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One hundred seven years ofeditorialfreedom
Tuesday
January 13, 1998
Housing fair drawes crowdu
New policy limiting upper-class
Dptions in residence halls prompts
Students to seek alternatives
y Reilly Brennan
Daily Staff Reporter
Candy! Balloons! Popcorn! And bigger crowds.
Thousands of students came to the Off-Campus
Housing Fair yesterday in the Michigan League to
rowse more than 40 displays for local off-campus
ental agencies and cooperatives.
A recent decision by University Housing to limit
he residence hall choices of upperclassmen has sent
any students scrambling to these agencies for off-
lpus apartments and houses.
The fair, where nearly every display table offered
ome sort of reward or chocolate-filled, foil-wrapped
loy was estimated to have more attendees than pre-
ious years, said University Housing representative
iversity
emains
* Texas
ater suit
University officials
rive to maintain
minority enrollment
Peter RomerFriedman
nd Mike Spahn
)aily Staff Reporters
While the University of Michigan
onfronts a high-profile lawsuit chal-
lenging its affirmative-action policies,
officials in Texas are acting to mitigate
t impact of 1996's historic case of
pwood vs. The University of Texas
School of Law.
Lawmakers, school administrators
and activists have been scrambling
since the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals ruling banned the use of race
as a factor in admissions. Since
Hopwood, universities in Texas have
seen minority enrollment drop. Now,
the challenge for proponents of diversi-
totachieve their goals without vio- Anne Pati
~ng the Hopwood decision's man- Foset, F
date.
Last year, the Texas State Legislature
passed a law guaranteeing all in-state'
students in the top 10 percent of their
graduating classes automatic accep-
tance to any state-sponsored university.
Peggy Eckster, guidance counselor
at the Kleine Forest High School in By Cariss
Houston, said college-bound seniors For the Dai
have welcomed the new state law with Providi
Zn arms. Theta Pi'
They think it's great because you're er on the
guaranteed a spot," Eckster said. "The "It's a
top 10 percent is thrilled about it." family in
University of Texas at Arlington Office
first-year student Eris Eickeo said the Seiler sa
new law is a good bonus to the top- always ha
ranked students. fraternity
"It's a good incentive for the top 10 "We a
percent, for the people who do the best again," S
to have more choices," Eickeo said. Beta T
&ut, Leno Gradlia, a law professor at any other
the University of Texas at Austin, said members
this new law will hurt the composition search. TI
of the student body, since students with of Florid
high rank but inferior test scores will be chapter o
admitted. Patrick
"It allows students into the universi- nurse to
ty regardless of their individual acade- because
mic achievements," Gradlia said. world."
William Cunningham, chancellor of Patrick
See TEXAS, Page 2
Plan would c
By William Nash
Daily Staff Reporter
University President Lee Bollinger addressed
faculty tenure concerns yesterday, when he met
with the faculty's governing body. He also detailed
a plan to form a central legal "firm" for the
isiversity.
he plan, which Senate Advisory Committee on
University Affairs chair Louis D'Alecy described
as, "well on its way," would consolidate the
University's legal staff into one collective unit.
Although each individual school at the University
currently has its own legal representatives, the new
Jeff Micale.
"We don't advocate off-campus or on-campus hous-
ing" Micale said. "Rather, we recognize that two-
thirds of the students will not have (University) hous-
ing next year."
LSA sophomore Crystal Pontrello said that new
University policies regarding upper-class housing
prompted her to find somewhere else to live in Ann
Arbor.
"Basically, they're kicking me out," she said.
LSA senior Erin Wingate, a friend of Pontrello, said
the new policies have put a strain on the availability of
off-campus housing because more students are out
looking.
"It doesn't seem very many places are left right
now," Wingate said.
Although many older students strolled the aisles of
tables in search of a place to live, a significant per-
centage of the attendees were first-year students.
LSA first-year student Matt Cohn said that next
year he plans to live in a place other than his current
room in Couzens Residence Hall.
"I'm sick of the dorms;' Cohn said.
Cohn also added that despite his relatively late
search for an off-campus place to live, some choices
do remain.
"At first I heard that you had to get set up before
Christmas," he said. "But seeing all this - it looks
like there's a lot left."
While some walked away confident that a search
for off-campus housing will eventually bring positive
results, others said that the event proved futile for their
needs.
Engineering senior Tricia Allam. who spent her last
year in a sorority house, is in search of a four-month
lease in the fall.
"I don't know what I'm going to do, Allam said. "I
think it's pretty much going to end up being Baits or
Martha Cook (residence halls). Another plan might be
See HOUSING, Page 2
Mother knows best
MALLORY S E. FLOYD/Daily
The Off-Campus Housing Fair in the Michigan League's ballroom attracted hun-
dreds of students yesterday.
Media attention
may increase
'U'
applications
JOHN KRAFT/Daily
rick, the housemother for the University's chapter of Beta Theta Pi. Standing with her are (front row) Don De
rank McCormick, (back row) David Singer, Eric Wilson and Matt Jannausch.
aternit adopts a -mom
By Jennifer Yachnin
Daily Staff Reporter
An upsurge nationwide in
University-related news - about both
the national football championship and
two lawsuits over the admissions poli-
cies - may have an effect on the num-
ber of undergraduate applicants for the
Fall 1998 incoming class.
