The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - September 3, 1996 - 3


MEGAN
SCHIMPF
Prescriptions

Code governs
more than just

J~eards
vent the
I 'never went to summer orientation.
4nstead, I spent the night before I
as supposed to leave - and the fol-
ing day - with a horrific case of
the stomach flu.
So when I came to the University in
SeMember, I knew nothing about what
I was getting into except that I was
pretty sure I didn't want to get into it.
; I loved high school. College was an
iknown.
But I had outgrown high school, I
dmyself, as I dealt with CRISP, a
mmate who was a senior, buying
ks and the walk from South Quad to
uzens, where most of my high school
inds were living.
"-Three years later, as I begin my
enior year, I know I was ready for a
new challenge. And I know I've met
ihat challenge.
College has been a vastly more edu-
'ational experience than high school. In
the course of the 105 credits I've earned
where have been amazing facts, inspiring
g fessors and incredible experiences.
SBut even more than my academic
experiences, there have been the person-
al, social and extracurricular experi-
ences I have been through in three years.
You will see that those, pore than
practically anything in a classroom,
will shape you into the person who
will someday be a Michigan graduate.
The first thing to help you become
rue of the leaders and best is persever-
Ace. College is not easy. Nothing new
ever is. But I discovered giving up
would be even harder than getting up
each morning and facing the world.
Dedication is an important quality,
and it's not something they teach in Cal-
culus 115 or Chemistry 210. But to sur-
vive both courses, much less succeed,
it's the first thing you'll need to learn.
Don't give up.
Becausethere will be times when
Swant to.
When it feels like it would be easier
to-stay in bed - frigid weather excus-
es don't apply here - take comfort in
this fact: Everyone fails, sooner or
later. Most of the people who come to
the University were the best in at least
one thing in their high school, city or
state. Relax. That includes you. When
you get the worst grade of your life on
the paper you spent days on, know
#ryone goes through that.
,Accept failure, but learn from it. In a
month or a year from now, you'll write
10-page masterpieces at 4 am.
Believe in yourself. Other people
will soon begin to scornfully call this
something along the lines of the
"Michigan Ego." Fine. Maybe they're
jealous. But there's a reason you're
here. Remind yourself of that and keep
telling yourself why you belong here.
I have a postcard that says "Be
ve. Even if you're not, pretend to
. No one can tell the difference." It's
true. Act like you know what you're
doing, and people will believe you.
-People will even follow you.
The University is a large place. The
way to make it yours is to find a smaller
world to conquer first. Having more
than 500 student organizations trans-
lates into something for every imagin-
le interest. Search out the one you
e - the one you will regularly lose

sleep and study time over.
My first-year roommate is one of
the saddest people I have met. She
..managed to sludge through four years
at the University without ever really
experiencing it.
A month into that year, I made up my
mind never to be like her. In those four
weeks, I learned more about Ann Arbor
than she had learned in four years.
I made new friends and spent time
with them. The late-night/early-morn-
ing hours I have spent with my friends,
sometites giddy, sometimes serious,
sometimes studying, are the ones we
-remember now and forever. Sleep is
overrated. Time is what you treasure.
I became involved. I found an organi-
zation to love - The Michigan Daily.
Watching the sun rise from the Student
,X blications Building is not an entirely
uvenating experience. A new day is
starting, and yet the old one never
ended. But eight hours later, I came
back to work. Devotion is what matters.
And I found myself missing high
school less. Pictures of new friends
appeared in frames, and new experi-

academics

..

By Adrienne Janney
Daily Editorial Page Editor
It's a chameleon.
University administrators called it the
Statement of Student Rights and Respon-
sibilities - a name designed to convince
students they were actually getting some-
thing out of this lopsided bargain.
These days, it's a little more blatant:
The Code of Student Conduct. (Read:
"This is how you WILL act.")
Confused yet? The actual document is
even more perplexing. My favorite part
dictates that students may not set "unau-
thorized" fires. I have to wonder: Where
does one go to get a fire authorized?
Because I would like to burn the carpet-
ing in the South Quad hallways.
Aside from simple idiocy, the Code
contains plenty of complex idiocy. For
example, its jurisdiction covers Ann
Arbor city limits, not campus. So if

