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OPINION
Thursday, October 27, 1988
Psige 4
The Michigan Daily
0
Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan
Speak
out on rape
Vol. IC, No. 36
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board. All other
cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion
of the Daily.
By four anonymous
survivors of rape
Twelve months ago we stood in front of
500 people, told our stories and explained
what it meant to be a survivor of rape. We
call ourselves survivors rather than
victims because we experienced a life
threatening experience that we were able to
face and then continue with our lives. As
part of Sexual Assault Awareness Week
on campus, the Speak-Out gives survivors
of sexual assault a chance to break the
knowledge that enables us to fight the
reality of violence. We understand that
rape is a frightening issue; however, the
community must confront the issue in
order to fight rape.
Rape is not a problem that affects a
small portion of the population-- it affects
everyone, our friends, our family.
According to the FBI, 1 in 3 women and 1
in 10 men will be raped in their lifetime.
These are the facts and we need to ask why
our society remains silent. We encourage
all community members, men and
women, to attend the Speak-Out as a way
Faled
LAST THURSDAY, a federa
court in Manhattan ruled ex-I
President Ferdinand Marcos
tempt of court for refusing t
with grand jury subpoenas t
examples of signatures and
count records. The next day a
tan federal grand jury indicte
and his wife on charges of r
ing, conspiracy, fraud and of
of justice.
The charges allegedly st
what Rudolph Giuliani, the c,
cutor, referred to as Marcos'
of racketeering" since ent
country. The fraud charges ar
to false statements given to fe
ulators and the transfer of ille
tamed funds.
At the Reagan administrati
ing, Marcos fled to Hawaii t
bloody usurpation of his regi
cos held power for 20 years
considered a close U.S. ally.e
living on an annual salary
$5700, the Marcos's enjoy(
luxuries such as gold bathroo
and sinks. At the same t
Philippine people endured u
sanitary conditions. Marcos
family also benefitted from th
terest rates paid toward their'
rate international bank accour
the Philippine people suffe
high unemployment, a high
debt, and almost nonexistenti
gtowth. Marcos's indictme
U.S. is long overdue and ac
derstated.
It is no coincidence that Ma
djctment comes after weeks
progress in a civil suit filed
York by the Aquino administ
an effort to develop friendly
foreign policy
al appeals with Aquino, the Reagan administra-
Philippine tion seems to have distanced itself from
s in con- Marcos. It stated that it will not inter-
o comply fere in the indictment process unless it
o submit becomes an issue of foreign policy.
bank ac- The most banal, ignoble statement
Manhat- comes from White House spokesper-
d Marcos son Marlin Fitzwater who said that "If
acketeer- [Marcos] had behaved himself since he
bstruction got here, he wouldn't be in this posi-
tion." Fitzwater - and by implication
em from the Reagan administration - suggests
ase prose- that Marcos's illegal plundering of the
s "pattern Philippine economy in the past would
ering the have been acceptable had he stopped
e also due once he arrived in the U.S.
deral reg- Unfortunately, this attitude by the
egally ob- Reagan administration absolves the ir-
reparable damage that Marcos has
brought on the Philippine people. An
on's urg- example of the long-term effects of
o avoid a Marcos's activities were evident in the
me. Mar- wake of the recent typhoon that swept
and was through the main Philippine island of
Officially Luzon. Lack of major roads and com-
of about munication lines prevented any major
ed ornate evacuation before the typhoon hit and
m faucets hampered rescue efforts in the ty-
ime, the phoon's aftermath.
inhealthy The likely scenario resulting from
and his Giuliani's case against Marcos will be a
e high in- plea bargain. By returning part of his
five sepa- fraudulently obtained fortune to the
nts, while Aquino government and by claiming
red from that his health is failing, Marcos may
national escape the racketeering charges.
industrial However the possibility exists that
nt in the the case may actually go to court.
utely un- Having the public scrutinize a former
U.S.-backed head of state will expose
rcos's in- the State Department's inability to
of slow choose its friends. Whatever the
J in New outcome, the light-handed U.S..
ration. In treatment is far less justice than the
relations Philippine people righteously deserve.
In our society, victims are blamed for the rapist's crimes,
and rape is not openly discussed. Survivors are rarely sup-
ported or believed, so reporting rape is often a very painful ex-
perience.'
with people who were there to support us,
whether they were survivors or not.
