0 Page 4-The Michigan Daily- Monday, March 29, 1993 1je ki &iilg 420 Maynard . Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan JOSH DuBow Editor in Chief ERIN LIzA EINHoRN Opinion Editor Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily editorial board. All other cartoons, signed articles and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily. Y' ~ - / ,11 { ru A ~ f P15 ' NAT (HEi'NTZ I r yo HIb V'IC I0a CODE BLUE Suspension violates student right to due process E PREAMBLE TO the StatementofStudent TRights"and Responsibilities claims that it "protects the freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution." But in the case of the graduate student who Judicial Advisor Mary Lou Antieau suspended last week, a stu- dent was presumed guilty and punished before his hearing. This is a clear violation of the due process clause established in the 14th Amend- ment. In addition, the suspension protected no- body and violated the student's personal rights. Procedure II of the Code gives the vice president for student affairs the right to suspend a student if "his or her continued presence on campus or participation in University activities poses an imminent danger to persons or prop- erty." The authors of the Code created a clause to allow administrators to arbitrarily dole out punishment in the form of immediate suspen- sion, circumventing the due process promised by the Constitution and the Code. Granted, the Code improves upon Regents' Bylaw 2.01 that allows the University president to suspend a student without a hearing, but the way in which the University has applied this clause under- scores the degree to which the Code violates student rights. Because Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen Hartford was out of town last week, she delegated this power to Antieau. The fact that this former South Quad building director was given power to preliminarily suspend a student without afairhearingis frightening. She is not an elected official and has unmerited ability to soil a students record without proving his or her guilt. To add insult to injury, it seems that Antieau may not have even been certain about the threat the accused represented. During the past week she seems to have waivered in her determina- tion of threat. On the record Antieau stands firmly behind her decision to suspend, but she has candidly told people like campus American Civil Liberties Union President David Schwartz that the student may not have presented a threat. She said she she felt strongly about the decision at the time of suspension, and when she spoke with the accused (after Tuesday) and decided a suspension may not have been necessary, it was already too late to revoke the suspension. How- ever, the Code contains no clause that prohibits revoking a suspension. In any event, Antieau's uncertainty raises questions about her -or anyone's - ability to make such determinations about students' lives. In addition to the violation of due process, the student's suspension serves no practical purpose. The suspended student is only prohibited from attending class and University activities. The suspension does notprohibit students-who can remain in a residence hall - from presenting a danger. If the student does in fact pose a threat, a restraining order should be issued by a court of law and the student should be turned over to the police. If the University leads students to believe it has the resources or authority to handle criminal activity, it could open students up to greater danger by creating a sense of false security. This is like substituting Supersoakers for police rifles - and thinking you are safe. And if it hasn't proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that a crime was committed, the University must keep within its own sphere --education- and let the legal system do its job - protecting justice. Even though the legal system is far from flawless, it is a much betteravenue for students to use in serious criminal cases. The clause that allows for immediate suspen- sion is only one example of the offensive nature of the Code. To insure that students have the same rights as other citizens, the Code must be abolished, and the legal system should continue to maintain safety. Housing Division responds to criticism 0 byAlan Le Director of Public A airs and Information for University Housing There has been considerable attention directed to a letter written by some Univer- sity of Michigan Housing Facilities staff, as well as to the responses from various parts of the University community. We would like to provide both a summary of the University Housing Division perspective and some clarification. On Feb. 10, seven Housing Facilities staffmembers sentalettertoRobert Hughes, Director of Housing; Maureen Hartford, Vice President for Student Affairs; Presi- dent James Duderstadt; and the members of the Board of Regents. The letter expressed concern with what the Housing staff termed "sexually explicit" photographs of nude men and women included in a residence hall display during last fall's University- wide Gay Awareness Week. The Housing staff were also concerned that the Housing Division and the University were actively promotingagay and lesbian lifestyle through their programming, purchase of library materials, and support of the Lesbian Gay Male Programs Office. It should be noted that the seven Hous- ing Facilities staff membershinvolved, who hold managerial or supervisory-level posi- tions, received a number of work-related complaints from other staff who were dis- turbed by the photographs and objected to having to clean around these cabinets while the photographs were on display. In writing the