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One hundred and one years of editorial freedom
Notes tackles
The American
Nightmare.
See ARTS
Page 7.
In-,"I'l .at951
Vol. CI1, No. 27
Ann Arbor, Michigan - Tuesday, November 5, 1991
,e fc an ua~fy
Qp 3Al Y < ..Aftermath of tragedy
brings shock to
Iowa
Classes cancelled for counseling sessions
University of Iowa students Clarissa Ramos (left), Dave Pasley (center), and Janet McLarty grieve during a
memorial service yesterday for those killed when a student opened fire on campus.
'U' students believe killings were not
caused by academic climate, ethnicity
by Gwen Shaffer
Daily Higher Education Reporter
IOWA CITY - A sense of fear
and shock continues to pervade the
University of Iowa campus four
days after a Chinese student killed
five people and critically wounded
another before fatally shooting
himself.
Gang Lu shot members of his
doctoral dissertation committee
and an office of academic affairs
employee as an act of revenge after
being passed over for an academic
honor nomination, university offi-
cials said.
Yesterday, students seemed to
be going about their business as
usual, although the campus of
28,000 students appeared unusually
inactive. Still, a few students could
be seen studying for midterms in
the union and coffee shops. Record-
cold temperatures and flurries con-
tributed to the gloomy mood on
campus.
Those who were out in Iowa
City yesterday expressed a range of
emotions, from tears to shock to
outright confusion.
First-year student Julie King
said her immediate reaction when
she heard about the shooting was
shock.
"You just never would think
something like this could happen
here," she said. "People are laugh-
ing because of the reason he did it,
to try and make it seem less seri-
ous."
Many people said their major
concern is that the Chinese on cam-
pus will be the victims of increased
racism from members of the uni-
versity community who can't oth-
erwise channel their angry emo-
tions.
Administration, faculty,
Chinese students and American
students are all dealing with the
tragedy in their own way.
"Everyone on campus is defi-
nitely feeling pain," said senior
staff psychologist Luis Vasquez.
"Many of us that experience shock
don't even know it.
"I think what happened is re-
ally going to hit in about a week,"
he said. "That is when we'll really
start seeing the aftermath."
International activities coordi-
nator Elizabeth Pearce-Burton said
the mood on campus has been
somber.
"Even after the football game
on Saturday it was very quiet.
People are uneasy," Pearce-Burton
said. "People are beginning to
question their own mortality and
the nature of chaos and order."
The administration cancelled
classes yesterday and scheduled
small group counseling sessions
for students wishing to talk about
last week's events. A campus-wide
memorial service will be held
Thursday, and many faculty mem-
bers said that they will encourage
discussion of Friday's shootings in
their classes to help students deal
with their emotions.
"It is the university's job to in-
sure that what one Chinese person
did is not generalized to all,"
Pearce-Burton said, noting that the
assailant could have been of any
ethnicity.
Students and faculty have been
coming to the university counsel-
ing office with a variety of ques-
tions and psychological conflicts,
Vasquez said.
"People want to go over the de-
tails of the events again and again,
which is very common after a
trauma," he said. "There is a lot of
fear of going in buildings or on
campus at all."
Pearce-Burton said several
See IOWA, Page 2
by Merav Barr
Daily Staff Reporter
Most Michigan students inter-
viewed yesterday agreed that aca-
demic competition and ethnicity
were not factors in last weekend's
killings at the University of Iowa.
When Gang Lu was denied an
award for his dissertation, the for-
mer physics student opened fire on
the student that was given the
honor, associated faculty, an associ-
ate vice president, and a secretary.
Joel Kaji, a political science
graduate student, is among many
Asian students who fear this inci-
dent will lead to unwarranted gen-
eralizations about Asians.
"I hope that people won't look
at this one Asian student that
flipped out and think that Asian
students, who are known to be in-
tense students, are more likely to
do this," he said.
Many Asian students are aware
of expectations others have of
them. An LSA sophomore who
See REACTION, Page 2
City Council draws 600
with partnership hearing
by Ken Walker
and David Reingold
Daily City Reporters
Private citizens cried, pounded the
podium, quoted Biblical verses and made
emotional appeals to City Council last
night at a public hearing over an ordinance
that would allow unmarried couples to
register their relationships with the City
Clerk.
Partitions on either side of the room
were opened so the standing-room only
crowd could spill out into the hall.
City Administrator Alfred Gatta es-
timated the crowd's size at 600 and re-
quested police department assistance in
dealing with the crowd.
