European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - December 8, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes sunday december 8, 1985 Carl Rowan assault on affirmative action has gone far enough those two Justice department aristocrats Meuse my and William Bradford Reynolds Iii. Already have done so much damage to Black people poor people and the general Campaign for so Cial Justice in America thai they have provoked me to Gen Carnli a in ways that i Don t like about conservatives republicans and the Reagan administration As a whole. I still regard Meuse and Reynolds As mean spirited dangerous men. But 1 am glad thai around them arc some republicans und conservatives who arc sensitive enough and Gutsy enough to stand up to them and make me say anew judge people As individual " Meese the third and Reynolds the third have reasons to be angry at the groups they arc trying to write out of the script of american privilege and Planti full ass. The people fighting hardest to maintain constitutionally protected rights and to bring about economic racial Polit ical and other forms of Justice for women Blacks and hispanics arc the same peo ple who almost convinced the Senate that Melesc was unfit to be attorney general and who did convince he solons that Reynold did Noi deserve promotion to la no. 3 Job in the Justice department. It is not unexpected that Meese and Reynolds would try to get Ever in a number of ways ways that ult in y will weaken inc whole nation. It is also an unexpected pleasure that san Etc majority Leader Bob Dole a kans and House minority Leader Robert Michel Roll would Tell Meuse and Reynolds to bu/7 off and Stop trying to turn Buck the clock of racial Progress. It Bays something Good about America that even though Meuse is chairman of the Domestic policy Council labor Secretary Bill Brock. Secretary of housing and Urban development Sam Pierce transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole and outgoing Secretary of health and human services Margaret heckler would stand up to a desc and say that the Feder Al government must continue to Tell companies that gel government contracts that i hey must give a fair shake to women and minorities. And that they must submit James Kilpatrick meet tev fat Jford Reynolds the wit Power civil it jots advocate of our time., Wiere we my than Foat Ynve do Efa civil Toft to Tod. Reports proving that they Are hiring Quali fied people on a basis of fairness. Twenty years ago president Lyndon Johnson accepted As a truism the assertion that if americans can t get work because of racism and sexist prejudices on projects by Uncle Sam they will never find economic Justice anywhere. So Johnson signed an executive order instituting affirmative action requirements for Federal contractors. Richard Nixon and Jerry Ford continued these requirements with the support of most of the while business Community. To their credit the american people continue to express support despite the As Sault by Meuse Reynolds and others. A Louis Harris Survey shows that by a 69 to-27 percent majority americans say that Meuse is wrong in trying to do away with Federal affirmative action programs. When it works you know you Don t fix it says Michel. And i happen to think that what s been happening has been All leave it As it is says Dole of the executive order that began with Johnson. Michel and Dole know that in this venomous Campaign against affirmative action Meuse is going to drag a lot of decent republicans to defeat in 1986. But there is an Clement of morality and self respect Here too. How far is presi Dent Reagan willing to let Meese and Reynolds drag him into a designation in history As Leader of the most racist administration in this Century to naw America Syndicate title i voucher plan is a common sense solution the voucher plan proposed last month by the Reagan administration is 30 sound in principle and so constructive in its application that the Bill should go romping through Congress. The program would be Good for the poor children it is intended to Benefit. It would be Good for the Public and private schools where these children get remedial instruction. Further it would not offend the Constitution. By Way of background it should be said that con Gress 20 years ago created what is known As the title i program. Under this program Federal tax funds arc distributed to states and localities to finance special help to children who Are education ally deprived or nationwide about 5 million children have been participating in remedial classes. Three fourths of them Are in elementary grades about 55 percent arc Black. The program opera los Only in districts where poverty rates Are High. Until this past july when the supreme court handed Down its lamentable decision in Aguilar is. Fulton the program had been operating smoothly in both Public and Privalo schools. However the High court held that new York City s program in which Public school teachers were paid to teach remedial classes in parochial schools violated the Constitution. The court divided 5-4. Justice Sandra Day o Connor dissenting called the majority s decision chief Justice Warren Earl Burger said the majority s reasoning Borders on in any event the Aguilar decision effectively hailed inc till i program As it had been operating in Privalo schools and the decision led to last week s announcement of a voucher plan. The administration s Bill is intended to answer inc High court s objection to the entanglement of Church and stale under the former system. But even if there never had been an Aguilar Case inc voucher plan still would make Good sense. Under the Bill offered by education Secretary Wil Liam Bennett the $3.2 billion now provided for the title i program would be made available in the form of vouchers to parents or participating students. The vouchers averaging s600, could be used Only As pay ments to the Public or Privalo school in which the instruction is obtained. The great virtue of the program lies in the Freedom of Choice that would be extended to these families wealthy families already have such Freedom they can live in Well to do suburbs with Good Public schools or they can Send their children to excellent private schools. Poor families have no such Choice for Good or ill they arc stuck with the Public school monopoly. Under this plan parents could take their $600 and apply it toward tuition at something inc believe will be better. Bennett had no sooner concluded his press Confer ence last week than a howl went up from school us and local school boards. They Chare cd that Bennett was out to destroy the Public school by Stem As we have known the Short answer toys that. Wer o charge is Balderdash we arc talking about on y 5 of our 50 million children in Public schools. It is absurd to suppose that All of the 5 million Chil Dren in title i classes would flee to private institutions. But suppose that in some inner City elementary school in which two thirds of the children were eligible for till i they All did Iran scr to other Public or private schools. What would this Tell us for one thing it would speak eloquently of parental dissatisfaction with the school. If a school is a Lousy school doing a Lousy Job Why should it be kept alive the voucher Bill might be the very thing needed to galvanize poor schools into becoming better schools. Competition can do wonders. There is nothing especially novel about cd Cationic plans that arc based on Freedom of Choice. In one Fash Ion or another to greater or lesser degree Australia Canada Denmark England France Japan Belgium Sweden Germany. Ireland and the Netherlands support both Public and private schools. In our own country at least half a dozen states offer educational options of on kind of another. Bin Natl s till i vouchers could be used Only to schools that do not practice racial discrimination. The oct ailed provisions on this Point should quiet segregation academics in the South. The vouchers could be used however at parochial schools such As those thai were stunned by the Aguilar decision last summer it s a Good plan. Congress should write it promptly into Law. C 1sb5 Universal Pren Syndicate
