Page 4-The Michigan Daily--Monday, February 11, 1991
420 Maynard Street ANDREW GOTITES MAN
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 Editor in Chief
Edited and Managed STEPHEN HENDERSO7N
by Students at the DANIEL POUX
University of Michiganr 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.
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City cannot afford University's
T magine a company worth $2 billion that owns
l 17 percent of the land in the city where it is
located. Now imagine a city which has run deficits
in two of the last four years, despite annual 10
percent increases in property tax assessments. Fi-
nally, imagine how outraged you would be as a
resident in this town if you learned that the com-
pany in question pays no taxes - thereby jacking
up your own tax bill an extra $1,400.
If you live in Ann Arbor, no imagination is
required, for this scenario describes the reality of
the city's relationship with the University of
Michigan. The University -like its counterparts
all over the United States - does not pay property
taxes to the community in which it resides and
upon whose services it depends.
But we do not live in Tudor England. Rather, as
President Duderstadt never tires of telling us, we
are on the threshold of the 21st century. We live in
a world where the need to protect academic free-
dom and integrity must be balanced with the
complicated problems facing a city with a peren-
nial gap between monies available and services
required.
To the extent that the University contributes to
that gap, it is part of the problem and must be part
of the solution. The University pays Ann Arbor
$5.5 million annually for water, sewer, police, and
fire services. It costs the city at least twice as much
to provide these services to the campus.
tax-exempt status
Property taxes in Ann Arbor - which, along
with rents, are dramatically inflated by the
University's tax-exempt holdings - are the third
highest in the state. Were the University to pay its
share of these taxes - an estimated $69 million
annually -property taxes could be lowered. More
importantly, Ann Arbor could begin spending
money on desperately needed low-income housing
for those who have been hurt most by the housing
crunch.
Critics opposed to taxing the University -
most of whom, not surprisingly, report to work
each day in the Fleming Building - point to the
revenues which the University community pumps
into AnnArbor every year. But these monies benefit
only a small, private sector of Ann Arborites:
primarily its merchants, bankers, and realtors. Such
monies do nothing for Ann Arbor's public sector,
with its schools, roads, and severely underfunded
social services.
If Duderstadt is serious about the Michigan
Mandate, he can begin by recognizing that
"Michigan" is not synonymous with the University
he runs. For all its ivory towers, this University
does not exist in a vacuum, but as part of a com-
munity. Like other members of that community,
the University should recognize that it has obli-
gations to its neighbors- including the obligation
to pay for what it uses.
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Public comments
Students, regents should find an
L ast Thursday - in what has become a typical
monthly event - student demonstrators dis-
rupted the public comments section of the Board of
Regents' meeting. This month, students from the
anti-war movements, ACT-UP and other activist
groups posed as regents and administrators --
taking their seats and dressing like many of them
- and re-voted on
several controversial
issues the board has
discussed in the past
year.
While this may
have been a humor-
ous way to drive
home a point, the re-
gents did not share in
the laughter. They
suspended the pub-
lic comments ses-
sion, and several
students with unre-e
lated concerns were
unable tovoice them Todd Ochoa and Patrice Maurer
to the University ad- during public comments last Thu
ministration.
This has become a routine occurrence at re-
gents' meetings this year. In September, many
speakers at public comments were shouted down
by anti-deputization protesters; in January, public
comments were cancelled because of disruptions
by anti-war demonstrators.
Such incidents prove that the lines of commu-
nication between students and administrators have
broken down and something must be done to
provide a medium that both parties deem effective.
Designed to bridge the gap between the regents
effective medium for dialogue
and the community, public comments have never
fulfilled their primary objectives. It is obvious the
regents do not enjoy sitting through the unpleasant
hour, and two of the last three sessions were
cancelled because of disruptions by student ac-
tivists.
While it is easy to condemn the students for
1k their antics - dis-
rupting the meet-
ings clearly serves
no productive end
- the monthly
| [ showdowns are in-
.%. evitable in a com-
munity where dis-
senting parties' in-
put is ignored.
