vol_9_no_1

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Volume 9, Number 1

September 1990

ACT UP Misbehaves

by Jeff Muir On the morning of Saturday, August 4, a handbill caught my eye as I made my way across the Diag. It was bright canary yellow, and on the top of it were the words" ACf UP!".

I immediately became interested, because ever since I first heard of the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP), I have found their actions startling. The New York chapter interrupted a mass conducted by Cardinal O'Connor, chaining themselves to pews, shouting obscenities, and throwing condoms at churchgoers and church officials. During the recent International AIDS Conference in San Francisco, ACT-UP shouted down Health and Human Services Secretary Louis Sullivan, again throwing condoms and paper wads.

It struck me as odd that a group seeking government and public money for its various "demands" would blatantly offend so many people who might otherwise be sympathetic to its cause. It also struck me as odd that a group supposedly practicing civil disobedience would prevent others from speaking publicly about things that ACT-UP doesn't agree with, as was the case with both Cardinal O'Connor and Sec. Sullivan.

The yellow handbill, which was the product of ACT-UP's Ann Arbor chapter, did nothing to change my attitude. It stated that a "wave of police arrests is sweeping Michigan," and told the heart- wrenching story of 5 gay men in Holland, 6 gay men in Clarkston, and 16 gay men in Adrian who had allegedly been arrested in police sting operations. It went on to say that these arrests "fit into a pattern of regular police harassment of young people, lesbian and gay ' men and people of color."

The handbill also stated that " ACT-UP understands that the murderous inadequacy of the 'response' to

the AIDS crisis would not be possible without the institutional racism and homophobia in which the crisis is rooted. We stand committed to the fight against racism and anti-lesbian/ gay bigotry in all forms."

The handbill then listed several ACT-UP ('demands," although it did

and all other victims of anti- gay stings be dropped," a stop to "police harassment against youth, lesbians and gay men, and people of color," the abolition of "'sodomy,' 'gross indecency' and all other anti-lesbian/ gay laws."

But that was not all. The group also "demanded" the distribution of free

ACT UP! A WAVE OF POLICE

I:

'RESTS OF GAY MEN IS SWEEPING MICHIGAN.

n a pnvat. residence for sodomy law vioIaIionI. I.aIt month in Clarkston.

6 ilJlI\81 were cI1arged v«th 'disolderty conduct" aftt! • 'I8ing SOlicited by poliCe CItCOyI in a highwly rest stop. In Adrian. poIict 'atraslld 16 gay men at the~ homes or places of WOt:. , for ' indecency oetwttn malts' aft8r VIdeotaping a local cruising spot for three months. Othw busts have been report8l.. i These arrests fit into a pattern of regular police harTassmtnl of young people. lesbials and gay men and people of color.' This wave of polic. 8IIaCks must stop:

In Holland. Michigan. police BIT8St8d 5 gay men L

Stop Police Haras~~ment of Lesbians and Gay . Men! When straight peoo!e. seeKing a little privacy to mal<e love. resort to a OatlIed car or SectUd80 bit of wood In ...... .cpar1<. they may be hassled by tne oolice and told to move on. When lesl'Oans and QaY men 00 the same. tney are SUlliect to getting arrested. beaten. oelng expos80 as "queer" to tne ouOlic. lOSing 1118" lObs. ar.o aCCUS80 of being cmid l!1o:es;ers.

This is bigotry against gay peooIe!

ACi iJ:' ui"~c:~~-:::: ~:!t '''0 ml.~~'r~us inadeQuacy of the 'response" to the AIDS crisis would no! be poSSIble WIthout the institutional racism and homoM()!'13 in which th6 CriSIS is rooted. We stanO commlne~ ~ .,e figill <o;jioii"";' :~C::"'!1 ~~ anti-lesbiarvgay bigOtry in all its forms.

Demonstrate!

treatment to people with AIDS/HN infection," and the development of a 'Center for Excellence' for AIDS research at U-M." For a group that incessantly harps about AIDS not being a gay disease, the Aids Coalition to Unleash Power certainly advocates many "gay" issues. Yet, more demands .followed, many of which had little or nothing to do with AIDS. The final demands were for the abolition of the "anti-youth 'age of consent law,'" public funding of "community centers for and for lesbians and gay men under worker / community control," "free abortion and birth control on demand to all without requiring parental consent or notification," the implementation of "widespread, non-moralistic safer sex education throughout the Ann Arbor / Ypsilanti area and at every grade level in the schools" which "must include the distribution of free condoms and explicit information on how to use them and a positive treatment of lesbian/ gay sexuality" to "be carried out under the control of the communities most affected."

These demands 'disturbed me for several reasons. First, ACT-UP's wish

Please See Page 13

Rally at the police station/city hall Corner of Fifth and Huron Monday, August 6 at 6:45pm One of the ACT-UP handbills that was distributed not say from-whom it was "demanding" them. These included "an immediate end to police/U- M security sting operations," that, "the charges against the Adrian 16, theClarkston6,

sterile needles, the availability of free and anonymous AIDS testing, the construction of "an AIDS treatment center at U-M hospital under worker/client control," which would offer "free AJDS

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The Michigan Review, September 1990, p. 2

Serpent's Tooth Crayola has eliminated the color maize from its higflly-acdaimed 64color crayon pack, making it impossible for U-M students to color their school's maize and blue logo on notebooks and folders. A spOkesman at Binney & Smith, the manufacturer of Crayolas, insensitively suggested goldenrod as a replacement. Boycott, anyone?

The U-M's Correlates of War Project, always on the cutting edge of research, recently unsheathed this startling tidbit of data, according to a News and Information Services press release: "Even the most war-prone nations ... will not fight without sufficient weaponry." Oh, so is that why Kuwait didn't invade Iraq? Please, use more of our tuition dollars to find out.

Speaking of war and U-M press releases, here's the lead of a News and Information Services story on the Persian Gulf crisis: "Even the pets got free health care in oil-rich Kuwait. The Iraqi invasion may change all that, according to a U-M Mideast specialist."

While working on his recently published book, Dating, Mating, and Marriage, U-M sociology Prof. Martin K. Whyte discovered "The length of the dating experience, the number of dating partners, the length of the relationship with the eventual first husband and the degree of sexual intimacy wiU1 that husband (have no) significimt independent influence on the fate of the fo~

?RorlT ME.01CP\L Cf:\Re:

marriage." Finally, some research useful to college students.

Scholars at the State University of New York at Albany have determined that male college freshmen have nearly 8 sexual fantasies per day, as opposed to 4.5 for the females, reports Fortune. Assuming this sample can be extended to include all undergraduates, the U-M's 20,374 male and 16,100 female students concei ve a total of 235,442 sexual fantasies per day. In a related study, experts have detemlined the average American has one breast and one testicle.

According to the Dartmouth Review, a student at Dartmouth College "can write a paper on the joys of sodomy, so long as one accurately footnotes the sources."

Ann Arbor' s ACT-UP chapter recently demanded, among other things, that the U-M make available free condoms and "explicit" instructions concerning their use. This, in order to combat AIDS. Yet couldn't the promotion of free condoms without emphasizing the risk of certain behavior inadvertently encourage the spread of the disease?

Linda Chavez was scheduled to deliver the University of North Colorado's commencement address last May, according to the Washington Post's Jonathan Yardley. When a group of Hispanic students protested,

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objecting to her views on affirmative action, bilingual education, and former position in the Reagan administration, the president of the university revoked her invitation, citing the importance of "cultural pluralism." Mrs. Chavez is a Hispanic woman.

The Latin American Solidarity Committee (LASC) is one of several groups that plans on protesting every week the U.S. military presence in Saudi Arabia, reports the Ann Arbor Metro Times. What they say about students' lack of geography skills must be true.

THE MICHIGAN REVIEW The Cam pus Affairs Journal of the University of Michigan Editor-in-Chief John J. Miller Publisher Carey Brian Meadors Executive Editors Adam DeVore Brian Jendryka

Here at the Review, we've always read with glee the MIM Notes, "The Official Newsletter of the Maoist International Movement." The August edition, however, surpassed all of our expectations, as it included a letter from "Lotus Blossom," stating "Marriage is a system of slavery," reviews of movies released in 1979 and 1988, and an ad for a book entitled "Introduction to defending Joseph Stalin." On the Stupid Communist Rhetoric scale, MIM Notes earns an 8, which is significantly higher than Agenda's 6.

Assistant Editors Rahul Banta, Gifton Gault, Bob Juneja, Joseph Klein, Mark Tulkki

Best quote of the summer: ''You're the ones who are the terrorists! You all suck on Willie Horton's sexual organ while being sodomized by Oliver North!"

Said by an anonymous individual as part of an "intellectuals" conversation with a member of CDLA at the Ann Arbor Art Fair.

Staff Mike Beidler, Thomas Binkow, David Boettger, Michael Bonanno, Jim Borninski, Brian Cook, Peter Daugavietis, Vincent DeSantis, Athena Foley, Brian Gambs, Peter Harbage, Jeff Hartgen, Nicholas Hoffman, Michelle Janoschka, Jeff Muir, Latha Palaniappan, Josh Shackman, Chris Terry, John Transue, Chau-YeWu

CPo.'i<,E. The Daily, which has celebrated its "99th year of editorial freedom" for each of the last two years, has once again demonstrated its mathmatical ineptitude. In the first five summer issues, the paper continued its 99th year motif. In issues #6-10, however, the nameplate bragged about the Daily's "98th year of editorial freedom." The situation was amended, even if it did take an entire month. At the same time, the Review presently celebrates its 9th year of editorial freedom. Assuming the Daily were to continue its regression, and the Review were to consistently progress, we figure both papers will meet in the year 2035, and could hold a joint celebration of "54 years of editorial freedom." Everyone is invited.

French Correspondent Karen Brinkman Production Manager Ruth Armstrong Personnel Manager Vince Wilk Editor Emeritus Marc Selinger

The Michigan Review is an independent, non-profit, student-run journal at the University of Michigan. We are not affiliated with any political party. We welcome letters and articles and encourage comments about the journal and issues discussed in it. Our address is:

Suite One 911 North University Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1265 (313) 662-1909

Copyright 1990

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The Michigan Review; September 1990, p. 3

Rovi ng; ;~,~qtog raphe,r .Why should P~;Pl~;J~;~fthe Mibhi~~h #eview?

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Adam DeVore, Executive Editor and Washtenaw County Racquetball Player of the year: "I've always enjoyed the annual MSA-sponsored Spring Break road trips to Nicaragua.

Daniel Ortega might seem like a jerk on TV, but he' s really a nice guy in person."

John J. Miller, Editor-in-Chief and ' hunter of ancient Mayan artifacts: "My life was miserable before I joined the Review. But that's all changed. PBS just did a short documentary on the publication, and next month we begin filming an ABC' After School Special' about my editorship."

BrianJeQdryka, EXecutive Editor and " Marc Selinger,Editor Emeritus and forgotten brother on the Brady Bunch: roadie for New Kids on the Block: "My If The Review put to rest great psycho~ lime altheReview, yielded a bountiful logical ten~ions that had been haunting harvest of the fruit called 'Intellect'me from childhood. Now Iarnatpeace ripe and delicious. I cast away my with the universe and all living creaignorant bourgeois attitudes and lures. And everybody ~ys my aura learned what words like 'bourgeois' has improved tremendously." mean."

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From Suite One: Editorials

Keep Stu<i~nt) ~o~~y:On Campus ~i

when the Reuiew exposed the gross mismanagement and lack of accountability that characterized both MSA-sponsored trips.

Similarly, while the notion of opening lines of communication is appealing, MSA president Jennifer Van Valey' s way of phrasing it in a recent letter to the Daily seems a bit ambitious.,"They will be working to help set up permanent lines of communication with people in the region," she wrote, "so that we may have access to information as it becomes available." It is arrogant to assume that they will be heralds of truth andexpose facts that have hitherto eluded veteran journalists and eminent scholars. Are a few pen-pals, whose information may be of questionable credibility, really worth $l,OOO? .

However, the very question, "How can MSA best spend $1,000 on Middle Eastern education," ignores two essential concems:first, whether, while confronted with a huge deficit, MSA should worry about the infinitesimally small amount of new knowledge such a delegation may uncover when there is already an abundimce of information on the topic, and second, whether MSA should send stuqeot money off campus at all. As to the first, the cautious and fiscally responsible Aaron Williams, last year's MSA president, did not think that another MSAundedexcursion was possible. In September, 1989, he told the Review, "It is unlikely~hese trips will be funded next year because MSA does not have the budget surplus itthooght it had last year."

"lowe the University how much?" In these days of rising tuition, there is ~rc:ily a student who has not dumbfoundedly stuttered that question when con;

fronted with the the upcoming term's cost. Many students, however, find solace in the rationalization that, "at least my money is going toward a good cause, such as hiring more tenured professors, getting better teach'ing assistants, or even UMrenovations." And let's notforget politically motivated vacations for members of the Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSC).

