OPINION Page 6 Friday, June 3, 1988 The Michigan Daily - mH I; East-West hypocrisies Vol. ALVIII- - ." 5 Unsigned editorials represent the majority views of the Daily's Editorial Board. Cartoons and signed editorials do not necessarily reflect the Daily's opinion. Of homes and war THE UNITED STATES has over 3000 Harpoon anti-ship missiles and plans to buy 4000 more. The cost of only one of these missiles ($940,000) could build four duplex homes, renovate ten units of aban- doned apartments and weatherize 22 homes. To dramatize the link between militarism and homelessness, the Ann Arbor Build Homes Not Bombs Campaign will sponsor a rally at the Federal Building on Monday, followed by the erection of a tent city and a sleep-out at City Hall. Held in conjunction with a national network of similar rallies, this demonstration seeks to protest both the shrinking federal funds for housing (down 78 percent under the Reagan regime) and the gargantuan increases in military spending (more than doubled in the last eight years). On a national level, the Build Homes Not Bombs Campaign con- fronts people with the ways in which arms spending is used to wage economic warfare. United States citizens dying of exposure on park benches and under bridges are asked to make do without a roof over their heads because the federal government has decided that con- structing a leaky Star Wars shield is of higher budgetary priority. On a local level, the campaign forces Ann Arbor to ask how the University is serving its commu- nity. The University accepted 1.7 million dollars in Pentagon funds last year while the Ann Arbor Homeless Action Group estimates that at least 500 homeless people now roam Ann Arbor's streets. Students last year were forced to sleep in lounges for lack of dormi- tory space while the University contributed 45,000 dollars for a chemical weapons project. The demands of this campaign are reasonable and humane: A perma- nent site must be found for the Ann Arbor day shelter. Single room oc- cupancy must be made available to minimum wage earners. The Uni- versity must stop building facilities for attracting military research and start building dormitories for its students. The City Council must endorse the Omnibus Housing Bill now before Congress. Ann Arbor has become a com- munity in which University scien- tints develop new and interesting ways for killing people inside spa- cious buildings while just around the corner people with no roof over their heads scrounge for bottle in the garbage. This situation is unac- ceptable. On both a local and na- tional level, the message is clear and uncompromising: Stop forcing people from their homes. Build af- fordable housing. Pay for it out of the military budget. The Build Homes Not Bombs events will begin at 5:30 p.m.this Monday, June 6, at the Federal Building on East Liberty. A dinner and sleep-out on the lawn of City Hall will follow. For more infor- mation contact Ann Arbor Build Homes Not Bombs at 936-3076 or 763-6876. PRESIDENT REAGAN conducted what may be his last official sum- mit with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev this week. Both leaders were very anxious for success, if not diplomatically at least in the eyes of their respective publics. However, the foci of the summit - the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and the arguments over Soviet human rights viola- tions - are both based on faulty premises, and Reagan and Gor- bachev need to stop posturing and start working more earnestly to- wards international peace. First of all, there are several problems with the INF treaty itself. Although eliminating a class of nuclear weapons and removing a link in the nuclear escalation chain is an accomplishment, it is hardly sufficient. Only a fraction of the superpowers' nuclear stockpiles will actually be reduced, and both possess long-range missiles that could be used instead of medium- range weapons against the same targets. Also, the INF Treaty only eliminates missiles, not nuclear warheads. Once the missiles are dismantled, the nuclear warheads may be retained and used for alter- nate purposes. There is no stipulation in the treaty regulating research for the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI), because Reagan refuses to use it as a bargaining chip. Reagan's stub- bornness about even discussing SDI research not only limits U.S. bar- gaining power, but also undermines the treaty itself by providing an av- enue for use of more exotic and de- suctive weapons in the future. The other main issue at the summit was President Reagan's at- tacks on Soviet human rights abuses. Reagan is challenging Gor- bachev to improve Soviet condi- tions by reuniting separated fami- lies, increasing emigration, and ending political and religious sup- pression. Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have documented many Soviet atrocities in Afghanistan, in the Soviet satellites, and within the USSR itself. While the Soviet regime has cer- tainly committed its share of brutal acts, any holier-than-thou pontifi- cating by the President of the United States - especially Ronald Reagan - smacks of true hyp- ocrisy. Across the globe, thousands have fallen victim to U.S.-spon- sored dictatorships or terrorists. The Reagan-backed contras in Nicaragua have a long record of murdering, raping, and destroying homes of the people they are trying to "liberate." Guatemala, which was cited as the among the most repres- sive countries in the world, receives most of its arms from the Reagan administration. In the Unites States itself, Reagan encourages mining companies to take the land of Americ Indians for strip mining - and these are only a few of the atrocities conducted or condoned by the United States. Reagan is in no position to preach to anyone about human rights violations. The summit did not raise the hopes of the free and not-so-free world. The threat of nuclear des- truction or war by other exotic weapons still looms over human- ity, and though President Reagan would have people believe other- wise, his administration is just as guilty as the Soviet Union when it comes to violating human rights. Non-profit booths are reduced: Art Fair limits groups LIMITING THE NUMBER of non-profit group booths at the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair will greatly detract from the social, political and cultural diversity that has character- ized the event in the past. Art Fair has traditionally included a variety of non-profit community groups, ranging from the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade to the Mormon Church. This year, how- ever, its broad scope is being threatened. The non-profit tables usually oc- cupy the space near the East Engi- neering Arch, but construction on that corner has forced the groups to be placed in a new location. The Mayor's Art Fair Planning Com- mittee, which includes representa- tives from Art Fair, the City Council, and the University, says that there may only be enough space for 50 of the 80 groups who have applied. The mayor should have appointed a representative of the non-profit groups to the committee. However, even without someone to voice the interests of the non-profit groups, the committee should realize the importance of accommodating them. Certainly, having a space in the Art Fair benefits the groups themselves - many of them count on this annual event to do commu- nity outreach, education, and fund- raising - but the presence of the non-profit groups enhances the Fair and benefits the entire community as well. The wide range of non-profit groups that have traditionally par- ticipated in the Art Fair help to create a diverse environment which fosters the open exchange of ideas. Both the University and the Ann Arbor community should be con- cerned with promoting and main- taining such an environment. The University has taken responsibility for the non-profit groups in the past, and it should continue to do everything in its power to ensure their full participation in the Art Fair. In addition to the potential ex- clusion of non-profit groups from the Art Fair, the University is instituting a dramatic price increase for student and non-profit groups who want to set up food booths outside the Union. Last year, the Michigan Union Food Services charged these groups $125. This year, the price has escalated to $500 for student groups and $600 for community non-profit groups. All groups will be also be charged a $100 mandatory fee for electricity, and a refundable $100 payment for clean-up costs. This policy is untenable. It is equivalent to charging students $600 to set up lemonade stands. Clearly, the University's intention is to reduce the number of groups with food booths, and its motive is one of profit. The food stands out- side the Union compete with those inside, which the University owns. In instituting this policy, the Uni- versity is again overlooking the needs of student and non-profit groups, and the needs of the com- munity that is served by these groups. The message implicit in the new policy is that, for the Uni- versity, increased profit is more important than the needs of the community. To make the Art Fair as mean- ingful and successful an event as it has been in the past, the University must retract its new price policy, and all non-profit groups must be allowed to participate. Profit and non-profit organizations should work together, not against one an- other. The Art Fair is a community event, and it is an event in which the entire community should be in- cluded. SE? I LDIHGHORLB 5 DID $OLVE1WH WS~M pfEM!