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September 17, 2004 - Image 3

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Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 2004-09-17

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NEWS

The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 17, 2004 - 3

ON CAMPUS
City celebrates
* reopening of
Broadway Bridges
The city of Ann Arbor will celebrate
the completion ofthe Broadway Bridges
reconstruction projects today at 6 p.m.
The celebration will include a rib-
bon-cutting ceremony at the top of
Broadway Park at 10 a.m.
Film criticizes U.S.
media coverage of
Middle East
The Ann Arbor Middle East Film
Society will be screening a film that
exposes how powerful elites from the
United States exert influence over news
reports about Middle East conflicts.
"Peace, Propaganda & the Promised
Land: U.S. Media & the Israeli-Pales-
tinian Conflict" combines American
and British TV news clips with obser-
vations of analysts, journalists and
political activists.
The film will be playing Sunday at
noon and 2 p.m. at the Michigan The-
ater Screening Room.
University seeks
feedback on free
MRide bus program
Beginning January 23, 2005 the Ann
Arbor Transportation Authority will
make changes and additions to its ser-
vice routes on campus in an attempt to
improve service. The University requests
that students send input on the changes to
Director of Parking and Transportation
Dave Miller at dvmiller@umich.edu by
Sept. 28.
Students can also meet with AATA
and University officials Monday, 2 to
5 p.m. at 2315 Towsley Center; Thurs-
day, 4 to 7 p.m. in the Crofoot Room
of the Michigan Union; Sept. 28, from
2 to 5 p.m. in Room 4 of the Michigan
League; and Sept. 29, from 3 to 6 p.m.
in the atrium of Pierpoint Commons.
CRIME
NOTES
Hot dog vendor
escorted off
University property
The Department of Public Safety
filed an incident report on Wednesday
regarding a hot dog vendor who was
removed from Bonisteel Boulevard on
North Campus. The vendor's permit
was not valid and had expired.
Machines worth
$36,000 stolen
from hospital
The University Hospital filed a report
with DPS of three stolen ultrasound
machines Wednesday. Each machine is
valued at $12,000.
Student reports
stolen Mcard from

South Quad
DPS reports show a student who
reported her Mcard stolen from South
Quad Residence Hall. The student said
she left her Mcard on her tray while
she went to get a beverage. When she
returned, her Mcard was missing.
THIS DAY
In Daily History
Integration of gay
and lesbian issues
cited for curriculum
Sept. 17, 1991 - A University com-
mittee formed to study the status of gay
s and lesbians recommended the inte-
gration of homosexual issues into the
school's curriculum.
The eight-person committee, com-
missioned by the Affirmative Action
Office, released its report titled "From
Invisibility to Inclusion: Opening the
Doors for Lesbians and Gay Men at the
University of Michigan"
To complete the report, the commit-
tee surveyed members of the gay and
lesbian community about their expe-
riences on campus. They also asked
T~~ ~ ~ T_1___,a - I _ - ;. I- .

Women in the foreign workplace
Prof lectures on 'simp4 led' sexual harassment in Japan

By Michael Kan
and Lisa Wood
Daily Staff Reporters
In 1989, "Seku-Hara" was one of
Japan's trendiest words, later becom-
ing a trivial joke in Japanese media
and pop culture. The word is taken
directly from the American term
"sexual harassment," of which many
Japanese have yet to grasp the grav-
ity, said Osaka University sociology
Prof. Kazue Muta.
Muta, a women's rights activist,
lectured yesterday in the University's
Lane Hall on Japan's sexual harass-
ment policies.
Muta argued that although more
women are speaking out against
sexual harassment, the laws made to
protect them have proven to be inef-

fective. Moreover, she said for the
Japanese, Seku-Hara has become a
euphemism for any sexual crime.
"People tend to simplify sexual
harassment. People think it is a trivial
thing. Many people believe sexual
harassment is merely a matter of edu-
cation or manners," she said.
Up until 1989, sexual harassment as
a crime did not exist in Japan. A court
case in the city of Fukuoka changed
that, when a women sued her supervi-
sor for spreading false rumors about
her sexual behavior, Muta said.
This case marked the first time sex-
ual harassment was deemed a crime
in Japan, later leading to widespread
awareness of the issue around the
country.
By 1999, an article added to the
Equal Employment Opportunities law

