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OPINION
Monday, October 26, 1987
Page 4
The Michigan Daily ,
Eier faidstgan ive aity fM
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Understand.
date
rape
Vol. XCVIII, No. 33
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board. All other
cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion
of the Daily.
DJ's comm,
THE INSENSITIVE REMARKS made
by disc jockey Mark Scott last week
on radio station WWJ are disturbing
reminders that racism is still very
visible in the local media.
Last Thursday, Scott complained
on his afternoon talk show that the
University's Diag shanty was an
"eyesore" which should be "bull-
dozed." He also said that he found
"nothing wrong" with racist jokes,
and that he considers them to be
harmless.
Scott's insensitivity to the Diag
shanty and the cause it represents is
disturbing. Even more critical,
however, is his support of a thinly
disguised, yet very cruel and
prevalent form of racism.
Last winter, campus radio station
WJJX made world headlines when
disc jockey Ted Sevransky told
racist jokes during his on-air
broadcast. Although WJJX is a
carrier current radio station which
can only be heard in University
buildings, Sevransky's actions
raised immediate concern over what
is tolerable behavior by the media.
The station immediately fired
Sevransky, and WJJX was closed
for almost the remainder of the
ents tasteless
By Audrey Haberman and
Randy Lotero
As Sexual Assault Awareness Week on
campus begins, we ask that you stop and
consider the following statistics: 1 out of
3 women will be raped in their lifetime
and 90% of these women will be raped by
someone they know. This is called
"acquaintance rape," or "date rape," and it
can happen to you, a friend, a relative or a
neighbor.
The definition of rape is any sexual
activity that is not mutually consenting.
If there is not consent, at any point, then
force must be used in order to prolong the
act. Force can take on many forms other
than physical force; it can also be emo-
tional coercion or it may be unspoken,
implicit. Emotional coercion is very
common in acquaintance rape. Examples
include such lines as "If you loved me you
would" or "Don't be such a tease." Im-
plicit coercion is unspoken coercion where
a man has an obvious power over a
Audrey Haberman and Randy Lotero work
with the Sexual Assault Prevention and
Awareness Center.
woman. Examples of implicit coercion
include situations involving someone who
is older, a boss or a TA. It can also in-
clude putting a woman into a threatening
situation, like being on a deserted road, or
in a man's apartment, or getting her
drunk. Any form of force, be it physical,
emotional, or implicit, is unacceptable in
a non-consenting situation.
One reason rape occurs so often in our
society is that the roles men and women
are taught from childhood encourage power
differences, which in turn enter into all
aspects of our world. Men are taught to
be aggressive and controlling, while
women are taught to be passive and not to
make a scene. At the Sexual Assault Pre-
vention and Awareness Center, we believe
that men and women must work together
to end rape. We must challenge our values
and our attitudes and re-evaluate how we
deal with each other.
One very important way of creating an
atmosphere that allows us to challenge our
views and actions is through education.
Tonight at 7:00-9:00 pm in the Pond
Room of the Michigan Union, there will
be a workshop on acquaintance rape that
emphasizes open discussion among me$
and women about this issue.
To prevent rape, several things are im-
portant to keep in mind. Men must never
use force to engage in sexual activity.
Both men and women need to
communicate more effectively and clearly.
Women have the right to say "no" or
"yes", they have the right to explain that
they don't know what they want, they
have the right to change their minds at ary
point. Men must also clearly state whet
they want, they must respect theif
partner's feelings and they must listen to
what their partner is saying verbally and
non-verbally, keeping in mind always,
"No Means No."
The week ahead is devoted to many i-
sues that pertain to rape and we encourage
you to explore them. Monday, today, is
devoted to acquaintance rape, Tuesday ex-
plores different ways women can fight
back against rape, Wednesday is devoted te
men's issues surrounding rape and Thurs-
day will explore issues survivors of sexual
assault face and how they have dealt with
them. We invite you to participate in the
various activities and to stop by the fish-j
bowl for more information.
term. For months afterwards, the
campus was forced to deal with
some very real and painful issues as
students and faculty members com-
batted an institutionalized enemy
that lay within.
Although it is apparent that Mark
Scott was attempting a desperate
publicity ploy through his tasteless
comments, WWJ should punish
him for his conduct. To support
racist jokes is to support the igno-
rance that lies at the very heart of
racism, and which in its worst form
is displayed in violence.
