242 ' m--qcRAKqra 7il ow a till ua LL- - weatner Today: Mostly Cloudy. High 52. Low 37. Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy. Hgh 49. One hundred nine year of edit rilfreedom Monday October 18, 1999 i I y-, ,,i i r, . rs*,' 3.- i vk c~ 2 :: I chapters meet on campus By Jon Fish For the Daily "You're not going to win all your fights, but you have to at least show up," said American Civil Liberties Union Assistant to the Executive Director for Development Becky Bull, during Saturday's ACLU College inference. The conference, sponsored by the ACLU state chapter, drew students from across the state looking to learn about the organization and more about their constitutional rights as students. Showing up and fighting the apathy towards politics that seems to plague many student bodies was the message of the day. Organizers of the state chapter of the CLU also hoped the conference uld attract more members to their cause. "We want to diversify our member- ship. Students can really make a differ- ence" said Executive Director of the Michigan ACLU Kary Moss. Bull and Moss both commented on the growing conservative threat to the ACLU's past work. "Through public education, students n learn to express themselves; get out d vote - that's the only way we can protect the Bill of Rights," Moss said. Students traveled from various schools in the state to participate in the day-long conference. Jamie White and Karen Trickey represented the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University. "A lot of people don't understand what the ACLU is about. Its reputation mostly negative, or only associated th civil rights," White said. White and Trickey said they hope to establish an ACLU chapter at MSU's law school. Affirmative action was one of the highlighted topics during the confer- ence. Jo Ann Watson, public liaison to Michigan Rep. John Conyers (D- Detroit) and ACLU state board mem- ber spoke about affirmative action in telation to the University. Watson, a j iversity alum, commented on the Ro lawsuits challeging the University's use of race as factor in its admission's processes. "Everyone is watching and the stu- dents can make a difference in this law- suit. History has shown there is a con- nection, a synergy between what hap- pens in the courtroom and the commu- nity," Watson said. Lara Zador, member of the campus ACLU chapter also spoke briefly about 'irmative action at the University. Ae and other students are conducting See ACLU, Page 2A 'U' gathers to honor Gandhi By Caitlin Nish Daily ,iati Reporter Nearly 51 years after his death, Mahatma Gandhi's vision is still alive on college campuses nationwide. Last Saturday, to mark what would have been Gandhi's 130th birthday, more than 3,000 stu- dents from 20 universities across the nation partici- pated in the first National Gandhi Day of Service. The National Gandhi Day of Service allowed students to participate in various community- based volunteer outreach programs while honor- ing and commemorating the life and work of the Indian independence leader. More than 314 University students, representing 75 campus organizations, volunteered at such local sites as the Shelter Association of Washtenaw, Ann Arbor Hospice, Ozone House, Recycle Ann Arbor and the William Beaumont Pediatric Center. 'It was a good chance to do service. The volun- teers were very diverse and the work was worth- while," said Anne Deptula, an LSA junior who volunteered at the Huron Boys and Girls Club. This year the Gandhi Day of Service - estab- lished at the University in 1997 by the Indian- American Student Association and Project Sere - became a national event for the first time. "The day was a huge success at the local level because many community groups benefited (and) also at the national level because it planted the seeds to establish cultural benefits on campus," said LSA junior Vikram Sarma, the national coordinator and founder of the National Gandhi Day of Service. Volunteers met on the Diag on Saturday morn- ing for registration and orientation by site leaders. Before dispersing to their sites, volunteers listened to guest speakers, including Sarma, Associate Provost for Multicultural Affairs John Matlock and Rajiv Vinnakota, president of a non-profit urban outreach education program. "It was amazing to see the reactions of people. They loved it and had so much fun. Most people said that they learned a lot from their volunteer experi- ences," said Arti Desai, a coordinator of National Gandhi Day at the University and a representative of the Indian American Student Organization. See GANDHI, Page 2A Engineering senior Krishnan Padmanabhan gathers the Gandhi Day of Service participants on the Diag for the Children's Garden group project on Saturday. TRIVING FOR A BS $i 4WA kixmETT R IF Thousands march ron DC. for immigrant rights By Shomari Terrelonge-Stone Daily StafiReporter Social Work student Dara Orellana and her family came to the United States in 1980 to escape political oppression from the Guatemalan military and to gain economic pros- perity. Nineteen years later, now into her "better life,"- dressed in a red sweater, jeans and gripping a red and black flag that read "Hasta La Victoria," literally translating in English to "Until the Victory" - Orellana marched in the sunny, blue