vol_14_no_10 by Michigan Review

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Bentley Historical Library 1150 Beal Avenue Ann Arbor,

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Students Protest 'Elitist' Daily BY BENJAMIN KEPPLE

LOSE TO 250 STUDENTS participated in an emotionally-charged protest of the Michigan Daily on April 2. The protest was endorsed by various campus activist groups, including Fuerza Latina, the Free Mumia Coalition, Lo Voz Mexicana, the Black Student Union, the Native American Student Alliance, and the Minority Affairs Commission. Their complaint? That the Daily is guilty of racism and attacking minorities on campus. The protesters' main allegations of racism were due to: • The March 28 front page story in the Daily that had an anonymous source state that'[. . .] a group of people, possibly some who were members of Alianza [... ]' were responsible for the theft of approximately 8,700 copies of the March 27 edition of the Daily. • The refusal ofthe Daily to print

the party platform and adequately ors felt he took an anti-affinnative give coverage of the United People's action stance. Coalition (UPC ). The UPC is one of At first gathering on the Diag and five parties currently represented in playing music, the protestors soon MSA, having won two seats on the ABsembly in the recent election. • The January 27 editorial of the Michigan Daily regarding the Dental School Three, in which the Daily made the argument that the Dental School Three were merely shouting unfounded claims of racism. ' • Various carStudent!t protest the Michigan Daily toons created by DailyEditorial Page SWUI)g Into action. Shouting "Raza si, cartoonist Jim Lasser. At issue was Daily no!" and carrying a large banner reading "LATINA/OS: Defiende one of his cartoons regarding affirmative action, in which the protest10 tuyo!" the group ofpeople began to

walk. The protestors walked from the Diag into Mason Hall, passing the Angell Hall Computing Center and into Angell Hall itself. After passing through Angell, the protestors proceeded to walk through the Michigan Union, around the Fleming Building, and stopped in front of the Student Publications Building (S PB ), lair of the Michigan Daily. The protestors continually shouted as they proceeded, some waving the Cuban, EI Salva- · doran, and Mexican flags. At the SPB, various leaders from the protesting groups made speeches denouncing the Daily. One of the speakers denounced the Daily as "a bunch ofhypocrites" , while other comments about the Daily were less positive. At one point the crowd actively booed at the mention, by one ofthe speakers, of cartoonist Jim Lasser. See PROTEST:Page 14

MSA Candidates Reflect Upon Rece:nt Elections BY EVAN KNO'M'

NWEDNESDAY, MARCH 27 and Thursday, March 28, slightly more than ten percent of the University student population voted in the Mi'chigan Student ABsembly (MSA) pr~sidential eh~c tions . For the fourth straight year, the Michigan Party has retained the presid ent and vice-president seats as well as the majority of the Assembly's representative seats. The Review recently spoke with pr esidential candidates from _the lVIichigan, Students', and Wolverine parties, along with a member of the Liberty Party. Candidates were asked t o reflect on the election , to comment on the final results, to defme the issues each plans to address next fall, to respond to the low voter turnout, and to evaluate the various campaign ef-

3 Letters Readers share their views on the politics of Hillary Clinton and the College Republican controversy .

forts . The Michigan Party's candidates Fiona Rose and Probir Mehta won the president's and vice-presIdent's seats, respectively. Rose had this to say about the elections: "I feel that this year's presidential election result shows clearly that the Michigan Party message - one of student advocacy and access to a firstrate education - has penneated the halls of this institution resolutely. With Probir Mehta and me at the helm of this continued movement towards concrete student work, voters know their faith in our message is warranted. "Low turnout can be attributed to any number ofthings, from fewer poll sites to cold weather. More probably, however, we must remember that voter apathy is a symptom, not an issue. Students must feel that their

government impacts their lives; this feeling inadequate, it is little wonder they feel they have no stake in the elections. Hence, one of our goals this year is to increase turnout by increasing MSA effectiveness. "The key tactic of the Michigan Party sweep is a simple yet effective one: demonstrating to student voters our real commitmen t to bettering their lives here at Michigan. There are UM s tudents ready for graduation who have never known a non-Michigan Party MSApresident. These students know the tried-and-true effectiveness of our leadership. "Much of politics is tactics: Diag boards, banners, and posters. For Mehta and me, however, the campaign was about strategy: convincing students that we are the best choice for leading the student body. Our strategy works because it is honest.

Campus

From Suite One

6 Mfairs

Opinions of police brutality, the Daily protest, the GEO strike and Political pressure on the judicial system.

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Read about Hash Bash, the proposed LivingLearning requirement , and the UPC.

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"I have already begun work on improving the child care programs at the University, mostly via a ballot fee question which was approved by voters. This summer, I will be pursuing increased parking, restaurant expansion on North Campus, and academic opportunity initiatives. "The effectiveness of the MSA is hinged on the participation of its constituents. I invite all students to join with me in working for a University experienc.e that is affordable, acces-. sible, and, most importantly, educational." The Review next discussed the election results with Wolverine Party presidential candidate Andy Schor. "I was extremely disappointed on the voter turnout. I feel that the candidate actions must have caused disSee MSA, Page 9

Living

17 Culture

Columns

Ben rants aboutthe left destroying itself, while Geoff reveals the concept of post-mortem taxes.

Book reviews , Drew's fabulous music interviews and a review of Angels and Insects.

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THE MrcHIQAN REVIEW

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o SERPENT'S TOOTH Rumor has it Ross Perot might enter the presidential race. Great - a candidate for everyone: Old as Dole, sleazy as Clinton and screwy as Pat. Serpent's Tooth wants to know what the hell they put in the water in Montana: fIrst the Freemen, now the U nabomber?!? In a related story, the U-M math department suffered a huge setback in its campaign to convince people that math majors were just normal people when it was revealed that, in addition to Jake Baker, the Unabomber was also a U-M math student (he earned a Ph.D. here). Recently, the Daily, the bastion of political correctness and the New Left, was picketed because of it's "racist" editorial stance and it's "lack of diversity." We would like to point out that the root of the word "diversity" is the Latin word diuersitas. It turns out that, roughly translated, it means ~~cJmtrruliili2n." Go figur.e. .t..._

1996

The Campus Affairs Journal of the University of Michigan "There wll be NO Extravaganza!" EorTOR-li-CHIEF: MohIn Krlshnlll PUBlISHER: BenJmIIn Kepple MANAClING EDITOR: Geoff Brown ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER: Pat E,kew

Recently, the Daily advised its readers that if they wanted tojoin another paper, theyshouldjoin ... the Independent! HEY! WHAT ABOUT US?!? HELLO?!? Oh, boy are they biased.

ASSISTANT EDITOR: TbomII JoIIfIe MUSIC EDITOR: Orw PeterI COpy EDITORS: Evan Knott, Anthony Wen ADVER11SIHO MANAGER: Eddie SanguinNIIIG COMPUTER CONSUlTANT: MIrk Weat UTERARY CRI11C: BII Ahrena PHOTOGRAPHER: Uaa _ner

To MSA Flint was elected, Although he was never respected. Now Fiona's in charge, And Flint is at large, With students' concerns remaining neglected.

STAff: ...... AcIdaI. DIvorIh AdIar. Aaron CIamnI. KIvIn CcIcIrM¥. DIvId DocIMnhalf•.....,.. FtrII, c.tm Hwlng, Ben lMo~ .... M)1IfI, Rodlen Alhbu, CraIg Rogowski. IIcMeI Whelton.

A federal judge ruled that a seizure made by the NYPD of 80 pounds of cocaine was invalid because it was made without due process. Thejudge carne under intense political pressure due to this ruling, and as a result, changed his ruling. In a related story, due to political pressure, Bill Clinton .. changed rus political views so as to seem conservative.

EorTOR-at-lAFIGE: JImII A. Roberta. II EorTOR EMERITUS: N_ JImIIon PUBLISHERS EJERI11: Eric lMIon, A.-on S....IIWI

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The Daily:s'new motto:

"Read The Ddily today! After all, It could wind lIP getting stolen by angry leftists tomorrow!"

OROVING PHOTOGRAPHER

by Lisa Wagner

Who would you recommend as the next U-M president? Bob Senior, Natural Resources "A U-M football player the reasons are self-explanatory. "

Brian Sak

Senior, LSAIEngineering "You know, I didn't even know they were looking for one!"

The Mch/gMI RtNiBwis an Independe!t, niJn1hIy student1\11 joImaI d cIassbII bfaI and Ibetta!Ian opnion at the lJIWenJIy d t.tchigan. We neIher soIicI nor accept rmnecary donations froolthe UnIversly 01 Mchlgan. and... corne on. Yoo've read !his belOI8. Yoo know. We also have no respect for I'fpocrlkalleftisls who steal the McJjgan DaIf, d aI uqs, cIaiJWIg!hat I was raciIt ~ fad, we lind the thieves benealh COI"tefl1ll Even though the D.i¥ is a bfII ragsheeI they DO sill have the rJjt to be heanf, and they ... (grmrr) ... <Sigh> ... have our support as fellow jotrnUsts. AI8o, we'" pretty ue that Mertos comner,.) cilia, YiIwed In ....... ~. . . ~ aIIegcriIs d CNClalIOdeIaJ _ _ By the way, conIIbJtlons to the Afdr/gan Review are tax~tM undef Seetion SOl (c)(3) of the Intemal Reveooe Code. The Review is no! aIIlIlated wUl any poItIcaI party or universly poItIcaI ~.

Unsigned ecIk>riaIs represent the opinion d the editorial board. Ergo, they are unequivocably correct and just. S9"ted II1IcIes, Ie1Iers, and cartoons represent the opi11008 01 the a1Mlor and m neceSSlItf!hose d the Review. The opinloo8 presented ~ this pIi)IicatIon are not necessarl~ those d the adVertisers or 01 the University d ~Igan (and ~ the U-Ms case, aren't). We welcome letters and articles and encourage COI1TIlents about the joumal. Please address aD su~ Inquliesto: Associate Publisher, do the Mchigan RevIew. AI a<t.'er1Isilg inquirIes should be directed to: Publisher clo the Michigan Review. EdIorIII And BualneM 0IfIceI: Sub One III N. Unlvtralty Avenue Am Arbor, MI 48101-1285 ~:MREV@um~Adu

Til. (313) 862-19Ot Fu (313) n.-2505 Ccip/IIgIdO ' ... ." The IiICNgIn fIIrMIr. ftc.

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Rachel Hodas Sophomore, LSA "Phil Knight, president of Nike.'"

Joey Stashko B.A., English, '95 ((Jerry Seinfeld, because he's used to screwing students. "

Love us or hate write LIS.

LIS.

The Michigan Review Letters to the Editor 911 N. University Ave. Suite One Ann Arbor, MI48109 or email with subject "Letters to the Editor": mrev@umich.edu

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April 10, 1996

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

o LETIERS To THE EDITOR College Republicans

ANY CONSERVATIVES HAVE lauded over the success of the anti-political correctness movement. Some feel that the worst days of PC, where conservatives were frequently persecuted for their beliefs, have gone away due to public disdain for PC tactics. While there have been many successes in battles against political correctness, the war is not over yet. A clear example that PC is still alive and well was exposed on the campus of Albion College this early April. During the first week in April, student leaders and campus officials began a crackdown on conservative activities at Albion College. The harassment began in response to a press release. The President and Vice-President of the Albion College Republicans, Jeff Schroder and Corinne Johnson, were elected members oftheir student Senate. They had been the constant vocal opposition of the liberal activities of the student Senate since the beginning of the school year. Cori Johnson served as a member of the student affairs committee of the Senate. Recently, a gay organization on campus proposed a resolution that the student Senate support the recent efforts to legalize gay marriage in Hawaii. The Student Mfairs committee voted this resolution down four to three. Cori Johnson then sent out a press release, with the help of Jeff Schroder, about the event, claiming that Albion Students said no to gay marriages. Given that this subset of the student $enate did vote down the proposition, both Mr. Schroder and Ms. Johnson believed, as representatives of the school, they had a right to send the release. The release had at its top the title Student Affairs with the name Corinne Johnson, committee member as a contact. Once the student senate found out about the press release, they immediately began to investigate Mr. Schroder and Ms. Johnson. "The liberal majority on the student Senate believed they had finally found a possible excuse to kick us out," says Jeff Schroder. Several radical organizations, including the homosexual rights group Break the Silence also ,began activities against the CRs. The student Senate cited Jeff and Cori for breaching the constitution, citing that only the president could speak in an official capacity for the student Senate. Liberal Senate members filed impeachment papers against Mr. Schroder and Ms. Johnson. As Mr. Schroder states, "Almost every member of the Senate talks about Senate matters to the student newspaper, so _, ., _"'_"

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to say that only the president can speak for the Senate in,.an official capacity is absurd." However, this was only the beginning. Several radical organizations next demanded that the private email files of the Albion College Republicans be opened. The CRs had a private e-mail bulletinboard.iIicludingsensitive material and letters sent to them from other organizations. Albion College officials responded by making the CR file public, without making any of the other student groups private e-mail files public. What was even more horrendous, is the fact that the Albion CRs were not notified that the files were made public. "We found out about our files being public by the activities of some opposition organizations," says Cori Johnson. "Students on campus were being asked to sign petitions to impeach us, the petition filers were showing students our private e-mail messages as examples;o(how bad the CRs were, the college didn't even have the decency to notify usr After this, Break the Silence filed charges against Ms. Johnson and Mr.Schroder with the city and campus police. They charged that Ms. Johnson's press release constituted a hate crime. If Corinne Johnson is found guilty, by the police or the college, she will lose her scholarship and be unable to attend Albion. One faculty supporter of Ms. Johnson and Mr. Schroder believes that the press release could never constitute a hate crime, but may have been more a method of harassment than sincerity. Corinne Johnson has also been harassed with many threatening phone calls and obscene e-mail, showing that tolerance and diversity end at the beginning of conservative students' rights at Albion. On Monday, April 1st, the Albion College Student Senate held an impeachment hearing for both Jeff Schroder and Cori Johnson . At least 35 College Republicans from across the state attended the meeting and witnessed the bias of the student Senate firsthand. Non-students were banned from talking at the meeting, an action which was in response to the numerous conservatives from outside the school that came to support the two CRs. Jeff Schroder could not remember a time before where the student senate limited its public speakers to students only. A State Representative tha.t attended the meeting was not even allowed to speak. Albion students were allowed during constituent time to bring out

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many allegations about the students in question, they also brought the infamous petitions to the Senate supporting impeachment. However, on several occasions when Jeff Schroder attempted to defend himself, student Senate President Chris O'Connor cited that his comments were not germane to the discussion. "Albion students were allowed time to make wild allegations against Cori and Jeff, yet when they wanted to respond to these allegations they were censored by the student Senate President," says Nick Kirk, aU ofM student who watched the spectacle. Many students noted the pink ribbons which were worn to support gay rights, which for some at this meeting inherently meant the impeachment of the two College Republicans on the Senate. "Several Senate faculty advisors wore these pinK ribbons, showing the obvious bias of faculty who should be unbiiised in advising the student governJllent," says Jason Brewer, an MSU student who attended the meeting. The student Senate then proceeded to impeach both Jeff and Corio Jeff Schroder's only crime was that he allowed Oori'Jo}mson ,to use hU; fax machine. Corl's crime was that she wrote a press release telling what a committee of the student Senate did.

