One hundred sIk years ,ofedeftorifreedom Tuesday September 23, 1997 ews: 76-DAILY dvertising: 764-0554 ollinger says extra egents needed y Chris Metinko )aily Staff Reporter University President Lee Bollinger, n his monthly meeting with the facul- y's governing body, did not lend sup- ort yesterday to a proposal to add a toit and faculty member to the oard of Regents. Bollinger said that "adding a faculty ember to the regents will not perfect the lines of communication)," and stat- d that he felt the same way about a stu- ent regent. "I would like to keep it at the level of rying to perfect it at the levels we ave" Bollinger said. Louis D'Alecy, chair of the Senate d jsory Committee of University Ss and professor of physiology, greed with Bollinger that adding fac- Ity members to the board is an nneccessary proccess. D'Alecy said there are already nany forms of communication open etween faculty and administrators, ncluding public and private meet- ngs with the University provost and resident and seven faculty commit- e that advise administrative >tWs, giving the faculty "a very uigh level of contact." However, Olga Savic, vice president f the Michigan Student Assembly, said student regent could strengthen the ommunication lines between students nd administration. "1 think communication between stu- ents and administration is good for -ome students," said Savic, pointing to hairs and presidents of student groups hio get to speak to the administra- ion on a somewhat regular basis. The discussion of adding a faculty iember and a student to the board 'as introduced at last week's ACUA meeting by SACUA mem- oer and natural - resources Prof. unyan Bryant.' After D'Alecy asked Bollinger about dding student and faculty regents, Bnt stopped the president to outline ileas on the additional regents. See SACUA, Page 2 linton supports ucear. ban UNITED NATIONS (AP) - resident Clinton sent the Senate the long-delayed global test-ban treaty yes- erday and urged lawmakers to "end all nuclear tests for all time" by approving he pact over objections of some Republicans. Announcing his action in an address 'gW~e United Nations' 52nd General Assembly, Clinton called the treaty "the longest sought, hardest fought rize in the history of arms control." He signed the accord a year ago but pock- eted it while White House lobbyists tried to build support. In a 19-minute speech to U.N. dele- gates, the president also called for a permanent international court to punish human rights violators. A nd he pledged that the United States xld pay nearly $1 billion in past-due U.N. fees to "put the question of debts and dues behind us once and for all." Returning to the theme of his U.N. address last year, Clinton said the nations of the world must unite against "21st century predators." He warned, "We're all vulnerable to the reckless acts of rogue states and to an unholy axis of terrorists, drug traffickers and inational criminals." he president met privately with for- eign leaders, including Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov, before heading to the Metropolitan Opera's season-opening performance of "Carmen." He returned to Washington last night. 4e -.nhmiscion of th e tect-han treniat ....-.. x v - -~m~ ^ v r . v r :,:x :r V ;-; \ V n < C F...\. ? . I VatndalisIm Diag boards posted by a Jewish group and QUP damaged, defaced By Alice Robinson and Katie Piona Daily Staff Reporters Diag boards posted by two student groups - the Queer Unity Project and the Jewish organization Reform Chavurah - were vandalized within the last two weeks, causing some to question the tolerancy of the University community. The vandalism of the Diag boards comes on the heels of recent crimes, including the drawing of swastikas on the doors of Mary Markley residence hall rooms and alleged acts of racial prejudice at the Nectarine Ballroom. The Queer Unity Project's Diag board was posted on Sept. 8, and was torn down by Sept. 11, said Corey Fryling, a Business School junior and QUP spokesperson. Early Sunday morning, a Reform Chavurah Diag board near the Shapiro Undergraduate Library was urinated upon and ripped down by three sus- pects, according to Department of Public Safety reports. RC junior Andrew Schlegel, a resident advisor in East Quad residence hall, said he witnessed the three vandals deface the board at about 2:50 a.m. Sunday as he walked through the Diag with his brother. "There was one male student urinat- ing on the board poster, and then after he finished he ripped the poster down crea42te the middle as the other two were hoot- ing and hollering," Schlegel said last night. "Then, as they were walking through the West Engin Arch, another one spit on the Star of David embedded in the ground." Schlegel said he followed the three down South University Avenue toward Cava Java before returning to East Quad and calling DPS. "I took extreme offense to it," Schlegel said. "These are University of Michigan students, they are my class- mates. To see someone vandalizing takes the hatred up another level." DPS spokesperson Elizabeth Hall said DPS is aware of the Reform Chavurah incident and is seeking help in identifying suspects. Hall said that if suspects are identi- fied, they could be charged with mali- cious destruction of property. Hall also said that the suspects could be charged under the "hate crimes law." MSA President Michael Nagrant said the recent acts on campus may signify an underlying tension, which could partly be attributed to a poten- tial lawsuit against the University, challenging affirmative action initia- tives in admissions and financial aid. "It seems like people's actions don't match their words, so to say," Nagrant said. "It seems to me that we're reaching a tension that wasn't there in the past." To address the Diag board vandal- ism and other offensive incidents that have occurred on campus, a group of about 15 individuals met yesterday at Hillel. £ tension After. discussing possible steps, the group decided to form a pro-active written response from the University community, stating that such incidents will not be tolerated under respectful norms of living at the University. The proposed Declaration of Student Solidarity is "in response to incidents of directed hatred on campus and to declare that the students