Page 4 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 16, 1991
EDITED AND MANAGED BY STUDENTS
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
420 Maynard Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109
I
NOAH FINKEL
Editor in Chief
DAVID SCHWARTZ
Opinion Editor
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.
S i i I :...:.:..... }.. .
Drunk on oil
It's time to kick environmentally expensive habit
.,p
AMERICA IS ADDICTED TO FOR-
eign oil. Despite serious and de-stabi-
-lizing conflicts in oil-producing coun-
tries, the United States continues to
merrily consume foreign oil at a glut-
tonous pace. In order to support our
"freedom" to jump in any gas-guzzling,
smoke-belching vehicle we want, we
expend fossil fuels, and allow vast
quantities of toxic substances to con-
taminate environmentally sensitive ar-
gas. We must no longer rely on non-
degradable petroleum products to fuel
;America's progress.
Instead of building on the scant
foundation of a real energy policy set
up in the Carter years, the Reagan ad-
ministration dismantled the program in
favor of economic expansion policies.
Research into alternative fuel sources
and vehicles was left in the hands of
'roups who have vested interests in the
status quo (petroleum companies and
automakers). This is like keeping the
fox in charge of the hen house.
There is no shortage of oil. Esti-
mates of the current oil supply ensure
the consuming public that enough oil
,remains to last another 40-100 years.
While there is an abundant supply of
oil to burn, there is not enough clean
air to burn it in. If we actually use all
the oil we have access to, we shall
condemn ourselves to environmental
suicide.
There is only one resource the planet
possesses that has the ability to filter
poisons injected into the air. That re-
source is our forests, the same forests
-We insist on chopping down for such
things as cardboard packaging and
'amburger boxes.
The United States is burning the
environmental candle at both ends. In-
dustry and government are continu-
ously spewing pollutants into the atmo-
sphere, while they simultaneously de-
stroy our forests, the only things that
can clean out the pollutants.
A sound energy policy is essential
for several reasons. Widespread use of
alternative energy sources could put the
United States in direct control of its en-
ergy lifeline. Dependance on foreign
resources enslaves us to regional con-
flicts.
In addition to economic arguments,
the environment has never been more
desperately in need of relief. It is still
possible to save it. The minimal
amount of research that has been made
into solar, wind and thermal energy
production has yielded encouraging re-
sults. BMW recently produced a proto-
type automobile that runs on hydrogen;
the only exhaust is water vapor!
But the highway system itself needs
to be examined. Germany and Japan
both have highly efficient means of rail
transportation. It is cheaper and less
environmentally taxing to move several
people together in a train, than to move
several people separately in cars.
Creative research must be conducted
into alternative uses of renewable re-
sources. Alcohol fuels based on corn,
wheat, or (heaven forbid) hemp have
shown real promise. Solar, thermal and
nuelear sources should be explored.
Much of the technology already exists.
A sane energy policy must be part of
the national agenda. If we had learned
from the gas lines of the early '80s,
perhaps we would not feel obliged to
risk American lives over someone
else's gas.
01
War creates a backlash against Arab-Americans
By Richard Kysia
Anti-Arab sentiment has increased
sharply since the onset of the Persian Gulf
crisis. The American public's frustration
with events in the Middle East has again
manifested itself in denigration and scape-
goating of Arab-Americans. Rhetorical ex-
changes between George Bush and Saddam
Hussein, particularly the "Hitlerization" of
Hussein, has augmented already-existing
anti-Arab feelings, helping to create an
atmosphere of open Arab bashing.
Following the invasion, the American-
Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
(ADC) has registered a number of hate
crimes. Incidents of harassment include the
beatings of Arab-Americans, hate mail,
death threats, vandalism, and harassment
from landlords. Further escalation of the
crisis in the Gulf will undoubtedly worsen
the backlash against Arabs.
The killing and maiming of Arabs is
not uncommon in popular culture. ADC
reports that "Bomb Iraq" has been a recur-
ring theme among radio DJs and on but-
tons, T-shirts and bumper stickers. In fact,
"bomb Iraq" is also a popular theme with
military planners, who view it as an op-
tion to reduce American casualties. Projec-
tions estimate upwards of 100,000 Iraqis
could die in the initial weeks of a military
confrontation; elements of American pop
culture seem to view this with joy rather
than shock.
