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Monday
January 8, 2002.
1,111 'I M 1, 1
Rapper' s delight
Systems diffler
in
'U'
lawsuits
By Jen Fish
Daily Staff Reporter
When attorneys in the lawsuits challenging
the University's use of race as a factor in
admissions in the Law School meet on Jan.
16, they will be arguing many of the same
points brought up in the case
challenging the College of Litera-
ture, Science and the Arts.,
The constitutional question of
whether diversity is a compelling
government interest, as outlined;
by U.S. Supreme Court Justice I i
Lewis Powell in the 1978 case
Regents of the University of Cali-
fornia v. Bakke, remains the Part one ofaf
definitive question in both of the the lawsuit cha
University's cases. School aodm
RS
ive
issi
as the LSA applicant pool. The Law School
evaluates applications individually instead of
using statistical matrices, Barry said.
Typically, the Law School receives about 3,400
applications for 340-350 seats. The entering class
for 2000 is a bit larger, with 367 students, of which
28 percent are identified as minorities.
"There aren't any formulas
about race and other factors,"
Barry said.
IAL \ In the Law School, Barry said,
x each student's application is reviewed
O individually and the selection process
is extremely competitive.
In December, U.S. Federal District
Court Judge Patrick Duggan ruled
-part series on that the admissions system used in
nging the Law LSA from 1995-1998 was unconsti-
0's process. tutional because the use of race was
unfairly applied. The current system, Duggan
wrote, is constitutional.
University President Lee Bollinger, who was
dean of the Law School when the current admis-
sions policy was drafted in 1992, said he and his
colleagues specifically designed the Law School's
policy to pass any tests of constitutionality. "We
knew this kind of challenge was building,' he said.
The policy "explicitly puts race in a broader con-
text of diversity."
"All kinds of factors are taken into
account. We made absolutely sure that there
was nothing even resembling a two-track sys-
tem" for white and minority students,
See LAWSUITS, Page 2A
The way each school applies race in its
respective admissions system is the main dif-
ference between the two cases. That is, the
admissions systems in each school, while tak-
ing race in account, evaluates their candidates
in very different ways.
"It really is a different animal than the under-
graduate process. It's more hands on, much less
formal," said University Deputy General Counsel
Liz Barry, adding that the Law School chooses stu-
dents based on their potential in the field.
The University's Law School, a profession-
al school with a small applicant pool, doesn't
need to change its admissions system to meet
the needs of a large, dynamic population such
ELLIE WHITE/DailyI
Jimmy Keys, an LSA senior, delights the crowd with his single "DanceHall," as DJ Transit, LSA sophomore Nihar Kulkami of Komposit, spins
the turntables at the U-Club on Saturday night. Keys, of Black Vibes Records, was shooting scenes for a the video of his song.
14th MLK symposium
events begin today
Students, faculty
celebrate diversity in
upcoming weeks
By Whitney Elliott
Daily Staff Reporter
Although Martin Luther King, Jr.
Day will not be observed nation-
wide until next Monday, events in
the University's 14th symposium
celebrating diversity will begin
today and continue throughout the
month of February.
The events will range from dis-
cussions about current topics
involving race affecting society to
traditional remembrances of Dr.
King.
'The keynote speech will be deliv-
ed Jan. 15 by actor and director
Edward James Olmos.
Damon Williams, program assis-
tant to the Office of Academic Mul-
ticultural Initiatives, said that the 25
members of the MLK Symposium
Planning Committee have tried to
expand the types of events over the
years.
"The celebration of the holiday
has expanded into something that is
much more comprehensive. A cele-
bration of diversity," Williams said.
Williams said the University's
way of celebrating Martin Luther
King, Jr. is quite unique.
"I've never encountered another
institution that celebrates the day
like the University of Michigan. We
look at current events as well as tra-
ditional events. We look at topics of
importance that will allow for fur-
ther discussion around campus,"
Williams said.
Williams also said the committee
planned the events to attract a wide
variety of interests.
"It's important because it allows
each individual to interpret the holi-
day for themselves," Williams said.
The events begin today with a
panel discussion titled "Covering
Race Then and Now: The Press and
Public Policy."
Top journalists and other public
policy experts from across the nation
who either covered the civil rights
movement during the '60s or who are
working now with diversity issues
will discuss race and the press.
"It's important to start with this
event because so much of what
began this civil rights moment
began with the press. So much of
what the country first knew was
from the media," said Charles
Eisendrath, director of the Michigan
Journalism Fellows.
The panel discussion, which
will begin at 1 p.m. in Rackham
See MLK, Page 7A
£tLIE WHIT/Ua;iy
Ronald Weiser, chairman of the Board of Trustees at Michigan Theater, speaks
with Executive Director Russell Collins at the anniversary celebration Friday.
