BAMI activists address BSU By SARAH KIINO DAILY STAFF REPORTER When Diedre Downes called her par- ents and asked them if she should partici- pate in the first Black Action Movement (BAM I) in 1970, her father said, "Do what you have to do and be careful." It was no small decision for Downes, who was only months away from gradua- tion. She sat up all night with her room- mates deliberating whether the possibility of suspension or expulsion from the Uni- versity was worth it. They decided to participate, and the rest is history. Last night, Downes spoke in front of the Black Student Union (BSU) about her personal experiences at the University and her participation in BAM I. University historian Henry Davis also spoke to the students about the history of Black students at the University and the strategies and tactics used by the students and the University during the strikes. "The purpose of this series is to share information on the BAMs that took place on this campus and to acknowledge the rich history of resistance by students of African descent," said BSU President Aleth, Gordon.# Gordon also expressed concern over backsliding of some of the progress made by BAM and other minority organizations, including the recent reversal of the University's "hate speech" policy. The BSU had been in existence just a few months when BAM I, consisting of The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 30, 1993 - 3 Neidhardt will become assoc. vice president for research By JONATHAN BERNDT DAILY STAFF REPORTER Frederick Neidhardt, an award-winning researcher and long-time department chair, will take over as the University's associate vice president for research tomorrow. Neidhardt, who was an associate dean in the medical school, was appointed to the new position by University Provost Gilbert Whitaker this summer. Neidhardt said he would like to dispel the notion that research competes with teaching. "What makes this University great is the scholarly activities of the faculty," Neidhardt said, adding that research can facilitate undergraduate learning. "I , would like to see more undergraduates experience the thrill of discovery." Neidhardt has been researching the e. coli bacteria, the most-studied cell in the world, while working with non-tenured faculty research projects and Neidhardt multicultural issues in the medical school. He said these issues are key to the University's continued prominence as a research university. "The Michigan Mandate has deep implications for our research activities," Neidhardt said. "It is extremely impor- tant for us to maintain excellence, to create opportunities so people from all races and backgrounds can develop their talents and interests." The Michigan Mandate is the University's commitment to increasing minority enrollment and retention. Neidhardt added that the University should play a role in strengthening the United States' standing in world scientific and economic arenas. Vice President for Research Homer Neal said Neidhardt's experience would be an asset to his office. "Given Prof. Neidhardt's superlative understanding of research issues in the contemporary university, his wealth of administrative and teaching experience, and his national stature as an educator and scholar, we believe his appointment ... will contribute greatly to the Office of the Vice President for Research and the University community," Neal said. Neidhardt came to the University in 1970 and was named chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. 4 2 : I 'U '3 ,R '3 I' A Diedre Downes, a participant in the First Black Action Movement, speaks to a Black Student Union crowd last night. PETER MATTHEWS/Daily less than 20 students, locked the University president in the administration building. Each student then took a section of campus and spread the word to other students, in- cluding Downes, to close it down. The next day, the BAM I participants stood at the doors of University buildings and asked students to boycott classes. After 11 days of the University being virtually shut down, officials finally agreed to nego- tiate with the BAM I participants about ways to increase Black enrollment and pro- mote Black awareness on campus. "Itwasa wonderful thing," saidDownes. "We were working towards acommon goal. (Before BAM I) I didn't know (Black people) had such a rich history." Downes acknowledged that progress has been made since 1970, but she said the struggle is not over. When she was a first- year student, Downes said, she left her dorm room in Markley and decided to see how far she could walk before meeting another Black student. By the time