of the University of Michigan have a set of values that we adhere to and that we will hold our members up to," said David Caroline, chair of Hillel's governing board. Plans are tentatively set for an Oct. 6 mass distribution of the brief declaration, which may conclude by proposing that students look closely at the tolerancy of the University See VANDALISM, Page 3 A2 katers lau nch, political campaign By Peter Meyers Daily Staff Reporter After racking up a mountain of fines and confiscated skateboards in recent years, local skaters are getting political. Local skaters have banded together to try to change city and University policies that they say make Ann Arbor an inhospitable place for skateboard- ers. The skaters plan on organizing a petition, lobbying the Ann Arbor City Council and conducting a public rela- tions campaign to loosen the policies. "We're going to try to get organized, but it's going to take a lot of work," said Aaron Blumhardt, a skater who works at Amer's Deli on S. State Street. "Part of our lifestyle is a lack of organization" Skateboarding is prohibited on some sidewalks in Ann Arbor. "Roughly it's the downtown area'" said Lt. David Lovell of the Ann Arbor Police Department. Fines vary from case to case, he said. Manager Bob Stevens of the Maize and Brew said that skateboarders bother some of the store owners by being loud and running into cus- tomers. "Young kids being loud is what it is. But you don't really see them harangu- ing people on the street," said Stevens. Department of Public Safety spokesperson Beth Hall said that skateboarding, unlike rollerblading, is prohibited on all campus sidewalks. The prohibition exists, she said, because the skateboard wheels might See SKATEBOARD, Page 2 Secretar yof I nterior to speak today By Jeffrey Kosseff Daily Staff Reporter Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt will speak about the dangers of global warming tonight in the Michigan League. Babbitt, who has controlled the nation's parks and wildlife departments since 1993, is touring the country to urge col- lege students to educate themselves and others about the long-term effects of global warming. "This is a an intergenerational issue," Babbitt told The Michigan Daily. "Most of the great political movements of our time began on college campuses. The root of civil activism began with academic movements. This is an issue on which students must lead and explain the problems" Babbitt said global warming is a new concern, and it is especially difficult to bring to the public spotlight because it is not as visible as other political issues. "You can't sense the problem," Babbitt said. "You can't see carbon dioxide." Corporations such as the Detroit automobile manufacturers, Babbitt said, produce large amounts of pollutants that cause global warming. Currently, the automobile manufacturers, along with other corporations, are launching a. multi-million dollar campaign against an anti-global warming international treaty that will be negotiated at a conference in Kyoto, Japan later this year. Nations signing the treaty would agree to reduce global warming-causing pollutants. "They are acting in what they perceive is their self-interest," Babbitt said. "They are financing the movement against reform." Babbitt and many others are concerned about global warming because global temperatures are expected to increase two to six degrees within the next century. Current global warming can be seen by melting glaciers and chang- ing weather patterns. The campaigns launched by the corporations, however, claim that there is not a dire need for reduction in pollutants. "They are in a deep stage of denial," Babbitt said. Babbitt said there is technology that would reduce the amount of pollutants and not reduce efficiency. Babbitt has previously served as the governor of Arizona. Babbitt will hold a discussion on climate change at 6:45 p.m. in the Michigan League's Kalamazoo room. At 7:30 p.m., Babbitt will present his speech in the League's Mendelsohn Theater. DANIEL CASTLE/Daily LSA junior Matt Grossman skates on the steps in front of the School of Dentistry Building. Local skateboarders want the city to change its skateboarding policies. Local observatory faces extensive restoration By Jason Korb For the Daily Perched on a hill between Couzens and Alice Lloyd residence halls, silhouetted by the evening sky is how one University landmark defines tran- quility. For more than three decades, the Detroit Observatory has remained untouched and aban- doned as edifices popped up and encompassed its once-dignified lone structure. But this summer, University officials began the daunting process of restoring the 143-year-old observatory, a window to the stars. Patricia Whitesell, chair of the Detroit Observatory Restoration Advisory Group and assistant to the vice president for research, is orchestrating the monumental restoration project. "This is a way of showcasing both science and history to the University community" Whitesell said. "It is truly an engineering marvel. Not only is it scientifically significant and relevant to University history, it's also architecturally signifi- cant:' The project is scheduled to conclude in about a year and a half, meaning the restored observatory modern thinking and teaching. The observatory became the forefront of Tappan's vision, helping bring a valuable research component to a University in its infancy. The observatory remained active until the 1960's, when it was branded outdated and obsolete and was eventually abandoned. Before it was closed, the observatory played an instrumental role in various areas of research. James Watson, director of the observatory in 1864, discovered 22 asteroids using the observatory's resources. "There was a significant amount of competition to bag asteroids, but he certainly rose to the chal- lenge," Whitesell said. Whitesell considers herself lucky that the struc- ture was deserted for so long. "Because it was abandoned it has persisted," Whitesell said. "A lot of it has to do with the fact that the building was small and in a bad location. So it wasn't very useful to the University (as a sight)." But restoring a wounded treasure chest almost a century and a half after its construction is truly a laborious task. loll , I ,