Page 4 --The Michigan Daily-Thursday, March 28, 1991

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420 Maynard Street ANDREW K. GOTTESMAN
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 Editor in Chief
Edited and Managed r STEPHEN HENDERSON
by Students at the DANIEL POUX
University of Michigan 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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College visitation
'U' recruiters should learn from King/ChavezlParks Initiative
W tile the University administration struggles dent tour guides from similar ethnic backgrounds
o attain diversity through seemingly-attrac- to give still-impressionable children a realistic and
tive scholarships and half-hearted recruitment, the favorable view of University life. Children who
King/Chavez/Parks (KCP) Initiative has coordi- have never thought of themselves as future college
nated a creative and effective program to bring students can see that higher education is indeed
underrepresented groups to this University. attainable. Many administrators and students who
Through the KCP College Visitation program, have never lacked role models or long-term goals
studentleaders give annualcampus toursto several for higher education often do not realize how
groupsofmiddleschoolAfricanAmeican,Latino, critical this aspect of the program is to its partici-
and Native American students. The children interact pants.
with students and faculty, hear presentations on University recruiters should follow the example
financial aid and academic requirements, and eat of the KCP Visitation program. Other service or-
lunch in a resident hall. ganizations could take part in the push for campus
Efforts like the KCP program this can only help diversity as well.
to attain a diverse University community. Unlike Universities have a responsibility to their
present recruitment programs, the College Visita- communities beyond the campus itself. The Uni-
tion program is aimed at students who have not yet versity should inject itself into the outlying com-
begun high school. By planning for college before munity by making its resources available to people
entering high school, younger students can - if with whom it is not necessarily directly affiliated
necessary - make active changes in their study - to residents aside from Ann Arbor, Dearborn
habits and class choices in order to give them four and Flint faculty, staff and students.
solid years of college-preparatory academic When the University associates itselfwith young
background. They and their parents can make community members who have not had extensive
necessary plans for the often-overwhelming finan- exposure to college facilities or to college gradu-
cial obligation as well. ates, it is laying the groundwork for a more diverse
The use of role models is critical. Rather than and committed future student body.
stuffy, detached college representatives attempt- More power to the King/Chavez/Parks College
ing to persuade high school seniors to come to the Visitation Program. Hopefully, University recruit-
University by expounding the virtues of MIRLYN, ers will follow the example of this model initiative
the visitation program provides down-to-earth stu- to promote diversity.
C lubsandcourtrooms
State Bar should not infringe upon lawyers'right to associate

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embers of the State Bar of Michigan may be
e latest victims of the long arm of the politi-
cally-correct thought police. The Michigan Su-
preme Court is now considering a State Barproposal
which would prohibit Michigan lawyers and judges
from holding memberships in discriminatory or-
ganizations, including social clubs. Should the
proposal be accepted, violations would be consid-
ered unethical conduct and be prosecuted by state
legal agencies.
This attempt to create a discrimination-free
justice system should be lauded, but the severe
measures would violate these legal professionals'
right to freedom of association under the First
Amendment. In their private lives, lawyers and
judges have the right to associate with whomever
they choose. Neither the State Bar nor the state of
Michigan have any business interfering in the
personal lives of Michigan Bar members.
This move to purge the state's justice system
has touched off protest from judges, lawyers, civil
libertarians, and club officials across the state, who
have called the proposal a blatant threat to basic
First Amendment rights. Indeed, the Michigan
chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union,
known for its leadership in the fight against dis-
crimination, has announced its opposition to the
proposed rule.
Instead of penalizing judges and rank-and-file
attorneys for exercising questionable judgementin
choosing their weekend bridge partners, the state

government should target the social organizations
themselves. Federal and state laws already pro-
hibit organizations from discriminating on the
basis of race, sex, andreligion, and proper enforce-
ment of these laws should require that those orga-
nizations that follow discriminatory policies be
opened up or shut down. Targeting illegal member-
ship policies would be more effective in the long
run, and would not infringe on the Constitutional
liberties of our legal community.
The Michigan community must not, however,
overlook personal biases or insensitivities our
elected judges may harbor. Judges who are clearly
insensitive toward the plight of the minority
communities, or are admitted racists or sexists,
should not be presiding in a court of law.
It is the responsibility of Michigan residents to
find out for themselves how biased or bigoted
candidates for Michigan judgeships are. Such
memberships should be spotlighted by the media
and otherconcerned organizations, and could make
the difference at elections time.
The State Bar's new rule has been proposed
with all good intentions, but it is far too dangerous
in its flirtation with unconstitutionality. Discrimi-
natory clubs need to be directly targeted by the the
state government, and judges that associate with
elitist bigots should be voted out of office. Only in
this way can we purge discrimination from
Michigan's legal system, while protecting indi-
viduals' rights.