Speaking out and showing resistance'
can take many forms. At the Speak-Out,
some of us choose to speak directly to the.'
audience, while others speak anony-
mously. Some survivors choose to share
their poems, stories and art as a way of
speaking out. Other survivors "speak out"'
by sitting in the audience, seeking coun-
seling, talking with a friend, or calling the
24 hour sexual assault crisis line. These
are all important acts of resistance, chal-
lenges to a violent society.
Recovering from rape is different for
every survivor, and we support the right of q
all survivors to make their own decisions.
As we name the violence, we can celebrate
the strength of all survivors. For us, the
experience of speaking was positive,,
empowering, and encouraging. If we could
do this, we thought, we could do
anything.
Rape can not remain a silent issue. We
need to work together to build a commu-
nity where we are all safe, where survivors
of rape can speak publicly more than one
night a year and where, someday, we will
be able to sign a letter such as this
without fear.
The SPEAK-OUT will be Thursday,
October 27th at 8 p.m. in the Michigan
Union Ballroom. Everyone is welcome. If
you have questions, would like to speak,
or have creative work you would like dis-
played, call the Sexual Assault Prevention
and Awareness Center, 763-5865. q
silence, and it is also a time for the
community to show their support and
willingness to listen. Speaking out is an
affirmation of strength, a way to empower
ourselves and reach out to survivors and
non-survivors alike.
Together, those who are a part of the
Speak-Out end the pattern of the "isolated
silent victim." This pattern is created by a
rape culture that promotes and perpetuates
violence against women and other
oppressed groups. Together we end that
isolation, and gain the strength and
to show their concern and support around
this issue.
In our society, victims are blamed for
the rapist's crimes, and rape is not openly
discussed. Survivors are rarely supported
or believed, so reporting rape is often a
very painful experience. With this in
mind, it is no surprise that 90 percent of
all rapes go unreported. Last year many of
us who spoke had not told anyone when
we were raped. Months had gone by, years
for some, and yet, there we stood, able to
speak and be heard, to share our thoughts
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Free
speech not
stifled
To the Daily:
This letter is intended as a
response to Mary Lynn Mef-
ford, who on Monday, October
17, submitted a letter
condemning the Michigan
Student Assembly's (MSA)
actions regarding the Corner-
stone Christian Fellowship. In
her letter, she states that she
feels the rights of Lesbians and
Gay Men were not violated by
the song,"God Hates Queer and
So Do I." Instead, she feels
that the rights of Cornerstone
Christian Fellowship were
violated by the Lesbian and
Gay Rights Organizing Com-
mittee (LaGROC) and MSA,
who she says have attempted to
"side step" the constitution by
illegally silencing the Corner-
stone Fellowship in their
"kangaroo court."
By defining the problem as
one of free speech, and not mi-
nority oppression, we believe
Mary Lynn Mefford has
demonstrated a lack of under-
standing. We feel we must re-
spond.
For the record, neither La-
GROC nor MSA have at-
tempted to silence the Corner-
stone Christian Fellowship. As
an egalitarian organization,
LaGROC strongly supports the
preservation of the right of free
speech. Though many of its
members find Cornerstone's
message offensive, LaGROC
in no way wishes to see it sti-
fled. It is important to point
out, however, that neither La-
GROC nor MSA actually have
the power to silence the Cor-
nerstone Fellowship. Mike
Calk, their official representa-
tive speaks on the Diag, which
has been designated as a public
forum by the University's new
code of non-academic conduct.
Mike Calk continues to speak
on the Diag. His rights of free
speech, are and will continue to
be protected, as long as he
stays within the confines of
this public space. The Corner-
stone Christian Fellowship has
not been silenced.
What has happened is that
MSA, following its own
criminate on the basis of race,
sex or sexual orientation. It has
said that it will 'de-recog-
nize' groups that continue to
do so. The precedent already
exists. Last year, MSA refused
recognition to the University
chapter of SAE (Society of
Automotive Engineers) after
they vandalized one of the anti-
apartheid shanties on the diag.
MSA did this to send the pow-
erful message to the University
community that discrimination
in any form is a very serious
and offensive act which cannot
be condoned by the official
student governing body, or by
the University as a whole.
