0 0 0 0 e Mi0ijan Daily -Wednes day, January 10, 2007 o kph" -- I - Wednesday, January 10, 2007 - The Michigan Daily 3 FLEMING From page 2B losophy earned Fleming both conservative and liberal critics, who puzzled over his unorthodox approach to discipline. Serving as chancellor of the University of Wisconsin at Madi- son prior to coming to Ann Arbor, Fleming put up his own money to bail out 11 students who had been arrested for trespassing after tak- ing over an administrative office. The local chapter of Students for a Democratic Society had scheduled to protest the arrests that evening, but activists found it hard to criti- cizeanadministrationwhoseleader had bailed out the would-be mar- tyrs. Feeling that the gray-haired Fleming was constantly outwitting them, students at Madison took to calling him the "Silver Fox." At the University of Michigan, Fleming's approach was similar. When an anti-war group wanted to dig a bomb crater on the Diag to show the destruction the Unit- ed States was inflicting on North Vietnam, Fleming refused because digging on the Diag could disrupt plumbing and electrical wiring running under the ground. He found them a safe spot near the Michigan League to dig instead. When some faculty feared that a prominent anti-war radical sched- uled to speak at Hill Auditorium in 1969 would rouse the students to violent protests, Fleming balanced out the program by giving a speech outlining his own, more moderate reasons for opposing the war. The speech garnered national media attention, and then-Vice President Spiro Agnew called Fleming "gut- less." Yet Agnew, the Dick Cheney of an earlier generation, was so unpopu- lar on campus that his criticism of Fleming merely won him points with students and faculty. Fleming navigated treacher- ous waters and emerged mostly unscathedthankstohishabitofcall- ing the cops only as a last resort and his vested belief in dialogue with students - who, he was well aware, happen to be right sometimes. When protesters occupiedNorth Hall to protest the presence of ROTC on campus, Fleming ordered the back door be left unlocked and unguarded, and the protesters left quietly in the night. When campus was divided over whether to sup- port or suppress the Black Action Movement strike in 1970, Fleming eventually brokered a settlement without resorting to heavy-hand- ed tactics like requesting the use of National Guard units to restore order. Not every dispute, however, could be settled without the use of force. When more than a thousand students occupied the LSA Build- ing in September of 1969 to protest the University's failure to set up a student-run bookstore, Fleming ordered Ann Arbor and state police to clear the building. Although he held off on approving police action until 4 a.m. in hopes that some stu- dents would leave, 107 were arrest- ed. The Daily's editorial on the mat- ter was not kind. "Fleming has forced this con- frontation, and Fleming.has asked for a fight," it said, going on to suggest Fleming needed to either change the way he was running the University or step down. Fleming drew fire from all sides. Law-and-order types - like Washt- enaw County Sheriff William Har- vey, The Detroit News editorial page and a conservative alumn who told Flemingshortly before the kill- ings at Kent State that he thought protestors should be shot - criti- cized Fleming for being too toler- ant of campus upset. And though Fleming was generally liberal in his political leanings, much of the counterculture, left was unwill- ing to consider that the University administration could be anything except a repressive force. Fleming was nonetheless proud that no one was ever badly hurt in a disturbance on campus during his tenure, and he generally seemed unfazed by the criticism. He point- ed out in his memoirs that "Since the University. Of course, he had to hide it. Not only could the students not swear as well as the military men and labor leaders Fleming had dealt with previously, but young, idealistic activists just weren't very committed or effective - at least compared to the high power union leaders and corporate lawyers Fleming had mediated. Those dis- putes involved workers' livelihoods and corporations' viability, and the parties involvedon both sides were professionals with deep interests in the outcome. Dealing with relative- ly inexperienced student activists who were divided among them-, selves as often as they were united against the University administra- tion, must have seemed like child's play in comparison. When he was appointed, Flem- ing was offered an opportunity to live in a University-owned resi- dence far from campus to avoid potentially hostile protests at the President's House. Fleming, how- ever, chose the house on campus to be close to the action - and kept a bullhorn so he could make him- self heard over a crowd if needed. Indeed, Fleming made a point of presenting the University's point of view at protests and teach-ins, feel- ing that students would act more moderately if aware of both sides of the issue. Recent University presidents tend to be occupied more with fundraising than with actively fending off attacks on the adminis- tration - and today's activists don't have the following on campus to be very disruptive, if that were their goal anyway. With her academic background in biochemistry, Uni- versity President Mary Sue Cole- man would likely be hard pressed to match Fleming's ability to work through difficult protests without simply calling in the police. Then again, maybe not. It's pos- sible Coleman would shine in the same position if given the chance. But since it doesn't look like today's campus activists will be mustering up a formidable protest any time soon, we'll probably never, know.. Former University president Robben Fleming took office in the late sixties during some of the most turbulent times the University has ever seen. But Fleming handled student protests so deftly he was widely respected - if not widely loved. Fleming has forced this confrontation, and Fleming has asked for a fight. - The Michigan Daily editorial page in 1969 TALKING POINTS Three things you can talk about this week: 