locAt/sTKIS The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, January 16, 1996 - 3A U' student sues A2 over city attorney contract Woman robs ocal bank woman in her mid-20s walked the South Main Street branch of first of America Bank last Wednes- *ay and left with an undisclosed mount of money after saying that he had a gun. Ann Arbor Police Department re- orts said that a white woman, about 5 eet, 5 inches tall, weighing about 120 ounds, entered the bank at 4:30 p.m. ith her hairtucked into a baseball hat. Rorts say that she was wearing a kCincinnati Bengals jacket and lack pants. Police said the woman presented a ote to ateller and that no weapon as seen. AFter taking the money, he then fled on foot. Witnesses were nable to determine the direction in hich she was headed, and police ere unable to apprehend the sus- ect. lane Brown, a community rela- ius officer for First of America, aid the last attempted robbery at the outh Main branch was more than :ight months ago and that it is not a ommon occurrance. "It is not like this is happening very month or even every quarter," Brown said. "Every once in a while e have to deal with these types of ituations, because unfortunately they come up" rown said that money taken dur- ing a bank robbery does not affect personal accounts and that account holders need not be concerned about their savings. She said she could not comment specifically about last week's theft and would not say if security cameras were able to pro- vide a better description of the woman. he AAPD and the FBI are cur- r y investigating the heist. Lujan trial delayed Pretrial procedings for LSA sopho- more Crystal Lujan's murder and arson trial were suspended Friday because Judge Melinda Morris was unable to attend afternoon hearings. The hearing is scheduled for Friday at I 1 a.m., at which time a trial date n. be set. Shots fired at Mary Markley Studying and partying alike were interrupted Sunday night when a 20- year-old man fired a handgun in Fisher Hall on the fifth floor of Mary Markley residence hall, police re- ports said. 1h e suspect, who is not a student, has been identified by Ann Arbor police and Department of Public Safety reports. Police said the man may be driving a green Nissan Altima and hails from White Lake, Mich. The man fled the area after shoot- ing his gun, escaping down a stair- well. . No injuries resulted from the dis- cge of the weapon. Mumbling man disturbs studying Anyone trying to catch up on their studying Saturday night at the Shapiro Undergraduate Library might have found it a little more difficult than usual to get inside. DPS reports indicate that a 25-year- 40man was loitering in the lobby, mumbling to himself, and requesting that everyone who passed him talk to him. The man was wearing a black jacket, green pants and a green sweatshirt. Police escorted the man from the scene and students were free to resume their studies. -*ompiled by Daily Staff Reporters Lenny Feller and Josh White. By Will Weissert Daily Staff Reporter A third-year University Law student has filed a lawsuit against Ann Arbor that challenge the con- tract of new City Attorney Abigail Elias because the contract allows her at least one year to move here. The Charter of Ann Arbor states that "a person is eligible to hold a City office if the person has been a registered elector of the City... for at least one year immediately preceding election or ap- pointment." It also specifies that a city office will become vacant if the official that holds office ceases to be an inhabitant of the city. The suit, which John Polish filed on Jan. 3, charges that the contract that the City Council offered Elias violated the city's charter because it allowed Elias to "establish residence in the city within twelve months after the start of her employ- ment or such later date as may be approved by council in its discretion." Under the contract Elias will earn more than $85,000 and will be required to start work no later than April 1. "I think it's very important to follow the charter," Polish said. Thomas Wieder, an attorney representing Pol- ish, said the suit has nothing to do with Elias or her ability to handle city attorney responsibilities, it is simply a matter of interpreting the charter. "How- ever, ifsomeone is that reluctant to live here before starting a new job, that's not a very good sign," Wieder said. . Wieder said he and Polish do not intend to challenge the policy that requires officials to live in the city a full year before taking a city position - they hope only to keep taxpayers from paying the salary of a city administrator who does not live in the city. Elias was originally offered the position of city attorney in October but turned it down because she was reluctant to move to Ann Arbor from Detroit. Elias said she did not want to move because she did not want to force her husband to give up his job and because the couple was waiting to adopt a child. Her reasons for not accepting the job prompted City Council members to offer her the current contract, which she signed in late November. "We are trying to be flexible," said Mayor Ingrid Sheldon. "I think it is important that we arer very flexible and allow (Elias) to have a chance fo adjust to a new situation and her many iew responsibilities." Council members are working very hard"to' make sure that Elias feels as comfortable as pos=' sible in her new duties, Sheldon said. When asked if he was not being sensitive to the' rights of Elias and her family, Polish said he is' interested in correct interpretation of the charter. "I'm being sensitive to the rights of the voters, Polish said. Bilingual e ducation seen as civil right By Will Weissert Daily Staff Reporter As the election year approaches, the "English-only" movement is fast be- coming a major political issue, with six official-English bills being considered in Congress. These bills are unnecessary and flawed in many areas, said Susan Dicker, who teaches English as a second language and linguistics at Hostos Community College in New York. Dicker spoke at an M LK Day forum yesterday. "When we allow people to use other languages we are showing respect for those people. To say no, you.can't use that language is to disrespect that per- son," Dicker told a crowd of about 40in a speech sponsored by the English Lan- guage Institute. Two bills being considered in the U.S. Senate and one in consideration in the House seek to make English the official language of government. The bills state that "a common