LOCAL/STATE -The Michigan Daily
Monday, February 16, 1998
CAMPUS
Fraternity offers
essay contest
The University chapter of the Pi
Lambda Phi fraternity is sponsoring an
essay contest in an attempt to curb prej-
*die.
All University students are eligible
to enter the contest. The essays should
discuss one's definition of prejudice,
how it has affected their own life and
sohitions that can solve these problems.
The winner will receive a $500 schol-
arship, and all applicants will be invited
to 'a banquet in April that will feature
various speakers.
Entries must be limited to five typed
' ages and submitted by March 8. For
ore information, stop by the Office of
Greek Life, located in the Michigan
Union.
Project to help
teach languages
The University, along with three
other universities, will begin a project
that uses computer technology to aid
students' learning of uncommon
anguages. The project was funded by
a $950,000 grant from the Andrew
Mellon Foundation.
,,The focus of the project is to aid
studies in languages taught by smaller
University departments. The limited
scope of these departments often
-nakes it difficult for students to take
courses beyond the introductory level.
'The use of computers is intended to
1elp students with drills and aid in the
lng-distance aspect of the program, as
well as allow professors more time to
teach other programs.
The long-distance advantage should
allow University students to interact
with students at other schools.
The expansion of Hindi and Middle
Egyptian programs are scheduled to be
;sponsored by the University of
Michigan and the University of
hicago. Other universities involved
on the project are the University of
Wisconsin and Northwestern
University. Both will jointly sponsor
th6 study of Swahili.
Cultural seminar
to examine
many heritages
Students interested in examining a
*ariety of backgrounds and cultures
.cn participate in a four-day seminar
that will attempt to bring together stu-
dents to discuss their upbringing and
cultural experiences.
Participating students will look at
their own background while learning
about the values and experiences of
students from different backgrounds.
Much of the group work will analyze
Lases toward particular cultures and
01w they affect cross-cultural relations.
Accommodations for participants will
be provided. Interested students can call
764-9189 for more information.
Rackham student
starts contest
The Sphinx Competition, a contest
for 13- to 19-year-old black and lati-
no/a string players, will conclude this
month. The competition was started
by Rackham student Aaron Dworkin
to encourage students with little expo-
sure to classical music to study the
discipline.
. Twelve semi-finalists will perform at
-Radkham Auditorium on Feb. 27 at 5
1.M. Three finalists will be chosen to
.perform with the Ann Arbor Symphony
at Hill Auditorium on March 1.
'J.S. Dept. of
Energy to offer
fellowships
Fellowships with the U.S.
Department of Energy are now
available to undergraduate students.
Students can participate in 10-week
summer programs or 16-week fall pro-
grams. Areas of study at the U.S. Energy
Eedcral laboratories include biology,
computer science and environmental sci-
ence.
.-For more information, interested stu-
dents can call (423) 576-2478 or e-mail
erutf orau.gov.
- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
s ,Melanie Sampson.
Chicano journalists discuss latino/a history
By Rachel Edelman
Daily Staff Reporter
A combination of political and personal issues
currently affecting the latino/a community were
discussed Friday evening as Chicano journalists
Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez spoke
to a group of 60 people.
Gonzales and Rodriguez. who are married
and work in Albuquerque, write a syndicated
column, Latino Spectrum, which is published
in 30 newspapers nationwide. "Gonzales &
Rodriguez: Uncut and Uncensored," a collec-
tion of their columns, was recently published.
Their work involves attempts to expose
Americans to latino/as and broaden the public's
conceptions of the ethnic group.
Gonzales spoke about the need for men and
women to work together to achieve peace and
social progress, as well as the need to challenge
violence in society.
"low many times have we become emotionally
violent towards another'?" Gonzales asked. "We
react in anger. we attack ourselves - simply
because we don't agree."
Gonzales is the country's first latina syndicated
columnist and has been writing a book about
Mexico's emerging human rights movement, titled
"The Mud People: Anonymous Heroes of
Mexico's Emerging IH uman Righits Movement,"
for the last two years.
"Do we honor nonviolence the way we honor
armed struggle?" she asked. "I think we should
begin to honor peace and peaceful struggles ... If
we have not come to the point where we cannot
hold back arms with our bodies, then we have to
evolve as a people."
Rodriguez, who received a standing ovation for
his speech, discussed affirmative action, repre-
sentations of Mexicans in the media, and various
laws that are directed at immigrants.
