I
LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 12, 2001- 3
Law School public service office honored
Teen pleads guilty
in Dartmouth
professor murders
HAVERHILL, N.H. - James Park-
er pleaded guilty as an accomplice to
second-degree murder of Susanne
Zantop as expected Friday during a
brief hearing in Grafton County Supe-
rior Court, but motive remains a mys-
tery.
Dartmouth professors Half and
Susanne Zantop were stabbed to death
in their Etna home last January and
Parker was initially charged with two
counts of first-degree.murder.
Judge Peter Smith began the hear-
ing by questioning Parker to ensure
that the 17-year-old understood the
plea bargain and was "knowingly,
intelligently, voluntarily" changing his
plea to guilty of being an accomplice
to second-degree murder.
When Smith asked Parker if he
entered the plea because he was
indeed guilty, Parker answered, "Yes,
sir."
In return for Parker's full and truth-
ful account of the murder and events
leading up to it, Senior Assistant
Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said
that prosecutors will recommend a
prison sentence of 25 years to life for
Parker.
Iowa State free
speech zone may
be extended
AMES, Iowa - Campus civil
rights advocates and members of the
Iowa State University community
have expressed their support for ISU
President Gregory Geoffroy's propos-
al to expand the free speech zone
across campus.
Currently, free speech on campus is
restricted to the area just west of the
Hub and the area south of the Cam-
panile. The proposal would extend the
current free speech zones to include
all of campus.
Geoffroy, who invited comments on
his proposed plan in October, said he
has received many suggestions from
students and faculty on possible appli-
cations of the new free speech zone.
"People have given us a lot of good
feedback." he said. "I think this gives
students and the broader community
more options to exercise free expres-
sion."
Herman Quirmbach, adviser for the
ISU chapter of the American Civil
Liberties Union, said he feels the pro-
posal is an important step in making
all of Iowa State a free speech zone.
"I think the proposal is a very wel-
comed step forward," said Quirmbach,
associate professor of economics.
"I'm very pleased the president took
the initiative to open this issue up for
discussion."
Tom Emmerson, professor of jour-
nalism and mass communication, said
the whole campus should be open to
free speech.
"I think the whole country is a free
speech zone," he said. "Therefore, the
whole-campus should be a free speech
zone."~
U. Wisconsin
defers graduation
test decision
MADISON, Wis - The Universi-
ty of Wisconsin System Board of
Regents deferred a plan to require all
students entering the UW System to
take a high school graduation test for
admittance.
Citing time restrictions and falling
behind schedule, the regents decided
not to enforce the graduation test dur-
ing its scheduled September 2003
debut.
For now, the board's decision makes
it easier for students to avoid the test,
which critics have claimed is biased
against students with learning disabil-
ities, returning adult students and
schools that develop their own tests.
Currently, students can opt out of
the graduation test. However, by
requiring students to take the test
before entering the UW System, some
parents and school officials have
claimed the test would be virtually
unavoidable.
UW System spokesman Kevin Boa-
tright said the board set no new date
for deciding on the issue.
- Complied by Daily Staff Reporter
Lizzie Ehrle.
By Daniel Kim
Daily StaffReporter
University Law School alum and public interest
lawyer Steve Tobocman is a testimony to the
school's dedication to public interest law. The Law
School recently received the annual 2001 Judy M.
Weightman Memorial Award from the American
Bar Association in recognition of having one of the
best public service programs in the nation.
Tobocman said the University Law School
played an instrumental role in helping him pursue
public interest law.
"There is a significant amount of unmet legal
needs for low income and poor," he said. "Those
folks don't have access to our legal system because
they can't afford to have attorneys."
For example, Tobocman said, there are roughly
40,000 people every year who go through the
Landlord Tenant Court in Detroit. But today's legal
system can support only a few thousand.
"So there are literally tens of thousands who
don't receive the adequate legal assistance. Every-
day in my office, we are not able to meet all the
need because we don't have enough attorneys,"
said Tobocman, who serves as the director of the
Community Legal Resources, which is part of the
Michigan Legal Services, an independent, non-
profit agency thatoffers legal assistance to low-
income and disadvantaged populations in the
Detroit area.
