurate - any well-informed person knows that preppies don't wear designer jeans! To Cani I say: "Kiss my bald spot!" (From an old, fat, balding man). -James H. Dautremont July 28,1982 Letters and columns represent the opinions of the individual author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the at- titudes or beliefs of the Daily. 4 4 M 4 4 { i TOETlC ujtLLtti&!Jiss AS FoR Tt-sE To 1N iTiATO GFtcsjPs Now' / MVUA - O AT~s o iopD, NUIA& T 1TI4NIK Ts -~Go A~ou!Jp U~r T4 'F r 4 4