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One hundred three years of editorial freedom
A Arbor, g- Thursday, October 14. 1993 1993 The Michigan Daily

Suprem
Justices disagree
over when
harassment causes
psychological
damage
WASHINGTON (AP) - The.
Supreme Court tackled the sensitive
question yesterday of when off-color
workplace behavior becomes illegal
sexual harassment.
"This is not simply a hurt-feelings
situation, it makes it tangibly more
difficult to do the job," Clinton ad-
ministration attorney Jeffrey Minear
*argued in the case of a Tennessee
woman who said her boss sexually

Court hears Tenn. sexual harassment case

harassed her.
The sex-harassment case was
heard by the first Supreme Court to
include two femalejustices-Sandra
Day O'Connor and new arrival Ruth
Bader Ginsburg.
The issue has received heightened
attention in recent years, partly be-
cause of Anita Hill's accusation dur-
ing Justice Clarence Thomas' 1991
confirmation hearing that he harassed
her years earlier.
The high court ruled in 1986 that
on-the-job sex harassment is illegal if
it is "sufficiently severe or pervasive
to alter the conditions of the victim's
employment."

'This is not simply a hurt-feelings situation, it
makes it tangibly more difficult to do the job.'
Jeffrey Minear
Clinton administration attorney

Interpreting that standard must
depend on the perspective of a rea-
sonable person who is the target of
alleged harassment, Irwin Venick ar-
gued in behalf of Teresa Harris, who
sued her ex-boss after resigning in
1987.
Harris said Charles Hardy, presi-
dent of Forklift Systems of Nashville,
Tenn., asked her to retrieve coins from

his pants pocket, suggested they start
"screwing around" although he knew
she was married, and asked if she won
a sales contract by providing sexual
favors.
Attorney Stanley Chernau, repre-
senting the company, said rulings that
denied Harris any remedy should be
upheld. "I don't think that offensive
conduct automatically alters condi-

tions of employment," he said.
Chernau conceded that the 6th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals went too far
when it said Harris must prove actual
psychological injury to win a sex-
harassment case.
Justice Antonin Scalia said that
previous guidance is "utterly mean-
ingless to me." A more sensible rule
might be to require people to prove
harassment harmed their performance
at work, he said.
Ginsburg suggested that sex ha-
rassment can create a hostile work
environment even when a woman
continues performing well. The ques-
tion, she said, might be "whether one

sex has to put up with something that
the other sex doesn't have to put up
with."
Justice Anthony Kennedy asked if
a woman could prove illegal harass-
ment if "there are sex-based com-
ments in the workplace all'the time,
among men," but they are not aimed
specifically at her.
"Suppose I am a male employee
and I am as offended by that language
as a female employee? Do I have a
claim?" Scalia asked.
No, Venick said, because that
would not involve discrimination
based on a man's sex.

U.S. leaders
compromise
eon leaving
Somalia
ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Clinton and Senate lead-
ers struggled yesterday to avert a
showdown and work out a compro-
mise answering congressional de-
*mands for an early withdrawal of U.S.
troops from Somalia.
"I think the obvious import of
what's happened in the last few days
is that we're moving in the right di-
rection and I hope we can continue to
do that," Clinton said at the White
House.
A leading Senate critic of the
president's policy, Robert Byrd (D-
W.Va.) eased his demand for with-
Odrawal by the end of the year. And the
White House sought to appease angry
lawmakers by furnishing a report de-
fining the military mission ashumani-
tarian and stating emphatically that it
is not open-ended.
Byrd, the Appropriations Com-
mittee chair, had threatened the
Clinton administration with a mea-
sure cutting off all funds for U.S.
*forces by Dec. 31. Yesterday, he of-
fered a Feb.1 deadline for the pullout.
The president was sticking to his
March 31 deadline, and he worked
with Senate Majority Leader George
Mitchell (D-Maine) and Minority
Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) to counter
any challenge, said presidential
spokesperson, Dee Dee Myers.
Mitchell said a resolution being
worked out by Senate leaders, "which
*will be generally supportive of the
president's position, should pass and
will pass."
A U.S. presidential envoy made it
clear yesterday that Washington
wouldn't bargain for captured U.S.
pilot Michael Durant, as his Somali
captors retreated to consider the de-
mand that he be freed at once.
"We will not buy prisoners," said
Robert Oakley, the former U.S. am-
bassador to this Horn of Africa na-
tion.
Oakley did not rule out a U.S.
rescue mission to free Durant. But he
hinted that Durant's ordeal was al-
most over.
Somali fighters seized the chief
warrant officer after his helicopter-
was shot down during a fierce Oct. 3
battle that killed up to 18 U.S. sol-
See SOMALIA, Page 2

THE LONG WALK HOME
-f -- - '~4

Dental dean to
help 'U' adjust
to Bylaw 14.06

By NATE HURLEY
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
The University is one step closer
to finding out how the newly amended
regents' Bylaw 14.06 will affect Uni-
versity departments, groups and or-
ganizations.
J. Bernard Machen, Dental school
dean, was selected last week to chair
an 11-member committee that will
examine how the bylaw -- which
now prohibits discrimination against
homosexuals among other groups -
will apply to certain parts of campus.
"I don't know Dr. Machen well,
but I think he's been doing very good
things at the Dental school," said
Regent Laurence Deitch (D-
Bloomfield Hills), one of the regents
who proposed the amendment.
"The deans had previously pro-
vided leadership in changing Bylaw