"It's so easy to get a job at a top firm that pays an
incredible amount of money," because non-profit
legal service positions usually have a starting salary
of around $28,000, not enough to pay off school
debts, Tobocman said. Many law school graduates
can face up to $80,000 of debt upon graduation.
To assist law students in the predicament of hav-
ing to choose between their passion for public
interest law and the need to pay off the debts, the
Law School offers the Debt Management/Loan
Forgiveness Program. The program assists law
graduates with loan repayment so they may accept
lower payingjobs without feeling overwhelmed by
their debt.
"There is a tremendous need for lawyers to enter
public service, particularly at the time like this after
the terrorist attack. Cities need lawyers to help
reconstruct and rebuild the city ... and we need
lawyers to defend immigrants who may be unfairly
charged with terrorist crimes," said Prof. Robert
Precht, the head of the University Law School's
Office of Public Service.
Through its numerous clinical programs, the
Office of Public Interest allows students to work
closely with community economics issues, child
advocacy and impact litigation. Students also have
the opportunity to work abroard in South Africa or
Cambodia or in government agencies across the
country.
"Extensive clinical programs where students are
trained by faculty to practice in public interest law,
pro-bono programs where students can contribute
to non-profit organizations in Ann Arbor and
Detroit and the very active career advising pro-
grams that help them get jobs in public interest sec-
tor" are the essential elements that make the
University of Michigan's Law School one of the
best in the nation, Precht said.
"I am very proud and I am most happy for our
students whose dedication to public service
inspires me," he said.
Fishy finals fun
MSA approves
funding for later
hours at CCRB
By Kara Wenzel
Daily Staff Reporter
Architecture senior Matt Robbins and freshman Peter Moerland,
their candy canes.
EMMA FOSDICK/Daily
study with their fish, A. Alfred Taubfish, while enjoying
Student speaker to address
graduates at winter ceremony
The Michigan Student Assembly
last night approved funding to keep
the Central Campus Recreation
Building open until 1:30 a.m. on
Sunday and Mondays during the
months of January and February.
"Students don't operate on a nine-
to-five basis," said Matt Nolan, MSA
president and student member of the
RecSports Advisory Committee.
"We've heard from students consis-
tently over the years that they want to
be able to exercise later at night."
The assembly will use $4,368 from
one of its general funds for the pro-
ject. Nolan said this will amount to
11 cents per student.
"If usership patterns increase we
can take that to RecSports and make
a case for having the hours changed
on an extended basis," Nolan said. "I
think this is something students
would want to see their money go
for."
Also concerning students is the fall
break proposal, which was signed by
interim Provost Lisa Tedesco.
Tedesco will present the proposal at
tomorrow's University Board of
Regents meeting.
Nolan encourages students to gath-
er in the MSA chambers, 3909
Michigan Union, at 1 p.m. tomorrow
before attending the regents meeting
to demonstrate student support for a
fall break.
Also at last night's meeting, the
assembly passed a resolution in
opposition to changes to the bylaws
of the Board in Control of Intercolle-
giate Athletics.
Student General Counsel John
Carter said students and faculty feel
the change is being pushed through
at the end of University President
Lee Bollinger's tenure without out-
side input or explanation and stu-
dents need to be aware of the changes
that could occur if the Board is
renamed an advisory committee.
"Bollinger's current plan to rename
it as an advisory board decreases the
influence of students, faculty and
staff on the athletic department,"
Carter said.
The assembly also passed resolu-
tions in support of increased child
care services for students and striv-
ing for a sustainable university.
"The child care resolution asks for
the University to build a new
licensed child care facility for
infants, a teen center, and after hours
child care for graduate students, fac-
ulty and staff," Rackham Rep.
Suzanne Perkins-Hart said.
Perkins-Hart said the University
currently has only four day care cen-
ters near campus serving about 200
children and none provide infant
care.
"The demand for child care is
greater than what the University pro-
vides by far," Perkins-Hart said.
The second resplution, for a sus-
tainable university, asks the adminis-
tration to analyze and pursue ways of
making students more ecologically
conscious and facilities more envi-
ronmentally friendly.
"This resolution is trying to get the
University to become more ecologi-
cally responsible," Environmental
Issues Commission co-chair Tim
Reynolds said.
