PERSPECTIVES
Friday, May 23, 1986
The Michigan Daily
Page 7
Police insensitive
By Cathy Monagle
On Friday evening, April 18th at 5
a.m., a nude man wearing a mask en-
tered my room. My roommate was
asleep, but I had not yet fallen asleep
as I had studied late this evening. The
man paused inside our room, looking
first to my roommate, then to me. I
reacted. I screamed. The man ran out
of the room, and I ran after him. I
stopped myself abruptly, realizing the
struggle that would ensue if I were to
catch this math. My point is this: it
could have happened to you--to any
woman who attends this university, to
any woman who lives in this town. The
reality of this incident makes one
thing clear. Rape does not happen to
"other" women, it is a living threat
that should remain a conscious
thought in our minds at all times.
Housing security responded to the
call, coming to the room for the
report. The first man joked, "I guess
you didn't get a description." The
second security guard concluded the
incident was an exhibitionist prank.
Dissatisfied with these responses, I
contacted the Ann Arbor Police. The
police officer also dismissed the in-
cident as exhibitionism. I fail to see
how a nude man entering a darkened
room with two women sleeping inten-
ds to "reveal" himself. Was this a
humorous drama? Were we, women
and unwilling participants, supposed
to awaken and respond, "Yes, I am
deeply ahocked at your diaplay of
nudity--however, I can't quite make
out the form of your body. Would you
mind turning on the light for full ef-
fect?" The abaurdity of this aituation
is clear. It is necessary for a struggle
to ensue to insure that a real threat
F~ 1W N oWCA1bO MPARE.
waa preaent? I think not. o M 6 p PR
Another interesting point to con-
sider w as the reaction of individuals a ds1m wE A VO ?
around me. I waa informed how to
think, specifically that I was not to
overreact, that my reaponae ahould be J
politely contained and ahould not be
discussed. Are we really so little con-
cerned with one another's welfare
that instead of offering support and
inaight we of fer "corrective"
thinking? If so, we are in an appalling
state of consciousness. This implies
we abdicate responsibility toward 1.
other individuals personally and DOW
societally.
This experience has conveyed one
overarching thought -- we cannot
remain quiet. PIRGIM (Public In-
terest Research Group) recently
released statistics concerning rape
incidence: one in four women will be
raped in their lifetime and 80 percent
of college women will experience
sexual assault during the course of
their college career. These statistics
infer that sexual assault will be a
direct encounter, a living reality that
is directly experienced by the
majority of women. How will we an-
ticipate this possibility? How will we
plan a necessary response? What
response will we offer to victims of
sexual assault? Finally, we should
question the lack of publicity concer-
ning daily occurences of rape and in--.
sist on accountability by this in- wt College Press Service
stitution. The current response is
inexcusable. We should ask more of
ourselves and of the university in Qo ca
responding to the issue of rape. I hope Students should think, not learn
we do so. t i k
Monagle is a graduate student.
From the Daily archives...
Feb. 27, 165, news story-
"Prof. Hugh M. Smythe...maintained that the only
solution to what he termed the 'potentially dangerous situation'
in South Africa is discussion of the problems which have resulted in and
from the apartheid policy by all the parties involved."
Feb. 28, 1965, news story-
" 'Pressures are growing' for moves toward ending apartheid by inter-
national action-such as economic sanctions, he (Peter Hopper Jr., of the
State Department's Office of South African Affairs), said. 'The major
.powers will be prodded by African states that see the indignity of their
brothers in South Africa,' he said..
'We condemn apartheid,' he said, 'but one can't dictate to a sovereign
government.' The U.S. policy is to 'keep urging leaders in authority to ap-
proach the public from a realistic point of view.'"
We encourage our readers to use this
space to discuss and respond to issues of
their concern. Whether those topics
cover University, Ann Arbor com-
munity, state, national, or international
issues in a straightforward or conven-
tional manner, we feel such a dialogue
is a crucialfunction of the Daily.
By David Kaufman University of Michigan, have?.
_________________________ Zero.
Such a program is useless. Instead
A liberal arts education should ex- of holding students hostage for four
pose one to the sum total of the human years, the University should hand out,
race, and the world in general, ina free upon acceptance, a set of En-
and open setting. There ought to be cyclopedia Britannica and a diploma.
freedom for open discourse. Study Most of what is learned here could be
must encompass as much as possible, received through these volumes or
including Economics, Mathematics, from books available in most
History, Sociology, Languages, Arts libraries. What is taught here is how
Physics, Psychology, Chemistry, to memorize, how to recall, and how
Philosophy, Literature, Politics, An- to guess. Most examinations prove
thropology, and Theology. As much as this fact. A liberal arts education in-
possible must be read and digested jects knowledge into students. Studen-
concerning these topics. Exposure is ts "learn" and then reveal to their
important. Even if one does not fully examiners how much they have
understand a subject matter, this type "learned". A simple mechanical
of education will acquaint one with process is used. Multiple choice
many fields. Because of this fact, it examinations are easily conquered.
becomes easier to decide where one Even an essay test can be beaten by
would like to continue their studies, if reading as much as possible ina short
one so chooses. period of time and putting this on
What kind of success does the paper. What does one do after four
University of Michigan have in years of this? Usually, one gains the
following this pattern of a liberal arts ability to take examinations and
education? Excellent. Most in- probably exposure to many facts.
dividuals are unable to enroll in as Time decreases the amount of recall.
many classes as offered, even over a One leaves here four years older and
four year period. The depth and not much smarter.
breath of knowledge available here is What does it mean to be "smart?"
staggering. Surely there are few If pure recall of facts is required, then
places that can offer so much to so there are indeed many "smart" in-
many individuals. The freedom to dividuals here. Unfortunately, I do not
choose one's program is virtually belong to this elite group. One must
unlimited. Obviously such a strong not be taught facts, but rather learn
academic liberal arts program is how to get at these facts. Adapting the
valuable. What value does such a above definition, those studying
program, the one offered at the Library Science are among the most
intelligent on campus because they
are dedicating their lives to locating
facts for themselves and for others.
Instead of learning, one must be
taught how to learn. One must
discover how to think, how to analyze,
and how to be critical. One must be
able to write, to understand, and to
reason. One must develop creativity
and an outlet for this spirit. This is
what is important.
A liberal arts education does not
provide these abilities. It never could
and it never will. Instead, it is only
able to provide facts and features. It
is not complex. Represented here are
different skills to grasp. They are not
"taught". One must gain these by
themself. An education described
above can only foster and facilitate
such development. Independently,
one must grow and develop using the
clues left behind by interested in-
structors.
In order to foster such individual
development, "teachers" must stress
analysis and discussion, not
memorization. They should highlight
understanding and application, in-
stead of guessing. They should show
the structure and grammar in order
for one to develop their ability to write
and think logically. In short, they
must emphasize thinking, instead of
learning.
Kaufman is a masters student in
the Institue of Public Policy.