I)R TL_ 111:_L: __ n_.1_. rt..__ ... ... r i.. r .. . . .. ... . - Tne Micnigan Daily Graduation Edition - Tuesday, April 17, 2001 CLASS OF 2001 Overdose of heroin, cocaine suspected in student's death Members of the Native American community and the Students of Color Coalition protest the senior society Michigamua outside the Michigan Union. Seno1r tower societies proteste Chris Giacherio would have graduated with the Class of 2001 this month By Jennifer Yachnin Sept. 21, 1998 Preliminary autopsy reports indicate heroin and cocaine were a factor in the death of LSA sophomore Chris Giacherio last Tuesday, Ann Arbor Police Department Lt. Jim Tieman said. "The preliminary results are consis- tent to a drug overdose," Tieman said. The information collected by AAPD in its investigation matches the pre- liminary tests, Tie- man said Giacherio, 19, was found mid- morning last Tues-/ day at the home of a friend at 909 Packard St. in an Glacherlo unresponsive state. Medical personnel who arrived in response to a 911 call could not revive Giacherio, who was pronounced dead that morning. "We believe those drugs (heroin and cocaine) were used prior to his death," Tieman said. Officials believe Giacherio ingested the drugs within 24 hours of his death. Toxicology reports should be fin- ished today and "at that point the med- ical examiner will put an exact cause" on Giacherio's death, Tieman said., Tieman said Friday that investigators were still interviewing people who were with him last and it is still not clear whether or not he was alone at the time of his death. Mourners attended a formal service Friday evening for Giacherio at Muehlig Funeral Chapel in Ann Arbor. Family and friends of Giacherio, including University President Lee Bollinger, crowded hallways and sat on the floor as they listened to Father James McDougal of St. Francis o Assisi Catholic Church give Giacherio's eulogy. During the eulogy loved ones shared memories of Giacherio. Heather Jerue, who graduated from Pioneer High School with Giacherio, recalled his warm personality. "Chris and I started our first day of kindergarten together," Jerue said. "I know there are people here who know him better than I did but I know that he had this ability to speak to and commu- nicate with such a broad range of pec* ple and all of us could see it if he was here tonight." Speakers included one of Giacherio's high school teachers, fellow Pioneer graduates, classmates and other friends who shared stories of Giacherio's child- hood, softball teams and more recent interests including his employment at Grizzly Peak Brewing Company on West Washington Street. McDougal spoke of his recent con0 versation with Giacherio about comic books. "The other day when we were talking, one of the things that especially stuck in my head was that we talked about comic books," McDougal said. "The comic books that he loved to col- lect so dearly and look through." McDougal also spoke about how Giacherio's friends and family could lend emotional supoort to each other. "We live in a world that has life and death. Where people die and are take away from us," McDougal said. "We are here to see a deeper reality and that reality is the fact that we are here first of all to support one and other ... We're here as a community. To say especially to you the family that you do not suffer in this alone. That we care for you." "Each us of comes here because in one way or another we have known Chris, or his sisters or his mom and da4 ... We remember the way he touched us," McDougal said. By Tiffany Maggard and Robert Gold March 14,2000 After boxes of Native American artifacts left the Michigan Union tower, the Students of Color Coalition followed, feeling they had accomplished some of the goals they set more than a month ago. "The same spirit that induced us to occupy this space was the same spirit that told us to come down from it and that was our communities ... It is important that we go back to the communities where we belong so that this experience can be shared outside of the (tower) walls," SCC member Kevin Jones said. More than 150 students and community members crowded the stairwell and hallways of the fourth floor of the Michigan Union yesterday afternoon to watch members of Students of Color Coalition offi- cially vacate the Union tower after 37 days of occu- pation. SCC members were greeted outside the tower entrance by friends and Native American community members as the massive crowd cheered to the beat of a Tree Town drum and shook handmade noise makers to show their support. SCC spokesman Joe Reilly said the decision to leave the tower was the result of a strenuous four-hour meet- ing late Sunday night. He said SCC members decided that the coalition had done all it could within the con- fines of the tower. He said the group must now voice their concerns in the broadercontext of the whole cam- pus. "We were worried about what people would think of us. We were worried about whether we did the right thing. We were worried about if we did everything we could ... But it's not about the tower - it's not about 37 days. It's about a lifetime," Reilly said. Michigamua spokesman Nick Delgado said the group "is pleased that the SCC was able to save face by agreeing to a proposal that we provided over 30 days ago." SCC spokesman Diego Bernal said SCC will contin- ue to fight for its goals stated in a 14-point petition sub- mitted to the University administration Feb. 4, including the redefinition of Michigamua's organization and the removal of its name. "Every remnant of Michigamua that exists ... is a direct attack on humanity ... It does not belong at my university. h's about principle - people cannot own our humanity,'he said. Bernal said the group will interact with the commu- nity through