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One hundred six years of editoralfeedom
Tuesday
March 18, 1997
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'U' hire
By Heather Kamins
and Ait K. Thavarajah
Daily Staff Reporter
The University has hired an independent firm to
investigate recent allegations levied against the
's basketball team, University President Lee
inger announced yesterday.
"(Athletic Director) Joe Roberson and I have
discussed the idea of retaining an independent
organization to examine these allegations and we
agree that this is an appropriate and necessary
step," Bollinger said in a prepared statement.
In an attempt to resolve the numerous allega-
tions of impropriety, the University has hired the
investigative firm Bond, Schoeneck & King of
Overland Park, Kan. The firm specializes in
,' A compliance and infractions.
ollinger's announcement follows a seven-
month investigation conducted by University offi-
cials that revealed minor NCAA violations but
could not substantiate the more serious charges.
firm
to
probe allegations
Former player blames Fisher for controversy
The firm will look into charges made last week
by two anonymous sources quoted in the Detroit
Free Press who claim to be closely linked with the
team. They allege Detroit booster Ed Martin pro-
vided University athletes with improper cash
handouts and gifts.
Michael Talley, who played for Michigan from
1989 to 1993, responded to the allegations, saying
he often saw Martin with Michigan players.
"I remember seeing him in the tunnel at games
and after practice at Crisler Arena, but he was
always with the younger guys or (former assistant
coach) Perry Watson," Talley told The Michigan
Daily. "I saw them being real friendly to each
other."
Senior Associate Athletic Director Keith Molin
said the University's investigation hit stumbling
blocks due to an inability to communicate with
anonymous sources.
"In the report that was filed with the NCAA in
March, we acknowledged that there were certain
parties that would not talk to us" Molin said.
"That left some areas unexplored. By bringing in
an outside force, we may be more effective in con-
tacting those parties."
Vice President for University Relations Walter
Harrison said a professional firm will be better
suited to conduct such an investigation.
"We've done a very long investigation and we
have found no one who would substantiate these
tips," Harrison said, referring to allegations of
impropriety made in recent newspaper articles.
"But we are administrators, not investigators."
Comprehensive steps must be taken to ensure
the allegations are thoroughly probed, said Faculty
Athletic Representative Percy Bates.
"I think that it's a reasonable way to go" Bates
said. "We have seen continual things crop up in the
last week and we need to see if they have any
merit."
Last week, the University issued a report dis-
closing Martin's involvement with players violated
two NCAA regulations. Michigan coach Steve
Fisher came under fire for not reporting Martin's
activities to the Athletic Department.
"The NCAA has never formally charged us of
anything," Harrison said. "They've asked us to
informally look into these allegations involving
the exchange of money."
Talley said allegations of ethical problems stem
from the coaching staff.
"I think a lot of the problems would be Steve
Fisher's lack of discipline,"Talley said. "He's pas-
sive and laid back. He lets his assistant coaches
deal with all the problems."
Talley said Fisher has nothing more to add to
the program.
"I don't think (Fisher) should return as the
men's basketball coach next year:' Talley said.
"Keeping Fisher around is going to only hurt the
reputation and the recruiting at Michigan."
Fisher could not be reached for comment yes-
terday.
Martin responded this weekend to allegations
that he violated NCAA regulations by giving
monetary handouts to Michigan players.
"I never told those kids what school to go to,'
Martin told The Detroit News. He also denied alle-
gations he paid students to attend certain schools.
"I talked to the NCAA last summer;" Martin
told the News. "They said everything was within
the rules."
Prof. speaks
on racism,
academia
By Janet Adamy
Vg StaffReporter
Prof. Roger Wilkins assured a crowd of more than 250 yes-
terday that he "still bleeds maize and blue" despite his chal-
lenging experience as an African American student at the
University nearly 50 years ago.
Wilkins, a professor of history and American culture at
George Mason University, delivered the seventh annual
Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and
Intellectual Freedom at Rackham Ampitheatre yesterday. The
lecture is given to honor
three instructors who were
interrogated - two of whom
were fired - during com-
munist investigations in the
'50s.
Wilkins was president of
the University's NAACP
chapter during the early '50s
and petitioned the Board of
Regents on behalf of the three
professors honored by the lec-
ture. Wilkins, who won a
k Pulitzer Prize for his coverage
of the Watergate scandal, drew
on his experience at the
University to deliver a mes-
sage about American citizen-
Wilkins ship, race relations and the
implications of the nation's changing demographics.
"Somehow we have to figure out how to negotiate the next
50 years - that Americans come in all colors and that we're
not afraid of each other because if we are, we'll tear each
other apart," Wilkins said. "This is the most difficult task,
Sause I don't think any other country has done it."
ilkins spoke to a nearly silent audience when he said he
didn't believe he ever encountered a black adult who worked
for the University during his seven years as a student.
"(While I was a student here) I never read one book, essay,
play or poem by a human being that was not white," Wilkins
said. "Nor do I remember any textbook that asserted that any
black person had done anything of value ... until I studied
Brown vs. Board of Education in my constitutional law class."
Wilkins said the country is not currently immune to the
See LECTURE, Page 7
A
Delicate
Balance
SUMAKO KAWAIAl/Daily
"The law school
has presented no
compelling
justifrication ..
that allows it to
continue to
elevate some
races over
others"
- From Hopwood v.
