The Michigan Daily-Thursday, March 18, 1993- Page 3
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by Bryn Mickle
Daily Staff Reporter
The University avoided a courtroom dis-
cussion of pornography and its relation to
freedom of expression by settling a disagree-
mept with disgruntled artists.
At a press conference yesterday, theAmeri-
can Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the
University announced they have reached a
settlement that will avoid a lawsuit over the
University's alleged censorship of an artistic
presentation on prostitution.
The controversy stemmed from an incident
at October's "Prostitution: From Academia to
Activism," a symposium held at the Law
School. Sponsors removed a video tape from
the exhibit, entitled "Porn'im'age'ry: Pictur-
ing Prostitutes," without informing exhibit
curator and local artist Carol Jacobsen.
In response to the "censorship," Jacobsen
completely dismantled the exhibit two days
before the symposium's conclusion.
The settlement includes an invitation from
the Law School to reinstall the exhibit in its
original form at a new symposium which will
be held in the fall. Law School Dean Lee
Bollinger will hold a public forum in conjunc-
tion with the exhibit's reinstallation to address
issues of censorship and artistic freedom.
The University has also agreed to pay a sum
'In my judgement, the
students made a mistake in
doing what they did, at least
without having first
discussed the problems they
had with the artists.'
- Lee Bollinger
Law School dean
of $3,000 to each of the artists involved.
But the agreement goes beyond money for
the artists.
"'This is a victory for the artists and the
prostitutes who were silenced," Jacobsen said.
Student sponsors from the Law School Jour-
nal had removed the video because it contained
a segment by pornography actress Veronica
Vera which featured scenes of nudity, bondage
and sado-masochism.
A statement read by Marjorie Heins, direc-
tor and staff counsel of the ACLU, called the
settlement "highly ironic in that the women's
artists who created this exhibit were censored in
the mistaken belief that silencing speech helps
women."
Heins added, "Women rebels and dissenters
will be the first ones targeted if today's ideologi-
cal sex censors have their way."
Jacobsen saidUniversityLaw Prof. Catharine
MacKinnon and noted feminist lawyer Andrea
Dworkin -both members ofanti-pornography
movements - and feminist author John
Stoltenberg were the only members of the 400
symposium attendees that openly objected to
the tapes.
"'The Journal decided that we could not
sponsor a showing of the video tape," explained
Anne Kraemer, a second-year Law student and
Journal member.
Voicing her dismay, Jacobsen said, "The
Journal representatives removed the tapes with-
out even seeing them. They never even told me
what was considered pornographic."
Bollinger justified the settlement by saying,
"In my judgement, the students made a mistake
in doing what they did, at least without having
first discussed the problems they had with the
artists."
He added, "It was not a constitutional nis-
take or a violation of freedom of speech."
One Journal member was also glad the issue ,
was settled.
"I think it was a good idea to settle," said:
LauraBerger, asecond-year Law student. "Some
speakers said they felt threatened (by the video
portion) and we agreed to take out a portion.
There was no answer that would satisfy every-
one."
Vernocia Vera, left, a porn staf and artist, presents the aphrodite award to Carol Jacobsen,
right, and Ann Arbor artist while Marjorie Heins of the ACLU looks on.
Oakland U trustees change policy to skirt Open Meetings Act
by Megan Lardner
Daily Higher Education Reporter
Overturning a previous practice of
holding closed committee meetings,
one Michigan public university has
given in to pressure from several cam-
pus groups and decided to open these
decision-making sessions to the pub-
lic.
Earlier this month, the Oakland
University (OU) Board of Trustees
passed a resolution mandating that all
committee meetings - sessions dur-
ing which some trustees deal with vari-
ous campus issues - be open to the
public.
The Michigan Open Meetings Act
requires state public bodies to maintain
open meetings. However, committee
meetings are considered exempt since
less than amajority of board members is
present.
While the meetings are now public,
committee chairs still have the author-
ity to close meetings at any time if they
feel the measure necessary.
"The feeling is that everything is
officially open, unless (committee
chairs) feel like saying itis closed," said
OU seniorJoanne Gerstner, an Oakland
Post news editor.
Gerstner said OU students and press
are concerned by the university's desire
to keep business behind closed doors.
"They were holding meetings in se-
cret with no agenda," she said. "We felt
that under the Open Meetings Act, they
should be open because they are doing
it with tax dollars and they are a public
body."
Ronald Horowitz, who chaired a
group that observed committee activi-
ties, said the closed committee meet-
ings were legal:
"'They had always operated under
the requirements of the Open Meetings
Act,"he said. "Membership of the com-
mittees always constituted less than a
majority."
Horowitz said it is appropriate for
the trustees to meet privately when dis-
cussing some issues -namely student
misconduct, faculty disputes and aca-
demic program decisions.
