Ninety-eight years of editorial freedom
Vol. XCVIII, No. 72
Ann Arbor, Michigan - Thursday, January 14, 1988
Copyright 1988, The Michigan Daily
Students
hold
sit-in at Steiner's office
LSA dean answers
racism accusations
By LISA POLLAK, 7
JIM PONIEWOZIK, ;
and RYAN TUTAK
Some 100 University students1
last night asked Interim University
President Robben Fleming to
challenge LSA Dean Peter Steiner's
allegedly racist remarks and were left,
angry and frustrated - convinced that
institutional racism pervades the
University administration.
The hour-long meeting with
Fleming took place in Steiner's
offices, which students occupied
since yesterday afternoon after
abruptly ending a meeing with
Steiner because he refused to retract
statements called "racist a n d
offensive" by the United Coalition
Against Racism.
"I have not considered any remark
I have made to be racist," Steiner
said. The students immediately called
for Steiner's resignation and initiated
the sit-in that was expected at press
time to continue at least through this
morning, UCAR members said.
Steiner gave the protesters
permission to remain in his offices.
Fleming went to Steiner's offices
to speak to protesters at 8:30 p.m. in
response to a request made by Vice-
Provost for Minority Affairs Charles
Moody. After a closed meeting with
Fleming, UCAR members expressed
dissatisfaction with Fleming's
refusals to either fire or discipline
Steiner, call Steiner's remarks racist,
or take definite action to settle the
conflict.
"We are genuinely disappointed
with the inability of President
Fleming to say that he will fire the
dean and that he is unprepared to say
how he will be held accountable for
not achieving affirmative action
quotas and making racist comments,"
said UCAR steering committee
member Roderick Linzie, a Rackham
graduate student.
Fleming told the students he had
talked to Steiner, but did not know
whether Steiner had reconsidered a
retraction. Steiner left the building
earlier in the afternoon. He could not
be reached for comment.
"I think President Fleming's talk
with us was very dissatisfying," said
UCAR steering committee member
Pam Nadasen, an LSA junior. "I
really question how committed he is
to affirmative action."
UCAR members requested an
additional meeting with Fleming for
this morning, but Fleming said his
schedule was full and would not set a
definite date, said UCAR steering
committee member Mike Wilson, an
LSA senior..
"Fleming isn't anwering our
See STEINER, Page 3
Daily Photo by JUN MUNSON
LSA senior Kim Smith, center, quizzes LSA Dean Peter Steiner yesterday at an impromptu question and answer session in the LSA conference room.
Bullard c
By ANDREW MILLS
State legislators voiced their opposition
yesterday to Interim University President Robben
Fleming's draft proposal to impose academic
sanctions for student harassment and discrim-
ination. State Rep. Perry Bullard (D-Ann Arbor)
is calling upon Fleming to withdraw the
proposal.
"The substance of President Fleming's pro-
posal causes me as much concern as does his at-
tempt to seize the rule-making power granted to
others," Bullard said in a statement released yes-
terday.
Bullard said that Regental Bylaw 7.02, which
allows students and faculty the authority to ap-
prove any University-wide rules of conduct, takes
precedence over the "executive power" bylaw
2.01. This provision gives the University presi-
pposes 'c
dent,, among other things, authority over the
"maintenance of health, diligence and order
among the students."
Fleming invoked bylaw 2.01, which Bullard
characterized as "vague," as justification for his
draft proposal.
Bullard further says that the "Rules of The
University Community" - a set of guidelines
adopted by the regents in 1973 that prohibit acts
of physical force, destruction of property, and
similar conduct by students, faculty, and
administrators - serve well enough as rules for
student conduct and that Fleming's draft proposal
is unnecessary.
In that proposal, Fleming said, "We do not
have a recognized system for dealing with student
transgressions, except for academic ones such as
plagiarism."
1de
draft
"I urge President Fleming to withdraw his
proposal before it leads to further polarization of
an already deeply dividedcampus community.
Proactive steps, such as a required University
course on racism, are more likely to be produc-
tive than a punitive approach of dubious legal-
ity," he said.