This summer, while most students had their minds fixed on recreation or summer jobs, the new Michigan Student Assembly (MSA) administration was busy forwarding its political agenda. In July, MSA approved a $1,000 allocation to help the U":'M's chapter of PSC send two students, one of whom does not even attend the U-M, to the West Bank and theGaza Strip as part ofa national PSC delegation. According to the proponents of this expenditure, there are several reasons for contributing money from MSA's budget, which comes directly from student tuition, to PSC's cause. By sending U-M representatives to meet with students from BirZeit University, we will obtain valuable information, establish lines of communication, and strengthen our ties wi th our sister school in the Middle-East.

WhiIe all this Soundswell and good, a moment of sober reflection dispels such illusions.!t isdubious to cliiim, for instance, that two politically prejudiced, nonexpert studentobservers, who will spend but a short while abroad observing an iI)complete and unbalanced picture of a situation, will be reliable sources. It would be even more specious to maintain that suddenly, guided by a new-found love of truth, individuals who have joined a politically motivated group will suddenly waxobjective upon arriving in Israel.

Instead, they will rather predictably search for contacts and sources that are sympathetic to their political predisposition. Moreover, after sending delegations of similar persuasions to the Middle East and El Salvador last year, it seems that MSA is clamoring for diversity in everything but the political bent of the delegations. it funds. Additionally, MSA has not learned from last year's experience,

As for the second question, even if Van Valey were correct inher assertion that, "we, as students of privilege, have a responsibility to speak out," such a responsibility need not entail sending student money off camp\ls and out of the country.

And even if it isa "human rights issue," as Van Valey called it, MSA is not charged with being a watchdog for the United Nations or taking over when Amnesty International falls short. We have too many problems on our own campus, and MSA has too many problems in its own office, for the student government to be subsidizing foreign junkets.

Speech Code: Still a Bad Idea Last month marked the one-year anniversary of the greatest victory free speech advocates on American campuses have experienced in recent memory.

U.S. District Judge Avem Cohn ruled the University of Michigan's Policy on DiSCriminatory Harassment a violation of students' First Amendment rights. The U-M administration, however, is "very close" to introducing a new policy, according to General Counsel Elsa Cole. In light of this, and the tremendous importance of cqntroYersy,a reviewofthe U-M's free speech abuses is in order.

The speech'Cod~affairarose out of a concern that womeJ'l and minority students fa~sucha hostile atmosphere .at the U-M that learning became impossible. ~:clauns ~ notW;hQlIy iDegitiJ:nate, either. In. 1987, a ~ampus radio stamm ~rOOt:>~til~rra~tjtlkes. To tf$.day.one ~ears ofracist .or sexist flyers: StUd~~nded'~~Ci~Jlisttation~nd to these~ents.. . ' , .~ resw~,~~~ver,:w.<lS:~more threatenir\g to:>tudentsthan any , ~tary ~o(~i~uU~tiQn.~.~tS~lemente4 regulationst}latvagu¢ly exptai1)ed ~~'~;«>f~~oP~i;tl<lbepermi~ot\. tatnp~•.Abooldet. distribl1ted to ~itfth¢ fall;(jf.'l~a~mtedto detaihvhaHhetJ-.Mwould

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Wes~WYnne>tbe~aU~ graduat~ stuQentm biological psychology,took the policy to court \)ecauSe he felt it would interfere with his research focusing on racial and. gender.:.reJ.a~.topics.With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, the poliCy was struCk doWn in August, 1989~ Undaunted, the U-M implemented an interim policy just weeks later. Although certain questions remained unanswered, such as whether white males could be the objects of harassment, the i

These editorials represent the opinions of the Review editorial board.

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interim policy was an improvementas most forms of speech finally gained the administration's stamp of approval.

Still, any policy labeled "interim" cannot last forever, and the administration is supposedly very near the completion of what it undoubtedly hopes will be a permanent policy. But before any new policy becomes campus law, the administration ought to reflect upon its woefully inept past in dealing with free speech, and the dubious nature of speech codes themselves.

One need not harp on questions of why free speech is good in an academic setting. In the case of speech codes, however, One must weigh consider how restrictions work. While discrimination isblindj speech COdes,seefn to have eyes only for the l'hist~ricanyoppressed."Thatis, practically anybody Can. achieve victim status .under aspeecb code except whiteFChristiat\,heter0~l males who. are l1Otharuii<:apped. In the dozens of exampl~of4i~~tol)ibehavior theU~~fhaS publishec;i, not once havetheseittdi;vid~ls~n'consi4ered as Pbssib~vktimsofdi~rimination (perhapsbeCatrsesudl.ad~n wOU:l~ ne-. ' ga,teAffirmati:veAdionpolides.) .' " ... .. : . C ' , .. , '. " . Speechcodes~l too oftenbecome manipulatiVepoli~c&ltOOls;~the.:thanlaws of liberation. Conservative student newspapers~at.Da~ili,Val;satland the UnbrersityofCalifQrnia atNorthridgehave beenshutpo~6td~facilitiesfQr having~unpOpular opinions; at the U-'M~theMkbiganStudent Assembl}rhaswaged a tw<ryear war with the Christian COfnerSt6ne FeHowship for allegedly forbidding gays to join the organization. ' J'hese caSeS demonstrate insta~ in which students are denied First' Ame.ndment rights simply for thinking the wrong things.

Perhaps the best advice one can give the U-M administration comes from Stanford constituti()nallaw professor Gerald Gunther: "More speech, not less, is the proper cure for offensive speech." WaDs that protect also limit. Are you listening, President Duderstadt?

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The Michigan Review, September 1990, p. 5

Opinion

ROTC Restriction of Gays Justified

by Mike Beidler Over the past year, Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) units have been constantly under fire for a policy that restricts homosexuals from receiving officer training. Mistakenly, many student groups and university administrations across the country think that ROTC units can simply rescind this policy of discrimination.

The issue is much more complex, however. Individual units, such as the one at the University of Michigan, cannot take the blame for a national policy, which is, incidentally, based upon sound reasoning.

ROTC is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Defense, and therefore must keep faith with the Department's longstanding policy of barring homosexuals from military service. The recruitment, education, and training of officer candidates is exclusive to the federal government. It does not fall under the authority of the U-M Board of Regents, administration, or the state and local governments.

Because of this, attempting to enforce state law or university policy on ROTC units would serve only to bring the federal government directly into the conflict. These more local policies, therefore, become null and void: the federal government could lawfully impose its policies on conflicting state and university laws.

A comparison can be drawn between this military policy and Ann Arbor's recently repealed $5 pot law.

Although the State of Michigan enforced stricter laws against the use or possession of marijuana, the defunct Ann Arbor law reduced the harsh fine and jail term to a simple ticketed offense. As long as the state was not involved in the case, Ann Arbor's law could effectively supersede state law.

But if a state officer in Ann Arbor was the arresting party, the city's laws would have no legal force. So it goes with ROTC at the U-M. Many argue that the policy is unconstitutional and ignores the civil rights of homosexuals. This argument, however, has already been presented in the courts and has been found to have no merit. Earlier this year, the U.s. Supreme Court reviewed the controversial policy and found it to lie within the confines of the Constitution. At this point in our nation's social development, homosexuals have no special protection

under civil rights statutes, as do other groups. Therefore, the Dep~rtment of Defense is under no legal obligation to induct homosexuals into military service or provide officer training for them.

and women entering the armed services personally accept homosexuals as normal people, change within the Department of Defense will not come.

To add to what amounts to a third and fourth classification of an already

The soldiers' concern focused on the worry that close association with homosexuals would aggravate tensions, ultimately affecting the performance of the unit.

This restrictive policy is based primarily on the belief that the presence of a known homosexual would adversely affect the service's primary responsibilities within its own ranks: maintaining discipline, order, and morale; creating an environment of mutual trust; promoting the necessity of rank and command; facilitating the assignment of service members who must frequently work and live under close conditions; and preventing breaches of national security.

The prevailing societal climate does not treat homosexuals as equals. Traditional Judeo-Christian culture continues to be.a strong moral force in America, and it is this culture that perceives homosexuality as abnormal.

Plainly put, a majority of Americans, especially those in military institutions, do not consider a homosexual lifestyle legitimate for themselves or others. For however long this remains true, the issue of individual rights will be sacrificed in order to maintain stabilization in the military ranks. As retired Army Brigadier General John D. Lawlor stated in a recent Chicago Tribune editorial, "the role of the military is to defend society, not change it."

The leadership effectiveness of its troops is a primary concern of the military. A senior military officer testified that "known homosexuals in positions of leadership do not command the respect of their subordinates, creating an irreparable breakdown in the system of rank and command."

How can a unit of soldiers, in which an atmosphere of "homophobia" exists, respect and {ollow the orders of a known homosexual? They cannot.

Again, the prevailing attitude of the American people is against homosexuality. Until a vast majOrity of themerl

mixed-gender military would do nothing but create tension and endanger the maintenance of order and discipline. With problems such as these rampaging through the military system, military readiness and effectiveness would most certainly be at risk. A 1986Charter Task Force Final Report of the Canadian National Defense Department reached' the conclusion that gay-integration into the military would not stand the test, regardless of the ability of an individual homosexual to restrain his or her sexual desires.

The soldiers' concern focused on the worry that close association with homosexuals would aggravate tensions, ultimately affecting the performance of the unit. In a combat situation, this would be potentially lifethreatening.

Additionally, recent months have seen the Cold War end. The federal government is cutting back the numberof active duty personnel by 22% by

1997, indicating there is little need to tap what manpower resources the small homosexual community provides. Granted, the new Iraqi threat might change these reduction figures, but in any case, to fill a quota of homosexual recruits would be inexpedient ina military policy based upon expediency.

What a great disservice certain elements, particularly those \vithin universities, would be doing to our nation were they to banish campus ROTC units just to satisfy the unnecessary demands 6f a riUnority. The source for most of the military's officers would vanish, creating a leadership vacuum in a force that cannot afford to lose its competitive edge in world politics. This would also deprive thousands of students from pursuing an education, as many would not be able to .\lttend college without ROTC scholarships.

This is ultimately not a question about whether the military, with its unique leadership environment, has the moral obligation to induct homosexuals into the ranks of ROTC, but rather to what extent a small portion of the population will seek to undermine one of the institutions which has vitally defended the freedom of Americans for over 200 years.

Mike Beidler is a junior in political science and a staff writer for the Review. He is a member of the U-M NROTC program. His views are not necessarily those of ROTC or the Department of Defense.

Letter to the Editor Denying Animal Rights Retards Ethical Growth What a soul uplifting experience it was to read Maria Comninou's plea and justification for animal rights (April, 1990) and her well substantiated account of the age-{)ld and ever increasing human speciesism unctuously ordained by organized Western religion and the ensuing legalism that is conveniently purloined and reintegrated by the laboratory cage behaviorist community, that researches under the pctradi"ghl of anthropocentric

utilitarian objectivity.

With the demise of "homo faber" economics and the recrudescence of man's spiritual radix the time has come to establish rights for all creatures.

This sacrificial grace will further man's own spiritual evolution, because righteousness is the freely chosen uplifting of the weaker and defenseless by the more privileged and stronger, the moraressence of all spiritual activitv.

lVolfgang L. Hauer Ann Arbor

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Opinion

In Defens'el Offrl'~t~~;~~tI$rp()lite Force

by Br"n,Jendryka . , ,'. , "Lemme tell ya ... oo! Whel1 guns are outlawed, only outlaws will be killing people ... 'cause guns don't kill people ... people kill guns. From outlaws." - NRA nut, Bloom County, 'roans for our Times, p.lO. It seems that this c.onfused Bloom

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CDunty IDgiC, which has been all tDD prevalent .on the University .of Michigan campus recently, has resurfaced in response tD a pr.oposal tD arm a number .of campus security .officers. And again, the arguments are based nDt .on the merits .of the issues inv.olved, but rather .on the emDti.onally charged knee-jerk reactiDns .of paran.oid student activists. Opponents.of the newly created campus police f.orce will n.ot .only be armed, but also answerable tD the regents, and this is a deadly c.ombinati.on.

It has n.ow bec.ome standard practice fDr many U-M students t.o criticize every acti.on taken by the regents, regardless .of any possible good intentiDns. Anything supported by the regents is .opposed by the students because, well, the regents support it. By the way that MSA c.onstantly criticizes the regents, .one w.ould think that Michigan Student Assembly (MSA) was the body.of c.ompetent pr.ofessi.onals elected by the State .of Michigan tD care fDr U-M and the B.oard.of Regents was the grDup.of giddy, power-hungry 20 year~lds. Anything the regents d.o, sh.ort .of transferring the University's entire General Fund int.o the MSA expenditure acc.ount, is .opposed by MSA. Any decisi.on by the regents that is i

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Signed opinion essays represent the views of the author, and not necessarily those of the Review edito•

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n.ot"politically c.orrect" is quickly branded racist, sexist, hDmDph.obic, IJr just plain .oppressive. Perhaps it sh.ould n.ot CDme as a surprise that vari.ous campus gr.oups .oppose the regents' latest pr.oposal simply .out of habit: they are as helpless as Pavlov's d.ogs. Neverrni~d that the c~mpus police f.orce will make the campus a safer place, with faste~ resporlse times ' and increased' beatcovetage. Never mind that it will be muchJe$s expeo-; sive than subcontracting with thedty . .of Ann Arbor; 'The pr.oblell} ' is thi'\t many students never even hear all .of the arguments in fav.or .of a r~ental policy, and .of those WpodD, many hold. such a str.ong presumpti.on against the regents that their evaluati.on bec.omes biased.

