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VolAnnArbCNovember91990ht1990
Vol Cl, No. 48 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Friday, Novem ri9,1igan Day

Python
loose in
Couzens
Res. Hall
by Kenneth Smoller
"A python is on the loose!"
That has been the prevailing
scream echoing throughout
Couzens Residence Hall for the past
week. Last Friday night, two first-
year LSA students lost track of
their four-foot python, named Dog,
in the 1100 wing of the building.
Gary Schultz, one of the snake's
owners, said "we were giving Dog a
little recreation, and he found him-
self into a little crevice.$
Dog's other owner, Aaron
Hammer, explained that Dog
crawled into a heating vent in the
corner of his room, while he and
Schultz were playing with it.
"We're sad he is gone. We've
become attached to,him," Hammer
said.
While the owners have no idea
when Dog will resurface, Hammer
said he hopes his pet will emerge
from the vent when he becomes
hungry. Dog has not eaten since
last Thursday, when it scarfed down
a live rat.
Fortunately for Couzen's resi-
dents, Dog is non-venomous and
harmless. "The poor guy couldn't
hurt a flea," Hammer said.
Couzen's residents and employ-
ees have varying reactions to the
crisis.
Heather Gary, a cafeteria em-
ployee, said that the situation is
"separating the men from the mice
around here."
Many students think the whole
ordeal is quite humorous. Gavin
Jerome, Dog's old hallmate, said "it
will probably show up for Couzen's
dinner, and they'll probably serve

ACT-UP

schism

creates rival groups

by Annabel Vered
Daily Staff Reporter
Following disagreements within
the AIDS Coalition to Unleash
Power (ACT-UP) over key issues,
there has been a split within the or-
ganization. There are now two
groups on campus that claim the
name ACT-UP.
Problems between members of
ACT-UP - some of whom are also
supporters and members of the Rev-
olutionary Workers League (RWL)
- surfaced at an Oct. 4 ACT-UP
meeting.
"The meeting was about dealing
with racism ourselves," said ACT-
UP member David Rosenberg.
"RWL said it can't be done without
being led by people of color. But
people of color have said they don't
always feel like playing that role."

ACT-UP member Lisa Stillwell
added, "To deal with racism you have
to start with your own people. That
is where the problem starts and
change is going to begin only at the
root of the problem."
Rosenberg said that ACT-UP
members were frustrated by what
they thought were RWL's attempts
to dominate the meeting's discus-
sion. "RWL insisted on discussing
issues not on the agenda. They only
worked on things they could domi-
nate by being in the leadership posi-
tion."
"It got everybody in the group
fed-up," Rosenberg continued.
"After evaluating this and other is-
sues, the group by majority vote de-
cided to exclude the RWL."
ACT-UP member and RWL sup-
porter, Paul Carmouche said, "to say

we're manipulating the organization
simply cannot be. The issue of
racism was used as a pretext for our
expulsion, but they had been plan-
ning it for many weeks beforehand."
Rosenberg said the group voted
to exclude RWL again at the Oct. 11
meeting, this time by a unanimous
vote.
ACT-UP members then decided
to withhold publicizing the location
of the following meetings, to pre-
vent another RWL disruption, Still-
well said. At the same time, RWL
supporters and members started hold-
ing their own ACT-UP meetings in
the Michigan Union.
"Still, RWL brought over about
30 people to the Oct. 18 meeting,
who had never before been, mostly
straight people," said Rosenberg.
See ACT-UP, Page 2

City Council to move
homes for parking lot

PHOTO ILLUSIAIUN BY KENNETHSMULLRU/Daily
Aaron Hammer, left, and Gary Schultz pose with the empty cage where
their python, Dog, usually stays. Hammer holds an artist's rendition of
Dog, and between his feet one can see the crevice through which the
reptile made his escape.

by Annabel Vered
Daily Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor City Council
passed resolutions on Monday
paving the way for the construction
of the Ashley-William Parking;
Structure. The resolutions will relo-
cate two houses now occupied by
squatters.
The dwellings are owned by the
city of Ann Arbor and are located on
116 West William Street and 339
South Ashley Street. Weather per-
mitting, the houses will be relocated
by January 31, 1991, to nearby lots
on Ashley and William Streets.
"The city does own two sites

nearby, so the houses do not have to
be moved far," said Council member
Nelson Meade (D-Third Ward). "The
intention is to turn the houses over
to a non-profit corporation that will
provide low-income housing. It
doesn't provide much of a solution
to the demand for low-income hous-
ing, but it's better than demolishing
them."
The Council approved demolition
of a third house on the same site two
weeks ago. "It isn't in good enough
shape and not worth saving," said
Meade. According to council mem-
bers, the squatter has since moved

The Downtown Development
Authority has estimated the reloca-
tion cost to be $150,000.
A female squatter and member of
the Homeless Action Committee,
who requested anonymity, expressed
concern about the decision.
"They should consider (that win-
ter is coming). I want a decent
amount of time for finding a new
place. I can't afford to pay rent, I'm
working a part-time job. I feel we've
gained something, that they allowed
it to be a low-income-house. I don't
think we need the parking structure,"
she said. "(I feel) like a drop in the
bucket."

it." Others on the hall are making
bets on whether Dog will live or
die.
Other students are worried about
the snake's whereabouts. One ner-
vous resident said, "It's just unnerv-
ing not knowing where the thing

will pop up. We don't want it to
die, we just want the people who
let it loose to be reprimanded."
The hall's Resident Advisor,
LSA Junior Dave Lyons said, "It is
a harmless animal... the hall can
See PYTHON, Page 2

