Page 4-The Michigan Daily-Tuesday, March 12, 1991 5b 31rb43uan 1BtIQy 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 Edited and Managed by Students at the University of Michigan ANDREW K. 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. . . .}: *.:.*....*...{v .*}:..* *...... }... .r:. *~~*. . :r. .....f . . .:p : ...{ . { .rx............................ . ............... . ; }.a....x. C.. .:v """v W ::w x . r:x "v ,... ,x ........ . ..... ...:":":....r.:... .. ...''{ a. . .. . ,Fvf"":" . r ib b o ns:: :::}::{i}.:...."x n o t .o ..",...+.:en o u gh... : .r."C...... Bush.. r shouldguaranee reurningtroopsneede benef: :%its, jobs{?;>:::r} With the conclusion of the Gulf War, cities and towns from coast to coast are festooning their trees with yellow ribbons and preparing their streets for ticker-tape parades. The troops are returning home, and with Vietnam now a fading memory, Americans are determined that this time American GIs will be welcomed home in style. But if the Bush administration has its way, style will be the only difference between the troops' return from the Gulf and the Vietnam vets' home- coming. Even as the president prattles on about "how proud he is ofour brave men and women," he is doing almost nothing to assure that these troops are provided for once the confetti is swept away and the last champagne uncorked. White House Budget Director Richard Darman has already made clear that any monies set aside for returning soldiers must come out of other domestic programs. Since most of these programs have already been severely slashed, there is little hope that veterans will receive the benefits they deserve. According to the Washington Institute forPolicy Studies, adequate veterans' benefits cost - on average - 278 percent of the total cost of a war. That means that the White House needs to come up with more than $150 billion if it plans to help Gulf veterans back onto their feet. The money for veterans' programs - includ- ing adequate unemployment benefits for those who were jobless in August or who had their jobs eliminated by the recession while overseas - should come from the Pentagon's bloated budget. There is no reason why the military should con- tinue dropping $300 billion on its expensive toys when it cannot even adequately compensate its far more valuable human resource: the troops in the field. If these misguided priorities are not changed soon, many of the Gulf veterans will meet the same fate as their Vietnam War predecessors: poverty, joblessness, and ostracization. This country's shameful treatment of those vets left an ugly scar on the national psyche - one which the White House vowed to eradicate this time around. But unless Bush is willing to put some money where his mouth is, Americans will soon be thinking about hypocrisy rather than patriotism when they read his lips. Welcome home A fter almost eight months in the field, U.S. troops are finally coming home. Regard- less of one's feelings about the war, all Ameri- cans should welcome them home, treat them with dignity and respect, and be thankful they are alive. Many soldiers will not be coming home. More than 300 were killed between August and February-including 12 from Michigan. We can only mourn with those famlies who will suffer such an acute loss. As General Norman Schwarzkopf said, the loss of even one soldier is a great tragedy. Even as we welcome home those who survived, let us remember to mourn for all the casualties of this war. Perhaps it will help to prevent our nation from becoming involved in similar wars in the future. NOW) b.oo tV4AT 'O VP pot u. E Vt~ v F 4J PD 1AIT1QoJ F0 t 2T4 L : Ize Y V*ecK t r :.}.}{r\V.L}t}}}}a\"J.WK4},'JM.}"{{Nr}Y{+}:.:h,}:1 ,"4VYhVW.hO}}:J. .Y.4YAf14111Y1 ,11t "ALNr .L 41 N YJ," "V:LVJI. MJ.LL :"".4YY1 .'", .0..:.Y ..... " ...r Yi'.. ':'V::{,:'i. .,:{1 . ::"}::ti"};":":::":":':':'::"::":::"::": :":': ;"'"::' r 11 ".1,"r. r.1 , x"1'"0. ..yJ: '"14Y..f . .rt, 4r,.rr 'L:"1. ::. :.Y :Y:':: r1Y::"0.V:rVr a" . . Yl r.lhJr'" ". r.1J:.1":1YJ:Y:V:,1N:.{^} ...........................r...,:::.":"}.".Y.: "::":: ::.L"i.:";':":Y:::.... J.Y:.::..,..r . ".. r......a.; ..r.... r.1:."..1 ..1"":!r .14 ".. 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":":.}Y:.Y:.L. } .. r.....,.:..:.i".L.YJr.Y:::..Y ::" :o"". }:r":"i{{':":raJ,.aJr1'Jai' 0.Y:: "L:111"".L'1:a.0.4.V.,......... "..... "aa.....,rr.r. a.rrraa r..rar, a.." "}.L"r.Y . r . JG' Lw. r.Y:":":" {:":r. x..1.0. :"JJ: {L',. ".ti"}: 'S:.,.. V: ................... .1111. a:" ".:" ::" : : '.:":.Y::: J ":":::':{::'. :^: 0. .r .1.. ti": h .yS "r Students' voice Swain's actions show disregard for student representation A dministrators and students have recently been scrambling for ways to enhance the lines of communication between them. Students - and especially representatives on the Michigan Student Assembly (MSA) - have expressed discontent with existing forums for discussion, like the monthly public comments sessions during the University Board of Regents meeting. And Interim Vice President for Student Services Mary Ann Swain, backed by the rest of the administration, appears to be exploring some viable alternatives. But a recent se- quence of events points to the apparent insin-. cerity of the administration's ef- forts, and - more im- portantly -reveals at- tempts to undermine_ students' only current recognized