The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 19, 1994 -3
.Inheated exchange, D'Souza, Walters debate need for multiculturalism
By LARA TAYLOR
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
Heated words were thrown back
and forth in a debate sponsored by LSA
Student Government last night at
Rackham Auditorium.
Dinesh D'Souza of the American
Enterprise Institute and Ron Walters,
professorof political science at Howard
University, grappled with the question
of multiculturalism in society and in
American education.
'"The dominant group in America
today is the white majority," Walters
said. "It is this group that has the politi-
cal power. The attitudes that this ma-
jority holds has power, and institutions
must deal with the impact of these
attitudes."
Walters went on to say that univer-
sities, such as the University must
"provide the resources to learn about
cultures other than Western cultures
and allow people to learn about the root
of their culture.'
D'Souza offered a more conserva-
tive viewpoint.
"We are more color conscious than
ever now," he said. "Schools do not
teach Isaac Newton because he was
white. We learn his concepts of phys-
ics, and his race does not take away
from that."
D' Souza added that the only way to
progress was to "create laws and rules
that appeal to the common good, not to
a specific minority group. You can't
fight white power with Black power.
You can't fight old bigotry with new
bigotry."
Michael Cushie, LSA Student Gov-
ernment member and event coordina-
tor, said he felt the debate was very
successful.
"We wanted to use a public forum
to address multiculturalism, especially
in a curriculum," he said. "The purpose
was to challenge the mind and open
various ways to think of this issue."'
He pointed out that D'Souza has
written extensively on race and sex
issues affecting college campuses.
Walters has been a staffer for the Con-
gressional Black Caucus and was
deputy manager of the Rev. Jesse
Jackson's 1984 presidential campaign.
He added that Walters fought with the
University's Black Student Union for
recognition of Martin Luther King Jr.
Day several years ago.
"So both are very qualified and
very interesting speakers," Cushie said.
Walters and D'Souza became more
heated as the debate continued.
D'Souza said, "The multicultural
movement believes that Western cul-
ture is bigoted and oppressive. When
schools teach other cultures, they tend
to look at them as alternatives to West-
ern cultures. I believe schools should
teach other cultures, but teach them
objectIvely, w ith all their own bigot-
ries and problemns. not as oppressed by
western society."
Walters took a deep calming breath
before answering. "We can't ignore
over half of the world. There is a need
for respect of other cultures if we are to
deal with other cultures on an eco-
nomic basis. We cannot ignore these
cultures in the name of content. We
need to teach students about other cul-
tures and get perspective from these
cultures."*
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By TEDRA WHITE
FOR THE DAILY
Monday's earthquake, which
claimed at least 34 lives and caused
-millions of dollars in property damage,
*has touched the lives of many Univer-
sity students thousands of miles from
home.
Overwhelming feelings of fear and
terror filled students from the southern
California area upon learning of the
massive destruction and the many lives
that had been taken.
Concern for loved ones sent stu-
dents scrambling to telephones. Sev-
eral students panicked after not being
*able to contact family and friends.
"The lines were disconnected not
allowing any calls in, only outgoing
calls," said LSA sophomore Stephanie
Seibel. Seibel has friends who attend
the- University of California at Los
Angeles she has still not heard from.
Some students, after getting
through, were anxious to find out if
family members and friends had sur-
'vived the frightening experience. LSA
sophomore Chris Mordy said, "My
family's fine. I was relieved that ev-
eryone was alright."
Engineering sophomore David
Miller learned his family's situation
was not as good. "Everything that you
could imagine falling over did; there
was broken glass all over the kitchen
and bathroom. Some of my neighbors'
roofs have collapsed," Miller said.
Craig Forrest, a southern Califor-
nia resident whose brother is at the
University, felt the quake first-hand.
"There have been 40 or more large
aftershocks, but it seems to be dying
down," Forrest said. Although he and
his family were' not affected by the
quake, Forrest is aware of the inconve-
niences they will face traveling due to
the severe damage to the freeways.
The fear of losing loved ones is one
of many feelings students have faced
during this tragedy. Many students have
experienced sadness over the destruc-
tion of the quake and feel sorry for
those who must try to put their lives
back together.
