14 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 15, 1999
FRIDAYFOCUs
~,Everyt
F r nmany sophomore student
retuningto the University cam-
us this fall, memories from their
first year at college included football
games, midterms and skipping classes.
But LSA sophomores Marni Golden
and Nicole Siegel's memories are
narked by tragedy.
Tpmorrow marks the one-year
anVesry of the death of University
stdn Courtney Cantor. Ann Arbor
i Deprtment officials ruled
Cantr'sdeath an accident last Octobe,
*n{ dIed from injur s sustained
afrfallIng frm her sixth floor Mary)
Markley Residence Hall window.
Although many questions will
remain unanswered in Cantor's
death, Cantor's friends say she will be
remembered as a vivacious, fun-lov-
ing person,.
Siegel, a close friend of Cantor's
wiho grew up in her West Bloom field
neighborhood and joined her in
pledging the Chi Omega sorority, and
Golden, Cantor's friend and room-
mate yesterday discussed their mem-
ories of Cantor in an interview with
Dave Enders of The Michigan Daily.
Excerpts of the interview has been
reprinted below:
TMD: What kind of person was Courtney?
Siegel: She was very bubbly and charismatic.
Golden: But with that, she was bright.
Siegel: She was an amazing combination. She
had substance to her. She could have a fun time,.
but she knew when to not go out, and do home-
wvork. She was funny, she was goofy.
Golden: I was only at school six weeks with
her and that constitutes probably half of my
most memorable experiences at college. Every
time I think of her, I smile. She makes me
smnile.
She always had a smile on her face and she was
a really loyal friend. She was very dependable.
Are you doing anything special to remem-
bier her?
Golden: I'm going to West Bloomfield, I'm
going to the cemetery. U
Siegel: I'm going home. *
How did Courtney's death affect you?
Golden: Dramatically. It was a large dose of real-
ity.
Siegel: It was a big wake up call. You neverhear
about stuff like that happening to your best friend.
It was hard, going through this and dealing
me I think of her I smile."- Marni Golden, Cantor's roommate
h .
} ' y i
aLLVl.a h . u Fd'S.:"
OF
r" wimb
.
- Freudian slip -' You had the roommate that.
like, jumped from the..."
It's hard when someone pisses you off like
that. You can't be mad at them, but it's just frus-
trating ... It's just little things like that, that are
frustrating to deal with.
Do you have a single memory or anecdote that
really summed up the type of person she was?
Golden: I have two that stick out in my head,
I don't know why.
I remember once, we were really into exercis-
ing at the start of the year. and then we started
getting lazy and we weren't working out or any-
thing. And then one day, at like one in the morn-
ing, we had so much energy in us, we got our
second wind, and we put on Barenaked Ladies
and just started, literally, in our 12-by-I I dorm
room, (laughing) just started doing aerobics and
running up and down and jumping until we both
collapsed on the floor and we were so tired. It
was really funny.
And I remember going out at night when it was
freezing cold and we were too stubborn to bring
jackets, and I remember just running, even though
we were all decked out in our skirts and like four
inch boots, just running to a party, and laughing
the entire way, because we were so cold.
Siegel: I remember when we both got into
Michigan, we were on the phone together and we
got a phone call, and I was on the phone with her
and the Michigan lady clicked in with her, and
then she clicked in with me, and then (Courtney)
came over to my house and went ballistic, and
we called all our friends, because we were the
first ones to get in.
And getting ready for school, shopping, she
like bought out Bed Bath and Beyond. She con-
vinced me I needed stuff even though I totally
didn't need it.
Golden: When Courtney called me. I was like,
who is this girl? She had this list of all the things
that we needed, and when I went shopping with
ly normal college student: She didn't do anything
differently than anyone else would have done.
Golden: I just get frustrated, with people not
knowing exactly what happened. People are so
quick to assume what happened that night.
Siegel: Nothing really fits together. It's so easy
to come to dumb conclusions.
Golden: People don't like to be confused, and
they make up their own answers. I'd go home.
and people would tell me 'I can't believe the
rumors I've heard about you.' It was awful. The
gossip really got to me.
Do you keep in touch with (Courtney's) family?
Siegel: I try to see them whenever I go home,
and I still talk on the phone regularly. Our fami-
lies are still good friends.
Golden: I haven't talked to them in a while,
but we keep in touch through e-mail and I went
to (Courtney's) sister's graduation party, and
they came up for my dance show. I try to get
some space, but it's hard.
Has this changed the way you look at drinking?
Golden: Not so much the way you look at
drinking, because kids are going to drink, but
it's just how you care for others and yourself.
Just be more responsible, instead of thinking
you're invincible.
In August, George Cantor, father of
Courtney Cantor, filed a lawsuit
against the University for negligence
in the death of his daughter. The suit
alleges the windows in Mary Markley
Residence Hall opened too far and lead
to the death of his daughter. George
Cantor said he could not comment on
the case or any other issue related to
his daughter without the permission
of his lawyer. Darrel Peters, who
serves as legal counsel for George
Cantor, could not be reached for
comment.
0
Courtesy of Nicole Siegel and
Marni Golden.
ABOVE: Nicole Siegel
and Courtney Cantor In
1998 before a formal
dance at Andover High
School in Bloomfleld
Hills, Mich. Siegel and
Cantor graduated from
Andover In 1998.
LEFT: Marni Golden, now
an LSA sophomore, and
Cantor move into Mary
Markley Residence Hall
last fall.
"
'U', students work to curb risky drinking on campus
'41
By Nika Schulte
Daily Staff Reporter
Samuel Adams and Jack Daniels may not be
listed in the student directory, but many students
claim the infamous names among their closest
friends from their first-year at the University..