The regents have
consistently disre-
garded student in-
terest in University
4_policy. The
JOSEJUAREZ/Daily deputiZation of a
listen intently to a speaker University police
rsday. force, the eradica-
tion of the Univer-
sity Council and the refusal to include gay males
and lesbians in regental bylaw 14.06 are all ex-
amples of the regents' willingness make decisions
with little to no student input.
While student actions during public comments
have been - in some cases - deplorable, the
regents' blatant insensitivity has left campus ac-
tivists with no other recourse, and these unpleasant
confrontations will continue as long as University
administrators ignore student concerns.
No draft, please
To the Daily:
As a desert storm brews in the
Middle East, many concerns of
the potential reinstatement of the
draft have erupted. Hopefully,
these fears won't become a
reality.
A government fighting a "just
cause" should have no problem
getting enough volunteers. Ayn
Rand, an objectivist philosopher,
points out that a lack of volun-
teers would be due to two factors:
if a country is under
coersion by a corrupt government,
or,
* if a country is fighting a war
of aggression in which its citizens
do not understand or share in the
merits of its purpose.
If a lack of volunteers be-
comes a problem, maybe the
government should reexamine its
position in the Middle East before
considering a draft.
Kathleen Cook
LSA first-year student
Article
lacked facts
To the Daily:
Normally I just laugh off the
comments that I see in the Daily,
but the article about the anti-
Coors campaign ("Environmen-
talists launch anti-Coors beer
campaign" 2/6/91) especially
bothered me.
The article pointed to Coors'
"racist, sexist, and homophobic"
policies, but never offered any
examples to substantiate these
wild charges. The article also
claimed the Heritage foundation
supported "racists and terrorist
individuals and agendas." Also,
the charge of terrorism is just
ludicrous.
My point is that the Daily
should not throw around wild
charges and stoop to name-calling
in news articles. Making outra-
geous and unbelievable charges
rather than backing up legitimate
claims with facts only forces
readers to scoff at a possibly
worthy issue.
Michael Troy
Second-year Law student
Don't hide opposition
To the Daily:
Since the war and subsequent
protests began, everyone has been
forced to reevaluate their concep-
tions of war, peace, freedom and
patriotism.
Most everyone would prob-
ably agree that a useful definition
of patriotism would be pride in
one's country. In this sense, I
would be no less patriotic than my
classmates who have voluntarily
enlisted to defend our country's
overseas interests: I am extremely
proud to be an American and
value my Constitutional freedoms
of thought and expression greater
than anything else in my life.
However, there are those on
campus who feel that to be
patriotic is to put all personal
feelings aside and put up a united
front of immutable support for our
servicemen and their efforts.
Certain of these individuals have
gone so far as to tear down all
visible, semi-permanent symbols
of dissatisfaction and disillusion,
all in an effort to show (falsely) a
portrait of unanimous support for
our troops.
I'm sorry, but high school
government taught me that as an
American I have the unique right
to question and petition my
government when I feel injustice
is being done, and simple faith in
democracy has taught me to
respect my fellow Americans'
differing opinions. Attempting to
conform the student body, or even
to present a unified front at the
expense of free expression and by
stifling peaceful dissent betrays
every red white and blue fiber in
our oh-so-precious (in)flammable
flag.
I hate war, and this one is no
exception. I don't care what more
"patriotic" students might feel -
I won't lie about my opposition in
order to show our soldiers a
united front. I'm going to protest
until someone gets the message.
Sean Kottke
LSA sophomore
Students demonstrate against the war on Jan. 19. ~
i
a
Photo, but no story
To the Daily:
Well it seems that the Daily
has failed in its journalistic duties.
A photo in the paper had a caption
"War on the environment" (2/7/
91), but no story explaining it.
It would seem that the Daily
would take advantage of this
resource, seeing that it is an
aspect of the Gulf War that every
one from the president down to
CNN has ignored, and we had a
panel discussion about it right
here at the University.