O e dr s e ,,ne efr State , of the Stat
LANSING (AP) -- Gov. John
Engler promised to keep criminals be -
hind bars and put welfare recipients to Ii a r
for this gubernatorial election year last
night. j N "ded on
In his fourth State of the State ad-
dress, Engler boasted the state was
leading the national economic recov- sub stan ce
ery because of his lower tax policies. "yfins ihgni ak"h
said after reeling off a string of positive
economic statistics. of spe,'ech
Engler sounded upbeat while re-
minding voters of his accomplishments. LANSING (AP) .- Republi-~
He claimed to have brought the state cans applauded Gov. John Engler's
back from the brink of fiscal disaster by State of the State address last night.
eliminating a $1.8 billion budget deft- asrcflectiveofMichigan'simprov-
cit while cutting taxes. igcniin hl eort
The governoralso delivered astrong cingecodih utionchiw hleDm ias
sales pitch for a March 15 vote on a creindnwasnjutluingmisti oe
proposal to raiserelcinbdoanptmscnt.
the sales tax too6I "1 thought it was a good speech;.
percetfromper-the trend in Michigan is upward,".,
center isaid Sen. William Van
cent.nrtr(RJnio)
"The ballot ~Rgnotr(-eio)
plan is the right 'It's the Engler agenda for the
plan. It'sbetter fora fal l campaign." said Rep. Lynn
job roviers.Bet-Jondaihi (D-Okemos) and a candi-
ter or ome-wn-date for cgovernor.
ers. Better for "1 don't think I've ever heard a~
families. On speech that was more of a reelee-
March 15, a 'yes' Engler tion speech," said former U.S. Rep.
vote is better for Michigan," he said. Howard Wolpe, a Democratic gu-
Engler criticized as a disaster the bernatorialcandidatefMrmLansing.:
alternative to the ballot proposal. That's W'olpe said angler was trying:
an income tax increase that will go into to overcome his reputation as a*
effect if voters reject the tax increase. "tremecndously divisive, and con-
"Thanks to your actions last year, frontational force" in state politics.
Michigan children will benefit from "The issue is not the speech he.
historic reforms of our schools and the gave. The issue is the way he gov-.
way we pay for them," he said. erns," Wolpe said.
Council approves measure,
to tow cars after 4 tickets,
AP PHOTO
A Los Angeles resident wades through a sea of groceries, in the wake of
Monday's earthquake, which killed at least 34 and cost millions in damage.
Angelenos without. power, water after quake
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Under
skies as bright and blue as ever, South-
ern Californians confronted a changed
world yesterday.
The defining features of this
eegon's life - water, power and free-
*ways - were suddenly uncertain. In
their place: long lines, hellish com-
mutes and constant earthquake after-
shocks.
A 16th body was found inside a
flattened apartment building in
Northridge, near the epicenter of
Monday's powerful earthquake,
bringing the death toll from the quake
to 34.
*6 "The days ahead will also be rough
for us," Mayor Richard Riordan
warned Angelenos, even as he praised
them for a cool-headed response to
the crisis. "Let's all stick together."
A snapshot of a region in crisis
yesterday:
Many offices, schools and stores
were closed, and workers were urged
to stay home. The closure of four of
the nation's busiest freeways still
made commuting a frustrating adven-
ture.
Aftershocks, some as strong as
5 on the Richter scale, continued to
jolt the region.
About 100,000 homes remained
without power, and between 50,00
and 100,000 were without water, al-
,most all of them in the hard-hit San
Fernando Valley. The Department of
Water and Power said it could be a
week or more before water was re-
stored.
About 20,000 people were
camping in parks, the Department of
Parks and Recreation said.
About 100 building engineers
and inspectors fanned out across the
damaged area, but no preliminary es-
timate on the number of buildings
damaged was immediately available.
More than 2,000 National Guard
soldiers were mobilized; many could
be seen patrolling the San Fernando
Valley, guns at their sides.
After a dusk-to-dawn curfew,
police reported about 75 arrests over-
night for crimes such as robbery and
curfew violation.
California Governor Pete Wilson
said it would take up to a year to
rebuild fallen bridges that carry Inter-
state 10, the Santa Monica freeway,
over surface streets in Los Angeles.
Several hundred thousand people
a day use the Santa Monica Freeway,
making it the nation's busiest high-
way. Near the fallen bridges yester-
day morning, traffic crawled on
Fairfax Avenue at a rate of about four
blocks per hour.
MSA agrees to go to arbitration with AATIU, 2 0-10
By RONNIE GLASSBERG
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
Mediation is better a than a lawsuit.
That's the decision members of the
*Mchigan Student Assembly came to
during last evening's meeting. The as-
sembly approved a resolution agreeing
to mediation with the Ann Arbor Ten-
ants Union (AATU) 20-10 with two
abstentions.
The pro-student tenant organiza-
tion has struggled with the assembly
since September when MSA consid-
ered cutting AATU funding almost
cmpletely.
