The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 23, 1992 - Page 3
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Panel
focuses on
Blacks in
mrnedia
by Chastity Wilson
Daily Staff Reporter
Last night the Black Student
Union sponsored a panel discussion
and workshop titled "Redefining
Black Media" in the Kuenzel room
of the Michigan Union.
Speakers addressed the issue of
how the media, particularly televi-
sion and film, portray and involve
African-Americans.
Harry Allen, a writer, Hip Hop
activist and "Media Assassin" for
the popular rap group, Public En-
emy was among the speakers.
Allen, who has written for
popular publications like Village
Voice, Spin, and Essence, said he
was not sure that any such thing as
"Black media" exists. When speak-
ing of Black culture, he explained,
we must be referring to anti-white
supremacists ideas because white
culture is white supremacy, other-
wise why call it "white" culture,
he asked.
He also discussed Public En-
emy's newest music video, "By the
Time I Get to Arizona" in which
Chuck D. and the SWI's go to Ari-
zona, which doesn't officially rec-
ognize Martin Luther King, Jr. hol-
iday, kill politicians, and blow up
the governor.
The video, he explained, is nei-
ther a violent tribute to King or his
non-violent approach, nor a sugges-
tion of how to obtain Civil Rights,
but a "revenge fantasy" of tactics
that remain untried.
Groups seek marrow
donor for young boy
by Hope Calati
Student and community groups
will unite this weL.end in a drive
designed to locate matching bone
marrow for Askia Abdulmuta-
kabbir, the four year old son of a
University alumna with a rare
blood disease.
Abdulmutakabbir was diagnosed
two years ago with osteopetrosis, a
disease with the only known cure
being a marrow transplant.
University alumna Malekia
Abdulmutakabbir, Askia's mother,
and donor drive co-chairs, Julie
Wheaton and Susie Wolter-Brown,
have targeted the African-American
community at the University in
their search for compatible bone
marrow.
Wheaton emphasized the urgency
of Abdulmutakabbir's situation and
said, "He needs a bone marrow
transplant so that he can grow up."
And while the benefits to the pa-
tient may be obvious, she said, the
experience of saving a life may be
just as valuable for the donor whose
marrow matches. "The two people
often feel like they'd like to meet
each other, " she said.
A compatible donor must have
the matching human leukocyte anti-
gen (HLA). Because HLA is geneti-
cally determined, Askia has a better
chance of finding a donor within his
own racial group. However, cross-
race donations are possible.
"One doesn't want to stress the
differences, but in this situation it is
a biological reality," said Wheaton.
The Black Greek Association
(BGA) adopted the drive as its
at the drive.
The drive is being funded by the
National Marrow Donor Program
(NMDP), a database which matches
patients and potential donors.
Sonya Brown, the drive's student
co-coordinator, said, "We're doing it
for Askia, but we're also doing it to
get more African-Americans on the
database."
While the drive's target is to
find a donor for Abdulmutakabbir,
people of all races are encouraged to
be tested so that the registry may be
increased from its present 470,000
donors.
Potential donors must be be-
tween 18 and 55 and in good health.
Qualified donors will have a vial of
blood removed from the arn which
will then be tested for a compatible
HLA and registered on the database.
If the marrow matches, the poten-
tial donor will receive educational
and medical counseling before be-
coming obligated to donate.
The drive will be conducted at
the Michigan Union Anderson
Room Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6
p.m.
UUUU KAN lfI I FVLQII
Harry Allen, Hip-Hop activist and Media Assassin for the rap group Public
Enemy, holds up the press release for the video of the song "By the time
I get to Arizona."
Another speaker was Robert
Chrisman, a University lecturer in
the Center for African Studies and
the English department. Chrisman
is also the editor and publisher of
Black Scholar Magazine.
"Mass media," he said, "is mo-
nopolizing, racist in from and con-
tent, a commodity of reality, pol-
lution, parasitic, and an aspect of
the ideology of society."
"Through mass media, the
stereotypes of slavery are trans-
ferred," he said. This leads to the
spread of the poison of racist ide-
ology, he added. Media encourages
isolation and alienation, he said.
The last speaker was Romell
Foster-Owens, an independent film
maker, producer-director. A gradu-
ate of the American Film Institu-
tion and winner of three NAACP
awards, Foster-Owens said, writ-
ing and producing are ways of con-
trolling.
Abdulmutakabbir
semester service project. In addition,
members of the Angel Club, My
Friends Care Leukemia Fund, the
Aplastic Anemia Association of
Michigan, and Red Cross will assist
"As a film
tell the story
tell," she said.
maker you have to
that you want to
LSA first-year student Richard
Mack said after listening to each of
the speakers, "We see shows like
21 Jump Street with Blacks in au-
thority positions and a lot of
Blacks move towards the right
wing, thinking that we're doing
well and no longer need to revolt.
These people are settling."
Duderstadt tries to light fire in
public access television 'chat'
'U' hosts ethnicity symposium
by Guillermo Pinczuk
The revival of ethnicity and na-
tionalism and its effect on various
countries will be the focus of a
symposium to be held today at 3
p.m. in the Rackham Ampitheater.
