4A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 21, 1995 (Tht art Ir " ti JUDITH KAFKA TuE Fv PRINT 420 Maynard Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan MICHAEL ROSENBERG Editor in Chief JULIE BECKER JAMES M. NASH Editorial Page Editors Being anfare shouldn't Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of a majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters, and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. Faculty sl-hc Tenure for professors Faculty tenure - occasionally abused as a refuge for mediocrity - should have its limits, several members of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs correctly asserted last week. Speaking for what he called "one side of the debate," SACUA Chair George Brewer recommended that the University impose sanctions on tenured faculty whose perfor- mance has been deemed inadequate. Sug- gested sanctions include losses of raises, perks, office space or salary. Although this proposal was criticized by some SACUA members for destroying academic freedom and demeaning the integrity of the tenure system, it remains the best hope the Univer- sity has for maintaining its high teaching standards. Brewer claimed that 2 112 percent of ten- ured faculty were giving "unsatisfactory per- formances." Although he would not elabo- rate on what "unsatisfactory" means in terms of teaching methods, Brewer did say that the standard for these performances is deter- mined by a model similar to a bell curve, and "unsatisfactory" falls at two standard devia- tions below the middle of the curve. This translates to 100 people not doing their jobs adequately, and currently there is no way of making them improve. SACUA will continue this debate at the October meeting, and members have said that no formal action is expected to be taken until late this year at the earliest. If the proposal is implemented, a tenured faculty Second Smear derails city N eal Berlin, welcome to Ann Arbor. Among the many amenities for the next city administrator: a nice office on the third floor of City Hall, an annual salary near $100,000, proximity to the quaint Kerrytown shopping district and the chance to work for 11 of the most indecisive, petty and ill- tempered bosses in town. Berlin was named city administrator - Ann Arbor's top unelected position - last Friday with the minimum number of City Council votes to confirm him. Six council members voted for Berlin, three voted against and two members were absent for what may be the council's most monumental decision in months. Berlin's narrow confirmation, following a nasty campaign to sabotage his chief rival for the job, bodes very poorly for the new administrator and speaks volumes about the council's inability to make tough decisions. Berlin may be the right person for the job. He may have even been the most qualified. However, his selection is tainted by a smear campaign against Roger Crum, widely con- sidered the top candidate for the job - be- fore a memo was penned by Councilmember Stephen Hartwell (D-4th Ward) relating a comment Crum reportedly made during a small-group interview with Hartwell and another council member. According to the memo, Crum said - apparently in jest - that he vented his frustration by beating his wife and children. Hartwell, in an apparent attempt to stoke the emotions of as many community members as possible, distributed the memo to a wide range of individuals, many of whom had nothing to do with the administrator search. Taking his smear be- yond the limits of credulity, Hartwell ac- cused anyone who voted for Crum of com- plicity in domestic violence. shouldn't be absolute member who appears to be teaching inad- equately will be evaluated by peers from his or her field for at least two years. Brewer said the peer review committee would decide if the member should be sanctioned, and what action should be taken. Student evaluations were not included in the proposal, mainly, Brewer said, because the small percentage of tenured faculty who are falling through the cracks are not teach- ing classes and therefore have no students from whom to receive evaluations. However, it is students -not faculty-who are denied the opportunity to learn and forced to endure poorly taught classes. In more concrete terms, it is students - not faculty - who pay tuition. Dissenting SACUA members argue that the proposal, if implemented, would place too much emphasis on giving students high grades. In addition, it would deprive tenured faculty ofthe opportunity to reap the benefits of their tenure. "Tenured faculty want to concentrate on research," said SACUA mem- ber Tom Dunn, who objected to the proposal at the meeting. "The role of the senior faculty is to take on high-risk research, not to crank the handle of everyday matters." That is, everyday matters such as teach- ing. Tenured faculty are still faculty, not researchers masquerading as faculty to gain office space. The primary responsibility of faculty is to teach students, and when that responsibility is shirked, sanctions should be imposed. I choice manager candidate Crum, who rated highest in interviews with city staff, at least deserved a fair shot at the job. Hartwell denied him that. And the five other council members - two of whom had supported Crum before the smear - capitulated in allowing Hartwell and a small circle of Democrats to dictate their choice. Why not Crum? City staff members who had interviewed the current administrator of Spokane, Wash., correctly surmisedthe coun- cil would not offer him the position because he is too independent. That was precisely the reason the last city administrator, Alfred Gatta, left under council pressure. The ma- jority Democrats on the council have deter- mined that a maverick administrator - one who dares challenge them on fiscal and other issues - has no place in Ann Arbor. In choosing Berlin, council members confirmed what many have suspected: they want an administrator they can easily