Theater reopens
with new,,,look
Ward V
seeks new
council
memb er
By James Restivo
Daily StaffReporter
Students and residents have a
chance to participate in local poli-
tics as the city of Ann Arbor
accepts applications for the vacant
Ward V city council seat. The seat
is available as a result of former
Democratic councilman Chris
Kolb's election to the state House of
Representatives.
The city charter does not include
provisions for a special elections
and in the past has -customarily
filled vacant seats by the council
appointing a member of the particu-
lar ward, said Susan Pollay, interim
public information officer for the
city of Ann Arbor.
"Accepting applications is not
customary, but, the -recent election
caused an interesting situation,"
Pollay said. "We've decided to open
it up more broadly - so we are ask-
ing people who are interested to
apply."
City council stipulates that appli-
cants must be a resident of Ward V,
which includes downtown Ann
Arbor and the western parts of the
city. Any residents, including stu-
dents living in theses areas, are
invited to participate.
Pollay said the council welcomes
applicants with a strong commit-
ment to the community of Ann
Arbor. Previous political experience
is not.required.
"This. position isn't so much
about experience - it's more about
a level-headed approach to con-
stituent concerns," Pollay said.
"We're looking for community
involvement, not political interests."
Despite its rarity, the council uti-
lized the same process in early
December to fill the first ward seat
with Democrat Robert Johnson.
Johnson, who has been working
with environmental issues for the
past six years said he applied
because he wanted more involve-
ment in the city.
"I did it for a chance to have
more impact," Johnson said. "All I
can say to those interested is be
Winter break
lengths vary
across nation
By Jane KrllN
Daily Staff Reporter
While University students had to trudge through the snow
to their first days of class, most college students are still in
t err cozy childhood beds enjoying their winter breaks.
ith the end of exams on Dec. 22 and the beginning of
classes on Jan. 4, many University students had less than
two weeks off for their winter break. '
"It was ridiculously short," said LSA sophomore Jenna
Andrews. "It doesn't give you enough time to relax - the
holidays take up so much time and then you have to get
back to school and buy books and all that."
But other students said they felt that the short winter
break was a small sacrifice to make in order to finish Winter
term examinations April 26, ahead of most other schools.
*'We get off months early compared to other schools, so
it is definitely a trade-off," LSA freshman Theresa Young
said. "I didn't mind the shortness of Winter break it was
long enough to be fun, but short enough not to be boring."
University Registrar Tom McElvain said the primary
reason for the short Winter break is to have three full
semesters in the University calendar, the spring/summer
sessinn nmnts a a full term .University cofcia created
By Stephanie Schonholz
For the Daily
To Michigan Theater volunteer Bob
.Shultz the restoration of the theater's
entry vestibule and volunteering for
the theater for the past five years can
be summarized in four words.
"A labor of love;" Shultz said.
Friday the Michigan Theater re-
opened its main entrance in celebration
of its 73rd birthday. For nearly seven
months, workers have been restoring the
front and other areas of the theater such
"The Lamb". These films will be
shown with either live piano or organ
accompaniment and the theater will
charge the same ticket prices as in
1928. Admission prices for last week-
end were $0.05 for "The Lamb" and
$0.50 for "The Sheik."
Russell Collins, executive director of
the Michigan Theater, led a tour of the
theater and dispensed a plethora of
information about the theater's history.
Nearly 100 people attended the tour
to hear stories about the private dona-
tions and fund raising that footed the
funding bill for the
an restorations.
Collins said that
iginally in 1927, the "the-
ater was built in lit-
ELLIE WHITE/Daily
ISA junior Jim Secreto buys books at the Union on Friday.
University students returned to campus after Winter break
earlier than their counterparts at other college campuses.
McElvain said the start of classes after Labor Day -
which makes the University have the shortest Fall term out
of Big Ten universities- is at the urging of staff and stu-
dents.
Many universities will begin class today and tomorrow
including Grand Valley State University, Michigan State
University and University of California at Berkeley. Many
more universities, such as Lawrence Technological Uni-
versity and Michi.Qan Technological University, wait to
as the heating and
cooling systems.
A volunteer and
member of the the-
ater's board of
directors, Helga
Hover expressed
her excitement with
the final outcome{
ments.
The Michij
Theater or
opened in.
of the improve-
Hover said she especially likes the
"lighting on the outside, which is
much brighter now." The restoration
now quotes from the theater's original
design constructed in the late '20s.
Marking the Michigan Theater's
anniversary, eight silent films are
1928= tle over six
months," from
beginning to end.
The marquis that usually lines vertical-
ly along the outside of the theater,
which is currently not present, will go
up this summer.
Work on the facade and entry
vestibule of the Michigan Theater
will continue through 2001, includ-
ing work on the balcony and the
dressing rooms, said Develooment
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