Miami Hurricane, January 27, 1987

              We shall overcome
A personalized account of a white University of Miami sophomore who joined in a march in Georgia to protest racial discrimination.
Accent — page 6
M AR.CH
A GainST
R acial C OnSCiEn/GE H ATR£D
A '—j *"
Row, row your boat
Practices get under way for the crew team, a newly formed varsity sport.
Sports — page 8
Volume 64, Number 27
University of Miami
Tuesday, Jan. 27, 1987
Off-campus housing help coming soon
By OLYMPIA ROSS
Hurricane Assistant News Editor
The sale of the University Inn and the University Park Apartments has not yet been completed, according to David Lieberman. vice president of business and finance for the University of Miami.
However, the initiation of a new off-campus housing service is already in progress for students who need help in finding a place to live, said George Shoffner, director of residence halls.
The University has entered contract negotiations and expects completion of the sale of both the University Inn and the University Park Apartments by March 31.
Students living in either the University Inn or the University Park Apartments will not be affected this semester by the sale.
"Regardless of when the sale is completed, students won’t be affected at all this semester,” Shoffner said.
Shoffner added that student residency at the University Park Apartments is guaranteed through June 30. He said this guarantee has been extended because several students have children in schools and will not be able to move until mid-summer.
About 55 to 60 graduate students and their families now reside In the University Park Apartments.
Shoffner said that while 10 students were at the University Inn at the start of this semester, none are there now. A spokesperson for the University Inn would neither confirm or deny Shoffner’s statement.
"If the property is to be sold, we don’t know at this point what the
rospective buyers plan to do,"
hoffner said.
Lieberman explained that the University is interested in selling the inn and the apartments be-
‘We will be gearing up our efforts in this office to locate reasonable housing arrangements.’
George Shoffner, director of residence halls
cause the property value has not increased substantially and the operating costs are increasing.
"We are encouraging people to find other housing," Shoffner said. "We will be gearing up our efforts in this office to locate reasonable housing arrangements."
Because housing concerns are “seasonable." Shoffner said that a permanent staff for off-campus housing will not be instituted. Instead, he expects to establish a relationship between the University and a realtor or a separate housing service.
"It just doesn’t make as much sense for us to own the property right now," he said.
**I think we will be able to provide a pretty solid service,"
Shoffner said.
The service will be in effect by late spring. All types of housing, including apartments, rooms and rooming houses, will be available through the service.
Information and listings collected through the service will be available to incoming freshman, students and UM faculty and staff.
Shoffner stated that he does not anticipate a charge but said that one was “conceivable depending on how sophisticated (the service] becomes.
“It’s basically planned as a helping service for our students,” Shoffner said.
JORGE ALONSO/Hurrirane Stari
Fifteen University of Miami students were part of a group from Miami that rode to Forsyth, Georgia to participate in a civil rights march on Saturday to protest racial discrimination and violence.
Miami group joins march
By STEPHANIA PERKINS
Hurricane Staff Writer
As the group departed from the
University of Miami at 6 p.m. Friday, the Rev. Willie Simms said that it was about to take part in the making of history.
"You’ll be able to tell your children that in 1987 you stood up. If you ever stood up for anything in your life, now is the time," Simms said
Two busloads ol people from Miami joined more t.ijn 20.000
people Saturday to march to the Cummings, Go. city hall and rally
against the events that took place on Jan. 17.
On that day, a group of about 50 people decided to march through Forsyth County. Ga., a county with 35,600 citizens — none of which are black The group marched despite persistent threats from Ku Klux Klan members.
The group was attacked by several hundred angry white people, including members of the Ku Klux Klan. Marchers were quickly escorted back to their bus by police officers.
Coretta Scott King, wife of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Joseph Lowery,
the Rev. Benjamin Hooks and Dick Gregory (who donated $15,000 to the Center for Non-Violence) all joined together to march again in Forsyth.
Students from the University were approached by attorney Eric Gibaidi to help him organize a group from Miami to join the march.
Gibaidi called Troy Bell, president of United Black Students, for help. Bell said, “I was really surprised at the amount of support
we received from thtt school and
community."
The UBS office al the University became the city headquarters for the march. Although many students helped to organize the march, only 15 actually traveled to Forsyth.
"My mother said that the trip may be dangerous and that I could do my part here in Miami by praying for them," said freshman Kenyetta Black.
Jane Fahey, a white student who did go to Forsyth, said that she wanted to show people that there are some whites who are against racism.
Ed and Bernice Rosenthal of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation
made a donation and participated in the march.
“We were with Martin |Luther King Jr.| in ’63, and we are here today,” said Bernice Rosenthal. "I just can’t believe that this sort of thing still happens In the United States."
James Bush III, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Miami, said, "We feel that the action displayed by the KKK in Forsyth cannot and wiil not be tolerated."
The group from Miami rtrachad Georgia at 4 a.m. In 3.9-degrce
weather and about six inches of snow.
The Miami group met more than 200 buses and 200 cars from all over the country at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violence to form a convoy to Forsyth. It took officials longer than expected because they underestimated the size of the crowd
Thomas Battle of the U.S. Department of Justice in Miamisaid. "We did not expect such a large crowd, but considering the size, things are moving smoothly."