If we l.o.ok bey.ond the fact that this is a regents' decisi.on, there remains str.ong .oppositi.on tD a campus police fDr an.other reason, which, n.ot surprisingly, alSD has t.o d.o with the regents.

Some students are afraid that the regents will use the police f.orce tD squelch student protests, and thus, ac-

tions. N.ot .only must the U-M annually pay ,thecity<,>f Ann Arbor $500,000 f.or its fDrce .of tw.o, but it must also maintain its .own supplementary staff .of security personnel wh.o have essentially the same auth.ority as sh.opping mall security .officers. The resulting dilemma is predictable. Deputized campus police w.ould carry sidearms and have the power.of arrest - security .officers d.o not - yet they are fre.·, quently :asked t.o perf.orm in equally dangerous situati.ons. .

All911 .emergency calls.on campus are routed thr.ough campus security's switchb.oard; · n.ot the . p.olice . depattm¢nt's. If thec~llturnsoutto be particularly seri.ous, campus security .officers WhD have already responded t.o the call must then n.otify the tw.o Ann Arbor police officers on patrol and hope they are not busy.

An incident in East Quad last year dem.onstrated the ineffectiveness .of the present system. During a CDncert at the Halfway Inn, a punk rock singer, lost control of himself and began hitting himself and kicking spectators.

Perhaps it should not come as a surprise that various campus groups oppose the regents' latest proposal simply out of habit: they are as helpless as Pavlov's dogs. cording to .one of its .opponents "systematically deny students their First Amendment rights." This line .of reasoning is brought t.o us by the same MSA president WhD has expressed a willingness tD design a c.ode in which c.onstituti.onal rights would be subordinated in order tD suppress ".offensive" speech.

A campus police force w.ould not squelch student protests. Rather, ,it w.ould prevent such pr.otests fr.om turning int.o violent c.onfr.ontati.ons.

This would be rather difficult t.o d.o with our current ' armed security "f.orce" .of two Ann Arbor police .officers. These .officers must n.ot .only c.over the U-M campus, but also other parts ' .of Ann Arbor. This pair of crime-fighters hardly .constitutes effective campussecurityf.orac.ommunity.of40,OOO .o~ even a slow day, let al.one when thmgs get out of hand. ,:,

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Eventually, several security officers arrived - but they merely st.ood by, afraid tD do anything because they were inadequately equipped and unable t.o.arrest the singer,even if they cDuld subdue him. The security .officers did nDthing wr.ong; they just lacked the equipment and the auth.ority tD d.o what the situati.on demanded.

The proposed campus police fDrce would increase the number .of arresting.officerson campus while maintaining unarmed security .officers to patrol the campus. Actual deputized officers w.ould not be walking ar.ound/gun in hand, looking for tr.ouble. Rather, they w.ould be an.other .opti.on f.or the U-M Safety Department in extreme cases.

Instead .of having t.o radi.o the Ann Arbor .police, wh.o w.oUTd h.opefully not be busy writing a speeding ticket Dr dealing with a traffic accident, the $af~typep~rtmeQt co~ld i~i~te.lv ~J .J 'PI'l'p-,;p " '-, ~orc "' t(h(e ,enuti " .0"{

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dangerous tasks and leave the ticket writing. and traffic accidents t.o the non-deputized security officers.

An.other aspect of the policy that scares some students is that the newly armed officers will be controlled by and answerable solely to the regents.

What the students d.o n.ot take into acc.ount is that l.ocal police are answerable tD the city c.ouncil, which has an equal, if ~ot greater, opportunity to abuse its power. Just imagine what w.ould happen if a shanty appeared .on the City Hall lawn of Homet.own, USA. It w.ould n.ot survive long enD ugh to kill the grass. Comparatively, the regents are a bunch .of push.overs. Yet people are infinitely more afraid of a campus police force then they are of their own city's police force.

Also, the asserti.on that the police f.orce is answerable .only t.o the regents and the city council is fundamentally inc.orrect. While these groups may dictate certain operational guidelines, individual officers are always answerable to a higher authDrity - the judicial system. If police .officers infringe upDn citizens' or students' rights, they can be taken t.o court.

If nDne of the preceding arguments seem compelling, consider the problem from .one final point of view: that .of the security officer. Is an officer m.ore likely to fulfill his respDnsibility of pr.otecting students if he has the power to arrest those he apprehends, or if he must keep the subject subdued fDr 10 or 15 minutes while the Ann Arbor police officers arrive?

Brian Jendryka is a junior in English and economics and an executive editor for the Review.

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The Michigan Review, September 1990, p. 7

Opinion

Are Students Really Conservative?

by Chartes R. Kesler Tc>day's undergraduates are too young to remember Barry Goldwater, President Richard Nixon (they might know the new Nixon), the Black Panthers, the Vietnam War, Watergate, or even President Jimmy Carter. And yet a majority of them and a majority of voters under 30 years-old supported George Bush in 1988, even as their predecessors had helped lift Ronald Reagan to the presidency in 1980 and 1984. Absent the historical experiences that propelled older voters into the conservative ranks, what is it nowadays that accounts for conservatism among undergraduates?

The campus is part ofthe nation, of course, and the same forces that shape the national political opinions affect the academy. Althoughthe inspiring developments in EastemEuropeand the apparent decline in the Soviet threat have taken some of the anticommunist edge off conservatives both in and out of college, the crumbling of Marxism-Leninism rema~f.,s 't cause for joy and pride. At the same time;young pepple are buoyed by the immense opportunities opened up by the great economic expansion of the 19805. Along with the vast majority of American voters, they rightly feel grateful to the conservative policies that have. fostered lower taxes and sustained economic growth.

What distinguishes student conservatives, however, is that every day of their lives they confront an educational establishment whose liberalism is supercilious and Simon-pure. The public at large, not to mention the businessmen who serve as college trustees, have no idea how liberal are the faculty of the country's elite liberal arts schools and major research universities. Faculty opinions are simply off the scale of American politics. Not only is it normal to find 70, 80, 90 percent of a college's faculty voting in lockstep for liberal Democrats, but. the astonishing· fact is that these faculty members are· also much more liberal than Michael Dukakis or Walter Mondale. proof of thjs is how eagerly faculties across the country have voted to suppress free speech on campus whenever it offenas their seIlS1bilities.

Even Jesse Jackson would have to swallow hard before endorsing such measures, but to many faculty members and administrative officials the protectiol\ofl'free sm<;h codes" is no big deal. ACademic iiUralism is the

one

vanguard, however, so don't be surprised if this issue appears soon, in one form or another, in national politics.

Against the radicalism of college faculty, abetted by the liberalism of a plurality of their fellow students, conservatives rebel. The modes of this

litical teaching would be laughed out of most of today' s philosophy or political science classes, not because it has been proven wrong, but ~ause it would be thought meaningless to try to prove it right or wrong. Or take an elementary mo~al issue such as homo-

What distinguishes student conservatives, however, is that every day of their lives they confront an educational establishment whose liberalism is supercilious and simon....pure. rebellion are interesting. On one hand, its predominanf tone is libertarian.

The academic orthodoxy is· at once stifling and prOVOking; the conservative students seek, therefore, to be free of the party line, to think and live for themselves. And so they assert, for example, their right to rise or fall on the basis of merit and not racial or ethnic claSSification; to despise the countless mind-numbing rituals of "consciousness-raising"; and, not incidentally, to make some money and a place for themselves in society. They resent the imposition of any opinions or dogmas, and are certainly more permissive of abortion, to take a salient issue, than are conservatives in general.

On the other hand, conservative undergraduates have at least an inkling that they can't make it completely on their own. Theyknow they need an education, a ""ay of seeking and participating in the larger truths that inform them as human beings and citizens. Hence the calls for Western civilization and Great Books courses echoing all the way from Dartmouth to Stanford~ ·Th.ere is smnething oddly affecting about these requests by bright. students,· eager t~leam something tha~.atlast they can respect.

The difficulty is that they don't know h()wto argue for a more intellectual, richercUnirulum~ On campus, intellectUcll discourse is oftens<> impoverishedthat non-libertarian moral aM~liti~lC()nserVati~seems mute -atleastpUb'lidy. that God is seldom mentioned COl1rse$ or conversation (and then usually wi~asmirk) cannot have escaped anyone whO has spent time in the academy over the past 40 years.,Ot c0I1sider the Dec1afcition of 'Ihaepenaenc~) wl10M IrMtal"dtfdi~

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sexuality. To regard it as a vice is now thought nofonly impOlite, but boorish and downright, well, "homophobic" (a word that makes no sense either in Greek or English). So the apparent acceptance and even celebration of homosexuality goes unchallenged

despite its deep and not-so-secret repugnance to many students.

Although undergraduates tilted rightward in the 19805, one ought to be cautious in supposing that the trend will continue, because traditional conservatism' S{)wn principles remain obscure to students. To some degree this is an effect of their youth: the heritage of conservative thought as well as the. history of conservative politics is unknown to them. Friedrich Hayek, Leo Strauss, or James Burnham do not appear on maIW reading lists. That isn't the students' fault, of course; it's their educators who need educating!

Charles It Kesler is an associate professor of government and Director of the Henry Salvatori Center at Claremont McKenna College in California. This column was distributed by the Collegiate "Network.

Attention President Duderstadt: We are a group of concerned students on this campus.

We are more powerful than you know The following is a list of five "demands" that we insist be met before we begin the systematic destruction of the Diag Beautification Project: 1. That Deane Baker never, ever resign.

2. That August 6th be declared "Deane Baker Day," and dasses be cancelled so that students, faculty, and staff can attend Deane Baker sensitivity~workshops.

3. That Deane Baker Lounges be built in all University dorms· to' promote Deane Baker discussion.

4" That the Undergraduate Library (1;JgLi) be heretofore known as the Deane Baker Library (PreTl¥). . .

5. That ACT~UPAnl\ Arbor apologize for their me~h, and spiteful comments directed at Deane . Baker.

Paid for by the Deane Baker Support Group. ,

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The Michigan Review, September 1990, p. 8

Satire .,..

A Beginner's' Lexicon' ~For The U-M

by Rahul J. Banta, Adam J. DeVore, and John J. Miller

To all new students, welcome to the University of Michigan (henceforth known as U-M). Life in Ann Arbor will surely be different from where you came from, be it a high school or another college. One of the things ybu are . probably worrying about mostis how to acclimate yourself as quickly as possible and lose the look of a new student. The key to successfully taking this profoundly important step . tQ~ ward complete self-actualization is learning to decipher certain seemingly obscure phrases around which most discourse at the U.:..M revolves. The '.

Review is therefore proud to offer you the following unalphabetizedlexicon, necessary for survival in Ann Arbor and the University community.

The shanties: These· structures, which can be viewed on the Diag, are the remnants of a University project to provide affordable housing in a central,readily accessible location. Unfortunately, due to years of neglect and poor .' construction, the vandalized shells seen today are the only remnants of the once glorious structures... Occasionally, when one of U-;:M's five-year plans runs a surplus, the adn:llnistration decorates them with stimulating yet non-inflammatory posters preaching common-sense political moderation.

Preacher Mike: A local celebrity, Mike can often be seen standing on a bench in the Diag. lecturing students about their moral shortcomings while combating the many hecklers that inevitably coagulate around him. AI· though reports . are sketchy, anonymous sources inform us that his converts must undergo a baptism in the lake on North Campus the morning after the first snowfall in December.

MSA: This organization is a CIA front more commonly known as the Malicious Students Association. It works closely with various political student organizations to fund violent destabilization efforts against peaceloving, democratic governments. ItS flag bears an emblem of a mechanical engineer doling out oil to squeaky wheels with one hand and money to obnoxious campus orgaruzations with the other. Recently the emblem was modified so that he . hands out bad checks, instead.

Espresso Royale Cafe: Should you dare to find yourself in a pleasant

mood one day, take a stroll into this numinously cheerful cafe on State Street. There you will encounter hordes of existentialists wearing black, bemoaning the frailty of the human condition and the meaninglessness of existence in general, all while nibbling esoteric. pastries and sipping coffee, or staring vacantly into space.

The Presidential Mansion: This . large white home located on South University (sometimes lovingly called the "Dude Ran<:h") i~ that of our af- . ' fable president, James Duderstadt.

During the Winter, he offershbt chocolate to students on their way to class, and on the weekends Jlealways has a room and a clean Set of sheets available to students unable to make it home from the bar.

The Cube: This large black metal structure, located near the Student Activities Building, apparently has no other purpose than to momentarily amuse first time visitox:s to theUniversity. In fact, however, it is also used to torture students with vertigo. On the eve of the Michigan-Michigan State game, this mysterious object seems to spontaneously generate a large, green "s" on each side. This transformation has popularly been ascribed toa primitive Mid-Western subculture, but the true significance is unknown.

Shaky Jake: Yet anotherlocal celeb-rity, Jake can oftenbe spotted on North State Street selling postcards and playing his finely tuned guitar. Next time you see him, feel .free to introduce yourself and ask him about any controversial topic, from farm subsidies to theMSA budget.

