cl , ble LIE I!3U11 ItIl Ninety-six years of editorial freedom Ann Arbor,_Michigan - Wednesday, November 13, 1985 Vol. XCVI - No. 50 Copyright 1985, The Michigan Daily Eight Pages I 'U, reviews language reqpffuy- mt By NANCY DRISCOLL The LSA curriculum committee is investigating the possibility of changing the foreign language requirement to include a test of student's proficiency in a language. Currently, all students in LSA must take four semesters of a foreign language or have taken four years in high school to complete the requirement, but they do not have to pass a proficiency test. Tower of London? The fog settles in over the bell tower yesterday. Seminars teach rape By LAURA BISCHOFF The University's rape awareness workshops, which began this fall, are being received well on campus, according to organizers. The 17 student facilitators have presented five workshops over the past two weeks and requests for workshops are "pouring in," according to David Lovinger, a senior art student who is an organizer of the program. THE SESSIONS are run by student discussion leaders for groups of dormitory residents and other campus groups. They focus on date and acquaintance rape - in which the victim and assailant know each other - which is the most common type of sexual assault. Organizers refused to let a reporter sit in on sessions for other campus groups because they were concerned that the reporter's presence might discourage participants from speaking freely. But last week they held a workshop for The Michigan Daily's staff and a reporter was allowed to observe. The workshops open with a quiz on the myths and facts which organizers say surround the issue of rape. The workshop attempts to dispell a num- ber of myths, including "women enjoy being raped," women "ask for it," and "rape is an act of sex rather than violence." THROUGH THE quiz, the workshop presents participants with several facts about rape. They stress that most rapes occur indoors and are per- petrated by acquaintances. One in three women and one out of every 10 men will be the victim of a sexual assault in their lifetime, according to the quiz. In the discussion on acquaintance rape, workshop leaders Shelly Ebbert, a graduate student, and Jim Fendelman, an LSA senior point out that acquaintance rape happens in familiar surroundings, the victim knows the rapist, there is usually inadequate communication between the two, and the victim is often vulnerable because of the use of drugs or alcohol or a lack of assertive behavior. "THE COLLEGE curriculum committee is interested in the level of Daily Photo by DEAN RANDAZZO competence attained by our foreign language students and wants to evaluate the idea of a proficiency requirement which is receiving much national attention," according to Associate Dean Jack Meiland. The curriculum committee yester- day, in its charge to the eight-member aw a res= Foreign Language Instruction Com- mittee, the curriculum committee wrote, "It is alleged that students can satisfy the foreign language Behaving assertively, Ebbert and Fendelman requirement with four years of high said in the workshop for the Daily staff, is the best school but may not necessarily have a way to approach such situations. They contrasted level of proficiency in a foreign assertiveness with agressive behavior, in which language that we feel is suitable for a someone forces their way into a situation without college graduate." regard to the other's rights, and complacency - They have asked the subcommittee the failure to assert oneself. to "consider replacing the current THE WORKSHOPS also use videos to illustrate foreign language requirement by a situations and drum up discussion. Ebbert said the requirement or a set of requirements videos work well because "people don't want to that each student attain a given level look at their own lives. They are more inclined to of achievement in the foreign think about it if they see the videos." language of his or her choice, perhaps A resident advisor at Bursley who arranged a by scoring at a certain level on a workshop for her hall said the videos were "silly proficiency exam." t-L .,...r .> "> must complete the requirement in college. "We discovered that the number of students with four years of a language in high school who took placement tests at Michigan are doing less well than those who have had four semesters in college." "The fact that you can complete the requirement by taking four years in high school without anybody checking what you have actually learned isn't fair," Carduner said. "The length of time studying does not have much to do with how much you know." JOHN MERSEREAU, Professor of Slavic Languages and chair of the language committee, said "The requirement has little meaning unless there is some proficiency required. Otherwise, it's just an attendance requirement." "The basic problem is that if you are going to spend the time and money on language instruction, you should ensure that (the students) learn the language," Mersereau said. He said the level of proficiency which will be required is "totally open." The committee, which has not yet met, does not have a set deadline to make a recommendation, according to Meiland. Any change in the current language requirement must be ap- proved by the LSA faculty. Other members of the Foreign Language Instruction Committee are German Prof. Gerhard Dunnhaupt, Arabic Prof. Raji Rammuny, Romance language associate Prof. TrishaDvorak, associate French Prof. Michio Hagiwara, Japanese Prof. Robert Brower, associate Prof. of Latin Glenn Knudsvig, and language institute lecturer Carolyn Madden. but useful." Liz Erving, an LSA freshmansaid she thought the workshop was informative and worth two hours our of her studying time. The workshop dispelled a lot of myths, she said. Erving said after the workshop, "Sometimes you wonder if you can really protect yourself." JEAN CARDUNER, chairman of the Department of Romance Languages, brought the issue to the attention of the curriculum commit- tee. He called the current requirement unfair to students who . 4....} ......... ........n............................ ..::w:nv:::,:. ................ . .... . . ......\..