Itr One hundred ten years ofeditorzdfreedom t ttz NEWS: 76-DAILY CLASSIFIED: 7640557 www~michigandaily.com Thursday January Ui, 2001. se' d id >:P , - Cantor By Jacquelyn Nixon Daily Staff Reporter The University has agreed to pay $100,000 to *ttle a lawsuit filed in August 1999 by George Cantor following the death of his daughter, Courtney. Courtney Cantor died October 16, 1998, after falling through the window of her sixth-floor room in Mary Markley Residence Hall. By filing the suit, Cantor's father said he hoped to initiate changes in the University's treatment towards alcohol-related incidents and increase safety in University residences. Attorneys waived any future trial concerning Cantor in the agreement. The University is not responsible for plaintiff's costs including legal counsel or expenses, which is also noted in the settlement. Dale Robinson, George Cantor's attorney fill- suit settled for $100,000 ing in for Darrel Peters, said although the Uni- versity has been cooperative, negotiation has been a lengthy process. "The general counsel of the University met with Mr. Peters and Mr. Goodman, senior part- ners of the firm, and hammered out the agree- ment," Robinson said. University spokeswoman Julie Peterson said in a written statement that the University is hopeful this will bring closure to the matter. "We feel this is the best interest of all parties, involved," she said. "This was a terrible tragedy and Courtney's loss is still felt by the entire Uni- versity community." Cantor said his family decided to settle to spare everyone the ordeal of a trial. "There'll never be any closure. We miss her every day," he said. As a way of paying tribute to his daughter, Cantor has composed a manuscript titled "Courtney's Legacy: A Father's Journey." "It will be published later this summer," he said. The money won from the settlement will go to his other daughter, Jamie, a University alum who is attending law school at Harvard. Cantor stressed money was not an incentive for the law- suit. "You effect change by lawsuits, and that's what I was trying to do," Cantor said. One of the changes he has noticed is the Uni- versity taking steps to heighten awareness about alcohol. Cantor said he hopes the University will delay fraternity and sorority rush until Winter term, giving students more time to find out who they are and acclimate themselves at an elite university. Judith Moskus, representing Peter Johnston, who built the loft in Courtney Cantor's room, See CANTOR, Page 2A DAVID KATZ/Daily George Cantor, who filed a lawsuit against the University over his daughter Courtney's 1998 death, reacts in court yesterday as a settlement is reached. 'U' only the latest to defend diversity By Anna Clark w ily Staff Reporter If the current affirmative action law- suits at public universities across the _. ) t country are any indica- tion, the University has a long road ahead in its quest to use racial pref- erences as a method to maintain a Part four of a five-part series on the lawsuit challenging the Law School admissions process. Bus driver's statements in question By Nick Bunkley Daily News Editor A preliminary hearing for an Engineering student charged with the death of a woman who was crushed under the University commuter bus he was driving will continue tomorrow after the judge decides whether to allow state- ments made by the defendant during police questioning. Washtenaw County District Judge Elizabeth Hines will rule whether Ann Arbor Police Officer Sean Lee can tes- tify about what bus driver Daryl Cain told him in the hours after Medical School employee Janis Marchyok's Sept. 11 death. Defense attorney Thomas O'Brien argued that Cain was in police custody during interrogations by officers from the University Department of Public Safety and AAPD but had not been read his Miranda rights. Cain took the stand during a brief hearing to decide whether to accept Lee's testimony, and the defendant said police kept him and other passengers on the bus for several hours while they examined the scene and conducted interviews. "The officer told me to go back on the bus and just wait there," Cain said. "They never said I was under arrest." Prosecuting attorney Donald Ray countered that motorists have a legal obligation to remain on the scene of a traffic accident. He added that police had not actually arrested Cain and that the statements should be admissible. Both lawyers are to submit their opinions and citations 'from previous U.S. Supreme Court rulings regarding Miran- da warnings to Hines today. In Miranda v. Arizona, the high court decided that crimi- nal suspects must be advised of their rights when being taken into custody in order for their statements to be permit- ted in court. Marchyok died after she was struck by the side of the bus as she was crossing Glen Avenue during a heavy rainstorm in the late afternoon of Sept. 11. The bus was turning right from, westbound Catherine Street when Marchyok was hit and dragged under the bus. At the time of the accident, the traffic light for the bus was green and the pedestrian signal gave Marchyok the right of way, and two signs on Catherine warned traffic turn- ing right to yield to pedestrians. See CAIN, Page 7A diverse educational environment. The University's Law School is poised to defend it's race-based admis- sions policy when the Center for Indi- vidual Rights, a Washington, D.C.