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Friday
February 16, 2001
_ _ .. ...*
I
Law prof.:
Race does
not matter
to success
Sy Jen Fish
Daily Staff Reporter
DETROIT - Although witness tes-
timony in the lawsuit challenging the
admission policies of the Law School
concluded yesterday, the work is far
fI over for the attorneys on each side
in the case, who will present their clos-
ing arguments to U.S. District Judge
Bernard Friedman today at 9 a.m.
Yesterday
the interven-
kMlSIO' ing defen-
}N . Al dants recalled
Law Prof.
Richard Lem-
pert, an earli-
er witness for
tUniversity, to present a study he
haconducted on the success rates and
career paths of University Law School
graduates.
Drawing on a sample that included
almost every minority graduate from
1970 to 1996 with their white peers,
Lempert said survey data showed that
Michigan alumni enjoy high rates of
success in terms of income, satisfac-
t' with their job and amount of pro
b o work performed.
"Minority grads do every bit as well
as whites," he said. "... Race does not
matter to success at U of M."
This, Lempert said, refutes the
notion that lesser-qualified minority
applicants are admitted under a double
standard that works against white
applicants.
"Race is a part of a whole constella-
tion of factors," he said outside the
c troom. Lempert also said race is
ta en into account to gain the educa-
tional benefits of a diverse student
body.
Lempert said he also found that
minority applicants do participate in
slightly more service-related activities,
such as mentorship and pro bono
work, than their white peers.
Furthermore, Lempert said these
s would not have been made if it
e not for affirmative action.
"Professor Lempert's testimony
shows that affirmative action at the
Law School has been an unqualified
success," said Miranda Massie, lead
counsel for the intervening defendants.
"The vast majority of black and
Latino law students would not be in
law school if it were not for affirmative
action," she added.
Dems
lend
support to
MSA
By Carrie Thorson
1Daily Staff Reporter
RACHEL EEIERMAN/Daily
Ann Arbor Community Nigh School students "Sailor J," "Blue Green" and "Jesa Rae" prepare in the Michigan Union
last night for the GenderBenderRevueCUBED event. Queer Visibility Week concludes today with the Diag "Kiss-In."
DRAG IME
Revue attracts a ecuinc
from acrosIhecuntry
The Michigan Democratic Party
has given permission to a group of
students to form a political party
called the University Democratic
Party, adding a new twist to this
year's Michigan Student Assembly
elections.
Only a few weeks old, the new
party has already sparked vocal
support and opposition.
"Student government should not
be an outlet for partisan politics,"
said LSA Rep. Jessica Cash, this
year's vice-presidential candidate
for the Blue Party.
Cash said her major concern
regards the funding bodies of MSA.
The Supreme Court ruled in the
1999 case Board of Regents of the
University of Wisconsin System v.
Southworth, et al., that funding
bodies are supposed to be neutral.
"There's no way that anyone who
runs with the Democratic Party
could be viewpoint-neutral," Cash
said.
But UDP's presidential and vice-
presidential candidates, Mike
Simon and Alicia Johnson, said the
party's focus is only on students
and local issues.
"We're not trying to bring world
and national politics into a body
that doesn't need it," Simon said.
"That's why we're the University
Democratic Party, not the Democ-
ratic Party," added Johnson, an
LSA representative.
The University Democratic Party
was formed because of discontent
party
with the current party choices
offered for the upcoming MSA
election, Johnson said.
"The fact that so many of our
supporters and candidates were for-
merly affiliated with other parties
but have come together to form this
new coalition says a lot," Johnson
added.
"MSA political parties have drift-
ed so far to the right of where cam-
pus is," Simon said.
Apart from being concerned with
the conservative aspect of existing
parties, Simon also cited concerns
of minority groups on campus as a
reason for forming the party.
"The mainstream minority on
campus is vastly disappointed with
the leadership" of the Defend
Affirmative Action Party and the
Coalition to Defend Affirmative
Action By Any Means Necessary,
Simon said.
Because those groups are so
extreme in representing the liberal
side of arguments such as affirma-
tive action and abortion, Simon
said, some students find them inac-
cessible.
They chose to use the name of
the Democratic Party because "peo-
ple can look at us and not have to
guess at what they're getting when
they cast their vote," he said.
"We're all liberals," Johnson said,
"but we'd be liberals even without
the party."
Many past and present MSA
members, including former vice
president Andrew Coulouris, a
first-year Law student, are not sup-
See MSA, Page 7
By Elizabeth Kassab
Daily Staff Reporter
Fire, glitter, color and "Queerleaders" brought the
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities
together in an exuberant performance last night at the
GenderBenderRevueCUBED in the Michigan Union
Ballroom.