The student Senate is now allegedly interested in revoking the recognition of the College Republicans at Albion, according to Jeff Schroder. The Student Senate might move to ban the organization from the colleges official list of recognized organizations. Why should this story concern other college students? The simple answer is that this could happen to you. If the college in conjunction with the student assembly can conspire against people whose politics they disagree with, why cannot your campus do the same? Imagine if you sent out a press release. You were charged with hate crimes. Your e-mail account was made open to the public. Finally, your organization was banned. This is not a liberal or conservative argument, it is an argument about the basic rights students have on campus. Freedom of Speech and Association are severely threatened ,. thanks to several faculty and students at Albion" thus proving that political correctness is an ongoing battle for the future of our civilliberti~,s on all of our campuses. Ma~k Fletcher

•. Chairman, Michigan Federation of College Republicans

Roving Reporter in Bad Taste

'M GOING TO GET STRAIGHT to the point, I think that the section on the "Roving Photographer" in the February 14, 1996 edition of the Michigan Review was in total bad taste. I think that it is the farthest thing from unbiased, the way that substantial informative media is supposed to be. This section was in poor taste because it did or does not reflect anything positive. Apparently the roving photographer was not roving too much otherWise he or she would have found a positive gift for Hillary. Not that it's a big deal because I could care less about Hillary, but it's upsetr "-'''-'''' --'"-- ",..

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ting that an unbiased or supposedly unbiased form of media is violated. My suggestion is that when a story has two sides as does this one like Republican verses Democrat, find someone who's political stance, beliefs, opinions and or influence does not corne through in their writing. An informative news writer's job is not to influence their audience, it is to present information with an unbiased slant, and allow their audience to fonn their own opinion.

Tiyhoni Durio Sophomore LSA

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THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

April 10, 1996

o FROM SUITE ONE "

Protect our Newspapers

HE THEFT OF 8,700 COPIES OF THE MICHIGAN DAILY IN itself a truly deplorable act, brings attention to a glaring deficien~y in Fed.eral and State law regarding the ownership - and theft - of freedrop papers. Currently, the law states that since organizations place their paper for free distribution, there is no actual theft taking place when one takes thousands ofissues. Along with this flawed logic, the law places a value of zero on the paper when it hits the stands and drop places. This law fails to put a value on the real economic investment put into the paper by the publishing organization, the advertisers, and the staff. Thousands of dollars and hundreds of man-hours are spent publishing each issue ofthe Daily and the Review , and to assign these investments a value of zero just because the paper is offered for free is irrational. This law currently fails to address the problems faced by free-drop papers across the nation, and opens the way for censorship by parties who disagree with the views of the "offending" publication. In itself, this law also fails to provide protection for the organization's First Amendment rights, namely the freedom of press. When the freedom of press is denied, tyranny is one step closer to becoming reality. It is necessary for our elected representatives to demand and implement a change to this paper tiger of a law that does not adequately protect the freedom of speech and press for smaller and not-for-profit publications such as the Michigan Daily or the Michigan Review. It is morally reprehensible for this act to be committed. It is even worse iJ when the law allows these acts to happen. To merely sit with their hands tied while a small group of people censor sources of information and enjoyment fr.9m the rest of the community is a slap in the face to ey~ person who has ever worked on a publication that goes against the status quo or that someti.iUes voices unpopular opinions. We have seen this happen a<;POss the nation as angry leftists make their voice heard by muffling that of any vocal conservative or even liberal opposition, whether at the University of Michigan, George Washington University, or the University of Pennsylvania. In a University environment, such actions cannot be tolerated, and the thieves who stole from the Daily and the University community on March 27 should be rightfully condemned by the University administration, the Michigan Student Assembly, and by all free-minded students" for their childish and inexcusable action. The University environment should be an environment where every person's right to free speech, free assembly, and free press is upheld, regardless of who it offends or who it pleases. It should not be an environment where only the views of the vo.cal politically correct'trimuph at the expense of others. If there are people - and there are - who are angry with the way that the Daily or any other campus1publication works, then they have the option of writing a Letter to the Editor, 'or they have the option to join that paper and try to influence it. If the students involved in the recent protest are truly willing to make a difference at the Daily, they will join the Daily and begin working to make the paper their paper. We applaud the Daily for its restraint in its decision not to prosecute the offenders under the Code for Student Conduct. Even though the action of the thieves was beneath contempt, and that prosecution under the Code would probably be the only way for the Daily to receive any kind of restitution, the Daily has made .the right decision. To charge a student under the Code, a process that has been inherently flawed since conception and remains so, will only create the question of whether the students charged would be able to receive a fair trial, due to the fact that a) the Code is in itself a flawed document, and b) that the incident has received so much press. Since the University has shown in the past that it is incompetent in dealing with the Code, trial by Code would be a farce for both the student and the Daily. It is a hard pill to swallow, but by refusing to prosecute under the Code, the Daily stands up for what it believes. We hope that the Daily, by being able to successfully implement other legal alternatives, will gain justice for what happened. To deny the freedom of press to any group on campus is to begin the march down the dark path to a politically correct tyranny, whereas the exemplification ofthe ideals behind the freedom of press will lead to a more informed and open student body. We have two choices, and the latter is by far the best choice to take. But as the actions of a few individuals has proved, we cannot rely on the innate good will of man alone. We must rely on law, and accordingly, the Federal and State laws applicable in this situation must be changed to protect the rights of any publication, no matter how liberal or conservative that publication may be. We must strengthen the laws that enforce the First Amendment, or face the consequences. l\R '"

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o COMMENTARY GEO Work-Stoppage Hurts Students HE GRADUATE EMPLOYEES ORGANIZATION (GEO) WOK!\'stoppage this week is a disturbing move in the wrong direction. GEO members have placed their desires and demands above the needs of the students they promised to help educate when they became TAs. While they accuse the administration of not arbitrating in good faith, their actions show that they are unwilling to perform their duties in good faith. Truly, while the graduate students lost little by skipping their sessions and the classes they teach, many undergraduates of this University lost two days of teaching that they will be unable to recover. With little say in the matter, many students were deprived of hundreds of dollars of their education. Furthermore, most professors either voluntarily cancelled class (shifting the consequences on themselves) or bravely marched through the strike, taking more work upon theIl'iS'l~lves to make up for the absence of their TAs. Therefore, unlike other TA strikes, this one will have no long-term consequence for the administration of the University (such as the postponement of report card mailing). This strike, while damaging to undergraduate students, will not even faze the administration, and will be at best a miserable failure as a bargaining tactic. The GEO has acted hastily, managing to deprive undergraduates oftheir classes, force more work on professors, and fail to benefit itself. The GEO members must learn a simple lesson: They are not the oppressed blue-collar laborers of the U-M. They are students, who live good lives, and who are benefiting from a uniquely symbiotic form offi,nancial aid. Being a TAis not a regular job. The University, and for that matter universities in general, have no duty to provide TAjobs, and they have no duty (beyond the basic labor laws of the United States) to answer to the excessive demands of the GEO. This system works because it is a free-market economy - without offers of satisfactory financial aid, graduate students would not come to the University. The University does not provide these jobs because it has some moral duty to do so; it provides them because if it did not, the U-M would be unable to maintain its level of prestige. While TAs certainly have the right to arbitrate for better conditions and unionize for their benefit, they must not allow this to come in front of their duty to the undergraduate student body. By choosing to come to the U-M, they made their bed. They should not shirk in lying in it. The striking graduate students are very keen on pressing the U-M to honor its commitment to the graduate students, and the University has acted in good faith, agreeing to marathon arbitration sessions and working hard to meet the needs ofthe GEO. It is time the GEO remember its commitment to help in the education of undergraduate students. It is time that it stop playing proletariat on the Diag and end this travesty.l\R -Mohan Krishnan

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April 10, 1996

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

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Separate Politics and Law LOGO REPRESENTS THE JUDICIAL SYSTEM OF THE UNITED States: It features a blind-folded woman, holding the impartial scales of justice. This logo is indicative of how the legal system, as a protector ofliberty, should operate - reasonably and unbiased, swaying only in response to logic and evidence, ignoring any pressure from without. While this ideal may still remain intact, its practical applications often have not, for judicial opinion at times falls captive to political influence, creating circumstances dire to the existence of liberty in Americ~. As outlined in the United States Constitution, the national government consists of three separate branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary. Though each works to govern the nation, each possesses unique and specific powers to aid in the aforementioned task. These specific and separate powers are essential to the maintenance of liberal government in America, as James Madison,the architect of the Constitution, writes in the The Federalist . As long as the humanity remains fallible, democracy, he argues, will invite the presence of faction, groups motivated by whim and ideology, rather than reason. To ensure that such a faction fails to usurp the power of the state, government shall function in division, its authority diluted by the separation of powers, leaving only the checks delineated by the Constitution. Thus, to protect liberty from the domination of faction, the judicial branch, along with its two counterparts, must retain its constitutionally position of independence, free OJ outside political pressure. While the judiciary must remain separate from the other branches of the national government, it also must govern itself in such a way that is conducive to the maintenance of freedom. That is, the judiciary must render decisions in aÂˇfair and unbiased manner, as its representative logo suggests. It does so by following the principle of the rule oflaw. As many often quote, free government must remain "a government of laws, and not of men." In other words, judges must reach decisions based upon the word ofthe law, and not based upon their personal preferences or political beliefs,.or those of anyone else, for to do otherwise would be. to yiolate .the principle !;hat serves t9 protect the liberty of all citizens. . Like a government that remains consolidated in its powers, a state that ignores the importance of written law leaves the liberty of the populace in jeopardy. Such a government would resort to rule by personal preference or judicial whim, establishing no consistency in or basis of the law. Such a society would function like a despotic one, with citizens subject to the very whim of those in power. Thus, the importance of consistent rulings - established by an independent judiciary, without regard to outside influences - remains vital if liberty is to exist. Though these aforementioned principles constitute the basis and tradition of the current American legal system, they have come under attack in several recent decisions. One such decision involves a highly publicized situation in N ew York City, in which a federal judge actually reversed his decision after intense political criticism of the original. The case itselfinvolved a woman who faced charges of drug traficking; police seized several million dollars of cocaine from the trunk of her car, and she later confessed to police as having violated the law. The judge who heard this case, however, dismissed this evidence, concluding that the police did not have probable cause to search her vehicle. The judge received criticism from a variety of sources, both Republican and Democratic: New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani called the decision a travesty ofjustice; Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole expressed his disagreement by calling for the judge's impeachment; even President Bill Clinton, who appointed this particular judge, was critical of the decision. Facing this widespread criticism of his decision, the judge soon reversed his conclusion, declaring that the evidence would be admissible in court. While it is not certain that the reversal resulted solely from the political criticism that concerned it, it seems reasonable to assert that such outcry played a role in changing the decision. Ifsuch is indeed the case, the judiciary, in implementing this reversal, has abdicated its independence and unbiased nature. As discussed above, this places the principle of liberty itself - that which the judiciary must protect - in grave jeopardy. The exercise of political influence over judicial opinion establishes a dangerous legal precedent. It violates the constitutional principle of separation of powers as well as the rule oflaw, principles that serve to protect the interests of liberty. The judiciary must retain its constitutional nature for freedom to survive; thus, it must not sway to the current political pressures, h~wever popular they may be. Any violation of these tenets, such as is apparent in the New York situation, only hurts the American people in the long run. l\R

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o COMMENTARY Police: Remember Fourth Amendment -r ."

