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. ::::}';': .V A %*{rt "rVAv " .A ""0,;~"": . .: rrV {;{v":}{i.Y. ""; .r""."rvr.,.W""" . e "".r " " " . ..: :: ..;rr ;6. } Y~r".wr r .... :t "" T ax th e 'U'S::;'': fw"" : }{{ }":"r: hf " .04P -c . 01 r 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. V.V.V:YJ V:.VL:V AV.KAttV1V:.V~t:: ^.":.Y:A"J.V~tYL'XJY:.VVJ"WV:.1.1|LWL"|".|| hL:||||:".4:L1V ..1.... .4} .......................... "::.\:.LV " J1Y:..W " :"JYif.1Y V Vf||||:.YV'|f. A": .".:;"}:'.}!.".V.VJV."..Vf:::J.J.VJV: .::L ::.VV..Y.VJJ : J: |:J|::|'..|: "f|:""" 1.t"**4* 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 I( wrkAvE MWAPPENEP "t' YbR 7EACfflN JC7 r PoYouIJNTIt f ZJUST HOPE X INSTILLE~aT~3RR!) SvMy~ C~~~rhc)TY 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 IW ....,...........,.....,,...u.