Ta n aJONATHAN LURIE/Daily
Taking a stand
Espresso Royale employees Dawn Marsh (left) and Kati Lauffer stand outside the State Street coffeeshop. Virtually all
the employees refused to go to work one September day after an extensive dress code was enforced.
Students deserve active voice

decisions. If you commit a crime, you
are prosecutable under the law.
And the Code.
Did they forget to tell you that at ori-
entation? The University can convict
you for murder - and throw you out of
school. Sobering, isn't it? The regents
believe a jury of your peers - reflective
of a legal courtroom - is in order when
your actions deviate from University
standards. A graduate student was found
"responsible" under the Code for
"spraying" her family housing neighbor
with a garden hose, despite the fact that
a real judge had dismissed the case. And
the man who charged her under the
Code was not a student - apparently
attending the University made this stu-
dent accountable to the entire world.
Whatever world the regents live in, the
adult one has a much different structure.
At work, you have rules governing your
behavior on the job - but
not in your own bed-
011 room. In an academic
community, you should
dioc, be subject only to rules of.
academic conduct.
e Students have fought
against the Code since its
conception. Regents
have ignored student
concerns since the
beginning of time.
Ah, yes, the inevitable.
Then why should you
care? Because the

PRESID NT
Continued from Page B
made it clear he is not fond of OMA and
prefers to select candidates privately -
one more step in excluding students from
a process that will ultimately affect them
the most.
Because students will reap the benefits
- or suffer the conseguences - of the
committee's choices, they are the ones
who deserve a say. Student concerns from
last winter's forums demonstrate valid
needs and wishes.
First and foremost, the University's
uniquely diverse population necessitates a
president with a strong concern for mul-
ticulturalism. This concern should
encompass and embrace the community's
differing genders, races, sexual orienta-
tions and ethnic backgrounds. The com-
munity not only deserves the president's
respect, but also representation in Uni-
versity policies. Affirmative action must
continue as part of the University's hiring
and admissions practices - though the
national trend jeopardizes affirmative
action at public institutions, the new pres-
ident must make a firm commitment to
preserving it at the University.
Duderstadt initiated the Michigan
Mandate early in his term as part ofa plan
to increase minority representation at the
University. Similarly, he unveiled the
Michigan Agenda for Women in 1994 to

you're going to break
the Code, you might
want to consider taking
the extra few minutes to
drive to Ypsilanti.
Speaking of jurisdic-
tion, the Code is some-
what unenforceable -
the University expects
the Department of Pub-
lic Safety to administer
mini-restraining orders
when both parties have
class in Angell Hall.
(This happened once.
They ordered a student
out of a University

Aside fro
simple 0i
the code
contains
plenty ao
complex
idiocy.


building because his ex-girlfriend, who
he had harassed and threatened, was also
in the building. Of course, he was told not
to be there after the fact - which did lit-
tle to help his frightened ex-girlfriend.
Neither party found the sanction useful.)
Seven years ago, the University Board
of Regents decided to help students
learn how to be adults. We call this in
loco parentis - in lieu of parents. Col-
lege is a sheltered environment, the rea-
soning goes, and students need a mock-
adult structure to equip them for the real
world of desk jobs, mortgages and
moral responsibility.
And college is a sheltered environ-
ment. Sort of. The logic departs there.
Part of the benefit of college is to learn
how to make your own choices. And
your own mistakes. You can stay up too
late, drink too much, drop out of school,
decide chemistry isn't for you, gain the
"Freshman 15" or get a cat.
At the same time, you're an adult. At
age 18, the state recognizes you as
responsible enough to make your own

inevitable could come up
and bite you from behind.
Last year a final version of the Code
passed the Board of Regents, with the
help ofVice President for Student Affairs
Maureen Hartford. The regents trust her,
even though she works against students.at
every step, because they practically hired
her to implement a code. The regents felt
left out because many other universities
have conduct codes.
Our Code of Student Conduct will
come up for review in three years,
thanks to the protests of Regent Andrea
Fischer Newman (R-Ann Arbor). In the
meantime, students must protect them
selves from getting tangled up in a Cody
hassle. Student information groups can
inform students of Code rights, and the
local American Civil Liberties Union is
tracking Code cases. Anyone charged
under the Code should have all available
information before talking to Code
administrator Mary Lou Antieau.
All we can do is cover ourselves and
compile examples of why the Code of
Student Conduct does not belong at our
University.