The suffix "-ism": This friendly little critter can g~t you lots of attention should you begin to feel homesick or lonely. All you have to do is select some arbitrary element of your persona, add the magical suffix, and claim that a conspiring power structure systematicallyoppresses you on a regular basis for sOme nebulous motive. Many have become popular in recent years, so we suggest you invent some creative "-ism"s and maybe even a "_ phobia" or two, perhaps based on beer preference Oagerphobia) or posture (slouchism).

UCAR: This student group's acronym is derived from its battle cry, "You Conservatives Are Racist!" The group's reaS()ning is nearly as good as its spelling - to wit, when UCAR members proclaim that, "there is no

such thing as .reverse .racism," they mean that minorities are incapable of being racist, not that any prejudice based on race is~ regardless of the victim, equally ignorant.

The Stacks: Lodged deep within the Graduate Library, this puzzling labyrinth makes even Umber to Eco cringe, and holdS nearly every book you will ever need, probably located on one of the following floors: 2, 2A,2B, 2112, 2 Ea~t, 2 South, or 1+1 .

'Marxist Professors: This jovial bunch of comrades is very well read .

Unfortunately, they have not been exposed to anything more recent than Das Kapital, and therefore have absolutely no knowledge of what newspapers have been reporting for more than a year: the death of communism.

Campus Cops: The ongoing debate as to whether the U-M should deputize a police force (armed and ready)

seems to have concluded, with student activists as the losers. These rightwingdeathsquads, answerable only to the villainous Deane Baker, plan to reenact the Kent State massacre every day at noon on the Diag.

Rahul Banta is a senior in history and political science and an assistant editor for the Review. He thinks he's cool. Adam DeVore is a sophomore in philosophy and Spanish and an ex~ ecutive editor for the Review. Trout don't like him.JohnJ. Miller is this month's Review Mascot.

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The Michigan R~view, September 1990, p. 9 l'

Opinion

The Rise of the Tenured Radical

by Roger Kimball It is no secret that the academic study of the humanities in this country is in a state of crisis. Proponents of deconstruction, feminist studies, and other politically motivated challenges to the traditional tenets of humanistic study have by now become the dominant voice in the humanities departments of many of our best colleges and universities.

There are, of course, differences and even struggles among these various groups. But seen from the perspective of the tradition they are seeking to subvert- the tradition of high culture embodied in the classics of Western art and thought - they exhibit a remarkable unity of purpose. Their object is nothing less than the destruction of values, methods, and goals of traditional humanistic study.

Princeton University's Elaine Showalter, for example, has called for a "eomplete revolution" in the teaching ofliterafure in order to enfranchise "gender as a fundamental category of literary analysiS." The University of Pennsylvania's Houston Baker touts the Black Power movement of ' the 1960s as a desirable alternative to the "White Western" culture he sees enshrined in the established literary canon. And Duke University's Fredric Jameson propounds a Marxist vision of criticism that promises to "liberate ... us from the empirical object.~' Whatwe see throughout the work of these and many other academics is a thoroughgoing animus to the traditional values of Western thought and culture.

The institutionalization of the radicaL ethos in the academy has resulted not only in an increasing .politicization of the humanities, but also in anincreasing ignorance of the humanistic legacy. Instead of reading the . great Works of the past, students watch movies and peruse second- and thirdrate .works dear to their ideological cohort; instead of , reading widely among primary texts, they absorb abstruse .commentaries, resorting to primary texts only to furnish illustrations for their pet, critical "theory."

Since many professors have been the beneficiaries of the kind of traditional education. they have rejected and are denying their students, it is the students themselves who are the real losers in this fiasco. Presumably, they enrolled in a liberal arts curriculum in the fi.TSt place because they wished to "

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be educated. After four years they will find that they are ignorant of the tradition and that their college education was largely a form of ideological indoctrination.

The issues raised by the poli ticiza-

way we relate to one another as men and women.

It is precisely for this reason that the traditional notion of the humanities and the established literary canon have been so violently attacked by politi-

What we see is a thoroughgoing animus to Western thought and culture. ' tion of the humanities have applicacaIly correct-thinkIng academics. As tion far beyond the ivy-colored walls the cultural guardians of the ideals and of the academy. The denunciations of values that Western democratic society the "hegemony" of Western culture · has struggled to establishand perpetuand liberal institutions that are ate, the humanities also form a vast sounded so insistently within our col- . impediment to the radical vision of leges and univeisitie~ these days are · their new academic enemies.

The overheated rhetoric and pose not idle chatter. They represent a con- . certed effort to attack the very founda- .. of beleaguered defiance that one regularly encounters in the academy may tions of the society that guarantees the independence of cultural and artistic suggest that those railing against, say, life - including the independence of "European dominance" or "white, our institutions of higher education, male, WASP hegemony" are isolated Indeed, behind the transformafigures on the margins of academic tions contemplated by the proponents . power. Unfortunately, the opposite is the case. Far from being a besieged of femini~m,deconstruction, and the minority, such professors represent rest is a blueprint for a radical social the new establishment of tenured raditransformation that would revolutioncals. Often they are among the most ize every aspect of social ~nd politiCal highly paid professors -,- the profeslife, from .the independent place we grant high culture within society to the . sors for . whose services our leading

universities bid against each other in little-publicized contests.

Nor is the influence of these professors confined to the present moment. At many prestigious institutions, they are precisely the people helping to shape the future by making faculty appointments, overseeing promotions, and devising the educational· program in the humanities-efforts at self-propagation that virtually assure their continued dominance for another generation.

The truth is that when the children of the 1960s received their professorships and deanships, they did not abandon the dream of radical cultural transformation; they set out to implement it. Now, instead of attempting to destroy our educational institutions physically, they are subverting them from within .

Over the last two decades, what we have witnessed in American higher education is nothing less than the rise of a new academic establishment, the establishment of tenured radicals.

Roger Kimball is managing editor of The New Criterion. This column was distributed by the Collegiate Network.

"You, sir, have been found guilty of racist, sexist, and homophobic speech.

CQme with me for your quick, fair trial and prompt enrollment in a sensitivity workshop!" ,

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The Michigan ~eview, September 1990, p. 10

Interview

Dean Banks Plans Curriculum Changes On August 1, Jim Bominski of the Review interviewed the new College of Engineering dean, Peter Banks.

Banks, formerly a professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University, has worked with NASA. His latest project, a satellite tether, is scheduled to be launched with the space shuttle in January, 1992. Banks assumed his role as dean on July 1.

in doing that. If you look at the number of small, high-tech businesses in the Ann Arbor area you see that it's rising rapidly. It went from less than 100 a few years ago now to more than 200 in this immediate area. It's not an exponential curve, but it's rising much more than linearly. I think that there is

REVIEW: At Rose Bowl time, will your sympathies remain with the Pac Ten, or will you support the Big Ten? BANKS: On this past January 1, I observed the Rose Bowl game and my youngest son, my wife and I attended.

My youngest son rooted for U.S.c. because he felt he had to support the Pac Ten, my wife was decked out in maize and blue, and I was sitting right on the neutral fence. It turned out that the Provost and the President had invited us. In fact, I am a football fan, and I certainly will root for Michigan - I have sat through too many football games that are sort of inconclusive with the team I've been supporting in the past.

REVIEW: As you take the helm of the College of Engineering, what do you see as your objectives?

BANKS: This College of Engineering is a unique place compared with its prime competitors which are M.I.T., Stanford, Cal. Tech., lllinois and in some areas Carnegie Mellon. Relative to the other universities, especially the private universities, we have a tremendous a~vantage in the youthfulness and the vigor of the faculty, and so it's my hope that within the next five years Michigan will in fact surpass sorne ofour competitors, and that we will be recognized as being one of the best places in the country for young engineers to corne and be trained. That will be valuable to the state of Michigan.

I'm hoping that some of the young engineers trained here will spend more of their careers in Michigan rather than diffusing to Massachusetts or California. I think that the infusion of bright young students from across the country will also benefit the local economy by encouragjngyoung startup companies. I see that trend developing already. I think the previous two deans have done ~ wonderful job

a role of the university in its training of its students and encouragement of the faculty to make an environment that's conducive to small start-up companies.

With respect to the students - this is an interesting problem tha tI' ve been mulling over. I personally would like to see a broadening of the academic curriculum for engineers. I'm not sure how to do this because the real will to do this comes from the faculty, but I'm hoping to encourage them. to remove some of the overspecialized courses that exist in the college of engineering and to open those up to more electives that would permit engineers to explore more of the humanities and s0cial sciences and pre-professional courses. The goal in doing that is a swi tch in emphasis from training engineers just to be engineers to a new vision where we're training individuals to be leaders in their profession. I feel you can't do that byover-specialization, but you do it by broadening and giving an appreciatioflof cultural,

courses in the evening. When my tour historical, and economic factors that influence our society. of duty was up I went to Penn State I would like to see a program that University and I worked on my Ph.D. relaxes even more and perhaps endegree, and did research dealing with courages people who then want to the earth's upper atmosphere. I got my become truly proficient in engineering Ph.D. in physics there in 1965. to take a master's degree program and in their undergraduate career 'be REVIEW: How do you feel about a equipped with . large university, like the U-M, with, courses that relate very big classes and an emphasis on to a broader specresearch as opposed to a school that is trum of knowlsmaller and has smaller classes, such edge that I would as Stanford? expect from a colBANKS: I'm not sure if Stanford's lege graduate.

There are schools classes are a lot smaller. There's an who train for economy of scale there and so some of purely technical the basic engineering classes there are specialty excelon the order of 100 or 150 students. I lence. My feeling don't see, frankly, much difference about people that between the training that an undertrain that way is graduate student receives at Stanford that it is very easy and what it would be hereat Michigan, for them to beI think they're both high quali ty places. come dull and The reputation is certainly different at stale in a short the graduate level, largely for historiperiod of time. cal reasons and because Stanford Unless you emphasizes graduate training and krl.OW the basics going one on one with its graduate well, you lose students. However, the numbers of contact with students per faculty at Stanford even yourfield, which in the graduate division are typically changes rapidly. like four to five graduate students per We'd like to faculty member. Looking through the avoid that - it departments here it's my impression doesn't serve that's pretty much the same sort of society, it doesn't ratio. So I think that appearances are serve the individual, it doesn't serve deceiving. the university to train people like that.

The College of Engineering is like a The tools of knowledge-seeking are small university in its own right. We becoming very important. have some 300 faculty, 6000 students, 2000 of whom are graduate students, REVIEW: What degrees have you 4000 undergraduate. So I think the fact received and where did you receive that Michigan has an additional 29,000 them? other students.s omewhere in the background .at the main campus really BANKS: I started at Stanford in 1955 doesn't impact the quality of proand I began a typical undergraduate grams. In fact, in terms of the attention electrical engineering (E.E.) program. that U-M students get we are compaAfter several years I discovered they rable to other top schools. There is no had at that time a pr9gram leading place that I'm aware of where students directly to a five year master's degree, - especially freshmen and sophoand so I switched over into that. I then more students - see really small had a three year tour of duty - I had classes. It just doesn't exist anywhere. been NROTC - and went to the Office of Naval Research in Washington REVIEW: At the end of last year, it which was a very exciting place at that seemed that fewer T.A. positions time. I decided that in terms of my own were going to be available due to a background I needed morefundamenlack of funding. Is this true, and if so, tal knowledge than I had gotten out of how will it impact undergraduate the E.E. program at Stanford. I went to students? the University of Maryland for a graduate program in physics, and I BANKS: Each department controls its spent three years going to various T.A. population. From the top we

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The Michigan Review, September 1990, p. 11

Banks don't attempt to dictate how many T.A.'s are present in the department.

That's a decision by each of the faculties of those departments. We try to guide them because we don't like to see large classes being put on the backs of T.A.'s. What I suspect is with the current funding profile that we've been given by the main administration, we'll have slightly fewer T.A.'s.

The departments, however, are finding other ways to find cost-savings to put money back into the T.A. pool.

This is a tight year - there's no doubt about it. I'm sure you've read about the President's worries about whether the state is doing its fair share in making a financial contribution· to the U-M. It's also a fact that inflation in higher educational institutions isa few points above the ordinary cost price index. As a result of that, we're seeing a decline in real purchasing power this year in money that we receive. It'snice to get plotted for six percent more money, but if your prices have gone up eight percent and if these are out of your control, then you've suffered a real decline and you have to pull the belt in. . There isn't a lot of flexibility in budgets in universities because it's mostly people you're buying, and their salaries are fixed one way or the other by historical precedent and they have expectations for their purchasing power at least being constant in their careers - hopefully rising as you get older. So what happens in a year like this is that people receive minimal salary raises which are substantially below the cost of living. The cost of equipment has gone up and so we stopped buying equipment - we stopped replacing laboratory equipment - and we go into some sort of fiscal hibernation until more funds become available to keep up. The long term prognosis that I see is that if the university is unable to convince the state of the value of the educational enterprise you will inevitably see contraction taking place in the college.

This will be not directed at any particular segment like T.A.'s, but there will be a decrease in the number of faculty, a decrease in the equipment purchases, there will be a decrease in T.A.'s. Everything will pretty much contract in proportion to the underfunding that comes from the central administration.

