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News: 76-DAILY
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One hundred seven years ofeditorialfreedom
Thursday
March 26,1998
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U' funding
may increase
y 3 percent
By Mike Spahn
Daily Staff Reporter
The state Senate approved a proposal yesterday by a vote
of 36-1 that would increase state funding to the University by
3 percent.
The proposal, passed last week by the Senate
Appropriations Committee, includes $30 million more for
her education than the budget Gov. John Engler proposed
st month.
The bill now will be considered by the House
Appropriations Subcommittee for Higher Education, which
has tentatively set its first hearing on funding for April 29.
Cynthia Wilbanks, associate vice president for government
affairs, said she is satisfied with the proposal the Senate
passed and looks forward to seeing how the House will
change the bill.
"We're very pleased with the Senate's action on this bill,"
Wilbanks said. The House's "input will be important, but this
is a good start."
Although the bill passed with no substantive changes from
the committee's recommendation, Sen. David Jaye (R-
Macomb) proposed two amendments concerning minority
preferences.
The first would have withheld 10 percent of the appropri-
ation and put it toward an equal rights incentive grant to
schools that did not use minority preferences in admissions
or hiring. This proposal, which could have withheld $30 mil-
lion from the University, did not reach a vote.
Jaye's second amendment proposal would have banned
inority preferences to "rich kids" - students who are
ove 200 percent of the poverty level - and would have
See SENATE, Page 10A
Election to be
ivestigated
~Geard Cohuin-aud
Daily Staff Reporter
Following recent allegations and rumors, the Michigan
Student Assembly Election Penahy Board is launching an inves-
tigation into last week's MSA elections.
In a statement released late last night, Elections Director
Rajeshri Gandhi and Rules and Elections Committee Chair Josh
Trapani said MSA officials have not yet found evidence of cam-
paign violations,
"As a result of recent allegations involving MSA elections, the
Section Penalty Board has decided that an investigation into the
events of the past week and a half is warranted. As of this time,
no wrongdoing has been established. The board will attempt to
either substantiate or refute these allegations."
Yesterday, The Michigan Daily reported an anonymous
source as saying newly elected MSA president Trent Thompson
was improperly soliciting votes at a fraternity party the night of
March 17. The witness said Thompson told people at the party
to vote for him as they were logged on to the MSA voting
Website at a laptop computer.
The MSA Election Code prohibits candidates from influenc-
g students while they are voting.
Thompson maintained his innocence and said the investiga-
tion would uncover no wrongdoing.
"I truly think nothing will be found because I did nothing ille-
gal," Thompson said. "The Elections Board has to do its job to
find out what happened, but I don't think anything will turn up
because nothing happened."
Gandhi would not say whether the investigation will be
directed at Thompson's campaign.
The Election Penalty Board has asked that anyone with infor-
mation pertinent to the investigation contact board officials at
andhi@umich.edu. or jtrapaniiumich.edu. Anonymous
ccounts will be accepted by the board, Gandhi said.
I
Students
fight Law
School suit
By Katie Plona
Daily Staff Reporter
In another response to the attacks on
the University's use of race as a factor
in its admissions procedures, more than
35 students plan to file a motion today
to become defendants in a lawsuit tar-
geting the Law School's admissions
policies.
The students argue that the interests
of those who would be most affected by
the elimination of affirmative action at
the University will not be adequately
represented by the current defendants
in the lawsuit.
"We think that having an individual
voice for the affected parties is
absolutely essential so that our con-
cerns are presented to the court," said
Shanta Driver, the main coordinator of
the intervention into the lawsuit.
A coalition of students, who call
themselves Citizens for Affirmative
Action's Preservation, filed a motion in
Detroit Federal Court last month to
intervene in a similar lawsuit filed
against the College of Literature,
Science and the Arts.
But unlike the student members of
CAAP - who are all minority students
from Detroit-area high schools - the
second group of potential interveners is
composed of minority and white stu-
dents from Michigan, Texas and
California, whose current schooling
ranges from high school to law school.
"I'think this is a broader and more
diverse group of people" said Driver,
adding that all students - regardless of
their gender, race or geographical loca-
tion - will be adversely affected by the
lawsuit. "Our view is that the case that
the (Center for Individual Rights)
brought against the Law School will
absolutely be devastating ... and will
lead not only to the resegregation of
education in Michigan, but nation-
wide."
