4 - The Michigan Daily - Monday April 30, 2001 Edited and managed by .JACQUELYN NIXON AUBREY HENRETTY Students at the Editor in Chief Editorial Page Editor University of Michigan Ar a d u t, Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflet the opinion of th. 420 Maynard Street majority ofthe Daly's editorial board. All other articles, letters an Ann Arbor, MI 48109 cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Dail Political analysts have traditionally used the first 100 days of a presi- dency as an indication of where on the specru the president really is, what his political style is, and his profi- ciency in getting things done. Wednesday marked the first 100 days of George W. Bush's Presidency; so far, his accomplishments have een -less than impressive. On domestic issues, Bush has shown that he prefers big business to the American masses. The Bush administration recently announced that it would cease efforts to promote ratification of the Kyoto Treaty by the Senate. More than 100 nations around the world signed the 1997 treaty that called for a 5.2 percent reduction of harmful green house gases, most notably carbon dioxide. The environmentally conscious European Union has expressed anger that Bush, the leader of the most indus- trialized nation in the world, refuses to assume a role in protecting the world's ubious lea e ip Bush's first 100 days prove disappointing future. Bush's actions, or lack there of, present the image that the United States is ignoring a problem that it has played a large role in creating. Bush's critics contend that his deci- sion to pull out of the Kyoto Treaty was partly a reward to coal-rich Virginia for voting for him and possibly a retaliation against unions that were effectively and actively anti-Bush. On Election Day the United Auto Workers deliberately put 2,000 members to work getting votes for Gore. Exit poll data gives evidence that union households in battleground states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin were a key component in Gore's victory in those states. Bush has also exhibited a startling lack of concern for pressing issues like social security and Medicare. He has done nothing to help the ailing social security system and while he has pro- posed a prescription drug benefit for the poorest senior citizens, the proposal is still in early stages and it is question- able that the money allotted will be suf- ficient. This is not all. Bush and the republi- can-dominated Congress have together formulated a bill that makes it harder for consumers to declare bankruptcy and a bill that loosens work-place safe- ty regulations regarding repetitive stress injuries. Banks and credit card compa- nies - not private citizens - are the obvious beneficiaries of the former bill. The latter bill will make it more diffi- cult for workers to fight hazardous working conditions. According to AFL CIO political director Steve Rosentha "George Bush makes Ronald Reaga look like Mother Jones." Bush has to showthe United States how his ticular brand of conservatism is difer ent and where exactly his "compassion comes into play. But all is not lost. Bush still ha most of his term to prove that th< American people are his first priorit If Bush really wants to demonstrate hi "compassion," he should be more sen sitive to the needs of the American pub lic and more engaged in improvinl international relations. He sho remember that natural resources are unlimited and will disappear ver) quickly if our nation continues to con sume them irresponsibly. It is still pos sible that history will view his admmis tration in a positive light Unfortunately, his moderate campaigr language has proven to be just a veneei for his conservative core. Naked ambition Student protestors correct to defend tradition buckle up or else Misdemeanor arrests sometimes unreasonable he Naked Mile was disappointing for many this year. Although the Ann Arbor Police Department was happy about the dwindled amount of participants and spectators, the lack of participation was disappointing and unfair. A series of threatening e-mails from University administrators crossed the wires in the weeks before the annu- al event, informing students of the "risks" associated with participating: Being assaulted by spectators, arrest, and even misdemeanor charges. Students were urged not to run and many were scared off by the threats of formal charges. Regardless of how the general public may feel about college students cavort- ing nakedly across campus, students should have the right to run at their own risk. The administration should allow students - as legal adults - to make their own decisions about their bodies. Furthermore, the protest of about 100 students that took place on South University Avenue in an attempt to block police access to the runners is fully justified and acceptable. These students were part of a peaceful protest that involved no infraction of the law. Also, there was no violence or any other dangerous activities among the runners. Increased efforts to