Page 4--The Michigan Daily-Thursday, February 14, 1991
Wbr £idiigau 1aiIQ
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.
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n the state-run Missouri Rehabilitation Center,
Christine Busalacchi lies in a vegetative state,
sustained only by machinery. A neurologist has
diagnosed Busalacchi as having a"one in a billion"
chance of recovery.
z Her father obtained court authority to move his
daughter to a Minneapolis facility that has a less
constraining policy on the removal of life-support.
But the Missouri Board of Health won an appeal of
the decision last month, forcing Busalacchi and her
family to further endure her painful existence.
Indeed, this is not an unfamiliar situation for the
Missouri Rehabilitation Center; the facility has a
similar case pending with another patient, Nancy
Cruzan - the first to have a "living will" request-
ing the removal of life support under certain cir-
cpmstances - who has been in a vegetative state
since 1983.
Across the country, patients' families are wag-
ing court battles similar to the Busalacchi and.
Cruzan cases - and losing them. Without input
from the most important person - the patient -
families have little legal precedent on which to
plead their case. Someone who knows the patient
and cares for their well-being should be allowed to
decide whether the patient would consent to the
removal of life-supporting devices.
Currently, living wills are the best way to ensure
that an invalid patient's wishes are carried out.
Written in sound mind, this document states a
number of conditions under which the patient
would consent to the removal of life-support. In
addition, these wills absolve the family and medical
staff from any legal censure in the execution of the
patient's wishes. Living wills are currently legal in
39 states; Michigan just recently legalized these
documents.
But the matter still sits quite uncomfortably. If
one has not written a living will, the government
may choose the patient's fate, even if that decision
runs counter to the family's wishes.
People must have the right to choose the fate of
their bodies- whether it concerns abortion, organ
donation, or most importantly, the right to live or
die. If family members strongly believe that the
patient would have wanted to die under certain
conditions, the hospital should grant the family's
wishes.
This controversial issue raises many questions
over where the government's responsibilities end
and human rights begin, and these concerns must
be dealt with now. Until they are resolved,
Busalacchi, her family and countless others must
wait.
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Lithuania
Moscow's crackdown threatens Baltic's push for freedom
Last Saturday,the independence-minded peoples
of Lithuania voted overwhelmingly in a non-
binding referendum to secede from the Soviet
Union. Though Soviet President Mikhail
Gorbachev declared the balloting invalid, this move
by the Lithuanians is anQ
even more compelling rea-
son to support their effort
for independence.
90 percentofLithuania's
registered voters turned out
fgr the Saturday referen-
dum, and 90 percent of them
voted to secede. This man-
date for secession, even
supported by many ethnic
Russians and Poles - 17.5
percent of Lithuania's
population-makes it even
clearer that Gorbachev nor
longer can ignore the pleas
of the Lithuanians.
Recent civil upheavals .
in Lithuania and several
other Soviet republicsindi-
cate that Moscow is losing
control of its outlying ter-
ritories,just as Gorbachev's
power base is eroding. The
hard-line Communists gain .
more and more powerevery .
tray in the Politburo, and
the new joint military-po-
lice patrols in many major Soviet cities cast an
ominous shadow upon Gorbachev's reform ef-
forts. As Moscow tightens its grip on the breakaway
republics, the separatists' resolve increases.
Gorbachev must be careful that the tensions between
the satellite republics and the central government
does not degenerate into anarchy or civil war.
The upcoming nationwide referendum on the
preservation of the Soviet Union is somewhat
encouraging, but it is doubtful that this national
referendum will end the push for Baltic indepen-
dence. If the Kremlin re-
spects the results of the
polling, then it willrespond
to the problems that threaten
to split the Soviet Union
- apart.
Sending in troops to
V E"quell "civil unrest" and
barricading buildings are
UVAI - not the answers to the
Lithuanian peoples' desire
for freedom. It is time for
the Kremlin to engage in
substantive negotiations
with the leaders of the vari-
ous republics and to dis-
cuss the future of the rela-
tionship between Moscow
and the Baltic states. The
Kremlin must respect these
republics, and recognize
that they deserve to be in-
dependent, sovereign states.