Professor Edward McCarus, di-
rector of the Center for Middle
Eastern and North African Studies,
said the symposium, entitled
"Ethnicity and Resurgent
Nationalism Around the World,"
serves several purposes.
First and foremost, it is de-
signed to educate the University
community about how different
countries are trying to overcome
common problems, McCarus said.
The annual symposium is also in-
tended to provide a setting for fac-
Correction
Yesterday's story about Alex Haley inadvertently omitted a
name from the byline. The story was written by both Rob
Patton and Mona Qureshi.
THE LIST
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
ulty-student interaction and to give
faculty an opportunity to get ac-
quainted across disciplinary lines.
The symposium series has ad-
dressed a common theme affecting a
variety of nations since its inception
in 1984.
The conference was organized by
the Intercenter Council (ICC), a
committee comprised of the direc-
tors of the Center for International
Business Education (CIBE), the
University Council on
International Academic Affairs
(UCIAA) and members from six
other international centers
throughout the University.
This year's conference features a
professor from each of the six area
centers and from the Program of
Latin American and Caribbean
Studies.
by Purvi Shah
Daily Administration Reporter
University President James
Duderstadt is sending out a differ-
ent type of smoke signal to warm up
the public through a new medium: a
"fireside chat."
The fireside chat is a discussion
of University issues between
Duderstadt and four faculty mem-
bers - School of Music Dean Paul
Boylan, Department of
Anthropology Chair Richard Ford,
Center for the Education of Women
Director Carol Hollenshead, and
Rackham Associate Dean James
Jackson.
Shirley Clarkson, director of
Presidential Communications, said
the fireside chat - to be broadcast
on public access cable television for
a week starting Feb. 2. - will spot-
light principal campus concerns.
In the one-hour, prerecorded pro-
gram, Duderstadt and the faculty
members discussed developments in
undergraduate education, integra-
tion of professional schools into
other University programs, the role
of women in academia and higher
education administration, and the
responsibility of graduate schools
in preparing minority students for
future faculty positions.
"The main idea was to experi-
ment," Clarkson said. "It's very
frustrating on all sides to have no
way to let people know what issues
'We came to a greater
awareness of some of
these matters.
- Paul Boylan,
School of Music dean
are being discussed by administra-
tors ... This is a way to broaden out
information."
Although the program will
reach Ann Arbor residents,
Clarkson said the fireside chat is
targeted for the University
community.
While Clarkson emphasized that
the program is not a state of the
University address, faculty partici-
pant Boylan said the program
should help spark further debate on
the issues discussed.
"I don't think any of us were
speaking as experts, just citizens of
the University," Boylan said. "I
think we came to a greater aware-
ness of some of these matters. We
became informed."
Boylan added that the group dis-
cussed an "overview of the overar-
ching issues which we all ought to
be thinking about which might not
be appropriate in our local units.
However, yet to be determined is
whether the fireside chat will pro-
duce more smoke than fire.
Clarkson said the administration
would wait to assess the program
before developing new broadcasts.
"We honestly don't know if it's a
workable means of communication
or not," she said.
She added that while televised
communication is not a substitute
for face-to-face contact, "perhaps
other administrators or units might
want to use television if it seems to
get the message out."
Health services now bills insurance companies
Meetings
ACT-UP Ann Arbor, meeting,
Michigan Union, Crofoot Rm, 7:30
p.m.
Ann Arbor Committee to Defend
Abortion and Reproductive Rights,
mass mtg, Michigan Union, check at
the C.I.C. desk, 6:30 p.m.
Amnesty International U of M, mass
mtg, Michigan Union, Pendleton Rm,
7 p.m.
Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 1311
EECS, weekly luncheon meeting,
12:30-1:30 p.m.
Intervarsity Christian Fellowship,
weekly group mtg, 1040 Dana Bldg, 7
p.m.
Islamic Circle, weekly mtg, Michigan
League, 3rd floor, 6:15.
Pro-Choice Action, mass mtg,
Michigan League, Rm D, 7:30 p.m.
Speakers
"Chaos, Fractals, and Dynamics",
Robert Devaney, 1800 Chemistry, 4
p.m.
"Conformational Analysis: From
the Pseudorotation of Cycloheptane
to the Pseudopotential for Protein
Folding", Gordon Crippen 1640
Chem, 4 p.m.
"From the Mountaintop - '92",
William Anderson. 4th floor Rackham
Aud, 8-9 a.m.
"The Graduate School Experience",
John Williams. 1650 Chemistry Bldg,6
p.m.
"Why is there so much female-
female competition in a mildly
polygonous mammal like Homo
Sapiens?", Steven Gaulin Rackham E.
Lecture Rm, 4 p.m.
"Pro-Life Feminism", Julie Wiley.
Angell Hall, Aud C, 8 p.m.
Furthermore
Safewalk, night-time safety walking
'1 .........m....rrn i. C.., i- ,
Northwalk, North Campus safety
walking service. Temporary service
Sun-Thur 8 p.m.-11:30 a.m. Stop by
2333 Bursley or call 763-WALK. Full
service begins Sunday, Jan. 26.
