WE 4 wd 0 News: 76-DAILY Advertising: 764-0554 One hundred seven years of editorialfreedom Monday April 20, 1998 a 4; ' 1 1't wi l9 a 1. !1 i 8 low Women march to take back night Lee Palmer Daily Staff Reporter "What do we want? Safe streets! When do we want it? Now!" More than 400 women marched through the streets of Ann Arbor at the 19th annual Take Back the Night march and rally held Saturday night shouting, chanti- ng and carrying signs declaring, "Our bodies, our lives, our right to decide" Rackham fourth-year student Troy Gordon, who ched the marchers walk down Main Street, said that while he wasn't marching, he was with the women in spirit. "I think (the march) is incredibly fabulous," Gordon said. "I wish there were 10 times as many people marching and 100 times as many people watching." A Pizza House employee, whose car was stopped in traffic by the marchers, got out of her car and cheered in support. Another observer of the march, LSA sophomore Chris Frost, said more education about issues of men's safety is necessary for men. Whenever I'm hanging around a girl and she expresses a concern about being out at night, it strikes me as odd since I never have to think about it," Frost said. As the marchers walked down East Madison Street, male voices called from the windows of the West Quad Residence Hall, "get on your knees, baby!" LSA senior Brenna DeVaney, who did not hear the calls, said she was not surprised by the sentiments. "It makes me sad to think that men are too threat- g d to be supportive," DeVaney said. alimah Johnson, a Detroit Police Department domestic violence social worker, said she did not hear the calls either, but said she battles ignorance every day working with the predominantly male Detroit Police Department. "This kind of behavior shows that our society as a whole condones violence against women," Johnson said following the march. "The men who (shouted) are basically intimidated by the strength of women united. I think we can fight it through education and con- stantly using avenues like this march and rally." AVhile only women marched, a rally held earlier in the night on the Diag included both women and men, who gathered in protest of violence against women. "We are here to do healing work - to reclaim what is ours - the night, said Melissa Danforth, co-coor- Voting effort OR Si By Mike Spahn Daily Staff Reporter Upon opening their mailboxes today, about 11,000 students living in resi- dence halls will find a voter registration card and a letter from Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen Hartford urg- ing students to consider registering to vote in Ann Arbor. The program, co-sponsored by Voice Your Vote and the Residence Hall Association, will provide the students with all the necessary information to register in time for next November's election. In February, Voice Your Vote won approval for a program to send voter registration cards with 5,500 residence hall leases to students next fall. That program, the first of its kind in the country, was recently expanded to include students currently living in the residence halls. Ryan Friedrichs, co-founder of Voice Your Vote, said this plan meets the unique needs of college students. Because many students change addresses each year and are from other states, reg- istering is a more difficult task for them. Friedrichs said registering to vote "could- n't be any easier" due to this plan. By filling out the card and returning it to a box near the front desk of their residence halls, students will receive their confirmation cards next fall along with their new address, Friedrichs said. le said this program will ease Voice Your Vote's registration burden, allow- ing it to channel energy toward other endeavors. "This will allow us to focus so much more on education and motivation to vote in the fall," said Friedrichs, an LSA junior. The plan includes a drive to register students living in family housing, Greek houses, co-ops and other off-campus housing beginning next fall. Overall, those involved in Voice Your Vote say they hope the drive will reach 20,000 stu- dents before November's election. "Our role now is building coalitions with Greek houses, co-ops and local landlords to reach all students," Friedrichs said. Kelly Boland, a member of Voice Your Vote and president of the College Democrats, said she hopes a majority of students will take the opportunity to register this way, adding that it is prob- ably the easiest way for them to do so. "1 he easier we make it for them to register, the better chance (there is that) they will vote," Boland said. Friedrichs said this is a new way of conceptualizing a university's role in the political process, and he hopes the opportunity this program provides is not wasted. "I hope students take advantage of it. and then go out and use their vote in the fall," Friedrichs said. "That is where the real difference is made.: The drive is a culmination of work among many University organizations including Voice Your Vote, RHA, the Department of Housing and the Office of Student Affairs. RIJA president-elect Albert Garcia said this voter registration drive is the "largest initiative at the University and probably any university. "Students don't have to seek out a See VOTE, Page 8 LOUIfS BROWN/Daily Khallmah Johnson reads poetry about her experience with rape, Saturday night in the Diag. More than 400 women marched during the Take Back the Night rally. dinator of the Ann Arbor Tenants Union, who spoke at the rally. Two survivors of sexual assault publicly shared their stories at the rally. LSA junior Deborah Frankle told the crowd she was raped, burned and beaten by her boyfriend eight years ago. "I cannot emphasize enough how important it is not to blame the survivor," said Frankle, who works for the Campus Publicity Network that programs and fundraises for Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center. One in four college-aged women are victims of sex- ual assault or