The Michigan Daily-Saturday, November 17, 1979-Page 7
Iranian crisis spurs protest on Diag
By STEVE HOOK
More than 200 people filled the Diag at noon
yesterday as two groups expressed opposite,
views on the current crisis in Iran peacefully
shared the University's most popular political
arena.
The demonstration was officially initiated by
the United American Party (UAP), a group
protesting the siege of the American embassy
in Tehran where students are holding 98
Hostages to protest the exiled Shah of Iran's
presence in a New YorFhospital. Deposed Shah
Mohammed Reza Pahlavi is suffering from
cancer.
BUT WHILE UAP chairman Ted Kanakis
and a dozen supporters spoke from the steps of
the Qraduate Library, about 40 representatives
of the Young Socialist Alliance, the
Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade and
the Young Workers Liberation League mar-
ched in a circle carrying signs critical of the
United States.
During the hour-long demonstration anti-
Iranian demonstrators, who ultimately num-
bered near 20, waved an American flag and
burned an effigy of Iranian leader Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini. A far greater number-of
onlookers - about 150 - shouted anti-Iranian
slogans and joined to sing "God Bless
America" in an air of amused detachment at
proceedings.
One smiling spectator surveyed the scene
and commented, "You have the fascists over
here and the Communists over here . . . this is
great!"
AS THIS OCCURRED, the pro-Iranian group
quietly marched in a circle. Some stopped to
talk to friends and well-wishers; others stopped
to convey their arguments to adversaries
denouncing their efforts. Many, however, mar-
ched silently, oblivious to the commotion
around them.
Several Ann Arbor police officers appeared
at the demonstration, some standing on the
outer edges of the Diag, and some moving into
the center of the activity. Although the op-
posing groups occasionally bickered, they
ignored each other most of the time, and there
were no physical confrontations.
As the two groups demonstrated on the diag,
a third group peacefully assembled on the
grass surrounding the concrete: members of
the Pi Tau Kappa engineering fraternity held a
contest to see whose homemade mechanical
device could hurl a roll of toilet paper the far-
thest.
"THIS DEMONSTRATION was held to show
that we are concerned about the hostages,"
Kanakis said. Hoarse and breathless after his
speech, he said, "we gotta free the hostages -
the only way to do that is to show the world that
you are behind your people."
Kanakis then unraveled his American flag,
tied to a baseball bat, and walked into the cen-
ter of the circle of picketers, as the rest of the
crowd roared its approval.
But the picketers offered an alternative view.
"We think there should be both voices ex-
pressed at this demonstration," said a
protester who refused to give her name. "The
students should not think there is just one side
to this issue."
MANY IN THE crowd entertained them-
selves by making light of the conflict. "We will,
we will NUKE YOU," they sang, and were
received with loud laughter. Another chant
followed, adding to the almost comic at-
mosphere: "Carter and the Shah, 1980!"
When persons attempted to deliver serious
speeches, they were met with loud reactions, in
the form of cheers, heckling and loud cries of
"Bullshit!" When a pro-American shouted,
"They have our nationals, free the Tehran 60!"
- an adversary shouted, "and they're a bunch
of CIA agents and military personnel!" The
crowd drowned her out with boos, and many
simply chuckled at the impasse.
Responding to the abundance of belligerent
chants and slogans, one observer shouted,
"Nuke Ohio State, nuke everybody,! LET'S
HAVE WAR!" He laughed loudly and turned
toward the fishbowl. _ ____ _.
N..
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University Iranians disorganized since
(Continued from Page D
Sh
STAFF AT THE University's Inter-
national Center say the approximate
number of Iranians currently on cam-
pus has barely changed from last
year's total of between 250 and 300.
Nevertheless, all Iranian students,
University officials, and faculty inter-
viewed agree the various Iranian
political organizations active on cam-
pus last year have vir4ually disap-
peared because their leadership and
most vocal members returned to Iran
immediately after the revolution in
February.
Abdullah (not his real name), who
has attended the University for three
years, says he is one of. a handful of the
approximately 25 to 30 formerly active
members of the Iranian Students
Association (ISA) left on campus. "We
have no official organization, all our
leaders went back to Iran," after
Khomeini came to power, he said.
ISA WAS considered probably the
largest Iranian political group on cam-
pus and was a branch of a larger inter-
national organization.
OTHER MAJOR local Iranian
political groups such as the campus-
based Organization of Iranian Moslem
Students (OIMS) and the Moslem
Students Association - Persian
Speaking Group (MSA-PSG) also of-
ficially disbanded when their leaders
returned to Iran, according to Hasan, a
former MSA-PSG member. -
John Heise, director of the Univer-
sity's International Center, says the
Iranians "seem to be much less obvious
around campus this year and are not
keeping such a high profile (as they did
last year)."
Iranian students interviewed say
they prefer to keep a low profile
because of the current tense at-.
mosphere.
THE APPROXIMATELY 50,000
Iranians in the United States - and
particularly those at the University -
come overwhelmingly from their coun-
try's upper classes. Many of them,
students and officials say, were from
families with connections to the shah
and the bureaucracy he controlled.
