Page 4--The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, February 5, 1991 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 Edited and Managed by Students at the University of Michigan ANDREW GOTTESMAN Editor in Chief STEPHEN HENDERSON DANIEL POUX Opinion Editors Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board. All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily. TAf 5UGEULT W3O1WE2~..MC HEPZTo NG (OU UP T t4T c 1-f LATBST our, sLJRe-'ERE ?ANTI- I, e ' u 9 Wi Misguided priorities Gulf war and defense spending take their toll on Ann Arbor L y PIt~ar INJAM iLr\AEai L~LjI TADD I'Y AAND WAS WAo LED AS RCN10 IRAN T AeP r.- ough estimates of the Gulf war's costs mount Adaily - the latest Congressional Budget Of- fice report places the price tag for Operation Desert Storm at $100 billion - few Americans have any sense of what such vast numbers mean. Most people understand that this war is exacerbating both the recession and the country's mounting social crises, but the links between the war abroad and the war at home are frequently too abstract . araer to raise public concern. Consequently, mil- lions of Americans whose lives and com- *munities are directly af- fected by this war re- main aloof from the E anti-war movements growing around them. -If those movements hope to continue growing, they must now begin to make the concrete connec- tions that will bring these millions into their ranks. For the community here, forging these links involves explaining how the war being waged at home extends to Ann Arbor, Michigan. It is not enough to insist that Bush's war translates into -domestic spending cuts and a deterioration of his Vaunted "American way of life." The anti-war movementhere must demonstrate specifically how these misguided fiscal priorities hurt the Ann Ar- bor community. The specifics regarding Ann Arbor underscore the deadliness of Bush's spending priorities and budget bombs. Currently, the war is costing Ann Arbor $424,000 a day. More than 50 cents of every Ann Arbor tax dollar winds up in the Pentagon's coffers. Meanwhile, less than three cents on the same dollar goes toward education, less than two gents subsidizes housing, and only .6 cents funds Empl environmental programs. Ending this reckless war - and subsequently cutting defense spending and restoring the peace dividend - would allow for huge transformations in these skewed priorities. The moneyAnnArborites fork over for Stealth Bomber and Star Wars pro- grams could fund 1,340 local Head Start slots for preschoolers and job training for 1,330 teens and adults. The Ann Arbor tax dollars saved by a 50 percent reduction in 5| MflhlI~My::5I : U.S. forces in Europe Health Car. 1o could pay for3,535 units Education 2.80 of rehabilitated afford- Housing 1.6¢ able housing here. Environment .6 Bush's war threatens loyment Programs .4¢ any possibility that such federal spending priori- ties will be reversed. Fighting the war abroad must include fighting for affordable housing, decent education, and good jobs here at home. Interested students should take advantage of the resources available through the Common Agenda Coalition, a national grouping of thou- sands of peace, civil rights, labor and environmen- tal groups devoted to exploring the costs of mili- tary spending on U.S. communities. Today, more than 200 branches of the Coalition will hold press conferences and informational ses- sions around the country about the effects of the war on domestic spending. The Ann Arbor branch will hold its conference at noon at the Center for Independent Living in the Georgetown Mall. At- tend, and help forge a future for this city and this country that recognizes that our best defense in- volves developing our most precious resource: the American people. hsW ;"}Y }Y..r, +'} e'' 'r"F. 5.y"^it :. f 1 .i$ " "'' "L. *.*** .;k ~. '4U%~. a t:: };:Y' '." ,!w4'' }:'h "1"}r; ;{"."fJ"}11,L* {.',}}, ""i*Y'' :it~t}".: "J '1'}r' "".{1"'.V".,., 'Y. LY v1{}.Y. , L Ca Y";L..i' GEO negotiations Bring them home now To the Daily: Ever since George Bush rashly stationed troops in the Persian Gulf months ago, he has at- tempted to define our objectives. Oddly, it went from defending Saudi Arabia to protecting our oil interests to saving American jobs to protecting the "free world and protect(ing) the quality of living for us and our future generation ("Protesters should stand behind troops," 1/30,V91)." Now, suddenly, we are fighting good vs. evil, right vs. wrong. What's next? Protecting our existence in the universe? If only George were so eloquent when talking about the environ- ment, medical issues, the economy, child care, and so on. But then again, we know what is said about talk. The upper levels of our government cannot clearly formulate any one reason for our beloved Operation Desert Storm without waffling over it within a matter of weeks or days. And to even attempt to describe this as a moral or just war is sickening. The really just thing to do before more American and Iraqi lives are lost is to stop the war by declaring a cease fire. George Bush, read our lips: We don't want your bloody war! The only real way to support our troops is by bringing them home - now. Thomas Renau Rackharn graduate student War not black & white To the Daily: The war with Iraq is not, as President Bush would like us to believe, a black and white