The Michigan Daily - Tuesday. February 8. 1994 - 3
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*Sikh community
challenges 'U'
s program
LSA-SG to choose
new rep. for MSA
By MARIA KOVAC
FOR THE DAILY
About 20 members of the Sikh
community carried signs outside the
Rackham Building in a peaceful pro-
test Saturday, claiming the Univer-
sity had ignored their interests.
The Sikh protesters organized the
demonstration in protest of an aca-
demic meeting of scholars from both
within and outside of the University's
Sikh Studies Program.
The Sikh religion, rooted in the
Islamic and Hindu faiths, originated
in northwest India.
The group, protesting while the
meeting was in progress, claimed that
while members were not invited, many
of them had donated funds to the
program.
Lee Schlesinger, program direc-
tor of the Center for South and South-
eastern Asian Studies Program, said
the protesters may have believed the
conference was funded by Sikh Stud-
ies Association, to which they had
contributed.
However, he said the three-day
conference was sponsored by the
University's International Institute,
the National Institute of Punjab Stud-
ies in New Delhi and the Asian Stud-
ies Center of Michigan State Univer-
sity.
"(The protesters) assumed the
money came from the Sikh Studies
Association and therefore the com-
munity at large should have been in-
formed of the conference."
Schlesinger added that due to the
limited space, the Center for South
and Southeastern Asian Studies de-
cided to invite only those with aca-
demic credentials.
The protesters said their anger
stemmed from discontent with the
teachings of the University Sikh Stud-
ies Program and the selection of mem-
bers chosen to sit on the program's
board as representatives of the Sikh
community.
. Gurmukh Singh said he contrib-
uted $4,000 to the $400,000 fund used
to provide an opening on the
program's board for a Sikh commu-
nity member.
Singh and other Sikhs said they
are dissatisfied with the man chosen
by the University to be on the pro-
gram board, Pushaura Singh - no
relation to Gurmukh Singh.
The protesters claimed that
Pushaura Singh's views on the Sikh
culture are not in accordance with
those of other members of the Sikh
community.
Pushaura Singh said Sunday that
the protester's claims were not justi-
fied. "They have not sat in my class,"
he said.
Gurmukh Singh is not only a fi-
nancial contributor but also a con-
cerned parent; his son is a University
student in the Sikh Studies Program.
But Singh feels the teachings of the
program are questionable and insists
it is "damaging toward the youth."
He added that, "These teachings
are turning (the younger) generation
against us."
Schlesinger said this is a sensitive
issue that the center is trying to handle.
Baldeu Singh protests the University's Sikh Studies Program Saturday.
By RONNIE GLASSBERG
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
No, MSA's spring elections have
not come early this year.
But within the next week LSA
Student Government (LSA-SG) will
determine the newest representative
to the Michigan Student Assembly.
An LSA-SG committee will de-
cide who will fill an open LSA posi-
tion on MSA and then recommend it
to approval to LSA-SG as a body.
The seat opened after Scott Ferber,
an LSA representative to MSA, accu-
mulated the absence limit and was
removed from the assembly.
MSA Rules and Elections Chair
BrianElliott said assembly members
are removed after 12 absences. As-
sembly members can obtain two ab-
sences for each weekly meeting be-
cause of a roll call at the beginning
and end of the meeting. They also
accumulate absences for not com-
pleting one hour of MSA work during
a two-week period.
The MSA Rules and Elections
Committee monitors absences and
after 12 the committee automatically
removes the faulted member from the
assembly, Elliot said.
LSA-SG Rep. Michelle Ferrarese,
who chairs the LSA-SG appointments
committee, will fill the position along
with three other LSA-SG representa-
tives. Ferrarese also serves as an LSA
representative to MSA.
After reviewing applications, the
committee recommends a candidate
to LSA-SG as a whole.
"Pretty much the people they rec-
ommend do get appointed, but the
entire government does have the final
say," said LSA-SG President Ryan
Boeskool.
The person selected will serve the
remainder of Ferber's term, which
ends in April
'"Basically, it's completely up to
(LSA-SG)," Elliott said. "It's left up
to the student government because
they're assumed to be the representa-
tive body of that school."
Those who have turned in applica-
tions for the open seat are senior Jeff
Alexander, LSA-SG Rep. Mike
Christie Jr., Michigan Collegiate Coa-
lition (MCC) Gov. Conan Smith and
junior Dante Stella, Ferrarese said.
All the current applicants have
ties to the assembly.
Both Christie and Alexander
served as MSA representatives last
term, but lost for re-election as Michi-
gan Party candidates. As MCC gov-
ernor, Smith attends the weekly meet-
ings of the assembly, and is appointed
by MSA. Although he does not hold
an MSA position, Stella frequently
addresses the assembly on a variety
of issues.
carefully and explained that Pushaura
Singh's theories are based on a mod-
ern school of thought. "Whenever you
try to apply modern scholarly tech-
niques to ancient religions people are
going to disapprove. It happens in all
religions," he said.
