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One hundred six years of editorizalfreedom
Wednesday
October 16, 1996
Zourt rules fial stages o search illegal
What se'skJudgeoinstructsU'toopendmetigsaboutcandUinesyu s dates
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By Jodi S. Cohen
and Jeff Eldridge
Daily Staff Reporters
Ruling yesterday that final stages of the Board
of Regents' planned search process were illegal,
Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge
Melinda Morris put new limitations on the
search for the 12th University president.
After seven hours of legal discussions and
debates, Morris issued a preliminary injunction
against the regents that now prevents them from
holding some closed meetings. They also must
release almost all documents pertaining to pres-
idential candidates.
The lawsuit - filed jointly by The Ann Arbor
News, The Detroit News and The Detroit Free
Press - decided that the final part of the
University's search plan violated both a prior
permanent injunction against the University and
state laws that say presidential searches cannot
be conducted in secret.
"What we're asking for may seem hard for the
University," Jonathan Rowe, the newspapers'
attorney, said during yesterday's hearing. "But it
is ultimately the policy of the state that this
search be open."
In her ruling, Morris systematically addressed
the intended search plan and declared two parts
completely illegal: the regents' closed meeting
to individually review confidential documents
and one-on-one meetings between board mem-
bers and individual presidential candidates.
The court also ruled that a closed question
and answer session between the regents,
search consultant Malcolm MacKay and
Presidential Search Advisory Committee
Chair Jeffrey Lehman could be held as long as
the board only discusses materials applicants
wish to remain confidential.
All three of these meetings were first
announced by Vice President for University
Relations Walter Harrison at an Oct. 8 briefing.
It was the board's intention to begin the final
phase of the search last Monday, but the lawsuit,
which was filed Friday, delayed the search until
the court's hearing yesterday.
"We're profoundly disappointed in the judge's
ruling," Harrison said. "Now we're trying to
decide whether or how to pursue."
The intended search plan and the court's cor-
responding rulings are as follows:
Monday, Oct. 14: Regents were to spend
the afternoon individually reviewing all appli-
cants' and nominees' materials, as well as confi-
dential evaluations by PSAC. Lehman and
MacKay would be present to answer regents'
questions.
Ruling: Morris found this in violation of the
Open Meetings Act and would not allow that
part of the process to remain. Morris also ruled
that candidates' reference materials can be made
public after the source's name is removed.
Yesterday, Oct. 15: The board was to meet
in closed sessions to review applications.
Ruling: Morris said the plan was "too gener-
al" as written, but ruled that the meetings can
remain as long as they are restricted to discus-
sions of materials the applicants request to
remain confidential. "My opinion is that (the
board) will act in conformity with the law,"
Morris said.
N Tomorrow, Oct. 17 and beyond: As part of
a day-and-a-half campus visitation, candidates
could request one-on-one interviews with indi-
vidual regents.
Ruling: Morris said this segment of the plan
was in violation of the state's Open Meetings
Act. "The court understands that even though
the purpose may be (for the candidate to meet
the regent), the effect is that the regents get to
know the candidate," Morris said.
Rowe said he was pleased with Morris's ruling.
"I'm delighted that the judge agreed with us
that the board's plan again violates the Open
Meetings Act," Rowe said.
During 45-minute statements, Rowe and the
regents' attorney, Peter Ellsworth, offered differ-
ent interpretations of state open meetings laws
and precedent cases.
Rowe argued that open meetings and the dis-
closure of documents is mandated under OMA
and a 1993 Michigan Supreme Court ruling that
See SEARCH, Page 2
Id IN
WARREN ZINN/Daily
w County Circuit Court Judge Melinda Morris orders the University to open its meetings.
Jordan's
[-ussein
:ravels to
W. Bank
c ngeles 'times
JERICHO, West Bank - King
Iussein offered a dramatic gesture yes-
rday in support of Palestinian leader
asser Arafat, as the Jordanian
onarch made his first public visit to
ie West Bank in almost 30 years to
iscuss the troubled Mideast peace
rocess.
ussein, the first Arab leader to trav-
the autonomous Palestinian area,
aid his landmark visit was intended to
elp speed the pace of Israeli-
alestinian negotiations over Israel's
verdue withdrawal of its troops from
e West Bank city of Hebron. But the
ing, who has been critical of Israeli
elays in the Hebron redeployment,
aid he was not trying to pressure the
overnment of Israeli Prime Minister
enjamin Netanyahu.
e problem lies in the slow pace of
ementing what has been agreed
pon," Hussein said at a news confer-
nce with Arafat.
Arafat and Hussein - whose rela-
ionship has often been stormy-
ddressed each other warmly yesterday
s they stood at neighboring lecterns,
raising each other for their efforts for
eace. They also were united in their
ngjstence that Israel should move
kly on the issue of Hebron.
e have one position:' Arafat said,
ooking toward the king. "We have a
omplete understanding that there
hould be the implementation of every-
hi that has been agreed upon."
