OPINION
Page 6
Friday, July 24, 1987
The Michigan Daily
-U
IN
97 Years of Editorial Freedom
No. 1IOS
Unsigned editorials represent the majority views of the Daily's
Editorial Board. Cartoons and signed editorials do not
necessarily reflect the Daily's opinion.
Next year's tuition:
An arm and a leg
Safe sex is the realistic solution
ONCE AGAIN THE University
regents have voted to increase
students' tuition. This year, the
hike will be 8.4 percent for in-state
students and 9.7 percent for non-
Michigan residents. As the cost of
attending Michigan continually
increases, two things are apparent
- little regard is given by the
administration to the plight of
financially-strapped students, and
increased tuition merely exacerbates
several already serious problems on
campus.
Tuition has steadily increased
during the 1980s, except in the few
years when the strong-arm tactics of
Governor Blanchard forced the
University to accept in-state tuition
freezes. The plain truth is that
without state pressure, tuition hikes
are routinely passed. This fact
demonstrates that the administration
considers students to be an inex-
haustible supply of funds to fill
budget gaps, and little consideration
is given to those adversely affected
by such hikes. Indeed, Vice
president of Academic Affairs James
Duderstadt has even termed in-state
tuition "almost a non-entity." Such
a position by the provost reveals an
attitude completely out of touch
with the financial realities of many
Michigan students.
A major problem with the tuition
increase is the adverse effects it will
have on minority representation at
the University. Minorities have
generally been alow-income group,
and thousands of dollars in tuition
represent a serious economic barrier
to those whose financial resources
are not what the Provost's are.
What good does it do to commit the
University to increasing the number
of minority students and then erect
such formidable economic obstacles
that prevent their attendance?
In addition to the problem high
tuition creates for minorities,
tuition hikes facilitate the spirit of
elitism which now permeates the
Michigan campus. A survey
conducted by the University's
Office of Academic Planning and
Analysis revealed that 17 percent of
entering first-year students in 1986
reported their yearly income to be
over $100,000. This is compared to
8 percent of families making under
$20,000 per year. This year's
tuition hike will only magnify the
disparities amongst the student
body, and perhaps force out the
remaining "few" who have
difficulty affording the costs.
Another reality of the annual
tuition increase is that many
students who wish to attend
Michigan will undoubtedly, upon
graduation, leave the University
burdened with debt. This fact cannot
be taken too lightly. During the
1985-86 academic year, students
borrowed $34.5 million to finance
their Michigan education, and such
indebtedness will only increase as
tuition costs rise.
The American Council on
Education has shown that college
tuition has riot increased
proportionally with inflation, but
in fact has surpassed it. Tuition is
250 percent higher than in 1972,
with inflation controlled for.
The standard reason given by the
administration for rising costs is
that these are necessary to compete
with the Ivy League schools. The
problem with this line of reasoning
is simply this: Ivy League schools
are private while Michigan is a
public institution. As a public
university, the primary focus of the
administration should be to educate
its constituents not keep up with
the Browns. The constituents of
Michigan are the citizens of the
state, and it is wrong to finance
"academic competition" with the
Ivy League via the pocketbooks of
Michigan students.
DESPITE GREAT RESISTANCE by
the regents, health services will
hold a Safe Sex Day and provide
much-needed information and ser-
vices to students. Publicizing the
hazards of sex is the only way to
help students deal with their sex-
uality in a mature, responsible way.
Pregnancy has always been a
concern of sexually active people,
and one that is beginning to be
handled in a responsible way now
that education and contraception are
available. Before this became ac-
cepted practice, many people mor-
alized on the necessity for absti-
nence.
Now that AIDS has become a
part of sexuality, people are again
calling for abstinence and a "new
morality." The Reagan admini-
stration is only slowly beginning
to realize the need for sex education,
especially concerning the HV L
virus family - AIDS and related
immune deficiency syndromes. This
realization that is sorely needed in
our own regental body.
When Dr. Briefer presented a
proposal from Health Services for a
"Safe Sex Day" and distribution of
a "Safe Sex Kit" before the regents,
he met with a great deal of
resistance. Some regents talked of
abstinence and a return to morality.
And the regents also felt that the
media were not dealing with AIDS
in a sensitive enough manner.
