OPINION
4
Page 6
The Michigan Daily
Vol. XCI1, No. 11-S
93 Years of Editorial Freedom
Managed and Edited by students of
The University of Michigan
Editorials represent a majority opinion of the
Daily Editorial Board
EMU bows to Iran
THE DECISION of Eastern Michigan Uni-
versity to divulge the names, addresses,
majors, and dates of graduation of their Iranian
students to the Khomeini government is not
only a flagrant violation of these students'
privacy but also establishes a real danger for
these students should they ever return to Iran.
The request by the government, which was
mailed to colleges and universities nationwide
one month ago, asked for what is considered
"directory information" on students of Iranian
birth studying at American schools. Most
schools, including the University of Michigan,
refused to give the information. EMU obliged
the Iranians claiming that the students stood to
gain from financial aid their government could
provide.
In arranging for the possibility of additional
funds for these students, EMU has only suc-
ceeded in opening a can of worms. Officials of
the U.S. State Department are cautious in
speculating what Iran might use this infor-
mation for.
A few things are certain. Iran is desperately
in need of skilled and educated workers who
can begin to modernize the grossly underequip-
ped nation. They have repeatedly stressed the
importance of encouraging Iranian-Americans
to return to the country. The present regime
has in the past proven itself volatile, unpredic-
table, dangerous, and unworthy of our support
or cooperation.
Legally, the choice of EMU is protected by
the Family Educational Rights and Privacy
Act which gives colleges the choice of whether
to divulge the information or not. Morally,
however, EMU acted blindly and with little
regard for the harm such recklessness could
cause.
EMU has begun an investigation of how and
why the information was released. Though
giving the information may have been well-
intentioned, the serious breach in the rights of
students to privacy is not worth any amount of
additional financial aid that might be brought
in.
~T6 I$ mCUNK1o'4I iSTD 5FS4 p CAT/ON WA IERMNATEP
\N6T1 £ EFSa1c iTRFnj+DRF Y?
The Michigan Daily
Thursday, June 2, 1983
Reaganomics and blacks
By John Jacob
As America's economy
struggles twoards recovery, it's
important to assess the damage
csused by the latest recession.
The devastation caused to the
general economy, while painful,
may be temporary. But the
damage done to black and
minority Americans will be felt
for another generation.
Further, it is probable that the
recovery will be two-tiered. Since
black unemployment is nearly
twice as great as white unem-
ployment, the benefits of any
recovery are likely to be spread
unequally.
And, the cuts in federal
programs which were initiated
by the Reagan administration are
concentrated on the truly needy
- people on welfare, on food
stamps, in publichousing, on
Medicaid, in job training - in a
host of programs that provide
lifeline assistance and open fresh
doors of opportunity.
The Reagan recession has had
a disastrous effect on black
America.
First, the small, struggling
black middle class is being
decimated. Blacks are dispropor-
tionately employed by gover-
nment, and federal personnel
layoffs have hit black gover-
nment workers especially hard.
Black workers have been laid off
by corporations and state and
local governments in dispropor-
tionate numbers. The net result is
a sharp blow to the middle class
backbone of the black economy.
Second, the nearly 50 percent
unemployment rate among
young blacks means that millions
of black teenagers will be
deprived of the work experience,
discipline and skills needed to en-
ter the economic mainstream.
Their generation should have
been the one that made the
breakthrough to parity with the
white majority. Instead, they
could become a depression
generation doomed to marginal
activity.
Third, the impact on the
working poor through layoffs and
federal program cuts, forces
many into total dependency on
government assistance. There is
no body count on the number of
people forced to drop out of
college and technical schools,
forced onto welfare rolls, or draf-
ted into the rapidly expanding
army of the permanently poor.
But, we do know that black
povertyfigures are rising; that
blacks dropped from CETA jobs
are still unemployed, and that
black enrollments at colleges are
down. Many of those victims of
the recession will never recover.
What has happened is that a
black community that
historically has been disadvan-
taged and disproportionately
poor has been hit, and hit hard,
by Reaganomics and by deep
cuts in programs that help
provide education, training,
housing and health care.
We should be under no illusions
about the sacrifices this nation
must make to restore its
economy and compete in vastly
changed world markets. But
these sacrifices should be spread
evenly.
No recovery will be complete if
society looks over its shoulders
and sees another generation of
black and minority Americans
doomed to economic stagnation
and a lack of economic oppor-
tunity.
Jacob is president of the Ur-
ban League.
4
4
LETTERS TO THE DAILY:
'U' admissions unfair
To the Daily:
I am writing in reference to the
article which appeared in the
Daily a little while back
("Declining black enrollment
puts 'U' behind," Daily May 21)
regarding the decrease in the
enrollment of black students at
the University. It aggravates me
to no end that an issue such as
this has been brought to the at-
tention of President Shapiro and
the admissions board.
I feel their main responsibility
is to ensure that this University
remains a learning institution of
the highest caliber, and thus,
students should be admitted on
the basis of academic credentials
and talents only. When Bo
Schembechler puts together a
football team, I doubt very much
if he counts the number of black
and white players selected. I am
sure he makes his judgements
solely on athletic ability and,
thus, if the team is made up of all
black players one year, it is not
that he is prejudiced against
whites, but rather that these are
the best players available. I
strongly believe the enrollment
at this University should be
carried out in a similar manner.
When an article such as the
above mentioned appears, it en-
sures that both President Shapiro
and the admissions board will
apply reverse discrimination with
the upcoming set of student ap-
plicants. Thus, a highly qualified
white student may be barred ad-
mission so that a less qualified
black student may be admitted
for the sake of fulfilling minority
percentages. This can only have
an adverse affect on the caliber
of students attending our Univer-
sity. I am not stating that black
students should not gain ad-
mission to the University, but
rather, that admission should not
be granted on the basis of sex,
race, color, or creed. Instead, a
student should be admitted only
on the basis of academic merits
and extracurricular activities. I
chose to attend the University
because of its highly regarded
academic reputation, and I would
hope that its reputation would not
disintegrate due to the fact that
less qualified students were being
admitted on the basis of equality.
The fairest method of ad-
mission, is an application that
has no indication of a student's
sex, race, color, or creed. The
potential student, therefore, is
admitted on the basis of his or her
qualifications only. This would
guarantee that discrimination
would not occur in either direc-
tion, neither for nor against
minorities. As a result, the
caliber of students will be of the
highest quality, bringing up the
level of learning and the
reputation of the University.
- G. Hoffman
May 31
I
I
4