Prof. discusses Blacks'
roles in writing, academia
The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 14, 1989 - Page 3
Bill may protect
rape survivors
BY HEATHER HUNT
Relating his experiences as a student, professor,
and newspaper editor and publisher, visiting Prof.
Robert Chrisman discussed Blacks' roles in academia
and journalism last night at the Frieze building.
Chrisman, editor and publisher of Black Scholar,
addressed the University's chapter of the National
Association of Black Journalists. To a crowd of 15
students, the University of California-Berkeley English
professor stressed the importance in all forms of
.writing - both with literature and newspapers.
Chrisman said the newspaper "is a valuable
experience because it forces one to write a quantity on
demand."
"There is a myth that writing is a divine and final
word," he said "Indeed good writing comes from
writing and rewriting."
He also compared journalism to literature, saying
journalism is a clearer and more direct form of writing.
"The essence, the jewels of classical literature are
covered probably within 20 pages," said Chrisman of
Shakespeare. He added that "studying these lines is
probably not realistic. It won't give you normative
insight."
In relating his experiences, he discussed a 1969
movement at San Francisco State College, where he
once taught. During that time, he said, students
opposed the introduction of a Black history
curriculum. There was a six-month long strike by
both students and faculty who opposed the curriculum,
the longest strike in collegiate history. The San
Francisco State College resolution implemented a
school of Ethnic Studies whose program embodied a
representative proportion of each ethnic group.
Chrisman explained that after this strike, a rash of
strikes throughout American colleges broke out. The
reason there was protest against the curriculum was
because they didn't want the realities of Black
oppression to be taught.
In the early 1970s, Christian said, books about
Black history became a big trend, with the intention of
further explaining Blacks' history and agenda. With the
advent of television in the '50s, Black scholars saw a
necessity to elaborate on news blips of Black events.
The NABJ, which sponsored Chrisman's speech,
was initiated last September and welcomes new
members.
tY LAURA COUNTS
Rape survivors must struggle
with emotional and physical trauma
for the rest of their lives, but they
may also face a more formal sen-
tence - defamation of character
suits.
"There isn't a single person who
comes in for counseling who doesn't
say, 'I'm afraid to report it to the
police because I may get sued for
defamation of character,"' said Julie
Steiner, director of the Sexual As-
sault Prevention and Awareness
Center.
In recent Ann Arbor and Colorado
cases, the defendant in a rape trial
has filed a civil suit against the sur-
vivor for defamation of character.
The purpose of the suits, said
Steiner, are to harass the victim into
dropping charges.
To stop what Steiner fears may
become a trend, legislation has been
introduced by state Rep. William
Van Regenmorter (R-Jenison) and
Sen. William Faust (D-Westland).
Their bill would prohibit a defen-
dant. in a criminal sexual conduct
trial from filing a civil suit against
the accuser until the criminal trial is
completed.
"Nothing will totally eliminate
the trauma a victim faces in the
prosecution of the case," said Karen
Hammond, an attorney for Van Re-
genmorter. "All we hope to do is
make it less difficult."
The bill, introduced to the Senate
on Feb. 8, was sparked in part by a
case last year when former Univer-
sity student Griffith Neal filed a
slander suit against the woman who
accused him of raping her in his fra-
ternity house. The charges, however,
were dropped last June.
The bill is intended to stop attor-
neys from using a civil suit as a way
of getting around Michigan's Rape
Shield Law, said Nancy Maciag,
special assistant to Faust. The Rape
Shield Law prohibits questions
about the victim's sexual past -
with anyone other than the defendant
- from being discussed during a
criminal trial, but not a civil case.
"When you go through discovery
in a civil case, you can ask questions
about sexual history which you can't
in a criminal case under the Rape
Shield Act," said Maciag.
"The legal system is supposed to
be used as a forum to resolve dis-
putes and discover truth. Lawsuits
are not supposed to be used as a
method of intimidation," said Ham-
mond.
Hearings on the bill, currently in
the Senate Judiciary Committee,
have not yet been scheduled and pre-
dictions on whether it will pass
vary.
Kevin Kraushaar, an attorney for
the Senate Judiciary Committee, said
some opposition may focus on
technical problems, such as the exact
wording of the bill, and questions on
whether it violates due process.
