The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 21, 1994 - 3
Senate Republicans try to alleviate fears of governors
The Baltimore Sun
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. Attempt-
ing to allay fears from the states about
the impact of proposed federal spend-
ing cuts, top Senate Republicans met
privately in Washington yesterday
with a contingent of Republican gov-
ors.
The meeting in the office of Sen.
Bob Dole, the Republican leader,
came only hours before the governors
gathered in Williamsburg for a three-
day conference that is expected to
focus on the relationship between the
states and the new Republican major-
ity on Capitol Hill.
"Our message will be to the Re-
publican congressional leaders, and
to the people of this country: Give us
the ball and then get out of the way.
We can solve these problems," Gov.
Mike Leavitt of Utah, the incoming
chairman of the Republican Gover-
nors Association, said at a news con-
ference yesterday night.
Both Republican and Democratic
governors have expressed concern
about a proposed constitutional
amendment to balance the federal
budget because of the prospect that
Washington would simply dump more
problems on the states without the
money to pay for them.
"I want to make sure that any
balanced budget amendment does not
cripple the states," Republican gov-
ernor-elect George W. Bush of Texas
said here yesterday. He expressed con-
fidence that with a Republican-con-
trolled Congress any problems could
be worked out.
Republican leaders in the next
Congress have promised to make a
balanced budget amendment one of
the first items of business. The mea-
sure is given a good chance of pas-
sage.
In a TV appearance yesterday, four
leading Republican governors said
they favor requiring the federal gov-
ernment to balance its books - some-
thing most states already must do. But
they stressed that the proposed amend-
ment would not win the needed ap-
proval from three-fourths of the states
unless it includes a provision pre-
venting the federal government from
shifting costs to the states.
"If you don't get that language
into the Constitution, you could run
into ratification problems in the state
legislatures,"
Republican Gov. William Weld
of Massachusetts said on NBC's
"Meet the Press."
For years, governors have com-
plained about the impact on state bud-
gets of "unfunded mandates - legal
requirements handed down from
Washington without enough money
to pay for them - on everything from
environmental protection to welfare.
Speaker: Truth
&s uncertain in
postmodermsm
By DANIELLE BELKIN
Daily Staff Reporter
Prof. Frithjof Bergmann told an audience of several
hundred students and faculty Saturday that the search for
knowledge is attainable if you taken action.
The lecture on postmodernism, which Bergmann origi-
*ly believed would only draw a handful of people, had
to be moved to a Mason Hall auditorium to accommodate
the overflow crowd.
"Postmodernism has sent a message of futility border-
ing on the sense of the impossible. It's essence may be that
there's no such thing as knowledge that everything is just
another narrative."
Bergmann began with
'Maybe all we an introduction of
"postmodernism circum-
perience is a scribed."
Tantasy.. perhaps He took the audience
through a metaphorical
It Is never Ann Arbor farmers mar-
possible to ket, "picking out certain
things of postmodern
penetrate and fare," he said.
reach reality., Construction of the
self and the ideas of what
- Frith] Bergmann people perceive as nature
Postmodernism or natural was one of the
first things concerning
lecturer postmodernism "put in
the basket."
Bergmann urged the
audience not to be all embracing of knowledge. He said
postmodernism gives a sense of disillusionment that could
be considered almost the opposite of the Enlightenment
- the 18th century era of reason and enormous scientific
and cultural advancements.
While most humans believe in an objective reality,
tre is no way of knowing for certain, Bergmann said.
"Maybe all we experience is a fantasy ... perhaps it is
never possible to penetrate and reach reality," he said.
Bergmann said deconstructionism - that by the very
nature of language, no text can have a fixed meaning - is
more constricting than background skepticism - that we
question what we read but believe there is a meaning.
"Deconstruction is more oppressive, to (his) mind."
In his discussion of background skepticism, Bergmann
spoke about change, dreams, illusions, physiology and
See BERGMANN, Page 7
Dormitory to
change auction
after gay snub
AP PHOTO
The Englers go home ... all 5 of them
Gov. John Engler, shown with his new triplets and wife, Michelle, leaves University Hospitals Friday.
21-mot state prohibition
assisted suicide ends this week
LANSING (AP) - Michigan's ban on as-
sisted suicide became law last year amid a
roaring debate. It expires this week with far less
attention - but no fewer questions.
The 21-month ban was aimed directly at Dr.
Jack Kevorkian, who has been present at the
deaths of 20 people since 1990. The law, which
makes assisting a suicide a felony punishable by
up to four years in prison, took effect in Febru-
ary 1993. Since then, Kevorkian's pace slowed
but the issue has not faded.
