The Michigan Daily -Thursday, February 21,1991--Page 3

Speakers claim
media coverage
Sof war is biased
by Joanna Broder

Controversy
continues over

4

Perles position

Are members of the University
community and residents of Ann
Arbor upset by the media's cover-
age of the Gulf War?
At least some are.
Members of an audience which
half-filled the Rackham Graduate
'School Auditorium last night ap-
plauded two speakers from media
watch organizations.
Rackham graduate student Lau-
rie Engle said she was appalled by
the way the U.S. media was cover-
ing the war. "It has caused me to
wonder who is controlling the me-
dia in this war," she said.
*You're not supposed
to be rooting for one
-,side, you're supposed
to be reporting'
- Martin Lee
FAIR
Matt Hayek, a junior in the
'Residential College agreed the me-
dia's bias has been very obvious.
"A lot of what we hear con-
cerns military aspects of war.
Weapons, Fourth of July type im-
agery, the amazement of our tech-
nological capabilities, and its au-
dience has become caught up with

what we can do with our military
technology," he said.
The speakers, Dr. Nabeel Abra-
ham, a professor and contributing
editor for the media analysis pub-
lication Lies of Our Times, and
Martin Lee, an award-winning in-
vestigative reporter who co-
founded Fairness and Accuracy in
Reporting (FAIR), spoke of the
media's lopsided and incomplete
coverage of the war.
Abraham noted that two com-
mon trends in the print media are a
"love fest with our generals" and a
"demonization of Saddam."
He also demonstrated how
many newspapers downplayed cer-
tain war-related events. One such
event involved Iraq's late August
proposal to withdraw from
Kuwait. The New York Times
severely downplayed this event,
Abraham said.
During his address, Abraham
told a joke he had heard substitut-
ing PNN (Pentagon News
Agency) for CNN. The audience
clapped and laughed.
Lee focused his speech on the
biased coverage within the broad-
cast media.
"You're not supposed to be
rooting for one side, you're sup-

AMY FELDMAN/Daily
Nabeel Abraham, a professor at Henry Ford Community College, spoke
last night at Rackham Auditorium on media biases in reporting the Gulf
War.

by Melissa Peerless
Daily Higher Education Reporter
The controversy surrounding the
dual appointment of George Perles
as both Michigan State University
football coach and athletic director
has recently returned to the spot-
light.
A Lansing television station re-
cently aired an editorial saying
that if Perles was not permitted to
keep both jobs, all MSU employ-
ees holding dual positions could
file a class action suit against the
university.
"The editorial said that George
may benefit from a potential law-
suit. That brought the issue back
into the public eye," said Ken
Hoffman of the MSU Athletic De-
partment.
In January 1990, the MSU
Board of Trustees voted 5-3 to hire
Perles as MSU's new athletic di-
rector and rehire him as head foot-
ball coach.
The Associated Press released
a story last week saying that five
of eight MSU's current trustees
opposed Perles' dual role. But
Hoffman said that the Trustees do
not recall having taken part in the
AP survey.
Perles' dual role became effec-
tive in July 1990. He received no
extra pay for his added responsibil-
ities and was guaranteed tenure for
both jobs as long as his perfor-
mance is satisfactory. The trustees
planned to review the situation af-

ter one year.
MSU President John DiBiaggio
and others objected to contract
stipulations granting Perles tenure
for both jobs until it was detet-
mined that he was no longer per-
forming adequately. However, he
would be the one to rate his own
performance. Many believed this
represented a conflict of interest.
Although the issue is back in
the spotlight, MSU officials and
trustees are planning to adhere to
the original plan and not review
the situation until July.
MSU Director of Public Rela-
tions Terry Denbow said, "There's
absolutely noth-
ing going on.
The whole thing .
was in place
since last Jan- C
uary to review in
July and we're
planning for
that."
Craig Appel,
a MSU junior, Perles
said, "I think
that he's a bad football coach and
he shouldn't be athletic director.
It's a bad idea anyway. It brings up
the opportunity for dishonesty.'
Many felt that the Trustee4'
Jan. 1990 search for a new athletic
director should have been more
widespread and should have in-
cluded women and members of
minority groups.

posed to be reporting," he said.
Lee also pointed to subtle me-
dia biases, such as including Iraqi
civilian deaths in the term
"collateral damage" while calling
Israeli citizens "civilians."
He also criticized television
news broadcasts for failing to in-
clude the voices of anti-war
movement leaders and sympathiz-
ers in their broadcasts stressing in

order to truly assess policy "you
need diverse and antagonistic
sources."
He described journalists as
lacking the "critical distance" from
the government reporters must
maintain in order to be fair and ac-
curate. What television viewers
get from the media is cheerleading,
boosterism, and "ooing and
ogling" over technological
prowess, Lee said.


