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