C ig' *ar mMN... s --. veatner Today: cloudy. igh 44. Low 25. Fomorrow: Mostly cloudy. Nigh 44. One hundred eight years ofeditori l freedom Wednesday February 17, 1999 wnv WOWMIM a Law firr By Jaimie Winkier Daily Staff Reporter Team oJ Behind all of the University statements of intents, quotes from offi- cial spokespeople and stacks of legal documents is a team of lawyers dedicated to halting an attack on the University's use of race in its admissions process. Based in Washington, D.C., the law firm Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering is the hidden force behind the University's defense of challenges made to the University's Law School and College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Three white applicants targeted the two schools in separate lawsuits, all claiming they had been unfair- ly evaluated in the admissions process because race had been used as a factor. In October 1997, the Center for Individual Rights filed one lawsuit on behalf of undergraduate appli- cants Jennifer Gratz and Patrick Hamacher. CIR then filed a second suit on behalf of Law applicant Barbara Grutter in December 1997. WCP was founded in 1962 and now employs more defends ' °6 lawyers plans defense ted to defending University's ability to affirmative action in the use its than 250 lawyers, supported by more than 600 staff members. WCP partners Jane Sherburne and John Payton are leading WCP's team of six lawyers to defend the University in the two lawsuits. The team works along with Detroit firm Butzel Long to defend the University in the two affirmative action cases. CIR, which is also based out of Washington, D.C., is heading the plaintiffs' case. CIR is well-known by many for its victory in Hopwood v. the State of Texas. Hopwood barred Texas public colleges and uni- versities from using race in their admissions prac- tices. With less media attention, WCP lawyers said their firm's background, including a number of civil rights cases involving affirmative action, is often over- looked. "You couldn't find a team of people more commit- admissions," Sherburne said. In 1989, Payton argued for the City of Richmond, Va., in front of the Supreme Court in Richmond i. JA. Croson Co. The City of Richmond had adopted a plan to give more of the city's construction contracts to minority businesses. Cases such as Croson brought Payton and WCP to the attention of University President Lee Bollinger, who decided what law firm should represent the University. "I wanted someone, a firm, who was really first- rate to provide legal advice and counsel, and also attorneys who were deeply knowledgeable about the area," Bollinger said, adding that he immediately thought of WCP. Payton, Bollinger said, is a nationally recognized civil rights lawyer. "It's his area of law,' Bollinger said. See LAWSUITS, Page 7 DANA LINNANE/Daily University President Lee Bollinger discusses the future role of universities In society and technology yesterday at the Rackham Amphitheater. e 1 T IU IS S,,:;, Panel discusses &iiversities' role By Marta Brill Daily Staff Reporter To kick off a series of lectures devoted to the "Future of the Research Institution," a panel of university presidents engaged in a discussion yesterday afternoon at ackham Amphitheater to address e role of universities as the world faces societal and technological changes. The panelists included University President Lee Bollinger, University of Phoenix President Jorge Klor de Alva and American Association of Universities President Nils Hasselmo. Hasselmo is also a for- mer president of the University of Minnesota. . "As we head into a new millen- nium, it seems only fitting that, as a university community, we begin to question our place and role in what lies ahead. Are we keeping pace with the times and being responsive to the needs of higher education and society?" Rackham Dean Earl Lewis said in a written statement. Klor de Alva began the discus- sion by questioning the goals of education. The emphasis of higher education, he said, has shifted from traditional learning to professional training. "Clearly, we are seeing a blurring between training and education," Klor de Alva said, adding that the average student is increasingly older and taking classes while holding a full-time job. These students, he said, often don't want to pay extra fees - such as funding for athletic complexes - that do not directly impact their edu- cation. "They want convenience. They want efficiency. They want cost-effective education," Klor de Alva said. Klor de Alva praised the bene- fits of long distance learning via the Internet. The University of Phoenix, where Klor de Alva is See PANEL, Page 7 Pick a peck of paczki - i X rf LOUIS BROWN/Daily University Alum Dave Flesher selects a box of paczki yesterday at Busch's Valu Land grocery store. Paczki are Polish doughnuts sold the day before Ash Wednesday each year. LSA to add -add sign langage; ldl ids class in fall, By Michael GBrass Daily Staff Reporter Rachel Arfa describes the past three years of her life as a journey. In the pursuit of having an American Sign Language course added to the College of Literature, Sciences and the Arts cur- riculum, the hearing-impaired LSA junior and others have focused their time on many meetings and countless inquiries - yet their goal of'an ASL class has not materialized into the four-semester course they had originally hoped for. "Everyone (at the University) tells us how much they love this project, but when it comes to commitment and the bot- tom line - those words mean next to nothing, said LSA senior Ryan Friedrichs, a former Michigan Student Assembly representative worked with Arfa during the past three years to propose the formation of an ASL class. Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Robert Owen said a pilot ASL class will be hosted by the linguistics department this fall. "I am hopeful that it will grow into a four semester sequence of ASL plus a culture course, however, we need to gauge student interest based on what happens next fall," said Owen, who took on the associate dean position last fall. With the new pilot course, Arfa said she hopes University students will gain a greater understanding of those with hear- ing impairments. "Everyone thinks that every (hearing-impaired) person knows sign language, Arfa said. In the fall of 1996, Arfa discovered the University did not offer an ASL course. She began talking with Friedrichs, who lived on her floor in East Quad Residence Hall, and together they decided to propose the addition of an ASL class to the current curriculum. The absence of an ASL course "amazed me and we began to find out how to make it happen'" Friedrichs said. A few months later, a proposal was created to house ASL within the Linguistics department, Friedrichs said. But in the fall of 1997, Lincoln Faller - at that time an associate LSA dean - turned down the proposal. University See ASL, Page 2 Budget draws criticism for jnison ii U Engler's proposed budget increases prison spending more than state university funding By Nick Bunkley Daily Staff Reporter Although Gov. John Engler last nth proclaimed Michigan's higher S ation system "the best in the coun- try" during his State of the State address, Engler's fiscal year 2000 bud- get recommendation has drawn criticism from some legislators who say the governor's budget ignores the growing needs of state colleges and uni- versities.1 Following the budget pmentation last Thursday, R Hubert Price (D- Budget1 Pontiac) confronted State Budget Director Mary Lannoye about a discrepancy he saw between spending on higher education and state prisons. "I'm having trouble reconciling how (Engler) can say that education is the number one priority with the dollar amounts," Price said yesterday. Price and other legislators have 4ted at the proposed 4 percent over- all increase for colleges and universities in comparison to an 8.6 percent funding hike for the Department of Corrections. "We have consistently, for the last 10-15 years, given corrections a blank check," Price said. icrease "There's no relevance other than the fact that they're part of the general fund budget" Davis said. "If the only thing spent on the educa- tion of college students was represented by that amount in the general fund bud- get, then they would be comparable,"he said. Sen. John Schwarz (R-Battle Creek), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Colleges and Universities, said the inflated correc- tions costs result from a system that has grown too large, too fast. "The corrections system igan can't continue to grow at this rate," Schwarz said. "The incarceration rate in this country is a disgrace." Schwarz cited past bud- get figures to support his argument. oposal "Just a few years ago the Department of Corrections took 9.2 percent of the gen- eral fund budget," Schwarz said, adding that he expects this year's amount to be almost twice that much. Davis said the proposed corrections spending is required to fund a depart- ment that oversees the state's 44,000 prisoners and overall as many offenders as an average Michigan Stadium crowd of 111,000. Prisons have expenditures that edu- cational institutions do not, he said. "The state doesn't clothe students," Davis said. "The state doesn't feed stu- dents or provide 24-hour security and MSA debates Day of ActiEon, tuition By Jewel Gopwani Daily Staff Reporter Of the several issues brought before the Michigan Student Assembly last night, two ensued heated discussion. LSA Rep. Erica Dowdell originally proposed a freeze on tuition hikes at the University. The resolution called for MSA members to "peacefully rally at the Fleming administration building" to sup- port the freeze.. Communications Chair Joe Bernstein's motion to remove the clause that calls for a rally sparked debate among assembly members. "The best approach we can take to accomplish things is to work with administration ... to look into ways to keep tuition low," Bernstein said. But Music Rep. Gabriel Regentin argued in favor of the rally. "The rally is in because the administration needs to see that there are students that really care about this'" he said. The assembly amended the resolution to remove the questionable clause. But in the end, MSA voted the resolution down. IA rA Tr-, neR m m ia ssaid Vice President Sarah Chopp said she disapproved of the assembly's decision not to act on the issue. "I'm shocked and disgusted that our response is complete inaction;" she said. Chopp added that she would begin work on a draft of a new res- olution regarding a tuition freeze. Also debated at last night's MSA meet- ing was the enactment of a resolution passed Dec. 8 that called for MSA to sup- port the Student and Youth Nation Day of Action in Defense of Affirmative Action on Feb. 24. Engineering Rep. Dave Burden called for the resolution to be reconsidered because - according to fliers distributed by members of United for Affirmative Action - the Day of Action's goal is to defeat an anti-affirmative action ballot initiative for November of 2000. Burden said the assembly did not know about the Day's events to defeat the ballot initiative. Also adding to the controversy is the legality of indirectly taking a stance on a ballot initiative by supporting the Day of Action "Recause MSA is a nart of the DARBY FRIEDLIS/Da Michigan Student Assembly LSA Rep. Mwanaisha Sims voices her opinion on the proposed tuition freeze at last night's assembly meeting. Members of the Defend Affirmative Action Party questioned whether recon- sideration was allowed underparliamen- tary procedure. "The motion was out of order" Dowdell said. "It said if you start acting upon a resolution you already voted on, you cannot reconsider it." MSA President Trent Thompson ruled that the motion for reconsideration was not out of order. The assembly voted not to support the "I have been trying so hard to get the assembly to trust each other," Thompson said. "When those flyers were put out that trust was broken;' he added. Last night the assembly also passed a resolution with consent to conduct forums on Affirmative Action. The series of events would be similar to MSA's Affirmative Action 101 Symposium held in fall of 1997.