The Michigan Daily -Thursday, Merch 14, 1991 - Page 3 Black military members will discuss racism Debate arises over forum sponsorship by Purvi Sh~ah .by Jesse Snyder Daily Staff Reporter In wars throughout U.S. history, African Americans in the military have. fought and died for a nation that hasn't always returned the fa- vor. Tonight, three Tuskegee Air- ,men, members of the respected gall-Black fighter squadron of World War II, will describe their struggles with racism in the mili- tary, and comment on the past and .current situation of Blacks in the armed forces. "We are going to address the history, with stories and vignettes, on how far we've come. We mean- ing Americans," said former fighter pilot Richard Macon, one of the speakers. Macon was shot down and held as a prisoner of war in Nazi Germany for nine months. "All Americans should know about the contributions made by all Americans. The textbooks don'. cover it," he said. Members of the squadron la per named themselves the Tuskegee Airmen, in reference to their seg- regated training base near Tuskegee, Alabama. The Arnold Air Society (AAS), an honorary community service or- ganization affiliated with the Air Force ROTC, is sponsoring the symposium, entitled "African Americans in the Military: Three Tuskegee Airmen Speak Out." "Many people didn't expect African Americans to even be able to fly. But they set records and were more decorated than many white pilots of the World War II era," said LSA sophomore and AAS member Dan Littman. The all-Black 332nd fighter agroup - which fought over North Africa, Sicily, and Eastern Europe - came home with 150 Distin- guished Flying Crosses, a Legion of Merit, and the Red Star of Yu- goslavia. "Not enough has been said about African Americans in the history books. There has been a lot of recent debate about the over- representation of African Ameri- cans in the military, but it took place not just in the Gulf war or Vietnam, but every war. "P ..i, the Revolution," Litt'a said. He 'efended the military, offi- .,ially desegregated in 1948, for opening doors to African Ameri- cans at a time when most were closed. 'Many people didn't expect African Americans to even be able to fly. But they set records and were more decorated than many white pilots of the World War II era' - Dan Littman, LSA sophomore "The military has set the stan- dards and practice in terms of in- tegration. But we were segregated at one time and we have im- provements to make," he said. "It's important that people real- ize the success the military has had with all races. We should ex- amine what the military has done to apply to other factors of civilian life," he added. The symposium will be held from 7:00 to 8:30 pm, in MLB lec- ture room 2. Daily Staff Reporter Debate has stirred even before the introduction of Student Soap- box - the new open forum pro- gram sponsored by the University Activities Center (UAC). The first Student Soapbox will tackle the issue of abortion. The two speakers in the program will be Sarah Weddington, the victori- ous attorney in the Roe v. Wade decision, and Phyllis Schlafly, the woman Ronald Reagan credited as the force behind the defeat of the Equal Rights Amendment. Before finalizing the program, UAC needed a letter of sponsor- ship to use Rackham Auditorium, which is reserved for graduate-re- lated activities. A student organization can use the building, however, if a Univer- sity department is willing to write a letter of sponsorship. Viewpoint Lectures, the UAC committee responsible for Student Soapbox, originally asked the Women's Studies program to spon- sor the event. The Women's Stud- ies program denied the request. Event organizers believed the request was denied because Women's Studies did not want to sponsor an event including Schlafly - a charge Women's Studies denies. "The fact that they didn't ap- prove of this because they didn't approve of one of the views is wrong. They don't have the right to determine what's right or wrong in an issue," said Viewpoint Lectures co-Chair Mark Bernstein. "While I respect the Women's Studies department, I question the wisdom of their espousing one par- ticular viewpoint. While I realize that Mrs. Schlafly's views are not in vogue with the majority of stu- dents today, it is nonetheless our responsibility to present both sides of the