No praise for
S. Quad incident
To the Daily:
I would like to respond to Rich
Martin's criticism of the incident
occurring at South Quad at the
Alpha Kappa Alpha party ("Daily
mishandles S. Quad incident," 3/
19/91). Martin is correct in saying
"the ultimate source of conflict ...
was the conduct of the stu-
dents..." However, his comments
on this statement were completely
biased.
Martin began by commending
the police officers for not firing a
shot, using a nightstick, or "laying
a hand on those who caused the
conflict."
However, he failed to ac-
knowledge the fact that the
officers did use racial slurs
against the Black people at the
party. Can you honestly commend
them for such a demeaning
display of character?
Finally, Martin stated that the
students involved in the incident
were quick to cry "racist" to this
situation instead of being more
objective. How can these students
be objective when racist slurs are
being yelled and mace being
sprayed in their face?
I think Martin is the one who
needs to be objective and see the
situation as it really is. It is not the
police who should be commended
for their demeaning actions, rather
those who are following up with
the investigation of this incident
so that future incidents, such as
this one, can be avoided.
Monica Taylor
* LSA sophomore
Vote Brater for
Ann Arbor mayor
To the Daily:
The Daily failed to cover two
recent news items worthy of
students' attention. On the
national level, George Bush
recently nominated Judge
Bryskamp to the Court of Appeals
in the 11th Federal District -
including Alabama, Georgia and
Florida. The nominee belonged -
until very recently - to a country
club which excluded Jews and
African Americans. The judge
said that the only reason he joined
the club was becauseshis wife
liked the club and his daughter
needed a place to swim, and that
the reason there were no Black
members was because "none had
applied."
This statement is incredibly
offensive to anyone who cares
anything about civil rights,
especially as it comes from
someone who is supposed to be
upholding laws which combat
discrimination. Unfortunately,
this nomination is not surprising
coming from the Bush administra-
tion; Dan Quayle plays at
discriminatory golf clubs -
unknowingly, of course - and.
Bush vetoed the Civil Rights Act
of 1990 because of "quotas"
On the local level, the Daily
was unable to cover Mayor
Jernigan's fundraiser with
GovernorsEngler last week.
Jernigan, who claims to be pro-
choice, chose to associate himself
with a man who threatens every
woman's right-to-choose to have
an abortion. This duo-appearance
is even more ominous coming

To the Daily:
While your editorial on March
18 on the Michigan Student
Assembly (MSA) was helpful in
pointing out problems in MSA, it
contained some inaccuracies that
must be addressed.
First, the Baker-Mandela
Center never has been, and, most
likely, will not be, a committee or
commission of MSA. The Center
was given money by MSA after
much discussion of the on the part
of the representatives, but that
does not make it a commission of
MSA anymore that the Puerto
Rican Association, a fraternity, or
the Sailing Club. While some may
feel that the Center needs to be
criticized, not as a part of MSA.
While some people in MSA
have forgotten, MAC/MSA stands
for the Minority Affairs Commis-
sion of the Michigan Student
Assembly. Every rep on the
assembly is supposed to go to a
committee or commission
meeting. MAC has not seen a rep
the entire academic year. Even


when we had someone telling
MSA about our events and
programs and meetings, the
appearance of one rep was
phenomenal.
MAC has a responsibility to
represent the concerns of the
minority community to the larger
campus as a whole and to the
University administration. While
we've been actively pursuing
these goals, we recognize all to
well that the problems inherent in
MSA are quickly associated with
us. We've dealt directly with the
president on numerous issues, and
we try to keep a focus on the
academic side of campus side of
campus life as well.
By ignoring MAC in your
editorial and in your news
reporting, you do not only MAC
and the Daily, but the entire
campus community, a disservice.
Juan A. Perez
member,
Minority Affairs Commission

