vol_9_no_6 by Michigan Review

The Big Chill:

Clamping Down on "Bad" Speech by Stacey Walker The University of Michigan's Political Science Department recently banned what it has defined as "sexual harassment." Now, it would seem, men who refer to women as "attractive" or "good-looking" might be held in violation of the new policy. The "Department of Political Science Policy on Sexual Harassment," unanimously adopted at a faculty meeting in late December, 1990, is designed to compliment the "University of Michigan Policy on Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment by Faculty and Staff," and the similar policy for students, the "Interim Policy on Discriminatory Conduct." A 'llostile climate for women within the department" led to the formation of the policy, said Chair of the Political Science Department, Professor Arlene W. Saxonhouse. "We must develop a community of trust within the PoliticaJSdence Department," she said. "If we can recognize interfering action and modify exclusionary language, we will achieve that purpose." To enforce that language modification, suggestions from the Women's Caucus of the Department of Political

Science have been instituted. Key among these was the establishment of two faculty and two graduate students to serve as sexual harassmentadvisers. Jocelyn Sargent, one of the graduate student advisers, said that the advisers volunteered their services. "We

sidered to be instances of sexual harassment. Due to "limited financial and human resources and because sexual harassment is predominantly a form of sexual discrimination against women," men were not surveyed for the report. While the policy may seem to some

are trained by counselors from Sexual

quite innocuous, it could come with a steep price. The incidents of sexual harassment described in the survey range from such obvious violations as directing a class to observe a student's breasts in order to appreciate threedimensional curves, to instances as simple as a woman, being described as cute, or being told by a professor that she "looks good." An obvious problem surfaces when hypersensitive women cry "sexual harassment" atwhatmay be nothing more than an attempt to be friendly. Unfortunately,these"harassment" is likely to increase under the new

Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC), but we are not counselors ourselves. Obviously, the department cannot supersede the University system, so we do not administer sanctions. We are more like infonnation points. If a student or faculty member feels sexually harassed, we are here to discuss with them their options under the University policy." The Women's Caucus of the Department of Political Science's report consists of the responses of 41 of the 80 women faculty in the Political Science Department describing what they con-

Special Privileges for Special Minorities by Jeff Muir At a recent ceremony on the Washtenaw Community College (WCC) campus, the University of Michigan announced the" Alliance for Minority Scholars" program. The program will offer special services to black, Hispanic, and American Indian students, regardless of the studentsfinancialneed. Students who fall into the right categories will receive specialized counseling services at both the U-M and WCC, tours of the U-M campus, (for both the prospective students and their families), and "preferred consideration" for admission to the five participating schools at the U-M: LSA,

Business Administration, Natural Resources, Engineering, and Architecture and Urban Planning. The only requirement for participation in the Alliance program, other than being amemberof the proper . race, is a grade point average of at least

3.0. According to Dr. Robert Holmes, the U-M's Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs, about 125 students transferred to the U-M from WCC last year, "about 20-25%/1 of whom were minorities. Dr. Holmes said that normally about 10% of the U-M's incoming undergraduate transfer students are minorities.

As with mostprograrns born of the Affirmative Action mentality, despite talk of "building equality" and furthering the goals of the Michigan Mandate, the Alliance really amounts to giving certain students special treatment and other benefits based not on need or merit, but on race. This means, ofcourse, that the programdeniesequal treatment and equal educational opportunity to certain students because of their race. What if a white or Asian-American student, who had achieved a 3.0 grade point average at WCC, sought out the

Please see page 11

policy. The policy repeatedly advises students and faculty to seek counseling advice or advisor input for witness and victims of harassment The policy never mentions discussing a tasteless joke or an unwanted attempt at friendliness with the actual perpetrator. Interestingly, the Women's Caucus report contains a section asking respondents to discuss what they had done in response to past incidents of , sexualharassment. Several mentioned confronting their harasser, yet this is not recommended in the policy as a form of resolution. The policy's most difficult obstacle will undoubtedly be avoiding the pitfalls of the similar harassment and discrimination policies on the U-M campus. Recall the demise of the 1989's infamous speech code. Judge Avern Cohn, who ruled the speech code unconstitutional,declared the U-M policy "never articulated any principled way to distinguish (punishable) from protected speech." . Unfortunately, neither does the political science policy. When confronted with this matter, Sargent replied, "Thatisa problem. Butit'sdifficult to list examples of sexually harassing behavior without putting something in that might not be sexually

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The Myth of the Biased SAT

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The Michigan Review, February 1991, p. 2

THE

Serpent's Tooth Does the U-M really have a "woMEN's STUDies departMENt?" Gasp! Hop on it, feminists. Better change the spelling on this one quick! Special thanks to the Wymmyn'z StOdies Departmynt for their newest changes in renaming tea flavors. Cafeterias will now stock: Cinnaperson, instead of Cinnamon; Leperson (not to be confused with the disease); and Constant Compersont. In addition, expect to see Non-EurOcentric First Meal Tea, and, to reduceciassism, Citizen Gray. Latest U-M conspiracy theory: ''Environmental Racism." As the theory has it, yet another manifestation of racism is revealed by large companies' habit of dumping toxic waste in areas where minorities are the majority. Of course, this has nothing to do with land values. Besides, everyone knows that the Tri-Lateral Commission is behind it all. After many years of pseudo-socialist stupidity,the Central Cafeteria SteeringCommittee finally decided to make the prohibitively expensive Validine meal card machines available at more reasonable prices. Of course, restuarants in the Union have been scrambling to install the machines; both the restaurants and the students are delighted. But Jim ~oli, stipervisOr or South Quad's snack bar,lamented the reform. ''I don't feel that the full business ramifications of this decision was thought through as how it would affect the other cash operations such as snack bars," he reportedly told the

Free Kuwait Support our Troops!

Daily. Stinks to lose guaranteed m0nopoly status, Jim. We know that from our donut sales ... Recently discovered: a poster for a gay support group which reads ''Mon & Wed, 7:30 pm, St. Jude's Church, Enter in Rear." Enough said. "Students who feel they've been wronged by affirmative action should try to figure out why affirmative action is so important," said Director of Undergraduate Admissions Rick Shaw in a recent Daily article. We at the Review would like to ask students who have benefitted from affirmative action to try to figure out why it is so wrong. i\TTENTION TENANTS: Look under the heading ''Discrimination'' in the Landlord's Advocates section of your "Rights and Duties of Tenants" booklet. Any idea why the sole remark is "See the white section"? Inspired by ACT-UP and BAM, we at the Review want our own personal criterion added to the regental antidiscrimination by-laws, specifically that the U-M shall not discriminate based on someone's desire to say what he believes, no matter what words they use to say it. Perhaps if we whine, pout, and build shanties, we will be placated. From the Ann Arbor Metro Times, Jan 31-Feb 5,1991, p.4: "SAUSI, the largest coalition at U-M, with general meetings that (iraw as many as 300 students, includes anti-racism, antisemitism, and anti-militarism in its statement of principles." Perhaps a merger with the Palestine Solidarity Committee is in order. ''Peace or Die!" read a chalked message on a kiosk near Angell Hall. Apparently those non-violent, anti-war protesters really mean business! For all the sauceheads at SAUSI, we invoke Detroit News editorial writer Chuck Moss' appropriate criticisms of the peace movement: ''We're listening for the swell of outrage against

Saddam's violation of civilized norms, barbaric terror attacks on neutral cities, and eco-war. We're listening really hard. Like in the Cold War days, the 'peace community' has compromised itself by silence in the face of enemy crimes, intellectually lazy moral equivalency, and a blanket refusal to confront and resist predatory evil." How predictable. How unfortunate. '

We recommend that the next time SAUSI holds a "die-in" in the Fishbowl, the brand new U-M police force stop by and visit.

MICHIGAN REVIEW The Campus Affairs Journal of the University of Michigan Editor-in-Chief.. .........Brian Jendryka Executive Editor.............Adam DeVore Executive Editor................Mark Tulkki Contributing Editor........Clifton Gault Contributing Editor................Jeff Muir Publisher.............Carey Brian Meadors

Hoping to capitalize on the recent spew of poetic genius in the Daily's letters to the editor section, the Review has decided to enter to fray of creative lyricism. To the words of that immortal John Lenin song, "Give Peace a Chance": All we are saying, Is kick Hussein's ass HEY STUDENTS!! Is your course load too light? If so, the Saline Area Schools Community Education Department has announced a ''Basket Workshop... just in time to decorate for the Spring Season." And, if that's not gruelling enough, there is also a ''Fabric Bunny" workshop. ''You will be making a Floppy Ear Stuffed Easter Bunny dressed with lace and ribbon, flowered head wreath with satin roses." Interested? Contact (313) 429-9016. The East Quad Forum for Understanding says that racism, "when it spreads itself in the name of education ... or of reason ... it is institutionalized." Finally, the left on this campus is starting to make sense! This is obviously an assault on the Affirmative Action Office. This institution has long touted racist policies and erroneously labeled them as "reason." Next month we expect them to criticize the new LSA "diversity" requirement, which masquerades under the banner of "education." When will the rest of the U-M racists begin to understand these same faults? Are whites and Asian-Americans admitted to the U-M under Negative Action Policies?

Business Manager..........Mark O. Stem Business Manager.........Stacey Walker Assistant Editor................. Rahul Banta Assistant Editor...........DavidJ. Powell Copy Editor........................ Dala Taylor Music: Editor......................Chris Peters MTS Editor.......................Joseph Klein Francophile ................Karen Brinkman Staff Mike Beidler, David Boettger, Mister Boffo, Jim Bominski, Joe Coletti, Brian Cook, Pete Daugavietis, Vincent DeSantis, Mark Dundon, Mary Dzon, Athena Foley, Adam Garagiola, Reg Goeke, John Gnodtke, Karl IIg, Corey Hill, Jon Hoekstra, Nicholas Hoffman, Kishore Jayabalan, Heather Johnston, Shannon Luttermoser, Jay McNeill, Crusty Muncher, Megan Nelles, Greg Roth, Michael Skinner, Chris Terry, Doug Thiese, John Transue, Al Tulkki, " Anthony Woodlief. Editor-at-Large ___ ......John J. Miller Editor Emeritus._uo .. uo ..Marc Selinger

The Michigan Rerliew is an independent, non-profit, student-run journal at the University of Michigan. We are not affiliated with any political party. Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board. Signed articles represent the opinions of the author and not necessarily those of the Rerliew. 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 48109-1265 (313) 662-1909 Copyright 1991

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The Michigan Re.view, February 1991, p. 3

Roving Photographer Why should Valentine's Day be abolished? by carey Brian Meadors

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Aaron Shiffrin, LSA Sophomore: It should exist, this holiday, so I can express my undying, unfaltering love for Vallery Hyduk.

