Ninety-nine years of editorial freedom Vol. IC, No. 102 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Wednesday, February 22, 1989 Copyright 1989. The Michigan Daily Protestors Students question editorial policy say Daily is anti -Jewish BY LISA FROMM About 200 students and faculty, protesting what they called the Daily's anti-Jewish editorial policy, demanded an explanation for recent Daily editorials yesterday during a rally in front of the Student Publications Building. "The Michigan Daily expends much of its time labeling others as racist, always quick to condemn," first-year law student Ted Deutch told the crowd during the 45-minute rally. "We ask that the Daily now look within itself. This time, the Daily should condemn its own anti- Jewish racism." Chanting "Print facts not slander" and "Pint the news don't bait the Jews," the protesters marched from Regents' Plaza to the Student Publications Building, where the Daily's offices are located. But Daily Opinion Page Editor Amy Harmon, a Residential College junior, said many of the protesters were mistaking the Daily's stance against Zionism for anti-Semitism. "The distinction people are failing to make is the difference between Judaism and Zionism," she said. "We are critical of Israel's policies. We are not anti-Jewish." In response to the protest, the Daily has set up a panel of six edi- tors, who will meet March 9 with Jewish leaders on campus "in an at- tempt to understand and analyze their grievances," according to a Daily press release. "We will listen to their con- cerns," said Daily Editor in Chief Adam Schrager, a Residential Col- lege junior. "Then we will talk about whether any changes will be made internally." The Daily's unsigned editorials represent a majority of its Editorial Board. Opinion Page staff members must attend the two weekly board meetings, while the rest of the staff may attend the meetings if they choose to do so. Protesters cited three recent Daily editorials that have criticized Zion- ism and Israel's conduct in the Mid- dle East as reasons for the protest. A Nov. 1 editorial, titled "Kahane Ban Token," said, "The original premise of Zionism is that Jews and non-Jews are incapable of living to- gether harmoniously since non-Jews are inherently anti-Semites... The racist aspects of Zionism are un- abated in the present day." LSA senior Brad Kurtzberg, one of five protest organizers, said the demonstration was held to criticize "editorial policydating back to last semester," but he said the Nov. 1 editorial "sparked ideas that some- thing should be done about it." "The Michigan Daily's editorial board has... contributed to an atmo- sphere of bigotry toward Jews at the University of Michigan," according to the protesters' press release. History Prof. Todd Endelman, the director of the University's Judaic Studies Program, addressed the crowd. "We live in an imperfect world full of continual strife," he said. "The Daily is obsessed with Zion- ism; one would think that it's the only conflict going on between two groups."- "One might argue that (the Daily) couldn't be anti-Semitic because there are Jews on the editorial board," Endelman said. "There are always Jews who want to separate themselves from the Jewish com- munity." A group of students and faculty protest outside the Studentl publishing anti- Jewish editorials. s.T p aFStCA GREENEDalI Publications Building yesterday. The group accused the Daily's edit board of MSA( BY ALEX GORDON Money. The Michigan Student Assembly's got it, but it won't for long if the assembly continues the precedent set at its last two meetings. At last night's meeting, the Assembly doled out more than $13,000 out of its general fund to various campus groups. These allocations came on the heels of MSA President Mike Phillips' announcement last week that the assembly has a surplus of approximately $50,000 in its general fund. Phillips, however, said the representatives have "been mostly responsible" about how they allocate the money. He attributed the large number of requests for funding directly to the surplus. "We allocated a lot of money for ~pens 'rea sure Groups flock to get funds from surplus chest' good things. We really are benefitting a lot of students around campus," said Rackham Rep. Corey Dolgan. "Because the assembly, and specifically the executive officers, have done such a good job managing the budget this year, we were able to fund a lot of important projects." But Engineering Rep. Aaron Williams said he was upset by the assembly's actions. He felt many of the groups that came for funding were ones that in the past "would never, ever approach MSA". "When the chance for allotment for all these other groups comes up to (the Budget Priorities Committee), there isn't going to be any money left; that's not right," Williams said. The BPC allocates funds to student groups regularly through hearings in front of an eight-member panel. Last weekend, BPC allocated $9,000 to student organizations. The Assembly potentially could have given away even more money, but Engineering Rep. John Coleman, noting the number of MSA .members who had left the meeting, called for quorum. A call for quorum stipulates that at least 23 of MSA's 44 members be present. If a quorum is not present, the meeting may continue, but no official business can be conducted. - "I wanted to protect the rights of all the students concerned," Coleman said. "It's important to follow the rules; if there's not enough people there, there's not proper input." The assembly gave the Peace and Justice Committee $7,847 to fund programs, including $4,000 for four students to travel to the University of El Salvador. The committee had requested an additional $5,000 for "aid from MSA for books and other school supplies," but assembly members voted against the