The Michigan Daily - Friday, April 15, 1994 - 5
'U' seeks to preserve environment with recycling programs
By APRIL WOOD
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
It is everything you see, every
breath you take: oceans, mountains,
glaciers and the Diag. The environ-
ment is everywhere and the human
impact on it is beyond measure.
Current environmental problems
touch the entire world, University stu-
dents included. A multitude of cam-
pus environmental issues command
attention, such as waste disposal, en-
ergy conservation and chemical use,
among others.
One of the most frequent ecologi-
S'Headless'
mystic tells
stories of
his rebirth
By MICHELLE JOYCE
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
"The best day of my life - my
rebirthday so to speak - was when I
found that I had no head. This is not a
literary gambit, a witticism designed
to arouse interest at any cost. I mean
it in all seriousness: I have no head."
So begins the book, "On Having
No Head," by author and religious
mystic Douglas Harding. This was
also the primary message Harding
stressed yesterday in his lecture to
Prof. Sandy Huntington's Asian Re-
ligions class.
Although this assertion may sound
strange to most people, Harding main-
tains that his view of "headlessness"
is "really quite obvious."
His discovery came to him in In-
*dia more than 50 years ago while
serving as a major in the British Army.
Walking through the Himalayas,
Harding said he began observing his
physical self. He could view his feet,
his legs, his arms and his chest, yet
cal actions students participate in is
recycling. The University recycled
approximately 20 percent of the more
than 8,000 tons of trash it produced
from July 1992 to June 1993.
Erica Spiegel, special projects
coordinator for the Grounds and Waste
Management Department, said office
paper is the recycling element stu-
dents most often see.
Reduction of waste production is
a priority on campus as such a large
amount of trash is produced each year.
Spiegel said more than 100 campus
buildings have access to paper recy-
cling, and residence halls also con-
tribute to material recovery.
"Since (the Housing Division)
pays for the trash they throw away, it
makes sense for them to reduce their
waste," Spiegel said.
Other issues that concern the Uni-
versity include promoting energy con-
servation by turning off computers
and lights when not in use. Simple
actions such as these will diminish
electrical energy use and require no
more than the flip of a switch.
More complex issues demand at-
tention, such as radioactive emissions
from the North Campus incinerator
and the low-level radioactive waste
produced in science experiments.
LSA sophomore Mark Reeves, an
Environmental Action at U-M officer,
said these problems interconnect when
examining the environment as a
whole.
"I think it's important to keep the
larger picture in mind when you're
dealing with these issues. I don't like
to get sick. I prefer a clean, healthy
living environment and I recognize
that other people and animals have
these same concerns. I think that it
would be difficult to find someone
who did not agree with these state-
ments," he said.
Spiegel said the city of Ann Arbor
is constructing a new materials re-
covery facility that should be in op-
eration by this time next year. The
University will be a major customer
of that facility, she added.
The Grounds and Waste Man-
agement Department will also be con-
ducting a collection of food, clothing
and household items during residence
hall move-out, April 20-30.
Last year, more than 1 ton of food,
423 bags of
clothing and 81
bags of return-
able cans and
bottles were
collected and
donated to vari-
ous charities, in-
cluding the
Prospect Place
Family Shelter,
Purple Heart ER WEEK 1994
Service Foun- AprI 1115
dation and the
Ann Arbor Shelter Association.
Students discover
'Best Buddies' in
volunteer program
CHRIS WOLF/Daily
Mystic Douglas Harding speaks to Prof. Sandy Huntington's Asian Religions class yesterday.
when it came to the place where his
head was supposed to be, all he saw
was space. And in this space was
room for everything that was in front
of him, he said.
"Instead of the meatball, I had the
wide world," Harding said. He refers
to the physical head that other people
see in a reflection as a "meatball."
Harding was born in 1909 to par-
ents who belonged to an ultra-funda-
mentalist sect called the Exclusive
Plymouth Brethren. At age 21, he
said he left the group hoping to find an
alternative mode of living.
"The fanatical fundamental group
seemed quite ridiculous, and I sought
another way," Harding said in a phone
conversation.
In addition to serving in the Brit-
ish Army, Harding also led a success-
ful career in architecture. But after his
discovery of "having no head," he
began teaching comparative religion
at Cambridge University.
Over the years, he wrote three
more books, published several jour-
nal articles and traveled around the
world giving lectures on headless-
ness.
In relation to these beliefs, Harding
also stressed that people are not who
they are perceived to be. In fact, a
person's true identity is "not just dif-
ferent from their social identity but
justifiably the opposite," he said.
Huntington said it looked like most
students responded positively to the
lecture."
They really seemed to like it," he
said. "A lot (of students) came up
afterwards and asked what else
(Harding) was doing this weekend."
