. , ., .x ter, gym. , .-e : ap i *:-". ' i> .. ..' r wwu. «.. . .. Ord .., ... * E'ght is enough for 'M' p footbal! future Spring football gamL: A whit :,h * Women's softball takes out uroomns against NW °H i i ARTS * n t be afrid of the G, kinety-isrianai Ninety- nine years of editorial freedorn Vol. C, No. 137 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Monday, April 23, 1990 Copyriglt© 1990 The Mich;ian Daily . . .. .... . ............................. Pro-Iranian group frees U.S. hostage BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Pro- three U.S. educators held by the pro- Iranian kidnappers freed American Iranian Islamic Jihad for the Libera- hostage Robert Polhill yesterday tion of Palestine since Jan. 24, after holding him for nearly 39 1987. months. He was the first American The educators include Alann hostage to be freed in nearly 3-1/2 Steen, a native of Boston; Polhill of years. New York; and Jesse Turner of Witnesses said Polhill arrived in Boise, Idaho. They were kidnapped Damascus about three hours after he from the Beirut University College was released at 5:15 p.m. (11:15 campus by gunners disguised as po- a.m. EDT) near the Summerland Ho- lice officers. tel in Moslem west Beirut. He was In Libya, Col. Moammar Gadhafi handed over to U.S. Ambassador called for the release of hostages in Edward Djerejian at the Foreign an appeal to Moslems around the Ministry, Syrian sources said. world, the official Libyan news Terms of the release, which fol- agency JANA said in a dispatch lowed a series of communiques from about an hour after the reported re- the Shiite Moslem kidnappers, were lease. not known. "I urge, once again, all those who Brig. Gen. Ghazi Kenaan, head of are holding hostages to release them Syrian military intelligence in Le- in fulfillment and application of the banon, took delivery of the Ameri- tolerant Islamic principles," the can after he was set free near, wit- agency quoted Gadhafi as saying. nesses said on condition of The White House said a U.S. anonymity. plane would take Polhill to West There remain 17 Western Germany for debriefing and a medical hostages in Lebanon, including exam before he returns to the United seven Americans. States. Polhill, a professor of business "I'm very happy and grateful to studies and accounting, was one of See HOSTAGE, Page 2 Local group contests pot referendum Proposal B should not have been on ballot, says $5 Fine coalition by Josh Mitnick Daily City Reporter Ann Arborites caught in posses- sion of marijuana might still face only a $5 fine if a local citizen group is successful in challenging the legality of a referendum which raised penalties for marijuana pos- session. The Five Dollars is Fine Coali- tion - a citizen group which lob- bied against raising marijuana fines and for creating a zone of reproduc- tive freedom - claims a gubernato- rial veto of the referendum renders it null and void even though the city believes it overrode the veto last month. The group says because city over- rode Governor James Blanchard's veto of the referendum before it was actually issued, the veto still stands. Blanchard vetoed the referendum on March 26 because it did not change the city's charter to allow po- lice officers to prosecute cases of marijuana possession under state laws. Currently, all offenders must be prosecuted under local laws which are less severe than state and county laws. In Ann Arbor, the penalty for possession is a minimum $25 fine. The city can override gubernato- rial vetoes with a two-thirds vote. But Five dollars is Fine members said that the city had not received no- tice of an official veto when it voted on March 19. Instead, the council re- acted to a memo written by state At- torney General Frank Kelly advising the governor to issue a veto. Kelly stated his opinion in a memo to Blanchard on March 12. "The council was preemptive in their override," said Rich Birkett, a member of the National Organiza- See VETO, page 2 Earth Day Thousands in Washington take part in a world-wide celebration of Earth Day yesterday. See page 5 for more Earth Day coverage. More than 2,000 rally to take back the night Women march to make city's streets safe by Sarah Schweitzer; "Out of the houses and into the streets!" was one of the numerous chants heard in Ann Arbor Saturday night, as more than 2,000 women took to the streets as part of the 11th Annual "Take Back the Night" march and rally. The march, sponsored by the Ann Arbor Coalition Against Rape (AACAR), is held yearly to allow women to walk the streets of Ann Arbor in a large group, free from the fear of sexual assault. Before the march, a rally was held for both men and women on the steps of the Federal Building. The featured rally speaker was Dottie Jones, chair of the Michigan Women's Commission. Jones roused the crowd as she said it is a "violation of our civil rights not to be safe in our houses or our streets." Another speaker to move the crowd was a survivor of a sexual assault. Her name was "Anne." Anne told the crowd of the "confusion, pain, shame, and isolation" which she ex- perienced after her assault, and the "hopelessly tangled knot" she felt in her body. To loud boos and hisses from the crowd, Denise Taylor of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC) presented the "Sexism in Advertising Awards." The local winner was the Delta Upsilon fraternity which circulated a rush flyer which SAPAC claims used women to sell their fraternity Following the rally, the women marched through Ann Arbor for an hour and a half, covering most of the major campus and residential areas of Ann Arbor. Walking hand in hand, the 2,000 women could be heard loudly and clearly as they chanted such phrases as, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, rape and battery have got to go." At one point during the march, hundreds of women ran onto Sigma Phi Epsilon's lawn as the fraternity held an outside party in front of their house at the corner of State and Hill streets. The women took over the lawn and shouted, "No more rape, down with frats." LSA junior Laura Edelbaum said the march made her feel "empowered." Edel- baum said it is unfair that women can't walk the streets at night and said that must change. The march did not make LSA sopho- more Hadass Tesher feel more safe, but it did make "people aware that women feel unsafe in Ann Arbor," she said. Pat Krohn, an AACAR member and co- ordinator of the Assault Crisis Center, said this year's rally and march was larger than last year's. She attributed the increased at- tendance to growing awareness about rape and sexual assault. Krohn said, "In Ann Arbor we are privi- leged to have so much.., the march is needed because it helps to keep us from forgetting that we too experience problems like sexual assault and child sexual abuse." Ann Arbor men attend separate rally to examine their roles in rape prevention by Sarah Schweitzer While more than 2,000 women marched around Ann Arbor, men held their own Take Back the Night Rally on the steps of the Federal Building. Approximately 200 men gathered to "re- examine" their role in society and to take responsibility for the violence against women which is committed every year by men. Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center (SAPAC) volunteer Phil Elliott told the crowd that men must do what they can to help stop rape. Elliott told the crowd that "men rape for only one reason and that is to obtain and keep control over women." Approximately 200 men gathered to "re-examine" their role in society and to take responsibility for the violence against women which is committed every year by men. He suggested that men could help by believing battered women when they try to tell someone about an assault and by supporting shelters for battered and sexually abused women. Ann Arbor resident Blane McLane said he came out to the rally because he "supports what women are doing and any changes they get will help me." McLane said he was a victim of harassment by Uni- versity security in the Graduate Library. Also part of the rally's agenda included a discussion of homophobia and the stereotypes of men. Women cheer at the' Federal Building. "Take Back the Night" rally held Saturday night on the steps of the 'U' outreach group tries to 'cure' gay men and lesbians 4 by Gil Renberg Daily Staff Writer ing for," said Todd Fuqua, co-founder of Hope Outreach. "The purpose of out," she said. Hope Outreach, which Fuqua de- said. "A lot of them feel very re- lieved to talk with someone." He geting very vulnerable people," Peterson said. "Hope Outreach has to Fuqua believes that homosexual- ity is an identity crisis caused by a