8A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 3, 1997
LOCALISTATE
'U' prof recounts personal
stories from the Reagan years
By Jeffrey Komoff
Daily Staff Reporter
When former President Ronald
Reagan walked into rooms, people
stood up and when he would laugh,
others would laugh.
"He would ask, 'Don't you people
have minds of your own?"' said polit-
ical science Prof. Raymond Tanter,
who served as
one of Reagan's (
security advis-
ers. "That's the
problem with
power." any pr
Tanter shared Republic
many of his
experiences and
"political views
with the cam- - Prof.1
pus chapter of Former
the College
Republicans
1last night.
"This is perhaps the best speech
we've had this year," said campus
College Republicans President Nick
Kirk.
Some of Tanter's memorable experi-
R4
rR
ences come from his work in the
Reagan administration. He said advis-
ers were of great importance to
Reagan, but they did not make deci-
sions for him.
"Some people called us his handlers,
but no one could handle Ronald
Reagan" Tanter said.
Although he was excited to work in
Washington,
D.C., Tanter
said he soon
found the
- world of poli-
tics was much
is ! more political
and cutthroat
than he had
expected.
aymond Tanter "That was
Reagan adviser not the type of
ballgame I
thought
Washington was about," Tanter said.
One person Tanter lost the political
ballgame to was Oliver North, who
replaced him in the Reagan administra-
tion.
Tanter said his personality and
views were quite different from North,
and he had warned North about prob-
lems that came later in North's politi-
cal career.
"I said, 'Ollie, one day you're going
to get in trouble,"' Tanter said. "(North
is) just not my kind of guy."
Reagan subsequently sent Tanter to
Vienna to be the representative of the
Secretary of Defense.
Although he has spent his life in pol-
itics, Tanter only placed one bid for
public office in an unsuccessful run for
Michigan's 13th District House of
Representatives seat.
Tanter said his pro-choice stance
hindered him from receiving
Republican support.
"There aren't any pro-choice
Republicans, I learned," said Tanter,
who was upset by his accumulation of
a $10,000 campaign debt. "I vowed
never to run again.
Tanter also shared many of his views
on state, national and world politics
with the group. He has many theories as
to why President Clinton won re-elec-
tion in November.
"One of the reasons why Bill
AJA PEKLEVA COHEN/D&y
Political science Prof. Raymond Tanter, a security adviser to former President Ronald Reagan, speaks with LSA senior Pets
Rinato after his lecture at the campus College Republicans meeting in the Michigan League last night.
Clinton is president is the success of
the Republican and Democratic presi-
dents in ending the Cold War and
George Bush for ending the hot war in
the Gulf," Tanter said. "Peace and
prosperity are the two key themes on
which people vote,"
Tanter said he is concerned with
recent campaign funding allegation
against the Clintons, but that suck
scandals will not sWay the national
Tornado
season swirls
By Matt Weller
For the Daily
Springtime.
Budding trees, blossoming flowers.
And tornadoes.
Prof. Peter Sousounis, who works in the department
of atmospheric, oceanic and space sciences, estimates
that Michigan gets 16 of these devastating dervishes .a
year.
Fortunately for the University and all of Ann Arbor, the
frequency of tornadoes is much lower for the eastern part of
the state. In other words, Ann Arbor is out of the hot zone,
Sousounis said.
"I think we're probably in the middle," Sousounis said. "In
the northwest and Upper Peninsula, the probability approaches
zero."
This doesn't mean, Sousounis warns, that we can't be
burned by a funnel's wrath.
"On June 8, 1953, a tornado struck Flint, killing 125 peo-
ple," Sousounis said.
According to USA Today Online, Michigan ranks 20th in
the number of tornadoes touching down between 1950-
1995 (712), 8th in injuries from tornadoes (3,214) and 5th
in tornado fatalities (237). Most touchdowns occur in April,
May and June, when conditions are ideal.
In these spring months, moist air interacts with dry, cold
winter air, generating a column of rising and swirling wind,
known as a vortex. The vortex pulls air up from the ground,
creating a low-pressure area.
This space on the ground cools, condensing water vapor,
which gives the tornado its funnel shape. As it meanders
along, it picks up dirt and debris, which gives it its charac-
teristic gray color.
Tornadoes can be an awesome and humbling sight, said
Jeremy Welling, an Engineering first-year student from
Farmington Hills, who said he observed a tornado in the
northern part of the state.
"I was in shock," Welling said. "It knocked down a few
Grand Funk Railroad band
to play for Bosnian children
TRAVERSE CITY (AP) - They
may be an American band, but their
hearts go out to children everywhere.
That's why the members of Grand
Funk Railroad are planning three con-
certs to benefit the children of Bosnia.
Proceeds from shows in suburban
Detroit, New York and Los Angeles will
be donated to the Bosnian-American
Relief Fund. The charitable organiza-
tion was created to alleviate suffering of
war victims in Bosnia-Herzegovina,
primarily children left orphaned and
homeless.
The shows are scheduled for April 20
at the Palace of Auburn Hills, April 25
at Beacon Theater in New York and
May 2 at Greek Theater in Los Angeles.
In addition to the three founding
members of Grand Funk - Mark
Farner, guitar and vocals; Don Brewer,
drums and vocals; and Mel Schacher,
bass - the shows will feature guest
artists and. a symphony orchestra,
including members of the Sarajevo
Symphony.
"The opportunity came about
through (manager) David Fishof,"
Schacher said recently, prior to a
rehearsal at the State Theatre in
Traverse City.
