able If Bail Ninety-eight years of editorialfreedom Vol. XCVIII, No. 134 Ann Arbor, Michigan --Monday, April 18, 1988 Copyright 1988, The Michigan Daily Protesters clash with regents again CI *l ri hts board hears 'U testimony By JIM PONIEWOZIK Several students criticized Uni- versity efforts to fight discrimination on campus, while administrators de- fended the programs as among the strongest in the country at a Michi- gan Civil Rights Commission in- quiry into prejudice on college cam- puses Friday. The University's recently adopted policy on discriminatory acts came under fire from students at the in- quiry, who criticized the policy for not including faculty and administration within its jurisdic- tion. "This code is inherently discrimi- natory because it discriminates against young people because of their age," said MSA representative Henry Hardy. He said the policy should include more student input. LSA SENIOR Lannis Hall of the United Coalition Against Racism criticized the anti- discrimination policies currently in existence - particularly the Affir- mative Action Office's "Tell Some- one" program -as being ineffective. The program encourages University students and staff to report harass- ment to the office. "No one has any faith in (the Tell Someone) program," Hall said. But Interim University President Robben Fleming defended the Uni- versity's efforts in his opening re- marks to the panel. "We don't claim to have solved all our civil rights problems, but we don't plan to sit idly by and let go unnoticed what we consider one of the most comprehensive programs in the nation," said Fleming, who pre- sented the board with a report detail- ing the University's minority pro- grams. THE INQUIRY was the first of a series of five to be held on campuses across Michigan to gather information that the state Civil Rights Commission will use to rec- ommend measures state colleges and universities can take to combat dis- crimination. Over 20 students and staff members addressed the inquiry. Beverly Clark, vice-chair of the commission, said she could not speculate as to what recommenda- tions the commission might make, "but said a mandatory class on racism and other forms of prejudice, sug- gested by several students at the in- quiry, was a possibility. "We intend to become better in- formed about the dimensions of the problem and the effectiveness of any efforts being made to combat it," said Benny Napoleon, chair of the commission, in a statement read be- fore the inquiry. THE SPEAKERS at the in- quiry also reported specific incidents of harassment to the commission and addressed topics ranging from harassment of gays and lesbians to. the inaccessibility of some Univer- sity buildings to the handicapped. See Prejudice, Page 5 - IX- *BINSIDE Dolly Photo by ALEXANDRA BREZ Protesters and journalists follow Interim University President Robben Fleming to his home after Friday's Board of Regents' meeting. The demonstrators expressed their opposition to an anti-discrimination policy drafted by Fleming. Code approval prompts protest Regents criticize MSA's actions By STEVE KNOPPER Members of the University's Board of Regents criticized the Michigan Student Assembly Friday for actions they called "ir- responsible," and one regent said he may vote against continuing to fund MSA at next month's meeting. When MSA makes its annual fund request at next month's meet- ing, Regent Neil Nielsen (R- Brighton) said he would be "inclined" to vote against continued funds. "If they don't represent students, they can go out and generate dona- tions, as opposed to taxing stu- dents," Nielsen said. "Maybe that will make them more responsible." Several regents blasted recent MSA plans to place ads in high school newspapers criticizing the University's "sexist, racist, and anti- lesbian/gay hypocrisy," and the as- sembly's resolution calling Regent Deane Baker (R-Ann Arbor) "homophobic, racist, and paternalis- tic." Though Regent Veronica Smith (R-Grosse Ile), who has supported MSA's stand against the Univer- sity's discrimination policy, was absent from the meeting, regents were unanimous in their criticism of MSA. "Maligning the character intent of this Board is irresponsible," Regent Thomas Roach (D-Saline) said. "I would like MSA to know that they better put together a pretty well-pre- pared case (for funding next month)... All requests are not neces- sarily granted." Several regents said the high school newspaper ads would deter minority students from coming to the University, which would contra- dict MSA's demands for higher mi- nority enrollment. Regent Nellie Varner (D-Detroit) said, "I certainly would not support providing funds that would be counterproductive in terms of our affirmative action ef- forts." During the next month, MSA leaders said they will attempt to ex- plain their motives to the regents. "We'll justify what MSA does and hope for the best. I don't think we should take back what we've done or See MSA, Page 2 By DAVID SCHWARTZ About 20 noisy protesters demanding the re- peal of the University's policy on discriminatory acts disrupted the University's Board of Regents' meeting Friday, prompting the regents to close their meeting to the public for the second time in two days. During the meeting, held in the president's