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OPINION
Tenants: Know your rights!
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ARTS
Ted Lange: The driving force
behind Miss Daisy
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SPORTS
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Women's Crew team finishes 5th
in "Bean" town.
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Ninety-nine years of editorial freedom
Vol. C, No. 35 Ann Arbor, Michigan -Tuesday, October 24, 1989
State may
redefine
obscenity
by Noelle Vance
Daily Government Reporter
Students employed by stores that distribute porno-
graphic materials could be charged with a felony if the
state legislature passes a bill redefining obscenity.
Senate Bill No. 330, introduced by Michigan State
Senator Harmon Cropsey (R-Decatur) is one of 12
pornography bills being considered by House and Sen-
ate committees in Lansing.
Students and state residents, including several video
store owners, debated the bill at a public hearing in the
Ann Arbor City Chambers yesterday. The Bill, an
amended version of the 1984 state obscenity law,
would specifically redefine obscenity to include "hard-
core materials."
Hard-core, as described by the bill, would include
any material that "lacks serious literary, artistic, polit-
ical, or scientific value," and includes visible sexual
penetration or ejaculation, visible bestiality, or use of
a sexual device when penetration is visible.
Unlike the current law, which uses "contemporary
community standards" to define obscenity, the new bill
would make obscenity into a "sex-laundry list," said
David Cahill, assistant to Perry Bullard (D-Ann Ar-
bor).
"It gets around the fact that contemporary commu-
nity standards around the country accept the adult
video," he said.
But the co-sponsor of the bill, Frederick Dilling-
* ham (R-Fowlerville), disagreed, saying Michigan
communitees want more control over "the porn shops
popping up on their streets."
The people against the bill "have a v.sted interest
in marketing pornography. They're afraid they'll lose
sales (if the bill is passed)," he added.
Student members of the University's College
Democrats opposed See OBSCENITY, page 2
Williams fails to
kill commission
Drive to challenge Peace and
Justice's activities falls short
by Josh Mitnick the commission only focused on issues involv-
Daily MSA Reporter ing third world nations - issues which he
An attempt sponsored by Michigan Student claimed were irrelevant to most students.
Assembly President Aaron Williams to let stu- "At least 50 percent of students here don't
dents vote on the future of the Assembly's care about what's going on around the world,"
Peace and Justice Commission failed yesterday. he said. "If you start addressing some issues
Williams began circulating a petition last that affect a small portion of the campus, then
Wednesday which would have placed a proposal there's a large portion of students you won't be
on the election ballot this November to delete reaching."
the Peace and Justice Commission from the
MSA constitution.
However, the effort died when the petitionl
fell short of the necessary 1,000 signatures re-
quired to place a proposal on the ballot by yes-
terday's deadline of 5:00 p.m.l
Williams said that by sponsoring the peti-
tion drive, he was following through on a;
campaign promise he made last March to have
the assembly concentrate on campus issues.;
During last year's election, Williams and,
his party, the Conservative Coalition, claimed
that the Peace and Justice Commission's activ-
ities did not benefit the majority of the student
body. Commission sponsorship of observer
missions to El Salvador and the West Bank
were cited as a misuse of student funds.
Peace and Justice chair Ingrid Fey claimed
no distinction could be made between campus
and non-campus issues. "In a university of this
size, people can't limit their scope. There are
certain issues that extend beyond the bound-
aries of the university," she said.
Yesterday, Williams repeated charges that
By not communicating his intentions to
Fey and other assembly leaders, Williams has
provoked sharp criticism of his political tact.
Fey said she was more angered. by
Williams' political tactics than his actual op-
position to her committee. She said the peti-
tion was done behind her back and she was in-
formed of it through the MSA grapevine last
Friday.
Calling the move a "stab in the back", Fey
added, "There's all this talk about creating
unity within MSA. But that would be impos-
sible with all this politicking going on behind
people's backs."
While acknowledging that his tactics were
political, Williams explained that he sponsored
the petition as "Aaron Williams, student" and
not "Aaron Williams, MSA President." He
added that if the proposal had made it onto the
ballot he wouldn't have campaigned for or
against it.
However, in an appeal to students over the
Michigan Terminal System (MTS), Williams'
comments on the Peace and Justice Committee
were far from apolitical. See MSA, page 5
Pumpkins for philanthropy
Chi Omega and Fiji hold their annual pumpkin sale to raise money for the
National Institute for Burn Medicine in Ann Arbor.
Engineering sophomore, Rich Naha and LSA sophomore, Amy Plafchan
encourage others to buy pumpkins and support their cause.
Financial aid is key to minority recruitment, report says
By Marion Davis
Daily Minority Issues Reporter
"Financial aid is critical for mi-
nority students. Although aid is a
major factor affecting the enrollment
decisions of all students, it is partic-
ularly important for underrepresented
minorities..."
This comes from a 1984 discus-
sion paper on undergraduate minority
enrollment, recruitment and financial
aid, which suggests the University
will have to increase financial aid for
minority students in order to main-
tain and reach projected levels of mi-
nority enrollment.
