bE eidijgta iatIg Ninety-eight years of editorial freedom Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Ann Arbor, MI PERMIT NO. 13 Vol. XCVIIINo. 13S Ann Arbor, Michigan--Friday, August 12, 1988y Alleged anti-gay acts spur protest 300 rally a ;ai rst police BY ANNA SENKEVITCH They criticized the officers Nearly 300 angry, chanting Ann initially refusing to pursue the ne Arbor citizens and visitors turned out by attacker, not asking the victim in front of the Nectarine Ballroom she wanted medical assistance, and last Tuesday evening to protest alleg- portedly laughing to one anot edly discriminatory behavior by city while conducting the on-scene inv police officers against lesbians and tigation. gay men. In a brief speech, Julie Steit The demonstration was motivated director of the Sexual Assault I by a July 27 assault and battery, in vention and Awareness Center,s which a woman was verbally and the fault does not lie exclusiv physically attacked outside the Nec- with the police. She insisted the tarine and the Tower Plaza apartment tire community must challenge s complex because her assailant be- ist, racist, and homophobic behav lieved she was a lesbian. The protesters afterward mare Protest organizers Linda Kurtz of past Tower Plaza apartments an the Lesbian and Gay Rights Organiz- police department headquarters. ing Committee and University grad- The group presented a list uate student Patti Myers told the demands, as duty commander Cap crowd police officers Scott Selley and Paul Bunten listened, to the po Lieutenant Harold Tinsey handled the department and the city of Ann incident negligently because the vie- bor. They included: tim told them she was attacked as a -police consistency in dea] result of her sexual orientation. with assault victims; "We will not tolerate having our -educating the community rights violated because we are lesbi- creating anti-violence task forces. ans, because we are gay men," Myers publishing statistics on prejud said. See Police, Page for ear- m if re- her ves- ner, Pre- said ely en- sex- ior. hed d to of tam lice Ar- ling by and ice- 4 Stop deputization openp An open letter to Washtenaw County Sheriff Ronald Schebil: University President Robben W. Fleming has asked you to deputize two campus security officers and authorize them with the power of arrest. As University students and Ann Arbor residents, the members of Michigan Daily's editorial board are concerned about this request. We believe University control of county deputies would lead to civil rights violations within the University community and would exacerbate rather than solve the various problems created by acts of student protest, which Fleming identifies as the central reason for deputization. Under the existing arrangement, the rules of conduct at the University are subject to agreement between the students, faculty and administrators. Under the new arrangement, the accountability of the University government to the community would be weakened. Deputization of campus security would eliminate important checks and balances within the legal system. Fleming has said that deputized security are necessary because "once we ask the police to intervene, we no longer have any direct control over how the situation is handled." We are confident you will agree that justice is not served by University control over law enforcement. Tellingly, Fleming's request to you coincides with a directive to the new President to draft "such rules of conduct and enforcement procedures as are necessary" to control student disruption. University rules and state laws are not the same. Yet the officers deputized under your authority would be charged with enforcing both sets of regulations. We fear the University administration desires to control the power of arrest for its own ends rather than enforcing the laws of the state of Michigan. As the elected official in charge of law enforcement for the county, you must be troubled by the University's distrust of civil and criminal law and Fleming's stated desire to avoid "resorting to" the criminal justice system. For these reasons, we ask that you join us in opposing deputization of University personnel. -The Michigan Daily JOHN MUNSON/Daily University students and Ann Arbor citizens protest the failure of two Ann Arbor Police Department officers to pursue the assailant of a woman allegedly because the victim was a lesbian.