News: 76-DAILY
Advertising: 76440554
One hundredsixc yeah ofeditorla/freedom
ttz
Monday
April 14, 1997
... .....
Ills
I
aylor
By John Leroi
Daily Sports Editor
Michigan basketball player Maurice
Taylor confirmed Friday what most
f suspected for quite some time -
4 giving up his final year of eligibil-
ity at Michigan and entering the NBA
draft.
Surrounded by family and friends,
Taylor said at a news conference at
Crisler Arena that it was time to pursue
his life-long dream, playing profession-
al basketball.
"Achieving a dream is something you
can't put into words," Taylor said. "All
r&life I wanted to be a professional
Retball player. When I was a kid in
the back yard, I always pretended to be
an NBA player. I was Michael Jordan,
he was someone that I looked ub to, and
I idolized. Maybe someday a little kid
in his back yard will pretend to be Mo
Taylor."
The junior forward said he didn't
make the decision to leave Michigan
until after the Wolverines beat Florida
State to win the NIT championship. But
*culation has existed since the begin-
ning of Taylor's sophomore season that
he would not play for four years at
Michigan.
Taylor thought about turning pro
About 300 University students marched
that included speeches from domestic
'U' stue,
By Alice Robinson
Daily Staff Reporter
They stood in an empty parking h
Ecreamed "No!" at the top of their lungs
linked arms and shouted slogans again
as they marched down E. Washington
They clasped hands and held them u
silent show of solidarity.
On Saturday, hundreds of women too
the night.
"I feel pretty incredible," said A
Architecture junior Kelly White,
walked on S. Fifth Street during th
Students
clean up
Ann Arb(
By att eer
Dl taffReprt
About 125 University students took
streets of Ann Arbor on Saturday and ga
wna makeover.
Students painted, swept and tidied as
the annual community service project, In
Streets, sponsored by the campus
Project Serve.
"It's people coming together from di
backgrounds and programs within
leaves
after last season, but was convinced by
Michigan coach Steve Fisher that he
should stay because, in Taylor's words,
"I wasn't ready from the neck up."
But this year the conversation was a
bit different. Taylor thought he had
matured considerably since the begin-
ning of his junior season. Fisher agreed
but still encouraged Taylor to stay. The
two mulled over Taylor's decision over
Whoppers at Burger King.
"He drove and he bought;' Fisher
said. "I said I want to talk first and I
said, 'I don't want you to go. Now let's
list reasons why you should stay.' So I
took out a pad and I said, 'You tell me
why you should stay,' and then I added
to that and then I said, 'Tell me reasons
why you should go,' and I added to that.
"I played devil's advocate a little bit,
gave him more food for thought. It's
not always a cut-and-dry issue as to
why and how you do things," Fisher
added.
Although Taylor said he was still
waffling about his decision as late as
this week, he denied that NCAA rules
violations and an ongoing investigation
influenced his decision to leave.
What Taylor said helped him make
up his mind was his performance in the
NIT. He averaged 16 points and 7.7
'M' basketball for NBA
rebounds during his final seven games
in a Michigan uniform. And it didn't
hurt that the Wolverines won a tourna-
ment title in his last game.
"Winning the NIT title played into
my decision because I played so well;"
Taylor said. "There is a saying that
you're only as good as your last game,
and now everybody can say that Mo
Taylor went out a champion."
Taylor, the fourth Wolverine since
1993 to leave school early, said he
expects to be one of the top 15 picks in
the NBA Draft.
But others aren't quite as enthusias-
tic.
ESPN draft analyst Don Leventhal
ranks Taylor as the 23rd-best prospect.
This year's draft is considered to be rel-
atively weak, and Leventhal said that if
Taylor impressesNBA scouts in pre-
draft workouts in Chicago, he could
raise his stock a bit.
"He needs to go to the camp in
Chicago and show people something,"
Leventhal said. "He has a decent jump
shot and a good inside game, but what
sets others apart from him is that he's
inconsistent. He needs to work harder
and show NBA teams (he can be con-
sistent).'
See TAYLOR, Page 2A
MAK~urL I IU I Lf'/ Ually
Maurice Taylor held a press conference at Crisier Arena on Friday announcing he would forego his senior year to make himself
eligible for the NBA draft. His mother, Cathy Williams, looks on.
'U' will not lose funds
for same-sex benefits
By Katie Wang
Daily Staff Reporter
The University's authority to provide employ-
ee benefits to same-sex couples without suffer-
ing monetary consequences was returned
Friday.
In a 12-page decision, State Attorney
General Frank Kelley said reductions in state
appropriations to universities by an amount
equal to the cost of extending employee bene-
fits to the unmarried partners of university
employees violates the institution's autonomy.
