LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, April 11, 2001'= 3 NG ED MSA joins statement opposing court ruling BYU students irate after sign language housing is nixed Students at Bringham Young Univer- *sity protested the administration's recent decision to discontinue the American Sign Language foreign-language hous- mg after Summer 2001 last Friday after- noon. The protest was also used to promote a need for an ASL minor on campus. There was an interpreter pre- sent to sign the protesters' chants. Jeannie Welch, director of foreign language student residences, said the protest shows a lack of information on the part of the students. Welch said the ,ASL program received so much inter- ,est that it was implemented off campus for fall 2000 through summer 2001. Welch also added that because the ASL program is not recognized as a rmajor or minor, the ASL house cannot be a part of the on-campus foreign lan- guage residences. r. 4 Jack Rose, coordinator of the ASL program, said everything possible has been done to try to get an ASL minor and faculty are in full recognition of the benefits of the minor. Allison Freedman, part-time faculty for the " ASL program, said a minor would help students with their marketability after graduation. Welch said proposals for a minor had been drafted but were turned down due in part to a "lack of qualified professorial personnel" MIT courses to go online for public The Massachusetts Institute of Tech- nology announced last week that it intends to make materials for nearly all its courses available on the Internet to the general public. The 10-year pro- ject, dubbed the MIT OpenCourse- Ware, is a groundbreaking step in Internet policy among higher learning academic institutions. The project will feature lecture potes, course outlines, reading lists and assignments for each of MIT's nearly 2,000 courses. MIT hopes the initiative will inspire self-study by interested individuals around the world and hopes it will help developing nations build their own systems of higher education, on the basis of MIT curriculum as a model. MIT also stressed the potential OCW has to pen the dialogue on education by fos- tering an environment in which curric- ula can be more easily discussed and compared. The project is not without its crit- ics. One response to the initiative has been that increasing access to materials offered by MIT courses will decrease the value of an MIT education, but MIT spokesperson Patti Richards said the experience of being in the classroom, listening to lectures and interacting with one's peers cannot be duplicated over the Internet and, furthermore, MIT will not offer any form of aca- demic credit as part of OCW. Other critics noted the legal complica- "ions that may arise with the distribution 6f copyrighted materials and intellectual ".. property, but MIT said the same policies currently followed by its faculty when dealing with these issues will apply to the Internet courses as well. he Citadel to gain cheerleading squad The Citadel will soon be able to have its own squad of cheerleaders, now that the military institution has gone co-ed. The college has "bor- rowed" female students from the ieighboring College of Charleston for its cheerleading team since the 1960s. - The Charleston cheerleaders must 'now leave the squad, though many of them wanted to continue to cheer until the end of their college years. Cheer- leader Lauren Heesemann said she thought it was wrong for the Citadel to cut the current squad, but instead should have let them finish out as mem- bers of the squad till their senior years. Associate Athletics Director Ray Whiteman said the Citadel believed the best decision concerning the cheerleading squad was either all- or-nothing. Athletics Director Les Robinson agreed the radical change was needed so that the Citadel's { cheerleaders are more representa- tive of the school. The Citadel now has 81 women enrolled since its desegregation in 1995. -- Compiled from U- WIRE reports by y Daily Staff Reporter Jane Krull. By Carrie Thorson Daily Staff Reporter At their second-to-last meeting yesterday evening the Michigan Student Assembly passed another highly contested resolution in defense of affirmative action at the Universi- ty. This particular resolution added the assem- bly's name to a University-wide statement in opposition to the "anti-affirmative action court decision" handed down by U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman in the lawsuits against the Law School's admissions policies. The resolution also involved the assembly in organizing the National Student Confer- ence to be held on campus this summer and a National March on Washington next year. LSA Rep. Peter Apel said the resolution was not appropriate because it specifically endorsed