it,, Alff ARM til- News: 76-DAILY Display Ads: 764-0554 Classified Ads: 764-0557 One hundred eigh/t years of editoralfreedom Wednesday October 28, 1998 - ~ .'.e, Secret societies pressed to go co-ed By Katie Plona Daily Staff Reprter Years of collegiate tradition may come to an end next year, when two of the campus' gender- exclusive "secret" honor societies will have to lude both men and women among their ranks. Frank Cianciola, assistant dean of students, said he and Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen Hartford recently told members of the all-male Michigamua and the all-female Adara that their exclusive membership practices violate the gender equity clause of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, more commonly known as Title IX. Although the co-ed umbrella group The University of Michigan Tower Society has linked the two organizations since 1979, Cianciola said I separate groups' single-sex memberships - w ich include only seniors - do not comply with federal laws. We "asked them to examine their membership practices and to work toward some alignment for ... the following class'" Cianciola said. "They're supposed to come back to us with their proposed solution." Michigamua spokesperson Joe Taylor, an LSA senior, said the group still is trying to under- stand its options under Title IX. "We're just trying to make the right decision, whatever that means," Taylor said. Taylor said the group may decide to admit female members to continue the group's official ties with the University or may remain all-male and sever its relationship with the University. This would force it to move out of its nearly 100-year- old secret room in the Michigan Union Tower. Adara's spokesperson could not be reached for comment. Each year, both groups select about 25 male and female University juniors, each, who have been nominated by current members for their achievements and service to the University and the campus community. The members pull stu- dents from various organizations, activities and athletic teams on campus. Michigamua was founded in 1902. Nearly 80 years later in 1980, Adam was born in response to the demands of several women to either include women in Michigamua or form a women's orga- nization that mirrored it in structure and purpose. The purpose of the Tower Society is to foster friendships, maintain relations with the University and provide a mentor network, among other objec- tives, according to Tower Society documents. Whatever Michigamua decides, Taylor said, the situation is a difficult one for several reasons. This year's members carry the weight of past tradition and future direction. But Taylor said they already have begun consulting with the group's alumni and they are exploring all options with University administrators. "Being an all-male group is a lot of what we are," he said. Cianciola said administrators have discussed the gender compliance problem with Michigamua and Adana members in the past, but the exclusive memberships have not changed. Cianciola said if the groups fail to meet Title IX compliance standards this year, they will face consequences. "Their association with the University will dis- continue," he said. This is not the first time the secret societies have faced gender equity problems. In 1979, at the same time the group of women were trying to form their own group, Michigamua faced a Title IX compliance problem. To appease all three groups - Michigamua, the women and the University - the Tower Society was formed as an umbrella organization. Because the two groups are officially separate organizations, Cianciola said they do indeed vio- late Title IX, despite the Tower Society unification. Taylor said he could not comment on many specifics about the Tower Society, including when the group meets and what other members are in the organization. "The reason we call ourselves a secret society is because we don't advertise what we do," Taylor said, adding, however, that it does outreach pro- jects in the community. Both parties stress 'U' funding By Mike Spahn Daily Staff Reporter The struggle for the almighty dollar a constant pressure for most in life, the University is no exception to the rule. From student aid to faculty retention, money proves important in every function of the University. As a result, the fight for the state appropriation is an annual battle, pit- ting University administrators hoping to improve their schools with state funds, against frugal legislators, who hope to spread the wealth and please all constituents. #unding for higher education has ucome an increasingly important issue during this campaign, with candidates trading ideas and attacks about how best to use the state's money. While no candidate has advocated a decrease in college and university funding, they have not yet come to a consensus on the best course of action. Republican Gov. John Engler said he plans to keep education his top priority e returns to Lansing. While marked by continuing increases in higher edu- cation funding, Engler's administration has been criticized for low appropria- RM FjRjDEBAT RC revokes offer to name room for Cohen By Erin Holmes Daily Staff Reporter A room by any other name may not be as sweet. Less than one month before the offi- cial ceremony to consecrate a room in East Quad the "Carl Cohen Reading Room" after RC Prof. Carl Cohen, the naming was revoked due to University Housing Division policies. The decision to pull Cohen's name off the door of the room has created com- motion among some who feel Cohen's political stances played a role in the decision. Much of the contention surrounding the naming of the room stems from Cohen's role in two current lawsuits attacking the University's admission pro- cedures in the Law School and College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Cohen, a distinguished faculty mem- ber and founder of the Residential College, has openly opposed some of the University's admission policies - pri- marily what he calls race-based prefer- ences. In a statement issued to students and faculty, RC Director Thomas Weisskopf admitted that Cohen's views on University race-based admission policies are "opposed not only to those of the UM Administration but to those of the great majority of faculty and alumnae of the Residential College." But Weisskopf maintained that Cohen's political opinions were not a factor, and said the decision resulted from Housing and Development con- cerns. "There are two key issues here," Weisskopf said. "One is the issue of the fundraising and the other is the issue of Housing's possessions of the room. Both raised major concerns." The decision to name the room after Cohen, Weisskopf said, was generated from