I know you're concerned about T.A.'s in particular because those relate to an aspect of the quality of teaching, but I don't expect that there's going to be a dramatic shortage.

REVIEW: There. has been some- concern about personal attention to engineering students, particularly at the freshman level. Do you have any plans for rectifying that situation, maybe along the lines of Stanford's advisor system, where every student has a personal engineering advisor?

going to

go about that?

by legislating it. You can't change it much by handing out graduate fellowBANKS: I don't think I used the word ships. The real problem is motivation "recruiting" solely. What I would like and preparation. This may be a symp- . to do is create an educational system tom of things that are happening far that is sensitive to the needs of minoriback in the whole concept of theeducaties and improves the services it protional process. By and large I think that vides to the students in the program. native-born Americans aren' t nearly Certainly, enhancing the numbers of as convinced of the value of a Ph.D. graduate education for their lives as are the foreign students. For the foreign students, it's the key to an important future. I think that many American students see this as a lot of hard work, and there are alternative professions they can pursue which ha ve even better financial return. I think this is also a question of su pply and demand.

As U.S. industry in the last five or ten years is beginning to realize this true, opportunities for women and minoriBANKS: You're talking with one of there have been more programs to take ties is very important. If you look a tthe those, actually. I don't know what the advantage of the foreign-born Ph.D.' s, tensions are here, but let me talk about statistics, they are the ones who are to bring them into their programs, to the benefits of a good advising system. - missing out on the higher educational acculturate them to U.s. customs and In my case I had seven people who process, and somehow the barriers to expectations and make use of their entrance have to be changed. We need skills. This may be part of the melting thought they were going to be engito provide the resources to help them neers. I met them at the beginning of pot theory of American society. the year and formed personal relationto overcome difficulties they encounWhat is a danger to this country is if ter in the university system. And I ships with them. I thought that was those people are here simply to gain think we have an obligation to help very beneficial. If you look at the the education, to absorb the educational resources, and then go back to them through job placement and acnumber of freshmen we have and the their own countries. There are benefits tivities like that. number of facultY, I suspect it would to that in terms of improving technolobe possible to implement a program gies and life-styles in those countries, REVIEW: Statistics show that in the like that to humanize the college to the but it comes at a price to this country.

U.S., more engineering Ph.D.'s are incoming freshmen.

Now, this is a thought experiment being granted to foreign national At Stanford you stay with a particuif you reduce the number of foreign U.S. citizens.

Do you · students than lar group for a period of time, normally students through restriction visas, I think there is any way to improve this two years: By the time students bedon't see any fprces that would then situation? come juniors there's relatively little need forthat sort of persona! interaction. I have suggested it to various people here and the other associate deans that we look into this and there will be a task force looking at that possibility. But it takes a year or two to get something like that organized and make graduate study more attractive BANKS: It's a symptom rather than it does come from a tradition of caring. to native-born Americans, and hence the disease itself.

Strange terms to use, Research universities can be very we would see a lessening of the numbut I know from personal experience told, calloUs places. There's a tenber of these highly te<;:hnically trained that the foreign s.tudents by and large dency to emphasize the research at the people.

That would just be a net loss to are better prepared when they enter far end.It's like a sausage factory the system.

A better way for U.s. ingraduate school through theiruniverpeople pay more attention to what's dustry to apP, roach the 'problem is to sities, and that includes those who coming out of the sausage factory than bring these people into their programs have gone tQ Americanuniversjties what's going into the sausage factory. and to make attractive life-time caand foreign . universities. ' They . are And in fact; quality's determined by reers in this country .

This problem also and spending more working harder how much attention you pay to the raises a lot of patriotic feeling - there time on their careers than their U.s. whole process. Across the country, is emotion behind it.

But I think you counterparts: however, there is a renewed, vigorous have to strip that emotion away and In addition there's another selecinterest in undergraduate education. I look for the fundamental causes, and tion process that exacerbates the situabsolutely share i~ that. There will somehow attack those rather than put ation, which is that the U.S. students· probably be important changes made band-aids on a particular result. don't value the Ph.D. degree as highly in undergraduate educational proas it is valued by the foreign students. grams we have here. .. , As a consequence there is an attrition of U.s. students away from the proREVIEW: You've told a number of grams. You have to interpret this republications that you'd like to focus sult. Is that good or is that bad? In a on recruiting minorities. Do you have sense,H's a reality. You can't change it any · specific plans on how you're

There are schools that train for purely technical specialty excellence. My feeling about people who train that way is that it is very easy for them to become dull and stale in a short period of time.

Foreign students ... are working harder and spending more time on their careers than their U.S. counterparts.

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Campus Affairs

Observations of a Shanty-Watcher

by Joseph Klein American flag painted on the side was too tempting for campus vandals to ignore, and the shanty was demolished no less than four times during the week it existed.

Incoming students at the Univerportive of the terrorist Palestine Libsity of Michigan are barraged with a eration Organization. range of activities that boggle the The Coalition for Democracy in mind. And, no matter how strange the Latin America (CDLA) built a tiny activity, there is someone who wants church to protest the oppression of to try it. religion in Nicaragua when it was Shanty building is no exception. under Sandanista rule. While it is Somewhere in the freshman class there debatable whether or not anyone's is a kid who has dreamt of building opinion was changed by the shanties, shanties ever since orientation. As an . a lot of people gained respect for the amateur shanty-watcher, I thought I CDLA's carpentry skills. could offer my observations.

TAGAR, . a pro-Israel student The shanties are an integral part of group, demonstrated their craftsman- . campus, no less noteworthy than the ship with a model school bus designed Undergraduate Library or Dooley'S. to remind ·the campus of a terror,ist The embattled wooden warriors have atta~ on..Israeli schoolchildten. The · stood vigilant at the front lines ofPSC .responded by writing on its campus debate for years, both as a sh~tythenamesofPalestinianskil1ed: medium of debate and a subject of during the occupation of the West ' Bank and by calling the TAGAR debate themselves. Even the antishanty camp gave in and built a shanty members racist. last April.

My vote for most amusing shanty The first of the shanties was built to would go to one that allegedly supspur divestment of U-M funds inported the Irish Republican Army, alvested in South Africa and to show though such slogans as "Go Green" solidarity with the African National and "Skate for the I.R.A." seemed to Congress. Sure eno~gh, the U-M disuggest that even if the shanty had vested in just a few short years. The originally been built by actual sons and shanty, however, remained in placedaughters of Ireland, the skate punks claimed it soon after its construction. this time to protest racism or apartheid Other great shanty moments inor whatever United Coalition Against clude4briefappearances by a conserRacism was most fed up with at that moment. vative "anti:"'shanty" shanty and a .

It did not take much time for other shantv-stvle structure called the "free-

''They must have used crowbars or something," said a student involved in the construction of at least two campus shanties. "That shanty was really tough."

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The short lived "God Bless America Shanty" was loved by all.

Shanty destruction has certainly The shanty controversy last year not been confined to right-wing shantook a new twist when Regent Thomas ties, however. Apparently, some Roach called the shanties eyesores and _c . . <K<C-=:::::1IlJIII: iMiiI&J i :; __. .~{_=u:; i&it=:ZW::EV» . C people believe that squashing a shanty suggested they be removed from the isas effective a form of political speech Diag as part of the campus beautificaiD as building one. The .PSC shanty has tion project. Roach even offered to 5.. been tom down, collapsed, moved, in- move the shanties to a more appropri~ .' vert ed, kicked .in, and tipped over ate venue - the Student Publications ~ many times. Once, during the Hash Building, home of the Daily. Not to be ~ . Bash two years ago, it was set on fire. outdone by Roach's wit, some stu~.

Each time, the shanty builders got dents observed that a campus beautifi. their pictures in the Michigan Daily as cation project would be better served they stalwartly rebuilt their structure by the removal of the Student Activi(uglier each time) .and repeated a ties Building or the LSA Building. The . speech about how their shanty's dematter is still unresolved, and, in the struction demonstrated the level of grand tradition of the regents, will intolerance on campus. Overly cynical probably remain that way indefinitely. students have suspected that shanty So, dear shanty-builders of the fu..builders tear their own shanties down ture, whatever structures you build for the publicity, although I persOnally and whatever causes you build them tend to doubt that anyone would infor, build your shanties properly. vest that much time in a pile of wood, Make them solidly constructed, built when campus. vandals evidently do with American pride (unless, of the job for free. course/that's what you are protesting).

Even the TAGAR bus, a solid strucAnd if you are going to build, build This is one ofUCAR's shanties. It keeps "falling down." ture that had withstood over a year of something with a point, and build campus groups to exploit the persuadom school," which was built during a abuse, finally fell prey to the destrucsomething interesting. We shantysive power of shanties. The Palestinian protest in Regent's Plaza. tive powers of local shanty smashers, watchers have been getting bored.

Solidarity Committee (PSC) built a The conservative shanty, a wooden no doubt after th~y, had honed their shanty to demonstrate the squalid \ivcube meant to call attention to the skills on the conservative shanty. The Joseph Klein is a senior in economics ing conditions of Palestinian refugees, plight of oppressed conservatives here noble structure was collapsed and and philosophy and an assistant ediforced out of Jordan or uprooted by on campus, earns the distinction of mercilessly folded into a sad yellow tor for the Review.

Israel. It also brandished slogans supshortest lived ,shanty on campus. An stack of wood.

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'The Michigan ReView,'5eptemberl990,'p. 13-

ACT-UP Continued From Page 1 list was carelessly slapped together, as some of the requested services are already in existence. In a letter to the Michigan Daily, Patricia Bach, a member of the Lesbian and Gay Rights Organizing Committee (LaGROc), chastised ACT-UP fornot doing "their homework before acting up and making demands of the University's administration." She stated that U-M has had a "non-moralistic, non-heterosexist," safer sex program which distributes free condoms and instructions on how to use them.

Second, many of the demands had nothing to do with AIDS. What link could possibly exist between AIDS and abortion or an age of consent law regarding minors?

Third, several of these demands were aimed at institutions that had not participated in -' anti-gay behavior.

ACT -UP was protesting sting operations which occurred in Clarkston, Adrian, and Holland, but they were planning to hold a protest at Ann Arbor's Police Station, as if the Ann Arbor Police Department .(AAPD) were guilty by association. In addition, the flyer implied that the U-M was plagued by institutional radsm because it does not spend the exact dollar amount ACf-UP would like to see spent on AIDS or homosexual-related projects.

I decided to rebut the specific assertions and demands of ACT-UP's handbill with a handbill of my own, and distribute it at the rally. I planned to seek out the leader of the Ann Arbor chapter, give him or her my flyer, and ask the group to respond to my criticisms in a future handbill orinan essay in some periodical. I also wanted to give my position statement to any members of the media in attendance so that they could report the existence of a dissenting voice.

I compiled information on a handbill, presenting it as a rebuttal from a student organization called "Students for a Traditional Lifestyle". I had it printed up on nice salmon colored paper (yellow and pumpkin were unavailable), and on the evening of Monday, August 6, I dropped my wife off at work and headed to the protest, posting my handbill next to those of ACT-UP on kiosks along the way.

As I headed through the Diag I could not help but notice that on the sidewalk, taped to lamp posts, and plastered on every kiosk in sight were pink handbills. The headline on these read "KISSING ISN'T A CRIME, BUT THE AAPD THINKS IT IS", and stated that over tIle weekend two gay mate teenagers had been arrested by the

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mouche, though, would have none of it.

He took back the bullhorn and re-claimed his position on top of the electrical box when the next speaker had finished. "Direct your attention towards the gentlemen standing over there with the salmon colored handbills," he said. The crowd responded obligingly. He then told them that I represented a group called "People for a Traditional Society, which translates into racists for the oppression of gays and discrimination!"

The qowd booed vociferously and moved towards me. Carmouche then told them to let me know what they thought of both me and my flyer.

I was now being approached by a good portion of the crowd. Some people -crumpled up my flyers and threw them at me. I was treated to a barrage An Open Letter of statements such as "Bigot go home!" lor 41 Tr"'U~/II4I1 Lil•• recoloi". each penoo', rilhl 10 choose and acl upoo his or ber own CODceptl of sexual o~Wioo. We do 001 promote lesbian/SlY diac:rimioatioo. We and ''Booo!'', as well as many other are .ppalled. bowever. by Act-Up', tactics of violatinC II.lllu:.L civil riPta. We funher oppose gutter expletives (which I won't repeat govemmCllt and/or public sub.idizatioo of pro-g.y/leshianpropag.Dda, We allowiah to lotellectually cb*lleage Act-Up', lacredible usertloas and "Demands". and to briag • bener focus here). to the scatter·shot issues and topics whicb Act-Up raises.

I responded by stating the proper Why should the citizens of the State of Michigan and Washtenaw county. as well as the name of my "group" (a ruse, of students of the University of Michigan pay for free AIDS treatment. fru condoms. fret course), and told them that if they abortions on demand. publicly funded gay/lesbian/youth "community centers" (i.e .• would actually read my handbill, they "propaganda centers"). and grossly out of proportion AIDS research on campus? Why does Act· Up demand that such centers not be under any form of legitimate public. would get an idea of my positions. I supervision? was shouted down.

