The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 25, 1998 - 7 student fired for remarks The Badger Herald MADISON, Wis. (U-WIRE) - Jenni Cole-Opitz learned an important lesson Feb. 18 - don't joke with the almighty of Wisconsin politics. The 19-year-old UW-Madison sophomore, a State Assembly page for L months, was fired abruptly last ursday morning for comments she made to The Badger Herald about working as a "go-fer" to Wisconsin politicians. Ip the front page article headlined "Raise the Roof: A look inside the Capitol and how UW students help make it work," Cole-Opitz spoke about the occasional absurdity of pandering to legislators. JShe described a scenario in which Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen wanted a Coke when there was only Pepsi left in the Capitol. Cole-Opitz told The Herald she was sent to Walgreen's for the speaker's pre- ferred cola, prompting the comment: I was just standing there in awe. He's the speaker of the House, not lesus Christ." "It didn't mean anything," said Cole- itz, who has retained a lawyer to - ntest her firing. "I told the story because I thought it was funny." L The comment ignited a series of d events that left Cole-Opitz without a C job, the state Capitol without copies of The Herald and aslot of questions about - First Amendment rights. "Employees have work rules they areD expected to follow, and there are conse- qiuences when they are not followed," Coni R Sergeant-at-Arms Denise Solie, lega :oagh she would not cite the exact rule" Cole-Opitz broke. requ In a letter Cole-Opitz read to The inter Herald - her lawyer asked that it not 8 be released - she was told by Solie lega hat she was fired for her comments inter hat appeared in The Herald. Cole- said )pitz said she was told they were dis- U espectful and violated the pages' code 24 >f conduct. inte "I'm very upset about this," said adm Ve-Opitz, adding, "I've learned more effe bout politics in the last day than I did (Pelt n the past year." even Solie had close ties to Jensen. The sign peaker directly appointed her as the P pItol's first female sergeant-at-arms bane >n Jan. 1 and has worked at the job for Sedi ve weeks. Stat Jensen's office said the relationship tion ad no impact on the decision to fire that e-Opitiz. inter M1SA 'ontinued from Page 1 ncourage diversity awareness through creased interaction between student groups od MSA. "What I want to get across is that we need iore student group outreach with MSA," 'hompson said. "I want to build relation- *s between different student groups. We an say we're diverse on paper, but we are 0t." Thompson also said he wants to further edu- Students skip classes for events ACTION Continued from Page 1 think it's an unusual case where a lot of different interest groups have come together and listened to each other seri- ously." About 20 high school students from Ann Arbor Huron High School and Detroit's Cass Technical High School, several of whom spoke at the rally, came to campus to take part in the day's events. Alianza Co-chair Diana Derige said yesterday's demonstration in support of affirmative action should not be limit- edto one day. "We need to think ahead and show our solidarity together," said Derige, an LSA junior. "The plight of minority students on campus goes beyond affir- mative action." After the rally, nearly 250 students marched through campus, crammed into the Angell Hall Fishbowl area and staged a sit-in. Students sat on the floor for three hours to hear testimoni- als about how affirmative action, racism and diversity have impacted the campus. Organizers said they were pleased with the number of students who took part in the day's events. "I'm really impressed with the tumout. I think it's obvious that a lot of people support affirmative action and are willing to miss a day of class" said Law first- year student Meera Deo, a member of United for Affinnative Action. Engineering sophomore Robert Green said he was impressed with the diversity of the crowd that attended the sit-in. "We need to take a stand as stu- dents," Green said. "Awesome turnout, but there could be many more." LSA junior Kevin Bowman said he had expected more students would have attended the events. - "This is definitely a good start," Bowman said. "I think more people support affirmative action than are here, but you have to start somewhere." The teach-in held in the Michigan Union Ballroom attracted nearly 175 people and featured an address about the Civil Rights Movement by history and African and Afroamerican studies Prof. Jeanne Theoharis and two panels of speakers. The first panel featured professors