The king's visit came as negotiations
ver Hebron reached a critical stage.
sraeli and Palestinian negotiators held
nother round of intensive, small group
iscussions in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem
rterday with formal negotiations
ted to resume soon, perhaps as
arty as today in the Egyptian resort of
Faba. But the two sides offered differing
ecounts of their progress.
Arafat's own assessment was
gloomy. "Until this point, there is no
move forward in the negotiations," he
told reporters at his headquarters in this
dusty desert town. "We don't ask the
impossible; we want what was signed
t e implemented on the ground."
everal Israeli officials and others
close to the negotiations were more
optimistic. While some differences
remained, these sources said, the two'
sides were making progresstoward
reaching a diplomatic formula that
Students blast
anti-affirmative
action measure
By Will Weissert
Daily Statr Reporter
There is strength in numbers.
More than 150 students came to last night's Michigan
Student Assembly meeting in the Michigan Union Ballroom
.to show their support for affirmative action.
But as it turned out, the resolution they were opposing,
which would have petitioned the University's Board of
Regents to end its use of affirmative action policies, would
not have passed even if no one had voiced their opposition.
The resolution failed by an overwhelming amount - with
only the assembly member who drafted the measure,
Engineering Rep. David Burden, voting in favor of it.
After the vote, Burden said he knew when he drafted the
amendment it had no chance of passing.
"I knew it was not going to pass," Burden said. "I think the
most important thing was we had more than 100 constituents
at the meeting."
Burden said he brought the amendment before the assem-
bly to "debate an issue MSA has been avoiding for more than
a year-and-a-half."
And Burden certainly spurred discussion, as more than 40
students and community members spoke before the assembly
- all in favor of affirmative action.
"The factors that created affirmative action still exist
today," said LSA junior Afshrin Jadidnouri. "I think it would
be a shame for the University ... to support overhauling affir-
mative action."
See MSA, Page 3
JS BIGGS/Dily
The big breadwinner
Susie Morrelli demonstrates breadmaking at the Zingerman bakehouse's bread-tasting party last night. For $5, participants ate unlimited
amounts of bread and were taught breadmaking techniques.
Tatum speaks of
developing student
racial identities
By Chris Metinko
Daily Staff Reporter
Students at the University are often
exposed to the term "multicultural
courses," but yesterday, one of the
University's own came to speak about
them.
Beverly Tatum, who graduated from
the University in 1984 and is a profes-
sor of education at Mt. Holyoke
College in South Hadley, Mass., gave a
public lecture
yesterday
afternoon 6 n
about the racial ITS s
identities stu-
dents can not a ur e
d e v e lop m
through study- u
ing race in - Jac
multicultural -_
Teachers at these schools had to take
special anti-racist training to partici-
pate in the courses.
Tatum discussed how this was diffi-
cult on the teachers professionally and
personally. "Racism can be a relation-
al barrier," Tatum said.
She also talked about the difficulty
both black and white students faced as
participants in her program. "It was a
difficult transition for blacks, going from
black schools to
white schools,"
Tatum said.
neethingFor white stu-
dents Tatum said,
;sed they faced the
possibility of
becoming "dis-
connected."
;uie Anderson "I think white
'olicy student people learn to
Computer
fraudmay
vicimize
students
By Rob Goettel
'Ihe University of Washington Daily
SEATTLE - Tens of thousands of
students will be victimized by fraudu-
lent companies posing as legitimate
foundations this fall, according to the
Federal Trade Commission.
Jodie Bernstein, director of the FTC's
Bureau of Consumer Protection, said,
"Bogus scholarship search services are
just a variation on the You Have Won'
prize-promotion scam, targeted to ...
students and their parents who are anx-
ious about paying for college."
Bernstein said these questionable
agencies guarantee students free schol-
arship money in exchange for an up-
front fee, usually around $50.
"You don't need college-level math
to know that multiplying those fees by
JOSH BIGGS/Daily
University alum Beverly Tatum addressed students yesterday at East Hall about
the importance of developing racial identities.
,s
h4
of close to 50 people for her lecture.
"It was great," said Jacquie
Anderson, a first-year graduate stu-
dent in the School of Public Policy.
"It's something not addressed much,
white people learning about racism."
Nancy Blonston, a second-year
graduate student in the School of
Public Policy, agreed. "It's definitely
not anything I've heard before,"
the groups responsible for bringing
Tatum to campus, thought it was
important to have Tatum here to dis-
cuss anti-racism in classrooms and her
work with teachers.
Smith was also happy with the large
turnout. Smith said it was good to see
"all of the interest in anti-racist educa-
tion and people thinking about their
own teaching.... It represents.-the kind
I cou~rses.
Public P
I
,I