UbJetiAidjignu Badig
PI NION
Page 4 Wed nesday, dune 15,1994t
EDITOR IN CHIEF
James M. Nash
EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS
Patrick J. Javid
J. Samuel 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 hideouslyrestrictive Diagpolicy-an
affront tothe social activismandlibertari-
anism of this University and the Ann Arbor
community - has been much improved by
the work of a review committee of students,
faculty and administrators. The old Common
Areas Policy limited protests and demonstra-
tions to one hour after noon and forced stu-
dent organizations to deal with endless ad-
ministrative regulations that squelched the
free speech and assembly rights of students.
Moreover, the former policy barred sponta-
neous protests, requiring a waiting period to
reserve the Diag. But major changes are in the
works that will make this policy at least more
workable and less offensive. Although we
believe that no Diag policy should exist and
the current policy - however much revised
- must depart with all possible haste, we
must commend the work of the committee
and the results it has produced. The participa-
tion of students in the revision of the old rules
is crucial - it is imperative that the Univer-
sity administration be responsive and held
Finally, a Better niag
Policy
Process involves student input
accountable to its most important constitu-
ency on campus.
The committee's changes must still be
approved by Maureen A. Hartford, the vice
president for student affairs. But the new
policy's prospects look bright. Among the
changes is a reworking of one its mightiest
flaws: the seven-day waiting period before
any organization can hold a function on the
Diag. Students must be able to react quickly
and immediately to political developments
that demand public protest. The fact that the
revised policy will require a waiting period
only for financial solicitation or the use of
University equipment is encouraging. Still,
the University should be here to facilitate free
expression and protest, and should further
reform the Common Areas Policy to shorten,
or altogether eliminate, the waiting period.
Revisions also include the lifting of the
prohibition of chalking on the Diag or on
adjacent sidewalks. In addition, the new policy
outlines rules governing the construction of
kiosks in and around the Diag area. But the
requirement that permit-holding organiza-
tions are legally and financially responsible
for all attendees and participants remains
ludicrous, and begs for further revision.
The Diag is one of the social, cultural a
political centers of the University. Peaceful
civil protest is the motor of social change.
Our Diag must be a zone where students and
Ann Arborites are free to demonstrate against
the University - for example, against the
Diag Policy itself. In the end, a liberal Diag
policy is better than a restrictive one - as
long as it does not unduly limit, restrict ot
regulate basic, inalienable student rights.
It would be an immense relief to think tl
the infamous Diag Policy will be relegated to
the dark ages. The University administration
still has much to learn about student rights
and student input in formulating policy. But
the committee's work is very encouraging,
and suggests that the administration canlearn
from both its past mistakes and student opin-
ions. Now only if it can be this flexible with
the so-called Statement of Student Rigli
and Responsibilities; pe-haps that is only
wishful thinking.
Dems: on the defense Morth Corea CTISIS
GOP may gain control of Congress
Clinton must communicate U.S. resolve
W ithallthehooplasurroundingthe splin-
tering of the Republican Party, the
demise of the Democrats has accelerated in
a silent but sure fashion. Since the election of
President Clinton in November 1992, Demo-
cratic candidates in gubernatorial and con-
gressional contests across the land havebeen
vanquished by moderate Republicans. True,
it is neither unusual nor abnormal for the
opposition party to make gains in off-presi-
dential election years. But with the Demo-
cratic National Committee struggling for an
identity and a message, the party of the
donkey may lose control of both the U.S.
Senate and the House. The Republicans are
sure to be in control of more House seats
since the mid-1950s. And the GOP only has
to win seven Senate seats to lift Sen. Bob
Dole (R-Kan.) to majority leader status - a
frightening prospect in and of itself.
The Democrats' main problem in 1994 is
Clinton's unpopularity and pervasive char-
acter problems. Although Clinton is prob-
ably the most ambitious domestic policy
president since FDR, he has consistently
suffredfrometh 'atisses tat ffen th
style - a fact well documented in Bob
Woodward's new book, "The Agenda." But
whatever one makes of Clinton's political
past - and his political future - the fate of
the party is in jeopardy unless it returns to the
1992campaignmessage that connected with
the middle-class: fiscal conservatism, eco-
nomic stimulus and a new brand of ethics.
What is most petrifying to Democrats is
that even moderates in the party are likely to
lose their seats, simply because they are
associated with the "tax-and-spend" politics
of Clinton. But isn't this what the American
people wanted? Raise taxes on the rich to
lower the deficit? How is it that the GOP may
be able to wrest control of the Senate when
the deficit will lower than at any point in the
Reagan-Bushyears?Andhasn't Clintonsuc-
ceeded in passing the 1993 budget and
NAFTA? The answer: Clinton is trying too
much, too fast and is hurting badly on the
character issue. This is why so many Demo-
crats battling for re-election this November
are distancing themselves from Clinton the
politician. Yet ironically, this is why both
or over two years, the North Korean
governmenthasrefusedtocooperatewith
the International Atomic Energy Agency and
allow for proper monitoring of its nuclear
facilities. This, coupled with North Korea's
reluctance to abide by the Nuclear Non-
ProliferationTreaty, hasledU.S. intelligence
to report that North Korea has the capacity to
build up to two nuclear bombs, and is accel-
erating plans to produce a larger arsenal.
What began as a moderate game of quiet
threats has escalated into tense rhetoric that
borders on the belligerent. President Clinton
must stand tough and let a committed U.S.
resolve take hold to defuse this crisis.
The war of words reached its apogee this
month when North Korea acknowledged that
it had diverted nuclear fuel rods from its
commercialnuclearfacilities. Moreover, Kim
Il-Sung, the North Korean president - the
same man who launched the Korean War -
has threatened to "burn" South Korean Presi-
dent Kim Young-sam. He also insists that
any threat of U.N. sanctions is an act of war.
By the North Korean standard, sanctions will
aut n _tc ly lea~d to anm. as O f Sut
President Clinton must address this issue
with the immediacy and the seriousness it
deserves. He cannot continue to insist that
the situation is not a crisis and that talk of war
is unjustified. A credible American threat
must be communicated to North Korea - a
threat that carries the full weight of U.S.
resolve to the principles of non-proliferation
and the promotion of stability in the Far Ea
Without such a threat, North Korea will fear
no obstacle in its path toward becoming a
nuclear power.
We do not advocate, as of now, the de-
ployment of troops and weapons to the area,
nor do we wish to provoke North Korea into
war. The purpose of a firm, clear American
commitment would be to stop any such hos-
tility before it arises. Sanctions would act as
a proper threat and punishment, but only
they can be implemented over Chinese and
Japanese concerns, and only if they carry the
conditions North Korea must meet in order to
lift them. Clinton must communicate his threat
by acknowledging the seriousness of the cri-
sis to both the American people and the
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