speaking about constitutional law, class-based affirmative action and political and social aspects of affirma- tive action. "When affirmative action first start- ed in the early 1970s ... it was what was given instead of equal opportunity," said ACLU attorney Marc Rosenbaum. Students said they had mixed feel- ings about the day's events. While some students actively participated in the day, others barely noticed the events. LSA senior Sandra Ruvola said she would have participated in yesterday's events if they had not conflicted with the many midterms scheduled for this week. Ruvola said she admired the stu- dents' activism. She added that the sit- in made it difficult to get to her discus- sion class in Angell Hall. "It's great and all," Ruvola said. "What about the students who need to go to class? We have to walk through this whole crowd." Law third-year student Shana Radcliffe said that encouraging stu- dents to skip classes was inappropriate. "I think its not the best way to show our support for affirmative action," Radcliffe said. "Maybe it's selfish, but we're (at the University) to go to school." Law Prof Lance Jones, who spoke aboutthe BlackAction Movements of the 1970s and '80s, urged students to contin- ue the fight to support affirmative action. "What you are doing by being here is continuing this legacy," Jones said. "So, stay the course, and as we said in BAM I, la lucha continua - that is, the struggle continues." Law third-year student Mireille Raoul said the teach-in gave students a good opportunity to exchange ideas. "It's something that we haven't been doing," Raoul said. "To me, it's such an obvious issue in the sense that diversity influences our educational atmosphere:" Engineering senior Rudhir Patel, a member of UAAO, said he was excited about seeing such great support of affirmative action. Patel added that opponents of affirmative action should be intimidated by the intensity students feel toward the issue. "Today is really to say we will not be ignored as students of color," Patel said. "It shows a collective voice. There is power in a collective voice and power in numbers." Law first-year student Winnie Kao, a member of United for Affirmative Action, helped organize the event. Kao said students have the ability to raise consciousness nationwide and affect the lawsuits against the University. "It's important to be apart of a national effort," Kao said. "Students across the board are taking action and showing their commitment." The day ended with an evening teach- in at Angell Hall, featuring professors Eduardo Bonilla-Silva and AlfordYoung. SA seniors Erika Jordan and Ernesto Arredondo join nearly 300 other stu- ents vesterday for a rally on the Diag. The rally was one of several events on ampus celebrating the National Day of Action. ESPONSES tinued from Page 1 l process. 'The assumption is that racial preferences ae ired such that they have a legally protectable est," Pell said. But Pelt's reasoning may not hold water since i precedents in the 6th Circuit do not require the rvening group to prove it has a legal interest, Godfrey Dillard, CAAP's lead attorney. nder Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule makes no claim of a legal interest, just aln rest." Dillard said. "The modification of the issions process will have a demonstrative ct on their ability to apply to the University. ) makes a point of calling it a legal interest though you only need interest. We have a ificant interest and a legal interest." ell said intervention decisions usually are died on a case-by-case basis. But Robert er, a constitutional law professor at Wayne e University, said Duggan allowed interven- in a term limits case last summer and ruled intervenors do not need to have a legal rest. cate students about the importance of having student on the University Board of Regent MSA is calling efforts to gain a student rege the Yes! Yes! Yes! campaign. "I'm all forYes! Yes! Yes! It's going to be n' main push for the election - getting studen so that they're aware of what they're votin for," Thompson said. Friedrichs and Garcia said they will focus c increasing first-year student's awareness< campus organizations and providing more ilte action between students and administrators. Friedrichs said he is hopeful about the ele Dillard said the coalition will file its official reply on March 2. Hut, his team of lawyers will not make substantial changes to its initial motion to intervene. "We're going to go back to our brief, because our brief is correct" Dillard said. "There is noth- ing fundamental to change in our response." The University's