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Page 4 -The Michigan Daily -Friday, January 11, 1991
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EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
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420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
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NOAH FINKEL
Editor in Chief
DAVID SCHWARTZ
Opinion Editor
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Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board. All other cartoons,
fK signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.
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Ileputization
oll shows opposition to University police force
FTER ALL THE BICKERING AND most two out of three are opposed to
nflicting assertions, student opinion deputization (52 percent to 29.4 per-
about the deputization of University cent). The administration should ac-
lice officers is finally clear. While the knowledge this by giving credence to
inistration has consistently held that the anti-deputization movement and
s dents are, for the most part, in favor 'their wishes. The issue should be re-
a University police force, most stu- opened for campus debate.
nt leaders have claimed the opposite. The administration, as usual, has re-
Until now, no one had bothered to find fused to acknowledge the importance,
out for sure. or even the relevance, of student opin-
A poll conducted by The Michigan ion. Duderstadt's rhetoric would lead
Daily, The Michigan Review and Con- one to believe that student input into
sider Magazine has finally resulted in University policy is always solicited,
a accurate barometer of student opin- and considered very significant. He
ion. The poll, which was distributed to and Walter Harrison, executive director
a'representative sample of undergradu- of University Relations, have claimed
ates during CRISP, revealed that a that students were consulted before the
majority of students oppose deputiza- decision to deputize a police force was
tion. It should serve as a springboard made. The poll demonstrates that this
for the continuation of the anti-deputi- was not the case.
atiQn movement. The administration's decision to ig-
Clearly, such a comprehensive poll nore the numbers, therefore, is nothing
of students should have been con- short of a deliberate snub of student
ducted before now. The administration opinion and input. Clearly, what stu-
- an entity better equipped for such an dents think is not high on the adminis-
undertaking - should have taken this tration's list of priorities; the whims of
initiative before the issue was voted on the regents and President Duderstadt
ly the Board of Regents last summer. supercede any community concerns.
These numbers now come after the At this point, it is imperative that
f4gt; the regents have already voted and students take action. The deputized po-
&lice force is now patrolling campus. lice force is a threat to the greater stu-
However, despite these facts, the dent interest. The administration has set
importance of these results is not di- the stage for controversy, and students
minished. It is evident that of those must respond appropriately, with stal-
students who care about the issue, al- wart opposition.
Handmaid's Tale
Employers can't restrict women's right to work
THIS TERM, THE SUPREME COURT this oversimplified solution assumes
"expected to hand down a ruling in that it is impossible to make a safer
case of UAW v. Johnson Controls. workplace and that workers have a rea-
e case involves an employer, John- sonable choice between well-paying
,on, which refuses to allow "fertile" jobs. It is also inconsistent with corpo-
;omen to work in its plant because rations' responsibility to ensure work-
ilad hazards involved in certain jobs ers' physical safety.
resent a danger to potential fetuses. Companies like Johnson Controls
e company defined "fertile" women should eliminate their "fetal protection
those younger than 70. policies" and instead improve safety in
Several Johnson employees, all the workplace. They should also take
embers of the United Auto Workers, an important further step and set an ex-
tiled suit after they were demoted for ample for American companies by im-
efusing to undergo sterilization. Sev- plementing a comprehensive parental
Oral others faced with the same option leave policy that would acknowledge
were sterilized to keep their jobs. parenthood as a responsibility of both
The Johnson policy is clearly dis- men and women. It is time for busi-
{riminatory. It not only defines all nesses to acknowledge parenthood as a
omen as pregnant or potentially preg- simple fact of life around which they
ant, but it also ignores scientific evi- must establish their employee policies.
ence that male exposure to chemical UAW v. Johnson Controls is an
lazards can also cause birth defects in important case because it could change
$1eir children. The lead hazard in bat- the lives of 20 million women affected
ry production at Johnson Controls is by "fetal protection policies" at Johnson
cognized by the Occupational Safety Controls and other companies, in-
nd Health Association as risky for eluding General Motors, Gulf Oil,
S'Feanoei e lB.F. Goodrich, and Union Carbide.
