NEB The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 29, 2005 -7A SOLE Continued from page 1A than 40 other colleges across the cour try are holding similar demonstratior to kick off the national campaign agains the production of collegiate apparel it * sweatshop conditions. SOLE held a mock raffle to win day's wage - a quarter, they said - fo a sweatshop worker. The group also gath ered signatures on a petition for the Uni versity to join the sweat-free campaign. SOLE member and RC sophomor( Adri Miller said the group had collecte about 400 signatures from students, fa( ulty and staff in the four hours they wer( on the Diag. The petition was deliverer along with the letter to Coleman's office Jory Hearst, RC junior and SOLI member, said she was surprised by hom much students knew about the Universit; and sweatshop labor. "People have totally engaged in goo( conversation with me," Hearst said. Sh( added that, compared with three year, ago, the student population seems to b( MSA Continued from page 1A Mike Forster, chair of the ERC, said he is confident MSA is moving in the right direction. "I'm really excited that this position is being created," Forster said. "We hope that this is first step in a long process of reconciliation with City Council, and a greater partnership between the students and the Council." Some have accused the Council of being secretive about important busi- ness, conducting much of its discussion in "special committees" outside of the regular biweekly Council sessions.' As liaison, Van Hyfte is responsible for keep- ing up with all upcoming legislation in order to give MSA a chance to organize a response to legislation that could have an impact on students. Forster hopes this will mark the end of surprise ordinanc- es like the parking permit restrictions, which the Council approved during the summer, to the ire of many students. Rapundalo said he hopes the liaison will foster a better relationship with the BIAS Continued from page 1A Some Asian students, such as LSA s( more and United Asian American Orga tions external chair Denny Chan, say believe this lack of recognition as a mir group also impacts the frequency at whici dents of ethnic intimidation and discrimi: are reported. "There is the feeling that your concerni be shrugged off," Chan said. "And wher experience (discrimination) alone, you have the realization that it's so frequent." "When these-things happen to you, t12 also confusion around what avenues ther much more educated on the issue. Miller said SOLE is targeting Cole- man on the issue because "she's the one who can make changes." In the past, labor issues at the University have been handled by the Advisory Com- mittee on Labor Standards and Human Rights. Rahman said their demands would probably be deferred to the committee, which has not yet been in session this year. Lawrence Root, chair of the committee and a School of Social Work professor, said in an interview with The Michigan Daily that he hoped to have the committee's member- ship finalized soon for a first meeting on October 7. Rahman criticized the committee for waiting until October to begin its work, saying it has already wasted a quarter of the semester. "Obviously they don't plan to act on this," Rahman said. Two spots on the committee are to be held by students, and Rahman said two SOLE members have applied for the positions but must undergo an interview process. TOMMASO GOMEZ/Daily RC senior Ryan Bates, RC sophomore Adri Miller and Engineering junior Samir Rahman display a banner sewn at a mock sweatshop on the Diag yesterday. students and the Council. "Having a liaison is a great idea - any interaction that is established is bet- ter than, obviously, what is there now," he said. But Rapundalo expressed concern that the sheer volume of Council business could overwhelm anyone. He has proposed that Council cre- ate a separate formal committee of students and Council members to aid Van Hyfte in creating a constructive relationship. Councilman Leigh Greden (D- Ward 3) agreed that a commission would be the most effective way to foster relations. "The current relationship is very arms-length; there's no face-to-face, one-on-one communication, and that's what we need," Greden said. "But it's a lot of work for one person." Greden added that he might intro- duce legislation to create a specialized Council committee himself, instead of waiting for Rapundalo to be elected. He said he doesn't believe the political cal- endar should delay a good idea. Councilman Mike Reid (R-Ward 2), who is retiring after his current term ends in November, said he doubts the liaison would have a significant impact on the Council. "If the intent is to engage in some real dialogue about issues that affect the student body, just attending Council meetings would be extraordinarily inef- fective," Reid said. Reid added that he believes students should participate by voting the same way everyone else does. The other three candidates for the position were Steven Schwartz, Zach LaPalme and Anjajli Nair. Nair and LaPalme are MSA newcomers who were active in their high school student governments. Schwartz, a sophomore, transferred from Western Michigan University to Michigan State University and finally to the University of Michi- gan, which he described as the pinnacle of his educational enterprises. He said he would not be interested in further 5sisting Van Hyfte as liaison. LaPalme and Nair expressed interest in attending Council meetings despite losing their bid for the liaison position. CAMPUS Continued from page 1A general," Peterson said, "but we can always do more." University faculty are also joining in the effort to improve the climate of the campus for students, faculty and staff susceptible to racial harass- ment. American Culture Prof. Amy Stillman - who contributed to a letter in which faculty members demanded the University uphold its commit- ment to diversity by taking immediate action - is working to organize a collective response to the issue of hate crimes. Stillman outlined several steps that students and faculty should take to combat the occurrence of hate crimes and create a more respectable climate. These recommendations include encouraging students to report racial harassment to the Department of Public Safety and the Office of Student Conflict and Resolution. A public rally on campus involving multiple student groups is also in works. "We need to