The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 21, 1994 - 5 .Speaker tells of atrocities B4. in Burma By ANDREW TAYLOR Daily Staff Reporter Thousands of protesters have been gunned down by the military. The party that received 82 percent of the vote in the last election is not in power. There has been little U.S. foreign policy on the subject. This is not Haiti, Iraq or China. In Burma, such atrocities forced Yuzana Khin to flee her southeast Asian homeland and come to the United States to campaign for demo- cratic reform. Her life changed dramatically in August 1988 when she participated in a protest rally against the govern- ment. Activistgroups organized thou- sands from around the country to Irn out at the government headquar- ters in the capital city of Rangoon, for a large rally. During the first day, the protesters began to march on the city hail when they were met by soldiers and tanks. "They gave the demand 'You must disperse,"' Khin said. Khin said the protesters were scared but continued to demand free elections and an end to human rights iolations. "Soldiers must help and protect the people," Khin said. "They won't harm us, we thought." After a day of rallying, around midnight, the soldiers began to fire into the sky. "We were scared but we did not leave," Khin said. The military drove their tanks through the masses and forced the ac- *vists to withdraw down a main road. Khin said she was lucky she man- aged to escape down another street, since most of the students who with- drew from the main passage were killed or arrested. Government figures indicate 3,000 people were killed that night, however, Khin said such a number is unreliable. Later that night Khin saw two rucks filled with prisoners parked outside the friend's house she was hiding in. "I couldn't help and shout. If I shouted they were going to shoot me," Xhin said. "Wake up all the people. We need your help. We must walk together. Don't sleep," Khin remembers the prisoners yelling. # Khinsaid, "I was crying. Those eople - we don't know when they will be back. "They will be in jail and tortured forever." That night Khin vowed to'fight until Burma is free. The small number ofactivists who escaped began to reorganize imme- diately. "It was illegal but we did it anyway," Khin said. She now tours the United States, Candidates weigh business, environment in local forum By JAMES M. NASH Daily Staff Reporter Democratic and Republican can- didates for local office both champi- oned environmental issues in a forum last night at the Ann Arbor Public Library, but differed slightly on how to balance environmental protection with business interests. The forum, sponsored by three local environmental groups, high- lighted areas of agreement between candidates forAnn Arbormayor, 52nd and 53rd district state representatives and 18th district state senator. But the discussion was not free of partisan haggling. While candidates of both parties painted themselves as "green," Demo- crats accused their opponents of foot- dragging and Republicans charged Democrats with neglecting business interests. Republican candidates for state Senate and 52nd District House were absent from last night's forum. Ann Arbor Mayor Republican incumbent Ingrid Sheldon and Democratic challenger David Stead agreed on the need to cement partnerships with business. Sheldon said the city should turn to the Huron River Watershed for help in minimizing water pollution. Stead said the city needs to work more closely with the county Drain Commission to revise the drain code. Both candidates advocated un- specified "incentives" to encourage citizens to carpool. Stead added that the city should upgrade its bicycle- path network. The mayoral hopefuls disagreed on a solution to the city's gypsy-moth crisis, which is attacking certain spe- cies of trees. Sheldon said the city should treat the trees with a bacterium that would retard the moths' repro- ductive ability. Stead said the mea- sure is unnecessary, as the moths re- turn every few years and will soon disappear-regardless of treatments. Sheldon and Stead rehashed argu- ments over the city's Materials Re- covery Facility, a multi-million-dol- lar project to reduce the waste stream. Stead, a 5th Ward council member, said his opponent only recently has come to support the facility. "In the past, she has questioned the need for that, so I'm glad to see she's finally coming around," Stead said. Sheldon accused Stead of delay- ing the project by voting against a council proposal to call in a third party to review the search process for a recycling facility. 53rd District House Democrat Liz Brater and Republi- can Renee Birnbaum clashed over the relationship between business and the See FORUM, Page'7 Halloween party cheers children KRISTEN SCHAEFER/Daily Yuzana Khin performs "Struggle for Freedom" in the Rackham Amphitheater. I couldn't help and shout. If I shouted they were going to shoot me.' Yuzana Khin performing a play she wrote titled "A Struggle for Freedom." Khin per- formed at Rackham Amphitheater Tuesday. Her purpose is to stir up support for reform in Burma. Khincalled onAmeri- cans to put pressure on Congress to sanction the Burmese government. "Our request is to get support from the people and the companies who invest in a dictatorship. "The U.S. government has been very supportive," Khin said, but she said little action has been taken against the dictators. Khin also advocates a boycott of the corporations that invest in Burma. She feels companies