LOCAL/STATE ___The Miichigan Daiy - Friday, .: v 22 ..2 Pet the pup Former DPS officer sues 'U' for racial bias in firing nd ecr end Sleeping student reported to DIPS [e 'An Angell Hall staff member reported a person sleeping, Depart- ment of Public Safety reports state. It was later found that the subject was a student waiting for class. Boyfriend's items stolen in Barbour A Betsy Barbour resident reported - several of her boyfriend's items stolen for from her residence hall room Monday >ce evening, DPS reports state. The stu- dent returned to her room to find her boyfriend's jacket, cell phone and sun- rs glasses missing. R on Subject reported or looking at porn, yelling in library A Shapiro Undergraduate Library as staff member reported a subject look- ing at pornographic material Tuesday morning, DPS reports state. The sub- ject had also been yelling on the first l floor. The subject was read the tres- passing violation and was escorted from the building. Employee locates fire outside SAB A Student Activities Building employee noticed a fire on the build- W ing's dock Wednesday evening, DPS o0 reports state. The employee did not observe anyone in the area. There was no damage to the building or any & other property. The supervisor r a advised it may have been a result of ble employees discarding cigarette butts ign in the dumpster. ing on Contractor found St dumping chemical 26 A Hospital security officer found a contractor dumping chemical stripper e a into a parking lot on the 1500 block of er E. Medical Center Dr. Monday evening, ies. according to DPS reports. The officer rs, suspects the contractor gave a false & identification. The unit took the license es, plate and the contractors cleaned up the ry non-hazardous chemical. There was no ry, environmental damage. me w Subject found Mc relieving himself A subject was reported urinating along Bishop Street Tuesday morning, an DPS reports state. Housing officers ns. checked the area and were unable to ek locate the subject. ble u1 Money stolen * from office twice A caller reported $500 stolen from her office in John P. Weidenbach Hall s Tuesday morning, DPS reports state. er In addition, $800 had been stolen last week from the same office. DPS had nd . no suspects. By Rtyn Nixon Daily Staff Reporter A hearing has been set for April 9 regarding a former Uni- versity Department of Public Safety officer who alleges he was wrongfully demoted. Joseph Miller, whose job was terminated Jan. 18, filed a federal lawsuit last week claiming a violation of the Whistle- blower's Act of 1980. The act states an employer shall not discharge, or discrimi- nate against an employee who reports a violation of law. Also included in the lawsuit are violations of Miller's constitution- al right to free speech and racial discrimination. Miller is ask- ing for compensation for attorney fees, damages and reinstatement. Miller's attorney, Marian Faupel, said her client's troubles began after he and fellow officer Heather Mc Donald met with DPS Director William Bess in November to discuss their proposal of a canine unit. "The two officers met with him in confidence," Faupel said. "And with the invitation to talk openly, Miller began to describe abuses of power and he complained about discrimi- nation in the department." Faupel said Miller complained about DPS Associate Director James Smiley, who he alleges gave his family mem- bers parking permits. "Mr. Smiley's behavior was well known through the department," Faupel said. "His son had a field pass and his car blocked a police car at an event." Bess said in a written statement that members of the department are encouraged to bring issues of concern to his attention and should do so without fear of reprisal. "This is a university community that expects and deserves the best of its public safety personnel, and unquestioned integrity is essential to community trust," Bess said in the statement. Faupel said within a week of meeting with Bess, a female public safety officer made a complaint about inappropriate contact with Miller. "Her story changed repeatedly. In any other instance, the case would have been dismissed, but Miller was served a sus- pension and was then demoted," Faupel said. Faupel said DPS also claimed Miller was tampering with a witness. "ie warned a friend that they were going to meddle in their business. And he hoped it wouldn't cause he trouble at work," Faupel said. "She was not a witness to anything and was not an employee of the University. It was based on that they terminated him." University spokeswoman Julie Peterson said in a written statement that the facts and circumstances surrounding this matter have been thoroughly investigated. "We believe Mr. Miller was treated fairly and appropriately, and that there was no discrimination,' Peterson said in the statement. Miller was hired in September 1998 as a security officer, Peterson said. In December 1999 he was promoted to a police officer, and was subject to a 12-month probationary period. Faupel said the department's nine black officers do not get many promotional opportunities based on their qualifications. In addition, Faupel said the officers face inappropriate racial references and are disciplined more strictly than other officers. Currently Miller.is earning money doing non-police work, Faupel said. "He's been damaged in the process. He wants the environment in the department to become less hostile to male minority officers," Faupel said. An arbitration in early April could allow Miller's reinstate- ment, which could continue through the litigation process. "At any time the University can make a proposal to settle this. Litigation makes matters