8A - The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 4, 1999

HIGHER EDUCATION


NAACP requests removal
of UVA board member

You're on the air

By Meg Scheu
Cavalier Daily
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (U-
WIRE) - Gov. James Gilmore III (R-
Va.) said in a letter Thursday that he does
not have the power to remove Board
member Terence Ross from the
University of Virginia's Board of Visitors
despite a request from the Virginia State
Conference of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People.
Members of college boards are
appointed for four-year terms and do not
serve at the will of the Governor under
Virginia law" the letter states. In the let-
ter, Gilmore said he remains "strongly
committed to equal opportunity and I
believe any form of discrimination is
wrong."
The letter also stated that the gover-
nor does not dictate the admissions poli-
cies of Virginia's policies of colleges and
universities. "Nor does the Governor dic-
tate college admissions policies. That is a
matter determined by the colleges' gov-

erning boards in consultation with their
respective presidents. The University of
Virginia's Board of Visitors and
President John Casteen have the respon-
sibility to develop an admissions policy
that is legal and ensures educational
opportunity for students of all races;"
the letter states.
Casteen said earlier this month that
the University should maintain its com-
mitment to equal opportunity in its
admissions policies.
Gilmore's letter encouraged the
members of the NAACP to communicate
with the board and Casteen.
"I hope you and other leaders of the
NAACP will sit down with President
Casteen and members of the University's
Board to engage in a constructive dia-
logue and to review creative options for
developing solutions to the challenge of
ensuring educational opportunity for all
people," the letter states.
"My guess is that both groups would
gain by working together and that each

would learn useful things from the other"
Casteen said yesterday.
Board Secretary Alexander Gilliam
said he is sure the Board will discuss the
current controversy over admission poli-
cies at its Oct. 14 meeting.
But, Gilliam said under the exenp-
tions listed in the Virginia Freedom of
Information Act, the issue can be dis-
cussed in a closed executive session.
"The issue is not currently on the
Board's draft agenda - on the other
hand if the Rector John Ackerly feels that
the time is right he can make adjustments
in the agenda," Casteen said.
"I think he may find the gover-
nor's statement a useful place to
start "
Equal Opportunity Programs
Director Karen Holt said "anything that
could be done that means people are sit-
ting down and talking about it" is posi-
tive and "a way to have a constructive
dialogue" concerning the admissions
policy.

Harvard-
Radcliffe
merger
complete
By RosaRnd S. Hekoman
and Adam A. Sofen
Harvard Crimson
CAMBRIDGE, Miss. (U-WIRE)
Radcliffe College and Harvard
University officially merged at one
minute after midnightFriday morning.
As most of the canous went to bed,
Radcliffe College quietly became*
Radcliffe Institute for 4dvanced Stud y.
A few Radeliffe sta warts converged
outside Fay House to nark the historic
change. Beneath the small apple tree
that guards RadcliffeYard -- a tradi-
tional symbol of tht college - a
group of Radcliffe oficials gathered
at 12:01 a.m. to toast the end of the
120-year-old institut on's indepen-
dence from Harvard aid the birth of
the Institute.
"Radcliffe has been around for 120
years;' said A. Keene Metzger, the
Institute's dean of administration and
finance. "She deserves that web
here to see the light go from her.: At
the same time, we should see thefirst
breath go into the lungs of the
Radcliffe Institute."
As a stereo played music from the
Harvard Glee Club, the group±
which included Bunting Fellows
Program Director Rita Nakashi.
Brock - raised glasses of chant
pagne at the precise moment of tran-
sition. Metzger rang an antique.
schoolhouse bell that belonged to his
grandfather.
Last night, the Institute also
launched a new Website. The Lyman
Common Room, a women's center in
Agassiz House, has now been emp-
tied of most of its decorations.
Leaders of Harvard and Radcli
attended a dinner last Sunday to cele-
brate the final meeting of the nom-
defunct Radcliffe Board of Trustees.
"It's a wonderful event, and I could
not be happier to be here;' President
Neil Rudenstine told about 7
Radcliffe trustees, administrators and
members of the Harvard Corporation.
Nancy-Beth Sheerr, former chair of
the Radcliffe trustees, present d
Rudenstine with a copy of the l
Radcliffe charter.
"What we celebrate tonight is
Radcliffe's - the institution's - very
own Commencement," Sheerr said.

Suspect found in U. Florida
murder after investigation

JOANNA PAINE/Daily
Todd Mundt, host for the Morning Edition on Michigan Radio, interviews
author Peter Irons. The radio station was voted No. 2 in the country.
Co1'orad0 student
foun e hal

By Zophia Rendon
Independent Florida Alligator
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (U-WIRE) - After almost two
wee.ks of complicated investigations and more than 150
interviews, Gainesville police have a warrant for the
arrest of an Island Grove man in the death of Wesley
Ormsbee during the weekend of the Tennessee vs.
Florida football game.
Matthew Talmadge Thomas, 19, of Island Grove, was
supposed to turn himself in to the Gainesville Police
Department on Friday, to be arrested and charged with
third-degree murder.
Thomas came to Gainesville with a friend to attend a
birthday party Sept. 19, GPD spokesperson Officer
Keith Kameg said.
While Thomas was at Park Place Apartments, he
started fighting with a large group of people, including
Ormsbee.
Witnesses who know Thomas said they saw Thomas
and Ormsbee fighting with people at the apartment com-
plex during a large disturbance near Building A.
Ormsbee was kicking one person and hitting another
on the head with a beer bottle just before he turned away
from the fight, witnesses told police. At that point,
Thomas punched Ormsbee on the left side of his head.
The force of the punch sent Ormsbee sprawling to the

ground, hitting his head on a stair on the way down,
according to police reports.
Ormsbee was unconscious when police found him
and died at the hospital.
A report from the Medical Examiner's Office indi-
cates that Ormsbee died from blunt injuries to the head
and neck.
After the fight, witnesses overheard Thomas saying
he "felt sorry for the parents of the kid he had hit,"
according to police reports.
Kameg was told by several people that Thomas has
not been in any serious trouble before.
Thomas secured an attorney and has been working
with the state attorney's office in the case. They agreed
that Thomas would turn himself in today.
Kameg said there probably was not even reason for
the fighting, but alcohol caused tensions to be high and
tempers to be short.
"You can't expect to get into a fight, kill someone,
and get away with it," Kameg said. "You have to follow
the rules of society"
Ormsbee's death was one of two that occurred the
weekend of the Tennessee game. Brian Tew also died
after an unrelated alcohol-related fight that weekend.
Four men were arrested and charged with second-degree
murder.

By Maria Sanchez-Traynor
and Allison Sherry
Rocky Mountain Collegian
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (U-
WIRE) -- An 18-year-old first year
student was found dead in his first-
floor Colorado State University
Parmelee Hall Residence Hall room
Thursday morning.
A "natural or medical cause" was
probably the reason behind the sud-
den death of Sean Robinson, a
Colorado State first-year student
from the southern Denver suburb of
Greenwood Village. police said late
Thursday.
"There was no sign of violence
or foul play;" said Colorado State

Police Chief Donn Hopkins.
Police received a call around
10:30 a.m. from a resident assistant
in the hall. It was unclear if
Robinson died in his sleep or who
found him. An autopsy will most
likely be conducted today.
Most students living in Parmelee
Hail refused to comment Thursday.
A resident-only meeting was held
Thursday night to discuss the death.
One anonymous resident assis-
tant said, "Nothing is concrete and
there are no definite answers."
Colorado State first-year stu-
dents Amy Mann and Sam Larson
said they were both still in shock
Thursday.

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