I ~ Ninety-seven years of editorial freedom VOLUME XCVII - NO. 100 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19,1987 COPYRIGHT 1987 THE MICHIGAN DAILY Racist jokes aired over 'U' radio Students protest WJJX broadcast Daily Photo by JOHN MUNSON Robert Sellers, a second year graduate student, plays a tape of a controversial WJJX radio broadcast. Frank Cianciola, Director of the Michigan Union, left, listens in. By EUGENE PAK More than 30 students descended upon the studio of campus radio station WJJX to demand the can- cellation of racist and sexist broad- casts on one student disc jockey's program. The disc jockey, Ted Sevransky, an LSA sophomore who uses the name "Tenacious Slack" on his weekly show, hosted a program containing a series of racist and sexist jokes on Feb. 4, including "Who are the two most famous black women in history?... Aunt Jemima and motherfucker," and "Why do black people smell?... so blind people can hate them too." After listening to the tape, LSA senior Ernie Robinson shook his head and said, "I don't even want to hear that tape anymore." According to students who had taped the program off the radio, Sevransky has two other people, "Miami Mike" and "Shamalama Asbuhi" (a derogatory slur against West Quad's minority council) call in with these jokes. THE STUDENTS had hoped to protest as Sevransky began his program, but when they arrived neither Sevransky nor any WJJX staff member was present. A note was found at the office warning the station manager that students would be protesting the program. The station did not broadcast anything. The student protesters had pre- pared a typed statement against the program, part of which stated: "We view this as another example of the increasing upsurge of racist inci- dents on this campus. We are especially appalled at this latest outrage of institutionalized racism in that University funds not only support the station but its programs are channeled through University halls and the Union." Over the phone, LSA senior Jim Lamb, WJJX's program manager, said Sevransky "likes to talk a great deal on the air," and he had only learned about the content of Se- vransky's program Tuesday night. WHEN LAMB arrived at the station and heard the tape of the program, he immediately fired Sevransky, stating that "he is no longer a part of WJJX, and will never be." "Personally I've listened to a few of the things Ted has done ... (but) none that have gone nearly this far See, STUDENTS, Page 3 Regents to discuss By ELIZABETH ATKINS The Board of Regents will discuss plans today to build a new 1,000-car parking structure for the University Medical Center, including an idea that would spare the University Terrace housing complex. Although the regents in December ten- iatively approved a plan to destroy the Uni- versity Terrace, they decided to study an alter- native building site on the northeastern side of East Medical Center Drive -overlooking the Huron River. "Nothing has been presented that would show us that the alternative site would be better," said Regent Thomas Roach (D-Saline). The alternative plan would cost $5 million more than the $10.2 million cost of the University Terrace site and would involve complicated architecture to accommodate the steeply-sloped landscape. The structure would al. ?block the hospital's view of the Huron River., STerrace University Terrace residents strongly oppose the destruction of three of their 11 buildings which would be razed in August if the regents approve the plan. The complex is considered relatively inexpensive and conveniently located by the single and married graduate students who live there. Because Ann Arbor already faces an extreme housing shortage with a vacancy rate of less than 2.5 percent, the residents argue that finding See REGENTS, Page 2 Speech program closed to students By SCOTT BOWLES An executive committee has temporarily halted admissions to the University's Speech and Language Pathology division to ,examine the program's efficiency, but students enrolled in the 'departmen fear the moratorium is a step toward its elimination. The six-member executive Vtcommittee of the School of -education voted to place a noratorium on the division last :Oonth. Officials say there is no teason to assume that the program is going to be eliminated. Lisa Levine, a first-year graduate student in the Pathology Pepartment, said she and her classmates received a more .pessimistic message. "What we were told was that the moratorium is a precursor to the elimination of the program," she said. "(The moratorium) has been set, which means that when potential graduate students apply to See STAFF, Page 2 CAAS offers summer study in west Africa By HEATHER ROSE Under an extraordinary Uni- versity program, students can spend summer term 1987 traveling through six west African countries learning about their culture, his- tory, arts, politics, and economies. The Center for Afro-American and African Studies (CAAS) is sponsoring the program, which runs from July 1 through Aug. 15. Students will depart from New York and travel through Senegal, Gambia, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Benin, and Nigeria. "This is an unusual experience," CAAS program representative Shir- ley Clarkson said. "There aren't many courses for American students in Africa." Jemadari Kamara, a University professor and director of Afro- American Studies at the Univer- sity's Flint campus, will teach the course. Lectures will be given by Kamara and local African university professors, and will focus on West African societies in transition and their contrasting approaches to government. They will also delve into specific features of the nations visited. Kamara will be accompanied by teaching assistant Raouf Mama, a graduate student in English from Benin. Debra Graddick, an admin- istrative assistant for CAAS, has just returned from Africa, where she went through the program's itin- erary. She said her experience in Africa "helped me to grow, as a black person and as an individual in general." "It is always in the back of your mind that you must go home to find out about yourself and your people," she said. Graddick said the program's goal is to "expose students to as much as we can of the African ex- perience." Students will live in ho- tels and in dormitories of local uni- versities, so they can interact with See PROGRAM, Page 2 INSIDE Hallelujah! Nobody's crying over the resignation of White House aide Pat Buchanan. OPINION, PAGE 4 A freshman vocalist "wades" into a solo performance. ARTS, PAGE 5 Michigan graduate Eli Zaret left netroit to fnllnw the Rio Annle Doily Photo by JOHN MUNSON Debra Graddick, administrative assistant for the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies, stands in front of two masks which are part of the Dr. Eva Jessye Music Collection on the first floor of the West Engineering Building. MSA asks students to, Nursing shortage hurts 'U' hospital vote on By MARTHA SEV Students will be support either a volunta funding system or a ref for PIRGIM, the Pub Research Group in Mich The Michigan Studen passed a resolution la night to add the ques PIRGIM funding VETSON group, used to be financially sup- asked to ported by students who pledged $2 ry checkoff on their Student Verification Forms fund system during class registration. But since lic Interest the Board of Regents axed that iigan. privilege, the group has been it Assembly searching for funding sources. te Tuesday One proposal was a new positive tion to the checkoff system, whereby students By EVE BECKER A nationwide shortage of nurses is affecting both the University Hospitals and the School of Nursing, officials report. The University Hospital has 180 positions to fill, according to Laurita Thomas. a hospital official. wide dropped 8 percent last year. Pennington attributes the decline in the number of nurses to increased employment opportunities for wo- men. Because nursing has tradition- ally been a "woman's job," more women in male-dominated pro- fessions' means relatively fewer ....:.