attempted sexual assault at some point during their college careers, according to SAPAC reports. Of male college students, 35 percent said that under certain circumstances, they would commit acts that met the legal definitions of rape, and 84 percent of men who committed rape did not label it as rape, the report stated. Instead of blaming a woman for provoking the See NIGHT, Page 8 Naked Mile exposed on Web The Naked Mile Sa+ Prominent Chinese dissident Wang Dan, shown h Tiananmen Square, was released from jail yesterd i e dis By Jason Stoffer Daily Staff Reporter For less than $30, viewers can "see every- thing from pre-race interviews, the strip down and the post-race report." Advertisements at www.sex-fi. comn boast that their Naked Mile video is "Rated R, but very bushy. Unbelieveable!!!" Students running the Naked Mile tomorrow face the possibility that pictures of their naked bodies could be featured on videos such as this or one of many Internet sites that feature Naked Mile footage. A search on the Alta Vista Internet search engine revealed dozens of Internet sites devot- ed to posting pictures and selling videos of the Naked Mile. Mike Steele, a part-time spokesperson for www nakedmile.com, said his site alone has had 15,000-20,000 hits in the past year. "People ought to be aware that their picture will be posted if they run," said Steele, a University alumnus. "You could take a picture of someone at the Naked Mile and have it on the Internet in an hour." Some of the (500-700) students who ran the Naked Mile last year have no idea that people are taping the event for commercial purposes, said Assistant to the Vice President for University Affairs Mary Lou Antieau. "Students should not perceive (the Naked Mile) as a benign, harmless activity in the sense of a college tradition because of what might happen that would get in the way of future aspirations," Antieau said. "Many stu- dents aren't aware that they'll be shown in full glory on the Internet. "My nightmare is that the first female to run for president will have their picture posted on the front cover of Hustler" Magazine she said. The Naked Mile began in 1986 when a house full of Michigan men's crew and track team members decided to streak through the streets of Ann Arbor the night of the last day of class. The crew team will begin this year's Naked Mile at 10:30 p.m. tomorrow at the corner of Forest Street and South University Avenue. The lacrosse team will lead the main group of run- ners at midnight. Men's crew team member Patrick Finn said he recently received a message from a man who claimed to work at Playgirl ® Volunteers for security both during and after the Naked Mile can attend a mass meeting tonight at 9 in the Michigan Union VICKI LASK'/Oadiy Pond Room. Magazine. He said the man may. offer to pay members of the crew team to pose nude for the magazine "As a team we won't agree to do that, but I can't speak for individuals," Finn said. "People are going to be videotaping any- way. "I don't think (the taping) deters anyone from running, but it kind of degrades a great college tradition," he said. Steele said some people devote their lives to traveling across the nation to tape footage of the Naked Mile, Mardi Gras and other nudist events. "They go from locale to locale and have See MILE, Page 8 a AP PHOTO ere at a May 1989 demonstration in Beijing's day on medical grounds. sident a released, flies to Detroit DETROIT (AP) -Wang Dan, a leader of the Democracy for China Fund in Newton, Mass., 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests and a former classmate of Wang's at Beijing in Beijing, arrived in the United States yesterday University. fter being freed from a Chinese jail. "He's in very good spirits. He's very upbeat," Wang's flight from Beijing arrived at Detroit Shen said. "I think all those prison years made a Metropolitan Airport shortly before 10 a.m. difference, but it's a positive difference." EDT, He was immediately taken to Henry Ford Shen said Wang would speak publicly soon, Hospital where doctors said he was in stable but he was unsure when. condition. The official Xinhua News Agency said Wang "He has some fatigue. He's been through a lot was released on medical parole but did not give in the last 48 hours" said Dr. Thomas Royer, details. Wang has suffered for months with a chief medical officer at Henry Ford. throat infection and headaches that his family Royer said Wang had undergone preliminary believes may indicate a brain tumor. tests yesterday with more scheduled for tomor- His mother, Wang Linyun, said she saw her row son briefly before he boarded the airplane in He said Wang complained of a chronic cough Beijing. for several years and headaches, especially when "He's ill. He looked the same as he has for a he reads. Specialists will examine Wang tomor- while," she said in a telephone interview before row for those problems. he arrived in Detroit. Robert Hyzy, director of critical care for Doctors said preliminary tests performed on Henry Ford Hospital, said the cough may be Wang could not immediately determine whether Car wash benefits 'M' wrestler memorial scholarship fund By Jennifer Yachnin Daily Staff Reporter A little bit of rain did not dampen the spirits of student athletes who helped wash cars yesterday to raise money to help fund a scholarship in memory of Michigan wrestler Jefferey Reese, who died this past December. "We wanted to do something special to make sure his name is remembered," said Dwayne Fuqua, Student Athlete Advisory Committee president, who organized the event. of the primary sources to fund the scholarship, Fuqua said. "A lot of people have been giving us don'ations," Fuqua said. "We just want- ed a good start." Fuqua said the event was well received by many student athletes, including the majority of wrestling team members. "The moment we announced it over our e-mail network, students e-mailed and contacted me to put their name down," Fuqua said. I P .... . . ..'t . .