0* -The assembly, which provides the
AATU with $24,000 or half of its yearly
budget, put the money in an escrow
account after a dispute over MSA's
annual appointments to the AATU
Board of Directors. AATU's bylaws
give the assembly the authority to ap-
point four of the nine-member AATU
board.
AATU staffer Pattrice Maurer said
the bylaws of AATU permit the assem-
bly to appoint only one MSA represen-
tative and three students to its board.
When MSA appointed three of their
representatives to the AATU board and
one other student, the AATU board
refused to allow the MSA reprentati ves
to serve on the board so the assembly
froze AATU funding.
In response to this, AATU filed
three separate lawsuits with the Central
Student Judiciary (CSJ), the court for
the University student body. The MSA
constitution forces the assembly to
abide by all decisions of CSJ, which
spends most of its time settling MSA
election disputes.
The mediation resolution states that
MSA will agree to enter into arbitration
at the Washtenaw Center for Dispute
Resolution contingent upon written
confirmation that the AATU will agree
to abide by the results of the arbitration
and upon AATU dropping all CSJ law-
suits. Also, the resolution states that
MSA will accept the decision of the
arbitrator provided that AATU drops
all lawsuits.
Public Health Rep. Meg Whittaker,
who proposed the resolution, said there
will be no cost for the mediation, which
is funded by the Michigan legislature.
Not all assembly members saw,
mediation as a solution.
"I think going to arbitration is a bad
idea," said LSA Rep. Jacob Stemn, who
is one of the three MSA representatives
who AATU refused to seat on its board.
"In the past three years all the board
members on the AATU have been MSA
reps."
Business Rep. Devon Bodoh said
Stern opposed arbitration for other rea-
sons.
"What I hear out of Jacob (Stern) is
fear. I sense he fears this because he
knows he's wrong," Bodoh said. "The
fact of the matter is we have to go
through with arbitration. We shouldn't
be playing this childish game ... and
screwing all the tenants."
Maurer said AATU is glad to be
entering into mediation, but said she
feels it is unfair, for AATU to have to
lose its leverage of an additional law-
suit before going into mediation.
By JAMES NASH
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
Starting this spring, the worst news
for parking violaters won't be slipped
under windshield wipers. It will be
stuffed in mailboxes.
A deluge of notices will soon be
mailed to drivers who have accumu-
lated four or more unpaid parking tick-
ets. Some 9,000 parking "scofflaws"
will learn their vehicles are next in line
for towing under a plan approved by
the Ann Arbor City Council last night.
A proposal by Councilmember
Larry Hunter (D- 1st Ward) for an am-
nesty program failed for lack of sup-
port. Hunter said he may later reintro-
duce his proposal.
After an hour-long discussion,
councilmembers approved the towing
resolution in a 7-4 vote. Drivers with
four or more unpaid tickets will be
towed under the plan, which will be
implemented in March.
Currently, drivers who have accu-
mulated six unpaid tickets are towed.
Councilmember Robert Grady (D-
3rd Ward) introduced an amendment
to allow low-income drivers to pay off
their debts in phases. Grady said he
proposed the amendment in the spirit
of "equity and fairness to people."
Grady withdrew his amendment
after several councilmembers objected.
"What about fairness to people who
pay their parking tickets?" asked
Councilmember Julie Creal (R-4th
Ward).
I U
Corrections
Minister Rasul Muhammad did not promote non-violence in his speech Monday at'the University.
. photo of Ruth Ellis was incorrectly attributed in yesterday's Daily.
*Alethea Gordon said this year's symposium did not focus on the activism of opressed groups but on multiculturalism and
she emphasized that BSU was not protesting this year's theme, "'American Culture' or 'America - The Multicultural' ?"
This was incorrectly attributed in yesterday's Daily.
BINDERS, KEEPERS.
Group Meetings
U~ East Quad support group for
lesbians, gay men, & bisexual
people, call 764-3678 for info.
U~ Juggling Club, Michigan Union,
Anderson Room D, 7 p.m.
SNinjutsu Club, IM Building,
Room G21, 7:30-9 p.m,
U~ Rotaract Club, Mitch's Place, 9
Ministry, 801 S. Forsest, 6-7
p.m. (soup supper preceding);
evensong, 7 p.m.
U~ May Department Stores- Fa-
mous Barr, sponsored by Ca-
reer Planning and Placement,
Michigan Union, Room 1209,
10-4 p.m.
U~ KGB Archives: The Struggle
Rights, School of Education
Building Lounge, 7 p.m.
Q1 Writing Your Reseme, spon-
sored by Career Planning and
Placement, North Campus
Commons, Boulevard Room,
5:10-6 p.m.
U Writing Effective Cover Let-
ters, sponsored by Career Plan-
"'I r !
.,
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