While Mark Scott has a right to
his own opinions, WWJ also has
the right not to give Mark Scott its
resources for his agenda. To allow
Scott to continue his broadcast on a
reputable news radio station with
millions of listeners - or a radio
station of any size - would be to
condone his actions.
WWJ should learn something
from WJJX and the events that oc-
curred at the University last winter.
Racism in any form should not be
tolerated in the media, nor in the
rest of society. Scott should be
fired, and WWJ owes the Detroit
area an apology.
LETTERS
Columnist is too tough on
Tarpley
Art fair whitewash
To the Daily:
I am startled by t h e
insensitivity displayed b y
Adam Schefter in his analysis
of Roy Tarpley's drug prob-
lem. Recently Tarpley told
Schefter that he had "put drugs
behind (him)," but subsequent-
ly suffered a minor relapse.
Schefter concluded that Tarpley
1) had intentionally misled
him, 2) is not "mature" or
"smart" enough to avoid drugs,
and 3) should be thrown out on
the street to fend for himself.
Mr. Schefter seems to
believe that drug addiction is
reserved for only the immature
and unintelligent. In fact,
chemical dependency is both a
physical and psychological
affliction and has been the
downfall of many mature and
smart men and women. Roy
Tarpley came forward and
admitted to his problem and is
seeking to overcome it.
Maybe, Mr. Schefter, you are
unaware of the courage and
strength involved in con-
fronting drug addiction.
More likely, though, you are
simply upset at having seen
"misled" and "fooled" in your
interview with Roy Tarpley.
You saw yourself as a good
journalist reporting the facts.
However Tarpley's condition
changed and the facts changed
with it. Instead of reporting on
Tarpley's efforts to continue
his rehabilitation, you con-
centrated on how his new
situation pertained to your
prior interview and article. This
egocentric approach led you to
respond with an article that
saves face for you at a great
expense to Tarpley. Your anal-
ysis lacked insight into the
human condition and your
condescending self-righteous
approach to the complex issue
of chemical dependency is
beyond reproach. I suggest that
in the future you put your ego
on the shelf and think before
you write. Maybe, Mr. Schef-
ter, it is YOU who
your own "little
World."
lives in
Disney
Band critic should take a
O N FRIDAY, July 24, shortly after
11:00 p.m. the festivities carrying
over from the Ann Arbor Art Fair
became unexpectedly, untradition-
ally, and inappropriately, abbrevi-
ated. Police began by shutting
down area bars and liquor stores
and then, at 12:45 am, 30 police
officers entered and dispersed a
crowd of approximately 1,000 peo-
ple gathered on the corner of
Church and S. University.
Five complaints of police brutality
were subsequently filed with the
AAPD. The results of these com-
plaints are not made public. The
Daily requested and obtained edited
versions (the officer's names were
blocked out) of these investigations.
The actions of the police during the
Art Fair were unnecessary and
indicate the need to reprioritize law
enforcement in Ann Arbor away
from enforcing open alcohol regu-
lations while reemphasizing the
need to prevent violent crimes and
theft.
The police review which followed
the incident was a whitewash. Only
one officer was reprimanded for
improper use of force. Yet several
of the complainants as well as oth-
ers in the crowd witnessed numer-
ous officers wielding kel flashlights
- striking individuals, typically
"behind the knee," in an effort to
prod them on. Technically, police
are to only use their nightsticks
when force is necessary. In addi-
tion, whenever force is used offi-
cers are instructed to make arrests.
No arrests were made that Friday
night.
The police chief has given a
generic apology to three of the
complainants, and has indicated that
a more comprehensive report will
be out in January. He also stated
that as a result of this past sum-
mer's art fair, more arrests will be
made next year.
Councilmember Dave DeVarti
(D-Fourth Ward) has pointed out
that, "rather than this inverted justi-
fication for an arrest, it seems that
arrests ought to be based on
whether a law was broken, and not
whether force is used by a police
officer against a citizen." In other
words, the point is not that
"professional police conduct" dic-
tated more arrests, but that arrests
and violence were not called for in
the first place
In recent times, there has been a
distinct and conspicuous rise in the
number and frequency of police of-
ficers patrolling the heavily popu-
lated areas of campus (S. Univer-
sity, Hill, E. Liberty, etc.). There
also appears to be a sharp increase
in the number of citations issued to
pedestrians (largely students) for
carrying any form of "open" liquor
in Ann Arbor. The University pays
the city close to $500,000 a year to
patrol the campus and should use its
influence to prevent abuses of po-
lice power.