Texas, 1996
Carl Cohen, Residential College professor of philosophy and politics, resides in a house overlooking
Nichols Arboretum. Cohen is an outspoken critic of racial preferencing policies in higher education.
Hopwood decision changing education
By Katie Wang
Daily Staff Reporter
Exactly one year ago today, the heated issues
surrounding affirmative action crashed to the
shores of higher education, bringing to light
many questions surrounding the future and
effectiveness of such programs.
In the case Hopwood v. Texas, the U.S. Court
of Appeals for the 5th Circuit found that the
admissions policies of the University of Texas in
Austin discriminated against white and Asian
American applicants. Cheryl Hopwood, a white
female applicant, sued the Texas School of Law
after she was rejected by the school. She
accused the defendants of giving substantial
racial preferences in their admissions program.
Although the ruling applied only to pub-
lic universities represented by the 5th
District - schools in Texas, Louisiana, and
Mississippi - the ruling resonated through-
out the academic world.
While the immediate effects of the Hopwood
decision remain to be seen until this year's appli-
cation process is completed, there has already
been a decrease in the number of minority appli-
cants to the University of Texas School of Law.
"The University of Texas law school will
most likely have between 50 to 80 percent less
black enrollees," said Texas Law Prof. Samuel
Issacharoff.
Issacharoff said African Americans comprised
about 6 percent of last year's entering class.
More recently, another lawsuit has been filed
against the University of Washington Law
School also alleging that its admissions policies
are discriminatory. Both lawsuits, and the pas-
sage of California Proposition 209, represent a
growing backlash against affirmative action
programs, which were initiated under President
Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 to remedy the
effects of past discrimination.
Three decades later, skepticism about the
effectiveness of affirmative action is rampant,
and it is debated whether the programs are
still necessary.
"I do not believe we are yet to the point where
affirmative action programs can be dismantled
without causing serious damage to the ability of
social institutions to serve all of society," said
former University of Michigan President James
See HOPWOOD, Page 7
Lake
pulls Out
as CIA
nominee
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a stun-
ning turnaround, Anthony Lake asked
President Clinton yesterday to with-
draw his nomination as CIA director,
saying the confirmation process has
"gone haywire." Clinton accepted the
request.
Lake and Clinton reached the deci-
sion together in a private meeting yes-
terday afternoon in the White House
living quarters, a senior White House
official said.
"I have believed all my life in public
service. I still do," Lake, the former
White House national security adviser,
said in a letter to Clinton. "But
Washington has gone haywire. I hope
that sooner, rather
than later, people
of all political
views beyond our
city limits will
demand that
Washington give
priority to policy
over partisanship
to governing over
'gotcha."'
He called the Lake
nomination
process "a political circus," a sentiment
echoed by angry White House aides
who waged an eleventh-hour campaign
to persuade Lake to fight what they
called a bruising, partisan confirmation
process.
Clinton tried to talk Lake out of
the withdrawal, White House
spokesperson Mike McCurry said.
He also quoted the president as say-
ing Lake's treatment at the hands of
the Senate Intelligence Committee
was "inexcusable" and said Clinton
was "angry and close to being
despondent."
The withdrawal was a surprise
because Lake had weathered several
GOP attacks to emerge relatively
unscathed from last week's confirma-
tion hearings. The questioning was less
harsh than expected, and Republicans
on the intelligence committee said pri-
vately he would probably be con-
firmed.
Lake's nomination triggered a
steady stream of questions. They
included his support for a secret 1994
policy that allowed Iranian arms to
flow to Bosnia and his failure to sell
$280,000 worth of energy stock after
being told to do so to avoid possible
conflicts of interest.
More recently, Lake said that as
national security adviser he was
never told by subordinates about FBI
suspicions that China was looking to
influence U.S. congressional elec-
tions.
Questions also were raised about
the NSC's role in White House poli-
cy that allowed several big-money
Democratic donors access to the
White House during the 1996 elec-
tions.
Lake's withdrawal raised immedi-
LUCK OF THE IRISH
Students
Jt bars for
holiday fiun
By Susan T. Port
Daily Staff Reporter
Students observed St. Patrick's Day yester-
day, and for many, the observance of the holi-
ay meant wearing green clothing and sucking
own green beer.
Celebrating St. Patrick's Day with a pinch
of green and a mug of beer has been a tradi-
tion for many years at the University and
across the country.
LSA first-year student Jennifer Schader
r ai rhP'c h-mn kinnrfrwadt tn . Ptricks
Candidates
promise MSA
leadership
By Katie Piona
Daily Staff Reporter
With each election year, the leadership of the Michigan
Student Assembly starts anew, and many candidates promise
to change the face of the assembly.
Some candidates speak from the perspective -of assembly
experience, while others speak from a
newcomer's point-of-view.
Current MSA Vice President Probir
Mehta, the Michigan Party's presidential r
candidate, said his experience has given t
him assembly insight.
"I've learned the proper things to do T
and the wrong things to do," Mehta said,
adding that he sees himself in the posi-
tion of being a "conduit" between stu- TRACY HARRISaiiy
ADDY SMITH /Daily
University students Alex Outhred and Bret Fenzel toast to St. Patrick's Day with traditional
green beer at Ashley's on State Street.
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