4r IEUU&
Ninety-nine years of editorialfreedom
Vol. IC, No. 25 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Wednesday, October 12, 1988 Copyright 1988, The Michigan Daily
Campus
gays honor
AIDS
activists
'coming
BY LISA WINER The "rap
National Gay Rights Advocates sion, the
and a magazine entitled, "The out" stori
Experience Weekend," declared yes- "I thin
terday "National Coming Out Day" mophobi
in an effort to increase the visibility other rap
of the more than 20 million gay men Sue Bake
and lesbians in this country, said a asked to
NGRA report. tioned w
And Mike Peterson, an Alice and gay
Lloyd Resident Advisor, commemo- question
:rating the day, attempted yesterday to homopho
increase the visibility of gay males "I thin
and lesbians on campus with a "gay opinion.
rap" in a student lounge. The Lesbian like radi(
and Gay Males Program Offices open mi
sponsor "gay raps," which are forums one," sai
for students and others to share their attended
feelings and beliefs about gayness. pened to,
"I see a tremendous need for peo- cided to s
'ple to become more aware,"'said Pe- But f
terson. "The freshman are very ho- Vigder
:mophobic." (homoph
The gay rap, which drew nearly 40 help feel
people, began with an ice breaker learning
that examined how accepting of ho- really he
mosexuality the participants were. dice.".
out
pers," who led the discus-
-n told their own "coming
ies.
nk some more blatant ho-
c things came out then in
s I've done," said rap leader
ker. One participant, who
remain anonymous, ques-
hy "lesbians look like men,
men look like women" - a
the rap leaders considered
bic.
nk that it hard to voice (my)
As heterosexuals, we looked
cals... I didn't go in with an
nd, and I still don't have
d one first-year student who
the rap because they hap-
walk by the lounge and de-
stay.
first-year student Cheryl
said "I know that
obia) is wrong , but I can't
ing a little prejudice. I think
about people who are gay
Ips you deal with that preju-
blast
ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) -
Hundreds of demonstrators, demand-
ing easier access to experimental
drugs for people with AIDS, blocked
entrances to the Food and Drug Ad-
ministration's headquarters yesterday,
prompting police to close the build-
ing to arriving employees.
Vito Russo, a New York writer
who said he was diagnosed with
AIDS in 1985, said the demonstra-
tors did not want the FDA to top
testing drugs, but to move faster and
make AIDS drugs available as soon
as it is determined they are safe -
rather than waiting to judge their ef-
fectiveness as well.
"The side effect of AIDS is death,"
Russo said.
Montgomery County police,
some wearing clear plastic gloves,
arrested at least 100 demonstrators -
taking more than six hours - for
blocking entrances.
F DA.
Most of the arrested protesters
elected to walk to the waiting police
buses, where they were handcuffed
with plastic ties. A few chose to be
dragged and were accompanied by
pairs of officers.
Four men climbed atop two of the
buses and huddled under blankets
whipped by a chilly wind. Police did
not attempt to remove them until
they wanted to move the buses. The
police handcuffed the men, who re-
fused to leave the rooftop, and
dropped them through hinged sky-
lights into the compartments below.
At least two glass door panels
were broken during jostling between
surging crowds and police during the
early minutes of the protest.
Police allowed demonstrators
wearing armbands designating them
as medical personnel to go onto the
buses to check on those already
handcuffed and arrested, some wearing
lettered shirts saying they had AIDS.
'Associated Press
Police arrest 100 AIDS activists protesting the Food and
Drug Administration's policy on releasing drugs for
AIDS victims.
MSA
. focuses
on 'U'
~Council
BY KELLY GAFFORD
In an attempt to reconvene the University
Council and decrease the gap between
students, faculty and administration the chair
of the faculty's governing body, Beth Reed,
offered comments during the Michigan
Student Assembly meeting last night.
Last year the University Council - set up
to develop rules and regulations governing the
University community - disbanded after
faculty, students, and administrators in the
group were unable to reach a concensus.
Julie Murray, chair of the assembly's
Students Rights Committee proposed that a
mediator be hired to help resolve conflicts that
arise between the administration and students.
The assembly will vote on this proposal next
week.
Murray also suggested that all parties
involved act upon a good faith effort to
complete the task of developing a mechanism
for a policy which governs conduct at
protests.
She said that all participants must be
willing to negotiate and consider options other
than the ones they initiated. In order for the
University Council to reconvene successfully,
Murray said, MSA must not work towards
eliminting the protest policy.
If MSA passes this proposal and U
Council reconvenes, students will have a
voice in developing rules and regulations
governing the University body, said Murray.
