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THE NR Volume 9, Number 5

January 1991

Working ·on the Plantation tally severed from notions of individual freedom.

One of the most disturbing aspects about this trend is its prevalence in the nat.ion's colleges and universities, which have traditionally been havens of free intellectual discourse. A numberofschools, the University of Michigan included, have enacted speech codes over the past five years which, while ostensibly intended to combat racism and sexism by prohibiting

by Anthony Woodlief

With Diversity Day fresh in our memories, we should take a moment to give our knees a rest from fre.nzied jerking and reflect upon some disturbing trends among American liberals.

The words '1iberal" and "progressive," aside from conjuring images of Michael Dukakis, carry a deeper connotation of open-minded thought and speech. Indeed, though modem American liberals have rejected virtually every original tenet of liberalism - free trade, low taxation, and the rule of law, for example- they have generally remained united in their support for freedom of speech, press, association and 'ideas.

Over the past few years, however, a large portion of the liberall/establishment/' including university professors, politicians, journalists, and activists, has abandoned this last trace of liberalism in favor of thought control and paternalistic racism. What threatens to emerge is a liberal ideology to-

tected groups "uncomfortable."

The University of Connecticut, for example, bans "inappropriately directed laughter," and "conspicuous exclusion of students from conversations." Students at the U-M were forbidden to hang Confederate flags on their dorm room doors until their speech code was struck down last year

by US. District Court Judge Avern Cohn on First Amendment grounds.

Perhaps more alarming are the ef-

outright dismissal. Television critic Dorothy Rabinowitz reports that when Duke political science professor James Barber tried to start a chapter of the National Association of Scholars (NAS) last year, fellow professor Stanley Fish, chairman of the English department, circulated a letter to keep Barber and any other NAS members from being on faculty committees concerned with curriculum or tenure decisions. The NAS, a group of educators opposed to the politicization of education resulting from the abandonment of classic Western texts in the name of multiculturaJism, is anathema to those who seem to view education as a secondary goal to indoctrination.

In many ways the emerging liberalism is itself characterized by paternalistic racism. What threatens to emerge is a liberal ideology totally severed from notions of individual freedom. speech intended to cause harm, have grown to include speech perceived to have suchan intent-in other words, anything that makes members of pro-

Politically Corred This curtailment of free speech and association is just one aspect of a larger movement derided by many as "political correctness." More sympathetically viewed by some liberals as a response to racism, sexism and cultural imperialism perpetuated by Western thought and political/economic institutions, the trend involves attacking these institutions while restricting the language and actions of

forts of professors and administrators to stifle the speech of their colleagues through implicit and direct threats of slowed advancement, demotion, or

Race-8ase'd Aid Threatened

by Jeff Muir

The future of ra~clusive scholarships was brought into question last month when Michael Williams, Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights, announced that it was unconstitutional for schools receiving Department of Education (ED) funding to offer financial aid eannarked for specific racial groups.

The controversy arose after Fiesta Bowl promoters promised to donate $100,000 for the establishment of a minority~nly scholarship fund at each of the two schools willing to have their football teams participate in the game. The Fiesta Bowl, held in Arizona and one of the nation's premier college .....

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bowl games, had difficulty attracting interested tearns after Arizona voters rejected a proposal to insti tu te a statewide paid holiday in the memory of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Williams reviewed the legality of federally funded schools offering race-exdusive scholarships. According to Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Williams ruled, recipients of ED funds are not allowed to deny, restrict, or provide segregated financial aid or other program benefits on the basis of race, color, or national origin.

In a letter to the Fiesta Bowl promoters, Williams stated that the ED Office of Civil Rights "interprets these provisions as generally prohibiting race-

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exclusive scholarships."

Following the ruling, the Bush administration, fearful of charges of racism, ordered Williams to issue a statement declaring the ED would enforce Title VI "in such a way as to pennit schools receiving federal funds to administer scholarships established and funded entirely by pri vale persons or entities where the donor restricts eligibility to minority students." The statement also announced that "the Administration will not pursue a broad compliance review with respect to minority scholarships."

Many observers feel this contro-

Please See Page 7

Inside Gerrymandering in Ann Arbor 6 Interview with Professor Tonsor 8 Thompson's new 10 Gonzo Book

PlellSe See Page 13 _ IV -Ii .,

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The Michigan Review, January 1991, p. 2

Serpent's Tooth How invigorating it was to see members of the Revolutionary Workers League shouted down when they tried to interrupt an anti-war speaker on the evening of the teach-in. With their ridiculous "Defend Iraq" posters, these patriotic young Americans somehow managed to isolate themselves from even the "anti-everything-the-USA-does" crowd, and the rudeness of their tactics deserved the treatment it received. Especially rude, however, was the teach-in organizers' neglecting to invite Prof. Ray Tanter, (arguably the U-M's leading expert on the Middle East), to their shindig.

Perhaps his credentials as a former member of President Reagan's National Security Council made his inclusion unlikely.

over its original speech policy, which was ruled unconstitutional. Of course, this most fitting topic will not be addressed. In any case, feel free to attend, but leave your Confederate flags and "offensive" ideas at home.

The Latin American Solidarity Committee seems to have taken its greatest leap yet into the abyss of radical silliness. Agenda reports that some LASe members "argued that it would be wrong to picket elected officials who have supported foreign interventions, because that路 would foster the illusion that elections mean anything."

Only the Daily can twist the resultsbf a campus cop poll where 48 percent of the respondents did not oppose the administration's recent security move to say "almost two out of three are opposed to depulization."

What a bunch of spineless, stinking, cowardly administrators we 'have at this school. Even though a speech code remains in place to insure students don't say mean and nasty things, they ..have scheduled the first ''D~vis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom," reports the University Record. Named after a trio of professors who lost their jobs during the McCarthy era, we feel the new lecture ought to be named after Wesley Wynne, the former U-M grad student who took the administration to court

Free Kuwait Support our Troops!

The LSA faculty recently approved a revision in the foreign language requirement. Students will now have to demonstrate fourth-term proficiency in a "language other than English," as opposed to a "foreign" language. This change, however, will not go far enough to dispel the xenophobic atmosphere pervading the campus. We feel the word ''language'' itself should never be used, and that "correctspeak" enter the official U-M vocabulary.

We also got a good chuckle when the Daily's associate opinion page editor and resident military strategist Mike Fischer said, ''I write this piece barely able to think, let alone capable of writing something coherent." Finally, a Daily staffer has properly prefaced his essay.

In remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King's upstanding character and exemplary academic achievements, we propose the establishment of the MLK Scholarship Fund and Studies Program. SWdents will learn how to have extra-marital affairs and how to write academic papers without doing any original research or writing.

As our once-fine nation swiftly marches forward to the thundering beat of perversion, Newsweek reports on the publication of two books that ought to hasten moral decline. Filling the much-needed void of books "for and about the children of gays," Alyson Publications has released ''Daddy's Roommate" and "Heather Has Two Mommies." Not to be outdone, the Michigan Review Press proudly announces the upcoming publication of similar gay-awareness

books: ''Daddy's Roommate Didn't Die of Homophobia" and, in our Dykes and Tykes series, "Heather's Summer in Gomorrah."

We are all saddened by the recent firing of long-time Detroit Tigers radio broadcaster Ernie Harwell. Dominos Pizza franchise owners went so far as to pull advertising from Tiger games to protest the dismissal. This obviously leaves only one alternative for the politically correct Tiger fan: a reverse boycott. Not only should Dominos become the pizza of choice for anyone with even an inkling of a social conscience (libertarians included), it should be ordered even when you are not hungry.

Congratulations to the 1991 Gator Bowl victors! Although Bo has seemingly floundered through yet another bowl season thanks to the Ernie Harwell controversy, Gary Moeller led his team to a 35-3 trouncing of Ole Miss, a school apparently named after its inability to complete passes.

"When Madonna grabs her crotch, the social order is effectively transgressed/' says Florida State University professor: Chip Wells, who plans to write a dissertation-entitled, A Postmodern Reading of Madonna Videos," reports the Detroit News. What a brilliant idea. We suppose that when a baseball player pauses to scratch, he is reinforcing the male hegemony. Expect the English Department to create a class so students can examine this worthy new field of study.

II

A recently distributed "Handout on Racism and Domination" from UC 299 spouted the following definition of racism: "Racism is the generalized and final assigning of values to real or imaginary differences to the accuer's (sic) benefit and at his victim's expense in order to justify the former's own privileges or aggression." Not only does this definition permit that "real... differences" (though with respect to what we are not told) might exist, but it goes on to brand acknowledging and acting upon these possible "real ... differences" as racism. But wai t - isn't the supposed problem with Racism that itis baseless? If it weren't, as the definition permits, it would be justified.

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW The Campus Mfairs Journal of the University of Michigan Editor-in-Chief... ............John J. Miller Executive Editor.............Adam DeVore Executive Editor............BrianJendryka Executive Editor................Mark Tulkki Contributing Editor........Clifton Gault Contributing Editor................Jeff Muir Publisher.............Carey Brian Meadors Business Manager..........Mark O. Stem Business Manager .........Stacey Walker Production Mgr..........Ruth Annstrong Assistant Editor................. Rahul Banta Assistant Editor.................Joseph Klein Assistant Editor........... DavidJ. Powell Music Editor......................Chris Peters Francophile...............Karen Brinkman

staff " , ~ ' .

Mike Beidler, David Boettger, Jim Bominski, Joe Coletti, Bflan Cook, Pete Daugavietis, Vincent DeSantis, Mark Dundon, Mary Dzon, Athena Foley, Adam Garagiola, Reg Goeke, John Gnodtke, Monica Hanson, Karl IIg, Corey Hill; Jon Hoekstra, Nicholas Hoffman, KishoreJayabalan, Heather Johnston, Shannon Luttermoser, Jay McNeill, Crusty Muncher, Greg Roth, Michael Skinner, Chris Terry, Doug Thiese. John;Transue, Al Tulkki, Anthony Woodlief, Wesley '1.0." Wynne, Carolyn Zach Editor Emeritus Marc Selinger The Michigan Review is an independent, non-profit, student-run journal at the University of Michigan. We are not affiliated with any political party. We welcome letters and articles and encourage comments about the journal and issues discussed in it. Our address is:

Suite One 911 North University Ann Arbor, MI 48Hl9-1265

(313) 662-1909 Copyright 1991

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The Michigan Review, January 1991, p. 3

Roving Photographer How do you plan to celebrate Diversity Day?

by Brian Cook

Lori ' Warren, LSA Freshman: I · plan to go to the Unity March on Monday at12 noon and attend any other meetings they might have.

