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fintyeaftdat
.Ninety-seven years of editorial freedom
1akt1Q
1Vol. XCVII - No. 55
Copyright 1986, The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan - Wednesday, November 19, 1986
Ten Pages
Crowd
urges
'U'
to
grant Mandela degree
By STEVE KNOPPER '
Members of the Free South Africa Coordinating
Committee (FSACC) and two University professors
argued for more than an hour last night with the
committee which is reviewing the University's
honorary degree policy.
The debate occurred at the committee's first open
hearing. Most of the argument stemmed from a Board
of Regents bylaw which prohibits conferring honorary
degrees on people who cannot attend the University's
graduation ceremonies.
ADVOCATES of a degree for jailed South
African leader Nelson Mandela were outraged last May
when they learned of the bylaw shortly before
commencement. The group had been lobbying to get
the University to give Mandela a degree.
FSACC member Barbara Ransby, the second
speaker at the hearing, said, "We hadn't even been
listened to ... we were constantly met with walls of 'no
comment"' after the group collected more than 2,500
signatures, solicited letters of recommendation from
around the world, and lobbied University officials in
support of conferring the degree on Mandela.
Ransby offered three suggestions for a more
effective debate over the bylaw: Hold an "open and
honest dialogue" about the rule; abandon the rule which
keeps confidential the actions of both the committee
reviewing the honorary degree policy and the
committee which chooses honorary degree recipients;
and look at the issue in a timely matter - that is, do
not "allow the issue to be drawn out another year."
T H O M A S Holt, director of the Center for
Afroamerican and African Studies, who renominated
Mandela for an honorary degree in last month, said he
was "concerned about the moral ambiguity of the
University's position on South African reconstruction"
and that the University "should honor achievement
based on qualities we claim to teach."
FSACC member Brett Stockdill said the University
was "hypocritical to deny (the degree to) those who
have made obvious sacrifices." He said the regents and
See MANDELA, Page 5
The Michigan Student
Assembly passed a resolution
last night opposing the Board of
Regents bylaw which requires
honorary degree nominees to be
present at commencement.
MSA urged the ad hoc review
committee for the honorary
degree policy to recommend a
change in this bylaw and stated
its support for an honorary
degree for jailed South African
leader Nelson Mandela. "The
administration has already
successfully delayed the granting
of such a degree for several
months by refusing to consider
Mandela's case because of the
current bylaw constrictions,"the
resolution said. - Wendy Sharp
Daily Photo by PETE ROSS'
John D'Arms, Dean of Rackham, addresses an audience of ap-
proximately 40 at the honorary degree policy meeting last night. D'Arms
is the head of the ad hoc committee to review the honorary degree policy
at U-M.
cutting
enI - use'
use
angers
students
By MARTIN FRANK
The students who resigned
Monday from the Research Policies
Committee were making a
statement against the advisory
committee that reviewed the
guidelines for research, the students
said yesterday.
The students felt that the
advisory committee appointed by
Shapiro was "intentionally biased
and unrepresentative. In forming
this committee, (University)
President (Harold) Shapiro bypassed
the normal selection process for the
Senate Advisory Committee on
University Affairs and Michigan
Student Assembly representation,".
said a prepared statement released by
the students.
MSA Miltary Research Advisor
Ingrid Kock, one of the students
who resigned from the committee,
said the students felt that
resignation would call attention to
what they felt was a hurried
discussion of the University's
research policy.
The students wanted more
discussion on the possibility of
extending the "end-use" clause,
which bans only classified research
that can kill or maim humans, to
all forms of sponsored research.
They were denied discussion
time because the RPC had to meet
a time schedule, which the students
said was too rushed.
"WE believe that were we to
stay on the committee, we would
legitimize a process that's flawed,"
said history graduate student Eric
Caplan, another student member
who resigned.
Added Kock, "We felt that it was
more effective if we make a
statement than accept the weak
statement (currently being
negotiated) of the RPC."
Biochemistry graduate student
Marisela Velez and physics graduate
student Michael Massey also
resigned.
THE RPC is one of the groups
See STUDENTS, Page 2
N. Korean president
dispels death rumors
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -
North Korean president Kim Ii
Sung, who had been reported slain
or ousted in a coup, made an
official appearance today in
Pyongyang, greeting the Mon-
golian premier, the official North
Korean news agency reported.
A photograph also distributed by
the Korean Central News Agency
showed the 74-year-old Kim
shaking hands with Zhambyn
Batmunkh in an airport welcoming
for the Mongolian leader.
AN ASIAN diplomat in
Pyongyang, contacted by telephone
from Peking, told The Associated
Press that he had seen Kim at the
airport and "he is in absolutely
good health."
"Everything is all right in this
country, the situation is absolutely
normal," the diplomat said,
speaking on condition that he not
be identified. "There seems to be
nothing correct about these reports
of an assassination or power
seizure."
