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One hundred six years of editorialfreedom
Thursday
September 18, 1997
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i .:t n s uy? 8.
New law to
tap
keg buyers
Legislator pushes for all
kegs to be tagged by seller
and signed by the purchaser
regulatedrinking
Jeffrey Kosseff
Daily Staff Reporter
In the wake of alcohol-induced riots at
Michigan State University, state Sen.
Diane Byrum plans to propose legislation
that cracks down on a major source of
alcohol for minors.
When the state legislature goes back into
session later this month, Byrum (D-
Onondaga) said she will propose a bill that
Ows municipalities to require all kegs of
beer to be tagged and signed for by the pur-
chaser.
"It will help reduce underage drinking
because kegs are the common source of
beer for minors at many parties," Byrum
said.
Ann Arbor Police Department Sgt. Larry
Jerue said that in 1996, 296 minors were
charged with possession of alcohol. The max-
imum penalty for minors who consume alco-
hol and adults who provide it is 90 days in jail
or a $100 fine.
Jerue said the proposal is a good idea, but
he questioned its effectiveness.
"There is some merit to the proposal,"
Jerue said. "It will help around the high
school lines. However, from a college
standpoint, the person of age resides at that
location."
Minors, Jerue said, often receive alcohol in
forms other than kegs.
"Most of the time, people purchase other
alcohol for minors:' Jerue said. "For exam-
ple, they'll have a friend purchase a six-
pack."
Laura Dorman, a Nursing School junior,
said she supports the proposal.
"It's fair because the person who pur-
chases the keg knows they are responsi-
ble," Dorman said. "They already are
responsible, but the law would make it
more justified."
Jerue said the responsibility now lies
with the resident of the house or apart-
ment where a minor is found consuming
alcohol.
"Once you're in possession of the keg, you
are responsible for it because it is your
house," Jerue said. "Someone who lives there
is normally over 21."
Byrum said she has been working with the
East Lansing community for four years on
the issue of minors consuming alcohol, and
she hopes this bill will effectively reduce the
problem.
The proposal has received support from
many of Byrum's colleagues.
"Keggers are dangerous," said state Sen.
Bill VanRegenmorter (R-Hudsonville).
"The concept of putting more accountabil-
ity for alcohol consumption by minors is
great."
In East Lansing, liquor stores experiment-
ed with a voluntary keg-tagging program for
See BEER, Page 5A
JONATHAN SUMMER/Dally
Kegs sit at Campus Comer. Keg buyers may soon be asked
for ID so they can be held liable for underage drinking.
Bus fire
erupts on5
cam us " 1L
By Sam Stavis
Daily Staff Reporter
A fire broke out on a North Campust
bus yesterday afternoon, forcing the evac-
Sation of passengers, delaying bus routes}
nd closing roads for nearly an hour.
The fire occurred at about 1:40 p.m.,
near the Pierpont Commons on the busy
corner of Murfin Road and Bonisteel
Boulevard. No one was injured.
"Everyone around me was in shock,"
said LSA first-year student Vinh Nguyen,
who witnessed the fire. "It smelled. It
smelled like burning plastic."
Preliminary investigations indicate that
an electrical fire was the source of the
,onflagration, said Department of Public
Safety spokesperson Elizabeth Hall.
The Ann Arbor Fire Department dis-
patched two fire engines to combat the
blaze, which "was pretty much confined
to the engine compartment at the rear of
the bus," said acting Lt. Phil Smith of thep
AAFD. The fire was extinguished in about
three minutes, he said.
LSA first-year student Jared Cardonr
was a passenger on the bus when the firey
-tarted.
"We pulled up to Pierpont. The bus
stopped, and the people who needed to get
off left," Cardon said. "The bus was about _
to start going, and then this weird buzzer
went off. Everybody looked up, andv
stayed seated. Nobody knew what it
meant."
Cardon said the 25 passengers on the.
bus did not panic because "nobody knew
what was happening until they got off"
"The bus driver stood up, got off, and
looked over (to the back of the bus). She
came back on, and said, 'all right, every-
boThe fire "started in theheater area," s
said garage foreman Keith Johnson, who ISAAC DIETZ/Special to the Daily
inspected the bus after the fire was extin- A bus is consumed by flames outside of PlerPont Commons yesterday on North Campus. The problem was caused by
See FIRE, Page 5A an electrical fire in the engine. Nobody was injured.
LU' prepares for
inauguration
By Heather Kamins
Daily Staff Reporter
Vice President for University
Relations Walter Harrison has been
trying to run a mile and a half three
times a week just so he can keep up
with the president.
The exercise regiment is Harrison's
way of training for University
President Lee Bollinger's inauguration
tomorrow, which is scheduled to begin
with a 5K run.
"Unlike the president, I am not a
runner, but I'm two weeks younger
than him, so I'll be damned if he runs
and I don't," Harrison said. "So, as a
matter of pride, I'm going to do this. I
intend to finish last, but I intend to fin-
ish."