a donation for the purpose from an Plan set for move from Fleming By Erin Holmes and Katie Plona Daily Staff Reporters Only a little more than a year after his inauguration as University president, Lee Bollinger is getting ready for a big move - out of the Fleming Administration Building and into Angell Hall. Although Bollinger and his team have come up with a workable plan, the actual move will not occur until at least 2000. The move will put him in the same building where faculty teach and students study and he will be just a few minutes closer to the heart of campus and his own South University Avenue house. "1 think the administration should be more centrally located," Bollinger said, adding that the move has the potential to be "very complicated." Architectural plans are still in the works, but the bot- tom two floors of Angell Hall, which now house the College of Literature, Science and the Arts' administra- tion offices, will become central administration space. This area occupies the basement and first floor of the building's north wing. In his first public speech as University president in March 1997, Bollinger announced his intention to move out of the Fleming Building and into what he described in a recent e-mail message to faculty and administrators as "somewhat friendlier and more accessible quarters." Bollinger said it is too early in the planning stages to say which top administrators will move with him into Angell Hall. When Bollinger moves into their space, the LSA administration offices will displace the anthropology and statistics departments in the LSA Building and those departments will make a long-needed move. The move of the LSA administration offices will "lead us to solve the long-standing problems of finding better space for our academic departments of anthropol- ogy and statistics," Bollinger said in the e-mail message. Physiology Prof. Louis D'Alecy, a former chair of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, said he thinks faculty members will literally take advantage of Bollinger's new location. Unlike the Fleming Administration Building, which is not very approachable with its fortress-like exterior, Angell Hall is more accessible, D'Alecy said. "I think this will benefit the dynamics of the faculty and administration relationship," he said. Michigan Student Assembly President Trent Thompson, an LSA junior, said he hopes Bollinger's cen- tral campus location will give students more opportuni- ties to have direct contact with him, through office See ANGELL, Page 2 tion propos- als. "I signed all of those budgets, so I did sup- port them," Engler said he many budgets that have aug- Part seven of an eight- U~~ sees li~mw~r L mented his suggestion. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Geoffrey Fieger, the self-proclaimed "greatest supporter of education there is," said he will do what it takes to maintain high levels of funding for the university, which should then aid in the jtrol of tuition increases. Wvery year, the governor submits the proposed budget to the Appropriations Committee of each house. The commit- tees then look into the proposal and tin- ker with its make-up. Last year, Engler proposed a 1.5 per- cent increase for all colleges and uni- versities, which was immediately assailed by members of the commit- tees. The house eventually settled on a 3-percent increase, which was less than t University wanted, said Associate Ue President for Government Relations Cynthia Wilbanks. Early this month Democratic Regent candidate David Brandon and Regent Dan Horning (R-Grand Haven) said Fieger's proposal to eliminate the sin- gle-business tax would cripple the state's ability to fund higher education. "I can't imagine what Geoffrey Fieger is thinking when lopping off h a big chunk" of the general fund, andon said. The 32 percent reduction in the general fund the regents project- ed could cause a 20 percent or more increase in tuition, Horning said. "Continuity in the governor's man- sion will help a lot more than the crazy proposal Geoff Fieger is talking about," JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily RC first-year student Ben Daniels stules in the new reading room in East Quad Residence Hall yesterday. The room was to be named the "Carl Cohen Reading Room." anonymous source. Because the donation was not enough to meet the University's minimum amount for naming a room, further fund-raising efforts were made through LSA. Recently, these fund-raising measures were found to be in violation of naming procedures. Most importantly, Weisskopf said, the reading room belongs to University Housing, which has its own naming pro- cedure that gives students the opportuni- ty to be directly involved. See ROOM, Page 7 Candidates face off on issues Affirmative action and health care come to forefront in debate By Josh Kroot Daily Staff Writer Mudslinging, personal attacks and trucks driving through Ann Arbor blasting Tom Petty hits have charac- terized some of the political atmos- phere leading up to the Nov. 3 elec- tion. Although somewhat overshadowed by the recent antics of the state's lead- ing gubernatorial candidates, the race for the 13th congressional district seat in the U.S. House of Representatives also has been tumul- tuous. Last night's debate between incum- Clinton scandal was discussed briefly, as was physician- assisted suicide. The debate, held in the Michigan Union, was co-sponsored _ by Michigan Student Assembly and Voice Your Vote, a non-partisan stu- dent organization dedicated to getting students to the polls. Rivers, who was elected to her first term four years ago, repeatedly stressed the record she has compiled in that time. "I have delivered on my promises," she said. Rivers is pro-choice and pro-affir- mative action. She supports the option of physician-assisted suicide, though she said she is ambivalent about Proposal B, which would legal- ize physician-assisted suicide in the state of Michigan. She said she believes the proposal would entangle In stark contrast to Rivers' liberal views, Hickey is a staunch conserva- tive. He is pro-life on the abortion issue and is opposed to the option of physician-assisted suicide. He said he believes affirmative action needs "modifications," and that job opportunities and university admissions should not take race into consideration. "We should work for a colorless society," he said. Hickey is the founder and president of MediQuest Inc., a company that distributes medical supplies. During much of the debate, he focused on the fact that he has never run for public office before. "I would be a fresh voice in Washington," he said. Hickey railed against "drug thugs" and gang mem- bers. "We need to throw the book at i