W E, 41 4"l I qqm 44or Weather ronight: Cloudy, chance of rain, low around 370. morrw: Cloudy, chance of showers, high around 450. One hundred six years of editornifreedom Tuesday December 10, 1996 Hayden returns to activist territory By Laurie Mayk Daily Staff Reporter Tom Hayden doesn't like to talk about the past - but when he comes home to Ann Arbor, it finds him. Old friends and colleagues stumble in with stories of the old days, admirers marvel at the symbol of a generation and young activists want t know what life was like "back in the '60s." "My background is my background, but when I go east, it's always on the foreground," Hayden said. When the California state senator returned to his alma mater yesterday, talk immediately turned to his work as founder of Students for a Democratic Society, and as one of the "Chicago Seven," a group of students arrested during protests at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. "The last time that I saw Tom Hayden was at the Weatherman's War Council (in Flint)," said Karl Pohrt, owner of Shaman Drum Bookstore, where Hayden signed copies of his recent book yesterday. Pohrt and U-M Flint philosophy Prof. Richard Gull remembered Hayden from that meeting, and from his days as a "radical," mobilizing stu- dents on college campuses across the country. SDS founder Alan Haber said Hayden's advice is "needed more than ever" today. But it's not surprising the successful legislator is looking to leave his youthful escapades for the history books, Pohrt said. "I don't particularly remember the '60s with a lot of fondness" he said. When Gull introduced himself to Hayden yes- terday, he reminded him that almost 30 years ago Hayden arranged for Gull and his wife to be in the packed courtroom during the infamous "con- spiracy trial" for the Chicago Seven. "He was very nice and helpful about it," Gull said. "There was some room in his family sec- tion and we sat there all day." Hayden chose to focus on the generations before and after him, during an address to about 150 students and local supporters in the Michigan Union's Pendleton Room. "You have to count your blessings but not get too content," he said. "If you get too fat and con- tent and happy with what you've done in the past, you'll never realize how alienated the next generation is." Hayden characterized youth activism in the 1960s as a result of a parent generation's refusal to take a stand against war and injustice. "A society that depends on young people to lead the way is a society that's broken somewhere." Although Hayden encouraged student audience members to reverse apathy on campus, he warned that they will be challenging a "system you can participate, register for, vote in - but always after election day, wonder why nothing happened. "Nothing happened, my friends, because nothing is supposed to happen," Hayden said. Students are still disenfranchised from the political process, but at least have access to the "dysfunctional" system, he said. California, where Hayden intends to run for See HAYDEN, Page 5 JOHN IKRAFT/ Daily University alum Tom Hayden fields questions from students yesterday in the Michigan Union. Hayden, now a state senator from California, was a member of the Chicago Seven. u-urjuE-or Diversity not enough for 'U harmony By Alice Robinson Daily Staff Reporter At first, LSA sophomore Alicia Ivory thought what happened to her was just an accident. But then something made her change her mind. "If it hadn't have been so blatant ... then I would- n't have thought that he was spitting on me personal- ly," Ivory said. Ivory, who is black, said she was spit on by a white cyclist while crossing North University Big Ten will play tourney Neal, Indiana pres. vote no When something like that happens to someone, 0ou self6 dseem hits rock Aottom"f -- Amer Zahr LSA sophomore Avenue last month. On Thursday, Nov. 7, Ivory was heading toward the Chemistry Building to take a midterm when she happened to make eye con- tact with a white man on a bicycle, who smirked at her "in a mean kind of way" before spitting on her arm and speeding off. Ivory said the fact that she did not know the man who spit on her, combined with his resentful manner, made her think he had racist motives. "I feel it was geared toward me and since he didn't know me ... it was because of my race;' Ivory said. Despite University offi- cials' claims of a commit- By Will McCahill Daily Sports Editor Despite the protest of University interim President Homer Neal, the Big Ten will hold a men's basketball tour- nament beginning in March 1998. At its semiannual meeting yesterday and Sunday in Park Ridge, Ill., the Big Ten Council of Presidents/Chancellors voted 9-2 in favor of a postseason tour- nament. Indiana joined Michigan in opposing the plan. Vice President for University Relations Walter Harrison said the administration's decision to vote against the tournament was based on its concern for student-athletes. "We have a long-standing position that we oppose the elongation of sports seasons, which are already too long," Harrison said. "It's really creating a major problem for student-athletes." In a letter to the council, Neal out- lined his reasons for voting against the measure. "(Because of recent NCAA reduc- tions in scholarships) we are playing more and more games and at the same time reducing the number of student- athletes who can participate," Neal's let- ter said. Combined with the lengthy col- lege basketball season, the reduction in scholarships forces athletes to play more and under greater pressure, he wrote. "We do not need to further