ILy igan ti News: 76-DAILY Advertising: 764-0554 One hundred seven years ofeditorial freedom Thursday April 16, 1998 I - --l- - I ----------- 1 IQ, = iW I . w '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. I .. ® r ..: k , .: :.., ...