LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 17, 1999 - 3 rIGHER ,DUCATION C-Berkeley tudents vote own fee change Pudents at the University of alifornia at Berkeley voted to reject e Bridging Equity, Athletics and eceational Sports referendum, tended to increase student fees in an ort to fund women's sports. The crease would allow the university to mply with Title IX, a federal man- terequiring equal funding for men's d womens athletics. Nearly 62 per- nt of voters opposed the referendum, *-38.2 percent voted in favor of creased fees of $132.40 next year, ith increases in the fee during the next e years. The additional fees would have been ed to expand and renovate the UC- ekeley Recreational Sports Facility d the some of the school's outdoor cilities. Passing the referendum would have vA the athletic fund $13 million in i onal funds. arvard aging pecialist resigns Jeanne Wei, a Harvard Medical hool specialist on aging, resigned t eek from two administrative posi- ns after questions about the misuse grant funds arose. Wei resigned as director of the *1' s division of aging and as the :a of the division of gerontology at ith Israel Deconess Medical Center. tse will maintain her role as an sociate professor at Harvard Medical hool. Her resignation follows a federal suit inst her and BIDMC claiming a isuae of research funds.The suit orig- atedwhen a scientist working with e was accused of not using grant y according to the reward's quirements. egent suggests tudents pay for lot damages A- regent at the University of olorado at Boulder is suggesting that udents foot the bill for damages *d by riots. The regents were ecifically referring to riots that urred on Oct. 31, when a police icer was hit by a rock and suffered ull fractures. Colorado Regent Jim Martin sug- sted at a University of Colorado oard of Regents meeting last week, at the school's student government ould pay for the estimated $100,000 mages. J-Boulder Chancellor Richard yyny argued that there is no way of owing how many students were volved in the riot since no arrests .ve been made in connection with the dts' tudent evicted for _ lst messages Hanover police evicted Dartmouth r Peter Cataldo from his room in chff Residence Hall last week after other student reported anti-Semitic urs on the message board to artmouth Safety and Security. Dartmouth junior Charles Gussow, ho'- fives two doors away form ataldo, found racist slurs written on issew's message board last /ednesday morning, written with a rverase maker on Gussow's message Cataldo, who served as president of is class as a first-year student, also llegedly confronted Gussow with cist slurs just before he was evicted. heslurs written on Gussow's board fre' among many that Cataldo had litgedly written since last month. Gussow is currently living in the lanover Inn and did not admit or deny eriti ng the slurs or personally threaten- Cataldo. When asked about the Cataldo, if found guilty of the slurs nd threats can be punished under the arassment clause of the college's tandard of Conduct and by state law. - Compiled bv Daily StaffReporter Jewel Gopwanifrom U-Wire reports. Burslec resident accused under Code By David Enders Daily StaffReporter A preliminary hearing scheduled to be heard today in the Washtenaw District Court for Mark Watkins, an LSA sophomore accused of sexual assault, has been postponed until Dec. 1, while an investigation into the allegation under the Code of Student Conduct continues. A female Bursley Residence Hall resident accused Watkins, who also lives in Bursley, of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in an alleged incident that occurred Nov. 2. The pre- liminary hearing was rescheduled at the behest of Watkin's lawyer, Mark Satawa. Satawa declined to comment on his reasons for requesting the delay, saying only "Mr. Watkins looks forward to the criminal justice system working the way it should and being vindicat- ed by the justice system." Satawa also said Watkin's plea of not guilty, first entered at his arraignment on Nov. 3, has not changed. He also confirmed that Watkins is being charged under the Code - the University's internal disciplinary policy. Vice Presient for Student Affairs . R oyster Harper could not be reached last night for comment. G wyn Huls wit, irt ake coordinator for the Office of Student Conflict Resolution, has previously outlined OSCR's policy concerning sexual assault cases for The Michigan Daily. Sexual assault allegations between students living in residence halls have varying conse- quences, depending on the way the complaint is filed, Hulswit said. After a complaint is filed, OSCR reviews the case to determine its relevance under the Code. If the accused student is found to be in violation of the Code, an investigation follows, she said. "There are no general punishment guidelines for such a case," because it is "determined depending on the facts of the case;' she said. Rolland Sizemore, the Washtenaw County prosecutor who is handling the case, could not be reached for comment. Conviction of fourth-degree sexual criminal conduct, or forced fondling, carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison and a $500 fine. Club sports plan on ballot By Jeannie Baumann Daily Staff Reporter A ballot initiative in the Michigan Student