The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 1, 1994 -3 Homeless activists address YMCA's fate at City Council meeting By JAMES M. NASH DAILY STAFF REPORTER Mistakesby formercityleaders have come back to haunt the Ann Arbor City Council, homeless activists declared yesterday as they protested a city plan to bail out atroubled low-incomehous- ing project. The Ann Arbor YMCA, which runs °a 100-room low-income housing de- velopment at the corner of Fifth and William streets, has asked the city to Attorney misconduct ncreases GRAND RAPIDS (AP) - The number of Michigan attorneys disci- plined for professional misconduct in 1993 jumped 30 percent from the year before, with charges ranging from with- holding client money to shoplifting. The 157 lawyers receiving punish- ment, from reprimands to disbarment, set a new state record last year, accord- ing to the Attorney Grievance Com- mission, which investigates and pros- ecutes complaints. Fifteen attorneys were disbarred, down from 18 in 1992, and the number of attorneys receiving reprimands and probation remained constant with 1992 levels. But the number of attorneys suspended from practicing law more S than doubled, from 40 in 1992 to 81 in 1993. The complaints come from dissat- isfied clients and, occasionally, other lawyers, said grievance commission "officials. Michigan has 29,802 licensed lawyers. Commission Chair Robert J. Eleveld of Grand Rapids acknowledged that the nine-member panel has gotten tougher in recent years as lawyers have 0become more intent on cleaning up their own ranks and restoring public confidence. "When the polls show our image has gotten a little better, we can ease off a bit. But I haven't noticed that yet," Eleveld told The Grand Rapids Press in a story published yesterday. Of the 3,950 complaints received last year - about the same number as a year earlier - the commission filed 259 formal complaints after investigat- ing. Most complaints are resolvedwith- out formal charges, and typically in- volve a fee dispute or a breakdown in communication, said Philip Thomas, a commission member. If the commission concludes a com- plaint has merit, Thomas asks the At- torney Discipline Board for a hearing. A three-member hearing panel then makes a finding of guilt or innocence and may impose sanctions up to disbar- ment. Thomas said his office has a conviction rate of about 95 percent. Some lawyers say the Attorney Grievance Commission has become overzealous. "I think they had to justify their existence there," said Grand Rapids * lawyer John Beason, who consented to a formal reprimand last month for fail- ingtorefund aclient's$500fee. Beason said the dispute arose because he was late in returning documents to a Muskegon prison inmate. "I just took the reprimand to be done with it," Beason said. "It was a Mickey Mouse case." The system for policing Michigan * lawyers underwent dramatic changes three years ago after an investigation showed the grievance commission gave the impression of favoritism in some cases. make good on a November 1988 loan guarantee. Under terms of the agree- ment, the city may have to pay more than $60,000 to salvage the experiment in low-income housing. "This is a story of how bad govern- ment is hurting the same people it pur- ported to help," local activist Mollie Brennan told the council last night. Brennan and five other speakers addressed Ann Arbor's legislative body at last night's meeting. Earlier in the day, Homeless Action Committee (HAC) activists demonstrated outside the "Y" against the bailout plan. "From the beginning, this was not the affordable housing that we need," HAC member David Noel said at a press conference yesterday at City Hall. "Basically what it is is aglorified closet for $325 a month." He said the "Y" is diverting money from projects that would better serve the city'shomeless. ButNoel acknowl- edged that closing the "Y" would send more low-income residents onto the streets. The City Council voted Jan. 3 to shell out nearly $25,000 to keep the "Y" in operation through January. The council postponed until later this month afinal decision on subsidizing the hous-. ing development. Since July 1993, the city has paid $81,000 to keep the "Y" afloat, accord- ing to budget figures. Councilmembers have expressed concerns about the YMCA's mounting expenses. The YMCA executive direc- tor in 1988 projected expenses for 1992 at $245,100. According to an audit of the non-profit organization's budget, expenses that year actually reached $525,947. Admitting the YMCA's mistakes, President Judy Nold said paring the organization's expenses would also cut services. "We may be able to reduce ex- penses on some services to our resi- dents," she said. "And we can increase our revenues by increasing our rents." Councilmember Tobi Hanna- Davies (D-1st Ward) said a rate in- crease would make the "Y" out of reach for many low-income residents. It also may breach the 1988 agreement between the