OPINION P'g " , W edn a, !ly1,94 EDITOR IN CHIEF James M. Nash EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS Patrick J. Javid Jason Lichtstein 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. The administration has submitted its pro posal for next year's tuition to the Board of Regents, and many parts of the proposal must be seriously questioned. Tuition for all full-time students is increased in the pro- posal, as is spending for financial aid, faculty salaries and other vague initiatives. The re- gents will undoubtedly approve the proposal at their meeting tomorrow, so students must expect to pay more money to attend the University during the 1994-95 school year. True, tuition will not be raised as drasti- cally as it has been in the past few years. For 1994-95, in-state students will pay 6.9 per- cent more and out-of-state tuition will in- crease 5 percent. These numbers are far less thanlastyear, whenin-statetuition alonerose 11.7 percent. And in the last five years, the regents have passed tuition increases that average 10.1 percent. In a strange way, then, students willbe getting abreaknext year. But tuition will still be increased substantially, and for dubious reasons. Approximately 34 percent of the increase Tuition Soars Again, But Whys? Proposal must be questioned by students will go directly to a cost ofliving increase for University faculty. While it can be argued that the faculty already earn too much, they deserve a yearly increase that is in line with inflation. However, the remainder of the tu- ition increase is not so justified. Nearly 9 percent of the increase will go to a reserve fund that the University will hold as a check against spiraling inflation during the school year. But the administration itself does not agree on what the fund will go toward if it is not used up throughout the year. Some say the money will go to building construction, others say the money will go to University salaries. Either way, this money can be better spent on undergraduate students. Moreover, the University allots 4.5 per- cent of the increase to hiring more female and minority faculty to help achieve both the Michigan Mandate and the Agenda for Women. While these are both noble causes, they clearly deserve more money than this mere increase, at least more than a reserve fund within the administration. And while the proposal raises financial aid funding by 18 percent, it highlights a paradox within the administration. A general rise in tuition only reinforces the economic bias and de facto discrimination. In 1994, it seems thatthe onp individuals who can afford a true college education without financial aid are those from an upper-middle class family. This is an unfair burden on most of the population, and will only continue with the administration's newest proposal. Finally, the proposal gives only 5 percent of the tuition increase to vague "undergradu- ate initiatives." If the administration wou truly shape up its undergraduate programg, this money would be more than justified. But when has the administration been really con- cerned about its undergraduates and their education? In all probability, this money would never affect the majority of students and should not be taken out of their tuition in the first place. All in all, the tuition increase remains a financial break for students. Bu the proposal, if amended, could give studen* an even larger break. We hope the regents will take our recommendations seriously. Generation Xa Hapless Haitian policy Pearl Jam battles Ticketmaster 's monopoly Clinton administration dabbles in racism nally the 13th Generation has some idols that actually deserve tobe emulated.Pearl Jam's guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament are battling a corporate giant and standing up for what they believe in. On June 30, Gossard and Ament testified before a House subcommittee looking into antitrust charges against Ticketmaster, the billion- dollar ticket distribution agency. Fedup with Ticketmaster's unreasonable "service charges" that prevented Pearl Jamfromjoin- ing a "low-price" summer tour in 1994, the group filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department. Ticketmaster's "monopoly" of large venues is made possible by question- able arrangements with major arenas around the country-deals whichgive the company the sole rights to distribute tickets that are not sold at the box office. Pearl Jam thankfully is trying to change this. Ament and Gossard broke the genera- tional mold by filing a legal complaint and a civil lawsuit, and then ventured to Capitol Hill. For most, Generation X carries the ste- reotype of lazy, ignorant, bored youth who expect everything to be "their" way without having to work for it. Contrary to this, the members of Pearl Jam didn't just sit back and hope someone else would change the system. Many members of the "20-something" gen- eration have probably complained to their friends about high ticket prices. But when it comes down to it (in almost all aspects of our lives), nobody does anything about it. Too many of America's youth let this culture take advantage of them. Pearl Jam didn't do this, and neither should America's youth. This should apply to everything our generation does. We -the members of so-called "Gen- eration X"-should do as much moving with our feet as we do with our mouths. This generation should actually go out and fix what needs to be fixed. It is not the fault of America's youth that the social and economic system is as back- ward as it is. No concert should cost $504to go to. College should be affordable to all. There should be jobs for college-educated people. No one can assume that the system will be designedto benefit America's youth.Ifsome- thingshouldbe, then it is our responsibility to make it that way. It is said that "Generation X" will be the first generation to make less money than their parents. But as history is not written yet, this all can change. We, as young Americans, need to take action with the issues we care about and not let the world pass us by. To quote the band Aerosmith(anotherbattlerinthe Ticketmaster war): "Life is a journey ... not a destination." Let's change our path now, before it is too late.Let'slearnfromsomeofourgeneration's best idols to date, the members of the group Pearl Jam. n another perversion of a campaign prom- ise, President Clinton seems to be seri- ously considering the unilateral use of force to oust the military junta in Haiti, while persecuted refugees are continually being turned away from U.S. waters. And Army rangers conducted alarge scale, Panama-like military operationin the panhandle of Florida two weeks ago, preparing for the seizure of airfields and ports in Haiti. Meanwhile, air- craft carriers have been dispatched to the Caribbean. It is unbelievable that Clinton is now leaning toward military invasion, and the perpetuation of a flawed refugee policy, after all the 1992 campaign rhetoric slam- ming President George Bush's Haitian poli- cies. The revised (to be revised, again) refugee policy, heavily influenced by presidential adviser William Gray, was dead on arrival in Panama. Ten thousand "political" refugees fleeing the chaos of Haiti were to be admitted to Panama. But, inan ironic turnofevents, the U.S.-installed president, Guillermo Endara, withdrew his offer of asylum - forcing the administration to pressure Antigua, Grenada (remember the invasion?), Costa Rica, Suriname, Guyana and Dominica to accept their share of refugees. It is all too clear that a U.S. invasion of a Latin American nation will do little for the cause of democracy and stability in the Western Hemisphere. It will only be counterproductive. This diplomatic legwork was supposed to let President Clinton avoid admitting 20,000 BlackHaitiansintothiscountry, theso-called land of immigrants. True, the Haitians do not have the political muscle to secure their im- migration rights that other ethnic groups have. They must rely on the Congressional Black Caucus, human rights organizations and tl collective conscience of the Americanpeople to ensure the legacy of America as a place where political, religious and economic refu- gees can call home and escape the horrors of persecution and oppression. Unfortunately, to charge the Clinton administration with racism is not without foundation. At the very least, this Democratic administration is complicit in the most despicable applicatiob of immigration policy since World War II. This is not the time to invade the sovereign nation of Haiti. This is the time to reverse the Clinton-Bush refugee policies and open our borders to those Haitians who desire asylum in the United States. While it is lamentable thatFloridais confronting the enormous costs of absorbing legal and illegal immigrants, these economic considerations should not dictate national policy, especially consided ing the fate of those Haitians who attempt to flee to the United States and are turned back by the Coast Guard. Ultimately, death awaits them. This must not stand.