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One hundred four years of editorial freedom
Monday
March 13, 1995
" Student Affairs releases student panel's code amendments
By Cathy Bogusiaski
Daily Staff Reporter
Students who commit offenses anywhere
may now be accountable to the University for
their actions if revisions to the code of non-
academic conduct are approved.
The Statement of Student Rights and Re-
sponsibilities may no longer be limited to a
30-mile radius of campus if amendments pro-
posed by the code's student panel are ap-
proved. But only those offenses which "clearly
threaten the safety of the University commu-
nity or the ability of the University to fulfill its
academic mission" would be punishable un-
der the revised code.
After failing three times to make quorum,
the panelists met Jan. 31 and approved some
of the amendments proposed by the Michigan
f Student Assembly, the Civil Liberties Board
and the Office of Student Affairs. The panel is
composed of randomly selected students
trained in code procedures.
The University Board of Regents must
approve the amendments for them to take
effect. Vice President for Student Affairs
Maureen A. Hartford said she will present the
proposed amendments to the regents at their
April meeting.
The proposed changes have sparked con-
cern among some student groups.
Anne Marie Ellison, a member of the
Student Civil Liberties Watch, said, "I'm dis-
appointed that the 30-mile radius was lifted
and was extended so it (the code) could apply
virtually anywhere."
Vince Keenan, chair of MSA Students'
Rights Commission, said, "I can see the good
intentions (in the panelists' changes) but I'm
having a real hard time saying we're in better
shape than we were before."
Hartford disagreed. "I think there was
strong, rational reasons to do what they did,
although I may not agree with all of them,"
she said. "I think what they have done has
made it a more workable document."
Regent Deane Baker (R-Ann Arbor) said
that while he has not examined the full text of
amendments, he is not sure they are an im-
provement.
"I have long believed in no code at all.
Failing that, I think it should be as simple as
it can be, and it doesn't appear that it is as
simple as it was before," he said.
Another significant change that the panel-
ists recommended was the implementation of
Advisor Corps, which would provide advi-
sors for students involved in code cases.
"I think this shows the panelists are re-
sponsive to the concerns of students who are
thrust into this (code) process without any
knowledge," said Keenan, the only person
enlisted so far for the proposed corps.
Hartford said she was concerned about the
Advisor Corps proposal.
"A lot depends on the quality of the stu-
dents involved. If they're heavily political
students with agendas, they could do some
damage to the students involved if they are
using them to move forward some sort of politi-
cal stance," she said. "If they are truly in it ... to
provide a safety net in what is always a highly
stressful situation, I think it could be a benefit."
MSA and Student Affairs jointly proposed
changing the amendment procedure to pro-
vide a student referendum on amendments.
This proposal was not accepted by the panel-
ists, who opted to reduce the number of pan-
elists necessary for a quorum from 26 to 21,
but otherwise left the amendment procedure
unchanged.
Keenan said he is concerned that the change
in the amendment process was not presented
during the public meeting because students
did not have a chance to comment on it.
Ellison said she is also concerned about
the amount of time it took for the amendments
to be released.
There was no "timetable" for the release of
amendments, Hartford said. Clarifying dis-
crepancies in some proposals' wording and in
the Advisor Corps amendment contributed to
the delay, she added.
A further delay was caused because Hart-
ford was out of town and could not look over
the amendments, said Mary Lou Antieau,
judicial adviser to the code. "It's proper pro-
cedure before we release anything that the
University official who will have to answer
questions on it have a chance to review it," she
said.
Other proposed code amendments included
the addition of murder and breach of hearing
confidentiality as punishable offenses,
changes in the inclusion of eyewitness state-
ments, and grammatical changes.
Sunshine
reawakens
*sleeping A2
By Michelle Lee Thompson
Daily Staff Reporter
A biker pedaled with reckless
abandon through puddles on the Diag
yesterday, splashing passersby in his
wake and shouting, "It's so nice out!
It's so nice out!"
It was the warmest day this year in
Ann Arbor - temperatures reached
the 60s - and students and residents
came out of winter hibernation to
flood the streets.
On State Street, a line at Stucchi's
Gourmet Frozen Yogurt and Ice Cream
reached out the door and down the
block, past two neighboring stores yes-
terday afternoon.
"It's been like this all day. It's been
insane," said harried Stucchi's em-
ployee Gucci Marantette, an LSA jun-
ior. "It's been good for business," she
said of the sunny weather that brought
Ann Arbor to life.
Art senior Steve Campbell waited
10 minutes for his milkshake at
Stucchi's after playing football at Elbel
Field. "The weather finally turned nice
and people just walked down,"
Campbell said of the large crowd.
The warm weather coaxed many
would-be Roller Derbyers to lace up
their rollerblades yesterday after a short
winter.
"We just came here to blade," said
Cathy Gutowski of Canton. "It's nice
out today. I'm loving it today, but it's
probably going to get cold out soon."
The mercury is expected to reach a
high of 60 degrees today, with a low of
40-45 degrees. Tomorrow's forecast is
sunny and 65-70 degrees, but Wednes-
day the temperature could drop as low
as 40 degrees, and rain is expected.
But with yesterday's sunshine,
many students spent a lazy Sunday
lounging around outside. Some laid
out under trees or in sunny spots all
over campus.
"I took a nap on Palmer Field, but
my butt got wet," said LSA sopho-
more Dan Krauss. After rollerblading
Jake Baker
releamsed on
$IOK bond'
Above: Engineering senior Adam
Fritz enjoys the weather yesterday
as he catches a frisbee on the
Diag.
