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Page 2C - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 6, 1984
STUDENT-POLICE CLASHES RARE
Times
are
a'
C
4
for
Ann Arbor police
By NEIL CHASE
1When a last-minute field agoal gave
Michigan its victory over Iowa last Oc-
tober, hundreds rushed onto the field to
tear down the goal posts. But they
ffrgot that jumping onto the field is
illegal.
Two people were arrested as they at-
tempted to celebrate on the field and
two students, including one of the people
arrested, claimed afterward that a
police officer had beaten them un-
necessarily with his nightstick. One of
them said he called the officer "a guy
Who always wanted to be a cop but
couldn't" during the fracas.
WHEN 11 Neo-Nazis came to town in
March for their annual demonstraton, a
group of protesters waited for hours to
greet them.
It was the Ann Arbor Police who had
the unpopular job of protesting the
Nazis from the protesters. Soon after
the Nazis arrived, there was a fight on
the steps of the Federal Building, and a
Nazi leader was badly beaten. Police
arrested six protesters.
Such conflicts pitting city police
against students and other activists in
Ann Arbor were once the rule. During
the turbulent 60s and 70s, the endless
student protests and the large number
of student activists made a good police-
student relationship nearly impossible.
Today, however, incidents like the
two described above are the exception
rather than the rule.
"Back -in the 60s there were a lot of
problems with students," said Ann Ar-
bor Police Sgt. Jan Suomala. "There's
no conflict anymore. It's pleasant
now," he said. "You've got a great bun-
ch of kids uphere now."
Unlike the students of the 60s who
-spent much of their time in protests and
"rallies, today's University students are
calmer because "they realize that.
education is costing a fortune and
they're here to learn, Suomala said.
"STUDENTS ARE more victims of
crimes than committing the crimes,"
Suomala said, adding that thefts of per-
sonal property are the most prevalent
problem.
The majority of the more than 30,000
students on campus appreciate the
police and work well with them, of-
ficials said, and according to police
Capt. Donald Carnahan there are only
"isolated problems with a few studen-
ts."
"We're not out there to harrass
anybody," Carnahan said. "We've got a
job to do."
PART OF THAT job, he said, is
helping citizens learn how to avoid
crime. The department's Crime
Prevention Bureau offers free tips to
individuals and groups, and Carnahan
said crime prevention presentations
could be arranged for new students in-
the fall.
In addition to their regular patrols,
the city police have officers assigned to
patrol the campus area. The University
pays for this service, which sometimes
includes a patrol officer mounted on a
bicycle.
Also patrolling the campus are
security officers in a wide variety of
uniforms. Although they are not police
officers, they handle campus incidents
ranging from locked doors to violent
crime. City police assist with the
serious calls, and the campus depar-
tment's reports are channelled to the
city police.
The University's Department of
Public Safety has officers who patrol
the entire campus, investigate incident
reports, and work on security
arrangements for the various
buildings. The public safety depar-
tment also contracts with a private
firm, State Security Services, whose
guards patrol individual buildings and
walk around campus on foot patrols
during the night.
In the dormitories, a group of officers
employed by the University's Housing
Division walk through the halls each
night and patrol University-owned
housing. The hospital and medical
campus are guarded by their own
security force.
But despite the confusion and the
plethora of services, the system works
well. Most of the security officers are
dispatched and assigned by the safety
office, and getting help in any
emeegency is as easy as picking up a
campus phone and dialing 1-2-3.
4
4
Mayor Louis Belcher has presided over a City Council split over partisan politics. But that rift may soon be healed:
upcoming elections in key wards could significantly affect the council's makeup.
Democrats may regain
control of city council
Annual Diag bash
fading froi
By ERIC MATTSON
After 12 years of toking, the Hash
Bash is dead.
Nobody really knows what caused the
downfall of, the annual Ann Arbor
tradition. Perhaps it was the rebirth of
student conservatism, perhaps it was
the poor reputation the bash had, or
maybe it just got old.
WHATEVER THE case, the ritual of
relaxing on the Diag with a little sin-
semillia and a few hundred close frien-
ds is no more.
The Hash Bash began on April 1, 1972
to celebrate the state's more lenient
marijuana law and to push for the
decriminalization of pot in Ann Arbor.
A month and a half later, the Hash
Bashers got their wish-the five dollar
pot law was passed by the Ann Arbor
City Council.
