Page 4 --The Michigan Daily- Monday, March 18, 1991
he Mthian ailij
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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Next week, students will have the opportunity
to select their representative leaders for the
1991-92 school year. The Michigan Student As-
sembly (MSA) spring elections - which will be
held next Thursday and Friday - will produce a
new crop of student legislators for the next year.
However, the transitions that will soon be tak-
ing place on the assembly should extend far be-
yond the faces in assembly seats. MSAis indesper-
ate need of reform, and the new representatives -
whomever they might be - should take full ad-
vantage of their opportunities to infuse some effi-
ciency into the assembly.
One of the areas most in need of change on the
assembly is its committees and commissions. While
the majority of these bodies do serve the greater
student interest, several others expend much of
their resources pursuing specific political ends,
and are not essential to MSA's primary duty: rep-
resentation of the student body as a whole.
Both the Budget Priorities Committee (BPC)
and the External Relations Committee (ERC) are
examples of committees which perform necessary
governmental functions for MSA. The BPC is
responsible for doling out money to the various
student groups on campus, and the ERC lobbies for
student interests in Lansing and Washington.
But the Students Rights Commision (SRC), the
Peace and Justice Commission and the Baker
Mandela Center (BMC) are commissions which
behave more like student groups than an integral
part of student government.
The SRC was responsible for the massive anti-
deputization protests last November. The Peace
and Justice Commission provided much of the
financial premise for Students Against U.S. Inter-
vention in the Middle East (SAUSI) and its anti-
war activities. And the Baker Mandela Center
(BMC) propagates such groups as the United Coa-
lition Against Racism (UCAR) and other campus
anti-racist groups.
While fighting against the deputiziation of
University security officers, protesting the war in
the Gulf and rallying against institutional racism
on campus are all commendable activities, they
clearly represent partisan interests. And the rep-
resentative student government should not be ac-
tively pursuing these interests through its com-
mittees and commissions.
Instead, MSA should support these laudable
interests as it supports other specific agendas - as
student groups. Groups such as University Students
Against Cancer (USAC), the Palestinian Solidar-
ity Committee (PSC) and countless others have
different but comparable agendas to SRC, BMC
and the Peace and Justice Commission. But unlike
their counterparts, these student groups are left
competing for cramped office accommodations
and meager financial support through the proper
MSA process. They must request specific funds
for specific activities, and their requests may be
denied. SRC, BMC and the Peace and Justice
Commission, as official branches of the assembly,
receive office space and considerable funding au-
tomatically.
All student groups, no matter how admirable
theirgoals, should be treated equally. Giving special
privileges to certain groups through a bypass of the
MSA system smacks of partisan abuse of the MSA
structure, and has been perpetuated for too long.
When the new administration gamers control
of the assembly in April, complete reconsideration
of the all committees and commissions should be
a priority. Only by treating all student groups
equally will MSA even begin to prove its com-
mitment to greater student representation.
The road to MSA reform will be long and
tedious; trimming down the massive bureaucracy
and re-committing the assembly to the service of
students will not be achieved overnight. But treating
student groups equally would be a good start in the
right direction.
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Who to believe...
To the Daily:
I am writing this letter in
response to the recent contro-
versy surrounding the Drake's
five incident. The group
originally claimed that two of
their members were asked to
leave Drake's because they
looked like lesbians.
The owner claimed that the
two had ordered nothing and
that he thought the two were
men. I have never heard a man
call another man a lesbian.
Therefore, that cannot be the
reason why they were asked to
leave.
People like Pattrice Maurer
want people to believe her story
and only her story. After all,
she claims, we were not ever
their. Well, the owner was.
Why are they not giving the
same credibility to the owner? I
have a hard time accepting
Maurer's story as the solid truth
seeing that she is so apt to jump
to conclusions and so quick to
stereotype people.
Mark Perin
Engineering
first-year student
Evidence doesn't
prove homophobia
To the Daily:
The Drakes boycott is based
on perceptions of style, on the
belief that Mr. Tibbals told five
women to leave because they
"looked like lesbians."
