'nelean One hundred seven years~ of editorialfreedom * .t1 Tuesday September 30, 1997 lews: 76-DAILY dvertising: 764.0554 ' 4' °'pq . ,. c "I Y .. , r S z Y < r r .it L _, r 1 } ' s . "X' " ~ . , . , ,,[ .. u F'VDYA4i1 LL .l . os t. X+ rs.r,.?-, .6 Z. ?E'h q., "brx ; y. . '.N3'.. c.. v. ., .,. fa:- +:ri 1"aria dl1Q Nh& ..dwA t3¢9iq>-di Basketball ticket sales Four arrested at hearing on affirmative action luging By Dan Stlman Daily Sports Writer The "ring for service" bell at the Michigan Athletic Ticket Office is silent these days. Basketball ticket sales are at their lowest since the Fab Five arrived on campus in 1991. The 2,100 student ticket applications received by the orig- in~pplication deadline on Sept. 19 were far below the 3,100 seats allotted in the student section, prompting the tick- et office to extend the deadline indefinitely. The ticket office actually can accomodate more than 3,100 students by issuing split-season packages. Besides last year, when the number fell short of filling the student section by about 200 applications, Michigan Ticket Manager Steve Lambright said he can't remember the last time basketball tickets did not sell out. "If it did happen, I'm going to guess it was the year before the Fab Five," Lambright said. n-student applications have declined as well, but not as sily. "Non-student sales are down a little bit right now," Lambright said. "The decline is not going to be nearly as great as what the students are." Several factors may have caused the drop, including the team's recent lack of success and allegations of NCAA vio- lations surrounding the program. Michigan has not won a Big Ten Championship since the 1985-86 season and did not receive an invitation to the NCAA Tournament last season. However, the Wolverines See TICKETS, Page 5 How to get tickets Student ticket applications can be filled out at the Michigan Ticket Office at 1000 S. State St. Season tickets are $100 and must be paid by cash or check. Students may apply for other students by pro- viding the name, student ID number and local phone numbers. For more 'iformationr cal 764-0247. DANIEL CASTLE/Daily LSophomore David Zolot checks his seating for Michigan basketball tickets. Task force asks for safety steps Ilca Robinson D Staff Reporter New recommendations released by the University's Task Force on Campus Safety and Security pinpoint goals that may help the University improve the atmosphere of safety on campus. The report suggests, among other improvements, creating an advisory committee comprised partially of students that would oversee Department of Public Safety activities. School of Music Dean Paul Boylan, who chaired the task force, said he hopes the report leads to increased conscious- 4 of the need to provide a safe, comfortable place for stu- dents to learn. "1 hope that all the campus community, but particularly the faculty, take more seriously the need to ... provide a safe campus, particularly for students," he said. The report was completed and submitted to Provost Nancy Cantor and Interim Chief Financial Officer Chandler Matthews last April, but was not released to the public until last week. Engineering senior Kimberly Dillon, who was a member of the task force for half of its duration, said she feels more e on campus now than when she came to campus as a f -year student. "I actually feel safer now because I'm more knowledge- able of my surroundings, and freshman year there was a large issue with the Ann Arbor rapist," she said. The task force's main recommendation is to create a post for an Associate Vice President for Campus Safety and Security position. This individual would be responsible for "overall management" of campus safety and would report directly to both the provost and chief financial officer. Another important recommendation made by the commit- tpertains to the relationship between alcohol and crime on campus. The task force requested that a follow-up study to the 1993 report "U-M Survey Regarding Alcohol and Other Drugs'" be completed and used as a catalyst for the provost and chief financial officer to review University alcohol and -frug policies. The task force, which included representatives from a wide spectrum of University departments and offices, including +hp, MP4linn CVrhnl the Tiean of RC dnW Offir{e a nd By Jeffrey Kosseff and Katie Plona Daily Staff Reporters SHELBY TWP. - Pepper spray filled the Shelby Township city council chambers last night as police arrested four people protesting a hearing on the University's affirmative action policies. About 20 protestors stormed the hearing, which was organized by state Reps. David Jaye (R-Macomb) and Greg Kaza (R- Rochester Hills), two