Chrisman
Visiting Professor speaks on
Blacks in Academia...
MSA hopefuls 'turn up heat' at debate
BY ALEX GORDON
Students vying for the Michigan
*Student Assembly's two top spots
debated last night at the Union, try-
ing to shed further light on the cam-
paign's issues while making their
party stand out.
The most lively exchanges of the
evening came as the candidates took
advantage of a rebuttal period -
sandwiched between two rounds of
questions from panelists - to trade
personal barbs.
Student Power presidential candi-
date Julie Murray used her entire five
minutes to question Rob Bell of the
Students' Choice party on the issues
of racism and fiscal responsibility.
She questioned Bell's ability to cope
with racial incidents because of his
role in rescinding an MSA resolu-
tion to punish the pro-Israeli group
Tagar for the alleged racist slogan
"stop Arab terrorism" which ap-
peared on the organization's model
bus in the Diag last fall.
Bell said earlier that Tagar did not
have the "intent to discriminate" and
called the actions Tagar took imme-
diately after the incident "commend-
able." He accused Murray and her
vice presidential candidate Ahmar
Iqbal of taking advantage of the
incident to "make it the Arab-Israeli
conflict on MSA."
Frederika Bashir, the United Stu-
dents (US) vice presidential candi-
date, criticized all three parties in her
closing remarks, standing behind the
slogan it's "them against US."
Bashir said she saw a contradic-
tion between the Conservative
Coalition party's pledge of increas-
ing minority recruitment and its op-
position to a "diversity" graduation
requirement. She said Conservative
Coalition wants to get minorities
"in here" and if they can't deal with
the University, "the hell with it."
Aaron Williams, the Conserva-
tive Coalition's presidential candi-
date, promised that his party would
work to implement a Korean lan-
guage program, the only candidate to
take such a stance. Vice presidential
candidate Rose Karadsheh accused the
other parties of "waving flags" about
women
ets.
or minorities on their tick-
"We are not going to discrimi-
nate," said Karadsheh. "We are color-
blind. We want to see you as you
are."
Murray, in her opening remarks,
said there is "an institutional prob-
lem with MSA that women and mi-
norities just aren't getting involved."
After being allowed to participate
in the first debate last Thursday,
Jesse Walker, a candidate for LSA
rep. from the Abolitionist Party,
said he was "angry" that he was not
allowed to participate in the yester-
day's forum.
Four officers charged
with obstruction of law
People not 'hooked' on welfare, study finds
BY DIANE COOK
Contrary to the popular stereo-
type that the welfare system in our
:ountry is stagnating, researchers say
the social supplemental income pro-
grams are, for the most part, work-
ing.
"Most people are on welfare (Aid
to Families with Dependent Children
(AFDC), for example) for short pe-
riods of time, usually one to one and
a half years," said Peter Gottschalk,
a professor of economics at Boston
University. "It's a safety net."
University of .Michigan re-
searchers have come to similar con-
1,usions about welfare. Since 1968,
a team at the Institute for Social
Research has been following the
,conomic successes and failures of a
representative sample of 5,000
American families on a study called
the Panel Study of Income Dynam-
ics (PSID).
According to their findings, less
than 8 percent of welfare recipients,
r 2 percent of the U.S. population,
were persistently dependent on wel-
fare (AFDC, general assistance, and
supplemental security income fund-
ing).
Martha Hill, a PSID principle
investigator and University associate
research scientist, has done consider-
able inquiry on the trends of the
children of welfare recipients, based
on the PSID findings.
"Further work is showing quite a
bit of inter-generational change.
There is a link, but not anywhere
near the stereotype," said Hill.
The state Department of Social
Services confirms these optimistic
trends.
"A good portion of people are on
(the AFDC) for a short time because
of a loss of job or a change in
household structure. They use it for
what it was originally designed for,"
said Knud Hansen, assistant to the
Director of Social Services.
Hansen's statistics, based on
point-in-time measures, showed sig-
nificant drops in AFDC recipients.
For example, the average of any
given month for the number of re-
cipients in Michigan in 1983 was
273,900. This figure steadily de-
clined to the 1988 average of
212,900.