coin," added Ben Bass, Viewpoint Lectures co-chair. Women's Studies Director Abi gail Stewart denied opposition to Schlafly led to the refusal. "Nobody approached us about what would be a forum or event which Women's Studies would want to sponsor. Once the format and speakers were decided upon, we were asked to sponsor the proi- gram," she said. "Abortion is x very complex social, ethical, anal legal problem. We would have created a very different forum for those type of issues." If the department were to con- duct the forum, it would encon- pass other aspects of the issue, Stewart said. "We didn't want to polarize an already polarized issue. There was no planning to include the voices of women of color in the forum. That seemed to us to be a very se- rious omission," she added. Bass responded the purpose of Student Soapbox is to present two opposing sides of an issue by po- larizing the forum with two antag- onist speakers. He added, "Race doesn't seem to figure into the abortion debate as a primary moti- vation for who our speikers should be. We went to the heart of the is- sue and Weddington and Schlafly are two women who epitomize the conflicting views that we wanted to represent." UAC President Sarah Jackson said she respected the depart- ment's right to make its own deck sions. "I really think the Women's Studies department has decided rit wasn't good for their department;" she said. "It is the Women's Stud- ies right not to sponsor an eveint that they do not want to sponsor." The forum, which will be held March 21 with authorization from the Communications Department, allows students to speak during an open-mike session. Tastes great! Alexandra Rose, a Residential College senior, mixes a strange brew in a painting class for non-art majors. segregation in U.S. r s THE LIST What's happening in Ann Arbor today Meetings ACT-UP Ann Arbor, weekly meet- ing. Group not affiliated with Revolu- tionary Workers' League. Call 665- 1797 or 662-6282 for info. Union, Rm. ~2203,17:30. Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, ,weekly mtg. Hillel, 7 p.m. Tagar, weekly mtg. Hillel, 8 p.m. College Life, weekly meeting, spon- sored by Campus Crusade for Christ. Dental School, G005 Kellogg Aud., 7 p.m. Persian Gulf Mutual Support, weekly mtg. 3100 Union, 12-1. Amnesty International, weekly mtg. MLB, B-116, 7 p.m. In Focus Filmworks, weekly mtg. Angell Aud D, 7 p.m. °Ultimate Frisbee Club, weekly mtg. Fuller Park, lower fields, 5 p.m. Homeless ActionsCommittee, weekly mtg. MLB B 124, 5:30. Hellenic Students Association, mtg. Call Christine 764-9866 for info. Union, Welker Rm, 8 p.m. Journey Women, women and spirituality group mtg. Guild House, 802 Monroe, 7:30. Speakers "Molecular Beams," Norman Ram- sey, Nobel laureate in physics. 335 West Engineering, noon. "Kamakura Court Memoirs by Women," S. Yumiko Hulvey of the University of Florida. Lane HaIl Commons, noon. Marc Sheehan reads from his poetry. Union, Kuenzel Rm, 12:15. "Multiple Pathways in Policy- Related Careers: The Roles of Research and Policy Training," Lindsay Chase-Lansdale of the University of Chicago. Mason, Developmental Psychology Lounge, 3rd floor, 1-3. "Theoretical Approaches to the Protein Folding Problem," Teresa Head-Gordon of AT&T Bell Laboratories. Chem Bldg, rm 1640, 2 p.m. "Facile Redox Framework Chemistry in Transition Metal- Substituted Aluminophosphate Molecular Sieves," Inchan Choi. Chem Bldg, rm 1640, 4 p.m. "Molecular Dynamics Based on the Density Functional Theory," Shimin Xu. Chem Bldg, rm 1640, 4 p.m. "Meaning, Reference, and In- tentinnallty In the Cammunkction Martha Seger, former Federal Re- serve Governor. Angell Aud. D, 4 p.m. "The U.S. Forest Service: A Historical Perspective and Future Vision," Jeff DeBonis, executive director of the Association of Forest ServiceEmployees for Environmental Ethics. MLB Aud. 4, 5 p.m. "Privatizing Ann Arbor," David DiGiuseppe of the Mackinac Center. Union, Wolverine Rm, 7 p.m. "Changes in Eastern Europe: What Can These Tell Us About the Future of China?" Liu Bin Yan. Rackham Amphitheater, 7:30. "Talking about poetry and something else..." Tato Laviera. Trotter House, 7:30. "Focusing on Human Potential," Duncan Wyeth. St. Thomas Parish Hall, 530 Elizabeth, 7:30. Furthermore Safewalk, nighttime safety walking service. Functions 8-1:30 a.m. Sun.