"The students will have to realize ...
thatthere are certainmeetings thatshould
not be opened," he said.
Board Chair James Sharp reiterated
the committees are not subject to the
Open Meetings Act.
"The meetings are appropriate and
proper, but the board voted to make
them open on a philosophical basis," he
said.
The Oakland Post has threatened to
take legal action if the board fails to
follow through with its promise to keep
the meetings open.
"If they throw us out of committee
meetings, we reserve the right to sue,"
Gerstner said. "Right now the pressure
is on them and they might respond
satisfactorily, but what happens months
down the line?"
Gerstner added that, although the
meetings are now open, the trustees
have no obligation to make their loca-
tions public.
In an effort to force the trustees to
keep the meetings accessible, Gerstner
said local press is banding together,
adding that other media personnel will
join three reporters from the Oakland
Post at the board's April 1 meeting.
Federal jury
NEW YORK (AP)-Two Palestin-
ian suspects were indicted yesterday on
charges they "willfully, knowingly and
maliciously" bombed the World Trade
Center, killing six people.
The one-paragraph federal indict-
ment of Mohammed Salameh, 25, and
*Nidal Ayyad, 25, gave no details about
their alleged roles and shed no new light
on a motive for the bombing of the
world's second-tallest buildings.
The federal grand jury also did not
mention other suspects, although au-
thorities have said they hope for more
arrests. A published report yesterday
said three suspects may have fled the
country within 48 hours of Salameh's
indicts bombing suspects
arrest, but the FBI chief for New York
disputed the account.
A third man, Ibrahim Elgabrowny,
42, was indicted on charges including
obstruction of justice and fraud. The
latter charge stemmed from five phony
passports found in his Brooklyn apart-
ment,made out inthe name of El Sayyid
Nosair, the man acquitted of killing
radical Rabbi Meir Kahane but serving
22 years on related charges.
The FBI searched Elgabrowny's
apartment as part of thebombing inves-
tigation; Salameh and Nosair had used
the address as their own.
Salameh, Ayyad and Elgabrowny
remainjailed without bail. Salameh and
Ayyad face life in prison without parole
if convicted; Elgabrowny faces 17 years.
The Feb. 26 blast injured more than
1,000 and did tens of millions of dollars
in damage to the city economy. One of
the buildings will reopen today when
Gov. Mario Cuomo returns to his office.
Salameh, Ayyad and Nosair wor-
shiped at a Jersey City, N.J., mosque
where fundamentalist Islamic cleric
Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman preached.
On Tuesday, a U.S. immigration judge
ruled that the sheik can be deported
from the United States. The cleric has
been known to issue fatwas, or death
orders, against what he considers to be
infidels against Islam.
Student collapses at
CCRB
A woman using exercise equipment
at the Central Campus Recreation Build-
ing was taken to University Health Ser-
vices (UHS) for x-rays Monday morn-
ing after she collapsed during her work-
out.
The woman - believed to be a
student - was using a stairclimbing
machine when she became faint, fell
and hit her head. The blow knocked her
unconscious.
Department of Public Safety (DPS)
officers were called to the scene at 10
am. by bystanders who had moved the
woman into the hallway outside the
exercise room to receive emergency
assistance.
Unit officers escorted the woman to
UHS for x-rays when she declined am-
bulatory care. She was later released,
and suffered only minor injuries.
Tri-county car chase
remains unresolved
Last Sunday night, police vehicles
from three county agencies pursued an
Ann Arbor resident in a car chase that
stretched from Macomb to Washtenaw
counties. The chase ended suddenly
when the car being pursued smashed
into another car and the driver fled.
AAPD officers said that the owner
of thecar-identified as Kevin Hawkins
of Ann Arbor- reported his car stolen
the next day, saying that he had been
held at gunpoint on Briarwood Circle
shortly before the recorded time of the
car chase.
Though officers would not com-
ment on the exact nature of the original
pursuit, they said the validity of the
stolen car report was being questioned
and investigations of all involvedcounty
agencies are continuing.
No known injuries resulted from the
chase.
Nude photos stolen
from topless dancer
At 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, the
Ann Arbor Police Department (AAPD)
received a call from a woman whose
South State Street residence had been
broken into and ransacked,
The woman reported that a number
of personal possessions-including
300 photographs and $400 in cash-
were found missing after she discov-
eredsomeonehadbroken in through the
back door of the apartment.
The stolen photographs-valued at
more than $200 - were apparently _
nude photos of the complainant taken in
her capacity as a topless dancer ata local
bar.
Along with the photos, the woman
reported that a list of people she had
slept with - including a few profes-
sional athletes and at least one top-40
singer - was also stolen.
