Page 4- The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 22, 1991
420 Maynard Street ANDREW K. GOTTESMAN
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109 Editor in Chief
Edited and Managed 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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HAC
Homeless activists win big in Ann Arbor politics
rT wo years ago this spring, a small but spirited well as four other Democrats on council - have
I groupofprotesters began picketing the Kline's signed a HAC-initiated petition to stop the Kline's
department store parking lot every Saturday mom- structure.
ing. At the time, many Ann Arborites did not even Just last week, the Downtown Development
know whatKline's was, let alone why a determined Authority (DDA)- which controls the funds and
band of marchers seemed to be protesting its very hence most of the construction in Ann Arbor's
existence with such consistency. downtown- agreed to meet with HAC for the first
Today, the Homeless Action Committee (HAC) time. During the previous two years, the DDA had
- the group which , consistently given HAC the cold shoulder - and
initiated theseprotests just as consistently refused to concede that its
-has become almost public funds might be used in the public interest:
a household word in for the construction of low-income homes rather
Ann Arbor. And the than empty parking structures and vacant office
issue which brought.buildings.
them to Kline's-Ann Last week, feeling the heat of both a transformed
Arbor's decision to city council and HAC's highly visible, remarkably
spend $8.6 million of ' successful petition drive to stop the Kline's struc-
taxpayers' money on ture, the DDA gave in. At the city council meeting
yet another parking last Monday, observers were treated to a rare
structure rather than spectacle: the ultra-conservative DDA ruefully
on low-income hous- petitioning council members to spend $10 million
ing -has come to on low-income housing.
dominate Ann Arbor The decision as to whether that money is ever
politics. allotted rests with Mayor Brater and her Demo-
In the intervening ..cratic council. HAC isn't about to let them off the
two years, HAC's hook -especially considering that many of them
campaign against the would not currently have jobs if HAC had not
structure and for repeatedly dogged their Republican opponents.
housing involved The only current In this spirit, HAC will hold a 4 p.m. press
scores ofpickets; doz- homeless shelter in Ann conference today at the Ann Arbor Inn - a now
ens of speeches and Arbor. vacant building whichthe grouphas long suggested
creative skits at city might be converted into low-income housing. In
council meetings; sit-ins and sleep-ins at City Hall; part, the press gathering provides a chance to
and takeovers of two houses located on the edge of celebrate two years of hard work and the completion
the Kline's lot and slated for demolition. of a successful petition drive.
i All of HAC's hard work paid off in a number of But more importantly, HAC's press conference
significant victories. The two houses which were today should be a stem warning to the Brater
to be demolished were saved, with a commitment regime to interpret its mandate correctly. All too
from city council that both of them would be often, elected politicians forget the true source of
converted into low-income housing. their power: the people.
In city elections - which all sides acknowl- HAC's presence should remind allAnnArborites
edged were dominated by the housing issue - - both elected officials and ordinary citizens -
voters delivered the largest Democratic majority that the citizens of this town can retake the right to
on city council since 1969, and tossed out Ann runitand setits priorities. HAC's campaignagainst
Arbor's anti-housing Mayor, Gerald Jernigan. It is the Kline's structure proves it.
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Lunch-hour dilemma
To the Daily:
On April 16, I was eating in
the West Quad cafeteria. It
happened to be a little after noon
and the line outside the door had
already begun to grow.
I noticed, however, that the
majority of students in line were
children from a school in Adrian,
visiting Ann Arbor for the day.
This in itself did not really bother
me because we see these groups
around campus daily; but why did
they have to eat lunch in the
busiest cafeteria at the busiest
time of the day?
Not only did these people add
to the congestion in the food lines
(which are bad enough around
noon anyway), but because there
were so many of them, about half
of the seats in the second dining
room - where I was eating -
were taken.
Why were they let in at peak
hours? If they have to eat in a
cafeteria, why not have them go
to a less busy place like Markley,
which has plenty of seats for the
lesser number of people who
regularly eat there plus these
visitors.
Also, if they have to eat in
West Quad, how about letting
them in during non-peak times
like 11:30 or 12:30. Because of
our schedules, many of us have to
eat at busy times like noon, so
please do not make it any more
difficult than it already is.
Russ Hagen
LSA sophomore
Reimbursement?