University Interim President Homer Neal and former President James Duderstadt
spin the Cube In Regents' Square In April.

The Code - approved by a majority of
regents and pushed through by Duderstadt

promote gender equity at
the University. MAW
increased female enroll-
ment in traditionally male-
dominated schools and
increased the number of
tenured female professors.
Though Duderstadt's pro-
grams have demonstrated
hints of success, the
process is by no means
complete. Duderstadt's
successor must dedicate
attention to these programs
and continue to strive for
increased numbers of
female faculty and staff.

Students
wish for
empathy and
respect for
the battles
they fight.

-subjects students to the
whims of a review com-
mittee and deprives them
of the benefits of legal
representation:It does not
allow open trials, elimi-
nating the possibility of
defense by case prece-
dent. The University's
brand ofjustice would not
be acceptable in any court
of law, and should not
exist here. The next Uni-
versity president must
respect students' legal
rights and actively strive
to improve the Code's

respect for the battles they fight. Some
students dedicate impassioned efforts
for their causes, and presidential recog-
nition of those efforts could substantial-
ly improve student-administration rela-
tions. Students deserve cooperation in
their pursuit of racial and ethnic equali-
ty, rights for graduate student instructors
and affordable childcare for student par-
ents. Student-rights advocates strive
valiantly to improve the quality of life at
the University, but progress is difficult
without a concerted effort from the
administration. The soaring costs of
tuition, outdated curricula and inaccu-
rate racial, ethnic and gender represen-
tation in the classroom are problems stu-
dents deal with daily. They are also prob-
lems that could be alleviated by some
presidential initiative from the adminis-
tration. The next University president
should always keep the students in mind
- they are the people that she or he will
be commissioned to serve.


The next president should note the low
point of Duderstadt's career as University
president: the implementation of the
Statement of Student Rights and Respon-
sibilities, commonly known as the Code.

flaws. The community wants a president
who will be open with them, and who will
encourage honesty and openness between
the community and the administration.
Lastly, students wish for empathy and


'

should continue

extending benefits to all



By Nlraj Ganatra
Daily Editorial Page Writer
The issue of benefits for same-sex
domestic partners is a deeply contested
topic between conservatives and those
who believe in the fundamentals of
equality. Conservative politicians have
attempted to use legislation as a means
of preventing such benefits in the hopes
of imposing their own morality upon
public institutions. In the process they
have not only overstepped their authori-
ty, but also tried to deny equal rights to
homosexuals.
The University has not only confront-
ed the issue, but has been at the center of
attention for having done so.
Back in November 1994, the Univer-
sity Board of Regents extended health
benefits to same-sex domestic partners
with a 6-2 vote. The rationale behind the
move was simple. Homosexual partners

Traverse City) sponsored an amendment
to the $1.5-billion higher education
appropriations bill to penalize any state
college or university that extends same-
sex benefits equal to that amount. The
measure passed the Senate Appropria-
tions Committee on a 7-6 vote. In June,
it was signed into law by Gov. John
Engler when he approved the higher
education budget bill.

"Marriage is recognized as being
between two members of the opposite
sex," Schuette said. "(The benefits)
seem an inappropriate expenditure of
public money." Similar views were
expressed by University Regent Daniel
Horning (R-Grand Haven), who came to
the board after their 1994 decision and
supports the Schuette-McManus amend-
Please see BENEFITS, Page 2B

City of Ann Arbor:
RecyclePlus
Call the 24-Hour Hotline, 99-GREEN
PAPER Place these loose products in the tan bin.
* . . ...!.. . .! . . . . . .#. .#."." . .! . . . . . . . . . . . ... .
Newspaper, Magazines, Mixed Paper & "Junk Mail"
Phonebooks, Paperback Books, Brown Paper Bags
Corrugated Cardboard. No hardcover books or plastics. 3
CONTAINERS Place clean items in the green bin
. ... . . . .. .. . . . . .. . . . . .. .. . . . . .-
Glass & Ceramics, Plastic Bottles #1, #2, #3, Metal
Cans, Aerosols & Scrap Metal, Milk & Juice Cartons
No foam products, plastic bags or light bulbs.

a


,AA