The protesters were suspicious of
a "hidden agenda" because of what
they understood to be a closed-door
meeting Saturday.
Schlesinger said the conference
was never closed but simply a meet-
ing of scholars rather than the general
community. "We were never going to
check IDs or credentials at the door.
... We weren't going to turn away
anyone," he said.
Applicants expressed interest for
a number of reasons.
Alexander said he is planning on
graduating April and would love to
finish his college career on the assem-
bly.
Because of his campaign for LSA-
SG vice president, Christie said he
could not devote the time needed for
his MSA campaign and lost for re-
election by a narrow margin. "I wanted
to get back involved with MSA," he
said.
While Smith said he has been in-
volved in the assembly for a while, he
has never held an MSA seat. He said,
"We need to be doing more projects
that involve students specifically."
Stella said, "I'd like to bring a
little bit of reform to MSA specifi-
cally in the area of ethics." He said as
a constituent he has little impact on
assembly issues.
As a member of MSA and LSA-
SG, Ferrarese is familiar with all the
applicants.
"Unfortunately, I do know all these
people and it's going to make it really
hard to be objective," she said.
Despite the work of the current
applicants, Ferrarese said she would
like the applicant pool to contain a
broader range of people.
"It's really a concern that there are
no women or minorities applying for
the position," she said. Ferrarese also
said she would like to see people
apply beyond those currently involved
in student government.
While Ferrarese said she wants to
fill the position by the end of this
week, students can still apply for the
position in LSA-SG offices, located
on the fourth floor of the Michigan
Union.
Surgeon General
endorses bans
on smoking
WASHINGTON (AP) - The
U.S. surgeon general and five of
her predecessors endorsed legisla-
tion yesterday to protect nonsmok-
ers, through severe smoking re-
strictions in virtually every non-
residential building in the country.
A tobacco industry representa-
tive denounced the proposal asgov-
ernment "social engineering on a
vast scale."
The conflicts expressed before
the House Energy and Commerce
health and environment subcom-
mittee resembled debates years ago
over the effects of tobacco on smok-
ers. But this time, the issue was
passive, or secondhand smoke.
An Environmental Protection
Agency report in January 1993
classified cigarette smoke as a can-
cer agent more dangerous than ar-
senic or radon. It said secondhand
smoke causes 3,000 lung cancer
deaths annually in adults and as
many as 300,000 cases of bronchi-
tis and pneumonia in children.
"I say now, as I said nearly a
decade ago, it is my judgment that
the time for delay is passed," testi-
fied Dr. C. Everett Koop, perhaps
the best known former surgeon gen-
eral.
"Measures to protect the public
health are required now."
The current surgeon general,
Dr. Joycelyn Elders, joined other
witnesses in expressing concern
over the effect of secondhand
smoke on children.
Hacker helps teens, parents deal with sex
By RACHEL SCHARFMAN
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
"More teens have sex now and
more do so openly," writes Sylvia
Hacker bluntly in her straightforward
guide to teens and parents, "What
Every Teenager Wants to Know
About Sex."
With a background in Biology and
a Ph.D. in contraceptive use, Hacker
- a recent School of Nursing retiree
and University professor emeritus -
has collected her exploratory studies
of young, mostly college-level adults
into the guide which address the most
popular questions adolescents have
* about sex.
In efforts to deconstruct the "my-
thology which encompasses sexual-
ity,",Hacker questioned sexually ac-
tive college dormitory residents and
visited Planned Parenthood clinics
where she conducted in-depth inter-
views with 20 men and 20 women.
Battling what she termed to as the
"head in the sand" contingent required
dismantling many "antiquated," and
"puritanical" ideals that many teens
are taught by their parents. Often,
says Hacker, these parents are in de-
nial about the fact that their teen may
be sexually active.
"When their parents ask what we
talk about, they are often shocked to
hear how much their children know
- and don't know - about sexual-
ity, and how much they, as parents,
don't know about what their kids are
doing sexually."
To close the generation gap,
Hacker addresses parents' fears as
well as those of her teen readers.
"What's normal?" "What about con-
traception?" "What about being gay?"
and "What about love?" are among
the chapter titles. The chapters are
devoted to answering the most fre-
quently asked questions, such as "How
do you fake an orgasm?" "What if
your boyfriend says 'you would if
you loved me'?"and other often stress-
ful inquiries.
Hacker chose simple explanations
for these and other complex ques-
tions. Responding to the question,
"How do you know when you're in
love? she says, "Look for the FACCTS
- friendship, ability to commit and
compromise, trust and self esteem."
Citing a "lack of defining what
sexuality is" as one of the main prob-
lems in dealing with adolescent rela-
tionships, Hacker emphasizes in the
book that sexuality involves more than
intercourse - a misconception that
she says often leads to hasty deci-
sions.