To the Daily:
I have a question for President
Duderstadt. I'd like to know
whether or not the lack of
instruction in my discussion
classes entitles me to a refund of
some tuition.
As I am an out-of-state
student, I pay approximately $31
per class period. Granted, a
portion of this $31 must go
towards the administration of the
University, but the remainder is
supposedly being paid to provide
me with an education.
Since new developments have
stated that TAs are not going to be
paid for classes they do not teach,
I do not feel that I should have to
pay for services not being
rendered.
Therefore, it would seem to
me that the TAs should be paid
for the classes they are not
teaching or the students should be
reimbursed for classes they are
not being taught.
Kevin Hoffman
LSA junior
On Objectivism
To the Daily:
The article printed on Profes-
sor Reisman's lecture ("The
Toxicity of Environmentalism,"
4/18/91) included a number of
factual statements, a degree of
accuracy unusual in Daily
reporting.
However, I must clarify the
inaccuracy of the remark made by
one of the students interviewed by
the Daily: "The Objectivists are
just using Ayn Rand's ideas to
justify their own greed and lack of
concern for social issues."
This statement makes no
sense. Ayn Rand's philosophy is
one of greed and personal self-
interest, based on fundamental
rights to life, liberty and property.
"Using" her philosophy to justify
greed would be superfluous; the
lust for material objects is
considered a virtue to Objectiv-
ists, because material goods
improve man's life.
As for a "lack of concern for
social issues," Ayn Rand believed
that all action is fundamentally
individual. If Objectivists are not
sensitive to "social issues," it is
because they see the issues on the
individual level, and seek the
solutions outside of the realm of
collective action.
Reisman's ideas can be
debated, as can the philosophy of
Ayn Rand. However, the debate
requires that we understand one
another. If we cannot adopt Ayn
Rand's ideas on campus, we can
at least properly define them.
Jason Larke
LSA first-year student
Kudos to Bush
To the Daily:
I would like to respond to the
letter written by Rackham
graduate student Thomas Renau
that was published in the Daily
("Is Bush an honor?" 4/17/91).
Renau doesn't think that
having President Bush speak at
graduation is an honor. Further-
more, it seems that he is holding
the president personally respon-
sible for the events of the war in
the Persian Gulf, with special
emphasis on the loss of human
life.
Has Renau forgotten the role
of the President of the United
States?
In case he forgot, here it is
again: The president is supposed
to act in the best interests of the
general American public, eventual
world peace, and in a manner that
is reflective of the majority of
U.S. citizens.
In addition, President Bush is
not solely responsible for the
events in the Gulf. The United
States was not alone, but rather
was participating in a U.N.
military exercise, which included
other Arab nations. Hadn't
Saddam Hussein taken enough
lives already when he marched
into Kuwait?
President Bush should be
congratulated, not condemned for
his handling of the Gulf incidents.
Would we have not wanted
Washington, Jackson, Lincoln,
Wilson, FDR, Eisenhower, LBJ,
Nixon, or Ford to come to speak
at graduation because they were
president during a war? Remem-
ber that George Bush should be
respected for his decisions as
President.
Robert Lepler
Rackham graduate student
0
no coincidence that new Mayor Liz Brater - as
Un ly allanCe
United States and Mexico condemn refugees to death
01
F or the past decade, Uncle Sam has bought the
guns and trained the soldiers responsible for
murdering 75,000 Salvadorans and more than
100,000 Guatemalans. Now, we find out, Wash-
ington is also buying the deaths of thousands of
Central American refugees who have tried to flee
this terror.
In both the 1990-91 and proposed 1991-92
budgets, the Bush administration has earmarked
$350,000 to help Mexico deport Central American
refugees back to their country of origin. More than
200 U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service
(INS) employees are now stationed in Mexico to
facilitate this process.
As a result, almost 160,000 Central Americans
were deported from Mexico in the past year -
double the total for the previous year. In return for
Mexico's cooperation, the INS is winking and
nodding as Mexican refugees cross into the United
States.
Most CentralAmerican refugees in Mexico left
places like San Salvador and Guatemala City in the
first place because Washington supports govern-
ments in both capital cities which both refuse to
tolerate opposition and make a habit of killing
those who express it anyway..Bush, on the other
hand, insists that they are "economic refugees"
who are fleeing north in search of jobs rather than
to escape persecution.