issue. It is a gray one, begging us to ask many questions. As students it is our responsibility to ask these questions - questions about events leading up to the war, questions about events happening during the war itself, and ques- tions about the possible conse- quences of the war. As we seek answers to these questions, we must use all-of the resources at our disposal to get as many of the facts as we can. In doing this we must listen to people representing as many different opinions about this crisis as possible. However, as we investigate these sources, we must realize that they are presenting us with this information for their benefit and not ours. We must separate the reality from the rhetoric and the fact from the fiction. We must remember that this war is a very complex issue, and that groups on opposing sides of the issue may have ideas or beliefs that are worthy of support. We must realize that it is not un-American to question the actions of our government. In fact it is un-American not to. Our government is based on the ideal that the government is of the people and by the people. We the people should remember thisand make sure that our "representa- tive" in government also remem- ber. As educated people it is important that we form educated opinions on issues as important, and as complex, as war. It is important that we not get carried away by the rhetoric of any one group, but rather that we listen to and consider the ideas of many different groups.' Kevin Culligan Engineering senior Hussein is like Hitler To the Daily: Everybody hates war. But, it should be clear by now that we cannot reverse the decision to fight Saddam Hussein. His recent strikes against the civilians of Israel, whose government has made every effort to stay uninvolved, tell us that this man will and can do anything. This move shows clearly what Hussein really wants: to be remembered as a great and fearless warrior. Had the United States not intervened, he would have continued to attack his neighbors until Israel alone remained, only then to send his ultimatum to the world. As the futile attempts of negotiation showed, Hussein does not respect international opinion and will communicate only with bullets. There is little that distin- guishes Hussein's actions from Hitler's. Most Americans would aWAU. tOCNTATI oN~ c~ u F T*E FFER OF OuR C fp i stpEd.LOPAcis ad on 'v olence ay w r ga s eow ron hihw em sn rt b01$ NG & ' 14jS C4:4 ~AAA force. C M1'nstdfNg ussein's a pab . n ~ c i v s s y} .aaaaaaa. V '........ .:'. \. {'It " alike . F rtsr eafL; s onn? "."".ll, mo.'.'.+st peop 'v'L .e agree that Hitler had to be stopped. Pacifism and non e may work against people of reason and human compassion; unfortunately, Hussein seems to possess little of these attributes, so one must feed him the message on his own terms - using brute force. Considering Hussein's military might, the United States is unfortunately one of the few world powers today that has the capability to do so. To the anti-war activists: you are right - war is dirty, ugly, and involves the killing of humant beings, military and civilians alike. For this reason, most people would agree that war is not desirable. Sadly, however, war is also sometimes the lesser of several evils. I am certain that this is the case now. I find self-contradiction ; in the ant-war movement's claim to support the soldiers and not the war. Soldiers are defined by their actions, just like other people. They are in the Gulf on a mission, and their lives are endangered by hampered support. Protesting this war is naive, like protesting regular crime; it serves no purpose other than to display moral qualms. If saving lives is so important, why don't the protesters start right here in Michigan by supporting the crime-fighting forces that have to- deal with one of the highest slaying frequencies in the world. , Krstofer G. Skaug Engineering senior Undergrads should support TAs hough the University relies heavily on teach- ing assistants, the administration is - as usual - unwilling to pay these graduate students fairly for their services. Most TAs are overworked and underpaid, and have no choice but to sacrifice their students. Until the University decides that it cares enough about undergraduate students to invest in theirteachers, itis the administration- rather than the TAs themselves - which deserves students' anger and scorn. As the TAs' union - the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) -continues negotiations to -renew its two-year contract, undergraduates should rally in their support and recognize that it is the University's responsibility to initiate reform rather than to continue to exploit a cheap source of labor. GEO has entered negotiations calling for four major reforms: a 25-student limit in discussion sections, modest pay increases, child care benefits and open negotiations. Pay increases and lighter work loads would allow graduate teaching assis- 'tants to spend more time with students. TAs are overworked and cannot be expected to cram 35-40 students into discussion sections and maintain in their push for reform high teaching standards. Currently, TAs are paid on a weekly basis and not reimbursed for overtime. The University has specifically encouraged TAs not to work beyond their allotted paid hours; they would rather have TAs neglect their teaching