CIR filed a lawsuit against the Law
School on Dec. 3 on behalf of Barbara
Crutter, a white applicant who claims
she was unfairly evaluated duripgthe
Law School's admission process for the
1995 entering class because race was
used as a factor in the process.
Those attempting to intervene in the
lawsuit include students from Texas and
California, where the use of affirmative
action in public university admissions
have been eliminated by the case
Hopwood v. Texas and Prop. 209,
respectively.
LSA sophomore Kimberly James
said these students can use their per-
sonal experiences to illustrate how the
elimination of affirmative action has
negatively affected theni.
"I think that's important that they be
able to state their claims," James said.
"They can offer another side to this
argument."
The students are joined by two
national organizations - including the
Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action
by Any Means Necessary - and a
campus law association formed by stu-
dents in response to the lawsuit.
" think it is important, as far as my
future is concerned, as well as (the
future of) other minority students at the
University," James said. "I think some-
See GROUP, Page 9A
EMILY NATIAN/Daily
RC senior Lynnette Roth and RC sophomore Mara Venners warm up on a stage yesterday in East
Quad Residence Hall for a Deutsches Theater production.
Living-leaning
options may doubl
Spring fever
By Jennifer Yachnin
Daily Staff Reporter
The number of living-learning programs
could nearly double if the University adminis-
tration approves a proposal by the Living-
Learning Task Force.
Provost Nancy Cantor currently is reviewing
a proposal that includes the expansion of liv-
ing-learning communities to a majority of tra-
ditional residence halls.
"Housing and Student Affairs are working
with the various existent living-learning pro-
grams ... and have developed a set of propos-
als that have been given to the provost," said
Lester Monts, associate provost for academic
and multicultural affairs. "We're looking to see
which of these projects will work best for our
students - which ones we'should support."
The report, compiled during the past 18
months by a committee of students, faculty and
staff, is comprised of two parts. The first
describes the current living-learning programs,
including Women in Science and Engineering,
Lloyd Scholars, 21st Century Program,
Undergraduate Research Opportunities
Program and the Residential College.
The second seption contains proposals for
the addition of,'ew living-learning programs
this fall, syih as Invention and Creativity,
Society Aind Health, Science and Mathematics,
Issues' of Gender and Leadership and
Demhocracy and Diversity.
"One proposal has been that we transfer
most of our traditional residence halls to the
living-learning programs," said Maureen
Hartford, vice president for student affairs.
"There has been probably in the last 10 or 12
years here at Michigan, 10 or 12 different pro-
posals that we do that."
Hartford added that even if the programs
were to expand to all traditional residence
halls, students would not be obligated to partic-
ipate in them.
Three programs that have materialized from
similar proposals include 21st Century
Program in 1991, WISE in 1994 and UROP in
1996. Hartford said students were involved in
See LEARNING, Page 7A
O Daily in Depth: Relations between police officers and minorities
Minorities say tension
with police still exists
By Jason Stoffer Many Ann Arbor minorities said
Daily Staff Reporter they feel the same about the police as
Most Ann Arbor police officials their urban counterparts, while others
say they value diversity and will not said they feel the problems between
tolerate prejudice, but many mem- police and racial minorities on campus
bers of the University's minority are less severe.
community said they feel they are LSA senior Sandra Emmil said Ann
not treated equally by law enforce- Arbor police display some of the same
ment officers. prejudices as police from her home-
When white police officers town, Chicago.
assaulted Rodney King and Malice "White people just don't understand
Green earlier in the decade, they the things black people go through
opened deep wounds in an already and black males in particular," said
strained relationship between police Emmil, who is black. "I've heard of
and members of the black communi- black males being pulled over and
ty. cops even telling them it was for no
DANA LINNANE/Daily
B.J., the service parts manager at Campus Bike & Toy Center, fixes a bike
yesterday in preparation for spring.
Greek Week finishes
With vanety show
By Erin Holmes
Daily Staff Reporter
The envelope, please.
Ten days after Greek Week kicked off
with dancing, lip synchs and cheers,
Team 7 (Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha
Delta Phi and Delta Chi) was named
the overall winner of the festivities.
Team 8 (Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi
Kappa Alpha and Trigon) took sec-
ond place and Team 9 (Sigma
activities with talented Greek members
taking the stage to showcase their phys-
ical and vocal skills.
"We startedpracticing for this about
a month ago" said Randall O'Neal, an
LSA first-year student and Evans
Scholar.
O'Neal, whose team took second
place in the variety portion of the show,
said the hard work was definitely worth
it.
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