Page 4--The Michigan Daily-- Friday, March 19, 1993
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420 Maynard
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Edited and managed
by students at the
University of Michigan
JosH DUow
Editor in Chief
EUNO LiZo EitorN
Opinion Editor
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Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily editorial board.
All other cartoons, signed articles and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily.
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SHANITICIDE
'U'gags Statue ofLiberty -and destroys her
.HIS RESTRICTIVE DIAG policy is get- TheMSArepresentativeswhobuilttheshanty
ting out of hand. have staged protests against the policy every
It was ridiculous when University offi- Wednesday for almost a month - without a
dais began selectively enforcing the policy to permit - and the University has never inter-
includeonlygroupstheydon'tagree - vened. While we hope it continues to
with, like the National Organiza- f I stay away from the Wednesday rallies,
tion for the Reform of Marijuana it is interesting that this shanty, a con-
Laws (NORML). But when Uni- , stant reminder of the anti-free speech
versitygroundskeepersdemolished , policy, was removed.
a student-built shanty on the Diag Tearingdowntheshantyservedonly
Tuesday because it didn't have a one purpose: muffling the rights of
permit under the policy,the Univer- students to protest. Although remov-
sity proved just how totalitarian it ing a shanty may go unnoticed by
could be. students, the Universityhas shown that
The shanty, constructed by " ' it will enforce its repressive policy.
Michigan Student Assembly mem- And when an issue more important to
bers, was a small wooden structure " k : students arises, they will not be happy
depicting the Statue of Liberty with to find out that protesting on the Diag,
a red gag in her mouth. It aimed to once an unalienable right, has become
protest the Diag policy, which sets aburdensome chore and a privilege for
restrictions on use of the Diag and K> those who don't offend President
the North Campus Common. Not Duderstadt.
only did the shanty present little ' The StatueofLibertyrepresentsthe
physical dangertopassers-by, many ,' freedoms and liberties granted to U.S.
students did not even notice its existence. citizensintheConstitution.SincetheDiagpolicy
It's ironic that a University that advocates has already stripped students of their rights, it
freedom in its curriculum would not only gag seems only fitting that the University would tear
the Statue of Liberty, but tear her down. down the symbol of those rights.
iFE
Reno must act to stop anti-abortion terrorists
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Mencan be victims of the rape culture
Recently, I read two articles that dealt
with rape on campus. The first, Natosha's
Morris' column "Women born guilty of
their own rape," (3/4/93), concludes that "if
men can run our country as president, head
our country's top corporations, and defend
our lives as soldiers in the military, surely
they can handle the minute task of control-
ling their own sexual behavior." Am I sup-
posed to accept this nonsense without ques-
tioning its validity? Because the topic is
rape? Because I am male and the author
female? I will no longer tolerate this kind of
abuse.
The second article, which appeared in
New York magazine, entitled "Crying rape,
the politics of date rape on campus," by
Peter Helman, concludes that "...traditional
courtship rites of decades past [have] now
been replaced by wary maneuvers more
suited to opponents in a chess match." The
battle-cries of feminist activism call for
division of the sexes, splicing the move-
ment's most sacred alliances.
In Mr. Helman's article, Dominick
Moro, Columbia campus security chief,
reports two incidents of rape claims in the
1991-92 school year. During that time-
span, Iwasaccusedofdate-raping aBarnard
student. My case - and many others -
neverreached the PR department because it
was an embarrassment to the University.
After legal changes against me were
promptly dropped by Linda Fairstein (As-
sistant DA.,County ofNew York), Colum-
bia initiated its own Dean's Discipline. The
investigation was half-assed and lackadai-
sical. The crux of their decision lies in this
excerpt: "On weighing the statements, we
have concluded that, although the circum-
stances in [the accuser's] room were highly
compromising to her defense, the evidence
more strongly suggests that you indeed had
intercourse with her without her consent,
even though there is no evidence of her
verbal of physical resistance at the time of
the act." My accuser never even claimed to
have resisted. Her claim was that after I had
performed oral sex upon her, and led her to
orgasm, I waited for her to fall asleep, and
then I penetrated her with a condom she had
given me. One of the deans later confided in
me that the convicting piece of evidence lay
in the fact that my accuser had subjected
herself to rape.
Ms. Morris, in her article, fumes at the
notion of innocent until proven guilty in the
case of an accused rapist. The only people
who assumed my innocence were family
members, my ex-girlfriend, and my closest
friends. Most of my female acquaintances
who caught wind of the accusatio, did not
hesitate to alienate me. I lost friends, self-
respect, self-confidence; I became de-
pressed,self-doubting, paranoid; I feltused,
violated, alone. You tell me who was the
victim? Who is the survivor?
So why wasn't the incident reported to
the press? They would seem to have been
politically correct, correct?I filed suit anony-
mously under Article 78 of the Civil Prac-
tice Law and Rules of the State of New
York. Over ayear later, Columbia agreed to
uphold the retroactive stay of disciplinary
action set forth by the presiding judge, and
not to communicate the details to any other
person or institution. I'm sill waiting for iy
invitation to return.