AAPD officers said the woman be-
lieved thedburglar was an acquaintance
and would use these items to blackmail
her.
Police officers are still investigating -y
the incident.
-by Shelley Morrison
Daily Crime Reporter
r r m i n am m m i sr m ,
Student groups
Q AIDS Coalition to Unleash
Power, meeting, East Engineer-
ing Building, Baker-Mandela
Center, 7:30 p.m.
Q Amnesty International, meeting,
East Quad, Room 122, 7 p.m.
d Ann Arbor Coalition Against
Rape, Take Back the Night Plan-
ning meeting, Michigan League,
check at front desk for room, 7
p.m.
Q Graduate Employees Organiza-
tion,meeting forTA's, Rackham
Amphitheatre, 8-10 p.m.
Q Haiti Solidarity Group, meeting,
First United Methodist Church,
120 S. State St., Pine Room, 7:30
p.m.
Q Hillel, Solomon Perel, Inspiration
for the Film "Europa, Europa," 8
p.m.; commemorative service
preceding speaker
Q Institute of Electrical and Elec-
tronics Engineers, technical lun-
cheon, EECS Building, Room
1311, 12:30-1:30 p.m.
Q Intervarsity Christian Fellow-
ship, meeting, Michigan Union,
Kuenzel Room, 7 p.m.
Q Islamic Circle, meeting and Iftar
dinner, Stockwell, Blue Room,5
p.m.
Q Korean Student Association,
meeting, Michigan Union,
Welker Room, 7 p.m.
Q Michigan Journal of Political Sci-
ence, staff meeting, Haven Hall,
5th Floor, WalkerSeminarRoom,
6 p.m.
Q Newman Catholic Student Fel-
mal Rights, meeting, Michigan
Union, MUG, 7 p.m.
Q U-M Investment Club, meeting,
MLB, Room 2002, 7 p.m.
Q U-M Sailing Club, meeting, West
EngineeringBuilding, Room311,
7:45 p.m.
Q U-M Shotokan Karate, practice,
CCRB, small gym, 8-10 p.m.
Q U-M Snowboard Club, TheCube,
5 p.m.
Q University Students Against
Cancer, Understanding Cancer,
Michigan League, Third Floor,
Room B, 6-8 p.m.Q
Women's Issues Commission,
meeting, Michigan Union, Room
3909, 8 p.m.
Events
Q Andrea Barrett, reading from her
work, Rackham Amphitheatre, 5
p.m.
Q ArtTalk, Van Hemesen and Bu-
reau Painting, Art Museum, AV
Room, 12:10-1 p.m.
Q Blood Drive, Michigan Union,
Ballroom, 1-6:30 p.m.
Q Center for Japanese Studies, Ide-
ologies of Work and Family
Among Relocated Japanese and
Americans, Brown Bag Lecture
Series, Lane Hall, Commons
Room, 12 p.m.
Q A City of Sadness, film, Taiwan-
ese American Students for
Awareness, Medical Science
Building II, South Lecture Hall,
7:30 p.m.
Q Daddy's Seashore Blues, Frieze
Building, Basement Arts Room,
Balkans Yesterday and Today,
Museum ofNatural I listory, Room
2009, 12-1 p.m.
Q Homosexuality and Renaissance
Literature, Rackham, West Con-
ference Room, 4 p.m.
Q Music at Espresso Royale Caffe,
"Classic Thursday," classic per-
formances of soloists and small
ensembles, 8 p.m.
Q Music at Leonardo's, live jazz, 8-
10 p.m.
Q Russian Tea & Conversation
Practice, MLB, 3rd FloorConfer-
ence Room, 4-5 p.m.
Q Shannon Hamed-Film Pro-
ducer, In Focus, Frieze Building,
Room 1008, 6 p.m.'
Q Speech Acts: Reflections on 'The
Word Was Made Flesh" for the
Season of Lent, New Canterbury
House, 518 E. Washington St., 8
p.m.
Q Thermodynamics ofNuclearMat-
ter, physical seminar, Chemistry
Building, Room 1640, 4 p.m.
Student services
Q ECB Student Writing Center,
Angell IHfall, Computing Center,
7-11 p.m,
Q Northwalk Safety Walking Ser-
vice, Bursley Hall, 763-9255, 8
p.m.-1:30 a.m.
Q Peer Counseling, U-M Counseling
Services, 764-8433,7 p.m.-8 a.m.
Q Professional Development for In-
ternationalWomen, International
Center, Room 7, 1-3 p.m.
Q PsychologyUndergraduate Peer
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GOOD FOR MARCH AND APRIL.
-------------------- u J r
Naftonaf HonoV SocietX
General Meeting
March 22, 1993
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S1 .m.
Wolverine Room
Michigan Union
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