One hundred nine years ofeditorialfreedom Uni NEWS: 76-DAILY CLASSIFIED: 764y0557 wwwmichigandally.com Friday February 18, 2000 I r k ' '; uCi f R+ ^ C'r vry 1P \ "\ 1' \ , P L IY"rN\ . N+ lQ'9 1" h'l % w , w a \ ... ,+2 ° .! a s r "" a "v ? svej i@ z : r a > 'z1 t pr Crxi 'Tl<'w ayx.w..U\ r z' f d i °a Societies, VP to meet; Sharpton to jisit Union By Robert Gold Daily Staff Reporter Feel the pain I Students set meeting tone By Anna Clark Daily Staff Reporter Interim Vice President for Student Affairs E. Royster Harper said she hopes to meet with members of the Tower societies and the Students of Color Coalition today -- just one day fore Reverend Al Sharpton is sched- d to arrive on campus to show his support for the SCC's occupation of the seventh floor of the Michigan Union. Members of Michigamua, Vulcans, and Phoenix - the three societies that use the Union tower for meeting space confirmed their plans to meet Harper. SCC spokeman Joe Reilly said the group is considering the offer. "Wednesday night, I forwarded to all the groups a proposal of what the logue would look like," Harper Md. Harper declined to discuss the content of her proposal. After receiving feedback from the groups, Harper said she invited them to come to a meeting with their own proposed strategies for solutions. "The whole point is to get people moving." Michigamua spokesman Nick Delga- do, an LSA senior, said Harper's note was a positive step towards a solution. *'Michigamua is impressed with the administration making proactive moves," Delgado said. Reilly said the coalition received a copy of Harper's plan and is "taking it under consideration." Yesterday, Michigamua members sent Harper a list of recommendations for future utilization of the Union's seventh floor. The group also distrib- uted its suggestions at yesterday's Uni- sity Board of Regent's meeting. Michigarima's proposal requests that members of SCC end its occupation of the seventh floor. It also asks for a dia- logue to occur between members of the Native American community and mem- bers of Michigamua, as well as a com- plete restructuring of Michigamua's meeting space "so it has no resem- blance to any offensive structure." Harper said she had no comment *ut Michigamua's proposal. Second-year engineering graduate student Binh Tram, a member of Vul- cans, confirmed that the group will meet with Harper tomorrow. Engineering senior Jon Malkovich, a member of both Vulcans and Phoenix, said representatives from Phoenix will also attend. "We did receive Royster's proposal and are currently evaluating it and p obably will have suggestions," kovich said. While Harper attempts to initiate dialogue, Rev. Al Sharpton is expected to voice his support for the SCC in a visit to campus this weekend. Sharpton was "called to be a sup- porting outside force," SCC press and government liaison Farah Mongeau said. "IHe is not a negotiator." Sharpton, a civil rights activist from *Na tional Action Network, is sched- tspeak to the public at 7:30 p.m. in the Anderson Room of the Union, Mongeau said adding that Sharpton is expected to speak to SCC members before his public talk. "A lot of people on campus are criti- cizing us, but if the administration was doing their job, we would not have to be bringing in anybody," she said. Delgado said his group does not object to Sharpton's visit. *The reverend is going to bring some national coverage," Delgado said. "If the reverend can bring some closure to this, we look forward (to his visit). We think the reverend can put some fire into this," he said. Harper said yesterday that no one has contacted her about Sharpton's visit. Harper said that the decision about the SCC's occupation of the seventh * r of the Union and the future of higamua must be made by the SCC, the three tower societies, admin- istrators and the community - not an outside influence. "I don't believe external forces can fundamentally change internal work," Harper said. Reilly said SCC is not relying on With an unusually strong student presence at the University Board of Regents meeting yesterday, the regents received input on many issues affecting campus. From Michigan Student Assembly members interested in expressing their views about the Code of Student Conduct to students representing the two sit-in demonstrations on campus, more than 30 students crammed the Regents Room in the Flem- ing Administration Building yesterday afternoon. MSA President Bram Elias and MSA Student Rights Commission Chairman Abe Rafi brought their proposed amendments to the Code before the regents for discussion. Rafi said the general theory behind the pro- posed amendments, which MSA recently approved unanimously, was to make the Code more "University inclusive." "The students need to be more of a focus," Rafi said. Elias pointed out that it is difficult for students to use the Code if they have concerns about fac- ulty behavior. "As it stands now, faculty and staff can easily charge a student under the Code, but it's complicated and difficult for'a student to charge a faculty or staff member." University President Lee Bollinger said he had doubts over how crucial the issue was. "I don't know of any requests for ways to address the misconduct of faculty-staff," he said. "We simply haven't encountered such claims." Elias and Rafi also said they wanted to increase student knowledge about the Code, make the Code procedures more public and separate Code reper- cussions from civil and criminal penalties. Elias and Rafi said a meeting is scheduled between MSA and the Senate Assembly Committee on University Affair's Civil Liberties Board today to DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily Michigamua spokesman Nick Delgado addresses the University Board of Regents at its meeting yesterday in the Fleming Administration Building. discuss