The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 5, 1985 - Page B5 Activism still sparking student protests at 'U' LET NIiCARAGUR BE! l I I MSA voices U We shall not be, we shall not be moved, We shall not be, be moved. we shall not Just like a tree that stands beside the water, We shall not be moved. --song heard at a typical rally By KERY MURAKAMI They sat-in against it. They listened to speeches and sang songs about it. And they even went to jail for it. "It" on this campus is any one of a range of issues - from divestment in South Africa to the war in Nicaragua, from military research on campus to rape. It is any issue that anywhere from one to a hundred people care enough about to shake their social con- sciences free of cobwebs and their minds off of grade point averages long enough to do something for. This is the University of Michigan, "the bastion of liberalism" in the Midwest. Through the haze of materialism that has fogged the min- ds of young Americans and turned campuses around the country into what '60s activist Abbie Hoffman called "hotbeds of social rest," the University has continued to be the scene of protests. Not as numerous nor as large as the oft-mentioned protests of the '60s, but not a long- forgotten memory either. EVERY ONCE in a while pictures of activists carrying signs appear on the front page of The Daily. Of the hundreds of student organizations on this campus, two stand out as vanguards of students ac- tivism: the Progressive Student Net- work (PSN) and the Latin American Solidarity Committee (LASC). In general, PSN concentrates on stop- ping military research on campus, while LASC is concerned with U.S. in- tervention in Central America. But their interests extend beyond these issues. Last November, for example, three representatives of the CIA came to town to recruit and interview Univer- sity students who considered joining the agency. THE CIA REPRESENTATIVES were met, however, by about fifty students who chanted, banged drums, and put the representatives on "trial" for "its heinous crimes in Central America," as one protester put it. As they walked out of the auditorium in the Modern Languages Building, the protestors, chanting "hey, hey, ho, ho, the CIA has got to go," chased the representatives out of the building, and up two flights of stairs in a parking structure to the CIA car. The representatives canceled their interviews the next day, citing "con- cern of the safety of their personnel," as their reason. The CIA, however, covertly interviewed students in December, and held successful inter- views in January despite toned-down protest in the Michigan League. IN APRIL, STUDENTS held a sit-in outside the University's office for research to protest the U.S. Depar- tment of Defense's offer of research contracts to the school. Probably the most effective protest on campus last year was a sit-in at the office of the University Vice President for Student Services Henry Johnson. About 50 protesters, angered by comments Johnson made in Metropolitan Detroit magazine that the University glosses over rape statistics to preserve its image, presented Johnson with a list of demands to improve campus safety. THROUGH THE WORK of the Michigan Student Assembly's Women's Issues committee, the ad- ministration approved in May to allocate $75,000 to start a rape preven- tion center on campus. However, not all rallies are suc- cessful. One rally in November, protesting a code of non-academic conduct proposed by the ad- ministration, was met with apathy. Most protests seem to come from the political left side. The right, however, did make an appearance to protest Democratic presidential can- didate Walter Mondale, when he made his stop in Ann Arbor on the By KATIE WILCOX The Michigan Student Assembly is the student voice on campus and provides the chance to get involved in decisions about the University. "Part of what MSA does is represent the students to the ad- ministration. We are the students' voice within the decision-making process at the University," said Jennifer Faigel, MSA's student government's public relations coordinator. MSA HAS COME under criticism in recent years for being ineffec- tive. Faigel thinks the problem is caused by lack of respect from the administration and not enough students using MSA as a resource. Despite its problems, MSA was responsible for stimulating student awareness of the administration's plan for a code of non-academic conduct, coined "The Code" by MSA. Many students think the proposal is unfair and unclear, and MSA has been organizing forums, protests, and negotiations with the administration to create an agreeable plan. MSA was also responsible for the formation of a Women's Crisis Center. OTHER PROJECTS last year included working against budget and financial aid cuts to the University. Paul Josephson, MSA president, said students should use MSA to accomplish things they feel should be done at the University. "Political ends are not important for some at MSA, rather it's get- ting things accomplished." Josephson said he likes to em- phasize the importance of student involvement in MSA. "One thing I like to stress is the educational value for the student. On top of classes, you get a good education on how the University is run and how an institution is run," he said. MSA is student-run and relies on hundreds of volunteers to serve on one of its 12 standing committees or short-term special committees. JOSEPHSON SAID that for students to effectively serve at the University they have to be part of MSA. "Students feel like something in them is not being tapped. MSA is a way of reaching out." Josephson thinks the time com- mitment may deter students from becoming part of MSA, but said, "You don't have to worry about academics if you're grounding yourself in heavy-duty work." Developing