The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 3 1997 - 3 niversity of Mexico wins test anxiety case A federal judge this summer ruled in favor of the University of New Mexico's school of medicine, after a finical psychologist filed a lawsuit gainst the school for discrimination because he suffers from test anxiety, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. Kevin McGuinness claimed on the basis of the Americans With Disability Act that the university had discriminat- ed against him by refusing to give him a passing grade in a biochemistry course. McGuinness said he should not have t en compared to the other students in the school because he suffered from test anxiety. The failure, combined with "mar- ginal" grades, caused him to fail his first year of medical school. MGuinness plans to appeal the rul- ing. Colorado flooding ffects university Colorado State University was forced to close for two days earlier this mionth when deadly Coral Springs flooding crashed onto the university's campus, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. The university was in the midst of its summer term when the flooding ecurred. Early estimates set the dam- ge in the tens of millions of dollars, and at least five people were killed in neighboring communities, school offi- cials said. Damage was greatest at the cam- pus book stores, where many of the books ordered for fall classes were destroyed. The flood also damaged at least 13 campus buildings. No campus deaths were reported. ildcats strike name from arena Villanova University will scrap the name of John E. du Pont from its sports arena, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. The decision came after the mil- lionaire was convicted of murder this year. The arena, which was nown as The John Eleuthere du Pont Pavilion, will now be called The Pavilion. The venue was named for du Pont in 1986 when he donated an undisclosed sum of money to Villanova. Harvard chapel to allow same-sex ceremon ies The Board of Ministry of Harvard University has decided to allow wcommitment ceremonies for gay and lesbian students, alumni and employees in the university's memo- rial chapel, The Chronicle of Higher "tducation reported. The decision came after the board studied the issue for a year. Gay and lesbian groups started lob- iing the university for the service when its pastor, the Rev. Peter Gomes, acknowledged he is homo- sexual. Harvard is not the first university to 'illow such ceremonies. Stanford ,1iversity began permitting them in r of California settles lawsuit The University of California Board of Regents has reached a settlement agreement with 75 infertility patients. The patients filed a lawsuit claiming -'doctors at the university's fertility clin- ic, stole embryos and women's eggs, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. " The $14 million settlement must still approved by a state judge, and 24 related lawsuits are still pending 'apinst the university's clinics. -Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Chris Metinko. Drnking death shakes up students Legislation would penalize strikers 3A By Susan T. Port Daily Staff Reporter It is a tradition at Louisiana State University to drink on pledge night. For 20-year-old Sigma Alpha Epsilon pledge Benjamin Dayries Wynee, it was a tradition that led to death. On the night of his death, Dayries had just received his pledge pin, indi- cating he'd accepted a bid to pledge the SAE fraternity. Celebrating his good fortune, he and fellow fraternity members drank all night at nearby Murphy's Bar. On their way to the fraternity house, Dayries was spotted by an unidentified person who called the campus police. Police officers arrived to find Dayries unconscious with a blood alcohol level of 0.588. Ken Tanner, the University's Interfraternity Council president, said that at the University of Michigan, the responsibility of handling alcohol rests in the hands of the fraternities. At LSU, a dry campus, alcohol is strictly forbidden. Tanner said that off-campus drinking, like at LSU, allows the fraternities less opportunity for control and supervision. "The University is very happy with the way we are handling our alcohol policy," said Tanner, an Engineering senior. "What happened at LSU was much larger in scale than anything that has ever happened at (the University of Michigan)." The tragedy at LSU forced the uni- versity to take action to prevent similar events from occurring on campus. Pete Stevenson, director of communi- cations for the national office of SAE, said universities need to educate students on the dangers of alcohol abuse. "This does not only affect those who are in fraternities, it affects the whole community," Stevenson said. Stevenson said LSU's ban of alcohol makes it more exciting for students to break the rules by drinking. "LSU has a dry campus. All alcohol is banned from fraternity parties which causes students to want to drink more," Employees speak out against proposed striking measures By Jeffrey Kosseff Daily Staff Reporter The ongoing labor dispute at Ferris State University has sparked a Michigan lawmaker to propose leg- islation that would penalize striking employees at all state universities. Ferris State University faculty members returned to the classroom without a contract yesterday, but were still negotiating with university officials, Ferris State University spokesperson Margaret Avritt said. State Rep. Ken Sikkema (R- Grandville), state House minority leader, plans to propose a bill that "It takes away the biggest bargain- in right we have," said Nages Shanmugalingan, a member of the steering committee for the University of Michigan's Graduate Employees Organization. The union of graduate student instructors held a three-day walkout in April 1996. The proposal would damage the working environment for University employees, she said. "They are devaluing our contribu- tions and it would deteriorate the working conditions," Shanmugalingan said. However, Shanmugalingan said the suggestion to punish universities that participate in lockouts is "a gold idea. Sociology Prof. Don Deskins said the proposal is "unreasonable and con- trolling." "It takes away the individual's they are rights,"he said! W) does said he is "not taking sides" in a in strike situa- . etions by 'ative proposing the bill, because yI the legislation Ken Sikkema would punish (R-Grandville) both e mplo - - ecs alid employers wllo violate anti- strike laws. t C docks university day's salary for strike. The bill also fines state universities that practice employee lock- outs. Under Mich- igan law, it is illegal for pub- lic employees to strike, and public employ- ers may not