4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday, July 23, 2001
Edited and managed by
Students at the JACQUELYN NiXON AUBREY HENRETTY
University of Michigan + Editor in Chief Editorial Page Editor
420 Mayar Str t Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion ofthe
420 M ayn ard Street majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters and
Ann Arbor, M| 48109 cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily
The surest way to arouse public
interest in something is to come
out against it.
With this in mind, Harlan Hatcher
GraduaterLibrary information supervi-
sors Mamna Clowney and Lynne Gun-
derman and information resources
assistant Laura Nottley developed
"Banned Books and the Freedom to
Read," an exhibit showcasing some of
the most talked about books in history.
In addition to being wildly popular, all
titles - ranging from J. K. Rowling's
Harry Potter series to the works of
Mark Twain - have been challenged or
banned by censors at one time or anoth-
er.
In an age where the most outspoken
censors focus on the television, movie
and music industries, it is easy to forget
the power of the written word; "Banned
Boo s" serves to educate the University
community and the public alike about
censorship's many manifestations. The
exhibit also salutes the first amendment
to the U.S. Constitution, reminding us
that every book has a place in American
libraries.
Book display celebrates first amendment
The American Library Association written for children. The controversy
defines a "challenge" to a book as "an often begins when a group of parents
attempt to restrict or remove materials, object to something their children are
based upon the reading in school;
objections of a per- "BANNED BOOKS AND THE the parents allege
son or group" FREEDOM TO READ" that a given book is
intended to restrict AT THE HARLAN HATCHER corrupting their
others' access to children through
said material. A GRADUA LIARY its "gratuitous"
"banning" occurs NOW THROUGH SEPTEMBER violence, bad lan-
when a challenge is guage and/or adult
successful. LIBRARY Howes: themes. While
While all sorts MONDAY- AY:8A.M.--2 A. these parents cer-
of books have been F AY- A.-IOP.M. tainly have the
challenged by all RA:S.M- . right to monitor
sorts of people, no wATURDAY A.M. -6 M. w at their children
genre is more oft SUNDAY: 1 P.M. - 10 P.M. are reading, their
protested than attempts to have
books for young readers. According to material removed from libraries are
the ALA, nearly all of last year's top ten unabashed attacks on the first amend-
most frequently challenged books were ment.
Also, by not allowing children to
read certain books, over-protective par-
ents may only be increasing their chil-
dren's desires to see what the fuss is all
about. Like R-rated movies, these for-
bidden fruits may find their way into
the open when parents are out of sight.
The purpose of a library is to house
all kinds of information and, no matter
who finds them objectionable. In the
words of the ALA, "Intellectual free-
dom is the right to seek and receive
information from all points of view,
even those ideas which may be highly
controversial or offensive to others.'
As long as there are books being
published, people will maintain that
certain material is distasteful, immoral
or worse. Fortunately, the Constitution
guarantees us the right to decide for
ourselves.
"Banned Books" will be on display
now through September at the Harlan
Hatcher Graduate library. Students
should take the opportunity to visit the
exhibit and to learn about how censor-
ship can change the lives and thoughts
of the people.
Quest for power
Navy should not pay Cheney's electric bill
Tmagine the owner of a small business on Vice President and the Nay.
I his or her way to a Staples or an Office Debate on such a trivial part of the fed-
Max to buy a fax machine for the office. eral government's enormous budget can
As he's waiting in the checkout line he sees certainly be attributed to bipartisanship,
the new photo-editing software his spouse but a closer analysis uncovers more impor-
has requested for Christmas. With just a tant issues. The proposed White House
moment's hesitation he puts the so ftware plan would violate good bookkeeping
box on top of the fax-machine box. In the practices in much the same way as the
end, for the sake of "convenience," he takes small business owner who charges a per-
from his wallet the company credit card; sonal item onto the company account. The
his own personal credit card sits snugly in actual financial harm done in either sce-
his wallet. nario is minimal, but these practices seri-
Although this scenario seems harmless ously jeopardize the integrity of the human
enough to the small business owner, his factor. Assume now that small business is
underlings - those forced to foot the bill actually an equal partnership between two
- probably aren't as excited about the pur- owners instead of one. The owner who
chase. charges personal items onto the company
Now substitute Vice President Dick account will likely upset the other owner.
Cheney for the small business owner and a In a worst-case scenario, the disagreement
six-figure electricity bill for the photo-edit- reaches the point where both owners reck-
ing software. lessly charge personal items onto the com-
The House Appropriation Committee pany account.
has proveda plan to have all of the elec- The federal government is, metaphori-
trici billsforCheney's official residence cally speaking, a business run by two own-
paid for under the U.S. Department of the ers: The Democrats and the Republicans.
