The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 12, 1987 - Page 3
Group remembers
Soviet ref usniks
By SCOTT BOWLES
A University group is leading
'the nation in remembering the
plight of Jews unable to leave the
Soviet Union.
The Student Struggle for Soviet
Jewry (SSSJ) is organizing this
year's International Solidarity Day
and will begin the annual February
event with activities on campus
today.
Solidarity Day gives students a
chance to voice their concern about
the status of Jews in Russia, many
of whom are "refuseniks," or people
who have been denied permission to
emigrate. The National Conference
on Soviet Jewry in New York
estimates there are more than
330,000 refuseniks in ,the Soviet
Union.
At the University, the SSSJ will
} be asking students to sign petitions
and postcards to be sent to Soviet
Union Secretary-General Mikhail
Gorbachev and President Reagan.
"AT NOON, eight SSSJ mem-
bers will gather on the Diag to read
shortbiographies of some refus-
eniks. The group also plans to con-
struct mock jail and fill it with
balloons, to represent the Jews that
are held in Russia against their
will. The balloons will be released
later in the day.
Much of the emphasis of
Solidarity Day will be placed on the
SSSJ's adopted family, Yuri and
Nelli Shpeizman. The Shpeizmans
first applied for emigration to Israel
ii 1978. When they were last
turned down in 1986, the couple
threatened to go on a hunger strike.
The hunger strike was aborted be-
cause Yuri has leukemia, and it
would have been fatal to him.
Several SSSJ members met
with the Shpeizmans last April and
offered to hold a hunger strike on
the family's behalf. Since Novem-
ber 18, 1986, the 50 members of
the organization have taken turns
fasting for 24 hours. On Solidarity
Day, all members will fast.
In addition to organizing Sol-
idarity Day here, the SSSJ
coordinates International Solidar-
ity Day activities, which are sched-
uled for Thursday, February 26. The
organization scheduled University
events two weeks earlier because of
spring break.
ACCORDING TO group
member Jodie Pearlman, the SSSJ
sent packages to approximately 300
colleges across the country, sug-
gesting ways to participate in the
event. Some ideas include holding
demonstrations, rallies, and silent
vigils, and performing "guerilla
theater," in which members would
participate in a skit in the center of
campus.
"Our goal is to create an
awareness on campus," Pearlman
said. "The more pressure placed on
our government and the Soviet
government, the better the chances
of refuseniks being released."
She said four SSSJ members,
including herself, will participate in
Solidarity Day activities in
Washington D. C., where students
will march on the Capitol to alert
congressional representatives and
government officials of the issue.
Stephen Sadis, and LSA senior
and chairperson of Solidarity
events, said the event was im-
portant because it brought all con-
cerned groups together.
"When all of the campuses
participate at the same time, it
brings the idea of solidarity to life,"
Sadis said.
"The family we adopted last year
(the Bogomolnys) was released. I'm
not saying we did it alone, but
when groups get together and the
Western press gets involved, there's
less probability of refuseniks being
harassed," he said.
SADIS SAID one of the
group's priorities is not to change
Soviet policy singlehandedly, but
to bring the issue to light.
"The hunger strike does no good
if you starve yourself inside your
house. It's better to go with lunch
with some friends and not eat. They
ask you why your not eating and
they learn how important it is.
They see that people are being
denied of their human rights.
"We don't just want people to
walk by and sign a petition," Sadis
continued. "Hopefully, they'll find
out a little information. Also, if
they decided they want to get
involved, they'll know where to
turn."
In addition to petition signing
and a skit, Rita Charlestein will
perform at 7:30 p.m. in the
Pendleton Room at the Michigan
Union. Charlestein, who met the
Shpeizman family, sings songs
about various refusenik families.
Nurses may strike to speed negotiations
(Continued from Page 1)
just gong to have to judge later."
"The University is obviously
dragging its feet," she said.
Marjorie Becker, bargaining
chief for the University, declined to
comment on the negotiations'
bargaining processes.
"Our position is unchanged.
We'll continue to bargain with
MNA (the nurses' union)," Becker
said. "We are available for nego-
tiations."
According to UMPNC members,
negotiations had reached an impasse
over promotion issues. Members
began discussing economic issues
two weeks ago; the council said the
University's response has been
inadequate.
Fifty-four proposals are on the
negotiating table. Issues which
have been discussed in negotiations
include promotion and transfer
qualifications, representation on
nursing policy committees, layoff
and recall policies, equal access to
employee health programs, and a
policy forbidding hiring temporary
employees for nursing positions.
MSA and SACUA form coalition
Johnson said that the promotion
policies in practice now are based
on favoritism. "It's the good old
boys' system. If you know some-
one you're in," she explained.
'COPIES
FEB. 9-13
1220 S. University
location only
747-9070
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(Continued from Page 1)
addressed by whites as much as
blacks," she said. Affirmative
Action director Virginia Nordby
declined to comment.
This Affirmative Action fund is
the latest in a set of major
initiatives put forth by Duderstadt.
Through another $1 million
program - the Undergraduate
Initiative Fund - Duderstadt hopes
to involve the entire University
community in improving under-
graduate life by soliciting proposals
from faculty, students, and
Armed man
attacks palace
LONDON - A masked man
armed with a hammer and a knife
tried to break into Kensington
Palace early yesterday morning,
Scotland Yard said. Prince Charles
and Princess Diana and a host of
other British royals were in
residence at the time.
