ON
I
988
The Michigan Daily - Page 7
blocks peace
-_----
garbage truck to
:k and would have
en stopped, it was
y high profile and
. The significance
ty with the people
by U.S. veterans,
tration. The par-
s, for it calls into
e wars of the past,
of State Schultz's refusal to visit Nicaragua on his re-
cent trip to Central America, the expected July 26 vote
on contra aid, and the involvement of the U.S. ambas- '
sador in anti-Sandinista demonstrations are all part of
the same pattern. However, the Veterans Peace Con-
voy and other concerned U.S. citizens should not be
prevented from trying to alleviate the suffering of
Nicaraguan civilians simply because the Reagan ad-
ministration decides to escalate its unpopular war
against Nicaragua.
Despite the administration's attempts to avoid a ju-
dicial evaluation of its interpretation of the embargo,
the veterans have filed a civil suit reasonably demand-
ing that vehicles be classified as humanitarian aid and
exempt from the embargo. A ruling in favor of the
veterans would be a move toward justice for both
Nicaraguan and U.S. citizens.
However, until Congress or Reagan rescinds the 2INt_
embargo itself, the United States remains responsible
for causing the human suffering which the veterans and
others are trying to relieve. The embargo is an execu- a r c u se i
tive order issued by Reagan under the authority granted
him in the International Emergency Powers Act. This THIS TIME IT SEEMS THE UNIVERSITY has kicked
act stipulates that an embargo can be imposed on any the wrong student.
country that poses an unusual and extraordinary threat A
to the national security of the United States. A new chapter of the David and Goliath saga of
The notion that Nicaragua fulfills these qualifica- graduate student Harold Marcuse vs. the City of Ann
tions is farcical. That the embargo is part and parcel of Arbor and the University Regents unfolded last Friday
tios i frcial.Tht te mbago s artandpacelofwhen Marcuse's attorneys filed a civil suit against
Reagan's larger agenda for U.S. control of Nicaragua is wn au ' a tt '
abundantly clear. Groups like the Veteran's Peace those two monolithic institutions.
Convoy will continue to challenge the administration Marcuse's struggle dates back to a CIA recruitment
and emerge as powerful symbols of resistance. Hope- protest last November at the Student Activities
fully, the courts will underscore the legitimacy of their Building. Marcuse claims he was beaten without
mission. provocation by Ann Arbor police and University
NOT
ights back
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'est a reace
I the border.
/ar as well. In the
ice Convoy must
n carrying out its
is part of a larger
on the Nicaraguan
sic war. Secretary
nderstands racism:
kate approach
RS recently created is teaching diversity. Unfortunately, most students buy
>f Diversity. This the argument that in this manner they are also truly
rsity's reliance on learning about racism.
ss the problem of The realities of racism, both at this institution and
r, is not adequately in society at large, lie far- beyond the notion of
ing multicultural- "diversity." This is a society in which the infant
t acts. In order to mortality rate of the city of Detroit is comparable to
this campus, the that of many Third World countries; more black males
willing to accept go to prison than go to college in the state of Michi-
ge its own role in gan; and minorities are the main constituents of the
and in society at country's permanent economic underclass. These are
true manifestations of racism in the United States.
h to appease anti-
eda attentonas The mission of an institution such as the University
cist incidents and should be to challenge the societal structures which
usual, administra- reinforce racism. What the University refuses to ac-
Jniversity's public knowledge is that through its own practices it is rein-
challenge racism; forcing racism.
hat with his now- If this University is truly interested in fighting
ire the University racism, it would examine who it educates and what it
"minorities would teaches them. The University, using culturally biased
admission tests, such as the SAT and ACT have been
a strategy which proven to be, eliminates many students who are quite
activists, appear to eager and able to learn. Additionally, the University's
dress racism, and largely Eurocentric curriculum only reinforces elitist
dize the white, eli- ideologies.
st strategy is, in a The manifestations of racism run far deeper than in-
rs to be acceptable; dividual cases of harassment or a lack of multicultural
ld all learn to get appreciation. Racism is tied up in a complex political,
ine another's cul- socioeconomic system through which one group of
n with all the other people is consistently oppressed by another. The
es children like to problem deserves a much more serious response from
erd," "fatso"), and the University administration than educational pro-
harmful, and that gramming around the concept of "diversity."
security officers. This claim has been supported by
several eyewitnesses. The alleged assailants include
University Director of Public Safety Leo Heatley and
his assistant, Robert Patrick, who kicked Marcuse in
the groin. Predictably, Marcuse was arrested on
trumped up charges of assault, which were later
dropped, while Patrick, Heatley, and the rest of the
gang went unpunished.
This scenario follows the usual pattern of mental
and physical intimidation that campus security and
police employ in response to peaceful student protest.
A few dissenting students are singled out, beaten and
arrested with the effect of throwing everyone into a
state of fear and confusion and diverting the protest
away from its original intent. Then, months later, the
charges are quietly dropped. The whole incident, or so
the image-conscious University administration hopes,
is then eventually forgotten after a brief spate of out-
raged letters to the editor.
Marcuse's case is a gutsy departure from this tire-
some story. By pressing his suit, Marcuse has not
only challenged a University administration that al-
lows campus recruiting by terrorist organizations, but
also has begun a process that will try to uncover the
ways in which the CIA, campus security and the Ann
Arbor police coordinate the suppression of student dis-
sent.
The suit's allegations serve as strong arguments
against deputization of campus security officers - a
move being strongly pushed by Heatley and, more
importantly, by Interim President Robben Fleming.
Arming security officers only invites more police vio-
lence and intimidation at student protests.
Since incoming University President James Duder-
stadt salivates at the prospect of increased campus
military research, increasingly more vehement protests
against the University's support of the institutions of
oppression and death are inevitable. It will take the
kind of persistent moral courage exhibited by Marcuse
to change the priorities of the University.
Anyone opposed to the University's increasing sup-
port for the institutions such as the CIA and the Pen-
tagon, should support Marcuse's stance of principled
opposition in every way possible.
Victimspeaks out
BY KATHERINE MCCALLUM
On Tuesday, June 28, 1988, I was the victim of
fourth degree criminal sexual conduct at East Quad, at
the hands of someone who was most likely a high-
school football player staying on campus in connec-
tion with the Camps of Champions. As rude and
humiliating an experience that was to endure and to
deal with, the events which followed in connection
with the assault have been immeasurably more har-
rowing. I decided to report the attack (to "Tell
Someone," as the posters that I see around campus
exhort me to do) to Housing Security and to the
administration of the Camps; and the response I have
received has revealed a disgusting level of ignorance
and sexism in those organizations. Attempting to have
my experience taken seriously has proved a more
sickening outrage than an assault by an unknown
attacker could ever be, for it has shown me that my
attacker was not just an isolated pervert who saw an
opportunity to take advantage the bustle of the Quad
and of his relative anonymity there, but that he is a
product of the socialized misogyny which is
commonplace in our society as well as he is a product
of the institutionalized bigotry which is commonplace
at this university.
One may find it hard to believe that anything could
be more disempowering, more humiliating, more
outrage-inspiring than being sexually assaulted. In my
case, reporting the attack certainly has been.
Yes, my attacker disempowered me, grabbing me
with no invitation and treating me as nothing more
than an object. But the Housing Security Officers who
first brushed off my complaint with a casual "Hey,
just tell them not to touch you," and then took a
See ASSAULT, page 8
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