I usedtobe astaunch feministsupporter.
The psychological effects ofmy experience
still haunt me, even here. I've had one real
"date" since I resumed my education. After
dinner, I was innocently invited back to her
room. I was so relieved to find one of her
roommates there. Otherwise, who knows
what she would have expected? When s
walked me down to my car, I was elate.
We had such a good time -laughs, smiles,
intelligentconversation. We stopped by the
door and she put her arms around me.
Elation transferred intoconfusion, my smile
into u blank stare. She went to kiss me and
I offered my cheek. Unsatisfied she pursued
my lips. Trying to maintain composure, but
almost panic stricken, I mustered the reac-
tion associated with passive resistance to
violence: I turned the other cheek. Sinc
then, I've been hard pressed to elicit a
emotion from her, barely even friendly
phone conversation.
Well those are my tribulations, and I:11
deal with them. I don't know where I staid
anymore.I do know that rape is a heinously
violent crime of which people should be-
come more aware. I also know feminism
has gained a tremendous power with which
peoplemustbecomemoreresponsible. This
society is about people -not about m
notabout women-butaboutpeople livi
together peacefully. There are too many
schisms and rifts already separating us as
human beings. Let's not create any more.
This article was written anonymously by an
LSA junior.
* AST WEEK'S BRUTAL murder of abortion
* doctor David Gunn by anti-abortion activ-
sts is the latest in a rapidly spreading rash
of terroist acts on abortion clinics. Compound-
ing the tragedy of this man's death is theincreas-
ing difficulty women must face when seeking
an abortion. In the face of vigilante restriction of
abortion rights, action must be taken by the U.S.
Department of Justice and new U.S. Attorney
General Janet Reno to reclaim for women what
they have lost - the right to a safe abortion.
As a result of terrorism, abortions are no
longer available in many areas of the country.
The country watched twice as many incidents of
abortion clinic terrorism last year than in 1991.
Gunn spent his life making up for other
doctors' fears, traveling between Pensacola,
Fla. and Georgia to serve as many people as
possible. He was the only doctor in the area
willing to brave death threats and unending
harassment to ensure a woman's right to an
abortion.
Anti-abortion activists have declared war on
abortion rights across the country. One incident
occurred in Grand Rapids last October when
anti-abortion terrorists sprayed a Planned Par-
enthood clinic with gunfire. Just weeks before,
activists sprayed a nearby clinic with butyric
acid, a chemical that smells like vomit.
Members ofthe fundamentalist group Lambs
of Christ travel around the country blockading
clinics by handcuffing themselves to car steer-
ing wheels or cement blocks to make arrest
difficult. In some areas, activists bring children
to protests because they cannot go to jail. In
Florida, Operation Rescue has opened a "boot
camp" to train protesters to blockade clinics.
But these abortion terrorists may finally be
held responsible for their actions if Reno fulfills
her pledge. As soon as Reno was sworn in, she
promised to search for laws to prevent protests
from impeding the operation of abortion clinics
and to "pursue an appropriate Federal response"
to Gunn's murder."
Though the U.S. Supreme Court recently
denied efforts to put a stop to these terrorist
actions through a 19th century act designed to
stop Ku Klux Klan terrorism, other legal efforts
may prove successful.
Leaders of the National Organization for
Women (NOW) have tried to paint the intimida-
tion of clinics' staff and patients as extortion,
thereby seeking to invoke racketeering statutes
on anti-abortion protesters. A NOW leader and a
manager of the Ladies Center where Gunn prac-
ticed may attempt to prosecute Rescue America
-which stages frequent protests at the Center-
under the anti-stalking law in Florida.
John Burt, regional directorofRescue America
and host of the rally where Gunn was killed,
claims that with Gunn's early death, "quite a
number of babies' lives will be saved." But
murdering a doctorin the name of "life" is atragic
irony. Burt and his fellow "pro-life" activists
have circumvented the Supreme Court's guaran-
tee of abortion rights by taking the law into their
own hands. Such action cannot stand.
Federal legislation has been proposed to out-
law interference with abortion clinics' services.
Hopefully Reno's strong pro-choice stance will
help renew the right to abortion as a practice,
rather than a theory.
'FAULTY COMPROMISE
Amendment doesn 't haltAIDS immigration ban
Senior pledge
request absurd
To the Daily:
This letter is meant to ask
just what the hell the Univer-
sity is thinking when they ask
for a senior pledge. A senior
pledge! Yes, this pledge of
$93, $50, or $19.93 will help
make a difference. And I
thought paying the highest
tuition for a public university
was enough to help make a
difference! I find it appalling
that the University solicits
current students to write yet
another check to this wasteful
bureaucratic beast. Maybe the
University should ask out-of-
state students.to send in an
extra donation seeing as how
they already afford a whop-
ping $14,000 tuition fee. I can
understand the University
asking for donations from
alumni, but this is ridiculous.
