4A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 26, 1995 El1w £kbiguuOatiI4 JUDTH KAFKA Tim~ FINE PR1n'r 420 Maynard Street Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan MICHAEL ROSENBERG Editor in chief JULIE BECKER JAMES M. NASH Editorial Page Editors Coporate .sponsor'k> ucheapens vigd against domestic violence Unless otherwise noted, unsigned editorials reflect the opinion of a majority of the Daily's editorial board. All other articles, letters, and cartoons do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Michigan Daily. Standardized TAs LSA-SG makes wise proposal for oversight lthough teaching assistants are neces- tlsary to University life, they should be held to the same standards of merit as faculty, and their jobs should not be automatic. This is the point of LSA-Student Government President Richard Bernstein's latest on-tar- get proposal. Dubbed the "Proposal to Improve the Quality of Teaching Assistants," Bernstein's suggested revisions would encourage pro- fessors to take more responsibility for their TAs. The plan would couple unannounced professorial visits to discussion sections and labs with increased emphasis on student and professor evaluations, to provide a basis for greater accountability and overall improve- ment. It remains to be seen whether Bernstein's proposal will have an immediate or major impact on the hiring and maintaining of TAs. However, it is important that the LSA-SG president has taken the initiative in address- ing a problem administrators have largely overlooked. This plan may not be an all- encompassing solution to a complex prob- lem, but it is a start. As Bernstein has said, students should have more influence in classroom teaching because they are footing the tuition bill. While the majority of TAs are competent and effec- tive, students should not be subjected to the few who neglect to show up for classes, employ arbitrary grading policies or teach completely unrelated material to pursue their own agendas. Unannounced classroom visits would al- low professors to get a glimpse of the side of the classroom they usually do not see - the inside. The occasional professor who has no idea what is going on in the discussion sec- tions or labs is doing a great disservice to students as well as TAs. Given that profes- sors choose their TAs, they must accept ultimate responsibility for the results of that choice. Professors should not fall into the role of Big Brother - rather, they should ensure that TAs are showing up for class and office hours and that the material being taught in sections is relevant. The choice of teach- ing method should be left up to the TA, but if the information is not coming across, the professor should step in. In the past, one of the problems in assess- ing TA performance has been the lack of uniform requirements or standards. With each department's separate set of requirements, there is no cohesiveness or accountability across departments. Some sort of consistent guidelines need to be implemented. TAs whose performances repeatedly fall below the accepted level should be sanc- tioned, much as TAs with consistently good performances should be rewarded. TA as- signments should not be based on seniority - as many are now - but on merit. Until now, there have been no concrete sugges- tions about how this would be accomplished. Bernstein's proposal is the first step in estab- lishing greater faculty-TA-student interac- tion across campus. LSA departments should take it upon themselves to continue this progress. The college should establish a con- sistent, college-wide requirement and evalu- ation process for all teaching assistants. Last week I attended what was promoted as a vigil for domestic violence victims and survivors. At least I was under the im- pression that the program was to honor the memory of victims of violence, support the survivors and educate the community about the issues involved and the resources avail- able. Yet when I left the vigil, approximately two-thirds of the way through, I wasn't so sure what I'd just been a part of. The mean- ing behind the vigil had been lost in corpo- rate sponsorship and inappropriate mea culpas, leaving a bad taste in the mouths of many who attended. Although representatives from SAPAC and SAFE House were there, the vigil was organized by a local Body Shop. The Body Shop's national corporation devotes itself and its employees to a different cause for one month each year, promoting everything from voter registration to wildlife conservation. This year, their campaign is called "Blow the Whistle on Violence against Women"; Body Shops across the country are provid- ing valuable information about local re- sources and the need for national legislation dealing with violence against women. The vigil was an arm of this national campaign, and the postcards -addressed to Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and House Speaker Newt Gingrich - that many of us signed are being signed and mailed at Body Shops throughout the United States. Un- doubtedly the Body Shop has good inten- tions in its public-service endeavors. Yet sometimes good intentions aren't enough, especially when dealing with a topic as serious and sensitive as domestic vio- lence. First, were the raffle drawings inter- spersed between speakers. According to Kelly Peterson, manager of the Body Shop at Briarwood Mall and organizer of the event, local stores and shops approached her as word got out about the vigil and wanted to know how they could help. Somehow they decided that the best answer was to have the stores donate prizes to be