Fleming met yesterday morning with the
deans of the various colleges to discuss his pro-
posal.
Charles Vest, dean of the College of
Engineering has not yet finalized his opinion on
the proposal
"I think, basically, President Fleming has
called the collective bluffs of the entire Univer-
sity," he said yesterday.
See LEGISLATORS, Page 2
Pollack
... opposes Fleming's proposal
Supreme Court rules that high
schools can censor
By STEVEN TUCH
with wire reports
The Supreme Court yesterday
handed down a 5-3 decision giving
public high school officials broad,
new authority to censor student
newspapers and other forms of stu-
dent expression.
The ruling applies specifically to
high school students, but attorneys
say the law could be open to inter-
pretation, possibly affecting students
in public universities.
The court ruled that a Hazelwood;
Mo. high school principal did not
violate students' right to free speech
by ordering two pages deleted from
an issue of a student-produced,
school-sponsored newspaper.
Three journalism students at the
high school sued school officials in
1983, contending that their freedom
of speech had been violated when
Principal Robert Reynold censored
two pages of the school newspaper.
The pages contained personal ac-
counts of three Hazelwood East stu-
'A school need not
tolerate student speech that
is inconsistent with its
basic educational mission'
-Supreme Court
Justice Byron White
dents who became pregnant and an
article on the effects of divorce on
children.
Under school policy, Reynolds
had the authority to review all arti-
swspapers
cles before printing. He objected to
the articles, and the pages they were
on were deleted from the issue.
Writing for the majority, Justice
Byron White said, "a school need not
tolerate student speech that is incon-
sistent with its basic educational
mission even though the govern-
ment could not censor similar speech
outside the school."
But one attorney challenged the
decision as a violation of free speech
and pointed out its potential to affect
public universities as well.
"It remains an open question
whether or not it will apply to state
universities," said Steven Shapiro,
an attorney for the American Civil
Liberties Union in New York.
"They are not deciding if it per-
See HIGH, Page 5
SAPAC
_recruits
to combat
rape
By VICKI BAUER
Coordinators of the Sexual As-
sault Prevention and Awareness
Center are recruiting both male and
female student volunteers to perform
rape education at tonight's mass
meeting.
Volunteer Coordinator and
SAPAC staffperson Audrey Haber-
man stressed that men are crucial to
the struggle for rape prevention.
"We believe that men and women
should work together to stop rape.
This is not just a woman's issue,"~
Haberman said
THE MEETING tonight, at
the Union, will introduce SAPAC's
winter term agenda for volunteers,
Haberman said. The center has
planned a bi-monthly newsletter,
weekly discussion sessions, and
events for rape prevention week in
April. -In addition, volunteers will
canvass Ann Arbor houses to help
educate the community about rape,
sexual assault, and safety precau-
tions.
SAPAC Volunteer and LSA ju-
nior Bithy Malhotra said promoting
education about rape and sexual as-
sault in the community helps
SAPAC volunteers feel empowered
against rape.
"I feel a lot stronger now that I
have an idea of what goes on out
there," Malhotra said. "It's not that
you can prevent rape, but there are
things you can do to be more cau-
tious. You know how to feel safer,
how to act.
"There are so many people out
there who have been raped or sexu-
ally assaulted. Since the statistics
show one out of three women have
been raped, then surely it's happened
to someone you know. You have to
be sensitive about it," Malhotra said.
MALHOTRA learned about
SAPAC through a Women's Studies
class and received course credit for
volunteering.
U' Hospital to use
artificial heart
-Associated Press
Israeli soldiers, armed with assault rifles and tear gas,patrol the Askar
refugee camp. The troubled area is north of Nablus in the occupied West
Bank.
Violence continues in
By ALYSSA LUSTIGMAN
For the first time in the state of
Michigan, the University Hospitals
have been given federal approval to
use temporary artificial hearts to
keep a patient alive before a human
heart can be implanted.
operations will not begin for a cou-
ple of months because the hospital
has not selected potential patients.
The hospital is one of 15 across
the country approved to implant the
artificial heart. Since 1984, said
Harrison, the hospital has performed
occupied te
rritories
I