responsibilities than pay them for the work they are willing to do. The GEO negotiators are also asking for pay increases and a cost-of-living adjustmentthat would compensate for rising inflation rates - a particu- larly important demand as the country heads into a deepening recession. To ensure GEO negotiators properly represent their constituency, the union has called for open negotiations. The administration - perhaps em- barrassed by its callous spending priorities -has refused. ,Students should support GEO's call for open negotiations so that they might see for themselves what little concern the administration has for its educators. More important, they should actively support GEO itself, so that students have a say in one of the most important aspects of their under- graduate education - their teachers. The Daily encourages responses from its readers. Letters should be 150 words or less and include the author's name, year in school and phone number. They can be mailed or delivered to The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard, Ann Arbor 48109 or they can be sent via MTS to "The Michi- gan Daily Letters to the Editor." The Daily reserves the right to edit letters for style and space. b 4 S. COLLEGETer ROUNDUP Teaching or research? .Teaching, research. Research, teaching.; What should the goals of an institution of higher learning be? Where will the emphasis be? Who will suffer? OSU President E. Gordon Gee has made a priority of; seeing that Ohio State excels in all areas. He said his administration will strive to see the school excels in the areas of teaching, service and research. In his address to the University Senate, he outlined several goals, one of which was to improve undergraduate education. He said it is necessary to change the attitudes of professors regarding the importance of teaching. The visionary in Gee says excellence in both areas can be achieved, but we don't agree. We have not as yet seen any substantive proof that the balance can be reached. We think the cliche, jack of all trades, master :of none, applies in this discussion. This university certainly has the potential to excel. In order to do so, however, it must focus on one area. As 'it stands, the area most doted on is research. As Gee points out, it is easily quantified, in the form of articles and books published and grants awarded. How can we change the emphasis? Gee says there are systems of quantification and reward, although none is in place here. He has made it a goal to make education an important, exciting, and tenure-earning part of the university structure. However, we recognize that it could be a tricky and lengthy process to change attitudes of professors. Our generation certainly will not benefit from the meta- morphoses. And so we question the ability and dedication of the new administration to fix what, in the words of Gee, is out of whack at Ohio State. . Gee has said on many occasions, that for this univer- sity to excel, it must focus its resources. He has also said this focusing involves both winners and losers. We think the winners should be the students and the losers should be the publishing companies. Jan. 28, 1991 Ohio State Lantern The Ohio State University Gulf coverage is a 'media circus' by Aimee E. Devlin-RueIle It's been less than a month since the Persian Gulf War began and the popular mainstream media of this country has been playing every minute of it to the hilt. Looking back to the first night of the war, you may recall the reports of three journalists from a hotel room in Baghdad. The three correspondents, who supposedly were going to disseminate the facts from the rumors for a viewing public, instead chose to engage them- selves in self-congratulatory banter. While discussing how much the bombs bursting over- head reminded them of the Fourth of July, they metaphorically patted themselves on the back and congratulated each other on their stirring displays of bravado. At the beginning of this war, media coverage was constant, incessant, and quite frankly it looked more and more as if this was not going to be the quick operation the government had hoped for. We were in it for the long haul. In anticipation of a longer war, the networks have jumped at the chance to produce a slick Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell has become a darling of the media set; and is more than happy to provide colorful charts and enchanting sound bite answers. And, of course, President Bush has gotten in on the act, with his snappy catch phrases like "new world The American government has been more than happy to provide the media with news and information on the war - served up Pentagon style. Nuts and Bolts M 1 by Judd Winick SNA AACODE, SGenDDA M ID !! media package in order to woo viewers to their coverage. The news is no longer the news. No, now it has a flashy title like "America at War," "The War in the Gulf," or "Persian Gulf i Update." In fact, there is even catchy war theme music (not available in stores). From CBS's intense battle order," "darndest search and destroy mission," and the ever popular "this will not be a long and protracted war." These from the same man who immortalized the words "read my lips.. ." The popular media of this country seems to be having a field day with their coverage of this war. From the slick Pentagon I, N*J5 6GOttO?