Tony Ghecea, LSA Sophomore: Nothing special. Every day should be bi..: versity Day, with equality, not actions that favor a certain race. I'll enjoy my diversity dinner, too, I guess.

Craig Despres, LSA Junior: Diversity Day is a well thought idea, but one great leader such as M.L.K. should not get any more special treatment than, say, a George Washington. I will probably not attend any of the scheduled events, but use the day to catch up on homework.

Seth Schultz, LSA Sophomore: Martin Luther King Jr. and his ideas will always have an impact on America.

However, to choose only one great American among the many out there and devote a day to his works does not motivate me. I plan to just take it easy on Monday.

Ir-----~-----------------------------------------------~ 'I Do you ...

I I Oppose speech bans?

I Support the teaching of classic literature?

I Abhor the politicization of the classroom?

I Feel the U-M's leftists need to be challenged?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, support

The Michigan Review With your tax~eductible donation of $15 or more, you'll receive a one-year subscription to the campus ~ffairs journal of the University of Michigan.

You'll read i~epth articles about the wasteful U-M bureaucracy, be the first to hear of First Amendment violations, and keep abreast of the forces working to erode traditional Western education.

YES! I WOULD UI<E TO HELP! I'm sending my tax~eductible donation of:

-$15

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-other

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Name: Address:

IIYes, I'll Subscribe!"

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The ¥i¢UganReVieWiJCUlU.ary 1991, p. 4

From Suite One: Editorials'

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. The University of Michigan's stu~ reactiOnti> e~ ii\: the Persian GUlf ' ;';~'~&rCritiqueof#rican foreign policy. Other speakers preaiftlbl}/ harped , has been receiving a considerableamoun~ ofmediaatten~~iJ\;re,cent weeks, ~ . ..• nthe ,triumvi~~~~tJ\.merican s~:rapsm, .because there e~sts 'a d,spropor-

already the participants are learning to masquerade for ,the~a.The ,student: , . iionaten~ofli\inOrities i.n o\U'all-voiuirteer an'nedservkes;i!e)!:i$m, because anti-war movement during the Vietnam era playedanen.onoously important we ai'edef~g tegimeswhich dQ not maintain Western kieals .ofgender role in' molding domestic opinion; the country'S .p~t interest ·in 'student equality (~uddenty Wes~rn culture is not purely evil, after all); and homophobia, thetr\Selvestrapped in because, well; homophobia must somehow be involved (or' sO says that voiCe of opinion seems only natural. ~y students, however, an unfortunate mind~: they feel some moral obliga~onto inherit the anti- . reason, the Revolutionary Workers League). ' . .'

United States diatribes of their ideologicalance!)t~rs. ;, < " ,",' . ' ., ' , , ' , . . " The actiris~s have not, nor do th~ ~tend, to~anUne~~substantive issues ' The modern day activists are encouraged ~legitin.UZeUbyageneration of - unless we cOunfthe tendentious,teach-in. They insteadOOgi~ with a paranoid ' professors and media members who werecoIld~tio~ by t~l~ to ,view aU ., premise -:- theUrijted States govenune,l\t, even when qefending sma~ countries .

United States foreign intervention, and even ArileriCiifi lj()(jetyi as highly'sus~; , from ruthless tyrants/ is wrong. To steal ~phr~ from: WiUiamKBuc~eyi Jr" the ' The so-called "movement" retains many charac:t~rlstiC$ symptoJ1\aticofa larger· , anti-war protestors would ·have argued against the use of force at Bunker Hill. phenomena occurring on the nation's eampuses: namely, ~e a~ce o,fgenuine .

Arguaply, many()f those who have come o""t against Uni,ted States policy are, debate. The activists are so convinced of theinfaIlibility of theirjdeas $atthey victiins of what can be called the perpetual protestor mentality. One can find.these found it unnecessary to invite Professor Raymond Tanter to the recent teach-in. people at virtually every anti~stablishment protest, regardless of its sponsor; last Tanter is perhaps the U-M's leading expert on the Middle East and a former. , semester they futilely whined about the U-M's deputizationefforts. Indeed,many member ,of President Reagan's National Security Council. . of these people view their activity as an integral part of their sodallives.

Kn~jerk protestors will probably not disappear from campuses anytime Instead, student leaders hope to attract thinkers who will merely confirm ' their views. Last semester, for example, Michael Moore, the director Of the ' soon. One can only hope for allto realize the shallownessofthe activj.sts, both in controversial film Roger and Me, was invited to the Law School to discuss events ,thought (perhaps best symbolized by the latest postmodernArc d' Activiste on the in the Persian Gult Many people, however, find Moore barely qualified to discuss diag) and support (as revealed by the Michigan Student Assembly's leaders' emFlint, Michigan; that anyone could find his opinions concerning the Persian Gulf barrassing failure to pass an anti-war resolution). At press time, the United States' , . ' . .' military success appeared unprecedented. Thank goodness student radicals head credible orauthorita,tive is perplexing.

Similarly, prominent speakers at this month's teach-in, such as Detroit only student governments.

Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, felt compelled to include ananti~free market tirade

and

U-M ·Should Honor MLK's Ideas, Not P.C. OnJanuary 21, the University of Michigan once again celebrated Dr.·Martin many programs, is really cultural relativism. Proponents of Diversity say that Luther King Jr.' s birthday with its annual Diversity Day. The festivities included education at the U-M must include the "perspective" of traditionally "oppressed" speakers, panel discussions, perfo~,andpe~haPs triost noticeably, no ' groupS, otherwise only the white male "perspective" is passed on; perpetuating classes. Questions about Diversity Day are warranted'on two,frontS: First, the U"institutional" racism, sexism, etc. From this wehavetokenf~rtist, homosexual, and ethnic materials either replacing Qr ~ccompariying the traditional classics of M should defend its decision to celebrate Dr. King'S life and. achievements while so ~y,o~er great ~riguls go unrecognized.. Secooo,theU-M must explain ' ShakesPeare, lQcke;and other Dead White Males. . ." •" ., why the politically cOrrect philosophy of "Diversityl3eiof¢ Tru~" which directly , King was an assinW~tionist who.firmly believed and taught the'concept of the .'. ' " Higher Law. Whend~SouthSegregationistsargued thatage.-<>id and contradicts many of King's teachings, is so sacred. " Following King's assassination, many of hisfollow~s talked of ~blishing discrimination were established'1egal"-practices andrti.eretyapartiOftheir way an official holiday in his memory. Others cautioned~t bef()~establishing such " ()fli~ King responded that a Higher Law existed which necessitated'civu(iiSObe-' '. a holiday, the country needed the benefit of historical ~~~ · from which . . di~n(e' ;There.fore,Kirig was Willing .10 break Southern segregationist laws and go ' King and his acromplishmentscould be proper1yandobjectiyeIya~. These .' .to;a~t,f~rtheIiigherLaw superseded all others. Kins believe<:! the,H,i~:4w to

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marital affairs ar~well d~ented; ~eRev,; Ralp~: AbemathYr, ~ d"isciple :~ < '.;:';::;: :~oth'¢ipop:ulC1ftnyth of"Diversit¥ £Oricetn.sthe"e~,I~' ~fE~r'~fijs~' > ' )i' , King's whO was With him when he was assassinated~ dairned,Jll hls'Autobiogra.; ". ot;, ed~cationtil'u~~~ ,from a purely Europeah':persp¢ctive~~'By'~i'iR~tJ:dirigt~e' , phy that King slept with two women, neither of whomwtlre l)am~ Coretta ScOtt, worl<s-ofCuban. r,evisionist femirristsor.Eskim()f>OOts;theDiver:5tty ~\\1pdltiQ1s " the night before his death. Furthermore, recenfevidence 4emQn$tratesthat King that the U- M perpetuates "Eurocentiisin," lhlispetpetuattng' iacisrn~>Drversity .' plagiarized large tracts of his doctoral thesis. We find.t parti(j\:il~t1y iroructhat one preachers seem toha ve forgotten that -King' sIrloral philosOphy wiis 'gt()onded'in of the nation's supposedly pre-eminent academic::it1stitutions chooses to honor a the New Testament arid the writings ofPlat6·arid Aristotle. ,. ' man whose behavior woUld have justified expuision; ': '.

Moreover, Diversity lauds programs such as Affii'mativeAcfiort, whiCh only ' Obviously we cannot honor the man's moral character alone. This leaves only serve to polemicize different races. How soon we forget King's soaring rhetoric of his ideas. While the rest of the nation reflects upon a man who championed the a truly color blind society in which people are judged by their character and accomplishments, not their color. fightforradal equality, the U-M community pays tribute to "Diversity." One only has to compare the essence and foundations of King's teachings with the U-M's Relativism, under the rubric of Diversity, under the rubric of King's moral concept of Diversity to see that the first has very little, if anything, to do with the teachings, makes a muddled mess indeed. In light of the recently documenfed second. moral failings of King himself, and because the whole foundation of of the U-M's The underlying concept of Diversity, which has become a catchphrase for Diversity ideology fundamentally opposes King's own, we believe that the U-M should reassess its decision to honor King in such grand fashion. In the very least, it might consider plaiming programs and events which more closely resemble These opinions represent the views of the Review editorial board.

King's work an,d beliefs. . , , , I

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The Michigan Review, January 1991,p. 5

Satire

AfSeginner's Guide to Right Wing P.C.

by Adam DeVore, Adam Garaglola, and Michael Skinner It was a brisk Monday moming in January, and our Budding Young Fascist had just stepped out of the shower.

He went to the vanity and lathered his face with Gillette shaving cream, confident in the knowledge that it had been ruthlessly squirted into the eyes of hundreds of cute, fuzzy rabbits, all in the name of consumer safety.

"I just don't understand those damn boycotters," he muttered through the foam.

Ten minutes later, he dressed for work, priding himself on his new genuine leather shoes. Better on his feet than on some dumb cow, he thought.

"Honey, breakfast is ready," his servile, obedient wife said. __ He went into the kitchen and sat down to enjoy his breakfast, especially the aromatic Folgefs coffee - a morningtime delight in any real man's book. He drained his mu~ happy to know that his money was contributing to the systemati~ repression ofnarcoterrorist' piit)(o eolnmies in El Salvador.

"I'll see you this evenin~ dear, when I feel like coming home," he muttered as he walked out the door and got into his brand new Saturn - a fine car with a reasonable sticker price, being builtin a non-union factory, and all. His only complaint was that it did not take the more cost-effective leaded gas.

He roared Qutof the driveway and down the street, avoiding the expressway so he could tour the slums on the way to work. He nearly ran over a homeless bum while trying to talk on his car phone, put a Ted Nugent tape into the stereo, and steer with his knees.

