Although February has been designated Black Histroy Month, we need to realize that the contributions of African Americans to our society deserve recognition year-round. A recent court ruling is forcing Louisiana to take a closer look at its higher education system. The move has students and university officials debating the merits of racially divided colleges. The Michigan hockey team heads back into Ohio this weekend to take on the Bowling Green Falcons, trying to avenge last week's heartbreaking overtime loss to Miami. Today1 cold; chance of sleet High 32, Low 26 Tomorrow 2Lw Blustery; High 32, Low 20 Jr t Y t ttil One hundred two years of editorial freedom Vol. Clll, No. 79 Ann Arbor, Michigan - Friday, February 12,1993 ©1993 The Michigan Daily Campus prepares to observe Black History Month by Tanisha Harris The week has since escalated into and film festivals are some of the "African Americans, as other achievements of African America Daily Staff Reporter its present form, an entire month that featured activities that will highlight ethnic groups, are proud of their but many African Americans sa [ns ay Many facets of the University community are banding together to help the campus celebrate Black History Month with activities and events. Commemoration organizers and students said they have high hopes for a meaningful holiday. "It's important that we appreciate the past and present achievements of our history. That's what we're all about," said Robbie Dye, Housing Coordinator of Project Awareness. Carter Woodson's plan for setting aside a week to celebrate the ac- complishments of African Americans has come a long way since its 1926 debut as "Negro History Week." Cagers hope to close gap at Indiana *by Ryan Herrington Daily asket ball Writer There is some irony in what Juwan Howard said about this Sunday's matchup between No. 4 Michigan and top-ranked Indiana. When the sophomore center was asked what the Wolverines needed to change from the last time they met the Hoosiers, he had a simple reply. "The outcome," Howard quickly responded. While Howard might be stating the obvious, there is little Michigan could have improved upon when it first faced the Hoosiers last month in Crisler Arena. The Wolverines had a chance at victory on their last possession but missed a three- pointer and had an attempted put- back blocked away at the buzzer, falling to Indiana, 76-75. Ever since that Jan. 12 heartbreak, Michigan has focused on Valentine's Day, when it could avenge the loss against the Hoosiers. Even last Wednesday, when the Wolverines played sloppily against an undermanned Wisconsin squad, 85-66, it seemed that the players had something else on their mind. When asked about the ragged play, Michigan's Chris Webber, who led the team with 21 points, explained much of what the players have been going through. "I know you can't look past the task at hand, but Indiana's been haunting us since we lost that game," Webber said. Yet revenge is not the lone motivation for Michigan as it heads to Bloomington. The Wolverines' 8- 2 conference record (19-3 overall) places them two full games behind Indiana (10-0, 21-2) in their quest for the Big Ten title. With the conference schedule slowly dwindling away, another loss - See CAGERS, Page 12 combines the past legacies of Black inventors and leaders such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., W.E.B. DuBois and Marcus Garvey, with current contributors to Black culture including Spike Lee, Jesse Jackson, Dr. Mae C. Jemison and Colin Powell. Celebrational activities for Black History Month will begin with cul- tural activities sponsored by various departments on campus - such as the Housing Division-Housing Special Programs - which attempt to give all students an insight into some aspects of black culture. Special dinners in the residence halls, poetry and literature readings Black culture. Black History Month activities are not only for Blacks, but tend to be learning experiences for all peo- ple, regardless of race or ethnicity, organizers said. "It's an opportunity for me to learn about my ancestors and his- tory. I know that there are other African American contributors be- sides Martin Luther King who are of significance and worthy of recogni- tion," said Erica Blackwell, an LSA sophomore. For Barbara Robinson, African American representative of Minority Student Services, this month is a time of exchange between cultures. heritage. It's a matter of sharing this information with people of other backgrounds ... It's a matter of education." The issue of student apathy to- ward the commemoration does not take away from the month's spirit of struggle, endurance and success. "Student turn-out is not as great as I would like but I realize that on a college campus, you're competing with all sorts of other programs and activities. We would like for all of our programs to be filled to capacity, but even if they are not, we're send- ing a message," Dye said. February may be the month set aside to celebrate and recognize the they recognize the fact that history is made every day and learning about Black culture or any other culture should be celebrated all year. "Black history should be learned every day. There shouldn't just be one month set aside for learning about black culture. It's a learning process that should begin when you're a child - not at the univer- sity level," said Vontrice Watson, an LSA sophomore. Organizers said the activities and events scheduled for the month add to cultural diversity and awareness, and will hopefully be a time of ap- preciation, insight and learning. These are some of the highlights of this month's Black History celebrations. 