14.06. They supported it unani-
mously," he said.
Supported by Deitch and Regent
Rebecca McGowan (D-Ann Arbor),
the amendment passed, 7-1, at the
Sept. 24 meeting of the University
Board of Regents.
In the amendment, the regents in-
cluded a provision for a committee to
examine specific areas where the by-
law may or may not have an effect.
Those areas are "employment ben-
efits, family housing, financial aid
packages and student residency sta-
tus."
McGowan said the regents have
left the setup of the committee and the
implementation of the bylaw to the
administration.
"We left it to the president to imple-
ment that resolution. Clearly, he's
See BYLAW, Page 2

Joan Anderson and Jean Debbink, Ann Arbor residents, go for a early morning walk over the bridge between the Arb
and Gallup Park yesterday.

Hang helps Asian students with energy, programs
Asian American rep. learned to exist between cultures when he moved from Laos to Frankenmuth

By SARAH KIINO
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
At first glance, it looks innocuous
enough. It is a plain white mug with
red trim and the name "George" writ-
ten across the front. In fact, it prob-
ably would go completely unnoticed
and ignored if it did not live on the
desk of a man named Yee Leng Hang.
Hang, the Minority Student Ser-
vices (MSS) Asian American Repre-
sentative, said the story of the mug, or
rather the name behind it, begins dur-
ing childhood in Frankenmuth. El-
ementary school classmates began
calling him George and the name
stuck.
"It's a hassle you have to go
through if your name isn't Ameri-
can," Hang said. "People don't bother
to take the time to learn your name."
For Hang and his family,
Frankenmuth signaled the end of a
journey that began in Laos, where
Hang was born. His father was an
officer in the Royal Army when Laos
fell to communist rule in 1975. The
family fled to Thailand, where they

spent the next year in a refugee camp,
moving to Frankenmuth when Hang
was nine years old.
Hang and his family moved to
Frankenmuth with the help of church
sponsorship. He said although now
there are 60-70 families of Hmong
ethnicity living in the Frankenmuth
area, there were only two when he
was growing up: his family and his
uncle's family.
Although Hang's nationality
sometimes caused him to be a target
of racial prejudice in Frankenmuth,
he said it is important to not let others'
insensitivity get in the way of one's
goals.
"I had my share of discrimina-
tion," he said, "but I didn't let that
stop me or be an obstacle. You do
what you have to do."
His personal history helps him to
look at America from more than one
perspective.
"My experience is unique ... be-
cause I still have memories of living
in different cultures," he said. "I am
seeing America from a refugee's point

of view and also as a citizen. ... See-
ing myself as a part of America re-
minds me of the founding fathers and
the land of opportunity. Everyone is
equal, and if you do your part you can
make society a better place.
"I also see people take things for
granted in this country. They don't
appreciate what they have," he added.
Hang acknowledges his parents as
being his strongest role models when
he was growing up.
"They gave up everything. They
had come to the U.S. with no money,
worked long hours and were sepa-
rated from their families. ... I admire
them for their strength, courage and
positive outlook on life."
Hang said his parents put all eight
of their children through college.
Hang graduated from Michigan
State University, where he held a po-
sition roughly equivalent to the Mi-
nority Peer Advisor job at the Univer-
sity. Although his MSS position,
which he has held for four years, is his
first professional position, his experi-
ence at Michigan State helped pre-

pare him for the job.
"It helped me build my profes-
sional skills, and allowed the oppor-
tunity for personal growth," he said.
It also served as a medium for him to
become acquainted with other ethnic
groups.
Hang's job at MSS is made up of
many responsibilities. He helps coor-
dinate cultural, social and educational
programs at the University, and acts
as a liaison between the University
and the outside community. He also
acts as a resource for students, giving
resource referrals and acting as an
advisor.
"It's rewarding to see the students
and programs succeed, and to see
students excel in pursuit of careers.
You somehow had an impact on their
success. You made a difference," he
said. "You only live one life. You live
the best you can and make someone
else's life better."
Students who workwith Hang said
their experience with him has been
positive. Varisa Boriboon, program-
ming coordinator for the University

W W r
Hang
of Michigan Asian American Student
Coalition, said Hang goes beyond the
call of his job to help students.
"He goes out of his way to make
sure things go right for us, and make
sure the school doesn't step on us,"
she said. "He's very much a friend to
everyone of us."
See HANG, Page 2








The U.S.S. Harlan County and Fairfax
County, both of which have been ordered to
Haiti, are Newport Class Tank Landing

Atlantic
Mla nI Ocean

Haitian Cedras leader agrees to step down
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) likely to be accepted by the United As part of the agreement, Aristide
-The chief of Haiti's military prom- Nations. Cedras led the army in a decreed an amnesty for officers ac-

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