Andy, Social Work Graduate Student: Valentine's Day brings too many postmen by the house.

Jeannitte Hilgert, LSA Freshman: Because I'm very egocentric and if I don't get a Valentine, then the holiday doesn't exist.

.Paul Philps, LSA,SopJ\Qm~re:, J:3ecau~ love does not exist - at least not oil'thls campus; the women here suck.

r-----------------------------------------------------, Do you ...

Oppose speech bans? Support the teaching of classic literature? Abhor the politicization of the classroom? Feel the U-M's leftists need to be challenged?

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The Michigan Review, February, 1991, p. 4

From Suite One: Editorials

Freedom of Expression Remains The University of Michigan is no stranger to hypocrisy, and University PresidentJames J. Duderstadt' sopen letterconcemingthe Persian Gulf War in the January 28,1991 University Record renewed this tradition. His letter calls for "a community which is tolerant of the views of all its members,even as we debate and discuss our views openly and honestly," (italics ours). We cheered, anxiously scanning the page for news of the interim policy on discriminatQryconduct's repeal and a public apology for the administration's past censorship. Ofcourse, we found neither. . The University Record of September 6, 1988, promised, "you have the righuo express your thoughts and opinions without fear of reprisal." But a few paragraphs later, we read that, "you have the rightto be free from ... offensive comments." The article closed with a command to "read and abide by the University policy.uBut how is that possible? One cannot obey the directive because the "rights" it· enumerates are not compatible. !fsomeone expresses an offensive opinion, he ~ridgessomeoneelse's "right" not to hear it. Alternatively, if the offended party calls in the Thought Police, the speai<er's right to express thoughts and opinions without fear of reprisal has been reduced to ashes. If these so-called "rights" conflict, can they really both be "rights"? . . But, blissful in its ignorance, the University continued along its dark road to censorship. In a letter to students dated March 31, 1989, Duderstadt wrote, ''No one has a monopoly on truth or on virtue." He also explained that we must have an environment, "in which ideas - all ideas - however unpopular, can be freely expressed," (italieshis). Yet, in the very same letter, Duderstadtproclaimed, "Any expressions of racism and sexism or harassment of Jews, Arabs, or other groups are intolerable on this campus." Judge Avern Cohn struck down the University's speech code in August 1989, after the U-M's valiant Wesley Wynne, a graduate student in biological psychology, challenged its constitutionality. The University then enacted the interim policy.

E~lJsive·

Although the interim policy is less obtrusive than its predecessor, it nevertheless fails to define a coherent, conistent standard of conduct.. The interim policy gives the same assurances the other speech codes gave about being committed to free speech. Then, after the assura.l\ces, it tells us w~~ we may and may not say. According to this policy, "slurs afld u~ces...(used) to attack or injure another individual" are punishable. What.kind of slurs and ' utterances are those? The policy targets the favorite "isms" - rCl(:ism and sexism - and then a few more for good measure. Perhaps this meansanitlClividual can say, "You are a lousy, untrustworthy, spineles, malodorous, despicable starryeyed goofball!" but he cannot say, "You have a big, Jewisq schnoz!" Or will ~e University simply punish both utterances? . . ' •. ' . • , And, in administrationspeak, what is "harassment"? ACCOI'~ngtoWebst~r~· . .• New World Dictionary, it is "trouble, worry, or torment... to trouble by .re~a~4 . raids or attacks." In the ''Report on a Survey of .~ual~arClS$ment in .the . Department of Political Science at U-M/' "sexually offe(l$jyejokes'~werecite4.~ an example of harassment. Another anecdote went, "Im~ta,profesS.orontlies~r: . and he said I looked good." This too may be considered harassment by the U-:M : - or at least by the political science department, which r~~t1yinstituted such a .,' . ' i new policy (see story on page one). What kind of committment to free speech can we expect from an adminis~a tion that has failed time and again to meet its obligations tp defend complete freedom of expression? How can we trust Duderstadt'~ call ~debate about the war when he has repeatedly punished speech in the past? How can anyone feel safe from punishment when the remark "you look good" is construed as "repeated torment"? The only way the University can make a moral, consistent, and credible commitment to protecting freedom of speech is to abolish the interim policy. Anything short of such reform will fail to protect the expression of "all ideas."

Beggars Can't Be Choosers When Students Against United States Intervention (SAUSI) formed last month, it quickly and predictably concocted that necessary element of any activist group: the insidious ''list of demands." Among its objectives was the elimination of the University of Michigan's military research. Yet it would not only be wrong in principle for the U-M to refuse military research; it would also cost the U-M an inordinate amount of money. As is often the case, rash and vociferous activist groups (in this case, the technophobes) have a distorted concept of the role of government. As Thomas Jefferson wrote in hiseary drafts of the Declaration of Independence, all men "are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ... among these rights are life, liberty, and property ... to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men..." In other words, the government's function is to protect individual rights. Part of that protection, of course, is the maintenance of a sufficient national defense. As long as the federal government funds schools like the U-M, it is surely part of the schools' duty to serve the government and help "secure these rights." Part ofthat security is realized through weapons research, which is a prerequisite of an adequate defense. As it turns out, the U-M received approximately $12.7 million in research funding from the Department of Defense in fiscal year 1990, a figure which amounts to nearly 4.5% of its $286 million research budget, according to the Office of the Vice President for Research. Nevertheless, charge the critics, the University must stand up and assert what it feels to be right, even if it does go against some intangible "right" the government has to the U-M's service. If the University must accept federal funds, then it has no business making political judgments from an ivory tower, but must instead assist the government in securing its citizens' rights; this is the obligation that comes from taking such money.

''How can this be true?" respond the critics. "Aren't you in effect saying that public schools are tools of the government? What about elementary schools? Should they become indoctrination camps?" Such criticism, however, overlooks the fact that governments dictate what public schools teach - whether in the form of physical education requirements or minimum standards for math and English -on precisely the grounds that what the State giveth, the Statecontroleth, and the State may taketh away. If what worries the critics is the potential for proselytizing requirements to be instituted, then we understand and share their concern. Yet at this point, the question becomes a political one about democratic theory and the proper limits of government, which is distinct from the previously discussed theory of obligation. The "peaceniks" are not the only perpetrators of obfuscation in the military research debate. Defenders of mlli taryresearch often cite the $12.7 million statistic in light of soaring tuitions as the basic reason why the University must accept such funding on financial grounds. Besides prOviding funds, federal projects form a major part of the graduate programs in certain disciplines. Without them, the advocates of research often contend, the University would be compelled to spend more of its own money on research, leading to either tuition increases or cut backs in the quality of a U-M education. This pragmatic argument, though persuasive, is unnecessary because federal funds obligate the University to obey its directives in the first place. In short, if SAUSI is truly concerned with the moral obligations of the U-M, then it should work to eliminate the U-M's dependence on State funds. As long as this school is taking government money, it has a duty to assistthe State. We, of course, are wary of phrases like "duty to the State," but unlike SAUSI, we would rather avoid the initial commitment than renege on our responsibilities.

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The Michigan Review, February, 1991, p. 5

But wait, there's Muir

Muir Meets' Man-Hater

by Jeff Muir One day, in mid-November, I found mySelf sitting in my seat in the Natural Science Auditorium growing very frustrated. I was in Professor John Vandermeer's "Biology 101: Biology and Human Affairs" class, listening to yet another shallow, misleading and opiriionated lecture from The Old Grey One. Today we were talking about the "biology" of U-M campus security depu!iz<ltion. , "In ' Central , America," he predictably began, "the students and faculty have a m~ch greater voice in the running of their campuses." Several neo-hippiesdutifully reacted in kneejerk fashion by raising their hands to Amen the old man. WJ:len I was called on to speiik, I reminded thesestarry~yedgoof-bal1s that the U-M was a public institution. This meant thatassurning they lived in Michigan, they each had one vote to castfor the regent of their choice. Unless my seventh grade civics instructor had

me that "I find it interesting that a conservative, white male is talking about democracy!" Ouch. A few moments later, I responded. To the claim that the U-M was sexist because it exploited women by using women's fears to justify deputization, I reminded everyone that it was just last year that the U-M was being derided as sexist because it wasn't taking women's concern's abolJt campus crime seriously enough. It sounded to me, I said, like she was the real exploiter of women by having the gall to dredge up that lame argument against deputization. Regarding her insistence that my views on democracy were invalid because I happened tobea white male, I suggested that she was blatantly pre:judging me solely on the basis of my color and gender. Usually, a radical feminist grunts the words "conservative white male" with such repulsion that it implies all white males

A week later, as I was waiting for my new friend, I replayed the tumultuous classroom debate over in my mind. It amazed me that people who apparently possessed normal cognitive abilities could actually suggest some of the far-fetched notions they were spewing in Vandermeer'S class. What my feminist friend had sa id abou t w hi te people really angered me, though., As I recall, white males first establi~hed and later perfected democraCY;anQ millions of white males had died for the cause of democracy in this century alone. As I was thinking about this, the sexist, racist, egalitarian woman arrived. After some small talk, we picked up right where we had leftoffin class. I began by restating my insistence that her comments regarding white males had been utterly racist and sexist. , I also reminded her that "women and ' people of color" did not have exclusive rights on being objects of discrimina tion or facing hardships in life.

lied to me, this was a textbook example of democracy. A woman in the next aisle responded, accusing the U-M administration of being sexist, and of "exploiting women by using women's concerns as the sole basis for justifying the deputizationplan./I She then went on a racist, sexist rampage, saying to

are racist, sexist and wealthy brutes who do not understand the meanings of the words "struggle," "diversity," "equality," etc. I suggested that since she knew very little about me personally, she should refrain from insinuating such things. I then invited her to continue our debate outside of class.

