Miami Hurricane, February 23, 1990

              Volume 67, Number 35
University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla.
Friday, February 23,1990
Butler proposes report on student concerns
SG President balks at plan
By MICHAEL R. MORRIS
Contributing Editor
Dr. William Butler, vice president for student affairs, addressed the Student Government Senate at the beginning of itsmeeting Wednesday, announcing what he called the "Butler Plan.”
Under his plan, Butler and Dr. Philip Mann, director of grants and special projects in the School of Business, will meet with groups of students and produce a report, by July 15, dealing with student concerns. Butler stressed the importance of timely student involvement. He cited the honor council, credit only programs and the security task force as examples of effective student imput.
SG President Troy Bell labeled the plan an attempt to “divide and conquer” the student body.
“Tb« llnivwrait v «■cin«mlentlv
by-passes Student Government, Bell said. "They leave us in situations where all the student leaders do is fight among themselves."
Butler congratulated the organizers and participants of the Feb. 15 tuition protest for their enthusiasm, but expressed concern about protestors entering classrooms.
He said the incident of protestors interrupting an exam had resulted in a formal complaint being filed with the Dean of Students office.
A bill allocating $2,000 to get a speaker for Black Awareness Month, first proposed two weeks ago, was indefinitely tabled after author Jamal Smith, chairman of the ethic affairs committee, was unable to provide facts about cost, what the speech would encompass or who would be willing to act as co-sponsor.
The senate voted 26-0-2 in favor of tabling after 30 minutes of debate and a friendly amendment, offered by Bell, which changed SG's financial resposnibility to $1,000.
At the beginning of the meeting, Sharon Sotieros was sworn in as the new Panhellenic Senator.
Later on in the meeting, senators had to choose between senior TJ. Mannix and junior Sean Rommel for the vacant Communication seat. Mannix, who ran for SG President on the Choice ticket in 1987, defeated Rommel 15-14 with 1 abstention.
JUST SAY NO... OR YES?
‘It’s not the government's role to put 18 million casual users in jail or to take their property, and it’s the path we’re going.’ Robyn Blumner, ACLU of Florida executive director
&	‘There is no way to put	
	the genie back in the bottle. And it’s not a	
	kindly genie. We need to	
	think twice [about	*
	legalization).’	1 «F*
	Richard Rubinson, M.D.	
‘I believe prohibition does work. The only way we can solve the problem is to reduce demand here in the U.S.’
Charles Lutz, DEA agent
‘We lead people to believe that cocaine is some kind of chemical orgasm. We have to tell them it isn't.’
Juan Sanchez-Ramos,
M.D., Ph.D.
Anti-drug laws queried
Speakers address both sides of issue at legalization debate
By CARRIE HART-STRATTON
Slaft Writer
Tn legalize or not to localize illicit
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Wednesday night during a panel discussion on drugs at a program in the Maho-ney/Pearson Residential College classrooms.
The four-speaker forum was sponsored by the University of Miami’s Open Door, the on-campus peer counseling center.
Robyn Blumner, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida; Charles Lutz, Miami Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; Richard M. Rubinson, M.D. and Juan Sanchez-Ramos, M.D., Ph.D. expressed their opinions.
"There’s no easy answer. There are no easy solutions," Sanchez-Ramos told the crowd of 50.
"We're entering into a soft-core police state. Legalization is the only response,” Blumner asserted.
“I think legalization is a philosophy that assumes we can’t win over drug use and drug trafficking,” Lutz said.
"Demand reduction is 90 percent of the solution to the [drug] problem,” Rubinson stated.
Blumner placed a yellow legal pad on the lecturn and flipped pages as she made her argument for legalization.
She cited the bogging down of the justice system with drug cases, the failure of interdiction, the high cost of incarcerating drug users and the government’s infringement upon an individual’s privacy as her reasons.