University and local high school students, Ann
Arbor residents and others from as far away as Port-
land, Ore., drew a record-high audience for the event.
The event was a part of the LGBT Association's
Queer Visibility Week, which culminates with today's
"Kiss-In" in the Diag.
"It's part education, part activism and all fun," said
Beth Harrison Prado, creator and producer of last
night's event. Transgender activists are "usually
responding to some kind of violence or some kind of
hate. What we didn't get to do a whole lot was cele-
brate," Harrison Prado said.
Performances ranged from the "Firestarter," the
fire-swallowing and fire-breathing act of Jase Ousley
and Shane Pain Evans, to stand-up comedy and origi-
nal poetry and songs.
Harrison Prado said other universities have drag
shows and poetry slams, but the GenderBenderRevue
is truly unique.
"It's so much more than a drag show. It's more than
a talent show. It's not an open mike. It's not a rally.
It's a chance for all of us who are transgender, trans-
sexual and genderqueer, plus friends and allies, to
come together and have some fun, make some noise
and be our beautiful, fabulous selves," Harrison
Prado said.
Original artwork by Ann Arbor's Community High
School lined the entrance of the ballroom, and free
condoms, pamphlets and posters from the afternoon's
See SHOW, Page 7
Pizza pizza
See TRIAL, Page 7 L
Spring Break allows Mardi Gras partying
By Samantha Ganey
Daily Staff Reporter
Although Mardi Gras often makes
its way into vacation plans for a
number of students on an annual
b@is, those heading from Ann
Arbor down to the festivities this
year won't have to miss a single day
of classes.
Nine days of Spring Break afford
University students just enough
time to embrace and recover from
Mardi Gras this year. Abandoning
pressure-filled schedules and dead--
lines in Ann Arbor, some parade
and party-seeking students will
s unlike anything I've ever experienced.
The entire city will shut down."1
- Rachel Kleinman
LSA senior
retreat to New Orleans for the
famed Carnival and Mardi Gras cel-
ebration.
Carnival began Jan. 6 and will
climatically end with Mardi Gras at
midnight Feb. 27. The end of Mardi
Gras, otherwise known as Fat Tues-
day and the day before Ash
Wednesday, will send away 2 mil-
lion Mardi Gras enthusiasts who
will have sleeplessly rallied in a city
of 500,000 residents.
Business senior Melissa Spelman
plans to fly with five friends to New
Orleans for her first Mardi Gras
experience.
"I'm excited to have gone once.
In general, I'm looking forward to
the overall experience," Spelman
said.
One of Spelman's five friends
heading to the city of masks and
madness relayed similar excitement
for a once-in-a-lifetime Spring
Break experience. As LSA senior
Rachel Kleinman looks forward to
an unprecedented vacation, she
recalled impressions from friends
who had attended Mardi Gras in
previous years.
"It's unlike anything I've ever
experienced. The entire city will
shut down," she said.
See MARDI GRAS, Page 7
RACHEL FEIERMAN/ Daily
LSA sophomore Melissa Sachs serves pizza at the New York Pizza Depot
last night.
Regents discuss AATA deal, new residence hall
* S. Martin Taylor calls for
60-day moratorium on bus
service negotiations
By Anna Clark
Daily Staff Reporter
With debates about the bus system and an
agreement to go ahead with the construc-
tion of a new residence hall, student life
became the focus of yesterday's meeting of
the University Board of Regents.
Early in the meeting, University Chief
nership would "be good for the environ-
ment, reflect the University's commitment
to partnership with the community, save
capital expenses and ensure no loss of jobs
for full-time employees."
Kasdin added that the partnership would
be gradual over a three- to four-year period,
during which the University could pull out
at any time.
But with an observation by Regent Lau-
rence Deitch (D-Bloomfield Hills) that
"there has been a lot of concern over this
issue," Regent S. Martin Taylor (D-Grosse
Pointe Farms) proposed a 60-day moratori-
able."
Although the proposal was accepted, the
transportation issue was again addressed at
the end of the regular meeting. Seven of the
12 public comments scheduled were from
students and staff opposing the partnership.
Social Work graduate student Michael
Dover said he opposed the partnership
because of the loss of student jobs and the
questionable process taken to pursue the
deal.
"There will be no reduction in the num-
ber of full-time driver positions, but student
jobs will decline through attrition from the
ate the internal pros and cons.
University bus driver Marisa Arnold said
AATA "is seeking to zap the strength from
our system."
"This is part of their grand scheme to
monopolize Ann Arbor," Arnold said.
She also noted the benefits of students
driving students, including knowledge of
campus buildings, giving directions and
conversations.
Other University students and staff noted
that Transportation Services offers high
paying jobs that are largely held by minority
and working-class students. Taking away
he