she saw another Black face, she was at the Union. While the 2,600 Black students pres- ently on campus are far more than the 300 while she was a student, it still falls short of the 10 percent demanded by BAM. Davis came to the University as a gradu- ate student soon after BAM I. lie had planned to go to Western Michigan Univer- sity, but with the help of University Black students and faculty, he was accepted after applying late. Davis gave an account of the history of Black students on campus leading up to BAM I, as far back as 1902. "There are ebbs and flows in this business of race improvement - we have to be aware of that," he said. He said there was a lull in Black activ- ism at the University for 20 or 30 years before BAM I, until a surge of activity happened in the late '60s. He emphasized that the shutdown of the University by BAM I occurred only as a last resort tactic, after negotiations led to no improvements. Reaction to the speakers was positive. "I thought they were both insightful about what happened at BAM. I learned a lot about what was going on at that time," said LSA sophomore Chamar Hasan. 'U' students face Wiilemeanor charges Two University students pleaded no contest yesterday to misdemeanor charges. They face possible sentences of up to 90 days in jail.. LSA sophomore Daniel Cusmano and Engineering sophomore Neil Jobst were arrested Sept. 8 for stealing a nuir' ?r of chairs from South Quad. * .aiversity Department of Public Safety (DPS) Lt. James Smiley said the chairs were valued at more than $800. Smiley said police are unsure of what the students were planning to do with the chairs. The two were originally charged with felonies, which would have car- ried tougher penalties, but the charges were lowered to misdemeanors after plea negotiations. Nick Roumel, the attorney with University StudentLegal Services who is handling the students' cases, said he believes the two will receive deferred sentences when they appear before 15th District Court Judge Elizabeth Pollard on Oct. 22. If this is the case, the sentences will not be made public and 'will be erased from public records if the men success- fully complete their probation. Police0 Beat Garbage truck does unscheduled phone maintenance A garbage truck knocked down a telephone line behind Lane Hall early Tuesday morning, according to DPS reports. DPS units arrived on the scene and confirmed that the downed cable was indeed a telephone line and that there was no danger of sparks or electrical fire. Officers called the University Tele- communications Department, which then notified Ameritech (formerly Michigan Bell) of the incident. There was no damage to the truck or to the telephone cable, police said. Burn unit petty cash swiped Employees of the burn treatment unit at the University Hospitals reported to DPS that their petty cash bag had been stolen,and that none of the unit's employees had seen it since mid-Au- gust. Smiley said the bag contained about $25. Investigations are continuing. Woman skunked in Arb A woman called DPS Monday to report that she discovered a badly de- composed skunk in the University Ar- boretum and thought the carcass should be removed. Officers respondedand removed the skunk from the area. Homeless woman accosts students at Frieze Also Monday, DPS responded to reports of a homeless woman scream- ing at students outside and on the first floor of the Frieze Building. Officers detained the woman and escorted her from. the building after reading her the rules against trespass- ing on University property. Shortly after this incident, Frieze Building staff called DPS to report that custodial closets on the first and second floors were found unlocked. Officials said bags of aluminum cans were the only things missing. Northwood resident gets special shower DPS officers responded to a call from a man at the Northwood IV hous- ing complex who reported that his bath- room ceiling had collapsed. The man told police that he believed there was a sewage leak in the apart- ment on the floor above. Police arrived to find the bathroom covered with sewage, and immediately notified University Housing authori- ties of the problem. Thieves strike 'U' property More than $1,250 of expensive equipment was stolen from University property Monday, with thieves striking three separate locations. In one incident, more than $600 worth of electrical cabling was alleg- edly taken from the Electrical Engi- neering Building. A building employee called police when he found that the cabling had been delivered by UPS and signed for but never delivered to his office. In another incident, clothing