"I think most students who became
excited about Michigan early on in the
process have sent their applications in,"
said Ted Spencer, director of under-
graduate admissions. "We're in good
shape in terms of the application pool
this year."
With the deadline for undergraduate
applications still a month away, Spencer
said it is too early to tell if there will be
a jump from last year in the number of
applications submitted.
"There's no indication that things are
worse than last year," Spencer said.
"You have to be very guarded in look-
ing at the numbers - we're hoping for
the best."
The recent nationwide publicity
about Michigan's Rose Bowl success
has had an effect similar to advertising,
Spencer said.
"The more you put the name of a
product in front of people, the more
opportunity they have to know who you
are," he said.
After Northwestern's trip to the Rose
Bowl in 1996, the number of under-
graduate applications rose 21 percent,
said Chuck Loebbaka, director of
Northwestern University's media rela-
tions.
"There's no evidence whether there
was a direct connection," Loebbaka
said. "By that time, a lot of students had
already applied to the school of their
choice and a lot of applications were
already processed by that time."
Loebbaka said Northwestern's acad-
emic reputation probably had more to
do with the increase.
"There is some impact, but it's hard
to measure," Loebbaka said. Students
"don't just apply because the football
team is good - the academic reputa-
tion is the main reason."
Edward Reppa, director of guidance
for Central Catholic High School in
Pittsburgh, Pa., said successful sports
teams are not a consideration when
most students decide where to apply.
"I think there are several influences
- friends, family history," Reppa said.
"There are a percentage of kids who do
look at a school and what kind of pro-
gram it has. Another category is the
success of its football team or basket-
ball team, that gives it a certain notori-
ety."
Reppa said about four students from
the Pittsburgh school apply each year
to the University, while most stay in
state.
"We do have a significant amount of
interest in Penn State and University of
Pittsburgh. When their school is doing
well athletically, they see an upward
surge in applications" for those schools,
Reppa said.
Tom Hillemeier, a senior at Ann
Arbor Pioneer High School, said pub-
licity in the news has not affected his
decisions about where to apply.
"I've talked to people that have gone
to them and I got a book about the 110
best schools," Hillemeier said about his
research process.
Hillemeier said he has not considered
championship teams as much as teams
on which he could compete himself.
"I've looked at location and the
sports teams," Hillemeier said.
sa Van Heest
ly
ng guidance, stability and midnight snacks, Beta
s Anne Patrick is the only fraternity house moth-
University's campus.
great experience," Patrick said. "You become a
a house like this."
of Greek Life Panhellenic Adviser Mary Beth
id that while sororities at the University have
ad housemothers, it has been quite a while since a
at the University has had one.
re really excited that Beta is going to do this
eiler said.
beta Pi has more chapters with housemothers than
fraternity in the country. The University's Beta
found Patrick after launching a nationwide
hey discovered Patrick last year at the University
a, where she was serving as housemother at a
f the Alpha Chi Omega sorority.
said she decided to leave her career as a trauma
become a housemother in the Greek system
she "was getting really tired of the corporate
said she decided to accept an offer from the
Beta Theta Pi fraternity in part because she feels her
personality meshes well with the overall personality of
the house.
"I wanted to go somewhere that wanted a mother," not a
house that required one, Patrick said.
Patrick's duties at the Beta Theta Pi house consist main-
ly of managing the household. She oversees the kitchen
staff, orders the food and ensures that the house activities
run smoothly.
"Things I do can be anything from putting on a Band
Aid to baking cookies at night," Patrick said.
Patrick emphasized that the fraternity members run the
chapter.
Members said Patrick has been a welcome addition to
their house.
"Anne fulfills a lot of roles for us," said Beta Theta Pi
Vice President David Singer, an LSA sophomore. "It's the
little things that someone like Anne does."
Don De Fosset, the house's co-rush chair, said having a
housemother on the premises continues Beta Theta Pi's
proactive tradition.
"Our house is the best it's been in a long time," said De
Fosset. an Engineering sophomore. "We're always pio-
See MOM, Page 7
I I
New opportunities
reate 'U' legal firm
ident will oversee all the University's legal activities.
If Bollinger's new plan is approved, the executive
and a staff would be in charge of linking each of the
University's different legal functions.
Bollinger also spoke briefly about the state of the
two affirmative action lawsuits filed against the
University last semester.
"The lawsuits are just entering the discovery phase,"
he said.
The cases should begin to unfold in about six
months, Bollinger said. The University community
should remain actively involved throughout every
phase of the lawsuit, he said.
demic leaders.
While there are two separate cases, one against the
University's Law School and the other against LSA,
Bollinger said the possibility of the consolidation of
both cases down the road is not out of the question.
Bollinger said unifying departmental legal' staffs
would help the University defend itself against both
suits.
Another concern of the faculty members at the
meeting was the University's tenure review policy.
Bollinger defended the current tenure system,
stating that current "rigorous" annual reviews of
tenured faculty members did more harm than
I ~ - I