NEWS
afehouse starts new ininority support1
Wednesday. May 29,1996-The Michigan Daily -3
y lanet 1Adamy
or the Daly
Safehouse, an Ann Arbor women's
helter, is starting a new support group,
Speaking Truth," designed to help
vomen of color who have experienced
iolence while in an intimate relation-
hip.
According to Safehouse Coordinator
*Non-Residential Services Dawn
eimstoll, Safehouse started the group
o meet the differing needs of women of
olor.
"We wanted to have a unique support
roup for women of color because they
nay havea different cultural experience
hat may lead them to deal with domes-
ic violence in different ways,"
eimstoll said.
Leimstoll said she hopes "Speaking
[ruth" will provide "a space where
en of color have common ground
vi cultural and ethical issues."
Safehouse has started groups for
vomen of color in the past, but they
tave not been successful because of
>oor attendance. Leimstoll speculated
hat the failure may be due to the fact
that not enough women knew about the
group, or because women may not have
felt comfortable coming to Safehouse.
Leimstoll says the meetings will be
held at Safehouse until the end of May,
but that they will consider moving them
to a neutral location if they feel it nay
encourage more
women to come.®
The group is My h
looking for volun-
teers to serve as pan- that this
elists who would
give their input as an eempo
women of color."
Safehouse oper- experieA
ates to provide a the
shelter for women WOW
and children who i
have been victims of
domestic violence. It -
also works to change Safeh
public ideas about
domestic violence
through lobbying and public speaking.
Safehouse offers support groups for all
women, as well as personal sessions
where women can discuss options with
FM
legal advocates.
Leimstoll said she hopes "Speaking
Truth" will offer more than just a
chance for women of color to feel com-
fortable discussing domestic violence.
"We are hoping to provide a ground
for women of color to come together
and feel safe.
We want it to be
ape ,,, . 5 responsive to
their needs and
j beco $es we hope the
women will
weinn define it for
thte ms selves,"
ice for all Leimstoll said.
"My hope for
en this group, as
(!i with all our
" groups, is that
- Dawn Leimstoll this becomes an
ouse coordinator empowering
experience for
all the women
involved.'
"Speaking Truth" will be held from
6:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursdays at
Safehouse, located at 4100 Clark Road.
SU's law school to host death penalty symposium
renaS Baybik to look back at when Michigan allowed of "The Death In America, and
)a y Staff Reporter the death penalty. Robert Domer, a former death row
In honor of Michigan's 150th anniver- "Michigan is the oldest western gov- inmate from Ohio who came close to
ary of the abolition of capital punish- ernment without the death penalty," said execution. Domer is also a retired
ment, the Thomas M. Cooley Law Justin Brooks, chairperson of the sym- instructor at the University of Akron, a
School will be holding a symposium posium, and professor of criminal law law school graduate and former bank
against the death penalty this Friday in and procedure at the law school. "This vice president.
Lansing on Michigan State University's symposium will focus on why Currently, 38 states practice capital
campus. Michigan doesn't have the death penal- punishment. "It's an important
The daylong conference will begin ty." anniversary, particularly as Michigan
at 9:30 a.m. and will run until 8 p.m.. Organizers said that because death looks around and sees many of its
I yill feature national and interna- penalty advocates make annual attempts neighbors in the death-penalty camp,'
t al anti-death penalty speakers, in the Michigan legislature to instill the Brooks said. "Michigan is surround-
including scholars, lawyers and a for- death penalty, this symposium will be a ed by death-penalty states, including
mer death-row inmate. The sympo- prime opportunity to identify the prob- Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania
sium is not scheduled to be a debate lems with capital punishment. and New York."
among speakers, although questions Some of the key speakers include "This is a time to pause and think
may be entertained during some ses- Attorney David Bruck of South why we don't want the death penalty
sions. Carolina, a lifelong opponent of the in our state and why we should never
"As far as I know no one else is doing, death penalty. Bruck successfully have one" Brooks said.
Making music
Eric Mallon, an LSA junior, strums his guitar late yesterday afternoon on his
porch with his friend from the University of Massachusetts, Mike Endlich.
anything like this anywhere around the
state," said Sharon Matchette, deputy
s ctor of communications at the law
school. "This is the biggest event that
we've put on as far as offering to the pub-
lic.'
Matchette said the purpose of the
event is to educate individuals on the
hazards of having the death penalty and
argued against capital punishment in
the Susan Smith trial. Franklin Sonn, a .
South African ambassador to the
United States, is also scheduled to lee-
ture on his country's abolition of th
death penalty.
Other lecturers include Prof. Hugo
Bedau of Tufts University, a leadin
scholar on the death penalty and authorCE
':.
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