As I stood there, watching my litw'lly doe~ A!;t-Up attempt to blur the real issues (personal choices which have resulted in the spread andcoiltraction 'or AiD~) ':¥ir!l diversions into mass societal erature being destroyed, enduring accusations of racial discrimination. excursions into the abortion issue. and 5c::cr::lized what would surely have been labeled attacks on the status quo? Why does Act-Up attempt to place the blame for. the "verbal assault" had our positions spread of AIDS upon the Reagan administration? The Reagan administration did more to prevent AIDS-. through advocacy of traditional sexuality, drug-free lifestyles, been reversed, and being prevented and personal morality. than any other public entity. from voicing my opinions in a public Why does Act·Up think that the citizens of the United States, the oyerwhelmlng forum, the hypoCrisy of the whole majQrity of whom live a traditional. Judeo-Christian, heterosexual lifestyle. should pay (via taxes) for more research into a disease which can only be transmitted through charade really sunk in. Carmouche Act-Up members need to realize voluntary behaviors and chosen irresponsibility? singled me out and accused me of that the sjuificant majority of Americans support anti-sodomy laws. laws which "harassing" the crowd when in fact I protect public places (rest stops) from being turned into gay bath houses. and the was only doing what other individuals vigorous enforcemeh( of these laws. were doing: passing out handbills.

Why does Act-Up blame society for a situation which is avoidable through personal ACf-UPapparently uses different choices? While not a "gay· disease. we all understand that the initial spread of the standards to determine what constiAIDS virus was facilitated by mass irresponsibility on the part of the homosexual community. Why does Act-Up attempt to link responsibility for the spread of AIDS to tutes harassment of white, heterosexpeople and organizations who have played no pan in it? Each member of Act-Up ual males. would do well to concentrate on personal health issues and helping to teach the young Atthis point, Lieutenant Mil!er appeople of this nation that whatever sexual orientation one chooses. a' few simple precautions can prevent the ~pread of AIDS. proached me and said that he thought I would be wise to leave as soon as Shlm" for. T,1UIitiMoId LifutfJI. - . to ~ the IIIOjority'l _ when ill.- inYOlviftg py/loablla "ripIa" and/or anesa-1Dfringe upo!I our ftealom to ~ ""'""'- and be .,..,., in 1OdoIy. ShlMa" for • T,Mitiofutl UfatrI. .... possible.

I felt inclined to agree with to add • "'*'" to the _ inYOlvinS - ' orientali"" and ill impKt on IepIation, taxeI, public aaNIy. IDIIiia ........,. and dviI him, as multitudes of leather clad, VilfiShtalage People-looking individuals were One of the "Students for a Traditional Lifestyle" flyers that was distributed. curling their lips at me and generally pants. Some came with signs, and on the outskirts of the crowd. appearing as if they would enjoy utilseveral were handing out handbills of This person pointed meout to Carizing the various gadgets which they their own. The first speaker, a gentle-mouche, who then made his way over carried (whips, spiked leather gloves, man named Paul Carmouche, the tome.HeaskedmeifIwasresponsible etc.) to inflict pain on my body. I same person who led a previous rally for the salmon-colored handbill, and I walked to the front of the police station on the Diag which "demanded" U-M told him that yes, I was. Carmouche and watched the rally for a few more Regent Deane Baker's resignation, became visibly upset. He told me that minutes before leaving. stood on top of an eletttrical box and he thought I was "harassing" people So what of it? In solidarity with it's began to address the crowd; and that I should leave. I told him that brother or sister organiutions in New Carmouche denounced the police I was not harassing people, and that I York and San Francis-eo, ACT-UP Ann only sought to distribute my material, Arbor demonstrated that it really isn't departments respo-.sible for the al:' leged "sting" operations. tFfe'sai'd}li)' as ~vera1'dther -people/from Severar~'~' '. '- { ".j 1,' r. ll:'(',:; \. c, •. ,.', '" apparently in reference to the pink other organizations were doing. CarPlease See Page 15

AAPD for kissing in a car at a public park. The flyer announced the time and place of the very rally for which I was headed, and urged people's attendance. It did not make any references to ACf-UP and did not appear to be the prod uct of any particular organization.

When I arrived at City Hall, I· found reporters· from C:hannel 2 of Detroit, the Ann Arbor News and the Daily present. I gave each of them my handbill, and explained my purpose to them. Only the News ran a story of the rally and my presence there. The Daily printed a picture of one of the"Adrian 16" with a caption, but no story, and Channel 2 did not report the rally.

The protest drew about 75 partici-

"KISSING" flyer, that he had heard a rumor that over the weekend two teenage gay males had been arrested in Ann Arborfor kissing in a parked car . at a public park, and summarily denounced the AAPD as a racist, homophobic, oppressive institution.

This assertion seemed to be noth-· ing more than rhetoric coming from an agitator. I spoke with Lieutenant Miller of the AAPD before the rally, and he told me that no such arrests occurred in Ann Arbor.

In any event, the rally was proceeding as I had expected, and I was becoming extremely bored, when Somebody, holding one of my distinctive salmon.-coloredhand-biUs and looking quite angry, saw me standing

Students fvr a' Traditional Lifestule s,."••,. "l.

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Opinion

Boycott Marijuana

by Tom Blnkow I have some doubt as to the logic of boycotting any product. Is this really the most effective way of punishing and deterring abuse of the public by producers? I do not oppose the practice in general, however, because even if it is not optimal, it still has some of the desired effects on the people targeted.

includes bombings, terrorism, and a virtual war on the people and legitimate government of Columbia. , Although marijuana is not as lucrative as cocaine, it is still a big business: tens of billions of dollars of marijuana are sold worldwide every year.Marijuana comes primarily from Mexico, whiCh produ,ces about 80% of the

cial1y when dealing with a black marconsumers having a moral responsiket item. When I go into Meijer's and bilityin the marketplace, thenitis hard buy a can of government-approved to escape the fact that buying mari~ Campbell's soup, I have very little idea juana (or any illegal drug, for that exactly where the can has been or matter) is an irresponsible use of where my mon~y is going, except into money. Not because it is unhealthy. a Meijer's cash register for the time Not because it is illegal. Not because being. your parents told you.

One common point of contention in If you ignore all that, aI.'d hold every Controversy involving marimarijuana producers and sellers to the juana is that we would not have these same standards as every other busi" . ." " - ' problems if marijuana were simply ness in the world, they obviously fail. legalized.

Therefore, the problems are What if the Coca-Cola Company dea~ . v;~olel1:t 'the responsibility of t,he government, cided to start killing people who did npt the consumer. This.is a good point, not like New Coke? What is it. about but it is irrelevant in this case. Because marijuana producers and sellers that Enforcing or expressing moral world's,outp,ut, ~ut also from ot~er , ' of the current state of the, drug trade, we give them so much leeway? How views through the marketplace Latit;\ Arriericim regions and even consumers have the power ,to aid or many people they have killed? Hunoperates on the premise that consumobstruct the commission of many serihomegrowersin the state of Michigan. dreds? Thousands? ers have not only an economic but a A~you read this, a portion of the ous crimes by buying or nothuying A single murder ,makes the choice moral responsibility when choosing money being, spent on marijuana by marijuana. The responsibility of the clear for me: boycott marijuana. where to spend their money. For those University of Michigan students will consumer to use this power in it consciTom Binkow is a senior in English whoacceptthis premise,lhavea prod- , eventuaUybein the hands of people at entious fashion remains. ' and a staff writer for the Review. uct to add to the list of things to boySo, if one accepts the, n1'O"";= every stage of the distribution process.

Some of this money will be used to ' cott: marijuana.

The money people spend on marifinance violent crimes - torture, juana is transferred, through the marbombings, murder - in locales from ketplace, ,to persons and causes that Bolivia to Detroit. This same money is also the motivation for most of these are even more despicable than racists and apartheid in South Africa. Money crimes, a fact equally important. from the f>urchase of marijuana gt!6Of course; noTeveryone involved in toward murder, torture, and the cycle marijuana trafficking is a morally of poverty and rule of criminals in awful persan, nor does all of the places such as Latin America and even money spent on the drug get into these our own cities . organizations. Some just goes to small . Health risks are not a factor in this growers who have no connection with proposal; it is debatable whether the the huge networks. public has any right to allow its,staTiThepointof proposing this boycott, dard of a worthwhile health risk to inhowever, is not to vilify everyope infringe upon the free choice of the indivolved with the drug. The point is to vidual consumer (though those who show that some of the money spent on attack the tobacco companies for promarijuanacioes indeed ,finance and viding a health risk to the public ought motivate destructive and indefensible to consider this argument, too). crimes. If the premise of moral responRathert this boycott is called ,on less sibility inth~,marketplace is accepted, assailable grounds. then marijuana would seem to be an Marijuana traffickers operate in item worthy of a boycott. organizations similar to cocaine distriTherearewmeobviousarguments , • butionnetworks, according to the that can t,e made against this proposal,' Dn1g Enfors:ement AgenCytsSpecial i~chiding:: uWhat abo~t ~ople who needrnaiijuana for health reasOns?" ' Agenf Johnny O. Granados. lie also affirmed that marijuana ', trilUicl<ers' Grant~j, sOine people need the drug networks, while less pervasive, arewst for ",edidn.a1purposes. If so, they can asvibJent as cocaine' trafficking netbe ~q¥~ed 'by prescripti9n, and have no 6~)p , go through the black marworks~ , " ',", ' Stop by and see a Jostens representative, Marijuana dealers do no,trece,~ye as ketJru,lt~ people compose a very, Sept. 6 -7 or Sept. 16-14 mu~ p~ess ' as those ~l1ingcocaine, . verY. s~l, Ininority of mariiuana us-11 a.m. to 4 p.m. but If the details are the san'lE!,they are ers,)\~\v~ver. For most, the drug isa to'~elect from a complete line of gold rings. luxutYitefu, ' involved in the murder, kidnaping, A $20 deposit is required. and torture of competitot:s, debtors, Some,:will argue that mari,juana can m~ ' Visa, Mastercard, and American Express accepted. and ' ~metimes even inn~nt ' bycome frpinsmall growers who are not 317 South State standers. Since the Medillin and Cali at alla5sociated with terrible crimes. (at North University) drug .cartels ar(;! also invoh:~ in the Yet jUHUffiCldt to ever,known eXilctIy Ann Arbor, MI '. I .' bodk,'Bt ;sUpply marijuana business, the list of crimes ' frOm;

Marijuana traffickers', networks" while less pervasive, are jusJ as cocaine' traffiCKing networks. " . "

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Campus Affairs

Racial SegregatitJhi Dirides Greeks

by Vincent DeSantis Uni versi ties across the country are experiencing racism that is prevalent not only in the general student body but also in the Greek System. At the University of Michigan the Greek system is segregated to the extent that black and white Greek systems are completely separate entities. Although the relationship between the two Greek systems is not antagonistic, it remains a microcosm of the separation of blacks and whites in society as a whole.

There are fundamental differences between black and white fraternitIes. To a certain degree the separation is defined by cultural variations. Each system operates by different goals, objectives, mottos and traditions.

White fraternities were founded pri- . marily at southern universities to promote the virtues of scholastics, honor, courage, and truth. Black fraternities were formed at the tum of the century to counter the exclusionary policies the white majority fostered, to help the community through service, and promote achievement in all endeavors.

One of the prominent reasons for the separation is that, until relatively recently, blacks and other minorities were not allowed in white fraternities.

Now, many predominantly white houses have member that are minorities. But according to Michael McDaniel, a member of Kappa Alpha Psi, "The racism in the past has a lot to do with how blacks and whites perceive the Greek system now."

The fact that many predominantly white houses have a small sampling of people of color has led to accusations of tokenism. Two years ago Rollie Hudson, a Michigan Daily staff writer, wrote that white houses initiate token

minorities only to relieve the racial tension or to prevent themselves ,from being called racist.

According to Barbara'Robinson of Minority Student Services, many blacks Who join predominantly white houses are shunned' by other blacks because they are perceived as "slapping the black community in the face."

students at this university. Because of this, according to one member 'of Kappa Alpha. Psi, ''The blacks on campus naturally feel more comfortable associating with the black Greeks and becoming members because many of the members went to the same high school. In this respett ,it is the University's fault that the Greek sys-

The fac~ that many predominantly white houses have a small sampling':of people ()fcolor has led to accusations hf to kenislll . .

There are societa1ptessures that dictate that blacks owe it to themselves to identify with their culture. If joining a white house prevents this self discovery, the person is held in contempt. As one black member in it predominantly white house said, "It is sometimes difficult being a member of a white house because you catch a lot of flak from the black community."

Robinson believes that it is wrong for member.s of the black greek system to scorn a black who joins a white house. She instead stresses individuality. She said, "If a black person becomes a brother of a whi te house and is happy with his decision that's fine, however, he should never be denied the possibility of becoming a brother in any white house."

But cultural variations and exclusionary policies are not the only cause of segregation in the Greek system.

Self-exclusion is also a factor. Many members ofthe black Greek system come from two Detroit high schools, Cass Tech and Renaissance, the alma maters ()f nearly 70 per cent of the black

tem is segregated. The University must recruit black students from other schools."