LSA Rep. Rob Goodspeed, former
co-chair of the Student Rights Com-
mission, resigned his seat on the
assembly last night citing that he
believes he can better serve student
interests outside MSA. Goodspeed
said he plans "to continue to attend
student rights committee meetings."
By Christopher Johnson
Daily Staff Reporter
Stephanie Dionne, who will graduate with a bachelor's of
science degree in microbiology, will give the student address
at the University's winter commencement ceremony.
Dionne said she wanted to speak at the event to inspire the
2,000 students expecting their degrees."It's actually something
I wanted to do for a while," she said. "The chance to speak to
so many people was daunting but exciting."
Winter commencement will begin at 2 p.m. Sunday at
Crisler Arena. English Prof. Charles Baxter, a short story
writer and novelist, will be the main commencement speaker.
In her commencement speech, Dionne plans to urge her fel-
low graduates to remember the aspirations that compelled
them to enroll in the University.
Dionne has participated in many activities and organiza-
tions during her student career. Since she first enrolled at the
University, Dionne has taken part in the women's synchro-
nized swimming club team, which she now coaches. She is
president of the Golden Key International Honor Society, a
community service organization of juniors and seniors in the
top 15 percent of their classes.
Dionne is also executive producer of the V-Day College
Campaign, which raises money to end violence against
women by staging volunteer productions of the Vagina Mono-
logues. The organization plans to raise $40,000 this year.
Before enrolling at the University, Dionne studied at
Chatham College in Pittsburgh, Pa. She said she transferred to
Michigan for the incredible academic possibilities that the
school offers. Dionne said that the undergraduate program
here had the "most diverse opportunities and the most diverse
community" she could find.
After graduation, Dionne plans to apply to graduate school
and then become a clinical research scientist in women's
health issues.
The Student Speaker Selection Committee selected Dionne
not only for her outstanding student career but also for the
variety of her activities. The members felt that her many
accomplishments corresponded to the many possibilities at
the University.
"We found she reflected qualities that Michigan had
uniquely as a University," said LSA sophomore Natalie
Raaber, a member of the selection board.
Taubman resigns as
chairman of family
development firm
DETROIT (AP) - Taubman Cen-
ters Inc. Chairman A. Alfred Taub-
man is giving up leadership of the
company he founded, less than a
week after he was convicted in a
price-fixing scheme during his
tenure at Sotheby's auction house.
Taubman's son Robert Taubman,
the shopping mall developer's presi-
dent and CEO, will take over as
chairman.
In a news release yesterday, A.
Alfred Taubman, 76, a major Univer-
sity donor and the namesake of the
College of Architecture and Urban
Planning, said he believed that step-
ping down was the right thing to do.
"I have great confidence in the
company's continuing success," he
said.
A federal jury on Dec. 5 found
Taubman guilty of conspiring with
former 'Christie's Chairman Anthony
Tennant in a scam that stole as much
as $400 million in commissions from
sellers from 1993 to 1999. Taubman
has denied involvement in the
scheme.
He faces up to three years in
prison for conspiracy to violate
antitrust laws. He is scheduled to be
sentenced on April 2.
Michael Bernacchi, marketing
professor at the University of
Detroit-Mercy, said Taubman's resig-
nation was expected.
"Frankly, I don't think he has any
choice, and I'm a little surprised per-
haps it didn't happen earlier,"
Bernacchi said. "But perhaps he
thought it was better ... to let every-
thing run its course."
Customers who turn their artworks
over to Sotheby's or Christie's for
auction have to pay a commission on
the sale price. The Justice Depart-
ment said the two men illegally col-
luded on how much to charge,
depriving the sellers of the opportu-
nity to bargain for a lower price.
The two auction houses control
more than 90 percent of the world's
art auctions. Tennant was chairman
at Christie's from 1993 to 1996.
THE CALENDAR
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
EVENTS
"The Role of Accultura-
tion In Latino Health-
Related Behaviors";
p.m., Hussey Room,
Michigan League
"Virus Dynamics"; 3:10
- 4:00 p.m., Sponsored
by the University
* Flaming Menorah
Hanukkah Party; Gay
Jews and their friends get
together to celebrate
SERVICES
Campus Information
Centers, 764-INFO,
info@umich.edu, or
www.umich.edu/-info
S.A.F.E. Walk, 763-WALK,
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