Right: LSA first-year student
Michelle Beahrs studies on the
Diag.
through the Diag, Krauss complained
about the condition of the campus.
"It's too gritty to do serious
rollerblading. It's too much salt and
water," Krauss said. Due to construc-
tion on North Campus, walkways are
blocked by standing water from
melted snow piles. The Diag and other
areas of Central Campus also were
muddy.
But neither the mud nor the muck
stopped about 200 people from gath-
ering to hear various musicians play
on the Diag at dusk last night.
"Everybody's in a good mood,"
Gutowski said.
By Josh White
Daily Staff Reporter
DETROIT - After more than a
month behind bars, LSA sophomore
Jake Baker was released on a $10,000
personal recognizance bond Friday
afternoon.
Federal Judge Avern Cohn de-
cided to release Baker under a set of
conditions after receiving a psycho-
logical evaluation from Dr. Harold
Sommerschield. Cohn, at the 2 p.m.
hearing in U.S. District Court, said
Sommerschield recommended
Baker's release.
"He did not perceive (Baker) as
having any mental illness and did not
think he would act out any of his fanta-
sies," Cohn said. "He did not see Baker
- as a man who would act out the sexual
violence he wrote about."
Inside the Federal Building's lobby,
Baker said he has few plans for the next
couple of weeks.
"First, I am going to sleep for about
24 hours," Baker said. "Then I want to
catch up on the month I have missed."
Baker received widespread atten-
tion after the University suspended
him in January, when the administra-
tion was notified of several sexually
explicit stories he posted on the
Internet, one of which included the
name of a University student.
Baker said he did not want to com-
ment on the specifics of his case be-
cause he did not know enough about
the situation.
"I haven't seen any of the newspa-
pers for the last month," Baker said. "I
have no idea what is going on in the
outside world. Maybe I will be ready to
comment after I have found out more
information. Without knowing what
See BAKER, Page 2
B aker tes11
story Of life
behinid bars
By Josh White
Daily Staff Reporter
"It is not something that any Uni-
versity student would ever want to go
through," LSA sophomore Jake Baker
said of his time in jail over the last
month. "It is great to be out."
Baker was released on bond Friday
by Federal Judge Avern Cohn, who will
hear Baker's case in U.S. District Court
beginning April 3. Baker's release ended
more than a month of shuffling between
the Wayne County Jail and the Milan
Federal Correctional Institute.
"When he was in"Wayne County,
it was terrible," Baker's mother said,
Vilma, after a panel discussion at the
Law Quad last Thursday. "He barely
had anything to eat, and he lost 1I
pounds in his first 10 days there."
She said her son missed a lot of
things while behind bars, some of
which everyone takes, for granted.
"He missed movement," she said.
"He couldn't walk around much and
he was in solitary confinement. He
also missed music. You.don't know
what it is like to just not hear music
for that long."
Baker's stepfather, Donald
Hutchison, said Baker's experience was
better once he was moved to Milan.
"At least at Milan, Jake could sleep
and eat," Hutchison said. "At Wayne
See JAIL, Page 2
Photos by SARA STILLMAN/Daily
LSA-SG elections could have impact on MSA
By Stephanie Jo Klein
Daily Staff Reporter
As Michigan Student Assembly parties
expand their slates into the LSA Student
Government president _ election, specula-
tion over their sudden interest in LSA-SG
has led some students to question the par-
ties' motives.
A party would directly benefit from LSA-
SG's appointments if it gains a majority in
the government. LSA-SG has the power to
appoint students to serve on the joint stu-
dent/faculty committee and the curriculum
committee, and to fill in vacant spots on its
own government as well as the LSA repre-
sentative spots on MSA.
If the party were to gain control of LSA-
SG, the balance of MSA members' affilia-
tions could shift radically.
Ryan Boeskool, current LSA-SG presi-
dent and an independent, said LSA-SG has
made six or seven appointments to MSA
during his term. He said packing MSA
positions with students of the same politi-
cal ideology is possible.
"I see it as a potentiality. They owe some-
thing to (the party) if they win. That is the
nature of political parties," Boeskool said.
James Kovacs, a Students' Party candi-
date for LSA-SG president, recalled last
year's election, saying it was much less
politically oriented. "Last year's parties were
not affiliated with the MSA. The party lines
dissolved once the year started."
Last year's parties included the Samuel
Adams Party, the Keg Party, the Revitaliza-
tion Party and also independent candidates.
Kovacs said Sara Deringer, Students' Party
candidate for vice president, and he hope to
avoid partisanship.
"If I were to win," Kovacs said, "I would
ask everyone to ignore the party ties." He said
this would eliminate any advantage either
party might gain in MSA.
The Michigan Party carries LSA juniors
Rick Bernstein and Steve Madhavan on its
slate for LSA-SG president and vice presi-
dent. Bernstein would not say whether the
party was expanding into LSA with the goal
of gaining seats through appointments.
"The Michigan Party sees a need for
(academic) issues to be brought forth. It has
a wide range of implications for students," he
said.
MSA Rep. Roger DeRoo said he had
urged the Progressive Party to run a slate in
LSA-SG during his time as a party member.
"With the second-largest budget of stu-
dent governments afterMSA, LSA-SG was
spending a large amount on a party on the
Diag at the end of the year," the Rackham
student said. The slate never materialized.
DeRoo also acknowledged the LSA-
SG control of several MSA seats. "Often,
that's enough to change a parliamentary
minority into a majority," he said.
Bernstein said he foresaw no partisan
friction in future LSA-SG dealings, "since
the Michigan Party will win all the slots."
The LSA-SG elections will be held
March 22-23, in conjunction with the MSA
elections
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