Rodriguez is a senior writer at Black Issues in
H-ligher Education and wrote "Justice: A Question
of Race," which chronicles two police brutality tri-
als stemming from a physical beating Rodriguez
suffered by L.A. County Sheriff's officers in 1979.
Rodriguez said the United States is in a "peri-
od of anti-rights" toward immigrants, particular-
ly Mexicans and Central Americans.
''What is at stake is the very definition of what
it means to be human," he said.
Rodriguez discussed the implications of anti-
immigration laws such as Proposition 187 in
California, which banned public education for ille-
gal immigrants.
"A human being can be deemed illegal simply
for migrating," Rodriguez said. "No human being
is illegal."
Rodriguez also spoke about the lawsuits
filed against the University that target the use
of race as a factor in the admissions process
and the effect that they nma hav\ cacross the
country.
"Incidentally. all eves are on M icigan todai
California and texas have hau ht us that segr
cation cati be instituted as legal.'' Rodrigue
said. 'Maybe what happens in Michigan will
reverberate around the country.
Audience members said they' evre moved by
onzales' and Rodrigcuez' personal account>.
"It xwas a very uplifting speech in the sense of
letting people know that there are struggles that
should not be forWotten," said LSA junior Jessc
Perez.
The event, sponsored by NiMECha. the
Student Affairs Progrmning Council. the
Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Aftirs. the
sociology department and the latin o studit
program was part of Chicano IHistorv We
which ended yesterday with( a mural dedica-
tiol.
V!
Coupons and sports guides
still part of Ann Arb
LOUIS BROWN/Daily
The rock, located on Washtenaw Avenue and Hill Street, is an Ann Arbor
mainstay. Residents have complained about the vandalism around it.
Residents complain
about vandalis-m
By Peter Meyers
Daily Staff Reporter
Three University undergraduate
students made handing out free pub-
lications - first in the form of'
Football Sports Guide and later as
coupon booklets and Current
Magazine -- permanent aspects of'
campus life.
They began as a small printing
company that distributed free book-
lets of sports information laced with
slogans encouraging support for
social issues.
Twenty years later, Sports Guides,
Inc. is still a character mark of Ann
Arbor.
University alumni David Devarti,
Greg Hesterberg and Tim Kunin began
printingin 1976.
"Basically, we started it as a fund-
raiser for the Coalition for Better
Housing," Devarti said. "What gave
us the idea originally for doing this
was in 1976, we did a 10-page pro-
motional flier (for the bottle deposit
ballot)."
The flier included football infor-
mation and slogans that favored the
bottle ballot.
Devarti, Kunin and Hesterberg
organized the flier operation, pass-
ing out about 50,000 fliers in total.
The bottle bill passed, creating the
10-cent deposit for Michigan bottles
and cans.
HAVE A NOSE
FOR NEWS?
STOP BY THE
DAILY AT
420
MAYNARD ST.
The following vear, Devarti,
Kunin and HI esterberg ran a similar
operation for the Coalition for
Better Housing by handing out
fliers of football and housing infor-
mation.
Today, coupons are distributed pri-
marily by part-time workers or con-
tracted workers. All coupon distributors
are paid S7 per hour.
Coupon booklets are given out pri-
marily early in the semester or immedi-
ately after vacations.
Devarti said the contracted work is
"totally irregular" since the books
are only passed out a few times each
year.
Devarti said SGI often employs
homeless people.
"I'm very open to somebody who
doesn't have a home," Devarti said:
"I probably had one person this
witer (who was homeless)," he
said. "Fo' us, here's an opportunity for
a guy to have an opportunity to get back
on track."
Janet Upjohn, the clinical supervisor
for the housing program at Michigan
Ability Partners, a local non-profit
organization that implements pro-
grams for homeless people, said busi-
nesses should employ homeless when
they can.
"It's a way for (businesses) to sup-
port the community as a whole,"
Upjohn said. "It is a community
ior life 5..
problem.
Upjohn said that contracted lab9j
provides a soft transition into emjplo
ment.
"That can be very beneficial
clients who haven't worked Ior,.r
while," Upjohn said. "It's much e
ier to go from day to day (work i
workingt 40 hours a week, or even
hours a week," she said.
Devarti said he thinks lie h
helped soie horeless people in
past.
"I've seen them a couple of yCide
later with a full-time job and an apgl
ment," Devarti said, adding, "I doet-
want to take credit. I think it's basicaLly-
an individual who takes control of theji
life."