a student group. Apel said the Coalition to Defend Affirma- tive Action and Integration and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary "does not need MSA support on campus," adding that the assembly should remain "strictly neutral" about affirmative action. Many assembly members said MSA should not diverge from its past trend of supporting affirmative action resolutions. "For MSA not to have their name on this (statement) would be embarrassing to me," said Law School Rep. Chris Sheehan. The assembly also voted to establish a Child Care Taskforce to improve childcare options available to students. Alum Aimee Bingham said childcare at the University was second to last when compared to other Big "For MSA not to have their name on this would be embarrassing to me." - Chris Sheehan Law School representative Ten universities. "There are two changing tables on this cam- pus," Bingham said. "The decision to raise a family should never deter a student's pursuit of higher education, especially on a campus as diverse as our own," said Rackham student Tara Javidi. Assembly members announced that for the first time in several semesters Advice Online has been updated. "Advice Online is a service that allows stu- dents to see what their peers thought of cliss- es," LSA representative Zach Slates said. Newly elected officers are.LSA sophomore Alex Mcdonough as chair of the Tax-ekempt Textbook Taskforce and LSA sophomore Monique Luse and LSA junior Leena Soman as co-chairs of the Minority Affairs Commis- sion. Next Monday the assembly will hold a spe- cial meeting to complete business before the Summer Assembly begins. MARS celebrates Great American Meatout day By Stephanie Schonholz Daily Staff Reporter Animal rights supporters, vegans and vegetarians joined together yesterday to show their support for a meat-free lifestyle in celebration of the national Great American Meatout. Normally held March 20, the Meatout was held on campus later this year to take advantage of the warmer weather. With pamphlets and flyers reading "Choose A Living Earth" and "Kicking the Habit: Great American Meatout" the Michigan Animal Rights Society added its support to the cause with a display on the center of the Diag. "The basic premise of the National Meatout is it's a time of renewal, springtime is a time of life and we try to take advantage of that," said MARS President Kristie Stoick, an LSA senior. FARM, a national public interest organization and the national sponsors of the day, which boasts celebrity co-chairs including Casey Kasem, Mary Tyler Moore, Jennie Garth and Bill Maher, provided various pamphlets on the subjects of becoming a vegetarian or a vegan, as well as animal rights in general. "We're out to promote a healthy lifestyle through vegan and vegetarian attitudes and animal rights," said LSA senior and group member Karl Ecklund. "It's important at the very least to get people to think about the issue, maybe they won't go vegan or vegetarian for the day or a week but it's in their minds for the future," Ecklund added. The group is "trying to emphasize that meat eat- ing is bad for the environment, that it's not a renew- able resource and the importance of the life part, animals are suffering for your burger," Stoick said. The national effort to call attention to animal The national effort to call attention to animal rights makes it one of the most vulnerable causes in society. rights makes it one of the most vulnerable causes in society because people say that animals have;no rights, Ecklund said. "The National Meatout is a day that lets people on campus be aware of taking some of the ideas that promote less animal cruelty to heart;" said MARS Vice President Erica Kebersky, an LSA senior. Kebersky said many people showed interest in the topic. "The animal rights movement is one of the friendlier groups on campus, we got a lot of people approaching the table asking questions, we try not to alienate people," she said. The group has made small strides in impacting friends and family members' attitudes concerting animal rights by changing family members' eating habits for a day or more, or changing eating and mental habits for a lifetime. The primary focus of the group and promotion of the Great American Meatout is to change socity's staunch views about animal rights. "If people would stop and think about what we're saying, it might impact them. People ignore the mes- sage because they think they're being threatened," said Stoick. "Even if we impact a few people it's wortirthe effort," Ecklund said. JEF HURVITZ/Daily LSA seniors Karl Ecklund, Kristie Stoick and Erica Kubersky run the Michigan Animal Rights Society booth on the Diag during yesterday's Meatout. Forum reflects on regulations for use r SE IOR D YS ofDi~agh By Karen Schwartz