What does a lesbian "look
like?" A lesbian is a woman who
loves other women sexually. The
short hair/leather jacket style is a
fashion among some lesbians who
- for various reasons - want to
look a lot like each other.
It does not define sexuality.
Anyone could adopt the style and
call themselves a lesbian. I
suspect this sometimes occurs.
Mr. Tibbals may or may not
President
To the Daily:
I am responding to the
article about Honor's Convoca-
tion ("Swain denies MSA
President's address request," 3/
7/91) which I will be attending.
The last thing I want to have to
hear is Jennifer Van Valey's
vacuous rambling. It's bad
enough we have to hear her
"words of wisdom" in the
Daily nearly every day.
When she says "Students
should care about the adminis-
tration trying to silence their
student government," I can
only reflect on the fact that no
one has been able to silence
Van Valey and her band of
professional protesters.
The administration has
certainly attempted in the past
to squelch the student voice,
and I don't condone that. But
no one else is going to speak.
Why should Van Valey?
Next, she claims that "the
administration is really trying
to de-legitimitize MSA." It
seems apparent to me that
MSA is most de-legitimitized
by its own president. If Van
Valey spent half as much time
working to solve problems as
she does complaining, her
0
Van Valey
complaints would have some
basis.
Finally, the Daily reported
that her request to speak was
also denied because her good
behavior could not be depended
on. This is certainly true in my
mind.
We, the students, want an
effective, representative student
government. Unfortunately, the
one we have is an embarrass-
ment. Van Valey should do us
all a favor and either think
before she talks. Or - better
yet - resign.
Brian Kalt
LSA first-year student
Just say nol
'Drug-free zones' will not win the drug war
Students and faculty in the Brighton school
system kicked-off Substance Abuse Preven-
tion Week last Monday by demonstrating their
support for a 1988 Michigan statute that created
drug-free school zones.
The drug-free zone statute, patterned after a
similar 1986 New Jersey law, creates a 500-foot
zone around any school property. Any person caught
selling, using, or possessing illegal drugs within
this zone will be subject to doubled jail terms and
tripled fines. For example, an adult caught distrib-
uting drugs in a drug-free zone may serve up to 60
years in prison and pay $75,000 in fines. While
drug dealers indeed deserve such penalties - and
much more-there are questions over whether the
law can help eliminate Michigan's growing drug
problem.
A closer inspection of the plan shows that the
1988 state law may prove to be more of a burden
.than an effective tool for fighting the war against
drugs.
The state and federal judicial systems are al-
ready overburdened with the overwhelming num-
ber of drug-related cases filing through our courts.
The number of drug offenders nation-wide has
reached such proportions that paroles and furloughs
have increased in an attempt to keep prison con-
ditions relatively humane.
Creating this "drug-free zone" will only in-
crease the number of small-fry offenders brought
to the courts, further clogging Michigan's judicial
systems - a consequence New Jersey's courts are
now facing. In turn, major dealers will be over-
looked, while more drug offenders are released
from prison to make room for their successors.
Such laws demonstrate this nation's misguided
drug policies. Clearly, throwing more and more
offenders in prison will not winthe "waron drugs."
The human resources and funds Gov. Englerintends
to use enforcing the drug-free zones in Brighton
should instead be ear-marked for things rehabilita-
tion and educational programs. Only this type of
action will truly cure Michigan - and this nation
- of its drug illnesses.
If citizens outside Brighton find these drug-free
zones appealing, communities all over Michigan
may soon create similar areas. Ideally, all school
zones should be drug-free, but Brighton's misguided
plan of action skirts over the real issues at stake -
this nation's drug problems.
be homophobic, but the incident
has drawn some truly abusive
homophobics out of the wood-
work, who who would rather
harass these women than deal
with their own issues.
Mr. Tibbals seems hardly to
live in the late 20th century. He
doesn't see or hear well, and may
have little idea of what style
corresponds to which sub-culture.
He has, over the years,
employed women who "looked
like lesbians" according to the
definition given. And I know a
very clean-cut, mild-looking man
who was once thrown out of
Drake's for studying in a booth
without ordering.
