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News: 76-DAILY
Advertising: 764-0554
One hundred seven years ofeditorial freedom
Thursday
April 16, 1998
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'U' officials,
students to
discuss
race issues
By William Nash
Daily Staff Reporter
Due to what some minority students
describe as lackadaisical and some-
times non-existent responses from the
University administration to recent
incidents of alleged racial discrimina-
, a group of minurity students has
eduled a meeting with University
officials for Monday.
The group will consist of five
representatives from minority stu-
dent groups, who will meet with
administrators, including Vice
President for Student Affairs
Maureen Hartford. Each of the
groups holds similar concerns.
Minority students cite the
University's slow response to LSA
*homore Dale Winling's cam-
paign to become a representative on
the Michigan Student Assembly,
which featured a poster of the white
Winling with his fist in the air and a
caption stating he is a white male
with black pride.
Winling later called it a joke, but
some minority groups are not
laughing.
Hartford, who was approached by
nority students for a meeting,
said the poster bordered on being
racist.
"The posters were all tasteless,
and one was very offensive and
racially insensitive," Hartford said.
Hartford said the University can-
not take legal action against
Winling.
The other incidents that the
minority students said they want to
& ress are the swastikas and the
s xually and racially offensive
statements written on the doors of
some minority residents in Mary
Markley Residence Hall.
"They have yet to respond to the
Markley incidents," said Kenneth
Jones, co-chair of MSA's Minority
Affairs Commission.
Minority Affairs Commission
Co-Chair Diana Derige described
* University climate for minori-
ties as "hostile."
"Students of color do not feel
safe on this campus," said Derige,
co-chair of Alianza.
Derige said attention to the law-
suits that target the University's use
of race as a factor in the admissions
process is an excuse for some non-
minorities "to voice their rage
against people of color."
Jones said the problem of dis-
*mination existed on campus
before the lawsuits were filed
against the College of Literature,
Science and the Arts and the Law
School.
Jones was involved in setting up
the meeting, which he said has been
See RACE, Page 2A
Steppin' up
safe
hopes I
r'Mile
or
By Katie Plona
Daily Staff Reporter
In preparation for Tuesday night's Naked
Mile run - when University students will
mark the end of classes by streaking through
campus - students and administrators are
working to educate participants about the
potential dangers that accompany the event.
"We're not trying to deter people from par-
ticipating or killing the spirit," said Residence
Halls Association President-elect Albert
Garcia. "We just want students to know exact-
ly what's going on."
Garcia, an LSA sophomore, said student vol-
unteers will help officers from local police
departments monitor the event.
"Students often have a better sense of per-
ception as to people's intentions," Garcia said,
adding that the student volunteers, will only
help fellow students avoid threatening situa-
tions. "We're not going to be policing or break-
ing up fights."
The student monitors will be situated at "hot
spots," Garcia said, which are areas where run-
ners congregate. Monitors will have access to
two-way radios that can be used to contact
Department of Public Safety officers in case of
an emergency.
In past years, runners have been fondled and
videotaped during the event.
Another component of the plan to make the
annual event safer is to offer T-shirts to runners
at the end of the run.
"We're going to make as many T-shirts as we
can afford to make," Garcia said.
The T-shirts will be funded by student group
donations, he said, adding that organizers hope
to collect and print at least several hundred T-
shirts.
Engineering senior Bill Belknap, a member
of the Michigan men's club crew team who
has participated in the Naked Mile for the
past two years, said he approves of the
University initiative, in light of previous
years' problems.
"If it will improve the chances for a safer
Plans to improve Naked
Mile's safety:
Have student monitors strategically placed
at high-traffic sites to aid local police
officers.
8 Offer T-shirts to participants at the end of
the race.
N Students who would like to volunteer
during the Naked Mile or who would like to
get more information about the plans can
write to mile,98@umich.edu.
run, then I think it's a good idea," Belknap
said.
In addition to attempts by the University to
make the Naked Mile safer, the city of Ann
Arbor is also encouraging participants to be
aware of threats to their safety, including sexu-
al assaults on women.
Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid Sheldon said that
while she supports the University's efforts to
make the event safer, the most effective way to
prevent harassment is to not run in the Naked
Mile.