“We need to eliminate the profits. With the monies freed up from law enforcement we can put more into edu-
For further debate on the
drug legalization issue,
p/ffase see C>p>rn/on.
cation, treatment facilities and research for addiction blockers,” Blumner said and flipped another page.
Blumner argued people's rights were being chipped away by the ongoing battle over drugs.
Four communities in Florida have instituted curfews on their youth, she said. Families of accused drug dealers are being evicted from housing. The zero-tolerance policy allows confiscation of property for even nominal amounts of drugs. Blacks and other minorities, Blumner said, are immediately suspect and employers are demanding drug testing of their employees.
“It’s the government’s responsibility to educate and inform the public on the dangers of drugs,” Blumner said. “It’s not the government’s role to put 18 million casual users in jail or to take their property and it’s the path we're going.”
Lutz, a DEA agent for over 20 years, pulled a stack of index cards from his shirt pocket and began his argument.
"I believe prohibition does work. The only way we can solve the problem is to reduce demand here in the U.S.,” Lutz said.
He explained during Prohibition earlier this century, the consumption of alcohol dropped because it was not available.
Legalization, he continued, would not eliminate the black market for drugs. He called, instead, for eradication of
crops in drug producing countries, interdiction at U.S. borders, increased law enforcement, stepped up reduction in demand and education.
"We fiecil «•«/«/« .hi,,it /«•«	w/m
haven’t begun to use drugs. We have to start at the cradle," Lutz said.
Sanchez-Ramos, a neurologist and pharmacologist, called for addicts to be treated not as criminals but as ill individuals who need drug rehabilitation.
“Punishment is tne least effective way to stop dependence. They need positive reinforcement,” Sanchez-Ramos said, adding that psychologists and physicians should be at the center of the process.
The logic of legalization, Sanchez-Ramos said, is based on two assumptions. First, most illegal drugs are not as dangerous as the media presents them.
“We lead people to believe that cocaine is some kind of chemical orgasm. We have to tell them it isn’t," Sanchez-Ramos explained.
The second assumption, Sanchez-Ramos said, is that illicit drugs are more appealing to people.
“I don't think there will be a mushrooming of drug use with legalization,” Sanchez-Ramos explained, warning that increased force against drugs may promote more drug use.
Rubinson, a thoracic surgeon, countered that, "We have the right to put whatever we want in our bodies, but when the government or society has an interest in it, it can be moderated.”
He noted that drunk driving is one such instance.
“There is no way to put the genie back in the bottle.” said Rubinson. "And it’s not a kindly genie. We need to think twice [about legalization].”
N.Y. expert to guide new museum
Ex-Guggenheim director once taught at Harvard
By TOM B. HIGGINS
News Editor
University of Miami President Edward T. Foote II announced the placement of Thomas M. Messer as senior adviser to work with the University and the surrounding community on the planning of UM’s proposed $20 million new art museum.
“He (Messerl is one of the most respected museum directors in the world," Foote said.
The University’s master plan for campus improvement calls for constructing the facility on the edge of campus, along Ponce de Leon Boulevard, across from the Metrorail University Station.
Foote said Messer has already begun working on plans for the new museum.
“He has become deeply interested in our project,” Foote added.
Messer, director of New York's Solomon R. Gug-Hlease see page "/MESSE K
Acting director at Lowe assumes permanent post
By BARBRASPALTEN
Managing Editor
After filling the role for nine months, Brian Dursum was appointed director of the University of Miami Lowe Art Museum by UM President Edward T. Foote II Tuesday. Dursum had been serving as acting director since Ira Licht left his post at the museum in May.
Dursum, an Oriental art expert, has been associated with the 40-year-old Lowe for over 14 years. His role at the museum has included exhibiting the permanent collection, trading artwok and lending to other institutions and soliciting donations. Before his appointment to acting director last year, Dursum had served as the museum’s registrar since 1982.
He said he is pleased with his appointment. "I love UM and the Lowe and I want to see them grow and develop,” he said.