OO OFTEN, WHEN ONE THINKS OFTHE POLICE, Tf(EREARISES an image of the jack-booted thug, laying in wait to abuse his powers and harass innocent civilians. Sensationalized media accounts of police brutality and unauthorized searches do little to combat this imag.::, In general, police are hard-working,honorable individuals.UnUke those serving in any other profession in the world, they are asked to put their lives on the line every day they come into work, in return receiving relatively low pay and even less respect. In many cases, police find the need to use force in order to effect an arrest, particularly if the subject is zealously resisting attempts of the police. However, in many cases, police have overstepped their bounds and crossed over into the realm of brutality. The case of Rodney King is the quintessential example of this. Granted, King was a criminal, who appeared to be under the influence of illegal substances at tIte time, vehemently resisting arrest; nevertheless, it still was not reasonable fOl' several LAPD officers to beat him repeatedly. While there may be times when force is indeed necessary to bri,ng,a given suspect to justice, it is important that police only use that amount of force which is necessary to subdue a., unruly suspect, and not cross the line into brutality. There are also incidents of police officers violating the Fourth Amendment by effecting unreasonable searches of property. Many people know from experience (or at least from watching Cops or Real Stories of the Highway Patrol) that police will often ask people, pulled over even for minor traffic violations, permission to search their vehicles. Most people consent to these searches because they feel they are obligated to do so. Those that know better and decline to give consent are then threatened with arrest if they do not reconsider their decision. The simple. fact of the matter is that there are only two ways a police officer can legally search one's vehicle without a search warrant. One is if he has probable cause to do so, meaning that an illegal substance or object is viewed in plain sight. For instance, if a police officer pulls you over and sees an open container of alcohol on the front passenger seats, he may then search your vehicle. The only other way a police officer may search your vehicle is if you give them your consent to do so. Basically, if an officer asks for your consent to search your vehicle, it means that he does not have probable cause to do so without your consent. In other words, if you refuse consent under these circumstances, the officer in question is supposed to leave the matter at that. It is important, above all else, for police to remember that their role is not only to apprehend criminals, but also to protect the innocent. While it may be true that the vast majority of police do not abuse their authority, it is also true that such abuses do occur. Police should be concentrating more on bringing the overtly dangerous criminals to justice rather than harassing innocent citizens in a "shot-gun blast" attempt to filter out the guilty from the innocent. Mt - Geoff Brown >"<'~' ''''''- '<-~-ÂŤ''<'~''~~''''''''-

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April 10, 1996

. THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

o CURRENT EVENTS

Hash Bash '96 -> . ~.'''' '

BY MOHAN KRIsHNAN

Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) were also visible. However, the Bash seemed to be dominated by people in Dr. Seuss hats and the remnants of Woodstock. .

hat is Hash Bash? Is it a mandate from the people calling for the end of unnecessary and largely ineffectual laws against · . ,1 marijuana and other drugs? Is it a vital part of the political movement , that caUs for an end to ~ authoritarian government and the re-instillment of the value-forming process in the family and the individual? Or, is it simply a bunch of people hanging around on the Diag smoking pot? This year's Hash Bash, unfortunately, was a resounding chorus of "we don't care." As usual, the Diag was filled with a throng of people talking merrily, playThe big attention gatherers included ing hacky-sack, banging on bongos a man dre~d up in an American..f1ag and strumming guitars, smoking, and outfit, holding a boombox and dancoccasionally confronting the police. ing on the entrance to the Graduate However, I was dismayed to find Library for no ostensible reason, and few bastions of intelligent thought. a beleaguered evangelist who conThere were a few people handing out fronted participants about their sins leaflets or flyers, a relatively short of adultery, fornication, drunkenperiod of speeches, and most of the ness, and "homosex." political thought seemed to have been As a student fascinated by libercanonized into a series of t-shirts tarian thought and by the idea that with catch phrases scrawled on them. the family, and the individual, are Do not be mistaken - there were best suited to make moral decisions, a few activists out, albeit some comas opposed to ceding that control over ing forward from unlikely quarters. to the government, I can't help but wonder what went wrong. What is the point of having a Hash Bash if its just going to be an obnoxious (and noxious) cloud offumes that hazes the campus and gets in everyone's way? Why would anyone come from another state to the UM just to party in the Diag and smoke pot? If legalization of marijuana and the ideals behind it are ever to be taken seriously, Hash ... salesmen with t-shirts, Bash must be reformed. Otherwise, it will forever The infamous Stoney, the entertainbe a comic interlude to college life ing (and often insulting) man who that makes freshmen take pictures appears often as the green-haired and send them home and makes parclown on the Diag, was on hand with ents call them more frequently to a cameraman, filming a segment for make sure they aren't drug addicts. his television show (Stoney Speaks After all, legalization is not a popuTV), and describing to people his vilar topic; it's the kind of thing all sion oflegalized marijuana being used smart politicians stray away from, if as a to<>t to empower the working they want to get elected and keep class. Small amounts of presence from their offices. For most students at the the National Organization for the U-M, Hash Bash is the only event

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forum where people can discuss ideas that ever ' makes them think about like legalization, and the necessity/ this issue, and rather than thinking un acceptability of governmental bans about it in any non-trivial way, they on assisted suicide, or censorship, or see it as some kind ofjoke, or worse, as any of a- number of other similar issome kind of outdoor party. sues. This should be conveniently Sadly, maybe there is no salvation for Hash Bash. After all, itis an event of legendry proportion, and with so much inertia from its occurrence every year, changing it would be difficult indeed. The people in the beat-up cars With the tie-dye shirts and beer cans are the majority of the attendees to the event, and they will continue to . be. Still, there must be something that can ... there were flower children, be done. I think the anplaced in the weeks before Hash Bash, swer is not to reform Hash Bash but and can be couched as a buildup to it. supplant it with a construct of actual Sure, having rational dialogue merit. People who know libertarians won't attract many ofthe dirty-whiteknow that few of them are peace-sign totingreiugees from the war-tom hu}.:d,,,,· cap regime or the hippies, but it -wIll of Gratefu 1U1 ... ' W . ,Z! .. ....--.-.- \ "1 ...... '·c· j .. W',,'.'_ Deaddom. Most of them are deeply intellectual (to the point of being seen as boring) people who support things like pot legalization not so they can go out and smoke it but because, in principle, the government has no right to involve itself in such matters. Well, campus libertarians, cIassical liberals, and ev... people getting arrested ... eryone else who' be a chance for all of us who have , on large, boycotted Hash Bash because of its sheer offensiveness, a chance to get back together and ac- ' tually talk about what interests us . If legalization of marijuana is really the right thing _ to do, then it should rest upon tragedies of authoritarian governmentintervention into the lives of the people and upon arguments ofthe basic beliefs of Americans in liberty and the pur... and I have no idea what he's doing. suit of happiness. It does not need to rest upon the shoulders of a bunch of smelly hoodlums loves rational debate ~hould get together and host some kind of issues that congregate on the Diag. l\R ==Ci= __ ....:.:;. .- W"'>'..

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April 10, 1996

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

DPROjCON FORUM: LMNG-LEARNING

Dorm Leqrning is Vital ~

BY MOHAN KRIsHNAN

HAT ISTHE PURPOSE OF the modern University? Is it to teach minimum requirements such as adequate knowledge in calculus, European history, or biology, or is there a deeper purpose? This question defines the collegiate experience. The answer lies in what college students will do in their careers. Clearly, they will not complete the remainder of their existence by simply repeating the theorems and examples they learned at the U-M; rather, the rest of their lives will be a learning process during which they will adapt to changes in their fields, and in the needs both of their families and of the people around them. Teaching students how to learn, and how to think, and how to adapt to new and unforeseeable challenges is central to their success, and the U-M must supplant its education in the main classes necessary for getting a job, whether in academics orin industry, with the knowledge that will be necessary both to keep that job and to enjoy it. The U-M must make the

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seemingly abstract topic of "how to learn" a central part of education. It is irrelevant to examine this issue on the grounds of infringing the rights and liberties ofstudents - this University is neither a democracy nor a nation, and students are not bound to attendance, but rather choose to attend and to receive "an education." It is up to the University to determine what "an education" is and how it is to be attained; if it does not ensure that all students who receive a bachelor's degree conform to a certain standard of educational level, the degree itself loses meaning. If the requirements for graduation were determined on the basis of ensuring the freedom of choice, the U-M ought to let students take any courses they want, and receive a degree at any time. In reality, students and their future employers expect that a certain degree, say a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering, means that students are well el'\Pugh educated to compete in the field of, say, mechanical engineering. That)s what receiving a college degree is all about. And competing in that field requires more

program, in Markley Hall, with only a handful of students. It was in these sessions that I actually came to understand the topic, not in that giant lecture hall. While many ofmy friends had negative experiences with the bewildering array ofoptions at the UM, this program helped me to sort and see them coherently. These programs also help students meet a diverse array of other students. Many programs are not grounded in any discipline, but bring together students from many fields. There are many reasons why students need living-learning programs: they need them to ease their transition to college, they need them to help them organize their desires and priorities, and they need them for success in later life. Perhaps the current living-learning programs are not perfect, but they are the most feasible solution. The University, as an institute of great reputation and high ideals, must ensure. that every student learns to learn, and this should be achieved through'mandatory livinglearning programs in the dormitories for all new students. Mt

than knowledge of fluid mechanics and structural dynamics-no amount ofclasswork can replace learning how to adapt to a job. Living-learning programs in dormitories are an ideal method of teaching these things; students who are just coming to the University are facing firsthand the challenge of adapting and learning in a new environment. These programs, which provide a small learning community who live in the same halls and take classes together, will not only teach them the skills of group activities and learning that will ensure their success later in life, but also how to apply these skills to the much more immediate goal of surviving their first year at a university that has thousands of students. Realistically, very few (ifany) students come from high schools that hav~ a freshman class of more than 4000 students. The U-M can be a harsh and unfriendly place. When I eame to the University, I had not <really understood what it meant to take a physics class with more than 200 students in it. Thankfully, I had study sessions in the 21st Century

Don't Require Living-Learning BY PAT ESKEW

ECENTLY A PROPOSAL WAS made to the University administration that would require all incoming freshmen to participate in what is called a "livinglearning community." While the basic tenets of residence hall education have great merit, requiring students to enter the program infringes upon the freedom of choice for incoming freshmen. One of the reasons for making the program mandatory stems from the successes of current living-learning communities such as the Pilot Program in Alice Lloyd and the Residential College in East Quad. These programs, which offer intensive, smaller classes that are taught primarily to residents of those dormitories, have engaged students at what many administrators believe to be a higher level than the average freshman. The students themselves also are satisfied highly with them. Combining ease of access with individual attention, the complaints from students are few. Throughout the nation, in fact, universities are experimenting with similar programs. Yale University, for example, long has prided itself in

its separate colleges in which residents live for four years while taking classes, eating, and competing on intramural teams together. An obvious trend in education these days is towards personalizing the college experience for its high-paying students. Living-Iearnmg communities also are lauded for creating a much more comfortable environment for students who have just left home for their first time. These students are immediately interacting with others in their own situation. The awkward first few weeks and months of being on one's own are somewhat muted by sharing the experience with other students in a community. Only a handful of living-learning programs currently exist at the University. Additional to the living learning programs are first year seminars that focus on bringing freshman students closer to their peers and their professors by restricting class size. The opportunity for creating even more programs is clearly available to the housing department and administration. Both student and faculty happiness with the way in which the current programs operate indicates a demand for more options. However, for as wonderful as

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these programs sound, the University must not require all freshmen to participate in them. Current figures show that 97 percent of all freshmen live in residence halls. The option to live elsewhere is simply not available for the great majority of these students; nor should it be. Freshmen should be allowed to live in the dorms without having to participate in living-Iearningprograms, ifthat is their choice. The rights of incoming students would be handicapped by requiring them to choose, or simply placing them into living-learning programs of which they know little. Should the University require such programs, students would be forced into making a choice not simply about where they want to live, but how they want to live. Though it would not end diversity in the University, the procedure of placing students with dissimilar interests or tastes in separate dorms would make the mixing process of students with different beliefs much more difficult. The exchange of different backgrounds and philosophies is among the most compelling experiences of a student's learning process at the University. Despite having exactly the opposite intentions, living

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learning programs may in fact hamper this exchange. Additionally, dorms already mix learning and living for freshmen. Study is an integral part of dorm life as is. It is not unusual to see math groups or other impromptu study groups set up by students from different halls in the same dorm. Dorm residents participate in classes with one another, go to events with one another, work out with one another, and do anything else that people living in the proposed communities would do. The fact is, living-learning communities already exist in University housing simply because of what a dorm is. Entering freshmen should have the choice, as they currently do, to participate in a living-learning community. That this opportunity is already available to them speaks to the foresight of the housing department. If this department is intent on making this type of experience more common they should either create new programs or expand those currently in place. However, in either case, marketing these programs to incoming freshmen and their parents is far more appropriate than converting them into a requirement. Mt

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April 10, 1996

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

o CAMPUS AFFAIRS

Reconsi(tering the UPC BY EVAN KNOTT

HE MICHIGAN STUDENT Assembly (MSA) elections have once again blown over the University. Elections stick in students' minds because of the ability of the different parties to connect their respective ideologies with the students. All of this considered, I find the reasons that the United Peoples' Coalition's (UPC) failure to snatch the Assembly away from the Michigan Party rather simple to explain . The UPC party's failure to win a significant amount of seats on MSA directly results from several ofits alienating issues and ideologies. Mobilizing students to vote in the MSA elections is difficult, thus parties and candidates need to provide potential voters with incentives and issues that can benefit the student body. Many of the other parties running in the elections addressed such student concerns as textbook prices, campus parking, child care, computer availability, the meal plans, and countless other issues that call for immediate attention. On the other hand, the UPC failed to acknowledge any of these important student concerns in any of its campaign literature. Instead, it repeatedly emphasized its commitment to defending affirmative action. However, this issue simply isn't an immediate concern on this campus. In the first place, the UPC cannot deny the breakthrough efforts of the University in expaIlding the diversity on campus through such measures as the Michigan Mandate. Furthermore, President James Duderstadthas been an outspoken advocate for this issue. Secondly, if the Michigan legislature successfully revokes affirmative action practices in state universities, no elected UPC member will be able to overturn such a measure here on campus. How can the'upC state that it is defending affirmative action when such laws can only be administered by a higher and virtually impenetrable power? The only force that can truly defend affirmative action at the U-M is the court system, which will likely halt any attempts to end it. Itis abundantly clear that affirmative action not only lies out of MSA's control, but pales in comparison to the other issues at stake in MSA elections. Once the issues have been addressed, parties naturally showcase their slates of candidates. One would expect a party and its candidates to not only possess a desire and ability to seriously address the issues, but to be able to do so in a cooperative and

compromising manner. The UPC, while showcasing highly intelligent, motivated, and proven leaders on its slates, has alienated a large segment of the student population. It has done this by declaring itself the only "students of color party." While this at first may sound like a good idea, especially since minorities are not nearly as visible in student government seats as white students, it in reality mitigates one of the fundamental purposes of the UPC's existence. As far as I and many other students are concerned, white is also a color. UPC

BESEBYE

in any way trying to condemn the efforts or goals of the United People's Coalition. On the contrary, I applaud its excellent showing in this year's election. The UPC nearly matched the Wolverine Party in number of votes. The interests and presence of minority students should be a concern of all parties and all members of MSA Furthermore, the UPC should receive praise and credit for pursuing these concerns. Only after we increase our efforts to work with all types of students can we hope to accommodate truly diverse interests at the University of Michigan. l\R

vice-presidential candidate Johnny Su has stated that students of color could represent white students as long as white students could represent students of color. I agree. However, if the UPC wants to successfully dissolve racial barriers and increase the presence and voice of minorities on MSA, they must realize that these honorable goals only can be obtained through parties consisting of all students of color. Parties hoping to achieve a balanced racial mixture on MSA must run candidates that reflect the entire student body. Despite these criticisms, I am not