-based law firm, challenges it in A urt next week. The state universities in Texas, Washington, Georgia and California have fought for the same cause and are all at different stages in the wrangling over admissions policies. The University of Texas lawsuit, Cheryl .. Hopwood v. the State of Texas, made the most recent progress with both a significant Dec. 21 deci- sion on the case and last week's filing of petition for a rehearing. The university's law school admis- Sons policies were ruled unconstitu- tional by the 5th Circuit Court in 1996. But the case isn't closed yet. The late December decision, called Hopwood III, ruled in favor of Texas on three points: That the plaintiffs who were denied admission to the Law School would not be admissible by standard merit criteria, that no additional money will be awarded to the plaintiffs and that *o additional attorney fees will be awarded to the plaintiffs. But the 5th Circuit decision, while supporting race-sensitive admissions, is bound by the original 1996 decision and Texas is not permitted to reinstate affirmative action. In it's quest to over- turn the Hopwood decision, Texas is proposing to hold an additional hear- ing requiring all 13 judges, rather than the three who decided the case in 1996, to hear the case. University of Texas at Austin's Direc- or of Admissions Bruce Walker said these developments, while not offering immediate results, are meaningful. "The general first impression is that this leads to keeping our case alive, which is important to finally seeing it overturned," Walker said. While Faulkner said he agreed that the development in the case is encour- ng, he said he believes the case is till a long way from being over. UT-Austin President Larry Faulkner said the Hopwood case won't be fin- ished until there's a Supreme Court decision to finalize the matter. "All these activities are on the long road to that end," he said. Whitley headed to trial on gun charge By Nick Bunkley Daily News Editor A Washtenaw County judge yes- terday ordered former Michigan football captain James Whitley to stand trial next month on a felony concealed weapons charge. Whitley was dismissed from the team Dec. 14, hours after he was found carrying a loaded handgun at a Hill Street apartment complex. District Judge Elizabeth Hines ruled in a preliminary hearing yester- day that enough evidence exists to proceed with the case, which is scheduled to begin Feb. 8. Whitley could face up to five years in prison if convicted. Ann Arbor Police Officer Ed Dreslinski testified in the hearing that he responded to a call at 3 a.m. Dec. 14 from a female student who said her ex-boyfriend, Michigan wide receiver David Terrell, was trying to break into her apartment at 125 Hill St. The 19-year-old stu- dent told police that Terrell "had been stalking her in the past," Dreslinski said. When he arrived at the apartment See WHITLEY, Page 7A SAMHULLE NSHEAD/Dad TOP: Former Michigan defensive back James Whitley listens to testimony during his preliminary hearing in Washtenaw County District Court. ABOVE: Ann Arbor Police Officer Ed Dreslinski holds the gun he found in Whitley's coat pocket last month. Committee OKs labor code Hitting under the heaters By Susan Luth Daily Staff Reporter Monumental strides were made in a meeting last night of the Committee of Labor Standards and Human Rights. In a 7-2 vote with one abstention the committee chose to recommend that a code of conduct be officially placed into the University's contracts with licensees who manufacture university products. "I am thrilled that the committee decided to vote overwhelmingly to include a strong code of labor stan- dards," said LSA freshman Matt Hannah, a member of Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality. "In all future Michigan apparel contracts, this is a major win for the thousands of workers that assemble Michigan goods throughout the world." This new code would affect compa- nies as big as Nike and Jansport should University President Lee Bollinger decide to enact it as part of the contracts signed with the licensees. It ensures the companies who manufacture university products are working under humane conditions and fairness. "I think our code is an expression of what we think the world should look like," committee chair and social work Prof. Lawrence Root said. He said the See CODE, Page 2A Anti-gay pastor plans to crash Gay Pride Week celebrations By David Enders Daily Staff Reporter Baptist pastor and anti-gay activist Fred Phelps has planned a visit to the University for mid-February, to coin- lish class on gay culture and referred to the "Monstrous gay lies masquerading as a University. ... That filthy lifestyle will damn the life, destroy the soul and doom the nation." The office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered Affairs is the primary organization setting up events for Gay t f .. 1