Page 4-Tuesday, April 3, 1979-The Michigar Daily
U.S. must not
return Marroquin to Mexico
Today, Hector Marroquin, the
Mexican student leader and political
dissident, is scheduled to appear before'
a deportation hearing in yet another ef-
fort to convince the federal government
that he should be allowed to remain in
this country.
A very strong case has already been
presented on his behalf by his lawyers,
torney General of Mexico was recently,
forced to admit to certain "excesses"
on the part of governmental agenices.
It is only the U.S. government that in-
sists on laundering the Mexican gover-
nment's much tarnished image.
After the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre of
hundreds of peaceful demonstrators,
the task has not been an easy one, but
By Memo Torres
"With t
government
hese
actions,
the U.S.
to ignore a
has chosen
I .
mass of evidence,
and has refused to
admit that Marroquin's life would be
in danger if he is forced to return to
Mexico. "
DAY (S NOVOrTQT
COMPANY/ m~o0IL.OIL'
IeR Pop
in the world. He maintains that not only
is there close cooperation with the
Mexican repressive apparatus, but that
high officials up to and including
presidents have received "payments"
from the C.I.A.
IF IT'S evident that the F.B.I.
recognizes no borders with regard to its
operations, then it should be pointed out
that neither do the U.S. economic in-
terests. Notwithstanding the indepen-
dent posturing of that well known
enemy of the Mexican people,
President Lopez Portillo, both the
economy and political system of
Mexico are still very much dominated
by the U.S. A very profitable partner-
ship has long been established with the
Mexican ruling elites, and it is of great
importance to both parties that the
status quo be preserved. The task of
maintaining it has fallen mainly on the
Mexican government with help from
the U.S.
Workers in Mexico - and in the U.S.
too, for that matter - are victims of
economic interests which do not
recognize borders. When they migrate
north as "undocumented" workers in
search of survival, the U.S. government
confronts them with a border it very
conveniently ignores when it serves the
interests of business.
Mobility within this well-integrated
economic zone (Mexican-U.S.) is
reserved for the corporations. Workers
are best kept divided, unorganized and
docile. The so-called run-away shops
(factories that move to cheap labor
areas) have proven how profitable this
can be by moving to Mexican border
towns. The government provides tax
incentives and guarantees a lack of
labor unrest.
Mexico's labor movement has been
subjected to a long history of violent
repression and exploitation through the
government's use of corrupt labor
"leaders." In spite of this, militancy for
democratic unions exist, but at a very
high price for the workers. Hector
Marroquin's problems stem from his
having voiced dissent against an un-
democratic government and against
the economic exploitation of his people.
He, like other undocumented workers,
has come to this country in search of
survival and a chance to live a useful
life. He, like other undocumented
workers, deserves to have his human
rights respected and given a proper
hearing. His struggle is not the struggle
of one person, but that of a whole
people.
Today's hearing will most likely
result in another refusal for asylum,
and it would be naive to expect
anything else from a government
whose interests demand a refusal. To
grant official asylum would mean ad-
mission of too many unpleasant
realities. If Marroquin is to remain, it
will have to be through pressure
generated by popular support for his
cause. Those persons wishing to show
support are urged to attend a demon-
stration on his behalf at the I.N.S. office
in Detroit (Jefferson and Mt. Elliott)
Friday, April 6, at 12 noon.
Memo Torres is a member of the
Ann Arbor Committee for Human
Rights in Latin A merica.
Mexican witnesses, and human rights
groups in the U.S., Mexico and abroad
(including Amnesty International).
But, the State Department has
nonetheless recommended that
Marroquin, be deported, and on
December 21, 1978, the Immigration
and Naturalization Service denied him
political asylum. With these actions,
the U.S. government has chosen to
ignore a mass of evidence, and has
refused to admit that Marroquin's life
would be in danger if he is forced to
return to Mexico.
EVIDENCE THAT violent political
repression is a real and common oc-
currence is so strong that even the At-
Washington is sparing no effort in
trying to erase history. Ignorance
through lack of information is certainly
an unlikely reason for such an unswer-
ving loyalty to an undemocratic and
repressive regime, since- the F.B.I.
and the C.I.A. should be able to supply
more than adequate information given
their close ties with their Mexican
colleagues.
Much has been said and written on
the extra-legal activities of these two
agencies, both in this country and
abrod. Marroquin's case is another
example of the role they play in support
of governments "friendly" to the U.S.'
Papers acquired by Marroquin through
the Freedom of Information Act, show
that the F.B.I. gathered data on him:
since he was a 15 year-old high school
student. Philip Agee, the former C.I.A.
agent, has stated in his book "Inside the
Company", that the U.S. intelligence
presence in Mexico is one of the largest
420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Eigh ty-Nine Years of Editorial Freedom
Vol. LXXXIX, No. 146
News Phone: 764-0552
Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan
dHash Bash must be ended
O RIGINALLY created to give Uni-
versity students an opportunity to
smoke marijuana to urge passage of a
more lenient penalty, the annual April
fool's Hash Bash has become a farce.
