LOCAL/S TATE
The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 12, 1999 - 3
CRIME
UVA restructures student admissions policy
Counterfeit bills
used to purchase
food at Union
* Five counterfeit $20 bills were used
to purchase food at the Michigan
Union on Friday afternoon, the
Department of Public Safety reports
state. All five bills were marked with
the same serial number.
DPS reported having a male suspect.
Driver arrested
for drunk driving
A DPS officer making a traffic stop
North University Street early
Saturday morning arrested a 16-year-old
driver of a car for operating under the
influence of liquor. Two of the car's three
passengers were cited for possession of
alcohol.
All subjects were released to their
parents, DPS reports state.
Anti-homosexual
*oster found
DPS reports stated that a poster bear-
ing anti-homosexual sentiments was
found early Sunday morning in Alice
Lloyd Residence Hall. A report for
harassment was filed and there are no
suspects in the incident.
The poster was removed by DPS
officers.
Laptop computer
tolen from room
A laptop computer valued at $2,000
was stolen from the Victor Vaughn
House at 1111 Catherine St. on
Thursday morning, DPS reports state.
DPS reports state the room was
locked and there were signs of forced
entry. There are no suspects in the theft.
adioactive spill
eaned up
The Occupational Safety and
Environmental Health Department
cleaned up a radioactive spill in the
Medical Science Building Unit II at 1137
Catherine St.on Thursday afternoon. The
radioactive substance P-33, which had
been spilled in a cabinet, was contained
with no problems, DPS reports state.
let can't start
r, breaks keys
A woman picking up her car at
University Hospitals on Saturday after-
noon stated that her vehicle had been
damaged by a valet who "could not fig-
ure out how to start the car," DPS
reports state.
The valet returned to the subject with
two broken keys, including one that
1I been broken off in the ignition.
e. damage was estimated at S 100,
DPS reports state.
Car windows
found shattered
A vehicle was found Sunday night in
the Fuller Street parking lot with its
windows broken. DPS reports state that
nothing was stolen and there are no
suspects in the incident.
Abjects destroy
Bursley pool table
SUnidentified subjects wrote on and
destroyed the playing surface of a pool
;able in Bursley Residence Hall on
Saturday afternoon, DPS reports state.
No report was filed.
Thief attempts to
Mea lcar radio
A car left at the Church Street car-
port on was broken into Thursday
morning and an unidentified person
attempted to remove the car's radio.
The owner of the car declined to file
a report, DPS reports state.
Student collapses
n Frieze Building
DPS officer provided an escort
Thursday afternoon to University
Health Services for a student who col-
lapsed in the Frieze Building. The stu-
dent was conscious when officers
arrived, DPS reports state.
- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
Dave Enders.
By Jeremy W. Peters
Daily Staff Reporter
The University of Virginia elected
last spring to abandon the use of a point
system aiding minorities in its admis-
sions process.
Now, as the university prepares to
review applications without using the
system, the admissions office at UVA is
faced with new challenges regarding
minority enrollment.
UVA spokesperson Louise Dudley
said the effects of the decision are not
easily predictable.
"It is hard to speculate what will happen
to minority enrollment," Dudley said,
adding that, "race is still one of many fac-
tors considered in the admissions process."
Dudley said that the scoring system the
university previously used made it much
easier for admissionsofficials to sort appli-
cations and narrow the applicant pool
down to a much more manageable size.
"It was a process by which we could
make preliminary judgments about appli-
cants and be aided in the management of
the volume of applications," Dudley said.
Under the old system, applicants
were rated on a 24-point scale based on
a careful review of their application. Up
to 20 points were possible for academic
achievements such as a high grade point
average or high test scores.
An additional four points were possi-
ble for such non-academic criteria as eco-
nomic disadvantage or minornty status.
Based on an applicants score. he or
she would be assigned to one of three
groups that ndicated hi: or her chance of
acceptance. Dudley said that those placed
in the bottom group would receive less
attention on their application than those
in the higher two groups.
