The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 4, 1994 - 3 0* Despite 'U' protests, 23rd Hash Bash Held NORML pays 'U' fees; collects from participants By MICHELLE LEE THOMPSON DAILY STAFF REPORTER Although Saturday's Hash Bash did not have an admis- sion fee, many of the event's participants were asked to help foot the $850 bill from the University. National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) spokesperson and Hash Bash organizer Adam Brook said the University demanded $850 in fees before allowing them to use the electricity operating the sound system on the steps of Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library for one hour. Last week, University officials expressed doubt whether NORML was a registered student group - a requirement for obtaining a permit to use the Diag. After NORML proved that they are indeed a student group, the group still had to pay for use of the Diag. Clean-up and maintenance fees incurred at last year's bash remained unpaid early last week, but ultimately the event's supporters paid the bill shortly before the event. To help pay for this cost, organizers passed around buckets at the end of the speeches, and many fistfuls of money were donated. Yesterday, after the fumes had drifted away and the people had gone home, the Diag still held many clues that an estimated 5,000 people stood there a day earlier. Ciga- rette butts, flyers, napkins and plastic packaging blew around in the wind and trash cans overflowed with rem- nants of Hash Bash. "Some of it was here before Hash Bash, but it's pretty pathetic that people can't clean up after themselves," said Jeremy Bailenson, an LSA senior. LSA junior Ellen Krouss said, "Actually, there was (trash) yesterday, but I can't believe how much it was cleaned since yesterday, except for the cigarette butts." Many of the event's organizers and participants pitched in and helped out during and after the event, putting trash into receptacles and bags. "We do have to respect these people because we are a guest on their property - so do unto them as they do unto you," Brook said. Besides the fees for clean-up, Brook said the Univer- sity also charged the group for two hours of electricity at $75 per hour, which included charges for equipment transport and services. Begrudging the charges, Brook complained, "Two hours' pay for one hour's electricity and the guy's time coming from the plant." The day included the hour of speeches from nationally renowned lobbyists, and many more hours of music and speeches on hand-held megaphones. When the power went off shortly after 1 p.m., the speeches ended and the crowd disbanded. Smaller groups centered around guitar players, petition-signers and groups of friends smoking marijuana together. Brook said the part of the disorder in the late stages of Hash Bash was caused by the lack of a P.A. system, which gave the organizers a means to keep things under control. JONATHAN LURIE/ Trash on the Diag piles up due to the lack of garbage containers and carelessness by groups spending Saturday afternoon at the 23rd annual Hash Bas *BASH Continued from page 1 Political maverick Marvin "Marvin" Surowitz took the podium and made his pitch for elective office. "Elect me to the U.S. Senate and I'll legalize weed," he declared. The activist-turned-candidate also announced the formation of a new political party, Partie America, based in Mount Clemens, Mich. The party's name stands for "People's Alliance to Reform, Transform and Improve Ev- erything." Other speakers extolled the vir- tues of hemp as a source of fuel and paper. The seven-leafed marijuana plant adorned earrings, T-shirts and a flag that flapped in the springtime wind from a construction beam near the *Randall Laboratory. Temperatures flirted with the 70- degree mark, the wind blew gently and sunlight beamed on the Diag, drawing near-record crowds. A light snow fell on last year's Hash Bash. "The weather helps. This is basi- cally a kickoff to the activist season; it's the first event of the year every year and people can't come in the Awinter," said Steve Hager, editor in chief of High Times magazine. "When I first came here in 1987 (turnout) had gone up from 30 people to 2,000. Now I'd say it's about 5,000 to 10,000, and it's been going up every year." The Department of Public Safety (DPS) estimated the crowd at 5,000. As attendance grows, so does the Hash Bash's political leanings. The first Hash Bashes featured smaller groups of hippies toking and convers- ing without speakers or petitions. "It's been 15 years since I've been at Hash Bash," said Harold Baker, who journeyed to the event from Jonesville in south-central Michigan. "This is twice as big as I've ever seen it ... it's quite a bit different from (Hash Bashes of the 1970s)." But Baker, who stood at the rear of the Diag crowd, said he couldn't hear the speakers. He didn't seem to mind. Patrick Hanshin, an SNRE sopho- more, heard the speeches but did not take them to heart. He said he came to Hash Bash because, "I don't smoke pot. My main concern is how they're going to get it legalized; it seems like such a lost cause. I came out to be entertained by