Etcetera
Public Unanimous: Free Ahmad!
On June 17, some 70 people went to the Lakeland Correctional Facility in Coldwater for a public hearing before the Michigan Parole Board. The subject was whether former Black Panther activist and frequent AGENDA contributor Ahmad Abdur-Rahman, should have his sentence commuted. For the past 21 years Rahman has been serving a life with no parole sentence for a murder that he did not commit under a law that was struck down by the Michigan Supreme Court. All 31 people who spoke at the hearing, including a number of people from Washtenaw County, supported Ahmad' s release. The first speaker to support commutation, Heleen Abramson Eichen, is the sister and only surviving relative of Frank Abramson, whose 1971 death is the basis for Rahman' s imprisonment.
The parole board will review all the testimony, records and letters, then make a recommendation to Governor Engler, who has the ultimate power to commute prison sentences. To support Ahmad's freedom, write to the board as follows: Michigan Parole Board, Department of Corrections, Grandview Plaza Building, P.O. Box 30003, Lansing, MI 48909.
Voter Registration Reminder
Monday July 6 is the deadline for registering to vote for the August 4 primary election. Register at any Secretary of State branch office or at your county, city or township clerk's office.
Free Parental Consent Law Pamphlet Available
A new pamphlet explaining Michigan' s parental consent and judicial bypass law is available from the Michigan Abortion Rights Action League. This law requires parental or court permission for minors seeking abortions. The pamphlet is straightforward and may be duplicated without permission. Contact MARAL at (313) 827-4550 for free copies.
NOW Pro-Choice Task Force Meets
Meetings of this task force - instrumental in initiating the Domino's pizza boycott - are held the first Tuesday of every month at 7 pm at the Unitarian Church on Washtenaw Avenue. Task force activities include public education, court watches to insure prosecution of those who blockade health care clinics, fund raising, lobbying and information collection. Cali NOW at 995-5494 for more information.
The Plan Revealed
The Eastern Michigan University Foundation, a corporation set up by the university ' s regents and administrators, recently received EMU's entire endowment. A university' s endowment includes its scholarship fund. The foundation's February 22, 1992 financial plan has been revealed in the course of an ongoing freedom of information suit.
So what's the plan? It includes line items for administrative salaries through the year 2000. It also includes an executive travel budget through the end of the century. The plan does not, however, mention anything about how much will be spent on scholarships.
Feel Good About Feeling Good
Tend to get a little stressed out during Art Fair? Relieve that upper-back tension with a cheap massage on the porch in back of Zingerman's. The $10 that is donated for each 10-15 minute massage will be given to Food Gatherers, Domestic Violence Project and the Shelter Association of Ann Arbor. Massage therapists will donate their time and talents Wednesday-Friday, 3 pm-10 pm and Saturday, noon-7 pm.
County Fails to Dislodge Homeless Protesters
After a month of legal skirmishing highlighted by a day-long trial, Washtenaw County officials and allied downtown merchants failed to get a court order closing down the Homeless Union' s Salvation City tent protest. The court held that erecting protest tents on the lot next to the county administration building is a constitutionally-protected form of expression. Visiting circuit judge Thomas Roumell, however, limited the size and number of tents at the site on Ann Street and North Main, ordered that the protest shut down at night and imposed a number of other restrictions. The judge found that a number of allegations made by a group of business owners against the Homeless Union and its members were untrue.
Domestic Assault Arrests Up
Arrests for domestic violence have risen since most Washtenaw County police agencies instituted mandatory arrest polices, according to the Domestic Violence Project SAFE House. The "must bust" policy, the fruit of many years of political pressure by feminists and other human rights advocates, requires that where domestic violence has taken place, the police shall arrest the assailant regardless of whether the victim files a complaint.
In May 1992, SAFE House on-call teams responded to 48 requests from the county' s police agencies. On-call teams provide crisis intervention at the victim' s home only when the police have arrested the suspected assailant. Eleven arrests were made by the Ann Arbor Police, 13 by Ypsilanti Police, 23 by the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department, and one by Pittsfield Township Police. The University of Michigan Department of Public Safety does not adhere to the "must bust" policy. For more information cali 973-0242.
