1£ *rnt Weather Today: Partly cloudy. High 37. Tomorrow: Cloudy. High 39. Lc Low 7. ow 14. One hundred eight years of editonWlfreedom Monday February 22, 1999 _, _ .. :, . a1'rial dates change for lawsuits facing 'U' By Jaimie Winkler Daily Staff Reporter Detroit judges have pushed back the trial dates for both lawsuits challenging the University's use of race in admis- sions at the request of legal counsels on both sides. The University's attorneys and the 'laintiffs' legal team asked for additional e to complete the pre-trial discovery phase for both lawsuits, citing that the discovery of large amounts of informa- tion has warranted the push backs. Originally, the trials were scheduled to take place mid-summer. The lawsuit against the College of Literature. Science and the -,Arts, brought on by two white applicants Oct. Admissions 14, 1997, has on trial been resched- uled for September or October. The Law School suit, filed Dec. 3, 1997 on behalf of one white applicant, is scheduled for late August. "As the case nears the end of discov- ery - the period for gathering all the facts and opinions that either side will use to prove its case - it is not unusu- to have a status conference with the 7dge to see if the original schedule sill makes sense" University spokesperson Julie Peterson said, adding that the dis- covery process has taken longer than the judges expected. "It's a minor-scheduling issue," said Terry Pell, the lead attorney for the Center for Individual Rights, the Washington, D.C.-based law firm that filed the suits on the plaintiffs' behalves. Pell said the added time will be help- * to the lawyers because "it frees up everybody's schedules." The judge makes the final decision about an appropriate trial date, Pell said. Judges give adequate time "to permit the parties time to develop the issues;"'he said. "The court is not inclined to rush." Pell added that changes in trial dates are common because the courts cannot always predict how much time legal unsels will need to gain accurate and vincing information. "Both parties informed Judge (Patrick) Duggan that they believed more time was necessary to prepare the undergraduate case for trial," Peterson said. The University lawyers "asked Judge (Bernard) Friedman for a similar extension.' The rescheduling moves the opening of the trials from the University's sum- mer session to the fall semester, when most students will be back on campus er summer break. "These trials are going to take a lot of hard work whenever they are," Peterson said, adding that in terms of impact on staff and administrators she did not think the later date would not make a difference. Peterson said the LSA case, although filed first, is going to trial later because "different judges run their trial calen- Ars differently." Miranda Massie, the lawyer repre- senting a group of students who have tried unsuccessfully to intervene in the Law School lawsuit, speculated that since the LSA case involves a larger scope of students, it requires more preparation time. She also said the extra time in both cases allows the facts to develop fully. "From our perspective the more time there is for full development before the 1 the better because the full truth and full facts are on the side of affirma- tive action;" Massie said. "However, we are certain that the University will not put into the record absolutely necessary evidence of inequality in education and of bias in the admissions process as a whole," she added. Massie said she and the team of lawyers working on the LSA interven- tion are trying to speed up appeals to ervene made on behalf of two groups to the Sixth Circuit Court in Cincinnati, Ohio. The parties wishing to intervene are appealing Duggan's and Friedman's decision to deny them intervention sta- tus, which would give them the same rights as the defendants and plaintiffs. "We are aftemntina to exnedite our ------ ------------------- - ------ Vote shows inclination to strike By Nick Faizone Daily Staff Reporter Disappointed by a lack of movement in contract negotiations with the University, 77 percent of the Graduate Employees Organization's membership voted to authorize a strike or similar work action this weekend. GEO Chief Negotiator Eric Odier- Fink said while the result of the vote is open to interpretation, a three-to-one vote is quite a definitive statement that the GEO membership is unhappy with its current contract. But University Chief Negotiator Dan Gamble said he did not believe most GEO members were well informed about the University's proposals when they voted to authorize a strike. He sug- gested the GEO bargaining team might have presented the proposals negatively to the other members of the organiza- tion to garner support for strike autho- rization. Gamble added that since the GEO bargaining team has responded nega- tively to the University's proposals, he would not be surprised if they explained them in the same manner to the GEO membership. "I've heard from others that the way GEO explains the contract is to put our proposals in the worst possible light" Gamble said. "If they believe they would somehow get a better contract by doing that, I'm not sure that they're being fair to their membership." But GEO spokesperson Chip Smith said the GEO bargaining team is more than fair with its 1,600 mem- bers, giving the upcoming GEO membership meeting as an example of the union's democratic practices. See GEO, Page 7A Plymouth resident Brian Bieda drinks a cold beer last night at the Brown Jug located on South University Avenue with Eastern Michigan University student Ana Plein. MSUalcohol incidents prompt communityaction By Nick Bunkley licensees, asking for support. As of Friday, he said, about 2( Daily Staff Reporter had returned letters of support to the council Happy new year D In response to several highly-publicized incidents involv- ing alcohol at Michigan State University, owners of two East Lansing restaurants are forming a council aimed at curbing excessive drinking. "The goal is to discourage binge drinking among young people in this community" said