1. Placidyl 2. Mating season 3. The upstart Congress And three things you can't: 1. Snow 2. Gerald Ford 3. "I'm From Rolling Stone" - I BY THE NUMBERS The number of views on just one of YouTube's many videos depicting Saddam Hussien meeting his untimely end Number of times it was shown on major television networks Number of billions of dollars it cost Google to acquire YouTube Source: YouTube.com and The New York Times QUOTES OF THE WEEK Certain people are going to have certain fantasies. If someone wants to imagine me with a woman, or a man, or one of each, that's cool with me as long as you keep watching the show." - "Prison Break" star WENTWORTH MILLER on increasingly pervasive rumors speculating on hisdsevuality. Theshom mill resume mith nem episodes Jan. 22. YOUTU BE VIDEO OF THE WEEK Letterman basks in reflected glow of Subway Superman New York's hero of the subways tells David Letterman how he res- cued a man from being flattened by an oncoming subway train in Man- hattan. While for- some time Wesley Autreyinsisted he wasn't a hero, the national media and politicians alike found everything abouthim, includ- ing his attempts to demure, irresist- ibly heroic. In this video, while he seems modest and good-natured enough, it's good to see he's basking in his 15 minutes. The clip could even has some educational value - should you ever find yourself facing off with Man- hattan's A Train. Letterman shows a graphic of how exactly Jones man- aged to wedge himself and another man safely between the tracks so that nothing but his blue hat was damaged. As congressman are touch- ing young boys and the nation is embroiled in a sticky battle over- seas, seeing an everyday superman on the news is genuinely uplifting. Especially if he can wear pink and red and still look good. "All possible steps to ensure something of such a personal and tragic nature did not fall into the wrong hands." - MICHAEL BARNES, an Australian coroner inves- tigating Steve Irwin's death, on the video that report- edly shows a string ray whipping its tail into his heart. The Crocodile Hunter's final special, "Ocean's Deadliest," will air on Animal Planet Jan. 21. "No more surgery for any reason other than medical - until I really need it in my 60s." - Rocker COURTNEY LOVE on one of her New Year's resolutions. Reports surfaced last week that the star had rhinoplasty and lip surgery in Paris. the human instinct seems always to be one of retaliation in force once there is trouble, those who counsel peaceful negotiation'have a hard time gaining much credibility." From his work as a labor arbitra- tor, Fleming knew Walter Reuther, the longtime United Auto Workers president.Fleming invited Reuther to speak to student groups on cam- pus a couple of times and radical students who found the UAW lead- er too tame would try - invariably without success - to defeat him in argument. "(Reuther) loved jousting with students, perhaps because he was much too skilled for them to han- dle," Fleming wrote. I suspect Fleming harbored something of a similar attitude toward many student activists at TREND OF THE WEEK Taking control of your electric bill, hour by hour RANDOM WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE OF THE WEEK "At Last" "At Last" is a 1942 songwritten by Mack Gordonsand Harry Warren and first performed by Glenn Miller. Although the song was a major hit for Miller, it was largely forgotten until it was covered by blues singer Etta James. The song became James' signature song and was the third ina string of successful songs from her Chess Records debut album At Last! Upon its release in April of 1961, "At Last" became her second No. 2 R&B hit and crossed over to pop radio, peaking at No. 23 there. Despite its rather low pop chart standing, the song is well-known and is still played regularly on oldies radio stations. In the decades since its release it has been covered by a number of artists, includingElla Fitzgerald, Nat Ring Cole, Miles Davis, C Hine Dion, Lou Rawls, Eva Cassidy and ChristinaAguilera (who performed the song at her 2005 wedding in dedication to her husband), Joni Mitchell, and most recently Cyndi Lauper on her come-back album, At Last. The EttaJames version remains the most famous (with Miller's coming in a close second), and is a favorite at weddings and wedding receptions due to its romantic lyrics and sweeping orchestration. HMONG From page 5B Lor also mentioned that Osborn was starting an after-school tutoring program. She was worried that the administration would cut it if mostly Hmong students - and not enough black students - took part in the program. There are currently about 100 Hmong students at Osborn, said Kue, who has been with the school for the past 24 years. In earlier years, Osborn had as many as 300 to 400 Hmong students, but families have moved to the suburbs for better job opportunities and safer neighborhoods. Project Lighthouse scholars told Ng last year that fighting between the black and Hmong students used to be a com- mon occurrence. She said most of the fights erupted because of jealousy - "Hmong kids usually get good grades," Ng said. The only possible discrimination she could think of was preju- dice based on the stereotype that Asians "are smarter" or do better in school. Kue said it's difficult being in a minority of a minority group in America. "It's hard for us - we don't get the same treatment," he said. "We've had less opportunities." At the same time, he feels a need for more encouragement in the community itself for kids to pursue higher education. But the belief system of the Hmong in Detroit is evolving, he said. "We don't have many role models in the Hmong communi- ty," Kue said. "There are not a lot of parents with a background in education - but it's growing. I think the Hmong commu- nity is moving forward." Thus the importance of programs encouraging higher edu- cation like the University-affiliated Detroit Asian Youth Proj- ect, a culture and self-building program that mostly works with Hmong teenagers in Northeast Detroit. Hmong like Lytongpao, a Saginaw Valley State and Wayne State University graduate, are also ones to follow. See HMONG, page 7B