A commission appointed to make recom-
mendations to the Legislature on a permanent
law failed to reach a consensus.
0 The state Court of Appeals overturned the
temporary ban on technical grounds but said it
found no constitutional right to assisted suicide.
The state Supreme Court ordered that the
law remain in effect while it considered the
issues. Justices could rule before the end of the
year, but the law would still expire as scheduled.
U.S. bishops declared that assisted suicide
must not be allowed at the 1,200 Catholic hos-
pitals.
With those developments and the Michigan
law's expiration Friday, assisted suicide oppo-
nents have started a push for a permanent state
ban.
Some assisted suicide supporters are hoping
the law falls off the books for good. Others want
to see laws regulating assisted suicide.
According to the Hemlock Society USA,
based in Eugene, Ore., assisted suicide is a
crime in 31 states. Eleven other states consider
it a crime through common law. The law is
unclear in six other states.
State lawmakers, returning to work for about
two weeks in their "lame duck" session this fall,
are split on whether they should deal with the issue
before the end of the term.
By KATIE HUTCHINS
Daily Staff Reporter
Homosexual students will now be
included in all events sponsored by
the Markley Multicultural Affairs
Council (MMAC) after an incident
Thursday caused the council to re-
consider its actions.
The executive board of MMAC
held a special meeting last night to
discuss last week's barring of three
gay men from a fundraising event.
The event, held in Markley's North
Pit, was titled "Male Rent-a-Friend."
The benefit allowed women to bid on
20 student volunteers to be their
"friend" for a weekend, said Council
President Cory Lott.
Graduate student Patrick Flaherty
said in a statement that he and two
friends attempted to gain entry into
the event and were denied access by
MMAC's parliamentarian and vice
president.
Flaherty said he and the other men
attempted to learn whether the event's
"Ladies Only" stipulation "was a true
representation of MMAC's policies,
or whether it was in violation of
MMAC policy."
University Housing Division
spokesman Alan Levy said, "It is a
problem to hold an activity in a resi-
dence hall where any group is specifi-
cally prohibited from participating."
Thursday's incident "is a problem
because it did indeed prohibit men -
gay or not - from participating, and
that is generally something that we
would not want to see happen in our
residence hall," Levy added.
Last night's meeting ended in
agreement between the executive
board and the men involved in
Thursday's incident. Markley Minor-
ity Peer Adviser Lakeisha Harrison
said there was an unintentional mis-
representation in the advertising of
the event and that homosexuals should
have been allowed to attend - but
not participate - in Thursday's
fundraiser.
Project Awareness Coordinator
Robbie Townsel-Dye agreed. She
called the advertisement "restrictive"
and said, "That's just something that
needs to be corrected for future pro-
grams. ... That's sex discrimination
to do that."
The advertisements called the
event "Male Rent-a-Friend" and mis-
construed the nature of the program,
which was a "dating event," Harrison
said.
The highest bidder for each
"friend" is treated to a weekend of
planned activities with the purchased
volunteer, including shared meals, a
room cleaning, "a bedtime story and a
tuck-in," Lott said.
Harrison and Lott said men were
not permitted to keep them from ha-
rassing the volunteers being "sold"
and to fill the limited capacity of the
room with women.
"Since you would think that
women would be the foremost admir-
ers of men, then you would want as
many women in there as possible,"
Lott said.
Graduate student Jeff Walbaum,
one of the men who was denied en-
trance the rationale behind the event's
structure.
"The way the event was designed,
it was reflective of a common as-
sumption that everyone was hetero-
sexual ... so the event was geared in
that fashion," Walbaum said after last
night's meeting.
"It was an oversight that nonethe-
less should be corrected," he added.
Harrison was optimistic about fu-
ture cooperation with the gay com-
munity.
"We took down their suggestions,
and we'll be going from there," she
said. "From here on, we'll work with
them in making these programs better
in the future," he said.
She added that MMAC would be
considering the three men's recom-
mendation that the council sponsor a
workshop to heighten awareness about
issues related to gay men, lesbians
and bisexuals.
Law student Sean Delgado, who
was denied access to the event, said
he and the others were not consider-
ing filing further complaints. "At this
point, we really haven't fully consid-
ered that yet," he said.
Thursday's fundraiser was in-
tended to generate money for the ac-
tivities MMAC sponsors throughout
the school year. Last year's male rent-
a-friend was a big success in raising
money for the community service,
workshops and scholarships the coun-
cil sponsors, Harrison said.
U' schedules full day of activities to recognize staff
By MINDY KURLANSKY
For the Daily
"Everybody makes a contribution
to the University," said Tom Sullivan,
area manager of Building Services.
