The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 11, 1989 - Page 3 Officials seek suggestions on r... fighting racism BY MARION DAVIS In response to recent racist attacks on campus, two University officials yesterday invited student leaders to an open discussion about the inci- dents. The meeting - organized by Provost and Vice President for Aca- demic Affairs Charles Vest and Mu- sic School Dean Paul Boylan, the head of the newly-created Task Force on Safety and Security - will take place Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Pond Room of the Michigan Union. The students invited to the forum were selected from the list of student organizations recognized by Michi- gan Student Assembly. In addition, members of the faculty's Senate Ad- visory Committee on University Affairs (SACUA), also received a copy of the letter. The letter, which began circulat- ing yesterday, said "if our commu- nity of students can be enlisted in this mission, surely we can make significant progress in our goal of liberating the campus of the scourge of racism," Vest said the meeting will pro- vide a way for the faculty and stu- dents to make make sure "these incidents don't go on happening." The letter labeled the recent inci- dents as "disgraceful behavior," and asked for assistance "in formulating proposals and programs which are responsive to these incidents." "The idea is mainly to get some student input and suggestions," said Kay Dawson, an assistant to Vest. Although Dawson said there is an invited list, other interested students may come. "There is a limitation on space, but it's not a closed meeting," she said. MSA President Aaron Williams, an engineering junior, applauded the administration's desire to include student input in dealing with the in- cidents. "It's always best to get stu- dent input on everything," he said. Williams said he would like to see an official mechanism or policy developed for handling incidents such as the distribution of racist fliers. "I'm lost as to what we can actually do about the fliers because, we don't have a set policy," he said. "There needs to be more than (the Univer- sity saying) 'We will be investigat- ing it."' At a press conference last Thurs- day, students demanded that the Uni- versity publicize procedures for and results of investigations dealing with racial incidents. "It's not just a minority prob- lem," Williams said, "it's a problem for everyone." DAVID LUBLINER/Daily IS CRISP for kids? Like every other returning student, Rackham graduate student Mary Locke lines up to CRISP for next year's classes yesterday. Her Student Verification Form-less children, Sara (left) and Jona, get some early scheduling lessons. Mayor calls for committee to consider city charter overhaul MSU paper to continue column BY DIANE COOK With wire reports Although Michigan State University's student newspaper does not condone comments made by Economics Prof. Patrick "Lash" Larrowe last week, the paper's Edi- tor-in-Chief said Larrowe's weekly column will continue to run. The State News decided not to print Larrowe's column last week so its staff could decide how to handle the issue. The column was not pulled for its content, State News Editor-in-Chief Kelley Root said yesterday. Larrowe came under fire last Thursday, when he responded to a Detroit television reporter's question why Black students seem to be un- derrepresented in his labor law class. Larrowe replied, "You won't find too many Black students in a class as tough as this." He later publicly apologized for the "profoundly stupid" remark, which he says actually meant "(to) convey the idea that affirmative ac- tion is not working - that they're here when they're not qualified." "I didn't mean to convey that they're not capable and they're not qualified," Larrowe said. The State News printed an opin- ion feature yesterday, along with a formal written apology for the re- mark written by Larrowe. "No amount of defense or praise can erase the insensitive and ap- palling comment... But Larrowe de- serves the same right we all have - to make a mistake, admit it, and apologize," the State News editorial said. Larrowe's comment, which fol- lowed MSU President John DiBiag- gio's announcement that anyone in- volved in racist activity of any sort would be reprimanded, has outraged some minority student groups. "We agree that it was a pro- foundly stupid comment to make. But evaluation of this poor judgment has to be out of context with his overall record," said John Denbow, a spokesperson for DiBiaggio. "We appreciate Professor Larrowes expe- ditious and accurate apology. Larrowe said yesterday he under- stands such a comment can't be tol- erated, adding that a fine or a letter of reprimand on his record might be See MSU, Page 5 Hairstyling to Please! 6 Barber Stylists- No waiting DASCOLA STYLISTS Correction Julius Lester is a professor at the University of Massachusetts. He was misidentified in yesterday's Daily. THE LIST What's happening in Ann Arbor today Speakers Lecture on the Savings and Loan Crisis - 1310 Kresge, 5- 6:30 pm. 