Assembly fall election today and tomorrow could change the assembly's funding process for club sports. The initiative calls for each stu- dent to pay an additional $0.25 for the winter semester and the fall semester of the next academic year. The collected total of $18,000 would be the first step in creating an endowment for club sports. Students currently pay a $5.69 student fee per semester to the assembly. "MSA currently funds out of the (Budget Priorities Committee) to club sports," BPC Chair Glen Roe explained. "But we noticed a greater need for funds than what we could provide." Roe said club sports teams made requests this term totaling $71,339, but the committee could only allocate $8,750. He said this amount is an inefficient use of funds. Since that money does not come close to meeting club sports' needs, putting that money toward other students groups with lower allocation requests would be a bet- ter use of the money. MSA President Bram Elias said he hopes establishing a club sports endowment will expand athletic oppor- tunities to more students. 1 lI "Our hope istat no stu- dent is denied the " opportunity to participate in club sports m e r e I y because they cannot afford it. The goal here is: If you're able to play, and you want to play, then you get to play," he said. If students vote to support the ballot initiative, Roe explained that the University Board of Regents must still approve the use of a sep- arate fund for club sports. "It's contingent upon a number of people in the University approv- ing it," he said. Roe plans to make a presentation to the regents during their meeting Friday. Although the $0.25 increase in student fees would last for only two semesters, the endowment is intended to be a self-supporting permanent source of funds. But Roe said "targeted fundraising efforts" will add to the endowment. Engineering junior Anne Kiedrowksi, a member of the water-ski team, supports the ballot initiative. "I think it's a good idea. In order to stay competitive, we have to buy a new boat every year. Without the support of MSA and club sports, we wouldn't be able to fund the activities that we do," she said. "Any help we can get is really appreciated." Michigan Rifle Team member Neil McNeight, an LSA junior, said the initiative will further facil- itate the ability for club sports to operate."It'd be nice to have increased funding and potentially bring more people in," he said. ALLSON CANTER/Daiy The newly-opened parking structure located at Washington Street and Fourth Avenue will help curb distress from the loss of spaces in the South Forest Avenue structure. In1stallation of meterso to begin By Robert Gold Daily Staff Reporter Fifty-eight parking meters lining Church and Hill streets will convert previously unavailable street space into parking spots under a resolution approved by the Ann Arbor City Council on Monday. Councilmembers unanimously called for the installation of the meters, in anticipation of the parking shortage that will result from the closing of the South Forest Avenue parking structure. The city plans to begin installing the meters in January - the same time the parking structure closes for demolition. The South Forest Avenue parking structure currently has more than 250 parking spaces available. The comple- tion of a new structure on the same plot of land is expected to house 875 vehi- cles and is projected for completion in 18 to 24 months, said Ann Arbor Director of Public Services William Wheeler. For many students, the loss of the structure will be an inconvenience. LSA senior Steve Horvath, who parks his car in the structure, said he drives into the area to drop off his daughter at school each morning. "I will have to make plans for alter- native parking, which I don't think will exist," Horvath said. Downtown Development Authority Board Member Maria Harshe said the board attempted to lease privately owned land for a'temporary site but was unsuccessful. "We're in the homs of a dilemma. There isn't a whole lot of land available for temporary parking," Harshe said. City Councilmember Joe Upton (R- Ward II) said the loss of parking in the south campus area not only causes problems for students; its also a hassle for local residents. - "I am really concerned. It's going to have an impact on South University businesses," Upton said, adding that customers may avoid the area because of parking hassles. "It is seen right now as the only oppor- tunity to preserve some parking for shop- pers coming into that area," Upton said, referring to the parking meters. Cynthia Shevel, owner of Middle Earth, located at 1209 S. University Ave., said local businesses will have to "bite the bullet" and become more cre- ative. Shevel said some businesses on South University Avenue can focus on the large number of students who pass the area en route to campus. City Councilmember Tobi Hanna- Davies (D-Ward I) said the city was unable to lease private land for parking. She said the parking meter solution will not eliminate the parking shortage but will "help that part of town keep going. "No other good option has worked out for customers ... who need short term spaces," Hanna-Davies said. For some local businesses, the loss of parking is especially hard. Binh Psam, owner of Saigon Garden restaurant