I


UC 299 has potential

but needs work, students say

by Amanda Neuman
Daily Staff Reporter
University Course (UC) 299:
Race, Racism and Ethnicity is de-
scribed by one of the TAs, Yvonne
Williams, as a "smorgasbord" in
which different opinions and perspec-
tives are expressed.
As with any smorgasbord, not
everything is to everyone's liking.
Student reaction to UC 299, the
first University course to explicitly
address racial and ethnic issues, runs
the gamut from praise and satisfac-
tion to criticism and frustration.
The class format consists of one
two-hour lecture and one two-hour
discussion section. Class members
are further divided into both Home
Groups and Institution Groups.
The Home groups are designed
"to digest and process the course

content," said TA Kathryn Kozaitis.
It is meant to be a safe place to share
opinions, she added.
"Usually everyone gets a say,"
.said LSA sophomore Amy Fabick.
"The leader makes sure that every-
one's views are tied in together. It's
very productive."
Other students have reacted nega-
tively to the heterogeneous makeup
of the Home Groups. "They don't
address the issues. There are too
many backgrounds and... it's too
hard to get to the issues," said LSA
junior Stanley Slaughter, Jr.
Another major component of the
course is open discussion during lec-
ture. Professor Beth Reed told the
class, "We want everyone to have a
chance to speak up. We want a class
where people's reactions can get

talked about. If people get upset, we
can work it out."
Reed explained that students are
bound to react differently to com-
ments made in class. "Some parts
will make you uncomfortable be-
cause the topics are controversial and
some of it will be stimulating and
will stretch you," she said.
In a 110-person class, open dis-
cussion can be disorderly. Students
said they are often either too intimi-
dated to speak or are so angered by
certain comments they choose not to
speak.
"No one in this course will speak
up," said LSA senior Anthony Bur-
ris. Burris said he expected discus-
sion to be modeled after an open fo-
rum with few, if any, parliamentary
procedures for speaking.

LSA senior Kristin Benson dis-
agreed with the idea of having an
open forum. "It would get crazy" if
everyone spoke at once, she said.
Benson added that comments
made in class have compelled her to
question her beliefs and her value
system. "It's really helped me," she
said.
UNIVERSITY COU$SE299 1


Race, ac:iiM


broken down.
One woman, who spoke on the
condition of anonymity, said, "I
wanted to get a better understanding
of the way other white people see us
as African-Americans, as minorities,
and hopefully see changes in their
stereotypes."
Williams, however, does not be-
lieve that this class will necessarily
eradicate class stereotypes.
"Those people who want to leave
this class having experienced a com-
plete breakdown of racist and stereo-
typical thinking feel very dissatis-
fied," Williams explained.
UC 299 also does not provide
students with a list of the right
things to say or do, she said. "It's
not about exonerating yourself. It's
not about getting some stamp of ap-

proval as a non-racist person."
One of the ways UC 299 at-
tempts to study racism is through
the use of Institutional Groups,
which examine the ways race, racism
and discrimination are perpetuated in
social institutions such as the crimi-
nal justice system and higher educa-
tion.
LSA first-year student Ronit Hof-
fer said she has gained a deeper un-
derstanding of racism through her In-
stitution Group. "It forces you to see
that racism is more subtle and is part
of everyday society... You see flaws
that are not meant to be racist but
that are," she said.
Despite the criticisms and frustra-
tions from unmet expectations, most
students agreed that UC 299 has a
See COURSE, Page 2

The Second inaTw-rtSerie


The success of UC 299 for stu-
dents depends on what their expecta-
tions are before they enter the class.
One hope of UC 299 students is to
see stereotypes of people of color

'U' safety policy

violation
by Sarah Schweitzer,
Daily Administration Reporter
Administration officials began an,
investigation yesterday into the Uni-
versity Activities Center's (UAC)
violation of a Union policy at an
MTV event held in the Union Tues-
day.
University policy requires thati
anyone seeking entrance to a student-1
sponsored social event held in a
University facility must show col-
lege picture identification.
Interim Vice-President for Stu-
dent Services Mary Ann Swain said
that, after speaking with security of-
ficers and Union officials, she was
nhs .o Am.-.-:- . thatefi..i-ntmT,

1 probed
rity officers to check for student IDs
at the Union door was a "breakdown
of implementation" and was not the
"appropriate decision to be made."
Keeping with University policy,
a post-event meeting will be held to
discuss the violation of the safety
policy, Swain said. The date of the
meeting will be determined by
Union officials.
"Mistakes of this kind get
made... at the post-event meeting we
will see what we can do to prevent
another one from happening again,"
she said.
Many Black student leaders ex-
pressed disgust Tuesday at the viola-
tion of University policy.

1st place
k r M ricers.
hyped-up
". x. . :xa t' . ' $9~ ,S for M SU
S=qtyby Dan Zoch
Daily Hockey Writer
For the Michigan hockey team,
b h the real season starts tonight.
Never mind the fact that they
started playing four weeks ago, that
they're riding high in first place, and
~that they boast two of the top three
Ft z *scorers in the league. What matters
to the Wolverines is that they face
Michigan State tonight.
"These are big games to play and
big games to coach with the crowds
fn and al . ofthe .Yrt . n ati o