Thursday
January 22, 2004
@2004 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 81
One-hundred-thirteen years ofedtorialfreedom
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By Michael Kan
Daily Staff Reporter
White people think they know what's
going on in black people's lives, Tim
Wise told a crowd at Rackham Auditori-
um last night.
But he went on to say that when white
people ignore the fact that people of
color experience racism on a daily basis
- when whites say it isn't a big deal
anymore - that denial is a form of
racism.
Wise, who is a senior advisor to the
Fisk University Race Relations Insti-
tute, spoke yesterday on the continu-
ance of racism in American society at
a Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Symposium event titled, "Beyond
Diversity: Challenging Racism in an
Age of Backlash."
At the event, Wise both urged stu-
dents to acknowledge how society
implicitly promotes racist thinking and
to rebel against that thinking.
liege,
He said of his lecture, "This is not a
critique about white people, this is a cri-
tique on what living in a society that
encourages such ignorance does to
white people."
Wise began his lecture by address-
ing the fact that he is a white man and
that black civil rights activists and
speakers before him have said the
same messages he planned on dis-
cussing. Yet he added, "Because I am a
white man, I can say to you what the
people of color have been trying to say,
but have been ignored."
He then discussed the existence of
racism through denial by citing surveys
that show only 6 percent of white Amer-
icans believe racism is still a significant
problem. He then compared that number
to how 12 percent of Americans believe
Elvis is still alive.
"We are twice as likely to believe
Elvis is still alive than we are to believe
what colored people tell us, they experi-
ence (racism) on a daily basis. That, my
denial
friends, is an abiding delusion."
In the past, Wise's speeches have
drawn criticism from students, even
where they have evoked praise.
LSA senior Ruben Duran, who has
heard Wise speak on previous
accounts, said he disagreed with
Wise's beliefs that race-conscious
admissions policies tend to admit aca-
demically qualified students to the
University.
"Basically, the University is con-
ceding that ... their definition of
racial minorities are underachievers
and universally, as a whole, require
a leg up," Duran said.
Later in his lecture, Wise added that
because American society is so segre-
gated, whites think that they under-
stand their reality and they feel they
even understand what other races' real-
ities are like.
"When people of color say, 'This is
what is happening to me,' we say, 'No, \
See RACISM, Page 2A
Social-Justice Advocate Tim Wise, recipient of the National Youth Advocacy Coalition's Social Justice Impact Award, claims
society implicitly promotes racism at Rackham Auditorium yesterday.
Campus environmental initiatives
target student and faculty activities
By Nalla Moreira vation, he said.
Daily Staff Reporter In one program, the Pollution Pre-
vention Lab Survey, OSEH is working
Environmental stewardship is the with individual laboratories to reduce
University's new message for the cam- their total consumption of lab materi-
pus community. als. For instance, OSEH has collabo-
University administrators are rated with labs to develop
adding awareness programs to exist- "micro-teaching techniques" that use
ing efforts focused on upgrading fewer materials.
technology to increase environmen- "Instead of using 100 milliliters or
tal performance. 50 milliliters of a solvent, we're work-
Such prior initiatives, including a ing with the Department of Chemistry
new heat and electricity system at on the front end to use maybe 10 milli-
its Central Power Plant, earned the liters ... and generate a lot less waste,"
University an award last September Berki said.
- the U.S. Environmental Protec- To promote energy conservation,
tion Agency Energy Star Combined OSEH has begun an awareness cam-
Heat and Power Award. paign aimed at students, faculty and
The new initiatives will will focus staff. Members of the University
on how the University utilizes campus community can expect to see signs
from a behavioral standpoint, said around light switches and near com-
Andy Berki, environmental steward- puters encouraging individuals to
ship coordinator in Occupational Safe- conserve power.
ty and Environmental Health. "So what are you waiting for?"
OSEH plans to encourage individu- exhorts one poster. "Turn off the
als to save resources in terms of both juice when not in use and help con-
waste minimization and energy conser- serve energy!"
Speaker: Degradation
of Great Lakes habitat
threatens fish species
In addition, the Environmental Sus-
comprised of faculty, facilities staff
and students, with SNRE Dean Rosina
tainability Task
University
President
Mary Sue
Coleman in
the 2003 fall
term, will fur-
ther increase
awareness of
environmental
challenges on
campus, Berki
said.
The task
force has met
several times
since August
2003 to devel-
op quantitative
indicators to
measure envi-
ronmental
Force, convened by
'Instead of using 100
mililiters ... of a
solvent, we're working
with the Department
of Chemistry on the
front end to use maybe
10 milliliters ... and
generate a lot less
waste."
- Andy Berki
Environmental Stewardship
Coordinator, Occupational Safety
and Environmental Health
Bierbaum.
The indicators
will measure Uni-
versity performance
in the categories of
energy, water use,
land use, emissions,
material use/solid
waste and "other,"
he said.
The "other" cate-
gory is designed to
monitor miscella-
neous issues that do
not fit neatly into the
former categories,
Kelbaugh said.
He cited fertilizer
and pesticide use,
purchasing of envi-
ronmentally-friendly
stewardship, said Douglas Kelbaugh,
Dean of the A. Alfred Taubman College
of Architecture and Urban Planning.
Kelbaugh co-chairs the task force,
office products and light pollution as
examples of such issues.
"The hope is that by profiling per-
See ENVIRONMENT, Page 3A
RC sophomore Ilan Brandvaln helps RC sophomore Tara Smith call Ford Motor
Company to demand it double its standards for fuel efficiency.
