Ninety-nine years of editorialfreedom Vol. IC, No. 24 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Tuesday, October 11, 1988 Copyright 1988, The Michigan Daily LSA De to leave by Sept. an I 1 BY LISA POLLAK LSA Dean Peter Steiner will leave office by Sept. 1, 1989, having only served three years of a five-year term, he said yesterday. The announcement was not meant to surprise; Steiner accepted a second term as dean in 1986 with the stipulation he would serve only three years, said University President James Duderstadt in a statement yesterday. But the announcement was a reminder that LSA, the University's largest college, is about to reach the end of an eight-year era - an era some have labelled as successful, others stormy. "We are enormously grateful... for his achievements affecting the quality of the College," Duderstadt said, citing the new Chemical Sciences Building, "quality" faculty appointments, and the Humanities Institute. Other members of the University community, however, will remember Steiner best for remarks he made last year about University affirmative action programs, remarks some - including the United Coalition Against Racism and LSA faculty members - labelled "racist." Among those remarks was the assertion the University should not be a place "where minorities would naturally flock in much greater numbers... there are such institutions - including Wayne State and Howard University." Protest over that and subsequent remarks, as well as low numbers of Black faculty, eventually led UCAR to hold a 26-hour sit-in at Steiner's office and demand his resignation last January. Steiner maintained then that his remarks were taken out of context. "We've been very disappointed in the lack of leadership and sensitivity that Dean Steiner has offered in terms of combating racism in the University," UCAR steering committee Barbara Ransby said yesterday, adding she hopes his successor will be "more sensitive to people of color and more aggressive in terms of deinstitutionalizing racism within LSA." But LSA Student Government President Barbara Eisenberger said she has always found Steiner receptive to student concerns. "He's done a good job; I'll be sad to see him leave," she said. Details about the search committee, to be appointed soon, were unavailable. The committee that chose Steiner, then a University economics professor, in 1981 was comprised of nine faculty and three students. DAVID LUBLINER/Daily LSA junior Paul Moffitt, president of the College Democrats, cheers for State Senator Lana Pollack (D-Ann . Arbor), who is running for a seat in U.S. Congress, yesterday during a voter registration rally on the Diag. The rally evolved into a shouting match between Republican and Democrats. Voting rall' BY MICHAEL LUSTIG A Diag rally staged yesterday intended to pro- mote student voter registration degenerated into a shouting match between Democrats and Republicans. U.S. Rep. Carl Pursell (R-Plymouth) and his challenger for Michigan's Second Congressional District seat, State Sen. Lana Pollack (D-Ann Arbor), were scheduled to speak, but Pursell did not attend, even though rally organizers had ex- pected him. Speaking to a crowd of about 100 people, as well as the Diag's usual noon-time throng, Pol- lack launched an attack on Pursell's legislative record, zeroing in on environmental issues. "WE'VE GOT a man in Congress who thinks he owns the seat," Pollack told the crowd which was speckled with a wide range of campaign signs including "Pollack for Congress," "Re-elect Congressman Carl Pursell," "Riegle for Senate," "Bush-Quayle," and "Dukakis-Bentsen." Pollack then held up a poster put out by y turns into argument Environmental Action, an environmentalist group that named Pursell one of its "dirty dozen" legislators with the worst records on environmental issues. "Carl Pursell said there's no money for clean water, but he's got money for the MX (missile) and the B-1 (bomber)," Pollack said. In 1985, Pursell voted against increasing funding for the Clean Water Act. ANN ARBOR City Councilmember Mark Ouimet (R-Fourth Ward), who spoke on behalf of Pursell, said the six-term incumbent had a "prior engagement." In her address to the crowd, Pollack called for more involvement in education, clean water, health care, and an increase in the minimum wage. She then further attacked Pursell's record, highlighting his vote against the Civil Rights Restoration Act earlier this year. Pursell has "a record that cannot be defended," she said. As Pollack continued to speak from the steps of the Graduate Library, crowd members grew increasingly vocal. Shouts of "Lana, Lana" com- peted with cries of "Bush-Quayle," disrupting WDIV-TV reporter Emery King's attempts to interview her. OUIMET DID not respond to Pollack's jabs at Pursell - in fact he complimented Pollack's performance a state senator - but used his time to voice his concern about recent violence on campus, something which concerns him greatly, he said. Last weekend, two University students were stabbed in front of the Michigan Union, and the weekend before, a man was attacked near the Stop-N-Go convenience store on East University. Ouimet did counter a statement by Pollack, who urged voters