Despite having taken advantage of
these connections to the shah's
bureaucracy, however, the Iranians in-
terviewed all said they opposed the.
shah. But since Khomeini came to
power, many of them and their families
have lost fortunes or otherwise suf-
fered. Consequently, many have am-
bivalent views towards the current
Iranian government.
Ali (not his real name) says he was
anti-shah and in his seven years in the
United States became active in ISA
protests against the shah. But he says
he decided to "slow down" his activities
in. the ISA when in 1973 his father,
whose business was closely linkedwith
the shah's regime, received word from
the Iranian government of his son's ac-
tivities.
'IRANIAN STUDENTS abroad were
hurt when the Khomeini regime
dismantled several major governmen-
tal and quasi-governmental agencies
which sponsored Iranian students'
education abroad. Such sponsors paid
all the students' tuition and room and
board. They usually provided money
for living expenses, too, according to
University Supervisor for Accounts
Fred Caryl.
This year only 25 Iranians are spon-
sored by Iranian agencies, as com-
pared to well over 100 a year under the
Shah, Caryl said.
The Khomeini government also
placed limits on the amount of money
that could be sent outside the country.
Under the Shah there was noelimit.
IRANIAN STUDENTS affected by
this reduction in their income say they
have reduced their standard of living
and, in some cases, assumed heavier
teaching fellow burdens to make up the
differences.
ab's fall
K. Allin Luther who, as University
professor of Persian Studies. has,
frequent contact with Iranians, citess
this as a factor in a different attitude
among many Iranian students this
year.
"(One) sees less of them this year,
many feel they have less time to fool
around and have to hurry up and get
their degrees-they have to work har-
der," he said.
1a
,.
Iranians and other people inter-
viewed said the Iranians at the Univer-
sity were never very vocal or organized.
even during the height of the anti-Shah
movement on American campuses.
Several sources suggested this is due to
the caliber of student the University
accepts and the workload it demands.4
-f
8 face weapon charges in Md.
From The Associated Press
With some 60 Americans being held hostage in the
U.S. Embassy in Tehran, there were these develop-
ments in the U.S.:
* Seven men and a woman, believed to be Iranians,
were arrested by federal authorities on illegal weapons
charges in Baltimore. An assistant U.S. attorney said
the eight were arrested Thursday night at the
Baltimore-Washington International Airport carrying
high-powered rifles, ammunition, scopes and a street
map of Washington with embassy buildings marked.
Court documents said one of the suspects told federal
agents the weapons were destined for Iran.
" The school board at Greenville, S.C. Technical
College voted to bar Iranian students from classes
during the quarter beginning Nov. 28, if the American
hostages are not released.
" The Students for a Liberation Society compared
plans to deport Iranians to the internment of Japanese-
Americansduring World War II.
* An estimated 2,500 persons gathered on the
Southeastern Oklahoma State University campus in
Durant for what was billed as an old-time American
,rally.
* An immigration official in Seattle said some
Iranian students found to be out of compliance may be
eligible for reinstatement. He cited the example of an
Iranian woman who has married an American and
may be able to avoid deportation by becoming a per-
manent U.S. resident.
" An ABC News poll showed Carter receiving strong
public support for his handling of the situation. The
random nationwide telephone survey of 502 Americans
on Thursday showed 64 per cent of those polled ap-
proved of his actions, while 23 per cent disapproved.
Twelve per cent of those polled favored returning the
deposed Shah of Iran to his homeland.
" Calling the deposed shah a "criminal," more than
1,200 black ministers demanded his deportation "as
quickly as possible." At the final day of a week-long
National Black Pastors' Conference in Detroit, the
ministers also urged the Carter administration "to end
its harassment of Iranians in America" and issued a
position paper urging release of the American
hostages.
* Officials in Florida and Alabama reported a sharp
increase in the number of Iranian students wanting to.
marry Americans. Americans married to foreign,
citizens may seek permanent residency for their
spouses, but federal officials may deny the request if
they determine the marriage was arranged for the
purpose of staying here.
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Continued from Page 3
manufacturing techniques.
"We don't need a great deal of basic
research," said Clark. "We need to get
building, get production up and costs
down."
Another of Clark's solar projects is
aimed at this very problem. He is
collaborating with some engineers at
Ford Motor Company on a report for
the U.S. Department of Energy
outlining how the 'mass production
techniques used by the automobile in-
dustry could give a boost to the solar
industry.
CLARK POINTED to the direct con-
version of sunlight into electricity using
photovoltiac cells ' as the most
promising solar technology, although
he said he doesn't expect it- to make a
significant contribution for possibly 50
years.
In this system, satellites with huge
panels of photovoltaic cells will be put
into orbit and the energy they collect
Would be beamed to earth stations and
distributed.
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x COEVOLUTION is
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which originated
as the
T WHOLE EARTH
CATALOG.
The Spring 1979
issue deals with
Genetic Toxicity
WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY
STUDENT ENTERTAINMENT COMMITTEE
PROUDLY PRESENTS
A LECTURE BY
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Former Israeli Prime Minister
ONLY MICHIGAN APPEARANCE
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