Sheriff to combat racial

con

Lynne Cohn
Daily City Reporter
Washtenaw County Sheriff
Ronald Schebil met this week with
citizens who voiced concern about
'alleged racial harassment in the
sheriff's department.
"I became aware of some al-
4eged racial complaints through
statements Larry Hunter had made
in the paper," Schebil said.
Three men filed specific com-
plaints Monday, arguing the vari-
ous citations they had been issued
,were racially motivated, Schebil
,aid.
Two people met with Schebil
Wednesday, one who had specific,
,but "apparently not racially moti-
vated" coiplaints and one woman
who voiced general concerns. Four
pf the five complainants were
African Americans.
Schebil said he does not recall
any Ann Arbor residents making

complaints.
Hunter, an Ann Arbor Coun-
cilmember (D-First Ward),
claimed he was stopped by an of-
ficer from the Sheriff's department
earlier this month, while riding in
the passenger seat of a friend's car.
Hunter said the officer asked him
to step out of the vehicle and show
identification without probable
cause.
"The concern is that law en-
forcement officials are being
overly zealous and stopping or
frisking African American males,"
Hunter said.
"If this is true, I obviously am
very concerned about it," Schebil
said. "I am always available to re-
ceive complaints from citizens;
the meetings were trying to make
it as easy as possible."
Schebil said it is not their pol-
icy to cause racially motivated
problems, and he wants to put an

end to it.
"We have not had a problem
that has been brought to my atten-
tion in the past," he said. "I am
concerned that there is a general
perception of the public about this
department - particularly in the
minority community."
Hunter said open appointments
with law enforcement officials pre-
sent was not the best idea.
"One of the greatest fears is re-
tribution," Hunter said. "The fear
of... malicious action is alive and
real."
"It's as if (people) need to put
a bag over their heads to testify."
Hunter suggested public meet-
ings at which law enforcement of-
ficials are-not present.
"I have had enough experience,
and I am determined," Hunter said.
"I am not afraid."
The Ann Arbor Police Depart-
ment is also concerned about

nplaints
racial harassment and alleged
racially motivated problems.
"This is a very race conscious
police department," said Acting
Chief of Police William Hoover.
"In 1989 there was a... survey to
see what the community thought of
our department. There was some
concern of... incidents involving
minorities."
Hoover said the department had
an eight-hour training session for
every employee last fall on how to
be racially unbiased when han-
dling sensitive issues.
"I think if you were to ask
many minority individuals, they
would say yes, there are definitely
some problems," said Coun-
cilmember Thais Anne Peterson
(D-Fifth Ward). "The police de-
partment is trying to address the
problems and combat them with
sensitivity training."


Assembly members

a

react to Emphasizing
Student Power party
by Jav Garcia

I


CLARIFICATION
yesterday's story on deputization reported that the University currently
deputizes security officers through the County Sheriff's Department. The
University currently deputizes police officers through the County Sher-
iff's office.

Conference tackles
racism on campus

Daily MSA Reporter
The announcement of a new
party vying for seats in next
month's Michigan Student Assem-
bly (MSA) elections has elicited a
variety of reactions from current
assembly members.
Emphasizing Student Power
(ESP) is a progressive party dedi-
cated to student concerns, said
LSA sophomore Eric Stempien,
who will run for president of the
assembly.
Several assembly members said
they thought the new party would
bring greater competition to the
elections.
"A new party would make peo-
ple look more to issues. It will
bring out more competition, and I
feel competition brings out the
best in people," said Campus
Governance Committee Chair
Lynn Chia.
LSA Rep. and presidential can-
didate on the Conservative Coali-
tion (CC) ticket James Green said
he looked forward to the competi-
tion brought by ESP. "I always
welcome more competition. I think
that it is healthy," he said.
LSA Rep. Hunter VanValken-
burgh said ESP would probably not
take many votes away from CC

but might affect the party to be
formed by former members of Ac-
tion. The party has not yet been
named, he said.
LSA Rep. Greg Morrison
thought ESP's platform was not
specific enough. "Their platform Is
kind of vague. The things (ES?)
said seem to be held universally
among all the candidates that run
for MSA. I would like to see some-
thing that distinguishes them," he
said.
"The name is reminiscent of
third parties that have done poorly
in MSA elections in the past,"
Morrison added.
Green also discussed ESP and
Stempien's role in last fall's elec-
tions. Stempien ran for a seat on
the assembly under the Action
party and lost.
"I think that its interesting that
one of the people that was running
the Action campaign (last fall)
feels the need to start a new
party," Green said.
"I think it's indicative of the
disillusionment that many students
across this campus feel toward the
radical left. It doesn't surprise me
that the Action party is splinter-
ing," he added.