Navy's Budget. The Senate Appropriation Both owners should follow good account-
Committee has yet to analyze the proposal, ing practices and have the Vice President's
but criticism is already surfacing. Repre- electricity bills included in his federal
sentative David Obey (D-Wisconsin) has budgetary allowance. Both owners should
charged that the "vice president is going to not sacrifice fiscal integrity for the sake of
be insulated from the impact o fenerg r convenience, especially when allocating
prices that will fall on all other Americans.' tax ayer money.
t a time when many American house- The office of Vice President does
holds are struggling with their energy bills, involve serious expenses; the Vice Presi-
this budgetary proposal would imply the dent should be afforded enough money to
presence of a double standard. Representa- hire needed staffers and to cover the cost of
tive Chet Edwards (D-Texas) has sniped living. If his budget does not allow him to
that Americans should now "send their do so, the government should increase the
electricity bills to the Na ." funding allowed for the office. Without
Proponents of the White House plan commenting on the irony of a man who
adamantly defend this proposition. They does not list energy conservation among
say that electricity bills for the 33-room his priorities trying to weasel out of his
mansion have actually decreased since Vice own outrageous energy bill, let us say that
President Dick Cheney assumed residence. it is the government's responsibility to
The proposal would supposedly simplify make sure its employees have adequate
the current federal bookkeeping because funds for the tasks they are expected to
the electricity bills are shared between the complete.
Atouj
Bush should fund st
n a clear message to President Bush,
the National Institute of Health
issued a report Wednesday calling
for additional research on human stem
cells; Bush will soon decide whether or
not the government will continue to
fund embryonic stem cell research.
Stem cells - the highly adaptable
building blocks of the human body -
comprise about one out of every million
bone marrow cells.
Though formed in the very earliest
stages of cell division, these cells are
destined for greatness; they will soon
become specialized and eventually
develop into a human being.
Researchers across the country -
including researchers here at the Uni-
versity - believe this process may hold
the keys to treating and curing many
currently incurable diseases.
Early clinical trials of stem cell
therapy in monkeys have yielded
promising results and researchers are
enthusiastic; they believe stem cells
have the potential to help cure every-
thing from diabetes to cancer to Lou
Gehrig's disease.
How can the government even con-
sider not funding this groundbreaking
research? The controversy relates to the
fact that the best stem cell specimens
are found in human embryos. For many
conservatives, the potential benefits are
outweighed by the implications of har-
vesting stem cells from embryos; they
say this type of research will lead to
more abortions as the demand for fresh
stem cells increases.
But stem cell research should have
no impact whatsoever on the number of
abortions performed each year. Strict
guidelines for private researchers put
into place by the Clinton administration
allow them to obtain only embryos
already marked for disposal at fertility
clinics. Also, researchers are forbidden
h ce
em-cell researchers
to pay for embryos, so no one is tempt-
ed to sell embryos to the highest bid-
der. If these guidelines are carried over
to government-funded research, conser-
vatives will need not fear that the
research would result in more abor-
tions.
Knowing this and keeping in mind g
the fantastic potential of stem cell
research, senator, surgeon and strong
presidential ally Bill Frist (R-Ten-
nessee) Wednesday announced that he
would support giving government fund-
ing to stem cell researchers. Frist, who
is both pro-life and the only medical
doctor in the Senate, said he would
back this funding rovided it was "very
carefully regulated."
Frist is not the only conservative in I
favor of government-funded stem cell
research. Just two days after Frist's
statement, 13 Republicans joined 48
Democrats in signing two separate let-
ters to President Bush, urging the presi-
dent to consider lifting the federal ban.
The two letters were started by Sena-
tors John Kerr D-Massachusetts) and
Arlen Specter R- ennsylvania), respec-
tively. According to www.cnn.com Sen.
Kerry and Sen. Specter are confident
that as many as75 senators support
their cause; if this is the case, even a
presidential veto could not stop legisla-
tion to fund even embryonic stem cell
research.
The life-saving potential of this
research is too great to be ignored.
While making his decision, President
Bush must not bow to political pressure
from the right to keep government fund-
ing out of these laboratories. There is
no compelling reason why the govern-
ment should not proceed to fund stem
cell research under the provisions laid
out b the Clinton administration. Bush
shoud heed the call of the NIH and
support further stem cell research.