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April 10, 1996

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

MSA

Continued from page 1

gust in the election prot!ess and drove students away from the polls. Of course I hoped that they would see me in a more posi tive light than the other candidates, but I apparently did not get out the message as I wanted to. The Michigan Party, with its strictly election machine, won the election and the Assembly will remain exactly as it has been for the last three years. "We figured that people would be interested in having MSA do more for them. We figured that if we got students to relay their problems, then they would vote so that their problems would be addressed. Apparently this did not work. Of course, we did not have the money to take out the back page of the Daily or order 5,000 door hangers with ournames on them. We also did not lie to people about past achievements or deceive them about other parties. The fact that other parties did this and we did not respond may have hurt us. "We have won one seat in Nursing, Business, LSA, and Engineering. They will be very effective. They are hard workers and are not in MSA to pad their resumes. They will be involved and do a great job. "The future looks bright for the Wolverine Party. We have some young and strong leaders that will do alot of good for the students in the coming year. "The Wolverine Party will actively pursue the best interests of the students and hopes to be able to work with the current leadership. We are open to speak with and work with

everyone on the Assembly, including the president and vice-president." TheReview was fortunate to speak with Students' Partypresident,ial candidate Jonathan Freeman ana ~ presidential candidate Olga Savic. Both offered much insight into the elections. "Grassroots campaigning has al- . ways been our strong point; that's. evident by our candidness that did really well in MSA and LSASG [LSA Student Government]. Our biggest disadvantage is in name recognition. The Michigan Party has a guaranteed 300 votes without doing one ounce of campaigning and the same could be said ofFiona and Probir," stated Savic. "I think that we did not work the dorms as hard as we should have or early enough. I think we also didn't get the graduate support that we needed to have a successful campaign. Many of the candidates also were plagued by many difficulties from school to illness to family problems," explained Freeman. He added that "one of the most disappointing things was that voter turnout was so low. I think it shows that the student body needs to be reinformed in a comp.rehensive manner about the purpose of MSA and why their involvement :i§..,crudal." , Savic continued the notion by adding; "This'election taught us that people are sick of MSA simply reappearing-every eleetionNovem.b er and March. As for the numbers, if~voter turnout had been higher, the margin would have been much smaller, meaningtl)atwewouldhavea better chance of winning." "The Students' Party still has a vibrant and exciting future ahead of

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it. We plan on forming non-partisan groups around our campaign platform, trying to get students or even opponents involved on issues that remain to concern the stUdent population," Freeman continued. Savic added, "Both Jonathan and I feel strongly that we still have much to accomplish on and off the Assembly. We are considering applying to the two vacant LSA seats. But either way, we're not going anywhere. If the appointments don't work out, the Daily will see Jonathan on its editorial board and I am definitely considering taking a more active role on the Independent. " Discussing the seats they did win, Savic stated that "Geeta Bhatia and Famous Willy Jurkiewicz will be excellent representatives. Geeta has already been involved with MSA and Famous Willy has more energy and enthusiasm than any other new representative I have seen in a long time. Brad Finkbeiner has the potential to be another Brian Elliot, one of the most respected Engineering reps the As~mbly has ever seen. Karle Morgan will continue to provide a strong and fair voice, something not often seen on the Assembly where many • people are too self-involved to listen to anyone. Ray Robb will continue a tradition of Rackham leadership." Summing up the campaign as a whole, Freeman added, "I believed ~d still dp that the coming year is going to be a remarkable challenge for the Assembly to change itself. Having trained Fiona and Probir, I have more faith in them than some but am still skeptical of their ability to lead the Assembly." Savic agreed, noting, "It was a

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good campaign, if I had to do it over again, I couldn't ask for a better running mate or slate of candidates. I really hope that Fiona and Probir think about what is best for the N,sembly before they think about what is best for themselves. Otherwise, we've lost another year and turned off more students." • elections director for Ben Kepple, the Liberty Party, had a few comments about the election. "We were pleased overall, especially with Doug Friedman winning a seat in Rackham. We're such a new party and with our extremely limited resources, gaining 4.2 percent of the vote was a success. Our goal was five percent of the vote, and we nearly achieved that. "In fall, we plan to recruit heavily for the Party in the MSA fall election and get our message out. We spent far less than any other campaign and we got lots of votes for the buck. When we get our message out, we feel we'll do really well." Kepple next reviewed the major •issues the Liberty Party will address in the coming year, including voluntary MSA funding, creating. a meal plan based on meals eaten, scrapping the foreign language requirement, increased campus safety, abolishing the Code, and increased funding for student groups. As usual, the voter turnout has been less than ideal. Students need to

realize the inlportance of the .Michigan Student Assembly and th.e im- , pact it can have on the quality of stud ent life at the University ofMichigan. It is quite evident that each of these candidates and parties has much to offer the students, so let's hope for a better turnout next fall. l\R

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April 10, 1996

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

o INTERVIEW: RICHARD EBELING

A Privatization of Human Affairs ,.~.~

NFRIDAY, APRIL 5, JAMES A Roberts, II, of the Review interviewed Richard Ebeling, the Ludwig von Mises Professor of Economics at Hillsdale College in Hillsdale, Michigan. He is also the ui.ce president for academic affairs of the Future of Freedom Foundation, an organization dedicated to an uncompromisingcaseforindividualfreedom. Ebeling is a frequent speaker on campus, recently addressing the Ann Arbor Libertarian League. MR: In his book The Machinery of Freedom, David Friedman suggests that the notion of a libertarian foreign policy may be problematic. A libertarian may favor an isolationist role, in an effort to limit the power of the state, or an Interventionist role, in an effort to protect Individual rights. In your view, does a libertarian foreign policy exist?

EBELING: A libertarian foreign policy cannot be couched in quite the same way that foreign policy is spoken of today in contemporary domestic and world politics. Today foreign policy is considered a responsibility for government to actively pursue either economic, politieal, or military goals outside of the borders of its own nation. It seems to me that for a libertarian, to the extent that one speaks of foreign policy, it is merely the requirement of that free government to provide those limited defensive actions needed to protect the life and territorial integrity of citizens within that country. For example, it would not involve fortrign entanglements or interventions in other countries. It really would be an extremely limited role, concerned with anticipating and deflecting any overt military aggression that would threaten the territory of the United States and the life and property of Americans within the territory of the United States. MR: Would circumstances such as mass human rights abuses justify American involvement in a foreign war?

EBELING: The responsibility of the United States government under the Constitution is to protect the life and property of American citizens from the aggression offoreign powers, and that is all the Constitution specifies the U.S. government to do. It seems to me that a libertarian approach to these matters should be that foreign policy should be left up to the discretion of individuals - what I would call a privatization offoreign policy. If there are causes in foreign lands that individuals consider worthwhile assisting, any American should have the

unhindered freedom to volunteer or to offer their services for pay, or to provide any type of humanitarian or military assistance. But I do not believe that it would be considered legitimate for the U.S. government to expropriate the wealth of some Americans to support a foreign adventure advocated by other Americans. MR: The United States, by and large, was founded upon a position of neutrality and non-intervention in foreign affairs. Today, however, Americandiplomacy and the American military span the globe. What accounts for this drastic change?

EBELING: To a great extent it is the thinking that arose around the decade of the First World War and particularly symbolized in the thinking of Woodrow Wilson - that it was the responsibility of America to make the world safe for democracy, that somehow we represent the good, the virt"!lous, the just, ih'e morally correct, and the world was filled with ignorant people, social J>,arbarians, those who either through ignorance or vice cannot put their own houses in order. And we - the wise, the good, the virtuous, high above them on this hill of American perfection - are meant to go out and purify them for their own good. And that, unfortunately, has been the underlying premise and ideology that guided Franklin Roosevelt in to World War II, and has been the guiding light of American foreign policy since World War II. MR: Many label the twentieth century the "Century of War." Why has military conflict become so prominent in the last 100 years?

EBELING: This is because of collectivism. Throughout most of the nineteenthcentury, wars were either nonexistent or extremely limited. The reason is that the nineteenth century was guided by the principles of classical liberalism, though imperfectly and incompletely. The nineteenth century was more influenced by the classical liberal ideals of limited government, individual freedom, respect for private property, and that peaceful intercourse through trade and commerce and the globalization of the division of labor was the best way to achieve peace and prosperity. But the last 100 years have seen the triumph of collectivism, where the state is viewed as the engine of all that is good, all human relationships are politicized, all cQn:nections and interactions among citizens of different countries are not private affairs, but are raised to the level of affairs of

there were an evolution of property _ rights so as to determine what property rights delineations could be developed in air space above land property, for example, the vast majority of these concerns would soon disappear.

state. Collectivist demons like communism and Nazism have had their own visions of world domination. America has viewed itself as the purifying crusader to give the world democracy and good government and good society. It is these collectivist notions that have sent all these nations into war and brought about the death and destruction of so many people.

MR: Others maintain that free markets will fall victim to the power of monopolies. Would this be the case?

EBELING: Historically, monopolies are almost always the creation of government. When Adam Smith wrote The Wealth ofNations, he specifically reserves the term "monopoly" most often for government-bestowed privileges that give a producer or a seller the exclusive right to deal in a particular product within a geographical area, protected by legal barriers from the competition of others. It is extremely difficult, if not practically impossible in most no.nnal market situations, for a monopoly to be formed and sustained by market conditions.

MR: Turning to economic matters, many people, in both major political parties, contend that government must play some role in stabilizing economic fluctuations. What are your views concerning this?

EBELING: Any government is almost always the major instigator of economic instability, what traditionally is known as the fluctuations of the business cycle, the booms and busts of inflation and depression. There is nothing inherent in a market economy that makes it open to economy-wide destabilization such as inflation and depression. It is government mismanagement, intervention, . and control of the money supply that is the primary cause of such fluctua: tion.lfwe could move toward a privatized monetary system, that is an end to monetary central planning, we would move a great deal toward eliminating business cycle fluctuations.

MR: In the past, you have stated that the Republicans' "Contract with America," while far from perfect. is a positive step toward smaller government How would you assess the efforts of the Republicans as the 104th Congress draws to a close?

EBELING: It was a dismal failure. When the Republican Congress came into session, what is now aboutayear and a half ago, based upon the "Contract with America" and the rhetoric of many of the congressional Republican leaders, one could hold out hope that expenditures would be cut, that departments in the governmentwould be abolished, that programs and regulatory agencies would be repealed. They now have had a year and a half, and the budget is bigger, no department has been abolished or even faced the serious discussion of such, the regulatory agencies and government programs stand unrepealed. In any noticeable way, it is a dismal failure. The usual response by my Republican friends would be that they have had to deal with Bill Clinton and the Senate is not as "conservative" as the House Republicans who came with the last election, and that is all probably true. But it just does not change the fact that to the extent they could have established an agenda, a framework for analyzing and presenting a vision of America to the electorate in this election year, they basically chose to compromise and fail to do what they promised. I view the "Contract with America," though once it seemed to offer a notion of a movement in a direction, as a fraud. l\R

MR: In response to what you have said, many are skeptical of the effectiveness of free markets, stating that markets will result in externalities such as air pollution. Can markets function effectively without some amount of governmental regulation?

EBELING: To my nund, the cause of our environmental and pollution problems is due precisely to the fact that private property rights have not been extended, defined, or enforced in these areas. This is an example of what economists call the tragedy of the commons. When no one owns anything, and everything belongs to "everyone," then there is no incentive on the part ofanyone individual to maintain or improve that common resource. Once you privatize any resource then you immediately create an incentive for individuals to care for it Why? Because if they abuse it or fail to maintain it or do not enhance it in profitable ways, then they bear the cost of that. They miss out on a profit opportunity that could have been gained by a wise and judicious husbanding of the resource in question. So I think that if property rights were extended to common areas, which include rivers and lakes, and if

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AprillOJ 1996

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

',-

o INTERVIEW: GREG KAzA

A Classical Liberal in the GO P N MARCH 19, AARON , Steelman of the Review had the opportunity to interview State Representative Greg Kaza (R42nd District), Kaza, a classical lib eral, has been a leader in advancing libertarian ideas within the GOP. He will address the Ann Arbor Libertarian League on April 18 at 7:30 PM at Dominick's Restaurant. In his speech, "A Libertarian Agenda for Political Reform, " Kaza will discu.ss the importance of such open-government issues as placing UNone ofthe Aboue" on state ballots, abolishing political slush funds, and lowering signature requirements for minor parties.

MR: In your opinion, are libertarians - real libertarians, not conservatives who occasionally try to pass themselves off as libertarians - welcome in the Republican Party? KAZA: I think that some Republican leaders are more savvy than others at recognizing the importance of having a "big tent" philosophy for the Party. It was the late Lee Atwater, then chair of the Republican National Committee. who made the case for allowing libertarians to be made welcome within the Party - along with conservatives, moderates, and populists. I don't think, however, that there are very many people within the Republican Party hierarchy in the state of Michigan who are as sophisticated in their approach as Mr. Atwater was. If anything, the Republican Party in this state has a very shallow understanding of the iml(ortance of having a broad-based political coalition. State Republican leaders really lackastrategy for building a broad-based coalition; their focus has been far too narrow, and if they would have been more broad-based in their approach, they would see that they would probably now have 60 or 62 State House seats, instead of 56. They would elect more candidates to public office and would truly be the majority party in this state if they would adopt a more sophisticated plan toward building the Party.

