Central Florida Future, Vol. 21 No. 66, June 21, 1989

              he Central Florida Future
© 1988 The Central Florida Future
Volume 21, Number 66
University of Central Florida/Orlando
Wednesday June 21,1989
UCF uses voice of freedom
Students attempt to take
up where Chinese left off
Tom Wefc»ter/CENTRAL FLORIDA FUTURE
"Action for Freedom" rally-goers braved the 90-degree-plus weather to march around the reflecting
pond twice Monday.waving banners and chanting slogans calling for an end to oppression in China.
By Eric Dentel
CENTRAL FLORIDA FUTURE
In one of the largest student-led rallies ever held at
UCF, hundreds turned out
Monday to protest the recent
events in China.
Members of the UCF chapter of Amnesty International
organized the rally with the
help of Chinese students and
Student Government members.
Estimates of the total numbers at the demonstration varied, but organizers say they got
more than 400 signatures on
their petitions even though
many people did not sign. Although the number of people
assembled on the Health and
Physics Green never topped
400 at one time, many people
arrived and departed during
the course of the two-hour
rally.
Under the watchful eyes of a
seven-foot-tall replica of the
"Goddess of Democracy" from
Tiananmen Square, the rally
got under way at 11 a.m. when
Amnesty International UCF
coordinator Lance Turner
addressed the crowd.
"We're here today to use our
voice of freedom to liberate our
peers and the people of China,"
Turner told the crowd, which
responded with cheers and
applause.
Students, faculty, administrators and concerned citizens
from around the state had an
SEE VOICE PAGE 3
	
by Paul Gilbert
CENTRAL FLORIDA FUTURE-;
UCF sophomore Shi Tsi
called his parents in Beijing
Wednesday and told his
mother what he and other
Chinese students at UCF
planned for the Action for
Freedom rally Monday.
Tsi, the chairman of the
Chinese Student and Business Scholar Association,
listened as his mother explained the gravity ofhis
planned protest
"They don't think what
I'm doing is wrong," Tsi said
from the Green before the
Fear of retribution spurs caution
rally Monday. "They said, 'You
must pay attention, because
when you get home, the Chinese government could make
trouble.' I said, 'But this is
America/ "
But most Chinese students
in the U.S. fear the arm of the
oppressive Chinese government may be exceeding the
country's boundaries.
After the massacre in Beijing on June 4, the Chinese
government labeled all pro-democracy   demonstrators   in
China "counter-revolutionaries" and thus criminals subject
to harsh punishment.
The government's subsequent arrests of protesters
struck fear in Chinese citizens
at home and abroad. Although
some have decided to continue
voicing their protests in the
United States, other students
have decided to avoid risking
their welfare and that of their
families.
Kenneth Bailes, a member
of the U.S. State Department's
newly created Chinese task
force, said reprisals against
Chinese students abroad are
"a possibility" but "retribution
is not certain."
Still, campuses at the University of South Florida in
Tampa, a hotbed of protest
against the Chinese government last month, and the University of Florida in
Gainesville quieted shortly
after the massacre.
Officials from both universities said Chinese students
feared   reprisals   against
their families back home.
"Our students have been
contacted by the Chinese
embassy for the purpose of
identifying which Chinese
students have protested,"
said Dan Casseday, associate public relations director
at USF.
"They're afraid their
families will be interrogated or put in jail, not for
themselves."
"There's anger, there's
fear an d concern for family,"
said Larry Humes, assis-
SEE FEAR PAGE 3
Prez preps for Knighthood
by Eric Dentel
CENTRAL FLORIDA FUTURE
Steven Altman, president of
Texas A&I University, will
replace Trevor Colbourn at
UCF on July 5. To prepare
himself for his new job, Altman
has been making short visits to
the campus and surrounding
areas. The Central Florida
Future caught up with him
during his visit last week.
The Central Florida
Future: One of the things we
heard you had been working on
is doing some house hunting
while you were down here. How
far have you gotten on that?
Altman: We bought a
house. We must have looked at
60 or so, and we finally bought
one in Winter Park.
CFF: How many trips have
you made down here?
Altman: This is my fourth
trip. They've typically been
short, just two or three days
each time. I've been trying to
pack the schedule, meeting
with as many people as I possibly can, and learning as much
as I possibly can. I know I'm
still just scratchingthe surface
of the activity and the range of
things that are going on here.
CFF: Are you going to be
making any more trips down
here?
Altman: No, this is going to
be the last one before I begin
July 5.
CFF: Have you been following the story about the rally
we're going to be having here on
June 19?
Altman: I'm aware that
there is going to be one.
SEE ALTMAN PAGE 3
Tom Webster/CENTRAL FLORIDA FUTURE
Steven Altman, president of Texas A&I University, will become
UCF's third president on July 5.
FEATURES
■ Features talks to Living
Colour about breaking
music's color barriers with
a heavy rock. Also, reviews of the Radiators' &
the tom-tom club's latest
releases.
SPECIAL
■ The Central Florida Future presents a two-page
photo essay on Monday's
Action for Freedom rally,
one of the largest student-
led demonstrations in the
history of UCF.
SPECIAL
6
OPINION
8
COMICS
9
CLASSIFIED
10
FEATURES       12