raffled off, and they used the postcards we signed as raffle tickets. "We thought it would be an interest- ing way to have local companies be in- volved," Peterson told me. "The prizes were an incentive to be at the vigil." "Interesting" is a good way of putting it. I find it commendable that the local compa- nies wanted to be involved, although I am not oblivious to the fact that good deeds such as these are often done for the sake of public image and that thus these companies want their names, as well as their contributions, to be mentioned. Yet I am certain a less "inter- esting" and more effective method could have been used to achieve those means. Perhaps instead of giving away gift cer- tificates for sandwiches, Amer's could have been encouraged to make a donation to SAFE House, or to provide refreshments at SAPAC training sessions and conferences. The names of the stores still could have been men- tioned, but their contributions would have been notably more valuable if directed some other way. In addition, not only is'the idea that those who attended the vigil did so in the hopes of winning free chocolate slightly offensive, but the actual drawings and subsequent cheers were misplaced, if not tactless, in light of the program's stated objectives. My second complaint with the vigil, and the event which actually led to my - and many others' - early departure, was an impromptu "confessional" made by a man who has, in his words, "struggled with do- mestic violence." Flute in hand, this Body Shop employee announced that he would be a hypocrite if he did not confess his sins before providing us with a musical interlude. He apologized to all the women in the audience, as well as to a specific woman, "who will remain name- less," for his past behavior, and advised the men to learn how to control themselves before they try to control anyone else. Granted he was, as he said, extremely nervous. Perhaps better composed, he would have been able to construct a more lucid, less affronting, confessional. Yet his speech was disturbing and extremely inappropriate, re- gardless of intent. Reformed abusers suffer some grief, I am sure, and I do not want to negate the validity ofthis man's feelings. But he had no business atoning for his sins in that forum. Promoted as a safe and supportive environ- ment for survivors of violence, the vigil was not the place for the inflictors of it. It took great courage for the women who spoke to come forward; to be followed by a man waving a flute and yelling about control could not have provided much comfort or encouragement. If he felt the need to publicly declare his past wrongs, the flutist should have orga- nized a forum in which that would have been appropriate. Perhaps a former batterer's "speakout," for those who feel comforfable attending, could be a step toward healing the wounds created by domestic violence. Declaring self-reformation before Z crowd of survivors and their supporters was not. ; Although the Body Shop had no way df knowing that his confession was in the pro- gram, it seems demonstrative of the lack f sensitivity that ran through this corporately sponsored vigil. Peterson said she chose the 18th for the event because it coincided with a YWCA program with which the Body Shop- was working in conjunction. It would have made more sense if she had worked in conjunctioni with the University, planning the vigil td coincide with Sexual Assault Awarenes§ Week instead of simply inviting SAPAC to attend the Body Shop's program. The Body Shop succeeded at drawing attention to the issue of violence against women, and I hope the postcard campaign leads to increased funding for the Vio- lence Against Women Act, as is itspur- pose. Yet it and other corporations need to seriously consider what effect their actions, well-intended or otherwise, will have on the community they are purporting to help. Gen- erating publicity while giving money to h cause is not necessarily a bad thing, but if done without an acute awareness of. the issues involved, it can be. -Judith Kafka can be reached over e- mail atjkajka@umich.edu. II -- MATT WIMSATT MOO uE 's DILEMMAv Abortion: Draw the line Laws protect doctors from harassment mericans are unlikely ever to come to a Pconsensus on the abortion issue, but most agree on two things: the right to per- sonal safety, and the need for others to re- spect private property. The Supreme Court upheld these two integral American values last Monday, when justices rejected an ap- peal by California pickets arrested for parad- ing in proximity to a doctor's'home. The pickets argued unsuccessfully in a lower court that local government violated their First Amendment right to free speech by prohibiting them from demonstrating inside a boundary near a doctor's house. The Court upheld a local ordinance that imposed a 300- foot buffer zone for demonstrators who tar- get private residences of abortion clinic phy- sicians. Similarly, earlier this month, the Court let stand Virginia ruling that the fed- eral Freedom of Access to Clinical Entrances Act does not infringe on freedom of expres- sion or religion. The high court rejected an- other such challenge to the law in June, and last year it affirmed the right to sue antiabor- tion activists as racketeers for their efforts to prevent women, often forcefully, from enter- ing abortion clinics. These and other affirmations of personal freedom and the sanctity of private property are victories for all Americans, whether pro-choice or not. Upholding the arrests of the California pickets affirms the court's commitment to personal safety. In this