private conference room, the regents unani- mously passed two wording changes in the pol- icy - switching the word "malicious" to "intentional" and "educational sanctions" to "class attendance sanctions." THE POLICY will set up a hearing panel of four students and a faculty member to judge student harassment complaints and apply sanc- tions. Regent Veronica Smith (R-Grosse Ile), who voted against the policy last month because it was "vague" and contained little student input, did not attend the meeting. Though the regents set a 30-day deadline for suggestions on the proposal last month, no stu-. dent groups made comments during that time. The Black Law Student Alliance and the United Coalition Against Racism had voiced support for a policy of this type and submitted criticisms before the 30-day period. Michigan Student Assembly President Mike Phillips said he would not submit comments be- cause he said the policy wasn't legitimate. ANGRY STUDENTS, who said the board failed to incorporate student input into the pol- icy, were prohibited by campus safety officers from following the regents into the private room. As the regents met behind closed doors on the second floor of the Fleming Administration Building, the protesters waited outside in order to confront the regents when they exited the build- ing. The regents, who approved Interim University President Robben Fleming's proposal at their March meeting by a 5-2 vote, were greeted with chants of "Hey hey, ho ho, Fleming's Code has got to go" as they left the building. Regent Philip Power (D-Ann Arbor) said of the protesters, "Ceaseless repetition of a chant is not a particularly enhancing way to make a comment about eliminating racial harassment on this campus." MSA organized the protest, which began at noon on Thursday with a rally on the Diag. About 40 students participated over the course of two days, and a handful of students spent Thurs- day night in the Fleming building, saying they would stay until students' concerns were met. See Protest, Page 2 Last- minute tax filers flock to post office By ANNA BORGMAN The sign above the mail slots at the U.S. Post Office on West Sta- dium Friday night read: "All mail deposited here before 12:00 p.m. will be postmarked April 15, 1988." The once-a-year sign drew sighs of relief from people of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Many last-minute tax filers said they had not been sure if the post office would be open. "There's two things you have to do - pay your taxes and die," said Ann Arbor resident Sandra Boettcher. Boettcher and her daughter Annherst showed up to send in their tax forms, then stayed to watch the bustling crowd until midnight. This is the third year the two have spent the evening of April 15th at the post office. "We come here just to watch. It's an absolute scream," said Annherst, "It's better than anything oh -Friday night T.V." Jim Harper, acting supervisor at the West Stadium post office, said about 25,500 pieces of mail were sent out between 6:30 p.m. and midnight. Probably one-half to three-fourths were tax returns, he said. Harper said April 15th is a tradi- tionally heavy mail day, although not as hectic as Christmas. He added that this year's April 15th onslaught of mail was light compared to years past, and the night was not marked by the anti-government protests it sometimes is. But the 12:00 deadline for filing federal and state tax forms still as- sembled a diverse crowd. They See Tax returns, Page 2 Sources say Israel L"| ] authorioze4 JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli sources said yesterday that Israeli agents assassinated Palestine Libera- tion Organization official Khalil al- Wazir, the number two person in the organization who headed the uprising in the occupied territories. Palestinians angered by the killing boycotted their jobs and staged protest marches yesterday, and Israel imposed curfews on cities and camps in the occupied lands. The Israeli sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the operation was carried out jointly by the Mossad intelligence service, the Israeli navy, and an elite commando unit. They said it had been postponed several times before Saturday. Al-Wazir, who was in charge of the PLO's military operations against Israel, was shot to death Saturday in his home in Tunisia by an eight-member squad. PLO officials blamed Israel, say- 4 killing sination would not affect peace ef- forts. NBC television said Shamir, Peres, and Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin approved the assassination af- ter Fatah guerrillas hijacked a bus and killed three Israelis in southern Israel's Negev desert last month. Former intelligence officials and Israeli newspapers openly compared the assassination to Israel's April 1973 raid on PLO offices in Beirut in which three top PLO officials were killed. They also noted Israel, not rival PLO factions or Arab regimes, had the ability to mount such a sophisticated operation 1,500 miles from its shores. Yesterday, eight Arabs were wounded in scattered clashes with Israeli soldiers in the occupied terri- tories, hospital officials said. Leaders of the PLO blamed Israel ijian ~n h~x~upie W~At M..s ONN e s The tu1ue *Trn rmf4 e~gu~sth0 Ne:. .oe T.kc ]. ..i :i," . [ 1 ..: ,.-.