One cannot overlook such~ environmental factors. If an individual grew up in a predominantly black or white area, he is more likely to identify and to feel comfortable with members of his own race. Indeed, such voluntary self-segregation is painfully obvious even in the first week of school.

One only has to walk around a dormitory cafeteria to see the self-exclusion by blacks and whites.

According to Mary Beth Seiler of the Panhellenic Association, the relationship between the Black Greek Association and Panhellenic is not antagonistic, but she does concede that the separation is unusual. Most universities have only one Greek governing body and one fall rush. Seiler feels that if Panhellenic were to specifically target women during rush, it would have an adverse affect on the black sororities, making their rush smaller.

Robinson believes that another factor for the separation is economic.

Most black sororities and.fraternjties do not have the economic means or the membership to afford houses where they car\. hold rush. They must rent rooms at the Union, but that would be very expensi ve if they were to take part in formal fall rush along with the Panhellenic groups.

In both systems houses are committed to philanthropic activities.

JOint philanthropic activities have had mixed success. P.A.S.5. (Pepper and Salt Shaker), an organization which seeks to promote racial understanding bet,ween black and white Greeks, held a car wash last spring that raised about a thousand dollars for a local charity.

Many individuals in the Greek systems feel that such joint philanthropic events are a step in the right-direction, but others feel that the events are only staged to satiate the racial conscience of those who participate.

Greg Keegstra, organizer of last spring's car wash, feels that people may have gotten the wrong idea about the activity. ''We weren't trying to make a huge social statement. We were just trying to do something with houses we don't usually do anything with." Keegstra hopes that next year more houses from both greek systems will participate.

Desegregation is not high on either Greek system's agenda. The system has been defined and there have been no audible calls to change that system. Perhaps in the future members of both greek systems can come to a sincere understanding for the benefit of all.

Vincent DeSantis is a senior in economics and a staff writer for the Re-

view.

ACT-UP Continued From Page 13 interested in a dialogue over the very issues which they themselves raise.

They further demonstrated that they aren't interested in working out solutions. ACT-UP Ann Arbor, apparently, is only interested in operating within a system which allows it to espouse, uninterrupted and unchallenged,itsparticularviews. (Aslmade my way through the Diag the next morning, every one of my flyers had been taken down, and by' some odd coincidence, a new AQ'-UP flyer was rq'sted dose by).

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In retrospect it seems as though I tices of biblical proportions. . the group planned to do these things. I accomplished two of my goals. First, I Second, I proved to myself, and even invited the group to respond on successfully represented a dissenting hopefully to some others who have not the pages of the Review. I was told that voice for traditional values at the rally. no one person could speak for ACTyetformed an opinion, that ACT-UP is Groups like ACT-UP need to be chalnot the organjzed, universally openUP, but I was free to address my questions to the group as a whole at one of lenged and criticized. When they make minded and liberal group it purports statements about Ann Arbor and the their open meetings (held weekly at to be. Rather, it reacts with hostility the Michigan Union). Based upon my U-M being bastions of homophobic, toward anyone who questions any of experiences of Monday, August 6 at sexually repressed, bigoted, powerits credenda.

Ann Arbor City Hall, I think I'll pass on hungry white males, it hurts all of us.

My third goal, getting ACT-UP to The Ann Arbor News and the Daily are engage in a rational dialogue and to the invitation. only too happy t~ssist in fostering hck IIp its demands withexplanathese unfair characterizations by pretions, has not been metas of this writJeff Muir is a sophomore in political senting groups like ACT'::'UP as reing. I had a very cordial conversation science .and a staff writer for the Responsible citizens seeking to enlighten with a member of ACT-UP several .view. the uninf ~~, sS¢$~avout in' s- _j·'daysj~fl¢t:-:'fhetall~Val)lq·t·as1-¢dhi'mif ':f,' t. ,,~, (,", i [ ~"",' " t .i, \ ' . . i !, q1~:·t'1fiDt~'J J'" JU~'I':-o<) :r/fT''i,jJ)I,1 .• rr~h·!tf,t',; 'J)' '1h ':,·. ..,jl~~ ('~.l :11L,.b:J:I?~~j €.1 iUt:! ~;\!

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, The Michigan Review, Sept~mber 1990, p. 16

Arts: Book Review

ACold)War Hero's Swan Song In the Arena: A Memoir of Victory, Defeat,·altd Renewal Richard Nixon Simon and Schuster Hardcover, $22.95 384 pp.

by Jeff Muir Towards the end of In the Arena, Richard Nixon advises elderly members of Congress to be like former baseball star Ted Williams, "who retired when he was still good but past his prime and who hit a home run his last time at bat." Whether he planned itthis way or not, one cannot help but to think of both Nixon and his new book in these terms.

Part of In the Arena is certainly a memoir. Part of it is a sort of 'how-to' book of politics. But mostly, it is a typically excellent Nixon treatise on , the current state of domestic, national security, international, and geopolitical affairs. Although a rather strange book, when considered in its totality and in relation to his other works,In the Arena is certainly home run material.

When writing about foreign pol-

Reagan's foreign policy regarding the SovietUruon as well as the "Nuclear Freezeniks" should read In the Arena.

Nixon's ideas on foreign policy and the Cold War and Eastern Europe are quite enlightening.

The book also gives the reader an interesting perspective of Bush's China policy (Bush was appointed by Nixon to be the first U.s. Envoy to mainland China). Nixon offers solid, tangible; and reasonable ideas and explanations regarding our relations with China that dwarf the popular press' shallow and misleading "Tiananmen Square" rhetoric, which both exploits and trivializes the entire issue.

He mentions that "many have, wrongly concluded that a night of brutal repression in Tiananmen Square wiped away a decade of of progressive reforms in ChiI1a.'~ He. draws a contrast between the press' selective focus regarding this "one night of brutality" and its perpetual "fawning" over Gorbachev, despite the paltry nature of his reforms as compared to those of Deng Xiaoping.

Given all that has been writen and said about Richard Nixon over the years, getting his views and positions on a cornucopia of topics makes for interesting and often hilarious reading.

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icy, the state of. conservatism, the philosophical foundations of the Constitution, and politics in general, Nixon is fantastic. Again, Nixon proves he is one of the world's brightest and most articulate thinkers on these subjects.

A good portion of In the Arena concerns the Vietnam War, which Nixon handles with both precision and authority. He points out to the Jane Fondas of the world that although the fighting was brutal, and although the administration of the war was less than perfect, the fact remains that after the U.s. withdrawal, nearly 3 million people in the region were slaughtered by the communist governments which subsequently came to power.

But foreign policy has always been Nixon's stock- in-trade, and the sectionsin this book that deal with current foreign policy are, not surprisingly, the best. Those who opposed President

As Nixon so eloquently stated in 1999: Victory Without War, "What Gorbachev so far only dreams, Deng does."

The book's organization is rather strange, as the three categories that are prevalent throughout the work (domestic politics, geopolitics, and memoir) are not clearly defined or organ-

ized. Nixon seems to wander from one category to the next with no sense of direction. When he writes at length i ·

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about his kids, his wife, or his favorite forms of exercise, his words become bogged down in boring banalities that would probably only appeal to the National Enquirt;r or People magazine crowd: "I quit golf ten years ago. It was a hard decision, because I enjoyed the game. It combines physical exercise, stimulating competition, and warm companionship."

When writing about such domestic topics, Nixon seems uncharacteristic, and even silly. At one point he waxes philosophical about illness and health" A healthy vegetable is still a vegetable."

His treatment of the Watergate issue is both interesting and informative. Unfortunately, when many people think of Nixon, they link his name, almost exclusively, to what was effecti vely a third ra te burglary carried out by an underling's underling. He succinctly admits that he handled Watergate wrong from beginning to end. At one point, he expresses his

deep regret for what he perceives to be his "final legacy" to the Republican party - Watergate.

But Watergate was not Nixon's final legacy to either the Republican party or the conservative movement.

His books on the Cold War and foreign policy, five of which were written in the 1980s, pointed out to the general public (before it became fashionable) the inherent failures of Marxism and the inherent superiority of the "Peace through Strength" doctrine.

Which leads to what is undoubtedly the central theme of In the Arena: Defeat and Renewal. Nixon is emotional, but never bi tter, when discussing his many defeats, and confident, as well as uplifting, when discussing his many renewals and triumphs.

Even while Nixon is "wandering" through discussions about such seeminglyirrelevant topics as exercise or his fifth grade grammar teacher, he always seems to bring the focus back to either defeat or renewal. He then weaves together these two broad ideas with the more domestic outcomes that effected his later political life. In this way, Nixon succeeds in bringing a broad sense of organization to a book which covers very expansive territory.

Given all that has been written and said about Richard Nixon over the years, getting his views and positions on a cornucopia of topics makes for interesting and often hilarious reading. In the Arena also offers frank discussion about some of the most crucial issues that the U.s. has faced, both historically and currently. With today's ever changing geopolitical situation, the book is highly recommended to anyone with an interest in these areas.

Jeff Muir is a sophomore in political science and a staff writer for the Review.

Sick of Free Verse? Read 'the Formalist Ask a student to read a contemporary poem and interpret it. He will probably cringe and look for a place to hide. This, however, is not surprising considering modern poetry's obsession with free verse and obscurity.

The Fonnalist, a journal of new po-

etry written in traditional, metrical forms, dedicates itself to fighting these disturbing trends. Edited by the distinguished William Baer, the first issue included contributioos from Puli tzer Prizewinners, the two most recent U.s.

Poet Laurea tes, and even a seventhgrader. All who read The Fannalist will

discover a new- found delight in the nearly lost art of verse.

Single issues are available for $6.50, and a one-year (two issue) subscription costs $12. Write The Forma list at 525 S. Rotherwood Ave., Evansvi lle, IN 47714 for more in formation rega rding subscrip ti ons and submissions.

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The Michigan Review, September 1990, p. 17

Arts: Book Review ~

P.J. O'Rourke: J:h~ :New,,~QCClrthy?

The New Enemies List Complied by P. J. O'Rourke The American Spectator Paperback, $4.95 66 pgs.

by John J. Miller After carefully monitoring American cultural trends with the precision of a government-funded researcher studying anal-retentive behavior, conservative humorist P. J. O'Rourke decided the 1990s are going to be a lot like the 1950s. Of course, one of the most endearing features of that bygone era was the communist witch hUnts inspired by Sen. Joseph McCarthy .of Wisconsin. If our young decade even hopes to mimic the 19505, it will need an updated version of the Red Scare.

So O'Rourke penned an article for the July, 1989 American Spectator calling for a New McCarthyism. "There are more fuzzy-minded one-worlders, pasty-faced peace creeps, and bleeding-heart bed-wetters in America now than there ever were in 1954," he proclaimed. And, as he enthusiastically noted, "the fun part of McCarthyism is, as it always was, making out the

enemies list."

With this in mind, he launched into his own enemies list and urged his readers to submit additional entries,

which appeared in the October and November issues of the Spectator. The result became "a lovely file on the ideologically sinister, a fine, big matricula of scum."

The New Enemies List isa revised compilation of the articles and lists printed in the Spectator, and includes many contributors who eagerly blacklist hundreds of groups and individuals. Although some of those mentioned are not as descrving as others, this small, paperback booklet is, for the most part, a very thorough attack upon those who would undermine the glories of Western Civiliza tion.

Surprisingly, the most vilified enemy is "neither the Hymietown Rhymer nor In-:the-Drink Eddie," but Sen. Howard Metzenbaum (D-Ohio).

Not to be outdone, however, Metzenba~m's friends north of the border are well represented. Among the entries from Michigan are Gov. James Blanchard, Lt. Gov. Martha Griffiths, both sen~tors, 4 representatives, and Detroit Mayor Coleman Young.

Elements of the University of Michigan are frequently cited as objects of derision, such as pea-brained U-M alum Tom Hayden, former U-M professor Ali Mazrui, the (so-called) United Coalition Against Racism, the editorial staff of the Michigan Daily,

and the Ann Arbor Communist LesbianFood Co-op (wh~tever the hell that is). One bold reader from Des Plaines, lllinois does not want to take any chances: he suggests the entire City of Ann Arbor be eliminated.

Random entries include David Duke, Louis Farrakhan, and educators who use the term "Eurocetltric." The most interesting submissions, however, demonstrate an observant eye and a sharp wit.

One reader from New York scolds Nationnl Geographic, claiming "Every 2-3 months (the magazine shows) usa 'People's Republic' country withsmiling peasants and citizens." .

A resident of New Jersey reviles lawyers: "Theantichristwill havea law degree, of this I am certain."

An honorable citizen of Connecticut scorns "Rock groups that take up left-wing politics under the mistaken idea that they have something to contribute to society besides a driving backbeat and three chord progressions." Might I add to the list music critics who actually listen to Bono, Sting, Michael Stipe, and the other PUI:veyors of Pretension?

A married couple from Indiana chastises" Anyone who refers to 'the movement' and is not talking about bodily functions."

An obvious scholar of semantics

castigates people who classify certain minorities as "Native American." He comments, "What am If a potted plant?

I was born and reared in Texas."