Arriving at work, he drove into the company's parking garage, admiring the architecture. He found it much more aesthetically pleasing than the boarded-up low-income housing that used to stand there. He headed up to his office and found his secretary standing by the vertical file, working diligently even though it was not yet nine o'clock. Mindful of modern society's attitudes about the role of women, he paused to give his secretary a quick pinch on the ass. She turned around, pleasantly surprised, and smiled knowingly.

Picking up his mail from her desk, he proceeded into his office. He imrne-

diately went through his moming faxes, the most interesting of which were the factory reports from his Third World affiliates. Every time these reports arrived he rejoiced in the everincreasing profit margins bolstered by a vast pool of cheap, exploitable labor.

At noon he began his lunch break.

As was traditional, he had three martinis for lunch. Seeing that there was tuna special, he decided to order it but only after checking with the waiter to ensure that it was not dolphin-safe.

When he had finished his lunch, he headed to his first afternoon appointment: the Domino's Pizza account. Already he was thinking of what he would tell the Domino's folks, ''Yes, I just had a Domino's for lunch, and, boy, was it good!" He earnestly wanted to renew that. account, since Domino's not only funded P!o-life groups around the country but had also allegedly contributed to the CIA. After an afternoon of firm handshakes and easy smiles, our friend the fascist headed home to his devoted wife. On the way out of the buildin~ he stopped by the lobby gift shop to grab a pack of Victory cigarettes; as an

a

afterthought, he picked up a bOx of chocolates for his wife. Driving home, he passed a shopping mall, and it struck him that his secretary would look great in a fur. So, he went in and· bought her a fine full-length coat made of baby harp seal hide.

Half an hour later he arrived home.

His wife was waititlg to find out what he wanted for dinner: as usual, it was difficult for him to choose between veal and Argentine beef, for he could never decide whether he preferred to support the torture of veal calves or the rape of South American rain forests.

It had been a tough day, so he opted for the tender, milk-fed veal. As the veal cooked, he snacked on a bowl of California table grapes and watched his wife set the table •.

After dinner, he was relaxing in front of his new stereo television, watching the golf tournament he had told his wife to tape for him, when he decided he would like a beer.

"Honey, bring me a beer."

'What kind, would you like, dear?

We have Miller and Coors."

He weighed his options carefully: he could either support Coors' unionbusting in the Rockies or drink Miller,

the 'official beer' of the Jesse Helms Campaign. He chose Miller - at least for starters - since Jesse was his favorite poli tician, someone he considered a cogent voice for freedom and decency.

They both knew that all good Americans drink Miller, but bad Americans drink espresso and look at Maplethorpe photographs.

Reclining in his easy chair, he contemplatedall that he had done that day and remembered one last thing he had wanted to do. Before retiring for the night, he wrote a generous check to the Michigan Review, a neo-fascist rag run by students at the University of Michigan that had recently been called the "shittiest paper on campus" by Michigan Student Assembly President Jennifer Van Valey. Turning out the lights, he sighed: coming from her, that could only be taken as a compliment.

DeVore, Garagiola and Skinner were last seen being dragged into a dark alley by large, burly men dressed in Domino's Pizza uniforms. Information 'concerning their whereabouts would be appreciated.

Letter to the Editor Jeff Muir, bastion of hatred and • Ignorance Given the current awareness of homelessness in Anlerica, it's amazing that Jeff Muir chooses to characterize those affected by it as some homeless guy, with an invisible friend and who d~n' t know the meaning of the word "work" ('Rent Control Freaks', December 1990). It's hard to decide wheth,er this comment is motivated . more by ignorance or by hatred. . The ignorance is obvious: it's no secret even to conservatives that homelessness is no longer (if it ever was) solely the fate of the mentally ill and the shiftless. Women, children, the handicapped, even whole working families now make up a substantial and growing percentage of those without homes. I w.01,l1d b~ ,~urpr;.sed. if Muir missed this fact during his re-

search for this story. deeply cynical, but .also fundamenMore likely, Muir's description of tally self-serving and manipulative. the homeless grows out of simple bigThere is such a multitude of insidiotry. His characterization is a tired old ous insults couched in Muir's articlecliche discredited long ago; his continhis obnoxious trivialization of the ued useofit isa sign of intolerance and mentally ill as people with "invisible small-mindedness. Taken in context, friends," his unawareness of the diffiit appears Muir was attempting a little culties a homeless person has finding joke-a rather juvenile attempt to work, his obvious bitterness toward lighten his article with an stereotypic anyone who helpS the homeless-that image he finds amusing, but which I am unable to believe his opposition to instead exposes his lack of awareness rent control is founded in his econorilic and compassion. philosophy.

Muir also knows his arguments Muir is probably correct in his fundamental thesis-that rent control will be easier to sell if he has convinced his audience he is really referring to a is neither wanted in Ann Arbor nor group of insane men looking for an effective at easing homelessness. Hi!! easy way out of responsibility. Muir's article gives adequate evidence to article would be rather less attractive support this position. It's regrettable, to its readers had he written ''These then, that he felt compelled to resort to these petty insults. Muir should learn groups seem to think that if rent is controlled that some middle-aged that his of hatred does far more to widow, with three children and two discredit than to strengthen his arguments. full-time jobs, will all of a sudden be able to afford $350 instead of $500 for rent." Thus Muir's distortion of the Andrew R. Rosenzweig fa~tS - of -homelessneSs"is -no't . only' ...•. - . - • - , . .. - • TS"A- Serzio;

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-----------------------------------------_.------------- ------------------------------------------------_._-------------. The MiChigan Review, January 1991, p. 6 .~ '-;,'

City

A History of Ann Arbor Redistricting

by Jeff Muir "When you don't like the outcome of a boundary redrawing process, you call it gerrymandering, when you do like the outcome, it's redistricting." says Democrat Nelson Meade, a thirdward city councilman. .

Ann Arbor currently consists of five wards, which emanate outward from the center of the city. This plan splits the heavily concentrated student sections of town into all five wards, potentially weakening their political power. There was a time in Ann Arbor when students virtually controlled an entire city ward. Some believe that gerrymandering has reduced University of Michigan students' influence on the city level.

The tel'll1 "gerrymandering" comes from Elbridge Gerry, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, a delegate to the Constitutional Convention, vice president, congressman, and governor of Massachusetts. The word itself emerged in 1812, in reference to a district plan approved by the Massachusetts state legislature, controlled by Gerry's party. One congressional district, which looked conspicuously like a salamander, was drawn to favor Gerry's party. According to legend, upon seeing a map of the district, a colleague replied, 'Why, that's not a salamander, that's a ~rrymander!"

The tactic employed by Gerry's party involved splintering the opposition's electorate by dividing them into different districts - no matter what proportion of an area's population they composed, the district's congressional delegation would always be dominated by the other party's representatives. Another method later employed involved concentrating most of the opposition's population within one district, thus lesseningi ts strength elsewhere. While perhaps a brilliant political strategy, it is hard to imagine a more un--d.emocratic practice.

California is notorious for its gerrymandering. Republicans . in that state claim that while approximately 65% of its registered voters are Republican, about 60% of the elected officials are Democrats. One district in Los Angeles is so blatantly gerrymandered that it is known as the "Condor District,'~ be<:a.u.:;e it resembles. a bird •. In another Los Angeles district, two

ments. In 1970, it stated that this rule get no support from the council's other must be applied to all local elections, members, since these council persons including school board elections. A would have little or no constituents map of Ann Arbor's five wards (each of from that particular interest group in which elects two council members) their district." reveals that each spreads out, in pie''Therefore,'' he explained, "when graph fashion, from the campus area, all groups are divided equally into effectively dividing the most populous each ward, they are assured of represtudent sections. The seasonal student sentation by each council member." population accounts for approxiLooking at city maps which show mately one-third of the city's tota~. the ward boundaries that existed folpopulation. . lowing the 1960, 1970 and 1980 cenIn fact, before the 1973 elections, suses, one can see that each ward is now much more uniform in shape, and the second ward contained a highly conboundary lines are less jagged; The centrated and very majority of the second ward's populapolitically active stution had been concentrated in the dent section. Because downtown and campus areas. After of this, the Human the 1973 redistricting, however, ' the Rights Party (HRP) second ward was expanded to include had two members more outlying areas. This has lead elected to city council some to suggest that the wards were in 1973, one of whom gerrymandered to create a politically was a U-M student, impotent student population. If one the other a recent ' looks to the wards before 1973, and graduate. The HRP \~.'ghs the student political power of exerted a formidable the time, and then compares this to the influence over the afwards after 1973 and the decline of fairs of the city, even student political influence, it would with only two memappear to be a competent assessment. bers on the council.

If one digs a little deeper, however, Because the Republiand considers the Supreme Court rulcans and Democrats ings and Meade's explanation of the were so evenly current demographic positi<:ln of Ann Courtesy of the New York Public Library matched on the 11Arbor's districts, the gerrymandering term elections, as whicl\ever party theory is a little harder to buy. member council, the HRP became a gained control of the individual state swing-vote for such controversial is"Students can haveasmuchpolitilegislatures would be in the position to sues as the $5 pot law and rent control cal power in this town as they decide to control the outcome of the re-districtballot proposals, both of which they in- they are generally not very active in ing process. troduced. local,mainstream political:issues,orat Beginning in the 19605, the Suleast not in the numbers that they "Because of recent Supreme Court rulings, and the 'One man-one vote' preme Court began to take an active could be," said Meade, noting that the role in dismantling the practice and doctrine, during the 1973 redistricting students of the late 1960s ari<i' early consistently ruled against gerrymanprocess the council made a deliberate 1970s were much more politically acdering for the purpose of disenfraneffort to draw ward lines so that they · tive because the Vietnam -war and chising certain segments of the popuwere all roughly pie-shaped, running other important social .changes that lation. In 1962, the High Court ruled in from the center of the city outward," were occurring. He sees the current Baker v. Carr that districts must be of student population as ,less concerned said Meade, who sat on the city council equal population. In 1964, it ruled in which oversaw Ann Arbor's redistrict-with city .politics, but said that he Wesbeny v. Sanders and Reynolds v. ing following the 1970 census. "This would welcome greater student parSimms that state legislatures must be was done in an effort to create wards ticipation. "substantially based on population." which contained fairly equal and repFollowing the recent election and The famous "One man, one vote" resentative numbers of Ann Arbor's , nationwide census, every legislature, doctrine came out of that era. It refers various socio--economic groups, incouncil and executive administration to the official position that legislative cluding students." is planning to redraw the boundary districts must contain equal popula''When districts are drawn so that lines of every district in the country tions so that elected officials represent each group controls at least one ward, which has seen a change in population. the same number of people. Therefore, the result is that these political interest While the blatant forms of gerrymaneach person's vote counts for roughly groups actually wield less power," he dering occur much less often today the same amount of political power. said. "Even though the various groups than they did before 1970, the possibilIn 1968, the Supreme Court ruled ity still exists for devious political would be assured of council represen. in ,Avery ,u. Midland County. that this tatio". from the. ~rtiQllar war~ in. ~ .... ... " . . . " _ . ___ _ which they they-may -. . , . •••• . 'Please "See PiiglTS ., .. , " ., .. . edict be applied to all local governmainly Hispanic areas are connected together by a stretch of beach which is several miles long but no wider than a city-block.

