The city is holding two meetings this week about the future of the Ann Arbor farmer’s market.

NBC plans to air a special focusing in part on former LSA-SG President Monique Luse:
“NBC has confirmed it will air a 1-hour special on the U-M admissions cases Friday, June 6, at 8 pm. According to the executive producer, the piece:

* Deals exclusively with the undergraduate case
* Tells the story on affirmative action and the admissions policies at U-M through the lives of two people, plaintiff Jennifer Gratz and U-M student Monique Luse
* Takes a historical look at the issue
* Focuses on African American alumni from U-M’s class of 1973 — their experiences, their careers and lives, and their perspectives on the issue
* Tom Brokaw hosts the program and conducts many of the interviews, including a discussion with a panel of 1973 alumni. President Coleman, Marvin Krislov and Lee Bollinger were interviewed as well.”

Although it’s not news, I just discovered an interesting tidbit. According to the minutes of a meeting between the Native American Student Association and VP for ‘Student’ Affairs Royster Harper, the University is holding the Michigamua artifacts which rightfully belong in the Bentley Historical Library at property they own at Willow Run. If they really wanted to get it off campus, they could probubly put it in the basement of the U-M owned, abandoned building across the street from the DIA – the Rackham Educational Memorial.

I recieved this in an email, I assume these people are the ones arrested blocking the entrance to the Liberty Street Federal building, but the better informed are encouraged to correct me.

“Please consider supporting our fellow resisters who are going to trial following arrests for civil disobedience acts. Those involved are Jim Russo, Helen Simon, and Abby Schlaff who face criminal charges (tried by a jury); and Phil Booth and Jim Lupton who a facing civil charges for the same event (tried by the judge).

It is hoped that all who can can will come to the Court House to observe all or part of the procedings and show our support and solidarity for those who have gone that extra step for the values we all believe in.”

Chetly Zarko’s FOIA flap has resulted in an editorial in the Detroit News, a newspaper with a long history conservative editorial activism. Meanwhile, the administration has gone to great lengths to dispel the half-truths peddled by Zarko.

My initial response to Chetly Zarko’s analysis is this: while I don’t doubt the difficulty of obtaining records he alleges about his FOIA requests, I attribute that to an institutional fetish for secrecy rather than nefarious intents. The summary he alleges was repressed was based on two years’ of data in a four-year study, and having read it myself I don’t find it a clear contradiction between the report and any position the University has taken. To the contrary, I think Zarko has read into the observation by U-M researchers that students of color experienced a hostile environment by concluding they must feel stigimatized by affirmative action. I conclude the opposite – they probubly are simply observing the climate of a student body of mostly wealthy whites from virtually all white towns on a campus which still wears the legacy of years of racially-intolerant practices. We must remember the relatively minor concessions won during the BAM I and II strikes are relatively recent in University history. Also, it’s no wonder some students today feel as insecure as ever – as white republicans in the Michigan Student Assembly kick the Native American Student Association out of their Michigan Union office (last spring) and the already tiny OAMI and MESA face deeper budget cuts.

In other news, the Forth Annual Irish-Mexican Fiesta in Detroit’s Mexicantown to be held June 8th is featuring a “tiniest Chihuahua and cutest Irish setter” contest.

National/World Articles of Note:
> Wash. Post: “Budget glitch shortchanges AmeriCorps, Enrollment may be cut, Reversing Bush pledge”
> NY Times: “Tax Law Omits Child Credit in Low-Income Brackets”
> AP: “Court allows secret deportation hearings”
> Cartoon: Race and deregulation
> Asia Times: “The Roving Eye: The masters of the universe”
“The Bilderberg club is regarded by many financial and business elites as the high chamber of the high priests of capitalism. … The Bilderberg mingles central bankers, defense experts, press barons, government ministers, prime ministers, royalty, international financiers and political leaders from Europe and America. … The Bilderberg does not invite – or accept – Asians, Middle Easterners, Latin Americans or Africans.

The U-M Department of Public Safety is cutting the Victor and Wolverine units as a cost saving measure. These units are the student employees who patrol campus to give people jump-starts, directions, etc. Former Victor unit and U-M student Mike Roth seems pretty bummed about it. I suppose this means that SAFEWALK will be another step closer to disappearing completely, since the student employees ostensibly took the program over from student volunteers.