University students take
'television vacation'
The Michigan Daily -Sunday, February 3, 1985- Page 3
MRHA
By NANCY DRISCOLL
A bouttwenty University students who
referred to themselves as "television
'vacationers" split up into groups of five
and called on major television retail
stores in the area yesterday.
Members of the group moved from
stores such as JC Penny's and Sears in
the Briarwood Mall to Best's and K-
Mart, often planting their bodies in
front of the stores' television sets and
acting out bizarre routines.
Though a spokesman for the group
hinted that members wished to convey
their individual social and political
messages to customers in the stores,
several area merchants didn't ap-
preciate the disturbance and ordered
them to leave.
One of the groups of five erected a
cube of tinker toys in the J.C. Penny's
electronics department about the shape
of a large television set. They then
taped crayon drawings of Saturday
morning cartoon characters to the
make-believe set.
Marion Delgado, a sophomore elec-
trical engineering major, hesitated to
explain the group's intended meaning
for the tinker toy display.
"It's just a cube, like t.v. 's a cube,"
he said. "Draw any connection you
want."
A manager at the Home Center drew
his own conclusions about the grout's
actions in that store. "We honestly
thought they were from Ypsi(lanti)
State Hospital," he said. "They
weren't acting normal." The manager
asked the group to leave, threatening
them with arrest if they refused, but
they left without incident.
The management of Service Mer-
chandise also failed to see the political
or social message in the group's per-
formance and called in the Ann Arbor
Police to escort the "vacationers" out
the door.
"There was a gentleman standing on
his head and a gentleman playing the
flute," said Scott McKenzie, an em-
ployee of the store. "One guy wearing a
pith helmet was laying flyers on the floor
that had red arrows on them. He was
being real careful, making sure they
were arranged properly."
McKenzie thought that their message
might be related to the fact that there
are so many television sets in the world
and nobody ever actually pays atten-
tion to the images they see on the
screen.
One member of the group, who asked
to be identified only as William, sat in
front of a t.v. set at J.C. Penny's with
his face bound in white ban-
dages-perhaps acting out the idea that
Americans are blind to the meaning of
the shows they so frequently view.
Flyers distributed by the group
suggested this concept, stating: "The
average American household watches 7
hours of television a day. The average
television screen is 151/4 inches across,
measured diagonally."
Photo by DARRIAN SMITH
A television "vacationer" finds a peculiar way to protest t.v. yesterday. A
group of students spent the day going from store to store and planting them-
selves in front of the sets.
-HAPPENINGS-
Sunday
Highlight
In honor of Luther Buchele's retirement after 34 years as Executive
Secretary of the Inter-Cooperative Council, members, friends and alumni
will gather for a party. The party will take place at the Unitarian Church
social hall, 1917 Washtenaw Avenue, at 2 p.m.
Films
Ark - The Tannahill Weavers, 8 p.m., 637 south Main Street.
U-Club - dinner 5:30 p.m., Alien, 7:10 p.m., Union.
Alt Act - Love Affair of the Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator, 7
p.m., MLB4; Secret Squirrel, 7 p.m.; A Man called Flinstone, Aud A Angell.
Mediatrics - Lion in Winter, 7 p.m.; Man for all Seasons, 9:15 p.m., Nat
Sci.
Hill St. - Exodus, 8 p.m., 1429 Hill Street.
MTF - The Champ, 1:30,4 & 7 p.m., Michigan Theater.
Creation Science Club - Footprints in Stone, 3 p.m. Room 2013, Angell
Hall.
Miscellaneous
Women's Basketball - Wisconsin, 2 p.m., Crisler Arena.
His House Christian Fellowship - Dinner, 5:30 p.m., Bible Study, 7 p.m.,
925 East Ann Street.
Lutheran Campus Ministry - Worship, 10:30 a.m.; Student supper, 6 p.m.,
Lord of Light, Corner of Hill Street and Forest Street.
Recreational Sports - Cross-country ski trip to Stinchfield Woods, 11 a.m.,
meet at NCRB, transportation available.
