Ninety-nine years of editorial freedom
Vol. IC, No. 20 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Wednesday, October 5, 1988 Copyright 1988, The Michigan Daily
Jackson
promotes
registration
BY MARION DAVIS AND
ROSE LIGHTBOURN
Despite a late start on his mass
voter registration drive, former
presidential candidate Rev. Jesse
Jackson spoke to a sometimes roar-
ing crowd of about 1600 last night at
Ann Arbor Pioneer High School.
Jackson encouraged supporters to
"keep the hope alive" and vote for
the Dukakis-Bentsen Democratic
ticket.
"Voting is a benefit you inherited
(that) another generation earned,"
Jackson said, reminding the audi-
ence of the hardships endured during
the fight for women's suffrage and
civil rights. "You can't invoke
Mandela and King and be unregis-
tered," he added.
"The right to vote came (not from
the president) but from the people
who needed it," he said. "The power
is in the people."
Jackson began his nationwide
voter registration drive about a
month ago, with the intention of en-
listing a great number of unregis-
tered voters. "I travel because I have
counted the cost... your vote does
make a difference," he said.
A coalition of Democratic groups
had set up several registration tables"
outside Jackson's speech.
Labeling Vice President George
Bush as narrow-minded and danger-Y
ous if placed in power, Jackson said
Bush represents a threat to rights and w
liberty if elected in November. "He t
is against civil liberties, civil rights,
workers' rights, and women's
rights," Jackson said.
Although Jackson has been criti-
cized by some Dukakis supporters as
being less than aggressive in his ef-
forts to elect the Democratic ticket,;
Jackson told reporters that he and hisr
supporters are committed tos
supporting the candidates.
Ethel Howard, executive board
member of the Washtenaw County
Democratic Party said that although x
she is a Jesse Jackson delegate, she
is voting for the Dukakis-Bentsen
ticket because it is "the best thing ,
we (Americans) have going for our- x,5
selves."
"We need to win in November to
make society better," she said.
Jackson's visit last night marks
his second to Ann Arbor this year.
Last spring, he spoke to a crowd of.ROBIN LoznAK/Doiy
about 6,000 at Crisler Arena as a The Rev. Jesse Jackson tells the crowd of 1600 to "keep hope alive." Jackson was in Ann Arbor last night to
presidential candidate. help a voter registration drive and to endorse the Dukakis-Bentsen ticket.
Rights
abuses
highest
in'88
LONDON (AP) - Amnesty In-
ternational on Wednesday accused a
record 135 nations of human rights
abuses ranging from the jailing of
draft evaders in Western Europe to
the massacre of unarmed civilians in
Iraq and Sudan.
The international human rights.
group said the list of offenders in its
annual survey was the longest it has
published since its establishment in
1961.
Amnesty, which won the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1977, recorded abuses
last year in more than 80 percent of
the 159 U.N. member states. But it
said it was encouraged by the emer-
gence of more than 1,000 human
rights groups in recent years and the
proliferation of laws to protect
prisoners' rights.
"In at least half the countries of
the world, people are locked away for
speaking their minds, often after
trials that are no more than a sham,"
the 278-page report said.
"In at least a third of the world's
nations, men, women and even
children are tortured. In scores of
countries, governments pursue their
goals by kidnapping and murdering
their own citizens."
It added: "More than ever before in
world history, governments are
exposed to the glare of international
publicity - the greatest weapon we
have."
The report cited the United States,
where 25 prisoners were put to death
last year, for executing John Brog-
don, a man diagnosed as mentally
retarded, and Edward Earl Johnson,
despite "substantial doubts" about
his guilt. Amnesty opposes the death
penalty.
In China, more than 200 con-
victed criminals were put to death,
but that represented "only a fraction
of the total number of death
sentences and executions," it said.
The report said- at least 760
political prisoners were executed in
39 countries in 1987 but estimated
the number probably was much
higher because of secret executions.
'Fellowship loses MSA standing
BY KRISTINE LALONDE
The Michigan Student Assembly last night
withdrew formal recognition of the
Cornerstone Christian Fellowship as a student
group, saying the group discriminated against
homosexuals when it sponsored a MikeDeasy
concert last week. The concert, which took
place on the steps of the graduate library,
featured the song "God Hates Queer."
Recognition entitles student groups to
office space in the Union or the Michigan
League, funding through the assembly's
student fee, and allows them to place boards
and banners in the Diag.
The Christian Fellowship said last week
that the song was not against homosexual
individuals, but against homosexual activity,
and maintained their right to speak freely on
campus.
Although no student members attended last
night's meeting, Ann Arbor attorney Steve
Jentzen, who represented the group, asked the
assembly to give them more time to respond
to the accusation.