The report was written by Niara
Sudarkasa, the former associate vice
president for Academic Affairs. Su-
darkasa is now president of Lincoln
University in Pennsylvania.
When sufficient support is not
available, the paper said, even the
best students can be forced to leave
the University for lower-priced
community colleges.
The report pointed out several
shortcomings in the financial aid
process which prevent more accurate
evaluations of applicants' situations.
Few of these shortcomings have
been addressed since the report was
compiled five years ago.
For example, in cases where a
family's income level has recently
risen, the previous level is not taken
into consideration. A family which
has seen a given earning level for 20
years is treated the same as a family
which has been at that level for two
years.
"I really don't think they take
things into account that are put on
the application," said LSA senior
David Maurrasse, a financial aid re-
cipient. "They just look at things on
the surface."
Maurrasse said that since he has
been at the University, the makeup
of his financial aid package has con-
tinued to change. He said he found
himself receiving "less money but
more loans and work study instead of
grants. I complained, and they gave
me more loans, which puts me in
debt."
The analysis used by the gov-
ernment to determine eligibility for
federal aid is used at the University
in determining eligibility for institu-
tional aid. The formula used does not
take individual circumstances into
consideration.
Robert Douglas, student advisor
for the Comprehensive Studies Pro-
gram (CSP), said CSP recently con-
ducted a phone survey to determine
how many of the minority students
admitted into the University would
actually attend.
"A significant percentage who
were not coming to the University
decided to go to other places because
they got better scholarships and fi-
nancial aid packages," Douglas said.
The Opportunity Program, which
was combined with CSP, is a finan-
cial aid program targeted toward mi-
nority students. Changes made in
1980 to the Opportunity Program
were cited as having contributing to
the enrollment decline of Black stu-
dents. In 1980-81, the program,
which is a main source of funding
for minority students, ceased to pro-
vide a gift aid maximum equal to the
cost of attending the University.
Financial Aid's response to Su-
darkasa's report said the intent of
this change was to enable Opportu-
nity Program students, particularly
those who did not have time to
work, to acquire job experience
through work study. In fact, how-
ever, the loan or parental contribu-
tion to the Program's financial aid
package often had to increase.
The report also recommended is-
suing additional information
brochures to address the concerns of
minority students and emphasize the
aid that is available. For example,
current financial aid brochures fail to
mention a four-year scholarship of-
fered to in-state students who qualify
for it.
Enrollment statistics for minority
first-year students show a marked de-
crease during the periods in which
the Opportunity grant funding was
reduced and a corresponding increase
during the periods in which the Op-
portunity grant funding increased.
Earthquake rescue
crews give
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Earthquake
survivor Buck Helm improved yesterday but
crews searching the collapsed highway where
he was rescued gave up hope others would be
found alive. The confirmed death toll from last
week's earthquake climbed by two to 61.
Bay area commuters, meanwhile, conquered
heavy traffic and rough seas on the first full
workday since the quake.
"We're very certain nobody's up there alive.
We've searched, searched, researched, triple-
searched," said Oakland Police Lt. Kris Wraa,
referring to the crumpled 14-mile stretch of in-
terstate 880 where huge slabs of concrete
teetered in the rain.
Asked if officials had given up hope of find-
ing another survivor, she said, "That's fair
wording."
With rescue efforts suspended, crews began
dismantling a shaky 100-yard section, officials
said.
Kyle Nelson of the California Department
of Transportation, whose job is to make sure
the structure was safe for rescuers, called it ex-
tremelv dangerous. "Given the right conditions
up search
twice the normal load and ferry passengers had
to stomach rough seas and whipping winds,
but there was little of the feared gridlock on the
roads.
"I've just been through hell, but heck, I
have to admit I made it through it," said JohnN
Trowbridge, a commuter who normally would
have driven across the Bay Bridge but instead
rode a ferry that lurched constantly, battling
swells that washed across the tip of the boat.
Calif. asks for
more quake aid
WASHINGTON (AP) - California law-
makers pressed for $3.8 billion in earthquake
aid yesterday, more than $1 billion above the
White House figure, as federal relief legislation
began a race through Congress.
All sides said they expected compromise,
with relatively little haggling about amounts
or arguments about where the money would
Hungary
proclaims
democracy
BUDAPEST - Hungary declared itself a democracy
yesterday, 33 years after Soviet troops crushed an anti-
Stalinist uprising, and chants of "Russians go home!"
and "Communism no more!" rose from a crowd of
100,000.
Hungarian flags of red, white and green waved over
the throng, which overflowed the Parliament square.
People cheered wildly in the torch-lit plaza when partic-
ipants in the uprising invoked memories of its leaders.
"It took 33 years for those behind the thick walls to
hear the cries" for democracy, Jenoe Fonay told the
rally, referring to the recent official change of heart
about the nature of the 12-day revolt that began October
23, 1956.
The Soviet bloc's bloodiest uprising was called
counterrevolution until early this year, when the official
description was changed to a popular uprising in one of
the dramatic moves in Hungary's progress toward
democracy.
As many as 32,000 people were killed in 1956 and
about 200,000 fled the country.
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