V One hundred ten years ofeditorialfreedom A ar NEWS: 76-DAILY CLASSIFIED: 7640557 www michigandaily. com Tuesday January 16, 2001 Charges dropped against 'U' bus driver I ® Judge finds Engineering senior not liable for medical secretary's death David Enders ly Staff Reporter Washtenaw County District Judge Eliza- beth Hines decided Friday to drop a negli- gent homicide charge against the University bus driver whose bus struck and killed a woman last year. Daryl Cain, an Engineering senior, was driving the bus that struck University Med- 1 Center employee Janis Marchyok, 48, Ecstacy use rises among teenagrers By Usa Hoffman Daily Staff Reporter as she was attempting to cross Glen Av during a rainstorm at around 5:45 Sept. 11. Cain was turning right from bound Catherine Street onto northb Glen. Cain spoke frankly before leavin courthouse with his lawyer. "I'm pleased with the result and myl goes out to the Marchyok family," said. Cain's grandfather, Benjamin Tood Detroit, attended the hearing. "I'm glad that it turned out the w did," Toodle said. "It had a very bad e on his life. He's supposed to graduate spring." 'CrMaon University Facilities and Operations spokeswoman Diane Brown said it is unclear whether Cain will return to driving a bus following his acquittal. Hines said there was insufficient proof to try Cain and that defense attorney Thomas O'Brien, who was hired by the University on behalf of Cain, effectively made a case that Marchyok ran into the side of bus before the driver could react. "Her entire vision was blocked," O'Brien said, repeating testimony from one eyewit- ness who said Marchyok crossed the street huddled under an umbrella. Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Donald Ray asserted that Cain should have taken extra safety precautions because of the reduced visibility in the rainstorm. "Probably she walked into the side of the bus," Ray said. "The view is better with the doors open - he should have opened the doors and he didn't." University Transportation Services Fore- man Cecile Lamb testified that it is a "judgment call" for drivers to open their door and that Cain was not in error by leav- ing the door closed. Witnesses testified that the passenger windows of the bus were foggy because of the heavy rain but that the windshield and mirrors were properly cleaned and clear. ,the f' Hines also settled a matter from earlier in the week by allowing testimony from Ann Arbor Police Officer Sean Lee on statements taken from Cain following the incident. O'Brien argued using the statements was illegal because Cain had been asked by police to stay on the bus without being read his Miranda rights or being officially placed under arrest. Hines allowed Lee's testimony Friday but said the statements might not have been admissible in a jury trial. "There are several unanswered questions that would be made more clear with an evi- dentiary hearing," Hines said. ight' tlnul g Potentially fatal side-effects, includ- ing hypothermia, dehydration, over- emotional behavior, increased blood ressure and depression have not ned students away from using the designer drug ecstasy - the use of which has increased during the last year, according to a University study. "It doesn't feel real," said an anony- mous University junior, about the effects of ecstasy, which can last from four to six hours. "It's kind of like liv- ing in a fantasy world" Ecstasy is the street name for the drug methylenedioxymethampheta- ne, or MDMA, which has stimulant hallucinogenic characteristics. During the past year, the United States witnessed a large increase in the use of ecstasy among adolescents, including a 2.6 percent increase in ecstasy use among high school seniors from 5.6 percent to 8.2 percent, according to the Monitoring the Future study performed at the Institute for Social Research. *ast year's survey also showed that one in 12 University students had used ecstasy, at least once during the last year. "My guess is that use has risen in students this year," said University research scientist Lloyd Johnston, who added that he feels the ongoing rise of ecstasy use can be attributed to an increase in supply of the drug from the Netherlands and the growing club scene. "I think it is a drug where the sequences are not so obvious, so as ong as they don't see the conse- quences, they will continue to use it." During the course of the past few years, substance abuse therapist Randy Pomeroy at the Chelsea Arbor Treat- ment Center said he has also seen a huge increase in the number of stu- dents using ecstasy. He estimated that four out of his 14 young adult cases ecstasy. 'This is a big one and it is getting worse," Pomeroy said. "It's actually rising because of casual use at a party or a friend's house on the weekends, which escalates into something more than casual." Users and experts agree that the biggest fear with ecstasy is the proba- bility that the ecstasy is laced with more dangerous drugs, which can pro- duce fatal effects. "You take 'E' and you could have caine powder in there," an anony- mous University student said. "Rarely are you going to get pure 'E' and that's scary." Pomeroy said students worried about purity are in the minority. Most people are not as scared about the drug because it's becoming more common on college and university campuses, through gateway drugs including alco- * and marijuana, he explained. "In two, three or four years down the road, it's not likely that they will quit because it is more socially accept- able," he