Jrb Unt Weather Tonight: Partly cloudy, low 40% Tomorrow: Mostly sunny, high 70'.. 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 a N 1 I tX.. ~ a -rr -- nr U nt' ri -uu., ' ~ri MM ,1/l ,(1 '1 w 1eu '