The Michigan Daily-Thursday, March 18, 1993- Page 3 i,.,,, al~dK s S 4 . : !,, 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 I I I I I I I I I I BU 1 GET 1 PAIR .FREE!" Campus Opticians 240 Nickels Arcade I r -. I: Second floor- Above Van Boven Clothes 1 1 I L_ 66 2-9116 Some restrictions apply p GOOD FOR MARCH AND APRIL. -------------------- u J r Naftonaf HonoV SocietX General Meeting March 22, 1993 r--'- -e I\ I / S1 .m. Wolverine Room Michigan Union E i