The football guide is distributed di-
ferently than the coupons.
"We pay groups to go down and hai*
them out, Devarti said. "We don't pg
individuals."
Groups that have been employedM.
the past include the Boy Scouts :
America, a University business frat4
nity and the University's Wome i
Soccer club, Devarti said. Groups arl
paid S20 per person.
Devarti said the distribution is us
ally easy work, so groups fill the ava
able positions years in advance. -'
"On the one day every three ye'a~rl
when it's a rainy day, it's hard," Deva -
said . s
By Jason Stoffer
Dailv Staff Reporter
Some student groups were a little
overzealous with their paint cans and
brushes last semester, causing a storm
of complaints from neighbors of the
rock.
They trekked to the corner of Hill
Street and Washtenaw Avenue to
paint the rock, but they also doused
surrounding sidewalks and pillars
with paint, scattered paint cans all
over George Washington Park and
woke up residents during the night.
In response to a situation that
Ronald Olson, superintendent of Ann
Arbor Parks and Recreation, said was
"g e tin g
out of
hand," the "heAr is a
city enact-
ed The folklore suo
Actionthe rock"
Plan on
Dec. 5. Ann Arbor
"People
w e r e
painting everything in sight," Olson
said. "We removed the park sign
because they even painted that. Our
people were needing to go out there
every day or every other day to
clean up."
The action plan calls for
increased enforcement of city litter-
ing and vandalism ordinances and
urges University fraternities and
sororities to enact an adopt-the-park
program. Interfraternity Council
President and Kinesiology junior
Bradlev Holeman said that after
receiving a letter from the city, IFC
and the Panhellenic Association
immediately took action.
"Ann Arbor told us we'd like you
to educate members and tell them
'this is a public park,"' Holeman
said. "At our Panhel and IFC meet-
ings, we've educated presidents
with letters and various articles."
So far, the Greek system has made.
a difference, Olson said. George
Washington Park is noticeably clean-
er and groups painting the rock have
been making considerably less noise,
he said.
"There haven't been empty cans
around like there were (last semcs-
ter)." Olson said. "If things had kept
gtcttitg worse. we would have had to
consider other options. The worst
option would have required the rock
to be removed."
Complaints from neighbors were
not the only reason the city decided
to take action. Cleaning the area
around the rock was becoming a
costly undertaking, Olson said.
"Cleaning the sidewalk is a very
labor-intensive and expensive
V
I
..
rP
proposition lie said.
I loleman said the Greek system is
going to
amend its
"ort of constitution
to award
rounding faternte
ties that
- Ronald Olson decide to
arks and Recreation adopt the
rock.
" W e
have a point system for self-govern-
ing, where houses get penalty points
for disciplinary reasons," Holeman
said. "One of the projects to lose
points is to adopt the rock by putting
paint cans in the trash and cleaning
up the park in the morning."
Olson said the city would like the
tradition of painting the rock to con-
tinue. He said the tradition is not
only for fraternities and sororities,
with many students and local orga-
nizations also painting the rock.
"There is a sort of folklore sur-
rounding the rock, and painting it is a
neat thing to do!' Olson said. "We
want to cooperate with everyone so
the tradition can continue without
burdening others."
Pi Kappa Alpha President Eric
Ranka called the new rules "common
sense" and said groups should respect
the park and residents in the area. "I
hope people conform to them so we
can keep the tradition," said Ranka,
an Engineering senior. "They even
have a trash can right there to put
your empty paint cans in"
" *F r6i $1 00 * 0garnld s
.B
- - INTts - br es
LOWEST PRICES!
HICGHESTsnUALIagYr gy
F FASTESTdSERrsCE!th go sra
* 1002 PONTIAC TR. -
Are you readyfo
Course starts February 21st in Ann Arbor!
ffl k xxx:xj"
L
(&u.LLN L l
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
Test 1
Class 1
Workshop 1
Class 2
Sat. Feb 21
Sun. Feb 22
Tue. Feb 24
9:00am-1:00pm
2:00pm-5:30pm
6:30pm-10:00pm
One-on-one instruction
Comprehensive, up-to-date materials
Real GREs given under actual
testing conditions
GROUP MEETINGS
J "International Conference 'A Century
of Modern Jewish Politics: The
Bund and Zionism in Poland and
U "Talk to Us Presents: "The Other Side
of the Mirror" and "Identity
Indemnity'." Place to be
MM3p p
Mon. Mar 9 6:30pm-10:O0pm
I