That is the sentiment behind
*.ay's University Staff Recognition
Day. Today's activities will recog-
nize the achievements and contribu-
tions of all of University's staff mem-
bers, including those from the Ann
Arbor, Flint and Dearborn campuses.
Originally, today's recognitions
were only supposed to be for the
University's service staffs, but the day
was modified to include the entire staff.
A multitude of activities are sched-
today from 2 to 5 p.m. at Hill
Auditorium, including a slide presen-
tation titled "A Day in the Life ...,"
arranged by Erica Spiegel of Grounds
and Waste Management and volun-
teer photographers.
Following remarks by Jackie
McClain, executive director of hu-
man resources and affirmative ac-
tion, President James J. Duderstadt
11 give a presidential address. After
that, there will be six guest speakers
representing all of the subdivisions of
the University's staff.
Beth Bridson of the health service
finance division said he is pleased
that the recognition has been "opened
up this year to those staff members
that aren't traditionally recognized.
Which is good, because it is bringing
different departments together."
Bridson also said she hopes that
"supervisors encourage their staffs to
attend today's events and provide
them with the time to do so. That way,
we can all be one group. If not, it
won't work."
Mary Ceccanese of the Workplace
of the '90's conference said she is
also optimistic about the program.
Ceccanese said she feels the most
important thing is that full staff rec-
ognition is being implemented after
two years of planning. "The results of
a questionnaire distributed at the 1993
Workplace of the '90's conference
were extremely useful in helping us
determine the direction that the rec-
ognition would take," Ceccanese said.
"The committee was particularly
concerned about creating a recogni-
tion program which would be acces-
sible to staff members in all of the
University's job class families."
Sullivan hopes this program will
become an annual event. Those who do
will have the opportunity to enter a pool
to receive a number of door prizes,
including an autographed football,
hockey and basketball tickets, tickets to
"Miss Saigon" and the Lincoln Center
Jazz and one year's paid parking pass.
Students
appeal to
Senate for
rape bill
By SPENCER DICKINSON
Daily Staff Reporter
The MSA Women's Issues Com-
mission met last night to coordinate a
letter writing campaign urging Michi-
gan senators to approve the Campus
Sexual Assault Assistance Acts.
Commission chair Nichole Paradis
spoke to several members, informing
them about the legislation, and encour-
aging them to recruit theirclasses, friends
and e-mail circles to write letters.
The targeted senators include
Majority Leader Dick Posthumus,
Judiciary Committee chairman Will-
iam Regenmorter and Higher Educa-
tion Committee chairman John
Schwarz.
Though the bill - also known as
the Sexual Assault Survivors' Bill of
Rights - passed unanimously in the
House; it is currently stuck in several
Senate committees.
The bill aims to punish state-
funded universities that fail to meet
minimal requirements for programs
to assist sexual assault victims.
Members of the commission in-
tend to present the information to a
wide range of groups.
Paradis is distributing the informa-
tion via e-mail to the Women's Net-
work, a group concernedwith women's
issues, as well as the School of Social
Work and Women of Color networks.
Paradis feels it is "important to get
the legislation passed this year," but
not because University students are in
danger. "I have lots of faith in SAPAC
(Sexual Assault Prevention and Aware-
ness Center), and we're pretty well off
here." She points to other campuses
where problems do exist, notably Cen-
tral Michigan University.
MSA Rep. Emily Berry disagrees,
and said she feels the University is not
doing all it could. "A DPS officer told
(a sexual assault victim) that the as-
sault was her fault," she asserted, not-
ing a section of the bill that states that
blame may not be placed on the vic-
tim of an assault.
Paradis also feels "the bill would
send an important message that sexual
assault is a serious matter, and that
someone in power cares." Berry ex-
pects at least 50 letters to arrive in
Lansing as a result of their efforts.
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group Meetings
D ArcheryClub,913-5896,Sports
Coliseum, 7-9 p.m.
D Society for Creative
Anachonism, North Campus,
EECS, Room 1311, 7 p.m.
-workshop, 8 p.m. meeting
Events
Q "Biotechnology and the Third
World," lecture, Prof. Lawrence
Busch, sponsored by Residential
College, East Quad, Room 126,
1-2:30 p.m.
Q "Lumninescence Properties of
Student Services
U 76-GUIDE, peer counseling
phone line, 7 p.m.-8 a.m.
U ECB Peer Tutorial, Angell Hall
Computing Site, 747-4526, 7-
11 C .m.
U~ Campus Information Center,
Food Gatherers is the food rescue program serving Washtenaw county since 1988.
It distributes roughly a ton of food every day to 70 different community agencies
serving people experiencing hunger.
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