Our Freedom of Assembly went up in smoke
when Associate Vice President for Student
Services Mary Ann Swain restricted NORML
from using the Diag for this year's Hash Bash.
Dance majors really know how to live. Read
about a day in the life of these hard-working
students in Alexandra Beller's State of the Art.
The Michigan men's basketball team needs to
rebound from Sunday's loss. The Wolverines
could not have picked a better time for last-place
Northwestern to come to town.
Today
Cloudy to partly sunny;
High: 30, Low: 19
Tomorrow
Snow at times; High 34, Low 23
V
iWi
ti
One hundred and one years of editorial freedom
Copyright ©1 992
Vol. CII, No. 71 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Wednesday, February 5, 1992 Tc Mchigan Daily
Venezuelan troops thwart coup; at least 14 dead
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Minister Fernando Ochoa said Sporadic gunfire broke out yes- A border dispute with neigh- told him: "No negotiations. Give Brazil, Cuba, the Organization of
- Loyal soldiers repulsed an at- loyal troops had "completely suf- terday afternoon near the palace, boring Colombia has created ten- them bullets. I want to be back in American States and the European
tack by rebel troops and tanks on focated" the rebels, who had ear- apparently from soldiers looking sion between Perez and the mili- (the palace) soon," according to an Community condemned the coup
the presidential palace yesterday, tier abducted one state governor for snipers, said a photographer at tary. Soldiers have seen their wages account in the respected El attempt in Venezuela, the second
crushing an attempt 'to overthrow and staged attacks in the western the scene. shrink dramatically because of in- Nacional newspaper. longest-standing democracy in
one of Latin America's most stable cities of Maracay, Valencia and The motives for the coup at- flation. Six hours later, Perez declared South America, following
democracies. Maracaibo. tempt were unclear, but it fol- Senator David Morales Bello from the palace rhat the putsch had Colombia.
A newspaper reported that 14 Ochoa told reporters at the gov- lowed violent protests and labor said in Congress that three of fecn defeated.Crc reinsnsvrar
people were killed in the early ernment palace that four leaders of unrest arising from a growing dis- Perez' bodyguards were killed inb' Caracas residents i several ar-
morning attack in Caracas. a rebel paratroop regiment were parity between rich and poor in the palace attack. Perez escaped The government banned public eas of the city were caught in the
Government forces arrested 300 among those arrested, including Lt. Venezuela. hidden under a overcoat and man- demonstrations, broadened police crossfire between the rival forces.
rebel soldiers as the rebellion Col. Hugo Chavez, who in a TV ad- The government of this oil-rich aged to get to a private television arrest powers and suspended some Rifles, automatic weapons, mor-
againlst President Carlos Andres dress urged fellow fighters to sur- nation has admitted that just 57 station, according to news ac- constitutional civil rights guaran- tars were used, and one rebel tank
Perez quickly collapsed. render "before more blood is percent of Venezuelans are able to counts. tees for at least 10 days. repeatedly battered a palace door in
By yesterday afternoon, Defense shed." afford more than one meal a day. Perez telephoned Ochoa and The United States, Mexico, attempts to break in.
I
Union
may ax
smoking
are as
by Karen Talaski
Smokers who frequent the
Michigan Union's cafeteria may
soon find their butts put out -
literally.
The Michigan Union Board of
Representatives (MUBR) is consider-
ing a new policy that would make
the entire ground floor of the Union
a non-smoking area.
The MUBR will hear the results
of a student survey at a meeting this
morning and then review the current
policy to see if "what is in place is
appropriate," said Union Building
Director Frank Cianciola.
The meeting will be held at 7:30
a.m. in the Welker Room of the
Union and is open to the public.
The survey was completed by
Alpha Phi Omega, a national co-ed
service fraternity. "We were hired by
the MUBR to get a feel for how.
people feel about smoke in general,"
said Engineering senior Melinda
Rodriguez, a member of Alpha Phi
See SMOKE, Page 2
Engler
gets nal
WASHINGTON (AP) - Gov.
John Engler's no-new-taxes, cut-
spending budget policy may not be
popular with everyone back home,
but it's boosting his stock in the na-
tional conservative movement, ob-
servers said yesterday.
"A year ago he was pretty much
an unknown, but he's emerged as a
hero," said Steve Moore, director of
fiscal policy studies at the Cato In-
stitute, a think tank that supports
limited government.
"We're very encouraged by the
sorts of reforms Gov. Engler is in-
stituting," said Kate O'Beirne, vice
president of the Heritage Founda-
tion, another conservative research
organization. "Maybe more so be-
cause conservatives are dismayed at
what's going on here in Washington
... and disenchanted by Bush."
Engler and another rookie Re-
publican governor, William Weld
of Massachusetts, were featured
speakers at a Cato policy forum.
Both were attending the annual
Washington meeting for the Na-
tional Governors' Association.