of the four legislators who are attempting to organize a class action lawsuit chal- lenging the University's affirmative action policies in admissions and financial aid. "We're not here just to hear David Jaye," said Renee Brunk, a member of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary, the group that led the protest. "We're here to bury his attempt to resegregate the schools." When Jaye announced his attempts last night to pass a bill similar to Proposition 209, the California law that eliminates racial preferences, the pro- testors told Jaye to change his name tag to George Wallace and shouted other insults. They chanted loudly until police officers attempted to break up the protest. The legislators fired back with insults. "Do you behave like this in the class- room?" Jaye asked. "Do your parents know how you're behaving?" The police contend that they asked the protesters to leave. When BAMN members didn't comply, the officers began to forcibly break up the protest. The scene ended with the arrest of LSA senior Jessica Curtin and three other BAMN members who are not University students. All four were charged with disorderly con- duct. The protestors allege that Lt. Larry Huyghe, who was not in uniform, did not identify himself as an officer. Huyghe, however, said he identified himself before restraining the protes- tors. To evacuate the room, police officers See HEARING, Page 5 MARGARET MYERS/Daily (Top) A Shelby Township police officer tries to remove Renee Brunk, a member of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By any Means Necessary, from the township's city council chambers last night. Two state representa- tives held the hearing on the University's affirmative action policies. (Left) Phillsophy Prof. Carl Cohen speaks at last night's meeting against racial preference policies at the University. Daily inDepth: Underage Drinking Alcohol common for students under 21 By Sam Stavis Daily Staff Reporter Underage drinking is everywhere at the University. Go to almost any social event - it's certain that someone under 21 will be slamming a frothy can of the beast, chugging a chilled St. Ides 40, or sip- ping Jim Bean straight from the bottle. But why do college kids like to drink so much? "Drinking is as much a part of the college expe- rience as homework and classes are," LSA sopho- more Christian Hoard said. "Nearly every student at the University drinks at one time or another." Many students agree that underage drinking is more than a weekend activity at the University. "I think a whole culture has sprung up around it. It's just there, and you do it," LSA sophomore Mike Davison said. Alcohol is as common at most University par- ties as loud music and dancing, and this preva- lence is an important underlying cause of under- age drinking. "You can't find a party without alcohol;' LSA first-year student Rebecca Hunnicutt said. LSA first-year student Stephen Nadel has had a similar experience, especially at fraternity parties, which are notorious for alcohol. "Here (at the University), everyone drinks," Nadel said. "When you go to a frat party, you see everyone with a beer in their hand." Some students insist alcohol is the only reason students roam campus streets in search of parties. "You come in, that's what you look for, that's what they give you, that's why you're there," LSA first-year student Olga Melnikova said. Others cited peer pressure as a reason younger students are drawn to alcohol. "When I go out, and everyone drinks, it's kind of expected," LSA first-year student Angela Trucks said. "There's always a little bit of pres- sure. It makes me slightly uncomfortable. FEveronne wants to fit in - no one wants to he left Drinking at college: Ninety-five percent of violent crime on college campuses is alcohol-related. Ninety percent of all reported campus rapes involve alcohol use by the vic- tim or the perpetrator. Drinking patterns established in high school often persist dur- ing college. Compared to other students, college students who were binge drinkers in high school are almost three times more likely to be binge drinkers in college. Alcohol-related problems affect both sexes about equally, with two exceptions: men more often reported damaging prop- erty and getting in trouble with the police. Being white, involved in ath- letics, or being a resident of a fraternity or sorority made it more likely that a student would be a binge drinker. Alcohol use by college students is a factor in 40 per- cent of academic problems, 28 percent of dropouts and 80 per- cent of acts of campus vandalism. Alcohol use has been involved in as many as 50-65 percent of all suicides among vouths. I a lI