Football is a microcosm of life. This fact will never be more evident than tomorrow, when our fine university establishes its supremacy over our agricultural neighbors in East Lansing. FridayFOCUS Schools have been teaching that "Columbus discovered America" for hundreds of years, but recently all that has changed. SPORTS1 See how the Wolverines match up with the Spartans for tomorrow's clash of undefeated Big Ten powers. The real question: Can the Blue cover the spread? Today Mostly cloudy; High 59, Low 46 Tomorrow Sun and clouds; High 57, Low 40 Jr 441W 4411V t Yi One hundred two years of editorial freedom Vol. CIII, N Michigan -- Fri II 1992 The Mi U-M ANTICIPATES COLUMBUS DAY U-Mprofs adapt courses to changing societal views by Will McCahill U-M professors say they have had to revise the manner in which they teach and think about Columbus Day due to changing societal views. "The concept of discovery has been turned on its head," said Assistant Anthropology Prof. Crisca Bierwert, who teaches courses in Native American culture. Although she said that she was raised with the idea of Columbus as a sort of "champion," she said she has always taught that he was more of a destroyer than a hero. Bierwert said she is glad to see others conforming to her view- point, and thinks the American Culture Theme Semester - which encompasses critical thinking courses aiming at reexamining Columbus' voyage - is "a valu- able forum for rethinking ideas.". However, she also said that the lack of a Native American Studies program at the U-M is a "serious omission," and has led to diffi- culty in recruiting Native Americans and experts in the field of Native American Studies to come to teach at the U-M. Bierwert said she hopes the in- terest aroused by the quincente- nary will not fade after this year. With this goal in mind, Bierwert said, the United Nations See COLUMBUS, Page 2 Theme semester provides alternat ive inteipretaion to Columbus' voyage by Marc Olender The U-M had nothing grand planned for the Columbus quincentenary until the birth of the theme semester. The theme semester, titled "The Americas Then and Now: Beyond 1492," includes an interdisciplinary mini-course, guest lectures, and other events. It focuses on the impact of the European encounter with the peoples and cultures already present in 1492. See SEMESTER, Page 2 MSA to put code on Nov. b allot by Jennifer Silverberg Daily Administration Reporter While Michigan Student Assembly representatives hope to put the Student Rights and Responsibilities Policy up for a stu- dent vote in the upcoming assembly election, some administrators and regents do not think such a measure is necessary. "MSA will have a ballot question on the code," said Brian Kight, vice chair of MSA's Student Rights Commission (SRC). "The question is, will the administration respect the results of that vote?" "The question would be along the lines of, 'Should the university enact its proposed Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities?"' said Rob Van Houweling, chair of the SRC. "Not whether they want a code but whether they approve of the spe- cific draft." Kight said students would vote on the ballot question during the November MSA elections. "I want to make it clear that it's obvious the (U-M Board of) Regents have the final say and authority to do what they want. We're not in any way requiring that the regents be bound by this," Kight said. "We would just ask that students be al- lowed to vote on a policy before it's implemented." Regent Shirley McFee (R-Battle Creek) said she did not think a stu- dent vote would be productive. "To put it to a student vote, I don't know what would be accom- plished by that in terms of giving See VOTE, Page 2 Listed below are selected events related to the Columbus quincentenary: Friday, October 9 Adam Fortunate Eagle, who led the 1969 reoccupation of Alcatraz Island, will speak - also music and dancing featuring the U-M Native American Dance Troupe, noon, Regents Plaza. Petition drive for Central & South American indigenous people, 9 a.m., Diag. Sunday, October 11 "National Coming Out Day & Columbus Day: What's the Connection?", 3 p.m., Common Language Bookstore. Native American Students Assoc. Rally, 10 p.m., Diag. Monday, October 12 - Columbus Day Panel discussions on Native American issues, 9 a.m., Union. "Columbus Didn't Discover Us" - video showing & BMC Open House, 10 a.m., Baker Mandela Center. "Completing the Circle- - Mending the Sacred'H-oop": a cultural celebration, 7 p.m., Union. Tuesday, October 13 Indigenous People's History and Current Organizing Efforts, information & panel discussion highlighting 500 years of resistance, 6 p.m., 429 Mason Hall. Wednesday, October 