worse," Faupel said. AP PHOTO Adam Malicke of Mesick, Mich., Introduces Kira, one of his 21 sled dogs, to students at Uving God Christian School in Traverse City yesterday. Bil ouldmae men s, women S sports concurrent , u .. By Louie Meizlish Daily Staff Reporter A bill that would synchronize the seasons of men's and women's high school sports teams in Michigan was introduced this week in the state House of Representatives. Rep. Chris Kolb (D-Ann Arbor) said he believes the current system, in which women play sports such as basketball, tennis, and golf during different parts of the year than men do, "reduces women's potential to receive scholarships and their recruiting potential." The bill proposes that "if a public school has both a male and female interscholastic athletic team in the same sport at the high school level, the governing board of the public school shall ensure that the seasons for both teams coincide." lie added that since women's sports usually occur at different times in other states, college recruiters are less inclined to visit Michigan sports stars because "they have to make a separate trip to come here and they may have run out of scholarships by the time they get here. " The present system, he said, "sends a subtle but strong message that women's sports are second-rate and that's a bad message." But two local women's coaches said they do not support Kolb's plan. Jeff Wright, the assistant women's varsity basketball coach at Ann Arbor Gabriel Richard High School, said there was no need to alter the current system. "It has never really been a prob- lem," he said. Wright added that since women's basketball occurs in the fall in Michigan, when few other sports besides men's football are occurring, women's basketball players already receive a great amount of attention. Pat Battani, varsity women's bas- ketball coach at Ann Arbor Huron High School, echoed Wright's com- ments. Battani said the system Kolb pro- poses would cause havoc for teams trying to practice. Huron currently has three men's and three women's basketball teams. "I can't imagine how we could have six basketball teams practicing at the same time," he said. "At two hours a pop, if you have practices from four to six, six to eight, and eight to 10, that's awfully late." Battani added that the recruiting problem mentioned by Kolb does not exist. "I have been working in girls' bas- ketball for 23 years and I can tell you that coaches come at any time of the year if there is a player they are looking at." Another reason Kolb said his bill would help women athletes in Michigan was that it would allow them to participate in out of state tournaments that now occur at times different than when their seasons occur. Battani also disagreed on that point, saying, "there are not many teams that want to go out of state tournaments." Of the few that do, he said, their players are usually good enough to receive plenty of attention from college recruits without attend- ing the tournaments. Kolb's bill has been referred to the Committee on Education. He said that although he could not predict whether it would be approved, he was "hopeful that we will get some movement on this issue." Ulrich's Bookstore 549 E. University Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (734) 662.3201 rk, 4W ad 70.ud this a's in aff, Subject arrested for marijuana Housing officers in Bursley Resi- dence Hall requested DPS assistance with a person possessing marijuana, DPS reports state. The subject was arrested for possession and minor in possession of alcohol. 1WS '00 Damage found on elevator doors- An incident of malicious destruc- tion in South Quad Residence Hall was reported Wednesday afternoon, DPS reports state. An elevator mainte- nance worker witnessed the elevator doors beaten with lacrosse sticks. The incident occurred about two weeks ago. Trespasser found in study room A Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library staff member found a trespasser in a study room Wednesday evening, DPS reports state. This frequent trespasser was found asleep. He was soon escort- ed from the building. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Jacquelyn Nixon. Uniform system for voting approaching LANSING (AP) - Michigan voters are going to see some major changes in the state's election system in the coming years, state Elections Director Chris Thomas told a state House committee yesterday. States' elections systems are catching up with today's technology, Thomas told the House Redistricting and Elections Committee during a hearing about the state's election system. "It's got to get better," Thomas said. "Technology in elections hasn't been the best in the world." Michigan Secretary of State Candice Miller, the state's top election official, has pushed for a uniform voting system for the state's 5,380 precincts and reduc- ing the number of elections to four a year. Michigan is considering different elections systems to service the needs of a statewide system. Thomas said the secretary of state's office will offer the Legislature several recommendations about elections next month. The state is considering several sys- tems for statewide use, including com- puter touch screens and optical scan, Thomas said. THE CALENDAR What's happening In Ann Arbor this weekend FRIDAY SATURDAY "Anthropological Research in the Lowland Philippines," Sponsored by the Center for South Kiwanis Resale, 9:00 a.m. - noon, Corner of Washington and First streets. 665-0450 "ArtVideos," Sponsored by the Museum of Art, Kiki Smith's work, 1:00 p.m., UMMA audiovisual room, 525 S. State at South University, 763- SERVICES Campus Information Centers, 764-INFO, info@umich.edu, or 11 w