t ; A sky of Washington, D.C. on Saturday with 14 other University students and more than 15,000 other participants to draw attention to the exploitation of undocumented immi- grants. "My family immigrated here because there was a civil war. The military was raging a war against the citizens. It was becoming more difficult to live there. My father's main reason for coming to the United States was for a better life," said Orellana, from an office in Washington, D.C. where she slept only two hours the night before the protest. She said the protesters marched in favor of giving undoc- umented immigrants better living conditions, wages and the chance to be granted amnesty. It was the first event of its f kind and the first in a campaign surrounding the issue. Amnesty would allow immigrants who enter the country without proper legal papers the opportunity to legalize their immigration status so they can legally work and contribute to society. Later immigrants with amnesty would be eligible for citizenship. SAM hOLLENSlEAD! Daly The U.S. Immigration Naturalization Service reports that More than 15,000 protesters gather In Washington, D.C. on Saturday In a rally to draw attention to the exploitation of illegal immigrants in the United States. See PROTEST, Page 3A 250 people gather for Iraq conference Ashrawi: Justice needed in Israel By Emina Sendijarevic Daily Staff Reporter More than 250 people gathered this weekend for an information sharing and an awareness building session at the first National Organizing Conference on Iraq. Participants included students from around e country, as well as people working on the Tsue in Washington, D.C. Jesse Burrows, a first-year student at St. Olaf College in North Field, Minn., said that the main reason that he came to the conference was to educate himself. "If you want to be able to inform others about the situation (in Iraq) you need to have the cor- rect information and to be able to answer their question with facts," Burrows said. The conference, which focused on the human (pect of the situation, began Friday with key note speakers -introducing the issues and the human sacrifices that the sanctions on Iraq are producing. The conference centered on the economic sanctions against Iraq implemented by the United States and the United Nations when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991. and a key note speaker at the conference, said that the sanctions have directly lead to the death of Iraqi children and to a rise in child prostitu- tion, and that the sanctions are promoting child sacrifice. "The people who have no control of the situ- ation are paying the price," Kelly said. Although the issue is just now gaining momentum and the end to the sanctions are still nebulous, but the campaign to stop the sanction is going strong at the local and nation- al level. Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid Sheldon reported Friday at the conference that the Ann Arbor City Council has passed a resolution condemning economic sanction in Iraq. This summer Phyllis Bennis, a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, D.C. and a key note speaker at the National Organizing Conference on Iraq, made a trip to Iraq along with a delegation of Congressional Aids. The group went to Iraq, even after the State Department refused to grant them permission, to assess the situation and the effects of the eco- nomic sanctions on the people of Iraq. Bennis said that both she and the congressional By Sana Danish Daily Staff Reporter Hanan Ashrawi, former spokesper- son of the Palestinian delegation to the Middle East Peace Process, spoke at the University's Rackham Auditorium last Friday on "Requirements for a lasting peace in Israeli Palestine." A premier voice in Palestinian poli- tics and for the Palestinian people, Ashrawi is an elected member of the Palestinian Legislative Council in the Jerusalem District and the founder and Commissioner General of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Citizen's Rights in Jerusalem. Ashrawi opened her speech on the requirements for peace in Israel/Palestine by saying there was one key word in the answer. "Whatever we do ... the essential component for making peace is justice;' she said. Ashrawi went on to say that for the peace process to be successful, there is a necessity for clearly defined objectives. Among the other requirements, Ashrawi highlighted the need for third party involvement besides the United States alone, and the need to address substan- tive issues. In addition, she said both sides have to be willing to negotiate. "Only the strong can make peace, said Ashrawi, adding that she did not mean military strength, but rather See ASHRAWI, Page 7A DAVID KATZ/Daily Former Palestinian delegation spokesperson Hanan Ashrawl speaks Friday at Rackham Auditorium. Hepatitis C seen as a growing threat By Shabnam Daneshvar Daily Stafl'Reporter NOVI, Mich. - Hepatitis C is a disease that may not seem to be a threat to many students on campus, but the disorder, fessor of internal medicine and Robert Fontana, assistant pro- fessor of internal medicine, directed an new cases a year and 8,000 to 10,000 deaths because of this every year," Lok said. "We need to talk about this and edu- cate the public." Rita Borders of Sterling Heights WE