town hall and other public forums. "Maybe the tactics will be different, but our motiva- tion has been completely the same,'he said. In e-mail sent to the University community, Univer- sity President Lee Bollinger commented on the goals of a panel established in February by interim Vice President for Student Affairs E. Royster Harper. The panel will consist of three senior administrators from the schools and colleges to scrutinize the issues pre- sented by SCC. Bollinger said the panel will seek the input of stu- dents, faculty and staff and it will hold public hearings. He said the panel will refer to principles of civil rights, anti discrimination and the First Amendment. The group "will consider under what circumstances and in what ways the University, its administrators and faculty members should be associated with such orga- nizations and it will recommend guiding principles in this regard. The University's executive officers and I will then decide whether and how to implement such principles," he said. Goodbe CRISP lady; hello onlme class regstration By Anna Clark Sept. 6, 2000 The CRISP lady is officially dead. The revamped Internet-based Wolverine Access has perma- nently replaced the aged telephone registration system that often frustrated students with its monotone requests to "please hold on." But while the new system has alleviated some difficulties, stu- dents have had mixed opinions on online registration. Nursing juniors Patty Milne and Missy Myer said they were skeptical about moving away from the familiar phones. r "I don't think they've done a very good job of explaining the .pocess," Milne said. "I've used it, but I'm not very informed when I use it. I'm going to miss the CRISP lady." Launched in June with the first session of freshman orienta- tipn, the registration system is now the most prominent feature of wolverineaccess.umich.edu, a site that also offers students access to personal records. "The phone system worked fine, but it was archaic," said Linda Hancock Green, communications coordinator for Michi- gan Administration Information Services, formally known as M- Pathways, which is supervising the project. Besides affording easier access to students' class schedules, the new system is able to support at least 500 users at a time. The phone system was limited to 128 callers. "It worked very well for me. It was fast and easy," Engineering freshman Vinita Brown said. C nstruction beginson 4w Life Sciences Institute By Anna Clark July 17, 2000 After two years of planning and research, groundbreaking has finally begun on the Life Sci- ences Institute. "It's all happening pretty quickly. I think we're ahead of the curve in terms of other institutions pursuing the life sciences," said Jack Dixon, who was later selected as one of the institute's two direc- tors. The LSI complex will be located along Washte- naw Avenue, across from Palmer Field, where it will connect the now vacant area between the Central and Medical campuses. Construction has begun on a parking structure, which will be mostly under- ground, and work on the main LSI buildings will commence soon, Dixon said. He added that construction should take 2 1/2 years to complete and shouldn't cause much incon- venience to traffic, as construction will take place in an empty space. When finished, the LSI will consist of several buildings that will house laboratories, classrooms, offices, a restaurant and a parking structure. The LSI is intended for study and research in "what it means to be human, how best to lead a human or humane existence (and) what it is to be a living organism on this planet," University Presi- dent Lee Bollinger said in a letter sent to the Uni- versity community on May 24. Several University departments will combine to create new courses of study and to support new research in fields influencing everything from med- icine to the humanities. Besides the physical developments in the LSI, progress is also being made in less tangible aspects of the project. A high priority now is to find a director. "We're focusing most of our energies in the search for a director," Dixon said, He went on to say the University is currently con- sidering several possible candidates, but won't be able to make any definite announcements for a few months. In support of the initiative, lecture series' and vis- iting professors have already been inaugurated at the University with goals coinciding with the mis- sion of the LSI. Dixon pointed out that the broad scope of the LSI will have an enormous influence. "This will impact virtually every aspect of our lives - not only in ways we perceive but in ways we haven't even he conceived of," he said. "There's a lot of excitement, everywhere from engineering to business." MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily Construction of the Life Sciences institute is well underway at the corner of Washtenaw Avenue and Huron Street. The institute plans to open in 2003. . - . 'U' settles with Cantor. over daughter's death By Jacquelyn Nixon Jan.11,2001 The University has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit filed in August 1999 by George Cantor fol- lowing 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 Resi- dence Hall. By filing the suit, Cantor's father said he %X hoped to initiate changes in the University's treat- ment towards alcohol-related Cantor incidents and increase safety in Uni- versity residences. 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. "Thi was a terrible tragedy and Courtney' loss is still felt by the entire University 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 bepublished later this sum- mer," he said. The money won from the settlement will go to his other daughter, Jamie, a University alum who is attending law a