Dudley insisted that the scoring system
made the review of applications much less
tedious and allowed for a careful inspec-
tion of more qualified applicants.
"It was a way of organizing," she said.
Regardless of the possible advan-
tages or disadvantages the scoring sys-
tem offered, UVA President John
Casteen decided to eliminate its use
from the admissions process.
The new system abandons this orga-
nizational process, but still accounts for
minority status.
Controversy over the scoring process
began to surface when the Washington,.
D.C.-based Center for Individual Rights
suggested that the university's admis-
sion polices were possily v ulnerable
to a lawunt A specil committee uas
then a ppCoimed by the uniersit y presi-
dent to imves ife the legaliy o f their
admissions procedures.
"The presient felt the process didn't
completely reflect the holisec evalua-
tion that every appliant deserves
that we still muht inevit<ably miss
somethin& Dudke\ said.
Terry el. ( lR lgal counsel sid
that CIR is "encouraged by the healthy
discussion regardhng .. \VVs admis
sions policies. \e think it is responsilie
to h ave d isc ussi on a nd t o make sure
their admission policies are in comps i
ance with the law"
University of Michigan Dc puty
General Counsel Li Bar sad not with-
standing the scoring sy stems el eimima-
tion, L\A's admissions process is "a
hoistic review Thi's l hat we do at the
i nixersity and thats consistent with the
1,m\ "
S\VA has taken steps to make sure
that its admissions procedure are as
efecime as they have been in the past.
"We have teams of readers reading
every application as we have in the past.
This year however, they will have to
re iew more applications in the final
w eek:' Dudley said.
Dudley also said that the admissions
office has adied two additional staff
me mbers who xw llwo rk w ith high
school seniors and their !imilies in an
eflort to recruit mmnonty students.
"We are trying t he as aggressive as
w e can in tvin to :atract minority stu-.
dens," Dudley sai.
We all fall down
Stabenow calls on Senate
to accept patient nights bill
LANSING (AP) - U.S. Rep. Debbie Stabenow said
yesterday she hopes the Senate will adopt the patients' bill
of rights passed by the House because it would hold
HMOs more accountable for their decisions.
Stabenow, a Democratic candidate for the Senate, voted
last week for the House version of the patients' bill of
rights.
The bill was considered a victory
for Democrats because it allows law-.
suits against HMOs if delay or a
denial of medical treatment causes
harm to a patient. Republicans
opposed that portion.
Stahenow said the Senate versionN
of the patients' bill of rights, whichr
passed over the summer, is "verya
weak" because it would preserve
legal immunity for HMOs and Stabenow
would allow HMOs to overrule doc-
tors when deciding whether health care is medically nec-
essary.
The two versions are now going to a conference com-
mittee, where House and Senate members decide on a
compromise.
"We have on the Senate side a bill that was basically
written by the insurance industry," she said.
"I'm convinced that the reason we were successful in
passing a strong patients' bill of rights over the objections
of the insurance lobby was strictly because we had people
with unfortunate stories to tell, tragedies to tell, and were
willing to have the courage to speak out."
Joining Stabenow were Tricia and Calvin Luker of
Royal Oak, whose 24-year-old daughter Jessica died last
month after a long bout with a rare metabolic disorder.
The Lukers said on May 1, Medicaid changed Jessica's
HMO without warning.
The new HMO refused to pay for a surgery Jessica had
on May I I and wouldin't allow Jessica to se_ the specialist
who had been treating her until she got a new doctor to
authorize the visit
Tricia Luker said the family doesn't blame the HMO for
Jessica's death.
But she said sh is inrv at h iw much time she had to
spend finding a new doctori and pleading with the HIMO to
see a specialist.
"Families who have a loved one with a disability ...
we're playing a game, and it's called beat the clock," she
said.
"Nobody else should have to go through what our fam-
ily went through."
Stabenow said the louse bill would have helped the
Lukers because it would have allowed Jessica to keep her
specialist.
The bill also calls for faster appeals of decisions like the
refusal to cover Jessica's surgery.