The Lowe lacks the space needed to exhibit its extensive collection of classic and contemporary art, Dursum said, adding that he hopes the planned construction of another museum on campus will allow more of the Lowe’s permanent collection to be displayed. In the meantime, rooms in the Lowe are being redone.
“We don’t have a lot of space and so must be very economical," Dursum explained.
The process of constructing another museum might accelerate “the statement that this [the Lowe) is a collecting institution as opposed to an exhibition hall," he said.
Dursum has worked to transform one of the museum’s storerooms into a new gallery to house non-Western art. In addition, he has donated to the museum his personal collection of Chinese art and art books.
Dursum obtained a master’s degree in East Asian history and culture at the University of Pittsburgh.
Messer
UM dean to observe Nicaraguan election
IJy MICHAEL R. MORRIS
Contributing Editor
Sunday's elections in Nicaragua could depose President Daniel Ortega or confirm him in power. Either way, there’s a good chance the elections will be fair, according to election observer Ambler Moss, dean of the University of Miami Graduate School of International Studies. Moss is also a former U.S. ambassador to Panama.
"I think there can be very good results," said Moss, observing the elections as part of the delega-. ,	tion sent by the Council of
Moss	Freely Elected Presi-
dents. The council is headed by former-Pres-ident Jimmy Carter and includes the former presidents of Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica and other countries.
In spite of previous anti-Ortega U.S. rhetoric, Washington, D.C., has been fairly quiet about this election. With good reason, i according to yfoss.	*
"If the U.S. government started speculating on what it would do [if Ortega wins], that itself would become a factor in the election,” Moss said. “It’s proper for Washington to keep quiet until the elections are over.”
Moss pointed out one of the major differences between American and Nicaraguan elections is the public’s access to the candidates.
"Nicaragua is still a country where most of the voters will actually have a chance to personally see and hear all of the candidates during the course of the campaign, because they still have old-fashioned political rallies and speeches and direct access to the candidates,” Moss said.
According to Moss, if Ortega does win, it will be a different Ortega than the United States is used to dealing with.
"He no longer wears a military uniform,” Moss said. “He goes around in an upbeat, almost yuppie look that he’s adopted.”
A Sandanista loss of power would certainly be a big change, almost as big as the change that occurred in Panama in December. Moss, who served as ambassador during the administrations of Carter and Reagan, said the U.S. invasion was popular, but needs
Please see pope 21 MOSS
Ambler Moss: Vote should be fair
DAVE BERGMAN/Assistant Photo Editor
Construction on the James L. Knight Physics building is still in progress. Classes should be scheduled in the facility by spring 1991.
New UM facilities continue progress
By TIFFANY M. BOST
Assistant News Editor
Paperwork is the only obstacle in the way of University of Miami students being able to attend summer session classes in the new wing of the McArthur Engineering Building, completed two months ahead of schedule .
“The building is ready; it’s just a matter of how fast the City of Coral Gables is willing to go,” said Reynaldo Garcia, project manager of the building’s addition and the new James L. Knight Physics Building.
“We are now in the process of acquiring the certificate of occupancy from the City of Coral Gables," Garcia said. "Our target goal is to have all of the inspections and final corrections complete so that classes can be held there this summer.”
Early plans for the new engineering wing included classrooms, undergraduate laboratories and faculty offices. The classrooms and laboratories will help alleviate crowded conditions cur-
rently experienced by faculty and students.
Behind the McArthur building, on-schedule constriction continues on the Knight Physics Building.
Garcia commented that the Knight facility is in the building termination stage, and the structure itself, aside from landscaping, should be finished by June or July at the latest.
"On schedule,” Garcia said, "the overall possibility is that the physics building should be completed by October 1990."
Dr. George C. Alexandrakis, chairperson of the physics department, said plans call for classes to be held in the building by the spring semester of 1991.
The Knight building plans include classrooms, laboratories, a 150-seat auditorium, faculty offices and faculty research facilites.
Construction on both the Knight facility and the McArthur addition began almost a year ago, in March 1989. r