irin'a ews: 76-DAILY advertising: 764-0554 One hundred six years ofeditorlfreedom Tuesday Aprl 22, 1997 lousing to investigate S. Quad party By Jonni Yachnin Daily Staff Reporter After a fire destroyed the South Quad room of two Michigan football players Sunday night, a smnd investigation has begun into a party that agedly took place the night before. "The coordinator of residential education is pursuing a preliminary investigation. It is the normal procedure for alcohol investigation," Director of Housing Public Affairs Alan Levy said. "Contact is being made with residence hall staff who worked that night. Past activity on that floor and the history of the residents are being reviewed to find out what actually transpired." Levy said that as of 1 p.m. yesterday, no con- tact had been made by Michigan football center Steve Frazier or tight end Aaron Shea to retain University housing through the rest of the semester. Frazier is staying off-campus with his girlfriend and Shea is staying with friends on the football team, according to several residents who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Since the fire, neither has returned to the room or the hall. New estimates put the damage to University property in and around the room close to $20,000, Levy said. Levy said only University property is covered under the University's insur- ance, and Frazier and Shea cannot be reim- bursed for damages to their personal property. Ann Arbor Fire Department officials said the fire began because ofa couch sitting on top of an alarm clock wire. "it was not the alarm clock so much as the couch sitting on the wire that started the fire" said AAFD inspector Ron Heemstra. "Any time you sit on or move the couch, it breaks down the insulation in the wire." Yesterday morning, Frazier and Shea met with Michigan head football coach Lloyd Carr, according to first-year student and team punter Ryan Parini, who lives across the hall from Frazier and Shea. The topic of discussion and the results are unknown at this time. Carr could not be reached for comment on the incidents yesterday. "We see this as a housing matter and we're working with them on their investigation," Senior Associate Athletic Director Keith Molin said yesterday. Molin added that the Athletic Department is not conducting its own investigation. "The Athletic Department monitors and enforces their own student athlete policy," Levy said. "They can choose to or not to take action. Their decision is independent of ours" Possessing alcohol in mass quantities, such as a keg, is prohibited in the residence halls "even with residents over the age of 21. If they did, it would be a lease violation,' Levy said. "Clearly, there was a keg and other alcohol containers in the room." Residents who asked not to be identified said the alleged party was part of a progressive drink- ing party, and several rooms were serving alco- holic beverages that evening. Engineering first-year student Adam Silver, who lives next door to Frazier and Shea, said Shea was not in his room Saturday night. See FIRE, Page 10 _.., _ _ _ Those L; Grdtion Giaduating seniors look back in time By Katie Wang Daily Staff Reporter It's been the best of times. It's been the worst of times. It was the age of James Duderstadt; it was the, age of Lee Bollinger. It was the epoch of diversity, it was the epoch of adversity. it was the season of construction; it was the spring of new buildings; it was the winters that never seemed to end. It was the Class of 1997. As the senior class files into Michigan Stadium in two weeks, it will take with it tales of the good old days when Entree Plus was used instead of the M-Card. It will remember waking up at the crack of dawn to stcnd in line to CRISP And it will be the last class to remember why the I larold *hapiro Undergraduate Library was fondly nicknamed the UGLI. "The outside (of the library) was just this horrible brick- looking, cold-looking structure," said LSA senior Tara Barry. "It didn't look very welcoming and the inside used to feel like a dungeon." It is a class that carries the distinction of having seen three different University presidents, years of construc- tion and a boost in minority undergraduate student enrollment. "In some ways, it was an extraordinarily exciting period uring which the University reached a level of quality, 4 See 1997, Page 12 were the days... High court lets stand Title IX equity ruling 0 Duderstadt UGLi p-by-line Michigan Party...... Bollinger Harold Shaprio O'Sullivan's Undergraduate Library Crisp-by-phone. Students Party -.- R Expanded Good Time Charley's Mard O.J. Simpson. Faculty parking lot. The Washington Post WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court yesterday shut off the last avenue of appeal for American universities and colleges that provide more sports pro- grams for men than women based on their belief that female students are less interested in athletics. Over the protests of 60 colleges and universities, the high court rejected an appeal by Brown University that sought to have a controversial lower court deci- sion requiring strict sex equality in ath- letic programs overturned. The Supreme Court's denial of the case effectively means that schools nation- wide must ensure that the total number of varsity positions for men and women match their overall percentage in the student body. Yesterday's action is likely to acceler- ate the trend among schools to scale back men's athletics and pump up women's sports to meet the gender equality stan- dard required by federal law. Although the law at issue, Title IX, has existed for 25 years, the lower court ruling was par- ticularly controversial because it defined a strict standard of parity for young women athletes - potentially at the expense of male athletes. At Brown, for example, women com- posed 51 percent of the student body, yet they represented only 38 percent of campus athletes. That 13 percent differ- ential, according to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, amounted to illegal discrimination. To rectify the imbalance, universities and colleges that receive federal funds must