yourself as a person and getting experience is just as important as a letter grade, he ad- ded. Otherwise, Josephson said, the University will simply become a "diploma mill." Josephson stressed that the key to achieving things in college is to get involved. "Then the University is not a faceless monster," he said. Students pay about $10 to MSA each year. The money funds -Student Legal Services, The Tenants Union, and contributions 'to various student organizations and counseling services. Istudentconcerns Students protest CIA recruitment on campus last November. The recruiters were chased off the campus but returned for a successful drive in January. campaign trail last October. Later last year, a group of anti-abortionists held a vigil in the Diag for aborted fetuses. One interesting characteristic about activism on campus has been the disalignment with national tren- ds. In the last few months of the school term, large apartheid protests began at Columbia and Berkeley. At the same time, however, protests here began to dwindle, except for an unsuccessful apartheid rally and "camp-out" during finals week. This fall, the campus seems to be the scene of protests once again. A newly-formed group opposing apar- theid in South Africa has said they will push the University to divest the remaining $5 million they have in- vested in companies that do business with South Africa. Protests in 1983 forced the University to divest 90 per- cent of the $50 million they had in- vested. "Activism on this campus is nascent," said Eric Schnuafer, a graduate student and campus ac- tivist. "It's growing. It used to be that you had one issue for the term. But last year, you had the code, you had apartheid, you had military research, and you had campus safety." O'U' research institute compiles nationwide studies 663-4505 SORORITY RUSH MASS MEETING Sunday, Sept. 8 By NADINE LAVAGNINO The University's Institute for Social Research is the largest academic survey center in the world. Inside the massive white walls of the building, researchers work day and night to compile some of the most comprehensive studies about voting trends, changing economy, the use of drugs, racial attitudes, and the Squality of life. The surveys that the ISR resear- chers publish are used by government agencies nationwide and findings are referred to by scholars worldwide. An average survey takes ap- proximately two years to complete. However, the time fluctuates depen- ding on the nature of the survey and the funding provided. "The best sur- veys have a well-defined beginning, *but not a well-defined end," said F. Thomas Juster, ISR director and University professor of economics. The longest-running ISR survey is an on-going election survey which began 37 years ago. The study, which collects data every two years, ex- plores why people vote and how they choose their candidates. The findings reveal that since the survey began, voters are showing a greater trust in government, Juster 10said. The following are some of the largest and more well-known studies conducted by the ISR since its opening: eRecently publicized findings show that teens are more concerned with nuclear war and value materialistic goals and that Americans are becoming more anxious, and have more problems in interpersonal (relationships. The survey also showed *Lhat drug and marijuana use by high school seniors has declined in the past seven years. "The study of racial attitudes and the cause of the mid-60s race riots. The 1968 survey results found that those who participated in the riots were not different from non- participators in employment status and family values. The reasons were more subjective, like sensitivity to racism. *The 1978 survey of black Americans shows that they are struggling socioeconomically. *The South-Asian refugee and resettlement pattern study (1981-1985) concluded that the Asian boat people who arrived in 1978 achieved economic self-suffiency and climbed out of poverty in America with remarkable speed. *Surveys of consumer attitudes show that psychological factors affect the economy and alter purchasing patterns of major household goods. Factors influencing patterns include the effectiveness of economic policy and the economy. The original study began 35 years ago and runs every month; and *The Study of Income Dynamics found that one in every four Americans lived (at one time) in a family that received some form of public assistance from 1969-1978. In a two-year period, approximately 350 studies are published as a result of ISR surveys. The institute has published books on topics such as American gambling attitudes and behavior, white attitudes toward blacks, and a report on permanent and seasonal residents in northern Michigan. "These studies are accurate, they are not speculation," Juster said. "What is unique about the ISR is that we use data that we design and collect. Our surveyers decide what the measurements will be and what they want to study," Juster said. To stay afloat financially, the in- stitute has to propose as many as 200 grant project ideas a year. Some of these are funded with grants from agencies like the Public Health Ser- vice, the National Science Foun- dation, national, defense, labor, and agriculture departments, plus private grants from the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Fund. The institute receives a small amount of state support for projects and some University financial sup- port. The ISR employs approximately 500 supervisors and 300 interviewers stationed all over the country who may be conducting anywhere from 100-150 surveys at any time. A-G H-P Q-Z 10:00 am 12:30 pm 3:00 pm MICHIGAN UNION BALLROOM ummm m mmm inmmmmmmmin% 1 U j I ORNER I OPEN UNTIL MIDNIGHT EXCEPT FRI. & SAT. UNTIL 1 A.M. ® BUY1 KEY o a ® THEN GET 1 FREE 818 S. State 665-4431 i I UNWIND CQ.