Jr Irran *rnV Beather onlght: Increasing cloudl- ess, low around 420. omorrow: Cloudy, chance of howvers, high around 650 One hundred six years of editorifreedom Monday October 14, 1996 y 'j7 plt like afer the Nort/-estempotball ame W? were so close to getting into thefinal stae - Walter Harrison, vice president for University relations Court O der freezes searc Board was to start today Sept: 29, I95: University President James Duderstadt announces he will step down from the presidency. TePresidentil# Searc~h Advisory forthefrst time Oct. 11, 1996: A court order halts the presidential search. By Jodi S. Cohen )aily Staff Reporter The search for the 12th University. )resident has been derailed after a ashtenaw County judge issued a tem- fy restraining order against the ersity on Friday afternoon. The suit - brought jointly by The nn Arbor News, the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News - con- tends that the 4 z-University is vio- lating both a per- manent injunction and state laws that ~-say presidential searches cannot be conducted in ecret. Washtenaw County Trial Judge Fimothy Connors instructed the Jniversity to halt all search activities ind appear at a show-cause hearing 11 .m. Tuesday before Judge Melinda 4orris. According to the final phase of the h announced last week, regents Id have been on the fast track oward choosing the next president tarting today, when they were to elease the top five candidates' names. But this week's plans will be on hold ue to the lawsuit, which claims in part hat closed meetings planned for today nd tomorrow would have been illegal. "We're hoping that the people can have an open view of how the president of the University of Michigan will be selected, an understanding of how deci- sions are made, and how the process was conducted," said Detroit Free Press Executive Editor Robert McGruder. Meanwhile, the search is frozen until after Tuesday's hearing. "This is obviously a disappointment," said Regent Deane Baker (R-Ann Arbor). "The regents have expended an enormous amount of time working with legal counsel to develop a program that met all the tests of openness." The potential long-term effects of the lawsuit will become morel; > apparent in the days ahead, said< Vice President for University ff Relations Walter r Harrison. "We're all wor- ried about what effect this will have on the search," Harrison Harrison said. "The real danger is that we may lose people who otherwise would have made superb presidents of the University of Michigan." The regents had hoped to select the next president by Thanksgiving, but that decision also will most likely be delayed. "I think the process was fairly spelled out since the beginning," said Lewis Morrissey, the University's chief free- dom of information officer. "Now, we face a delay that could really damage the whole process." Search schedule The final stage of the search was set to begin at 9:30 a.m. today when the Presidential Search Advisory Committee planned to release the five recommendations, along with about 300 other candidates it had considered to replace former President James Duderstadt. Instead, the regents will meet with attorneys this morning to discuss the lawsuit and "seek any advice if they need it, Harrison said. Law School Dean Jeffrey Lehman, PSAC chair, was to publicly present the names and some materials collected by the committee at today's meeting. The regents were to have received the names of recommended candidates last night - a few hours before the list was to be made public. Then, the regents were to do "home- work" and individually review confi- dential information about the nominees in closed sessions, Harrison said. Lehman and search consultant Malcolm MacKay were going to attend the afternoon session to answer regents' questions about the candidates. According to the suit, this meeting rf:-{ " s ilan. 26, 1996 : Oct , 8 ,199 8. The Board of Regents Vice President for University Relations announces the formation Water Harri$on presents a timeline for of the Presidential Search tiow the search wl progress over the Advisory Committee. next two weeks, would have violated the Open Meetings the law because it "will not be 'strictly' Act because the private discussions of limited to discussion of 'personal mat- confidential material, including refer- ters' contained within the 'specific con- ence and nominating materials, "will be tents' of 'applications' for the another real source of the information Presidency." ultimately relied At a public meeting Wednesday, the upon by the regents were to announce their list of Board to make finalists. According to the plan devel- (or 'rubber oped last spring, the board could stamp') the approve the advisory committee's rec- reduction deci- ommendations or amend them. sions, and hence Campus visits, by candidates were these closed dis- scheduled to begin Thursday. The day- cussions will also >:and-a-half visits were to include public violate the open "town meetings" with members of the d e 1 i b e r a t i o n University, public interviews with the requirement of regents and evening social events. the OMA." Lehman The regents Points of contention were again supposed to meet in closed On Tuesday, the University and the sessions on Tuesday to review applica- newspapers will instead go to court to tions and materials collected by the spar about the logistics of how the state PSAC, which the suit also says violates See SEARCH, Page 5A Inside: A look at the 1987-88 search. , Faculty react with surprise. Page 74 Page 7A. NATIONAL C Gays come out