Although students voice this and similar
remarks to make light of the role of alcohol in col-
lama Il~a 'hA i Tniraritct rinac 't h "Ir h r h
Students and orientation leaders worked
through role play situations, such as what
actions might be taken if a roommate repeatedly
returns to the residence halls intoxicated from a
night of partying and alcohol consumption.
Hower said students also received wallet-
sized cards from University Health Services,
listing transportation and emergency phone
bnhr nd lc aid rllina nnhMt ' fn
"I felt like it was something I had already
been taught about," LSA first-year student Jason
Kaufman said. But Kaufman said the program
may have been valuable for students that didn't
know all of the factors to consider when mak-
ing decisions about alcohol.
"It's the University's job to make sure stu-
dents know the consequences of drinking,"
K ufmanc id
iege uIfe, the University doesn.t aways snare te num ers. ana also gui e nes on now to care oraumasa .
same sense of humor. In fact, this year University an individual with alcohol poisoning. Orientation Leader
community members - including administrators, Kinesiology first-year student Stacey Christie, an LSA senic
researchers and student groups-are delving into Maxwell said she enjoyed the infor- incoming students d
the issue of alcohol abuse on campus and incor- mation she learned during the always display such
porating new measures to make sure students can skits and discussions standing for less in
keep both their laughter and their lives. because of the \ E .students.
g o o d - "There was ar
Working from Day One s ia. whelming
In addition to the initial walk through the Vi s$\\ " t among the s1
Ingalls Mall fountain, "Sunday" lgi.O\"s'(*f l tQ ' sO othat everyone
Morning in Deep Waters," and a call to in college, a
the CRISP lady. incoming students at e e0o s0there was to4
this year's Summer Orientation took partZ o "ed of orie
in a more serious activity: alcohol aware- q t sm'01 time" fac
ness discussions. $ n $ tC doa %- alcohol
Director of the Office of New Student siChristie
Programs Ann Hower said recent alcohol is O' nOOo 'oBut
related injuries "an'd deaths on campus - o 0 I dents
including questions raised surrounding the death ' "Iot 0\ ttop
of University student Courtney Cantor, who 4 for
died from injuries sustained after falling from yed d ble
her sixth floor Mary Markley Residence Hall C t X k f ti
window on Oct. 16, 1998 -prompted the inclu- IPA N \1 d , t
sion of the topic during orientation. Cantor was con e \
seen drinking, at Phi Delta Theta fraternity .e et a '9viol,
house, on the night of her death. 49\0 oto. CJet
The issue of alcohol abuse deserved attention, . ta e c ° h ,
Hower said, but was difficult to approach t te a ,.5 .
because of legal issues. +ten'g f . o c \\ds at
"Since we're dealing with freshmen there is a C} ey1 ed ?' Christi
narao hecane underaiae students shouldn't he ' AXNS4, a\ and discussio
James
or, said
lid not
under-
formed
n over-
feeling
tudents
drinks
nd that
o much
ntation
used on
issues,
said.
stu-
need
prepare
possi-
e situa-
ions,
among first-year students in residence hall
released this summer, interim Vice President for
Student Affairs E. Royster Harper met with var-
ious campus student groups.
In its more than 50 recommendations, the
report advised that the University provide more
non-alcoholic events, schedule more classes on
Friday morning to deter drinking on Thursday
nights and notify parents when students violate
alcohol or controlled substance policies.
The University does not currently have a
parental notification policy but a recent amend-
ment to the Federal Education Right to Privacy
Act allows parents to be notified when a student
has violated a law or institutional policy if the
student is not legally allowed to drink or has vio-
lated a use or possession policy.
Harper said that notifying parents when stu-
dents have a certain number of alcohol or drug
violations is an option the University is consid-
ering because such a system would be able to
develop additional support for students with
substance use violations.
"When our efforts to get students to get help
has no effect, we need to pull family in to provide
the student with help," she said. "There are some
students whose drinking is problematic for them
and for other students on campus."
Many students object to the idea of a notifi-
cation system, on the grounds that it could
potentially violate a student's right to privacy.
"We should be responsible for our own
actions as students and young adults," LSA first-
year student Mike Keating said. "We should pay
for our own consequences and parents don't
need to be involved."
Yet Harper said any policy of this nature would
need to respect the autonomy of students and also
ensure it is not seen by parents or guardians as
"just another piece of paper going home."
undergraduate students this spring.
Through the study, researchers were able to
examine how views and behaviors of substances
differ among campus subgroups such as women,
residence hall students and members of the
Greek System.
The Internet conducted study was a modified
version of a 1993 University study and asked
students about their beliefs and use concerning
alcohol and other substances.
USARC Director Carol Boyd said the
study, which is expected to be released in the
next few weeks, was not prompted by the
Binge Drinking Committee, but she hopes the
data will clearly indicate where students stand
in their views and behaviors on drinking. But
the results of the study will have an impact on
the Binge Drinking Committee's decisions,
Harper said.
"The results will shape and influence our
response as a community," Harper said.
Starting on the right foot
In addition to regular campus programs,
Michigan student athletes receive additional
alcohol safety programming through the
Michigan Peer Adviser Creating Trust and its
"Balance" program.
M-PACT member Beth Amelkovich said in
the program older student athletes advise first-
year student athletes on how to survive resi-
dence hall life, academic pressures and alcohol
related issues.
Amelkovich said the program is designed to give
new students information older student athletes
would have found useful during their first year.
Although the program has tackled alcohol
since its inception, this year special attention
was given to informing students about Blood
Alcohol Content. Students received charts
-.
e said,
n prior