"All that we can really do in terms of
improving safety for our young women is
encourage them to not participate," Sheldon
said. "I just encourage all women to think
about the consequences of this seemingly fun
activity."
Sheldon said the run may have started out as
an innocent college prank, but it has turned
into a nationally publicized event. This, she
said, opens a window for more harmful situa-
tions.
Belknap added that the spectators who come
to Ann Arbor solely to watch the run add a
negative element to what should be a chance
for University students to let loose and have
fun,
"I hate all the people that come from out-of-
town to watch it," Belknap said.
See MILE, Page 10A
DANA LINNAN./Uaily
Music sophomore Carrie Nagy signs a sneaker as a part of the Just Don't Do It campaign in the
Diag. Students were collecting signatures to denounce Nike's overseas labor practices.
lTD changes allocations
By Sam Stavis
Daily Staff Reporter
The Information Technology Division is again
revamping its computing package to meet students'
changing computing needs.
Starting this Friday until the end of April, students
will not be charged for dial-in access between midnight
and 3 p.m. and will receive 180 additional pages on their
printing limit, bringing the total for each individual to
300 pages.
ITD made the changes to accommodate students'
increasing end-of-term workloads, said Jose-Marie
Griffiths, the University's chief information officer and
ITD executive director.
"We don't want to impede the students at this point in
the year," Griffiths said.
Students with heavy workloads can thank the Office
of the Provost for funding the computing package
enhancements.
"I'm ecstatic," said MSA representative Barry
Rosenberg, an LSA senior who worked with ITD to
make the policy changes. "This is going to be tremen-
dously helpful for students."
At the beginning of this semester, ITD switched from
the allocation system to the basic computing package -
resulting in the loss of students' ability to allocate funds
to specific computing services, such as printing or dial-
in access, but increasing overall access to computing
services.
While ITD officials found that most University stu-
dents said they were satisfied with the package, others
were not happy with the loss of flexibility from previous
systems.
"The previous computing package allowed you to
allocate your funds to specific services," said Al
McCord, ITD director of operations management.
"But it was very expensive to maintain," he said.
Griffiths described the basic computing package as a
"compromise driven by ITD's need to bring its expendi-
See ITD, Page 9A
Ranking
confusion causes
pamphlet recall
By Katie Plona
Daily Staff Reporter
The University plans to recall and reprint copies of
a University profile pamphlet containing what some
have identified as misleading U.S. News and World
Report rankings.
The pamphlet states that based on the University's
academic programs, U.S. News and World Report
ranked several of the University's graduate programs
among the top schools in the country.
But academic reputation is only one of many factors
used to compile the overall ranking, making the pam-
hlet's representation of the rankings ambiguous.
"We certainly have no reason to brag about the
rankings in any way," said Director of News and
Information Services Julie Peterson, adding that
many University administrators, faculty and students
have outwardly opposed the use of the rankings to
evaluate schools.
DANA LINNANL/1)aily
RC junior Meredith Pierce leafs through several papers at a prnter In the Angell
Hall Computing Site yesterday.
'U' students to teach
English to migrants
By Lee Palmer
Daily Staff Reporter
University students looking to
gain experience teaching English as
a second language will have their
opportunity this summer through an
innovative language program that
unites students and area migrant
farm workers.
In its second year, Linguistics 385
trains students during spring semes-
ter to teach English. The course uses
guest lecturers to teach students
about the politics of language, lan-
guage discrimination and cultural
awareness.
Students in the course travel to
migrant camps in Adrian County to
teach the mostly Spanish-speaking
community of workers who come from
Mexico and the Texas border regions.
Holly Cashman, one of the class
coordinators, said she hopes the
n llirc6 -01L~vn\CP CtI110"e tr th
Cashman said she hopes the second
year of the course will help further
the trust developed last summer
between the migrant workers and the
students.
"We want to be a positive force and a
consistent one," Cashman said.
LSA senior Bonnie Malczewski said
she plans to take the course to gain
teaching experience and to help further
social justice.
"The migrant workers don't have the
money or time to go to classes, so it's
important to me that they have that
opportunity," Malczewski said.
"They're the ones who need (language
instruction) the most. They're not just
learning it for academic purposes, they
need it to survive," Malczewski said.
Katie McGee, an LSA senior who
took the course last summer, described
the experience as a unique opportunity
to leam and share cultures.
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