She responded by asserting that since our society was created and is dominated by white males, I simply ' must hilve somehow benefitted from the factthatI was one of them. She then accused me of being a sexist bigot because I had read to our class ari essay by a conservative writer which was humorously critical of women whodo not shave their legs or armpits. She summed up her point by proudly exclaiming "I do not shavemy legs or armpits!" OhBoy! She next stated emphatically that "For you to accuse me of exploiting women is like calling UCAR (the United Coalition Against Racism) racist!" She seemed really proud of that metaphor, as if nobod y in their right mind would dare accuse UCAR of being racist. "Exactly!" I exclaimed. Finally we agreed on something, I thought to myself. "UCAR is blatantly racist, and they only get awaywithitbecause they immediately brand all who are critical of their program as a racist, sexist, or

'Letter,to the Editor Terminology , criticism unjust As president of the Barrier Free Computer User's Group, an organization of students, faculty, and staff at the University of Michigan dedicated to making computers accessible to people with disabilities and to developing computer oriented solutions to disability related problems, I feel that I cannot allow the recent article by Anthony Woodlief entitled "Working on the Plantation" (volume 9, number 5, page 1) to pass without comment. Mr. Woodlief seems to feel that there is something "harmful" about such terms as "physically challenged" or "differently abled." While I admit that such terms may sound stilted to some ears, I know of no really adequate substitute for them. If Mr. Woodlief has a better idea, I would like to hear it. I also know of no instance in which

anyone has been forced to use these words in this way, or punished for not doing so. I would oppose any attempt to force this terminology on anyone, on first amendment grounds and on grounds of common sense. At the same time I would suggest that common sense and common courtesy dictate that no group should be routinely designated in a manner which tends to insult, discourage, or stigmatize its members. This is particularly true for the differently abled. We can expect little from life without developing a resolute attitude toward overcoming our limitations, and fostering a willingness on the part of others to make reasonable accomodations for our special needs. The notion that the words in question are a manifestation of some sort of "thought control" is absurd and offensive. John Warner

President, BFCUG

Please see page 15

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O'Connor Attacks the Govenment :Beast by carey Brian Meadors Rep. Margaret O'Connor sat at her desk in Lansing, opening a letter from a person seeking a state grant to start a culinary arts school. O'Connor called in her assistant, Kelly, and dictated a reply. IIIIt is against my political philosophy to forcefully redistribute money - to tax one person and then give it to another - even though the cause may be worthy. Enclosed is a personal check for $25.' If the other state legislators do the same, he should have his needed funds." Kelly nodded. She had written this kind of letter before. In this day of presidents who renege on campaign promises, legislators who like to spend money they ' don't own, and consumer advocates who believe the State should solve problems properly left to the free market, it may seem that liberty no longer has defenders. Fortunately, O'Connor, Michigan's 52nd District State Representative (which includes part of Ann Arbor), is one of the increasingly rare defenders of individualliberties. ''To be effective, you need to know the players," said O'Connor, a Repub- -, lican. Take, for example, Democrat Perry Bullard, the state representative from the University of Michigan's district. "Usually, our votes cancel each other out," she said. ''He believes government should protect people from everything, even from themselves. I do not." '1 am a strong believer in the free enterprise system," said O'Connor. She holds that economic liberty is the cornerstone of all liberties. What good is a right to free speech and press if a person is so overregulated as to be unable to own a printing press in the

first place? "Certainly a person ought to wear a seat belt," she said. ''Butit oughtto be that person's choice, not the law." Similarly, O'Connor opposes the U-M's attempts to regulate student speech, specifi~ly the speech code ruled unconstitutional by Judge Avern Cohn in August 1989. The legal

costs of defending the code were "a terrible waste of taxpayers' money," she said. O'Connor's biggest complaint, however, is taxes. To date, her most effective weapon against the state tax behemoth has been her annual Pork Barrel Awards, an ever expanding document citing her suggested budget

cuts. An example of one such suggested cut is $20,000 that was spent on dance lessons for incarcerated criminals. The list goes on for hundreds of pages. '1 truly wish that taxes weren't taken out of paychecks automatically," O'Connor said. "Everyone should have to pay their taxes with silver coins in a bag. Then people would realize just how much the State really spends each year." She reasons that if people really knew the amount of money that went to the state, and how much of it was wasted, they would be just as upset as she is. Interestingly, O'Connor applies her anti-taxi antispending fervor to her own district as well. She continually votes against all pork barrel programs even those that would put money into her hometown. So far, it is a ~I strategy that seems to have worked. In 1990, O'Connor was re-elected, despite the concentrated efforts of the state Democrats. "After the election," she said, "many of the other Republican legislators actually thanked me." Because of the intense effort to defeat O'Connor, many other Republicans in the Legislature faced easier opposition. ''The

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Democrats took all of their money and spent it against me," she explained. "I would guess, in real terms, I was outspent by about 13 to I." It was not an easy victory, however, as she won by a mere 40 votes. During my visit to Lansing, I spent a few minutes on the floor of the House of the Michigan State Legislature. Lo and behold, I got to see student money in action, as the Michigan Collegiate Coalition (popularly known as "MCC" on student tuition bills) was lobbying for the students' ''best interests." Under consideration was a proposal to expand the U-M's workstudy program, which costs taxpayers over $5 million annually. Under the proposal, students who qualify " for work-study would be allowed to work for non-profit, as well as profit, organizations to receive the allocated money. O'Connor turned to me and asked, ''What do you know about this program?" I explained that anyone with half a brain could get a job at the U- M without the work-study subsidy, I added that if the money must be allocated, it would be better used as a direct handout, so students would at least be able to spend their time studying. Realizing that it would only lead to more requests for state funds, more taxes, and more bureaucratic waste, O'Connr voted against the proposal. Remembering I was there on pleasure, not business, I decided to conclude my tri p with a pointed question. "If you are so opposed to taxes, shouldn't you return your salary to the state treasury?" "I would," she said. "But if I refuse the salary, the Speaker of the House would get it. So I return it to my district." One method of returning her constituents' taxes is to aid small townsin their occasional budget crunches. For instance, a small town official had trouble finding room in the town's budget to pay for legal fees one year. O'Connor picked up the tab. "Otherwise," she said, "they would have had to raise taxes for that one-time expense." And stopping taxes is what O'Connor is all about. Carey Brian Meadors is a senior in nuclear engineering and publisher of the Review.

The Michigan Review, February, 1991, p. 7

Satire

~..路 ,AQhiUes Though acerlDin classics professor refrains from alluding to the present, one of his . stud~s could not resist.

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Mary Dzon As lovers lounging in bed late into the moming share their souls while the rest of the world is already about, and as Achilles plays a lyre and sings the gloriousdeedsofmen while his beloved companion Patroklos leans against him, both preoccupied with battle but not participating in it, SO University of Michigan students Pat Roklos and A. Kill Ease", sons of hippies, keep vigil on the Diag in hope of a peaceful solution to the Persian Gulf conflict. Like Achilles, who after taking treasures from the ships he stormed and gave them to Agamemnon, who "waiting back beside the swift ships, would take them, and distribute them little by little, and keep many," our little liberal A. Kill Ease cannot comprehend how disadvantaged people of color can risk their lives for an ungrateful, prejudiced country. "Like flies to wanton boys," whines A Kill Ease, "are we the oppressed to the oppressors; they kill us for their sport." Lest the mistake of Vietnam be repeated, our little liberal is taking care to separate the warriors from the war. He claims to support the troops because he wants them home immediately, before they carry out their mission. His

Against the War in the Gulf? yellow ribbon reveals his cowardice, not his patriotism. Just as Achilles' cozy intellectual inquiries into the nature of war and morality lead to the death of his beloved companion Patroklos, the pacifism of A. Kill Ease C\nd his ilk may . once again prove detrimental to American troops. "For as to her unwinged young ones the mother bird brings back morsels whenever she can find them, but for herself it is suffering, such was I," Achilles says. Echoing this antimaterialist cry against being used to get possessions for others, A. Kill Ease refuses to serve theinterestsof wealthy white males and proclaims, ''No Blood for Oill" If a war is being fought for economic reasons, economic means should be exhausted before military ones are used; A Kill Ease condenses this argument into an anti-war slogan as awkward his own name: "Coup Wait!" Unlike Agamemnon -a man in a job too big for him, who is more concerned about keeping his honor to conceal his lack of qualifications than about saving his people from the plague of Apollo - President Bush is not playing the hawk to erase his wimp image. Unlike Zeus, who allows his mortal son Sarpedon to be killed in battle, since divine intervention would "waken grim resentment" among the other gods whose sons were in the

indifferent t~ the storm of missiles far away (thanks to CNN); we see Icarus falling from the sky though we go about our daily life. Perhaps American youth - liberal and conservative alike while aware of the war, do not fully comprehend the realities of it. Whether we are creating modem art sculptures on the Diag, selling peace t-shirts, or exhibiting football game spirit, we seem to beguiltyof the nationwide euphoria, the overconfidence that allows news reporters to laugh during a press conference concerning the war. As Iraq bombs Israel, as oil spills pollute the gulf, and as casualties mount, liberals and conservatives should realize that though war is a dusty deed, it must be done quickly and in unison. .. Although it may be hard to believe, Pat Roklos and A. Kill Ease are fictional characters.

Trojan war (though such a loss draws tears of blood from Zeus), VicePresident Quayle's fatMr used his influence to save his son. Like Achilles, the lone dissenter who questions the heroic code out of fear of death, our little liberal A Kill Ease and his faithful pet Pat Roklos find themselves opposing the majority who patriotically support the president. To combat the winter cold, since there is not much body heat generated by a minority, and, more importantly, to ignite a flag, our heroes light a match. Borrowing strategy from Hussein, they create a human shield to protect that point of light. The flame flickers, as wisps of wind slip through the cracks between their bodi.es~ and then goes out, while a parade of patriots breaks through the wall. The patriots rescue the flag from desecration and raise it into the sky, where it sails majestically, like a fish swimming against the tide without changing course. The calm w,?!ld here . is not

Mary Dzon is a freshman in LSA and a staff writer for the Review.