Districts are re-drawn every 10 years, following the national census, as mandated in the. United States Constitution. There are districts for state, local, and national purposes, and the legislative body responsible for the area in question does the redrawing. For this reason, there was added significance in the recent mid-

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The Michigan Review, January 1991, p. 7

Plantation Continued From Page 1 their defenders, including those who, while not necessarily adoring Western culture, prefer free speech. to thought control.

One manifestation of this speech control is "PCSpeak," which includes euphemisms such as "physically challenged," "differently abled," and "people of color," and is characterized by tenacious gender neutrality. Perhaps less harmful, but certainly more entertaining, are papers like, "Strategies for Feminist Team Teaching of Hispanic Women Writers," given at a recent annual meeting of the Modern Language Association, and U-M classes such as Biology and Human Affairs and University Course 299: Race, Ethnicity, and Racism.

Elsewhere, all freshman English composition students at the University of Texas at Austin are required to read selections from a single anthology entitled, Racism and Sexism: An Integrated Study. Students at Haverford College are required to fulfill a ''Social Justice Requirement," satisfied by classes such as ''Psychological Issues of Lesbians and Gay Males," reports the Wall Street Journal. The same article described theformationofa "diversity committee" at the University of Pennsylvania. When a member of the committee referred to "regard for the individual" in a letter to another member, she had the letter returned, with corrections, by a university official. The official had circled the word "individual," warning that many consider the term to be racist.

Racism on the Left The liberals' concern with racism is indeed the most interesting aspect of the politically correct mentality, because in many ways the emerging liberalism is itself characterized by paternalistic racism.

In the 19605, liberals took up the cause of civil rights in opposition to staunch conservative Dernocratsin the South, winning an initial triumph in 1964 with the election of Lyndon Johnson. Over time, however, programs initially designed to compensate minorities for past discrimination were transformed into a paternalisticsupport for failed "central control" policies - despite the existence of al-

ternative programs that would have empowered minorities.

For example, a large proportion of liberals familiar with housing vouchers, which empower the poor to buy housing of their choice rather than live in federally owned buildings, have opposed the idea. Yet the result is that public housing tenants, many of whom are minorities, are treated as incapable of making their own deci-

are usually qui te attentive to achieving "proper percentages" (some might say quotas) to have been delighted to appoint minorities to such prestigious positions. The apparent message, however, i6 that minorities who depart from the politically correct doctrine will be met with extreme disapproval.

The likes of Biden and Ted Kennedy use smear tactics. Their 19th century counterparts used the bullwhip.

The racism and intolerance of the left is most convincingly evidenced in persis- . tent attacks on minorities who, as the editors of the Wall Street Journal put it, Jlstray from the liberal plantation." sions. Liberals have also opposed voucher programs for schools, which would enable parents to choose where their children would attend school.

Studies indicate that such policies would save money while improving public housing and education, particularly for minorities, who suffer disproportionately from shoddy housing and terrible inner~ty schools. Yet they are opposed, because they give power to people rather than planners.

In many instances, Democratic strategists seem to view minorities as tools rather than constituents. A common districting stategy among Democrats is to parcel minority voters to various Democratic districts needing a boost, thus weakening the chances of minority candidates by breaking up their bases of support. According to Gifford Collins of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, his organization is planning to challenge such redistricting plans under the Voting Rights Act. The racism and intolerance of the left is most convindtlgly evidenced in persistent attacks on minorities who, as editors of The Wall Street Journal put it, "stray from the liberal plantation."

The Senate Judiciary Committee, headed by Democrat Joe Biden, subjected federal court nominees William Lucas and Garence Thomas, both black conservatives, to unprecedented levels of scrutiny during their confirmation hearings.

One would expect liberals, who

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In Los Angeles, conservative Hispanic Sarah Flores saw her electionto the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors overturned by a federal judge at the behest of the American Civil Liberties Union and other groups, which claimed that no Hispanic could be elected in Flores' district .the way it is presently drawn.

They did not relax their claims when Flores won, because their real complaint is that no liberal can be elected in the district. Instead, they persuaded the judge to adopt a gerrymandered district of their creation, which eliminated Flores' base of support and created three safe Democratic seats. This districting was adopted rather than any of the six Justice Department plans, each of which created a district with a greater Hispanic population than that proposed.

While attacking Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan, who is black, for his opposition to national health care, white congressman Pete Stark called Sullivan a disgrace to his race. In other words, the only good black is a liberal black. Sullivan's response? "I don't live on Pete Stark's plantation."

The logic in these instances seems to be that minorities who don't fit into the white liberal mold aren't really minorities. No Hispanic can be elected from Flores' district despite her victory, because she is not liberal like good Hispanics, and therefore does not count Lucas and Thomas do not deserve the respect reserved for other federal court nominees, because they are conservative blacks and there must be something wrong with them.

The closing of the liberal mind has influenced more than domestic policy

analysiS. Liberals have increasingly rigid notions of political correctness and minority roles, arid they have applied them with equal fervor in their analysis of foreign affairs. Ouring the mid-eighties, when apartheid and divestment were all the rage, liberals refused to recognize cultural and political differences between South African blacks, claiming instead that Nelson Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu, whose socialist ideologies they adored, represented all blacks in the country. They overlooked the South African Zulu Inkatha, led by Mangosutho Buthelezi, who opposed sanctions and divestment.

Like conservative blacks in the U.S., Inkatha did not fit the liberal stereotype of African black nationalists as Marxist radicals, and hence were ignored or downplayed. An interesting question is the extent to which, insofar as this liberal view affected policy toward South Africa, its exponents are responsible for the violence between African National Congress supporters and Inkatha, who felt they were being increasingly left out of negotiations over how to dismantle apartheid.

Emerging Liberalism: A Vacant Ideology With the abandonment of the last vestiges of classical liberalism, modern American liberalism seems to have little remaining merit. If liberals continue to attack free speech in favor of thought control, and if they continue to advance the racism of paternalism and patronage, then they promise to emerge a pathetic lot.

The emerging liberal's ideology, totally devoid of reason in its quest for social justice, has an appeal for the selfrighteous and the anal retentive. The former see it as legitimization of their desire to squelch the views of their opponents rather than engage in rational discourse. The latter see it as justification of their desire to plan and direct the lives of others, not just minorities who stray from the liberal path, but everyone who, unlike the enlightened liberal, cannot take care of themselves.

Liberals who have not yet embarked on the path toward thought control would do well to remind their fellows of what they used to stand for.

The old liberals were silly enough. But the emerging liberals are dangerous.

Anthony Woodlief is a graduate student in Political Sdence and a staff writer for the Review.

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Interview

Astronomers Teaching Astrology?

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OnJanuuy 11, Mark Tulkki and John J. Miller of the Review interviewed Stephen J. Tonsor, a professor of history at the University of Michigan, where he has taught since 1954, and an associate editor of Modern Age. He lectures on European intellectual history and historiography, and is the author of studies on education, equality, and conservatism.

REVIEW: John Stuart Mill forcefully argued against the state assumming the role of Educator, noting that government could safely provide only value--free "training." How would Mill today view the status of the American educational system?

TONS OR: I think Mill would be appalled by the American educational system in w~ch the education of particular values takes the place of equipping the student intellectually. Educational and intellectual skills are being substituted by the value schemes of a board of education or a particular teacher. These people may have religious, sexual, social, and economic values which are in direct conflict with the values of the parents of the child.

They feel no necessity to present both sides of an issue. Indeed, you often have the indoctrination of chilaren rather than education. This appears in ~lementary schools, is more pronounced in high school, and it is increasingly the case in the university that a program of indoctrination is substituted for a genuine educational experience.

REVIEW: What do you think of the University of Michigan's new mandatory Ndiversity" class? You have commented that you would not consider teaching one of these courses.

Why not?

TONS OR: It was suggested by a Michigan State Legislator that I offer a kind of alternative class in diversity in which the "other side.~ so to speak, would be presented. I told him that that was an impossibility and that I did not believe in such courses. You either have a course in the history of the United States or you have a class in diversity - which mayor may not be historical in character. For me to teach such a class would be rather like an astronomer teaching a course in astrol-

ogy.

Furthermore, I do not believe that people should be compelled t@ take courses. There are certain kinds of courses, for example in technique, foreign language skills, mathematics, rhetoric, and the natural sciences, which certainly can be required.

However, beyond these, elections within broad parameters ought to prevail. I do not want students in my courses who do not wish to be there, who.d.onotWlshto partlopate.

judgement in that respect?

For example, I am not prepared to say that one has to study Western European history. I teach Western European history. I may think it is desireable for one to study this, but I am not going to say that you cannot be an educated man unless you do. To do so would leave out people who are extraordinarily gifted, people who come out of other traditions, such as

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REVIEW: Would you support a stronger core curriculum than what we presently have at the U-M? TONSOR: I think that a good case can be made for a core curriculum.

On the other hand, I have to say quite frankly thatifl had a spectrum of op-: tions with the Great Books program of 5t. John's College, which includes a prescribed syllabus of Great Books, at one end, and a totally free election program at the other end, my inclination would be to lean in the direction of free election. I do not think that any core curriculum or Great Books program can possibly exhaust the kind of educational opportunities which ought to be available.

One may say of the core curriculum thatitmakesit necessary the study of natural science, mathematics, and philosophy. I suppose I would be willing to say "yes" to this kind of core if you have an adequate series of options within the requirements, butI am not willing to say that one ought necessarily to indoctrinate students in the Western tradition - whatever that may be. Whatis the Western tradition?

What is Western and what is not Western? Is Romania Western? Is Poland Western? Do we read Romanian and Polish poets? How do we make a

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REVIEW: It would appearthatchoosing authors on the basis of their messages is a major component of the upolitical correctness" phenomena operating on many campuses. Could you comment on this? What are these people trying to accomplish?

