MSU Groups Change Tactics
On Controversial Speaker

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER

Hundreds of people came from
far and wide to rail against the
racial hatred and bigotry the Rev.
Farrakhan has been accused of
espousing.
Still, 4,000 others came to hear
him speak.
Five years later, when an ac-
cused anti-Semite came to speak
at the same campus, he was met
with an audience of about 80 peo-
ple and no public protests or ral-
lies.
- -
Ken Waltzer, president of the
Jewish Faculty and Staff Associ-
ation at Michigan State Univer-
sity, said the quiet and calm that
greeted Dr. Leonard Jeffries at
his speech at the MSU Union
Ballroom Feb. 2 was part of a
new approach to battling anti-Se-
mitic speakers who come to the
campus.
"It was an effort to avoid the
worst excesses of anti-Semitism,"
he said. "We didn't want to raise
higher the level of awareness that
Dr. Jeffries was speaking. Be-
sides, we knew there were other
events on campus that night that

Leonard Jeffries: Small reception.

JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER

would draw attention away from
the speech."
Dr. Jeffries, the director of
black studies at the City College
of New York (CCNY), was invit-
ed to speak at the university by
the Black Student Alliance. His
$2,500 fee was paid in part with
Coalition of Racial Ethnic Stu-
dents (CORES) funds, which are
intended for diversity program-
ming.
In the past, Dr. Jeffries has ac-
cused Jews of controlling the
slave trade before the Civil War
and also present-day Hollywood.
After hearing that university
funds were paying for Dr. Jeffries'
speech, representatives of the
Jewish faculty group mobilized.
First they met with university ad-
ministrators to discuss concerns
that the university appeared to
be continuing the funding of anti-
Semitic speakers such as the Rev.
Farrakhan and Dr. Jeffries.
"We have almost a whole
litany of African nationalist anti-
Semitic speakers who have come
to Michigan State," Dr. Waltzer
said. "What we are facing is the
continued silence of MSU ad-
ministrators when it comes to
these speakers."
Next, members of the faculty
association, joined by members
of the Jewish Student Union,
monitored the speech, placing

themselves among the 80-mem-
ber audience.
The behind-the-scenes ap-
proach appeared to be effective,
Dr. Waltzer said. "We are hoping
to affect some change."
Richard Lobenthal, executive
director of the B'nai B'rith Anti-
Defamation League, said the low-
key reaction to Dr. Jeffries is
evidence that newly formed or-
ganizations like the Jewish Stu-
dent Union and the Jewish
Faculty and Staff Association
have begun to work.
Before the organizations
formed about two years ago, a
loose-knit group of students and
faculty members would handle
the protests. Now, the members
communicate with each other via
e-mail. Members are now meet-
ing with the MSU administration
and the leaders of black student
and faculty groups to head off fu-
ture problems.
"They are much better orga-
nized in their response to prob-
lems. They handle (their reaction)
in a very unified, strong manner,"
Mr. Lobenthal said.
Another reason for the less-
ened reaction to Dr. Jeffries is
that he is less known than the
Rev. Farrakhan.
"He is just not the national fig-
ure that Farrakhan is," Mr.
Lobenthal said. E1

anuary and February are
the best months for agen-
cies to take the hour-plus
drive to Lansing and meet
with new lawmakers and renew
contact with capital veterans.
While year-round communi-
cation with political figures
helps familiarize
policy makers with
community issues,
day trips to Lansing
are prevalent right
now. And while lob-
bying. in Washing-
ton is generally left .
to national organ'-
zations, the Jewish
Community Coun-
cil sent a delegation
east earlier this
week to meet with
lawmakers.
"'The ongoing contact is es-
sential," said Dennis Much-
more, of Muchmore, Harrington
Associates, the lobbyist for the
Detroit Jewish community. "A
lot of the lawmakers are knowl-
edgeable about the agencies in
the Jewish community but it
doesn't hurt to remind them.
This is a good time of year to
make those contacts because
this is the beginning of the bud-
get process."
In the coming weeks, agen-
cies like the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit, Jewish
Family Service and,the Jewish
Community Council will send
delegations to the State Capitol
for get-togethers with key po-
litical figures.
Others, like Kadima and
Jewimh Federation Apartments,
ask clients and family members
to wage letter-writing cam-
paigns when issues affecting
their constituents arise.
The Michigan Jewish Con-
feren.ce, a voice in Lansing for
all of Michigan's Jewish com-
munities, is planning to make
April 27 a day of lobbying in
Lansing. Members of Jewish
communities throughout the
state will be invited to spend a
day in Lansing commemorat-
ing the Holocaust and talking
with policy makers, said Cindy
Hughey, MJC director.
Some of these meetings will
be with the familiar faces of
longtime legislators. Other en-
counters will acquaint freshman
lawmakers with the Jewish
community, Talks will be fo-
cused on issues like welfare,
mental health, funding and ed-
ucation.

161

"(JC)Council and Dennis
Muchmore can't do everything
on an agency's agenda," said
Reuben Rotman, director of
community resource develop-
ment with JP'S. "We need to be
out there more." For that rea-
son, JFS recently formed a gov-
ernment relations
committee.
On Feb. 22, they
will travel to Lans-
ing to talk about
welfare reform,
concerns about
block grants and
social service is-
sues.
JFS has meet-
ings scheduled
with Farmington
Hills Rep, Jan
Dolan, who chairs
the House Mental Health Com-
mittee; Rep. Shirley Johnson of
Royal Oak, vice chair of the
House Appropriations Com-
mittee, and Sen. Robert Geake
of Northville, vice chair of the
Senate Appropriations Com-
mittee.
Appointments with Rep.
Maxine Berman of Southfield
and James Havenian, the di-
rector of the Michigan Depart-
ment of Mental Health,
are also scheduled.
The JCCouncil spent the ear-
ly part of this week in Wash-
ington meeting with national
policy makers. Council mem

I~d~ l dl l ~ lfl II

"Ongoing contact is
essential."

— Dennis Muchmore

bers planned to air their posi-
tions on school prayer, foreign
aid to Israel and the balanced
budget amendment
Meetings were scheduled
with freshman lawmakers Rep.
Dick Chrysler, Rep. Lynn
Rivers and Sen. Spencer Abra-
ham. Engagements were also
scheduled with Sen. Carl Levin
and Rep. Joe Knollenberg.
In the meantime, some ag-en-
cies like Jewish Vocational Ser-
vice and the Michigan Jewish
Conference are adopting a wait-
and-see approach.
`There are no specific issues
identified at this point," said
JVS's Linda Remington. 'We're
waiting to see what happens in
Washington." ❑

FEBRUARY

hen Louis Farrakhan
came to Michigan State
University five years
ago, he was greeted
with two major public protests —
one to promote ethnic harmony
and the other to denounce anti-

Gearing Up
To Lobby Lansing

15