to vote a straight Democratic ticket. Ouimet asked voters to "draw an educated approach to your vote" by learning about candi- dates and issues. AFTER THE rally, Ouimet said, several Pollack supporters came up to him and thanked him for speaking on student participation. "I felt See Voting, Page 5 6U, student . violates code First case may be resolved by informal mediation LSA welcon 31. new profs Les BY MICHELLE RABIDOUX Many tenured professors have long since accepted the idiosyn- crasies of Ann Arbor. But to 31 newly-hired LSA faculty members, the weather, the students, and the Diag will take some getting used to. Both new professors and graduate students, especially those from dif- ferent countries, make many adjust- ments as the school year begins. Francisca Beer, who is pursuing her doctorate in economics and finance at * the University under a prestigious Belgian fellowship (she is one of only five winners), said she learns something new every day. She said she remembers walking past some potted flowers on one of. her first days here and stooping to pick some of them. "Everyone looked at me as though I had done something wrong," she said. She wasn't aware that people don't usu- ally pick the flowers around campus. BUT IN general, she said she has really enjoyed the high quality of students around her. "I didn't know the people here were so open-minded and friendly," she said. David Artis, an assistant English professor hired from Stanford Uni- versity, left his "infatuation with sun, palm trees, and beaches" to 'I didn't know the people here were so open-minded and friendly.' - Francisca Beer, who is pursuing her doctorate in economics and finance to be preaching today when I walk through the Diag," Artis says. PETER NIELSEN, assistant professor in the math department, hails from South Africa. He received his doctorate from Brandeis Univer- sity earlier this year and now teaches Math 115. He lived in South Africa until 1984, doing his graduate work at the University of Cape Town. Student activism is another facet of University life that new profes- sors have to get used to. Nielsen sees his students as "quite well mo- tivated" but not at all activist. A VISITING assistant statis- tics professor, however, sees the attitudes of students differently. Joachim Engel finds the student body very involved in the world sit- uation. Having spent the past five BY STEVE KNOPPER A student accused of discrimina- tion against homosexuals has vio- lated the University's student anti- harassment policy, an official ruled Friday. But Interim Policy Administrator Cynthia Straub said she thinks the problem can be resolved through in- formal mediation. If so, a hearing panel which would judge the stu- dent's guilt or innocence and give out punishment would not convene. Business School senior Mark Chekal, who was the first to request a formal hearing against a student under the policy, said he would be satisfied if the student makes a pub- lic apology. Chekal took offense two weeks ago when the other student, during class, recited a limerick making fun of Olympic diver Greg Louganis' alleged homosexuality. Last week, Chekal said, the student read an apology - also in the form of a limerick - during class. Chekal said he suggested that the student attend a "rap" about homo- sexuals' experiences and write a let- ter of apology to The Daily. "I'm totally satisfied with that outcome if it works, which I think it will," Chekal said yesterday. Straub said the informal media- tion may be worked out by the end of this week. LSA senior Julie Murray, chair of the Michigan Student Assembly's Student Rights Committee, said she hopes the students can work out the conflict informally. "I have no problems with this policy so long as this person feels he's been treated fairly," Murray said. Murray said she would object, hrnP'.r vif the rprennharp o*,- has the right to punish others in or- der to protect students' safety. Though she opposes the policy, Regent Veronica Smith (R-Grosse le) said it may have worked in this case. "I'm glad that it's being worked out," she said. "The whole intent really is to educate students not to make comments like that. I'm glad it's being resolved without a hearing." Though the hearing panel may be unnecessary in this case, Straub said she will finish compiling a list of people eligible for the panel by Fri- day. According to the policy, the list will include students nominated by their school's government, and fac- ulty members appointed by the president. In the past, student activists have said such hearing panels constitute a code of non-academic conduct, be- cause it could impose punishment for non-academic student behavior. Some students held protests last April when the University's Board of Regents passed the policy. Officials, however, said such panels, and the policy in general, help to combat racial and sexual ha- rassment on campus. DAVID LUBLiNER/Doil~y Chemist Dr. Mary Good, chair of the National Science Board told a crowd tJ 150 people that it takes committment for women to get ahead in science. Her speech is one in a series sponsored by the Center for Continuing Education of Women. Chemist lands %Xglnf P11 Q P1- Pfl fig fQ FIN