The Michigan Daily -Tuesday, September 18, 990 - Page_3
HEMP Tour '90
stages rally for
legalization of pot
by David Rheingold
Protesting caste,
student burns
self to death
Marijuana legalization activists
staged a rally in the Diag last Fri-
day as a part of the HEMP (Help
End Marijuana Prohibition) Tour
'90.
Addressing a crowd of approxi-
mately 100, speakers advocated the
use of hemp instead of standard
fibers in paper and clothing. Even
though hemp is illegal, it is more
environmentally sound than legal
fibers, said HEMP Tour director
Shan Clark.
"If we get (marijuana legalized),
we have a political plan. With this
moratorium, we can provide all our
fuel, all our non-polluting, annu-
ally-renewable textiles, (because)
hemp is a standard fiber of history,"
Clark said.
The harmful side effects of
THC, the active component in mar-
ijuana, were briefly acknowledged,
but not emphasized. These include
drowsiness, muscular incoordina-
tion, altered time distortion, and
possible addiction. One woman
stressed the drug's healing effects.
"Before I smoke marijuana, I
cannot heel-to-toe walk. After I
smoke marijuana, I could go heel-
to-toe walk all the way across the
Diag. It motivates me, it relieves
the inner tensions that I feel," said
Renee Emry, who suffers from
multiple sclerosis. s
Dana Beal, one of the founders
of Safe Drugs Movement and a co-
ordinator of the Drug Reform
Coalition, accused the Partnership
For a Drug-Free America of using
false information in one of its ad-
vertisements.
"(It) was the classic case of the
dead brain scam, with the flat (brain
wave activity lines, while the narra-
tor said): 'This is a kid after he's
smoked pot.' What it was is a 40-
year old man in a coma who'd been
in an accident because of alcohol.
That was found out, they were con-
fronted, and they continued to put
the ad on," he said.
One student applauded the ac-
tivists for exercising their freedom
of speech.
"I think it's great that these peo-
ple, even though I may not agree
with what they're saying, are able
to come out here in front of every-
one... and voice their own opin-
ions," said Mike Salamon, an LSA
first-year student.
Although the rally lasted an
hour, the protest continued as sev-
eral of the activists engaged in a
heated quarrel with two local men
about the ethics of drug use.
Cornerstone Christian Church
member Ed Frutig said, "Basically,
we we're telling the students that
drugs lead to a dead end, that it's
going to burn out their minds and
destroy their life and that God has a
much better way for them to live."
"I don't believe in a God that
NEW DELHI, India (AP) - A
student Saturday doused himself with
kerosene and burned himself to death
in a northern city to protest job quo-
tas based on the caste system, touch-
ing off rioting, United News of India
reported.
Students set fire to building in
Kurukshetra, 90 miles north of New
Delhi, and the army was called out
to bring the rampaging youths under
control, the news agency said.
Quota-related unrest was reported in
other cities since Friday.
There are no direct telephone
links to Kurukshetra and no confir-
mation of the report was immedi-
ately available. The victim was iden-
tified as Sushil Kumar, but United
News of India gave no further infor-
mation about him.
He was the fourth student to im-
molate himself to dramatize protests
against a government plan to reserve
49 percent of federal jobs for low-
caste Hindus.
The government says the quota
plan will give social justice to Indi-
ans who have been deprived for cen-
turies by the rigid caste system. Stu-
dents from higher castes say they
will lose jobs to lesser qualified
people.
A wave of protests engulfed
northern India after Prime Minister
V.P. Singh announced the affirma-
tive action program Aug. 7. Since
then a least 25 people have been
killed by police firing on protesters.
Nationwide, the government em-
ploys about 18 million people and a
government job is highly prized.
Earlier this week, three more stu-
dents had set themselves alight with
kerosene in a similar protest but
survived. One of them, Rajeev
Goswami, is in a New Delhi hospi-
tal in critical condition with burns
on 55 percent of his body.to
Hundreds of students carried Ku-
mar's body in a procession and set
fire to the house and office of the
Kurukshetra deputy commissioner,
the town's top civil administrator.
About 6,000 people gathered ou-
side the government official's resi-
dential colony nearby, shouting anti-
government slogans, the agency
said.
It reported violence from two
other towns nearby. Several people
were injured in Rohtak and Fate-
habad in clashes between students
opposing and supporting the gov-
ernment plan, it said.