prohibited sexual harassment in the
workplace, and demanded that employ-
ers take measures to prevent it.
Though the law was passed, Muta
argues it has no ability to enforce
companies to create a harassment-
free environment.
"The law also cannot work in a legal
basis because the law is too vague and
ambiguous," she added.
But the heart of the issue lies in
Japan's tolerant attitude to Seku-
Hara, as many still view it as a social
norm, Muta said.
She linked this acceptance with
the importance of "the collective" in
Japan. "Wa," or "group harmony," is
the most highly valued principle of
Japanese culture, Muta said. This
makes it difficult for Japanese women
to speak out against any sexual indis-

cretion because it destroys this har-
mony. In addition, Japanese women
are expected to be docile and nonag-
gressive, she said.
"Power differences between the
sexes make it more difficult for
women to fight sexual harassment,"
she added.
Despite the growing awareness of
sexual harassment since 1989, many
Japanese still struggle to understand
and define the term, causing this
awareness to be limited, Muta said.
She cited a court case where the vic-
tim was raped, but in which the defen-
dant was only charged with sexual
harassment instead of something more
serious. Instances like this have made
it all too common to associate Seku-
Hara with crimes such as rape, sexual
abuse and molestation. Muta said.

"The broadness of the word
obstructs any way to completely pre-
vent sexual harassment," she said.
Still, Muta added that women have
been able to talk openly and become
aware of sexual harassment since
Seku-Hara has become an accepted
term in Japanese society.
But only until the Japanese realize
the danger of sexual harassment will
they begin to create efficient laws to
remedy it, she said.
Two dozen people attended the
event. LSA junior Tara Smith said
Muta "clarified a lot of stereotypes
that a lot of Americans have about
Japanese feminism and the effective-
ness of it."
The event was sponsored by The
Institute of Research on Women and
Gender.

HANDS-ON
Continued from page 1
bubble or learn how to read a magnetic
resonance image (MRI).
Drumm, a resident of Bloomfield
Hills, has worked with museums for
most of his career. He worked as assis-
tant curator of the Cranbrook Institute
of Science, a natural history museum
located in Bloomfield Hills.
He also served for seven years as
president of the Detroit Science Center
and traveled internationally as a phys-
ics exhibit consultant with a laser-light
show called "Lasera."
During his travels, Drumm visited
countless museums across the world.

"What is great about the Hands-On
Museum is that the staff and the vol-
unteers make science available to kids,
and let kids understand the science
that is in the world we live in every-
day," Drumm says.
Vermont resident Leah Forey, visit-
ing Ann Arbor with her four-year-old
son Izak, said the museum is great for
children.
She said she enjoys bringing her son
there because the exhibits keep him
busy and interested, and he can touch
everything.
"The Hands-On museum is great
because there are many user-friendly,
smaller exhibits, instead of several large,
inaccessible exhibits," Forey said.

RECYCLING
Continued from page 1
of the recycling facilities in Ann Arbor
is a step toward the accomplishment of
the city's environmental goals, such
as lower energy-use and less air pollu-
tion. However, without the cooperation

her housemates make an effort to recy-
cle. "One person is in charge of recy-
cling each week," she said.
But other students, encouraged by
Michigan's 10-cent deposit policy,
primarily recycle only cans and bot-
tles. LSA senior Ben Dell said he fre-
quently returns cans to grocery stores
like Meijer, but does not recycle other

of students and other1
dents the expansion
-ill n t hb cfil

Ann Arbor resi-

win noto e useruI,
Weinert said. "The tools
"We need thee
University students' ... The stu
participation, espe-
cially those living don't kno'
off-campus," City about the
Council member
Jean Carlberg said.
Every household - LSA senior
in Ann Arbor has
curbside garbage
and recycling pickup on a certain day
each week, depending on its location.
Twenty-five different items are
deemed recyclable, as long as they are
separated appropriately. For example,
paper products should be placed in one
bin while containers such as alumi-
num cans and plastic bottles would be
placed in another.
Cardboard boxes can also be recy-
cled if they are broken down and bound
together.
The city will deliver free carts to
aid with the separation of these waste
products. Weinert assured that this
process is simple, but "the overall suc-
cess depends on the expectation of the
students to do what they can."
Some students are aware of this
responsibility. LSA junior Caroline
Roberts lives in a co-op and says that

are there.
idents just
w enough
m.
r Adam DeAngeli

waste products
such as paper,
aluminum foil or
cardboard.
Part of the rea-
son why some
students do not
recycle other
materials may be
that they are not
well informed
about the city's
recycling poli-

ALEXANDER DZIADOSZ/Daily
Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb addresses supporters in the Modern Languages Building yesterday.