A Cut Above, PIRGIM - benefit for "Right to Know, Hair Cut-A-Thon, 119
East Ann Street.
Kemp House - Open House, 1 p.m., 312 South Division Street.
First Unitarian Universalist Church - Celebration of Life Service, 10:30
a.m., 1917 Washtenaw Avenue.
Monday
Highlight
The Latin American Solidarity Committee will sponsor a panel discussion
entitled "Central America: A Clash of Viewpoints." It will take place at 8
p.m. in Hale Auditorium of the Business Administration Building.
Films
Near East & North African Studies - Baba (Father), 7 p.m. Aud B, Angell
Hall.
Performances
School of Music - Composers Forum, 8 p.m., Recital Hall.
Speakers
Mattaei Botanical Gardens - C. Freeman, History of Dixboro, noon, Mat-
thaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 Dixboro Road.
Near East & North African Studies - Raymond Tanter, "United States
Middle East Policy under the Reagan Administration," noon, Lane Hall
Commons Room.
Urban Planning Alumni Society - "Planning and Municipal
Management," moderator, Glenn Lynn, 7:30 p.m. room 3105 Art & Architec-
tur Building, North Campus.
Computing Center - J. Sweeton, "Intro to MTS," 7 p.m., Room 2235,
Angell Hall.
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences - Dr. Richard Anthes, The National
STORM Program; Scientific objectives and Recent Progress." 7:30 p.m.
RCKHAM AMPHITHEATRE.
Meetings
Asian American Association - 6:30 p.m., Trotter House.
Staff Benefits - Health Insurance Options, 10 a.m., Rackham Am-
phitheater.
Christian Science Organization - 7:30 p.m., Michigan League.
Miscellaneous
CEW - Brown Bag Lunch, Re-Entry Women's Network, "What's So
Special about a Special Library," noon; Step Before the Jove Search, 10
a.m., 350 South Thayer Street.
Tau Beta Pi - Tutoring, Lower-level math science & engineering, 8 p.m.,
Room 307 UGLI.
CRLT - TA Workshop, "Testing and Grading," 3:15 p.m., East Conferen-
ce Room, Rackham.
Computing Center - Lab, F. Hartman, "The Zenith 2-150 as an MTS ter-
minal,"l':30 p.m., Room Z-150 NUBS.
Neuroscience - Seminar. L Garvin. "Phonnhoinsitide Metaholism and
Buchele built co-op system at 'U'
(Continued from Page 1)
delegates
compare
notes
By STACY THOMPSON
Mike Coakley, assistant director of
residence hall life at Western Michigan
University, yesterday urged Michigan
Residence Hall Association (MRHA)
delegates to use "futuring" to reach
their goals.
"(Futuring is) describing what you
want the future to be and then ta g
the responsibility to make that future
happen," the speaker told a crowd
of more than 100 packed into a Campus
Inn banquet room. His speech con-
cluded a two-day conference held at the
law school.
THE MRHA, a statewide group that
holds annual conferences, formed four
years ago so that small universities
which cannot afford to send members
to larger, regional or national meetings
could still exchange ideas with other
residence hall organizations in this
area.
According to one of the founders of
MRHA, the purpose of the annual
meetings is to swap, or rather "steal"
interesting residence hall programs
from other schools. Jeff Jenkins said
that in the future the group plans to
become more politically ac-
tive-perhaps even involving its mem-
bers in lobbying for student-related
issues in state government.
Mark Hegedus, president of the
University's Residence Hall
Association*(RHA), said the state con-
ference provides an opportunity for
RHA members to meet people from
other schools and to find out how their
local groups function.
HEGEDUS added that he, hoped
students from other schools would "see
what (the University) is all about
beyond U of M football."
Rodney Compata, a Western
Michigan University delegate, said he
came to learn what kind of role he could
play in a national RHA convention
which is coming up soon in Florida.
Keynote speaker Coakley most ap-
propriately summed up the feeling at
yesterday's convention when he shared
his experiences past as a RHA mem-
ber, saying that it had enabled him to
form "some really strong relationships
which will last a lifetime."
