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Impotence
When the ASUN Senate stumbles into
action tonight, that august body once
again will be doing the same thing: its
laundry. In fact, each time the senate has
met this semester, it has concentrated on
taking care of its own business,
untangling and inching through its
bureaucratic chores.
True, last spring the senate discussed
the student lawyer proposal, and some
senators worked toward its
implementation. But a review of the 10
meetings since the new administration
took office reveals that that is about all
it has done.
The group has spent the rest of its
time discussing its own budget, tusseling
with the Council on Student Life over
appointments to the Publications
Committee, fighting over how much
money to give the Student Bar Assn. and
straightening out its own rules of
procedure.
This year's record seems to indicate
that ASUN has become nothing more
than a mant bank from whose reserves
other student organizations can make
withdrawals. Its second function appears
to be appointing persons to committees.
There are those who will say, "Look
at the stands the organization has
taken." True, it has taken some stands.
Last spring it supported then-UN L law
student John Robinson in his victorious
race for the City Council. It also passed
resolutions on football tickets and
alcohol on campus.
But passing resolutions means
nothing. The resolutions have been just
the sound and fury of a group edging
closer to impotence.
So what is ASUN to do to regain the
importance it once held? Perhaps a good
place to start would be the establishment
of a new program which could aid
students. The last such program
established by ASUN was the Program
for Active Commitment to Education
(PACE). It was the brainchild of student
government leaders and has aided scores
of students through scholarship funds it
provides.
To establish such programs will take
more than the few hours a week or less
many senators are devoting to ASUN. It
will require scouting around for new
ideas and much frustrating work. But
that is why the current administration
was elected. Senators and executives
must do more than just manage the day
to day business of the student
government.
Michael (O.J.) Nelson
'Deficiency deviants' fail to hurtjdefense budget
I so I a t i on i st-., p. n ,!!:.. pr-mit
changers, one .i Id .- i i ;
advocates ..in'! li i n-Anin,,!
groups leceived a tj;hl: .. thack the
past two we- ! .i' U S i Mi".
adopted a new dcf. budget Hint
will assure tins ( ounn , adequa te
protection hum fon jn aijai es-.ion.
This is (ill! a bah' .-ir.!fiy (ill
Ameiicj, howcvei, .is -. 's.'fi billion
weapons pMrui':m' nt, t- M.,iich ofi
development bill HI'! ''.!'.''. r wv must
go to a joint Vim!' H"u onfe-ient e
Committee to if r i; f li I ii f.i in
the measuies t . i . . i 0 tin. two
chamber,.
ohn
vihscoc
Sfferafit;
The Nixon administration found n
necessary to enqage in exhaustive
lobbying e((oit to protect its
requested defen.e budget, which,
except for ,i fev notable exceptions,
managed to escape the ax of the
deficiency ' :r -. for fiscal year
1974. the tint, i. it ion sought $22
billion. On July 31, the House of
Represent. it i v- trimmed the bill to
S20.5 billion L ist ,v V the Senate
approved a Si'U ') billion budget.
CspK.i.iNv : i
vote by v
rejected .in
Thomas Mcl:iii.
have slo.vn ' i
Of the (lev. ' ' ! ;
would have ' '
'page 4
ihiiy
! .Ml.
Soviet Union already h.is launched
thiee Indent tyne subrnai .nes capable
ol tiling long range nur.leai missiles at
the U.rj. from ocean sanctuaries.
In the wools of Sen, Henry Jackson
(I) Wash), "If by our indecision and
v. if. illation in the Congress, we signal
the Swifts We ac willing to give thi.Mii
nil .iiiingful numerical dispaiities m
straiegir. foii.es - if..,we convey 1 1 1
impi'i'ssif)ii we ate not alert to
thi;... .con s e f 1 1 1 cute s of such
di .cup nicies, thiin tlicic will Im' no
fh.Hii" that g'Miuine .ums limitation
agicemcnts and the stalnhty that will
flow fi'ini ihiMii f.aii be achieved."
'I he only uidot victory foi the
Pentagon critics came when the Senate
voted 48 36, on an amendment by
Sens. Mike Mansfield (D Mont) and
Hubert Humphrey (D Minn), to reduce
by 23 per cent the 471,000 land based
U.S. troop., stationed overseas.
I his congressional interference with
out troop levels aUoad is imprudent,
to say the least America must have
flexibility in this matter, as talks with
the Russians on mutual and balanced
force reductions in Europe open Oct.
30. What incentive will the Kremlin
have to negotiate seriously when it
simply can sit back and watch the U.S.
cut levels on a unilateral basis?
Apait from that one flaw, the
defense hill is full of beneficial
provisions, among them :
- Reduction m the nuniU r of
per son, il seivanls and house-hoys
allowed to admirals and generals.
bar teconstruction aid to Noith
Vietnam until all U.S. Hoops missing
in action aic accounted for.
-Bar settlement of India's S.'j
billion nebi to the () S. at less than the
full amount
A 1 1 to - a i 'at ion of $b0 million to
help ommunitirs shift to ( ivilian
imiu uy when military installations
at - ! i i
It is important to note that the
Pentagon is asking for Si. 3 billion less
than it did last year. While in current
billions the figuie may seem like a high
sum, the defense budget measured in
constant dollars is down by almost
one- third since 1908. When the Nixon
administration took office, more than
9 per cent of our gross national
product (GNP) went to defense. The
level now is less than G per cent and
dtopping. In terms of GNP jcrccntaye,
the USSR spends twice as much on
defense as we do.
Just because Soviet-American
relations have improved considerably
over the past few years does not mean
necessarily that the USSR has
undergone a fundamental alteration in
its totalitarian ideology and objectives.
At home, repression of dialogue and
dissent continues at a pitch unequaled
since the darkest days of Stalinism.
Looking beyond its borders, Russia
continues to implement the fastest
growing military establishment and
research and development program of
any country on the globe.
A current analysis by the highly
regarded Institute for Strategic Studies
reveals the USSR is rushing to build
the maximum number of everything
and anything allowable under the first
SALT agi cement. They already have
overtaken the U.S. in strategic missile
launchers, long-range missiles and
nuclear submarines.
Any but the most elementary
reductions in the defense budget
would be at the cost of American
national security. It certainly is far
wiser to spend enough now to insure
the safety of the United States than to
scrimp in the name of thrift and
economy and be sorry later.
V
NX X- J
daily nubrankan
Wednesday, October 10, 1973