such as Texaco, Eddie Bauer and Amoco serve to le- gitimize the military government by working with the government in Burma. "We want Pepsi to divest from Burma as soon as possible," Khin said, adding that Amoco has already begun to pull out. "My desire and dreams for the future of Burma is to see democracy." Khin also called on students to organizeroundtable discussion groups on Burma, and to send letters to Con- gress urging action. "It's not easy, but they should do it anyway," Khin said. By MAUREEN SIRHAL For the Daily A group of students spread a little Halloween excitement at Mott Children's Hospital last night and Wednesday night., Dressed in costumes such as Jas- mine from Aladdin, a gypsy and a cowgirl, the students brought smiles and giggles to the children's ward. "They are here all day for weeks and sometimes months. This is an extra-special treat for them," said hospital volunteer Amy Legacki. The kids were treated to a pizza party complete with Sweet Tarts and other candy. "It's hard. These are really sick children and they need this," said Pre- Med Club Service Chair Taryn Weissman. "As service chair, this is what I do. It's great to get one-on-one with the kids. You're in a hospital and it's just 'Everything we do Is directed towards more experience for students interested in going into medicine.' - Taryn Weissman service chair great experience. We're exposed to children of all backgrounds and that is incredible." The project lasted for two nights as a result of limited space. "Last year we went with a large number and this year they say we can only take 10 people at a time," Weissman ex- plained. "I didn't want to turn anyone down." The ages of the children that par- ticipated varied from toddlers to 17- year-olds. In addition to the food, the kids enjoyed meeting and talking to members of the club. "It's a great idea. The kids just love it. It eases the scariness," said mother Karen Wilson. Many parents also spoke with stu- dents and explained the difficulties of their situations. Many members enjoyed the chance to donate time to the commu- nity in a manner related to their future careers. "You know you're giving back; you're helping them," said LSA first-year student Kathy Bereza. "I definitely want to remain involved in community service." In addition to the service that the members provided, the event also helped many witness the daily tasks involved with the medical field. Overall, it was a worthwhile expe- rience, participants said. "(The chil- dren will) be talking about it for weeks," Legacki said. INDIA ' {.VIETNAM SURMA , . Honors students to teach in elementar By RYAN FIELDS Daily Staff Reporter University students will become teachers for two hours a week when the Honors College begins a joint project in education with Ann Arbor Public Schools next week. Students on the Honors College's community service committee will teach Burns Park Elementary School students as part of the project. Ruth Scodel, director of the Hon- ors College, came up with the idea when she heard the elementary school wanted to start an Able Learners Pro- gram for its students, but did not have the staff. "The school had plans to start the project, but there was no teacher time to conduct it, and I figured that outside resources could help," Scodel said. The program's goal is "to provide more opportunity for learning," said Ruth Williams, principal of Burns Park. "Basically, this is a chance for individual challenge." Williams said elementary students in mathematics often "are ahead of the game. They get bored with simple classroom arithmetic." The Able Learners Program would provide these students with enrich- ment to their classroom learning. The elementary school will set an agenda for the Honors tutors. "The school has shown interest in having students take small groups of our kids and performing science experiments," Scodel said. Teachers will also contribute to the project. The University students will help teachers with projects that are potentially valuable. "The teach- ers here at Burns will dictate how much the volunteer students do with our kids," Williams said. This project was approved by the Local Site ManagementTeam, acom- mittee of parents, teachers and ad- ministrators. Approval from these committees is necessary to implement projects in Ann Arbor Public Schools. Although it will begin on a limited basis, Williams is enthusiastic about the project's possibilities. "We are very excited. It opens up new oppor- tunities for our children to learn from 'program eager University volunteers," Will- iams said. Scodel said LSA first-year Hon- ors student Jessica Long is respon- sible for helping to continue the project after its initial planning stages. "Jes- sica has made all the phone calls to committee members and helped co- ordinate this project," Scodel said. Long is part of the Honors central planning committee, a group of Hon- ors students and staff who set the program's agenda. "This project is part of a general move by the Honors program central committee to do more 'student-life' type activities. I thought that this project would be something to bring the Honors students together," Scodel said. 1 U Corrections yE The Photostory on Jawbox by Molly Stevens was mistakenly printed in black and white instead of color in yesterday's Daily. A production error resulted in the inclusion of an incorrect statement in an article about University funding in yesterday's Daily. 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