Breyand mild; Hig: 8,Low:40. TOMORROW Rain likely; High: 52, Low: 36. 1 £V.01 Dl Hagy brings Virginia to Rackham. See ARTS Page 5. One hundred and one years of editorial freedom Vol. CII, No. 34 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Thursday, November 14, 1991 Copyngnt 0fl9 New 'U' policy aims to prevent sexual harassment by Lynne Cohn Daily Staff Reporter Prof. Anita Hill's claims that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas sexually harassed her has focused attention on the issue of sexual harassment around the country. At the University, it's no different. Kay Dawson, assistant to the provost for academic affairs, was the principal drafter of the Univer- sity's most recent policy regarding sexual harassment, issued Nov. 1. The new policy treats sexual ha- rassment from the viewpoint of the victim and stresses that a person's actions may not be intended to ha- rass someone but may be construed as harassing nonetheless. The new policy includes a section dealing with consensual relation- ships, a topic not mentioned in pre- vious policies. It states, "Romantic and sexual relationships between supervisor and employee or between faculty or other staff and student are not expressly prohibited by University policy." But the policy also says that even in cases where there is mutual consent, "the valid- ity of the consent" can still be open to question. The new policy also details the steps necessary to report an incident of sexual harassment. Dawson said the University did not have a central reporting re- quirement until 1987 and since then, Policies at the University there has been a lack of organization in reporting. "We know there are lots of inci- dents and lots are handled," Dawson said. "But we've had few lawsuits - very, very few." Dawson said the new policy ap- plies to employee or student inter- action where one person holds an au- thoritative position over the other. "Sexual harassment is difficult to define," Dawson said. "Sexual behavior is really personal behavior - very intimate between individu- als. In the employment context, it is abuse of trust, abuse of authority." Sexual harassment is discrimina- tion on the basis of sex. Dawson said individuals who are on an equal footing can discriminate against each other in their actions or words, but such discrimination is not regu- lated by the government. Dawson said there are two kinds of sexual harassment: "quid pro quo" - where an instructor could demand sexual fa- vors from a student in exchange for a higher grade; and, hostile environment sexual harassment - where somebody makes the work environment un- comfortable to the point that some- one else is unable to perform his or her job. "The University can regulate what employees do to their stu- dents," Dawson said. "A faculty person, as an employee of a public university, is an agent of the university." In December of last year, the University's political science de- partment drafted a sexual harass- ment policy separate from the Uni- versity's policy to govern depart- mental behavior. It was the first University department to take such a step. "We felt we needed a policy for the department and a mechanism so that anybody who might have a complaint would know where to turn," said department chair Arlene Saxonhouse. The policy spells out what steps to take if someone is in a harassing situation, but it does not stipulate possible punishments. Saxonhouse See HARASSMENT, Page 2 'U' students standing on both sides of PC fence by Tami Pollak Daily Staff Reporter As soon as word of this weekend's "PC Frame-Up" conference hit campus, so did an outpouring of PC sneers. "So, are they going to be serving dolphin-free tuna for lunch?" "Are there going to be any womyn on the panyl?" "Shouldn't they really be chalking the conference advertisements - these fliers are so environmentally unsound." But along with the sneers came some honest in- quiries. When first-year Engineering student Kristin Mee- han was asked what PC stood for, she answered "personal computer" as did many other first-year stu- dents. And when she asked what else it meant, she realized she had heard the term "political correctness" used before. "I think it just was used kind of to make fun of gays and lesbians," Meehan said. "I'm not sure, but I know I've heard it." It is exactly this sort of attitude that has prompted scholars, journalists, students, and self-declared ac- tivists from around to the country to meet this week- end at the University to discuss political correctness and all the inferences, innuendos, and infuriation that accompanies the term. Most students agree that the term PC, as it is being addressed in this weekend's conference, came into popu- lar use last year to stereotype progressive ideas on campus about issues such as racism, sexism and homo- phobia. LSA senior John Miller, editor of The Michigan Review, defined PC as, "an orthodoxy on American campuses that refuses to tolerate dissent ... that is un- healthy for a campus that should have full and free aca- demic discourse." He pointed to the Baker-Mandela center as an embodiment of political correctness. The push for campus-wide speech codes and diver- sity requirements - which have become popular topics of debate across the country - have been grouped to- gether and called a movement by the national media. And while many political liberals originally re- acted to the PC label as simple name-calling by conser- vatives, some say the label has carried with it some po- tentially damaging ramifications. "What PC does is it stereotypes a whole set of is- See PC, Page 2 Gov 't to fund education for Hispanics by Stefanie Vines intervention as a means of better e Daily Government Reporter ucating Hispanic students." a- As part of the Higher Education Act, the Senate Labor and Human Resources committee voted last week to approve $45 million in funding to colleges where Hispanics constitute at least ore-quarter of the undergraduate population. Approximately 4 percent of the undergraduate population at the University is Hispanic. The aid came as a result of in- creasing feelings of inequity in comparison to other minorities, such as Blacks, Hispanic leaders said. An estimated 115 colleges and universities are eligible for the aid, according to the Hispanic Associa- tion of Colleges and Universities (HACU). Rafael Magallan, director of HACU's Washington office, said the initiative is long overdue. "Historically Hispanic colleges have had no special aid. We have over 650,000 Hispanic students enrolled in higher education nationally, but no provisions have been made for them," he said. Denise Delarosa, an education an- alyst for the Spanish civil rights group La Raza, said increasing aid to Black colleges and universities was one factor in the aid request. "There is a lot of evidence which suggests that there are a lot of His- panics at schools that don't have programs for them, but there are specifically Black colleges that have programs to support Black stu- dents," she said. Magallan cited Howard Univer- sity in Washington, D.C. as an ex- ample of a Black university which received federal aid. "At Howard University they re- ceive appropriations from Congress each year, but we have nothing com- parable to this," he said. "We kept coming back to the need for federal Despite the aid, some Hispanic leaders are skeptical about the treatment of Hispanic students at the University. Carlos Acevedo, a member of the Office of Minority Affairs Advi- sory Council and a financial aid of- ficer, said the initiative sends a mes- sage to University administrators. "I hope the Congress actions convey a message to the University about the priority that the federal government put in the education of 'We have over 650,000 Hispanic students enrolled in higher education nationally, but no provisions have been made for them' - Rafael Magallan HACU director Latinos by agreeing to this fund- ing," he said. "I also hope it conveys the message that the federal gov- ernment sees Latinos as adversely affected by the funding trends in higher education and of the need to continue and increase institutional efforts on behalf of Latino students." Tanya Escobcdo, co-chair of the Socially Active Latino Students' Association, said she is upset with the lack of aid for Hispanic students at the University. "Last year 3.3 percent of the un- dergraduate population was His- panic. The University claims that they recruit a lot of Hispanic-Amer- ican students, but I don't think they do," she said. But Magallan said Hispanic re- See HISPANIC, Page 2 Dems get approval on jobless benefits WASHINGTON (AP) - The House Ways and Means Committee rushed a $5.2 billion plan to extend jobless benefits for up to three mil- lion victims of the recession to the House floor yesterday after President Bush vowed to sign it. The measure, which would add up to 20 weeks of coverage for peo- ple who have exhausted the standard 26 weeks of benefits, goes to the House floor today and could be con- Truth and Dare RC junior Ali Johnson strikes a pose as he models in the Girbaud fashion show yesterday on the stops of the Graduate Library. The show was sponsored by Hudson's and Cafe Fino, which gave out free cider and hot chocolate, and organized by UAC. IFC pres. makes fraternal stand on ideals