The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 4, 1986 - Page 3
Students
life
'U; city integration
By ROB EARLE
"It's impossible to tell where the
town leaves off and the college
begins," observed Colleen Handy, a
recent visitor to Ann Arbor.
Handy, on her visit here, noticed an
important aspect of the University
campus - the integration of the city
and campus.
Other schools, like Michigan State
University in East Lansing, are
clearly separate from the town. But
Ann Arbor and the University are
symbiotic. To most people, they are
the same place.
"I really don't think about it as
being two different places," LSA
sophomore Denny Clark said. She ad-
ded that she liked the feeling of not
being penned in by the campus.
The border between the campus and
the town is not always clear - it's
more imaginary than physical. Cen-
tral campus buildings like the Perry
Building and Lane Hall are closer to
Krazy Jims Blimpy Burgers and
Olgas respectively than to the Modern
Language Building or Angell Hall.
"It's neat," said LSA senior
Jeonette Tanner, "You can get a bite
to eat between classes."
Integration convient
The integration is also convenient
for students living off-campus. Some
locations are closer to class room
buildings than many dorms. The
student ghetto area just north of
Huron Street is less than five minutes
from the MLB and the Frieze
Building, closer even than the Hill
dorms.
"I can roll out of bed about three
minutes before my eight o'clocks
(classes)," boasted Randy George, an
I really don't think of (the city and the
campus) as being two different places.'
-Penny Clark
LSA sophomore
Jurisdiction problems
City police and University security
officers also find problems of having
no clear boundary seperating their
domain. The University pays the city
for fire and police services, but main-
tains its own security force. The
arrangement has brought complaints
from the city that they're not being
paid enough, and from the University
that they're not getting enough ser-
vices.
The two security groups often work
in tandem, bringing questions about
the proper role of Ann Arbor police on
campus. For example, protestors
have complained that batallions of
police in riot gear are often called in
during protests, a sight they claim is a
form of intimidation against political
dissent.
Not all parts of the Ann Arbor cam-
pus though are integral with the city.
The mammoth athletic/service com-
plex between Hoover and Stadium
streets is one continuous unit of
playing fields, offices, and shops. The
colony on north campus is almost
alone in the area, keeping a quiet that
Bursley and Baits dormitory residen-
ts are thankful for.
City planner E.L. Weathers said the
integration of the University and city
was accidental.
"The majority of the property was
privately owned, then was donated to
or bought by the University," he said.
Weathers said most University
buildings are set farther back from
the property line than commerical
buildings, which try to be near the
sidewalk to attract customers.
LSA senior who lives on Thayer Street.
While many students find the
arrangement convenient, others find
it a headache. "I hate fighting crowds
on State Street," said LSA senior
Heidi Schuler.
Some University students complain
that local teenagers harass them. One
local teenager said she thought
having the University close by was an
advantage, but felt that University
students are arrogant.
'Students urged to
beware of crimes
By MELISSA BIRKS
Candy Buie came to the University two years ago from
Manhattan and thought Ann Arbor was "a nice town. So
nice that one day she entrusted her book bag to two men
while she went to get a pop. She returned to find the men,
and her bag, gone.
"It seems like the friendlier the place, something like
that wouldn't happen," Buie said. "I didn't think anybody
really did it. It doesn't cross your mind. Especially if you
don't have anything to steal," she added.
This is typical, according to Det. Jerry Wright of the
Ann Arbor Police Department. Students "allow them-
selves to be selected" as victims for crimes ranging from
' theft to rape by not following basic safety precautions.
Wright said students last year lost almost $2.5 million in
property. At the University, there were 107 reported
misdemeanor larcenies of under $100, according to Leo
Heatley, director of Campus Safety.
While orientation leaders take out about fifteen minutes
to discuss safety on campus - like locking doors when you
leave your dorm room - some students don't think such
precautions are necessary, according to campus safety
officials.
Heatley said that many students are victims of theft
when they first move into their dorms, leaving their fur-
niture, cloths, stereos, and other articles unattended. "If
you put something down, and leave it, don't expect it to be
there when you get back," Heatley said.
"I think the University could make students more
aware" of crime off-campus, said LSA senior Jermore
Lee. "They give you some basic things; don't leave the
door unlocked. There's a whole town outside the Univer-
sity; people who don't have anything to do with the
University. You have to watch out for the rest as well."
Preventing rape
While thefts, according to Wright, are the most
prevalent crimes in Ann Arbor, the University has recen-
tly tried to increase awareness of more serious crimes
like sexual assault. Last February, the University's new
Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center opened
under the direction of Julie Steiner.