Hacker, in her efforts to end this
confusion emphasizes that "Today
parents can't afford to be ignorant of
their children's sexual activity," con-
sidering that "Today's teens aren't
asking, 'Shouldwe have sex?' They're
asking 'when (on which date) will we
have sex?"
Continuing her work in this field,
Hacker has recently begun writing a
bitweekly column for The Detroit Free
Pressentitled, "Let's Talk About Sex."
'U' College Bowl members come home as 'winningest team in the '90s'
By JESSICA CHAFFIN
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
' College Bowl, the popular televi-
sion quiz show of the 1960s and 1970s
is still thriving, and the University's
seam is living proof.
Though the show is no longer tele-
vised, schools from around the coun-
try continue the tradition by compet-
ing in regional tournaments. The
University's team upset 22 teams from
12 schools to place first overall in a
ournament held at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison this weekend.
The culmination of these lesser
tournaments are Regionals and the
Nationals, which are held annually.
Western Michigan will host the
Regionals the weekend of Feb. 25,
while the Nationals will be held at the
University of Florida-Gainesville in
April.
Last weekend's win came as no
surprise, as the team has an impres-
sive two-year record of 33-0 at
Regionals, and 31-14 at Nationals.
Team Captain Brian Kalt, an LSA
senior and "Teen Jeopardy!" veteran,
said this record makes it "the
winningest team in the '90s."
"We may not be the football team,
but we're still proud to represent the
school," Kalt added.
The University's College Bowl
program consists of nine players who
are divided into two teams. The A
team consists of five players, two
staple members, and three who alter-
nate in competition. The remaining
four players comprise the B team.
Team members are selected from
the winners of the campus-wide Col-
lege Bowl tournament held each fall.
This year the team chose to draft an
additional squad because it will be
losing four senior players.
LSA junior and B-team member
John Motherwell said he enjoyed his
involvement in the tournament. "This
was a great baptism by fire to see how
it really works, and we hope to carry
on the tradition in years to come," he
said.
The talent of the University's team
is certain. Team Coach Kevin
Olmstead, an assistant professor of
environmental engineering at the Uni-
versity of Detroit-Mercy and future
"Jeopardy!" contestant commented,
"Coaching this team is really easy
because I don't have to do much.
They pretty much coach themselves."
First-year Law and Rackham stu-
dent David Frazee played College
Bowl for two years at Stanford before
joining the University's team. "I've
been watching national tournaments
for a number of years, and have been
participating for three. This is the best
team I have seen in that time." Frazee
said.
Amazing as it may seem, the team
stressed the fact that it does not take the
competition nearly as seriously as other
schools, and that this is basically a
recreational activity for its members.
Group Meetings
U American Movement for Is-
rael, Hillel, 1429 Hill St., 7
p.m.
U Amnesty International, Michi-
gan Union, Welker Room, 7:30
p.m.
U Arab-American Students' As-
sociation, Arabic conversation
hour, Amer's on State, 8:30p.m.
U Chinese Student Association,
Michigan Union, Room 2209,
7:30 p.m.
U Folk Dance Club, ethnic line
dancing (no partner needed),
North Campus Commons,
Atrium, 7:30 p.m.
Q Saint Mary Student Parish,
Catholic update, 331 Thomp-
son, 7 p.m.
U Southwest Detroit Student As-
sembly Meeting, Michigan
T T~ninj Rnntv 1 AAOQ0n
Planning and Placement, 3200
Student Activities Building,
6:10-7 p.m.
U Career Pathways in Econom-
ics, sponsored by Career Plan-
ning and Placement, Michigan
Union, Kuenzel Room, 6-7:30
p.m.
U Career Pathways in Political
Science, sponsored by Career
Planning and Placement, Michi-
gan Union, Pendelton Room,
6:10-7:30 p.m.
U High School Students in Bening
and Taipei, speaker: Harold
Stevenson, sponsored by the
Center for Chinese Studies,
Lane Hall Commons , noon.
U Mary Morris, reading from her
work, sponsored by the Depart-
ment of English, Rackham
Amphitheater, 4 p.m.
Union, Room 1209, 9 p.m.
U Starting Your Job Search,
sponsored by Career Planning
and Placement, North Campus
Commons, 4:10-5 p.m.
Q The Civil war And Reconstruc-
tion: Revolution In The
United States, sponsored by
SPARK, MLB, Room B122, 7-
8 p.m.
Q The Philippines After The
American Military With-
draw, speaker: Ben Bandico,
International Lunch Forum, In-
ternational Center, noon.
Student services
U 76-GUIDE, peer counseling
phone line, call 76-GUIDE, 7
p.m.-8 a.m.
Q Campus Information Center,
Michigan Union, 763-INFO;
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