Page 4-Sunday, March 18, 1979-The Michigan Daily
LOOKING
BACK:
THE WEEK
IN REVIEW
A fierce diVsplay
of student activism
One of the most forceful protests in
recent years rocked the campus this
:week as approximately 200 students
and members of the Washtenaw County
Coalition Against Apartheid (WCCAA)
protesting University investments in
corporations doing business in South
Africa, succeeded in halting the Regen-
ts' monthly meeting. After occupying
the Regents' Room Thursday afternoon
and most of Friday, the protesters en-
ded their demonstrations around mid-
afternoon Friday when the Regents ob-
tained a restraining order permitting
them to hold their, public meeting
behind closed doors.
The two-day protest began at ap-
proximately 1 p.m. Thursday when the
protesters arrived at the Regents'
meeting after an hour-long Diag rally.
Entering the Regents' room just as the
meeting was about to begin, the
protesters yelled cheers calling for the
University to get out of South Africa.
Then they began a 45-minute
"dialogue" with Interim University
President Allan Smith. Smith tried
repeatedly to begin the meeting, but
when he did not open discussion of
divestment, he was interrupted by the
protesters' chants. After 45 minutes of
back and forth bickering, the Regents
recessed while the students, many of
whom sat in the Regents' chairs, held a
strategy session before deciding to
leave the room at around 2:30. At 3 p.m.
the Regents returned to the now-vacant
room and approved the merger of the
Journalism, Speech and Theater depar-
tments
BUT AT 4 p.m. the two sides confron-
ted each other again during the public
comments session in the Union
Ballroom. Graduate student Jemadari
Kamara, spokesperson for the
protesters, delivered an emotional ap-
peal to the Regents, demanding that
they place the divestment issue on their
April meeting as an action motion.
Kamara's speech was punctuated
with applause from the crowd and,
when Smith said the Regents could not
place the issue on their agenda, the
crowd began to boo and hiss. Protesters
repeatedly shouted questions and bitter
slogans at Smith and the Regents.
Following the public comments
session, a group of protesters cornered
Regent James Waters (D-Muskegon)
and asked that he present a motion
calling for Regental action on the
divestment issue at the Friday morning
session of the Regents' meeting. After
some convincing, Waters agreed to en-
dorse the motion, but because he would
be absent from the Friday session, he
asked Regent Sara Power (D-Ann Ar-
bor) to present the motion in his behalf.
Power agreed to do so.
BUOYED WITH the hope of action on
Waters' motion, the protesters again
entered the Regents' room at around
9:20. The Regents had reconvened at 9
a.m. and had had enough time to ap-
prove an estimated range for fall
tuition hikes for undergraduate state
residents.
Shortly after the arrival of the
protesters, Regent Thomas Roach (D-
Grosse Pointe) introduced a resolution
calling for an updated report on cor-
porate adherence to the Sullivan Prin-
ciples, a set of anti-discriminatory
principles, be compiled by the Senate
Advisory Committee for Financial Af-
fairs (SACFA) and that two students to
be appointed by the Michigan Student
Assembly (MSA). The resolution,
which did not place a time limit on
SACFA, passed unanimously, but was
met with angry protests of "We want
action, and we want it now !"
It was at this time that one protester
called on Power to present Waters'
motion. She refused, saying Roach's
resolution "Falls even beyond the in-
tent of Mr. Waters' resolution."
THE PROTESTERS continued to in-
terrupt the process of the meeting,
demanding the Regents allow WCCAA
member Ann Fullerton present a report
on Cornorate nolicies in South Africa.
After a 25-minute recess, the Regents
allowed Fullerton to speak for five
minutes.
Following Fullerton's report, chants
from protesters led to another Regental
recess. While the Regents were filing
out of the room, a scuffle occurred
when protesters, following closely
behind the Regents, allegedly grabbed
Regent Gerald Dunn's (D-Lansing)
shoulder. Two University students were
arrested by Ann Arbor police as a result
of the incident. Both were released
later in the day.
During this recess, students
remained in the Regents' Room and
planned strategy, and many spoke to
blast the South African system of apar-
theid. Meanwhile, the Regents and
Smith asked Regents secretary
Richard Kennedy to seek a court order
permitting the Regents to meet
privately. Under the Open Meetings Act
of 1976, the Regents' meetings'must be
held publicly, unless the court approves
a private session.-
The injunction was granted by
Washtenaw County Circuit Court and
presented to the protesters by Ann Ar-
bor police at around 2 p.m.