No longer the scene of hundreds of
college students taking a day off to
smoke on the Diag, the annual pot sit-
in has served as a refugee for hundreds
of high school students to invade the
University.
It was a disgusting scene on the Diag
Sunday afternoon-a scene that should
not be repeated again. And the only
proper way to prevent a similar
recurrence is to put the Hash Bash out
of business.
When the annual event was first
initiated, many college students gladly
participated, lighting up a joint and
relaxing comfortably to listen to
speakers calling for passage of a more
lenient punishment. On one such oc-
casion a few years ago, newly-elected
State Rep. Perry Bullard joined the
large contingent of students and even
lit up a joint himself.
The annual gathering continued to
feature mostly University students un-
til the Ann Arbor City Council passed
the $5 pot fine in 1973. That approval
paved the way for the lenient system
which.allows University students am-
ple opportunities to smoke pot in public
without fear of being disturbed.
But gradually since that liberal
legislation was passed, the Hash Bash
has undergone a radical transfor-
mation from a protest by college
students to an assembly of high school
pot smokers taking control of the
University for a day.
And Sunday was no exception.
Besides spreading litter across half
the campus, the high school kids were
very belligerent and hostile, causing a
few scuffles with the police. And when
the police asked several rowdy studen-
ts to stop their unruly behavior, many
refused.
Also, the disruptions prevented
many University students from
studying in the Undergraduate and
Graduate libraries.
The University had to install
security guards at various points
across the campus to insure against
penetration from out-of-town high
school students. Unfortunately, for a
few students who forgot to carry their
identification cards to the libraries,
this precaution proved to be very up-
setting. The University was forced to
resort to this measure because of the
mess caused by the Hash Bash.
The Hash Bash is no longer for
University students; only a handful
stay for more than a few minutes. It is
a day for high school students from all
over the state to pervert the Univer-
sity.
The University must take steps in
the next year to make sure that the an-
nual Hash Bash, which has lost its
original purpose, is mercifully ended.
THE MILWAUKEE JOUMAL
. Dist. Field Newspaper Syndicate, 199 .
About halfway through an
American Studies discussion
session a few Thursdays ago, the
round-faced, full-bearded
teaching assistant found himself
trying to describe what he called
a "false consciousness" that per-
vades modern American thought.
He'd asked the dozen students
who gathered in his Mary Street
apartment that evening - as
they have for at least two hours
every Thursday all semester - to
prepare for the meeting by
touring the Rouge River Ford
plant and watching the movie
"Blue Collar".
David Papke, the TA, had in-
troduced the topic as the last of
the undergraduates settled into
the sofas and corners of his small
living room: "Is Fordism
Americanism?" The discussion
about a glittering showroom and
roaring assembly line which led
up to Dave's explanation of
"false consciousness" wandered
some, despite his admonition to
be "analytic, not im-
pressionistic." To an outside ob-
server, they sounded like dorm
floor neighbors talking over
beers late at night, relaxed and
inspired. Dave played the role of
the wise senior; everyone com-
peted to please him with astute or
witty comments.
THEY TALKED of the dulling
effect of monotonous labor, the
pressures that force us into
chasing the dollar, the meaning
of work on the line: Then Dave
pointed out that the Rackham was
Henry I's patent attorney,
reminding the group they were
talking "as if we're out of the
shadow of Ford." They digressed
to discuss the academy. "Lear-
ning to function in a hierarchy,"
Dave suggested to nodding
students, . is part of the
educational message.
Dave had gone for his
education to Harvard from his
native Milwaukee for an un-
dergraduate degree. Then he
went on to Yale for another in
law, graduating in 1973 at 26. But
he's decided he wouldn't take the
bar exams.He didn't wanttto
support, as a lawyer must, what
he saw as the worst of
Americanism - the "Fordism",
if you will. So after a brief stint as
a freelance journalist and lower-
rng administrator at Yale, he
turned scholar. He came to Ann
Arbor last year - leaving his
wife in New Haven - to earn a
doctorate and begin the climb for
tenure.
So on this Thursday night, as
the receptive students washed
down chocolate-chip cookies with
Stroh's, Dave could take knowing
aim at our misdirected values.
HE RECALLED a summer job
he'd had on Wall Street during his
law school days. The firm he was
working for had just acquired
leather wastebaskets to replace
the aluminum ones. But there
weren't enough for allthe junior
partners. The lawyers lost sleep
for weeks, said Dave, his sad
eyes widening, because they
weren't sure just who would get
the coveted baskets. "They put
real meaning in leather
wastebaskets," he said with a
broad grin. "Can you believe
that?"