MR: Recently, a good deal of libertarians have corne out In opposition to school voucher plans. They argue that once private schools accept state funds via vouchers, they will open themselves up to massive govemmental regulation and will become no different qualitatively from traditional government schools; and that this is simply too much of a risk to take. What is your opinion? KAZA: I think that there is great validity to that argument. Having worked at a think tank - the

tanks can raise issues and they can do legitimate role to play on this issue as Mackinac Center for Public Policy research that government-funded well as on the issue of abortion. I have I am somewhat more suspicious of scholars are ignoring or unwilling to do, always been explicit about my opinpublic policy ideas that have origi~ ions on these issues. I have voted for ' but the reality of the situation is that it nated from New York foundations and is up to a legislator or to an administralaws that have banned assisted suiWashington think tanks, and that have then been filtered _ _r----------, tion to take that research and those recommendations and to act on them. down to the state level And that is a far more difficult task and promoted as true rebecause that involves standing for pubform. In essence, many lic office, campaigning, and subjecting of these ideas, if impleyourself to criticism and attack from mented, would result in your political opponents.l know ofvery nothing more than the few think tank officials who have in expansion of centralized their lifetime stood successfully for pubgovernment from Washlic office. ington into our daily lives. I look at school MR: How would you respond to some libervouchers in the same tarians' assertion that all political participalight that I look at Goals tion - but particularly holding public office 2000. I am skeptical of - is immoral? anyrefonn initiative pertaining to education that ', KAZA: I am never one to run from a comes out of Washing- ,'. debate and I welcome this debate. It ton, and I see the voucher seems to me that the government is issue in that light. It State Representative Greg Kaza here,ithas been here a while, and it's seems to me that the likely to be here in the futUre; and people pushing ~ \Toucher idea may cide in this state. In fact, I am one of while it's here if we care about liberty have a hidden agenda. only a handful oflegislators from Oakwe better try to do something about land County - the place where Jack influencing it in a positive direction. MR: Do you think that the Michigan Jobs Kevorkian does his dirty work - who And we should do that however we Commission has any legitimate place in state have consistently voted against ascail, including running for public ofgovemment, or are its prQgrams just blasisted suicide and abortion. I am very fice, supporting other candidates who tant examples of corporate welfare? ' , leeryofapplaudmg a guy who leaves a have similar political philosopl}ies, or dead body in a van in a parking lot and working on a ballot initiative. I have KAZA: The Michigan Jobs Commisthen acts like a hero. never really understood the argument sion is indeed a very good example of that we should avoid such activities. MR: Do you agree with Govemor Engler that corporate welfare. I have consistently Like Rothbard, I have always identithe Indian Tuition Waiver Program should be disagreed with plans to create and to fied that type of argument as either abolished? enlarge the Michigan Jobs Commisleft-wing sectarianism or right-wing sion. It seems to me that, as Repubsectarianism, and I am not a sectarKAZA: Yes, I support the governor on licans, if we are consistent in opposian. If I had been a sectarian, we ing welfare, we don't limit that to this issue. If anything, we need to go would have a mandatory seat belt law just the so-called "welfare moms." further and abolish other special proin this state - I would not have grams for special interest groups. As a We must also talk about the big corworked with the Democratic Black porations that are on welfare. A lot of libertarian, I oppose quotas and group Caucus to defeat that bill. If I was a . what goes in Washington and Lanrjghts and privileges. The debate over sectarian, we would have no-knock sing involves big corporations comthe abolition of this program should be legislation - I would not have worked part of a much larger debate over the ing to legislatures with their hands with Democrats to defeat that. If I open asking for handouts, favors, issue of how we are going to address was a sectarian, I would not be on the and protection from competition. I affinnative action, which I certainly verge of expanding the state freedom have put many words on the record do not support. This is a classic and of information act for the first time in defining issue. Either you support inin opposition to corporate welfare in nearly 20 years. In the real world you general and to the Michigan Jobs dividual rights or you support group cannot be a sectarian and get anyCommission in particular. The irony rights. There is too 'much of a trend thing accomplished. But I am not contoward government-imposed and govof this issue is that the fonner goverdemning anyone who holds a differnor of this state, Democrat James ernment-sanctioned group rights,and ent opinion on this subject. I am alBlanchard, had a fetish for using the we must get away from this. ways more than happy to debate it Commerce Department to dole out when it comes up, although it seems corporate welfare, and here the curMR: In your opinion, have the state policy to me that it is taking us away from rent administration isdoingthe same institutes throughout the country been sucwhat we should really be focusing on. thing but on an even larger scale. cessful in advancing pro--market policies at the state and local levels? MR: In your view, does the state have any MR: Do you believe that the recent move tolegitimate role to play in the debate over ward sending funds back to the states in the KAZA: I've acknowledged that there are assisted suicide? form of block grants is areal victory for decenlimits to what a libertarian can accomtralized federalism? Or, in your opinion, is it , plish in a state legislature, and, as a KAZA: Yes. One of the reasons that just a cosmetic change? fonner think tank official, I will acknowlmany people in the Libertarian Party edge that there are limits to what you oppose Greg Kaza is because I beContinued on Page 17 can accomplish in that arena as well. We lieve that government does have a have to be realistic about that. Think

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April 10, 1996

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

o LoST IN THE EIGHTIES

The Left Self-Destructs ,~(.

BY BENJAMIN KEPPLE

ECENTLY, THERE WAS A paper on campus that was thrown outen masse- a clear act of censorship. Strangely enough, it was the Michigan Daily. The Daily was censored, now get this, because it was "racist" in its coverage of MSA elections and apparently had published "racist" cartoons that were among other things, critical of affirmative action. You didn't misread thatlastparagraph. Now, anyone with even a ra ther subjective liberal slant will tell you that the Daily hasn't done anything that is non-politically-correct within the last decade. In fact, an objective observer or even one with say, fiscally conservative, socially moderate views such as myself, would realize that (even through that brief six month . period when the Daily almost became apolitical) the Daily has been extraordinarily "conscientious" toward the question of race. They don't criticize affirmative action, they don't criticize quotas; you name it, they love it and support it over there. In my mind three questions popped up when I first learned from a friend that the Daily had been stolen. 1) Why in the name of God would you want to steal the Daily? It's Daily. You aren't going to stop it. 2) The Daily is racist? Are they kidding? 3) Two local factions of the New Left are going at it?! There is no ~oubt that the Michigan Daily has an extremely liberal editorial page and columnists, just like the Review has rational, articulate people as columnists (ha, ha). But I find it interesting that the day after the incident and even on Friday, the Daily was still on the warpath. I think the shock may have been too much. To be honest, if I was at the Daily, I would be shocked too, because they haven't done anything. Sure, the Daily doesn't give equal time and it doesn't print conservative views. But one word that does not describe it is "racist." Even I am willing to give them that! Then - .it gets better - we've got the Campus Far Left, including the Free Mumia Coalition (motto: ''We'll raise him from the dead if we have to!") demanding another one of their walkouts to protest institutional racism at the Daily. And that was, as we

Ben Kepple is the Publisher of the Review, and frankly is quite relie ved that the Right isn 't under attack for the time being.

know, a big hit. You can't get 90 perquestioning the policies and practices seems like the opportune time to have cent of this campus to vote in .an the conservative, libertarian, and upheld by the only slightly rational election for student government, and rest of the New Left at the Far Left's moderate - and empirically rational only about 200 thought it was a good - students of this campus finally insistence. Excise the Far Left's poliidea to march through Angell Hall Stand Up and assert themselves. cies from the rulebcioks and the law chanting. But wait, When your teaching assistant goes off there's more. The on some politically charged tangent, Daily is counter-atstick it to him. Annoyed with MSA? tacking! They're Run for office. Annoyed with the Da ily? screaming censorJoin the Review. This campus needs ship and they're not to change. It's Time. apologizing! We've There are thousands ofthings that happen to students everyday, whether got the Far Left going against the Left, large scale political correctness, or and the the small things that make one hurt Right ... hey ... wait a inside or feel angry because they aren't minute .. . sensitive or caring enough, as if they For once on this had some obligation to be obsequient. bloody campus, no As the Far Left attacks and ridicules the partially rational Left, It Is Time one is attacking the Right. If one were to for the Right to embark on a cambe totally cynical and paign to point out the massive fail~. somewhat bitter, one ures of the entire New Left and disI told you they didn't like the editorial, Dadl might fmd the situacredit its ideas as being fit only for the tion almost comic. The main bastion- codes like the ashy boils they are! past, for that is what they are! Many ofstudentli\1ef~lism is being besieged campus journalists look upon the age Conservatism and libertarianism by the forces of the Far Left, now ofTom Hayden, leader ofU-M's Stuon U-M's campus seem more and currently marrlfesting like some more to form a massive, silent majordents for a Democratic Society and daemonic presence in the form of ity of people who for the most part for.r.ner Daily ectitor-in-chief, as some don't like affirmative action, quotas, . ·"ldridofGolden Era. But like all Golden this is almost funny - "The Ad Hoc mandatory health care, burdensome Eras it is gone, and we should bury Committee Against the Bullshit in regulation, etc., and who are quite that age along with Mr. Hayden's the Michigan Daily." (I thought the just a bunch of people with specter, that once in a while rears itshonestly Far Left hated Latin (ad hoc, indeed) the same hopes, fears, likes, and head. I wonder what his reaction and loved Bullshit.) This must be step dreams that everyone has. The probwould be to the current situation. My one in the Evil Plan to Restore the is that conservatives guess is that he would be surprised. lem on campus 1960s on campus, or something. Could are not vocal and are not as involved Let the Far Left's house of cards not this theft possibly be one of the as they should be. Why? My guess is collapse with its screaming and destupidest, if not strangest, things you've heard of while mands. No one is listening anymore, you've been here? The for no one wants to listen. The vast left-wing attacking the majority want a voice that is rational, left-wing paper for be,calm, collected, with real solutions for ing racist. The Ad Hoc ' the problems of today, whether at the Committee indeed. national, state, or campus levels. They Three words fit the dewant good leadership, not racial diviscription for this cension, protests, and resentment. Soon, soring group, namely: they will choose a new voice. Whose utterly beneath convoice this is, or what doctrine it will tempt. Noone has reserve, remains to be seen, but it will spect for any censor, no longer be that of the outspoken and pathetic Far Left. It will be that of and least of all a censoring group with the either a rational Right or that of a apparent IQ of bath(quasi) rational, but more noticeably Keyser Soze did NOT steal 8,700 Dailies room mold. In fact, no a moderate, Left. Political thought is always evolv- ' one knows who these that they would prefer not having to ing, and I feel that we shall soon see people are, which brings up question deal with the stigma that seems to the next step in the evolution of camone: Who the hell are these people to hang over their heads. They might be pus politics. Overall, I believe it will censor the Daily? Boy, I sure like it concerned that a bitter professor, who, when six leftist wackos decide that move toward the center, with a sizifhe was fighting for a piece of the pie Goddammit, the Daily is racist so no able conservative voice. But we shall instead of handing out the crumbs see. For the next step of political evoone else gets to read it either. would sing a different tune, might The thought that comes to my llltion has come, as we realize the think less ofthem. They would rather mind is that if those on the Far Left is failures of the irrational Left and cast keep silent, as it can save themselves so wacky, then why bother listening it offlike a chrysalis, revealing a beaua headache not having to defend themto them? Why has the University and tiful butterfly ofrational thought. In selves against angry class liberals the Daily given into the Far Left for so the words of that enigmatic character when their TA tells them one of long when its ideas and policies are so Trevor Goodchild, "It's the evolution liberalism's New Lies. Butnowisthe without merit? The rantings and ravrevolution. May the best man win." time for that to change. To me, this ings ofthe Far Left should have many Well. It's Time. l\R ...''_ _ ' ~'!IIi

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April 10, 1996

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

o ROLL UP FOR THE MYSTERY TOUR

.7'><~ -4-

A Taxing Situation BY GEOFF BROWN

IME AGAIN FOR THAT evil, pagan ritual we all must undergo: Tax-time once again looms upon us, like some kind of giant, bloodsucking organism that's really really nasty and stuff. Everyone falls victim to the evil tax monster at some point in their lives. For example, my dad always says, at tax time, "After doing my taxes, I can understand why I'm a Republican." While I'm not attempting to be overtly partisan or proRepublican here, but it should be noted that Republicans tend to favor tax cuts, while Democrats will attempt to tax everything that moves, and even many things that don't - including dead people. If you don't believe me can check out IRS Publication 559, "Survivors, Executors, and Administrators," which details the responsibilities that estate managers have for filing tax returns for the deceased. That's right: you still have to pay taxes after you're dead. They say you can't take it with you, and at the IRS, it's more than just a saying - it's a way of life, so to speak. God alone knows what the IRS would do to you if , being dead and all, you failed to pay taxes. The IRS evens makes a joke about the whole thing on their World Wide Web Page. "Death and Taxes: How true the maxim!" they say happily - and I'm not making this up. Ha ha ha ha ha haaa!! WOOO!!! Those wacky IRS agents! Who says they d'on't have a sense of humor?!? In an effort to prove that they're not completely heartless, the IRS folks hung up their bull-whips and chained up their attack dogs long enough to decide that those who died in a combat zone (assuming they were military personnel) or as a result of a terrorist attack would not be liable for post-mortem taxes, "If you have to go, it might as well be in a terrorist bombing," as far as the IRS is concerned. Of course, you still have to send in a Form 1040-BOOM detailing the circumstances. Something I've noticed is that everyone cheerfully pays his taxes, without any thought as to why they do so, or how the money is spent. Of course, this is due, in large part, to the fact that those who decide not to pay their taxes will be hauled offby large, scary-looking, heavily-armed federal

Geoff Brown is an LSA senior majoring in biology, and the m~naging editor of the Review. He would love to answer your comments, but he is currently on the run from the IRS.