Fishof asked the band members if
they would be interested in doing a
series of benefit shows. "We said,
'Absolutely,"' Schacher said.
"For us to do it, it's a privilege. We
can be ambassadors of the good will of
the people of America,' Farner said.
Schacher concurred. "It's been my
dream to be able to do things for other
people," he said. And it offered a
chance to perform with a symphony
orchestra, something Schacher said had
always intrigued the band.
With Farner living in Petoskey and
Schacher in the Traverse City area, the
group decided the State Theatre was the
best location for rehearsal. Drummer
and vocalist Don Brewer flew up week-
ly from his home in Florida.
The three dates are part of an upcom-
ing tour that will take the band across
the U.S. and also into Europe and Asia.
It is the second tour for the band since
it re-formed last year.
Members said that re-forming Grand
Funk Railroad after 20 years just
seemed like the right thing to do.
"It's not because of all the others, it's
just time to get back together and
work," Schacher said.
The band went out on top, having
garnered a string of hits including
"Heartbreaker," "The Loco-Motion,"
".Some Kind of Wonderful" and "We're
an American Band."
Schacher said he and his bandmates
simply ran out of energy and wanted to
try some different things.
"We worked extremely hard, two
albums a year, two major tours a year.
There was no time for anything else. We
wanted a life, so we stopped."
He and Brewer hooked up in the
band Flint and Farner did some solo
things, but they also moved on to other
endeavors, musical and otherwise.
Brewer toured with Bob Seger for a
few years in the 1980s before turning in
his sticks.
"After I saw all the arenas, I got my
degree and went to law school for a
couple of years,' Brewer said. But when
his ex-wife died, "I basically retired,
took time off to raise my daughter."
Meanwhile, Farner had decided the
farm he had purchased near the band's
hometown of Flint wasn't the right
place any more, and he migrated to the
Onaway area. "I had threats, people
weirding out," he said.
Ten years later, he moved west to
Petoskey. Schacher, meanwhile, had
moved to nearby Traverse City.
The passing of some 20-odd years
has made for some cosmetic changes
the band. Brewer's hair has turned alus-
trous shade of gray, though his easy
smile still lights up the room.
Schacher's hair is gathered into a
tight ponytail, strands of silver peeking
through, while Farner seems deter-
mined to ignore the passage of time,
his long hair hanging down his back,
defying fashion trends or the onset of
age.
Their music is also little than
Twenty years of technological
have enabled them to improve their
sound, but as Farner says, "Grand Funk
is Grand Funk.'
Farner points to his guitar and a scar
on his neck, evidence of two discs he
had removed. "The doctor said to play a
lighter instrument. It's a five-pound
guitar called a Parker Fly," he said. "I
can make it sound like a Strat or a
Telecaster."
Schacher lays down a heavy bottom
end, while Brewer and Farner trade
leads. Brewer keeps the beat, despite a
skiing accident that put his left foot in a
cast for a time, and Farner plays both
keyboards and guitar.
After rehearsing for two weeks at the
State, the band headed to Detroit to
work with the orchestra before kicking
off the tour at the Palace.
"It's gonna be tasty. It will be neal
trees. It was just a skinny funnel. Then it took out a power
line."
The preceding calm can be just as impressive, said Jackie
Pelliter, an LSA first-year student. "It was pretty cool. The
sky was green," Pelliter said. "It got really still. Then my
dad told me to get in the house"
Although an impressive event, a tornado can be sinister.
Winds within a tornado can reach 320 miles per hour, and
its path is random - it can decimate one house and leave
the neighboring home untouched. When tornadoes strike,
immediate action may mean life or death, according to
Robert Patrick, associate director of the Department of
Public Safety.
"Many people do not know how to properly protect them-
selves when an actual tornado is sighted," Patrick said.
"Knowing what to do can save your life and the lives of oth-
ers."
.. . . .
Judge dismisses
antitrust suit against
Detroit newspapers "
I
DETROIT (AP) - A federal judge
has dismissed a lawsuit that accused the
Detroit newspapers of violating
antitrust laws by publishing combined
weekday editions for the first nine
weeks of the 19-month strike against
the papers.
U.S. District Judge John O'Meara
wrote that the plaintiffs - including
former Mayor Coleman Young and
City Council President Maryann
Mahaffey - had not shown they were
injured by the publication of the joint
edition.
"The alternative to publishing a joint
daily edition during the first two
months of the strike might well have
been to not publish a newspaper at all
- hardly a victory for 'product
choice,' O'Meara said in the ruling,
dated March 27.
Under a joint operating agreement
implemented in 1989, the Detroit Free
Press and The Detroit News published
separate newspapers Monday through
Friday and combined editions on week-
But O'Meara said the company did
not have to seek full approval every
time an amendment to the agreement
was made.
The News is owned by Gannett Co.
Inc. and the Free Press by Knight-
Ridder Inc.
Donald Baker, a Washington D.C.-
based attorney who is representi
the plaintiffs, said no decision had
been made yesterday whether to
appeal.
In another development, the regional
director of National Labor Relations
Board has made his recommendation
on whether to seek. a federal court
injunction to immediately restore jobs
for all non-fired union newspaper
workers who want them.
But the regional director, Willih
Schaub, wouldn't say yesterday what
his recommendation is. He and NLRB
officials in Washington said it's board
policy to keep preliminary recommerr-
dations on injunctions secret.
Schaub sent the recommendation
e
S qe
r '
s1i