44V t Ititt *rni Weather Tonight: Rain likely, low around 40' Tomorrow: Mostly cloudy, high around 60°. One hundred four years of editorial freedom Tuesday April 18, 1995 The Code: Coming Under Review Chair did not select - panelists randomly By Michelle Lee Thompson Daily Staff Reporter The six student jurors for a code nng earlier this year were not cho- at random, Judicial Adviser Mary Lou Antieau and the hearing panel chair admitted yesterday. Prof. Peter Bauland, the hearing chair, said he had selected - by gen- der, ethnicity and class standing - six students from the pool of 50 po- tential jurors to hear a case under the Statement of Student Rights and Re- sponsibilities, the University's code of'non-academic conduct. "You don't want it to be too heavy in any direction ... the idea is not to stack it," said Bauland, who chaired the February hearing, the only case to be open to the public. In an e-mail message to'Antieau's secretary, which was obtained by The Michigan Daily, Bauland prefaced his list of six panelists by saying, "I started out selecting at random, but this time the spread of 'characteristics' wasn't as lucky as lasttime, sol substituted a few, also at random. Here are the six I've chosen [won't they love me for this?]" American culture doctoral student Melanie Welch is appealing the case's decision, which found her respon- sible for harassing her neighbor, Yaakov Lavie. The hearing had been r -scheduled at least once before the ca e was heard in February. Bauland said yesterday that in his e- mail message to Antieau's secretary, Barbara Olender, he referred to one group he chose forthe originally sched- uled hearing, and another he chose for the rescheduled hearing. According to the code, "The hear- ing board will consist of six students. At the beginning of each academic year, students will be randomly se- lected from the student body to serve as potential hearing panelists until a pool of50 eligible students is obtained." Antieau said, "We're very fussy See PANELISTS, Page 2 Regents set to vote on code amendments , _ , _- - - ;. t MOLLY STEVENS/Daily LSA junior Rachel Coudrone, a member of Students Against the Code, protests on the Diag yesterday. Stats show outcomes of closed hearings Code Case Stats The report to the University Board of Regents details the 434 contacts with the Judicial Adviser under the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilites in its first two years. Here are some of the statistics: Action: 300 No Action 134 By Michelle Lee Thompson Daily Staff Reporter Many cases under the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibili- ties go unseen by students and fac- ulty; only one hearing has been open, while many the rest have taken place behind closed doors. However, a report released yes- terday by the Office of Student Af- fairs gives statistics on all 128 cases filed in the two-year history of the University's code of non-academic conduct. Summaries of the cases are filed for public review after they are re- solved, but details of the cases are not released. News regarding closed cases has appeared in The Michigan Daily and other media outlets when one or more of the involved parties has dis- cussed their case with the media. Judicial Adviser Mary Lou Antieau says the publicity has, in some cases, inspired others to file under the code. "I can tell you that two or three people walk through the door every time you guys print something," Antieau said in an interview last week. In a recent code case, a wrestler who was accused of assault by two Law students filed requests for an open hearing, separate from five other students accused in the case. LSA senior Brian Kalev Freeman's request was originally up- held and a separate hearing was sched- uled, but Antieau later cancelled the separate hearing. And because he was tried with the five other students and all six did not request an open hear- ing, the group's hearing was closed. Both complainants agreed to an open hearing, so Freeman's request would have been upheld had his hear- ing been separate. Antieau said the Office of the General Counsel told her the hearing should only be opened if all the com- plainants and all the accused parties agreed to an open hearing. The code does not speak directly to group hear- ings. See CASES, Page 2 By Cathy Boguslaski and Ronnie Glassberg Daily Staff Reporters For the first time since the January 1993 inception of the University's Statement of Student Rights and Re- sponsibilities, the Board of Regents is scheduled to vote Friday on student amendments to the policy. The statement, the University's code of non-academic conduct, re- mains an interim policy, and the re- gents have reviewed it on a yearly basis since it went into effect. At their meeting on Friday, the regents could decide to make the policy permanent, to eliminate it or to keep it in an interim state. In addition, the regents will consider the proposed amendments. "I think there will be something approved as a permanent policy be- cause we'll be out of compliance with federal law if they don't," University President James J. Duderstadt said in an interview last week. "It's probably not something you want to rewrite on the fly. This particular policy has evolved through a lot of interaction, and it's probably appropriate to move ahead with it." Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen A. Hartford, whose office oversees the code, said the policy could continue in an interim state. "There just has to be some kind of policy," Hartford said. "We would be in violation of two federal laws, so something has to go in place." Students Against the Code - a coalition of a wide variety of student organizations - plans to protest the code in a Diag rally this Thursday at noon. "Basically, everyone hated the code, and we got together to try to abolish it," said Pam Short, a member of the Students' Civil Liberties Watch. MaJor Amendments The University Board of Regents' will consider several code amendments, passed by the student panelists in January, at its meeting this week. Here are some of the major proposals: Establish an "Advisor Corps" to counsel students accused under the code and to speak on their behalf during hearings. Eliminate the 30-mile radius, which limits complaints that may be filed under the code. Require only 21 panelists to hold an amendment meeting. Three meetings failed to get the currently required 26 students. SAC in-ludes the Michigan Stu- dent Assembly, the Students' Civil Liberties Watch and the National Women's Rights Organizing Coali- tion. The group objects to the scope of the code, Short said. "The University has taken the code as a place to create an entirely new set of laws, and we find that incredibly unacceptable," she said. When the regents voted on con- tinuing the code's interim status last April, only Regent Deane Baker (R- Ann Arbor) opposed it. Baker, who also opposed initially implementing the code, said he has not changed his position. "I really think the president has the authority to act in those circumstances where direct action is needed," he said. In January, two new regents started their terms on the board. Regents Andrea Fischer Newman (R-Ann Arbor) and Daniel Homing (R-Grand Rapids) took the seats of two Demo- crats. See CODE, Page 7 Substance abuse Filed after letter sent: 59 6 months 3 Decided not Never to file: 16 filed: 27 *Referred to Unknown other unit:97 accused: 14 Formal Not a investigation: 128 violation: 90 Sanctions Formal Reprimand: 14 Alcohol Assessment: 2 community service: 28 class attendance: 14 Restitution: 1 Housing transfer/removal: 3. Suspension from specific classes or activities: 3 Periodic check-in with Judicial Adviser: 3 Suspension from University: 4 Expulsion:l1 JONATHAN BERNDT/Daily Sen. Paul Simon liscusses student loan programs .. r. _ Y; . 'i Earth Day 2, :Back to the Roots Environental groups J, 2Zplan 'Earth Day 1995' When the U.S. Congress recon- es later this month following its ng break, debate is scheduled to begin on proposals to modify federal student aid programs. There are sev- eral proposals floating around in the House, including capping the direct lending program, eliminating the in- terest exemption on federal Stafford Loans and cutting campus-based aid. Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) is a lead- ing proponent of direct lending, a *gram at 104 universities, includ- ing this University. Daily Staff Re- porter Zachary M. Raimi interviewed Simon last week to discuss the vari- ous proposals. Similar requests for interviews with Sen. Spence Abraham (R-Mich.) and Labor Committee chair Nancy Kassebaum (R-Kan.) were denied due to the vacation. Daily: What are your views on the direct student loan program? Simon: It is working well at the University of Michigan, at the Uni- versity of Illinois. It's good for stu- Stc. of Agricuitur® 1966 University graduate Dan Glipkman was sworn in last week as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. See Page 5 for an interview with Glickman loan program affect universities that are already using it right now? S: It wouldn't affect you who are using it already, but it would be deny- ing that opportunity to others and it would be very costly to the federal government. One of the ironies is that if that were to pass, this is the only issue, this is the only education issue, where the new Republican leadership is asking for more money in the field of education, and that additional money will go to the banks and the secondary markets, not to the stu- dents. D: Do you think it will pass in the Senate? S: It will be a very close vote in the Senate. D: Is there a current estimate on MARK FIElLMAdNJ'8ily Amid a backdrop of crosses placed on the Diag, Engineering senior John Lommel writes a letter supporting the Endangered Species Act yesterday. Court may revrs stance By Daniel Johnson Daily Staff Reporter In harmony with nationwide ef- forts, Urriversity and local environ- mental groups are trying to return Saturday's 25th Earth Day to the grassroots level by celebrating envi- ronmental awareness and vigilance in a variety of forms. The Michigan Biodiversity Project, an Ann Arbor-based statewide conser- vation group, created a solemn scene yesterday by dotting the Diag with 100 knee-high, white crosses as part of Earth Week activities. The crosses bore the names of en- dangered species to alert passersby to the possibility of a future without such environmental protection as the Endan- gered Species Act. The "graveyard" included species like the Kirtland's warbler, which is found only in Michi- gan, and peregrine falcon. "The Michigan Biodiversity Project is determined to prevent the destruction of the Endangered Spe- cies-Act," said David Zaber, an SNRE doctoral candidate who helped to or- ganize the event. Congress recently passed a bill, which President Clinton signed, that OffCampus Events Off-campus Earth Day festivites: All-Species Parade, Sunday, 1 p.m., Wheeler Park to Leslie Science Center, featuring environmentalists and community leaders dressed as animals to celebrate diversity of life on earth. Earth Day Festival, Sunday, 1-5 p.m., Leslie ScienceCenter, with educational events, comedy and musical entertainment Earth Day Conference, Saturday, 9 a.m., Wayne State University, on issues of environmental racism in Michigan with a series of workshops; sponsored by the. schools of Natural Resources - and Environment and Public Health Environmentalists are also raising their voices against efforts to weaken and dismantle legislation like the Clean Water and Clean Air acts. "The 104th Congress has done more to roll back public health and environmental legislation than any Congress in history," Sinderman said. "It's hell-bent on trading public health on Endangere( Justice Scalia argues for narrow interpretation of 'takings' law WASHINGTON (AP) - The Su- preme Court, in a spirited argument over the Endangered Species Act, de-i bated yesterday whether the govern- d Species Act "Couldn't we pick an uglier ex- ample ... than a koala bear?" Justice Antonin Scalia asked during a light moment. "You pick the cutest, handsomest little critter," Scalia told Justice Stephen G. Breyer, a Clinton appointee who asked the most aggressive questions of the timber industry lawyer. Scalia argued for a narrow inter- I I p