agents with big attack dogs to the nearest federal penitentiary, never to be heard from again. Still, regardless of ever-growing (but as yet fruitless) attacks on our freedom of speech, including Senator 's attempts to [EXACT NATURE OF THE SENATOR'S ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN CENSORED] until it was discovered [DISCOVERY HAS BEEN CENSORED] which doesn't [LOTS OF WORDS CENSORED] and dwarf goats [SEVERAL MORE WORDS CENSORED], as far as I know, so I can still discuss how taxes are spent, and propose new methods of tax collection. So take your seats, and we'll get under way. Next stop on the Mystery Tour: the IRS. In order to understand the IRS (and the question of why it exists) more clearly, it is important to understand what our tax dollars are used for. Quite simply put, itis used to help operate the government. Now I don't wish to sound·to~' vindictive, but if l did, all of a sudden, decide that vindictiveness woulcfbe the way to go, I might point out that the money would be more efficiently spent by loading it into a rocket and sending it hurtling headlong into the sun. However, the government has chosen to spend it in the following ways: • PRESIDENTIAL HAIRCUTS: Early on in Bill "I Don't Want My Name on These Here Whitewater Documents, Mr. McDougal" Clinton's presidential administration, our ohso-slick chief executive felt the need to keep Air Force One, funded by a ludicrous amount of our tax dollars, on the tarmac for two hours in order that he complete the vital federal task of receiving a $200 haircut from a famous Los Angeles hair stylist. • THE NASA SPACE TOILET: Several years ago, I received word of a NASA project that spent a total of over $50 million to redesign the toilet system on the space shuttles. This toilet included potentially dangerouslooking suction devices that were to be attached to sensitive areas of the body in order to collect waste from the astronauts. I recall thinking that for $50 million, this thing had better clean itself and wipe the astronauts' asses au tomatically. Encouraged by its success, the government has decided to use more of our tax dollars to create the $3 million High Speed Toothbrush and the $14 million Deep Sea Enema. • THE POST OFFICE: The government, in its wisdom, has decided to be lax in its hiring qualification criteria,requiringonlythatapplicants pass a test requiring, at minimum, the same level of mental performance "~,,,~,,,,,.~_ _ c,,,,,,,,,",,,,,",,,,<",,",,..,.,~,,,,

that is exhibited by mildly intelligent woodchucks (and people still don't pass). As a result, they tend to hire a statistically large amount ofmentally imbalanced wackos who become disgruntled under the stress of standing around watching machines sort mail for $15 per hour (the postal workers earn this, not the machines, stupid. The machines aren't union, so the government pays them less) and tum their place of employment into a reenactment of the NRA Open House. • AN OFFICIAL STUDY OF METHANE EMISSIONS OF BOVINE ANIMALS: In other words, the government has spent riliIlions in the pursuit of studying cow farts. This theoretically is designed to study the impact that cattle-induced methane has on "global warming." It is a testament to government logic that somebody not only was funded for this project, but took the time to come up with, prepare, and present the idea to the government, hoping for a research grant. I think perhaps it would be more interesting to study the composition of the emissions of beer-drinking, nacho-consuming Super Bowl revelers myself. Perhaps I will prepare a grant for this study (God I'm glad I'm getting a biology degree). The examples listed above aren't even the most bizarre ways that the government spends our money. Needles to say, many proposals have been made regarding how to lower our taxes and spend what is collected more efficiently. Former presidential candidate and rival to Ross Perot for the "Billionaire Wacko of the Decade Award" Steve Forbes proposed a flat tax concept, wherein all Americans would, in general, pay a set percentage of their pay to the IRS, specifically 17 percent in Forbes' proposal. Personally, I like syndicated humor columnist Dave Barry's variation on the flat tax, wherein you pay a flat rate of nothing, and government revenue is raised by enacting a special tax oflO,OOO dollars for everyone who gets one of those "Rachel" haircuts that Jennifer Aniston wears on "Friends." However, I feel that there's no reason to stop there; we could easily institute various other taxes to raise revenue, while allowing the average citizen a lower tax bill. • FLANNEL TAX: In this case, anybody who is not a lumberjack who nevertheless wears plaid flannel shirts on a regular basis would have to pay $10,000 for each incidence. There would be a $5,000 surtax for wearing other items of clothing made offlannel, such as boxer shorts. These taxes would be cumulative. The rev-

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enues from a single college fraternity would be staggering, and it's possible that a single night's crowd at Rick's could balance the national deficit. • AN "O/A" TAX: Anyone using the abbreviation "O/A" in order to be politically correct and include both gender-specific terms without taking the time to write both of them out (example: "Latino/a" instead of "Latino/Latina") would be taxed $10,000 per instance. In extreme circumstances, such as a newspaper reporting that "Alianza/o, a Latino/a Student's Organization, gathered at O'IA: Sullivan's to meet with presidential candidate Ross Perot/at to discuss issues concerning..." an additional tax and possible legal action would be considered. In order to completely reform the tax system, though, it is necessary to go right to the root of the problem: government spending. The problem with government spending is that there is just too damn~d much of it. Senators and congressmen can add whatever damn dumb riders to any bill they want, which invariably causes there to bea new source of spending. As I outlined in a previous issue of the Review in which I announced my plans to reform Washington should I become president, I introduced a revolutionary plan to reform the way our government is run. My plan is simple: replace all of the departments in the cabinet with a single department, the Department of Bob. The Department of Bob would be run by a large, scaty-Iooking dog such as a Rottweiler or German shepherd. All laws passed by Congress would have to be approved by the Department of Bob before the president would sign them into law. If the Department of Bob received a bill that it found to be acceptable, it would bark cheerfully and wag its tail. However, ifthe Department of Bob were to be presented with a bill it found to be unacceptable, such as a wasteful new government spending program, it would growl menacingly at it, and perhaps even lunge at the senator or congressman that sponsored the bill, in order that the exact position ofthe Executive Branch would be correctly and succinctly conveyed ("OKAY!!! I WON'T ATTACH THE PORK SUBSIDYRIDER!!GETHIMOFFME!!!") Clearly I am on the right track here. My tax reform ideas would not only lower taxes, but eliminate a lot of wasteful spending by our wonderful congresspeople. I welcome any comments you may have, but I warn you: you'll have to run them by the Department of Bob first. l\R ali

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o CURRENT EVENTS Should English

B~ :;' Our '!i;

BY PAT EsKEW

OF NOVEMBER 2, 1995 four bills were pending in Congress with aims at creating English as the nation's official language. These bills come on the heels of a federal appeals court ruling in December of 1994 which denied an amendment to the Arizona state constitution requiring that all state employees speak English while working. Any bill that is passed as an "official English" measure must be careful not to violate the constitutional rights of Americans. The bill must instead aim at unifying people of all backgrounds. Critics of creating a national language requirement claim the decision would be prompted mor.e by anti-immigration sentiment than by sound judgment. The campaign of Pat Buchanan in the recent Republican primary was founded on such repulsive nationalistic ideals as sealing off U.S. immigration to all groups for up to five years. Other precedent comes from California's constitutional referendum, proposition 187, in the 1994 elections which enumerated a list of restrictions for illegal immigrants, heavily dominated in California's case

April 10, 1996

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

Protest Continued from Page 1

of all backgrounds to communicate of the fabric of America. The English with one another. English is increaslanguage is a tie that helps bind the ingly becoming the international lanmany segments of our society together. guage as well. With a world that is It is not a means of suggesting white becoming more connected, speaking a superiority. White immigrants from language that is used by the world France, Germany, It;aly, and throughwill help all Americans. out Eastern Europe all have the same By making English the official burden as immigrants from Asia and language, Congress will help to unify Spanish speaking regions. Americans, not drive them further This is not to say that bilingual apart. programs are perfect; they are not. Finally, workers and manageThe Bushwick Parents Association of ment must be able to communicate Brooklyn, NY has filed a lawsuit with one another if they are to be against the bilingual programs within effective as a team. Congress cannot, their school district. These parents however, constitutionally require claim that the program, rather than businesses to adopt "English only" teaching immigrant children English, language requirements. Nevertheless, houses them together as a group withcompanies should have the right to out attempting to bring them into decide whether speaking English is a contact with native speaking children. prerequisite of employment. The negative results of this proCongress must pass a bill which gram are not unusual. Students enpromotes the use of English as a narolled in bilingual programs often retionallanguage. The bill should not <late the experience to being in prison. require that only English is spoken in 'rhe lack of effort and general apathy this country. It should promote the with regard to the students is a plague use of "English only" in government to the system. This abuse is what documents and regulations. The EnCongress should fight against. glish language is one of the means to Creating a national language is preserving the diversity of this nation intended to help all Americans live while bringing all of us together as a and work together. Speaking one language enhances the ability of grouJ>~ ".' "'ifation. Mt

by those of Mexican origin. " 'If" Despite all of these restrictions on immigration, the United States Census Bureau has predicted that by the year 2050 22.5 percent ofall Americans will be of Hispanic origin. With such a significant segment ofthe population speaking a second language, bilingualism will most likely become an even more common phenomenon in many states. Additionally, free speech viola. tions are inherently involved in restrictingthe languages used by Americans. Any bill passed by Congress must not require only English to be spoken in all segments of society. instead, Congress must focus on keeping English as' the official language of record in government uses, such as documents and road signs. Beyond this no limits must be placed on which language can be spoken by the people. The citizens of this nation have the right to speak any language. Currently, $10 billion is spent on federal bilingul},Lprograms. This ex~ penditure is fiot geared to suppres!J the culture of immigrants coming to the United State~. Rather, instructing new immigrants in the English language helps them to become part

lege Republicans, was also present to protest the liberal bias of the Michigan Daily. Kirk told the Review,that "We hate the Daily even more than we hate affirmative action." After the barrage of speeches, the last speaker, as a symbolic "act of retribution," set fire to one of that day's copies of the Michigan Daily, at which point the protest ended. The event was given heavy media coverage, with reporters and cameramen from theMichiganReview ,Michigan Daily, the Ann Arbor News, and WXYZ Channel 7 in Detroit. Members of the Michigan Daily who were asked how they felt about their paper being accused of racism replied that only the editor-in-chief, Ronnie Glassberg, would be able to comment about that matter. Glassberg told the Review that the flap over the March 28 article connecting Alianza with the Daily theft was a "misunderstanding," and "not as clear as it should have been." Glassberg stated that the "source knew (the suspect) and knew (tne suspect) to be a leader of Alianza." To put the effect of the theft of the 8,700 copies of the Daily in perspective, approximately half of the day's press run was stolen, resulting in losses close to $10,000 for the Daily due to printing expenses and advertising refunds. The Daily also had to reprint its popular "Summer Sublet" supplement.

vestigation against Alianza and Latino/a students. • That there be an institutionalization of an affIrmative action program for Michigan Daily staff to address concerns relevant to people of color. • That the University strengthen its commitment of the rights of stu-

The protestors themselves seemed far more interested in the racial aspects of the Daily than of the other leftist causes trumpeted at occasional intervals. In fach at the end of the protest, one protestor was given the microphone to champion the cause of the Dental School Three, but was faced with a dissipatingcrowd.Incontrast, the most applause was given to Nora Salas, cochair of Alianza and the UPC's presidential' candidate, when it was her tum at the microphone. The protestors made the following demands of the Michigan Daily and of the University: A diverse group gathered to voice their discontent • That the Daily commit to fair and equal coverage to the dents, faculty, and staff of color such issues important to students of color. as those initiatives suggested by the • That the Daily make a public Alliance Four Justice. apology for the Daily's unsubstanti• That the University live up to ated and insensitive remarks made its "Commitment" to Diversity, simiagainst Latina/os. lar to that which is stated in the • That the Michigan Daily present Michigan Mandate. an accurate account of the charges The multiracial crowd also inmade by the UPC against the Daily. cluded some members that one might • That the Daily cease making not expect to be at such a rally. Nichounsubstantiated and speculative inlas Kirk, president-elect of the Col. '''." ,' •. .,..,..........

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Glassberg, repeating statements also printed in the April 4 issue of the Daily, told the Review that the Daily was "disappointed that a technicality will prevent the criminal from being brought to justice." Due to the fact that the Daily is a dropped off paper and that it is free, the law essentially states that wide scale theft of the paper is legal, because precedent has established that since it is distributed for free, nothing of value is being taken. The prosecutor's office has stated that they will be unable to prosecute this case. Glassberg also stated that the Daily will look at all other legal options available to them, but opposes using the Code of Student Conduct. Glassberg also stated that a "change is needed in the Michigan law" regarding the status offree-drop papers as this sets a "dangerous precedent" and it "opens the paper to theft by anyone who disagrees" with the editorial content. However, the theft of the Michigan Daily by the "Ad Hoc Committee Against the Bullshit in the Michigan Daily" is not an isolated incident of theft on U-M's ' campus. The Michigan Independent also fell victim to a similar incident two years ago, and the Review became the first victim of censorship by a small group in 1989 when a large portion of that month's issue ofthe Review was burned on the Diag by angry students. l\R ____"",_...._____________....________",

April 10, 1996

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

o CURRENT EVENTS

Is Foreign BY GEOFF BROWN

HERE HAS BEEN A TENdency in the realm of American foreign policy to support foreign governments based solely on the fact that they oppose communist opposition factions. In many cases, these governments would themselves be less than democratic, and were, in many cases, outright dictatorships. Due to this support for the opponents of"unacceptable" government (which, of course, made them worthy of our support - we couldn't have the evil of Communism spread, could we?), the public would often assume that these governments are the bastions of democracy. This has lead to supplying countries with military and financial support, even if these countries had dictatorial governments that denied their people many freedoms, During the IranlIraq war, for example, we supported Iraq because of our opposition to the fundamentalist Islamic (and anti-American) government which replaced that of the Shah (who was, of course, pro-American). The reasoning was that anyone who

~QJicy

Misleading?

was the enemy of our enemy was our China and instead recognized the govfriend. This move, as anyone who ernment of the People's Republic of路 remembers the Gulf War can attest, China. However, the United States, in its self-appointed role as the guardturned out to backfire on us. Also, the government of Iraq is a far cry from ian of freedom. in the world, has being a free, democratic one. pledged to "protect" Taiwan from the Another example ofagovernment clutches of communism. Thus there that, based on our policy of aid and has been an image of Taiwan as a small shining beacon of a democracy support, is thought incorrectly to be overshadowed by the Communists. democratic is that of Taiwan. During World War II, the Nationalist govIn reality, the government ofTaiernment of China was one of our wan, until about six years ago, was a allies against Japan. However, in veritable dictatorship. The parliament of Taiwan was controlled by the rul1949, a group of Communist insurgents took over mainland China, forcing Nationalist party. Since the paring the Nationalist government into liament was considered to be the govexile on the island of Taiwan. The ernment of all of China, it had seats government-in-exile regarded itself representing all of the provinces of as the true government of China. China, including those that were conMainland China was not recognized trolled by the Communists on the as the rightful government of China mainland. The ruling party was able even though it controlled the entire .to keep a hold on the parliament since mainland. Nor did it recognize the pnly the small number of seats representing Taiwan were subject to elecNationalist government on Taiwan, preferring to regard it as a "renegade tion. Elections for the seats repreprovince." However, with normaliza- . senting the other provinces were not tions of relations with Communist~ held due to the occupation of the Commainland Chin~.. most governments munists. As a result, the Nationalists ceased recognition ofthe Republic of established a firm hold on the people of Taiwan. Opposition to the NationChina as the rightful government of

alist regime was met with swift governmental retribution. Laws were passed by an unchanging majority of the ruling party. Since only the Taiwan seats were reelected, there could never be a large enough opposition to challenge the majority. This practice was fmally ended with reforms of the Parliament that put all seats up for election. However, the ruling party still managed to hold a majority, and it was only through small opposition parties gaining seats and literally fighting to get their issues heard that further reforms were instituted. Taiwan's trarisition to a full democracy was completed when, for the first time, its president was directly elected in democratic elections last month. While Taiwan has completely changed its system ofgovernment over the past few years, for quite some time it was falsely assumed to be a democratic .society merely because of previous U.S. support. It is often easy to confuse U.s. intervention with a concern for protecting democracy; more often thim not, however, democracy has nothing to do with this involvement at all. Mt