He is lying, as the high proportion of now dead
Salvadorans and Guatemalans who were returned
home makes clear. But even if Bush were right, the
government he runs would have a moral and po-
litical responsibility for the "economic" refugees
in question. It is U.S.-sponsored wars which cre-
ated negative growth rates throughout Central
America in the first place.
It is U.S.-sponsored trade policies which have
spurred Mexico's leaders to cooperate in a program
which degrades their country's sovereignty.
Mexico's President Carlos Salinas de Gortari -
wrestling with declining oil prices and insur-
mountable debts to both U.S. banks and the U.S.
government-has decided that the way to fight his
country's 20 percent unemployment and low liv-
ing standards involves agreeing with Bush in ex-
change for vague promises of jobs.
But low-paying and dangerous jobs for"illegal"
Mexicans in the United States, cannot be bought
with the lives of their Central American neighbors.
By participating in such shady dealings, Presi-
dent Salinas implies that a job for a Mexican is
more important than the life of a Central American.
And by foisting such choices on his Mexican
counterpart, President Bush advertises his flagrant
disregard for the lives of both Mexicans and Cen-
tral Americans.
Sticking
around this
summer?
Come write for
the Daily Opinion
Pagel
Come to the mass
meeting this
Thursday!
8 p.m., Student
Publications Bldg.
e
How to protect your lease over the summer
The Daily encourages responses from its readers. Letters should be
150 words or less and include the author's name, year in school,
and phone number. They can be mailed to The Michigan Daily, 420
Maynard, Ann Arbor, 48109, or they can be sent via MTS to "The
Michigan Daily." The Daily reserves the right to edit letters for
style and space.
by Michael Appel
Do either of these situations
sound familiar?
The person who sublets
your apartment disappears in mid-
July after paying only one-half of
June's rent.
After moving out at the end
of your lease in April, you receive
a note from the landlord in July
claiming $400 of your security
deposit is being withheld for
damage to the astroturf carpeting
on the front porch.
The way in which tenants act
in the next few weeks will
determine the results of a lot of
legal conflicts in the fall. Whether
you are subletting, breaking a
lease or moving out at the end of
a lease, you can unknowingly
weaken your chances at getting
your security deposit back or
leave yourself vulnerable for a
court judgement. If you follow
some simple guidelines, you can
avoid the worst tenant problems.
SUBLETTING: If your lease
requires landlord approval, get it.
Your landlord can never refuse to
let you sublet without a legitimate
reason. Sublease agreements
inventory checklist for the unit to
clearly establish who is respon-
sible for what damages, if there
are any. Either the landlord or the
original tenant can take a security
deposit from the subtenant, so
long as the landlord is not holding
more than 1 1/2 times the total
monthly rent (from the tenantand
subtenant combined) and neither
the tenant nor the subtenant have
payed more than 1 1/2 times their
monthly rent, respectively. If the
tenant is holding a security
deposit, she or he must follow the
law in returning the deposit when
the sublease expires.
BREAKING A LEASE: A tenant
who moves out in the middle of a
lease risks being held responsible
for the remainder of the rent. If
you have to move out due to
repair problems, you need to have
given the landlord written notice
of the problem, a chance to make
the repairs and the problems need
to be several enough to make the
place uninhabitable. The problem
must be something that the tenant
cannot reasonably repair and then
deduct the cost from the rent. You
should still try and sublet,
although you would have to
MOVING OUT AT THE END OF A
LEASE: Be sure to fill out an
inventory checklist and be very
exact. Take photos of the apart-
ment if you want to and try and be
present when your landlord walks
through the vacant apartment.
Give your landlord a forwarding
address, in writing, within four
days of move-out. Within 30 days
you should receive either a
written list of damages the
landlord is deducting from your
security from your security
deposit or a check for the full
deposit.
If you want to dispute any
alleged damages, you should
respond in writing within seven
days of receiving the list of
damages. By the 45th day after
move-out, the landlord must
return any money that was never
claimed for damages and either
return the disputed amount or sue
you for the disputed money. If the
landlord fails to do this, you can
sue for double the disputed
amount.
The specifics in every tenant
problem are a little different. To
avoid problems, follow the
general points mentioned in this
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Nuts and Bolts
I ILGANG, NEREt T
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by Judd Winick
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