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One hundred four years of editorial freedom
Wednesday
March 29, 1995
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Rackham rep.
leaves MSA
over bickering
By Amy Klein
Daily Staff Reporter
0 One week before the new officers and representatives
take their seats, the second Michigan Student Assembly
member in two weeks has resigned because of political
infighting.
In the wake of Rackham Rep. Paul Check's resignation
at last week's MSA meeting, Kinesiology Rep. Jeff Brown
announced last night that he was leaving the assembly.
Brown cited last night's meeting as an example of
excessive bickering on uniinportant issues. Members
spent close to an hour debating ways to lower telephone
&d copier costs without reaching a resolution.
"We spent over 45 minutes bickering about internal
spending and nothing ended up changing," Brown said.
"Two weeks in a row now we've moved to adjourn
without even hearing everything on the agenda because
people get sick of the fighting."
President-elect Flint Wainess said he hopes to reduce
the amount of bickering in the upcoming term.
"The Dalai Lama couldn't have remained patient at an
MSA meeting," Wainess said. "(Vice President-elect Sam
oodstein) and I truly believe that we have a plan for
scending the incredibly frustrating political and per-
sonal bickering that goes on during assembly meetings."
Wainess also said he will miss both Check and
Brown's work on
'The Dala Lama the assembly.
"I'm sorry to
couldn't have see any members
resign that con-
remained patient tributed to the de-
a bate about student
n an MSA interests and stu-
m- d dent concerns.
mEE$eeting. Both Paul and Jeff
- Flint Wainess clearly did add to
MSA president-elect that debate,"
Wainess said.
Brown said the infighting keeps the assembly from
effectively serving the students.
"I'm sick of the fact that we've lost touch of the issues
that are supposed to be important to the assembly. If you
out on the Diag and ask students if assembly members
'iould be making 50 copies or 200 copies they are going
to say they don't care," Brown said.
LSA Rep. Adam Clampitt agreed that party politics
are overshadowing the weekly meetings."I don't think it
was that bad in the beginning, but once we had elections
in the fall, there were members of the assembly opposing
other members just because of their party, not because of
an ideological difference," he said.
Current MSA President Julie Neenan feels the in-
ighting will always exist, and has even improved since
e first joined three years ago. "I think it's something
that's inherent in the organization and it is very trying
sometimes," she said. "It is unfortunate that people
valuable to the assembly have negative feelings now."
Neenan said she tried to mitigate the bickering over
the past year. "I try to help. When people start getting
personal, that's when I try to step in and to say that we
need to respect each other here. But there's only so much
a chair can do," she said.
Even with new faces entering the assembly next week,
rown said MSA is beyond help."We're setting a very
or example for the people who are taking office," he
said. "I just can't stand to be associated with this group any
longer. I don't know if MSA's ever going to recover."
Check could not be reached for comment last night.
,,
.
:A
1 11; IC.
Student testifies
in serial rape case
By Frank C. Lee
Daily Staff Reporter
The prosecution continued presenting its
case against accused Ann Arbor serial rapist
Ervin Dewain Mitchell Jr. during the second
day of Mitchell's preliminary examination
yesterday as a fourth victim testified about how
and when she was raped.
Mitchell is charged with one count of first-
degree murder and four counts of first-degree
criminal sexual conduct. If convicted, he could
be sentenced to several life sentences in prison
for the sexual assaults that occurred on the city's
west side since 1992. DNA test results have
linked Mitchell to four of the five rape victims.
The woman who testified yesterday, a Uni-
versity student, said she was returning from a
State Street record store when she was beaten
and raped near her apartment in the 1400 block
of Kellogg Street the night of Oct. 1, 1993.
"I was walking to my apartment," she testi-
fied. "All I remember is being on the ground
face down, but I don't recall how I got there. I
can recall blacking out, then coming to while
someone was pulling my slacks off. Then, I
blacked out again."
When the woman awoke, she found herself
naked from the waist down. She testified she
found her pants and shoes a short distance
away, but not her underwear.
The woman testified she had no idea how
much time had passed or whether she had been
hit, but in a dazed condition, dressed herself and
returned home.
"My head was bleeding ... near the back,"
she said. "The top button of my slacks was off,
and the threading that held the zipper to the
pants looked stretched."
The student slept until 6 the next morning
and, in a clearer state of mind, went to Univer-
sity Health Services around 7:30 a.m.
UHS staff did not contact the police, but
directed her to University Hospitals, where a
certified nurse midwife examined her. The
nurse, who is a medic specially trained for
J^O '"AT "'HN LUt "ily
Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie
shows photos of a murder victim to police
officer Peter Stipe earlier this week.
medical work related to sexual assault, includ-
ing collection of evidence, also testified.