'fSports on ,,Trial: NCAA Regulations and Their En- forcement" - Dan Beebe, NCAA. Enforcement Committee, and Mark Slive,132 Hutchins Hall, Law School, 4 pm. "Amphibolite Grade Defor- mation of Quartzo-Feld- spathic Rocks" - Carol Simpson, Johns Hopkins Uni- versity, 4001 C.C. Little, 4 pm. Coffee and cookies at 3:30 pm. "A Geometric Approach to Nonlinear Feedback Con- trol" - Prof. Arthur Krener, U.C. Davis, 1200 EECS, 4-5:30 pm. Black Music Lecture - Maurice Wheeler, Curator Detroit Public Library Repositiry of Afro- American Music, Hillel, 7:30 pm. Tagar General Meeting: "This Far Shore: Jewish Identity, the. Diaspora, and Israel" - Hillel, 7 pm. "Insights to the Dynamic Systems and Control Program" - Dr. Elbert L. Marsh, 2277 G.G. Brown, 3 pm. "Soviet Armenian Scholar- ship in the Armenian Diaspora" - Dr. Miriam Ter Gregoriants, 200 Lane Hall, 4 pm. "China's Automotive In- dustry and the Economic Reforms" - Prof. Kenneth Lieberthal, Lane Hall Commons, 12 noon. "Press Ethics and the First Amendment" - panel discussion with David Gergen, U.S. News & World Report, and Lee Bollinger, dean, Michigan Law School. 100 Hutchins Hall, 4 pm. "The Social Roots of the Palestinian Uprising" - Prof. Samih Farsoun. 116 Hutchins Hall, 7 pm. Meetings Lesbian and Gay Rights Organizing Committee - 3100 Michigan Union, 8 pm. Iranian Student Cultural Club - Rm. C, Michigan League, 7:30 Pm. Candlelight Vigil - to express concern over the recent oil spill in Alaska. Diag, 9:30 pm. BY NOAH FINKEL Ann Arbor Mayor Gerald Jernigan will formally call for an overhaul of the city's 1956 charter at next Mon- day's Ann Arbor City Council meeting. The city charter is a comprehen- sive document that outlines the city's governmental structure, laws, and election procedures. During last week's council meet- ing, Jernigan surprised city council members by initially proposing a resolution diagramming his plan to change the charter. "The charter is over 30 years old now," Jernigan said. "I want to go through it and see what has to be changed." Jernigan said a city committee should look at the possibilities of holding non-partisan elections, hav- ing council members run for at-large seats by removing ward boundaries, making the terms of council mem- bers concurrent rather than staggered, and extending the length of terms for the mayor and council members. Jernigan's resolution would establish a seven-member Charter Review Committee. The mayor would nominate the panel members subject to confirmation by the council. The committee would work with City Attorney Bruce Laidlaw to re- view the entire charter, draft the text of charter amendments as it sees fit, and submit a report to the council by December. The proposed changes would then be submitted to a city- wide vote next April. Presently, the city conducts This is not the first time a mayor has complained about some aspects of the city charter. Robert Harris, who served as mayor in the early 1970s, said he voiced complaints about neighbor- hood groups having too much clout. He said this may imply a problem with the ward system. But University Political Science Prof. Sam Eldersveld, who was mayor from 1957 to 1959, said the system worked well when he was mayor. "My own feeling is that it is still a pretty good system," he said. Eldersveld was the city's first mayor to serve under the present charter, which replaced the "commission system" that employed citizen boards and commissions to run the city. Eldersveld said that system re- sulted in people running the city who had the most interest, not those with the most ability, and in too much of a diffusion of authority. He said the present system is far supe- rior. "I wouldn't tinker with the sys- tem at all," he said. "Ann Arbor is a unique city with partisan ward elec- tions. (The system) is not responsi- ble for any breakdowns or prob- lems." Jernigan ...proposes charter overhaul partisan elections in which two council members are elected from each of the city's five wards. The mayor and council serve two-year terms, with half the council seats up every April. Jernigan, a Republican, said hav- ing council members run for terms concurrently would make the city council more efficient. Councilmember Liz Brater (D- Third Ward) echoed Jernigan's thought. "(The staggered system) re- sults in a very high turnover," she said. "That takes away from council efficiency." Jernigan also expressed a desire to revise the charter amendment that established a $5 fine for possession of marijuana, but said such a revi- sion would likely be defeated by the voters. opposite Jacobson's 668-9329 I NNW GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY All items for the weekday list must be mailed or delivered to us at 420 Maynard at least three days before your upcoming event. There will be no previews of any kind, and all items for Weekend Magazine must be delivered the Friday before publication. ,I Come Laugh With Us! SAUJG oRACK StandUp Comedy Features A Comedy Jam With: Jill Washburn Tim Herrod and Jim McClean With Student Comedian Dayv Gould a .f^ ,... SUMME R SESSIONS 1989 Programs at G;eorgetocn Q Over 200 graduate and undergraduate courses aI LI 0I 0I 0I DI LI OI Public Affairs Internships H igh School Programs Intercultural 'training Interpretation and 't'ranslation Institute Language Courses Theology Conference Iiterars (Criticism Conference Institute for I.S. Teachers Sacred Scripture Institute Alumni College English as a Foreign language Programs abroad L antmerp. Belgium- Int'l. trade L I ours, I rance- Language and Culture L Fiesole, Italy - Italian L Iillingen, Germane - Teachers L Greece-I lumanities L Oxford, England-Comparative Business (undergraduate) L Oxford. England -International lanagement (graduate) L Quito, Ecuador -Spanish STrier , West German -German Q Mdiddle East-ILI.S. Teachers i