located at 1220 S. University Ave. and adjacent to the parking struc- ture, said he expects to lose about half of his customers in January. "It really affects the whole area. They will put a lot of people out of business," Psam said. Psam said he fears that he will lose a large amount of his customer base because many customers will favor restaurants with nearby parking options. "You forget about the restaurant for two years, " Psam said. "If you build another one, it doesn't matter," he said, referring to the planned new structure. Hanna-Davies added that students, local residents, and others will need to increase their dependence on walking, bicycling, carpooling and using the city and University bus systems. "People are going to have to park far- ther and walk into town anyway," she said. The city has attempted to alleviate some of the parking shortages through- out Ann Arbor with the establishment of the Get Downtown Program, said, Lara Thomas, program coordinator of the Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce. The plan includes a free bus pass for all downtown business employees. 'fhomas said she has distributed 7,500 passes. The city has undergone other con- struction efforts to improve parking. A new structure on Fourth Avenue and Washington Street opned to the public last month. The Maynard Street structure cur- rently is under repair. MSA Continued from Page 1 Penn State's Undergraduate Student Government. At Purdue University, 8 percent of the student body voted in April 1999. "It was a middle number. About 12 percent of students voted three years ago, and we had a low of 4 percent going back even further," said Joe Archdiacono, a Purdue student government representative. Archdiacono relates the rise in voter turnout during the past few years to Purdue's switch from paper ballots to online voting. "We are now completely electronic. In the first year we switched, there was a significant increase from 4 percent to 12 percent,' he said. Sherer said that in last winter MSA election, a large per- centage of votes came from online polling. "We have taken down a number of paper polling sites. We have them only at Angell Hall and Pierpont Commons now," he said. "I don't think that we'll ever get rid of paper sites completely because there is always the concern that we'll alienate vot- ers who don't feel comfortable voting online." But Shapiro said online voting has made voting much easier far students at Illinois. "We've made it more acces- sible to vote. We used to vote by paper ballot, but we vote online now. The university puts a link on their home site. If you get a really competitive election, you can get 20 to25 percent online. Most students go online every day, so if you have a flashing link, they might be inclined to vote." But not every school has claimed success with online voting. In student government elections at the University of Wisconsin at Madison last fall, 7 percent of students voted, up four percentage points from the previous year. "We switched to online voting, but it is not worth it for the amount of money spent. There were a lot of computer glitches" said Tshaka Barows, a representative on the Associated Students of Madison. At Wisconsin, the cost of switching to Web voting was a one time fee of $20,000. "We still have the opportunity for paper voting, but now with web voting, it will cost only $400 each election. I'm sure it costs quite a bit more for paper polling," said Eric Huston, chair of the student government's student judicia- ry. "Online voting is definitely more efficient. It is a better way to keep track of things - people can make mistakes when counting. It is a lot easier for students and for us" he said. , w What's happening in Ann Arbor today GROUP MEETINGS -j nesty international Mass Meeting, Michigan Union, Pond Room, a$p.m. EVENTS U "Blood Battle between U-M and OSU," Sponsored by Alpha Phi Omega, Michigan Union, 1-7 p.m. . "Drug Abuse and the Family" pre- sentation by Talk To Us, Sponsored by Hillel and the Housing Division, School of Nursing, 12 p.m. J "Honor Thy Children" lecture by Al and Jane Nakatani, Rackham Auditorium, 6:30 p.m. U "The Taiwan Option; Engagement or Isolation" lecture by J. David Singer, Sponsored by Alpha Phi Omega, Haven Hall, 5th Floor, 12-1:30 p.m. 0J"World AIDS Day Fair," Michigan Union Ballroom, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. SERVICES L) Campus Information Centers, 764 INFO, info@umich.edu, and www.umich.edu/-info on the World Wide Web D Northwalk, 763-WALK. Bursley Lobby,8 p.m. 1:30 a.m. J Safewalk, 936-1000, Shapiro Library Lobby, 8 p.m.-2:30 a.rm. J1999 Winter Commencement Information, www.umich.edu/ -gradinfo CALENDAR POLICY: The calendar's purpose is to provide a place for organizations to announce free events open to the University community. However, we can only print announcements the day of the event. Announcements for events that charge dmission will not be run. All items for THE CALENDAR must be mailed or delivered to the Daily at least three days before publication. Events on Friday, Saturday or Sunday must be submitted by 5 p.m. Wednesday prior to the event. We can not accept requests over the telephone, and we can not guarantee that an announcement turned in within three days of the event will be run.