and optical lenses were taken from a locker in the Kellogg Eye Center. .. ..... . . . . *SPORTS LAW SCHOOL? PrepMasrer Review is the most effective. up-to-date and cost-etficient LSAT prep course available. Success rate: average 14 pn Amprovement on the 120- s a-e.0-32 5 -L S A T ', o The missing $475. items are valued at Finally, tools worth $250 were sto- len from a University work crew at the Dow Building. The tools were left unattended. Investigations into the incidents are continuing. Tempers flare in stands despite lackluster game Although last Saturday's football game against Houston broughtoutfewer fans than usual, those who were at the game lived up to usual standards of rowdiness. DPS officers were called in to stop a fight in Section 31, where they de- tained one man on charges of aggra- vated assault. He may be arrested pend- ing investigation. The other man involved in the alter- cation was taken from Michigan Sta- dium by paramedics with a head injury he sustained after falling down. Twopeople, also in Section 31, were ejected for throwing cardboard pizza boxes around, creating a disturbance for other fans. Police also ticketed seven fans for alcohol possession oropen intoxica- tion in the stadium area. Homeless man dies after jumping from parking structure A homeless man committed sui- cide yesterday by jumping off a down- town parking structure. The man, 41-year-old Jeffrey Allemburg, allegedly jumped from the fifth floor of the Ann Arbor city park- ing structure on Ann Street. DPS Lt. James Smiley said Allemburg had had numerous run-ins with University police including sev- eral arrests. Smiley added thatAllemburg wasa familiar figure around campus, often begging for money or searching for empty cans and bottles. Ann Arbor Police Department had no definitive information on the case and could only confirm that the man had jumped from the building. Suicide Prevention Hotline: 996- 4747 -by Will McCahill Daily Staff Reporter } t i t R A j Student groups Q Acting Group, Rudolf Steiner Institute, 1923 Gedded Ave., 7:30-9:30 p.m. Q American Movenment for Is- rael, Hebrw Table, Michigan Union, Tap Room, 12 p.m. O Amnesty International, weekly meeting, Dana Building, room 1040, 7:30 p.m. Q Campus Crusade for Christ, weekly meeting, Dental Build- ing, Kellog Aud., 7-9 p.m. Q Circle K International, mass meeting, Michigan Union, Pond Room, 7:30 p.m. Q Homeless Action Committee, mass meeting, Mason Hall, room 2402, 5:30 p.m. Q Intervarsity Christian Fellow- ship, meeting, Markley, South Pit, 7 p.m. Q Investment Club, mass meet- ing, MLB, room 2002, 7 p.m. Q Phi Alpha Theta Honors Soci- ety in History, meeting, Haven Hall fourth floor conference Q Saint Mary Student Parish, stu- dent fellowship, 7 p.m., Center- ing Prayer, 7 p.m., 331 Thomp- son. Q Sukkot Services, Orthodox ser- vices, at Hillel, 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. Q Taiwanese American Students for Awareness, East Quad, sec- ond Prescott, 7:30 p.m. Q Undergraduate Psychological Society, mass meeting, Angell Hall, room 35, 6 p.m. Q Women's Club Volleyball, try- outs, CCRB, 7-10 p.m. Events Q Age of Weaning in Humans and other Primates, speaker: Holly Smith, Dental School, room 1033, 4 p.m. Q Impressions of Argentinian Archaeology, speaker: Jeffrey Parsons, lunch and lecture se- ries, Museum of Natural His- tory, room 2009, 12 p.m. Q Outside Views of the Japanese sian and East European Stud- ies, Angell Hall, room 25, 5 p.m. Q Pacific Cooperation and U.S. - Japan Relations, speaker: Yuichiro Nagatomi, Business School, room 1320, 4 p.m. Q Student Rights in the Class- room, speaker: Ron Robinson, sponsored by the U of M Col- lege Republicans, MLB, lec- ture room 1 or 2, 7 p.m. Student services Q Interviewing, sponsored by Ca- reer Planing and Placement, 3200 Student Activities Build- ing, 5:10-6:30 p.m. Q Opportunities in Law for Stu- dents of Color, sponsored by Career Planing and Placement, Law School, 6-7 p.m. Q Psychology Academic Peer Advising, walkins welcome, or call for appointment (747- 3711), West Quad, room K- 103,11 a.m.-4 p.m. THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Office of International Academic Affairs invites you to attend a public lecture by HIS EXCELLENCY JUAN CASSIERS, AMBASSADOR OF BELGIUM TO'THE UNITED STATES on "THE FUTURE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY: THE BELGIAN AGENDA" Monday, October 4, 1993 4:00 p.m. Rackham Amphitheater Syracuse University Division of International Programs Abroad 119 Euclid Avenue Syracuse, New York 13244-4170 1-800-235-3472 A D S Y R A C U S E A B RO I I I C mt n to w~rtA krhnA c rm