I

MAC not to blame for MSA's problems


I

Car wars
Trade barriers are not the solution to U.S. auto industry woes

environmental concerns. Give the
students a voice for choice and
equal rights that we deserve. Vote
for Liz Brater for mayor on
Monday, April 1.
Dana Miller
LSA junior
Deborah Goldman
LSA senior
Greek Week only
another hypocrisy
To the Daily:
The Daily coverage this month
has been very disappointing.
Article after article has thrown
praise at the Greek system
because of "humanitarian" Greek
Week activities. At the same time,
the Daily continues to ignore the
efforts of students who perform
service on a daily or weekly basis.
These students, for whom
volunteering is a routine, donate
their time and effort simply
because they want to make a
positive contribution to the
community - not because their
"purchased" brothers and sisters
peer pressure them into doing
volunteer work.
The creation of Greek Week
and the excessive publicity it is
receiving is an affront to the non-
Greek members of the University
community. The considerate,
"altruistic" Greeks spend 51
weeks causing a disproportion-
ately high percentage of date
rapes, drunken brawls (and other
forms of alcohol-related vio-
lence), lewd behavior, elitist
alienation and late-night (and
early morning) disturbances
which plague the community.
They then attempt to - with
Greek Week - "white wash"
their image.
If the Greeks are so concerned
about helping the less fortunate in
society, couldn't they require
pledges to donate money to the
charity of their choice as well as
performing a set number of hours
of volunteer work to prove
themselves worthy of joining such
an altruistic society? Wouldn't
meeting requirements such as
these reveal more socially
desirable personality traits than
presenting your parents' income
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them by exhibiting, on a daily
basis, behavior that contradicts
the behavior described above.
Deon Wagner
LSA junior
Kristine Foote
LSA senior
members,
Grouping
Resources to
Eradicate
Excessive
Kibosh in
Society
(GREEKS)
Rampant cheating
ruins Markley Gras
To the Daily:
The raffling off of prizes at the
end of the March 23 Markley
Gras was simply ludicrous. I was
disappointed, as were others, to
see cheating in students per-
formed at its best.
Toward the end of the event,
persons were literally swiping
handfuls of chips off the tables.
As loose chips were knocked
under the tables, hands soon
coveredthe floor. During the
raffling, I was shocked to notice
Even though it was announced
there was a limit of two prizes the
person just handed the tickets
over to someone else in the group.
{Obviously, this event was not
well-conducted to achieve a level
of fairness toward the end by the
organizers and persons involved.
Roger Clivebeck
LSA sophomore

j n a recent letter to the White House, Chrysler
j Chair Lee Iacocca complained about Japanese
domination of the global auto industry. Iacocca
whined that the Japanese have unfairly targeted the
U.S. auto industry, and protectionist policies are
necessary to restore the balance. The letter, which
was conveniently leaked to the press, proposed a
cap on the U.S. market share for Japanese vehicles.
Iacocca has a very short memory.
During the 1981-82 recession, the Japanese
voluntarily complied with a limit on the number of
cars exported to the United States. This restriction
immediately encouraged Japanese firms to move
into higher-scale vehicles. Japanese profits actu-
ally increased by displacing low-profit compacts
with high-profit luxury cars.
Iacocca's blubbering testimony failed to men-
tion that virtually all of the decline in Chrysler's
share of domestic sales come from "transplants,"
autos produced in the United States by Japanese
companies.
Iacocca went on to propose a rollback in several
of the stiff automotive regulations in the Clean Air
Act, whose policies apply equally to imported
Nuts and Bolts

cars.
It is time the U.S. auto industry faced up to its
problems, instead of simply pointing fingers across
the sea. Instead of investing in improved efficiency,
domestic industries have only concerned them-
selves with increasing profit margins. Iacocca
should not deride foreign industry; he should learn
from it.
Iacocca has repeatedly insisted that U.S. indus-
try can compete in the global markets only if a
"level playing field" can be created. Legislation
sympathetic to the U.S. auto industry does not
promote the Chrysler chair's oft-repeated vision.
Government micromanaging of private industry
has repeatedly proved ineffective at best, and has
often increased trade tensions between the United
States and its competitors.
If Iacocca believes he cannot run his business
without government handouts, perhaps he should
heed a piece of homespun wisdom: "if you can't
stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen..." If the
domestic auto industry is to ever be internationally
competitive, reform must come from within.

Don't
like
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by Judd Winick
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