14 "Genocide Then and Now" - panel discussion, 4 p.m., Center for Afro-American & African Studies Lounge, 111 West Enginneering. Groups organize counter- Columbus Day activities by Adam Anger and Pete Matthews Not everyone will be reveling come Monday, the 500th anniver- sary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus' flotilla to the "New World." Many descendents of the peo- ples "discovered" by Columbps wish he had sailed off the end of the earth - and left their ancient civilizations to develop at their own pace without European inter- ference. The consensus and sensitivity on the U-M campus regarding this issue has resulted in the absence of any events which unabashedly celebrate the quincentenary. There has been and will be, however, many activities this month which both question and condemn Columbus and his endeavor. Among the organizations most active in questioning the "Columbus myth" are the Native American Students Association (NASA) and the Baker-Mandela Center (BMC). NASA represents the 189 "self-identified" Native Americans attending the U-M. The BMC is an organization and resource center which promotes issues concerning social justice - as they relate to people of color, women, gays and lesbians. Both NASA and the BMC be- gan organizing counter-Columbus Day celebrations in November 1991. Michael Dashner, a student services representative and NASA member, said, "There was a lot of sentiment and people wondering what we Native Americans were going to be doing come October 1992." BMC and NASA efforts have resulted in a resolution passed by the Michigan Student Assembly declaring Oct. 12 "Indigenous Peoples' Day" and the Ann Arbor City Council's decision to desig- nate it as the day to commemorate See ACTIVITIES, Page 2 I . Accused murderer to plead *insanit by Erin Einhorn Daily Crime Reporter Chester Posby - the 68-year-old Clinton Twp. resident accused of shooting a doctor at the U-M Medical Center June 26 - plans to plead not guilty by reason of insanity when his case comes to trial Nov. 2, his attorney said yesterday. Posby's attorney, Jeffrey Strouss, said the claim acknowledges that the crime was committed, but the prose- cutor still must "prove beyond a rea- sonable doubt that (the defendant) was sane." The psychological condition of the defendant has already been eval- uated by the Forensic Department, which determined he is mentally ill, but competent, meaning the defen- * dant is aware of the charges against him and able to assist his defense. "The forensic department still has to determine if he is insane," Assistant Prosecutor Bob Cooper said. He said he plans to wait for the forensic department report, which must be released within 30 days of the filed insanity claim, before pro- ceeding with his case. The insanity claim was submitted to the Forensic Department last Students stress over GRE, GMAT by Nate Hurley The pressure is on upperclass students this month, as a bevy of standardized tests face those who are applying to graduate school programs. The Law School Admissions Test (LSAT), and the Medical College Acceptance Test (MCAT) were administered last weekend, the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) will be held this weekend, and the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) will be held Oct. 17. "I really haven't been too con- cerned with my classes. I've been letting them slide," said LSA senior Calvin Chin, who will be taking the GRE this weekend. Wendy Wolf, an LSA senior, said her problems will be escalating until the weekend. When asked about how GRE studying has affected her classwork, Wolf said, "Ask me to- morrow. I have a big bio test tomorrow. "I had a test last week but it was far enough away, so it wasn't a Toledo resident Jack Hait practices for Saturday's GRE exam. problem," Wolf said. While many students study on their own, using old tests and refer- ence books as their study materials, others prefer to take test preparation classes, such as those offered by Princeton Review and Stanley Kaplan. Mark McWeeny, assistant direc- tor at the Princeton Review on South University Avenue, said, "(Test preparation classes) offer up-to-date knowledge of changes on current trends in the LSAT." Darrell Wilson, assistant manager Sec TESTS, Page 2 Football state rivalry puts bragging rights, revenge on the line The oad o*Psadena* L'N/]1-0 Big Ten, 1st place 3-0-1 Overall winning." by Josh Dubow Daily Football Writer On the surface, the Michigan- Michigan State rivalry is losing unranked Spartan team came to Ann Arbor to upset a No. 1 Wolverine squad. Because of this and the rivalry, the Michigan . k. .. ., .. .. .. .. .\. .. .......l El ....1 t" tblRL <*.. II