In that same time period, 71.5
percent of the recipients were active
cases for less than three years.
"We have been in economic re-
covery for six years. In the mid-80s,
the caseload would be longer because
of the job market," Hansen said.
"From 1982 to 1988 we have had a
continual drop in caseloads. We have
seen no such percentages since the
30s. This signifies the economic re-
covery is here."
NILES, Mich (AP)-Three Niles
police officers were arraingned
yesterday on charges they attempted
to plant marijuana on a suspect
under investigation for drug
1possession, Berrien County officials
said.
"It's a serious matter,"County
Prosecutor Paul Maloney said.
"When police officers are suspected
of criminal activity it deserves to be
brought to the attention of the courts
and in this instance it will be."
Lt. Scott Campbell, 33, and offi-
cers William Veal, 27 and Richard
Huff, 26, were arraigned before 6th
District Judge Daniel Dela in St.
Joseph on charges of conspiracy to
commit a legal act in an illegal
manner, Maloney said.
Campbell and Veal also were ar-
raigned on conspiracy to obstruct
justice charges, the prosecutor said.
Each man faces a maximum five
years in prison if convicted.
as long as Palestinian
culture is suppressed...
BOYC OTT
the Israeli Philharmonic
Orchestra's performance,
JOIN US IN A
CANDLE LIGHT VIGIL
to protest Israel's denial of
Palestinian human rights
place: HILL AUDITORIUM
time: Marc 14, 7:00pm
-paid by PSC-
HA PPY
BICYCLE JIM'S
2 P
R
I X
M-F 3-6 pm
HOUR
1301 S. University
Ux
THE
LIST
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
Speakers
"The American Communist Party:
From Revolution to Stalinism" _
Revolutionary History Series, B118
MLB, 7 pm.
"How Can You Tell if a Machine is
Thinking?" - Donald Davidson,
UCLA, Berkeley, Rackham Assem-
bly Hall, 4 pm. Reception follow-
ing, 1512 Rackham.
"Politics and Creative Literature
;Under Apartheid" - Dr. Es'kia
Mphahlele, University of
Witswatersrand, Angell Hall, Rm.
C, 4 pm.
"Islam and Artistic Freedom in
Malaysia" - Mohd Anis Md Nor,
200 Lane Hall, 7 pm.
"The Rise and the Fall" - Piotr S.
Wandycz, Yale University, 250
Hutchins Hall, Law School, 8 pm.
"Improvement of Calcium Trans-
port in Sarcoplasmic Reticulum by
Exercise Training of Senescent
Rats", March 15, 1989 - Charlotte
Tate, Ph.D., Baylor College of
Medecine, 1033 Dental School, Sm.
Aud. Kellogg Bldg., 12:10-1 pm.
Meetings
Huron Valley Spebsqsa Chapter -
Union, 8 pm.
Furthermore
Book Release Party for Donald
Mager - Poetry Resource Center,
7-8:30 pm.
Office of Minority Affairs Presents
Fireside Chat II - Kuenzel Rm.,
Michigan Union, 3-5 pm. Talk to
Dean of School about recruitment
and retention efforts.
Jewish Learning Center Mini-
Course in the Wisdom Tradition in
Israel - Rabbi Robert Levy, Hillel,
7:30-8:30 pm.
Palestine Solidarity Committee
Sponsors a Candlelight Vigil -
Hill Aud., 7 pm. Held on the per-
formance of the Israeli
Philharmonic to protest Israeli
human rights violations.
Peer Writing Tutors - 611
Church St. Computing Center, 7-
11 pm. ECB trained.
Northwalk - Sun-Thur, 9 pm-1
am. Call 763-WALK or stop by
3224 Bursley.
Safewalk - Sun-Thur, 8 pm-1:30
am; Fri-Sat, 8-11:30 pm. Call 936-
1000 or stop by 102 UGLi.
Fnlmnvpr Prptn.,toi, t Vntr.. R
Resume
Service
For high quality resumes,
matching cover sheets and
envelopes, depend on Kinko's,
the copy center.
U U. - m -in
rt..l
, :;
. ,
I - -- I ~. Sa
i
I f
I