additional aid. The students "pay us money to work on issues directly" related to them, Williams said in' defense of cutting the original proposal for Salvadoran aid. In addition, the reconvened University Council received $2,100 to help pay the salary of a council mediator and for room < fees. Iran recalls European diplomats BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Iran recalled all its ambassadors from European Economic Commu- nity nations while Britain expelled an Iranian envoy yesterday, escalat- ing diplomatic tensions over Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's death threats against author Salman Rushdie. In supporting the retaliatory measures taken by the European countries, President Bush condemned. Khomeini's death decree as "deeply offensive to the norm of civilized behavior" and warned that Tehran would be responsible for actions against American interests. Iranian parliament speaker Hashemi Rafsanjani called the EEC move "a big mistake." "The EEC decision... is a clear sign which proves that the issue of this blasphemous book... is a plot designed by Western imperialism to fight true Islam, " Rafsanjani said. Although Rafsanjani was not quoted as endorsing the death sen- tence, his comments indicated Ira- nian leaders were closing ranks in the face of retaliation for Khomeini's death call. Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency said the diplomatic recall was in response to Monday's decision by the 12 nations of the EEC to withdraw their envoys from Tehran for consultations. Grad. students allege police harassment, demand apology BY LIZ PAIGE AND PATRICK ST AIG ER Two Black University graduate students, ordered out of a Detroit suburb by two white police officers last week, demanded a full investigation and public apologies yesterday from the city's mayor, po- lice department, and the two officers. While conducting research for the University on Feb. 11, Rackham graduate students William Neal and Bobby Clark said they were stopped, harassed, and ordered out of the pre- dominantly white Allen Park neigh- borhood without legal cause. "Both William and I are totally outraged by this incident and this injustice," Clark said in yesterday's press conference in the Michigan Union Pendleton Room. "Why should two citizens, of any race, be denied their freedom and right as Americans to walk down any street they choose without being subjected to such harassment? "Moreover, why does the fear of African Americans, particularly the Black male, continue to exist in white neighborhoods?" Allen Park City Administrator Dick Hubert said Mayor Gerald Richards will respond today to the students and to a letter sent to the mayor by University President James Duderstadt last week. He said the mayor would not comment until he knew more about the incident. Allen Park Police Chief John McKeever acknowledged the incident yesterday, but said he would not re- lease the names of the two officers because the "implication that they had done something wrong" would then exist. He said he was not aware of the demands for an apology. The two students had been partic- ipating in the 1989 Detroit Area Study (DAS), a research project that has been carried out in the Detroit metropolitan area with University cooperation since 1951. Clark and Williams had been listing the addresses of homes in the Detroit area for future research when the police stopped them. University Political Science Prof. Steve Rosenstone, who works with the DAS study team, said Clark and Williams were two of 32 students conducting such research in the De- troit area. "There were 17 pairs of students and it only happened in Allen Park to two Black men. Race is an obvious concern here," Rosen- stone said. The students said the officers ap- proached them at about 2:30 p.m., saying a resident had called the po- lice. When the officers asked them what they were doing, the students said they showed them their Univer- sity photo identification badges and a copy of a DAS letter previously sent to the police chief informing local police of their research activities. "We showed them the letter. They glanced at it. It is two pages and'. they didn't even turn the page. Then. they told us to leave the area," Neal said. See Police, Page 2 JESSICA GREENE/Daily Bobby Clark, a Rackham student, speaks yesterday at a press confer- ence in the Michigan Union. He and fellow graduate student William Neal said Allen Park police demanded that the two leave the area in which they were conducting a University-sponsored study. 'U' begins minority journalism workshop BY VERA SONGWE Minority students may have more opportuni- ties to pursue journalism careers through the University's Communication department, due to a new program instituted by three local universi- ties. This summer, minority high school juniors and seniors will participate in a two-week jour- nalism workshop at the University. The work- shop will offer classroom instruction, guest School of Journalism. "The newspaper industry has to be perceived by minorities as a place in which they could work." "This issue is a good example that the three major universities can bind with the media around an important issue and to help an impor- tant problem," Soffin said. "The percentage of minorities in journalism is very low," said Marion Marzolf, associate chair of the University's Communications Department "The goal of the American Association of Speak out fo News Editors is to try by the year 2000 to have on racism. the same percentage of minorities in the news- See room as there are in the community," said Marzolf. Blues singer Soffin agreed, saying, "This can't be done un- toight. less students are attracted to these carriers before they get into college and this is the major goal of Zac Pease this program." Midhian wr