"He's really a charming fellow,"
Huntington added, who has been
friends with Harding for several years.
LSA senior Michelle Hargrave
said, "(Harding's speech) opened me
up to a new way of thinking. I'm not
sure I agree with everything he says,
but it's something to think about."
Cyclists ride across
"U.S. to raise money
Regents Roundup
Duderstadt closes meeting
after 30 minutes, 6 regents
By TEDRA WHITE
FOR THE DAILY
Friendship may be one of the most
important gifts human beings share
with one another.
This is why the Best Buddies pro-
gram was created: to help mentally-
retarded people and their college bud-
dies get to know those who are differ-
ent from themselves.
Best Buddies of America is a col-
lege-based volunteer program that
pairs college students with young
adults who are mentally retarded. The
organization, which originated at
Georgetown University in Washing-
ton, D.C., has spread to 140 college
campuses across the country, includ-
ing the University.
"It provides college students and
mentally disabled young adults with
the opportunity to make new and dif-
ferent friends," said SNRE senior
Kirsten Silverman, president of the
University's chapter of Best Buddies.
As children, people with mental
retardation develop at below-average
rates and experience difficulty in
learning, social adjustment and, in
some cases, economic productivity.
Silverman encourages students to
get involved with the organization
because it is not only rewarding to
those with mental retardation, but to
college students as well, she said.
"It's so hard to explain the feeling
you get from it," said Silverman.
with the beginning of AIDS," said Vice
President for Student Affairs Maureen
A. Hartford. "I heard rumors about it for
sometime, but I guess the article con-
firms it."
Regent Baker, who first brought the
issue to light 10 years ago, said, "I have
been thinking about doing something
about it for a long time. It's up to the
administration."
U..
Regent James Waters (D-
Muskegon) was sighted lighting up a
cigarette outside the doors of the
Fleming Building before the meetings.
Waters may soon have to give up this
luxury as Hartford promotes a cam-
paign to restrict smoking 50 feet from
the entrances of University buildings.
Hartford said she would ultimately like
to ban smoking entirely from the Uni-
versity campus.
Silverman recruited many students
including LSA senior Mark Gimbel.
Gimbel said his involvement in the
program was not easy at first, but has
taught him that people with mental
retardation are just like anyone else.
"It was difficult in the beginning
because no one I've ever been around
has been mentally disabled," Gimbel
said. "It's been very rewarding be-
cause I have become friends with
someone I wouldn't have met on the
everyday basis."
Best Buddies has also been a learn-
ing experience for LSA senior Jenni-
fer Spiegelman. She said she has found
through spending time with her Best
Buddy, Robyn McDonald, that the
abilities of mentally retarded people
are underestimated.
"Part of the program is educating
people about the capacity of those
who are mentally retarded,"
Spiegelman said. "(The program has)
brought a newfound respect for them.
They're not as unable as people think
they are."
The University chapter sponsors a
number of both one-on-one and group
activities, which have made it suc-
cessful in forming special friendships.
Best Buddies is a year-long com-
mitment that Silverman said can bring
a lot to the lives of those who are
mentally disabled as well as be a
wonderful experience for everyone
involved.
"
Serbs detailn
U.N. soldiers
SARAJEVO,Bosnia-Herzegovina
(AP) - Bosnian Serb troops con-
fronted peacekeepers at a weapons
depot and detained more soldiers
yesterday, escalating tensions over
air raids on Serb forces near Gorazde.
U.N. Secretary-General Boutros-
Ghali warned of more air strikes if
U.N. personnel were threatened, and
President Clinton voiced concern.
Serbs detained 24 peacekeepers
yesterday, raising fears they might be
trying to avert further air raids by
holding U.N. people as virtual hos-
tages. Serbs now are restricting the
movements of 161 U.N. personnel.
for AIDS
By SAM T. DUDEK
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
Get on your bikes and ride!
About 80 cyclists plan to do just
*that this summer to raise money for
AIDS awareness and education.
They will take part in this year's
Bike-Aid, a fundraising event spon-
sored by the Overseas Development
Network, a student-based organiza-
tion in San Francisco, Calif.
Robin Pugh, an event coordinator,
said the ride is aimed at educating
Americans about AIDS."
The money raised will help fund
development projects and AIDS edu-
cation projects," she said.
Pugh said the money will go to-
.ward small community groups on
AIDS awareness.
This will be the ninth ride, the
second to raise money for AIDS edu-
cation. In previous years, "world hun-
ger and indigenous people" have been
some of the event's fundraising re-
cipients, Pugh said.
education
Cyclists will begin from either Se-
attle, Wash., Portland, Ore., San Fran-
cisco, Calif., Brownsville, Tex. or
Montreal, Canada.