The entire University commu-
nity could have benefited from
this lecture, whether via a Daily
article or previous listing; neither
of these happened, and a valuable
forum was omitted. Is the Daily
buying into the pervasive media
censorship of this war as well?
Kirsten Mowrey
RC senior
Of mayors, cops and °U' employees
0
ROUNDUPClass boycotts
Do you ever wonder why stu-
dents know so little about Ann Ar-
bor, the city in which they live?
How many of you are aware that
your mayor, Gerald Jernigan, is also
a Univer-
....................... ...............
Common among critiques of "the left" is the obser-
vation that well-intentioned protest often blurs into
knee-jerk silliness.
Such is the case with the call - voiced through signs
and posters plastered around the campus - for students
to boycott class in defiance of the U.S. air raids on the
civilian population of Iraq.
The proposed boycott is one in a series of mostly
exemplary actions taken against George Bush's new-
found war. But unlike other elements of the protest, the
idea doesn't seem to comport well with the left's im-
plicit goal: the cessation of hostilities and the safe return
of troops from the gulf.
Signs posted across campus present sensible slogans
like "No peace, no class," and "This is not a normal day.
Boycott class."
The former defies analysis to the extent that it flatly
doesn't make sense. The sign makes no logical connec-
tion between peace and class. "No peace, no bowling"
would make as much sense.
The latter, though, pinpoints the left's inconsis-
tency. The idea on the signs translated would read: "War
has broken out. Immediately cease all educational ac-
tivity."
The days after the beginning of a potentially disas-
trous war would seem on its face to be a day everyone
should be in class. A boycott won't stop the war.
Educating ourselves might.
Extending every charity to Bush, his pet war is at
best premature. It may be people our age who will be
drafted to fight it. This is a time of crisis, but nothing
indicates that sacrificing educational opportunity will
solve it.
Jan. 19, 1991, The Daily Texan
by Greg Weiner
University of Texas-Austin
sity em-
ployee who
works ev-
ery day in
theFleming
Adminis-
tration
Building?
- In a
town filled
with part-
time politi-
cians and a
David
Schwartz
for the city of Ann Arbor.
When the regents were debating
the deputization issue last summer,
several members of the Ann Arbor
City Council urged the regents to
hold off on their vote because a
University police force would se-
verely harm the city's shrinking
budget and growing deficit. The
University proposal deprived the
city of $500,000 annually in con-
tracting fees, and an additional
$600,000 annually in foregone
parking.fines.
Fearing the worst, Council-
members Ingrid Sheldon (a Repub-
lican) and Ann Marie Coleman (a
Democrat) pleaded with the regents
to negotiate with the city council
before voting hastily on the
deputization proposal. The Board
of Regents ignored the pleas, and a
letter I recently discovered may ex-
plain why.
Mayor Jernigan, on June 7,1990,
sent a letter to President Duderstadt
expressing his support for the soon-
cumstances, but the fact that
Jernigan is employed by Duderstadt
and the regents makes me wonder
where his allegiance lies. Is it with
the voters who elected him to his
office, or with his employer, the
University?
The city and the University are
fundamentally linked, and they exist
simultaneously because of and in
spite of each other.
When bargaining is necessary
to work out conflicts between the
city and the University, it would
undoubtedly be in the interest of
city voters to have their top repre-
sentative free from coercion by the
University. So long as Jernigan is
mayor, the conflict created by his
employment as a University in-
vestment analyst will continue to
haunt the city.
Jernigan, a Republican, is up for
re-election in April,and is expected
to be challenged by Councilmember
Liz Brater, a Third Ward Democrat.
It's time for Ann Arbor voters to
I I
Nuts and Bolts
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By Judd Winick
I TAN i N S N AN CF s
[ Y r iTO tr SC
major col-
lege, perhaps it's not so unusual for
the city's top official to work for the
city's biggest business - the Uni-
versity. And perhaps I wouldn't care
so much if Mayor Jernigan's con-
flict of interest weren't so detri-
mental to students.
I
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