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One hundred seven years of editorialfreedom

Wednesday
April 8, 1998

F S e

)ialogue addresses

race

y Rachel Edelman
aily Staff Reporter
Through protest and discussion, about 400 students
k part in a town hall meeting in the Union
oom last night as part of the President's Initiative
n Race, President Clinton's program to stimulate dia-
gue about racial issues across the nation.
Before the dialogue began, SNRE sophomore Joe
eilly, a member of the event's panel, read a statement
nd placed a white gag over his mouth in protest of the
ck of Native American representation on the adviso-
' board of the President's Initiative on Race. He said
e gag symbolized Native Americans' "exclusion
om American society from the beginning of the U.S.
e rnment."
bout 20 students then followed his example and
agged themselves in protest.
"We are not invisible. We exist in American soci-

ety," said Reilly, who then left the dialogue along with
about 50 students. "There's no excuse that they can
give that can dismiss their lack of respect for Native
Americans."
After the students left the room, panelists and
remaining audience members discussed the relation-
ship between the Department of Public Safety and stu-
dents of color, education, interaction between various
ethnic groups and the intertwining of the economy
and race.
Executive Director of the President's Initiative on
Race Judith Winston said racial problems are "not a
problem just for students of color. Really, it's an
American problem."
LSA junior Shannon Muir, a panel member, said
she is frustrated with many non-minority students'
apathy toward racial issues.
"If we don't have the other 70 percent trying to edu-

cate themselves, it doesn't matter," Muir said.
Vice Provost for Academic and Multicultural
Affairs Lester Monts, another panel member, said it
was in the common interest of the University to
encourage these dialogues.
"My hope is that the dialogue doesn't end with this
event," Monts said, adding that it is important to "use
the various means available to us to create an ongoing
dialogue that will result in very positive actions being
taken to alleviate those very obvious racial problems."
MSA Vice President and LSA first-year student
Sarah Chopp, a member of the panel, said the meeting
was an opportunity to inspire students to get involved
in and take action on issues affecting the nation.
"You have to take initiative ... It's up to us to take
the initiative and become proactive," she said.
The dialogue, organized by the Michigan Student
See DIALOGUE, Page 9

rhompson
uilty of
!ampaign
olation
y Gerard Cohen-Vrignaud
aily Staff Reporter
After finding Michigan Student
mbly President Trent Thompson
uilty of violating the MSA Elections
ode, the assembly's Penalty Elections
oard issued recommendations to
nprove campaign guidelines yesterday.
The board's report found Thompson
uilty of campaigning within 50 feet of a
flling site. The board gave Thompson's
cket one penalty point for the violation,
hich brings his total amount of viola-
n points to two. Receiving five points
ounds for disqualification from the
ection. The violation occurred at a fra-
rMity party held on March 17.
Thompson received the first point for
Itting up a poster on glass. Elections
irector Rajeshri Gandhi said many can-
dates had such minor infractions.
Thompson again denied any wrong-
ing, saying he did not campaign. for
e Students' Party within 50 feet of a
fling site. He added that the Election
: does not differentiate between
impaigning by a candidate and cam-
signing by a candidate's friends and
ipporters. Thompson said that
though he did not know of any cam-
iigning that took place on his behalf,
is unfair to hold him liable for the
ssible actions of his supporters.
"I do not believe I was campaigning
ithin 50 feet of a polling site,"
hompson said. "To my knowledge, no
was campaigning within 50 feet for
The report also said evidence sug-
sted that Thompson and/or his sup-
rters may have rewarded students
ith shots of alcohol in exchange for
fLing in the election.
Several people who spoke to the
ection board recalled receiving an
nail, which was not sent by
hompson, that promised such incen-
. Thompson was present when at
one person was offered a shot in
echange for voting. The board did not
ink the evidence was sufficient to
See MSA, Page 9


Students gag themselves in protest of the exclusion of a Native American9LLISON CANTER/Dadiy
representative on the Advisory Board of the President's initiative on Race.
irst lady to
speak at Hill
Auditorium