LSA junior Jeff Nover, who lives
in a off-campus house, said, "(Recy-
cling) is required by law in Mary-
land, where I'm from, but I don't
know what they do in this city. They
should send something out in the
mail."
LSA senior Adam DeAngeli, the
spokesman for EnAct, a student envi-
ronmental action group at the Univer-
sity, feels that there is potential for
environmental improvement in Ann
Arbor. "The tools are there," he said.
"The students just don't know enough
about them."
Students who want to learn more
about recycling in their area or to
order a free recycling container can
call the city's recycling center at 994-
2807.

Continued from page 1
resources on non-swing states.
While calling Kerry "a corporatist and a militarist," Cobb
allowed that preventing Bush's re-election is important.
"If you feel like you're having to hold your nose and cast
your ballot (for Kerry), I'm going to respect that," he said,
adding that such voters should support the Green Party at the
same time in order to bring about change.
"This election is not about me, it's about whether or not we
will build a movement," he said.
That position places Cobb in opposition to some Green
Party members and most Nader supporters, who accuse Cobb
and the Green Party leadership of diminishing the party by
running a campaign that is widely expected to win far fewer
votes than Nader did in 2000.
Carl Mayer, an active Nader supporter who was a
Green Party candidate for the U.S. Congress in New
Jersey, has written that Cobb will "take the party off
a cliff."
In an article published on a progressive website last
month, Mayer argued that Cobb's goal of "growing the
Green Party" cannot be accomplished without cam-
paigning vigorously for the presidency, as Nader did in
2000.
While calling Nader a "personal hero of mine," Cobb

questioned Nader's motives for running as an independent
candidate.
"I don't understand what is the goal of the Nader cam-
paign," Cobb said. "When Nader's campaign is over, there
will be nothing."
As part of the broad systemic reform he promoted, Cobb
and the speakers who preceded him endorsed instant-runoff
voting, an election system that would allow voters to rank
their preferences and mitigate the "spoiler effect" of third-
party candidates.
After giving a presentation on instant-runoff voting, a
local Green Party activist handed out sample ballots and
the audience participated in a mock presidential elec-
tion.
Of the 22 ballots cast, Nader received the most first-choice
votes, with eight votes to Cobb's seven. But after eliminat-
ing the losing candidates and distributing their votes to each
voter's second and third preferences, Cobb edged out Nader
by one vote.
Devin Browne, an LSA junior, said she respects
Nader but plans to vote for Cobb because she believes
the Green Party's long-term growth is an important
goal.
"Nader's campaign ends in 2004," Browne said. "A vote
for David Cobb is an investment."
-Katie Schaufelberger and Tom Szczesny contributed
to this article

CCRB
Continued from page 1
later than me, she went later in the eve-
ning. I don't know if she could have used
the same towel as me," Bordelon said.
Although the University's Depart-
ment of Occupational Health and
Environmental Safety attempted to
investigate the cases, spokeswoman
Diane Brown said no new developments
will be uncovered "unless someone else
comes forward with new, other, addi-
tional information."
OSEH recommended to CCRB staff
that towels and solution be removed
from the facilities, which was done
earlier this week. Because the second
alleged victim has not reported her case
to OSEH, Brown said the investigation
cannot move forward.
Anyone who has experienced similar

reactions, can contact OSEH at (734)
647-1143.
Although Bordelon spoke highly
of the recent CCRB renovations, she
expressed reservations about using tow-
els and cleaning solution in the future.
"I'm older. I'm a grad student, and
I've been to a lot of gyms in my day
and I have to say, the CCRB, they've
done a terrific job renovating it," Bor-
delon said.
"The fact that they're still using this
antiquated towel system where they're
using the same communal towels to
wipe down the machines where they've
been up all day to wipe down the
machines ... it just doesn't seem like a
very sanitary practice," she said.
"After this weekend, there's just no
way. I'm just too scared to pick one up.
My life is worth more to me than fol-
lowing that system."

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS
International Internships
English Speaking Programs

DEPARTMENT OF STATE U.SSTUDENT FULBRIGHT PROGRAM
administered by the
INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

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