AND WHEN the city repealed that
law in 1973, residents of Ann Arbor were
able to get a proposal on the ballot to
reinstate the lenient law. Out of 33,000
votes cast, the proposal passed by 600
votes.
The first bash drew, only 500 en-
I
mn memory
thusiastic pot-crazed fiends, but the
second celebration drew 5,000
people-including State Rep. Perry
Bullard, who lit up for the benefit of the
media. ("There's nothing wrong with
it," he giggled).
In recent years, however, the bash at-
tracted many non-University students,
and in 1982, one student said "I believe
in the early '70s, (the Hash Bash) was
fine, but today it's useless."
The crowds dwindled, and the 1983
Hash Bash attracted only a handful of
high school students and ever fewer
University students.
This year, the bash was put to a mer-
ciful end. The only people who showed
up were a couple of University security
agents who -made sure the
festivities-or lack thereof-didn't get
out of hand.
Today the five dollar pot law lives as
a monument to the student activism of
the late '60s and early '70s. But student
activism may not be totally dead-a
movement to have the lenient ordinan-
ce repealed was defeated last year.
By ERIC MATTSON
After 15 years of GOP domination of
the Ann Arbor City Council, Democrats
are gearing up for a push to capture the
mayoral seat and a majority on the
Council next April.
"I think we have a very good chan-
ce," said Councilmember Doris
Preston (D-Fifth Ward), who won her
seat by a comfortable margin last
April.
BUT PRESTON also said the two
parties are beginning to reconcile the
differences which have plagued the
Council for so long. She pointed to the
fact that the Democrats and
Republicans were able to agree on
changes in the proposed city budget for
the first time in years last May.
According to political science Prof.
Sam Eldersveld, a former mayor of
Ann Arbor, the city has been a "hard
fought partisan community" ever since
the Democratic party was reorganized
in the 1950s.
STUDENTS HAVEN'T played a very
large role in city politics since the late
'60s and early '70s, Eldersveld said. But
students made some significant
changes during that time via the
Human Rights Party (HRP). -
The HRP was responsible for the $5
pot law and other liberal legislation.
Members of the radical party are also
famous (or infamous) for showing their
displeasure with the Council
proceedings by throwing chicken bones
on the floor or banging their feet on the
desk.
With the death of the HRP came the
demise of student activism in city
politics. Eldersveld said student tur-
nout in the April city elections is well
below ten percent, adding "the vast
majority of students couldn't care less"
about politics.
"I SEE only a very small minority of
students participating in politics," he
said. "It's quite clear that students are
very apathetic and I don't know what
it's going to take" to change students'
attitudes.
Even without the traditionally liberal
student vote, Democrats have made
quite a recovery over the past few
years. The six to five Republican
majority will be challenged next year,
especially in the mayoral race.
The greatest difference between the
two parties in Ann Arbor is the em-
phasis each places on social services.
The Democrats traditionally push for
more low- to moderate-income housing,
while the Republicans would rather
allow the market to govern itself.
ANOTHER difference between the
Democrats and Republicans is how
much each tries to determine city
development. The Democrats say it is
incumbent on the city to zone so that
residences cannot be turned into com-
mercial space, while the Republicans
say it is the responsibility of the market
and existing zoning laws to determine
city development.
Mayor Louis Belcher, who has
already announced he will not seek
reelection after 7 years at the helm,
said that since he's been on the Council,
ROLEX
ROLEX
Peterson
... supports liberal interests
the political situation hasn't changed
much.
"In terms of politics, not much dif-
ferent," he said. Belcher added that the
most significant controversies on the
Council arise over geographical issues
- not partisan issues.
SINCE THE city is divided into five
wards, each represented by two Coun-
cilmembers, a Democrat and a
Republican from one ward often unite
to push their ward's interests.
The First Ward is predominantly
Democratic and largely student-
populated. It is represented by Lowell
See COUNCIL, Page 3
University's own
1
Rolex Submariner-Date
in stainless steel with
matching Fliplock Oyster" bracelet.
By PETE WILLIAMS
When it comes to protecting students
against crime, the University's first
defense is itself.
The University, unlike nearly every
other state college in Michigan, does
not have its own police force. Instead,
the University works with the Ann Ar-
bor Police Department, calling city of-
ficers in to help when law enforcement
problems become too hard to handle.