:Jr SPORTSCENE

NCAA Tournament Less Exciting? BY

MEL MYERS \

THINK FORMER HOUSTON Oilers coach Bum Phillips has best described Rick Pitino's coaching prowess, when he commented on the coaching ability of coach Don Shula, by saying "He can take his'n and beat yours'n and take yours'n and beat his his'n." No matter the level of talent that Pitino has had, he has been successful; especially in the NCAA tournament. Although he had never won it all before this year, he has been close several times with less talented teams. So it was not surprising at all when he was able to take this obscenely loaded Kentucky team and destroy everybody in their path to become the most dominant team in NCAA tournament history. However, the problem with this approach was that everybody else began to emulate them in this year's NCAA tournament. Most of the games were over by halftime. The average margin of victory was thirteen points. Syracuse became the benefactors of the ridiculous seeding of Purdue. The only traditionally tough team they faced beI,il'

fore the Final Four was Kansas. Once they got to the Final Four they got to face the other Cinderella team, Mississippi State. Again the Big Ten was a Big Flop, and next year they will have a lot to prove. The record of the Southeastern Conference is evidence that the conference overall was not down, Kentucky was simply in a higher class than anybody else in the country. Two things stood out about this tournament as keys to being successful: good, sound guard play and veteran leadership. Every team who had any kind of success in the tournament had one or both of these key ingredients (not coincidentally, these are two ingredients that Michigan did not possess). Why are these facets so key for success? A solid backcourt is imperative because the better the backcourt the better a team is able to feed the people who need to get the ball down the stretch. More importantly, they are also the ones who must adjust to the numerous different defenses thrown at the team. In the NCAA Tournament a team must face opponents throwing every de-

fense possible at it, and it must face this without the benefit of in-depth scouting. If it advances in thetournament it must"i'ace at least one team with just one day of preparation, and in all likelihood that team will throw something new and unexpected out. Since guards handle the ball ninety percent ofthe time, guards who make sound judgements and don't turn the ball over are at a premium. Another thing a team must have for success is veteran leadership. Veteran leadership gives teams the necessary experience to avoid getting flustered down the stretch or during the sometimes devastating runs that can occur in the Tournament, when everything is turned up a notch. Every Final Four team had that senior leadership whichbecomes so crucial during tourney time. Coaches need to keep players around for their junior and senior seasons to have a chance for success in the tournament. This premium on veteran leadership leads us to another problem facing college basketball. Although the top blue-chip recruits have tantalizing talent, in the current world of

college basketball it is likely that they will be around for at most two years, which gives coaches some tough decisions to make. Should the top programs so actively recruit only blue chippers? Should they try to get just one, and instead focus on getting lesser players who have potential, but need more years to develop? In order to prevent them from leaving early, the NCAA should start giving players a stipend every month which would end at least some of the hypocrisy of the one billion dollar contract CBS pays for the NCAA Tournament. Although this would certainly not end the problem, it might help prevent at least some players from leaving early. Although the Tournament may have been less exciting this year because ofall the blowouts and the loss of key underclassmen in last year's draft, it should continue to dominate the March sports calendar. Some young teams with a talent should develop with experience and become legitimate title contenders. One thing is for certain, Pitino's Kentucky Wildcats will be there fighting for a National Championship once again. Mt

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April 10, 1996

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW

:Jr SPORTSCENE

Michigan BY JAMFS

ROBERTS,

FTERSEVERAL YEARS OF completing stellar seasons with heartbreak, the University ofMichigan hockey team recently accomplished something that it had not done since 1964: It claimed the NCAA title as its own. While this was certainly a great victory for the team itself, one must not overlook that this championship benefited the University and its students as well. Like the teams of the recent past, this year's team claimed a position among the greats of college hockey. It retained its position in the top five national rankings throughout the duration of the year, ending the year at the fourth spot. It also sat at or very near the top of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) - arguably the strongest and most competitive conference in college hockey for the entire season, eventually ending with a tie for the conference crown. Along the way, the Wolverines won the Great Lakes Invitational- one of the oldest and most prestigious college hockey tournaments - for an

HOG~ey

Wins for U-M

Coliseum in Cincinnati was one of unprecedented eighth consecutive stretch, snatching a 4-3 victory along an tici pa tion before the face-off of the with the CCHA tournament trophy. year, and they also defeated such topNCAA final between Michigan and notch teams as Maine, Wisconsin, Despite these victories, Michigan Michigan State, and Lake Superior Colorado College. This anticipation still remained short of its ultimate turned to excitement as the teams goal, for State. the NCAA tournament still battled each other on the ice. While After the completion of the reguloomed before it. After receiving a not an offensive clinic, the game itself lar season, the Wolverines carried first-round bye as the number two was a display of incredible effort on seed this success into the CCHA playoffs, in the western regional, the Wolthe part of both teams, as they scraped easily sweeping a verines earned a for each possible scoring opportunity. hard-fought, comeseries against Miami Fans sat of the edges of their seats from-behind victory (OH) in the first into the overtime, and when Brendan round . They then against Minnesota, Morrison scored on a rebound just in a game that featook their potent ofmin utes into the period, the Michigan fense and stifling detured "The Goal," faithful - along with the players fense to Joe Louis the now famous, themselves - exploded into elated gravity-defying disArena in Detroit, jubilation. There was a defmite sense play by Mike Legg. where they soundly of camaraderie as fans hugged, Yet the Maize and defeated Michigan slapped hands, and celebrated. Blue only improved, State in the semifiThroughout this season of college playing perhaps its nals. This set the hockey, the Wolverines won not just best game of the seastage for the CCHA for themselves, but for the University son in the NCAA final: a face-off becommunity as well. Their championsemifinal against tween Michigan and Michigan hockey: NCAA champs ship gave all students something to Boston University. Lake Superior, a at being a cheer, a feeling of pride team that just recently had swept the--_ In Cincinnati, the Wolverines simply student at Michigan. In the end, the Wolverines ina~eekend series. In a outshot, outskated, outchecked, .. Michigan hoc~ey team did more than game that featured impressive offenoutplayed, and outscored their oppowin a championship; it demonstrated sive displays as well as tight checknents, claiming a 4-0 victory against the importance and sigI\ificance of the defending champs. ing, the Maize and Blue simply The atmosphere at the Riverfront ",e&llege athletics. i\R outskated the Lakers down the ~

~POETRY

Residence Hall Torture

Ode to Darryl Rejected pain glows in his eyes While he unfolds his tale; The years of buried anger build \ Though ,to release they fail. This man, a boy, my poor, dear friend, With burning, bitter memories, Recounts to me his life of sorrow The chaos he still sees. The voice is tender, barely tremblingVulnerable. almost, As he descIibes the battlefield He, on<;e, close to a ghost. My heart goes out to you, my friend! So strong this urge to hold you; But, though he's let me near to him, Trust deeply, he'd not do. And, yes - intrigue, he does denyYet, with it he is laced! My empathy and awe, drawn from The trial he has faced. This boy, this man, this human beingSuch undeserved hurt! How I long to break his nightmare; To scrub away all dirt, Which clouds each day and every night, A background misery ... Oh, let me bear it for you, friend. So that you will be free! -Michelle Williams ,.,-,-.-- .â&#x20AC;˘-.,.-,.-.....-,- ----..-.~.,------"'-.-,--,,-

And I thought it would be "fun" To live in a dorm Being in this giant place Vlliere college kids d o swarm . Hah! I've never been more wrong In all of my short life, For by n ow I ' ve undergone Much agony and strife. Guys are fine, during the day, But in morning and the night Don 't they have r ooms of their own? I want them OUT OF SIGHT. The feet that always patter by But, oh, it gets much worse ; The constant NOISE that beats my ears None other than a curse. Nor will I ever comprehend The everlasting urge They have to blast the ugly sounds That from the rooms d o purge . And, worst of all , the things that come From demons of hell, it seems, Are those which I just cannot bear: I JUST CAN'T TAKE THE SCREAMS. fhouting, s~ieking, piercing laughter Of study~ng I've lost all hope; And when the walls begin to tremble, I'm at the end of my rope Each and every n o ise, for me , Is amplified, until All the sounds together, rising, Are threatening to kill "Stop!' I say , but no one hears me Nell, what am I to do ? I've grown impatient, quite disgusted I'VE HAD IT Nm,,! I'M THROUGH ! I ' m sick o f taking your obnoxious, Inc o nsiderate CRUP. So, if you want to stay alive, JUST SHUT THE HELL UP! 11 -Michelle Williams

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The New Anarchist Literature BY AARON STEELMAN

ISTORICALLY, ANARCHIST literature has been relegated to small, under-funded publishing houses with neither the resources nor the talent necessary to publish high-quality scholarship in the manner that it deserves. A few scholars of anarchist theory and history - notably Paul Avrich and Paul Goodman - have been able to avoid this pitfall; many of Goodman's later books were published by Random House, while nearly all of Avrich's work has been distributed by one of the country's most respected academic publishers, Princeton University Press. But these are aberrations. Too many important thinkers have had their ideas doomed to obscurity not because of the quality of their writings, but simply because their publishers were unable to achieve adequate circulation for their books. Thankfully, with the recent improvements in desktop publishing, this has begun to change. There are now a few small publishers specializing in antiauthoritarian literature that produce very high-quality work - to the benefit of dozens of politically unpopular scholars. Probably the best of these publishing houses is AK Press, 10-

cated in San Francisco. A workers cooperative wholly owned by its members, AK Press pu blishes approximately 15 new titles each year. It also distributes books published by smaller, like-minded presses, including City Lights, BlaGk Rose, Loompanics, Verso, Creation, South End, and Freedom. Two books that AK has recently published itself are The Struggle Against the State and Other Essays by Nester Makhno (114 pages, $9.95) and Reinventing Anarchy, Again edited by Howard J. Ehrlich (387 pages, $19.95). Born in the Ukraine, Nester Makhno became an anarchist in the-" first decade of the 1900s. He was imprisoned for his political views, but was released in 1917. Promptly after his liberation, Makhno went back to doing what he had done before: battling the state in all of its manifestations. This led him to oppose not only the Bolsheviks, but also the White counterrevoluti6naries. Makhno or-. ganized a band offellow anarchists in his native Ukraine and together they actively resisted all attempts to place their homeland Under oppressive, centralizedrule. Unfortunately they were ultimately unsuccessful and many, including Makhno, were forced into exile; Makhno himself fled to Paris.

Rep. Greg Kaza Continued from Page 11

KAZA: In 1989, I wrote an op-ed piece for the Wa~ Street Journal that analyzed HUD's community development block grant program, and what I reported in that piece was that a fair amount of federal block grant money was flowing to some of the richest communities in Oakland County - the wealthiest county in the state of Michigan. I am not a big fan of block grants: It seems to me that the whole idea of block grants implies that you will have a strong central government, which is something that I do not philosophically support. The talk about block grants doesn't excite me nearly as much as it does other Republicans. When I teach, I always like to point out who originated the idea of blo.ck grants: Richard Nixo.n, the same guy who. escalated the Vietnam War, violated Cambodia's neutrality, cut the dollar's last ties to go.ld, and instituted wage and price controls. I don't look at Richard Nixon as anything approaching a great president- and I didn't even mention the whole War~rgate affair.

MR: What do yo.U plan to do. afteryo.ur time in the Ho.use is over?

KAZA: I am up for reelection this year and I intend to stand for one more term - and then in 1998 I will be term-limited out. After that, I intend to do mo.re writing and more lecturing, and to talk more to the movement. I want to try to make the point to the movement that it is possible to have a pro-liberty agenda and to actually succeed in a legislative arena. I intend to do that primarily through writing. The Real Change Agenda is a book that I wrote that is forthcoming. It outlines 21 different proposals that I think nearly alllibertarians would embrace and that, at the same time, are politically possible. I am also writing a book on how to run for office, and a book of essays that talk about changing government. But to answer your question, in 1998 it is my intention to run for the u.s. Congress, assuming that there would still be a Demo.crat holding office in the metropolitan Detroit district that I live in. l\R

While there, he co.ntributed to. perihas been published by AK odicals sympathetic to anarcho-soIn 1979, Routledge published a volume entitled Reinventing Anarchy cialist ideas. Perhaps his finest effort during this period was the title essay that contained 37 recent essays o.n of the book being reviewed here. anarchist thought. The book was quite Makhno's ''The Struggle Against the successful, and along with another State," published in October 1926, compilation of essays published in captures his antiautho.ritarian sentithat same year, Contemporary Anarments nicely. He writes: chism edited by Terry Perlin, it led to "The fact that the modern State is a revival of interest in anarchist the organizational form of authority theory. Believing that it was time for founded upon arbitrariness and vioa new collection of essays to be publence in the social life of toilers is lished, Howard J. Ehrlich, one of the independent ofwhether it may be 'boureditors of Reinventing Anarchy, has geois' or 'proletarian.' It relies upon recently put together another similar oppressive centralism, arising out of volume entitled Rein venting Anarchy, Again. The book is divided into eight the direct violence of a minority employed against the majority. In order sections and contains 34 articles. If to enforce and impose the legality ofits there is one deficiency with the book it system, the State resorts to not only is that, like the first volume, it almost the gun and money, but also to potent completely ignores the recent work of weapons of psychological pressure. individualist anarchists-frequently With the aid of such weapons, a tiny referred to as anarcho--capitaIists. (Ingroup of politicians enforces psychodeed, the book contains only one eslogical repression ofan entire society, say by an individualist anarchist, Riand, in particular, of the toiling chard Kostelanetz. And that piece, masses, conditioning them in such a which deals with the work of comway as to divert their attention from poser/playwright/poet John Cage, is the slavery instituted by the State." only remotely ideological in nature.) So. much for Marx's desire to cre- ".'But, nevertheless, the book is a useful ate a "dictatorship of the proletariaf';' introduction to the work and ideas of Makhno knew that granting any group many contemporary anarchists work- including the working class - a ing within the libertarian socialist monopoly over the use of force is ultitradition. mately destructive and must be Anyone who would like to puravoided at all costs. For if it isn't, chase these boo.ks, or others on similar topics, should contact AK about Makhno argued, only one thing can result: tyranny. receiving a catalog free of charge. They In addition to the title essay, the can be reached at the following mailing address: AK Press, PO Box 40682, book contains 17 other essays that Makhno wrote while in exile, as well San Francisco, CA 94140-0682; or by as a useful bibliographical afterward telephone at (415) 923-1429. And for by the bo.ok's translator, Alexandre those of you who prefer to correspond Skirda - who, by the way, has also by way of e-mail, AIrs address is written a biography of Makhno that akpress@org.org. l\R

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Take the 'Reverse Pledge We believe that the Code, the University's policy regarding students' non-academic rights and responsibilities, should be abolished because it is a blatant and unacceptable violation of the civil liberties of U-M students. We hope you feel the same way. In order to "convince" the University of this, it is necessary to take from it what it values most highly - money. We ask you to join us in pledging not to donate any money to the U-M through such fund drives as MPact and the Senior Pledge until the Code of Student Conduct is abolished.