* Hillary Rodham Clinton
will wrap up YoHA on
campus this month
By Christine M. Paik
Daily Staff Reporter
Hillary Rodham Clinton will visit
the campus at the end of the month to
conclude the Year of the Humanities
and Arts - the theme for the 1997-
98 school year that promotes the
exploration of the humanities and
arts.
Clinton will speak on April 28 at Hill
Auditorium to cele-
brate the success of
YoHA and, in par-F
ticular, its Arts of
C i t 1 z e n s h i p
Program.
"We are delight-
ed the First Lady
saw YoHA and the
University as a
chance to discuss
arts and humanities Clinton
in public culture," said history and
American culture Prof. David Scobey,
director of the Arts of Citizenship
Program. "We kept our fingers crossed
and it was worth the long shot."
The event will be free to the public,
but tickets will be required. A large
block of tickets will be set aside for stu-
dents, but information has not been
released regarding how and when these
tickets will be available.
The Arts of Citizenship Program,
which is a partnership between the
University and the City of Ann Arbor,
has brought a series of nationally
renowned artists and cultural advocates
to campus to speak about the role of
arts and humanities in public life. The
program also has initiated the "Students
on Site" project, which pairs University
faculty with teachers from Mack
Elementary School and Community

SARA STILLMAN/Daily
Rackham student Clara Kawanishi holds a candle during yesterday's vigil on the Diag held to remember the five
victims of the Jonesboro, Ark. shooting.
Vigil fcuesonvileAnce

High School.
YoHA director Julie Ellison said
Clinton's visit is timely in that it not
only signifies the end ofYoHA, but also
the beginning of the formal implemen-
tation of the "Students on Site" pro-
gram.
"It symbolizes the end of the year of
humanities and arts, but the beginning of
the years of humanities and arts," Ellison
said. "It's great that she's coming when
we're really beginning to launch some of
these community projects."
The University sent a letter to the
White House this past July asking the
first lady to visit campus.
"It was a long process and we fol-
lowed up with some phone calls, and
basically said, come any time in the
winter term," Ellison said. "And then it
became clear to be more concrete, in
terms of dates, and that certainly helped
more with the planning. We were
always optimistic, though."
Scobey said Clinton's involvement
with the White House Millennium
Program, a project that celebrates the
country's past achievements and pro-
motes future accomplishments, led him
to believe she would be interested in
speaking for YoHA.
"The first lady was right at the top of
our list because she has spoken a lot
about the need for public support for
arts and humanities," Scobey said.
While the specific content of
Clinton's speech is not yet known,
Scobey said he hopes she will
address the importance of arts and
humanities.
"I hope she will stress not only the
need for public support for arts and
humanities, but also the need for part-
nerships between universities and cul-
tural organizations," Scobey said.
Ellison said 'Clinton is likely to
address the themes of the White House
Millennium Program.
See CLINTON, Page 2
Surgeon
general to
speak at 'U'
By Katie Plona
Daily Staff Reporter
U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher
will address about 300 School of Public
Health graduates at the school's May I
commencement ceremony.
"Dr. Satcher represents the best of public
health," said Public Health Dean Noreen
Clark. "He is known for his humanity and
the breadth of his perspective.
Satcher was appointed to the position
this past February. Prior to serving as
surgeon general, he directed the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention for

By Lee Palmer
Daily Staff Reporter
Nearly 100 University students and community mem-
bers gathered on the Diag last night for a candlelight vigil
in memory of the four girls and one female teacher who
were shot and killed last month by two boys outside their
middle school in Jonesboro, Ark.
As Jonesboro residents and the nation try to understand
the violence that occurred, community educators, activists
and civil servants shifted the discussion last night from
gun control to male violence against women - an issue

they say the media has failed to address.
By focusing the attention on gun control or gun educa-
tion for children, the issue of violence against women has
been ignored, said Lara Zador, an LSA sophomore who
helped coordinate the event,
According to media reports, the motive for the killings
involved rejections of affection by female schoolmates.
"This is a gender issue - it's not just kids killing kids,"
Zador said.
Sandy Norton, a professor of English at Eastern
See VIGIL, Page 9


ity to raise parking fees
i 80 cents per hour

Israel turns 50

y Peter Meyers
Pily Staff Reporter
For months the battle raged, but it has finally
)me to conclusion.
After more than six months of meetings and dis-
ission, the city council finally approved legislation
te Monday night to raise city parking meter rates
60 to 80 cents per hour and increase parking
t fines from $5 to $10 for those who pay with-
two weeks after the ticket is issued. Both increas-
passed by a margin of five votes, 8-3.
The decision marked a compromise between the
ty and downtown business owners. The original
-oposal called for street meter rates to rise to $1

of stakeholders," said Councilmember Jane Lumm
(R-2nd Ward). "This is not easy to swallow."
Both measures received much opposition from
councilmembers.
"I don't feel it is needed. I believe there is
enough money in the system already," said
Councilmember Stephen Hartwell (D-4th Ward).
Other councilmembers agreed that the new fees
are too high.
"We are overzealous in our ticketing (already),"
said councilmember Pat Vereen-Dixon (D-1st
Ward) of her opposition to the fine bill.
The reasoning behind the rise in rates and fines
is both financial and functional. Together, the two

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