One hundred nine years offeditoralfreedom
r
fit,
NEWS: 76-DAILY
CLASSIFIED: 764-0557
www.michigandally.com
Thursday
February 10, 2000
1 d _ tt
- . A'M' 9 i
I
* Bollinger
holds off
endorsing
WRC
® U. Pennsylvania
students continue their
sit-in at the president's
office
By Jon Fish
Daily Staff Reporter
Members of Students Organizing
*or Labor and Economic Equality
are regrouping after University
President Lee Bollinger chose not
to endorse the Worker Rights .Con-
sortium labor policy yesterday.
The WRC is a student-developed
policy designed to enforce colle-
giate labor codes.
After introducing the WRC in
October, SOLE members have been
working with the University Advi-
ory Committee on Labor Stan-
dards and Human Rights to study
the document. SOLE has criticized
the committee, saying the group
has taken too much time to study
and consider the 11-page docu-
ment.
On Jan. 18, SOLE members
stormed an open forum hosted by
the committee and demanded
immediate action on the WRC.
* SOLE imposed a deadline of Feb.
2 for Bollinger to decide on the
WRC, but this was delayed by
Bollinger's absence from campus
due to the flooding of his home in
Vermont. Before yesterday's meet-
ing, SOLE members were opti-
mistic that Bollinger would endorse
the WRC.
SOLE members expressed
extreme disappointment at
ollinger's decision.
At the meeting, they proposed a
compromise to Bollinger that
would have the University join the
WRC on a provisional basis. The
plan was turned down.
Bollinger "said he wants to con-
tinue to study the document,"
SOLE member Lee Palmer said.
Palmer and fellow SOLE member
achel Edelman called the decision
nd example of how "undemocrat-
ic" the University has become.
"This decision shows how unre-
sponsive universities, including this
one, are to student concerns," Edel-
man said. "We've garnered a lot of
support that has been ignored."
Bollinger could not be reached
for comment last night.
The University is the second
institution to decline membership
the WRC in a week. University
Wisconsin at Madison Chancel-
lor David Ward decided to keep its
association with the Fair Labor
Association. The FLA is a White
House-sponsored plan that has been
criticized by student activists as
biased to corporations.
Students at the University of
Pennsylvania continue their occu-
pation of Pennsylvania President
Odith Rodin's office. Penn Stu-
dents Against Sweatshops stormed
the office at noon Monday demand-
ing Penn drop the FLA and join the
WRC.
PSAS member Anna Roberts
called the University of Michigan's
refusal to join the WRC "very dis-
appointing." Penn's administration
has set up a committee to study the
feasibility of implementing the
WRC.
In a written statement released
today, Rodin said, "I have asked the
Ad-Hoc Committee on Sweatshop
Labor to dramatically accelerate its
work so that I can make an
informed and prompt decision on
which organization, or organiza-
tions, Penn should join in order to
assure that our licensees meet fair
labor standards."
But PSAS insists that the com-
ittee is a stall tactic and they will
not leave Rodin's office until their
demands are met. They have met
with Rodin only once and have not
heard anything on the next meeting.
"It's frustrating and demoraliz-
mo-" said Roberts of the Universitv
Suit adds to
Crwford s
trouble"%s
By Mark Francescutti
Daily Sports Editor
Freshman basketball guard Jamal
Crawford took several gifts includ-
ing a Chevy Blazer and gold jewelry
from a family
friend, Barry
H enthorn
according to a
civil suit filed
last November by
Henthorn's for-
mer administra-
tive assistant,
Darcienne LeR-
oue.
The suit, out- Crawford
lined in yester-
day's Seattle Times, alleges that
Henthorn pushed LeRoue to cosign on
at least two loans to purchase the items
for Crawford.
The suit also contains an allegation
that she was forced to sign on the
loans to protect Henthorn from being
linked to Crawford, including "the real
purpose of the loans involving Mr.
Crawford was to evade or violate
NCAA rules and Washington state
laws."
Washington state has several laws
that deal with the conduct of sports
agents.
In a phone interview with The
Michigan Daily yesterday, Henthorn
denied that he is or intends to be a
sports agent or athletics booster.
"No, I am not into that," Henthorn
said.
Henthorn called the suit "frivo-
lous" and said LeRoue already filed
a previous case against him - one
that he said he won. Henthorn said
his legal counsel advised him not to
get into specifics of the first or sec-
ond case.
"She's done this before, and we won
before," Henthorn said. "She's trying
to extort the situation and take advan-
tage of my relationship with Jamal.
There are frivolous lawsuits like this
one all across the country."
Crawford, who did not travel with
the team to last night's game at Illi-
nois, could not be reached for com-
ment.
See CRAWFORD, Page 7A
Meeting,
protest
addr1ess takeover
By Lindsey Alpert
and Robert Gold
Daily Staff Reporters
Eight individuals took control of
the top floors of the Union Sunday
protesting the secret society
Michigamua - but more than 250
showed up at a meeting between
the students dissatisfied with the
existence of the society and Uni-
versity administration.