manipulate, subject to the desires of the majority. While the administrator is appointed by council, and therefore works for the 11-mem- ber body, that job is not meant as a puppet for the majority. Gatta stood up to the council, streamlining the city budget and allowing Ann Arbor to maintain a healthy fund sur- plus. Had Gatta been another empty suit in City Hall, the council likely would now be faced with a deficit budget and an unappeal- ing array of cuts. Chaining the administrator to the whims of the council majority leads to artificially short terms - as was the case with Gatta and his predecessor, neither of whom lasted even three years. Choosing a city administrator is not a task to take lightly. Nor should that responsibility fall to a group of politicians who cave in to a political smear veiled in unfounded accusa- tions. With a welcome like this, Neal Berlin may want to think twice about staying. he United Nations Fourth Wo ference on Women came to a Beijing last Friday. The delegates left the conferen produced a document specifying ba that all women should be accor though there is nothing in internat binding any government to the "Pla Action," at least it provides a sta women's rights as human rights, an a point of reference for oppressed and their advocates. Probably the most significant it document -and undoubtedly the n tested - affirms that women's righ sede national traditions. Here in the United States, w recognize how this concept shou plied elsewhere: to condemn genita tion, to ensure women's ability to i prevent the killing and abandonmen girls. Gross atrocities against won in developing nations, poverty-str gions, backward countries. We can shake our heads at how far behind On the other hand, we are a Western nation. We are fully aware rights. Heck, we've even got it in ou tution. (Well, sort of- whatever h to the Equal Rights Amendment Oh, that's right, it wasn't necessa that to Shannon Faulkner.) OK, so maybe the United St perfect, but at least our delegatesd stories about how religious fundam in their country had abscondedv rights they once had. Sure, we' growing religious right, but they an trolling anyone, it's not as if ourc obscure womens rld Con- actually had to fear that people at home close in would find the conference's final document too radical or anything. ce having So some Republicans feel that affirming sic rights a wife's right to say no to sex is "anti- ded. Al- family" (we all know how good rape and ional law abuse are for the foundation of any family .tform for just ask Susan Smith) and true, both Bob ndard of Dole and George Bush felt the need to blow 1d creates a little caustic air toward the conference, but d women it's not as if women and women's issues aren't taken seriously here. em in the Look at Bob Packwood. Boy, did the most con- Senate come down hard on him. Granted hts super- they were all fine and dandy keeping his "exploits" (as opposed to his abuses) in the e readily comforts of a closed committee room, but as ld be ap- soon as he trod upon party politics by chang- al mutila- ing his mind and asking for a public forum in nherit, to which to air out his dirty laundry, he was ntofbaby forced to resign or face expulsion. Three men exist cheers for women's rights. icken re- In fact, leading politicians in this country all sadly are so respectful of women's rights thata they are. speech like Alberto Fujimori's, in which the modern Peruvian president took a stand at the con e of equal ference against Vatican control in Latin ur Consti- America by promoting the right of women to happened use contraceptives, would never have com anyway? from a U.S. president. For one thing, the ry - tell United States is not unduly influenced by the Vatican. For another, not only are contra ates isn't ceptives used here, but abortion is theoreti didn't tell cally an unconditional right, at least for now nentalism There'd be no reason to broach such a sensi what few tive topic by promoting the idea worldwide ve got a Besides, the current presidential admin ren't con- istration was represented at the conference delegates - Hillary Rodham Clinton was there. O plight course initially there was that problem of t Henry Wu being held in China. Apparently, some of the very same politicians who more than a year ago convinced Clinton's hus- band; Bill, to disregard yet another of his J campaign promises by maintaining China's "most favored nation" trade status because the human rights abuses weren't that big a deal, were horrified that she would willingly t step foot in a country infamous in many s circles (although not big business' nor their vote-getters') for said abuses. Luckily, Wu e was released just in time to avoid an ugly I showdown at the Capitol (although the hu- s man rights vs. women's rights fight would e have been interesting), and so the first lady s was able to speak, relatively controversy- free, in Beijing. Not that any of this should detract from s the sobering fact that women are still treated e like chattel in many parts of the world, and that the rape, beating and even murder of y women and female children is viewed as a a man's right in some countries. e The "Platform for Action" will not solve - these problems, but it is at least a recogni- n tion, on an international level, that they exist a and that these practices are not acceptable e merely because they lie within the ambigu- e ous context of culture. Nor is the document e perfect. Some glaring absences - most no- - tably the item affirming women's rights - regardless of sexual orientation - do exist. r. Yet it contains the voices of women from - 189 countries, and should be respected as such. Governments can use the document as - an instruction manual for improving the e condition of women in their country, even f - especially - the United States. MATT WIMsATrT MOOKIE's Du.EILMA 000, U - I Wocu H E AC' A aC MIsWfR, It's O11tW*A~S IN ENtE BAG oR R ~PfgRsoNAL VP sIAV 'H gRE~ NOTABLE QUOTABLE 'For out-of-state