Fetal protection pocies like the Just as importantly, it will throw an
ne at Johnson are not established in obstacle in the path of intolerant
e interest of fetuses. They are a de- moralists who crusade for "fetal rights"
ice of corporate executives to protect with profound disregard for the welfare
emselves from lawsuits by women of such children after they are born and
orkers who have babies with birth at the expense of women's rights to
efects, potentially caused by exposure control their bodies and their lives.
radiation or harmful chemicals. If
ohnson Controls were truly concerned Today, "fetal rights" keep women
about fetuses they would also imple- from holding certain jobs; tomorrow, it
hent a policy to prevent damage to could mean that women will not be al-
ihen's sperm - which can lead to fetal lowed to eat, smoke, drink, or even
defects. exercise as they please.
Furthermore, if the company's mo- True concern for fetuses means
tives were altruistic, it would have al- providing adequate health care for
eady improved workplace conditions women - not stripping them of jobs
o protect all its workers from exposure where such health benefits are pro-
to questionable levels of radiation and vided. It means real choices over when
harmful chemicals. . and whether to have children - not
Some argue that employers could be compulsory sterilization. It means rec-
rotected from lawsuits if female ognizing that no fetus or child can en-
workers agreed to sign contracts in joy true rights or liberties unless the
vhich they would absolve the company civil liberties of the women that carry
Af responsibility for birth defects. But them are fully protected and preserved.
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Students must actively oppose Bush's Gulf war
By Tom Abowd
In the mid-sixties - as the U.S.-spon-
sored repression and terror in Vietnam es-
calated and thousands of U.S. troops began
coming home in body bags - students
and faculty at the University and across the
country organized against Washington's
war in ways and in numbers never before
seen on U.S. college campuses. The first
teach-in of this era was held at the Univer-
sity of Michigan in 1965 and was a cata-
lyst for mass student involvement against
U.S. policies in Vietnam.
Now, a generation later, students are
opposing the largest military build-up
since Vietnam - one which threatens not
only Saddam Hussein but millions of
civilians from Baghdad to Gaza. Tomor-
row, as the United States moves ever
closer to confrontation, an all-day teach-in
and a noon demonstration will be orga-
nized by students and faculty. The activi-
ties are intended to send a powerful mes-
sage to Bush that foreign aggression is
still unacceptable in 1991.
Military analysts and Congressional
reports suggest that a U.S. invasion of
Iraq would result in upwards of 50,000
U.S. dead as well as Iraqi civilian casual-
ties numbering in the hundreds of thou-
sands -all in the first few weeks! Oil
fields will burn for years, Kuwait will be
Abowd, a graduate student in Near Eastern
Studies, is a member of the Education
Committee of Students Against U.S. In-
tervention in the Middle East.
levelled, the economic infrastructure of
Iraq - as promised by U.S. generals -
will be destroyed, and new groups of
refugees could be created, exacerbating an
already volatile political milieu.
While recent polls suggest overwhelm-
ing opposition to the enormous military
build-up in the Gulf, even greater numbers
- at least 7 of 10 U.S. citizens - op-
pose a war with Iraq. In open defiance of
public opinion, the Bush administration
seems committed to confrontation.
Though the European Community, the
Arab League, and Hussein himself have
offered numerous possibilities for negoti-
ating a peaceful settlement, Bush contin-
ues to make bellicose pronouncements
about "kicking Hussein's ass" as he pro-
ceeds to unilaterally reject them all.
light of continued openings for a peaceful
negotiated settlement of the conflict.
Even more repugnant is the hypocrisy'
with which Bush proclaims his unalterable
commitment to the principle of self-de-
termination in Kuwait while continuing t&
support the Israeli government - and its
flagrant violation of this principle with'*
regard to the Palestinians, South
Lebanese, and the Syrians of the Golan'
Heights- to the tune of $4 billion a yearr
Students Against U.S. Intervention iw'
the Middle East, a newly formed anti-wat,
group, meets every Monday night in the.
Law School and calls for the safe return of:
all U.S. troops now, the right of self-deo
termination for all people in the region;
and the redirection of funds used for mili=
tary purposes to social programs tha'tl
The obscene notion that young men and women
should be sent to fight for the interests of oil
companies is particularly repulsive in light of
continued openings for a peaceful negotiated
settlement of the conflict.