A recent T-shirt portrayed an Arab (in
traditional garb, riding a camel) in the
crosshairs of a gun; the caption reads:
"I'd Fly 10,000 Miles to Smoke a
Camel." Another T-shirt depicts a U.S.
Marine pointing a rifle at an Arab laying
at his feet. The caption is: "How much is
the oil now?"
Institutional racism against Arabs has
Kysia is an LSA junior and a member of
the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination
Committee.
been a long-standing U.S. policy. In
1972, the Nixon administration instituted
Operation Boulder, which involved close
FBI monitoring of "ethnic Arab" activities
(in practice, this meant the activities of
any Arab-American). Extensive records
were collected and maintained. Palestinian
ancestry alone was sufficient basis for
suspicion. FBI agents questioned numer-
ous Arab-Americans about their "terrorist.
organization" involvement; neighbors and
employers were questioned as well. Such
FBI questioning of Arab-Americans be-
came so common, agents printed their
calling cards in Arabic.
tiated a significant attack on Arab-Ameri-
can civil rights. Following the creation-of
a task force on terrorism, headed by Vice
President George Bush, the INS drafted a
contingency plan for the "control and re-
moval of alien terrorists"; up to 5,000
people of Arab descent, viewed as "alie
undesirables," could be detained in a fedrF
detention center in Oakdale, Louisiana in
preparation for deportation.
The contingency plan was revealed
during the case ADC v. Meese, known as
the L.A. 8 case, in which six Palestinians
and one Kenyan were arrested and charged
Up to 5,000 people of Arab descent, viewed as
"alien undesirables," could be detained in a federal
detention center in Oakdale, Louisiana in
preparation for deportation.
Entree Ii
New services are encouraging, but not enough
9CHOMP, CHOMP. YUM, YUM.
Last Sunday night at the MUG, a
bong line stretched from a new cash
,egister at Little Caesar's. The Union
'was ablaze with excited students. For
the first time in University history,
students could use their Entree Plus
:Icounts to pay for meals outside the
residence hall cafeterias and snack
7 bars. Now, their Entree Plus accounts
can be used to buy food at any of the
Union or North Campus Commons
restaurants.
While the sound of happy students
}waiting to take advantage of this new
service is heartening, and the new
-flexibility brought about by the merger
between Entree and the Union is
encouraging, the changes do not solve
the central problems that exist with the
Entree program as a whole.
Currently, Entr6e requires students
living in the University's residence
halls to purchase a 13-meal-per-week
plan at an annual cost upward . of
$1,800. In addition to this plan, money
can be placed in an Entree Plus
"account" in increments of $100 (up to
$400) to purchase additional meals in
the cafeterias, food in the snack bars,
and anything available in the
restaurants in the Union and North
Campus Commons.
But the Entree program is still
inflexible. No student living in the
residence halls has the option to
terminate the Entree plan, or to choose
an abridged version of the program.
There are several alternatives the
University could adopt. One of these is
to allow students in residence halls to
choose a 20-meal or 7-meal plan
instead. Another is to adopt an across-
the-board Entree Plus-like plan,
through which students could pay for
each meal, or pay for what they eat on
an a la carte basis. Yet another option
would be to allow students to purchase
a set number of meals, and put them in
a "meal account," with the balance
refundable at the end of each tern.
Most important, of course, is to
grant the option to choose not to use
the meal plan at all. Any meal reform
should include the ability to terminate
board altogether.
Chomp, chomp. Yum, yum.
Under the Reagan administration, the
vilification of Arabs as terrorists intensi-
fied with the 1985 hijackings of TWA
flight 847 and the Achille Lauro (and the
murder of American Leon Klinghoffer).
During the same time, hate crimes
against Arab-Americans increased signifi-
cantly. ADC's regional organizer Alex
Odeh was killed when a pipe bomb ex-
ploded as he entered his California office.
An FBI investigation implicated members
of Meir Kahane's Jewish Defense League,
but the suspects had fled to Israel. To date,
the U.S. government is unwilling to ex-
tradite the suspects from Israel, stating
that it would incur a backlash of protest
from the Israeli government.
