Papers claim search
The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 7, 1988 - Page 5
secret, illegal
BY NOAH FINKEL
The University inaugurated James Duderstadt as
president yesterday, but the way in which the regents
selected him is an issue that has not yet gone away.
Attorneys for the Ann Arbor News and the Detroit
:Free Press are still pursuing a lawsuit filed against the
,Board of Regents last May charging that the secretive
;manner in which the search took place violated
'Michigan's Open Meetings Act.
Ed Hood, attorney for the News, and Herschel Fink
and Michael Gruskin, attorneys for the Free Press are
busy amassing evidence and taking depositions from
the regents in preparation for an appeal to Judge Ross
Campbell of the Washtenaw Circuit Court.
IN MAY, the News and Free Press claimed the
board violated the OMA by forming "constructive quo-
rums" of four or less regents to interview prospective
presidential candidates and then informally interacting
with other members of the board. This, said Gruskin,
is in violation of the spirit of the OMA. Any gathering
of five or more regents must be open to the public.
But Roderick Daane, the regents' attorney, denied
that his clients violated the OMA. He also said that
opening the interview process would scare away appli-
cants and would "eliminate the best qualified people
from the race."
In June, Judge Campbell ruled in favor of the re-
gents and denied the newspapers' request to make the
selection process public. The Michigan Court of Ap-
peals denied the subsequent appeal by the newspapers.
At that time, the plaintiffs did not have time to
compile all the evidence, so they are appealing again
now.
"Since you're asking for immediate relief, you don't
totally flesh out the argument... Now, we get to flesh
out the full facts," Gruskin said.
WITH THE APPEAL, the News and Free Press
are hoping to accomplish two things: recovery of at-
torney's fees and the establishment of a different court
precedent on the OMA.
Ed Hood, attorney for the News, said his client "has
an interest in how the (presidential search) process is
run... Judge Campbell ruled that the Open Meetings
Act doesn't apply to University personnel decisions.
That could set a precedent that would hamper newspa-
per coverage."
Attorneys for the plaintiffs think that Judge Camp-
bell, or a higher court, could reverse this precedent
when faced with all the evidence.
But Daane disagrees. "My expectation is that Judge
Campbell will not change his view... He gave a clear
signal that he agrees with the regents."
EVEN IF the court rules the regents were in
violation of the OMA, both sides agreed the appeal
does not threaten Duderstadt's position as president.
"Theoretically the court could invalidate the election,
but as a practical matter that's not likely," said Daane.
Hood said the papers will not ask the court invali-
date the election. "The principle is what we're after," he
said.
Bentsen, Quayle both
claim victory in debate
BY MICHAEL LUSTIG
Both the supporters of Democrat
Lloyd Bentsen and Republican Dan
Quayle are claiming victory after
Wednesday's debate between the vice-
#residential nominees.
In an ABC News poll, 51 percent
of respondents said Bentsen won
while 27 percent favored Quayle; 22
percent called it a tie.
Communications Prof. Holli
Semetko, who specializes in media
and politics, couldn't find any winner
put of the debate, because, she said,
ftey aren't truly debates but rather
two press conferences going on
multaneously."
w Originally, Democratic presiden-
tial candidate Michael Dukakis wan-
ted four debates, but his Republican
rival, George Bush, would only ac-
cept two presidential and one vice-
presidential contest. Dukakis agreed
to the two debates when Bush threat-
ened to cancel them all. Dukakis also
agreed to Bush's format of a mod-
erator and panelists.
Any debate helps Dukakis, Sem-
etko said. And for the public, she
Bikers
'bustle
at busy
racks
BY ROSS TANZER
During peak class hours, bikes
are chained to streetsigns, bike racks,
lampposts, trees, and staircase rail-
ings. But bikers say finding a safe
secure place to lock a bike is
becoming more difficult, and the
number of rails is insufficient for the
growing population of bike-riding
students.
"The bike situation is horrendous
here. I can never find a parking rail,
and I'm always forced to park against
some sign or tree. We're just lucky
not to be penalized for doing this,"
said David Kohnstamm, an LSA
sophomore who has been riding his
bike to class for the last year.
But many students say some of
the available racks are unsafe and
make bike thefts easy. Bike racks in
which only one tire is locked to a
metal rod in a cement block are
completely unsafe, students say.
These racks are currently being re-
placed, but the process is slow -
only several are being replaced each
year.
ONE STUDENT said her bike
was stolen from one of these cement
blocks. "My entire bike was simply
detached from my tire. And now I'm
left with a tube of rubber," she said.
Ninety-five bicycles were stolen
koff University property last year,
said Bob Pifer, assistant director of
the Department of Public Safety. He
said thefts totalled about $14,595 -
based on an estimation of stolen bi-
cycle prices - and only $2,797 has
lince been recovered.
The figures for 1988 thus far are
ino better. Forty-five bikes are re-
'orted missing this year.
The most updated bike racks are
the single loop styles, separately in-
stalled three feet apart, but the Uni-
versity will not allot much money
'for these newer bike racks which
cost $40 apiece, said Ken Wantee,
"director of campus planning for
grounds. He said these bike racks are
:planned and included in the cost of
new buildings.
h
added, "Some debates are better than
no debates."