The protesters, angered at the
issuance of the order, discussed their
next move. After one half hour, the
protesters decided to move to the Diag.
They reasoned that their purpose had
been to prevent the Regents from
meeting, which the restraining order
had rendered impossible. The Regents,
by that time were isolated in a second
floor meeting room in the Ad-
ministration Building. Access to the
floor was prohibited by police and
security guards stationed at stairwells.
Elevators in the building also had been
locked.
The Week in Review was written
by Editor-in-Chief Sue Warner.
Doly Photo by ANDY FRL-EtRG
The meeting that nobody attended. The Regents finally conducted normal the press and those invited by the Regents to attend their meeting. The meet-
University business after obtaining a court order allowing only members of ing was held in the second floor of the Administration Building.
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Eighty-Nmie Years of Edi t orial Freedon
Vol. LXXXIX, No. 133
News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
Tanzania must withdraw
F OR MOST of this decade Uganda's But despite all the atrocities per-
President Idi Amin has imple- petrated by Amin and his ruthless
mented policies that have often aides, Tanzanian President Julius
violated the basic human rights of Nyerere should immediately remove
many of the country's citizens. He has his forces from Uganda. They have no
ordered numerous mass executions of right to intervene in the affairs of
any dissidents he suspected were plot-another country, no matter how
ing to overthrowhis regime. And he abhorrent the internal composition of
has ruthlessly invaded Uganda's that government maybe. Tanzania has
southern neighbor, Tanzania. no more right to cause Amin's over-
But while his leadership has been throw than Vietnam had to take
distasteful and contrary to human similar action against Cambodia.
decency, foreign intervention by Tan- Neither did China have a right to
zanian forces trying to topple Amin's "punish" Vietnam.
rule can not be condoned. The right to overthrow Amin's
Amin's forces invaded Tanzania last regime belongs solely to the Ugandan
December, and recent counter-attacks people-and nobody else.
display Tanzania's clear superiority Tanzanian forces contend that they
over the Ugandan troops. Many obser- are just forcing anti-Amin rebels to
vers from nearby Kenya believe Amin win back their country because the
will be dethroned by a combination of Ugandan leader has continually
Tanzanian troops and Ugandan exiles. violated the human rights of his
Many of the exiled Ugandans, who fled citizens. But reports clearly indicate
possible execution from the dictator that the Tanzanians have been driving
during the last eight years since Amin closer to Kampala right next to the
led an overthrow in 1971, now live in rebels.
Tanzania or Kenya. As Tanzanian for- Nyerere has no right to decide that
Tareaithinya stin ianefor his country can serve as judge and jury
c;s are wtlhin striking distance of for another country. He has the right to
*Kampala, the capital of Uganda, it ap- -
pears that the rebels will finally have judge but must stop playing the role of
their revenge. jury and quickly pull out of Uganda.
The following is an editorial
from the Florida Alligator, the
,student newspaper at the
University of Florida in
Gaineseville. Beginning today,
this space will be reserved for
comments from other student
newspapers across the coun-
try. This week's article focuses
on the school's involvement
with the Central Intelligence
Agency.
Tom Wicker puts it rather nic-
ely.
In dissecting the aura of decep-
tion surrounding the t"national
security mystique," the noted
columnist for The New York
Times spends much space in his
book On Press shooting holes in
the government's favorite claim
to secrecy. Wicker says:
THE NATIONAL security
mystique goes so little
challenged, in or out of gover-
nment . . . The record of Viet-
nam alone ought sufficiently to
discredit the notion of gover-
nment infallability and the
assumption of selfless virtue. But
it hasn't. The mystique per-
sists .. "
The validity of the veteran
journalist's observations is
No mystique in our
national security
Editorial from the University
of Florida student newspaper
strikingly clear when brought
downto the podunk level of a
state university and its student
newspaper. The Alligator un-
covered last-month the existence
of the first CIA grant award-
ed to UF researchers in
years. Three scientists are con-
ducting research which the CIA
eventually hopes to use in
developing a lie detector test that
probes the secrecy of the brain.
The hesitancy of UF officials to
release, upon Alligator demand,
the research proposal drafted by
the three UF scientists'puts Tom
Wicker's contentions in an in-
teresting light.
UFradministrators withheld
the proposal for a full
week-against the Florida Public
Records Law-while debating the
merits of publicizing the resear-
ch.
IN BUYING time, Tigert brass
warned of giant cancellations and
the revealing the proposal we had
so diligently requested. "If the
enemy were to get hold of the
principle (of the research), war-
ned official spokesman Hugh
Cunningham, "then the enemy
could then begin to pursue coun-
teractive methods."
