Ninety-seven years of editorial freedom VOLUME XCVII - NO. 132 ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - MONDAY, APRIL 13, 1987 COPYRIGHT 1987, THE MICHIGAN DAILY Ed. school dept. faces elimination Women ''harass mzen for class project By HEATHER ROSE A group of Introduction to Women's Studies students took the Diag by surprise Friday, carrying signs and yelling at male passersby. For their final project for Women's Studies 240, the nine women "wanted to make the point that most women are not flattered by catcalls," said LSA junior Julie Abbatte, a member of the group. "We find them threatening and offensive," she said. The students dressed themselves to fit common stereotypes of - women - from the bleach blonde bubble head to the housewife with her slippers, plastic baby, and frying pan. According to Abbatte, "we wanted to represent all women to get across that women of all types get this abuse from men, not just cheap or good looking women."I Group members handed out flyers, held signs reading "Nice See WOMEN'S, Page 5 By SCOTT BOWLES The Speech and Language Pathology Division of the School of Education may be phased out next month unless the efforts of students and faculty are successful. The school's executive com- mittee, which includes Dean Carl Berger, voted in January to halt admissions to the program, which deals with ailments such as stuttering and hearing disorders. Since then, students, faculty, and administrators have discussed ways to save the department from elimination. Berger said the exec- utive committee will continue its examination of the program until April 17 and then decide its fate on May 1. Last Thursday and Friday, students in the program held a petition drive to drum up student support. First-year graduate student Lisa Brady said the group gathered about 500 signatures. "We contribute a lot to the profession of speech and language pathology in terms of training and research," she said. "Getting student support says we have a worthwhile progranm." ACCORDING to instructors and students, three area communi- cation disorder clinics, one of which offers treatment to the general public, would be without clinicians if theprogram-is eliminated.- "We see clients from Detroit and all over the community," said Associate Prof. Holly Craig. "A large number of those are children. People seeking diagnostic services come from all over the country." "It would be comparable to keeping a training hospital open without a medical school," said Associate Prof. Tanya Gallagher. "The clinics are education research facilities. If we do not have stu- dents, it is clear to me we do not have clinics." GALLAGHER said alternative therapy could be expensive. "From what I hear, private treatment runs anywhere between 40 and 60 dollars an hour. We are considerably under standard practice fees." Gallagher said the executive committee- has not heard the concerns of those involved in the program. "We have not had a great opportunity to have an impact on their thinking," she said. "We have met once with the committee and we responded to their questions," said department chair Kenneth Watkin. "It looks as if Speech and Language Pathology is the only department that's been targeted. We were told that, the program was not central to the mission of the School of Education." First-year graduate student Laura Schultz said, "We feel the executive committee has already made up its mind. The school has to make a budget cut somewhere." BER GER said the school has had to concentrate on "traditional" programs, such as training educators specifically for schools - See ED. Page 3 Daily Photo by SCOTT LITUCHY Engineering juniors Michael Friedrichs and Len Warner submit to the harassment of LSA senior Leslie Sch- wartz, LSA Julie Abbate, and first-year engineering student Katie Bretz as part of a group action project for Women's Studies 240 on the Diag Friday. Symposium discusses Blacks in academics By DAVID WEBSTER A lack of commitment among public school officials prevents Black students from receiving equal educational opportunities in this country, according to Dr. Albert Wheeler, University professor emeritus of microbiology and immuno- logy. Wheeler was the keynote speaker at a symposium on Black Americans in academics at the Union on Friday. He was the first Black tenure track faculty member at the University and became the first Black mayor of Ann Arbor in 1975. "Today, in those nice, integrated, uncommitted, unconcerned schools the dropout rate for Black students in some communities is 50 percent," Wheeler said. "It's a waste of human potential and, in a sense, a waste of human life." Wheeler and Dr. Linda Fisher, an associate professor of biology and immunology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, agreed it is important for young Blacks to adopt role models in their pursuit of an education. "It is extremely important for your professional development to find someone who can relate to you See PROFS, Page 5 Students debate free speech in computer conference By DAVID WEBSTER A debate over the propriety of a "bad jokes" category in a computer conference has grown into a broader discussion of freedom of expression and the University's commitment to diversity. Meet Students, part of the Michigan Terminal System, is a medium through which students can hold electronic conversations. One category in the conference was designated for "disgusting, obscene" jokes. Late last month complaints were launched against the item for promoting anti-social attitudes such as sexism and homophobia, and an argument arose over whether or not the item should be allowed to continue. Some people called for the University to intervene and discontinue the entire conference. However, University officials were reluctant to intervene for the fear of practicing censorship. They See MTS, Page 2 Daily Photo by LESLIE BOORSTEIN Boxed in A dog sporting a cardboard box walks outside the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority house yesterday. New council may face mayoral veto Regents to vote on research policy INSIDE By CARRIE LORANGER Ann Arbor Mayor-elect Gerald Jernigan said yesterday that "in all likelihood" he will veto a resolu- tion passed by the Ann Arbor City Council last Thursday which calls ! for the hiring of a consultant for the ci t , rn. r..itt er l, Collins oversees the commission and has recommended that the city hire a "pre-consultant" to help develop a proposal for new job classifications and to monitor the progress of the group. On Thursday, the city council vnter tn hire nre-cnnsultant in a By STEVE KNOPPER This week's Board of Regents meeting may bring to a close months of debate over the Univer- sity's research guidelines, and pro- ponents of the "end-use" clause are making their final attempts to win sunnnrt. bly's Peace and Justice Committee in early March, now has more than 600 student signatures. According to MSA Military Research Advisor Tamara Wagner, the petition drive will be stepped up this week. The Peace and Justice Com- mittee and other groups opposed to Regent Deane Baker has historically opposed student and minority rights. OPINION, PAGE 4 Always innovative and bizarre, guitarist Snakefinger will be retuning to Ann Arbor tonight with his band, The Vestal Virgins. ARTS, PAGE 8 The Michigan baseball team I I