Page 2-The Michigan Daily- Wednesday, February 3, 1993
1987 'U' graduate dies in Bosnian struggle
by Mona Qureshi
Daily Feature Writer
An act of charity - small or
large - should never be considered
a loss to the giver. This characterizes
the attitude of 1987 University grad-
uate Renda Tosuner, who gave his
life to help people in need.
Tosuner, a former Ann Arbor res-
ident, left his family and belongings
last October to establish a system
through which Americans could
adopt orphaned children from war-
torn Bosnia-Herzegovina. Tosuner
was killed in an attack by Serbian
forces at the end of December -
just a few days before he was to re-
turn home.
The chaotic situation in Bosnia
has prevented the confirmation of
details about Tosuner's death, said
Ali Al-Qadi, a friend of Tosuner's.
He said Bosnian officials were not
sure where Tosuner was killed, but
suspect that it may have been in
Travnik. Tosuner's body has been
buried in Bosnia.
Al-Qadi and former classmates
remember Tosuner as a compas-
sionate person who dedicated his life
to service and the Islamic faith.
"He was always principled and
driven by what he believed in," said
University Medical School student
Muzammil Ahmed.
Ahmed, who was an undergradu-
ate while Tosuner was a graduate
student, said the two worked closely
together in the Muslim Students
Association. Ahmed fondly looked
back upon planning Palestinian
shanties for the Diag with Tosuner
- and the confusion he held when
he did not know how to build the
structures.
"Hardly anybody showed up ex-
cept for Brother Renda and one or
two other brothers," Ahmed said.
"But (Tosuner) hammered the whole
shanty. It looked so good we had to
redo it so it looked like a shanty. He
was always one to get the job done."
Omar Sacirbey, special adviser to
the Bosnian ambassador to the
United Nations, said he does not
have a count of volunteers, like
Tosuner, who have gone to Bosnia
to offer aid because there are many
organizations and individuals travel-
ing by themselves. But he had some
words of thanks for Tosuner, his
family and people like them.
"When people will go out on a
limb, a particularly fatal limb, to
help other people, we can applaud
their efforts at the very least. Words
are definitely not enough to express
the gratitude we feel," Sacirbey said.
Al-Qadi said Tosuner was an ex-
ceptional man - dedicated to his
local community and the world
community - who set out to follow
his convictions.
"I've never in my life seen one
like him," Al-Qadi said.
Tosuner's sister, Lebriz Tosuner-
Fikes of Silver Springs, Md., echoed
Al-Qadi's thoughts.
She said Tosuner had an interest
in children - in addition to the
strong belief in his faith - which
WOMEN
Continued from page 1
work six hours a day as a monitor.
It's not that bad," Fairchild said.
According to U.S. News and
World Report, Clinton plans to help
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the working poor. However, he has
revealed no programs to aid the
homeless or welfare recipients.
Michelle Williams, the program
director for Prospect Place Family
Shelter in Ypsilanti, hopes the new
administration will grant her federal
aid.
Don Goddel, a volunteer at the-
Ann Arbor Homeless Shelter, said
the shelter houses mostly men from
the ages of 23 to 28. Women - of-
ten survivors of sexual violence -
are referred to the shelter next door
to escape men, Goddel said.
Women often become homeless
because of domestic violence, drug
use, and divorce or abandonment.
Williams was careful to add that the
homeless should not be stereotyped
because individual situations vary.
"Ignorance perpetuates the prob-
lem of homelessness," Williams ex-
plained. "It's easy to make assump-
tions about homelessness, but meet-
ing homeless families makes you
aware of similarities between you
and these families - not the
differences."
Williams said 75 percent of the
families at Prospect Place are fe-
male-headed households, 20 percent
are dual-parent families, and 5 per-
cent of the families are headed by
men.
Goddel and Williams agreed that
women face domestic violence both
on the streets and as a cause of
homelessness.
"It's not a question of homeless
women getting raped - it's a ques-
led him to fulfill a commitment of
service. Tosuner-Fikes said his fam-
ily life reflected his love for
children.
"He was a very good uncle and a
very outstanding father," she said.
Tosuner-Fikes said her brother
had no hesitations about risking his
life in attempting to bring Bosnian
orphans to the United States. "He
was very determined to go," she
said. "He was clear about his
calling."
Tosuner was born June 1, 1960 in
Saginaw, Mich. He attended
Essexville High School and earned
his masters in architecture from the
University in 1987. He then worked
for the Ann Arbor architectural firm
Hobbs and Black. For the last year
he had been doing independent ar-
chitectural consulting.
Tosuner is survived by his wife,
Handan; two young children; his
parents; and a sister.
tion of how many times," Goddel
said.