lan- guage promotes efficiency and fairness" and that the money saved from having English become the official national language would be used to expand En- glish teaching. A fourth bill would require all natu- ralization ceremonies in English. The final two bills would designate English as the official government lai-7 guage and call on the federal'govern- ment to promote the use of English Jn the private sector. They also would re- peal bilingual education and elections.. Dicker agrees with critics who say that bilingual education needs improvement but she thinks the bills are going too far. "We can fix bilingual education wigf out throwing it out the window," she sawi; In a taped debate Dicker used as p of her presentation, proponents of E glish-only laws said that bilingual ed cation was a waste of money becaus i cost $9 billion, and made it possible & students to graduate high school in sog states without knowing any English. , In response, Dickersaid she hadnevey found any proof that bilingual educa- tion costs more than regular education; She also said that she had neverheard off an instance in which minority students were allowed more lenient graduation requirements than those for English~ speaking students.6 Dicker said bilingual education i also a civil rights issue. She referred tie al1982poll taken in San Francisco, whict found that one-third of the city's His- panic community would not vote with- out bilingual elections. AP PHOTO In memory President Bill Clinton holds Coretta Scott King's hand, wife of Martin Luther King Jr., as they depart Ebenezer Baptist Church yesterday in Atlanta. GEO protests during discussion By Tim O'Connell and Anupama Reddy Daily Staff Reporters Protesting social and economic bias, members of the Graduate Employees Organization joined other student groups on the Diag in observing Mar- tin Luther King Jr. Day. Minorities are underrepresented in teaching assistant positions, said GEO president Scott Dexter, a Rackham Student. GEO fliers distributed yesterday around campus integrated quotes by King with charges that the University has discriminated against GEO. "If the University is to pay real honor to King instead of token cel- ebration, it must demonstrate a con- crete commitment to racial and eco- nomic justice through a just and fair contract with GEO," the flier read. Dexter and about 10 others pro- tested the appearance of Detroit Free Press Editor Joe Stroud at a panel discussion sponsored by the depart- ment of communications studies. "This man crosses a picketline ev- ery day to go to work. That is not something that Martin Luther King would have admired," said GEO mem- ber Tamara Joseph, referring to the ongoing Detroit newspaper strike. In his opening comments, Stroud emphasized that he should not be the focus of the panel discussion, and asked that the group respect his right to speak. Vernon Jarrett from the DuSable Museum of African American History was the keynote speaker in a discussion about the media's effect on civil rights. The discussion concluded before graduate students could ask the panel questions.. When asked afterward if Stroud had anticipated a protest, he said, "It had crossed my mind." "I would have liked to recognize the students, and have given them a chance to speak," he said, adding that there was not enough time allotted. Some students thought MLK Day was not the right time for GEO to protest. "Martin Luther King Jr. stood for a lot of stuff, and they're taking advan- tage of that. (The protest) is not really related," said LSA first-year student Christopher Kuck. "Today was not really appropriate if they were demanding more ben- efits, but it's fine if they want more minority representation," said LSA senior Joe Bazeley. This month, GEO constituents are facing their final contract negotia- tions with the administration, which began Oct. 31. GEO will meet with administra- tion officials at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow on the second floor of the LSA Build- ing. Hinduism linked to King's values in national meeting By Katie Wang Daily Staff Reporter A night of dancing and celebration at the Michigan Union Ballroom on Sun- day night capped off the sixth annual meeting of the national Hindu Students Council. About 80 students from across the country attended this year's confer- ence. "I feel like a family coming to- gether," said Engineering senior Naresh Vyas. The theme of this year's confer- ence, "Knowledge, Unity, Progress, Dharma, and the American Dream," was carefully chosen to link Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream to the Hindu religion. "The American Dream is what you choose it to be - it is a product of your own set of values and those in turn are based upon religion," said Rajeshri Gandhi, an Education junior. Several of the issues addressed at the conference included how to prac- tice the cultural values of the Hindu religion as first-generation Ameri- cans. The conference offered an opportu- nity for people "to learn about their culture and to educate themselves about the values their country has to offer, and learn how to apply these values to society," said the council's Midwest coordinator, Jwalant Lakhia. Other students who attended the three-day conference gave high praise to the speakers at the conference, such as Vice Provost for Academic and Multicultural Affairs Lester Monts and keynote speaker Dr. Bharat Barai, a former medical doctor in India. "All the speakers really enriched the knowledge I had and helped me under- stand things," Gandhi said. RESERVE OFFICERS' TRAINING CORPS :.'/:' /f / _::./ ,.:' -9 , yfi. f : f1 "" rl/i/_r9' 4t r~" tr ''/ ' - tS s S / ar, r 4rt r " f/1 ::f it:w "if"5:" ยข ''% rT r ET MONEY FROM YOUR UNCLE INSTEAD.3 What's happening in Ann Arbor today GROUP MEETINGS ALIANZA - Latino Organization, weekly meeting, 764-2837, Trot- ter House, 1443 Washtenaw Ave., 7 p.m. Q Fold Dance Club, Ethnic Line danc- ing, 764-7544, North Campus Commons, Leonardo's, 7:30 p.m. F ~wr Session," sponsored by Career Planning and Placement, Michi- gan Union, Anderson Rooms 8,C,D, 7-8 p.m. U "Residence Hall Repertory Theatre Presents: Close-Ups: Love, Sex and Relationships," sponsored by Hillel, Mosher Jordan, 9 p.m. U "Soda and Schmooze With PB. Pritzker," sponsored by IMPAC, STUDENT SERVICES Q Campus Information Centers, Michigan Union and North Cam- pus Commons, 763-INFO, info@umich.edu, UMoEvents on GOpherBLUE, and http:// www.umich.edu/~info on the World Wide Web U English Composition Board Peer G