Ninety- nine years of editorial freedom
Vol. IC, No. 36 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Thursday, October 27, 1988 Copyright 1988, The Michigan Doily
USSR
may
release
prisoners
MOSCOW (AP) - The Soviet
Union will release all people
regarded in the \West as political
prisoners by the end of the year,
Chancellor Helmut Kohl of West
Germany said yesterday after talks
with President Mikhail Gorbachev.
Such a dramatic move would be
one of the boldest signs yet from
Gorbachev that he seeks a clear
break with past Kremlin human
rights practices that have included
imprisonment of dissenters from
Communist Party policy.
However, Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Gennady Gerasimov
refused to confirm or deny that a re-
lease of political prisoners is immi-
nent.
He told reporters there are about
two dozen such prisoners. Estimates
from human rights groups abroad
vary from 150 to more than 500.
Gerasimov said the fate of the.
prisoners was not on the agenda of
the Soviet-West German negotiations
that brought Kohl to Moscow. Kohl's
announcement was welcomed by
Soviet human rights activist Andrei
Sakharov, the Reagan administration
and Amnesty International. But a
leader of a group seeking emigration
of Soviet Jews said he remained
skeptical.
At a news conference called to
sum up his visit, Kohl said: "The
Soviets confirmed that they will re-
lease before the end of the year all
political prisoners as we understand
it in the West."
Kohl would not say whether the
promise came from Gorbachev, only
that it was made during the talks.
Asked how many people may be
freed, Kohl's foreign minister, Hans-
Dietrich Genscher, said: "We are not
in a position to give final figures."
Neither Kohl nor Genscher iden-
tified prisoners who might be re-
leased. It was not clear how many
Soviets classified in the West as po-
litical prisoners might be freed, since
some have been sentenced on crimi-
nal charges, including espionage.
_______________ ...,7~ S -.
KAREN HANDELMAN/Daily
Chris Rose, an Ann Arbor resident, joins in the Halloween spirit by trying on a mask at the Halloween Outlet Shop at
Arborland. Only four more days until munchkin-sized goblins come knocking at your door.
Candidates stress access to
higher
ed.
BY NOAH FINKEL
"I want to be the Education President," boasts Re-
publican Presidential nominee George Bush.
"No issue, no concern, no institution, means more
to me than education," says Democrat Michael
Dukakis.
Rhetoric of this sort on education is a staple of all
American political campaigns, and the 1988 presiden-
tial race is obviously no exception.
But in this campaign, there actually may be some
substance behind the candidates' promises for higher
education.
"The platforms of both parties do stress access to
higher education," said Harvey Grotrian, the director of
the University's Office of Financial Aid.
DUKAKIS AND Bush premise their higher
education proposals on a simple assumption: no one
should be denied a college education due to a lack of
money. Both parties offer creative and substantive
programs to fulfill the goal.
The foundation of Dukakis' effort is his support for
existing federal grant and loan programs such as Pell
Grants, Perkins Loans, and the Graduated Student Loan
(GSL) program.
But, as Dukakis is fond of saying, "We can do bet-
ter." To that end, he offers his STARS (Student Tu-
ition and Repayment System) plan, which would allow
any student to receive a federally guaranteed student
loan, regardless of family income. Students would pay
back the loans through mandatory payroll deductions.
STARS rests on two principles, the first of which
is income-contingency. Under the plan, graduates
would pay back their loan as a certain percentage of,
yearly income until the loan, plus interest, is repaid.
PROPONENTS of this principle say this is
beneficial to two groups of graduates. Wealthy
graduates will be able to erase their debt quickly and
those with lower incomes can spread their payments
out over a long period of time. Bush's plans also
include an expansion of current income-contingency
efforts.
The Reagan administration asked Congress to drop
all other loan programs in favor of income-contingent
plans. Instead, Congress agreed to establish a pilot
program at ten schools to test the feasibility of the
concept.
Thus far, the jury is still out. Jim Dorian, director
of financial aid at Brown University, one of the ten pi-
lot schools in its second year of testing, said it is "too
early to tell" how sound the idea is.
The second - and far more controversial - princi-
ple in the STARS program is called "collective
responsibility."
Under this concept, borrowers who earn higher in-
comes upon graduation would be forced to cover for
those in lower-income brackets. In this case, some
graduates will have to pay back more than they borrow.
They would be responsible for the principle of their
loan, the interest, and possibly part of someone else's
loan.
ADVOCATES of this approach point out that
this plan will lure students from poor backgrounds who
are currently scared by the prospect of a large debt and
See Access, Page 3
L
I
U-Wis. students
face expulsion
1
Group: 'U' can do
more than divest
BY STACEY GRAY
Members of the University of
Wisconsin-Madison's Zeta Beta Tau
(ZBT) fraternity house are facing
possible expulsion after a racial
incident at the house last week.
