The Michigan Daily-Monday, October 12, 1987- Page 5 RC alumni tell of Nicaraguan experiences Daily Photo by ROBIN LOZNAK From the hands of babes Maya Nitzberg, a visitor from Boston, clutches leaves in the Diag. 'Bork 's successor likely to face less opposition By HEATHER EURICH When Bard Montgomery studied Thucydides' History of t h e Peloponnesian War 20 years ago at the Residential College, he didn't know he was preparing for mission work in Nicaragua. "What I did take from the RC... was an amazing exposure to books and ideas," said Montgomery, who left college after two years. "Thucydides went a long way towards my views on revolution." Montgomery, a long-term volun- teer for Witness for Peace, has spent 18 months in Nicaragua. He plans to return in November to live with people in areas attacked by the Contras. The purpose of the organization is to promote peace in the country and to change- U.S. foreign policy toward Nicaragua through evangelism. Montgomery and four other panelists shared their experiences in Nicaragua with about 60 people in East Quad Friday night. They also spoke to a small audience at a special lunch in the Halfway Inn on Saturday. The forum on Latin America was the first event of many which the RC has planned for this year to celebrate its 20th anniversary. According to Cyndi Cook, the RC's administrative assistant for alumni relations, "Our intention was to basically showcase former R C students and to show how their RC experience influenced their lives." Patti Petesch, another panelist, now works for therOverseas Development Council on Human Rights Issues. Before that job, she had to work in the Washington Office on Latin America as a secretary, even though she had a B.A. from the University. However, she said she gained valuable experience which helped her get the job she has now. "My advice to people here is the classroom is a great learning experience but get out of the classroom if you can. Go and do an internship. Go and study a Indian troops kill 120 rebels COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) -- Indian troops, using heavy artillery and mortars, killed up to 120 Tamil rebels during a weekend offensive on the Jaffna Peninsula, Sri Lankan officials said yesterday. Tamil rebels, seeking to establish an independent nation for their ethnic minority, have been blamed in the deaths of more than 200 people in the last week. Most of those killed were civilians from the Sinhalese community, the majority ethnic group that controls Sri Lanka's government and military. semester overseas, because it's those connections and experiences that are really going to help you later on." Natural resources graduate student and Alternative Career Center coordinator Phillis Englebert traveled to Nicaragua with Ann Arbor- Managua Initiative for Soil Testing And Development. As part of the AAMISTAD Construction Brigade, she visited cooperative farms which had been destroyed by the Contras and helped the people rebuild their homes. "There's two main ways that I could see people here working to help the situation in Nicaragua. One is to work at home to end the war. And the other is through material aid," she said. Pamela Galpern, an RC student, spent this summer in Nicaragua with AAMISTAD. "Originally I wanted to work on a humanitarian aid project in a third world country," she said. It became a political issue for her as she learned more about Nicaragua and saw how everyone had been affected by the civil war. A Nicaraguan, whose family had been killed, told her that organi- zations such as AAMISTAD which provide direct aid gave him hope. She said it was difficult for her to see the living situation worsening each day, and to know that this was because of the American govern- ment. Gregory Fox, a member of the Ann Arbor Sister City Task Force to Nicaragua, explained the projects the organization has undertaken. They raised $20,000 to buy a garbage truck and are currently raising money to buy toilets. He encouraged people to "think locally and act locally" to help Nicaraguans. WEEKEND MAGAZINE Fridays in The Daily 763-0379 Into the mouths of sheep Two-year-old .Jake Leftwich. from westland, feeds an Angora sheep at D omino's Farms on Ply mouth Road this weekend. Whatdaya razy? You haven't eat@ . [I Pho', ry K;^ Pfr ti HAJtJLMAN ontinued from Page 1 The last two times the Senate and president disagreed about filling a vacancy on the high court, back to back nominees were rejected. At- tempting to fill the Chief Justice position, President Lyndon Johnson nominated Justice Abe Fortas, who was rejected, and Homer Thornberry, whose confirmation was put off until Johnson left office. President Nixon eventually filled the position with Warren Burger. Then, in turn, Nixon's next two choices of Clement Haynsworth and G. Harold Carswell were rejected, leaving the spot open for Harry Blackmun. Still, even the most optimistic liberal doesn't harbor hopes that the nominee will be as moderate as resigning Justice Lewis Powell. This leaves Senators Kennedy and Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph Biden with the dilemma of what to do with a conservative nominee similar to Justices Anthony Scalia or Sandra Day O'Conner, for whom they both voted. Senate liberals would' be placed in a position of confirming a Justice who would give the Court a conservative tilt, or admitting that the issue is not the nominee's character, consistancy, or social conscience. It is not apparent who would win a power stuggle between the Democratic Senate and Reagan, whose popularity has been marred by scandal and lame duck status. It is doubtful Southern Democrats will take part in a freeze-out of all conservative nominees, and a filibuster would give Republicans ammunition to use during next years' Senatorial and presidential races. Liberals hoping Reagan will back down must be discouraged by his stance on Bork's nomination. The only other option, attempting to keep the space open till a new president takes office in 1989, seems remote and politically dangerous. Still, there is hope. Tribe wrote that while protracted battles between the Senate and presidents have occured, they are rare. He wrote that both sides "recognize the ultimate futility of stalemates and the danger they pose to the integrity, both of the political branches and of the Supreme Court." The alternative is "the spectacle of (America's) two political branches locked in an eyeball-to-eyeball grudge match, each waiting for the other to blink." Or, as Schauer put it "both sides are the villians." Oblivious to this, the eight sitting Justices have gone back to work. Already agreeing to hear the first cases of the term, where votes resulting in a 4-4 tie confirm lower court decisions. Though this is inconvenient, Shauer doesn't see it as a reason to speed up confirmation for the next nomination. He said, "It's really no big deal." Q?"Awde yet? You Gotta be Nuts!!! Breakfast & Lunch 7:30 AM-2:30 PM Corner of Packard & State FREE Coffee or Soda with this ad on Mon.-Fri. I _ _ What do these people have in common with the U of M ? Emiliano Zapa Minnie Wallac Bertrand RussE Moses Coady Harold Osterw ta Muriel Lester e Eugene Debs 2l Paulo Friere Luther Buchele Teil A.K. Stevens r John Sinclair Stephen Vail Chief Black Elk Gabriel Richard Lenny Bruce Senator warns Washington (AP) - A key Senate Democrat warned yesterday that the I White House should not assume Robert Bork's apparent defeat will mĀ°ean that the next Supreme Court nominee faces easy victory. "I don't think anybody should next nominee share the illusion ...that the next nominee will sail through like a greased pig no matter what that nominee may be like," said Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) the Democratic whip. "We'll take a hard look at the nominee." Coretta Scott King Years UAC/VIEWPOINT LECTURES Presents 5 OF 1 Monday October 12 7:30 pm Free Admission Cookies will be served of "Answer: member houses of the InterCooperative Council at the University of Michigan have been 1276 School of Business Wally Amos of ,