The Michigan Daily, Thursday, September 10, 1987- Page3
Ethnic groups'
By ELIZABETH ATKINS
For a city of more than 100,000
people, Ann Arbor has a surprisingly
ethnically diverse population. But al -
though some ethnic and religious groups
like Blacks, Asians, Buddhists, and Jews
have established their cultural identities
here, others like Hispanics and Native
Americans are having difficulty finding a
niche.
According to the 1980 Census Bureau
Population Report, Ann Arbor's minority
population is comprised of 9.3 percent
Black, 3.6 percent Asian and Pacific
Islander, 2.1 percent Hispanic and 0.23
percent American Indian, Eskimo, and
Aleut.
Many of these ethnic groups find ties
to their original cultures as well as
strength and solidarity through religious
organizations. The pastor of Bethel
African Methodist Episcopal Church,
Reverend John Woods, said the church is
one of the city's largest Black
organizations and serves as a support
system for its 700-member congregation
because it plays an active role in the lives
of its members.
"We have an active church, physically
as well as spiritually," Woods said. This
year the church is celebrating its 200th
anniversary.
Ann Arbor also has two Asian
American churches. Reverend Jung Lee of
the Korean Presbyterian Church of Ann
Arbor said his church supports local
Koreans. Lee conducts sermons in Korean
he said which helps preserve the culture
of its parishioners.
Many Koreans also attend Ann Arbor's
Zen Buddhist Temple. Sukha, a temple
member, said a third of the temple's
opinion
members are Korean. According to
Sukha, most Christian members par -
ticipate in the temple's meditation ser -
vices for relaxation and peace.
IN ADDITION to receiving support
from religious organizations, city
government is also helping local ethnic
groups integrate into the community.
Robert Moseley, executive director of
auxiliary services for Ann Arbor Public
Schools, said the Board of Education last
fall initiated a project designed to
integrate the city's public schools
through bussing.
The board and many community,
members think the schools need to be
ethnically balanced according to estab -
lished state guidelines. Moseley said the
guidelines call for local school boards to
compare the population of individual
ethnic groups in each school district to
of
the numbers of each group in a particular
school. If numbers differ by more than 15
percent in either direction, the district
must compensate. A committee of local
residents monitors the levels of
integration.
"The program has been running
smoothly since day one," said Moseley.
Since many local ethnic and religious
groups members are University students,
University-based ethnic organizations also
contribute largely toward supporting and
preserving Ann Arbor's ethnic and
religious diversity.
The B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation
offers an array of cultural, social, reli -
gious and educational activities for the
Jewish students and the Ann Arbor
community alike.
According to Joseph Kohane, assistant
director of Hillel, the foundation is the
city
varies
second largest University student organ -
ization, and serves as an umbrella
organization for 20 to 30 different groups.
"It's essentially a cultural center," said
Kohane. "Hillel caters to Jewish religion,
culture, and civilization." Hillel provides
services for Judaism's three different
denominations - conservative, orthodox,
and reform.
ACCORDING to Michelle Blumen-
berg, Hillel's program director, about
6,000 Jewish students attend the Uni'-
versity, about 18 percent of the total
student population.
Blumenberg said students can preserve
their Jewish culture through Hillel's
programs, including Kosher meals which
are served five nights each week, Jewish
See UNIVERSITY, Page 4
v iise in violent crimes
concerns city residents
By REBECCA COX
Violent crimes are on the
increase in Ann Arbor.
Amidst repeated occurrences of
rape and sexual assault this year,
there have been several knifings
outside of the Nectarine Ballroom, a
local dance bar. A student had his
teeth kicked in Nickle's Arcade,
and a purse-snatcher carved the face
of a resisting woman outside of the
Ann Arbor Public Library.
Two decades ago most students
and Ann Arbor residents did not
bother to lock their doors. But now,
crime has become a major concern
to the majority of Ann Arbor
residents. In fact, battling crime
took top priority during the April
mayoral elections.
But during a campaign speech,
former Mayor Ed Pierce said that
the city's most frequent crimes,
burglary and attempted burglary,
have shown a decline in the last
fourteen year's. He said in 1973 the
number of burglaries and attempted
burglaries topped out at over 3,200
case but decreased to 1,700 last
year. The same pattern holds for
auto theft.
But the most violent crimes are
on the rise. In 1986 assault and
battery went up almost 100 cases
from 985 cases in 1985. The police
department has not tabulated the
figures for this year.
However, both the Ann Arbor
and University communities have
been focusing more on rape than
any other crime. Both attempted.
sexual assaults and sexual assaults
have actually decreased from 237 in.
1985 to 219 in last, but there have
been more rapes with forcible
penetration in 1986 than in 1985,
according to Ann Arbor Police
Detective Jerry Wright.
Within the city itself, organ -
izations like the Safe House, a
shelter for battered women, the Ann
Arbor Assault Crisis Center, and
the Ann Arbor Coalition Against
Rape try to educate the community
about rape.
Rape has become a concern
throughout the nation and is the
fastest growing major crime in the
country, Wright said. "Nationally
the FBI indicates that only one-
tenth of all rapes are reported and 80
percent of all sexual assaults are
date rapes," he said.
Kata Issari, a counselor and an
education advocacy coordinator of
the AAACC agrees with Wright,
but adds that closer to 90 percent of
college-age women know their
assailant.
Issari said the AAACC will
counsel rape victims about all
aspects of rape, but will not force
them to report rapes. She also said
the AAACC accompanies rape
victims from the time they are
examined at the hospital, during
any court action, and afterwards for
as long as they need it.
One rape victim said that
without the service she "never
would've had the guts to go
through with (a trial)."
