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A century of editorial freedom
Northside
takes five.
See ARTS
Page 5.
Vol. Cl, 145 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Wednesday, September 11, 1991 Copight @19
'U' officials
'say they are
satisfied with
Union policy
*by Henry Goldblatt
Daily Administration Reporter
I A4 - q- A -1 -ik
'U,
defends
gov't billing
procedures
University administrators said they were satisfied
with a new policy that went into effect this weekend,
banning non-students and students without identifica-
tion from the Union Friday and Saturday nights be-
tween 9:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m.
"For the most part people were able to get to what
they wanted to do," said Vice President for Student
Services Mary Ann Swain.
The modification was an addition to the Student
'Sponsored Events Policy which began last September.
Under this policy students were required to present
identification before entering an event and have plan-
ning meetings before parties to discuss safety and pro-
visions.
"We can anticipate people will be drinking and we
want to make sure we take reasonable precautions so
that everyone is safe," Associate Vice President for
Student Services Royster Harper said.
She added that the administration is trying to tell as
*many students as possible about the policy change be-
fore this weekend to prevent the problems experienced
by students using the facility last weekend.
"We are sending a Letter to the Editor to the Daily.
We are trying to get signs up and contact any student
groups which had scheduled functions," Harper said.
There is still some confusion within the adminis-
tration regarding which nights the policy will be en-
forced.
Alan Levy, housing program director, said the
policy will be °n effect Thursday, Friday and Saturday
nights. Harper and Swain said the policy will
definitely be enforced Friday and Saturday nights, but
Thursday nights are up in the air - depending on how
See UNION, Page 2
by Bethany Robertson
Daily Administration Reporter
A University administrator de-
nied that more than $300,000 was
incorrectly billed to the U.S. gov-
ernment for University research
costs, as charged in a report by the
Department of Health and Human
Services that was obtained by the
Associated Press yesterday.
"There are some charges they
have identified that are correct, but
the vast majority of them are incor-
rect," Executive Director of
University Relations Walter
Harrison said last night.
Harrison was reacting to an AP
story that reported the University
had incorrectly billed the govern-
ment $8.3 million for
"inappropriate or questionable ex-
penses."
Harrison called the AP story un-
true.
After discussions with
University administrators last
January, the University agreed not
to claim $6 million of the disputed
costs, Harrison said. Of the remain-
ing $2.3 million, 15 percent, or ap-
proximately $345,000, is still being
questioned, Harrison said. That 15
percent is the portion of the general
and administrative expenses that is
billed as research-related costs.
The government routinely helps
universities defray the indirect costs
of conducting research - such as lab
upkeep -- that are not linked to any
specific projects.
During 1988-89, the fiscal year in
question, the University reported
$330 million in general and admin-
istrative expenses. When federal au-
ditors began examining University
costs, they challenged more than $8
million of the total as being incor-
rectly billed.
"What the audit report says is
that the $8.3 million should not
have been included in the general and
administrative costs," Harrison
said.
The University will hold a press
conference today to discuss the alle-
gations.
"We will sit there for as long as
it takes to explain this," Harrison
said.
Some expenses included in the
original $8.3 million that the report
labeled as "unallowable" or
"inappropriate" include:
Production and airing of a
Rose Bowl halftime advertisement
about the University;
Food and beverages for the Big
Ten Dinner of July 28, 1988, and
bartending services the previous
day;
Design, production and the
printing of thousands of pamphlets
about student discrimination;
Funding for the United
Coalition Against Racism;
Lobbying activities;
Newspaper subscriptions, and;
Flowers for receptions and
other purposes.
The campus busing system is one
claim the University is disputing,
said Harrison. The report charged
that only students use the bus sys-
tem, and therefore it should not be
billed as a part of research costs. But
Harrison said faculty, researchers,
and many others use the buses.
"In fact, the auditors themselves
used the buses when they were
here," Harrison said.
Audits of several universities'
billing practices were launched af-
ter Stanford University was accused
last March of billing the federal
government $180 mllion for "in-
appropriate" research-related costs
during the 1980s.
Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) was
a part of the Congressional investi-
gations as chair of the House Energy
and Commerce Committee. In a
statement released to the AP yes-
terday, Dingell said the
University's charges were typical of
"expenses completely unrelated to
the conduct of vital scientific re-
search."
"Nevertheless, I am deeply dis-
appointed that the University of
Michigan appears to have had the
same cavalier attitude toward
spending the public's money."
g jg g g MICHELL"' "U"/'aiy
Sink or swim
Charley Sullivan, coach of the women's varsity crew team, tries to convince
prospective rowers that his team is not all wet yesterday afternoon on the Diag.
