NATION/WORLD The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 15, 1999 - 5 -U. Colorado president resigns amid controversy Rolling on the river By Terje Langeland Colorado Duly BOULDER, Colo. (U-WIRE) - University of Colorado President John Buechner offered to resign Wednesday following months of controversy sur- rounding his administration and his hir- ing of a personal friend, Fran Raudenbush, as his executive consul- tant. Buechner announced his offer of res- ignation a day before the University of Colorado Board of Regents was expect- Oed to quiz him about the controversy, which arose as a result of a Colorado Daily investigation begun last May. Buechner made no mention of the controversy in his letter of resignation, which was addressed to Peter Steinhauer, the chair of the regents. But he did refer to a perceived lack of support from some regents. A few regents had recently called for a discus- sion of the Raudenbush matter "I have not reached this decision in a hasty manner," wrote Buechner, who was appointed to succeed former CU President Judith Albino in 1995. "As you know, some members of the board have nagging questions about the process for a fifth year review of my presidency and have asked whether or not I intend to undergo review. Moreover, some members of the Board of Regents have discussed direct- ly with the print media their concerns about my performance as president. It would be most difficult to continue to lead this S1.4 billion dollar university without the complete 100 percent com- mitment and confidence from each board member in my role as president" Buechner wrote that he would resign "no later than June 1, 2000," although it was not clear whether he intended to stay in office until that date. Buechner, who has refused to speak with Colorado Daily reporters since the newspaper first launched its investiga- tion, did not respond to a message left on his voice mail Wednesday. CU spokesperson Bronson Hilliard said Buechner ordered his resignation letter released to the media on Wednesday. Most members of the Board of Regents -- several of whom have also refused to make comments to the Colorado Daily recently - were meet- ing in Colorado.Springs and also did not respond to messages. Only two regents, Jim Martin and Tom Lucero, could be reached by the Colorado Daily. Activists speak out against conviction MUMIA Continued from Page1 of these groups plan to attend a protest in Philadelphia later this month. "We hope to raise attention to the issue here to build and raise more action around it," said Micah Holquist, an LSA senior and an ARA member. Protesters ranged from high school students to 67-year-old Lee Booth, who lives in Ypsilanti and carried a sign at the demonstration. "I can see that people who care about justice and righteous- ness are not wanted in this country,"she said. Many protesters believe that Mumia's case goes far beyond the life of one man. "I think it's broader than the Mumia issue," said Jim Lupton, a University physics lecturer. "There's a lack of understanding as to what government is doing in regards to moral issues," he said. He added, "I'm trying to set an exam- ple and get people interested in what's going on." AMinority groups reluctant to attend UC med schools By Timothy Kudo Daily Bnuin LOS ANGELES (U-WIRE) - In reaction to decreases in enrollment in University of California medical schools for underrepresented students, the UC Office of the President has created a task force to examine the effects on education and access to health care. The task force will look into the effect on medical education, access to health care, the reasons for the decline and out- reach solutions. Last year, enrollment for underrepre- sented students decreased 12.5 percent espite the fact that the number of offers of admission given rose by 30 percent, according to UCOP numbers. "I think that this year the situation has shown a real disparity between the stu- dents admitted and those that chose to enroll," said UC Vice President for Health Affairs Cornelius Hopper, who is heading the task force. "These are obvi- ously qualified people who choose to go elsewhere." * University officials said they are con- cerned, not only about what effect this drop could have on the education of future physicians, but also what effect this drop will have on access to health care in some minority neighborhoods. "These are obviously qualified people -who choose to go elsewhere." - Cornelius Hopper University of California at Berkeley vice president for health affairs AP PHOTO Paddleboats in Cincinnati load and unload passengers yesterday as part of the Tall Stacks riverboat festival. "It's been shown that underrepresented minority physicians tend to locate in underrepresented minority communi- ties," Hopper said. "And by coincidence, these are communities that tend to be underserved." Although previously unaware of the trend. Mike de la Rocha, the president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, suggested that one of the rea- sons for this decline is the atmosphere in the UC system spurred by SP-1, SP-2 and Proposition 209, which ended affi- mative action in the UC system. UC Regent Ward Connerly agreed that some underrepresented students may desire a community more reflective of their own. "It could be that historically black col- leges are having some success," Connerly said. "They're saying 'Come here, you'll have a more friendly environment."' "I'm told by students that go to those institutions that it's a very attractive offer" he added. But Connerly, one of the main propo- nents of SP-1 and SP-2, said the decline is not primarily due to any changed envi- ronment in the university caused by the end of affirmative action, which didn't happen until 1995 - two years after the trend began. Rather, Connerly said increased avenues for underrepresented students are perhaps more of a reason for this decline. "Black kids, for example, may not be as interested in the profession," Connerly said. "Now with people trying to get black kids to go into engineering and the computer sciences - there are more avenues open." Student Regent Michelle Pannor said one of the reasons underrepresented stu- dents might not be enrolling is that the' university may not be able to provide as much financial aid as other private and public universities. READ THE DAILY IN THE FISHBOWL. WwgW.MCHGANDAI.Y.COM Spring Break 2000 StudentCit .com is look- ing for Higly Motivated Students to romote Spring Break2000! Organize a small roup and travel FREE!!! 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