TONS OR: Those people who. are "politically correct" simply wish to indoctrinate students. They do not .;..,. ,,: .1 want open discussion of the issues. , ., cO They want only certain issues dis::I cussed and they want to indoctrinate Q in terms of a particular ideological po~ sition. ~ I was interested the other day S. reading a review of a book in the Times ~ literary supplement. The reviewer said Marxism is passe everywhere in the world except in the elite American universities. This is quite true. The academic left wishes to achieve through the university what they cannot achieve at the polls. They have been repudiated at the polls. Their ideas have been repudiated, but by George, they are going to choke these ideas down the throats of university students. Of course that is their stock in trade, instead of intellectuality: ideology.

REVIEW: Would you still encourage students to choose teaching as a career, in spite of PC and the apparent intellectual intimidation which often occurs on our campuses?

TONSOR: Yes, of course. My own son is a professor.

Lin Yutang, a Confuscian. I simply cannot make that argument.

When people talk about revising the canon, I am sympathetic up to a point. . However, I must be certain what is substituted in the revision is not a third rate feminist poet of the 19th century for a first rate male poet. One must not revise on the basis of the content or the message. If we choose people simply on the basis of message, then maybe we ought not to teach great Marxist classics. Perhaps we ought not even read them. Perhaps we ought to bum their books. On the other hand, maybe we ought to teach nothing but Marxist classics. If the message is the key, it seems to me you introduce all kinds of problems.

REVIEW: How do you assess the job prospects for conservative professors?

TONSOR: Right now at ~ elite l1niversities, they are rather Still, I suppose one must have confidence in one's destiny and in one's.abilities and go right ahead. I think that in the long run, political correctness, as other manjas, will pass by. Of course there are also lots of opportunities to teach.

One could teach in high school, or in private schools, or in small universities. I think there will always be space in the system - a niche somewhere.

Milton Friedman would argue that the very fact that there is this dominant intellectual tradition on the left, means if you ~t to compete you do not build you shop five miles from your competitors. If you want to

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The Michigan ReviewJ January 1991, p. 9

compete you go where the action is.

Thatis the name of the game in competition. People often tell me they do not think they can compete at a major university. I have to tell them they really are not very sporting. If you want to shoot ducks, you go where the ducks are.

REVIEW: How has U-M changed during your professorship here? Has higher education improved or declined in quality?

TONSOR: Of course, broadly speaking, you cannot say that higher education has declined. My own estimate of the university, at the present time, is that in the humanities it is a far less distinguished university than it was 30 years ago. In the professions and in the sciences, it is markedly better. The English Department is not as distinguished as it once was. lhe kind of education one gets in the humanities is not as good as it once was. For example, take the general abandonment by foreign language departments in simply teaching foreign languages.

No one wants to teach foreign languages, just as no one wants to teach rhetoric. The English Department does not want to teach rhetoric (that is, teach people to read and write). They want to teach courses which are somehow related to their research interests.

We have debated this in faculty meetings and I have spoken out against the abandonment by the English Department of the teaching of rhetorical skills. The English Department claims everyone should teach rhetoric: the History Department and the Political Science Department. But heaven forbid, not the English Department. .

REVIEW: The Weisbuch report has recently caused some controversy.

What do you think of the recent proposals to improve LS&A, such as the Atheneum?

TONS OR: Hhought that was junk and I said so..

Evety small college in Amercia wants to become a University of Michigan and all the major elite universities want to become small colleges. This is a recurrent phenomena in American higher education.

We do certain things very well indeed. We should not abandon what we do well for something that we are not going to do nearly as well. It is better to have a distinguished professor, who is a great lecturer, talking to 200 people, than to have 25 third"'-l'ate

professors talking to 15 people apiece ina class. Is that an advantage? This is bizarre. That is a misallocation of resources.

REVIEW: In your book, Tradition and Reform in American Education, you defended large public universities against the conservative preference

TONSOR: The question really is whether they are constitutional. I can see many reasons for a good deal of scholarship help for disadvantaged students. Whether or not public money ought to be spent in that capacity is an important question. Note, I would say "disadvantaged." I am not very keen on race-based scholarships.

The academic left wishes to achieve through the university was they cannot achieve at the polls. They have been repudiated at the polls. for small private colleges. What was the b"asis for this belief and do you belie~e it is still valid?

TONSOR: Yes. I attended a small private college. I have an honorary degree from one and I have the opportunity to visit many small colleges. I know them well. Some of them are excellent, but I still think that the possibilities for a really superb education are greater, all things considered, at larger public uni versi ties.

I wrote an article some years ago for Modern Age entitled, "Two Cheers for the Behemoth University." I made the same kind of argument that most of the private schools are trying to do poorly what major universities do well. This is the problem in the Weisbuch Report. They want us to do what small colleges can do well. We would do it badly. Let us recognize that the resources of a major public university are really very, very valuable things.

Some years ago a former Albert Schweizer Professor at Columbia, came to campus to give a lecture. He mentioned that there were only four places in the United States that when he came on campus he felt a kind of electric intellectual charge, a feeling that things were being argued and discussed. Among these places were Harvard, Chicago, and the U-M. He did not say Smith College, or Kenyon, or one of the good private colleges. He talked about major universities. Of course it is also important to keep in mind there is such a thing as a critical intellectual mass.

REVIEW: The U.S. Department of Education recently considered eliminating publically funded race-based scholarships for college students. Is this a step forward or backward?

It is possible for a student to be black and be a millionaire, well able to afford a college education, and simply by accident of race receive a scholarship.

Whether or not a race-based scholarship is constitutional, whether or not it is even in the American tradition of equal opportunity is an important question. I believe you can make a case for scholarship assistance on the basis of being disadvantaged. It is much more difficult to make that case on the basis of race. Where do'you end? Who do you include? Who is worthy and who is unworthy? Because you are white does not necessarily mean that you are not equally disadvantaged. I think perhaps we have not really thought this question through.

REVIEW: The Gulf crisis has created considerable dissention among conservatives. Do you approve of U.S. policy in the Gulf?

TONSOR: Yes, I do, and I approve of it for a wide variety of reasons. First of all, I am not bothered by the notion that oil is playing a very important role. Oil is the key to the economic prosperity of not only the advanced industrialized countries, but also of the third world.

To have Saddam Hussein at the spigot, turning on the oil supply and turning it off at will, seems to be inviting international catastrophe.

Then there is the whole problem of Saddam's role in the Islamic world. Do we want to see an Islamic dictatorship, centered in Baghdad, that reaches from Pakistan to North Africa? I do not think this in our interests, nor in the interests of chjlization. It would be a disaster.

I cannot see any reason why we should have any qualms about putting an end to Saddam Hussein. You know, the argumentis made - essentially an

isolationist argument - that we can get along with the oil we have. Yes, we can. But Germany, Japan, France, and other advanced industrialized countries cannot afford to pay $30 a barrel for oil. Neither can the third world nations.

REVIEW: Of course, the isolationists would ask you what Germany and Japan are doing to aid our cause?

TONSOR: That seems to me another question. They are not doing nearly enough. Still, we must take care of one thing at a time.

There is some point of question, of which isolationist groups are so fond, that if we are going to enforce justice in the world, why don't we start with Israel? Israel is a problem. I think Israel's behavior with respect to the legitimate aspiriations of the Palestinian people ha~ been barbarous. It has been reprehensible. Israel will have to be called to account, and have some legitimate settlement of the problem of a Palestinian state in lands occupied by Israel. But this is another question.

We must get the issue of Israel decoupled from the question of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Indeed, it is a terrible situation. I do not want to see Saddam Hussein use an atom bomb on Israel any more than I want to see him use one on us. Unfortunately, it is quite possible that ten yea~ from now Saddam will possess nuclear weapons and through some fanatic be capable of delievering them to the U.S. REVIEW: What do you see as the larger significance of the revolution in Eastern Europe from an intellectual or historical perspective and why has there been such reluctance among intellectuals to accept the death of Communism?

TONSOR: My colleagues on the left are Utopians. They believe that Marxism, in some form or another, is going to usher in the Millenium. They simply cannot believe that they are wrong.

It is like the attempt to prove over and over again that Alger Hiss was not really guilty, no matter what the evidence to the contrary. We have to retry every case. The Professors who were dismissed from U-M as members of the Communist Party, in part because they lied or refused to square with their colleagues, are another example.

They cannot do wrong and must now be rehabilitated.

Please See Page 12

The Michigan Review, January 1991, p. 10

Arts: Book Review ~.

Dr. Hunter S. Thompson's Greatest Hits .

Songs of the Doomed Dr. Hunter S. ThOmpson Summit Books Hardcover, $21.95 315 pages

by Adam Garaglola

Almost two decades ago, Hunter S. Thompson set out to find the American Dream. His twisted search resulted in the first full-length work of "Gonzo Journalism," Fear and Loathing in lAs Vegas. Since then, the Amencan Dream, or rather, the death of the Dream, has been Thompson's personal and literary obsession.

Songs of the Doomed, the third volume of the "Gonzo Papers," is a retrospective selection of Thompson's work, spanning nearly four decades. It begins with an account ofhis first work in journalism in the late 19505, and includes an excerpt from one of his early attempts at fiction. Entitled Prince Jellyfish, this unfinished novel concerns itself with the life of a young and ambi-. tious journalist and his struggle to break out of the small-town paper scene. At the time, Thompson was working to make a name for himself in journalism, and the main character's frustrations reflect Thompson's own feelings at the time.

In the selection of his works from the 1960s, one can detect the first seecis of what was to become the "Gonzo" style of journalism: a freewheeling combination of fact, speculation, and insightful, if often virulent commentary.Inaseriesofrecollectionswritten especially for this book, Thompson relates his thoughts and experiences as a member of the counter-allture. The topics he addresses run the gamut from the assassination of JFK to his time with the Hell's Angels. These pieces are a mosaic of the experiences that shaped. the budding mind of America's "outlaw" journalist.

Included in the 19605 chapter is a previously unpublished excerpt from another unfinished novel, entitled The Rum Diary. Narrated in the first person and autobiographical in nature, it is based on Thompson's time in Puerto Rico, where he worked as a sports reporter and wrote tourism brochures.

Another highlight from this period is "First Visit With Mescalito," Thompson's highly'detailed first person/direct experience narrative of one ofhisearlyexperimentswiththehallucinogen mescaline.

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1960s, that Thompson reaches the frenzied peak of craziness that resulted in the first true works of "Gonzo" journalism - works such as ''The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved," Thompson's unique story of the well-known horse race, and ''The Great Shark Hunt," his highly original "coverage" of a deep sea fishing tournament.