Todd Beeby
LSA Junior
Violent society
is our reality
To the Daily:
Any woman who inebri-
ated goes to a "strange" man's
apartment (house), who is in a
likewise state of insobriety,
and does not realize she could
be placing herself in a
precarious situation is a
"fool." Face up to the reality.
Alcohol and other drugs are
often associated with violent
crimes.
Wp livon in a vinfirar ni .ty
AFSCME union attacks E. Quad letter
To the Daily:
We are writing to respond
to the anti-lesbian/gay letter
issued by Housing supervisors
and administrators during
Spring Break.
First of all, it must be
stated that the "workers" who
signed the letter to the regents
protesting the display of safer
sex educational posters in East
Quad and the alleged promo-
tion of "unnatural human
relationships" were not just
"workers," but were in fact
supervisors and managers for
the University of Michigan
Housing Division. As union
representatives in AFSCMfE
Local 1583, the 2400 member
union which represents
workers who are supervised
by these management
personnel, we see the public
release of this letter as a direct
attack on all the members of
the union - gay and straight.-
Our collective bargaining
agreement with the University
specifically prohibits discrimi-
nation based on sexual
orientation and HIV-antibody
status. A "Presidential Policy"
against discrimination on the
basis of sexual orientation
supposedly exists too, but as
anyone familiar with the
University well knows,
institutionalized homophobia,
racism, and sexism are the
rule at the University. It's
inconceivable to think that
these supervisors and manag-
ers could foster a work
environment that is anything
but discriminatory, bigoted
and hostile to lesbians and gay
men.
When these officials speak
publicly as management of the
University, they are represent-
ing the University and its
official policies and practices.
Readers should be aware
that-several of these supervi-
sors and managers had a well-
documented history of racist
harassment that has been
raised through the employee
grievance procedure. One East
Quad building manager,
Monnie Clampitt, who was
quoted as saying the safer sex
posters were "sickening,"
never reacted as.strongly
when truly sickening racist
graffiti and swastikas showed
up in the dorm she supervises.
She and Joseph Kennedy, her
supervisor and also a signer of
the letter, launched a cam-
paign of harassment and
phony discipline against a
Black woman custodian who
objected to the graffiti and to
racist harassment from two
students.
Another managerial signer
of the anti-gay letter, Tracey
Gonzalez, has also been the
subject of grievances and civil
-rights charges involving
claims of racism. In their
grievance response, the
University management sided
with their own management
and let these supervisors off
the hook despite an abundanc
of convincing evidence.
-Every minute that the
University allows these
managers to supervise
workers is another minute tha
the University shows its
readiness to allow a hostile
work environment for lesbians
and gay men and for Black
workers to continue. A union
grievance has been filed
calling for the suspension of
these supervisors pending the
outcome of an independent
investigation of past and
current problems of discrimi-
nation in the dormitories
where these managers work.
History has shown us that
we cannot rely on the
administration to clear the
road for our rights to be won.
It is up to workers, students,
and community members to
build a struggle that will fight
to defeat the institutional
discrimination perpetuated by
the University management 4
and shown so clearly in the
case of the Housing supervi-.
sors and administrators who
issued the anti-gay letter.
Judith Levy
Bargaining Chaii
Paul Lefrak
District Stewaro
AFSCME Local X58G
1
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J
EVERAL WEEKS AGO, President Clinton
pledged to reverse the Bush
Administration's fear-based ban on U.S.
immigrants with HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS. But the U.S. Senate, in a compromise
measure, passed an amendment to the ban last
week that allows AIDS patients temporary vis-
its to the country for treatment or family visits.
Michigan Sen. Donald Riegle (D-Mich.) was
out of town that day to vote, but Michigan Sen.
Carl Levin (D-Mich.) voted for the amendment.
Clinton is unsure whether he will sign it.
The amendment hardly scratches the surface
-of what needs to be done. Clinton's idea to lift
the ban is probably the most reasonable and
humanitarian approach.Even though the amend-
ment is not as strong as the original ban, Clinton
-?n1irPlQ toi irsn lP Iclatnrc to racc hill to nt;tlly
method we would never confront the problem,
only avoid it by dehumanizing society.
The assumption that removing a faulty cog
will restore the machine cannot be made in this
case because humans are not mechanical parts
that can be thrown away whenever the system
breaks down. Ban advocates need to understand
that AIDS patients' health conditions do not stop
them from contributing to and being a part of
society. The segregation policy sends the mes-
sage that people with HIV are "guilty," and
therefore must not be allowed to normally asso-
ciate with the rest of society.
The United States cannot be so pompous as to
think it cannot associate itself with foreigners.
who have AIDS. It must continue to hold the
image that it is the "land of opportunities," and.
nnrhre immirantc' hnnoe fnr a hptterlife_
Impact dance group wrongly accused of sexism