Etcetera
Buy a Book and Support AGENDA. On March 20-22, treat yourself to new reading material and help AGENDA raise money. When you make a purchase on those days at Borders Book Shop, (330 S. State) and mention "AGENDA" to the cashier, 17% of the purchase price will go to AGENDA. So make a list of books you want to read!
Borders was one of 17 advertisers in AGENDA'S first issue (April 1986), and has been in every issue since. Many thanks from AGENDA for this support.
Native American Law Day. U-M Law School and the Native American Law Students Association are presenting a symposium entitled "The Native American Environment: Relations to Land, Conceptions of Law and Present-Day Controversy" on Friday, March 20. Various controversial development strategies, including the use of Native lands for landfills, hazardous waste storage and natural resource extraction, will be debated by a panel of noteworthy Native lawyers, professors and activists. The symposium is from noon to 5 pm in room 250, Hutchins Hall, with a reception afterward in the Lawyers Club Lounge.
Read-a-thon for Washtenaw Literacy. From March 18-22, Washtenaw Literacy, a group that provides free tutors and materials for those who seek to learn how to read, will sponsor a read-a-thon at Dawn Treader Book Shop, 514 E. Liberty.
Costumed volunteers will silently read in a display window, raising funds from people who pledge money per hour of reading. Pledges and readers are needed.
For more information contact Nisi Shawl (manager of Dawn Treader' s 1202 S. University branch) at 665-2270. To pledge money toward the cause, stop in at either of the Dawn Treader Book Shops.
Ann Arbor Film Festival Turns 30. Film enthusiasts from far and wide will converge on the area as the Ann Arbor Film Festival holds its 30th annual independent and experimental film competition at the Michigan Theater from March 17-22. There will be prizes for outstanding films. This year's festival will be preceded by "Thirty Years and Beyond: Celebrating the Independent Filmmaker," a conference for students and independent filmmakers, March 13-16. For more information call 995-5356.
13th Annual Holocaust Conference. From reading ads in the Michigan Daily, one might think that it never happened. UM's Hillel Foundation, with help from Canterbury House and others, will present a week of activities to remember the Nazi terror. It begins on the Diag on March 5 at 12: 30 pm with a 24-hour vigil naming people who died in the Holocaust.
Highlights include Aaron Kramer's poetry of the Holocaust, the area premier of "Korczak," a film about Janusz Korczak, who tried in vain to save 200 Jewish orphans in the Warsaw ghetto. Also, the Jewish Ensemble Theatre of Detroit will perform "Born Guilty," and Canterbury House will present "No Authority But From God," a video and discussion about Christian responses to Nazism. See CALENDAR, or call Hillel at 769-0500 for more information.
20th Arm Arbor Pow Wow. U-M's Native American Student Association and Office of Minority Affairs are sponsoring the 20th Anniversary Ann Arbor Pow Wow, which will be held March 21-22 at Crisler Arena. Artisans, dancers, drummers and singers from all over North America will continue the ancient traditional gathering of families and nations. The public is invited. See CALENDAR for details.
Honduran Pine Forests in the Bag. Stone Container, a Chicago-based paper bag and cardboard box producer, is fïnalizing a contract with the Honduran government to lease the country's virgin pine forests for 40 years. Stone plans to use the pine for pulpwood to make paper bags.
The contract would give Stone almost unrestricted rights to harvest up to 2.5 million acres of pine forest. Critics of the agreement, who include Honduran foresters, environmentalists, business people and Miskito Indian groups, complain that Stone could cut trees of any size anywhere in Honduras by any harvesting method it deems "economical." To the extent that Stone replants trees, critics fear that it will replace them with different species, as it has done in Costa Rica. It is feared that Central America's largest pine forest and its diverse life forms will be lost forever.
Elmo Brings Out the Stars. Local entertainers graced the stage of the second Elmo's Cabaret on Saturday evening, February 15 at the People Dancing studio. The purpose of the family-oriented, smoke-and-alcohol-free event was, in Elmo' s words, "to bring together local performers and community members in a healthy and fun environment, to enjoy a night out and celebrate the wide-ranging talent we have right here in Ann Arbor." Elmo Morales, owner of Elmo' s Supershirts and a teacher at Community High, donates part of the proceeds from each Cabaret to a favorite cause. The Feb. 15 event was for AGENDA!
The night's entertainment began with storyteller Rick Sperling, followed by singer Monique. Then mime Russ Prince revealed the secret of what takes men so long in the bathroom. The Cabaret also featured music by M.E. Jonson, "The Shatterproof People," "The Holy Cows," and "Dwight Peterson and Soul Stretch." For details on the next Elmo's Cabaret, which were unavailable at press time, call 994-9898.
U-M Labor Abuse Checked. The Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) recently won a grievance on behalf of sociology graduate student Bobby Clark, who had been improperly classified as a temporary employee. This misclassification resulted in U-M paying Clark less and denying him the benefits and protections of the GEO's union contract. Clark will be retroactively compensated for the difference in pay. The grievance that GEO filed on behalf of Clark addresses a long-term GEO concern that the U-M administration deliberately mis-classifies Teaching Assistants (TAs) in order to avoid the cost of providing TAs the benefits guaranteed by the union contract.
Free Pattrice Now! The Ann Arbor schools had AIDS activist Pattrice Maurer arrested for passing out condoms and AIDS information at Pioneer High. She intends to fight the trespassing charge. Supporters are urged to attend the pre-trial hearing on Monday, March 9 at 9 am, before Judge Connors at the 15th District Court in City Hall.
Peruvian Prosecutor Defends Rape. Amnesty International recently denounced 14 governments whose military or police forces use rape as a weapon against female political opponents or suspected opponents. Among the accused are Britain, whose abuses take place in Northern Ireland, and India, where soldiers are accused of raping Muslim women in the embattled Kashmir state. Also named was Peru, whose masked security forces are enmeshed in a civil war which has taken over 20,000 lives. Amnesty reported that a Peruvian prosecutor told them that rape "was to be expected" in such a conflict.
Partial Attica Verdict. After over 20 years of pre-trial legal battles, a four month trial and weeks of jury deliberations (during which the judge took a vacation in Barbados), a jury found one former Attica Prison official Hable for brutality in the aftermath of the 1971 prison uprising. The jury was deadlocked on the liability of several other defendants. The monetary amount to be awarded to the hundreds of plaintiffs is yet to determined. There may be a new trial on the issue of the other defendants' liability.
Dear Readers: AGENDA is interested in receiving items from you for etcetera. Press clippings, press releases, summaries of local events and any other ideas or suggestions are welcome. Just mail them to : Etcetera Editor, AGENDA, 220 S. Main St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104