It seems to be something Mr.
Tibbals does with impartial
irascibleness. Maybe he was rude,
and owes an apology for discour-
tesy to five human beings, two of
whom had indeed ordered.
But there are not enough
grounds for the assumption that
his action was based on
homophobia.
Irena Nag er
University Staff
!
Courthouse follies in Ann Arbor
;Education crunch
Administrators and legislators should listen to student input
As tuition costs rise and financial aid awards
continue to diminish each term, it becomes
clear that without serious reform, an education at
this University will soon become the privilege of a
;small elite.
In these times of educational crisis, policy mak-
ers should be looking - to a great extent - to
students for solutions to their situation.
To this end, last Wednesday's student forum on
tuition costs and financial aid sponsored by the
Michigan Student Educational Fund (MSEF)
should be commended, and more dialogue be-
tween students, administrators and Lansing repre-
sentatives should be encouraged.
Students at the forum spoke out to the as-
sembled administrators and representatives about
the difficulties ofjuggling full academic schedules
with part-time jobs, and the continuing need for
increased financial aid.
University administrators and state legislators
listened to student complaints, and gasve sugges-
tions to help alleviate their financial problems.
MSEF representatives recorded many of the stu-
dents' anecdotes, and will compile these with the
results of five other similar forums being held
around the state.
Their comprehensive report will be presented
to the legislators in Lansing, in the hopes that these
personal accounts will inspire lawmakers to con-
sider all the ramifications of their budgetary belt-
tightening.
That higher education financing systems need
to be revamped is a given; however, college ad-
ministrators and lawmakers have very different
ideas about how the system should be reformed.
To find the best solutions, they need to ask those
who know the problems best: the students. Hope-
fully, this MSEF forum will be only the first step in
a new attitude emphasizing student input in the
fight to keep a college education affordable.
The next time you and your
friends are sitting around trying to
come up with a better way to spend
a weekday afternoon than watching
Oprah, try going to the trial of a
University
protester.
Unfortu- David
nately,such
occasionsSc
come along
i nf re -
quently,but
when they
do, they
make for an
excellen t
time.
Just two
weeks ago,
for example, former University stu-
dent Harold Marcuse was in
Washtenaw County Circuit Court
seeking justice for injuries he sus-
tained while trying to break up a
CIA recruiting session in 1987.
Marcuse has asserted for the last
three-and-a-half years that he was
kicked in the "groin" by Assistant
Public Safety, Director Leo Heatley
and Assistant Director Robert Pifer,
conspired to coerce him into drop-
ping his allegations against Patrick.
Each of these University officials
filed a countersuit, as did Ann Ar-
bor Police Detective Douglas
Barbour.
What more does anyone need
for a great melodrama than four
police and Public Safety officials
sitting in a courtroom looking like
common criminals? Still not
enough, you say? Well, enter
Jonathan Rose, Ann Arbor attorney
and consistent advocate of student
radicals and their causes. After
collecting fees from Student Legal
Services for more than three years,
and as the trial was just beginning to
get really interesting, Rose did a
remarkable thing. He advised his
client to drop the lawsuit.
Oh, but it was better than L.A.
Law while it lasted. Judge Patrick
Conlin, not even attempting to hide
his obvious loyalties to the Uni-
versity and the Ann Arbor police,
overruled every one of Rose's ob-
own opening statement?)
According to Austin's account
of his participation in the 1987
demonstration, he broke into what
he thought was an interview room
at Career Planning & Placement
and had the following exchange with
a women whom he thought was
recruiting for the CIA:
Austin: I want to interview for
the position of assassin.
The woman, who it turns out
worked for CP&P and not the CIA:
Oh. Do you have an appointment?
The trial was funny, and I en-
courage all of you to go to the next
pubic bickering session between a
student protester and University
officials. But theabruptfinish leaves
a great many serious questions still
unanswered, and most of them have
to do with the role of campus police
in interfering with student demon-
strations.
Leo Heatley, at the protest all
those years ago, positioned himself
in such a way that he said the pro-
testers "would have to assault me to
get by." As a result, there were
Nuts and Bolts
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