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When U-M wants something, it gets it. Now, the
university wants its MTV, so soon, we'll be wired
for cable. Coming to a television near you.
Folk music - it's not just for hippies any more.
Andrew Cahn offers a handy guide to who's who
among the folks in modern folk music.
Michigan's sophmore five were something less
than fab, but the Wolverines got the job done
when it counted in a 75-71 victory over the Rice
Owls.
Today
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One hundred two years of editorial freedom
Vol CII.45 Anrbo, ichia-Wensdy ecmer2 19D.2 h ichigan Da S.ily
Activists
cover art
for AIDS
awareness - :
by Jen DiMascio
Daily Staff Reporter '4.
U-M searches
for official to
oversee code
Alexandra Beller is only 20
years old but already five of her
friends have died of AIDS.
"We have to do something -
now," Beller said to the applause of
the roughly 50 people who had
gathered on the Diag.
Her speech was part of "A Day
Without Art," a daylong event that
sought to draw attention to World
AIDS Awareness Day.
Visual AIDS, the campus group
that staged the event, draped white
cloths with large red ribbons over
campus sculptures, such as the
Cube, the fountain in front of
Rackham and the display in front of
the Art Museum.
The intent was to show how the
disease has ravaged the art commu-
nity. By blanketing ubiquitous'
campus landmarks, the group hoped
to emphasize the disease's universal
scope.
"In covering up what is visual, it
stresses the magnitude of the loss of
what is visual," said Visual AIDS
coordinator Tami Pollak, an LSA
junior.
The five people who spoke at
yesterday's rally on the Diag
stressed that AIDS affects
everybody.
"AIDS is a health crisis, not a
morality crisis," said LSA junior
Bret Havey.
LSA senior Eric Hofmann said
he became involved with fighting
AIDS last summer. He shared a ride
to Washington D.C., with a man
who contracted the HIV virus -
which causes AIDS - during four
by Jennifer Silverberg
Daily Administration Reporter
Committee members are hopeful
their search for an administrator to
oversee the judicial aspects of the
Statement of Student Rights and
Responsibilities can end by Jan. 1,
the date the code will be
implemented.
A nine-member Search Advisory
Committee has been looking for an
assistant to Vice President for
Student Affairs Maureen Hartford
since October.
"We're getting close," said U-M
Ombudsman Don Perigo, chair of
the committee. "Next week I antici-
pate being able to give to the vice
president a fairly wide range of
people."
The committee consists of
Perigo, five students, two staff and
one faculty member.
The assistant will primarily be
responsible for running the Judicial
Affairs Office that will oversee the
policy, which the U-M Board of
Regents adopted on an interim basis
at its November meeting.
Perigo said the committee will
recommend between three and five,
people for the position by early next
week, and added that interviews
could occur the same week.
"I think we have a great pool of
people," said LSA Student
Government Vice President Jennifer
Tejada, a member of the search
committee. "I'm really excited. It
was really tough narrowing down
the pool because we've had so many
good candidates."
Perigo said the search will not be
rushed to ensure the position is filled
when the code is implemented.
"The code takes effect Jan. 1, but
someone can assume responsibilities
on an interim basis," Perigo said.
"It's not mandatory this person starts
this (code) out but it would be nice."
Hartford agreed.
"I'm hoping to have someone ap-
pointed some time in December but
when they could start is another
question," Hartford said.
The assistant will conduct inves-
tigations into allegations of policy
violations, present documentation of
alleged violations to the student
hearing panel, mediate disputes that
are not heard by the panel, train the
panel and educate the university
community about the policy.
"I'm really concerned about hav-
ing someone who has real feeling for
students and is not just high in the
hierarchy talking down to us,"
Tejada said. "I want someone fair
who students can relate to."
The assistant will also be respon-
sible for conducting research to as-
sess the current needs andproblems
of students.
Tejada said she is confident the
outcome of the search will have a
positive effect on students.
"It's going to be a good thing,"
Tejada said. "I think the assistant to
the vice president for student affairs
will be a moderator, not a judge. I
think it will be a positive thing for
the students."
LSA seniors Eric Hofmann and Ali Johnson, from left to right, stump on the Diag as part of a World AIDS Day rally.
years of practicing safe sex.
"I realized this was something
changing American society,"
Hofmann said.:
LSA snior Ali Johnson urged
the crowd to limit sex partners,
while artist Michael Kania painted
a picture that he never showed to
the audience.
"There is no safety in numbers,"
Johnson said.
He added that one of every 25
babies from the Bronx is born with
AIDS.