The response of Ann Arbor students,
faculty, and community members has been
to organize demonstrations, vigils, and ed-
ucational programming intended to make
Washington realize that U.S. intervention
and militarism must cease now. The ob-
scene notion that young men and women
should be sent to fight for the interests of
oil companies is particularly repulsive in
would benefit all U.S. citizens.
The potential human, economic, and,
environmental consequences of an inva-
sion of Iraq necessitate immediate action;
to oppose Bush's drive toward war. The al-;
ternatives are ominous.
Show your support for peace in the;
Middle East; attend the teach-in tomorrow
beginning at 9:30 am.
Poet: Vietnam or
Saudi Arabia?
To the Daily:
I hear it on the radio
Planes buzz overhead
Just like Vietnam
They're going to send our friends,
young women and men
Just like Vietnam
We'll see it on television
Just like Vietnam
Blood from someone's arms and hands
Just like Vietnam
They'll tell us how many enemy dead
Just like Vietnam
We can listen to newsmen yell
Just like Vietnam
We'll go to bed with numbers in our head
Just like Vietnam
They can take a vote in Congress
Just like Vietnam
We'll wake up, in a daze,
Smelling the bandages
Just like Vietnam
I can hardly wait 'til the shooting starts
Just like Vietnam
We'll open a beer and sit by the TV screen
Let's have a party and watch
the helicopters fall in a ditch
We'll talk about
how great the United States is
Just like Vietnam
Nick Thorndike
School of Information and Library
Studies
Add your name to
MT GulIf netitinn
sian Gulf be made.
Although we support the defense of
Saudi Arabia, we request that no offensive
move should be made against Iraq or Iraqi
troops at this time. Moreover, we believe
that no offensive action should be taken
without 1) the permission of the Congress
of the United States, and 2) allowing sanc-
tions to work for at least one year from
the date full sanctions were first imple-
mented."
Peter Urka
Regents-Baer Chemistry Fellow
Louise Parker
Post-Doctoral Research Fellow
Institute for Social Research
Make yourself heard
on war in Gulf
To the Daily:
It is shocking that some of-those ques-
tioned in opinion polls feel the United
States should go to war over Kuwait. Are.
they indeed willing to have their own
names, or someone's whom they love
dearly, appear on a Vietnam-type memo-
rial in Washington?
Are they themselves, willing to die in
order to empower British Petroleum's
cat's-paw Emir in a part of a country that
England sliced off from Iraq. It looks
about the same as giving Maine, Wash-
ington State, South California, or Florida
to some cat's paw government that suits
England, Israel or anyone else who
chooses. British Petroleum's Maggie
Thatcher met with Bush in Aspen, Col-
orado away from inquiring Washington
eves, lust before Bus~h made the meat Booc-
Daily reviewer
censors himself
f
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To the Daily:
Have the iron claws of censorship fi-
nally embedded themselves in the journal-
istic flesh of The Daily? I mean, after the.
outcry over the headline to the review for
"Three Men and a Little Lady" (which was0
if you don't recall, "Three Men With
Penises"), it seems that the word "penis";
is taboo around 420 Maynard. As ample;
proof, look to Nabeel Zuberi's (excellent)
review of "2 Nasty 4 Radio" (12/10/90)
that only referred to the male organ with
various euphemisms. I quote: "miserable
oily tubes...throbbing member... [and the
harmless] dick (twice)."
I did, however, enjoy Zuberi's icy cri-
tique of the record and take back what 10
said last week about him having to listen
to Led Zeppelin for eternity. Weekly doses:
of Technotronic's "Pump Up The Jam"
played backwards at 78 rpm should suffice,
although on second thought, would it re-
ally sound THAT much different?
Russell Gorton ;
First-year Engineering student'
Voice your opinions
To the Daily:
Soon we will be entrenched in war.;
There are 360,000 American soldiers,
500,000 Iraqi soldiers, and millions of
Middle Eastern citizens who could be
killed. War will further depress our econ-
omy and add to the animosity felt toward:
America by radical Muslims, leading to a
much greater era of terrorism against the:.
TUnited States-