Engler was flying back to
Michigan after the forum in prepa-
ration for a speech outlining high-
budget policy
ional exposure
lights of his proposed budget for
fiscal year 1993, which will be
broadcast statewide on public tele-
vision tonight.
The speech will be short on de-
tail, focusing on "what we've had to
do in the past year and what lies
budgets primarily through spending
cuts.
Engler acknowledged the cuts
drew criticism - particularly the
elimination of General Assistance
benefits for 83,000 adults. But he
insisted it was "the right thing to
'We're very encouraged by the sorts of
reforms Gov. Engler is instituting ... Maybe
more so because conservatives are dismayed
at what's going on here in Washington ... and
disenchanted by Bush.'
- Kate O'Beirne
Foundation vice president
Heritage
ahead of us ... the philosophy behind
it," spokesperson John Truscott
said. He said Engler's complete
spending plan will be made public
Friday.
The Cato Institute program was
entitled "Balancing the Budget
When Times Are Tough." Engler
and Weld are among the few gover-
nors who have refused to raise taxes,
choosing instead to balance their
do. It's what we must do to break up
the cycle of dependency and
poverty."
He also pledged to campaign for
his "Cut and Cap" initiative featur-
ing a 30 percent across-the-board cut
in school operating property taxes
over five years - about 60 percent
of the average property tax bill in
Michigan - and a three percent cap
on annual assessment increases.
Afro-American history
Monique Washington looks at goods displayed in the Union as part of
Afro-American history month.
University cancels social change class
Students question political motivation; psychology dept. blames budget
by Chastity Wilson dents, suspecting political reasons, LSA senior Mary Bejian, one of ference to at least make the 'Race,
Daily Staff Reporter are protesting the decision. the students protesting the cancel- Gender and Society' go."
-r r
The psychology department has
decided to cancel a course that al-
lows students to get credit and
hands-on experience for working in
organizations such as the Baker-
Mandela Center and the Lesbian and
Gay Males Programs Office.
Project Outreach, the psychology
department's experiential learning
division, recently canceled "Social
Change," its only comprehensive
course dealing exclusively with the
issues of racism, violence against
women, sexism, homelessness, ho-
mophobia and the environment.
Project Outreach staff members
attribute the cancellation to bud-
getary constraints, while some stu-
w3 i
"Social Change" - which has
been in the department for the last
25 years along with two other sec-
tions - was chosen to be canceled
starting fall 1992 because of an ex-
pected shortage of teaching assis-
tants, said Project Outreach head
Jerry Miller.
The "Social Change" section
will be incorporated into the
"Working With Women" section,
forming a new class called "Race,
Gender and Society," he said.
The other two sections,
"Education and Enrichment" and
"Juvenile Justice," will be com-
bined into one section called
"Special Needs," Miller said.
lation, said that students have made
numerous calls and fliers, and sent
MTS messeges to try to save the
section.
One of the problems the students
expressed, Bejian said, was that the
department made a huge decision
without a plan or a concrete group
of people to work on organizing the
new section.
Rackham student Pattrice Mau-
rer, who has been the teaching assis-
tant for the "Social Change" sec-
tion since the winter term of 1990,
said, "It was in fact the pressure
from the students to the decision
makers that made the definitive dif-
Some students say they believe
Maurer's role as a political activist
may have had something to do with
the fact that, out of 10 classes, hers
was chosen for cancellation.
LSA senior Nicole McPherson, a
group leader for the "Social
Change" section, said, "Pattrice is
so vocal and is a well-known ac-
tivist, and the University, which is
conservative, doesn't want to pro-
mote liberal thoughts.
"The class makes the University
nervous because it encourages stu-
dents to think about social issues
and lots of students that have come
out of the class become active."
Tsongas all wet
Democratic presidential hopeful Paul Tsongas dives off the block
yesterday while taking a swim at Dartmouth College. Tsongas is
campaigning for the New Hampshire primary.
Polk resigns from AAC; cites
clashes with Muir as reason
by Jennifer Silverberg
Daily MSA Reporter
Michigan Student Assembly
Rep. Amy Polk resigned as vice
chair of the Academic Affairs
Commission (AAC) at last night's
assembly meeting, citing personal
differences with Commission Chair
Jeff Muir.
Polk said these conflicts became
evident in a column Muir wrote in
last week's Michigan Review, titled
24-hour study facility on last
night's agenda, but the vote occurred
after the Daily's deadline.
The resolution calls for the ad-
ministration to work with the
AAC and other University student
governnments toward the goal of
making a 24-hour library available
by the fall of 1992.
MSA further resolved that the
administration should work with
the AAC and other student gov-
Engineering Rep. Aaron
Williams also submitted his letter
of resignation to MSA last night.
"I no longer can afford the lux-
ury of sitting around for hours and
getting nothing done," his letter
said.
Assembly members will be no-
tified at next week's meeting about
a resolution asking for student ap-
proval of the maximum limit of the
MSA fee. If the assembly passes the