During the march through Forsyth, marchers were heckled and sneered at by some and praised and smiled on by others.
One family stood in front of its house, and the children waved to marchers as the parents smiled
One man stood on a small hill in front of his house with tape over his mouth and held up a poster that read. “1 live here." He waved to the marchers and formed the peace sign with his fingers. The man later took off the tape and cheered the marchers on.
A woman stood in front of a store near the city hall and said.
"Niggers go home." Others near
her maid."Niggers. white nigger* and nigger /»vers get out of here. "
At the rally at Cummings City Hall, marchers were welcomed with speeches from Coretta Scott King and Hosea Washington, who marched in the Jan 17 march in Forsyth.
“I am glad to see you all here and the large size of the crowd," said Washington "It shows that we are together. I see faces of all races.
"But the real heroes marched last Saturday. They had no National Guard, FBI or such protection."
The marchers began to disperse about 5 p.m Many hugged and kissed one another. Some noticed a rainbow circling the sun and proclaimed it as a sign of hope.
Fear of lawsuits forces f rats toward dry rush
By MARIOLGA FERNANDEZ
Humconc Staff Writer
Fear of lawsuits has forced fraternities on the University of Miami campus to completely revamp their social planning.
Last semester, a semi-dry rush was adopted as an "attempt by fraternities to update rushing procedures since about 90% of rush-ees are not of legal drinking age,” said Inter-Fraternity Council president. Dennis Lamm.
This semester, fraternities with houses are required to show proof that their insurance policy includes host-liquor liability—meaning that the University is also insured. Those Greek organizations housed in the Panhellenic building are already covered by the University.
Last summer, fraternities were
‘The bottom line is ... even if they [fraternities] were willing to put down the money for a $3 million dollar policy, it is just not available.'
William Sandler, dean of student personnel
notified that they would have to co-insure the University in their policies, but many organizations ran into roadblocks in looking for insurance companies to cover them.
A recent upsurge in court cases against fraternities and other places that serve alcohol has made insurance companies nervous and cautious. Many companies refuse to insure these customers, and neither the University nor the fraternities’ national offices want
to risk a possible lawsuit.
“The bottom line is . . . even if they |fraternities] were willing to put down the money for a $3 million policy, it’s just not available." said William Sandler, dean of student personnel.
Most fraternities have managed to buy the insurance policies that the University requires, but there remain two who have not found a receptive insurance company. Sandler will be meeting with Risk Management, the University’s in-
surance office, to find a way to help these two organizations find an insurer.
Sandler noted that now there is a "much more strict adherence to laws.” Fraternities must be careful when they serve alcohol and to whom they serve it.
Whereas fraternity parties were mostly places where students went to drink free beer, many University students are no longer of legal drinking age. Fraternities have to plan parties where alcohol is no longer the focus, which was evident during dry rush.
Despite the complaints by many fraternities and the low estimated numbers of rushees, dry rush in general “has been very successful at the University of Miami," Sandler said, "but is it difficult to change attitudes."
fis—-
Ex-political prisoner visits bookstore to sign his book
‘The world’s attitude is changing when it comes to human rights. This is the only attitude that can save the world: we must show more respect for human rights.’
Armando Valladares, Cuban poet, author and ex-political prisoner
time he drew a wild flower, as a symbol of peace.
"The world's attitude is changing when it comes to human rights," Valladares said. "This is the only attitude that can save the world: we must show more respect for human rights."
He advised the next generation to reject all extremist govern*
\
ments to prevent the further violation of human rights.
Valladares. who was born in 1937, was imprisoned in Castro's jails for 22 years because he held a "philosophy opposed to communism." He was released in 1982 and now lives in Madrid
Raul Carmelati, who also spent time in Castro’s prisons from the age of 16 and attended the speech, said that Valladares' book should be used as a source of information He explained that political prisoners were imprisoned for the love of knowledge, and that Castro uses the state's money to achieve what he called "disinformation " The autoghraph session, which was the first in which a Latin writer has appeared, was sponsored by the UM's bookstorp
“It was a good opportunity to have someone of this stature visit the University," said Chuck Can-field, director of the bookstore
He also stated that Valladares' book. Against All Hopes.has been selling very well “even before his appearance."
>
By YVONNE ORTIZ
Hurricane Staff Writer
I
ERIK COCKS/Harricone Staff
Armando Valladares shakes the hand of Olga Mesa after autographing a copy of his book Against All Hope at the University of Miami boqkstorc.
Armando Valladares, Cuban poet, author and ex-political prisoner, described his book. Against All Hope, as a "victory of truth over falsity" when he visited the University of Miami bookstore on Friday.
After speaking to a crowd of about 60, Valladares autographed copies of his book, which has been on Time magazine's Best Sellers list.
Undergraduate Student Body Government President Jose Garcia introduced Valladares. Juan Mas, president of Federación de Estudiantes Cubanos, translated Valladares’ speech into English
"Human rights are dwarfed by tortures like those he (Valladares! felt in jail," Mas said.“We must appreciate what we have It wasn’t g'ven to us. but fought for by our forefathers."
After Valladares lectured at UM in October, he autographed his books with a drawing of a tree behind bars representing the plight of jttlitical prisoners. This