this trend by addition of a post-season tourna- ment." Neal acknowledged the financial - . L '1 1 ,r _ 1. [ F ' - , r S s } r a a:Nxis " i i _a eke ', benefits the University stands to gain from the tournament - which Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany estimated to be in the $500,000 range for each insti- tution - but said they were not suffi- cient to sway the administration's vote. "I believe we must put the academic well-being of our student-athletes above potential income to our universities, Neal wrote. "I fear that if we institute a post-season tournament, the Big Ten will send the regretful message that at Big Ten universities, athletics (and the pursuit of the dollar) take precedence over our most fundamental academic mission. That is a message we can ill afford." Michigan coach Steve Fisher is in favor of a tournament, although his opinion of it became positive only recently after many years of opposition. Fisher said he originally opposed the idea for many of the same reasons the University administration is against the tournament, namely because of the detrimental effects it may have on the academics of the student-athletes. But after talking to members of his team, and to new coaches who have come to the Big Ten from conferences with post-season tournaments who See TOURNAMENT, Page 16 ment to multiculturalism and an increase in overall minority enrollment this year, students and admin- istrators alike are saying diversity doesn't necessar- ily mean harmony. Incidents such as Ivory's can be upsetting and frustrating - so frustrating, in fact, that many stu- dents don't report them. Loren McGhee, president of the University's chap- ter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said apathy can set in when racial- ly motivated incidents occur, causing an "I just want to get out of here as soon as possible" attitude. She said students are sometimes unmotivated to report incidents, feeling that graduating and getting away from the environment is the best solution. Jeanne Harris, speaker of the Black Student Union, said students often brush off incidents that offend them instead of reporting them to authori- ties. Harris said incidents often get little attention LSA sophomore Alicia Ivory, who says she was spit on by a white cyclist last month, filed complaints with the Dean of Students' office, the Office of Multi-Cultural Initiatives and the NAACP to seek justice. ' admissions still brings best students from others "unless someone like Alicia forces them to take note." Many student leaders said episodes of racial dis- crimination can have a negative effect on a person's sense of worth. "When something like that happens to someone, your self-esteem hits rock bottom) said Amer Zahr, an LSA sophomore and president of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee. "The thoughts that race through your mind make your self-esteem hit rock bottom" he said. 'The ugly side of Michigan' Conflicts between different racial communities are bound to arise on any large campus, said people See INCIDENTS, Page 7 Frantic students set to face final frenzy By Janet Adamy Daily Staff Reporter High school seniors in Michigan may have a better chance of getting an acceptance letter from a state university, but officials at the University of Michigan said admissions are "as selec- tive as ever." According to an article in yesterday's Detroit Free Press, students' odds of being accepted to a state school have increased since 1986 from seven in 10 to eight in 10 since 1986. Associate Vice President for University Relations Lisa Baker said the University accepted approximately 60 percent of applicants during the 1980s and now accepts just under 70 percent, despite reports that the University's acceptance rate jumped from five out of 10 applicants in 1986 to seven of 10 applicants for the 1996 fall semester. University Director of Undergraduate Admissions Ted Spencer said the statistic does not mean the University is easier to get into than it was 10 years ago. U-M Ann Arbor Michigan State Michigan Tech Oakland University Wayne State Western Michigan Rising Admissions Percentage of applicants admitted. 1986 1996 54% 8 7 3% 81 "4% 84% 66% By Jeffrey Kosseff Daily Staff Reporter Students waited for several hours outside of the bustling Angell Hall computing site to write term papers yesterday - punishment for long-term procrastination. Others hit the books all over campus, filling libraries and residence halls late into last night as cold winds rushed across the Diag. Final exam season has arrived. While many students admit to acaniring tvnical bad habits, including detrimental to a student's performance on tests, the occasional all-nighter is not unhealthy. "If a student was a freshman or sopho- more, it wouldn't do them any physical harm, but they will feel stupid during the test, said biology Prof. Eric Mann, who teaches a class on immunology. "If they stay up two or three times in a row, they will become sick. It varies from individ- ual to individual." LSA sophomore Darwita Jaapar said she normally stays up all night studying during the week, and she does not let it 73% r 71% 82 -Source:Detroit FreePress class rank, standardized test scores and grade-point average of applicants have improved over the past eight years. While the increased acceptance rate may have caused the University's rank- ing to drop from the "most competitive" to the "more competitive" category in a number of books that rate colleges, Spencer said the quality of the University has not changed. II VII '-IR t. L:':, }. tX q Y .I