Monday, April 3, 2006 Opinion 4A Suhael Momin: No easy answers on MCRI News 5A Research fights a biological civil war Arts 8A Sharon Stone should go back to the basics Mv OPENS BIG TEN SEASON WITH A PANG ... STDA eAU1 tt ;k w i ; One-hundred-sixteen years ofeditorial freedom -- -- I I - - -- - - ---- - - - - - I I 1 11 -------- -- - AwnMe ml www.michiandaiy.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 104 @2006 The Michigan Daily o Beware professors? E . Book lists two 'U' profs among 101 most dangerous academics CAITLIN KLEIBOER/Daily Jon Lozer, a senior at Pickney Community High School, smokes a pipe at the bottom of the sloping underground glass windows of the Law Library on Saturday after trying to retrieve a frisbee and getting stuck In the deep ravine. Onlookers solved the potentially risky situation without the help of law enforcement by pulling the man to safety with a rope. H lash Bash i s By Kelly Fraser Daily Staff Reporter When Biology Prof. John Vandermeer heard that right-wing activist and author David Horowitz had published a list of the 101 most dangerous professors in America, he said he grew upset. Vandermeer wasn't angry that Horowitz was attacking the academics - he was angry that he didn't make the list. "I'm dangerous - or at least I try to be," Vander- meer joked. While Vandermeer was overlooked, two Univer- sity professors did gain Horowitz's recognition. Because of their left-wing perspectives, His- tory Prof. Juan Cole and Anthropology Prof. Gayle Rubin each earned an entry in Horowitz's book, "The Professors: The 101 Most Dangerous Academics in America," published in February. Horowitz labeled Cole as dangerous because he holds a controversial perspective on U.S. involvement in the Middle East and is fre- quently quoted in the national media. Cole, a prolific blogger, said he does not consider him- self politically active. "Anytime you become prominent you attract atten- tion," Cole said. "Very frequently political opponents resort to political assassination and smears. I stick to making arguments deliberately in hopes of fostering more dialogue." Horowitz also slams Rubin, who was the Univer- sity's first women's studies major, for her stances on gender and sexuality. Horowitz claims that Rubin once openly endorsed pedophilia in a 2003 magazine piece and that she believes there are no natural differences between men and women. Rubin could not be reached for comment because she is currently on sabbatical. Professors dismissed the book as an attempt to stir up fear of liberal academics and damage their cre- dentials in the eyes of the general public; few feel the book carries much weight. "I think it's pretty silly. Silly is the right word, Vandermeer said. Horowitz warns that the academics on the list, mostly composed of political science and religion professors, use the classroom to further their radical agendas. Horowitz, a founder of the New Left movement in the 1960s, turned his back on liberal circles in the 1970s and now is the editor in chief of FrontPageMag. com, an online conservative newsmagazine. On the point of the dangers of pushing politics in the classroom, Cole and Horowitz agree. ...................... ........... Cole said the claim that he is guilty of using the classroom as a soapbox is a "bald-faced lie." To prove this, Cole pointed to his semester evalua- tion scores for his class "America and Middle Eastern Wars" last fall. Out of a possible 5 points, Cole earned a 4.82 in the category of "Overall this was an excellent course" and a 4.86 in "Overall the instructor was an excellent teacher." If he teaches with a political agenda, it would be reflected in his scores, given that a large lecture is composed of a variety of stu- dents with a diverse range of political viewpoints, he said. RC sophomore Luke Bostian, who took a course with Cole, said the professor was up- front about his views a from the beginning. According to Bos- tian, Cole encouraged 3 students to challenge him. Bostian acknowledged that some conservative students may have been turned off or intimidated by Cole's authority. Though Cole called the book "an irrel- evant publicity stunt," he said it highlights an increasing trend in politics to monitor and intim- idate intellectuals; he refers to this as "the privatiza- tion of McCarthyism." Horowitz also said he is increasingly concerned with the overlapping relationship between the gov- ernment and universities, which he reasons could lead to increased governmental control over the curriculum. "The purpose of intellectuals is to constantly exam- ine the grounds of our political existence," Cole said. "We