This "good faith effort" with the University
Council will send a message to the University
Board of Regents that Bylaw 7.02 requiring
the University Council is workable and should
be reinstated, said Murrary.
Futhermore, the recent deputization of
campus security officers shows the need for
more student input in the implementation of
rules on campus, stid MSA members.
The assembly yesterday passed a resolution
against campus security using semi-automatic
weapons on campus.
See MSA, Page 5
Peace Corps volunteers
frankly assess experience
BY ANGIE CHEN
On October 14, 1960, John F.
Kennedy stood on the steps of the
Michigan Union and proposed the
idea of the Peace Corps to a cheering
student audience.
Since then, Peace Corps volun-
teers have been helping developing
nations around the world. Today,
more than 5200 volunteers serve in
over 60 nations in Latin America,
the Carribean, Africa, Asia and the
Pacific. They work in a variety of
fields, from agriculture to engineer-
ing, business management to natural
resources.
The Peace Corps has a recruiting
office at the International Center on
campus. They are looking for skilled
Americans willing to dedicate two
years working in a developing na-
tion.
Students like Linda Zurick, LSA
senior, are interested in the Peace
Corps for "the experience, and the
introduction to a different culture."
Bob Zofkie, Engineering senior,
says, "I've pictured it as my last
chance to do something productive
for the world."
But would-be volunteers must re-
alize the dedication and commitment
that is required. "The first thing I try
to do is discourage them," says David
Cohen, volunteer and University
alumnus. "The Peace Corps is not
something you play around with.
You don't sign up unless you're
sure."
The experience can be rewarding,
but it has difficulties as well, volun-
teers say. Sometimes, they are placed
'The first thing I try to do
is discourage them.... The
Peace Corps is not some-
thing you play around
with. You don't sign up
unless you're sure,.
- David Cohen,
volunteer and University
alumnus.
in countries whose governments may
be committing human rights viola-
tions.
But, said one volunteer who
served in Paraguay, "You have to ask
(yourself) 'Are you going to quit be-
cause of that?"'
Melissa MacKenzie, former vol-
unteer, feels that the Peace Corps is
sometimes used as a political tool.
As an example, she cites the rising
number of volunteers in Central
American countries such as Hon-
duras.
"Sometimes, volunteers are placed
there not because that country needs
them, but because the U.S. govern-
ment feels that it needs a greater
American presence there," she says.
Maintaining one's health can be a
major problem for :a Peace Corps
volunteer. Cohen contracted malaria
last year. He almost died on New
Year's Eve. "But that was my fault,"
he says. "I went on holiday in West
Africa and caught it there."
Despite that, Cohen is extending
his two-year stay to three years.
Other volunteers have different feel-
ings about the Peace Corps.
One of them is David Longseth.
Longseth was assigned to teach En-
glish in Morocco, and he withdrew
from the Peace Corps after two
months. He felt that his work was
not making the impact he had hoped
to make.
"Morocco didn't need English
teachers," he says. "They needed
more concrete, more tangible help. I
got very little support from the
trainers, the staff, from the Peace
Corps itself." He also had little sup-
port from the Moroccans. "In Mo-
rocco, there's a certain attitude
against developing. It's 'leave every-
thing into Allah's hand."'
ALEXANDRA BREZ/Doily
Law students held a candlelight vigil last night to lobby the Supreme Court's ruling in a
case it will hear today.
Group holds civil rights vigil
BY VICTORIA BAUER Rights Act, protects women and mi- statute as an effort to merge the
A small group of law students norities from discrimination in pri- statute with Title VII of the1964
held a candlelight vigil last night to vate contracts. The statute was last Civil Rights Act concerning em-
voice their concerns about the U.S. upheld by the Court in 1976. ployment discrimination.
Supreme Court's ruling of a civil If the court reverses the statute, Victims of discriminaton must
rights case that it will hear today. channels for filing discrimination file a suit within six months of the
The vigil, held in front of the Ann cases could be limited, Anderson incident under Title VII. But under
Arhn - A rn Rnli r enrt o,. an,,i i t,,n e,.tt-ta th: n. ..... - ;: nn .:m ,:m:. an
Algerian protests
subside as prices fall
ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) -
Protesters stayed off the streets yes-
terday after a week of violence that
killed more than 400 people, but the
young men who led the revolt
against economic hardship remained
angry and impatient.
Tanks and soldiers guarded areas
Algiers during the night and govern-
ment stores sold the food to all com
ers at subsidized prices. Butter that
was available only on the black mar-
ket last week, at $4.30 a pound,
could be had for $1.75.
No official casualty toll has been
released. but reports from hosnital.
I