One hundred nine years ofeditonfreedom
Irnt
NEWS: 76-DAILY
CLASSIFIED: 764-0557
wwwmichigandaily.com
Thursday
March 30, 2000
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By Mark Francescutti
Daily Sports Editor
After a season that saw the Michigan basket-
ball program deal with on- and off-the-court
adversity once again, Brian Ellerbe will return as
head coach of the Wolverines next season.
Michigan interim Athletic Director Bill Martin
called an informal news conference to quell the
rumors about Ellerbe's status, but he did not
guarantee that Ellerbe's job security will continue
beyond the next season.
"I want to clear the air about the Michigan bas-
ketball program - Brian Ellerbe is our coach,
and he'll be our coach next year," Martin said.
The rumors are "not fair to Brian, to Michigan
and to our recruits."
Ellerbe is 52-42 overall after three years as
head coach, including one season with interim
status. He has four years left on his $450,000-
per-year contract.
Michigan finished eighth in the Big Ten with a
15-14 overall record. But the Wolverines lost 12
of their last 15 games, including a first-round
NIT loss to Notre Dame.
Martin's announcement comes three weeks
after he took his post as interim athletic director.
Former Athletic Director Tom Goss, who went
against some players' wishes and hired Ellerbe
back in 1997 after firing Steve Fisher, was forced
to resign in February. Martin met Ellerbe for the
first time last week.
Ellerbe said rumors of his possible removal as
men's basketball coach, mostly on the radio and
on Internet message boards, has hurt his recruit-
ing process to the point that he has lost recruits.
Several people in and close to the Athletic
Department told The Michigan Daily earlier this
season that they wouldn't be surprised to see
Ellerbe on his way out at the end of the season.
But Ellerbe will be back in the fall - at least
for now.
Martin would not comment on the effect that
banned basketball booster Ed Martin's plea agree-
ment may have on Ellerbe's job. Ed Martin has
reportedly signed an agreement as part of a guilty
plea on gambling and tax charges, which will force
him to tell authorities about all financial involve-
ment with Michigan basketball players.
Michigan officials said details may emerge as
early as next week.
PETER CORNUE/Daily
Third-year psychology student Becky Freedman hands a cup of juice to pre-schooler Bryce Hutton. Freedman works at the University
Children's Center as part of her Psychology 307 class.
Experi tial course sgive
students new p erspective
See EL
Bills would raise
LLERBE, Page 2A
By Eddie Ahn
and Jeannie Baumann
Daily Staff Reporters
Juliana Kua, an LSA freshman from Sin-
gapore, took a crash course in American
history and culture through a spring break
tour of the Civil Rights movement in the
deep South.
"It was an eye-opener to American cul-
ture" Kua said. "I learned so much I never
would have been able to learn in a class-
room." Kua's spring break experience also
brought her one credit closer to graduation.
The trip was an experiential course offered
by the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program called
"Get on the Bus.'
"I wanted them to experience the Civil
Rights Movement and get an idea of what it
}was like to be there,' said LHSP Instructor
Joe Gonzalez, who taught the course. He
said the 12 students traveled through cities
such as Atlanta, Birmingham and Mont-
gomery, Ala., experiencing everything from
a speech by Coretta Scott King to run-ins
with Ku Klux Klan members.
LSA freshman Patricia Welsh said the
class provided unforgettable memories.
Welsh describes her most memorable
experience on the trip as "walking from
the Dexter Church up to the Martin
Luther King Memorial, and when we got
there we all held hands and sang 'We
'Shall Overcome."'
Taking students out of the classroom
environment, the University is offering
nearly 70 experiential classes for the Fall
2000 academic term. "Books are good.
Classrooms are good. But so is experience
- experience is important,' Gonzalez said.
The psychology and sociology depart-
ments offer several experiential courses.
Some of the classes offered provide students
a learning experience through mentorships.
Psychology 307, "Directed Experi-
ences with Children," allows students to
work with children from 18 months
through kindergarten at two University
children's centers. "Students start to rec-
ognize all of the layers of learning that are
going on that sometimes on the surface
may seem very basic and very simple," said
University Children's Centers Director
Karey Leach, who teaches Psychology 307.
The course combines hands-on experi-
ence teaching pre-schoolers and a lecture
format. It requires a few written assignments
and no midterm or final.
"The textbooks of the class are the chil-
dren. The coursepack is really the way to
provide overarching aspects of child educa-
tion," Leach said.
See CLASSES, Page 2A
limit on H-lB visas
By Yael Kohen
Daily Staff Reporter
The University may be able to hire more interna-
tional faculty members and researchers if Congress
approves bills to increase the number of 1-lB
visas available to higher education institutions.