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Interview

Tanter Supports American War Effort ., ,; 1\'

On January 26, Reg Goeke of the Review interviewed Raymond Tanter, a professor of political science at the University of Michigan. He has taught at the U-M since 1967 and worked on Ronald Reagan's National Security Council from 1981-82. He presently teaches a popular course on the Arab-Israeli conflict, and frequently appears on national and local television stations to give his views on the Persian Gulf War.

avenues to avoid a war? TANTER: If I had to grade President Bush, I would give him an ''P' for the period of 1989 to the day of the invasion of Kuwait, the reason being that he provided economic credits and high-tech equipment to Iraq, trying to persuadeIraqtobemoderateandtobe instrumental in the Palestinian-Israeli peace negotiations. That was a mis.. , '

REVIEW: What do you believe are the United States' main reasons for being in the Gulf, and do you believe they are compatible with U.S. interests?

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TANTER: There are two mainreasons. One has to do with maintaining international order, and the other has to do with maintaining the supply of oil at reasonable prices to the United States' allies and to the United States itself. The order motivation is of far greater consequence than the oil factor" but they are two sides of a coin, ,and when the two converge they provide the rationale for military intervention. REVIEW: What is the New World Order? TANTER: The New World Order is the world in the post-Cold War era. When the Cold War was the glue that provided the rationale for defense expenditures, and for the basis of American foreign policy in general, it was fairly clear what to do because you had the ideological guide for decisionmaking. But after the Cold War, one has to have new principles. One old principle which is part of the New World Order is the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force. So when one country invades another country, the New World Order says, ''No, you can't do that." Now if that country is an oil-producing country, that makes it even more inadmissible. But the principle is clear: the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force. So aggression cannot stand in the New World Order. And if it's aggression against a friendly, oil-producing state, then it's even more of consequence.

REVIEW: What is your assessment of U.S. diplomacy before the war? Do you think the U.s. took all possible

The Reagan administration had tilted towards Iraq in the Iraq-Iran war, and then provided arms to Iran in exchange for hostages - but then tilted even more towards Iraq after the Iranian arms-for-hostages sale. And the Bush administration simply continued the Reagan administration policy, without there being a reason to continue it. So the policy was not only unthinking, it was a disaster. Then, when April Glaspie, the American ambassador to Iraq, said that the United States had no interest in any intra-Arab border disputes, and had no interest in the Iraq-Kuwait border dispute in particular, that provided the green light for Saddam Hussein to order his minions into Kuwait. So I would categorize this period as an era of failure to deter, not failed deterrence. The second phase is the attempt to deter an Iraqi invasion of Saudi Arabia. I would give the administration an "A" for that. So ''P' - failure to deter;

"A" - deterrence with Saudi Arabia. For the third phase, coercive diplomacy and trying to coerce Saddam to leave Kuwait, I would give the administration a ''B.'' Good effort, but the administration relinquished initiatives. It tried to foreclose certain options, like no rotations policy, and therefore signalling to Sad dam Hussein that Bush is going to use the force, rather than letting them sit in the • desert. He did all the right things from the point of view of coercion, but he was not able to succeed. Otherwise I would have given him an "A." Now, the period since the war started and just before the war started, I would give him an "A" in terms of organizing an international coalition, a ''B+'' for domestic political consensus, specifically with respect to Congress, and an "A" from the point of view of giving the ,military the authority to prosecute the war without second-guessing from the White House. But a "C+" or a "C" in terms of information management. I think that the administration is spoonfeeding the public. Once you give the military the authority to prosecute the war, that doesn't mean that the administration should give the military the authority to disseminate information. The American people have to stay behind the war when the going gets tough. It's easy now. There are hardly any casualties. Once the casualties start corning in~ there will be considerable doubts in the public and these doubts will have been addressed more adequately. REVIEW: What do you think will come out of U.S. actions? Do you think the Middle East will be more or less stable, and do you think there will be a power vacuum in Iraq? TAmER: Ifit'sa short warthatisover by March 16th, thebeginningofRamadan, then I would expect U.S. influence

to be quite high, and the moderate Arab states would be reinforced for having backed the ,Winner - the U.S. - and that the international peace conference will be a by-product of the war. But not the peace conference that was linked to ' Saddam's demand to exit from Kuwait, but the peace conferencetoend the war. All wars must end .. Every war must end, and every war · , ends with a peace conference. When that conference meets, they can discuss ' not only the disposition of Iraq; maintaining Iraq's territorial integrity and , political independence should be foremost on the agenda, but also other issues could be taken up. But that can't be stated beforehand. For example, we can't say the Palestinian issue will be taken up, but I think it will be discussed as well as protecting Iraq from Syria, Iran, and Turkey. REVIEW: And if it is a long war? TANTER: If it's a long war, Ithinkthat the United States' influence will be reduced. The longer the war, the more likely it is that Israel becomes involved and then Jordan and Syria are also involved in a way that is not the case today, with Syria being part of the American coalition. The longer the war, the more likely it is that there will be domestic political instability in such countries as Egypt, which have backed the United States' effort. Also, perhaps somewhere in the Gulf there could be some instability as the result of a lengthy war. Environmental disasters like the oil spill, smoke going in the atmosphere, casualties being taken, terrorist strikes - all these things will tend to accumulate and U.S. influence will not be as high in the context of all these negative things occurring. REVIEW: Someone suggested that there should be a link between the Palestinian question and the Kuwait-lraq question. What do you think about that idea? TANTER: Linkage is bad for several reasons. One: it would reward Saddam Hussein for attaCking Kuwait with the Palestinian issue, which is the core issue for the Arab world. It would say to Saddamthat "You'did a very , good job of bringing the Palestinian ' issue back on theJTont burner of world politics." Two: the Palestinian issu~ deserves to be treated on its own merits, and notasa resull of war in the Gulf

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The Michigan Review, February 1991, p. 9

- because if the Palestinian issue is a bi-product of wa~ in th¢,.9.¥i ...f~. ,~ ....."" would then make It very ~lt"'fof the Israelis to make any compromiSeS on the Palestinian issue. Because Saddam is involved with Yasser, Arafat. A third reason not'to link the PalesQNan issue with the Gulf crisis is beCause once you admitlinbge, then y~ti give leverage to the most radical groups. SQ if you want to give the leverage, the influence, to the radicals, then you talk about linkage, and then you get n0where in the peace process. So it:' &very important that' you be aware that things are linked, but that you don't acknowledge the linkage. ) REVIEW: What do you believe, V.S. goals should be in the war? " " TANTER: The minimum is the libetation of Kuwait - not necessarily the restoration of the Sabah falnily, but the restoration of a legitimate government of Kuwait' a government that the Kuwaitis themselves would like to have. I think that the process by which it determines who takes power in Kuwait has to be worked out. A second goal is to maintain the territorial integrity and political independence of Iraq, so that there is no power vacuum that develops. And a third goal is for the United States to develop bilateral ties to the coalition partners, in something like a wheel where the U.S. is the core and these other countries are spokes. The wheel rolls as a result of America's energy, but also as a result of the fact that these spokes play their role. So you'd have American-Saudi, American-Iraqi, American-Israeli relations that cumulatively constitute some kind of a framework for security and a peace process at the same time, without all of those countries necessarily having to join some kind of international alliance, because they just won't. That would institutionalize the American military presence in the Indian Ocean-Gulf of Oman-Persian Gulf area, while at the same time not be so politically destabilizing because it's not a visible alliance structure that would therefore destroy the domestic structures of fragile Gulf regimes.

presence until the current war. And I would ~ytbati~e"is no, need for ground'C()Il\bat~nce in the post-

way era. 'Yo(1"heed,' though, 't6legiti~

mize the Atrierican naval presence so you can have port calls. You can have quick reaction deployment on ground forces because there has been prepositioning of petroleum oil lubricants. You have the logisticalinfrasturcture that was developed during this war remaining intact so that US. Troops can be placed in position in the event that there is additional aggression on the part of a country such as

Iraq. REVIEW: On campus there has been a lot of protesting_ TANTER: I don't think there has been very much. REVIEW: You were around in 1967 during the Vietnam era protests. How would you compare this to those protests? TANTER: The protests in '67 were far more extensive: broader, deeper. Many people took part. And also the teach-ins were more diverse. There were people who represented various points of view in the teach-ins. The teach-ins now seem to be very onesided, to say the least. . REVIEW: The' latest teach-in, that happened the Saturday before the war began - what did you think of that particular teach-in? TANTER: I didn't attend it.

REVIEW: Do you think the protests are having any sort of impact on the U.S. administration's policies? TANTER: I don't think it affects the administration's policies, but I think the protests affect Saddam Hussein. Saddam thinks that the United States doesn't have the resolve to stay the course until the war is over. Saddam thinks the peace movement will tum around the country the same way he thinks that President Johnson was defeated by the peace movement in his policies with respect to Vietnam.

REVIEW: So you think in the long run there will be some sort of U.s. military presence in the region?

REVIEW: Do you think ifs having an impact on the soldiers?

TANTER: There has been a U.s. military presence since World War II in the Gulf. Seven o~ So ships on the avetage in the Middle East Task Force, the Middle East f9Tce for the Gulf. But there has not been ground cqmbat