A gentleman from Los Angeles yearns to expunge the Detroit Pistons, Fans of the Motor City Madmen, however, are encouraged to pity this poor soul, as he submitted his list sometime after the Pistons swept his hometown Lakers in the 1989 NBA Championship, but well before the Lakers dropped four of five games to the Phoenix Suns in last spring's Western Conference Semi-Finals.

The New Enemies List is great fun.

Most well-balanced individuals who come from good homes will agree with the vast majority of selections, although nearly everyone will protest some of the nominations. (One heretic even dared to name Bo Schembechler.)

Perhaps the best part of the book is the last section, entitled "Your Own Personal List of Enemies," which includes three pages of lined paper ready for listing. A final note encourages further submissions and promises an "Enemies List Update," in the future. After all, we've got to be thorough.

John J. Miller is a junior in English and ·editor-in-chief of the Review.

P.J.'s Bad Manners Modern Manners P.J. O'Rourke Atlantic Monthly Press Paperback, $6.95 280pp. .

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by Jolln ~.~ter }'AnEtiquetteBook for Rude

Pepple,'l,te4ds the subtitle, although ·''TheEtiqUe:ttes of Rude People," mi~htpea,morefitting title for P.J. O/Rourke'd~itdfuli-length work.

Nobo<tyJanliliar with O'Rourke '. 'would "a. cOnventional book ttomhim, and,· indeed/O'Rourke's ,conceptiotl of etiquette is clearly unconventional; For him, manners are to be manipulated to one's own advantage. Nothing is prohibited - sex, drugs, and rock and roll are openly encouraged. And, outside of a few one-liners, this book makes the reader wonder how O'Rourke ever gained his

exPect'

reputation as a conservative.

A little research, however, will reveal a telling passage from O'Rourke's first book, Republican Party Reptile: "Manners are the fonnal and ceremonial manifestations '. of a Society's underlying values/' So,Modern Manners must be read as a satire of America's declining tnQral values. The

inely funny sections. For example, O'Rourke includes several pages of information regarding "Regurgitation Courtesy" ("Every authority on eti~ quette discusses how to put thingsillto your mouth, but very few disCIl5S.M\v to get them out in a hurry:") His ideas on dating outrageously funny: "Half the fun pf.tl1j:)d.

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"Incest ... is perfectly acceptable, hoW~ ever/as long as it is done to enliven ,in: otherwisehland secret diary, set of memoirsl or unauthorized biography/' book's greatest weakness resides in the fact that this does not bec~me evident until the reader is well into the book.

Some might miss the point entirely.

There are, however, a few genu-

ern dating is contained in the spectacle of two slight acquaintances trying to figure out polite ways to ask each other whether they perform anal sex with hemophiliac bisexual central African

drug addicts," and "Incest ... is perfectly acceptable, however, as longas it is done to enliven an btherwise bland secret diary, set of memoirs, or unauthorized biography." Y~tfor the amount of humor this book Qtfers,one is better off sticking with O'Rbutk~'s two c.ollectians of essays,RepflbIiean Party Reptile .and Holidays in 1::liJl. ~ PJ O'Rourke isa writeriortonservatives who·for years have'hi<ftheir copies of Htinter S. Thomp$p~.:i~&ks whentneirRepublican friends.dr~p' by to visit. Unfortunately, MOiem:Manners does little tobolster his·reputation ~ his best recent work has appeared on the pages of the American Spectator.

One can only hope a compilation of that material arrives soon.

John J. Miller is a junior in English and editor-in-chief of the Review.

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Arts: Record Reviews

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by John J. Miller David J. has chosen an odd time to release a solo album. As the bass player of Love and Rockets, J. experienced his first real commercial successlast summer with that band's number three hit single, "So Alive." But instead of quickly recording a follow-up album which would almostcertainly receive a substantial amount of airplay, the band appears to be on a temporary' hiatus; Still, his move is not terribly surprising. In many ways, J. stands in the shadow of Daniel Ash, the guitarist and sometimes vocalist of LOve and Rockets. In concert, J., wearing dark sunglasses, plays his bass almost without movement, allowing Ash to grab the spotlight. And before he joined Love and Rockets, J. played with Bauhaus, behind not only Ash, but also Peter Murphy. It's really no small wonder he has recorded an album on

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Songs From Another Season is a good which he headlines.

And this album belongs almost , piece of music.

The opening tune, "I'll Be Your completely, to J.Heplays guitar on Chauffeur," sets the tone for the best nearly every song, often several gui' parts of the album: mellow, acoustic, tars over several tracks. Unfortuslightly tongue-in-cheek, and with an nately, his vocals are probably the underlying sense of confidence. Quiet effort's weakest element. Soft and and simple, J. easily strums away as he sings about celestial driving.

The second song, "Fingers in the Grease," recalls the traditional acoustic Love and Rockets album-closer. J., nowever,inserts,such a sense ofirreverence, climaxing in an outburst of kazoos, that he makes the song very much his own. As with many. of his . lyrics, here and elsewhere, they are like nursery,rhymes, but always hinting at something larger, The repetition of "Peelin'your, way/Inch by· inch/ Sometimes you feel velvetl Sometimes monotone, they.workwellwhen balthe pinch," .certainly speaks of more anced against, Ash!s' more varied, than tactile perception~ voice. Listening to this album, Love and Rockets fanswiU occasionally . On ''New Womanis anAtflfude/" J. satirizes how the women's fashion hear afamiliar sound and await Ash's industry dictates how women~hould entrance. Even on his solo album, J. continues to live a bit in the shadow of look, love, and live. "Ifyou haven't met his bandmates. But this is nitpicking. mister right/Read this/If you want to .

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win the fitness fight/Read this, read this," he sings. The song concludes to the lines, "Oscar de la Renta knows what makes a woman beautiful."

The album's most ambitious piece, musically and lyrically, has an intriguing title: "The National Anthem of Nowhere." Apparently about a search for self and meaning - "You've ... prayed to a vague god above/Slipped your fingers from the tyrant's glove/ Now you're looking for the words" the song becomes mired in its confused arrangement. Tempo changes blend together poorly, making the song disjointed and unmemorable.

When David J. sticks ~o his acoustic guitar and generally cohesive themes, he writes and records some very appealing music. On Songs From Another Season, J. demonstrates he has some-· thing worthwhile to offer, especially if hecan figure out how to make it last for more than half an hour.

John J. Miller is a junior in English and editor-in-chief of the Review.

Add:ictedto Jane's Jane's Addiction Ritual de 10 Habitual Warner Bros. Records

"Stop," starts the album. Featuring a neo-Zep~lin riff and Farrell's trade-' mark vocals, which soundtemarkably like the whining screams of a spoiled child, this one will join the ranks of other Jane's classics, such as "MountainSong," and the groups's fantastic

Yet,like a runner who kept too swift a pace, the band seems to grow tired as its creative fury dies half-way through side two. ''Then She Did" and "Classic Girl" are not musical catastrophes, but when juxtaposed with the other material on Ritual de 10 Habitual, they sound

the middle of "Had a Dad" on·

Nothing's Shocking, Farrell shouts "God is dead, he's not there at all."

While the song certainly transmits a sense of desperation, it never calls for such a bold phrase. On this album, Farrell makes similarly groundless statements, as when he alternately screams and mumbles something about "Erotic Jesus" and "All the Marys." If one can look past these shortcomings, however, and appreciate Farrell's vocals, then the lyrics present no problem.

In an era when Beethoven's Fifth Symphony sounds closer to heavy metal music than do the sappy ballads of West Coast glam-rock acts, Jane's Addiction injects a dose of muchneeded wake-up medicine into the genre. On Nothing's Shocking, the group proved itself formidable, on Ritual de 10 Habitual, it demonstrates sustaining power. This just might be the best hard rock band of the 1990s.

by John J. Miller The first time I heard Jane's Addiction, I got a headache. I still can't decide what caused it: a bad day at work or the group's loud metallic onslaught combined with Perry Farrell's screeching vocals. The band certainly sounded a lot different than other heavy metal outfits, even the good ones like Soundgarden. After weeks of listening, I finally decided that their 1988 release, Nothing's Shocking, is one of the best buys on the market. cover of· the Rolling Stones' "Sympa- ·like funeral dirges. "Of Course" is a thy for the Devil." failed experiment in exotic Arab And although Nothing's Shocking was a mostly strong effort, it did conTwo other highlights include the sounds. rockers "Ain't No Right," a song the Lyrically, Jane's Addiction has tain an occasional dud which marred Los Angeles-based band has been never been terribly impressive. The the whole creation. Ritual de 10 Habitual has a similar problem, except instead playing live for quite some time, and funtion of words is to give Farrell an of tripwires along the path, it simply "Three Days," which clocks in at just excuse to sing; his voice is treated like reaches a dead-end midway through under eleven minutes long. The fora musical instrument. It augments the mer is fast and furious, an ode to anarsound of the band,,) wt does not come the second side. Six of the album's nine songs, however, make for the best 30 chy. The latter combines many tempo out and make a seperate statement. continuous minutes of music the band changes with a relentless rhythm, Farrell does have a knack for turning John J. Miller is a junior in English has recorded. making the song's length an element an interesting phrase, but all too often and editor-in-chief of the Review.

Ironically enoug1\ asong.entitled . _ working to its advantage., . '. ,.", jUs meaningless ... , For. example, in . . . . ... , . .,

jane's Addiction injects a muchneeded dose of wake-up medicine into the genre. This just might be the best hard rock band of the 1990s.

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Arts: Record Reviews

Prince's Bridge is Falling' Down Prince Graffiti Bridge Warner Bros. Records

by Vince Wllk "That will be $11.64, please./1 "WHATI/1 I yelled in disgust at the Hannony House cashier. Quickly, however, I regained my composure and my frugality faded. After all, this was Prince that I was doubting, and everyone believes that his productions are musical masterpieces, right?

Wrong. Graffiti Bridge is yet another example of Prince's fall into the murky depths of mediocrity. Most of the songs on this new album lack the energy and spirit of Prince's earlier works, like 1999 and especially Purple Rain. He has yet to prove that his decision in 1986 to dump the Revolution, his backup band, was indeed for the best.

The feature that made Prince's albums with the Revolution critical and commercial successes was the jazzy mix of rhythm and blues riffs, electronic beats, and meticulously ar-

ranged vocals. The myriad of talents theRevolution brought together was the perfect vehicle for' Prince's highenergy, soulful style. But in 1986, after a little-publicized bout with cocaine addiction, Prince decided to dump the Revolution. When asked why, Prince remarked with characteristic tact, "Sometimes it snows it). April."

Now, unfortunatelyJor Prince and his record label, sometimes it snows in August and September. At press time, sales of Graffiti Bridge had been unusually slow, though the release of "Thieves in the Temple," a song presently receiving \-vide radio and video exposure, might soon amend the situation. Considering the content of the rest of the album, however, slow sales should come as no surprise.

The entire albums lacks creativity.

While listening to the tracks, I often wondered how many times a person could sing about the joys of one night stands and the pleasures of orgasm. To have produced such unending desire for physical conquest, Prince's pituitary gland must be nearly the size of a

coconut.

Songs that stray off the beaten path are psychological forays probably meaningful only to Prince. Others are trite. "Elephants and Flowers" is the story of, well, elephants and flowers. If you have ever owned a garden and have visited the zoo at least once, then you won't discover any startling new information contained here.

Even the interjection of the Tlmeas a backup band in several pie~does little to rekindle Prince'sold'~gic.

The titles of the songs performed by this collaboration offer an :if)~~pth description of the music. "R~tea5(dt/' "We Can Funk," ilLove Machine," and "Shake," are probably whatyO#w~nild imagine them to be about: submisSive women, weak enemies, and plenty of unmitigated sex and violence.' , Only one song on the album is reminiscent of Prince's past glory.

"Thieves in the Temple" has it all: an addictive melody, a catchy riff, and honest lyrics. Unfortunately, thisS()ng is the one glimmer of hope on anotherwise dismal effort.

Prince needs to reunite the Revolution. He has taken it upon himself, for whatever reason, to play all of the instruments on this album, sing most of the vocals, and even produce and arrange the entire piece. Even with Prince's immense talents, he cannot effectively accomplish these tasks alone. When one person composes everything, often a lack oJ diverse styles and patterns that only a band can create becomes glaringly apparent.

Graffiti Bridge will probably only become an obscure collector's item.

Lacking in aHarea' s, even the interjection of the Time does not enhance its originality. If you previousl y prayed at the alter of Prince, then you should purchase this album, if only for its relatively few interesting moments. If you feel otherwise, save your money and reduce your sorrow for a fallen deity.

Vince Wilk is a junior in psychology and personnel manager for the Review.

SAV OOKS SAV MONEY

Up to 25% off Bookstore Prices. YOU set the pricel

Don't Sell to Bookstores Come to West Quad Sept. 6-8 to sell &9-11 to buy

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The Michigan Review, September 1990, p. 20

The Michigan Review •

Needs New Staffers For All Positions!

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Opportunities exist in all areas, including writing, production, cartoons, illustrations, photography, distribution, publicity, .fundraising, advertising (50% commission on new ads), and various editorial positions.

Look for us at Festifallon Friday, Sept. 14. : ,~::;;. ?"t."

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Come to our Mass Meeting on Tuesday, S-ept. 18

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in the Michigan League,

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Questions? Call the Review at 662-1909.

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