Ann Arbor Rents Out of Control
Ann Arbor rents rival and often exceed the cost of renting in university communities that host the University of Michigan's peer institutions. According to a recent analysis of 1990 census figures by the Housing Law Reform Project, university towns such as Cambridge, Massachusetts and Berkeley, California have lower median rents than Ann Arbor's $529 per month. Among Big Ten cities, Ann Arbor ranked second to Evanston, Illinois and averaged 18% more than Madison, Wisconsin, the next highest Big Ten city. The Project' s news release stated that "when we look at the cost of living in Ann Arbor, including rents, tuition and other expenses, we see that U-M, and just a few other public research institutions, cost as much to the students as private schools."
Panamanians Resist
Our TV screens featured George Bush wiping away tears when a rock-throwing Panamanian mob evoked a tear gas response. The day before, students tried to burn the podium where Bush was to speak, and a U.S. Army humvee was ambushed, leaving one soldier dead and two wounded. The mainstream news media attributed it all to a tiny group of leftists and "Noriega loyalists."
They didn't tell you that the ambush was just the latest attack by an armed resistance movement that has been fighting ever since the 1989 invasion, or that two days before Bush's stopover guerrillas machine-gunned the guard post at Albrook Air Force Base. They didn't report that U.S.-installed president Guillermo Endara wins a positive approval rating from less than 20% of Panamanians. They didn't mention bitter labor struggles. They didn't cover resentment against Endara's nearly all-white government, in a country where whites are about 8 % of the population.
But the "pro-Noriega" forces? Even though no reporter has found such a person (or his or her writings) in Panama, we heard about them.
EMU Women Profs Lose Sex Discrimination Case
Five female Eastern Michigan University faculty members who sued the university recently lost in Federal District Court. The court refused to allow a 1978 study documenting EMU's sex discrimination in pay scales into evidence. It then concluded that even though the women were paid less than men in comparable jobs, the difference might have resulted from factors other than sex discrimination. This ruling fits he pattern of civil rights cases in today's federal courts.
Unique Exhibit Opens July 1
"Coming Together of the Four Sacred Directions" is this summer's "must-see" art exhibit. Coördinator Natasha Raymond has brought together eleven artists under the ideology of the Native American "Medicine Wheel," which stands for the four sacred colors of mankind (red, yellow, black and white) and the four sacred directions' of the world. "It's not just a symbol," said Raymond, "it' s more a representation of the balance and harmony of life...it stands for how we live our lives." It stands as well for the nature of this exhibit, which includes identities and art from across the spectrum. Some of the artists whose work will be displayed include African-American poet and essayist Terri L. Jewell, Korean ceramicist Soon Hahn and European fiber artist Helen Welford. The exhibit runs July 1-31 at the Mich. Union Art Lounge and the N. Campus Commons Art Gallery. Cali 764-7544 for information.
Tiger Stadium Battle Continues
"Shared Treasures: The Battle for Tiger Stadium" is a recently-released documentary about the possible demolition of Tiger Stadium. The film, which advocates renovation and preservation of this national landmark, is available from Fatman Films/Prime Time Productions. Send $ 12.00 plus $1 .00 for shipping (made payable to Lori Adair) to P.O. Box 8161, Ann Arbor, 48107.
Open Poetry Contest
The National Library of Poetry has announced that $12,000 in prizes will be awarded this year to over 250 poets in the North American Open Poetry Contest. The contest is open to anyone, anyone can win, and entry is free. Send one (only one) original poem (the only criterion is that it be 20 lines or less) to the National Library of Poetry, 11419 Cronridge Dr., P.O. Box 704-ZG, Owings Mills, MD 21117. The poet's name and address should appear on the top of the page. Entries must be postmarked by June 30. Cali (410) 356-2000 for more information.
Sealed With a Kiss
The next issue of AGENDA will come out September 1. Have a great summer!