As with the other sexual assault victims who
testified Monday, Washtenaw County Prosecu-
tor Brian Mackie asked the student when she last
had intercourse with her boyfriend - a dark-
haired male who discovered her in her dazed state
at her apartment. She replied that they last had
sex three to four days before the rape.
During his cross-examination of the witness,
Washtenaw County Assistant Public Defender
David Lankford asked about the appearance of
her genital region after the attack.
See COURT, Page 2
JOE WESTRATE/Daily
Now that's a snowman
Rackham student Leeann Fu looks at the 13 foot snowman made near the
North Campus Commons. Students built the snowman Monday night.
North Campus Commons showcases 'U' art
By Jason Wine
For the Daily
Upon entering the North Campus Com-
mons, one immediately feels that some-
thing is different up here. This difference
permeates Eero Saarinen's architectural
design, extending to the very walls of the
building. Simply put, on these walls, there
hangs art!
Since the 1992 creation of the North
Campus Arts and Programs Office, the
Commons has provided a forum for artists
affiliated with the University to exhibit
their work. Artists may exhibit their work
individually or as part of a larger installa-
tion. Program Coordinator Helen Welford,
and her assistant, Jennifer Smith, ultimately
decide which exhibits will be shown.
Welford, the first person to hold her
position, notes that the Commons has be-
come a much sought-after area for gallery
showings. "If you are an undergraduate
who wants to show your work, there really
aren't many places to go," she said.
The North Campus Commons has three
permanent exhibition areas: Leonardo's,
the Gallery wall, and the Atrium with its
adjoining lounge. The Programs Office
has shown the ability to maximize space
to accomodate the requests of eligible
artists. Welford noted that in the past, the
Commons has housed up to five exhibits
at once.
There are currently three exhibits on
display at the North Campus Commons.
Leonardo's, a common dining area, cur-
rently houses an exhibit from Graduate Stu-
dent Women in Engineering. This photo
exhibit highlights the accomplishments of
women in the field of engineering.
The Commons's airy and spacious
atrium currently houses an exhibit from
the University's Sexual Assault Preven-
tion and Awareness Center. SAPAC's
March exhibit promotes awareness of Rape
Prevention Month. This corresponds with
the Arts and Programs Office's goal of
coordinating exhibits with current issues.
Joyce Wright, education coordinator at
SAPAC, said the purpose of SAPAC's
installation "is to allow survivors to share
their feelings by expressing the power and
strength that they have."
The Gallery wall is currently home to
an exhibit from the Faculty Women's Club
Quilting Division.
Welford said the exhibits at the Com-
moi!s are rotated often enough to give a
variety of different artists an opportunity
to have their work viewed.
Upcoming events exemplify the vari-
ety that Welford strives for in coordinating
exhibits. Future exhibits include:
Works from the Faculty Women's
Club Painting Division will be displayed
on the Gallery wall from April 3-30.
The Commons Atrium will display
works from Art student Daniel Ramirez,
from April 10-24.
From April 13-30, there will be a
sustainable design water exhibit designed
by Engineering students Bill Chatterson
and Heather Culp, on display in the
Commons's Old Lobby.
Those interested in showing their art
should contact Welford at 764-7544.
New clime
Jocuses on
women 'S
health
By Lisa Michalski
ily Staff Reporter
The door is open on the first floor
of the Taubman Health Care Center
to anyone seeking information about
women's health issues.
Located on the University's Medi-
cal Campus, the Women's Health
Resource and Education Center, open
since last month, offers a variety of
reference materials as well as a regis-
bred nurse to answer questions visi-
ors have concerning both illness and
wellness.
"We're a haven forwomen to come
seeking information and we can help
coordinate their care confidentially,"
GOP expects defeat on
term limits, blames Dems
WASHINGTON (AP) - Antici-
pating defeat on a key element in their
"Contract With America," House Re-
publicans hope to reap credit for hold-
ing a vote on term limits while blam-
ing Democrats for the measure's likely
demise.
"If we get half the Democrats, we
will pass the term limits constitu-
tional amendment," House Speaker
Newt Gingrich declared yesterday
as debate opened.
Gingrich said that more than 85
percent of GOP lawmakers would vote
for the measure and "it ought to be
possible to get half the Democrats to.
side with the country that elects them."
Gingrich's partisan jabbing aside,
the term limits issue has had a rocky
path toward this week's expected vote,
particularly for an issue that com-
mands support in the 70 percent range.
in public opinion polls.
Some senior Republicans oppose
the limits. The critics include Rep.
Gingricn
It takes a two-thirds vote - 290 if
all 435 lawmakers vote - to send the
measure to the Senate. Republicans hold
230 seats in the House, Democrats 204,
and there is one independent.
Republican leadership aides, speak-
ing on condition of anonymity, pre-
EVAN PETRIE/Daily
Marilyn Cook, coordinator of the Women's Health Resource and Education Center, poses with some books
available in Its library. The center educates women and men about pregnancy, menopause and relationships.