~ . . . . . ...n.. Survey addresses minority retention By CHERYL WISTROM As part of the effort to increase minority recruitment and retention, the University has sent a survey to a random sample of students asking them to assess the quality of life on campus. The survey, which was put together by associate vice president for academic affairs Niara Sudarkasa and graduate psychology student Jerry Isaac, was sent last week to between 3,100 and 3,500 students, half of whom are members of minority groups. THE QUESTIONNAIRE results will be featured in a report on minority retention to be issued by Sudarkasa and her staff early next semester, said Richard Turner, an assistant to Sudarkasa. The letter accompanying the questionnaire states that its purpose is to "better appreciate the perspec- tives of all students on various academic and non-academic aspects of University life." Mauricio Gobirit, an assistant to Sudarkasa, said he hopes the survey See MINORITY, Page 2 Bummer Halley's doesn't match its hype A'. .... . . . . . . . . . . . ..... vv:{:iv: ::....:"":.....:'. ...;.......... .}:. :.y::. : ::..;.::::. ....;....... . . .:; ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....................vv:::....... .:.. ..:::::. . . .i2 Soviets intensify propaganda From AP and UPI MOSCOW - The Soviet Union stepped up its pre- summit propaganda maneuvering yesterday, attacking U.S. policies from human rights to "Star Wars" one week before President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gor- bachev meet in Geneva. "Facts show that Washington's hegemony plans have not changed," the military newspaper Red Star said in an editorial. RED STAR said the strategic defense initiative, a U.S. program to devise a space-based anti-missile shield known as "Star Wars," is an attempt by "U.S. im- perialists to gain world supremacy by achieving military superiority over the Soviet Union." Unlike the 1979 summit between former President Jimmy Carter and the late Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, there has been no easing in the propaganda barrage to lighten tensions before the Nov. 19-20 super- power Geneva summit.. "Even influential circles in the West admit the negative effect by they U.S. space militarization plans on the results of the summit," Red Star said. MOSCOW has consistently pushed to make arms control - especially "Star Wars" - the centerpiece of the sum- mit. But the United States wants to discuss human rights and regional conflicts in which the two countries back op- posing armed factions, such as Afghanistan and Nicaragua. In Washington, the Reagan administration has proposed an "open laboratory" arrangement for the United States and the Soviet Union to exchange scientists and double-check each other's "Star Wars" research, a senior administration official said yesterday. But the Soviet Union, so far, has refused to go along with any agreement that permits research into Star Wars technology, the official said, even though the United See SOVIET, Page 2 By MARC CARREL. Halley's Comet, the most celebrated comet in history, having been sighted 29 times since the An- cient Chinese first saw it 240 B.C., made its first appearance in 75 years this week as it moved closer to the center of the solar system. But before you rush to the nearest window to catch a glimpse of this celestial boomerang, you might do well to heed the advice of Jim Loudon, staff astronomer of the University's Exhibit Museum. "I THINK most people should not bother (to look for the comet)," Loudon said. "At most, when the comet is at its brightest, it will only be barely visible to the naked eye." "Halley's will be visible by in- struments now for a period every month when the moon is not in the sky,"he said. "But when I sayvisible, that doesn't mean that is will be easy to see. This will be the worst ap- parition of Halley's Comet in 2,000 years."' Despite the problems with viewing the comet in your back yard, Loudon expects this apperance of Halley's toj provide plenty of excitment. "This is an absolute bonanza for astronomers, though," Loudon ex- plained. "We are going to learn more about comets in the next six months than in the last 3,000 years. But if someone is not super enthusiastic, he should plan on sitting in front of the television next March to watch the pictures coming back .from space." Loudon, who is also the director of a series of monthly film and lecture programs called AstroFest, explained why this visit from Halley will be poor: " Halley's Comet is never coming close to the earth. It will never be closer than 38 million miles. Mars gets closer to earth than that. * When the comet is at its nearest to the earth, in February, it will be at its brightest. The only problem is that at that time it will be behind the sun, and 'At most, when the comet is at its brightest, it will only be barely visible to the naked eye. - Jim Loudon Astronomer therefore unable to be seen. * The light pollution from the cities makes it even harder to see. And since most people today live in cities, they will have to drive to the country for a better view. " When it is at its brightest, in Mar- ch and April, the comet will be ex- tremely low in the sky. You would have to go south to see it higher in the sky. s For Michiganders, visibility is fur- ther worsened as it is normally cloudy in Michigan at this time. " When it is bright, in March and April, it will be in the pre-dawn sky. Loudon gave the following advice to those who really want to see it: "They will have to get up before dawn (in See FINALLY, Page 3 L TODAY- The Extirnation Bowl News Campus Meet the Press N IARA SUDARKASA, the University's associate vice president for academic affairs is the guest for Campus Meet the Press at 4 p.m. in the Kuenzel Room of the Michigan Union. Recruitment, retention and other issues concerning minority students will be respond to best, says O'Rourke, who teaches a three- hour seminar in Peoria, Ill. called "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Flirting." "My definition of flirting is the art and the act of getting to know the opposite sex," said O'Rourke, who charges $55 a head for his seminar. "All I'm saying when I say 'flirting' is communications skills - how to start a conversation and keep it going. "We don't stand up in front of -INSIDE ARMED COURSES: Opinion looks at LSA ac- creditation of ROTC classes. See Page 4. BLUES: Arts reviews a night of blues with Ami I ,I