The "Seventies" section contains only a brief tribute to Fear and Loathing

I)R, HlJNTER S.

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in lAs Vegas, Thompson's most famous

work, which he describes as "the best piece of 'pure writing' I've ever done."

There are two brief excerpts from the book and also a short explanation of how the now ubiquitous phrase, "Fear and Loathing" came into being.

Most of the stories selected from this era examine other facets of Thompson's writing style, as he assumed the roles of war correspondent and political strategist.

The pieces from the 19805 also demonstrate the author's wide ranging interests. He plunges into investigative reporting in full Gonzo form, mixing fact and analysis with hyperbolic speculation in a way that is both thought provoking and entertaining.

Examples of work in this vein include "Bad Craziness in Palm Beach," Thompson's investigation of the Pulitzer scandal, and "The Silk Road," a In keeping with his unique style, somewhat hard-to-believe account of hisinvolvementinthe"Cubanrefugee Thompson assumes his journalistic alter ego, ''Raoul Duke," ("Sports Ediinvasion." tor" for Rolling Stone), and covers the Also included are a number of Thompson's San Francisco Examiner unfolding story of his own trial. Incolumns. Given that Generation of cluded in this report is one of the best Swine, the previous volume of the pieces in the book, a "press release" from the Owl Farm, Thompson's home Gonzo Papers, was made up almost entirely of Examiner columns, he de- and personal fortress. Written soon afvotes an inordinate. of space to them. ter the dismissal of all the charges . brought against him,. Thompson emPerhaps it couldhave,been better ,used l'!'_f'll'"

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for excerpts from Thompson's rarely mentioned novel, Curse of Limo. Thompson, however, is not very vocal regarding the subject of Lonoor about his ''belief' that he is the incarnation of the ancient Hawaiian deity. "A letter to Ralph Steadman," provides some understanding of Thompson' s warped understanding of the Lono legend. He writes: "It is not an easy thing for me to accept the fact that I was born 1,700 years ago in an ocean-going canoe somewhere off the Kona coast in Hawaii ... and lived my first life as King Lono, ruler of all the islands."

While a significant portion of the pieces. from the last decade are politically oriented and of a cynically serious bent, there are still occasions when Thompson is at his unrestrained best: in "Fear and Loathing in Sacramento" he writes of his chance encounter and instant engagement to Jilly, "a dangerous dingbat with a very pure dedication to the Love and Adventure ethic."

The more recent "Let the Trials Begin," (presented at the beginning of the work as an Author's Note) is an account of the drinking and drug binge Thompson began on the morning before he was to appear in court on drug charges last year.

The concluding section of the book, ''Welcome to the Nineties, Welcome to Jail," is a collection of articles, documents, and letters describing the savage and unnatural saga of Thompson's arrest by the Aspen Police and file subsequent attempt to bring him to trial.

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ploys his flair for apocalyptic language to create an ominous yet perversely humorous diatribe. against the authorities whom he believes have unfairly persecuted him: ''These stupid brutes [the District Attorney and his staff] tried to destroy my life. They are guilty. They should all be hung from their heels from iron telephone poles on the road to Woody Creek!"

Throughout the book, the best pieces are those dealing directly with Thompson's many strange experiences and adventures. The first-hand accounts best serve to demonstrate the hypocrisy, greed, and vindictiveness that Thompson sees in every facet of modem society; symptoms of the death of the American Dream. Hisown excesses, both real and literary, symbolize his twisted revisionary in terpretation of the American ideal, a mutant Horatio Alger on extremely dangerous drugs: "a Man on the Move, and just sick enough to be totally confident."

The retrospective pieces, written last year specifically for this book, do not convey this same sense of intensity and immediacy. Stylistically, Thompson is at his best when he immerses himself in his story, running amuck in his investigations as he did in ''The Great Shark Hunt," or finding himself reacting to unpredictable circumstances stemming from his unusual behavior, as in ''The Silk Road," which opens with an intoxicated Thompson stumbling off a plane in Key West, only to find that he and his equally inebriated traveling cornpanion must chase down and savagely punish a pair of would-be luggage thieves. As Thompson would say, it is a savage and unnatural story, one that fits the times we live in.

The ''Last American Dope-fiend" and self-proclaim~ "lazy drunken hillbilly" has demonstrated that, despite the rigors of his turbulent lifestyle, he is still remains sharp and uncompromising. While this may not be the good Doctor's final pronouncement on the death of the American Dream, his latest prognosis will keep his readers thinking - and laughing -'- for quite a while.

Adam Garagiolais a Residential College sophomore in creative writing and comparative literature and a staff writer for the Reuiew. t)

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Arts: Book Review

George Will Mellows with Age Suddenly: The American Idea At Home and Abroad George Will The Free Press Hardcover, $19.95 417 pgs.

numerous disheartening portraits of American politics and society.

Will notes, perhaps superfluously, that America has sunk to a disturbing level of "tawdry ferocity in

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by Mark R. Tulkkl S. 0.

Since first arriving on the national scene, .George Will has cultivated · a reputation for political commentary with a distinctly "contemporary" con...... servative bent. Disdaining botheco~~. nomic self-interest and laissez-fain~ ~ individualism, he has eloquently argued for a' return to the "rigors of governance and the grandeur of politics." In his latest effort, Suddenly, Will continues this tradition in a collection of delightfully entertaining and pr<r vocative articles.

Subtitled The American Idea Abroad and At Home, the book addresses the American notions of "political and public discourse." To his credit, he economic diversity protected by limplaces much of the blame for this pheited government," drawing on both' nomenon on the shoulders of Presithe inspiring victory in Eastern Europe dent Bush, who he appropriately calls and the woefully dispiriting status of "the weathervane of the Western these ideals at home. world."

Arriving in the wake of the anti"Bushism" is, however, far from capitalist sentiment created by the the only problem Will sees in today's PersianGulf crisis, it is refreshing to be America. He piquantly criticizes the reminded that it is an American idea' federal deficit and the "institutionalwhich generated . the revolutions of ized indiscipline of American government" - harsh words from a Wash1989 in Eastern Europe.

As Will points. out, it was the ington insider, but hardly revolutionAmericanR~volution, not the French. ary. or Russianj which unleashed the most Students will find particularly inpotent force in the last two centuries. 'teresting and ironic Will's commen''That fo~isthepassion for freedom tary on the all too familiar world of grounded in : respect for rights." As ~ "adversarial pedagogy." The real aim 1989 exploded, it was Jefferson, not of political correctness, he notes, is to Marx, to whom the new revolutionarenforce the resentments packed into ies turned. the assertion that "European culture Despite Will's obvious enthusihas no inherent claim to superiority." asm for Eastem Europe's new'direcThe irony, Will writes, is that "attion,·hisanalysis·of foreign affairs is tempts to politicize America's curricnot entirely sanguine. In a number of ' ula by purging 'Eurocentrism' are ocportentous articles, Will provides socurring when America is more than bering 'testimony· for conservative ever the beckoning model for scores of converts to the cult of Gorbachevism. millions of Europeans who, emerging "Gorbachev. became a reformer for from tyranny, rightly see America as a managerial,notmoral reasons," writes fulfillment of European civilization."

Will. "He became a reformer not be"Eurocentricity" is right, he notes, cause he considered the existing sysbecause it accords with the facts of tern evil but because he knew it was history. ''The political and moral legunproductive." As Lithuanians can acy of Europe has made the most nowcrttest, "for Gorbachev freedom happy and admirable nations." has only instrumental value."

No doubt, much of Will's comIt is' said that conservatives play' mentary will be disturbing to both the role of pessimist well,and unfortuconservatives and liberals alike. This is nately, Will is no exception. In addiin part what makes it such a provocation to-his analysis of the SovietUnieni tive. ,book; ,for: example, ' his,' essp.y,.. , , this proclivity is starkly revealed in his "Hobbes in Chicago," is an unsettling

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journey through a drug-plagued public housing project. In the landscape of violence and desolation, Will finds stark evidence of both the failure of traditional liberal social policies and the conservatives' apparent abandonment of the underclass.

Fot the denizens of this neighborhood, the future appears disturbingly bleak. As Will notes, while conservatives have refuted the "redistributionist simplicities" of those who thought they knew how to help the underclass, too many believe that "this refutation exhausts their responsibilities." As conservatives hide behind traditional notions of equality of opportunity and liberals futilely attempt further welfare transfers, the intergenerational transmission of poverty continues, George Will has come a long way since his days as a political science professor at Michigan State. Unfortu-

nately, national recognition seems to have had an impact on his writings.

Flush from the acclamations of his colleagues, he appears almost reluctant to attack individuals who once provided easy fodder for his rhetoricc,tl skill (i.e., Mario Cuomo); or perhaps Will is simply mellowing with age.

Mark R. Tulkki is a senior in economics and political science and an executive editor of the Review.

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The Michigan Review, January '1991, p. 12

Arts: Book Re¡view

Decadence in the Ivory Tower, The Hollow Men Charles Sykes Regnery Gateway Hardcover, $19.95 356 pgs.

by Michael Skinner In his book The Hollow Men, Charles J. Sykes documents the politicization of the university, specifically Dartmouth, over the past century.

Although his book is long on facts and anecdotes, it is conspicuously devoid of any intriguing new analysis.

The book is divided into three parts. The first section, entitled "Attack on .the West," deals with the national trend toward a politicized and meaningless eurriculum in colleges and universities. He observes that the radical&of the 1960s have now taken conqolof higher education and are tryijlgtoeliminate Western (i.e. white malekulture from the universities-a revelation that, in its obviousness, fails to startle.

Sykes also examines a now common educational theme - the move toward specialization. Instead of providing a classical liberal arts background, universities have become obsessed with specialization and research. According to Sykes and many others, this produces graduates without the cultural knowledge or analytical skills necessary to adapt to the future.

He proceeds to document the rise of victim studies: programs in Afri-

can-American and women's studies, and courses created in response to the calls for "Diversity" on college campuses. Sykes feels these courses can have no meaning for students who do not understand their own Western culture and are meant to indoctrinate uninitiated minds, a process contrary

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to the goal of a liberal education that stresses theseatch for truth through moral analysis,flot politically correct propaganda.

In addition, Sykes strongly emphasizes the corruption of the concept of Diversity. He points out that diversity is originally a Western ideal, as neither the Africans nor the Orientals had any doctrine of pluralism. Western culture, however, is now under attack by students and administrators in the name of Diversity.

The section ends with a bleak picture of today's college student: someone with no understanding of Western culture, unprepared for the future, yet fully indoctrinated in Marxist feminism and Black Panther terrorism.