have to be dangerous in that way. The Founding Fathers were dangerous. Ben Franklin, Thomas Jef- ferson - they were dangerous intellectuals." Vandermeer said that he purposely chooses to address contemporary issues in his Biology 101 course to provoke students to place science in context. "If by dangerous (Horowitz) means professors who tell the truth to their students, then yes, I'm danger- ous," Vandermeer said. In a poll on FrontPageMag.com asking stu- dents to vote for the "worst professors" in the United States, Cole and Rubin's combined votes place the University in fourth place overall behind Penn State University, Columbia University and Western Washington University. Cole is ranked the fifth worst professor, only about 200 votes behind fourth-place Massachusetts Institute of Technology Prof. Noam Chomsky. Cast of characters at annual event colorful, but students not represented well By Drew Philp Daily Staff Reporter Aging hippies carrying signs of peace joined dreadlocked teenagers on the Diag Saturday to celebrate cannabis culture and protest marijuana laws in Ann Arbor's 35th annual Hash Bash. Despite a low student turnout at the rally, Hash Bash turned out ast least as many supporters of marijuana as last year, when about 900 came. In years past, Hash Bash drew thousands of colorful people to Ann Arbor to gather in the aromatic, smoke-filled Diag. Recent years' protests carried over to celebrations Over the past seven years, DPS has arrested or issued citations to 212 Hash Bash attendees. Only four of the 212 were students. This year DPS arrested two and ticketed three for drug or alcohol violations. on Monroe Street, including this year. Organizers and longtime bash attend- ees noted that Hash Bash has fizzled and changed face over the past few years. "The crowd has been getting older every See BASH, page 7A Michael Eric Dyson Humanities professor University of Pennsylvania Included for his use of hip-hop in the classroom, hailing rapper Tupac Shakur as a black Jesus. Gloria Watkins English professor City University of New York Included for herfeminist writings under the pseudonym "bell hooks" and free- structured classroom environment incorporating race and class. Victor Navasky Journalism professor Columbia University Included for his role as edito- rial director of left-wing journal The Nation and for defending Alger Hiss and the Rosenbergs in an article. GRAPHIC BY BRIDGET O'DONNELL Detroit Project sweeps away urban blight ACCORDION RIDER 0 More than 1,000 students from 5 schools clean urban neighborhoods on 7th annual DP Day By Shruti Saran For the Daily DETROIT - Rows of homes, many unoccupied, stand interrupted by empty lots dotted with piles of trash composed of bricks, twigs, leaves, dirty diapers and other items. This was the scene at Brightmoor, a neighborhood in northwest Detroit, before students participating in DP Day arrived Saturday. But by the time students left the scene looked much different. Gone were the abandoned tires. Erased was the overwhelming urban blight. More than 1,000 students participated in the day, which was hosted by the Detroit Project. The students came from five universities - the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan Unversity, Wayne State University, Michigan State University and the University of Detroit Mercy. They assisted in cleaning up and beautifying Detroit neighborhoods by doing things like picking up trash, See DETROIT, page 7A Internet TV station goes Earth-friendly New London-based environmental Internet television station plays all green, all the time By A. J. Hogg Daily Science Writer Internet television turned a little greener Friday with the launching of Green.tv, a network that focuses on the envi- ronment. The network delivers on-demand, full-screen video via Internet Protocol Television, an emerging technology. "We're keen to make Green.tv the place to see environ- mental films, whether that be online or on TV," said Ade Thomas, Green .tv director. Thomas's goal for the network is "leaving a positive environmental footprint via its engaging, entertaining con- tent." Based in London and backed by the United Nations Environment Program, the channel acquires films from sources like Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, the Royal Hor- ticultural Society as well as Ben and Jerry's. The channel currently features 22 films with subjects ranging from glacial retreat in Greenland to American oil Ambulance response slower for small sports One gymnast lay Crisler Arena on Feb. 17, she lay er Dan Sedory was on the scene - 'motionless on the arena floor administering first aid irom te I