"We are pleased to
receive this clarification," -
said Associate Vice The 1f
President for University
Relations Lisa Baker. "We t.nnt
are pleased (Kelley) has
reaffirmed that the control m irma
of the University lies with
the (University Board of UflveIid
Regents). The regents are
the governing board -
they set policy." State sen.
The opinion was deliv-
ered after state Sen. Alma
because it was waiting for an opinion from the
state attorney general's office.
Regent Rebecca McGowan (D-Ann Arbor);
a strong advocate of providing benefits to
same-sex partners, said she was pleased the
attorney general defended the University's
autonomy.
"I was most pleased by the fact that the
University stood by the policy even though so
much of the legislature disagreed with it,"
McGowan said.
The University
mgislature
ng. the
John Schwarz
(R-Battle Creek)
d dwn E. Huron Street in the annual Take Back the Night march. The march was proceeded by a rally
violence and rape survivors.
tAht
first stated its dedication to
protecting the sexual ori-
entation of University
employees in September,
1993 when it revised
Regental by-law 14.06.
The revision stated a
University commitment
to a policy of nondis-
crimination and equal
opportunity for all per-
sons regardless of sexual
orientation.
In an effort to reaffirm
its commitment to the by-
ot and
s. They
st rape
Street.
ap in a
k back
rt and
as she
e 18th
annual Take Back the Night march. "It's pret-
ty empowering. You forget what people can
do when they come together."
Gathered at Top of the Park next to the
Power Center, about 300 women - many
wearing winter hats and gloves - cheered,
shouted and whooped in a show of unity,
strength and indignation, calling for an end to
violence against women.
The rally, which included speeches by
domestic violence and sexual assault sur-
vivors, was held as a warm-up to the march.
"Shall we give up?" shouted Susan McGee,
director of the Ann Arbor domestic violence
shelter, Safehouse, to the crowd.
"No!" they answered.
"Shall we run and hide?" McGee exhort-
ed.
"No!" the crowd responded.
LSA junior Brenna DeVaney told a diffi-
cult story to those who gathered.
"I was sexually assaulted by three men very
early in the morning," she said. "They were
all three friends of mine, and I thought I was
safe with them."
See NIGHT, Page 2A
Wheeler-Smith (D-Salem Twp.) asked Kelley to
examine the legitimacy of a state law that was
passed last year, allowing the state legislature
to rescind taxpayer funds equal to the amount
colleges pay for domestic partner health bene-
fits.
The original bill was co-sponsored by state sen-
ators Bill Schuette (R-Midland) and George
McManus (R-Traverse City).
"1 don't see why it's necessary for an institution
to fund and finance unmarried partners' benefits,"
McManus said.
McManus maintained his stance on the issue,
claiming the legislature has the right to take
money away from the University for providing
benefits to unmarried couples.
"The judge doesn't have the right to tell us if we
can or cannot appropriate," McManus said.
Baker said reductions in University appropri-
ations had not been made since the law passed
law, the regents approved an extension of employ-
ee benefit programs to same-sex domestic part
ners in November 1994.
Baker said through June 1996, the University
has provided $160,000 to about 80 employees
since the extension in benefits was made .
Cumulatively, the University spent $245 million in
employee benefits, which includes health and den-
tal care.
Criticism of the University's policy to provide
these benefits first surfaced in the state's Senate
Appropriations Committee last March and coa-
lesced into the 1996 law.
Sen. John Schwarz (R-Battle Creek) said he
fully supported the attorney general's decision.
"The legislature cannot micromanage the
University or mandate any plans the University
may have for its employees,' Schwarz said. "The
legislature has no status on negotiating employee
packages to its employees?'
LENDING A HAND
to the
ave the
part of
nto the
group
ifferent
n the
t" Ai
U.S. violent crime rate.
decreases significantly
Los AngelesTues
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department
reported new evidence yesterday of a continuing
decline in violent crime, but the figures showed
urban blacks experienced less of a decline than
other groups.
In its annual survey of violent-crime victims,
the department's Bureau of Justice Statistics said
the national rate for rape, robbery, assault and
other violent crimes fell by an overall 12.4 percent
between 1994 and 1995.
The bureau said the fall was the largest record-
ed since the annual National Crime Victimization
statistics of a downward trend in violent crime
after a peak in the 1980s. The Justice Department
survey, based largely on interviews with a sample
of 100,000 victims, differs from most other simi-
lar studies, which rely only on crimes reported to
police. It provides no breakdown of data by cities
or regions.
President Clinton hailed the new figures as
showing the success of his anti-crime mea-
sures.
"The first full year of our crime bill produced
the largest drop in violent crime in 22 years," the
president said, referring to a measure to put
RU UILMOE/Uaily
LSA junior Anne Cummings helps clean the windows of the Jack and Jill School Day Care Center
on Beakes Street as part of the Into the Streets project, sponsored by Project Serve.
IT-11
. . " M 4 ".t. aat_____
I rt thi c duff dne withouit themi Hall,.