The most memorable comment of
the evening concerned former Presi-
dent John Kennedy. When Quayle, an
Indiana senator, said he had as much
College Republicans President Larry
Jazinski called the remark "a cheap
shot," while Navid Mahmoodzad-
egan, president of Students for Bush-
Quayle '88, said it was "an act of
desperation" on Bentsen's part.
The debates weren't truly debates but rather 'two
press conferences going on simultaneously,'
-Communications Prof. Holli Semetko
experience in Congress as Kennedy
did, Texas Sen. Bentsen retorted:
"Senator, I served with Jack Ken-
nedy. I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack
Kennedy was a friend of mine.
Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."
Kennedy served 14 years in
Congress before he was elected pres-
ident in 1960. Quayle has served 12,
with the past eight in the Senate.
While Bentsen's retort drew
laughter and applause from the aud-
ience at the debate, republican sup-
porters believe the comment will
hurt the Democrats in the long run.
Both agreed that Quayle was the
winner. He came into the debate
needing to prove himself and was
able to hold his own against Bentsen,
Jazinski said. The Republican can-
didate also showed that he was pas-
sionate and knowledgeable, acting
"under tremendous criticism," Mah-
moodzadegan said.
But Keith Brand, campus coordi-
nator for Students for Dukakis, said
the debate showed that "the notion of
President Bentsen is thinkable while
the notion of President Quayle is
unthinkable."
RUBIN LUZNAK/Doil
MSA President Michael Phillips carries a sign protesting the confidetial presidential
selection process.
Protest
Continued from Page 1
protesters."
Steingraber said she was treated
for a head injury and that she was
released in two hours. University
hospital officials said they could not
comment on patients.
While Steingraber lay on the
ground, two campus security officers
leaned over her - Public Safety
Director Leo Heatley draped his coat
over her - though she asked on-
lookers to "get these cops away from
me." At that point, Heatley threw
LSA senior Cale Southworth, who
demanded Heatley get off Stein-
graber, to the ground and said he was
arrested for interference.
Southworth, a Daily opinion
page co-editor, tried to escape, but
assistant Safety Director. Robert
Pifer handcuffed Southworth and es-
corted
car.
him into an Ann Arbor police
Pifer said he arrested Southworth
for "assault on police officer who
was administering first aid (to Ste-
ingraber)."
THE CROWD then surrounded
the police car to prevent it from
leaving. As the car started to back
up, it nearly twice rolled over about
10 students sitting behind it. Ann
Arbor police officers and campus se-
curity officers dragged the protesters
away from the car. The Ann Arbor
Police arrested Rackham graduate
student and Daily opinion staff
writer Michael Fischer, who was
sitting behind the car, and put him
in the car with Southworth.
Public Safety Security Supervisor
Terry Seames - not in uniform and
not wearing identification to indicate
he was a campus security officer -
dragged several protesters from be-
hind the car. Seames would not
comment, and campus security offi-
cials refused to say whether their of-
ficers were allowed to work without
visible identification.
Though many protesters resisted
arrest, Police Staff Sgt. Norm
Melby, a commanding officer at the
protest, said the police officers only
arrested the most active protesters.
"ONE OFFICER can only
make one arrest in some instances,"
he said. "And sometimes that means
the person who was most frequently
warned to discontinue their activi-
ties. The protesters were removed
from their locations several times
before they were arrested."
Ann Arbor Police Capt. Robert
Conn, the other commanding officer
at the protest, said Southworth was
arrested for assaulting a police offi-
cer, and that Hudson and Fisher were
arrested for interfering with a police
officer. Conn said no formal charges
have been filed against the arrested
students, who were released without
bond.
A BOLD
STATEMENT
"""" i -
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ROBIN IOZNAK/Daily
Overcrowded bicycle racks have forced people to lock their
bikes to railings like this one
JAYNE MILLER, the bicycle
coordinator for the Parks and Recre-
ation Department of Ann Arbor, or-
ganizes bike events and tours for the
city. "Whenever new property devel-
ops, the site plan review board must
investigate to see how many loops
must be installed. Then they are re-
quired to install a certain number of
racks," Miller said.
Pifer said that students can pre-
vent money loss due to bike theft by
registering their bikes with the city
of Ann Arbor.
In 1937 the city passed a law de-
manding that all bicycle riders regis-
ter their vehicles with the township
police. The regents of the University
have since adopted this code for all
students to follow, said Pifer. But
in front of East Engineering.
many students are unaware of this
code, or do not act on it.
"Many bikes still remain
unregistered, and that is why so
many stolen ones cannot be found,"
said Pifer. "It's impossible to find a
lost bike if students don't know its
serial number. If a bike is registered,
police can simply look for matching
serial numbers."
Bike registration entails filling
out a form in the city clerk's office
with the bicycle's model number.
For $2.50, the registered bike is
given a personal serial number
which is engraved upon the body of
the bicycle and remains the same as
long as ownership doesn't change
hands.
'Two for $6.95
I Two 10" pizzas with two
I toppings for $6.95 plus tax.
I Additional toppings $1.09 I
[ EQExpires 10/31/88
Ann Arbor stores only.
®[W ,A One coupon per order.
Valid at partcipating stores only. Not valid with any other offer.
Prices may vary. Customer pays applicable sales tax. Limited
delivery area. Our drivers carry less than $20.00. 1988
SDom.no s Pizza, Inc. MD
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