Students call Ford exec.,
tell Ford Motor Coa to
clean up dfrt6y vehic les
Smooth moves
By Ravneet Grewal
For the Daily
By Mona Rafeeq
Daily Staff Reporter
In the late 19th century, commer-
cial fishermen drew millions of trout
and whitefish from the Great Lakes
every year.
Today, sport fisherman catch their
game in the billions, causing what a
ence, ecology and biodiversity of the
Great Lakes.
There are specific types of fish that
can be used as special indicators to mon-
itor water quality. Non-native fish can
trigger biodiversity destruction.
For example, the introduction of
numerous alewives - fish native to
the Gulf of Maine - in the 1870s
curator emeritus at
the University
Exhibit Museum of
Natural History
calls a "terrible
mess" to popula-
tions of more than
200 species of
Great Lakes fish -
many of which
dwell in Michigan's
waters.
This was the
topic of discussion
for Gerald Smith,
recently retired
biology professor
and curator emeri-
tus of fish, who
spoke to an audi-
"MNichigan is an
embarrassment
Michigan
contributes to many
of these sites, more
than any other
political entity, even
Ontario'
- Gerald Smith
Curator emeritus of fish
caused many rotting
fish to wash up on
lakeshores in the
1960s, producing
aesthetic and pub-
lic health problems
for both humans
and fish.
According to
Smith, there are 40
sites of biodiversity
degradation in the
Great Lakes region.
"Michigan is an
embarrassment,"
Smith said. "Michi-
gan contributes to
many of these sites,
more than any
other political enti-
The Bluewater Network enlisted
the help of University students yes-
terday to arouse a public appeal to
Chief Executive Officer William
Ford for a "climate-friendly" Ford
Motor Co.
Bluewater staff member Amy
Faulring and volunteers stood on
the Diag from noon to 3 p.m. with
cell phones and Ford's office num-
ber in hand. In a nationally choreo-
graphed movement, they asked
supporters to call Ford's office and
pledge to boycott his company's
vehicles until it lives up to its
"environmental promises."
"Bill Ford is supposedly an envi-
ronmentalist, but his cars speak
another story," said LSA freshman
Pooja Varma, a student volunteer.
Many environmental groups and sci-
entists have criticized Ford for the dis-
cordance between his public rhetoric
and what activists claim is a poor per-
formance by the company on EPA
fuel-economy tests.
A Bluewater Network written state-
ment states that Ford supports change
in the automobile industry's policies
to suit an agenda for environmental
sustainability. However, the statement
also says Ford personally lobbied
Congress against increasing fuel
mileage standards.
In 2000, Ford Motor Co. promised a
25 percent SUV fuel mileage increase
by 2004, according to the company's
Corporate Citizenship Report in 2000.
One of Ford Motor Co.'s goals that it
still expects to meet is the fall 2004
release of its first hybrid SUV, the Ford
Escape Hybrid.
On its web page, Ford Motor states
that the targeted fuel mileage for the
hybrid is 30 to 40 miles per gallon,
which is 55 percent to 60 percent higher
than that of the original Escape. The
hybrid is also projected to have reduced
See FORD, Page 3A
TREVOR CAMPBELL/Daily
Hasaan Elamin, bongo player for Ann Arbor rockers Hullabaloo,
slaps the skins last night at the Blind Pig.
Israel's Sharon could face bribery indictment
ence of more than 50 students and Ann
Arbor residents at the museum last
night. He also spoke about how the
study of fish has been a significant
part of the restoration efforts of the
Great Lakes.
"Water that is good for sensitive fish
and other aquatic species is also good
for all of our human uses," he said.
1 The 1ente ricrkel nffthe heainniny
ty, even Ontario."
He mentioned that Gov. Jennifer
Granholm has said federal lawsuits may
be needed to prevent the introduction of
"alien" fish into Great Lakes waters.
But Smith also suggested other con-
servation recommendations that
include protecting water quality from
pollution, increasing awareness of spe-
cia1 fish indicators and establishing
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) - An Israeli court charged a
real-estate developer yesterday with paying more than a
half-million dollars in bribes to Ariel Sharon - a case
that could force the prime minister to step aside.
While Sharon has not been charged, Justice Ministry
officials say they are considering whether to indict the
Israeli leader. The officials say the decision is expected
in the coming weeks or months.
Sharon's spokesman Asaf Shariv would not com-
ment on the case except to say, "I can guarantee there
will not be an indictment."
David Appel was indicted in the Tel Aviv Mag-
istrates Court for allegedly giving Sharon hun-
Sharon's term as prime minister.
Appel's lawyer, Moshe Israel, denied the charges.
"There is no doubt he is innocent," he said.
The indictment over the scandal - widely known as
the "Greek Island Affair" - centers on allegations that
Sharon's son Gilad received large sums on his father's
behalf from Appel, an activist in Sharon's Likud Party
who was trying to promote the project in Greece dur-
ing 1999. Sharon was then foreign minister and
allegedly was asked to use his influence to push both
projects, although neither came to pass.
Specifically, the indictment said that from
1998 to 1999 Appel "gave Ariel Sharon a bribe in
consultant in the Greek project, served as a middleman
in accepting the bribes. "(Appel) and Gilad agreed to
this arrangement despite the fact that the defendant
knew that Gilad had no relevant professional qualifica-
tions," it said.
The indictment said Appel sent a total of $690,000
to Sharon's family ranch in the Negev desert. Appel
also promised to support Sharon in party primary elec=
tions, the indictment said.
The indictment against Appel threatens not only
Sharon's political career but also complicates the
daunting task of negotiating peace in the Middle East.
Sharon and Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Qureia
L