to .elebrate on Diag Students put legal search above res. By Will Weissert Daily Staff Reporter The lawsuit filed by area newspapers against the University Board of Regents has left the presidential search in limbo - but students say following the Open Meetings Act is more impor- tant than the regents' plans to find the next president. "I agree with the Detroit people on this" said Engineering sophomore Josh Sidon. "The University thinks they are above the law in many respects and this lawsuit might teach them a lesson" The Detroit News, the Detroit Free Press and The Ann Arbor News filed the lawsuit that stopped the search on Friday. Pier Ho, a first-year graduate student in Education, agreed with Sidon. "(The regents) are publicly elected officials, so if the papers want to go to their meetings, they should be allowed to go," Ho said. However, Michigan Student Assembly President Fiona Rose said the regents had made efforts to make the presidential search more accessible to the press. "I believe that the regents honestly tried to implement a more open process,' Rose said. "They tried to See STUDENTS, Page 7A Suspects arrested in S. Quad assault By Anupama Reddy Daily Staff Reporter Two men have been arrested and arraigned in connection with a sexual assault in South Quad last Sunday. The Department of Public Safety arrested Eric Stokes, 24, on Tuesday and Elmon Grant, 21, on Thursday. Both men were arraigned Thursday in the 22nd Circuit Court. The men allegedly assaulted a female student in her South Quad dorm room last Sunday evening. According to a University report, two men entered the student's room under the pretense of being her room- mate's friends. One of the men touched the victim on the breast, and then they took some CDs and a watch. Stokes was arraigned on two felony counts: first-degree home invasion and larceny in a building. His bond was set at $100,000, and he faces up to 24 years in prison if convicted. Grant was arraigned on three felony counts: home invasion, second-degree criminal sexual conduct and larceny in a building. Grant's bond was set at $150,000, and he could spend up to 39 years in prison if found guilty. Both men remain in custody. They are from Detroit and are not known to be affiliated with the University. A prelimi- nary hearing is scheduled for Oct. 23. DPS is also investigating a sexual assault that took place last Saturday morning in the North Campus parking lot across from Bursley residence hall. According to a University statement, a man forced a female University stu- dent into her car at gunpoint, took $30 from her wallet, sexually assaulted her and fled on foot. The suspect in the Bursley case was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt or jacket, black pants and a blue cloth covering his face. The man is between 5-foot-7 and 5-foot-10 and about 20 to 25 years old. If von ave nvainformationon the' y Nick Farr aily Staff Reporter Cheers, applause and songs filled the iag on Friday afternoon, as the Queer nity Project capped off National -oming Out Week with the National oming Out Day Rally. The well-attended rally featured gay nd straight people alike, in a show of u -port and pride for the University's community. "it's a chance for all of us to come ut and show he campus that e're proud of ho we are," aid Jocelyn closet do Hertich, an LSA first-year much int student. ertich was damage t of about 20 eople who selt onfi o p e n l y eclared her - Ch homosexuality Ann Arbor may or alliance with the gay com- munity at the event. "Our purpose here was to say we have straight allies who are just as cool and they did," said Ryan LaLonde, S rt senior and QUP organizer. .harmacy senior Katrina Konopinski said she attended the rally to show her support as a straight ally for the gay community. "They need to know some- one cares for them, and will stand with them," Konopinski said. Wilson Cruz, a Latino actor who spoke at Rackham Auditorium on Thursday, also attended the rally. "I thought it was amazing. I didn't *ect it to be so huge. It was very inspiring to see all the people come through there and show their love. It was very powerful," Cruz said. Cruz sung what he called the "Queer National Anthem," a version of the song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." Cruz said it was sung for him when he became openly gay. "Coming out is a very personal and powerful decision. ... I no longer have to hide, I no longer have to lie. To me, that means freedom from oppression, lesso irnal o your Wence hristopher Kolb oral candidate freedom from guilt," Cruz said. Another out- side guest, Ann Democratic may- oral candidate Christopher Kolb, spoke at the event, saying it helped to foster "an environment where we can come out on campus." Kolb came out while he was attending the University in the 1980s. "Staying in the closet does so much internal damage to your self-confi- dence and to you as a human being," Kolb said. "I wish we could do this every day." In addition to students from the University, high school and college stu- dents from around the state attended the rally. Phillip Walker, an LSA sophomore, and his boyfriend John Kingsley, a Wayne State University student, came to the rally for personal and political See OUT, Page 2A Faceoff '96, Above: Jen Chase, a Community High senior, walks through the rain- bow "coming out" closet at the National Coming Out Day activities on the Diag Friday. Right: Phillip Walker, LSA sophomore, and John Kingsley, a Wayne State University gradu- ate, listen to speeches on the Diag. inside today's Daily: