Etcetera

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According to the fall 1991 issue of "Proponent," the newsletter of Planned Parenthood of Mid-Michigan, Planned Parenthood will no longer be listed as a "possible recipient of funds" on United Way pledge cards. "Certain individuals in the community threatened to boycott the United Way if they so much as listed Planned Parenthood's name as a possible recipient of funds," the newsletter stated. "Unfortunately, the United Way buckled under to this intimidation."

   A United Way official was quoted in the newsletter saying that Planned Parenthood is too controversial to be listed in its literature. This, in spite of the fact that last year, at the University of Michigan, Planned Parenthood was the largest recipient of "donor designated dollars" through United Way.

   Services providedby Planned Parenthood include birth control (including vasectomy) and birth control counseling, abortion and abortion counseling, pregnancy testing and counseling, medical and counseling services for women experiencing symptoms related to menopause, and many other family planning services. Planned Parenthood asks that, when designating a United Way gift to Planned Parenthood, "Planned Parenthood of Mid-Michigan" be written on the pledge card and that you let United Way know that Planned Parenthood "has a good reputation, is respected and supported by the community , and is appropriate for United Way affiliation" (the standard Washtenaw United Way alleges Planned Parenthood does not meet). For more information call 973-0710.

Center Advocates for Student Rights

   The Student Advocacy Center is the only advocacy program in the state available to children who are in regular education programs, and they are asking for financial assistance in order to continue their work.

   This work has included parent outreach and organizing, advocacy, and the development of a State bill that addresses the overuse of suspensions and exclusions in Michigan schools as well as the authority of schools to permanently exclude children with no responsibility to provide educational services. The bill, introduced this spring, in part requires reporting of exclusionary practices, triggers a review if the exclusions show a disparate racial impact, and requires the provision of appropriate educational services regardless of disciplinary status.

  For more information, and to make a donation, contact the Student Advocacy Center, 617 East University, Ann Arbor, MI 48104, (995-0477).

What a Deal!

   Membership dues are only $2 per year for those interested in becoming involved in the Community Development Corporation. lts programs include the Women's Initiative for Self-Employment, which asists low-income women in becoming self-sufficient, a loan program, technical assistance to women and minority-owned businesses, and the distribution of the Black Business and Professionals Directory. For more information call 769-6363.

   New Group to Defend Multiculturalism at U-M

   During the Nov. 17 plenary session that concluded the national conference on "The P.C. Frame-Up," U-M English professor Alan Wald announced the formation of the U-M Network for Cultural Democracy. The network's organizers hope to unify faculty, staff, students and community members who support a multicultural university which is increasingly open to the diverse elements of our society. They seek to organize the defense of academic freedom, affirmative action, curricula that include great works by those who have traditionally been ignored, and other university reforms. There will be a meeting for the Network on Dec. 4 at the Michigan League. For more information about the U-M Network for Cultural Democracy, call Alan Wald at 995-1499.

ACT-UP Comes Through for Jackson Inmates

   Responding to pleas for help from Fred Beasley and other Jackson inmates with AIDS or HIV, in October ACT-UP Ann Arbor flooded Michigan Department of Corrections officials with phone calls protesting the administrative segregation and special harassment that are the lot of prisoners with AIDS at the Southern Michigan Prison. The phone zap worked. Prisoners report that administrative segregation as punishment for having AIDS was ended the next day. ACTUP Ann Arbor will observe World AIDS Day on Monday, Dec. 2 at noon on the U-M Diag (see the CALENDAR for their weekly meetings).

An Early Reminder

   You are not eligible to vote in the presidential primary to be held in Michigan on March 17, 1992 unless you declare a political party preference by filling a political party preference declaration form with your city or township clerk by February 17, 1992. This applies even if you are curently registered to vote. (A political party preference can be changed at any time up to 30 days before a presidential primary and must be submitted in writing to your city or township clerk.)

Guatemala Gathering

   International freelance reporter Jon Reed sends word that the Second Continental Conference of Indigenous People and Popular Movements meeting in the city of Xela, Quetzaltenango province, Guatemala from October 7-12, drew 599 delegates, and

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official observers and invited guests from 26 countries of the Americas. On October 12, the 499th anniversary of the day that the Arawaks discovered Christopher Columbus trespassing on their land, some 30-50,000 people (mostly rural indigenous women) marched through this city in the Mayan highlands.

   Rigoberta Menchu told those assembled that, rather than memorializing the genocidal exploits of Columbus and his conquistador death squads, they were there "to honor and remember the disappeared, the assassinated, the refugees, the widows, the exploited farmworkers, the factory workers, the unemployed, the children."

   The delegates plotted a year's activities to counter the Columbus quincentenary, discussed the common and specific problems of indigenous people, and searched for common ground on which to unite. Next year's gathering will take place in Nicaragua.

ROTC Harasses Gay Student

   Eastern Michigan University sophomore Lee Neubecker was awarded a "fill ride" ROTC scholarship when he was a high school senior. At the time he was sure that he wanted to serve in the armed forces, but unsure of his sexual identity.

   In his first year at EMU, Neubecker took ROTC classes, where he met Major Charles Straw. According to Neubecker, Straw would often tell his class "No gay, faggot, homosexual drug users are allowed in here." He also alleges that students in Straw's class at one point chanted "No fags, no fags, no fags."

   Straw denies this. However, Colonel Maasberg, EMU's Military Science department head, stated that "It is against Department of Defense policy to contract gays... Students who are gay or lesbian are not allowed to receive these scholarships." This created a problem for Neubecker, who discovered his gay sexual orientation while at college. If what Neubecker said is true, the ROTC practices are a violation of university harassment and discrimination policies. Neubecker has filed a complaint with the university, which is pending before Bette White, EMU Dean of Students.