The would-be intruder attacked
and injured two policemen but was
disarmed after a struggle and
arrested, Scotland Yard said.
administrators. Duderstadt announ-
ced a similar program to improve
research was announced in De-
cember.
The framework of the Affirm-
ative Action Initiative, though, has
yet to be decided. "A decision that
still needs to be made is whether we
want to solicit the University
community for more ideas, or
whether we want to use what we
already have," Jacoby said. "This is
very much a decision that will be
made in the next couple of weeks."
LANICE HALL, chair of
MSA's minority affairs committee,
sees an urgent need for such
measures in the University's
Affirmative Action program. "There
is presently no senior black officer
in the entire Affirmative Action
department, and from what I hear
the program needs a lot of
redirection," Hall said.
Muenchow sees the initiative as
a potentially unifying effort.
Campus Cinema
American Graffiti (George
Lucas, 1973), Med, 7:30 & 9:30
p.m., Nat Sci.
A fantastic, achingly nostalgic film
about four friends on the eve of
their high school graduation, 1962.
Teen movies don't get any better
than this.
I Wouldn't Want To Be A
Man (Ernst nLbtc,11)
AAFC, DBL/7:00 p.m., Aud A.
An angry young woman decides to
disguise herself as a man, but soon
finds out that being one of the
boys means more than stuffing a
rolled-up sock down your trousers.
Light comedy.
Forbidden Paradise (Ernst
Lubitsch, 1924), AAFC,
DBL/8:45 p.m., Aud A.
Pola Negri is a catty queen who
prefers to seduce the captain of the
guard (Rod La Rocque) than do
something about an impending
rebellion. Discussion follows the
film.
Blue Velvet (David Lynch,
1986), MTF, 7:45 p.m., Mich.
A naive young man gets caught up
in a world of gangsters, gay
junkies, and all sorts of wierd,
decadent stuff when he discovers a
severed ear in a field. One of the
most-talked about films of the
year.
Performances
Inpact Jazz Dance- 8 p.m.,
michigan League, Mendelssohn
Theatre
This annual performance features a
variety of dance pieces.
"Avante Gardners"- 9:30 p.m., U-
Club, (763-1107).
Speakers
Herbert Eagle- "Lighting,
Color, and Meaning in Recent
Hungarian Cinemas," Center for
Russian and East European
Studies, 7:30 p.m., Lane Hall,
Commons Room.
Frank Burdine- "Interning in
Public Accounting," Beta Alpha
Psi Club, 4:30 p.m., Assembly
Hall, Wolverine Room.
W. Edwards and H.
Stevenson- "Growing Up
Japanese," Center for Japanese
Studies, noon, Lane Hall,
Commons Room.
Harry Magdoff- "Debt,
Stagnation, and the Economic
Crisis," 7:30 p.m.; Lorch Hall
Auditorium.
Beth Reed- "Women in
Leadership Roles," 5:30 p.m.,
l r..I-. - -. T -. '' - !N -t --
Alemannic," Dept. of Germanic
Languages and The Program in
Linguistics, 4:10 p.m., Rackham
West Conference Room.
Catalina Chesley- "Children
of the Gecekondu: Growing Up in
a Squatter Settlement in Istanbul,"
Turkish Students Association, 7
p.m., 3050 Frieze Bldg.
Lynn Fisher- "Magdalenian
Sites and Swiss Lakeshore
Archaeology," noon, 2009
Museum Bldg.
Peter Vail- "Sequence
Stratigraphy: Applications of
Seismic Stratigraphy Concepts to
Well and Outcrop Data," Dept. of
Geological Sciences and The
Museum of Paleontology, 8 p.m.,
Rackham Ampitheatre.
Dr. Jack Collier-
"Cytoplasmic Regulation of Gene
Expression in Ilyanassa," Dept. of
Biology, noon, 1139 Nat. Sci.
Meetings
U of M Voice of Reason- 6
p.m., 4th floor lobby, Michigan
Union.
External Relations
Committee of the MSA- 7
p.m., 3909 Michigan Union.
Lesbian Network- 7:30 p.m.,
Guild House.
Furthermore
Interstate Relations Within
COMECON: Problems and
Prospects- symposium, Center
for Russian and East European
Studies, 2 p.m.-5:30 p.m.,
Rackham East Conference Room.
Safewalk- Night time safety
walking service, 8 p.m.-1:30 a.m.,
102 UGLi or call (736-1000).
Summer Job Fair- Pre-
registration, 3200 SAB.
U of M Rugby Football
Club- practice, 8 p.m.,
Coliseum, Corner of Hill and Fifth
Streets, (996-4529).
Aerospace Corporation- Pre-
Interview. 1 p.m.-4 p.m.,143
Chrysler Center, (763-5027).
Trancscendental Meditation
Technique- Free Introductary
Lecture, 8 p.m., T. M. Center, 528
West Liberty.
Send announcements of up-
coming events to "The List," c/o
The Michigan Daily, 420
Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Mich.,
48109. Include all pertinent in-
formation and a contact phone
number. We must receive an-
nouncements for Friday and
Sunday events at least two weeks
before the event, and announ-
e.ment fa . wppklav evants
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Thi1S
sprnn,
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$[7C
This Spring Break, catch a Greyhound® to
the beach, the mountains, or your hometown.
For just $89 round trip, you and your friends
will have a great time wherever you go.
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