It is clear that the voices
calling for Baltic indepen-
dence will not be silenced;
the only question is whether
AP Photo the rest of the world will
allow such a flagrant violation of self-determina-
tion to proceed without a response. Hopefully
Gorbachev will choose to build bridges with the
fledgling governments of the Baltic republics, in-
stead of walls. And if not, hopefully the rest of the
world will help to tear the walls down.
Blood drive
organized poorly
To the Daily:
No matter how we feel about
the war, the members of the
University community are
determined to show our support
for servicepeople in the Gulf. This
becomes increasingly important
as we move closer to a ground
offensive, which will surely claim
a heavy toll of American lives.
Hospitals across the country are
emptying their beds and making
other preparations for the
casualities, and organizations
such as the American Red Cross
are begging for blood donations.
This is why the pitiful
understaffing of the Michigan
League donation site last Friday
was so unfortunate.
Potential blood donors waited
two to three hours to see a nurse.
Many who had sacrificed their
afternoons were ineligible to give
blood. Finally, the student
volunteers had to close the line to
newcomers.
The most tragic part of the
story is that the long line did not
mean that record numbers of
blood units were being collected
for our men and women in
uniform. Rather, student organiz-
ers doubted that the site would be
able to reach its quota for the
Washtenaw community that day.
With so many of us trying to do
our tiny part to alleviate the
human suffering caused by this
war, the Red Cross' abuse of
donor generosity was unconscio-
nable.
Katherine Metres
RC sophomore
MSA ignores
students' views
To the Daily:
It was surprising and disap-
pointing to see that MSA rejected
the idea of a student perception
survey. It seems that Corey
Dolgon and Jenny Van Valey are
in favor of empowering every
group except their constituents.
Even more unbelievable than the
rejection itself, however, were the
rationales offered by Corey and
Jenny in opposition to this hint of
democracy and student input.
Corey notes that he's "seen
three surveys tried before this
one. The surveys have never told
us anything that we didn't already
know." In addition, he claims that
a recurring problem with MSA is
that many students don't know
the purpose and job of MSA.
Jenny suggests that such a survey
would be difficult to interpret
because "different students want
different things."
These flimsy explanations
represent attempts by Corey and
Jenny to run for cover from what
the results of such a survey might
reveal. Regarding Corey's
objections, if MSA surveys report
the same problems year after year,
the problems are obviously not
being adequately addressed; and
to argue that many students don't
know the purpose and job of
Don't
li0ke
yous
Tell our readers
what you think.
Write to the
Michigan Daily at
420 Maynard
Street, or send
your letters via
MTS to
"Michigan Daily."
MSA is backwards and self-
centered. On the contrary, as its
constituents, students determine
the job and purpose of MSA. Did
Corey forget that that's what
elections are for?
Regarding Jenny's objection,
if it's even worth addressing, to
argue that because "different
students want different things," a
survey would not be useful is to
invoke a silly truism. In every
election held, vote taken, or
decision made in the history of
humanity, "different people
want(ed) different things." So
views are solicited, discussions
held, and votes taken to determine
courses of action. Why all of a
sudden does she show such a need
for unanimity?
It's too bad the survey won't
be taken; it could be enlightening
for Corey, Jenny, MSA, and the
students.
I care about student interests
being protected. I've been here
three and a half years, and every
year I've paid skyrocketing
tuition, had extortionist rents, and
carelessly written
To the Daily:
I think that "A House Di-
vided" (Weekend, 2/8/91) was
very poorly written and slander-
ous. Once in a while, I feel
compelled to write the Daily, but I,
have never been so incensed by a
Weekend article.
Andrew Levy called the
division in campus conservatism
both a "split" and a "schism." Yet-
the tone of his article was very
much in favor of one side and
against the other.
Levy most likely selectively
quoted - poorly at that-
because he made James Green
look like an idiot. For everything
Green said, Levy found a re-
sponse from either Brian Meadors
or Prof. Kimeldorf to refute it.