Ethnicity and Resurgent
Nationalism Around the World,
annual symposium, Rackham
Amphitheatre, 3-5 p.m.
Race, Poverty, and the
Environment, symposium, Honigman
Auditorium, Hutchins Hall, noon-3:15
p.m.
Decentralist Approaches to
Environmental Issues, panel
discussion with local Greens and
Libertarians, Michigan Union,
2209AB, 7:30 p.m.
Commemoration of the Scud
Attacks on Israel, Diag, afternoon.
Comedy Company, auditions,
Michigan Union, Pond Rm, 4:30-10
p.m.
School of Music, Jazz combos, North
Campus Commons, 8 p.m.
ProfessionalDevelopment Program
for International Women,
International Center, Rm 9, 1-3 p.m.
U of M Gospel Chorale, special
concert with Marvin Winans,
Rackham Lecture Hall, 8 p.m.
Film series, Kristallnacht, 1500 EECS
Bldg, North Campus, 5 p.m.
Russkij Chaj, weekly Russian
conversation practice at all levels,
MLB 3rd floor conference rm, 4-5 p.m.
U of M Snowboard,. weekly
snowboarding, The Cube, 5 p.m.
Jazz Cafe, jazz ensembles, North
Campus Commons dining rm, 8 p.m.
Registration for "Uncommon
Campus Courses", North Campus
Commons.
ECB Peer Writing Tutors,
Angell/Mason Hall Computing Center,
7-11 p.m.
Career Planning and Placement.,
Summer Job Fair: Pre-Fair Workshop,
by Joshua Meckler
Daily Staff Reporter
Students who have visited
University Health Services (UHS)
this year have had to fill out an ad-
ditional piece of paperwork.
The one-page form asks for the
name of the student's insurance
company and their policy number.
And for certain services, if the stu-
dent returns their form, and if they
agree to notify the company, UHS
bills the student's insurance carrier.
The procedure, new this year, is
part of UHS' ongoing attempt to
keep health-care costs down, said Dr.
Caesar Briefer, director of
University Health Services.
"We decided we should begin to
look at our ability to seek reim-
bursement for certain procedures
that we do in those students that
have insurance that would pay for
it," he said.
Even though students will now
pay for health services through their
fee and sometimes from insurance,
Briefer said, "It's not duplication at
all. It's a matter of finding sources
that don't cost students any more
money in order to keep the fee as
low as possible."
Briefer stressed that "students
will not get billed under any cir-
cumstances."
And, he added, "Students are al-
ways in control. They can, for in-
stance, decline to give us the infor-
mation. They are requested on each
and every situation.
"We automatically do not bill
for any sensitive services - any-
thing that has to do with personal
life." For example, pregnancy tests
or the cost of contraceptives would
not be billed to an insurance com-
pany.
The procedures that may be
billed include X-rays, physical ther-
apy and some lab tests..
An office visit to a doctor or
specialty clinic would not be billed
and is covered by students' health
service fees, Briefer said.
All enrolled students currently
pay $84.50 per semester for health
care. That fee entitles them to all
UHS services including tests, x-
rays, office visits, specialty services
and physical therapy.
Although figures are not yet
available, Briefer said he thinks
UHS will recoup a net of about
$100,000 from insurance claims this
academic year.
But compared to the UHS budget
of $8.5 million, "it's relatively
small potatoes," Briefer said.
Students have been fairly recep-
tive to the new program, Briefer
said. "I would say most students are-
willing to comply."
"One problem ,is sometimes we
get so busy ... and we just can't col-
lect the data," Briefer said.
The University of Minnesota has
had a similar plan in place since
1985, said Gailon Roen, director of
operations at Boynton Health
Service at Minnesota.
In 1984, Minnesota students
asked that insurance companies be'
billed so their health service fee
could be held down.
Off-campus Housing Day helps
students combat housing rush
by Nytasha Walters
The off-campus housing rush for
next fall has begun and students can
keep pace with available housing op-
tions by attending "Off-Campus
Housing Day" between noon and 4
p.m. today in the Michigan Union
Ballroom.
"Off-Campus Housing Day has
been designed as a one-stop compre-
hensive housing information event,"
said Mark Erichson, an adviser
Housing Information Office.
Erichson explained that the event
was planned for students who don't
have a lot of time to worry about
their housing situation a year from
now.
Students will have the opportu-
nity to gather housing listings from
50 major landlords and talk with
alternative housing representatives
for more options.
The Ann Arbor Tenants Union
and Student Legal Services will be
available to provide information
about tenants rights and advice for
signing leases.
Michigan Consolidated, a local
gas company, will be on hand with
information to assist students with
their utility bills.
CONGRATULATIONS EDIT STAFF !
The edit staff of The Michigan Daily
recently won 998 out of 1,000 points
in the Columbia Scholastic Press
Association contest. Although the
newspapers were not ranked, no other
college newspaper received over 998.
Also, the Associated Collegiate Press
,
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