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Vote Liberty for change

I found your editorial on the MSA presidential tickets in Tuesday's Daily ("Vote Michigan Party: Rose, Mehta will provide strong leadership," 3/26/96) rather amusing, and would like to clarify the record on a few issues that were and were not mentioned.

The Liberty Party program is one of vision and insight into real change. We have identified real problems with the structure of the Michigan Student Assembly and the way it operates. Unlike the pessimism that we see in the national candidacy of Pat Buchanan the Liberty Party is optimistic. Our plans are based on past and current programs which work, while gutting those that do not. To say that our plan is utopian is a compliment. I, quite frankly, do not want to have a doomsday view of the future of MSA, and I'm sure the editorial staff of the Daily feels the same way.

The keystone of the party is our plan to change the funding structure of MSA from one that is mandatory to one that is voluntary. It is rather revolting to me to see my opposition and the Daily scoff at this idea as being utterly ridiculous. It is revolutionary, true; but ridiculous it is not. Coercion, which is currently used to get MSA's funding, breeds ill will.

The Liberty Party plan goes one step more, too. The fees for MSA, the Ann Arbor Tenants' Union and Student Legal Services will be voluntary. Students will have the choice as to whether or not they want their money going to these entities. The Liberty Party plan includes a provision for at least 90 percent of the collected monies to actually go to student groups, up from a paltry 37 percent (the current rate). Students will be able to check off the groups that will receive their money, too! We think that this is a great plan, and others should seriously investigate it.

The Liberty Party is deeply upset with the double talk coming from MSA. The Liberty Party wants to eliminate the weighted ballot system and replace it with a simple straight ballot. In this manner less ballots will be thrown out because of not properly following the ballot instructions.

The Liberty Party strongly urges the assembly to work with the University in order to provide more convenient parking options for students. Currently there is a severe parking shortage on both Central and North Campus, and the party seeks to have MSA vigorously work on this problem and actually bring direct results to the students.

The Liberty Party would make much-needed improvements within the student governing structure and within the University itself. It is the party's belief that most of these changes would be supported by the student body, and that is precisely the reason we are running candidates in this election and will be running candidates in future elections.

MARTIN F. HOWRYLAK

LSA JUNIOR