BGA: Un
by Rob Patton
Daily Staff Reporter
* Representatives of the Black
Greek Association (BGA) are call-
ing the new policy requiring Uni-
versity I.D. for entry to Union
events misguided, saying it hurts
not only their organization, but
other organizations and businesses
which use the building.
The policy affects the BGA be-
cause the fraternities and sororities
in that organization hold most of
their social events in the Union, said
BGA President James Green.
"We're one of the groups most
affected because we don't have our
lon I.D. p
own houses," Green said. "The par-
ties in the union are our main source;
of money," he added.
That money is used for commu-:
nity service projects, the main func-
tion of the BGA, Green said.
The BGA will lose money be-
cause many of the people who came
and paid admission to the parties
were students from other schools,
Green said. Under the old system,
students were required to show a;
student I.D. to enter the parties,
though not necessarily a University
I.D..
With the loss of these patrons,
the BGA will barely have enough1
olicy is misguided
money to cover its expenses, Green stituted with malicious intent.
sad. "They probably think they're doing
Wendi Adams, a member of this in our best interest, but they
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and don't know how they're-hurting
Vice President of the BGA said she us."
was surprised by the decision. "We
thought the old policy was going
pretty well. There were no prob-
lems since it was instituted," she
said.
The old policy was instituted af-
ter an incident last September in
which four students were knifed and
one shot when a fight broke out at a
Union event, she added.
Adams and Green stressed that
they did not feel the policy was in-
"We'd like to work with the
administration on solving this,"
Green added.
However, Green said he was dis-
appointed that the University did
not attempt to contact the BGA
about the program until last Friday,
the same day it was instituted.
"This came as a big surprise to us,"
he said.
"We have to notify the Union
See BGA, Page 2
The Associated Press
tributed to the report
con-
.
IFC executive board pushing
for approval of BYOB policy
by Jami Blaauw
Daily Staff Reporter
At a meeting Sunday, the
Interfraternity and Panhellenic
Council's executive boards unani-
mously endorsed the creation of a
"Bring Your Own Beer" policy.
The policy would affect all
Greek houses - and parties - if ap-
proved by the entire Interfraternity
and Panhellenic Councils later this
term.
"The decision was in response to
overwhelming support from house
presidents in the Greek system as a
whole," said IFC President Matt
Commers of the Delta Tau Delta
fraternity.
Although the specific prohibi-
tions have yet to be formulated, it
will prohibit kegs and joint alcohol
purchases by fraternities and
sororities, Commers said.
"Hopefully, this will remove
the Greek system from the chain as a
supplier of alcohol for the campus,"
Commers said. "This will put the
responsibility in the hands of the
individual and not the Greek
system."
During the next six weeks, the
BYOB proposal will be considered
by Panhellenic and IFC panels, re-
have national house mandates that
require only BYOB parties.
"Last term each fraternity was
supposed to try one BYOB party be-
fore the end of the term," Commers
said. "We wanted to seek a level
playing field for the fraternities
with national mandates."
Enforcement for the new policy
will ensure that some fraternities
do not find loopholes around the
policy, Commers said.
Commers said he does not expect
rush numbers to decrease. "Rushers
£hould be looking for brother or
sisterhood rather than an alcohol
source and hopefully this policy
will encourage this," he said.
"The Greek system is a social or-
ganization devoted to community
service, " Commers said. "Serving
-alcohol is antithetical to its com-
mitment to promote health and
safety of community behavior."
First gay frat in state
established at, MSU
Supreme Court Associate Justice nominee Clarence Thomas is surrounded by photographers prior to the
start of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday.
Thomas shirks abortion issue in hearing
by Gwen Shaffer
Daily Higher Education Reporter
Michigan State University stu-
dents, seeking to broaden social op-
portunities for members of the gay
community, have chartered the first
gay fraternity in the state.
The new fraternity, Delta
Lambda Phi (DLP), was established
on the same principles as any other
fraternity - to foster brotherhood
and fun among men with similar in-
terests.
"This provides people with an
nnnnrtuinitu to he rwnPn1v Qa and
our constitution. I don't know how
other members of the Greek system
will deal with it. IFC supports
(DLP) - I think it is progressive
and ambitious of them," said MSU
IFC Executive Vice President John
Beardslee.
"(DLP doesn't) want to appear
to have a sex club that appeals only
to gay men. They are probably going
to try to participate in more main-
stream activities," Beardslee added.
DLP's crest combines both gay
and traditional elements. It is a tra-
WASHINGTON (AP) -
Supreme Court nominee Clarence
Thomas told senators at the open-
ing of his confirmation hearing
yesterday he believes the
tional adjudication," Thomas told
Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del.) the
panel's chairperson.
Thomas said he had written ex-
tensively in favor of a natural
said: "I do not think at this time I
could maintain my independence as
a member of the judiciary and com-
ment on that specific case."
"We'll want to learn what you
I