representa-t tion, MSA. MSA President Jennifer Van Valey was invited to read names during this year's Hon- ors Convocation, only to have the invitation . taken away by Swain. This sudden, mysteri- ous change of policy smacks of administra- tive disrespect for stu- dent representatives - and for the studentbody as a whole. Swain's decision to disinvite Van Valey came on the heels of a request by Van Valey to speak at the ceremony. Van Va l ey and But even more striking than Swain's denial was the reasoning behind it. A letter written from Swain to Van Valey states: "Since it is not clear that you will behave perfectly at this function, I have decided to withdraw the invitation for you to sit on the platform." Admittedly, it is questionable whether the MSA president should speak at the Honors Convocation. No other student leaders will be addressing the crowd, and this particular event is not an appropri- ate venue for political rhetoric. But Swain's statements in this letter show that Van Valey's exclusion was based on her consistent disagreements with the administration's policies - and Swain's fear of Van Valey's expression of these disagreements during the convocation. The vice president's actions demonstrate an adminis- trative willingness to selectively disregard student representation. While several individual schools have their own in-house councils, MSA is the only legitimate representative body for the campus as a whole; each individual college has a certain number of Drake's Five will not be silenced To the Daily: Recently, I was forced to leave the premises of Drake's Sandwich Shop before I had consumed what I had purchased. In the course of ejecting us, Drake's owner, Mr. Tibbals, made demeaning remarks about two of the women with me. Since daring to speak out about what happened at Drake's that night, I have been called sexually paranoid, ridiculous, ignorant, and - my favorite - silly. Since daring to suggest that one might not want to give one's money to a man who treated women in this way, I have received aggressive, anonymous telephone calls from several men who appear to think that making a profit from the Ann Arbor community is Tibbals' birthright. Supporters of Drake's have scrawled obscene insults on flyers announcing the Drake's boycott and, as documented in Daily photographs of our Mar. 7 boycott rally, behaved in a physically intimidating manner. Since daring to raise my voice in protest about what happened to me, I have endured numerous personal attacks by those who would ignore the fact that this boycott was called by five women and is supported by a number of organizations. I have been frustrated by media coverage which has ignored the ugly, demeaning and often violent quality of the boycott's opposi- tion. I have seen Tibbals - who, as a white, straight male business owner, scores four out of four on the power and privilege scale - portrayed as the helpless victim of this incident. As a thinking person, I am stunned by the illogic of this portrayal of Tibbals as victim and by the certainty with which people who were not at Drake's that night assume that they know better than I what happened. As a woman, I am alarmed by the violence of the opposition to our boycott and appalled by the ease with which our version of what happened to us is discounted. As a person, I am frightened for us all. Frankly, I am feeling very vulnerable right now. I startle when the phone rings, and look over my shoulder when I walk down the street. I want the public to know what is happening and I want the "Drake's supporters" to know that, while they may scare me, they will never silence me. Pattrice Maurer Rackham graduate student Tenure system must be changed To the Daily: Something must be done about the present system of tenure. Too often, undeserving teachers are granted this nebulously defined privilege of guaranteed career stability. The method by which tenure is rendered is in itself a mystery. No established standard exists. It should be obvious; either a teacher has the talent of instruct- ing well, or not. Obscured by this disjointed process of tenure are the instruc- tors that inappropriately yet successfully passed through and have their highly valued positions of job security. These people are comfortable in the knowledge that they never have to suffer review, and do not have a mandatory retirement year. I have had several senile, unintelligent, and just plain uncaring teachers, and wonder how they ever made it past their first day on the job. How am I expected to learn from a professor that screams, throws chalk, frequently forgets the point in mid-sentence, becomes flustered and angry at any questions, or simply whizzes through an incomplete lecture, mocking confused students? Do these people have to worry about losing their jobs? Coming out of high school, I was excited at the prospect of finally having good teachers. I had naively believed that, since student evaluations were collected each term, incompetent professors and instructors would be nonex- istent. I was disappointed to find otherwise. Why go through the false motions of assessment? Standards need to be set to effectively review those granted tenure periodically. If promotions can To the Daily: The Daily's Mar. 21 editorial "Tiananmen Square: Washington Must Condemn Repression of Student Movement" understates