I'm not quite sure what made
Levy think that Kimeldorf was an
expert on "people like [Green]" to
say that Green was cynical and
career-minded. It came off as very
unprofessional on Levy's part.
Also, quotes like "I hate Corey ;
Dolgon..." do not belong in
articles about the split between
conservatives on this campus.
Maybe it would be appropriate for
an article about why some campus
leaders have problems with
others.
Green may not have the most
popular views on the conservative
side of the spectrum, but that
alone is no reason to let Meadors
blow his own horn. Meadors both
portrayed himself as the savior of
this campus and Green as an
embarrassment to the conserva-
tive side of this campus. I think
that next time an Daily article pits,
one leader against another, it
ought to be thoroughly reviewedtw.
so that people like Green don't
have to feel shafted.
Joyce Gresco
LSA junior::
ft
received a declining quality of
instruction (including having #}
graduate student lecturers for
upper-level classes in my major).
Where is all the added tuition
going? Much seems to pay for
hefty administration salary
increases and expensive, useless 4
"campus beautification" projects.
If the students' representatives
credibly addressed these issues,
the results could be different. It's
worth a try.
Jeff Danziger
LSA senior,
Weekend story
:
UU. ROTC discrimination
It is understandable that the outbreak of fighting in
the Middle East has made other campus issues seem
insignificant- war has a way of putting other concerns
in perspective.
But that is no excuse for ignoring what once ap-
peared to be Indiana University's (IU) most divisive
campus issue. The Reserve Officers Training Corps
(ROTC) may be forgotten, but it is far from gone.
The campaign for the reform or removal of ROTC
had stagnated even before peace activists and supporters
of U.S. policy began snatching headlines with campus
demonstrations and clashes.
Both ROTC advocates and opponents of the Defense
Department's ban on homosexuals voiced their argu-
ments early and then settled into what has become a
stalemate.
The prohibition of homosexuals from a campus
organization is both morally wrong and wrong in the
eyes of the IU's sexual orientation clause.
ButtheDefenseDepartmentandTUNgoverning bodies
are still struggling with the issue. A strong ROTC
influence coupled with 'Defense Department grants
has prompted bodies of power to opt for the lower road
of convenience rather than the high road of justice.
IU's activists mustkeep their fighting spirit and dust
off the ROTC issue. Even if it no longer grabs headlines,
IU officials and the Defense Department must not be
allowed to forget this injustice until ROTC has reformed
or been banished from IU.
Feb. 4, 1991, Indiana Daily Student
by Randall Frykberg
Indiana University
'A House Divided'
by James Green
Once again, The Michigan
Daily, in an effort to find a
sensationalistic angle to a story,
has attempted to create a problem
where none existed before. I went
to sleep last Thursday night, after
giving an interview, pleased that
the conservative movement on
campus was receiving more
notice from the Daily, and awoke
on Friday to learn of a deep
schism or rift among conserva-
tives on this campus. Since I am
still not aware that any such
division exists, I would like to
take issue with Weekend
Magazine's February 8 article, "A
1nis Trled "
However, as a memberc
Conservative Coalition, a c,
political party involved wit]
Michigan Student Assembl
(MSA), I did not think it ap
I became involved with MS
because I believed it did no
address student concerns, b
instead preoccupied with pr
gating a very specific radica
wing agenda. Advocating a
particular national political
philosophy should not be th
main preoccupation of a stu
assembly such as MSA. Th
Conservative Coalition sees
main goal of a student asses
the adequate representation
student concerns on campus
.k 1
distorts C.C.
of automatically come out against
ampus anything this country or this
h the University does - a movement
y that only the most radical of
ropos. people, such as Corey Dolgon and
A I suspect Professor Kimeldorf, the-
t professor who criticized me, can
ut was accept. The conservative move- .
opa- ment, on the other hand, is much
al left- more positive, and is by no means,
defined by the radical left.
I find it interesting that what
e the Daily seems to be exposing is
dent merely a diversity and variety of
e issues and opinions that the
as the conservative movement deals
mbly with on campus. I am proud to be
of part of this movement which'
S. welcomes debate, dialogue, and a
Nuts and Bolts
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