case, antiabortion activists were not violent, but other doctors have not been so lucky. Although peaceful demonstration is legal and healthy in a de- mocracy, when members demonstrate their ideals through threats, bombs and cold- blooded murder, bold precedent must be set. At all reasonable costs, freedom of expres- sion must not endanger the livelihood of individuals. Right-to-life activists' actions have crossed a dangerous line. The 16 pickets who marchedthrough the peaceful San Jose neigh- borhood where an abortion doctor lived car- ried signs that made clear who was the sub- ject of their protest and where he lived. No one should be subjected to such flagrant slander, as the Supreme Court fortunately recognizes. Lawmakers in Michigan and else- where considering ordinances protecting the doctors' rights should realize this as well. In response to the Supreme Court's deci- sion, states and communities need to address Americans' concerns by creating and enforc- ing laws similar to the California ordinance that brought the issue to light. The American Civil Liberties Union and concerned citizens have testified on numerous occasions to the need for these laws. Citizens must be pro- tected from the actions of groups that do not share their views. Although it is demoraliz- ing to find a 300-foot residence area buffer needed to protect Americans from one an- other, in light of several incidents, this buffer has become a practical necessity. Although these laws are intended to pro- tect people's well-being, they must be clear enough not to cross over into Americans' right to expression and assembly. The recent actions of the Supreme Court have set a boundary activists must not cross - rather, they should recognize this border, and allow citizens to live normal, peaceful lives pro- tected from the actions of opposition groups. I ANTI -bGK. ,foUSAl) - z:H z 1 / NOTABLE QUOTARLE 'Let's shake our pointer fingers ari say, "No! No!"' - The new "Toddler' Bible" version ofAda' and Eve contemplating the evil appl LETTERS Daily cartoon belittles unity at D.C. march To the Daily: In the Oct. 17, 1995 issue of the Daily, a cartoon was printed that I found quite disturbing. The cartoon by Matt Wimsatt, "Mookie's Dilemma," portrayed Louis Farrakhan with flames be- hind him which formed two horns on his head (depicting Mr. Farrakhan as a devil). In the back- ground, burning in the flames were the words "King Legacy." Mr. Farrakhan as a devil? Regardless of whether you dis- agree with Farrakhan's beliefs, there is no reason to make the greatest event ofthis decade seem like it was the evil product of a devil. And is the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King being de- stroyed? The mere suggestion is ludicrous. Dr. King dreamed of harmony between the races. Be- fore this can be achieved, har- mony needs to be reached within in our race and that's what Mr. Farrakhan was striving for on Oct. 16. Dr. King's legacy is not dy- with one little cartoon what you have managed to do is down- grade the significance of one of the most spectacular events in African American history. What you have managed to do is trivialize the efforts of African American men all over the coun- try. What you have managed to do is a travesty. Denise R. James LSA junior Daily ignores disturbing upswing in campus crime To the Daily, I just wanted to comment on the reporting (or lack thereof) of crime on campus. I don't know if you request the information from the Department of Public Safety, or if they release it to you. Either way, I am disappointed. I was not really aware of the frequency of car thefts on campus, but appar- ently it is a common crime. It was brought to my attention after my new Jeep Cherokee (I be able to use? I'm sorry, but a ride home from DPS and a "sorry about your luck" will not make up foran $18,000 loss and a month of inconvenience. And I am sure that I am not the only one this has happened to. Why are these inci- dents kept a secret? Adrian Vicko Engineering senior MSA leaders abuse fiscal authority To the Daily: Being a former communica- tions chair and LSA representa- tive to the Michigan Student As- sembly, I wish to take issue with the fiscally irresponsible actions of the assembly last week. Last Tuesday evening, the assembly approved an allocation to cover money that was illegally spent by three members of the MSA fam- ily to go to Washington, D.C. This money totaled near $1,000, and yet a simple slap on the wrist seemed to more than 'satisfy the assembly. tration, I would hate to see sA relations crumble again due assembly officials who are irr sponsible with the power a money that is entrusted to tho by the students they represent. This is further illustrated] last Tuesday night's action to'r move funding caps, whereby o1 student group received an allot tion of almost 10 percent of t entire budget allocated for all ti student groups for the entire ye Not only that, but the group reapply for funding in the wint term. I'll be the first person admit that I don't agree with t political goals ofthis group. Hoa ever, this isn't about politics,b rather fiscal responsibility. Rules were established wi funding caps, which were al thrown out at Tuesday's meetir This allocation exceeded themc generous caps that have ever e isted by more than $4,000. T group's project definitely d served "large project grant" si tus, which during the reign ofc rules was the highest possible location available. However, wi more than 300 student groups re istered each year, no single gro deserves between 8 and 10 p rn f the total biichyetl fni HOW TO CONTACT THEM I