AND ALTHOUGH the University has
kept up a good relationship with the
boys in blue, this system is not without
its problems. "In my opinion, we could
provide even better service to the
University community if we had our
own department," Walt Stevens, the
University's public safety director said.
His office files reports on, individual
crimes, assists the police in in-
vestigations and patrols the campus.
However, Stevens said in many
situations it would be more efficient if
we were able to send a police officer to
the scene immediately as opposed to a
public safety officer or a security
guard.
And while University students are
subject to the same set of laws and
punishments as other citizens of Ann
Arbor they also must abide by a series
of regulations imposed by the Univer-
sity regents. These rules include a ban
on bonfires in the Arb as well as a ban
on alcohol consumption in the area
surrounding the Diag.
STEVENS SAID that few of these
University rules are actively enforced
and that they remain on the books to
give public safety officials legal
authority in an emergency situation.
But the biggest crime problem facing
students is larceny. According to
Stevens, that the theft of a purse,
wallet, or a briefcase is almost a daily
security
occurance during the fall and winter
terms.
However, chances are you'll get your
item back. "Usually we can recover the
purse within ten minutes, with the cash
missing," he said.
BIKE THEFT also continues to be a
problem. Bicycles are easy to steal and
a practical mode of transportation.
They are, however, very difficult to
trace and even more difficult to return
to their original, legal owner.
All bikes in Ann Arbor are required to
be registered with the city of Ann Ar-
bor. However Stevens said that the
registration requirement is never en-
forced by either city or University
authorities but that a registered bike is
mnuch easier to return to the owner.
"Many times when we obtain proper-
ty we have to go to great lengths to
identify the owner," he said.
RAPE AND other physical assaults,
thought not as widespread as bike theft,
continue to be a threat to students. Not
to diminish the severity of such offen-
ses, Stevens said that the problem is
basically under control.
University security officers are
visible. For example if students decide
to get involved in a public protest on
campus, a few public safety officers
will normally be in attendance. Depen-
ding on the nature and size of the ac-
tion, Ann Arbor police may also come
along for the ride.
"We will always have a protest of
some kind or another," Stevens said.
"Some group will object to something
that is going on at the University and
find it necessary to tell the public about
it."
NORMALLY in. such instances the
University will allow students the
polices campus
freedom to protest wherever and
whenever they want to - which last
year included University President
Harold Shapiro's front lawn, his office,
a research laboratory, and the streets
of Ann Arbor.
Only once in the past year has the
University taken criminal action
against student protesters. In that
case, 11 members of the activist anti-
military group, the Progressive
Student Network, were arrested fot
trespassing on University property
when they forced their way into
the laboratory in the East Engineering
Building in a protest of weapons related
research on campus.
"Basically it is a safe community,"
he said. "There are a lot of people with
a lot of fears but in comparison with
other university's of similar size our
crime statistics are not very high."
~
City and 'U' connect'
WELCOME STUDENTS
The Food Marts
Two Convenient Locations
By PETE WILLIAMS
Ann Arbor, in many respects, is an
island in the middle of the state of
Michigan. Social, political, cultural,
and even economic factors that are a
high priority within the city limits often
go unnoticed in the rest of the state.
And it is the University that is the
greatest reason Ann Arbor deviates
from the norm in so many ways. It is no
secret that Ann Arbor could never have
developed its own unique style without
first having been a college town. And
the cultural atmosphere perpetuated by
the community is what makes student
life so varied and interesting.
THUI MORT direct impact nf the
And the city'reciprocates by offering
the students the goods and services that
appeal to their diverse tastes.
ON A HIGHER level, the University
also contributes to the Ann Arbor
economy. According to Ann Arbor
Mayor Louis Belcher, the city can at-
tract a greater number of high-
technology electronics and engineering
firms because of the University.
"The reason many businesses
locate in Ann Arbor is to access the
University - both the faculty and the
research facilities," Belcher said.
sI
ion strong
Belcher said that committees from
both groups will meet to discuss issues
that affect both the city and the Univer-
sity.
"The City Council and the executive.
officers of the University meet once or
twice a year just to exchange ideas," he
said.
The city provides fire and police
protection to the University as well as
snow removal and other road services.
Belcher also said that the two have
formed joint committees in the past on
city nlanning, development. and even
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