In New Delhi, thousands of ste-
dents staged a sit-down strike on an
arterial road outside the hospital
where Goswami was admitted. They
blocked traffic between the southern
residential neighborhood and central
districts, where the capital's main
businesses and offices are located.
The sit-in outside the Safdarjang
Hospital has disrupted traffic for
more than 30 hours since Friday
morning.
DAVID RHEINGOLD/Daily
Rene Emry was one of the approximately 100 onlookers at the HEMP Tour
'90. Emry said that smoking pot relieved her multiple sclerosis.
needs a captive audience. I think
God could do just fine on his own,"
Beal said.
City police also arrived
promptly at 1:00. They declined to
comment on the reason for their
presence.
The HEMP rally was part of "a
national tour publicizing the envi-
ronmental and economical impor-
tance of hemp," according to a flier
distributed on campus. Its next stop
is the Harvest Fest in Madison,
Wisconsin this weekend, Clark
said.
,0..]
'a
a+
s
New group seeks to speak for conservative
'silent majority'
by Ashok Bhatia
Arguing that there is a "silent
majority" of conservative University
students whose interests have not
been vocalized, five students have
founded a lobbying group to pro-
mote a conservative agenda for cam-
pus politics.
By influencing the Michigan
Student Assembly (MSA) and writ-
ing articles for campus publications,
Students for a Conservative Campus
hopes to invigorate the University's
conservative students, said founder
James Green.
"We believe the campus is basi-
cally conservative but that we hear
only from a vocal (liberal) minor-
ity," said James Green, an LSA ju-
nior and the group's founder. "We
don't feel that left-wing representa-
tion does justice to the student
body."
The group, which claims 20
members, received official MSA
recognition at the assembly's meet-
ing last week.
"The most active groups on cam-
pus tend to be the most radical,"
Shackman said. "We want to offer an
opposite viewpoint. It's long past
due."
As a lobbying organization,
Shackman said their group will differ
from the two other vocal conserva-
tive organizations, the Michigan
Review and College Republicans.
"The Review is geared towards
journalism; the Republicans are in-
volved in national and electoral poli-
tics," he said. "There hasn't been an
organization to get conservative stu-
dents interested in campus politics."
The group is not a political party
and does not have plans to field can-
didates for MSA elections, Green
said.
Shackman said that while the
group wasn't formed to address one
specific issue, he expects it to op-
pose both a mandatory course on
racism and a discriminatory speech
policy.
Members said they will find sup-
port despite the University's reputa-
tion as a liberal campus. Shackman
cited a Michigan Review article
from three years ago claiming that
30 percent of the student body con-
sider themselves conservative.
According to the group's Student
Organization Description filed with
MSA, the group has set three gen-
eral goals, among which is increased
student government accountability.
Although Green said the present sys-
tem is a "glaring abuse," he said the
group had not formulated any spe-
cific plan to make representatives
more accountable to the student
body.
Fiscal responsibility and a more
positive academic environment are
the other two goals.
MSA vice-president Angie Burks
dismissed the criticism that the
Assembly fails to represent the stu-
dent body. "Students came out to
support us with one of the highest
turnouts ever," she said, "This isIhe
government the students want. the
age of the Reganites has passed.".,
Green said he anticipates the
group will avoid rallies and protests,
calling them "symbols of the radical
left."
. Borgsdorf waits on California
by Donna Woodwell
Daily City Reporter
Ann Arbor City Administrator
Del Borgsdorf may find out today if
he will be heading for sunny south-
ern California.
Borgsdorf is one of two finalists
z for city manager in Fresno, Califor-
nia. Friday Fresno Mayor Karen
9 Humphrey and the mayor pro-tem
came to Ann Arbor to do a back-
ground check on Borgsdorf. Their
appointment decision may be an-
nounced as early as tonight.
"I will be sad to see him go,"
said Council member Anne Marie
Coleman (D-1st Ward), who met
with the Fresno mayor. She said she
believed the Fresno delegation was
very impressed with Borgsdorf's cre-
dentials. "I would be very surprised
if he does not get the job."
The Fresno delegates asked ques-
tions about Borgsdorf's job perfor-
mance and ability to manage racial
and ethnic issues. They also visited
Cincinnati to interview the other fi-
nalist, Deputy City Manager Mike
Bierman.
A consulting company hired by
the city of Fresno contacted Borgs-
dorf several months ago and encour-
aged him to apply for the position.
"The fact that he is being actively
recruited is an affirmation of what a
good city administrator he is,"
Coleman said.