said. According to the survey, 51 percent of the 13,286 high school seniors who enndedcam thv cold Boe etaco BSU DAAP clash during MLK rally By Jacquelyn Nixon Daily Staff Reporter As students took to the streets yesterday to advocate affir- mative action, there were clear divisions among the 200 par- ticipants in how the message supporting affirmative action should be presented. Shortly after students marched from the corner of South University and South Forest avenues to the Diag, where the rally began, the crowd parted as members of the Black Stu- dent Union and the Black Greek The University's 14th annual Martin Luther Association entered. They held green King Jr. Symposium signs stating affirmative action was See inside for their issue and not an issue for the more coverage Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and Integration and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary. BSU members joined BAMN and the other organizations See RALLY, Page 2A LSA sophomore Agnes Aleobua speaks on the steps of of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library yesterday afternoon during a rally in memory of. Martin Luther King Jr. Aleobua will be testifying on the benefits of diversity in the trial against the University's Law School, which begins today. Olmos gives energetic keynote By Elizabeth Kassab Daily Staff Reporter Pushing the podium out of his way, activist and actor Edward James Olmos made full use of Hill Auditorium's stage in a powerful performance yesterday morning during which he imitated everyone from sleepy students to Spanish explor- er Hernando Cortez. Olmos, the memorial lecturer in the Universi- ty's 14th annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Sympo-1 sium, drew an overflowing audience. "He is the only person of color who has been given the right to be called a hero in this nation - ever," Olmos said of King. Olmos touched on + the symposium's theme of commitment and renewal, saying that the day served as a focus1 point to renew commitment to the civil rights + movement. "The struggle you begin tomorrow is the epitome of what this day is about," Olmos said, referring to the case brought against the' Students hon4 a King through Daytv of ServTic By Carrie Thorson Daily Staff Reporter "The struggle you begin tomorrow is the epitome of what this day is about." - Edward James Olmos Keynote speaker, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Symposium University's Law School for using race as a factor in admissions, which goes to trial today. In the welcoming remarks of the event, University President Lee Bollinger said when the lawsuits were filed, the University committed itself to the belief that affirmative action was a "core, fundamental principle of the University of Michigan and of higher education" and still stands by that commit- ment. Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Lester Monts, who also introduced Olmos, said of King, "If we no longer hear his voice, we are not listen- ing." Olmos noted troubling trends in American society during his speech, which was peppered with Spanish and occasionally interrupted by applause. "We still think that Jesus Christ has blonde hair and blue eyes," Olmos exclaimed. "This guy lived in the Mediterranean, not, you know, Sweden." To illustrate his point, Olmos led Bollinger and Monts to center stage. After pinpointing the Mediterranean's location as Northern Africa, Olmos dismissed Bollinger because he "doesn't See OLMOS, Page 2A MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily Actor and director Edward James Olmos pretended to sleep while delivering his keynote speech in Hill Auditorium yesterday afternoon. Auth or reveals 'true' life of MLK By Elizabeth Kassab Daily Staff Reporter DETROIT -- LSA senior Dana Aronson spent her day off yesterday demolishing and cleaning up an abandoned crackhouse. "There's so many people out studying, and that's not the point of today," Aronson said. "The point is to go out and do something." Other students who traveled to the run-down neigh- borhood in Detroit cheerfully worked all afternoon shoveling the remains of the house away. They donned surgical masks to protect themselves from the debris of the demolished Aellinoy and readily lifted iao'red sec- Neuroscience graduate student Dorothy Jones recently found herself debating with her friends about the African American intellectuals' place in society. Her argument struck a chord with DePaul University Prof. Michael Eric Dyson's assertion that blacks who have "made it" cannot neglect those who are still struggling. "It's important to remember where you came from," Jones said. Pharmacology graduate student Tigwa Davis agreed. He saw a mes- allow others of less fortunate back- grounds to come through, to flourish," Davis said. Jones and Davis joined about 300 people in a crowded Rackham Audito- rium yesterday afternoon to hear Dyson, a Detroit native, give a speech titled "I May Not Get There With You: The True Martin Luther King, Jr." Dyson is the author of a biography of the same name that explores King beyond the myths and exposes that he was far from flawless. "Despite his imperfections, King was the greatest American we have ever pro- duced" Dvson said. "He was willing to LSA Junior Natalie Stegall, Nursing Junior Regina Cox and RC sophomore Megan Douglass throw woodchips on the ground in Detroit as a part of the MLK Day of Service. "I've never done anything like this before," Rajan added. "It' aso wesome to he a nart of it" I