They will ride to Washington, D.C.
for a grand finale Aug. 19-22, with
speakers from the White House and
AIDS and bicycling organizations.
Cari Noga, who rode in the 1990
Bike-Aid, said she enjoyed her expe-
rience in the event.
"I was in college then, and my
roommate went home for the sum-
mer. She couldn't fit her bike in her
car so I decided to ride it," the
Dearborn native said.
"There was a greater purpose than
just riding bikes," Noga added. She
said she rode to help Bike-Aid and to
"try some different things."
LSA senior Keira Barr, who will
ride this summer, said she hopes the
trip will inform people about AIDS.
Barrsaidshe isparticipatingbecause it
is a "real good cause."
"Biking is an added bonus," she said.
By JAMES R. CHO
DAILY STAFF REPORTER
Yesterday's closed-door University
Board of Regents meeting was on the
verge of being canceled because of
wayward regents.
Six of the eight members on the
board are required to be present for the
regents to legally hold a closed meet-
ing. Underthe Open Meetings and Free-
dom of Information acts, the regents are
permitted to hold closed meetings to
discuss the purchase of property, to
review applications for employment for
which the candidates have requested
confidentiality, and to discuss current
litigation.
The meeting was scheduled to be-
gin at 2 p.m. One half hour later, when
the sixth regent arrived, University
President James J. Duderstadt legally
closed the meeting.
Duderstadt gave asigh of reliefwhen
Regents Laurence Deitch (D-
Bloomfield Hills) and Shirley McFee
(R-Battle Creek) walked through the
doors of the Regents room at 2:30.
Duderstadt smiled as former MSA
President Craig Greenberg praised the
work the assembly accomplished last
year, during the public comments sec-
tion of the meeting.
"We have increased funding to stu-
dent organizations, become more acitive
in every part of the University commu-
nity ...and improved our communica-
tion with you," he said.
Duderstadt also praised Greenberg
saying, "You have been a forceful voice
for students."
Following Greenberg, new MSA
President Julie Neenan introduced her-
self to the regents. Regent Deane Baker
(R-Ann Arbor) said, "She appears to be
a very competent and attractive
woman."
University executive administrators
and regents responded to the article
printed in Monday's Daily about illegal
activity in the Mason Hall men's
restroom.
"I thought that kindof activity died
I
EASY .AS PI.
Friday
Q 76-GUIDE, peer counseling
phone line, 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.
D Chamber Choir, Hill Audito-
rium, 8 p.m.
U Coffee Hour -Indian Classi-
cal Dancing, North Campus
Commons, 6-8 p.m.
" ENACT, Markley, Angela Davis
Lounge, 7 p.m.
" Europe on the Cheap, Interna-
tional Center, 3-4:30 p.m.
Q Free Tax Assistance, 3909
Michigan Union, 12-4 p.m.
" Grads and young profession-
als veggie shabbat potluck:
Jewish Mysticism, Lawyer's
747-3711 for appointment.
Q Rally Against Misspent Taxes,
sponsored by POWRPEZ, Diag,
noon.
Q Safewalk, 936-1000, UGLi
lobby, 8-11:30 p.m.
Q Saint Mary Student Parish,
Catholic campus prayer group,
7 p.m., 331 Thompson.
Q Shorin-Ryu Karate-Do Club,
2275 CCRB, 6-7 p.m.
Q Support Workshop, safe, sup-
portive, confidential space to
dialogue about the aftereffects
of E-mail hate messages, spon-
sored by Counseling Services,
Michigan Union, Pond Room,
3-5 p.m.
Q "Vivat Comenius," sponsored
by the Center for Russian and
East European Studies,
Rackham, East Conference
- - 0 - -
info., 763-FILM.
Q Israeli Independence Day
Party, at Hillel, 8:30 p.m.
Q Safewalk, 936-1000, UGLi
lobby, 8-11:30 p.m.
Q "Senior Day at the Ball Park,"
Comedy Company, Mendel-
ssohn Theatre, 8 p.m.
Sunday
Q 76-GUIDE, peer counseling
phone line, 7 p.m.-8 a.m.
Q Campus Information Center,
Michigan Union, 763-INFO;
events info., 76-EVENT; film
info., 763-FILM.
Q Grad Bash, Ingalls Mall, 12-4
p.m.
Q Israeli Dancing, at Hillel, 8-10
p.m.
U Lutheran Campus Ministry,
3OY
Hey, She was out 'til 5he's gonna wreck
3:00 a.m. last nightl Cool 1' bet She the grading curve
How'd she dQ all this? Colors! Spent a fortunel for the rest of us!
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