Last year, there were two reported first degree rapes on
campus, and Steiner has already counseled five sexual
assault survivors even though her office is not yet equip-
ped with a rape couseling center.
But Steiner warned against creating paranoia about the
possibility of sexual assault. Although statistics show that
the threat of rape is real on campus, Steiner says that
women should be aware of their vulnerability in certain
situations and act how they feel most comfortable.
"If you just tell women they can't walk alone, that's
making them victims," Steiner said.
She said that women should not feel tied to their dorms
and afraid to venture out after dark, but should be ready
to use services like the Nite Owl bus, the emergency
escort service provided by campus safety, and the Night
Ride taxi service, if they don't feel comfortable walking
home alone.
She encourages women to be aware of certain strategies
that can help in avoiding crimes. These include walking in
the middle of the street, carrying a whistle with your keys,
and always confronting someone who may be following
you.
"I refuse to compromise my whole life," said LSA junior
Pam Kisch, a student aide in Steiner's office, of walking
home alone at night. "I know other women who won't do
it. They have to weigh that for themselves."
Assailants familiar
Steiner pointed out that in a campus safety survey con-
ducted by her office, 90 percent of rape victims knew their
assailants.
"A big problem relative to sexual assaults is operating
under the myth that most rapes happen by a tall dark
strange guy hiding in the bushes who's going to grab us,
and that's just not true," Steiner said.
Men, Kisch said, have a responsibility to recognize that
they can be threatening when inadvertently approaching
a woman on a dark street.
Things like crossing to the opposite side of the street and
not walking with your hands in your pockets are impor-
tant to not be threatening, Kisch said. Men should "think
about what it feels like for a woman to walk alone. Think
about what could be frightening," she added.
However, "all these things to prevent being assaulted
are not going to prevent assaults from taking place,"
Steiner said. "If you're assaulted, the most important
thing to remember is it's not your fault."
Daily Photo by ANDI SCHREIBeR
Two of Ann Arbor's homeless eat dinner at St. Mary's church on the corner of William and Thompson streets.
The meal was provided by the Hunger Coalition of Ann Arbor.
Risin homeless groupl
Fake ID: A license to buy
By ROB EARLE
"Could I see some ID please?"
As a six-pack of beer, a fifth of
cheap liquor, or a bottle of wine sits on
the counter, the next few seconds will
determine the course of the evening.
Students 21-years-old and older
nonchalantly pull out their driver
license, toss it face-up on the counter
and resume their conversation with a
cocky smirk plastered on their face.
For those still too new to the world
to buy and consume alcohol under
Michigan's 21 and above drinking age,
the reactions vary.
"I forgot it."
"I always buy here."
"ID? I haven't been carded in two
years."
False IDs
Young, would-be drinkers soon
discover there is little chance of
coming up with an original excuse.
Store clerks, bartenders, ushers, and
waitresses have heard them all. The
best way around the law seems to be
fake IDs. Fake IDs come in many
varieties. Some are merely altered
driver licenses. Michigan licenses are
easily altered with a little make-up
and a sharp pencil. A driver can thus
add years to his age.
One LSA junior uses his brother's
driver license with his own picture on
it. "A friend made it," he saidproudly,
with a newly-purchased case of Bud-
weiser Light on his shoulder
"I don't use it anyplace they check
more than one piece of ID," he said.
Despite his precautions, he doesn't
worry about using his fake ID. "A lot
of places don't check me anyway," he
said. "I never have any problems
during happy hour."
Other fakes
through legal channels by illegal
means - like using an altered birth
certificate to get a driver's license.
While this appears to be the most ef-
fective fake, it is also the most
dangerous. The bearer could be
prosecuted for perjury.
Problems with Prosecution
In Ann Arbor, fake IDs are fairly
common. While enforcement agencies
don't keep statistics, police seize two
or three fake IDs every month, accor-
ding to Detective Lt. Paul Buten, of
the Ann Arbor Police Department's
special investigations unit.
Despite confiscations by the police
and. underage "plants" who secretly
Union.
But many local retailers don't even
bother to confiscate fake IDs. "It
doesn't do any good," Tice said.
Another who agrees is Gil Holbrook,
manager of Campus Corner.
Holbrook's store keeps a large bound
volume with samples of all legal U.S.
and Canadian IDs to compare.
Lt. Buten said recent undercover
sweeps by police have indicated that
liquor dealers have checked IDs more
closely.