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"Summary of Electronic Surveillance
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Ann Arbor Police."
CAPITOLINFORMATION
Box 8275, Ann Arbor, MI 48107
Buchele's anti-war, social-oriented
values led him to join the Socialist Par-
ty.
IN THE MIDST of the Red Scare,
sparked by U.S. Sen. Joseph McCarthy,
the Federal Bureau of Investigation
kept records on Buchele which he now
has. Investigators followed him
everywhere, from meetings of the
board of directors of Willow Village
Apartments (low-income housing) in
Ypsilanti, to a Pete Seeger concert.
Convinced that students can save
money and learn the responsibilities of
running their own home by living in a
co-op, Buchele worked to restructure
the co-op system on campus.
Between 1951 and 1971 the ICC grew
by about one house every two years. In
1969 the cluster of co-ops on North
Campus was constructed under
Buchele's direction. Membership
blossomed proportionately as student
attitudes grew more community-orien-
ted, he said.
BUCHELE'S sober tone transformed
into an upbeat voice as he reminisced
about the popularity of co-ops during
the 1970s. Those years were a "tremen-
dously exciting" time of fellowship -
since fallen by the wayside - to which
Buchele hopes the co-op system will
return in the future.
Buchele remembers that in the early
1970s, there was often a waiting list of
500 students who wanted a room in a co-
op. "We didn't have to go out begging
people to join.. . students managed the
co-ops as if they were their own," he
said. "Many settled in for three or four
years (with the attitude) that this is my
home."
In the early years of the Vietman
War, Buchele said, the so-called wan-
dering flower children were often fed
and housed temporarily in the co-ops.
"They were extremely open about how
wonderful it was.. . They weren't hip-
pies at that point, they weren't into
themselves," he recalled.
The leadership the co-op members
demonstrated inhpaying their bills,
cleaning their house, and collecting
debts, impressed Buchele.
Today, he said he is distressed
because more and more students
choose to live in a co-op one year and
move out the next, showing little effort
to establish the community atmosphere
he admired.
"It's sort of a parade now," he said,
adding that he wishes students would
develop the attitude that "I will protect
my home, I will stay and lead the next
group."
Buchele remembers a time not too
long ago when he called in a cleaning
service for Nakamura Co-op because it
had gotten so dirty. When the house
needed cleaning again, house members
asked Buchele if he would arrange to
send the service out again.
Buchele emphasized that he wants to
instill a sense of responsibility in the co-
op members rather than do their work.
Indeed, he'd rather coach them along.
"I think I have a certain gift of
working with people, to get them to
work on their own, to be independent,"
he said.
"At least I think I do," he added.
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Soviets deny U.S. charges
WORLD PROBLEMS
Lunch - Discussions ot the
INTERNATIONAL CENTER, 603 E. MADISON STREET
FEBRUARY 5th: "Choice of Technology: A Major Concern for
International Development"
SPEAKER: Dr. Pradeep Chowdhry, Asst. Professor of Management, Eastern Michigan University
Lunc avilable ,,. - EForYadditional information,
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Lunch is prepared and served by the Church Women United in Ann Arbor
MOSCOW (UPI)-The Soviet Union
yesterday denied U.S. charges that it
breached arms control agreements,
saying the Reagan administration was
trying to justify a "crash militarization
of outer space."
The official Tass news agency said a
report to Congress Friday, which ac-
cused Moscow of violating the U.S.-
Soviet antiballistic missle treaty by
starting work on a huge radar facility,
was just "another anti-Soviet
falsehood."
The nine-page report reiterated
charges that the Soviets have violated
other agreements, including those on
biological warfare.
It is (the HBM) treaty, signed in 1972,
that has now become the prime target
of attacks by the Pentagon, which
views it as the main stumbling block in
the way of its preparations for a crash
militarization of outer space," Tass
said in a report from Washington.
The Tass report made no mention of
the radar facility being built in
Krasnoyarsk, in central Russia.
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