I I
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A century of editorial freedom
IDE...
Notre Dame's luck
runs out.
See SPORTSmonday
Page 1.
Vol. Cl, No. 148 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Monday, September 16, 1991 Copyright 01991
The Michigan Daiy
I
0'
0.
M'
sends
Irish home
teary-eyed
Police tear gas
S. University to
disperse crowd
I
by Tami Pollak
Daily Staff Reporter
Cheers and chants became tears
early Saturday morning when Ann
Arbor police used tear gas and
chemical Mace to clear a pre-foot-
ball game crowd outside of South
University Street bars.
Police said the situation on the
street, which many students
likened to a pep rally, had all the
ingredients for a riot similar to
that which occurred on South Uni-
versity Street after the 1989
NCAA basketball championship.
"It might have started out like
a pep rally, but the chemistry
started turning," said Ann Arbor
Staff Sgt. Khurum Sheikh. "(Notre
Dame and Michigan fans) were
singing each other's fight songs,
but changing the words, putting in
vulgarities. Things were getting
tenser and tenser and when you add
that to a large, intoxicated crowd
early in the morning, things could
have easily grown out of hand."
Police said some people were
throwing stones and bottles and
damaging squad cars.
But many students who were
caught in the melee said they
thought it was the police involve-
ment that started problems.
"It was a good time. All the
Notre Dame people were on the
Charley's and O'Sullivans side.
People were chanting. Things were
cool, under control," said visiting
Notre Dame senior Jody Armetta.
"Then the cops showed up and
starting throwing tear gas
bombs.... It was crazy."
About 300 people had been
milling around the area between
See TEAR GAS, Page 2
-----i
Michigan wide
receiver
Desmond
Howard (above)
awaits Elvis
Grbac's game-
winning
touchdown pass
in the fourth
quarter of
Michigan's 24-14
victory over
Notre Dame
Saturday. See
story in
SPORTSmonday,
page 1.The night
before (left)
police used tear
gas and chemical
Mace to break up
rowdy pre-game
fans on South
University
Street.
City officials to look
into gassing incident
'U' student leaders uncertain if
by Gwen Shaffer
Daily Staff Reporter
The city will conduct an investigation
into Saturday morning's tear gassing
incident, city officials said last night.
"I am very concerned about what hap-
pened," said Mayor Liz Brater. "The root of
the problem was a number of intoxicated.
people in the (South University Street) area.
Alcohol abuse is a major cause of disruption
and disturbance in this community. We need
to work with the University and address this
issue constructively together."
Councilmember Larry Hunter (D-1st
Ward) echoed Brater's sentiments.
"This incident points out how much more
work we have to do with the University to
figure out solutions. I'm concerned about
mass quantities of alcohol being consumed,"
he said. "Police alone won't do it - preven-
tion is needed. I don't want to see us pop off
the top of tear gas every time there is a
crowd."
City Administrator Alfred Gatta said the
Police Department will conduct an internal
administrative review of the situation.
A videotape of the incident, made by
police officers on the scene, will be used as a
basis for the investigation, officials said.
"I'm sure Chief (Douglas) Smith will be
looking into whether (tear-gassing) was
justifiable, and even if it was, what
alternatives were available," Brater said.
Councilmember Bob Eckstein (D-5th
Ward) said he heard from several sources
that "pumped up" Notre Dame fans in town
for the football game were the instigators of
the potential riot situation.
"I heard that a lot of Notre Dame people
were concentrated in one bar. They were sur-
rounded by Michigan fans. It was obvious
they were looking for action," Eckstein said.
Several council members expressed
concern at the fact that tear-gas was used on
an open crowd.
"We need to figure out a principle when
things like this happen so we don't get to the
point where people are getting gassed. People
getting gassed is absurd," said
Councilmember Ann Marie Coleman (D-Ist
Ward).
Councilmember Mark Ouimet (R-4th
Ward) said he talked to four police officers
who were involved with the event.
'We need to figure out a
principle when things like
this happen so we don't get
to the point where people
are getting gassed ...'
- Ann Marie Coleman
City Council member
"They did not want to have a repeat per-
formance of what went on during the basket-
ball championship two or three years ago,
and these are what they felt were the
necessary steps to break up the crowd,"
Ouimet said.
Gatta said he was not involved in the deci-
sion to use tear gas, but will probably review
the videotape of the event sometime this
week.
"Right now it appears from the informa-
tion that I've received that we did act appro-
priately," he said.
- Daily City Reporter David Rheingold
contributed to this article.
anti-police action will be taken
by Purvi Shah
Daily Staff Reporter
University student leaders are still
uncertain about what action to take re-
garding the use of tear gas and Mace to
disperse a crowd from South University
Street Saturday morning.
Students' Rights Commission Chair
Michael Warren commented that he plans
to bring the issue up during the Michigan
Student Assembly meeting tomorrow, in
addition to creating a subcommittee to
investigate the incident.
This subcommittee would conduct a
preliminary investigation by talking to
people arrested, police officers, and wit-
nesses of the event.
There are no protests planned cur-
rently, since Warren feels such actions
would be premature.
"Some people are alleging that the po-
lice apply the laws more harshly against
the students than the general citizens," he
said. "The way that I see the Students'
Rights Commission is to basically have it
being just an organizing group and not a
group that actively goes out. I hope my
approach will be more effective - more
low-key - but more effective."
LSA Rep. Kim Watson is unclear as to
how MSA will react to the incident. "I
personally think of tear gas as a last re-
sort. I certainly think with the incident at
South Quad that (the police force) use it
pretty liberally," she said. "I think the
police force in the past has been a little
overeager. I also wasn't there, so there
might have been a real crowd-control
problem."
The last major incident involving po-
lice use of Mace occurred last December
at an Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority party
held at South Quad. Athough the official
police report stated that the use of Mace
See LEADERS, Page 2
UAC's Viewpoint lecture series to
bring Spike Lee, Rev. Al Sharpton
by Gigette Rlagan
Filmmaker Spike Lee and Rev. Al
Sharpton, a New York community ac-
tivist, will headline this year's cast of
speakers for the University Activity Cen-
ter's Viewpoint lecture series.
This year, the Viewpoint lecture
committee has made an increased effort to
bring in influential speakers so that stu-
Bernstein said he feels that Viewpoint
has "a clear path to students." The role of
Viewpoint is not to tell students how to
think, but what to think about, he said.
"A tremendous effort is being made
this year in enhancing the Viewpoint
committee and I encourage anybody to
contact me," Bernstein added. "I really
want to make this committee a slice of
Bash. Bernstein said it is only interested
in "getting the most qualified people to
speak" and that it is flexible in choosing
the issues since it wants to adapt to stu-
dent concerns.
Included in the series is sports com-
mentator Chris Berman. He will come to
Rackham Auditorium on Nov. 6.
Author Betty Freidan will sneak Dec.
Iowa
Democrat
to run for
president
WINTERSET, Iowa (AP) -
Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, a fiery pop-
ulist proclaiming "a new vision of
America," formally joined the
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