The second section of the book focuses exdusively on Dartmouth; examin\ng the erosion of its liberal arts curriculum throughout the century.

While the first part of the book contains some educ~tionalinsight, the second part is interesting oruyas a historical record.

The tale starts with Ernest Hopkins, Dartmouth's president in 1916. Contrasted with his successors, Hopkins had a deepcommitrnent to a liberal education arid academic freedom. The successesofHopkins at Dartmouth were, Sykes shows, quickly erased over the next decades.

Sykes traces the' decline from the end of World War II, when both specialization and diversity began to reign on campus. The rest.of the second section enumerates various injustices on campus: violations of the First Amendment, ~ politicized faculty, an impotent administration, haphazard expansion of the curriculum emphasiz-. ing victim studies, intimidation and violence in the name of diversity, and the destruction of academic freedom.

This book is documented wonderfully; Sykes uses quotations liberally and presents a history remarkable for its comprehensiveness. The Hollow Men, however, lacks truly innovative

analysis. Unfortunately, Sykes relies to heavily on quotes from C. S. Lewis, Irving Howe, and Jacques Barzun for commentary. They provide the book with its few moments of true insight.

The final part of the book, 'What it Means," concludes that the quality of the liberal arts education in America is in a sickly state. His prescription .for America's universities: quoting Barzun, Sykes tells the reader that America's universities are simply going through a phase, and if we wait long enough, the problems of the university will go away.

The Hollow Men is not a bad book, it is just not new. For someone not familiar with American academia, Sykes book would be very interesting and stimulating. He presents the basics of the corruption of the uni versity, and he does this in an entertaining case study.

But for most in the U-M community, Sykes book merely emphasizes the obvious. For those who are already concerned that they are not receiving a proper classical liberal education reading this book will teach ypu little and only depress you more than you already are.

The skills required are different. I myself think that the observer is privileged. He is paid by his fellow man to look closely at things and describe what he sees and what it means. He is not called upon to make the city water works function, nor to run the dog pound, nor to perform other political tasks. The observer tells you what the alternative possibilities for ethical and political action are and what he thinks will be the costs of the alternative forms of action. This is the function of an intellectual.

TONSOR: I wish I knew. I see a number of strains of conservatism.

One of the things I do find distressing is the lack of intellectual drive among conservatives. They are becoming increasingly preoccupied with pragmatic politics. We need people who think about where conservatism is going, people who think in the long run, people who are not interested essentially, primarily, in winning the next election, but who think hard about social issues, cultural issues, and issues of values. ,These are the really important things. Winning the next election is the concern of politicians.

Michael Skinner is a freshman in LSA and a staff writer for the Review.

Tonsor Continued from page 9 Left intellectuals are never wrong.

They believe themselves right no matter what the evidence is. They cannot accept either the verdict of history nor the verdict of the people. They are simply antidemocratic in character.

They say that the people do not really know. Rather they, the left liberals who purport to have some special knowledge. It is a kind of Gnostic insidership. ''We know what is best and we will triumph." History may decree otherwise, the people may say otherwise, yet they refuse to accept this.

REVIEW: You have commented that political office is not the highest achievement of an intellectual. This seems to contrast starkly with the aspirations of many of your colleagues. What then is the role of the intellectual in our society?

TONSOR: An intellectual is essentially an observer. He observes the world. He observes the past and has a theoretical scheme through which he interprets human experience. This is true of natural scientists, social scientists, and people in the humanities.

The role of the observer is quite different from the role of the actor in society.

REVIEW: Finally, where do you see conservatism heading in the 1990s?

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lidtsmoney for a Mamn'l1~]<ing gardies$0hheir personal bcKkgr~wnd, stllT0iulding AffirmatW~t t-~on-type " ter1\pttti convincea d..~~rtt)at the best programs. Supporters' Of Affirmative <W:l1~~help the' t)ni,v~ityis to give . fund. He said that this . grQlJl'~sks that and regardless whether or bol,they Action Claim that itr$rely' seeks to ! ,fti~that can be ~~~y an.students the money be giventorieedY min~rity personally had discriminated/'. ' ~d undo the injustices oillie past. betrac- ' ~onneed, andt<HUJ.i:lwus to make ~tudents, but that the U~Mwas not Giraldo. . '" tors claim that it blataritl~.;.iiscnmithOSedeterminati0 N ' . under any obligation to do sO; He was Giraldo does agree that; ~eednates - simply a means of trying t o R e said that lheU:...M always inquick to point out that theSe fundS based programs would be effe¢tiv¢./II eliminate, discrimination by way of sists upon havingacla4~ in an enamount to less than $100,000 per year, agree that need based aid actosHhe discriminating. ' ..... . . .. ". . board would be better. Curt~ritIy, .' Presently, the U~ivet~ty_o~¥ict?-I/Don'f v ;o ttJeellike a greedy' pig? The " h~wever, that is not how wedoit/'she gan has "some" race-exchls1.ve a1.d . '. '.' . ! '< : , . ' . . '. ' saId. , .. > programS, according to H~rveyGrot- . whole wo rl d is set for white males' . Giraldo pointed out thaqheU.s. rian, the Director of theU-:,~'sQffice . . . . ..... . . . . . .' . .... . .•. . . ." '. '..... '.. ' Congress has identified minoritiesasa of Financial Aid. Inad~i~on, t~elJ-M . . hav~ ¢y~rything" yet you to' . ' .,. ' group which de~rves speci.al~e~pin also offers some funds which, al".'., '.. '., ' "' , . ' ... ... O' theareaofeducatlOnalfundmgdueto though they are not explicitly race' take these crumbs ••• Don t you have any I past and present discrimination, and that it had mandated by law that Afexclusive, nevertheless conta.in eligi. pass.o ?" bility clauses which state that one's com , I n. . firmative Action programs will be ethnicity will be viewed as a positive ' used to solve these problems. "In that factor in consideration. _ . ' do\Vrne,ntagreementwhichallowsthe and that it represents a "drop in the regard,I'mjustfonowingthel~w,"she "The U-M really tries to a4mini- . administration to decide the best way . bucket" of all money raised. . said. ster aid based on a student's need." he to .use the funds should ·a · situation .

"This program does represent a The controversy refuses to die. smalldiscrepancyinourbasicphilosoMany minorities feel betrayed by a said. . arise that makes the donors' specific Grotrian said that ''The vast mawish~ impossible, and that the U-M phy of trying to have all aid be need system they feel should do more to jority of our funds go into one pool, also retains the optiori of putting some based, I'll adiniC' he said .. ''But we help them. Young white college stuwhich we admiriister after assessing . of the mOney into the general fund, for think this one is appropriate." ; . dents, who had not even been born each student's need.'" all students. .' . . .

Cosovich said thattheU-M's legal when the greatest civil rights abuses Additionally",ClauseI of the Ucounsel was still in the process olre- routinely occurred, feel themselves The U-M administration has promised to fulfill its present obligaM's .•"Guidelines QI) A.~~pt~ce of . viewing all of the part~culars of the · betrayed by a system that rewarci~race tions.''The University · reaffirms its, .' Gifb( states that '~O,, ~ft\villbe , a5:~ ' EIYs ruling, and a final determin~ti()n . · instead of merit. Many belieye. this type of issue will come to the forefront . commitment to bOth currently en- , ; cepte(ithat would t~tti.~ethe Univer- .' as . to existing U-M aid programs rolled arid prospective minority stusitjrto contravene its established poliwould be made upon that review's of American'politics by 1992, when we ciesforbidding discrimination on such completion. elect a new president. The debate over dents with respect to scholarships and fellowships," said Gilbert R. Whitak~r grounds as race, $¢Xt .<:olor, religion, The administration does have.its . race exclusive scholarships mig!)t only Jr., provost and vice president for acacreed"age, national origin or ance,stry, . outspoken opponents of Williams' be a precursor to a large, more widedemic affairs, in the University Record. marital, handicap,otYietnam vetera,n>---lJ!ling,. "Don't you feel like a gr~y spread controversy.

Grotiianbelieves the .U-M'slow . stattis."Clause I<sta~~ that ''No gift ·' pig?" asked Zaida Giraldo, the direc,., enrollment of minorities is due in partWiUbe accepted if trye'potential donor tor of the U-M's Affirmative Action to the poor state of pu~ic edUcation in . . .requires that its 'pWPose cannot be .' '.. office. ''The whole wqdd is set upJor . . Jeff Muir is a junior in general studinner-city schools, and .problemsde- ·',~:9i~osed . publicly.";.; ,:,:;>, .' ' . .....• white males, you haveeverything,:y~t . ies, and a contributing editor the Review.' rived largely frol)l the state's met~od .... :. · CQsovich's ,o~y ~:,lm,owledge ,of .. you want to take these<:r\lJllbst~tare of funding school sysreinsthiough .. ' f:i:ln<f?aislng ta~t~(~ifically for . set aside for those less tmf0rtpri~te. property tax .aSsessments. The .U-M .' , . .

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C9upled with tlle:qt1eSti~i:tofho~i . '. , schmarships,are di5tributedCom~the ' . . . questiorioof howtheU.-,;M·a(i(;epts gift'S.;".>;, Asked if<h~would acrepf a"J>'ri'vatelY;i:" : .endow~seholatship.fund restricted " , ; to whit~only, JonCosovich, the U-" M's Vice President For Development, said ''Yes, contingent upon the specific. ,., wording,of:the agreement."

The U-M,however, "doesn't want outside entities administering its funds. So we would not accept a $100,000 scholarShip intended solely for minorities, and let another organization administer those funds."

Cosovich said that his department "will always attempt to talk a donor

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The Michigan Review, Jan~ary 19.91,p. 14

Arts: Book Review

U-M's Baxter Writes of Great Forces A Relative Stranger Charles Baxter W.W. Norton and COmpany Hardcover, $17.95 233 pgs.

incomprehensible forces that at once evoke the mystery and variety of traditionallife.

This time, Baxter takes his curious breed of "shock" and "commonality" to new heights. Once again, his stories are set in'southeastern Michigan - the perfect mefaphor for middle class civi-

by David J. Powell Charles Baxter is treading familiar ground again, but this time with a .)11 '( 1118 ·[' 1~ heightened quirkiness that makes his latest collection of short stories; A RelaE.: tive Stranger, his most profoundly til unsettling work yet. ~ OQ Hailing from Minneapolis, Baxter ...en presently resides in Ann Arbor, where "~ he teaches at the University of Michi(j gan. As one of the great contemporary ~ American authors of our time, Baxter's stories have appeared in such magazines as Harper's andThe/\tlantic.