Nonsense. "The enemy" no
doubt already is well awareof
what the CIA is studying. The
CIA did not even bother
classifying the UF document top
secret. And the proposal, as it
later developed after UF brass
hats relinquished the document,
had little to say in terms of CIA
intent anyway.
Wicker notes:
THE NATIONAL security
myth "persisits, too, despite
evidence of how often thedphrase
is used merely for purposes bf
covering up what an ad-
ministration does not want to be
known.
"It's persistence of course, is to
some degree owing to the facts
that there is a national security
and there are some secrets vital
to it. But this truism is consisten-
tly blown out of all proportion to
what are probably relatively few
secrets vital to national
security."
THAT UF scientists are con-
ducting experiments.for the CIA
is at least disconcerting, but in
view of academic: freedom and
the, good that cah "'come out of
some research, we find it difficult
to advocate any prohibitions.
The official UF preference for
the national security mystique in
this case, however, is more
disturbing. The UF faculty
senate should consider pushing
for the establishment of a stan-
ding committee that reviews
such UF reseach proposals,
thereby providing a procedure
for public notification.
If an institution of enlightment
and learning is going to conduct
research for an agency of
questionable moral and ethical
integrity, the public at least
ought to have the right to know
about the relationship. The
national security mystique
should not be allowed to hide it.
Letters
State. aid to private schools
To the Daily:
I have three observations to of-
fer concerning the state tuition
support program for Michigan
students attending private
colleges in the state which the
Daily opposed editorially
(February 16).
1) $6.2 million has been ap-
propriated in 1978-79 to offer $500
a year tuition assistance to some
3,000 first year students in
Michigan private colleges. The
program is to be expanded until
this assistance is available for
students in all four years of
college. This year the state also
appropriated over $600 million in
support of public four-year
higher education in the state and
another $122 million for com-
munity colleges. Thus the $6.2
million tuition ,,program
represents less than I per cent of
the total state appropriations for
post-secondary education in
Michigan. Assuming that all $6.2
million of the tuition program, if
abolished, would be added to the
funds for public institutions and
that these funds would be
this would be the case.
2) What would the social cost of'
generating this very modest in-,
crease in UM funds? The
University of Detroit is the
largest private school in the state
and hence its students, as a
group, are principal beneficiaries
of the tuition program. The
minority enrollment at U of D is
currently 22 per cent, con-
siderably higher than at either
Michigan State University of
UM, the two largest public in-
stitutions in the state. It is also
certainly true that the mediam
family income of students at U of
D is considerably lower than such
income for MSU and UM studen-
ts. Thus, the elimination of the
program would impose a
disproportinate hardship on those
minority and lower income
students who have chosen to at-
tend U. of D. Further, it is quite
likely that a state "equity"
package costing $50 million will
be approved again this year to
support Detroit's efforts to main-
tain such cultural institutions as
the Detroit Public Library and
program in not income-tested;
that is, it currently supports all
Michigan residents enrolled in
their first year at private
colleges, regardless of their in-
come. Although many of these
students are from lower income
families, the act should probably
be revisedso that higher income,
families do not gain from the
program. (Of course, norsuch in-
come testing exists for tuition
payments at public-institutions in
the state). I understand that
there is sentiment in 'the state
legislation to so amend the act.
That, of course is why we have a
legislature. Reasoned and
responsible legislation usually
does not emerge from the c ir-
culation of mimeographed forms
and the accumulation of
signatures. Such redress is useful
itf the legislative body is
outrageously unresponsive in a
matter of burning importance. To
resort to this device concerning a
matter of minor fiscal significan-
ce that offers serious harm to no
group and may do a modicum of
good for precisely those citizens
meritorious aspects of American
government is its historical
openness at federal, state and
local levels. Great strides have
been made in recent years to fur-
ther increase the accessibility of
American government to the
average individual through the
passage of the federal Freedom
of Information Act and through
the passage of Michigan's
Freedom of Information and
Open Meetings Acts.
Unfortunately, Ann Arbor's
current mayor has resisted this
trend by demonstrating a
preference for secret gover-
nment. His personal disdain for
the principle that Ann Arbor City
Council should remain accessible
to the citizenry has, in fact, led
him and his council cronies to
challenge the entire Open
Meetings Act in court.
In a similar vein, Mayor
Belcher's dislike for open gover-
nment and the free flow of ideas
has led to an overwhelming and
unprecedented wave of closed
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