12th - Baits African American Classic Film Festival, North Campus Commons, 7 p.m. 13th - Quiet Storm Dance, South Quad Afro-American Lounge, 8 .m. 17th - fro Centric Art and It's Implication" Dr. Jon Lockard, South Quad Afro- American Lounge, 7 p.m. Special dinners at Bursley and East Quad. 18th - "African American Expression, A Black History Month Celebration" Poetry, speech, literaturehreading, and jazz music. Check with residence halls for times and locations. " Ruling expected .\:. today in local c'ustody battle by Will McCahill and Shelley Morrison Daily Crime Reporters A Washtenaw County Circuit Court judge is expected to decide today the fate of a two-year-old girl whose life has been in legal limbo almost since the day she was born. The girl has been the object of prolonged court battles between her biological parents, Daniel and Cara Schmidt of Blairstown, Iowa, and the Ann Arbor couple who has raised her since she was less than a month old, Jan and Roberta DeBoer. Judge William Ager is sched- uled to decide which couple is bet- ter suited to serve the best interests of the child. The girl - named Jessica by the DeBoers and Anna Lee by the Schmidts - was born on Feb. 8, 1991, to Cara Claussen in Iowa. Although the mother knew Daniel Schmidt was the biological father, she did not tell him about the child until after she had signed away her parental rights on Feb. 10, 1991, less than 40 hours after the baby was born. The mother claims she re- versed her decision within the three-day grace period allowed by the law, but was not advised of her right to change her mind. The Iowa couple was not wed at the time of the child's birth, but married in April 1992. By the time Daniel Schmidt See CUSTODY, Page 2 Marian Faupel, Daniel Schmidt, and Cara Schmidt discuss the custody battle for the Schidt's biological daughter. February 8 February 25 March 27 September 23 December 3 January 5 February 12 Baby girl born in Jan and Roberta Daniel Schmidt, Iowa Supreme Court DeBoers are supposed Washtenaw County (Today) Cedar Rapids, Iowa DeBoer of Ann the biological upholds a lower to return the child to the Circuit Court Judge Ager is expected Arbor are granted father, begins court ruling that the Schmidts in Iowa. William Ager agrees to to award February 10 legal custody and custody fight. He child be returned to Instead, they begin a take jurisdiction over permanent Cara Claussen gives wait for adoption had not formally Schmidt, who had legal fight to bring the case. custody based on child up for adoption, proceedings to be given up his since married the jurisdiction over the what he believes having given up final. They name parental rights to mother, Claussen. case to Michigan January 29 to be in the child's parental rights. the baby Jessica. the child. courts. Custody hearings begin. best interests. U' prepares procedure for hearings under new code by Jennifer Silverberg Daily Administration Reporter Although the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities went into effect Jan. 1, the University is still not ready to im- plement the policy. "We're ready to hold administra- tive hearings now. There are people in place to do that but the first panel could not be formed until March 8," said Mary Lou Antieau, assistant to the vice president for student affairs. Under the new policy, complaints of alleged violations of student rights will be presented to the University. Antieau, as judicial advi- sor, will then decide if they should be heard under the code. Mark DeCamp, co-chair of the Student Relations Committee - a group of faculty members and stu- dents - said the Office for Student Affairs is predicting 30 hearings per semester, but Antieau said there have not been any requests for hear- ing panels since the policy went into effect. "At this point there have been no formal reports brought forth under the policy," Antieau said. "We've had some things that might be appli- cable to be covered but they haven't made formal statements. At this point we're just waiting." If complaints are deemed worthy of being pursued, cases can be heard by an administrative panel or a stu- dent hearing board - which consists of six students and one faculty member, who is not able to vote on the case. A different group of stu- dents will preside over each case. The dates of the hearings, their content and their results will not be released to the public, said Maureen Hartford, vice president for student affairs. But she said a broad sum- mary of the number of cases might be published. Letters were mailed Tuesday to 50 students chosen randomly to serve on these hearing panels. The student names were obtained from See CODE, Page 10 " Students question need for single Black leader State reps. talk in support of abortion rights bY David Shepardson Daily Government Reporter by Mona Qureshi Daily Feature Writer The release of Spike Lee's film biography of Malcolm X brought curiosity about the slain Black leader 0 to the national spotlight. Many peo- The campus community is bustling with talk about grooming new student activists like those who led the Black Action Movements (BAM) at the University in the '70s and '80s. I - Most people have favors, cakes and parties on their WINNER