In addition, two of the stories from A Relative Stranger are featured ·in ·Best .

American Short Stories, 1987 and 1989 editions.

Prior to the release of A Relative Stranger, Baxter was last heard from in Iization - and . contain familiar 1985, when he was teaching English at themes. As with last year's criticallyWayne State University in Detroit. In acclaimed film, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, his collection of 11 short stories, Baxter's stories illustrate the profound entitled Through the Safety Net, he impact - the raw and encompassing dehly charted the paths of a cast of power that an intruder, a relative extremely recognizable, everyday stranger, can have on the lives of deAmericans, whose lives are momenceptively simple people. tarily disrupted by the unexpected and This is most apparent in "Prowlers,n where a maI'riage is "strained" by an ex-lover's rapid departure in a snowstorm. Unpredictable weather in Baxter's stories, especially in "Prowlers," is symbolic of the wholly incomprehensible, yet all-too-familiar, forces at work in this disruptive tale of a seemingly mismatched marriage. ~e forces of good versusevil,conformity versus rebellion, and appearance verS\ts reality, are the familiat: battlegrounds that arere~sCent of filmaker David Lynch's most recent works, such asWild at Heart and Twin

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Peaks. Both Baxter and Lynch possess gifts for revealing the extraordinary in the ordinary - and for maintaining a feverish tension between the two.

Furthermore, both infuse a high degree of restraint and moderation into their strange tales. In fact, most of the time, the characters follow a comprehensible, if not mundane, path. Yet once the safety net tears, when, as one critic noted, the forces of the "disorderly" and "iIlogical" intrude upon "ordinary lives," the mystery in everyday events is stripped of its conventional understanding, open to re--<lefinition, and limited only by the imagination of the reader.

Occasionally, Baxter's characters, like Lynch's, have glimpses "beyond" the external world, but quickly retreat - perhaps out of fear - to the routines of everyday existence. Both present the ideals of ciassidsm and romanticism - those of reason and passionin a bitter struggle over the heart and soul of Middle America.

Unfortunately, both fall victim to the same excesses. Baxter's ''The Old Fascist in Retirement," for instance, with its numerous allusions to Friedrich Nietzsche, is too forceful in its convictions. At times, Baxter's vociferous moralizing threatens to diminish his well-drawn story into an opaque philosophical treatise.

The story concerns a retired American expatriate-calling to mind Hemingway's '10st generation" in The SUn Also Rises. His self-appointed "mission" in life is "to wean the world" by enabling . humankirid to seethe beauty of "pitilessness" and "broken glass." His life, like the poetry that he once wrote, is entirely devoid of any measure of tenderness or compassion.

Surprisingly, his final act defies all for which he apparently stood.

Unfortunately, Baxter's love as savior ~me - even if it is an imper-

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fect love - can be tiresome. It reflects the kind of domesticated hippedom that comprise the most undesirable elements of the "thirtysomething" generation.

"Silent Movie," on the other hand, is one the most disturbing stories in the collection. It is one of the few stories where the spirit of compromise, or any other moderating principle, is totally absent. This Molly Yard-inspired tale is, essentially, the story of a woman who leaves her husband because of an unspoken, yet deep-seated, hostility she harbors towards all men. .

In many ways, Baxter's characters are living critiques of the various determinist theories that are so popular in academic circles these days. Baxter writes of great forces in heaven and earth that man -because of his own limitations - is unable to reveal, but which he nonetheless Jrius~ contend.

Baxter's respect for the variety and mystery of tradi tionallife prevents the reader from immersion in the material world, which many academics and children of the MlV ~eration· will . tell us':"" for very·different :te'asons of ' course- is the only wOrld that eXistS. .

Baxter us ·to 'a 'time aM a place that all 'Americans' dar/;idetltify . immediately. Distorting ifsli'ghtlyihe .. remIDds us of our owit"impertectabil- . ity and the encompassmg tofality of our everyday hopes and fears,big and small.

For anyone plagued by a nagging cynicism, contempt for the common man,or distrust in the int~ty of our established ways, Charles Baxter's A Relative Stranger is essential fjctipn. For those of you who simply Wish to ·celebrate our treasured way of life, I suggest the same.

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The Michigan Review, January 1991, p. 15

Music

Decibels and Distortion at Hill Auditorium

by Crusty Muncher This Friday evening Hill Auditorium will play host to the most penetrating guitar-heavy groove-rock ever to be pumped through its sound system. Urban Dance Squad and Uving Colour will stack their amps and and crank up the distortion in support of their latest releases, Mental Floss For The Globe and Time's Up respectively.

U.D.S.'smusicincorporatesapsychedelic, blues-based fuzz guitar assault a la Jimi Hendrix and a rhythm and rhyme barrage in the style of Shocklee's Public Enemy. The band's DJ, DNA, serves up a slew of samples and scratches that weave in and out of Michel Schoot'srhythm patterns. Bassist Silly Sil and guitarist Tres Manos provide the funky harmony that Rudeboyrhymesoverwitha hardcore style all his own.

The Holland-based band performed at St. Andrew's Hall over the summer in support of their then recently released debut. The set included the entire Mental Floss For The Globe recQrd ~~ well ~an instrumental ' version of thti!CIlWJ\ classic "Sunshine of )' our : ,;Love."

Rudeboy's unremittingly hyper persona had him â&#x20AC;˘ scaling ,.the ,speaker system and con~ tinually SWim diving into the crowd.

Versipl\Sof ,"M~ on the Comer" and the isample-rheavy MTVhit "Deeper Shade of Soul" were twice as intense as the r.ecord versions, as were "Prayer For My Demo" and the

Soundgarden~likegrunge-rap

"Struggle For Jive." Expect a set of stimulating tunes and a stage show to match from this new Dutch act. Also expect to hear more from them throughout the decade.

New York's Uving Colour is also passing through the area on their Time's Up tour for the second time.

The band made a stop at Detroit's Latin Quarter in November with a song listthatincluded 14 of their finest iams. as well as covers of Pere Ubu's

"Final Solution," Tracy Chapman's "Talkin' Bout A Revolution," and the Clash's "Should I Stay Or Should I Go." A speedy version of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" was on the original song list for the evening but, for some reason, was not included. The song has been a common encore number on the tour.

At the Latin Quarter performance the song list drew most heavily from the Time's Up album. The band performed scorching versions of the singles "Pride" and "Elvis is Dead" in addition to an intense rendition of "Love Rears It's Ugly Head" which, if released as a single, could poSSibly pull the album back into the high ranks of the Billboard charts.

Fans should expect to hear many favorites from the Vivid album, the band's debut release which sold nearly two million copies world-wide and peaked at number six on American charts. "Middle Man," "Desperate

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People," and . ''Funny Vibe" are frequently performed along with the hits "Open Letter to a Landlord" and the top 20 anthem "Cult of Personality."

Lead singer Cory Glover belts out an impressive gospelesque vocal iinprov introduction to "Landlord" that is bound to impress. And guaranteed with the purchase of a ticket is a splendid evening of fiery guitar virtuosity from Vernon Reid who will dazzle all with each and every solo passage, especially in his introduction to "Information Overload."

Acoustics have been a problem for the band on tour so it will be interesting to see how well Hill Auditorium can handle the powerhouse rhythm section of bassist Muzz Skillings and drummer William Calhoun.

Crusty Muncher is a staff writer for the Review and digs hot women and cold beer.

Redistricting Continued From Page 6 minds to creatively redistrict.

Meade said that Ann Arbor's redistricting process would not be complete for at least two or three years. To insure that students do not get used as political fodder, he advises that they do more than simply vote for their favorite candidates in the upcoming city elections, which occur in April. He suggests that students contact their council members to let them know that they want the redistricting done fairly.

Jeff Muir is a junior in general studies and a contributing editor for the Re-

view.

Verrion, Muzz, Corey, and William, shown here wearing spiffy shirts, hope to see you this Friday evening.

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The Michigan Review, January 1991, p. 16

Music

Society Jamming with the Indigos

by Ch,ns Pet~rs Ever since tile Athens, GeOrgia scene churned out bands like R.E.M., Pylon, and the B-52's, the college town has been coined as the champion city of southern rock n' roll. With the rise of the Black Crowes, the Indigo Girls, Drivin' n' Cryin', and the Ellen James Society it seems thatthe city of Atlanta has taken over.

"Atlanta's music scene is very eclectic and large," says Chris McGuire of the Ellen James Society.

Her band will perform with the Indigo ,Girls at Hill Auditorium on Wednesday, January 31. "On any given night there's 20 places where you can go see a band. In Athens there are only three."

The Ellen James Society have broken out of the thriving Atlanta scene and into the national spotlight with their debut effort Reluctantly We. The album was recorded on Daemon Rec-

and "Atlas At Rest" typify the aggressive and unorthodox styles of Seay and McGuire, who has a degree in music and cites traditional jazz and contemporary classical music as influences on her style. On many songs she and Seay dish out distorted frolicking tones over Lilje's basslines. Songs like "1 Am" and ''Who You Might Be" feature pOJr style basslines behind furious guitarwork and strong vocal melodies.

McGuire and Seay share the lead vocal responsibilities.

The most impressive tune on the album is the eight-minute improvisational jam "God in Heaven" which was recorded live in the studio and features Indigo Girls Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The song is a punkish southern rock number in the vein of Soul Asylum or Drivin' n' Cryin'.

"We'll probably do "God in

ords, a label created by Indigo Girl Amy Ray, and is her company's first release. Ray produced and performed on the album as well.

"Amy's idea was to put all of the money into the record itself as opposed to the marketing and publicity," said McGuire from her Atlanta home, and it was this 'music first' philosophy that attracted the band to Ray's label.

Reluctantly We is an impressive compilation of songs that take the listener on an unconventional journey of musical twists and turns. The band combines the aggressive and distorted guitars of Cooper Seay and McGuire with primitive and equally aggressive percussion from Scott Bland, a former jazz drummer. Bryan Lilje's pounding basswork tightly holds the foundation of each tune.

Tracks like "Tiger (By The Tail)"

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STATISTICS: • Academic probation, 3 years ill a row • Car bur~rized 2 years In a row • Stm wOlting to graduate...

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Heaven" at the end of our set with them," said McGuire, referring to her buddies Amy and Emily. "They're going to play with us on some stuff and we're going to play with them. It's fun when we get to play in their element and they play in ours. It is more interesting."

The 40 minute Ellen James Society perfo~ance will include many songs from the debut release and possibly some surprises. Says McGuire, "Every now and then we will do an old Ramones tune or a long improv to keep things intense." Expect an intense set indeed from these Atlanta rockers.

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