city and the YMCA, Hanna-Davies said. YOU'VE GOTTA HAVE ART 'U' hosts forum on information highway policy SARAH WHImNG/Daily Painting and Drawing Prof. Al Hinton critiques the work of sophomore Adam Mancino yesterday in the Art School. Library holds American artifacts, Tight security protects historic documents By LOU QUILLEN FOR THE DAILY The Clements Library was given to the University in 1992 by William Clements, a wealthy Bay City resi- dent who graduated from the College of Engineering and served as a Uni- versity regent. Clements had a collection of rare books he wanted to display but not have used. Since then, the University and concerned citizens have expanded the collection and have made the li- brary somewhat more accessible to those interested in its resources. The University pays for the building's maintenance and library employees' salaries. Funding for books is raised privately and is not subsidized by the University. The library contains a variety of primary sources that detail the history of the United States. The library owns 300,000 documents related to the American revolution. This collection includes all of British commander Sir Henry Clinton's documents, one of the library's prized possessions. The library also owns over 47,000 printed books, some of which are housed in the rare book room. With the plethora of materials the Clements Library contains, the University con- siders it an asset. "(It is) one of the most prestigious units of campus," said Arlene Shy, head of reader services. She added that the library is im- portant in "helping to attract and keep faculty and graduate students." The library is open to the public, and both undergraduate and graduate classes meet there regularly. It also presents a new exhibit in the main hall every few months. The library staff will help students with research, but Shy suggested that students know specifically what they need before they come. Although the library is open to the public, one must complete an inter- view with Shy to access its materials. Shy bases her decisions on whether a student needs to do more back- ground reading and whether she can trust them to handle the resources. After the student enters the library, security is still an issue. Students are being monitored at all times by staff. They know who the students are, how long they've been in there and what books they are using. Book bags aren't allowed either. Visiting adjunct lecturer in the history department, Jonathan Marwil, said the measures are necessary. "The Clements Library is a valu- able resource for both scholars resi- dent and visiting, and also for gradu- ate and undergraduate students - and the, simple precautions that the library takes to ensure that students and scholars have come for a good purpose are not an inconvenience." ASSOCIATED PRESS The Ameritech Foundation is hop- ing $700,000 will help the University and three other schools come up with telecommunication policy ideas that will be good for business. "The real focus of the consortium will be how we actually deal with the policy that allows society to effec- tively use the new telecommunica- tions technologies," said Douglas E. Van Houweling, the University's vice provost for information technology and chair of the consortium. The other participants are the Uni- versity of Chicago, Northwestern and University of California at Berkeley. "We want to make sure that this region remains in the vanguard, and we hope for regulatory schemes that keep up more or less with rapid tech- nology," said Lawrence E. Strickling, Ameritech's vice president for public policy. "This will have great ramifica- tions for the creation of jobs, the stan- dard of living." Many of the corporate and univer- sity telecommunications experts, gathered yesterday for the presenta- tion of the first year's checks, agreed on two overriding points: The rapidly growing technologies for transmitting information are be- coming as critical a part of America's economic infrastructure as were the highways, waterways and rail beds of earlier eras. Increasing deregulation means uneconomical byways are unlikely to be served in a competitive world de- spite Vice President Al Gore's plea earlier this week that companies vol- untarily connect every school, hospi- tal and library to the information net- work, officials said. 