OPINION
Page 4 Friday, July 22, 1988 The Michigan Daily
'U' laboratories of death
BY DANIEL AXELROD
IF YOU TELL THE more conserva-
tive folks off campus that you don't
like military research on campus,
they say, "What's wrong with
military research? Isn't it for de-
fense of freedom? What are you, a
commie? Go back to Russia."
Likewise, some graduate students
here, particularly those from Third
World countries, are also concerned
with reality. They do not assume
for a minute that U.S. foreign pol-
icy has anything at all to do with
the defense of freedom. Many
firmly believe, often from first-hand
observation, that this policy is
racist, aggressive, violent, reac-
tionary, dangerous, and invariably
in support of the super-wealthy
elites in their own countries.
I like both sides because they ad-
dress the right questions: what is
U.S. foreign policy about, what is
it doing to the people of the world,
Vol. XCVII- No.10S
Unsigned editorials represent the majority views of the Daily's
Editorial Board. Cartoons and signed editorials do not
necessarily reflect the Daily's opinion.
Tuition, student loans need restructuring:
Cycle of debt
WITH A 15 PERCENT TUITION
increase, students entering the Uni-
versity this fall will be quick to no-
tice the prohibitive costs of an
education. Often, loans appear to be
the only way to cover tuition, room,
and board. With this method of
financing, it is likely that the
student will accumulate a very
large debt over the course of their
undergraduate years. The pressure
created by the necessity to begin
repaying this debt upon graduation
effectively limits students' choices
of a field of study and a career.
Debt accumulation is a phe-
nomenon over which the student
seemingly has no control; the ac-
cumulated debt becomes a factor
which will most likely help deter-
mine the choice of one's field of
study. Often, the humanities, arts,
social sciences, and education are
ruled out on the basis that degrees
in these fields lead to relatively
low-paying starting positions. A
student may feel trapped into
majoring inaa subject in which she
or he has little or no interest, for the
sole reason of finances. This cycle
inevitably leads many students into
the corporate world and the pursuit
of the almighty dollar.
This is an unacceptable situation
that contradicts the kind of
humanitarian values a liberal arts
education is meant to promote.
Significantly, the debt cycle is not a
part of the educational process in
many European nations which sub-
sidize tuition. Exchange students at
the University from Germany and
France frequently express their dis-
belief that higher education in the
United States is calmly accepted
here as a commodity that is sold to
those who can afford to pay - or
are willing to shoulder huge debts
to obtain.
Federal funding for higher
education - including grant and
scholarship programs - have been
slashed during the Reagan era in no
small part due to the financing of
the largest peacetime military
build-up in history. The few student
loan programs that are still
available, in comparison to those
offered even a few years ago, have
higher rates of interest which start
accruing earlier.
Clearly, the financing of college
education needs to be radically re-
formed. Education should be a right
for all, and not a privilege for few.
In order to challenge the status quo,
students must have the freedom to
study subjects through which they
can learn about the world, and the
freedom to choose meaningful ca-
reers.
who is it really protecting? There is search... It's a free country, (but)
a clear difference of opinion here, freedom works both ways. They're
something worth discussing at the free to keep their mouths shut...
University. (and) I'm also free not to give the
In the higher astral plane of money."
University administrators and cer- In other words, the government
tain faculty philosophers, however, only supports military research
it is almost impossible to get to consistent with its immediate po-
the heart of the matter. The issue of litical objectives, and only by
military research is deliberately people with compatible politics.
mutated to avoid talking about Researchers don't know for sure if
militarism at all. Instead, all we there is a political test for research
hear about is something called aca- topics and personnel or not. But
demic freedom.
To these deep thinkers, academic In the higher astral
freedom means that tenured faculty
members can research anything they administrators... the isst
want in their labs. In actual fact, of deliberately mutated t
course, that research also better militarism at all Instea
bring in government grant money.
If it doesn't bring in money, you something called academi
still have the right to think about
researching anything you please, they are sure of the incredible pres-
but you will probably lose your al- sure to keep their mouths shut, stay
location of lab space. After all, off the radio, and do research only
university research administrators politically acceptable to the mili-
salaries come from some of that ry sponsor.
grant fney scredoff the top;o But, it is argued, you don't have
fereoi to take money from the military if
thinkers' definition, unfortunately you don't like it. You are free to
does not apply to untenured faculty take money from any source you
members, graduate students, under- ta neu
graduate students, or non-academic Ta g s w
research staff; it does not apply to This argument ins wrong on two
the great majority in the University counts. First, in some departments,
community. The deep thinkers' military research is the major
definition of academic freedom is source of funds, particularly in the
dateshalow.fa r engineering school. To not accept
rather shallow.,. military money as an assistant pro-
Graduate student research assis- fessor is to put yourself at a gross
tants, paid off a government grant, disadvantage in the competitive
naturally avoid saying things which d n tagein t bpigivs
might offend their advisors. They tenure game. You can't bring in as
haveightuallndoherdisor Theymuch money as your colleagues, a
have virtually no rights, nti re- situation likely to bring on a severe
course, and no income if their advi-siationsietqin y"nasve-e
sors ask them to leave. Assistant case of "insufficient quality" as di-
proessors athemstopre.sseagnosed by the tenure committee.
professors are the most oppressed But second, and more important,
group around when it comes to free 't take money from any
speech. I know from direct experi- youcan want. Your choices are
ence that many politically interestedsourc limited in the most highly political
but untenured professors will not wis imaginable.
si ayfor far ofersipetitions To see this, let's step back and
The threat of retributionis see what the purpose of the military
sometimes very nebulous. The
tenure committee, otherwise known
as the "firing squad," is under abso-
lutely no obligation to justify their
decisions; the massacre is done in
private.
But the threat of retribution for
opening your mouth can be much
more explicit, particularly if you
take money from the military.
Last year, Under Secretary of De-
fense Donald Hicks - the man ul-
timately responsible for external
research funding by the Pentagon-
raised some eyebrows when he said,
"I am not particularly interested in
seeing department money going to
some place where an individual is
outspoken in his rejection of de-
partment aims, even for basic re-
is. It is a very special purpose, and
very different from, say, the Na-
tional Institutes of Health. The
U.S. military's sole purpose is to
be the threat or actual agent of vio-
lent physical coercion that backs up
U.S. foreign policy. This is not
unusual: it is the same for every
military in the world. But the words
violence, physical coerion -- they
all sound so stark. What about
those nice warm fuzzy words like
defense and security? But let's not
plane of University
te of military research is
o avoid talking about
id, all we hear about is
c freedom.
kid ourselves. The methods and
goals of the military are special;
they are definitely not into curing
diseases or advancing knowledge or
culture or beauty.
On the other hand, the military's
methods invariably culminate in the
threat or use of violence and de-
struction, and the goals are invari-
ably highly political. Any univer-
sity that takes, money from the
military is a promoter of violence.
And any university that takes
money exclusively from the U.S.
military and not from the military
of other nations is, in addition,
choosing a political and military
side. It in fact becomes an exclusive
tool of that side. To pretend it is
just pushing back the frontiers of
peaceful, neutral knowledge is pure
hypocrisy.
Daniel Axelrod is a professor in the
Physics Department and co-author
of the book, To Win a -Nuclear
War: The Pentagon's Secret War
Plans. This essay is adapted from a
speech given to the Doctoral Stu-
dents' Group this summer.
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