The Odeh murder elicited little media
coverage. The case was virtually ignored
by the the Reagan administration's "anti-
terrorism" efforts.
In 1987, amidst an atmosphere of
growing anti-Arab sentiment, the INS mi-
with violations of the McCarrus Act (an
act widely used in the McCarthy era). The
alien enemy status of the defendants was
designed to strip them of constitutional
protection. The charges were opposed by
ADC, as the defendants were to be del
ported on the basis of their political affili-
ations - pro-Palestinian - which the
U.S. government asserted was tied to in-
ternational communism (groundsfor de-
portation under the 1950s McCarrus Act).
The ADC won the case; the U.S. govern-
ment will appeal the decision.
Efforts to obtain an assurance from the
government that the internment plan will
not be utilized have failed to gain any offi0
cial response. The idea of an internment
camp for Arab-Americans is disturbing and
insulting to the Arab community. Many
in the community immigrated from the
Middle East to escape bloody fighting,
only to be met by more violence.
'NCAA reform
:College presidents finally
VOR YEARS, ATHLETIC DEPART-
ments around the country turned a'
blind eye while intercollegiate athletics
became hotbeds of cheating.
The term "student-athlete" has be-
come a joke as administrators and ath-
letes create and then flaunt or exploit
-ules designed to expand, not regulate,
college sports. It has become com-
monplace for athletes to enter college,
and graduate, without elementary
scholastic skills. And while at school,
athletes are insulated from other stu-,
dents, which only reinforces the atti-
tude that athletes can do whatever they
want.
exert proper authority
large as 10-1.
It is encouraging that the presidents
of NCAA schools have finally begun to
clean up a facet of their universities that
has been destroying their credibility.
While attracting a handful of presidents
at the NCAA convention used to be a
major accomplishment, more than 300
attended the Nashville meetings.
However, in one respect the land-
slide grew to such proportions that the
presidents went too far. They cut prac-
tice time in all sports to 20 hours per
week, which is simply not realistic for
all athletes. Athletes in endurance
sports, such as cross country and
March on Washington
To the Daily:
As students opposed to a U.S. war in
the Persian Gulf, we urge you to consider
the following facts:
According to Congressional esti-
mates 10,000-50,000 Americans would die
in the first few weeks of a U.S. offensive
in the Gulf, and at least 100,000 Iraqi
civilians would be killed in the first few
weeks of a U.S. invasion of Iraq.
A war in the Gulf would dispropor-
tionately affect people of color. According
to the Joint Chiefs of Staffs, 40% of the
armed forces is made up of people of
color. 29%of the armed forces is made up
of African-Americans (as opposed to 12%
of the U.S. population).
In a time of massive federal debt and
impending recession, the war build-up is
costing the United States approximately
$33 million, per day and $1 billion per
month. Military analysts believe that in
the face of a protracted war, a draft would
be necessary to maintain troop rotations
- there would be no student deferments.
By what we read in the newspapers and
see on television, the course of military
action taken by the White House may
seem irreversible. It's easy to feel power-
less to effect change. But we'll never
know if we could have made a difference if
we don't try. We must send a clear mes-
should be dealt with, but one idea unites
us: we do not support the use of American
troops to resolve the conflict in the Gulf.
Therefore, we urge people of all views and
backgrounds to join with us in protesting
this war. We fervently hope that we can
stop this war before it begins.
In particular, Saturday, Jan. 19, and
Saturday, Jan. 26 have been designated as
national days of protest against the war.
National mobilizations will take place in
Washington, D.C. on both of these dates.
Peace activists have chosen these dates
not only because of the immediacy of the
.CrLtro
+AAF
/ lor
crisis but as a way to honor the birthdag
of Dr. Martin Luther King. This move-
ment owes much of its tactics and its
views to King's vision of non-violence
and peace.
Carpools from Ann Arbor to Washing-
ton are being arranged for the Jan. 19
rally. For more information, call 965-
0074.
The time to act is now. We'll see you
in Washington! Andrea G
Andea ager
Anne Ra#
members of Students Against U.
Intervention in the Middle East
0