'We are entering the greatest period of technological change in the history of telecommunications, and we have been left with great uncertainty on how to deal with the changes.' - Steven S. Wildman Northwestern "We are entering the greatest pe- nod of technological change in the history of telecommunications, and we have been left with great uncer- tainty on how to deal with the changes," said Steven S. Wildman, director of Northwestern's program in telecommunications science, man- agement and policy. Van Houweling said a consensus is emerging that the corporate build- ers of the information superhighway will contribute to a pool that will in turn be used to subsidize the exten- sion of network services to institu- tions that otherwise would be uneco- nomical to serve. Ameritech, the dominant provider of telephone services in Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and Wiscon- sin, had revenues of $11.2 million in 1992. The grant from its foundation will fund two years worth of basic re- search on the policy questions, spon- sor the publication of their research reports and pull the researchers to- gether for two annual conferences. ACK! First issue of MSA newspaper may hit stands by end of week By RONNIE GLASSBERG DAILY STAFF REPORTER Another publication may soon grace the floors of University buildings. As early as Friday, the Michigan Student Assembly will unveil ACK! (All Campus Konstitution), which refers to MSA's bylaws - the All-Campus Constitution. MSA Communications Chair David Pava will serve as editor of the 16-page publication. It is yet to be decided how frequently it will be published. "There's so much stuff going on around campus that neither the (Michigan) Daily or the (Michigan) Review or the Agenda magazine cover, either because of ideological conflict or just plain lack of interest," Pava said. The publication will allow those involved in campus groups to author stories, instead of having reporters write articles. 'This will give MSA a chance to put the spin that we would like to put on things.' David Pava MSA communications chair "It's going to be a combination of op-ed pieces and reports submitted directly by indi- viduals around campus," he said. "It doesn't pretend to be objective reporting while simulta- neously ripping on people." For instance, while reporters from the Daily and the Review each wrote stories on Dennis Denno, the student who is working to bring Dr. Jack Kevorkian to graduation, ACK! plans to have a piece written by Denno himself in its first issue. Although the publication will allow other students to submit, a quarter of it will focus on the assembly, Pava said. "This will give MSA a chance to put the spin that we would like to put on things," he said. Currently, the assembly has approved spend- ing $500 for the first issue of the 5,000-copy publication. Pava said MSA will be able to fund two additional issues, but advertising could bring ACK! to the students every three weeks. While the University already has many stu- dent publications on campus, Pava said he has high hopes for MSA's entry. "I would love to see this paper become the third big publication on campus," he said. But the competition does not seem to be making the past editor in chief of the Review nervous. "I'm not sure how many people will read it," said Tracy Robinson, who served as editor in chief of the Review through its latest issue. Robinson, who is also an LSA representa- tive to MSA, said, "I'd like to see more publi- cations on campus no matter what their point of view." The first issue of ACK! is to include ques- tions and answers on e-mail, a story by Public Health Rep. Meg Whittaker on filing a lawsuit in small claims court, and Denno's piece. One first-year student said she sees the pa- per as a good idea. "I don't know much about the student as- sembly and what it does. A newsletter will help the average, ignorant student," said Music first- year student Valerie Tocci. Correction John Schall is running for Michigan's 13th Congressional District seat and state Rep. Dianne Byrum is running for Congress in the 8th District. This was incorrectly reported in yesterday's Daily. 2 T If youknw of news, call the Daily's news deparluent at: 764-0552 i HA THIS FUN group Metings " Arabic Converstaion hour, sponsored by the Arab-Ameri- can Students' Association, Basement of Amer's, 312 S. State St., 8:30 p.m. " Consider Magazine, mass meet- ing, Michigan Union, Room 2209, 8 p.m. U Saint Mary Student Parish, Catholic Update Series, 331 Thompson St., 7 p.m. U Southwest Detoit Student As- sembly, meeting. Michigan -I !a 111 I 11'.-li 111I 1 I -IUiZ' International Center, Room 9, 6 p.m. U New Directions in Women's (and a Few Men's) Art, speaker: Arlene Raven, sponsored by the art useum and the art history de- partment, Chrysler Auditorium, 2121 Bonisteel Blvd., 7:30 p.m. U Parenting in High- and Low- Risk Neighborhoods, part of the Growing up in Poverty Series sponsored by the Center for Hu- man Growth and Development, speaker: Jacquelynne Eccles.300 Student services U Career Planning & Placement, Generating Career Ideas, Stu- dent Activities Building, Room 3200, 4:10 p.m.; IDS Financial Services, Michigan Union, Room 1209, 6 p.m.; Life after studying abroad: How to make the most of your experience, Michigan Union, International Center, 6 p.m.; On Campus Recruiting Program Informa- Working at The :. Michigan Daily in T the summer will be a great experience because of the fun people relaxed atmosphere-it's J - I Exdse oom "Study L e TV Loi Computer zoom ' La 5adift 24fm~tte teLodby qame~oom - I