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Interviewing Velocity Girl and Fuzzy

BY DREW PETERS

RIDAY, APRIL 26IS THE SHOW of aU shows. It's right here, in Ann Arbor, at the Blind Pig. Velocity Girl headlines the night in support of their latest Sub Pop release, Gilded Stars and Zealous Hearts. One of the best pop bands you've never heard, Fuzzy, will openi1lg up in support of their sophomore album on Atlantic Records, Electric Juices.i had the chance to talk to Jim Spellman, Velocity Girl's drummer, about all of the latest Velocity Girl dirt.

How did you guys get started? We all met in school and started playing in the basement. Without even trying, we became vaguely popular. We put out a couple of singles on a small label called Slumberland and did a few tours. Then Sub Pop came up to us one day, introduced themselves, and that was that. We signed a contract with them. It's really about the dullest story ever. So no fights? No heroin overdoses? When you are good junkies like us, you know how to avoid overdoses. What do you think of your past releases for Sub Pop? I'm not one of these people who can't listen to our past records. I like all three of our records. They are all very special to me, of course, the new one is the one I'm most interested in now. With Copacetic (their debut album for Sub Pop), we wanted to make a fast, rough record. A document of the way we were then. It's' defmitely the noisiest of the bunch. The most lo-fi With iSimpatico! (released in 1994) we wanted to make a classic sounding, poprecord . Pop all the way. We wanted Gilded Stars to be more diverse. "Same Old City" has a bitofa countryvibe to it, "Blue In Spite" is very different for us. We used so~e different instruments. The role of the producer has evolved quite a bit for you as well, eh? Definitely, We did Copacetic ourselves, with Bob Weston of Shellac. He pretty much engineered it and we produced it. We did iSimpatico! with John Porter, who has worked with the Smiths and a bunch of others. He was a tremendous musician and producer, a really great guy. Gilded Stars was produced and engineered by Chi" Norrell, who did R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People. He has worked with lots and lots of people as an engineer, but he is sort of beginning a career as a producer as well. We wanted someone like that, someone who is more into sounds. John Porter is a serious

nity to talk to Hilken Mancini, vocalist / producer, he works with all the parts ... a rough town. guitarist for Fuzzy. Since I am so driven and arrangements of a song. Cliff foSay it! Nastyl to educate you, the general public, I will cuses on the sounds. If we had to do Uh, yeah. tell you a little bit about Fuzzy. In 1994, another record right now, I'd vote to I saw the video for "I Can't Stop Smiling" they released their eponymous debut for do it exactly the same way. My only (single for ,Simpatico!) along time ago. What Atlantic Records. Fuzzy proved that they beef is that it is too long. could write really rockin', really catchy I'm a fan of shorter pop songs. The first track from this records, but I always lose release, "Flashlight," is one of the bigthat argument in the gest hits to never be a hit. Atlantic band. That's why there are Records proved that they didn't know fourteen songs. their heads from their asses. That's why Any producers you'd want to work with in the future? you never heard about Fuzzy. Well, here is your chance. Their new record, ElecAC/DC's Back in Black is tricJuices, even gives that Go-Go's twomy favorite record and the CD greatest hits a run for it's money. Go greatest sounding rock buy it. Listen to "Drag" or "Sleeper" or record. I don't think that any of the songs for that matter and try he would be good for us to tell me that I'm wrong. though. "Mutt" Lang was incredible on that record, Where are you working nowadays? but I would love to do a At this videotaping complex, I put record with Jim Velocity Gir1 watches every sit-com there is stickers on videotapes all day long. Dickinson, who did Big are you doing for this album? It sounds like a blast Star and the Replac~:nients. Maybe Well the single is going to be "NothActually, I work with a lot of other Brian Eno. "', What have you bilen listening too lately? ... ing." It should premier on 120 Minpeople that are in bands. Everyone utes either this Sunday or next Sunthere is a band. So you come in and I've been consciously not listening to day. It will probably get played a few work when you aren't touring. But music lately. Foi~while I was listentimes. "I Can't Stop Smiling" was they let you go away and tour for ing to too much music and writing played a few times. You know, it WE\.S ·· "'''awhile. We can also take over the stuff that was more derivative. I've done by Spike J onze, but right before just been reading and watching TV. shipping room and listen to David the Spike Jonze craze. But 120 MinBowie or any other tapes we bring in. My roommate is in this band, utes plays mostly Buzz Bin bands What new stuff have you been listening to lately? Tuscadero. Anyway, he is Phil Satloff and his uncle, Ron Satloff, was king of anyway. It's not as cool as it used to The new Bjork record is good. I'm kind of out of touch. I'm kind of broke be. the 80s and 70s television directors. He did CHiPs , Quincy and Matlock. That's because of The Man. too. The Man? Don't get me started on being broke. AnyHe and some other people created the Yeah. Do you guys hate anyone else? Beway, I saw you in the Bums Room at Sl A-Team too. I have been really into sides The Man? Andrew's about a year and a half ago, while RonSatlofflately. I wanttostartafan club for him. He is a genius. We don't like to say bad thiRgs about you were touring for your first record. How was that tour? You don't like sit-coms do you? anyone. It was really small in the sense that I love all of the sit-coms. Oh, come onl no one came to see us. It was really big Jesusl That's why we will never be as big as in the sense that it lasted forever. It You don't like Friends? Oasis or something. We are not audawas really hard. We were supposed to God no. That show is for morons. cious enough. tour with Swell, and I was packing my Seinfeld? I could fabricate a littte bit, if you want bags and they called and canceled on NO. Uh ... us. So we went and toured on our own, Those shows are hilarious. I LOVE So what's the gist of the new video? and no one knows who in the hell sit-corns. Thursday nights, man. You We drive around Brooklyn in old cars. Fuzzy is. know where to find me Thursday We tie Sarah.up over a vat of acid. Fist I do. Dammit, I was there. I tried to talk to you nights. fights. Kick boxing. after the show and the bouncers wouldn't let Fuckthat I didn't know you guys were so violent me. They told me to get out. And you guys . Weare very violent. You aren't gonna write a bad article weren't protesting or anything. You didn't Do you guys really get in arguments? Fight about us now, are you? care. in your van and stuff? (No response) Yeah, right. I watched CNN today. No. We get along really well. Do you like touring? Any other bad habits that I should know Ughl That's not what I wanted to hear. There are good and bad things to about? That's why we'll never be big. touring. There is not a lot of privacy Me and Kelly golf. Sarah's getting Well let's start fabricating right now. on tour, you can't get away from people married in May. We all drink like The problem is, when we can't buy sometimes. good crack, when we have to buy lowfish. Like us nutty fans. Really? Great! Sweet liquor eases the painl level, bad crack, we all get a little No, like people in the band. You are in Wine is fine but liquor is quicker. agitated . That's when the switch a van and you are always together. You've played the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor as blades come out. We all get along really well, it just well as St. Andrew's in ,Detroit Do you have Good start. You know, if that were true, you a preference? guys would sell a lot more records. gets pretty intense. So how has the whole band thing been? I like St. Andrew's but Detroit is kind· Uh, yeah. I like playing in a band. I like the of ... Nasty. But wait! E ven better, I had theopportupeople I _am in a _~an~ _wi,t h. I lik~ , ' __

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writing songs. I don't like a lot of the other stuff. Doing interviews .. , No, I don't mind interviews at all. It's the whole label thing. It freaks me out. Sometimes I think it would be better to sit at home, 4-track and put out our own singles. WOUldn't you like to drop the day job? Yeah, butl don'tknowtowhatextent. I don't want to do music every single day of my life. What do you want? To pick and choose our tours. Not have to do a lot of what the label asks us to. Like what? I don't like letting them choose our single. We also got into a big argument about our art\vork not being representative of the band. They aren't really doing ariythingwrong. It'sjust a conflict of interest and it's hard not to get annoyed. Weare trying to do what we want to do. So what's your dream tour? A tour with a band that we are friends with and a tour that gives us days off in places other than Florida or Texas, not that there is anything wrong with those states. There is. It'sjust thatwe have been those places a lot.

~ j'i{m BY BENJAMIN KEPPLE

NGELS AND INSECTS (color, director: Phillip Haas) is a film that if it does nothing else, will mak~ you think long and hard about social class and social interaction in not only Victorian society, but our own. Haas' adaption of the A.S. Byatt's novella Morpho Eugenia leads to a first rate film that is very enjoyable and somewhat disturbing to watch. I must admit that Haas' portrayal of the flaws that his Victorian society seems so desperate to keep secret, left me at the end of the film despising Victorian England even more than I had before I walked into the film. If there are any angels in this movie, they would appear solely at the extreme beginning of the film. The viewer is shown the main character, the entomologist Adamson, walking through a crowded dance of natives, a scene which after a short time switches to a different dance, that of the far more reserved and cultured Victorian Englishmen. Throughout the film one becomes more and more disgusted with the unlikable English. William Adamson, who due to his sheer poverty must live in residence as a scholar to the

had broken them up. David (Ryan, drummer for Fuzzy and the Lemonheads) had some time off from the Lemonheaqs so he was just writing songs with Chris. I met Winston (Braman, bassist) and brought him to an acoustic show that Chris was playing. He really wanted to start a band. So David 1000tned us his practice space while he was on tour. He said, "Go in there, screw around, write some songs and I'll play with you when I get back." What's itlike having David in your band? I don't really think about it. I did when we toured with the Lemonheads and David Fuzzy is about to go and drink electric juices. YunrYum was playing in both bands. He come on stage and all the girls Yeah, I guess. Has the press been pretty . would yell his name and stuff. good to you guys? Do they get it? So how is ElectritJ/uices differentfrom your I think we are pretty easy to get. We debut? just write pop songs. Two female voices, a lot of harmonies. It's not like ~ We didn't think that the first record was going to even be a record. We we are the Birthday Party or somebasically pooled up money to record a thing. demo. Maybe put out a single. W~ So how did FUzz9·form? ~ didn't think that these were songs Chris (Toppin, vocalistl guitarist) and that were going to be on a record at I were working-t'ogether and hanging all. Then we got signed, and reimout a lot. We were both in bands but

.Well, Ann Arbor is pretty cool. It's too bad I hate school so much. .~ Isn't school a great way t6put qfflife? ,. ~.~

bursed. But still, it didn't feel like we were making a record. For Electric Juices we knew that for those two weeks in the studio we were making a - record. It was a lot more fun and we got to experiment some more. Alright! Winston just bought me a walk man for the van! (I'o Winston) Radio Shack? That's so cheap! What tapes are you going to bring? Joni Mitchell's Blue, Rolling Stones' Let It Bleed and a lot of weird compilations. (At this point Winston asks her what she is doing) I'm doing an interview. Do you want to talkto him? (At this point, Winston says "No.") Let's see, I'll definitely bring some Prince, Velvet Underground and Nick Cave. Do people pay too much attention to the fact that there are two girts fronting the band? Oh yeah. We have a local paper.here that put us on the cover. We were all excited about it but, ultimately, the entire article was about women in rock. We are a band, but people really respond to the fact that we are two girls and we are power rocking together. Yeah Chris and I are a team, but there are also a bass player and.a drummer who add an amazing amount to the band. I know that since we are girls it is going to happen. We aren't that upset about it. Mt

Angels and Insects dislikable Alabaster clan, suffers Adamson, and uses them as his engine to compare the civilized and culthroughout the film. AB a member of tured English to nothing but a colony the lower classes, Adamson must act throughout the film as a half-aristoof ants ... of insects. The imagery in the film is fantascrat, half-servant as he works on his research and for the Alabasters as a tic, with the comparisons taken between the human's investigation of researcher-schoolmaster. Classical liberals will rejoice throughout the ant colonies and the actual human film as the glaring flaws of the Alabaster aristocracy are pointed out in lavish detail: Eugenia, the depressed and neurotic wife of Adamson; Edgar, Eugenia's truly untalented, obnoxious and lecherous brother (who is great fun at parties); Lady Alabaster, the grossly overweight matriarch; the Reverend Harald Alabaster, the "lord ofthe manor" and frustrated academic unable to finish his magnum opus. Even the quasi-likable character Matty Adamson looking thoughtful and ... perplexed Crompton, aged beyond her years, spinster-esque, and stuck in interaction in the film done so clearly the same situation as Adamson, has and done so well that one is left with a ·distinct impression of the message rather apparent flaws and obvious repressed feelings that the psycholothe director wants to send. The most gists today would love. Added to this ironic scene, for myself, was when the are an obsequient corps of servants researchers looked at an ant colony and other social aristocrats that are kept in a terrarium built like a catheentirely unlovable. Haas takes the dral. Filmed at an authentic English horrendous character flaws ofthe Alacountry manor, the costuming and baster clan, along with the flaws of set design will truly take one back to ., ••." .... ._............ _""'-..¥•• ~""...,,. ... '''--.-....,.._''''''.•••, .'n,.~~''~ ,,~,,.,. ,,., ..,.* ... "-,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,~~,,,_~,,,.,...._",,,.,,,... .w"'_"''''~'''_''''''''_

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the Victorian era. Along with a baroque, depressing soundtrack to add to the pure melancholy that Adamson endures, one is swept through into his world. Angels and Insects is a very well done social commentary, with the flaws of Victorian Society and as a parallel to that, our own, made apparent to the viewer in detaiL It will force the viewer to truly think, a trait sorely lacking in most films today. The "angels" in the film are the natives, that to the English would be considered barbarous, yet live lives free,pf the modern societal prison and its' torments. The English consider themselves cultured and civilized, yet they are restrained in the confines of that prison, with its' crushing conformity, social stratification, and other barriers to happiness. The viewer, when presented with this apparent conundrum, will be forced to ask himself whether the traditional goals of Victorian society - and that of today are worth the consequences: the pressures, societal norms, and otherproblems that must be endured in order to meet those goals. Angels and Insects is well worth the three dollars it will cost to rent. l\R '''*'''''''- ...._ ...._____________

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