either cut back or eliminate some men's sports, or add women's teams. The effect of the high court action is not See COURT, Page 10 Entree Plus -O.J. Simpson Sig Ep Fraternity House +#. a e t e d Bollinger finishes first semester By Heather Kamins and Katie Wang Jly Staff Reporters During his 79 days in office, President Lee Bollinger has inherited a financial crisis at the University Medical Center, heard allegations launched against the men's basketball program and announced plans to move out of the Fleming Administration Building. And he's just getting started. Bollinger, who began his presidency in February, said returning to campus been rejuvenating. "it has been extremely gratifying for me to come back to the University," Bollinger said. "People couldn't have been more welcoming, and personally 1 couldn't be happier." Bollinger served as the dean of the University's Law School from 1987 to 1994, before leaving the University to serve as Dartmouth College provost for two years. Last November, in a dramat- selection process, Bollinger was ected by the University Board of Regents as the new president. Bollinger said he immediately recog- nized the complexity of his new job. "There are dozens of decisions one makes in a day," Bollinger said. "They may seem small in the context of the whole University. But in time, those decisions profoundly affect the charac- ter of the institution." In his first days on campus, Bollinger said he would listen to the needs of stu- dents and faculty. But his relations with students veered into rocky terrain after being quoted in a New York Times article about the decline of student activism on campus. Many students were disenchant- ed by Bollinger's remarks, which lament- ed the decline of student activism. Bollinger said the newspaper mis- quoted him, but some students were not aware of this until they met with him to discuss their concerns. "I'm very impressed with all of his new ideas he's bringing in," said SNRE senior Angie Farleigh, one of the students who met with Bollinger. "He's changing the whole direction of the University, and I'm impressed with his accessibility to students. When we went to talk to him last week, he actually listened" Students have confronted Bollinger on other fronts as well. Latinas y Latinos Unidos for; Change, a student initiative calling for equal rights for Latino/a students, disrupted a recep- tion between Bollinger and stu- dent leaders in early April. The protesters demand- Bollinger ed a meeting with Bollinger. "Issues of diversity obviously have to be high on the agenda," Bollinger said. "In one sense, a national debate is going on about the legitimacy of affirmative action. The major question of is how is this policy going to be lived out over time. Everybody is quick to say num- bers are only a part of the problem" Although sometimes tempestuous relations with students have demanded his attention, Bollinger has also spent time attempting to solidify his relation- ship with the faculty. Provost J. Bernard Machen praised Bollinger's involvement with the faculty. "He's done an amazing job of identi- fying and responding to issues impor- tant to the faculty," Machen said. "There is a strong sense among the fac- ulty that their issues are of deep priori- ty for the president." Another priority for the president is the billion-dollar University Medical Center. During his first two weeks as presi- dent, Bollinger announced the creation of a $3-million fund for the purpose of academic recruitment and retention in the hospitals. "I announced the fund for academic recruitment and retention in the Medical Center, not only to symbolize that my focus is on the Medical Center, but to show I am taking significant actions early and when needed," Bollinger said. "Academic quality and See BOLLINGER, Page 9 ADDIE SMITH/Dais Ad Nisman takes part in a Sedar dinner sponsored by the University Half Shekel campaign. He is dipping his finger in wine to symbolize the 10 plagues. Passo ver -holiday finals conflict at U GOOD LUCK ON FINALS Ih This is The Michigan Daily's final edition for the winter semes- ter; the paper will not be published during final exams. We will, how- ever, resume publication on a week- British to hand over control of Hong Kong to China in 70 days By Susan T. Port Daily Staff Reporter For many students, the last day of classes is full of stress and relief. But most Jewish students may face addi- tional conflicts today since it also marks the first day of the Passover hol- iday. Hillel Rabbi Rich Kirschen said the current University policy requires that students tell their professors if there is a conflict in order to make other arrange- ments to take exams. "It is very difficult for most peo- ple," Kirschen said. "We worked out a policy if a student has a religious conflict and if the student gives suffi- cient notice they can take an alternate test. The professor cannot say 'too bad."' Rushovich said the clash between class- es and Passover puts her in a difficult position. "I feel I will not be able to take as much time to study as I normally would like to," Rushovich said. Psychology Prof. Charles Behling is giving a final exam today, but he said students who haver religious conflicts could make up the test during three alternate times. "Certainly this is an inconvenience for students with religious conflict"' Behling said. "It is very unfortunate the last day of classes is on the first day of Passover." Behling said 72 students chose to reschedule their Psychology Ill final because of the holiday. "I, myself, am not Jewish, but I VU'students from Hong Kong downplay fears of transition By Prachish Chakravorty For the Daily ly include Secretary of State Madeline Albright, the territory will formally mark the end of colonial rule and become an autonomous Special Administrative Region of China. The reversion of sovereignty comes after more than 100 years of British Law, which British and Chinese nego- tiators hammered out in 1990. Under the Basic Law, Hong Kong will maintain its capitalist economy, independent judiciary and civil liber- ties. But Chinese authorities have made it :I I I I