their dream speeches." Officers from DPS circled the Diag and were heckled by speakers and spectators. Police made nearly 30 ar- rests in the first two hours of Hash Bash, some to chants of "Bullshit, bullshit!" "DPS has been arresting people around the fringes," said NORML spokesperson Brook. "We're the head- quarters in the middle. They won't walk through the middle - they don't have the guts and they know better." But DPS Lt. Wesley Showron said police were not intimidated by the hostile posture of the pot advocates. "We try to arrest as many people as are openly violating the law," he said. "I think (officers) are making arrests out there that they need to make." About three-quarters of the arrests were for marijuana possession, DPS officials indicated. NORML, the group sponsoring the rally, registered as a student group and paid its debts to the University from last year's Hash Bash. While the University allowed NORML to hold the event on the Diag, the group was restricted to one hour's use of a public address system on the steps of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library. University Director of Public Af- fairs Lisa Baker, standing near the entrance of the Grad Library at the "high noon" Hash Bash kickoff, said the University had no intention of provoking a confrontation with NORML. "We don't want to prohibit free speech as long as people are gathered in an orderly way," she said. But the event's organizers were less than ready to share their peace pipes with University officials, whom Brook repeatedly called "fascists." "University of Michigan students should be proud of Hash Bash. It's ridiculous that the University puts these restrictions on us with the Diag code and messes with our First Amendment rights," said Joe Myers, the founder and lone member of the University chapter of NORML. Before their hour had expired, speakers took the microphone to at- tack Clinton -- whose notorious "I didn't inhale" quote drew fire from those who did - and legislation to stiffen the marijuana ban. Measures to restrict marijuana usage have been introduced by state lawmakers. Senate Bill 243, proposed by state Sen. Michael Bouchard (D- Bloomfield Hills), would impose a $500 fine for marijuana possession and permit "reverse sting" operations by police. After booing Bouchard, Hash Bash organizers vowed to hold another pro- test on the steps of the state Capitol this afternoon. -Daily Staff Reporter Ronnie Glassberg contributed to this report JUNATHAN LURIE/Daily (Above) A Michigan State Police officer arrests Jim Northrup at Saturday's Hash Bash. (Right) A man enjoys the Hash Bash festivities on the Diag. EVAN PETRIE/Daily NASA to measure radar calibration from U.P. I. RACO, Mich. (AP) - A ghost town in the Hiawatha National Forest seems an unlikely site for a space shuttle experiment, but it will be one *of 19 the shuttle Endeavour will use to map the Earth by radar. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has placed 17 aluminum pyramids and five radio transponders in the Upper Peninsula to measure whether Endeavour's radar - which NASA describes as the most sophisticated ever sent into space for environmen- tal purposes - is properly calibrated. "Energy that hits them (the pyra- mids) will bounce straight back to the spacecraft," said Craig Dobson, a re- searcher at the radiation laboratory at the University's Electrical Engineer- ing and Computer Science Depart- ment. "We calculate the amount of en- ergy that should reflect to the space- craft. This gives us a way to verify that the shuttle-imaging radar is prop- erly calibrated," Dobson added. The importance of calibration is that it allows scientists to accurately compare Earth maps made by differ- ent imaging systems. NASA chose the Upper Peninsula because it is directly below the shuttle during dawn and early-afternoon passovers, Dobson said. The pyramids stretch over 30 miles of the Upper Peninsula, with Raco in the middle. The pyramids stand up- side down on their points. Some are 8 feet tall and weigh 100 pounds. Trout Lake resident Maureen Schweisinger can see two from the window of her house. "They don't bother me any," she said. "I just think it's great, participat- ing in an experiment in space." The Endeavour will use the radar to scan the Amazon River, the Andes, the Alps, Patagonia, the Galapagos Islands, the Sahara desert, Death Val- ley and other sites. Endeavour is scheduled to be launched Thursday on the nine-day mission, part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. During the experiment, Dobson and a 20-member team will monitor the experiment. Group Meetings U Archery Club, Coliseum, 7-8:30 p.m. U Comedy Company Writers' Meeting, University Activities Center, Michigan Union, 7 p.m. U Niniutsu Club. IM Building, Events U "After the Cold War: Dilem- mas, Opportunities, and Ca- reers in International Af- fairs," sponsored by the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies, Michigan League, call 76-GUIDE, 7 p.m.-8 a.m. U Campus Information Center, Michigan Union, 763-INFO; events info., 76-EVENT; film info., 763-FILM. U Free Tax Assistance, 3909 Michigan Union, noon-8 p.m. I I I I