Ongoing concerns in the home-
less community are drug use and
prostitution.
Michael Slye, a homeless man
from Washington, said with a smirk,
"It goes on 24-7. All day, every
day."
"Stop giving crack to these
young'uns. They're selling their
food stamps and selling their bod-
ies," Slye demanded.
Drug and alcohol abuse is
widespread throughout the homeless
community. Williams said substance
abuse is a problem for many of the
homeless, but not for everyone.
"We suggest that women do not
go to (a job) interview with alcohol
on their breath, but they ultimately
make the choice of what to do," she
said. "They have a high vulnerability
for substance abuse, but I don't
think we've ever figured out - does
homelessness cause the abuse or
vice versa."
She said each woman deals with
her homeless situation differently:
some withdraw, some become an-
gry, others feel sad or upset. Most,
Williams added, cope internally.
Meri Dembrow, a shelter volun-
teer and second-year MBA student,
echoed this sentiment. She said
women are more reluctant to talk
about their problems than men. In
the two years she has worked at the
shelter, Dembrow said only three
women have approached her, one of
whom spat at her on State Street.
"On the whole, the women seem
to do a better job of making it out of
the shelter than the men," said
Goddel.
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MICHELLE GUY/Daily
Rackham student Dan Sears and LSA junior Jeff Zick, both members of
Students Concerned about Animal Rights, pass out information on the
Diag yesterday.
0
WHEELER
Continued from page 1
shows.
In a letter to the Wall Street
Journal last Friday, LSA Dean Edie
Goldenberg responded to the
Journal's editorial that addressed the
University's "thought police."
In the letter, Goldenberg criti-
cized the TA's action. "I regard the
teaching assistant's response as in-
appropriate and ineffective - an
overreaction to what the undergrad-
uate aptly described as his own
'ludicrous response.'
Goldenberg also wrote a similar
letter to the chair of the University's
Department of Political Science.
"We must all take care not to
HOMELESS
Continued from page 1
homeless have really got dogged
out," said Nahru Lampkin, who is
well-known around campus for his
congo drum and clever rhymes.
"(Bush) made it hard for working
people to make ends meet. He said
that the homeless want to be home-
less. That's bullshit," said Lampkin,
who was homeless for a number of
years.
Sylvester Herron, a homeless
man afflicted with a bad back and
aching knees, said he senses a catch-
22 situation because job possibilities
for the homeless are limited.
"If you're like me (with physical
problems) you may be limited to
working one day a week. You can't
pay rent with that. Sure you have a
job. Job expectations are limited.
You can forget about it except for
McDonald's and Burger King and
you've got to be able to move and I
can't move," he said.
Herron criticized the government
for cutting some programs that used
to provide him with aid.
"There was a time when they
overreact in ways that stifle expres-
sion," Goldenberg wrote.
But Wheeler questioned whether
the University had really disavowed
itself from the incident.
"Until the University is willing to
publicly apologize for defaming this
student, we will press on," he said.
"I guarantee the University will
apologize."
Wheeler added that his group is
considering consulting its attorneys
to look into other alleged examples
of thought policing at the University.
Brown said he would like to see
Accuracy in Academia take legal
action on his behalf.
"Yes, a lawsuit should be made.
It is not so much the money as it is
the principle," he said.
gave me food stamps and a check.
... They cut that out. I didn't have
anything else after that. So, yes (the
government) did help me out, and no
they didn't.
"There are a lot of people who
may have misused the checks. They
may have spent it on liquor or co-
caine. I never really misused the
checks. Being homeless, it's no fun.
You wonder about today and worry
about tomorrow," Herron said.
Some homeless people did ex-
press hope that things would change
under Clinton.
"I just got a lot more faith (in
Clinton). I don't have a whole lot of
faith in Clinton. ... It's just that he's
not a complete scumbag. ... I'm sure
(the homeless issue) is not going to
be top priority but he's a lot more
sympathetic to the average person,"
said one homeless man who wished
to remain anonymous.
Borthwick said the government
should "offer more than a place to
sleep and a place to put food in our
stomachs. (It should) offer other
programs like job training and a way
to get shelter through partially or
fully federally funded low-income
housing."
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CAREERS IN LAW
Wednesday, February 3, 1993
6:30 p.m. in the Kuenzel Room (Union)
Come listen to attorneys from Michigan speak
about their experiences in the legal arena.
Find out about the many different areas
of legal specialization.
In the past, attorneys have spoken about:
*Corporate Law
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*Tax Law
*Criminal Law
Following the presentations attorneys will
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01
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FEB. 3-5 *11a.m. to 4 p.m.