T ANTER: No. I think the soldiers are more concemedabout their personal security and safety, and some of them who are politically interested get involved,but I think the bulk of the soldiers ignore the peace movement. The

peace movement is not that large, either. REVIEW: Do you think that it is feasible at this point to pull the troops back? TANTER: There won't even bea pause until Iraq says "uncle." Those people who advocate a pause, I think, are misguided. You've got to keep the pain on until Saddam cracks or his troops begin to desert, after which time there could be a pause where he could unconditionally surrender and remain in power. If he surrenders, I think that he should remain in power, but he should be defanged. REVIEW: Is there any alternative to a ground war at this point? TANTER:Aground wardoesn'tmean the air war stops. It means that the air war is not strategic, but ~tactical. A tactical air war is in sUppOrt of ground combat operations. So what you have is a slow transition from mainly air to air and ground. So it's not air versus ground. It's air in the beginning phase, and air and ground in the ending phase. REVIEW: But you think that a ground war will be necessary in order to force Hussein to at least surrender? TANTER: I believe that ground combat will be necessary because Saddam will not be coerced. If he was going to be coerced, he would have been coerced before war began, because he would have calculated that the military risks would ou tweigh the gains. And the same line-up is against him now, so why should he be coerced now? So coercion failed earlier, and I think it will fail this time. And so therefore I think it is inevitable that ground combat operations will be necessary, with tactical air support. REVIEW: How long do you estimate this phase willlast7 TANTER: If ground combat operations were to begin I think that they should begin soon, but they should begin after the Republican Guard in the southern part of Iraq has been softened up with B-52 strikes. Also, I believe that you should maximize the relative military effectiveness of American military technology with respect to fighting in the dark, and therefore you need relatively dark nights. So I anticipate that if a ground war were to occur, and if the United States wanted to maximize its military

effectiveness in fighting at night, that the ground and tactical air phase would begin on or around February 12thJ when there is a new moon. And given the political sensitivities of Ramadan - the holy month of Islam - beginning on March 16th, that phase should slow down around March 16th. And there are sandstorms that occur in the desert in April, so I would say that the war itself would probably be over by the time the sandstorms start and the hot weather begins at the end of April. REVIEW: Given that assessment, what do you think is the likelihood of a draft being reinstated? T ANTER: I think that there is a low likelihood of a draft. I think that there will be call-ups of reserves. The president has the ability to call up over a million reservists. The United States has a very small regular army, and it's a National Guard-reservist army. So therefore, the people who are in the reserves are the ones who need to worry. These are generally older people, not students. REVIEW: What do you see as the U.S. role in world affairs - and particularly in the Middle East - with the imminent collapse of the Soviet Union? T ANTER: The United States is the . only superpower, and therefore the United States is the policeperson of the world. Countries will dial 911, and they are not dialing 1-555-1212; they are not asking for informa tion, they are asking for power to be projected to save them from the bullies in the world. The world of the Middle East is a tough place to live. It's a set of tough neighborhoods. And there are bullies that go around constantly trying to push other countries around. This is the United States' era. The latter part of the 20th century is owned by America. That doesn't mean the world is owned by America, it just means that this is the era for the United States right now. High-tech equipment, collapse of the Soviet Union, instability in the world, are all factors that mean the United States has to be in a position to project power in the world for diplomatic

purposes.

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The Michigan Review, February 1991, p. 10

Opinion

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The MythÂˇ of the Biased and Useless SAT ,

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by Doug Thlese Ina book entitled TheReignofETS:.

The Corporation That Makes Up Minds,

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Allan Nairn has characterized the Scholastic Aptitude Test as an essentially useless tool for predicting future college grade point averages. "For 88% of the applicants," he writes, "an SAT score will predict their grade rank no more accurately than a pair of dice." He also charges that the SAT discriminates against minorities by acting as a class barrier that helps to channel white, upper-income youth into America's most prestigious colleges. While such criticisms suggest that the SAT misrepresents student ability, in fact it is a useful tool for predicting college achievement. The SAT was originally introduced in 1926 in order to correct for differences between the various local high school curriculums found across the country. One's SAT score is not intended to be the sole criterion for college admission; rather, it is intended to supplement

high school records and other information used to predict a student's readiness for college work. According to Thomas F. Donlon's The College Board Technical Handbook

for the Scholastic Aptitude Test and Achievement Tests, the SAT improves colleges' ability to select incoming classes which will have higher average GP As at the end of one year. The amount of improvement in the pool of selected students' GPAs can be measured by a "correlation coefficient," r. If freshman classes were selected at random (from the pool of all SAT takers), r would be 0, since colleges would have no basis for predicting the average talent of the class. If, instead, classes were selected solely on the basis of the students' high school records, the resulting average GPA would be 48% (.48) higher than that of the random ("dice roll") sample. Fortunately, colleges can do even better thanks to the SAT: if they consider students' SAT scores in addition to their high school

records, r rises to 55% (.55). A common complaint against the SAT is that its content is culturally biased against females and minorities: critics claim that unfair questions do not accurately measure the students' abilities. Although there may be a degree of intuitive appeal to this criticism, it is not borne out by the test's results. If questions were really worded as to hinder females' and blacks' performance, one would expect the SAT's effect on their r's to be negative. But consider that the average female freshman's correlation coefficient improves from .49 to .57, and that for black students, the SAT increasesreven more. While the high school record's correlation coefficient is only .25 for blacks trying to enter predominantly white colleges (those more than 90% white), the SATimproves their average rto 37. This reveals a noteworthy point: therforblackstudentsimprovesby.12 (48%), whereas white students' risonly bolstered by .7(15%). Contrary to what

the oitics claim, eliminating the SAT would hurt, not help, black students' prospects for admission. , Critics of the SAT m~intain, nevertheless, that the test's content is unfair and unreasonable: that is, the test does not properly target,nor accurately reflect, the skills needed for college. This charge ignores the fact that the SATisdesignedtomeasureastudent's aptitude for college level work. The vocabulary of the verbal section includes language that is used in college education. An example of such appropriate testing of this vocabulary is found in a typical antonyms section that tests for the following 15 words: venturesome, conceal, equilibrium, stale,

doubtful, stiff, partisan, infernal, somber, paucity, amiable, discrepancy, whet, elicit, and enigmatic. Such words would appear to be reasonable for a college admissions examination (at least if the prospective student intends to do and understand any of the assigned reading). Please see page 11

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Clamping Down Continued from page 1 harassing." She suggests that the U-M administration work to improve the conciseness of their policy and list specific examples. The same argument can be made about the political science policy, however. Obviously, neither policy wants the burden of specification for fear of violating of free speech rights. It was not until the publication of ''What Students Should Know About Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment by Students in the University Environment/' that the original Anti-Discrimination Policy came under fire. That pamphlet spelled out what students could and could not say,and that specificity doomed the Anti-Discrimination Code. In the political science policy, one particular phrase is quite susceptible to criticism. The opening paragraphs of the policy state that "we all must be particularly sensitive to how comments are perceived by others, not just how they were intended." That clause, which Sargent confirmed as operative, suggests thatthe department is willing to press action on the basis of the perception. Anysuch basis could be wholly unfounded, perhaps stifling the expression of ideas.

''We believe that these policies are unnecessary and not the best way to achieve an open tolerance of language on campus," said Steve Pearlman, an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) spokesman for the U-M campus. "In the past, the ACLU has opposed policies such as the University policy on sexual harassment and similar policies as strict or stricter, which this appears to be." The Political Science Department maintains that it is only trying to create a better environment for its members by ~hanging existing social norms tha t condone sexual harassment. ''We live in a sexist society that condones such behavior," said Sargent. "Ourpurpose is to challenge that behavior." But visiting professor of political science, Gregory Smith, who coauthored his own college's sexual harassment policy, questions the methods employed by the department. "Historically, we are suspicious oflegislating morality before an act occurs, but willing to do so after the act. However, it is too mechanical to legislate prima facie because it takes away from the policy and opens it up to political usage." Then, of course, there is the question of exactly what, constitutes punishable behavior. Thepolitical sci-

ence policy does not list specific actions. The only remaining resource, therefore, is the Caucus report and its examples. But is it sexual harassment when a man says to a woman, ''You probably got an 'A' in this class because the professor thought you were cute?" More importantly, is it not a violation of his right to free speech if he is punished for this form of "sexual harassment?" The University policy on Discriminatory Conduct says itisnota violation to punish that speech. Equally binding, however, is the Board of Regents' "Statement on Freedom and Artistic Expression" which states that "the University authorities should act with maximum constraint, even in the face of obvious bad taste or provocation. The belief that some opinion is pernicious, false, or in another way detestable cannot be grounds for its suppression." Oearly, the Administration cannot makeup its mind as to which statement to stand by. The Political Science De-' partment is equally confused. Saxonhouse confirmed "the need to develop what constitutes sexual harassment in the University environment" and then proceeded to adopt' a policy without clear examples

of what it intends to eradicate. Sargent vehemently expressed a desire to change social norms which have histOrically supported an allegedly unchanging sexist society. She then went on to say, "People's norms are changing everyday." Finally, neither Saxonhouse nor Sargent seem to see the poli tical science policy as a violation of free speech. ''That certainly was not the intention of the policy," said Saxonhouse. Sargent referred to potential threats of First Amendment restrictions as "something for the courts to talk about." A "community of trust" within the department is a workable goal. A "community of trust" encompassing the entire campus is an even nobler goal. Obviously, elimination of sexual harassment is an ideal that everyone should work for, butnotatthe expense of free speech. Sadly, with the adoption of policies such as the "Interim Policy on Discriminatory Conduct" and the "Department of Political Science Policy on Sexual Harassment," the U-M encourages and enforces the squelching of ideas and beliefs. Stacey Walker is a sophomore in communication and the business manager for the Review. , .

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The Michigan Review, February, 1991,p. 11

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populations that are traditionally under-represented at the U-M." Dr. Charles Moody, the U-M's Vice Provost for Minority Affairs denied that the new program discriminated unfairly. "You are getting hung up on something that you See as being denied to white students," he said. "There are already early identification programs for white students."

