NEWS: 76-DAILY
CLASSIFIED: 764-0557
wwwmichigandaily. com
Court
could
LSA 1
Jen Fish
and Yael Kohen
Daily Staff Reporters
On hundred ten years f ed itr Bfen
Wednesday
December 6, 2000
_._
_ __ .
I
ruling
impact
awsuit
Bush ready
to seize the
mRoment'
While the University anxiously awaits a decision in
one of the cases challenging the use of race as a factor in
admissions, the 9th Circuit of Appeals has upheld the use
of race in admissions at the University of Washington
Law School.
"It doesn't mean a lot to my client or to the clients in
Oifornia, but it probably does mean a lot to the
lawyers at the University of Michigan," said Mike Mad-
den, an attorney at the Seattle-based law firm Bennett,
Bigelow and Leedom, which represented the University
of Washington.
It probably rThe court's opinion
released Monday stated
does mean a lot that the Supreme Court
decision in the Bakke v.
to the lawyers University of California
Regents is federal law and
the University can only be overturned by
a new Supreme Court
of Michigan. ruling.
"It's an important
- Mike Madden decision," University
Attorney representing the of Michigan President
University of Washington Lee Bollinger said yes-
terday.
"It's the second circuit to consider this issue in the
context of higher education, and it is deeply gratifying
that it supports our defense of affirmative action," he
-In the 1978 Bakke case, the Supreme Court outlawed the
use of racial quotas, but in a separate opinion, Justice Lewis
Powell concluded that diversity can be used as a justification
for race-based admission policies.
The lawsuit challenging the policies in the University of
Michigan's College of Literature, Science and the Arts is
awaiting Judge Patrick Duggan's decision on a summary
judgment. If summary judgment is granted, the case will
not go to trial.
It is uncertain as to what degree, if any, Monday's deci-
will affect the University's case.
egal experts and lawyers from each side in the University
case were careful to note that the 9th Circuit's decision does
not dictate what action the federal district court in Detroit
takes. "I think it has some general impact," Duke University
Law Prof. Jerome Culp said. "It certainly gives judges a dif-
ferent interpretation of the law."
Culp also said in the past the 9th Circuit has been the
most overruled circuit by the Supreme Court.
"It has no direct effect because it's a different circuit,"
See COURTS, Page 7
41 1 E 4 i
Several students at local colleges dance at the Deja Vu clu
USC student
The Associated Press
Al Gore, risking the loss of support
among Democrats, looked beyond his
Florida election challenge yesterday
and suggested that even a rejection of
his state Supreme Court appeal might
not drive him from the presidential
race. George W. Bush confidently
declared himself ready to "seize the
moment" as the nation's 43rd presi-
dent.
"I don't feel anything
other than optimistic,"
the vice president told
reporters, his tone a
stark contrast from the
sense of foreboding expressed by
many other Democrats.
Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, a finalist in
Gore's summertime search for a run-
ning mate, was among those warning
that Gore had one last chance.
"The Florida Supreme Court is
going to rule in two or three days,
and if he's unsuccessful on that, then
I think that is the end of it," Bayh
said.
Four weeks into America's election
limbo, the courts still held the keys to
'
AP PHOTO
Texas Gov. George W. Bush gives a thumbs-up as he arrives at the state Capitol in Austin yesterday.
'
pines for
web e-mail
By Elizabeth Kassab
Daily Staff Reporter
Students who are tired of Telnet and con-
fused by Wolverine Access may feel like
they're in heaven when they are greeted by the
dreamy cloud background of my umich.edu.
Students are the target audience for the
user-friendly Web portal and are slated to
gain access to the site as soon as January.
"It's a portal site that anyone with a unigname
will be able to use," LSA senior Tom Charron,
one of a group of students who have been asked
to test the site, said in a written statement.
The University's Information Technology
Division has been working on the program
since last fall and began testing working proto-
types in April.
"I think by far the most useful part of
my.umich is the e-mail - you can access
your account from anywhere and it is a
much easier way to read and compose e-
mail than Pine," Ch arron said. -
"'m a senior in L SA and have been a
slave to Pine for four years now, and I'm
very happy that they're creating
my.umich.edu," he said.
The switch to Web-based e-mail would
mean users would not need to rely on telnet or
programs like Mulberry, although those ser-
vices would continue to work, said Linda
Place, director of University Website coordi-
nation. "Attachments are much easier now.
It's the same as using a Hotmail or Yahoo!
Mail account," Charron said.
See E-MAIL, Page 2
I [ .r
/ r . i i . _ L b ._ .
MT.
the White House: The Florida
Supreme Court agreed to hear an
appeal of Gore's historic election chal-
lenge to Bush's certified Florida victo-
ry, briefs were filed in reaction to U.S.
Supreme decision and oral arguments
were heard at a federal appeals court
in Atlanta.
The flurry of activity came one day
after Circuit Judge N. Sanders Sauls
rejected Gore's request to order hand
recounts of disputed
ballots and overturn
Florida's official elec-
tion results. Gore
appealed, and oral argu-
ments will be heard by
the Florida high court tomorrow.
The could-be presidents responded
in different ways, Gore by rallying
Democratic troops for his last stand
and Bush by acting as if his presidency
was only a matter of time.