The 5K run/walk will kickoff the
day-long event that Bollinger said will
celebrate not just the office of the pres-
idency, but the entire University com-
munity.
Bollinger, who will be the 12th
University president to be inaugurated,
said he wanted the-event to include al-
aspects of the campus.
"I think of it primarily as a time for
the University to look at itself,"
Bollinger said.
The run will be followed by the for-
mal inauguration ceremony in Hill
Auditorium, which seats 4,000 people,
and then an outdoor celebration in
Ingalls Mall.
, LSA sophomore Sam Kirk, a sales-
person at the Michigan Union Ticket
Office, said about 2,000 free tickets for
the inauguration already have been dis-
tributed.
"I've seen more non-students than
students," Kirk said. "There hasn't
P1t14.G pY
Events:
7:30 a.m.: 5K
run/walk
10 a.m.:
Inauguration
ceremony at Hill
Auditorium
12 p.m.:
Outdoor recep-
tion in Ingalls
Mall
Free tickets for
the inauguration,
ceremony can
be obtained at
the Michigan
Union Ticket
Office.
F~ nm u,,sf
,yc (rx~-
i:.
LI . 2
.uanxa wn ae '
been much of a line on inauguration
tickets."
A procession of about 300 invited
individuals will lead Bollinger across
campus into Hill Auditorium for the
ceremony. Speakers, will include for-
mer University President Harold
Shapiro, currently the president of
-Princeton University.
The afternoon will be devoted to
inaugurating the Year of Humanities
and Arts through an academic sympo-
sium. Speakers will include Ann Arbor
Mayor Ingrid Sheldon and numerous
members of the University faculty.
Universities across the nation cele-
brate presidential inaugurations in
many ways. Many schools devote the
day to the celebration of academia in
America, while at others, newly
appointed presidents use the opportu-
nity to make major policy announce-
ments.
When Duke University inaugurated
See BOLUNGER, Page 5A
Shalala to speak on
childrens rwelfare
Students protest for affmnative action
h -By Kate Plona
SDaily Staff Reporter
More than 50 students strategically marched past several
campus sites yesterday, chanting rallying cries to create a
" student movement to defend affirmative action at the
University.
A newly formed group, the Coalition to Defend
Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary, organized a
rally that began at 1 p.m. on the Diag and progressed
F ' through the campus area.
"We formed because U of M is going to be the next great
battleground for the war on affirmative action," said
;-BAMN member Jessica Curtin. "So, it's up to us to turn the
war around and begin to win and fight for affirmative
action."
Curtin said the rally, as well as the coalition, was formed
in response to threats against affirmative action - including
a potential lawsuit against University affirmative action
policies, incidents at the Nectarine Ballroom, the drawing of
J - swastikas on Mary Markley residence hall doors and a car-
toon that appeared in The Michigan Daily on Sept. 9.
+rCurtin stressed that joining students and student groups
together will be the most effective way to respond to criti-
cism of affirmative action practices.
..~ r' a r "If we don't organize, we're sure to lose. No student group
we is strong enough to do this by itself," Curtin said.
Law second-year student Russ Abrutyn, a BAMN mem-
ber, said the groups need to not only defend affirmative
* Secretary of Health
and Human Services will
lecture on government's
work on child issues
By Jeffrey Kosseff
Daily Staff Reporter
Donna Shalala, secretary of Health
and Human Services, is scheduled to
speak at 10 a.m. today in the ;Power
Center, as part of the annual fedele F.
and Iris M. Fauri Memorial Lecture on
Child Welfare.
"We are very fortunate that she can
come," said Sharon Moskwiak, the
School of Social Work senior executive
secretary, who organized the event.
"It's quite a coup for the School of
Social Work. We are all very excited
about this."
Moskwiak said the school has
worked for about a year on bringing
Shalala as a speaker.
Victor Zonana, Shalala's press
secretary, said she plans to address a
broad range of child welfare topics.
"It will be a comprehensive look at
how the administration works on chil-
dren's issues" Zonana said.
Shalala speaks
When: Today, 10 a.m.
Where: Power Center
Why: Annual Fedele F. and Iris
M. Fauri Memorial Lecture on
. Child Welfare
,':
President Clinton's recent decision to
guarantee health insurance to all chil-
dren.
Before she was named to Clinton's
cabinet in 1993, Shalala served as
Chancellor of the University of
Wisconsin at Madison, where she
was the first woman to lead a Big Ten
university.
She has taught at the City
University of New York and
Columbia University and volun-
teered in the Peace Corps in lran in
the early '60s. She also served as the
director of the American Stock
Exchange.
' As secretary of the Department of
Health and Human Services, Shalala
oversees all federal health welfare pro-
grams, including Medicare and
Medicaid. Her department has an
approximate budget of $354 billion.