The City Council appointed
Borgsdorf two years ago. He cur-
rently earns $84,000, and the move.
to Fresno would increase his salary
to $125,000. '
The City Administrator is Ann
Arbor's chief executive officer. It is
the Administrator's job to coordinate
municipal government agencies,
propose city budgets, and implement
City Council policies.
job offer
The City Council held a meeting
last Tuesday to discuss a plan of ac-
tion if Borgsdorf is hired. If Borgs-
dorf accepts a new position, an in-
terim Administrator will be ap-
pointed by the Council until a na-
tionwide search for a new city man-
ager can be undertaken.
"Ann Arbor is a very exciting
city, so we should have many appli-
cants," Coleman said.
Borgsdorf was out of town over
the weekend and unavailable for
comment.
Ann Arbor Mayor Jerry Jernigan
was also unavailable for comment.
Student lobbying grou
by Bethany Robertson Boatright said informing students
Encouraging more state financial about MCC - the organization
support for its public university stu- which lobbies the state legislature
FT dents and reaching out to students on on behalf of public university stu-
p receives new leader
campus are a few of the goals of
Central Michigan University senior
Tamera Boatright as she starts her
job as chair of the Michigan Colle-
giate Coalition (MCC).
dents - is a high priority. "I'd like
to see the MCC start doing more
campus outreach," she said.
Boatright said she plans to place
emphasis on forming more student
THELIST
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
Meetingsi
Greek Music and Folk
Dancing. International Center. 8
p.m. Contact Veronical Kalas: 998-
1255.
Undergraduate Psychological
Society. 2440 Mason Hall. 8 p.m.
Stutterers' Support Group.
1111 E. Catherine St. 5:30 p.m.
Call: 7644440.
Progressive Zionist Caucus
Mass Meeting. Hillel. 7:30 p.m.
Speakers
"Technology and the
Workplace" Margrit Hugentobler
(ILIR) and Tom Fitzgerald
Center Reading Room. 4 p.m.
"Synthesis, Characterization
and Reactivity of Early
Transition Metal Sulfides" Sang-
Man Koo will speak. Rm. 1640 4
p.m..
Furthermore
ECB Peer Writing Tutors
available to help with paper.
Angell/Haven Computing Center. 7-
11 p.m.
The Job Search. CP&P Room
One. 4:10-5 p.m.
Business Options with a
Liberal Arts Degree. C P & P
['f~dnr&- Ram dA1(1_4w m_
contacts between universities and
programming events to discuss is-
sues affecting students' rights on
campus.
The MCC, which is funded by
student fees and represented by a
governor from each of Michigan's
public universities, is working on
several projects this year, said LSA
junior Stephanie Simon, the Univer-
sity governor to the MCC.
The coalition is promoting
House Bill 5441, which would allow
work-study students to hold jobs
with non-profit organizations outside
of the University. The bill is cur-
rently being reviewed by the House
Appropriations subcommittee on
Higher Education.
Another MCCiproject involves
student representation on university
boards. The MCC "wants to get stu-
dents on the Board of Regents at ev-
ery university in Michigan," Simon
said.
In addition, the MCC has been
working with state representative
Morris Hood (D-Detroit) to write a
bill that would establish the Michi-
gan Education Access Grant.
Currently, $38 million is appro-
priated by the state as grants for
75.000 private iuniversity gstugjpnflf
sity students are allocated $1 million
in grants each year, Simon said.
"MEAG- would merge existing
state financial aid awards to create
one comprehensive financial aid pro-
gram open to all students who are
state residents," she said. "What this
program is hoping to do is make it
more equitable" for private and pub-
lic university students, Simon said.
The MCC is also planning a ref-
erendum in the spring to reaffirm
student approval of the 35 cents
taken from tuition bills each
semester to support the coalition.
Crawley said she is confident the
MCC will continue to be a staunch
supporter of student rights in the
Michigan Legislature.
"I think it's going to keep get-
ting stronger and stronger," Crawley
said.
Simon said she supports Boa-
tright as president. "She's a very
hard working person and she has
been putting all of her effort into
this," she said.
Boatright assumed her position at
the beginning of September and re-
places Penny Crawley, who gradu-
ated from Saginaw Valley State last
Packing
Foreign Legion soldiers from a calvary regiment based in Orange,
Southern France, prepare their packs on the quay before embarking on,
the ferry "Girolata" for Saudi Arabia yesterday in Toulon, Southern
France.
WRITERS
PHOTOGRAPHERS
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