letter, the staff members were presenting personal viewpoints with respect to issues of sexual orientation in the residence halls, and their views do not rep- resent the official policies and practices of the Housing Division. The Housing Division does not condone or otherwise encourage one sexual orienta- tion or another. We do, however, have an interest in promoting respect and tolerance for all individuals, which includes insuring that gay or lesbian staff and residents are free from harassment or discrimination. Beyond that, we want our residence halls to be places that are truly inclusive and wel- coming for all residents and staff. We are a community that appreciates and celebrates the contributions and strengths of all of its members. It is also important to respond to some erroneous statements that have appeared in a number of newspaper articles. A formal response to theFeb. 10 letter was prepared by the Housing Division prior to the Re- gents meeting on Feb.18 and 19, and given to the Ann Arbor News, the Daily, and the University Record. George SanFacon, the director and department head of Housing Facilities, wrote a comprehensive letter to his staff members on Feb. 19 following an extended discussion about the issues ema- nating from theletter.TheUniversityRecord ran a lengthy article in its Mar. 1 issue, including substantial excerpts from both the formal Housing Division response and the SanFacon letter. The assertion of AFSCME leaders in a letter to the editor appearing Mar. 12 in the Ann ArborNews that"not one letter, memo, or stance has been issued by the Housing administration to retract the anti-gay posi- tions" is simply not true. In fact, the AFSCME letter appeared one day after the News ran an article that again extensively quoted from the Housing Division's re- sponse to the original letter. The photographs in question did include ness, or provoke discussion and dialogue. In moving toward and creating a com- munity marked by diversity, difficult issues andclashesofopinionwillalwaysbepresent. In many respects, a college campus is the mostuniquely situated institution in Ameri- can society toactas a marketplace for ideas. The "Living at Michigan Credo" is the Housing Division's statement of core val- ues with respectto human rights and civility in its residential communities. The Credo notes that "the University is a special place. It is a community designed to foster free- dom of thought and unconventional, even uncomfortable opinions." On that basis, we respect the right of Housing Facilities staff to hold to personal beliefs that they value strongly. However, within the context of individuals acting as Housing Division staff members, we ex- pect that they will follow through on an- other central principle of the Credo, "We desire to build residence hall and family housing communities in which individuals are not harassed, excluded, or made to feel uncomfortable" because, among other things, of sexual orientation. Our residence halls are not just places 'The Housing Division does not condone or other- wise encourage one sexual orientation or another.' REKINDLDACTMSM Hunger strike shows newstudent comitment ~ESIXTIES. Several weeks ago, students at Yale initiated term evokes unmistakable images a protest against the Clinton policy that denies a concepts.The British invaded the HIV positive Haitians entry to the United States. Rock world with bands like The Beatles, The The protestors charge the Clinton administration Rolling Stones, The Who and Led Zeppelin. with knowingly violating U.S. law. Bold colors dominated the fashion scene with Yale students launched a week-long hunger tie-dyes and bell bottoms. Experimental drugs strike to signify their unity with the Haitians in and longhair were the rage. Activism on college Guantanamo who have been on a hunger strike campuses - like this one - dominated the since Jan. 29. Students at Harvard and Brown political scene. Universities grabbed the baton and the strike In the nineties everything old seems to be continues this week in Ann Arbor where ten new again. Paul McCartney has released a new University students plan to fastuntil Wednesday. album, bell bottoms and loud colors are coming In addition, more than 100 students have pinned back, and even LSD is back on the scene. But black patches to their clothing bearing the num- political activism, the comerstoneofthe sixties, ber264. This symbol represents the 264 Haitians hasbeenslow in reappearing. Atleastuntil now. detained in Guantanamo. With Bill Clinton's emergence on the politi- From here, the strike will probably move onto calscene,theMTVgenerationbelieveditwould Columbia or the University of Virginia. The have a sympathetic ear. Young people on this University of California at Berkeley has also campus campaigned and voted for Clinton in begun recruiting students for the protest. record numbers. But some students saythey feel This effort may not bring about immediate betrayed by our new president and are standing change. But the passion with which these stu- up to say so. When the Clinton administration dents are protesting injustice is encouraging. renegedonapromisetoreversePresidentBush's Hopefully it will spark a renewed belief on policy on quarantined Haitian refugees who campus that involvement can effect change. tested HIV positive in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Maybe we'll see the beginning of a new student students across the country and atthis university activism. In the past, the student voice has been ate going as far as fasting all week to show their a powerful force for change. After decades of dismay. This commitment to a cause is relative silence,itis againtime