by Joshua Meckler

THE LIST
What's happening in Ann Arbor today

Meetings
ACT-UP Ann Arbor, weekly
'meeting. Group not affiliated with
r "Revolutionary Workers' League. Call
665-1797 or 662-6282 for info. Union,
Rm. 2209, 7:30.
ACT-UP,"weekly meeting. Union,
Rm. 2209,7:30.
Tagar, weeklymeeting. Hillel, 8 p.m.
College Life, weekly meeting,
sponsored by Campus Crusade for
Christ. Dental School, G005 Kellogg
Aud., 7 p.m.
In Focus Filmworks, weekly mtg.
1051 Frieze, 7 p.m.
Persian Gulf Mutual Support,
weekly mtg. 3100 Union, 12-1.
Amnesty International, weekly mtg.
MLB, B-116, 7 p.m.
U of M Pre-Med Club, mass mtg.
Union, Anderson Rm, 6:30.
Rainforest Action Movement, mtg.
School of Natural Resources, rm
1040,7 p.m.
Homeless Action Committee, mtg.
219 Angell, 5:30.
Speakers
"The Evolution of Patriarchy,"
Barbara Smuts. Rackham, East
Lecture Rm, 4 p.m.
"Spectroscopic Investigation of the
Intercalation of Layered Lead
Diiodide," Lorraine Yu-Hallada.
Chem Bldgrm 1640, 4 p.m.
"Computational Studies of Ligand-
Macromolecule Interactions and

Romance: Strategies For Success."
International Center, rm 9, noon.
"Reconstruction of Binary Images,"
Charles Kooperberg of the University
of California, Berkeley. 443 Mason, 3
p.m.
"Cutting Back the Bushes:
Deconstruction, Marxism, and
Feminism in Contemporary
Literature," Gregory Lucente.
Rackham East Conference Rm, 8 p.m.
Furthermore
Safewalk, nighttime safety walking
service. Functions 8-1:30 a.m. Sun.-
Thurs. Call 936-1000 or stop by 102
UGU.
Northwalk, North Campus nighttime
safety walking service. Functions 8-
1:30 a.m. Sun.-Thurs. Call 763-WALK
or stop by 2333 Bursley.
ECB Peer Writing Tutors available
to help with your papers Sunday-
Wednesday, Angell/Haven Computing
Center, 7-11:00. 611 Church St.
Computing Center, Tuesday,
Thursday, 7-11, Wednesday, 8-10.
Russks Cha, weekly Russian
conversation practice. MLB 3rd floor
conference rm., 4-5:00.
U of M Shotokan Karate Club,
Thursday workout. CCRB Small Gym,
8-10:00.
Maple Symbolic Mathematics
System Symposium. Chrysler Center
Auditorium, 2 p.m.
"What is the Revolutionary
Workers League?" forum. East

A videoconference shown at
three University locations yester-
day discussed racism on campus
and offered solutions to the
problem.
The live broadcast included
four profiles of real-life incidents
on college campuses.
Harvard University, where few
overt acts of racism have been re-
ported, was nevertheless faulted
for its slow response to the needs
of its Afro-American Studies De-
partment, and for only employing
two tenured Black faculty mem-
bers to teach at the undergraduate
level.
The conference also examined
the University of North Carolina-
Chapel Hill (UNC). Though not of-
ficially segregated, the majority of
Black and white populations at
UNC live on opposite sides of
campus.

"You can go four years here
without making a friend of another
race," one UNC student said.
Panel member Na'im Akbar, a
former University student, reacted
to the UNC issue of separatism,
saying, "Whenever African Amer-
icans choose to be with each
other, everyone says they're radi-
cals, militants, and reverse-
racists."
The panel offered three main
solutions, including involving all
members of the university commu-
nity in the fight against racism,
educating them aboutdthe sensitiv-
ity of these issues, and providing a
way for students of different ethnic
backgrounds to openly discuss
their feelings.
Other proposed solutions in-
cluded mandatory diversity classes
and strict codes of conduct to
eliminate overt acts of racism.

U offers new Jamaica
study abroad program

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by Jackie Glick
University students wishing to
study abroad now have an addi-
tional country and a warm climate
to travel to - Jamaica.
The University Office of Inter-
national Programs, in conjunction
with the center for Afroamerican
and African Studies (CAAS), will
offer a new study abroad program
to _._ inn _i .:_%A ,a 1 ,0

Carribean and Africa. This is'the
second program to the Carribean
sponsored by the University; the
first was to Barbados in 1987.
Students participating in the
program to Jamaica will study the
history, politics, and culture of the
country. Haniff said there will be
frequent guest lectures from people
who hold high positions in Ja-
maican society, such as a newspa-
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