Alliance director, expressed an interestin transferring to the U-M,andasked for permisSion to participate in the specialized services? Asked whether such a student would be allowed to participate in the program, Dr. Guy Altieri, Vice President for Student Services at WCC, and asked him if a student in such a situation would be allowed to participate in the Alliance program. "No, he would not," was his answer. He said that the U-M initiated the idea for such a venture. According to the original press release, the U-M has similar agreements with several other area community colleges, such as Jackson Community College and Wayne County Community College. When the U-M's Dr. Holmes was posed with the same question, he said ''What I would hope to see happen in that situation is that the counselor at WCC would say, 'Oh! Your interested in attending the U-M! Here's the name of a contact person at U-M who can help you.''' As to why certain services, such as early detection of academic ability, counseling, and campus touring services which had proven to be effective in helping community college stud,ents reach their scholastic potential, were only being offered to selected minority groups, and not to all the students of WCC, Homes said "Many programs exist that try to reach out to the general population and inform them of the possibilities that exist for them at the U-M." "With the Alliance," he continued, "We are trying to reach those

such as the Alliance and other Affirmative Action programs, race, and not scholastic achievement may be the sole determining factor as to whether ornot a prospective student is admitted to theU-M. There is no doubt that administrators at both U-M and WCC are working towards honorable goals in seeking ways to increase the number of transfer students from community

With the Alliance, the U-M continues its obsessiveness with pursuing students not for their academic potential, but for their quota filling ability. With the Alliance, the U-M continues its obsessiveness with pursuing students not for their academic potential, but for their quota filling ability. No longer are minority students in general sought, now only specific minorities apply. In effect, the U-M is buying Diversity. Institutions of higher learning have long offered programs and services, both financial and academic, to certain ethnic groups while denying them to others. When this was done to the disadvantage of minorities, it was called racism, discrimination, and bigotry. Now, apparently, as long as it is done to whites and Asian-Americans, it is lauded as "equality," "Diversity," and "progress." It appears as if the U-M is performing a racial juggling act in an attemptto achieve a very artificial Diversity quotient. This means that in some cases,

colleges. It is also clear that institutions such as the U-Mare often put in tough situations when they are told to increase minority enrollment by a state that funds local school districts through property tax assessments, a system that invariably leads to inadequate educational funding in the poorer areas of the state. But when the U-M institutes programs that seek to increase the percentage of these traditionally under-represented minority groups by way of exclusionary services and "preferred consideration", it makes one wonder if it isn't simply instituting cosmetic programs they will bolster statistics. By not taking the lead in either creating or lobbying for the creationofeducational programs that will prepare all students equally for admission- and as the state's flagship university it ought to have the clout to do

the U-M seems to have acquiesced totally to the demands of those to whom statistics, and not real world improvement, matters most The U-M should stop playing racial number games and rediscover its principles and its academic mission. There are students of all races and backgrounds who have achieved academicexcellence. The U-Mshould seek out these students and convince them that it offers the best opportunities for learning and career advancement. It could continue to offer such programs as the Alliance for Minority Scholars, but why not create an "Alliance for Scholars" instead? If the U-M is truly interested not only boosting enrollment of minority students, but also creating a multi-culturallearning environmen tin which racial stereotypes and resentment are fictitious, it ought to pursue its very laudable goals in a way that does not exclude anybody based on race, and in a way that does not lower academic standards at the school. By offering exclusive support services and "preferred considera tion" to certain ethnic groups the U-M demonstrates its contempt, not respect, for members of these groups by saying, in effect, "We know that you aren't capable of competing with whites or Asians, so we'll judge you by different standards." Is this method conducive to increasing a student's desire to achieve and excel? Twenty years of trial and error seem to suggest that it does not.

50-,

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

view.

SAT Continued from page 10 The SAT's mathematical section makes quite reasonable demands as well. This section requires knowledge of arithmetic, one year of algebra, and geometric concepts that are typically taught in elementary and junior high school. In fact, it is possible to do well on this section without having had courses beyond first-year algebra. When the verbal and mathematical sections are considered together, according to Donlon, the correlations between difficulties for whites and blacks are almost identical: .90-.98 for the verbal section and .94-.98 for the mathematical.section. In other words,

ture about the supposed "bias" of the whites and blacks have almost the same SAT, the critics should focus on imlevel of difficulty on the SAT. proving the K-12 educational system. While the average SAT score of 806 The charge of cuI tural bias contribfor blacks is lower than the average to the widely held (but erroneous) utes white score of 972, this does not mean belief that the Educational Testing that the SAT is "biased" against miService, the writer of the SAT, serves as norities. What the difference does the keeper of a narrow gate of college show is that there is an unequal disadmissions. This is Simply not true. In tribution of educational resources in his article, "Admissions Testing on the various school districts in the counTrial," Robert Linn of the University of try. Minority households tend to be lliinois' College of Education reports disproportionately poor and therefore that "most colleges are not very selectend to live in poor school districts, tive. Only about one college in ten acsince school districts are generally cepts less than half of its applicants, funded by local property taxes. If a whereas about one in three accepts student is inadequately prepared for greater than 90% of its applicants." college, then his weaknesses will be ,r~vea1ed by-the,SAT. Ratb~t: t:l\an lec- , ,; .. 1he.SATmust continue t@ be an

important part of the college admissions process. Without it, colleges would not have an impartial means of comparing high school grades of students from different schools, and col- . leges would then have to guess how representative of student ability their grades were. Consequently, those students with low and unfair grades would be tragically deprived of a second chance to prove themselves worthy of admission to the college of their choice. Doug Thiese is a sophomore in political science and a staff writer for the

Review.

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The Michigan Review, February 1991, p. 12

Books

Failure of Neo-Hippie Heaven Beyond the Boom Terry Teachout, editor Poseidon Press Hardcover, $18.95 237 pgs.

by Adam Garaglola One of the most enduring questions of our age has to be "who are these people called 'baby lxx>mers,' and what is it that tbe}r stand for asa generation?" There have beenliterauy hundreds oflxx>ks and articles wri~n about what is undoubtedly ~ most ! thoroughly scrutinized generation in history. The vast majority of this pseudo-analytica1 swill was produced by left-wing social scientists who, enraptured by the radical and chaotic sentiments of the 19605, predicted that the boomers would carry the idealistic notions of their formative years into adult life and turn the United States into a neo-hippie heaven. Of course, they were all wrong. The latter day lxx>mers who came of age in the late 1960sandea:rly::l970&· voted to put Ronald Reagan arid George Bush into the White House. They discarded their lofty sentiments of free love and social justice in favor of the pursuit of yuppiness. As Editor Terry Teachout writes in his foreword, to Beyond the Boom, "the political and intellectual legacies of our older brothersand sisters, the baby boomers of the '60s, were a flop, a failure, a disaster." The 15 essayists. in .Beyond ,the Boom, who are all part of this tail end of the lxx>m generation, have set out to explain just what their outlook on the world really is, and what characteristics, if any, can be considered as definitive of them as a group. The "thirtysomething lxx>mers" can be collectively described as "politically and culturally right of center, albeit in idiosyncratic and often unpredictable ways," according to Teachout. He elaborates on this curious conservatism, stating that while he and his like-minded fellow lxx>mers may call

themselves "conservatives," few of them "accept the ideological package deal of the conservative movement without Significant reservations ... we wander all over the map when it comes to abortion, sexual morality, foreign policy, cultural matters. Some of us are traditional conservatives, others radical libertarians." As Tom Wolfe notes in his introduction, it is precisely this array of opinion that makes the essays of the contnbuting writers so stimulating

and thought- provoking. Their different approaches to the task of describing themsel ves and the society they are shaping provide the reader with a wide-ranging survey of boomer thought. A look at some of the essays' titles is illustrative of the thematic territory covered here: ''The Drunks Shall Inherit the Earth," "House Lust," and "A Whiff of Grapeshot." The first piece of this trio looks at the alarming prevalence of destructive behavior in contemporary society and the return to traditional values (through groups like Alcoholics Anonymous and AI-Anon) that is being brought about by the ever-growing ranks of recovering addicts who have gone "on the wagon" for good. The writer, Susan Vigilante, sees in this phenomenon the death of the "me"

Do Review meetings really begin with a pledge of allegiance and a prayer to Russel Kirk? Find out for yourself at our next meeting, Sunday at 7 p.m. or call 662-1909 for more information. Folgers coffee will be served in styrofoam C1lps, byo California table grapes. .

her diagnosis of what ails American generation's pop psychology substitupolitics is valid, however, then· the tion of 'self-fulfillment aber alles' for a outcome of the current war will most genuine code of ethics and an end to certainly alter the nature of the the excesses this new morality seemed to condone. nation's political character for years, or even decades, to come. "House Lust," immediately The other writers in this collection Vigilante'S essay, has a completely difaddress topics which are just as varied, ferent focus, looking instead at the gulf delving into the moral, social, ec0between perceptions and reality with nomic and political make-up of the regard to the economic status of the boomers' collective psyche. One auyoungest lxx>mers. The author, Magthor laments the decline in taste that gie Gallagher, paints a description of elevated popular culture to the level of young lxx>mers that will never be. able fine art, while another examines the to attain the level of prosperity they excurrent fad of historical revisionism (in perienced while they were growing an essay appropriately entitled, "Eveup: "you come to realize that you never rything You Know Is Wrong"), IDld yet again achieve the standard of living you had in junior high school." . another gives a very entertaining description the life a Washington Gallagher points to the rise of a "wonk," a portrait ofthe young, ambinew economic substrata, the Poor Urban Professionals (PUPs). Accordtious, statu!H:onscience political caing to her, this group is composed of .. reerists that actually do all the research college-educated men and women, and analysis that policy making entails. who, because of a combination of the high cost of living in urban areas and None of the writers sounds remotely like the raving, anti-free marthe need to pay for private school eduction (should they haveclijldren)J ket. anp-establishment "intellectuals" cannot both maintain a middle-dass thcitctofuinate the world of academia, lifestyle and also raise a family.· which has become, in the view of these Lisa Schiffren, the author .of the authQrs, "a. thoroughly uncongenial last essay," A Whiff of Grapesh9t," adintellectual. retirement home for tendresses the issue of politicalleaqership ured radicals of the '60s." Indeed, in from the prospective of the present these pages the most common theme is generation, and finds that the emergthe new direction in which the "thirty-

We can expect a whole line of smiling, telegenic yes-men who are closer to the stature of J. Danforth Quayle than Abraham Lincoln. ing boomer politicians are woefully lacking in leadership ability, courage, and self-discipline. More show than substance, the new politicians are overly concerned with appearances and sound bites than duty and honor (One could simply say they are merely learning from their elders in Congress). Schiffren attributes the lack of these qualities to the absence of the true test of cultural mettle: war. The qualities of the war hero are the qualities of a great political leader, she argues, and in light of the the American experience abroad over the last two decades (from Vietnam to Lebanon, one might say), we can expect a whole line of smiling, telegenic yes-men who who are closer to the stature of J. Danforth QUayle than Abraham Liricoln. If

something generation" is taking society, a return to the principles of individual liberty, civic duty, and free market values. The failure of their older brothers and sisters to rebuild the world on the basis of their vague, and idealistic ideology has taught the young boomers to think realistically and view the world pragmatically. The authors show themselves to be clear thinkers with concrete ideas, which is refreshing after enduring years of corporate liberalist pabulum and the pipe dreams of the "turn-on, tune-in, drop-out" crowd. Adam Garagiola is a Residential College sophomore in creative writing and comparative literature and a staff writer for the Review.