Daily Staff Reporter People passing through the Diag are greeted by the displays that stand in what many students consider the center of campus. What they don't consider, however, is what has to happen to make the Diag events happen. Members of student organizations met yesterday with Student Activities and Leadership Office Director Susan Wilson and Office Manager David Gar- cia to discuss Diag policy. The annual open forum is designed to collect feedback from students about the Scheduled Use of the University of Michigan Outdoor Common Areas, commonly known as the "Diag policy." Forum participants discussed Diag allocation, structure and event restric- tions, and group interaction. Respect was also a main focus as they reflected on past events and the response of other student groups to specific displays. "Student organizations need to respect each others' rights and view- points to help us to help them create an environment where they can accom- plish that," Garcia said. Students for Life President Andrew Shirvell commented on other groups responses to the Genocide Awareness Project exhibit on the Diag last fall. "People shouldn't use blocking the Diag to limit free speech they don't like," Shirvell said. "This is our Diag too and no one group has a monopoly on it. ... No group has the right to iy groups block the display." Wilson said she recognized the intensity of student feelings towards their events on the Diag. "It's hard to talk about the Diag in abstract. When you're actually out there your emotions get stirred and you say, 'I'm supposed to be out there, I scheduled that,"' Wilson said. Student groups wishing to reserve the area can call ahead to see if the day is reserved and then go to the office to fill out the appropriate forms. They have the option of reserving part of the area or the whole Diag. Wilson said the Student Activities and Leadership Office is there to help make sure the free discourse is possible and that community safety is not compro- mised. She added that the Diag is an impor- tant place for the exchange of ideas and that the Diag policy helps regulate the time, place and manner of the event. "You're here to learn from one another and it doesn't just happen in the class- room, it happens in the Diag, and the Diag policy is there to make sure you have the opportunity," she said. LSA freshman Vijay Sampath attended the meeting as a representa- tive of the Alpha Iota Omicron fraterni- ty. He said he found the meeting beneficial and informative. "It's important to know the ins and outs of Diag policy so you can use it to your advantage when conducting your own events or choosing to collaborate with other groups in using the Diag," he said. A ODAY HERE! INEY MATTERSI SEMINAR 27-- 7 n.m. both nights. Alumni Center --- -a.----a-. a ---- - --------.-- - 5------ ----u ---v*sa g a-a-- --- - --aa You're about to earn your first salary, but what are you supposed to do with it? Get a jump start on your financial life after graduation at these great workshops! You'll hear practical tips on things like how to manage your credit card debt, pick the right benefits from your employer, deal with taxes and save for the future. You'll also have the opportunity to talk with recent U-M grads about what it's really like after graduation. As a bonus, everyone who attends also gets life After + Graduation, a great guidebook on everything else financial, such as finding an apartment, buying i a car, living on a budget and more! THURSDAY: SENIOR SEND-OFF - 5 p.m., Ingalls Mall, across from RaCkham 4 Celebrate your graduation with your friends at the Alumni Association. There will be music, free food and drinks, information about cities across the United States, and you could even win a new Passat from Howard Cooper Volkswagen! Free prize drawings every half hoilur, indIUding a multi-sport adventure weekend trip for two. You'll also have the opportunity to meet other U-M grads relocating to your new city. Look for a postcard in the mail detail- t .... "a' '.4,',,. . .g Et ing all the events at the send-off. We'll see you there! 4/28 WELCOME TO THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION - 8 a.m., Kipke Drive parking lot, adjacent to Crisler Arena Don't miss your last chance on campus to sign up for your free one-year membership in the Alumni Association! Come learn what the Alumni Association has to offer you as a recent gradu- ate. Enjoy some music and celebration as you gather on the east side of Crisler Arena to prepare for thecommencement processional into Michigan Stadium. 4/28 MICHIGAN MEMORIES - Immediately following commencement, THE CALENDAR What's happening in Ann Arbor today I lP' x y-v-r'rc hers (3909 Michigan Shawn McBrien will .RF.RViC :F.'p, I C2V E~N 1 u .+~ rnvn c-*. . .-- rvvrvr:Awr%- IV ur.