Bars more lenient
Bars, which check IDs only about
half the time, are not as careful,
Buten said. Such laxness has tem-
poses problemisI
By JERRY MARKON Locally, both shelter and city of-
"All I want is a job, my son back, ficials agree the numbers of homeless
and my girlfriend back," the man are on the upswing. "From the num-
who calls himself "Terry" groans bers of people in the shelters, you'd
through brown, crooked teeth. definitely say it's increasing," said
His eyes wander nervously around Gene Flening, a frequent volunteer at
the room - a cold lobby at the Ann the Huron St. Shelter.
Arbor Shelter for the Homeless. Like Built to house only 15 people each
many of the city's several hundred night, the facility now averages 40
homeless residents, Terry is mentally guests, and workers are expecting as
ill. many as 55 next winter.
A Vietnam veteran, Terry's story In addition, Arbor Haven shelter,
has been documented before. He says which opened in 1981, is nearly always
he developed a "nervous condition" filled to its capacity of 18-22 people,
after arriving home from the jungle. according to Red Cross officials who
He has since proven unable to hold a run the facilty.
job. Controversy surrounds shelter
After failing as an assembly line The Ann Arbor Shelter for the
worker for Ford Motor Co., he took to Homeless was established in 1984, but
the streets, with the additional burden the controversy that has surrounded it
of a son born out of wedlock. highlights several underlying causes
Eventually, the courts took away of homelessness.
his son, and his girlfriend moved in Pressure for creating another
with her mother. Lacking a job, shelter started in 1983 when workers
money, and hope, he now views his at St. Andrews Church noticed that
situation as desperate. many of the people they were feeding
"I don't like it here," he says. "I
want to get out of this shelter. I want
my son and my girlfriend back. I want HISTORIC
my life back. Anything I have to do,
I'll do it." BUILDINGS
Sleeping his nights away in the
shelter, located on 420 West Huron St., Ann Arbor, Michigan
Terry is joined by a myriad of people,
ranging from those temporarily out of
work, to delusional schizophrenics.
Shelter officials divide their
residents into three categories: the
"temporary" homeless, thg "typical
drifters", or the chronic homeless,
one quarter of whom are substance
abusers and mentally ill. More than
half of shelter residents are afflicted t=
with mental health problems, accor- ii-
ding to an Ann Arbor Shelter for the -
Homeless survey earlier this year.
Numbers of homeless rising
The numbers of homeless are rising
both nationally and in Ann Arbor.
Homeless Americans number
anywhere from 500,000 to two million.
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or City
at a breakfast program for the needy
were also homeless.
Creating a temporary shelter in the
church's basement, church officials
lobbied City Council members to ad-
dress the problem.
After a long debate, the council
finally created the non-profit Ann Ar-
bor Shelter Association to run a per-
manent shelter and contributed a
$25,000down-payment in April 1984.
Before the decision, local residents
voiced concern that shelter residents
would pose a safety hazard to neigh-
See HOMELESS, Page8
'What they need is a law that does
something against the kid who's trying to
buy.'
-Dennis Tice
manager, Tice's Liquor
test sellers, Buten said the number of.
fake ID users has not dropped in
recent years.
"There are every bit as many fake
IDs as there have been in the past,"
said Ron Gill, district supervisor for
the state Liquor Control Commission
(LCC).
Gill said the only way to reduce fake
ID usage is through prosecution. "The
means for prosecuting fake ID users
is in the law," he said, but local police
departments often enforce the law
only against the sellers.
"What they need is a law that does
something against the kid that's
trying to buy," said Dennis Tice,
manager of Tice's Liquor on State
Street.
.porarily closed such bars as Dooleys,
and brought fines for the U-Club.
According to U-Club beverage
manager Don Dentling, drinking age
policies differ from bar to bar, "We
have a more alert management that
stresses checking ID over selling
drinks." For other bars, he said, the
profit motive often comes first.
All U-Club employees are told to
stress alcohol control, Dentling said,
and on especially busy nights, the club
may have "a batallion of people"
watching for underage drinkers.
The U-Club has also taken a unique
approach to controlling alcohol .n-
derage and non-members are
required to sign a statement saying
they are not entering the club "with
the intent nf hivina lcenhn1"
PREGNANT?
* Free Pregnancy Test
* Abortion Information
* Confidential
A handy pocket-sized guide
book to Ann Arbor's land-
marks. Photographs and stories
on over seventy marked
buildings, plus reference guide
to architectural st vles andr