The apparent unwillingness of the
police department to deal effectively
with abuses of power within its
ranks is yet another argument for a
police review board.
Keeping in mind the constraints
of budget and man-power, it seems
that, for taxpayers' money, the po-
lice could have more constructively
employed its force by reallocating
police away from high profile party-
busting and concentrating on pre-
venting assaults and robberies in the
residential areas around campus.
To the Daily:
I am writing in response to
two letters regarding t h e
Michigan Marching Band
printed in the Daily ("Band
should march too," Daily,
10/19/87 and "Band 'un-
creative,"' Daily, 10/20/87).
George Trubow's letter dated
October 7 commented on the
silent "strollers""entering half-
time during the Wisconsin
game, while accompanied by
"The Victors." First of all,
two-thirds of the band members
were instructed to play, and
they were playing, so the band
did not come "silently into
motionless formation on the
field." My second comment is
that the band was playing
"Final Countdown," by the
group Europe, not "The
Victors." Does Mr.Trubow
not even recognize our fight
song?
In response to Mr. Trubow's
article and Doug Slaton's
reply, I would like to point out
that during last Saturday's half-
time show (10/17) the band
highstepped while playing five
out of the seven songs. That
does not seem consistent with
a "general lack of energy." One
of the songs during which they
did not march last only about
45 seconds, namely the "Carol
Burnett Theme."
Regarding the uncreativeness
of repeating "chanting, songs,
and dance steps from the year
before," I assume Mr. Slaton is
referring to last year's Rose
Bowl show, a modified version
of which was performed at this
year's Wisconsin game. Less
than one minute's worth of the
Rose Bowl halftime show was
aired on national TV, so the
majority of Michigan's fans
had never seen that per-
formance. Since the show was
A
-Steve Shapiro
21 October
closer look
well-received and well-liked in
Pasadena, local fans should
also have the opportunity to
enjoy it.
I hold a very high opinion of
the Michigan Marching Band.
The members all work hard
during their daily 1 1/2 hour
rehearsals as well as during
performances on Saturdays.
Perhaps Mr. Trubow or Mr.
Slaton would like to personally
participate in a rehearsal and
see just how much energy the
band exerts:
Leanne Diefenderfer
October 20
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Daily: Review real music
To the Daily:
I'm writing out of genuine
concern for music critic
Michael Fischer. I hope Mi-
chael has recovered from the
fever he obviously had while
writing the review for Rush's
newest garbage, "Hold Your
Fire." If Mike didn't have a
fever I have even more reason
to be concerned.
The day Rush brings Gabriel
or Tears for Fears to my mind
is the day I trade my album
collection for a life size poster
of Cyndi Lauper. For that
matter, how can Mike compare
Peter Gabriel to Tears for
Fears, please tell me because I
certainly don't know.
Finally, please take away
Mike's thesaurus, because his
use of adjectives in this review
(review?) seem more geared for
a high school audience. Per-
haps this was Mike's inten-
tion, but believe me, enough
high schoolers are buying this
kind of trash anyway. Review
some real music.
-Brian Benzer
October 15
Daily is yellow journalism
Real Dean(e)Baker stand up
To the Daily:
Once again, the swords of
yellow journalism flash and
dance across the fluffy pages of
the Daily. Once again, concern
for another human beings'
professional integrity and per-
sonal feelings are ripped to
pieces in exchange for a bit of
toxic brainfill to further the
masses descent into uncon-
sciousness.
I'msreferring, in this in-
stance, to the October 16 arti-
cle regarding an adjunct profes-
sor who allegedly attacked an
Ann Arbor woman. There was
no proof of crime and to print
such an article at this time is
slander of character. (Let me
clarify that my sympathies are
definitely with the woman who
was attacked, with anytwoman
who is attacked, but it is my
belief that a person should not
be publicly humiliated,
write it. If you don't have any
facts, why not keep your
mouth's shut? Why feed this
countries' apparent fascination
with racy crap that steers us
away from real concerns, and
most of all, from each other?
-Angela Dahlstrom
October 16
To the Daily:
After seeing your preview of
the Celibate Rifles' concert, I
thought I should make a small
correction. Your reviewer mis-
takenly said that I attended their
concert in Ann Arbor last
April. Unfortunately or other-
wise I didn't make it to this
concert. The person seen slam
dancing at the front of the stage
was probably the Regent Deane
Baker. We are often mistaken
for each other.
-Dean Baker
October 21
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