OPINION Page 4 Wednesday. June 29,1994' EDITOR IN CHIEF James M. Nash 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan. Unsigned editorials present the opinion of a majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other cartoons, signed articles and letters do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Daily. EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS Patrick J. Javid Jason S. Lichtstein As textbook prices continue to skyrocket, forcing students to scrimp for the semesterly buying bonanza, the state Legis- lature has commissioned a study of the issue. State Rep. Kirk Profit on June 17 announced the creation of a committee to study textbook prices at state universities. "I think students are victims of excessive pricesintextbooks,"Profitsaid.TheYpsilanti Democrat and his colleagues in the Legisla- ture took a wise, if overdue, move to rein in runaway price hikes. But as Profit himself admits, the committee can do little more than investigate the issue. A solution to the prob- lem lies more with students, professors and retailers than with elected officials in Lan- sing. Muchof the price increase can be traced to the buyback procedure. Many professors do not submit book orders for the following semester before the buyback deadline, pre- venting students from selling back their used books. In fact, according to Michigan Stu- dent Assembly Rep. Mike Christie Jr., only Textbook Travesty: Will the 'U' help? MSA proposal would save students money 10percentofbookordersare turnedin in time for buybacks. The result: only 20 percent of books sold to University students are used, and thus relatively inexpensive. It would be easy to scapegoat idle profes- sors as the cause of high textbook prices. But professors here are burdened by a cumber- some reporting procedure, one that hinders buybacks and ultimately drives up prices. Instructors must send lists of books for the next term to the Textbook Reporting Service, which covers the campus' three major book- stores. However, the service has suffered from a recent loss in membership, complicat- ing reporting procedures for professors. In the case of the Shaman Drum Bookstore, instructors walk to the store to submit orders in person. Clearly, there is a better way. Christie, chair of MSA's Academic Af- fairs Commission, proposes a reporting sys- tem modeled after one at the University of Illinois. There, professors turn in textbook orders to the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, which turns them over to the Illini Bookstore. The bookstore then distributes orders to the other retailers. As a result of this streamlined reporting syst* 70 percent of instructors have their orders ir by the fall semester deadline. Shifting re- sponsibility for textbook orders to the univer- sity - and hence to a more formal procedure - encourages professors to report on time. Regrettably, the University of Michigan is balking at Christie's proposal, which he voiced to lawmakers in recent hearings. A $40,000, instituting such a centralized re- porting system is too expensive, adminis@ tors claim. Associate Provost for Academi( Affairs Susan Lipschutz said, "We have a lo of other projects that are on the docket tha would be ahead of that." How unfortunate. The University appear willing to pass up this opportunity to relieve students from spiraling textbook costs be cause of $40,000 - spare change for at institution with a budget in the billions. support Christie's proposal, and offer a mes sage for the administration: take $40,000 ou of the budget and put it to a better use. Med School racism? Domestic violence Minorities suffer as Mandate is unfulfilled The unacknowledged tragedy 0 TheUniversityof MichiganMedicalSchool suffers from a ravaging disease: racism. Recent interviews, complaints and letters to the administration have highlighted this si- lent dilemma, an apparentfailureofthe Michi- ganMandate in acrucial sector ofthe Univer- sity community. The most distressing aspect of the situation is the fact that both the Medi- cal School and the University administration have shunned this criticism in hopes of sav- ing face. True, the Medical School has standards that faculty and students must adhere to in order to be successful. But it appears that these standards are drawn differently for cer- tain groups of individuals. The population of students up for academic review each year is disproportionately overrepresented by mi- norities. Moreover, numerous allegations and lawsuits have surfaced that document tenure and job placement discrimination. Finally, the underrepresentation of minorities among Medical School faculty is apparent to stu- dents and faculty alike. Although minority medical students have been expressing dis- tress over the Medical School's lack of sen- sitivity through letters to the dean of the Medical School and to University President James J. Duderstadt, the allegationsofracism continue to infect the Medical School, and only recently have steps been implemented in an attempt to curb such racism. Unfortunately, discriminatory practices such as racial remarks during lectures, sepa- rate standards for minorities and lack of sup- port for minority students are locked up in the administration's concern for public image. The administration is pretending to believe the problem is under control by setting up dialogue groups and an associate dean of minority affairs position that was never per- manently filled. The administration seems to think that by giving minority students an outlet to express their frustrations, the prob- lems of racism will be cured. But in this way, the true germs that lead to racism - utter ignorance and lack of communication, to name a few - simply are not diagnosed. A minority student should never feel as if faculty and peers expect failure from him or her. The thought that a professor might not like a student because of her color should never enter a student's mind. When help and guidance is needed, minority students should never have to hesitate to contact someone in the administration. Finally, a minority stu- dent should never feel that skin color influ- ences test grades. Unfortunately, all of these "nevers" have been documented by medical students at this university. The University, the Medical School and its students and faculty must search for the real causes of racism, and work together to kill this dreaded disease. .his editorial is not about O.J. Simpson. Rather, it is about the real victims of domestic violence -the millions of women who are abused by their partners annually, including the late Nicole Brown Simpson. The recent O.J. Simpson debacle has been successful in highlighting the tragedy of do- mestic violence. Two weeks ago, far too few Americans ran the terrifying thought of a beaten wife or a dead girlfriend through their minds. Now, from the cover of Time to national TV newscasts, domestic violence is finally receiving the attention it deserves. Domestic violence is a problem, and a sick one at that. Every year, 3-4 million women are abused by their partner. Of these women, 1 million require medical attention because of the severity of theirwounds. Nearly 1 in 3 women will be assaulted by a domestic partner in her lifetime, and violence will occur at least once in over two-thirds of all marriages. An epidemic describes domestic violence well; as Secretary of Health and Human Services has described it, domestic violence is an unacknowledged epidemic. Five years ago, police were witnesses to an incident in which a beaten Nicole Brown Simpson ran out of the bushes yelling "he's going to kill me." She was later treated in a hospitalbut attemptedto dropchargesagainst her husband. Although the charges were not dropped, the perpetrator was given only a slap on the wrist - he paid a fine and somi community service. He was even allowed t< receive his required counseling over the phone. He described the incident to ESPN a, one in which "we were both guilty. No on was hurt." None of these things prove tha O.J. killed his ex-wife, but they illuminate the immense, potentially deadly problems domestic violence and show the nation tA tougher laws and programs need to be imple mented to fight the problem. As domestic violence makes its way ou of the closet, we can only hope it stays in thf national attention beyond the trial of Mi Simpson. There are encouraging signs tha this will prove true. Last week the New Yorl legislature acted to force police officers t( arrest abusive spouses, even without the u4 ing of the victim. In Colorado, a law that take effect this week compels police to take abus ers into custody at the scene of violence an mandates arrest for any violation of a re straining order. Just as significant, a portio of the anti-crime bill that is now being de bated in Congress would make domesti abuse a violation of a woman's civil rights thus making the woman eligible for comp1 satory relief and punitive damages. Domestic violence is the true tragedy c our society. And the true heroes are thos women who must live with, cope with an survive domestic violence.