Vaugh Schneider, owner of Small Planet Food and Spirit. "We're trying to say, 'drinking 'til you can't walk isn't cool."' The council, a joint effort of Schneider and Joe Bell of the Peanut Barrel Restaurant, will promote more responsible advertising of drink specials like $1 pitchers and quarter drafts. Their rationale is that students will drink less in one sitting if they have to pay. more, Schneider said, adding that slashed prices encourage "drinking to get drunk" "We're not saying they shouldn't run drink specials' Schneider said. "It's about encouraging the restaurants and bars to advertise responsibly." So far, their colleagues have been receptive. Schneider said the council sent information to all of East Lansing's liquor "We discussed the possibility of making this a county-wide thing;" Schneider said, to discourage students from being able to simply travel outside East Lansing to get cheap drinks. Many students choose to drink because "a lot of times it's cheaper to go to the bar rather than do something else on campus," said Geralyn Lasher, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Community Health. Alcohol problems have plagued the MSU campus this aca- demic year. The university's Greek system is currently under a 30-day self-imposed suspension of all social events. On Feb. 10, Detroit's WJBK television station showed hidden- camera footage of students who had admitted to drinking underage at an MSU fraternity house. Bradley McCue, a junior at MSU, died in November after celebrating his 21st birthday by drinking 24 shots in 90 min- utes. Rick's American Cafe in East Lansing, where McCue drank the night of his death, is serving a 30-day suspension for violating state liquor laws. See ALCOHOL, Page 7A SARA SCHENCK/Daily Members of the Ann Arbor Asian Martial Arts Studio perform the Chinese Lion Dance down Main Street on Saturday afternoon in honor of the Chinese New Year. SOLE members storm president's office By Michael Grass Daily Staff Reporter Twenty students crowded an elevator in the Fleming Administration Building on Friday with the intention of delivering a letter of ultimatum to University President Lee Bollinger. After a short meeting with three leaders of Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality, part of a larger national movement to address the issue of sweatshop labor in the colle- giate apparel industry, Bollinger and the students proceeded to the Regents' Room for a round-table discussion on the topic. "It needs immediate attention," LSA junior Organization pleased with response Andy Cornell told Bollinger at the meeting. The College Licensing Company - which han- dles contracts between manufacturers and 161 col- leges including the University -plans to produce a code banning unfair labor practices and substan- dard working conditions in the collegiate apparel industry. SOLE, along with its affiliate organizations at universities nationwide, has said the current code's language is not strong enough. The groups said the code needs to include full pub- lic disclosure of factory locations and owner- ship and also a "living wage" - a salary that allows employees to maintain their living costs. By the group's March 12 ultimatum deadline, SOLE representatives said they want the University to stand up for public disclosure and a living wage for laborers working for collegiate apparel manufacturers. "I really hope President Bollinger will take a stance on the living wage," said LSA junior Joe Sexaur, a SOLE organizer. SOLE's protest Friday follows sit-in strikes at Duke and Georgetown universities and at the University of Wisconsin's Madison cam- pus. "Public disclosure will make it worthwhile for companies to clean up conditions," Duke student Tico Almeida said. Almieda, a leader of Duke's Students Against Sweatshops, participated in a 30-hour sit-in at the Duke administration building in January. He said See SOLE, Page 7A 40 stage local prOtest for Kurds From staff and wire reporters Chanting "Free, free, Kurdistan" and "Stop killing Kurds," about 40 protesters marched along South State Street and through the Diag on Friday afternoon in an effort to heighten local awareness of con- flicts in Turkey between Kurds and Turks. "We're protesting the kidnapping of Ocalan," protester Zozek Khailany said. The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet renorted Fridav that the conntrv's Students, siblings enjoy Michigras By Yael Kohen Daily Staff Reporter Fun, food and games filled the Michigan Union on Friday night for the University Activities Center annual Michigras event. Packed with students and their sib- lings for "Siblings Weekend," the Union offered various activities such as karaoke, casino games, tarot readings, Velcro walls and other festivities for Mardi Gras. Although Michigras has given many students something to do with there younger siblings the event was held independently from Sibling's Weekend. "It just happened that it was on the same weekend," said UAC's Sneria Puents Committee Chair Committee co-Chair Marisa Brillhart, a Business senior. Many students said they were happy to have something to do with their younger siblings. "I'm glad they have things because I thought they'd have noth- ing to do," said Christine Racine, an LSA first-year student who brought her 10-year-old sister to Michigras. Racine said she had planned to hang out in her room with her sister all night. "It was really cool seeing everyone getting a kick out of it," Lamping said. Yet, despite huge turnout, organizers said they wished they had put more time and energy into organizing Michigrn DANA LINNANE/D§ity Kurdo Zebary and his son, Karzan Zebary lead the protest for Kurdish freedom on Friday. About 40 people joined the protest in the Diag. Ocalan in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. In Turkey's Kurdish southeast, protests over the arrest continued. Securitv forces on Fridav fired on the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party. Ecevit renewed surrender appeals Saturday to Ocalan's fiohters .akiny them to la down I i I