quell this tradi- tional romp drove many students to openly defend the runners and express disapproval of the administration's irra- tional enforcement. In the past, all arrests made at the Naked Mile have been alcohol-related. Starting last year, naked students were charged with inde- cent exposure, which is considered a misdemeanor in Michigan. Perhaps this sort of protest is the only voice that students have left in an increasingly authoritarian atmosphere. What began as a spontaneous, upbeat event with little to no risk involved for runners is now a fiasco of chases, threats and arrests. Several students were chased by DPS and AAPD offi- cers as they ran and many were threat- ened with arrest if they did not put their clothes on. The increased police activity sur- rounding the Naked Mile is unnecessar- ily bringing down a beloved tradition. Man y who would have enjoyed the lighthearted jog could not do so for fear of severe consequences. The number of participants significantly decreased in 2000 (400 participants down from 800 the previous year). The number of spec- tators also dropped this year to about 7,000 compared to last year's 10,000. The fact that students can be charged with a sexual offense just for running across campus naked is ludicrous. The students who wish to run in the Naked Mile are not out to threaten or offend anyone. If it is their mere presence that one finds undesirable, then one can choose not to attend. Secondly, brand- ing runners as "sex offenders" puts their harmless college fun in the same cate- gory as the more heinous acts of rapists and child molesters. It will be interesting to see how next year turns out, especially after students have chosen to protest the efforts of the AAPD. It is difficult to predict what will happen, but the strong resistance presented this year may fuel new and effective efforts to revive the Naked Mile. magine your mother driving you home from soccer practice on the quiet 15 mile per hour streets of your quaint town. Suddenly, a police car flash- es its lights and pulls your car over and you realize that you, your mother and your sibling never fastened your seat- belts back in the parking lot. The police officer proceeds to handcuff and arrest your mother and to search your car; if it wasn't for the kind neighbor who came to get you, he also would have arrested you. Sound unlikely? Texas resident Gail Atwater and her children thought so, too. A police officer observed Atwater and her children breaking the law by not wearing their seatbelts; the maximum penalty for this minor infraction is a $50 fine. Instead of issuing a ticket, he sub- jected her to the humiliation of a full cus- todial arrest, posted a $310 bond and made her pay to have her truck towed. Atwater was sure that such a severe pun- ishment for such a minor offense would constitute unreasonable search and seizure, a breach of her Fourth Amendment rights. She filed a lawsuit against the city of Lago Vista, its police chief and the officer who arrested her. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where justices were sharply divided, ruling 5-4 that a police officer who observes someone breaking the law - regardless of minority of the infraction or fine - can make a full cus- todial arrest without violating the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreason- able seizure. This ruling gives new dimension to a police officer's capacity to control a situ- ation that could be seen as dangerous but it also provides room for abuse. A seatbelt is a life-saving device tha1 the law says everyone must wear, but was this misdemeanor offense truly seen as menace that needed Atwater's arrest be corrected or was it simply somet to fill the time of a bored cop in a quiel town? This unbounded discretion given to police officers could provide ample excuse for the stopping and lawful harassing of an individual. In a time when racial profiling is already a serious problem (though race was not an issue in Atwater's case), this ruling could prove especially harmful; it will give poli officers one more reason to stop 'sus cious-looking" minorities. In the majority opinion on the deci- sion, Justice David H. Scouter felt that to "mint a new rule of constitutional law," would turn many ordinary arrests into occasions for further constitutional debate. But the arrests that are extraordi- nary are left with no defense; whether you are caught stealing or simply not wearing your seatbelt, you are still sub- ject to the same punishment. For Atwater's minor infraction, a mi- demeanor under Texas law, she should have paid $50. How can it be lawful to transform a $50 fine into a release bond of $310? Obviously, this ruling gives less power to the "criminals" and more power to those keeping the peace. But what kind of criminal is Atwater? All can le from her mistake of not wearing a sea belt, but the misdemeanor offense was not a threat to others; her punishment was too severe. The Supreme Court rul- ing was unreasonable and has a danger- ous potential for abuse.