The photo, and an earlier report
by the Korean Central News
Agency and Radio Pyongyang on
the airport greeting, dispelled
rumors about the fate of Kim and a
struggle for control of this
communist country of 19 million
which he has led since its creation
in 1948.
A FLURRY of reports that
Kim had been killed or deposed
began Sunday when the defense
ministry in Seoul said broadcasts
from North Korean loudspeakers
along the demilitarized zone that
separates the two Koreas said Kim
had been shot to death.
Japan's Kyodo News Service
said in a dispatch from Hanoi
See N. KOREAN, Page -5
Student aid status altered
By MICHAEL LUSTIG
When Congress passed a law re-authorizing federal
financial aid funds last September, it changed the
definition of an independent student to clear up
ambiguities in the old rules, according to Assistant
Director of Financial Aid Lynn Borset.
Under the new rule, any student under 24 will
automatically be classified as dependent unless he or
she falls under one of six exceptions.
THE old law required students to meet three criteria
to be considered self-supporting: They couldn't be
claimed as an exemption on parents' income taxes,
receive more than $750 in parental support a year, or
live with parents for more than six weeks a year.
An unmarried student had to meet these standards for
two consecutive years, and a married student was
required to meet them for only one year.
Borset said that in the old system it was not always
easy to document whether or not students followed the
rules. If questions arose, the financial aid office asked
the applicant to provide additional information on
personal expenses and resources.
By requiring that additional information, Borset
said, the office went "a step towards meeting the spirit
as well as the letter of the law."
The new method - scheduled to be effective for the
1987-88 school year and Jan. 1 for Guaranteed Student
Loans - is clearer and more detailed than the previous
rules, according to Borset. Students under 24 will be
considered dependent unless he or she:
-Is an orphan, ward of the court, or a veteran;
See LAW, Page 5
Daily Photo by SCOTT LITUCHY
On te lookout
Ann Arbor skateboarder John Conlee, age 14, climbs atop of the sculpture
in front of the University Museum of Art. He and his friend Nathan Kuder
are "just a couple of skateboarders messing around," Conlee said.
Pierce makes stops at area shelters
By EVE BECKER
Ann Arbor Mayor Ed Pierce
appeared briefly last night at the
two area homeless shelters, talking
to staff and looking at conditions in
the shelters to commemorate
Homeless Awareness Week.
Pierce said the shelters need
more space to accommodate more
people, especially during the winter
months.
"THE city has put money into
the shelter, but it doesn't want to
run it," he said, because non-profit
organizations are better equipped
than the city is to run the day-to-
day operations of the shelters.
Shelter staff and homeless guests
commended Homeless Awareness
Week because it can help increase
awareness of the problems which
City, 'U' oI
the homeless face, but they were
skeptical about whether the mayor's
brief visit would affect the
condition of the homeless in the
city because there is little low-
income housing.
Pierce said he visited the shelters
to show the people running them
that Homeless Awareness Week
was more that just a gesture.
RESIDENTS of the shelter
were surprised that the mayor would
visit the shelter, and thought that
more public officials should visit.
Some questioned Pierce about city
policies and his visit to Nicaragua,
but most did not talk to him
because they just considered him a
5serve 'Homeless Awareness Week'
visitor to the shelter.
Other programs being planned
for the week, such as bucket drives
and a benefit dance, will help raise
money for the shelters.
Homeless Awareness Week was
created by a resolution proposed by
Pierce and passed by the Ann Arbor
City Council. The City of Ann
Arbor and the University are
sponsoring events throughout the
week in order to raise awareness
about the problems of the
homeless.
THE community awareness
committee, formed by resident staff
and students in Bursley Hall, has
mounted efforts to raise awareness
about the homeless before, but the
group has concentrated on raising
awareness in Bursley Hall. This
year the activities planned for the
week attempt to make the program
University-wide.
Much of the University's
activities, such as movies, an open
house at'the shelter, and a shelter
clean-up, were started by students
and staff in Bursley.
At Monday's meeting of the
Ann Arbor City Council, the city
of Ypsilanti presented a
proclamation. commending the
attention to the plight of the
homeless. Similar resolutions were
presented by the Washtenaw
County Board of Commissioners
and by a representative of State
Rep. Perry Bullard (D-Ann Arbor).
MANDY King, a worker at a
daytime shelter run by the Ann
Arbor Shelter Association, said she
doubted the motives and
effectiveness of the mayor's visit.
"I expect him to come in and say
a few good words, give wonderful,
wonderful praises, and then to walk
out and never think of it again,"
said King.
"If they (the city) really wanted
to help, we need emergency
vouchers because we're
overcrowded," she said.
See CITY, PAGE 5
TODAY-
Gift horse
Another silly bet
Some people never learn," said Ann Arbor's
state Senator Lana Pollack, in announcing an Ohio
Ring.. .
W hen you see news happen, you can now call
76-DAILY and it will ring (we hope). Following
INSIDE-
PIRGIM: Opinion discusses the public interest
group's funding problems. See Page 4.
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