legal counsel has been relative- ly quiet about its legal strategy and university offi- cials have not commented extensively on the rea- sonin" behind the response. "We believe the response speaks for itself" said Associate Vice President for university Relations I isa Baker, who would not comment further. Pell, who represented Cheryl Hopwood in the landmark ease that banned the use of affirmative action in Texas in 1990. said the coalition may have a hard time prov ing its case. "I think the civ il rights groups face an uphill bat- tle:' Pell said. "They have a difficult case to make" Confidently anticipating a court victory, Dillard said the intervention should be accepted because it fully complies with the expectations of Rule 24. "We think our petition is consistent with the law and we're hopeful that the judge will grant it," Dillard said. "A number of 6th Circuit cases have allowed beneficiaries to intervene." a - tion. s. "I was told that the last time an independent nt candidate won for MSA president was 20 years ago," Friedrichs said. "It's going to be tough, iy but I'm excited to give it a try." its LSA sophomore Sumeet Karnik, who MSA g appointed to be on the Ann Arbor Tenant's Union last year, said he is excited about run- 'n ning for an LSA Representative seat. if "MSA has the ability to make a lot of things r- happen," Karnik said. "There's a lot of things that it can do. And I personally feel they could c- do a lot more" TANNING Continued from Page 1. you should always wear a broad spectrum sun- screen when you're in the sun." Doctors usually don't recommend visits to tan- ning salons. For people with strong allergies to the sun, indoor tanning is sometimes advised, Auster said. Auster said members of the Michigan Dermatologist Society feel so strongly about the dangers tanning salons pose that two years ago they sponsored a bill in the state Legislature calling for warning panels on tan- ning booths - similar to the warning labels currently on cigarettes. Scared away from tanning by warnings from the medical community, LSA senior Laura Chalela said she plans to follow the doctors' advice and use a lot of sunscreen during her week in Key West, Fl. "I don't go (to tanning salons) because I don't want to get skin cancer," Chalela said. "I'd rather have healthy skin when I'm older than have a tan for a week." Despite stated risks from doctors, students con- tinue to flock to salons. Lyn Bellhorn, manager of Supertans, located on South University, said the store's one-month unlimited special has been very popular this past month. With a one-time fee, students can come in every day this month and spend a maximum of 25 minutes under the lights. LSA senior Martin Ptasinski, who is scheduled to travel to Cancun next week, said he wants a base tan before his trip. "I'm tanning because I don't want to burn, but t'm just doing it for spring break," Ptasinski said. "I wouldn't want to jeopardize my health by com- ing here regularly." One Ann Arbor resident, who asked not to be identified, said he is tanning before his trip to Florida. "I want to condition my skin," he said. "Otherwise, I'll get red and I won't be able to stay out as long. It's not for cosmetics." Salon employees warn people interested in tan- ning that there are several precautions they should take. For people taking certain medications, tanning can be extremely dangerous. Southern Exposure posts a list of 138 medications that tanners should be cautious of, and Supertans asks visitors to fill out a specific questionnaire regarding their health before they go to the beds. Bellhorn said tanning at Supertans is "not any more dangerous than being in normal sun- light." Kane said another thing to keep in mind is "if you don't tan naturally, you won't tan (in a salon)." Ariana Tkachuk, an employee of Tanfastic on South Main Street, said she tells people who are concerned with the health risks indoor tanning involves that the UV light present dur- ing the tanning process does damage DNA, but really burning is what damages skins cells the most. "Obviously, UV light is UV light, but inside tanning usually offers a more controlled envi- ronment because we can control the amounts of UV rays in the bulbs and the burning," Tkachuk Saul.~ bVyAaron Tr S travisa@umichnedu Hey Zack, what if they held football players to the usual academic standard? A f5 We'd see a significant drop in player size. C. co c RUN YOUR OWN SUMMER BUSINESS. Lawn sprinkler installation & sales. Eam up to $10,000. Vehicle req. You Choose the location in Michigan or Ohio suburbs. 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