forthisvoice to be encouraging. heard. GAYSI Segregation would undermine promise to 4ft ban two nude same-sex couples and contained prominent headings that carried a "safe sex" message. It is undoubtedly the case in a community of 10,000 residents and over 700 permanent staff members that indi- viduals will have different personal bound- aries for what they consider appropriate for public display. It has been asserted that if similar photo- graphs of heterosexual couples had been put up as part of a display that such photo- graphs would be in violation of Housing University policy. This is not the case. A distinction needs to be made, for example, between posting overtly pornographic ma- terials in awork area as opposed toadisplay of materials put up as part ofan educational or programmatic activity directed at a very general audience. The former is an act of sexual harassment clearly in violation with University policy. Thelattermaybe subject to judgementcalls with respect to appropri- ateness or good taste, but the fundamental purpose is to educate, encourage aware- where room and board are provided. The Housing Division is an active contributorto the educational and co-curricular life of our student residents. Since the threshold that individuals have for what they view as offensive or problematic is so variable, there is no realistic way we can deal with important social,political, or cultural issues without running the risk of offending some. We are very concerned that all of the attention given to a letter written by a very small group of our very large Housing staff creates a serious distortion of the substan- tial efforts made by Housing to develop supportive and diverse residential commu- nities, which certainly includes our staff. President Duderstadt speaks often of the entire University working towards the goal of becoming a mulitcultural university in the 20th century. We, too, are committed to 'that vision, and we have prepared this state- ment to do whatever we can to remove any ambiguity that may have resulted from the commentary during the past few weeks. S 6 0 Biased letters denounced To the Daily: I am a little disturbed by some of the comments about TAs made by undergraduates in "Negotiations continue on TA contract" (3/9/93). I am not arguing for or against their salary increase or strike, but something is clearly wrong when a student calls TAs "unqualified teachers" and demands that the "standards for TAs should go up." These general statements should not be based on the observation of a few individuals. I wonder if he ever studied the "standards for TAs." Someone else argued that TAs are students since they have no teaching license. I guess the vast majority of the University professors are also students, and every single high school teacher with a license is a qualified teacher, correct? When people make general Brady Bill defies Constitutional rights To the Daily: In regards to your editorial "Deadly Weapons: Waco incident shows need for Brady Bill" (3/17/93), I think you should get your facts straight. The Second Amendment does in fact guarantee any individual's right to own any weapon. The amendment actually states the following: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be in- fringed." The amendment does not confirn merely "the state's" rights, but those of "the people." As in the first and fourth Amendments, the term "the people" means the citizens - the individuals. Contrary to your liberally- biased, false interpretation, a militia in the 18th century did not mean a formal unit like the National Guard, but a system under which every household and every man of military age was required to own a gun in order to defend the commu- nity against tyranny, foreign invasion and crime. Obviously times have changed, but this amendment has not. The Second Amendment does imply that waiting periods are illegal, as are any restrictions. Remember, "the rights of the people...shall not be infringed." So, proposals like the Brady Bill are illegal. Anyone who believes in the Constitution will understand this, and should support the NRA's efforts to strike down the bill. The problem of gun- related crime lies not in weapon availability, but in education and upbringing. We need to teach the youth that the misuse of guns is wrong. Sounds obvious, but go find out whether or not this is being taught in South Central Los Angeles schools. Like the saying goes, "Guns don't kill people; people kill people." Charles Starkey LSA sophomore 0 AF TER POLITICAL BAIT sexuals in the militar stabilityofthenew adn dent Clinton backed off on hi lift the ban and instead of- fered the gay and lesbian community a teaspoon of hope. But as the date the official executive order was settobe drafted approaches, military officials and a re- ltctant Clinton have let that hope drip away. .ES over homo- ban. Like pouting children, these powerful poli- y threatened the ticians are dragging their feet, all the while com- iinistration,Presi- plaining about lowered morale and recruiting is original plan to difficulties. Clinton must slice through Defense Department red tape and lift the ban - without any more ". ""I ""!J ~3concessions. Clinton.who supposedly against segregating troops af- " ' ' ter he visitedthesleepingquar- D ," A 51: k, ",ters of anaval warship, is paint- inghomosexuals as sexual per- ______________________ 'gpj-te.,vandalle~n-Linimfnu ndedi Christian view of homosexuality based on love To the Daily: In his letter "Love thy neighbor. regardless of sexual active rebellion against God's desires for their lives? To me, it seems far more loving to try rather, we would consider them cruel. Of course, thi argument 0 I