Yesterday, while the members of
the Students of Color Coalition
occupying the tower led tours of
Michigamua's meeting space, a
counter protest began, on the steps
of the union and a meeting in the
Wedge Room of West Quad Resi-
dence Hall was held to address the
takeover and other racial issues.
At 4 p.m., a group of about 25
counterprotesters, including stu-
dents from Michigan Student
Assembly and alumni, stood on
the steps of the Union discussing
their views about the occupancy.
It's just an open discussion for
students to get together and discs
their opinions on this topic," said
LSA-SG Rep. John Carter, an
LSA freshman. "We just want to
let people know that there is
another opinion."
The counterprotesters said they
agreed with the ideals behind the
Students of Color Coalition
protest, but they were dissatisfied
with the manner in which the
protest was taking place.
"Whether or not it has been
more progressive to sit in that
office, it was wrong to infringe on
the rights of" Michigamua's mem-
bers, said MSA Rep. Matt Nolan,
an LSA freshman.
Counterprotesters also said they
thought Michigamua was being
punished for the past and that cur-
rent members have good intentions.
"If you look at the demograph-
ics in the group, the lead
spokesman is one of the main sup-
porters of the Latino community,"
Nolan said. "The group has a large
proportion of minority students."
The counterprotest also
addressed the MSA initiative sup-
porting the protesters in the tower,
which was passed by a 14-11 vote
with five representatives abstain-
ing, Nolan said.
"I voted against it primarily
because it stated we would meet
the demands of occupiers, and one
See PROTESTS, Page 2A
Report reveals.
medical mishaps
By Shabnam Daneshvar
Daily Staff Reporter
When patients put their health and
'hopes of recovery in the hands of med-
ical professionals, one of the most hor-
rendous and now pressing issues for
them to consider is the increasing fre-
quency of medical mistakes.
A recent report from the Institute of
Medicine spurred federal controversy
when it revealed an estimated 98,000
deaths each year due to medical
mishaps in hospitals throughout the
nation.
The institute reported that as many as
3,543 hospital patients die each year in
Michigan.
This statistic makes accidental med-
ical deaths the fifth most common cause
of death in the nation and has sent
health care providers across the country,
in Michigan and on campus scrambling
to improve the dismal numbers.
University Hospitals Chief Operating
Officer Lloyd Jacobs did not comment
on the specific numbers of mistakes or
trends within the University's health
care system, but he did admit in a writ-
ten statement that the University hospi-
tals and health centers are vulnerable to
the errors medical professionals can
make.
"We can't claim to be error-free, but
we have been working hard on this
issue since long before the Institute of
Medicine report came out," Jacobs
said.
David Fox, spokesman for the
Michigan State Medical Society, the
state branch of the American Med-
ical Association, said although the
report's estimations will implement
change, it will be a "long, long
process before any major changes
are made."
Government involvement and
investigation will prolong the improve-
ment process. Due to the Institute of
See MEDICAL, Page 2A
Photos by KIMITSU YOGACHI/Daly
TOP: Students gather on the steps of the
Michigan Union yesterday to counter-
protest the Union tower takeover.
ABOVE: Interim Vice President for
Student Affairs E. Royster Harper listens
to students' concerns yesterday.
Inside: Union's 'M' flag disappears. Page 3A.
M SU createsLGBT
minority s harship
Dive right in
By Jodie Kaufman
Daily Staff Reporter
Michigan State University recently announced
that it had a unique award - a scholarship for
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.
Little did they know the University of Michi-
gan has had one available since 1993, a fund
which now totals more than $100,000.
Founded in 1992, with an original nucleus of
15 people the Giay and Lesbian Alumni Society,
now has more than 300 members and is responsi-
bl ? for the creation of the ihr awards Ibr the
LG 1T community
unding m mber and Presiden f .the Univer-
sity's Gay and Lesbian Alumni Society Sally
Johnson said the group s goal "is to support the
gay, lesbian, hisea and transgender students on
campus improv the climat1 1nd our primary
goal was to establish a scholarship fund."
The Gay and Lesbian Alumni Society, which is
a central networking point for graduates orga-
nizes job hunting workshops and a career net-
working list of members from New York to
California who are willing to sneak to students
The generous educator in the Detroit commu-
nity was "very interested in supporting gay and
lesbian young people in Southeastern Michigan
and the Detroit area," Johnson said.
Michigan State alum Bill Beechler fnances the
scholarship. After Beechler received an award in
the LGBT community and spoke of his Michigan
State education, which he received on scholarship,
he decided to create a scholarship for LGBT stu-
dents at his alma matter, said Val Mejers, who is
the president of the Gay and Lesbian Faculty and
Staff Association and assistant director of Michi-
gan State's financial aid department.
Mejers said, "We hope to establish a full schol-
arship, but at this point we don't have the fund-
ing. I want to be optimistic and I hope it will only
take a couple of years."
The first scholarship of $500 will be awarded
in the fall of 2000.
The award is something which is applied for
by LGBT students and they are chosen based on
an essay and references as well as their work for
the LGBT community, Mejers said.
The office of financial aid administers the
award, and the Gay and Lesbian Faculty and Staff
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