Ninety-seven years of editorialfreedom


VOLUME XCVII -s NO. 134

ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN - LLItck pr;l C

COPYRIGHT 1987, THE MICHIGAN DAILY


-1- mmm6m6m6mm

Do

we

now

have

a

code?

Shapiro says sanctions
needed to combat racism

By REBECCA BLUMENSTEIN
The time of the code may be
here. The University has called
for a trial to determine if two
students accused of racist
activities will receive academic
sanctions for their behavior
outside the classroom, in what
many perceive as an
implementation of the pro -
posed non-academic code of
conduct.
"If we are going to say that
we will not tolerate racist
behavior, it is important that
we do something about it,"
said University President
Harold Shapiro. "This is
simply our response to a
certain incident, and should not
be viewed as a precedent," he
added
The University Council, the
nine-member panel of students,
faculty, and administrators that'
has been working on a code
draft since 1984, has not been
involved with any of these
code-related proceedings.
An April 8 letter addressed
to two students being inves -
tigated for their role in last
month's racial incident at
campus radio station WJJX -
Ted Sevransky, LSA
sophomore, and Peter
Gonzalez, LSA first year
student - instigated this
renewed debate. It informed
them that a hearing had been
set for this Saturday to decide
what sanctions would be used
to penalize their behavior. In

the letter, the two students
were told that academic
sanctions ranging from a letter
of reprimand to expulsion
could be used.
But the University's plan,
for a Saturday trial has already
created so much controversy
that it has been indefinetely
deferred. The implications of
this hearing have confused both
administrators and students.
"Since there has already
been a fact-finding inves -
tigation to confirm the guilt of
these two students, we intended
to have a hearing to flush out
our understanding of our
available options," said

Sallyanne Payton, a law
professor and one of two
members of Shapiro's appoin -
ted commission. "But I
wouldn't quarrel with the
students fear of this sort of
investigation setting a
precedent," she added. .
Campus activists who have
fought against a student code of
nonacademic conduct for years
say this is the wrong way for
the University to attack its
problems with racism. "For
these students to go through a
hearing for their non-academic
behavior is definetely an
indication that the Univerisity
is going to implement all that

a code stands for," said Ken
Weine, president of the
Michigan Student Assembly.
"This is not to say that MSA
isn't condemning the racial
acts, but we think that they
could be corrected in a more
constructive way."
But Richard Kennedy, vice
president of government
relations and the other member
of the commission, refutes any
connection of this inves -
tigation with the code debate.
The investigation has
sparked a renewed controversy
to the 15 year-old code debate.
A code would create a judicial
See VP, Page 2

MSA condemns action as

implementation (
By MARTHA SEVETSON the students involved in the
Michigan Student Assembly WJJX radio incident. Sev -
President Ken Weine yesterday ransky, LSA sophomore, and
said the University has Gonzalez, first year LSA
implemented a code of non- student, were given written
academic conduct. He said notice of the hearing last week,
University procedures to informing them that the
investigate and hear charges procedure was confidential.
against students involved in MSA last night unanim -
airing racist jokes on WJJX ously passed a resolution
threaten student rights. condemning the procedures and
University President Harold opposing any student
Shapiro created a commission membership on the com -
last month to determine mission as "illegitimate and
sanctions to discipline Ted unrepresentative of the student
Sevransky andDeter Gonzalez, body." Weine added that MSA-

a code
is not opposed to the
investigation: "That's healthy
and necessary," he said.
Assembly members agreed
that although the commission
was established to deal only
with this incident, it could be
applied in the future to restrict
freedom of speech.
"(Shapiro) will say this is
just a commission set up to
investigate this incident, not a
code," said representative
Michael Phillips, an LSA
sophomore."If other incidents
See MSA, Page 5

Middleton shirks homemaker
image as city councilmember

By CARRIE LORANGER
She is the first to admit that she
has an image of being a home -
maker, but Ann Arbor City
Councilmember Jeanette Middleton
is also an ambitious professional.
According to former Republican
Ann Arbor mayor James Step-
henson, Middleton's ability to leave
Profie
behind household duties makes her
a professional. "Jeanette talks about
bein a 'doctor's wife,' but I don't
know many people that see her in
that mold. She's always been a very
informed person who has strong
political views," he said.
Middleton (R-Third, Ward)
considers herself a veteran council -
member whose greatest asset is the
ability "to advise the new people
and support Jerry (Jernigan)." With
Jernigan stepping into the mayor's
seat, Middleton expects she will be
the leading Republican spokes -
person.
"I used to pick cotton, which
nobody would ever guess," she said
about her childhood in Paint Rock,
Alabama. Her parents owned a