As part of an effort to raise
money for its pledge trip, the two-
year-old ZBT house held a "slave
auction" last Thursday to sell off its
pledges. The pledges painted their'
faces black, donned Afro wigs and
impersonated Black celebrities such
as Oprah Winfrey and The Jackson
Five in skits.
LSA junior Paul Mark, second
vice president at the University of
Michigan's chapter of ZBT, said he
was familiar with the incident at
Wisconsin, but refused further com-
ment.
The "auction" was held in the
basement of The Towers, a private
Wisconsin housing unit. Two
videotapes were made of the event,
one by the fraternity and the other by
an unidentified student. The second
videotape made its way to the Wis-
consin Student Association, which
demanded action from the Inter Fra-
ternity Council (IFCI.
WISCONSIN'S IFC held an
emergency meeting Sunday and re-
leased a statement on the incident.
"The IFC calls for the immediate
expulsion of the members involved
in the alleged incident. The ZBT fra-
ternity is suspended, indefinitely,
from all IFC activities. The length
of the suspension is contingent on
the investigations." the statement
be taken. Eight students chained
themselves to the ZBT house Mon-
day to protest the incident. Eventu-
ally the police were called and the
protesters were arrested for trespass-
ing. They were released on their own
recognizance.
"The purpose of our action was
to raise consciousness of the racism
problem at the university," Kris
Hoeksema, a first-year student who
participated in the sit-in told The
Badger Herald, a University of Wis-
consin student newspaper.
"The incident should be acted
upon by the university board, not by
another student group. The adminis-
tration must take action on their
claim of being anti-racist," she said.
WISCONSIN'S Black Student
Union held a press conference
Wednesday morning on the incident.
The group wouldn't comment for
lack of information. "We don't
blame them, but we do blame the
university for their actions concern-
ing past racial incidents haven't been
severe enough," said Stefanie Royal,
a BSU spokesperson.
Gary Sullivan, a senior at Wis-
consin and a BSU member, said he
thought the university administra-
tion should take a stand in expelling
any group which commits racist
acts.
"There are rules that you can be
expelled for throwing waste or food
over the football stadium wall. If
there is an administrative rule that
says that then I don't see any reason
why there can't bo nne reganring
BY STEVE KNOPPER
A long, heated campus debate
came to an end last week when the
University decided to divest from
South Africa-involved companies.
But local activists say the battle
against apartheid is far from over, and
the University can do much more to
combat the racist government in
South Africa.
"This is by no means the end,"
said Ann Arbor resident Brett Stock-
dill, a member of the Free South
Africa Coordinating Committee.
"(Divestment) was a relatively easy
thing to do, and it will make (the
University's Board of Regents) look
good, but we still need to hold them
accountable."
On Friday, the University divested
its last $500,000 from companies
which have holdings in South Africa.
That decision was a "symbolic
victory," said FSACC member Bar-
bara Ransby, a Rackham graduate
student. But she added, "The decision
to divest was made some time ago.
This was not any great revelation."
Ransby said the University must
take further steps toward abolishing
the apartheid regime. For example,
she said, University officials must
continue to speak out, focus more
education, and respect an academic
boycott against apartheid.
FSACC and its predecessors have
put pressure on the regents to divest
for.more than 10 years. As late as
1983, the University held about $50
million worth of stocks in busi-
nesses operating in South Africa.
Johnson and Johnson and Coca-Cola
are two U.S.-based corporations
which still have holdings in South
Africa.
In the late 1970s, however, na-
tionwide anti-apartheid groups began
protesting colleges' involvement in
South Africa thorough their invest-
ments. University students lobbied
school officials, packed regents'
See Divest, Page 2
'Hartford' trial defendant JOSE
Elias Castro, one of 15 defendants on trial in the "Hartford
15" case, speaks to an audience of 60 last night at Rack-
ham. More than 400 FBI agents entered Puerto Rico and
arrested the 15 in August, 1986.
Anti-gay
flirsstir
outrage
BY FRAN OBEID .
More than 200 anti-gay and
lesbian flyers were distributed
yesterday at the Law School in
students' pendaflex folders.
A group of law students said they
will distribute a netition today
INSIDE
Marcos's indictment by a federal
grand jury is lung overdue.
See O)pinion Page 4
Betty Carter should put on some
great shows at the Bird this week-
end - provided her band doesn't
have to show I.D.
See Arts, Page 7
Wolverines Greg McMurtry and
Off-campus housing
vacancies increase
BY DAVID SCHWARTZ
The percentage of vacant housing
near campus rose for the third year in
a row, but reaction is mixed as to
how much the rise is improving the
availibility of affordable housing.
According to figures released by
the Universitv's Housing Divisionn
apartments and houses located
"roughly within walking distance of
campus.
"The vacancy rate being higher
reflects all the high-priced housing
that's currently being built," said
Lisa Russ, an Ann Arbor Tenants'
Union consultant.