Stabenow praised a section of the Senate bill sponsored
by her opponent, U.S. Sen. Spencer Abraham (R-Mich.)
Abraham's amendment would allow women and their doc-
tors to decide how long to be hospitalized after a mastec-
tomy.
Abraham voted for the Senate version in July and is now
waiting to see if he can support whatever compromise bill
comes out of committee, spokesperson Joe Davis said.
Abraham doesn't support lawsuits against HMOs.
"He is concerned that any type of lawsuits will raise the
price of what you're trying to get. It would make insurance
more expensive," Davis said.
Stabenow rejects Republican arguments that patient
lawsuits would raise insurance rates. Texas has allowed
patients to sue HMOs for several years but has seen few
lawsuits, she said. Instead, companies have changed the
way they make decisions.
"What we want are better decisions, not more lawsuits,
and that's what accountability will bring," she said.
AP PHOTO
Joshua Robinson, age 5, plays in a shower of autumn leaves while helping
his mother rake in Owosso, Mich. yesterday.
State co-mmissio-"n
rac1m
COnCerned w
e leCtic power
LANSING (AP) - The Michigan
Public Service Commission is con-
cerned about Michigan having
enough reliable electric power next
summer.
It plans to hold at least three public
hearings next month in Oakland and
western Wayne counties to listen to
Detroit Edison Co. customers unhap-
py with outages and electric service,
"Particularly for the summer
months, we do need more genera-
tion," MPSC Chair John Strand said
yesterday.
Detroit Edison and Jackson-based
Consumers Energy Co. have been
reluctant to pour money into new
generating facilities while faced with
losing customers to competitors as
Michigan's electric market is gradual-
ly opened to comoetition.
The MPSC plans to let every
Michigan electric customer have a
choice of suppliers by Jan. 1, 2002.
Meanwhile, the market is being
opened gradually under a voluntary
agreement the MPSC reached this
summer with Detroit Edison and
Consumers Energy.
The commissioners hope the two
utilities or some of their competitors
will build new generating plants in
Michigan now that deregulation has
begun.
That's more likely if the Legislature
passes bills formalizing deregulation,
Strand said, although he added dereg-
ulation will move forward even if
lawmakers do nothing. New York's
utility commission already has dereg-
ulated electricity without legislative
help, and Vermont regulators are
looking toward doing the same.
"Legislation might be nice, it might
be helpful, but it's hardly necessary,"
Strand said.
He would like lawmakers to pass
some electric deregulation legisla-
tion, including measures allowing the
commission to go after companies
that switch customers without their
permission, a practice known as
slamming. But he isn't optimistic
lawmakers will take up electric dereg-
ulation anytime soon.
"For anything to happen, you're
going to have to see several of the
major players get together" and agree
on legislation, Strand said. "Right
now, I think that situation is pretty
much stalemated."
That's fine with other states such
as Ohio, said state Sen. Bruce
Johnson, the chief sponsor of electric
restructuring legislation in Ohio.
Johnson last week told a group inter-
ested in faster deregulation in
Michigan that Ohio is benefiting
from the Michigan Legislature's
reluctance to act.
"Our rates are low, and they're
going to get lower," Johnson said at
the annual meeting in Lansing of the
Association of Businesses
Advocating Tariff Equity, an associa-
tion of 23 large electric users in
Michigan. "We're going to take your
jobs."
WHEN AND WHERE.
Quality 16
October 14
WHAT.
Cardmembers get a com-
plimentary pass for two for
a preview screening of
Universal Pictures' new
film Bone Collector to be
released November 5th.
HOW.
Just bring your American
Express Card and your
student ID to the location
listed below to pick up your
pass.
SPECIAL OFFER
JUST FOR APPLYING.
Receive a complimentary
pass for two when you
apply for the American
Express* Credit Card for
Students .
MORE TO COME.
Bone Collector is one in a
series of three major
motion pictures to be pre-
viewed on your campus
this year, compliments of
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
i >f
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