the severity of the current crackdown in China. The editorial erroneously states that the 13-year sentences meted out to the pioneering social science re- searchers Wang Juntao and Chen Ziming are "the harshest reprisals by the Chinese government to date." While it is true that these sentences are the harshest handed down to the 18 well-known students and intellectuals whose trials were held in recent weeks, the reprisals against some of the workers who took part in the pro- democracy movement were much harsher - some have been sentenced to life in prison for "spreading rumors" and donating money to the pro-democracy movement. Prison sentences, however, no matter how lengthy, do not constitue the harshest form of reprisal. In addition to the thousand or more people killed by martial law troops in Beijing, Tibet, and elsewhere, Amnesty International has documented at least 42 executions in connection with the pro-democracy move- ment. They estimate that the real total is probably in the hundreds. The Chinese leadership believes that criticism of its abominable human rights record will diminish over time and people like Wang Juntao and Chen Ziming will be forgotten. It is up to both the American people and the American government to make it clear to the Chinese rulers that Americans have not forgot- ten, and they will not forget. 9 exist, then so should the opposite. After all, it is our future that is being so carelessly manipulated. *1 Kelly Schrubba LSA first-year student Tiananmen Square injustice continues fr ( I Swain face off seats on the assembly. Swain's moves are the most recent example of administrative attempts to undermine this rep- resentation by silencing assembly members, and the student body should not stand idle in the face of these efforts. Undoubtedly, the actual effectiveness of MSA's representation can be challenged; few students vote in elec- tions, and even fewer actually get involved in assembly activities. But if MSA's legitimacy is to be questioned by anyone, it must be the student body - not the administration. For too long now, the administration has over- stepped its bounds in its dealings with student representation. Its con- sistent attempts to con- trol or undermine rec- ognized student repre- sentatives because of 9l Michelle Hargrave LSA first-year student member, Amnesty International, U of M Macing incident shows administration's insensitivity by Lester K. Spence their opposition to administrative policies hinders not only productive dialogue between students and administrators, but effective student representa- tion itself. If students are displeased with the assembly's behavior, they should take steps themselves to increase the accountability of their elected repre- sentatives. But the administration cannot be af- forded the same luxury; its discontent with MSA or particular representatives should have no bearing on the assembly or on the student voice. The weekend before the last term's finals, at a social function held in South Quad, the Ann Arbor police used a chemical weapon on students, citing the belief that a "riot" was in progress as the reason for inflicting pain and temporary blindness on University students. Besides the chemical weapons, other tactics were used, such as racial slurs and the threat of physical violence, to get students to comply with the orders of the Ann Arbor police. There were various articles in newspapers across the state which covered the incident; however most of them made the occurrence seem commonplace. No official statement was made by the University administration regarding the incident, and the entire event was blown off by most of the University community and most of the state-wide community as well. However, I personally take nff-. n e nnrnnt -m-nt of The administration has not even conducted a thorough investigation, even though a thorough account of the incident was prepared by students and presented to them. It would be interesting to look at the response time of the administration to this event, as compared to the re- sponse time of the administration to a case in which University property was severely damaged. Discussions with members of the administration have convinced overturned cars, looted stores, and caused tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage. Did the Ann Arbor police use mace on them? Is it a coincidence that the one time in 173 years of this University's existence that chemical weapons were used on students was in the case of an event involving African Ameri- cans, during which only $200 of damages were caused, and at the most six people fought? Jan. 31, 1991, was the 126- I' Not even during the turbulent 60s, or during BAM I, did the Ann Arbor police seek to con- tain or detain students by the use of a chemi- cal weapon. Where is the outrage? Nuts and Bolts I CAN'T BEUEVE YoUvE kiDNAPPED7w NEW KuS ON 7Nm~ ca." O OH, DOt'T KNON... o * by Judd Winick How %Boor $Av1N' I 14AT BARD , EN - DoNN!II ?7s me that they are not able or willing to provide for the safety of University students. One of our first responsibili- ties as students is to ensure that we nerform well in school. year anniversary of the abolition of slavery. It went by without fanfare, without rallies, and without distinguished speakers. I think that the reason for this stems from one fact: we are not free.