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One hundred ezik fyears' qf drdflreedorn
Tuesday
October 27, 1998
"Z I u /
Housing:
Some
windows defective
But Cantor's'
By Michael Grass
Daily Staff Reporter
the wake of a tragic death less than
weeks ago, a University Housing
inspection Saturday revealed that 97
window stops in Mary Markley
Residence Hall were malfunctioning.
But the exact number of broken win-
dows could not be pinpointed since
each window has two stops - one or
both stops could have been broken,
University spokesperson Julie Peterson
said.
Dousing inspectors examined win-
dows in all rooms and stairwells, num-
bering 620 windows. Peterson said the
inspectors fixed all broken windows on
the spot.
"We estimate that less than 10 per-
cent (of windows) were affected,"
Peterson said.
The death of LSA first-year student
Courtney Cantor, who died of spinal
and cranial fractures after falling from
her sixth floor Markley window Oct.
Overflow
of e-mail
draws
lTD ai
By Rachel Decker
For the Daily
Many students agree that mass e-
mails clog their inboxes, sending
Godzilla after them to clear out the
es.
.usually get 40 or 50 a day," Public
Health student Amy Pickard said.
The Information Technology
Division is expected to sign a new
policy in the coming weeks that aims
to curb abuses of the e-mail system,
including mass e-mails.
"If the e-mail system is going to stay
viable so that people can use it for busi-
s and for one-to-one communica-
nt it can't be disrupted in this way,"
said Virginia Rezmierski, director of
Office Policy, Development and
Education for ITD.
The Proper Use of Information
Resources policy outlines the guide-
lines the University community should
follow in using the University's e-mail
systems, Rezmierski said.
But the guidelines "didn't spell it
out to our satisfaction," Rezmierski
said. "We didn't feel that it was
re st enough."
The guidelines utilize vague
Wording, focusing on the ethics of
using computer resources - what
users should do - rather than stat-
ing clearly what people can and can-
not do.
The University currently is
See E-MAIL, Page 2
window did work properly
16, spurred the inspection.
In a notice to Markley residents
Friday, Housing officials said Cantor's
window and window screen met safety
specifications.
"Ensuring the safety of Housing
facilities is always of paramount con-
cern, so (Housing is) taking this step to
conduct the window inspection,"
Housing officials wrote in the notice.
In each room, the window casing
consists of six glazed glass panels. The
bottom center casing, hinged at the top,
can be pushed out 12 inches, where the
window locks.
The windows, installed in 1993,
allow enough room for a person to
climb out in the event of an emergency,
said Alan Levy, director of Housing
public affairs, in an interview last week.
In some cases, broken windows at
Markley can be pushed out two feet.
Cantor's death is still under investiga-
tion by the Department of Safety,
Peterson said. One theory is that Cantor
fell off her loft ladder and out the open
window, DPS spokesperson Beth Hall
said at a press conference Oct. 16.
Bader Cassin, Washtenaw County's
chief medical examiner, said last week
that he believes Cantor was leaning out
the window and possibly fell head
first.
Cantor, a Chi Omega sorority pledge
who had been drinking at the Phi Delta
Theta fraternity Oct. 15, had.a blood
alcohol level of 0.059. In Michigan, a
blood alcohol level of 0.08 is consid-
ered impaired for driving; 0.10 is con-
sidered drunk.
Since Cantor's death is still under
investigation, the role of alcohol has not
been determined.
Levy said that he did not know of any
previous incidents involving a person
falling out of a Markley window.
Levy could not be reached for further
comment yesterday.
SARA SCHNECK/Dail
University Housing examined the windows at Mary Markley Residence Hall over the weekend to check their safety after LSA
first-year student Courtney Cantor died after falling from her window Oct. 16.
Lighting the way
Greeks recommit
to alcohol policies
By Yael Kohen
and Jaimie Winkler
Daily Staff Reporters
The University's Greek system presidents came
together Sunday night to discuss drinking and
alcohol policies.
Seven rules - some new, others revised -
resulted from the three-hour meeting, which
included input from Dave Westol, executive direc-
tor of Theta Chi's national office.
Westol spoke on risk management, reduction of
liability, member safety and the responsibility of
each chapter with respect to national policies.
Sunday's "meeting was an opportunity for the
presidents to get together, recommit and agree to
support each other," Westol said.
At the meeting, the presidents decided to moni-
ir Uh size of Greek parties, reduce the amount
and types of alcohol served and require registra-
tion of parties with the Social Responsibility
Committee.
The Greek community has created a task force
consisting of five sorority members and five fra-
ternity members to review the alcohol policy, said
Scott Henry, president of the Alpha Delta Phi
Fraternity chapter.
The task force will compile a comprehensive
report about drinking within the Greek communi-
ty, said Mary Gray, president of the Panhellenic
Association.
The Panhellenic representatives plan to vote on
the policy today because it cannot be enforced with-
out the approval of the Panhellenic Association.