talk to our colleagues and draw them into the coalition with us," Stillman said. "This issue of 'climate' is something that affects all of us, and (the faculty) have the opportunity to be the leaders." "At a large institution like the University of Michigan, some Asian students feel they have to put up with minor indignities in order to 'fit in," said Scott Kurashige, assistant professor in the Asian and Pacific Islander American Studies department. Kurashige added that while the University has great potential for cul- tural programming, it needs to take proactive steps to make comprehen- sive changes to eliminate racism. His department is holding a teach-in today at 7 p.m. in South Quad's Yuri Kochiyama lounge. ETHICS Continued from page 1A research, which Coleman identified as one of her campus initiatives in a speech last spring, has become a major priority for the University. Coleman said the University already has many of the necessary resources in place for the advanced study, including strong programs in philosophy and social sciences, among others. The second area that the taskforce found necessary to address is providing under- graduate students a way to get more involved in the study of ethics. The taskforce found many undergraduate students interested in studying ethics, the report says. The courses would be aimed at under- graduates, Krislov said. No determinations have been made concerning exactly what the courses will be about, but as an example, Krislov cited a course from the 1940s about political morality. He said such a course might include readings of ancient as well as contemporary political philosophers and dis- cussions centered on such topics as the ethics of economic systems, wars and nations. Coleman said some current courses will also be revised to include more of an ethics- related angle, but she did not elaborate. Forums to facilitate discussion about eth- ics are undefined right now, but their basic function is clear - providing a discussion setting on topics such as military action in Iraq and Harvard President Lawrence Sum- mers's controversial comments on women in science. "There's no knowing today what the forums will cover, but we do know by read- ing the headlines that there will rarely be a shortage of material," Coleman said during her State of the University address to the Faculty Senate Assembly on Monday. The forums will be aimed at undergradu- ates, Krislov said, but others will be wel- come. They will most likely begin this semester, he said, but he doubts there will be many, and said they will probably take place about once a month. Although plans for a shared physical space for the study of ethics have been discussed, it does not appear that such a center will be built in the near future, Krislov said. "It wasn't clear that this would be the most effective way to increase collaboration," Krislov said, adding that he has studied other universities with similar programs already in place and found that it was not effective. But Krislov did not rule out the possibil- ity of an ethics center in the long run. Long-term plans also include organiz- ing symposiums or conferences on subjects such as the role of religion in public health, Krislov said. "Right now, we have lots of great ideas, but we're not trying go do them all in the first year," he said. The report included information on other high-profile schools that have already estab- lished this level of ethics research organiza- tion, among them academic powerhouses such as Harvard University, Dartmouth College and Yale University. Taskforce members drew on their programs when making their recom- mendations. that you can take," Chan continued. "Many (Asians) don't know about existing services. We need to create a safe zone so students feel comfortable reporting." While Asian organizations continue to discuss the reasons for the prevalence of racial harass- ment on the campus, the groups have also begun to take actions to create awareness of the issue. After the alleged incident of ethnic intimida- tion on Sept. 15, Asian student groups founded APIA Change, a group that is trying to devise ways to improve the campus climate. Recently, APIA Change has begun cataloguing incidents of racial harassment toward Asians. But leaders of the group hope the University will aid them in taking a strong stance against racial harassment. "There is no clear signal to offenders that this must stop - that this is wrong," Chan added. "The administration hasn't sent this clear mes- sage, so it's just going to continue." Guzman said that, while the underlying point is that discrimination has always existed with regards to Asians, it is interesting that it took a publicized incident to spark debate and discussion. "In my view, (Asians) as a whole are not a very united group, and unless you have a huge mobilization, a small minority is often viewed as being radical or whiny," Guzman said. "But now that group is getting larger, and people are starting to take notice. As a community, we need to educate, strengthen and empower ourselves." "Of course this isn't just an issue limited to the campus," said Stephanie Kao, a Business senior and co-chair of the United Asian Ameri- can Organizations. "However, the kind of sup- port we get and the kind of climate set up by the administration doesn't support diversity as much as they would like to believe." While there are people in the Asian commu- nity who would stress assimilation and say these issues aren't relevant, it all depends on how you look at it, Kao said. Kao said that although views differ on the issue, as in any minority community, the issues raised by this incident pose important questions. "Why is it important to fit into the society?" Kao said. "Why can't we be unique with our culture and our heritage?" the michigan daily TIE SIGN SAYS IT ALL... TREE CITY PROPERTIES Houses Available 2006 si UP r 8 Bdnn: 7 bdrm: 6 Bdrm: 6 Bdrm: 6 Bdrm: 6 Bdm: 5 Bdrm: 4 Bdrn: 4 Bdrm: 540 Packard 1102 Prospect 1016 S. Forest 1104 Prospect 1108 Prospect 340 S. Division 407 Hamilton 812 Packard 905 Packard $4200 $4200 $3700 $3700 $4000 $3800 $3200 $2600 $2300 May'06 May '06 Fall'06 May '06 Fall '06 Fall'06 Fall '06 Fall '06 May '06 AYE 1 ,551' More houses and apartments available! 734-994-8733 www treecityproperties.com !!! OFFICE PERSON: P/T 10 hrs./wk. Flex. sched. Pleasant environment. 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