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The Michigan ReView, February 1991, p. 13

Books

Gratit'ud-e:·Wh-ether We Want Ito:r Not ate the high costs of care for the eldnOrrUcally advantageous to do so, acduty. Buckley also recounts his expeerly. With two million elderly in need , cording to Buckley, as 80 percent of all riences at Yale after discharge from the ' of home assistance and nursing home Americans born after 1973 would military, but once again it is not obvicosts topping $20 billion annually, spend ayear working full time for a ous, to say the least, how his service in having millions of NS members worksalary 'of $10,000. He explains how the war benefited him. , ing for low wages in these areas would such a large pool of volunteers would Although he claims that NS is pri. be obtained through what he refers to marily geared toward benefiting the by Heather Johnston tremendously reduce expenses. Since as a series of "sanctions" and "induceindiVidual, Buckley provides scant Few Americans ever express grati~ " over 70 percent of the elderly reach the ments". . evidence to this effect, instead focus- " tude to their country for the rights and " poverty level wi thi n thirteen weeks of First, he proposes that instead of ing heavily upon the economic ben~ , privileges it affords them. John :f. . · enteringanursing home, Buckley feels the $10,000 cash gift proposed bySena-fits to be reaped by the collective (the Kennedy's ;farno~s statement, ~'J¥k, . :; it would be socially advantageous to tor Sam Nunn (D-Georgia), they ' riation)~ He convincingly argues that not what your country cando fonyou; { , '. would receive a tax credit, influertcing " theideaofNSiseconomka1Jy feasible~ ask what you ~ doforyourcoUr\~ ," ,- :)" the NS veteran to be productive in the butdoeslittleto persuade the reader in seems to,:have had the opposite ¢f(ect ,:;:( future. NS veterans would also be elitemls of political philosophy-whkh of what he intended, as citizenso(t~e:>:' gible for medical benefits and lowis the ttUssing link needed for the im~ U.S. show ;decreasing amounts))"';" interest student loans. plemelltation of a' program such (lS gratitude .fo~ ,t heir patrimonyi cu,~; , Next, he proposes a number of , this. •• r,ICTlO". , increasing (oncem for the , benefl!s" 0" sanctions against those who would not --.--..,.---------they ~ive. : : . , " W14AT freely choose to participate in NS, but Heather Johnston is an LSA freshman In Gratitude, William F.Buckley Jr. '" wr could effectively be coerced into doing in history and a staff writer for the describes ,how he Jeels this .tend,ency 0'" ; so. These sanctions would include colReview~ should be addressed. Beginningwith~ , ' 0 au .. leges' refusal to matriculate students story of a monk who juggles tor th~ ,. C.OUltYA" prior to one year of NS. Those choosing Virgin Mary ,in order to express his , I not to be in NS would also be ineligible gratitude to her in the only manner he ' ,,:j can, Buckley leads the reader through ' his arguments for implementing ,,a . for financial aid, income tax deductions,and federally-insured bank acprogram of National Service (NSf counts; they would also have their Precisely how he arrives at the conc1\1-' ' driver's licenses revoked and be d~ sion that citizens feel a gratitude to:ward their nation comparable to that ' nied Social Security payments (al- ' though they would presumably have of the monk for the Virgin Mary is not help them; up to 300,000 elderly could to contribute to them). Buckley refers entirely clear. lead "normal lives" if certain volunto these as "mild and suggestive" sancThroughout the book, Buckley teer services were provided to them tions that simply discriminate beworks to define and clarify two main tween two classes of people. points: first, that NS is not military free of cost. Coerced or not, according to BuckEmploying America's youth in NS service and is therefore economically ley it is the participant who gains the would cost the national government feasible; second, that although society relatively little. States, rather than the' most from NS. To support this he ofwill reap numerous benefits from NS, fers two examples, the first of which is federal government, would support the participant receives the greater the strikingly implausible hypothetiNS. Expenses would vary from state to reward. cal case of Robert Ely. Ely becomes an state but are calculated to cost an The argument for NS begins by NS worker in a nursing home where he average of $10,000 per participant. discarding the myth that NS means then has several singular experiences. Buckley points out that these costs are military conscription for all 18-yearlower Miraculously, than those of the Peace Corps he finds his vocation olds; rather, NS refers to a one-year (public health), discovers in the ma(which spends $16,000 per member). term d uri ng which a variety of services tron a potential godmother for . his Although Buckley proposes that may be performed. Buckley proposes a first-born, is able to be in close contact the details of the program be left to the number of civilian posts which NS with his Aunt Lucy as she dies, and just states to allow them greater autonomy, members could occupy, and argues feels a whole lot better about life as a he loses sight of this in suggesting the against inclusion of military service as result. institution of a National Service Frantoo costly. He assumes the most likely Second, we are offered Buckley's chise Administration (NSFA), to be candidates for NS are the 1.6 million own experiences, which are not run by the federal government. While 18-year--<>lds who do not enroll in merely amusing, but nearly as conthe primary purpose of the NSF A college, generally live with their parwould be to help compile information and compelling as our hypovincing ents, and earn less than $7,500 annuthetical friend's. Buckley begins by and appropriate legislation for the ally. In services requiring negligible 1 ·:~: :~ii-·$;:~t9t;:;$t~\i;:': :;:4~$i4?i:i:1 describing the mandatory service r~ state programs, its impact would actutraining only, he cites the near-desperquirement at his boarding school. ally be far greater, for it would have ate need for help in libraries, museWhile his anecdote provides an enter%':"'.:<.'.,. power to deny federal aid to states ums, the environment, and care for " J'I.IA. , . , taining (although questionably rel~ whose programs did not comply with children and the elderly as potential NSF A standards. vant) accout of spotting Nazi war 3.4 million posts that NS members ON CAMPUS lOCATION· planes in World War II, it fails to illusOne immediately doubts whether could occupy. CORNER Cf N. UNIVERSITY AND STATE STREET all (or even any) states would willingly trate how NS participants necessarily Buckley particularly concerns benefit, on the, whole, from NSc-type submit such a plan. It would beecohimself with how NS cou~<i: ~e,lp allevi1 , ., • i 1

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The Michigan Review, February, 1991, p. 14 .. Ill. ".

Music

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Three Bands Set to Break in 1991 by Crusty Muncher Crusty knows rock n' roll. He also knows that while corporate-rock slugs spew out banal slime that continues to clog the airwaves, monopolize MTV prime time, and steal Grammys and American Music Awards, he knows that there will be justice when the true sons of rock rise in the early years of this decade. Here's the first wave of a new invasion. Drivin' n' Cryin' "Drivin' n' Cryin' used to let us open up for them at a club called the Dug Out back home in Georgia," said Indigo Girl Emily Saliersafter her recent performance at Hill Auditorium. "Ilove the band a lot." Drivin' n' Cryin' was formed in 1985 by singer/guitarist/bandleader Kevn Kinney and bassist Tim Nielsen. Relying heavily on word of mouth and a rugged touring schedule, the band has developed a substantial following, especialy in the southern states. Fly Me Courageous is their fourth release on Island Records and is without a doubt the most confident effort in the 0 n'C catalog. The record is a compilation of rock n' roll tunes about the world as seen through the eyes of a blue-collar, middle-class southerner, and is full of both soothing acoustic folk songs and thumpinggarage-rock jams consisting of crispy and soulful guitar riffs that have been absent from popular music for quite some time. Kinney pens the lyrics and sings his songs of pessimism with a voice reminiscent of late AC/ DC singer Bon Scott, but with a southern accent. Nielsen and guitarist Buren

Fowler collaborated with Kinney on the songwriting, and the team has created a few grungy gems in the tunes ''The Innocent" and "Build A Fire," both written in the Soul Asylum vein ofbasicchord structures accompanying strong vocal melodies. Island Records spent $90,000 on a video for the album's title track and according to drummer Jeff Sullivan, MTV has added it to the medium rotation list. Says Sullivan, "It's got kind of a Flight of Icarus story line and includes live performance, as well as some imagery of the angel on the album cover." The band is currently on a club / theater tour that will pass through Boston's Paradise Club and the world famous Ritz inNew York before hitting the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor on February 22. After tours with Soul Asylum, Uving Colour, and fellow Georgians R.E.M. as well as hundreds of headlining dates, 0 n' C has perfected their live performance, which draws heavily from their more aggressive, distortioIK:aked numbers. "I think the next few years will be good for us," said Sullivan, who was once the drummer for the Black Crowes back when they called themselves Mr. Crowes' Garden. ''We've spent years traveling and building up a following. We get letters from fans in Poland, Switzerland, and Japan which keeps us motivated. It seems as if we finally have the wind at our backs." Masters of Reality "I can say that with the Lord's mercy and a little bitofluck, we'll blow all these fake cowboy-boot-leotard

bands off the map this year," said vocalist Chris Goss onstage at the 1313 Club. The Masters of Reality are a 19905 answer to Lynyrd Skynyrd. In additon to singing songs about the southland ("Eyes of Texas"), the Masters have released a debut album that, like the music of Skynyrd, stretches the boundries of country influenced rock n' roll. "The Blue Garden," arguably the album's best track, incorporates an organ and lots of wah-wah guitarwork into a contemporary southernrock framework. The brief instrumental'Theme For The Scientist" features some gloomy guitar harmonies that mix gothic and southern styles. The smooth voice of guitarist and band leader Chris Goss is captured beautifuly over the harmony of the Zeppelin-like "Candy Song" and the piano heavy track "Doraldina's Prophecies." If all of this isn't enough, since the release of the self-titled debut, the Syracuse-based band has picked up the legendary ex-Cream drummer Ginger Baker. "I've sat in with bands before and it's always been pretty awful," said Baker,''butoncewestarted playing I was completely surprised and delighted. They're excellent, very together, and Chris has such a great voice." The Masters also recently added guitarist Daniel Rey to their ranks, replacing original axe-man Tim Harrington. In the past, Rey has produced albums by New York City powerhouses the Ramones and Orcus of Power and has played with the likes of Iggy Pop and Dan Manitoba. The band is now in the studio recording with the new line-up and their follow- up album should be on the shelves by June. Blues Traveler Blues Traveler started out a few years ago performing their blend of blues, jazz, and classic rock n' roll at New York clubs like the Wetlands, Nightingale's, and the Marquee. Hundreds of bands have blended the same genres in the past, but not in the tightly structured manner of Blues Traveler. A&M Records released the band's self-titled debut last year, which was definately one of the year's best. The ballads Alone" and "Crystal Flame" pack in enough emotion and unparalleled musicianship to make II

Drivin'n' Cryin'isTimNielsen,KevnKinney,Jeff Sullivan, and Buren Fowler. The band will perform at the Blind Pig on Friday, February 22.