But assembly vice president Susan
Overdorf replied, "Cornerstone Christian
Fellowship had every opportunity to come
here."
LSA Rep. Zachary Kittrie agreed. "I've yet
to see anything defending this (the concert),"
he said. "I'm dismayed that there's no one
here from the group."
According to MSA by-laws, the assembly
will not recognize groups who discriminate on
the basis of sexual orientation, race, or a
number of other points.
Overdorf said that withdrawal of
recognition does not infringe on a group's
freedom of speech. "They have freedom of
speech, they can say whatever they want," she
said.
In other business, MSA recognized three
engineering societies whose recognition was
withdrawn more than a year ago over
accusations of racist acts. Members of the the
American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE),
and Pi Tau Sigma, an honorary engineering
fraternity, took part in a "road rally" in which
members earned points for taking United
Coalition Against Racism and Black Action
Movement posters and removing boards from
the Diag shanties.
SAE President Robert Khami said the
societies were working to resolve the issue
with the Free South Africa Coordinating
Committee (FSACC), which built the
shanties.
Members of the engineering societies will
help FSACC in a bucket drive to solicit funds,
listen to a FSACC member speak on racism,
take part in other racism education, and print
an ad in the Daily formally apologizing to the
offended groups.
If the societies fail to complete the
retribution, MSA will again withdraw the
recognition.
Palestinian memorial
turns into Diag debate
BY JONATHON SCOTT
AND NICOLE SHAW
A ceremony intended to com-
memorate the 1982 murder of 3,000
Palestinian and Lebanese civilians
by the Lebanese Phalangist Militia
instead became a heated debate yes-
terday on the Diag.
The General Union of Palestinian
Students (G.U.P.S.), who sponsored
the memorial, charged Israel with
responsibility for what is known as
the Sabra and Shatila massacre, say-
ing the Israeli army "supported and
supervised the attacks."
A tent was raised for the cere-
mony and to celebrate the December
9 Intifada, which is recognized as
the start of the current uprising in
the occupied territories of Israel.
The commemoration attracted
many students, mostly supporters of
Israel or pro-Palestinian activists.
At the onset of the memorial,
students critical of the Palestinian
uprising challenged many of the
Palestinian student representatives to
support their position, and tempers
began to flare.
The arguing went on for nearly
two hours as a crowd of more than
40 gathered around to listen and add
their own opinions. As a result, the
scheduled speaker decided not to
make his presentation.
The issues debated varied from
the United States' role in the Middle
East conflict to the prospect of a
Palestinian state.
Salem Salameh, a member of the
Palestinian student union, said that
he wanted "brothers and sisters in
this country to call congressmen and
senators and demand that tax dollars
not be given to Israel as uncondi-
tional military aid, which only fur-
thers the occupation."
"What we're trying to do," he
added, "is let the American people
know we are being deprived of our
most basic human rights."
Some students chose to lash out
at the Palestinians, calling them
supporters of "terrorism" and accus-
ing them of "Jewish hatred."
"I walked by their tent, and I felt
this sense of hatred towards Jews, "
LSA first-year student Ori Lev said.
"I didn't sense that they want
peace."
Several Palestinian students said
they were sorry if Jewish students
See Debate, Page 2
Palestine Solidarity Committee member Tom Abowd and Tarik Ahmad speak to a crowd on the Diag during
a rally and tribute yesterday to those that died in the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre.
Feds concealed
nuclear mishaps
WASHINGTON (AP) - Serious mishaps over 28 years ago at a
government plant in South Carolina that produces materials for nuclear
weapons were kept secret for national security reasons and not reported to
Washington, federal officials said yesterday.
But the situation is changing, in part due to pressure from Congress, they
said.
One senior Energy Department official has compared the attitude toward
b safety at the Savannah River facility near Aiken, S.C., to that which led to
Magazine ranks University
number 25 in college study
BY ED KRACHMER a h hyaeipt uha
The University fell 17 places to rank number 25 in at the objective measures, they are inputs such as
the "National Universities" portion of U.S. News and scores and average faculty salaries. They say the
World Report's annual ranking of the nation's measure the quality of faculty, you must measur
undergraduate schools. The special section, entitled number of Ph.Ds. That's not the kind of quality w
"America's Best Colleges," appeared in the Oct. 10 is- talking about," Swain said.
sue of the newsmagazine.
sue f th newmagaine.In addition to printing the overall rankings, the
Last year's ranking, which was based on a survey of cle printed the rankingsfrom the reputation sur
co11e-e and universitv nresident_ nlaeidei- T TnirtT, -c_ d- th aki.ngs fro the rep.tion sur
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