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News: 76-DAILY
Advertising: 764-0554
One hundred seven years of editkral freedom
Wednesday
October 8, 1997
.,~ .~.
UP's
C alkings
removed
embers filed three
reports with DPS, cite
other incidents
By Katie Plona
Daily Staff Reporter
Members of the Queer Unity Project
filed a police report with the Department
of Public Safety after the group's chalk-
ings were removed from the Diag and
s unding areas Monday morning.
Q members allege that marks made
by other campus groups were left
untouched.
QUP members also filed two other
police reports in response to alleged
vandalism of two of QUP's four Diag
boards yesterday.
Twenty-five QUP members spent
four hours on Sunday night posting
fliers and chalking sidewalks, several
group members said. The following
n iing, a number of QUP members
sai they witnessed the University's
Grounds Paint Crew using power hoses
to remove the group's chalkings.
The chalkings and Diag board posters
were intended to generate publicity for
National Coming Out Week, which
began Sunday and lasts until Saturday.
QUP members charged that by selec-
tively removing QUP chalkings, mem-
bers of the paint crew acted in a dis-
c~inatory fashion.
LSA junior Emily Marker, a member
of the QUP planning team, said the insen-
sitive alleged acts of University employ-
ees could serve as models for students.
"Now that the students have seen the
University do it, why won't they do it
themselves?" Marker asked. ."We're
supposed to be walking around in pride
and I'm about to cry."
In a DPS general offense report filed
a members filed Monday evening,
ai fficer wrote that, "Sgt. Noffsinger
advised that an unknown caller reported
to U of M dispatch, earlier today, that
there was a large amount of chalk graf-
fiti on the diagonal. Sgt. Noffsinger
Basketball
probe nears
completion
JOHN KRAFT/Daily
LSA sophomore Ozell Hayes helps fellow Queer Unity Project member LSA junior Emily Marker tack up a'QUP Diag board
poster that was torn down yesterday.
advised dispatch then sent the Grounds
Department to clean it up."
The second police report was filed by
Marker around 4:50 a.m. yesterday after
QUP member Jen Trudell, an LSA
sophomore, saw one of the group's four
Diag boards visible in a nearby trash
can.
LSA junior Kenneth Jones filed the
third report with DPS around 6 p.m. yes-
terday when several QUP members
entered the Diag to replace their allegedly
vandalized poster and noticed that anoth-
er QUP Diag board had been removed
and was on the ground behind the board.
Vice President for Student Affairs
Maureen Hartford said she and several
University administrators do not believe
the QUP's chalking removal was inten-
tionally offensive.
"Everybody else I've talked to on the
administration has expressed the same
sentiments,' Hartford said.
Associate Vice President for
University Relations Lisa Baker said
Bylaw 14.06 of the University Board of
Regents' Bylaws contains a clause stat-
ing that students cannot be discriminat-
ed against based on sexual orientation.
"If this indeed did happen, it's wrong
and the idea of selectively removing some-
one's point of view is just plain wrong."
Baker said, adding that she did not know
the specifics of the three incidents.
Jones, a member of the QUP plan-
ning team, said the alleged acts on cam-
pus have dampened the Lesbian Gay
Bisexual Transgender community's cel-
ebration of National Coming Out Week
because their identities are being dis-
criminated against.
"It's ridiculous that once again, I'm
being denied of who I am," Jones said.
"It's sad when you have to go into your
holiday when something happens. We
can't even celebrate our holiday right
because we're being broken up."
Hartford said that especially during
Coming Out. Week, members of the
LGBT community need to know they
are accepted and that the University
benefits from their contributions.
"It's just upsetting," Hartford said. "I
know if I felt upset, it's greatly magni-
fied by students."
LSA sophomore Ozell Hayes, who is
See QUP, Page 2
By Heather Kamins
Daily Staff Reporter
After multiple delays, the eight-
month investigation into alleged impro-
prieties committed by the Michigan
men's basketball program may finally
come to an end this week.
Following the University's announce-
ment that the program violated two
NCAA regulations and several claims
that players accepted cash and gifts
from Detroit booster Ed Martin,
University
President Lee
Bollinger hired a
private law firm tot
investigate.