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cheesy balladeers like Poison and Alias look like a bad joke in comparison. "Mulling It Over" and "But Anyway" are the most precise and polished soul jams recorded in quite some time and feature a slew of speedy harmonica licks from vocalist John Popper. In fact, the entire album includes superb chops --,

On February 13 Blues Traveler's John Popper (pictured) and Chan Kinchla will join the World' 5 Most Dangerous Band on Late Night With D~vid Letterman. from each of the four members. Popper will go down in history as a harp virtuoso and he's equipped with a gospelesque and soulful voice to match. Guitarist Chan Kinchla, a Jimmy Page and David Bowie aficionado, embellishes the songs with prolific blues licks while Bobby Sheehan, a professed Deadhead, contributes cyclical and roaming jazz basslines. The band made a stop at the University of Michigan's Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity in November and supposedly rocked bells. "The fraternity shows are tons of fun and excellent money," explains Popper, ''butwe' re getting outof that. We would rather play public gigs." Blues Traveler will be performing in Ann Arbor again sometime in late March. Theircurrenttouris taking them through the southern states where they have been ge tting an excellent response. "We are also doing really well in WaShington D.C. and, Vermont, and in Colorado we sold out everywhere that we played," said Popper. Expect a new record in September. Crusty Muncher lives in a cage. The Review recommends that he not be allowed outside after dark.

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The Michigan Review, February 1991, p. 15

Music

Pleased to Meet the Replacements Again by John J',Mlller When the Replacements stumbled onto the stage of the Michigan Theater nearly two years ago to kick off their Don't Tell a Soul tour, everything appeared as it should. Bandleader Paul Westerberg, cigarette in mouth, launched the group into "Color Me Impressed," awkwardly ending the song three minutes later by grabbing the neck of Slim Dunlap's guitar and yelling at his other bandmates to stop playing. Rumors said the band had spent the previous several hours at Dooley's bar; their two hour set proved irreverent and inspired, ,like they'd missed the stage and were glad to be back. Or at least a little tipsy. The tour, however, was disastrous. Riding on the success of their first and only legitimate radio hit, "111 Be You," they latched onto Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever summer tour. Their music failed to workih 15,000 seat arenas, unfamiliar audiences were at best indifferent to them, and the band nearly broke up in

the aftermath. And even though they released a new album, All Shook Dawn, last fall, their immediate future was much in doubt until only several weeks ago, when they announced plans to show-

case this latest effort on the road. (They will perform at the University of Michigan's Hill Auditorium on the night of Valentine's Day). On the new release, the musical fury of "My Favorite Thing" and "Bastards of Young" is set aside for a more restrained sound - a sound which the band only hinted at on 1989's

Don't Tell a Soul. "I thought it was time to put the loud electric guitars down and go for something that felt and sounded better," says Westerberg, now 30. "After the last tour, my ears were ringing pretty bad, and the last thing 1 wanted to do was pick up a Gibson guitar and plug it into an amp." None of this is to say the Replacements have recorded an series of acoustic poetry readings. Tracks like "Merry Go Round," "Bent Out of Shape," and "My Little Problem," a raucous duet with Concrete Blonde's Johnette Napolitano, reaffirm their garage rock origins. Still, slower numbers, like the desperate "Someone Take the Wheel" and the nearly whispered title cut, seem to form the crux of All Shook Down. Thankfully, Westerberg's epigrammatic lyrics,as much a trademark as his raspy voice, come out in force. "Anywhere you hang, yourself is hung," he sings on "Someone Take the Wheel." And,on "Happy Town" : "The

plan was to sweep the world off its feet/ So you sweep the garage for the neighbors to see." Additionally, "Attitude," a song about keeping nasty thoughts to yourself, ought to be dedicated to University of Michigan President James Duderstadt's speech code. The album grows on you,asa song like ''Nobody'' gains the poignancy of "Achin' to Be" and "Bent Outof Shape" recalls the energy of "Alex Chilton." Granted, nothing grabs the listener by the jugular like "1.0. U ,If but this is also a tighter, cleaner, and, yes, more mature band. The anger remains; it's simply redirected. The Replacements no longer hate the world; they instead struggle with themselves, wondering where in tjle world they belong. And that's the difference between adolescents and adults. John J. Miller is a junior in English and the Review's editor-at-Iarge.

Muir" Continued from page 5 homophobic." " She looked at me in horror. We then 'moved to the topic of campus deputization and rape. Doing her best to prove that the U-M's plans for deputization were racist, sexist and generally un-diverse, she claimed that of the 24 securi ty officers thus hired, all but one were male. She thought this was primD facie evidence of sexist hiring policies. "Yeah, but how many women applied for those positions?" I asked. "I don't know." she said. "So how do you know that the only woman hired was not the only woman to apply?" ~ queried. She stared at me in utter disbelief, as if 1 had somehow broken the rules by requesting that she back up her assertions. "I don't, but... " she began. Having failed to convince me of anything on those grounds, she she next asserted that deputizing 23 men was really bad because "giving men guns automatically puts women in the role of victim and reinforces the stereotype that women need protection and that men are there to save them." "But didn't you just say that women weren't safe on this campus,

and that they needed protection?" I asked. "Yes, but male police officers will not be sensitive to the concerns of women who have just been raped." she complained. Now she had criticized men on two fronts. White men were mean and bigoted, and all men were insensitive and dangerous. Gee, she was beginning to sound like a genuine man-hater. "Do you want police officers or

when defeat is imminent. The old "you're not a woman so you'll never understand" argument.

"But haw do you knawthat I've never been J:aped?" 1 asked. She did not know, of course, if 1 had or had not been the victim of a sexual assault. Just as she did not know if I had ever been the victim of discrimination. Justas she did not know if 1 had been poor or rich, or if 1 had derived any benefit out of my white-

Ah yes. Now she had me right where she wanted me. She was bringing in the heavy artillery now... The old "you're not a woman so you'll never understand" argument. peer counselors?" 1 asked. "Besides, which qualities are more important for a police officer to have, bravery and law enforcement skills, or some nebulous, undefined 'sensitivity' quotient?" ''Well,'' she sputtered, "I hope you never get raped." Ah yes. Now she had me right where she wanted me. She was bringing in the heavy artillery now. It was that old stand-by argument, to be used only

maleness. Just as she did not know how many women had applied for positions on the U-M police force. According to this enlightened man-hater, white males have nothing of value to say about democracy, all males are insensitive, and men with guns are a menace to society. This tendency to resort to generalizations and stereotypes, and yes, racism and discrimination, as a

method of pointing out the ways in which 1was a sexist bigot, are typical of the politically correct Diversity crowd at the U-M. These folks think it is acceptable to resortto "good" forms of discrimination to root out "bad" forn1S of discrimination- only they appoint themselves to decide which are "good" and which are ''bad'' . Following one of the few instances that the U-M refused to acquiesce to the demands of the Diversity camp, these self-appointed do-gooders reacted by behaving like spoiled children: they threw a week long temper tantrum. The premises upon which the politically correct Diversity philosophy is based are false and blatantly contradictory. Students who came to the U-M for a quality education and not to be indoctrinated or to learn someone else' s idea of diversity ought not let them go unchallenged. Every time that funds are spent in idealistic attempts at creating an unrealistically egalitarian campus, it comes at the expense of people's rights and the quality of education. That is what we are here for, is it not? Jeff Muir is a junior in general studies and a contributing editor for the Review.

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The Michigan Review, February, 1991, p. 16

Music

Puppet Show and Spinal Tap Spinal Tap Smell the Glove Polydor Records by Brian J. Jendryka, John J. Miller, and Marty Pufkln At last, Spinal Tap's classic Smell the Glove is available on CD!" exclaimed an easily aroused Brian.

But they were undaunted. They were on a mission. This was Spinal Tap. Six days later, Brian and John, eardrums bleeding, sat in the Review's MSA-allocated office space prepared

''Big deal," said John, carelessly flipping through a stack of records labelled ''Where are they now?" ''You do not understand! This was recorded for a very selective audience! This is Smell the Glove!" said Brian, jumping up and down, shoving the jet black CD cover in John's face. Transfixed, John gazed helplessly at the cover, unable to move, or even

think. They had read the critical reviews. Regarding lntravenus deMilo; one

writer said, ''The musical growth rate of this band cannot even be charted. They are treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry."

the greatest rock and roll band since the days of the Druids. The collection of 11 songs, taken from Spinal Tap's long and varied history, included all the greats, from Brainhammer'5 "Big Bottom" to Intravenus de Milo's ''Tonight I'm Conna Rock You Tonight" to the hard-ttrfind "Cups and Cakes." Butit was more than just the music. The words meant 0 so much. The delicate, subtle innuendo of "Sex Farm," and its ad vice concerning male-female relations, has no equal. It deserves a special place in the canon of English

poetry.

"It's so black, it's like 'how much more black could this ber and the answer.iL..'noIle.'" - Nigel Tulnel to play Smell the Glove for the 243rd consecutive time. They had skipped classes all week, shirking their academic and editorial duties to listen to

The seemingly obvious "Gimme Some Money" has spoken to different people on different levels since 200 years before the dawn of time. "Perhaps it's not the money they're after" said an ever-contemplative Brian. "It was from their earlier, idealistic days. Maybe they really want to redistribute other people's money, like MSA."

Abhorred at Brian's narrowmindedness, John replied, ''You're an idiot. You know what they want - or maybe you don't. Do they have to come right fat out and tell you?" Equally stunning, and even more romantic (if you can believe it) is "(Listen to the) Flower People," and its message of peace and 1~)Ve. So impressed were Brian and John that they decided to renounce their evil Review ways and become genuine hippies. In short, Spinal Tap sounds like a herd of preserved moose. This leads one to ask the obvious question of David St. Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel, the dynamic duo of this rock and roll creation: "And where are they now, the little people of Stonehenge? And what would they say to us, if we were here tonight?"

Brian J. Jendryka has a t-shirt precisely denoting his skeletal structure. John J. Miller has amplifiers that go up to 11. Marty Pufkin is a jerk.

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