"We've got a lot of work to do," the
Texas governor told reporters outside
the state Capitol in Austin, promising
an efficient transition to power. "I
think it's going to be important to
show ... the American people that this
See ELECTION, Page 2
Tempersc
flare over
task force
By Jane Krull
Daily Staff Reporter
Affirmative action once again
became a heated topic of conversation
at last night's weekly Michigan Stu-
dent Assembly meeting, when Rack-
ham Rep. Jessica Curtin - former
chair of the assembly's Peace and Jus-
tice Commission - squared off with
new PJC chair James Justin Wilson
during constituents' time.
Curtin, a pro-affirmative action
activist on campus, and Wilson, an LSA
sophomore and an opponent of race-
based preferences, sparred over Curtin's
proposal to form an affirmative action
task force. "The chair of P&J has stated
that he is against race preference," said
Curtin, founder of the Defend Affirma-
tive Action Party. "Affirmative action is
a massive issue that deserves special
attention. This task force gives the reps
that support affirmative action the
opportunity to work on it:'
Wilson said he thought the proposal
was a reactionary move from DAAP
after Curtin lost the seat to Wilson at
last week's meeting. "It shackles me
and ties one arm behind my back even
before I get started," Wilson said. "I
want to be given the chance to prove to
the assembly that I bring levity to the
affirmative action debate on campus, in
addition to expanding the breadth of
Peace and Justice."
Wilson added, "Just because I am
against racial preferences doesn't mean
I don't support their voice on campus."
MSA is scheduled to vote on the
proposal at next week's meeting.
Also during constituents' time,
Rackham Student Amer Zahr urged
MSA to endorse a coalition that would
allow various student groups to dis-
cuss the current conflict between the
Israelis and Palestinians.
"Eight thousand Muslim and Jewish
students alone are affected, by the
actions in the Mideast," Zahr said.
"We are trying to start a coalition to
invite all these groups to a meeting in
order to have an open dialog.'
Later, LSA junior Elise Erickson
spoke to the assembly in order to publi-
cize the upcoming production of the
"Vagina Monologues," which addresses
many women's issues. "There are a lot
of ways that you can get a message
Students strp to
payfor college
By Caitlin Nish
Daily Staff Reporter
With the cost of college tuition and housing rising each
year, many students who pay for their educations worry
about how they can earn enough money to stay in school.
But for the roughly 30 percent of exotic dancers at the Deja
Vu club in Ypsilanti who are college students by day, the
quick cash made by dancing may no longer be an option for
covering tuition, housing costs, car and credit card payments.
Last Thursday, the Michigan Senate unanimously passed
legislation to raise the legal age limit of dancers from 18 to
21 years of age. The bill also stipulates all clubs that serve
alcohol must close by 2 a.m. and at least a six-foot distance
must remain between dancers and customers at all times.
This legislation would bar most college students from
dancing and would make Texas-style couch dances, for
which the club is famous, illegal. It is through these dances
that the women make the majority of their money.
Deja Vu manager Lenny Komendera said if the new leg-
islation passes, it will be detrimental to the club's business.
"This hurts us .quite a bit. We get a lot of dancers
through girls who start out as waitresses. A lot of them are
college kids, trying to make their way. When girls get the
feeling of the place, get used to the atmosphere, they can
decide to become dancers," Komendera said.
One Eastern Michigan University student, whose stage
See DEJA VU, Page 7
ELLIE WHITE/Daily
b in Ypsilanti.
'critical' after fall
Pledging support
* Witnesses tell police
'shman was drinking
fore falling four stories
By James Restivo
Uaily Staff Reporter
A University of Southern California stu-
dent remained in critical condition yesterday
after falling out a fourth-story window Sat-
urday night.
Freshman Thomas Escobar was found
rtly after 7 a.m. Sunday morning on a
sidewalk beside Marks Tower, a university
residence hall, USC spokeswoman Zsa Zsa
Geishick.
USC Department of Public Safety Deputy
Chief Bob Taylor said police learned from
interviews with witnesses that alcohol was
involved in the incident. Due to privacy rea-
walk below, where he was found by a passer-
by, Taylor said.
"The screens are all heavy-duty and
screwed in so they can't be removed by
hand," Taylor said. "The screen was pushed
out by bodily force."
The window from which Escobar fell was
in a friend's room, and the student found
asleep in the room told police he had no
idea that the incident occurred, Taylor said.
The window was open and the metal screen
was hanging out.
The Daily Trojan, USC's student newspa-
per, reported that Escobar was covered with
homophobic graffiti, but university officials
would not comment on that yesterday.
After an investigation, Taylor said the
incident is being viewed as a tragic accident.
The possibility of the fall being suicide or
an attempted homicide "has been looked
into and the answer is no," he said.
incident occurred is still unknown.
Escobar was rushed to Los Angeles
County-USC Medical Center on Sunday
morning. A hospital spokeswoman said "his
condition is listed as critical with head
injuries," which is the same status that was
reported Sunday.
The incident is the second time this
semester that a student fell out a window in
a USC-owned housing complex. USC
sophomore Danielle Dauenhauer survived a
two-story fall in September.
University of Michigan freshman Courtney
Cantor died in October 1998 after falling
from her sixth-floor Mary Markley Residence
Hall window, hours after she had been seen
drinking at a fraternity party. Washtenaw
County prosecutors ruled her death as acci-
dental.
Gershick said the USC community has
been deeply affected by Sunday's incident.
iP' ' G. x