They believed it and it prom-
pted a renewed hunt for further
examples of a warped America.
Everyone reached to strike a
responsive chord in their instruc-
tor.
Why wasn't a glimpse of the
white collar workers part of the
tour, someone asked. What is
Ford hiding?
THAT'S NOT the point,
someone else cut in. You want to
see shiny cars and bored
workers. "It's the American
utilitarian bias."
At this point a woman volun-
teered without apology or pride
that her father works as a paper-
pusher for the company. When
asked about it, she said her dad
doen't have much to say about his
work, "it's boring stuff."
Switching the subject, one man
began: "This is an American
Studies-type observation ... "
THAT'S OKAY," came an in-
terruption amid chuckles,
"you're among friends .-. .
"Well," the first continued,
"they didn't try to beautify the
place. I mean, there was no at-
tempt at cosmetics.
One school held that no one
wants to see a pretty auto plant;
another maintained there were in
fact evident efforts to spruce up
the plant.
AS HE did several times dur-
ing the session, Dave asked the
group to "push" on the idea. Af-
ter no one much pushed, he tried
to raise the conversation to a
more general level. "Do you feel
like you experienced that auto
plant, or do you feel like you had
a tour of an auto plant?"
Mixed response, everyone
spoke at once.
The meetings - Dave doesn't
like to call it a "course" or
"class" due to the I-talk-you-
listen connotations - grew out of
two discussion groups of an in-
troductory American Studies
class last semester. It's overseen
by Prof. John King of the History
Department (there are no
American Studies professors sin-
ce it's an interdisciplinary
department).
DAVERUNS the sessions with
what he calls an "organic
syllabus". Each week he chooses
a new topic to work with, or he'll
throw out a fewpossibilities for
class vote. Last week the group
had to decide between discussing
Huck Finn or the movie "The
Deerhunter" this week. Huck
Finn won.
Dave's idea is to break down
what he calls the "frames" that
constrict formal education. He's
moved away from the classroom
and blackboard, away from for-
mal written exams and assigned
AFTER
CLASS
Brian
Blanchard
papers, away from the
professional image.
But not quite. For there's no
doubt to an outsider he's the
broker of ideas. Dave seems to be
a good teacher, and as such he
encourages independent thought
and intelligent questioning. But
he's always guiding the
discussions and thought doesn't
get too independent. During the
session on the auto tour, he was
the only one present to quote
from a source (a book of prison
notes written by an Italian Com-
munist from a generation ago),
the only one to bring any
established system of thought
(usually the Marxist one) to bear
on the problems, and the only one
to try and define the shared ex-
perience (in a summary exercise
he contrasted the "form" and
"content" of the tour).
TO SAY DAVE had an ap-
preciative audience isn't to say
thinking wasn't evident. Dave
mentioned that one woman had
told him there- weren't enough
"female voices" being heard at
the meetings, so the next week
would be devoted to poetry by
women. The emphasis during the
discussion admittedly wasn't-or
facts, relying instead on im'
pressions and feelings. But
everyone in the room had
something to say, and the two
hours flew by.
Dave, to use his own terms, has
broken down the "form" of a
Mason Hall hour-long class. No
one has to raise a hand to speak
beer and wine flow freely, and a
fellow named°Al, the classclown,
has a good deal of freedom to cut
in with jokes about phallic sym-
bols and drugged-out workers.
But the "content" is maybe not
so removed from the rest of the
teaching in town. All eyes turn to
Dave during disputes of fact or
opinion, and his theses tend to
carry the conversation. In using
Marxist interpretation, he plays
the same indoctrination game
Capitalistic professors and TAs
play.
Dave's not like any teacher our
parents ever had, but they'd
recognize the "class" in the
meetings.
Daily Editor
chard's column
other Tuesday.
Brian B/an-
appears every
Letters
'U'should give Samo ff tenure
To The Daily:
I have studied on four continen-
ts in as many universities, and
now here. For Dean Frye and
Vice-President Shapiro to in-
sinuate that we students do not
have enough experience to decide
are. How come our finance-smit-
ten, shrinking enrollment-
perturbed Political Science Dept.
and LS&A leaders do not take
note that Samoff's Southern
Africa class has doubled in size in
/ two years? Something must be
wrong about the war in Vietnam,
the students were right, and look
who was vindicated! Many of
them were wrong or at least
acquiescent about Nixon,
whereas most students never
titntpd theicr snd lnn m he ows
gotten some of his campaign fun-
ds now.) Black students on this
campus are unfairly dealt with as
the BAM strike showed, and may
need to show again. And they are,
oh so wrong, about Joel Samoff.
All in all, that's a pretty bad