Bills in both the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives would raise the current limit on
H-lB visas distributed to workers skilled in spe-
cialized occupations throughout the academic
and corporate world
But the University has run into a problem
acquiring enough H1-B visas, due to the cap on
available visas and on the time of application.
The Fiscal Year 2000 cap is 115,000 H-1:B visas,
and decreases in the next two years will result in
107,500 in 2001 and 65,000 in 2002. The visas are
allocated as needed at the beginning of the new
federal fiscal year, which runs from October to
September.
This has caused some problems for the Uni-
versity because its hiring season does not begin
until the end of the federal fiscal year.
Fall semesters begin in September and by then
the number of H-1B visas has significantly
decreased, said Faculty and Staff Immigration
adviser Julie Barth-Jones at the University's
International Center.
See VISAS, Page 8A
State senator addresses need
for
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campaign fin
"We (the Legislature) don't have
er the discipline to regulate ourselves,"
said Smith, whose district includes
it it done right, then the University.
to have to do it your- The Michigan branch of CFN was
started in June 1998 with the goal
at is the approach a of putting campaign finance reform
f Ann Arbor residents legislation into law through public
ng toward campaign referendum..
n. Until recently, Michigan was the
an Campaign Finance only state to destroy its campaign
d an organizational finance records. Efforts by CFN led
h State Sen. Alma to the state saving its records
ith (D-Salem Twp.) instead of destroying them after five
campaign finance years.
hat the community can CFN listed putting a referendum
e the process. to regulate big money contributions
ce reform
Law School to
auction off time
with celebrities
By Elizabeth Kassab
Daily Staff Reporter
on the 2002 ballot as one of its top
goals last night at the Friends Meet-
ing Place on campus.
"It doesn't matter who is in
charge, Democrats or Republicans,
nothing gets .done in Lansing con-
cerning campaign finance reform,"
said Brian Inus, a member of the
Public Interest Research Group in
Michigan.
'That is whyit is going to be up
to the people,' he said. -
Imus also said money is deter-
mining not only what legislation is KiMiTsu YOACK/oaiy
passed and who is elected, but who State Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-Salem Twp.) speaks
gets to run in the first place. during an organizational meeting on campaign finance
See REFORM Page 8A reform last night at the Friends Meeting Place on Hill Street.
Resons for e TD ofniial's
suiciAde jre.-mn unknown
Getting down to business,
Want to Tag along with Geoffrey Fieger for a day or dine
with "60 Minutes" anchor Mike Wallace?
These unique opportunities will go to the highest bidders
at the annual Student Funded Fellowships auction tonight at
the Law School.
"It's the most unifying event on the Law School calen-
dar," said SFF board member and auction co-Chair Amy
Liu. Professors act as auctioneers as the Law School com-
munity bids on items such as brunches at professors' houses
and student-prepared specialty dinners.
SFF co-Chair Liz Goldman estimated that more than 110
items will be up for grabs in the silent auction and expects
up to 66 to be bid on in the live auction.
Items range from Broadway show tickets to a professor's
book autographed in blood. Local businesses are auctioning
off gift certificates, and law firms have also made contribu-
tions.
Items at last year's auction included lunches with Bob
Dole and actor Gil Bellows, who plays a University alum on
"Ally McBeal."
Bidders are predominantly law students and others in
the Law School community, such as professors and
alumni.
"Our name is Student Funded Fellowships, s we rely
on students at the Law School to give us money," Gold-
man said of the student-run organization, which is in its
21st year.
Money from the auction funds grants for Law School stu-
dents who do public interest work in the summer. The
grants help Law students "break even so that they don't
have to take out more loans," Goldman said.
The grants "help out a lot of causes," Liu said. Law stu-
dents work for public defenders and also deal with women's
issues and international human rights. These are "jobs stu-
By David Enders
D aily Staff Reporters
By all accounts, Kurt Zimmer, a former Ann
Arbor City Council member and a father of two,
was a well-liked man. That is why the Depart-
ment of Public Safety is still investigating his
reasons for committing suicide.
Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid Sheldon served on
city council with Zimmer when he decided not to
run for re-election in 1993.
"It's so sad. He had such a bright future, he
was so intelligent,' she said.
Sheldon said Zimmer shook up city council
Monday morning at his office in the University's
Information and Technology Division, where he
was an accountant.
Autopsy results released today by DPS indi-
cate that Zimmer died from a self-inflicted shot
to the head. Investigators are still waiting for tox-
icology reports and deciding whether to release
the contents of a possible suicide note that was
found Monday.
Sheldon called him "pragmatic and practical,"
and said he was "unwilling to accept the party
line."
Zimmer sued then-Mayor Liz Brater in 1991
over what he characterized as a city redistricting
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