lock out their employees. "There is a fundamental issue employees every day one they What t doing (no not work1 represent democrac, - Rep at stake," Sikkema MARGARET MYERS/Daily Justin Reckard, president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, says the drinking-related death at LSU has made fraternity members more cautious about their drinking. he said. Justin Reckard, president of the University's SAE chapter Justin Reckard said it is the fraternity mem- bers' responsibility to watch out for everybody else. "It is unfortunate that something like this had to open our eyes," Reckard said. "A lot of guys are more cautious about their own drinking." At least one University fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, plans to be alcohol- free by the year 2000. "One of the reasons we are going alcohol free is so nothing like this will happen here," said Dan Josephs, an Engineering sophomore. "This is something all frats should try and do." Reckard said the idea of an alcohol- free fraternity defeats the purpose of being in a fraternity. "You don't join a frat to be babied, to be told what to do," Reckard said. "Telling people when they are 21 that they cannot have alcohol in their rooms is absurd." Reckard said his fraternity brothers realize something went wrong at LSU. "Deep in our hearts, the fact that this kid died is really upsetting," Reckard said. Kathy Marcel, LSU Director of Greek Affairs, said the school is shaken over the death. Marcel said SAE's national office has suspended the LSU chapter until further investigation. "We are still waiting for further information," Marcel said. "This is a serious police investigation, but so far there has been no evidence of any drinking in the SAE house on campus." said. "I don't think anybody is above the law. "It puts financial teeth behind the prohibition against striking," he said. "I find it unacceptable that (the strikers) thumb their noses at the law." Sikkema said strikes such as the one at Ferris State University, which began Aug. 25, violate the law, and therefore striking faculty should be punished. He suggested that an alternative to striking is lobbying local legislators. "What they are doing (now) does not work in a representative democracy," Sikkema said. Some University staff members dis- agree with the proposal. The bill will be modeled after Public Act 112 of 1994, which imposes similar penalties agaiist striking public school employees and public schools that lock out their employees. Rep. Clyde LeTarte, minority vice chair of the House Colleges and Universities Committee, where the bill will likely land, said the propos- al is fair because it makes the penl- ties equal for public university arid public school striking parties. "To penalize one and not the otheris not logical," LeTarte (R-Jackson) sai4. With the democratic majority in the state House, LeTarte said he s not confident the bill will pass. Students complete 'U' Code training By Heather Kamins Daily Staff Reporter Assault, battery, harassment, theft - for 60 new student members of the Conflict Resolution Board, a nine-hour training session yesterday was a crash course in dealing with these injustices on campus. The board, which hears cases about students who allegedly have broken the University's Code of Student Conduct, decides about 10 to 15 cases each school year. "The panel learns that truth is somewhere between where the two sides of the issue stand," said Mary Lou Antieu, coordinator of the con- flict resolution board. "So many fac- tors get in the way of our actual per- ception. The truth is somewhere in the middle. Many people who come before us in our hearing are not pur- posely lying. "What the panelists' job is to filter the information and construct a reali- ty." Each new member who joins the board is required to attend a nine-hour training session, as well as participate in mock hearings. Yesterday's training session examined the distinct skills needed to decide cases that include charges of assault and battery, harass- ment and theft. Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen Hartford said that the University acts as a community, and the most effective communities use disci- pline to handle problems in the fairest ways. "The elements of the code deal with expectations of the student members of a community," Hartford said. "I am a great believer that the most powerful piece of the code lays out our expecta- tions for the members of the communi- ty. It says that harassment and violence against other people on campus is not acceptable." Hartford said the University's disciL plinary process, which includes the Code and the student panelists who hear the cases, was designed to help students learn appropriate ways to act in the University setting. "It is designed to help students, to help them understand why their actions were unacceptable," Hartford said. During yesterday's training session, student and faculty members partici- pated in exercises, viewed films and listened to professionals lecture on the purpose of arbitration, diversity, reaching consensus and delivering sanctions. Next week, the panelists will practice their new skills in mock trials. LSA senior Douglas Yatter said the students'role in the sanctioning process is critical to making the system work. "Based on my interaction with the coordinators, I think that the student input (on the board) is a very integral part," Yatter said. "Student representa- tives are important, with such a poten- tial and controversial decision mecha- nism, to maintain a fair-minded process that involves students." Assistant Dentistry Prof. Carroll- Ann Trotman said the training session was a successful start in teaching par- ticipants the skill they will need to bring into the board. "They are trying to teach people to gather all the facts and relative infor- mation in order to come to a consen- sus," Trotman said. "We are to see if things can be easily resolved, and it seems like most of the time they can." Enter Jacobson's Model Search for the Face of Ms. J.' are you the face of Saturday, September 13 and Sunday, September 14 Noon to 4 pm Ms. J R Grand Prize - Trip to New York with Jacobson's fashion buyers - $500 gift certificate - One-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become the 'Face of Ms. J' in Jacobson's advertising and promotions. ,{ as 12 runners-up each receive a $150 gift certificate and a complimentary makeover, and have their photo displayed in Ms. J! A winner is chosen from each of Jacobson's stores. Florida stores excluded. Come as your are...it's the face that counts! Visit Ms. J for more details. 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