"With a large crowd ... we'd like to as-
sure ourselves that we uphold our general
responsibility to safety," Gatta said.
101 people remained on the speakers'
list as the Daily went to press, approxi-
mately 20 of which were still waiting to
speak. Under council rules, speakers in
public hearings are allowed to address the
council for five minutes.
After Mayor Brater requested the audi-
ence refrain from applauding during re-
marks, audience members waved their
hands in the air to show support.
The first speaker, Ann Arbor resident
Leo Simon, criticized the unanimous ap-
proval Council gave the ordinance upon its
first hearing. "What bothers me most
about it is that not one of you had the
courage to oppose it," he said.
"This ordinance defies the law of God,"
Simon added.
Many non-residents also traveled to
Ann Arbor to address the council. Paul
Turner, a reverend at Metropolitan Com-
munity Church in Toledo, Ohio, said he be-
lieves that God accepts gays.
"We believe that God loves gays and
lesbians just like God loves heterosexu-
als," Turner said.
Councilmember Robert Eckstein (D-
5th Ward) said he felt religious arguments
were irrelevant to debate over the ordi-
nance itself.
"Nobody has raised a problem with the
ordinance itself. The complaints about it
are based on a person's moral beliefs ... Re-
ligion is such a diverse thing. How can I
possibly say, 'Your religious beliefs are
more valid than another person's?"' Eck-
stein said.
Many speakers who opposed the ordi-
nance feared its approval would lead to an
erosion of moral standards or the spread of
disease through the community.
But Anthony Welch, an Ann Arbor res-
ident who said he tested positive for AIDS,
dismissed the idea that the ordinance
would spread sexually-transmitted dis-
ease.
"In fact, this ordinance would promote
and support monogamous relationships,
See HEARING, Page 3
DOUG KANTEH/Daiy
Members of the crowd at last night's city council meeting waved their hands in support of
the Domestic Partnership Ordinance.
Incoming VP believes
students have important voice
by Bethany Robertson
Daily Administration Reporter
Maureen Anderson spent her
first two weeks as Washington
State University's vice provost of
Student Affairs living in a residence
hall, seeing first hand the challenges
facing a WSU student at the begin-
ning of school.
When Anderson comes to Ann
Arbor in January to take over as the
University's vice president of
Student Services, she may not be liv-
ing in the residence halls, but she is
interested in getting to know stu-
dents and their concerns in a "non-
stuffy" way.
"I'm really looking forward to
meeting more of the students,"
Anderson said. "I think it's impor-
tant for students to have aivoice that
makes a difference."
Anderson, 43, has a wide range of
experience, collected over the years
as a teacher and administrator at
several schools around the country.
She directed counseling and stu-
dent services at the University of
Maine, University of Arkansas,
Case Western University, and WSU.
Each job has entailed different re-
sponsibilities, Anderson said, which
has added to her understanding of
the position.
"Doing that has given me a
greater feeling of students' whole
lives outside of
classes," she said.
Anderson said
she is not intimi-
dated by the pre-
dominantly male
administration in
which she will be
working.,
"Almost ev-
ery position I've
ever been in, peo-
ple have said, 'Well gee - you're
the first woman in this kind of posi-
tion,"' she said. "I believe I bring a
fairly different perspective to de-
cision-making than many men do."
Coming of age in the '60s and
'70s made Anderson realize the im-
portance of good communication be-
tween the administration and stu-
dents, she said.
"I sat through a lot of demon-
strations, and I really don't believe
that's the way you make change in
the world," Anderson said.
Anderson said she would like to
consider implementing a program
from WSU which formed a research
unit to track students' progress
from the time they apply to the
University until five years after
graduation.
"I really feel like a lot of us
have a much better feel for what's
See STUDENTS, Page 2
Anderson
Professors play water .-
polo -suits optional
by Erin Einhorn
A hostess at the U-Club hesi-
tated before answering questions
about the 12 to 15 men, mostly
professors, who eat lunch at the
restaurant three days a week.
Other employees had told her the
men played naked water polo to-
gether. She didn't think it was true.
But the Flounders - a Rroun of
drop their clothes on the bleachers,
take a shower and just join the
game," recalled College of
Engineering English professor
Ralph Loomis. He started playing
with the Flounders in 1957.
"This meant nobody had to go
to a locker room, get a towel, get a
suit - we could just play," he said.
Loomis said he enjoys the com-
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