LaGROC, in seeking the
support of MSA in this matter,
is simply attempting to secure
the same protections already
afforded other similarly op-
pressed minority groups on
campus. It is not attempting to
violate Cornerstone's rights of
free speech.
As members of LaGROC,
we applaud Michael Phillips
and the members of MSA for
their decision regarding the ac-
tions of the Cornerstone
Christian Fellowship. We only
hope they will have the
courage to uphold this decision
in light of the mounting polit-
ical pressures.
-Brian Durrance
Linda Kurtz
October 23
Econ. T.A.
clarifies
remarks
To the Daily:
I should like to take this op-
portunity to clarify the remarks
I made to one of your reporters
in an article, "Econ. Depart-
ment restricts use of one xerox
machine." (Daily, 10/3/88)
First of all, the problem has
been resolved for the time be-
ing. TA's are now permitted to
utilize the photocopier accord-
ing to certain guidelines that
are designed to lessen the strain
on the machine.
Secondly, some of the
phrases that I am quoted as
saying were printed out of
context and have caused my
remarks to be misconstrued.
The line which has caused
controversy reads as fol-
scription - the workload was
increasing - without any
compensating factors. I most
certainly did not imply that it
is denigrating and degrading for
TA's to have to do 'clerical
work.' Indeed, TA's do a fair
amount as it is. I was referring
to the act of typing of ditto
masters. This one fingered
typist is barely capable of per-
forming that task. Had we been
requested to put more time into
grading or attending meetings,
my response would have been
identical.
I deeply regret that this mis-
interpretation has caused those
who provide us with crucial
administrative and secretarial
support to feel even more un-
dervalued than what would
otherwise be the case. I also
regret that the misunderstand-
ing has focussed attention away
from the overall aim of the ar-
ticle, which was to suggest
that in regards to compensation
and working conditions, both
TA's and clerical workers are of
low priority at this University.
Finally, a minor correction.
There is a maximum of 35
students per section.
-David Gray
October 4
Respect
uprising,
To the Daily:
The Palestinian people, in a
single, unified voice, have put
the world on notice that their
struggle for the achievement of
self-determination and state-
hood can no longer be ignored
or denied. The Palestinian's
determination to remain stead-
fast in their homeland, despite
massacres, deportations and the
very denial of their existence,
is the most heroic form of re-
sistance to subjugation, and
must be honored as such.
It is within this context that
I attended the General Union of
Palestinian Students' October
4th ceremony on the Diag,
which was described in the
Daily as nothing more than a
two-hour shouting match. It is
imperative, however, that the
University community under-
stand the actual intention be-
hind this event, which was to
mourn the victims of the 1982
Israeli-orchestrated massacre of
untold numbers of Palestinian
refugees in Beirut, and at the
same time to pay tribute to
these refugees' compatriots in
the Gaza Strip and the West
Bank who for ten months have
been carrying out a popular
Uprising against Israeli
occupation.
As compassionate and free-
dom-loving human beings, we
must all demand both an end to
the attempted erasure of the';
Palestinian people, and the re- t
alization of their demands for
and inalienable rights to self-
determination and statehood.
-Daniel Kohns
October 20
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DEPAZUEt.TOF Et1aaw URANIUM WASM DUMP
Commend
MSA
decision
To the Daily:
On Monday, October 17, the
Daily printed a letter in which
Mary Lynn Mefford claimed,
"CCF has never supported ha-
tred of gays and lesbians nor
does the song", referring to
Mike Deasy's diag performance
of "God Hates Queer and So
Do I" on September 27, 1988.
She also implied that Mike
Deasy and the CCF hate ho-
mosexuality and not homosex-
uals. Doesn't Ms. Mefford
realize if one hates homosexu-
ality, one hates who a homo-
sexual is? It seems to me that
hating a person's identity is the
same as hating the person.
Ms. Mefford's assertion that
"...the song was in poor taste
and the entire incident is
regrettable" is quite an under-
statement. The display of bla-
tant discrimination that took
place on September 27 is
nothing less than shocking and
disgusting. In addition, I find it
sad to see the First Amendment
used merely as a tool to aid at-
tempts at legal discrimination.
I, for one, commend the
MSA for making an intelligent
decision by withdrawing
recognition of the CFF and
taking an important step in
ending discrimination against
lesbians and gays at the Uni-
versity of Michigan.
-Jennifer L. Bashore
October 19
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