The media and our own health
services, however, are the two best
tools for educating people on this
campus about the necessary pre-
cautions needed when being
sexually-active on a campus where
AIDS is present and will likely
spread. Greater education and widely
available protective devices such as
condoms and dental dams hopefully
can curtail the extent of the damage
done by AIDS.
While some people choose ab-
stinence as a protection from AIDS
and other sexually-transmitted di-
seases, as well as from pregnancy,
it is unlikely that a regental plea
will sway the minds of students
who have made the personal
decision to become or .remain
sexually-active. More likely, the
regents will simply ignore a
problem and wait for it to go away.
During the July regents' meeting,
various regents complained of
"graphic descriptions" of sexual
practices that accompany educa-
tional materials concerning the use
of contraceptives and dental dams,
which protect the user from AIDS
during oral sex, as well as the
"mechanization of sex" inherent in
the use of such devices.
But are these regents themselves
willing to practice abstinence and
do they feel that it is a fair demand
to put on other people? Just
because some people happen to be
students is not a reason to provide
them with health care that is
deficient in dealing with sexuality.
Fortunately, Dr. Briefer was able
to successfully argue his point and 4
students will be able to avail
themselves of "Safe Sex Day" in
the fall. And this is an opportunity
which students should take
seriously. It is a time when people
can begin to deal openly with
sexuality and sexually-transmitted
diseases, not simply a time to stock
up on free birth control. Though
the regents continue to treat stu-
dents as irresponsible and immature 4
people that must be protected not
provided for, it is up to students to
take the initiative in dealing openly
and responsibly with their own
sexuality.
v jr - -r - _
Another breach of free speech
THE LEGLISLATION PROPOSED
by congressperson Jack Kemp to
outlaw and close the offices of the
Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) in the United States would
be a clear violation of First
Amendment rights to free speech
and would have far-reaching
consequences for our democracy.
The bill would make it unlawful
"to further the interests of the
PLO," and would disallow the
maintainence of PLO offices or
information bureaus in the United
States. This legislation, if passed,
would interfere with the rights of
all Americans to access of inform-
ation, freedom of speech, and
freedom of association.
The proposal to outlaw the PLO,
besides being a political maneuver
by a presidential hopeful to attract
anti-arab votes, does not have any
legitmate basis. The PLO has never
been designated as a terrorist
organization by the FBI or the
Department of State. Not a single
staff member of the PLO has ever
been charged with criminal activity
in the United States.
Although officers of the U.S.
government may not want to deal
with the PLO, the organization is a
major actor in the Middle East and
cannot be nullified with an "out of
sight, out of mind" strategy of
banishment. Such a strategy would
have deleterious international, as
well as domestic, effects. Action
against the PLO might derail recent
moves towards a peaceful solution
of the Middle East conflict.
According to a recent poll conducted
by the Los Angeles Times, 50
percent of all Americans favored
negotiations with the PLO, while
only a third opposed it. Of course,
with the forced closure of PLO
offices, this would only worsen any
opportunity for future contact.
Kemp's bill would silence 50
percent of U. S. people. This
legislation would greatly endanger
civil liberties in the United States
as it would lay a precedent which
could lead to abolishment of similar
organizations like the African 4
National Congress (ANC), the
South West African People's
Organization (SWAPO), and other
organizations out of favor with
certain political factions.
In effect, this legislation would
serve to shut out a voice and an
alternate channel of information,
thus leaving the U.S. government
as the sole informer of news and
perspectives of the Palestinian
people - a process followed by
Soviet government in similar
situations. Of course, the Soviets
do not preach to be a democracy.
The adverse effects to democracy
and free speech - its main
component - are quite chilling if
this proposed legislation were to
pass through Congress. In light of 4
the Iran-Contra affair, this
legislation is just another instance
of running the government in an
authoriatarian less democratic way
by ignoring the opinion of a
majority of the population. Only
this time, it originates in the
Congress.
It is time the American people
protested against these
developments of undemocratic 4
processes and abort them befre we
degenerate into a rubber-stamp
democracy.
Undergraduate Tuition Increase
(tuition per semester)
1987-88 Tuition Perceng increase
Resident Lower division - $1,342 8.7
Upper division $1,486 8.3
Graduate Tuition Increase
(tuition per semester)
1987-88 Tuition Percentage increase
Resident $2,257 8.0
Non-resident $4,723
8.0
Non-resident Lower division $4,414
Upper division $4,738,
9.7
9,7