Most of the rules discussed are reiterations of
existing policy. The meeting sought to create new
rules and reinforce the existing ones.
It's "not that they aren't being followed, but that
they need to be reinforced this semester," said
Gray, an LSA senior.
Bradley Holcman, president of the
Interfraternity Council, said he hopes there will be
a change in the University's drinking culture.
"Change needs to take place in our culture ... If
we don't change ourselves, someone is going to do
it for us," said Holcman, a Kinesiology senior.
He expects to meet with the presidents of frater-
nities and sororities three more times throughout
the semester.
"I was very impressed with the presidents and
their willingness to meet the challenge," Westol said.
Although the meeting emphasized the impor-
tance of working together to solve problems and
leading the campus to a more alcohol-safe envi-
See POLICY, Page 2
DAVID ROCNKIND/Daily
Holiday Lighting Service employee Tom Hey put holiday lighting on a tree on Main Street yesterday. The
company helps to brighten Southeastern Michigan for the winter holidays.
11' takes hard line against gambling
By Erin Holmes
Daily Staff Reporter
As point-shaving, fixed games and mone-
tary bets among college athletes become
more visible, the University said yesterday it
is not ready to take a gamble with the repu-
tation of its athletic program.
the midst of potential accusations
ainst the Northwestern University foot-
ball team, the Michigan Athletic
Department proposed a "zero tolerance"
policy regarding gambling in college athlet-
ics - a policy that would make it illegal for
athletes to make bets or be involved with
organized gambling.
"We're pretty much going to take a hard-line
stance," said Derrick Gragg, the University's
director of compliance.
*orthwestern currently is undergoing an
in stigation involving possible incidents of
fixed games during at least two football games
during the 1994 season that could result in
indictments.
The investigation follows two former
Northwestern basketball players admitting
earlier this year that they were involved in
"If you don't think it can happen here,
you've got your head in the sand"
A- Bruce Madej
Associate Athletic Director for Media Relations
Sex assault
survivors
s daVft,
speak out
By KamChopra
Daily Staff Reporter
Female University students spoke out about
their personal experiences with sexual assault
and against their violators last night.
The audience, somber at times, supported par-
ticipants, applauding each speaker and showing
their feelings through tears of their own.
The 12th annual "Speak Out," sponsored by
the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness
Center, aimed to create a supportive and safe
environment for women who have been abused.
More than 75 people attended the forum in
the Union Ballroom from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Sarah Heuser, training and educational coordi-
nator for SAPAC, said "Speak Out" gives women
the chance to free themselves from the pain of
their assaults through the support of others.
"The staff hopes people take away an
empowering experience about what it means to
survive," Heuser said.
SAPAC Director Virginia Chitanda made it
clear that all members of the audience were
important in the night's activities while stress-
ing a need to end silence about abuse.
"We are all participants, if we wish to speak or
not," Chitanda said. "We are breaking the bond of
silence that has surrounded us for far too long."
Women were given three options upon their
decision to speak. Some participants chose to
speak at the media microphone, where their expe-
riences could be shared with the general public.
Many decided to use the non-media microphone
tant to realize that gambling is a national issue,
and the University could also be at risk.
"You have to make it known locally and do
something to get out in front of it," Goss said
this summer, when he initially proposed the
idea of a no-tolerance policy.
The policy, which stemmed from
researching the measures taken by other
colleges to stop illegal gambling, was part
of a hand-out at a conference held Sunday
and yesterday that played host to more than
500 student athletes, coaches and assis-
tants.
"Some schools do these policies as reac-
tionary measures," Gragg said, adding that
because the Northwestern incident hit so close
to home, it made the situation more real.
"We're trying to be proactive."
Athletic Director for Media Relations Bruce
Madej.
"All you can do is make (athletes) aware
of the problem, show them how they can get
involved and show them how to not be
involved," Madej said, adding that after the
University adopts such strict measures, it
would be hard to imagined any athlete
attempting to bet or gamble.
"People think it is just a casual, now-and-
then thing," Madej said. "It's not - it's a big
business. We're talking about true organized
crime."
The Athletic Department also brought in
Michael Franzese, a man considered one of the
top mobsters in New York in the '70s and '80s
who dealt with professional and college ath-
letes fixing games and damaging careers,
LOUIS BROWN/Daily
Audrey Warren, a New Orleans native, reads
poetry about rape at the SAPAC Speak Out at
the Michigan Union Ballroom last night.
Some of survivors relayed their frightening
experiences, while others talked about the jour-
ney they endured to reclaim their lives.
One of the women who used the media
microphone named her assaulter and comment-
ed that she felt the University was unable to
deal with the situation properly.
"My assailant, Jason Brooks, remains in uni-
form," she said of the Michigan football player.
"How is my offender given hero status on a
nationally recognized football program while
my assault will never be erased from my heart
and my life?"
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