students, the University is a private institution.' - University President James J. Duderstadt L:'IES 'U' vegetation shouldn't suffer early demnise To the DaIly: I am writing in response to Mark West's letter of9/14195 ("A tree is not a human being"). Our dear friend from Engineering was grateful enough to show the en- tire University community his ig- norance. He argued that the death of a tree (or plant) did not com- pare to that of a human being. With these few words, he has exemplified the backwards atti- tude which our society has had for many decades: a total disre- spect for the natural world. Maybe our friend doesn't know enough about American Elms (Ulmus americana). This native tree is well known for its majestic drooping vase shape. This appearance made the tree an ideal element for urban land- scapes. Unfortunately our soci- ety has abused its beauty. We planted it almost in every community and on every street corner. Our urban landscapes al- most became a monoculture of American Elms. This might have looked nice, unfortunately the American Elm is susceptible to Dutch Elm Disease (DED). This disease which is a fungus carried by a beetle, clogs the phloem of the tree. This has a similar effect to cholesterol in human arteries. Ultimately, the tree becomes weaker, and it is more susceptible to breaking. Trees afflicted by DED are distinguishable by a long white/ curred by the construction cre- ated an opportune time for the tree to be removed by the Univer- sity grounds crew. Unfortunately, this tree was not the only one removed. A healthy American Redbud (Cer- cis canadensis) was also removed. This tree had been planted as a memorial tree of retired landscape architecture faculty Chuck Cares. Prof. Cares often comes back to the school of Natural Resources and Environment. How must he feel to see that a tree which had be dedicated to him has been re- moved for a simple little wall. Nice gesture on the part of the University. The problem is not with the University as a whole, as the ar- ticle suggested, but rather with the way the University plans its campus. Most of the planning around here seems to be done in a blindfolded manner. The impor- tance appears to be given to build- ings and their location as opposed to the appearance and manage- ment of the whole landscape. Whoever did the site planning for this building had probably no clue that the little cement wall (which we could all live without) that is currently in place, would replace an 80-year-old Elm. This con- struction has cost this campus many trees. By losing this Elm, not only have we lost a tree, but we lost one of the few healthy American Elms on campus. I approach this situation as a landscape architecture student. Most of my peers in the School of Natural Resources and Environ- ment would likely give you amore ecological approach which would be, if not as, more important than mine. I sincerely encourage them CCRB locker policy unfair To the Daily: Last year at about this time I wrote a letter to Deborah Webb, the CCRB building director, to complain about a CCRB policy that I believed had an unfair and discriminatory effect on graduate students like myself whose aca- demic terms run several weeks beyond the end of the "official" University calendar. The gist of my complaint was that each April, at the very start of two grueling weeks of law school exams, I am forced to vacate my CCRB locker. Throughout the academic year, and particularly during the stress ofexam periods, swimming plays a vital part in my attempt to maintain physical and emotional health. During exams I have even less time than I nor- mally do, and though I try to continue to swim regularly, it is inconvenient and burdensome to have to carry wet swimming gear back and forth to the CCRB. I choose to pay $52 a year to rent a locker, after all, in order to avoid having to do this. No extensions are granted to graduate students; we must pay an additional $13 for a half-term rental even if we plan to leave Ann Arbor just after ex- ams. I conceded in my letter to Ms. Webb that the rigid adherence to an "official" University calendar which ignores the reality of the schedule of thousands of gradu- ate students would be entirely justified if there were someone waiting to rent my locker for the spring/summer term. But, in fact, as I carry my gear back and forth Doing this during the scheduled University break is the only way to provide work crews withac- cess to all locker room areas in Y the building without having to disrupt and inconvenience locker room users. While this time frame admittedly cannot meet everyone's needs it does coin- cide with the vast majority of student's schedules." Herreasoning is unpersuasive. If the locker clear-out process coincides with the "vast major- ity" of students' schedules, how would the holdover presence of my tiny minority hamper this pro- cess at all? Our continuing pres- ence in the locker rooms would not, as she claims, deny the work- ers access to any "locker room areas." If that were true, how can the CCRB rent lockers out to spring users without creating the same problem? In reality, our continuing presence would only deny the workers access to our lockers themselves. If our num- bers are so small, as she suggests, it shouldn't be much ofa problem for one or two members of the work crew to return two weeks later (after our term ends) to clear out our lockers. If our numbers are not so small, this could be more problematic; but in that case we are no longer a tiny minority and her reason for ignoring our needs becomes less defensible. In sum, if I speak for a tiny minority oflocker renters it seems to me the CCRB could meet our legitimate needs without much disruption. If I speak for a large number this may not be the case. But then how can they defend a policy that seriously inconve- niences a large number of rent- ers? HOW TO CONTACT THEM Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid B. Sheldon Ann Arbor City Hall