- Thurs. Call 936-1000 or stop by 102 UGLi. Also at the Angell Hall Computing Center 1-3 a.m. Sun. - Thurs. Call 763-4246 or stop by the courtyard. 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 Comput- ing Center, 7-11:00. 611 Church St. Computing Center, Tuesday, Thurs- day, 7-11, Wednesday, 8-10. Free Tax Preparation. Sponsored by VITA until April 15. Union, 3rd floor, 9-5. Russkij Chaj, weekly Russian con- versation practice. MLB 3rd floor con- ference rm., 4-5:00. U of M Shotokan Karate Club, Thursday workout. CCRB Small Gym, 8-10:00. The Yawp literary magazine. Submissions accepted until 3/22 in the box at 1210 Angell. Russian Song Fest, informal group singing, all levels. Call Dave 761- 2694 or Kelly 971-3175 for info. 310 Thayer, #1. Michigan Prison System, weekly seminar. MLB B135, 7:30. "THEM," film. Discussion with di- rector, producer, and writer to follow. Call Michael 662-8481 for info. Angell Aud. D, 7:30. by Shalini Patel Daily Staff Reporter Dr. Ana Santiago discussed the patterns of residential segregation between Puerto Ricans, African Americans, and European Americans last night as part of the first Michigan-Puerto Rican Winter Term Celebration. "It's very clear that Puerto Ri- cans, and you could add other mi- norities, do not have equal access to housing (as whites)," Santiago said. "So they face barriers to the kind of services and amenities that non-Hispanic whites pretty much take for granted." This segregation leads to in- equities which are manifested in poor schools and inadequate police protection, she said. A Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University's Population Studies Center, Santiago addressed what she called the "Puerto Rican Para- dox." While Puerto Ricans occupy a lower socioeconomic position than Blacks, she said, they are less segregated from non-Hispanic GEO Continued from page 1 negotiations will last, both the University and GEO spokespersons said they were uncertain. "It could end at anytime," said University bargainer Colleen Dolan-Greene. "I'm hopeful that with continual pressure by broader membership we can have significant move- ment," said GEO bargainer Alan Zundel. "The fact that they made a small step gives us hope for the fu- ture, but it still isn't enough," he said. whites. However, higher status Puerto Ricans are also segregated from non-Hispanic whites. "There has been a resurgent interest in Puerto Ricans in general in terms of research and scholarship over the past five years," she said, a trend she attributed in part to the continuing decline of their economic state. Forty percent of Puerto Rican families live in poverty, she added. In a study of 59 metropolitan ar- eas, 60 percent of Puerto Ricans and 69 percent of African Americans would have to move to different areas to achieve residential integration with whites, she said. Sponsored by the Puerto Rican Association, the winter celebration is intended to increase awareness about Puerto Ricans and Latinos and the problems they face in the United States. "We also hope to build a coali- tion with other Latino groups and work together to overcome our common problems," said Associa- tion President Raul Medina. If the University and GEO can- not reach an agreement, they might use a mediator from a state labor union, said Roberson. How- ever, he was uncertain about the timing of such a move. "It is a ways off. We don't know for sure if we will because we hope to resolve as much as we can before we go to any kind of mediation," Roberson said, adding that a strike is unlikely. Plans are underway to mobilize GEO members through an informa- tional picket Friday from 10:30 to 12:30. A rally is scheduled for 1:00 in front of the Fleming Building. F o Ud -uys 1E. I: I ,Mr; 1' hinmm f COOKIES ANN ARBOR'S #1 COOKIE 'e ship cookies and gift tins anywhe in the continental U.S.!" s. Peabody's... where you can always get cookie baked with love ---.j K I Q % I bre 1iU mm m, 715 N. UNIVERSITY 761-CHIP AAA v 1~ TIIMK THLaC - e St. day, 1991 MY, Get one medium pizza loaded with cheese and pepperoni and extra thick crust for only m 4 b b s Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are flowin' with green beer, of course-all weekend at Ashley's! Kick off spring this fine St. Patrick's day- we're open at noon on Sunday. + tax. 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