Kansas-based
law firm Bond,
Schoeneck &
King, which spe-
cializes in NCAA >
infractions and4
compliance, has Harrison
been examining
the allegations and compiling a report
to release to the NCAA and to the pub-
lic since March.
Vice President for University
Relations Walter Harrison said he
hopes the report will be finished and
released within a few days.
"I am wary of promising a date since
we have broken so many dates,"
Harrison said. "Certainly I hope it will
be this week."
The report was originally expected to
be released at a press conference on
Sept. 8. At that time, Bollinger said the
report was not yet complete, but that he
hoped he could present it within two
weeks.
If the report shows that the players'
contact with Martin violated NCAA
regulations, repercussions could be
devastating to the team. The team
could be put on probation and banned
from post-season games, lose scholar-
ships or be forced to give up television
coverage.
Scott Tompsett, an attorney with Bond,
Schoeneck & King, said yesterday that
the report is close to being finished.
"There were just some additional
issues that we were looking into, mak-
ing sure that we were doing a thorough
job," Tompsett said.
Harrison said the month-long delay
is a product of the need to investigate
new information as it is uncovered.
"I'm sure when the report is released
there will be a lot of new material,"
Harrison said. "That just takes time. It's
taking so long because the investigators
haven't finished investigating. Lee's
words to the firm were leave no stone
unturned.'
"If they find something they have to
look into it," he said. "They are follow-
ing up on every lead. People will say
something and they will have to check
that out and talk to six other people."
A February 1996 roll-over accident
on M-14, involving four Michigan play-
ers and a recruit, set off a chain reaction
of allegations and discussions that may
culminate with the release of the report.
As University officials conducted a
routine investigation into how former
Michigan forward Maurice Taylor
acquired the car involved in the acci-
dent, they discovered that two minor
NCAA violations had been incurred
during contact with Martin.
Allegations against the team fun-
neled into the media just days after the
University released word of the viola-
tions. Further examination of the bas-
ketball program revealed that Martin
had contact with many Michigan play-
ers and had been seated with recruits at
home games to which he received com-
plimentary tickets.
The most significant charges allege
that former Michigan stars and current
NBA standouts Taylor and Chris
Webber accepted more than $100,000
from Martin.
Sources say the firm has had diffi-
culty investigating the validity of the
claims because many allegations came
from unnamed sources in newspapers
who refused to come forward publicly.
Harrison said the University will
announce a press conference to release
the report as soon as it is complete.
"We will, at the same time, deliver
the report to the NCAA and release it
publicly, since this is not only applic-
able to the NCAA, but also ... to the
public who supports us," Harrison
said.
Inside: Trends in NCAA sanctions.
Page 11.
Proposal requires ATM warnings
By Jeffrey Kosseff
Daily Staff Reporter
"The owner of this machine will
charge U.S. cardholders $1.50 per
transaction. This charge may be in addi-
tion to an amount charged by the card-
holder's financial institution. Do you
wish to continue?"
If a package of bills recently intro-
d ced by state Reps. Liz Brater (D-Ann
or) and Buzz Thomas (D-Detroit)
becomes law, University students will
always see that message, already used
by some banks, when they withdraw
money from one of the many Automatic
Teller Machines on campus.
House bills 4889 through 4892
would require all banks and credit
unions in Michigan to disclose all sur-
charges levied on ATM transactions.
"If more money is being taken out of
ir account, you will want to know,"
Brater said.
There is also a bipartisan effort in
Congress to limit the amount banks can
charge for ATM transactions.
"Our bill would complement the fed-
eral laws' Brater said.
Banks began charging for ATM
transactions by customers who have
accounts at other financial institutions
last October. Many banks also charge
their own customers to use their ATMs.
Some students said the surcharges
have changed their banking habits.
"It really bothers me," said LSA
sophomore Sakbenah Hasan. "Even my
own bank's ATM charges. Now I don't
use the ATM at all. I go to the bank
teller to withdraw my money."
Other students, however, said ATM
surcharges do not affect them.
"I just use the. ATMs that don't
charge me," said LSA senior Matt
Carling. "It's not a big problem."
Michael Kelly, senior director of edu-
cation for the Michigan Credit Union
League, said ATM surcharges are get-
ting out of hand.
"It's spreading rapidly," Kelly said.
"We have passed the point where the
majority of ATMs are surcharging,"
Kelly said.
The bills, Kelly said, would be bene-
ficial to consumers.