general store which, at one time,
sold everything from "coffins to
fertilizer and groceries."
TODAY, Middleton keeps her
Honda Prelude in the driveway with
an open sun roof, keys in the
ignition, and city council agendas
and documents scattered all over the
back seat. She said she is focuses
on meticulously researching issues
and exposing problems; she creates
detailed outlines of speeches before
making presentations to council.
Her involvement with her three
children and their school events
began Middleton's political career
on a small scale. Beth, the
youngest, was a junior at Vander -
bilt University when Middleton was
elected to council in 1984.
She was on the Board of
Trustees at the Greenhills Schools,
a preparatory school for grades
seven through 12, for about eight
years. During that time, she was
the chair of the search committee
for the headmaster of the Greenhills
schools, a full-time, nine month
job.
Middleton worked at the gift
shop at St. Joseph's Hospital for
five years, but became tired of
doing volunteer work. "I decided
that I would like a new area,"

Middleton said.
BUT she had never considered
running for city council. "It was at
a funeral, and a group of us were
there," she recounted. "They needed
someone to run for city council and
(former councilmember) Ed Hood
looked over at me and said 'how
about you, Jeanette?'
"'Me? I never even thought
about anything like that."'
A few weeks later, Republican
party members - including Hood
and Stephenson - asked her to be
their candidate for the Third Ward.
She was elected that April.
As the only Republican woman
councilmember, Middleton has
never felt outnumbered or sub -
ordinated. "I felt like I went in there
saying 'I am Jeanette Middleton and
I think I have something to offer,'
and expected to be treated as an
equal and was," she explained.
Middleton said she has made
many friendships over her last three
years with both Democrats and
Republicans on council.
"I've always enjoyed working
with her; she is always available
and reasonably assertive politi -
cally," said former Democratic
mayor Ed Pierce.
See BETTER, Page 3

'U may
toughen
language
program
By MARTIN FRANK
The LSA Curriculum Com -
mittee proposed yesterday that
students who receive below a C
minus in any of the first three
semesters of their foreign language
cannot move to the next level in
thatlanguage.
The proposal will be brought to
the Executive Committee within
the next two weeks, and if
approved, the faculty will vote on it
next fall.
LSA Dean Peter Steiner,
Executive Committee member and
spokesperson, approves of the idea
and thinks it will pass when the
committee brings the issue to a
vote within the next two weeks.
"I think (the proposal) is
consistent with the decisions of the
faculty in their effort to raise the
standards of language proficiency
for students coming out of high
schools and it should also help on
the collegiate level," Steiner said.
The proposal is based on similar
See COMMITTEE, Page 3
INSIDE
Vincent Chin's assailants will
be tried in Cincinnati on April
21; 'U' protest planned.
OPINION, PAGE 4
The Celibate Rifles return to
Ann Arbor with some music
from Down Under.
ARTS, PAGE 8
Baseball's racial problems con -
tinne can the A40th gnnivperr f

Daily Photo by DANA MENDELSSOHN
Jeanette Middleton and her dog Bucky sit by the garden outside her
home. Middleton is beginning her fourth year as Third Ward city council
member.


Twenty
By STEVE KNOPPER
First in a two-part series
Over the last 20 years, students
have held sit-ins and teach-ins, the
University has rejected millions of
dollars in research projects, and
committees have met for countless
hours in an effort to develop an
acceptable policy to govern
research.
Tomorrow, the Board of Regents

Ar --

years oi i
research on campus first came under
fire. At the time, the University
performed 51 completely secret
projects, and 18 required access to
classified documents, though the
results were published, worth $12.5
million. Ninety percent of the
classified projects were housed at
Willow Run Laboratories, 10 miles
away from campus.
On October 27, 1967, students

rl

esearch policy
classified research contract the President fo
specific purpose of which is to approve or re
destroy human life or to decisions.
incapacitate human beings." This In July, the
became known as the "end-use" from Willow
clause and it has survived in the became an ind
guidelines for two decades. local compar
THE guidelines also required 1973, the nu
researchers to disclose the existence contracts fell f
of their contract and the identity of value dropped
its sponsor. $950,000. Sin

face

r Research must
ject the two panels'
University divested
Run Labs, which
dependent, non-profit
ny. From 1972 to
mber of classified
rom 31 to 16, and the
from $4.2 million to
ce then, the number
h :t it.h.. annn a

regents
enu-use clause extenaed to include
non-classified research. The RPC
debated the suggestion for two years
and finally drafted a proposal in
favor of extending the clause. But
the regents refused to adopt the
proposal at their June 1983
meeting, citing a lack of sufficient
time to review it.
Twenty-seven members of the
Progressive Student Network, a
~rvri f 'ctntPnt Qftivits e vp -