Ellen Plummer, assistant direc-
tor for programs at the U-M Mu-
seum of Art, said covering artwork
raises awareness of the loss of art as
representative of humanity. Even
though the art community has been
hit hard by AIDS, the problem is
universal.
"The arts are on the vanguard of
human experience," Plummer said.
The art community in cities such
as New York, Philadelphia, San
Francisco, London and Paris blan-
keted famous artwork such as the
Thinker. Many cities have dimmed
their skylines for 15 minutes to
commemorate the loss felt by
AIDS, Pollak said.
Rob Wuthenow, a junior in the
School of Natural Resources and
the Environment, said he was dis-
mayed by the low turnout of
students for the presentation.
Pira DeBeck, a student at
Washtenaw Community College,
said, "Safe sex is so important. It's
terrible to see people disregarding
See ART, Page 2
I
* Advocates push Senate to regulate sexual harassment
by Hope Calati
and Lauren Dermer
Daily Government Reporters
As Sen. Bob Packwood (R-Ore.)
spends a week in an alcohol treat-
ment program, female lawmakers
and activists are hoping for a new
and tougher attitude in Congress
toward sexual harassment.
Packwood - who was re-elected
to his fifth term in the Senate - was
recently accused by 10 women who
worked with him of making
unwelcomed sexual advances.
Packwood initially denied the
charges, but has since acknowledged
the possibility that he may have be-
haved inappropriately. In a recent
statement he said he was sorry "if I
have conducted myself in any way
that has caused any individual
discomfort or embarrassment."
The report of the allegations has
sparked discussion about Congress
members' exemption from rules and
regulations regarding sexual
harassment.
In a 1986 ruling, the Supreme
Court held that sexual harassment in
the workplace qualifies as sex dis-
crimination, which is barred under
Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights
Act.
But Congress has exempted itself
from the law that applies to private
employers.
Laura Lorenzen, deputy director
of the Congressional Caucus for
'(I am sorry) if I have conducted myself in any
way that has caused any individual discomfort
or embarrassment.'
- Sen Bob Packwood (R-Ore.)
Women's Issues, said the reasoning
has to do with the constitutional
question of separation of powers.
She said private employers ac-
cused of sexual harassment are sub-
ject to hearings by the Equal Em-
ployment Opportunity Commission.
Since this is an executive agency,
she said, it is questionable for a
member of the legislature to be
placed in front of the commission.
Political Science Associate Prof.
Jacqueline Stevens agreed with this
logic.
"There's the fear that under the
pretense of a particular law the ex-
ecutive branch will come in and
enforce it," Stevens said.
But Senator-elect Dianne Fein-
stein (D-Calif.) has vowed to draft a
new law next year to "prevent any
loopholes that exclude federal offi-
cials" from laws prohibiting sexual
harassment.
The U.S. Offices of Fair Em-
ployment Practices have been hear-
ing complaints of sexual harassment
since late 1988 in the House and
since June in the Senate. The offices
can order victims reinstated or
promoted and award monetary
damages, but they cannot discipline
a member.
However, effective penalties for
sexual harassment are more impor-
tant than whether the act is techni-
cally legal or illegal, Stevens said.
"If the citizens of Oregon don't
like having a senator who harasses
his employees ... they are free to
recall the senator," Stevens said.
But some critics have said the
offices are inadequate for preventing
harassment in the legislature.
"I think some of the aspects of
sexual harassment can be legislated.
In particular, some forms of attempts
at unwanted sexual advances can be
ruled in specific incidents. Some of
it is a lot more slippery than that. I
don't think you can make a law that
if you make a sexist comment you
can go to jail," said political science
Associate Prof. Nancy Burns.
She said changes must be made
in societal norms regarding sexual
harassment through guidelines and
awareness that sexist comments pull
power away from women.
See HARASSMENT, Page 2
Brater nixes public
hearing on housing
commission firing
Military aid
in Somalia
plagued by
controversy
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -
Relief officials yesterday urged the
United Nations to quickly authorize
more military muscle to guarantee
that aid reaches hundreds of thou-
sands of starving Somalis.
As the U.N. Security Council de-
bated whether to take up a U.S. offer
of 'A fe- L-f11 n o A va .hA
by Jonathan Berndt
Daily City Reporter
Mayor Liz Brater has axed a
public hearing for Monday's City
Council meeting that would have
addressed the firing of former Hous-
ing Commission Director Conrad
Benson.
Dozens of public housing tenants
have exnressed outrage after the
"The people at the last meeting
wanted to speak to the whole coun-
cil," Nicolas said, referring to the
special session where 15 people ad-
dressed four councilmembers. "The
issue is not Conrad Benson, but the
relationship between the tenants of
public housing and the. housing
commission."
Most of the sneakers favored
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