formalizing the proposed amendments to the Code to officially bring before the regents. Elias said the CLB has examined possible changes to the Code as well. "It seems that MSA and SACUA's CLB, working separately, thought along the same lines," Elias said. The regents commended the students for their work and input on the issue. "You should feel very good about our questions and discussion," Regent Andrea Fischer Newman (R-Ann Arbor) told Elias and Rafi. "It shows we're interested in working with you on this." Numerous students utilized the public com- ments section of the meeting to address major issues currently affecting campus, including Stu- dents Organizing for Labor and Economic Equal- ity's occupation of LSA Dean Shirley Neuman's office and the Students of Color Coalition's seizure of the Michigamua meeting space on the seventh floor of the Michigan Union. Bollinger initiated public comments by reading an official statement concerning Michigamua. See REGENTS, Page 2 DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily Ann Arbor resident Mike Bycroft gets his first tattoo from Suzanne Fauser at Creative Tattoo on East Liberty Street. Fauser has been a tattoo artist in Ann Arbor for 21 years. ' may raze Frieze Bu1ding By Jeannie Baumann Daily Staff Reporter The Frieze Building, which houses Univer- sity academic departments including Com- munication Studies, Film/Video Studies and the department of Theatre and Drama, may be replaced. "The question that we're trying to think through is whether LSA would be better served by replacing the Frieze Building with an effective facility for faculty and students," University Chief Financial Officer Robert Kasdin said. Kasdin said although he and LSA Dean Shirley Neuman have made no commitments to replacing the building and any possible renovations or replacements are still in the speculatory stage, the idea is being consid- ered. During yesterday's meeting of the Universi- ty Board of Regents, Kasdin said the building currently has a 48 percent utilization rate. "It's an inefficient building,"he said., The University purchased the building in 1956 for $1.4 million. It formerly served as the Ann Arbor High School. Kasdin said the University originally had plans to renovate the Frieze Building in 1996 after the administration submitted its funding requests to the state. He said the state agreed to invest $28 million into the Frieze Building, and four other buildings: the LSA Building, the Perry Building, West Hall and the Mason/Haven complex. But Kasdin said the state decided to post- pone renovation to Frieze "for reasons of cash flow." "The state agreed to the terms on all these buildings, minus the Frieze Building. But they still agreed to spend $28 million in Frieze to this day," he said. Communication Studies Department Chair- man Mike Traugott said it was "good news to hear that we're back on the list" for renova- tions. "The building is quite inadequate because to host a department of communication stud- ies and film and video studies that doesn't have cable access is inadequate for teaching and research purposes," he said. Traugott said the Communications Studies department set aside funds to install an anten- na to the building, but the local cable compa- ny said it could not provide the service. "We need these kinds of resources for classroom use, research and other educational purposes," he said. Film and Video Studies Prof. Frank Beaver, who has taught in the building since 1969, said renovations are an issue of safety as well as aesthetics. See FRIEZE, Page 2 DANNY KALICK/Daily The University is considering replacement of the Frieze Building, which served as Ann Arbor High School until 1956. Sweatshop protests draw attention SOLE InttSwith meets wit Bolinger By Jen Fish Daily Staff Reporter As the occupation of LSA Dean Shirley Neuman's office heads into its third day, members of the Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality remain disap- U Wsconsin protesters halted campus cops By David Den Herder and acob Wheeler Daily Staff Reporters For sale: * Protesters put the LSA Dean's office up for sale on the internet auction site eBay, garnering a bid of $5,200. For the complete story, see page 7. pointed by what they characterize as a "perfect example of the U of M ignoring students," said pro- tester Rachel Edel- man, an LSA junior. About 20 members of the anti-sweatshop organization seized the dean's office Wednesday morning DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily LSA freshman Zack Schulman and LSA junior Mariah Cherem read newspaper reports about sweatshop sit-ins across the country during their occupation of the LSA Dean's office yesterday. MADISON, Wisc. - While anti-sweatshop activists in Ann Arbor stormed the office of LSA Dean Shirley Neu- man on Wednesday without any police resistance, Wiscon- sin campus police officers used pepper spray to deter protesters from storming the Bascom Hall office of Uni- versity of Wisconsin at Madison Chancellor David Ward. Campus police, who were dispatched before the protest began Wednesday afternoon, prevented the students from occupying Ward's inner office, but sweatshop protesters remain camped in the president's reception area and in the Bascom foyer. The student occupiers said they do not plan to leave the office until Ward meets their seven core terms. Ward agreed Wednesday to disaffiliate the university from the Fair Labor Association, a White House-spon- sored coalition of human rights groups and corporations to monitor labor conditions in that collegiate apparel industry. Bollinger reiterated his unwillingness to sign onto the WRC without more time to study the policy. doesn't matter if I read it or not." After the meeting Bollinger said he shares the students' concerns. He said accusations I