Ann Arbor Police Chief,
William Corbett has come under
some fire recently because Ann
Arbor residents feel he has not been
doing enough to battle city crime.
Corbett has suggested that to
tackle the problem of crime more
efficiently, the city would need
more police officers. However,
according to Mayor Gerald Jernigan,
each new officer costs the city
$50,000 per year.
Jernigan, who has added five new
police officers to the force, hopes
Corbett will increase police vis -
ibility by patrolling the new and
already-existing officers more often.
A crime map of Ann Arbor
distributed in a local publication
shows that break-ins and robberies
are evenly scattered throughout Ann
Arbor, but that more serious crimes
like assault with a weapon and
aggravated assault are more
concentrated in the University area.
See CITY, Page 5
Main Street
Ann Arbor residents stroll along Main Street, the center of the city's downtown. Main Street, immortalized in
Ann Arbor native Bob Seger's song "Down on Main Street," is a hangout for both students and local residents.
Kerrytown offers a taste of the unusual
By SHEALA DURANT
Kerrytown - a shopping district
that offers its patrons everything
from antiques and toys to suntans
and flamingoes - is one of Ann
Arbor's most diverse shopping
areas. But although it is located on
nearby North Fifth and Detroit
Streets, many students have never
explored its unique atmosphere.
"Kerrytown is truly a one stop
shopping excursion," said Fran
Wylie, a Kerrytown manager.
Standing on part of the original
village of Ann Arbor, historic
Kerrytown was named after County
Kerry, Ireland, the ancestral home
of a family of early Ann Arbor
developers.
It's Red brick buildings with
subtle, angular architecture blend in
with the brick streets and historic
West Side buildings that surround
it.
But the historic and aesthetic
aspects of Kerrytown are only one
side of the picture. The area has
numerous restaurants offering
dishes like omelets, quiches, salads,
pastas, egg rolls, mocha, and Pepsi
not to mention Kerrytown's central
feature - the outdoor farmer's
market which offers a variety of
fruits and vegetables.
After Kerrytown shoppers have
satiated their hunger, they can
browse around the many shops and
boutiques, which provide Ann
Arbor residents with unique mer -
chandise ranging from futons to
oysters.
"We carry the bizarre and
unusual," said Jeff Rogell of
Saguaro Plants and Flowers. Regell
is satisfied with the Saguaro's
business since his shop moved to
Kerrytown two years ago.
Tara Bhabhrawala of Fashions-
N-Things said her store specializes
in cottons and natural fibers from
around the world. Fashion-N-
Things has been in Kerrytown for
about 7 years, and Bhabhrawala said
she is also very pleased with her
location.
"We get everybody from collage
age to grandmothers, Ann Arborites
and out-of-staters," said Debbie
Walters, an employee of Key-
Largo. Walter's store specializes ins,
tropical clothing, jewlery, and'.
unconventional wares that draws all
types of people.
The district also offers enter -
tainment. For the last two and a
half years, The Kerrytown Concert;
House, located on N. Fourth Ave..
has featured evening classical, jazz,
and theater performances.
uDily PhOTO Dy JONt1 MUNSON
An Ann Arbor woman picks out a plant at the Kerrytown farmer's market
open every Saturday during spring, summer, and early fall.
EAST,WEST MEET MIDWEST
Out-of-staters adjust to Ann Arbor life
WfLGOML5A6/(
to Aitt A
rbor
to
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By CHRIS BORRIS and
DAN COOKE
Students coming to Ann Arbor
from far away places with strange
names have to adjust to many
things - a small town acting like
a big city, other out-of-staters, and
Michiganders - which can either
make their comparatively higher
tuition rates seem like a living hell,
or a great bargain when matched
against tuition rates out East.
Many students begin their Ann
Arbor experience with certain views
about Michigan and the University,
but their views almost inevitably
change as their college career
progresses.
"I love Ann Arbor, but it is still
a small town," said Cheryl Urow, a
recent University graduate who
grew up in the Chicago area.
"Familiarity is nice, but it gets
kind of boring and the novelty
wPar n
sheltered, patriarchal, upper-class
suburban environment. I was really
right-wing when I first came here,"
said John Silberman, an LSA
senior from Glencoe, a suburb of
Chicago.
"Being here has made me realize
that there is a dark side to Reagan's
utopia. There are many different
perspectives in Ann Arbor," he
added
Despite their previous environs,
out-of-state students believe they
can fit into some aspect of Ann
Arbor on account of its diversity.
"There is every kind of person here.
Everyone can find their niche," said
Jenny Martin from Easton,
Pennsylvania. "My first choice (of
schools) was Penn, but I'm very
happy that I didn't go there, because
everyone there is so wealthy."
Although the University has
been accused of serving as a school
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Arbor, the graffiti, the social and Students caught in possession of
political issues - racism and marijuana are fined $5.
State
Plazal
sexism - things like that would
never enter my mind living
somewhere else," said LSA senior
Jeff Katz from Paramus, New
Jersey. "And of course there is the
pot law."
But virtually all agree that Ann
Arbor has been a positive
experience. "It was the best thing
for me to come to Michigan, I grew
up a lot here," said Martin.
You'll recognize the Plaza, but maybe not all of
the exciting new merchandise from these shops:
TK
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We sell everything to make your home awayN4
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Desks
Dressers
File cabinets
Easy chairs
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A shbury & York
Fine English Toiletries
Doodles
The alternative card shop
Rainbow Natural
Natural cosmetics & skin care
Benetton
Fine Italian knit mear
Made in A merica
Proud/v crafted in the U.S.
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Surroundings
For your contemporary /festyle
Plaza Hours: Mon.-Sat., 9:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.