"There are just so many ATMs out
there that are not telling you about the
charges," Kelly said. "It's very appro-
priate and important that banks notify
customers."
The original purpose of ATMs was to
be a money-saver by cutting back on
the hours worked by bank tellers, Kelly
said. So at first, banks wanted to give
people an incentive to use the ATMs.
"Now they don't want to only save
money with the ATM's," Kelly said.
"They want to use the machines to
make a profit."
Some large banks in Ann Arbor,
including the National Bank of Detroit,
already inform ATM customers of sur-
charges during the transaction process.
"The customers should, always be
informed of any extra charges," said
fps on avoiding
ATM surcharges
' Only withdrawals are surcharged.;
Banks do not charge for deposits
or transfers.
Obtain a list of ATMs that do not
charge, from the Michigan Credit
Union League at
http://www.mcul. org
Withdraw the maximum amount
on ATMs that surcharge.
Use checks, debit and credit
cards.
Source Michigan Creoit Union League
Kathy Hensley, National Bank of
Detroit branch manager.
Although many banks charge for
ATM transactions, Kelly said there are
ways for customers to avoid the excess
fees..
"If a consumer plans ahead and
See ATM, Page 5
MSA allocates
$20,000 to AATU
Students grpe
out us delays
By Mike Spahn
Daily Staff Reporter
It's 7:50 p.m. You have waited half an
hour for a University bus. Your test starts
in 20 minutes. What should you do?
This situation is common for many
students living on North Campus and
t ing classes on Central Campus. Last
eek, about 50 students had trouble get-
ting to a Chemistry 130 exam on time.
Engineering first-year student
Patrick Franklin was one of the stu-
dents who said his exam grade may
have been hurt by bus delays.
"I got out to the stop about 30 minutes
before I had to be (at the chemistry
two exams because of problems with
the University bus system.
"I was late to the exam, and the
same thing happened for my calculus
exam," Franklin said.
Jim Oliver, service foreman for
University Transportation Services,
said the University does not inform the,
bus system of major exam times.
"Primarily we don't put on extra
buses before exams, with the excep-
tion of some Engineering exams that
we get requisitions for," Oliver said.
Night exams can be especially prob-
lematic because fewer buses cover the
routes after dark.
wiM on~ h ire- -c c in--:i s
By Susan T. Port
Daily Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor Tenants Union can
breath a sigh of relief after its opposi-
tion failed to garner enough support to
abolish the organization.
The Michigan Student Assembly
voted last night to keep the union, which
represents renters in Ann Arbor, and allo-
cate $20,000 from its budget to fund it.
But some things are going to change.
The assembly, which has supported the
organization financially since. it was
established in 1968, insisted on funding
the union in quarterly installments.
MSA's first payment to the union will
total $8,000, which will allow AATU to
cover a variety of current debts and func-
tion normally. Once the organization is
back on its feet, it will receive three more
funding installments of $4,000 each.
AATU came under fire this semester
when students criticized the availability
and quality of its services during the
summer months.
MSA President Mike Nagrant said
the assembly plans more involvement
with the tenants union to make sure stu-
dent services are provided adequately.
"We are not giving the money up
front," Nagrant said. "We are going to
revisit the tenants' union and monitor
the nropres in Janunrv and March and
Chair Dan Serota. Serota, an LSA
senior, proposed a resolution calling for
the replacement of the tenants union
with a student-run, non-profit organiza-
tion that would be able to provide ser-
vices for student renters.
Although Serota's proposal was voted
down, the issue sparked a heated debate
about student concerns regarding the
responsibilities and accessibility of
AATU. The debate ended with the assem-
bly's confirmation of the need for more
checks and balances in the relationship
between MSA and the tenants union.
Serota said the new funding provisions
might not be enough and warned that the
debate may resurface in the future.
"I think the assembly is not learning
from history," Serota said. "I hope
improvements are made, but I am nod
confident that they will be."
Nagrant said Serota raised some
valuable concerns in his resolution.
"I think the debate could have gone
either way," Nagrant said.
When assembly members finally cast
their votes, however, the resolution was
easily defeated.
MSA Vice President Olga Savic said
AATU will prove itself to the assembly
as one of the best providers of counsel
for students who have housing problems.
"I am confident the tenants union will
I
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