LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 22, 2001- 3A CAMPUS Culture Bus to * visit Pewabic Pottery in Detroit This week's Culture Bus destination will be the nonprofit organization Pewabic Pottery. The organization's mission is to promote the ideals of arts and crafts through educational and outreach programs. The field trip coincides with the University's 300 Detroit Theme Semester in honor of Detroit's 300th anniversary. Following the tour the bus will stop for dinner in Greektown. The culture bus will visit Pewabic Pottery at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. All Culture Bus tours will leave from the University Museum of Art at 525 S. State St. and is free to all University students, faculty and staff. School of Info to host open house The School of Information will hold its annual open house to inform stu- dents on careers in information profes- sions and master's or doctoral degrees. Students completing their under- graduate studies or who have earned a bachelor's degree and are interested in graduate programs are encouraged to attend. Visitors to the open house will meet faculty, staff and current stu- dents of the school. The open house will be held Saturday from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the School of Informa- tion, located in West Hall. Series on autism begins this week Catherine Lord, director of the Autism and Communication Disor- ders Centers, will discuss the educa- tional intervention for children with autism Thursday. Lord will give a speech titled "Early Intervention for Children with Autism Spectrum Dis- orders: The National Academies of Science 2001 Report." The lecture is geared towards educators, clinicians and parents with autistic children. The lecture will be held at the Kel- logg Eye Center in the Oliphant Mar- shall Auditorium beginning at 4 p.m. This is the first in a series of talks regarding autism sponsored by the University's Institute for Human Adjustment. Poverty, abuse to be focus of Friday conference at 'U, The Trapped by Poverty/Trapped by Abuse Third Research. Conference will feature Peter Edelman, a profes- sor of law at Georgetown University, who will discuss what needs to be done in order to put an end to poverty. Prof. Edelman was a top aide to former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the assistant secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the U.S. Depart- ment of Health and Human Services. The conference will be held on Fri- day at the Michigan League. Edel- man's keynote address will begin at 3:30 p.m. The University School of Social Work's Center on Poverty, Risk and Mental Health, the Institute for Research on Women and Gender and the Chicago-based Center for Impact Research will be sponsoring the event. 'Spice of life' to be presented at t botanical gardens The natural history and social implication of the everyday spices that most of us take for granted will be explored tomorrow by David Michen- er, the assistant curator of the Univer- sity's Matthaei Botanical Gardens. Participants will learn about early misconceptions regarding the use of spices and will be able to taste and smell the "botanical confections." Some of the foods that will take center stage include chocolate and its use in cornmeal and as a beverage in milk, the idiscovery of coffee and the social issues of tea and its connection to opium. The first of three discussions will be tomorrow from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. There is a $58.50 registration fee for members of the gardens and $65 for non-members. Registration is required. The Matthaei Botanical Gardens are located at 1800 Dixboro Rd. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Shannon Pettypiece. 2 students settle dispute on J By Jennifer Misthal For the Daily "Judge Judy" is ready to rule today in a dispute between two University students over damage to a car during a party near campus this summer. LSA junior Julia Koenigsknecht and Business first-year student Matthew Brody will argue their cases before television's Judge Judith Sheindlin in an episode that airs at 4 p.m. today on Detroit's WJBK-TV Channel 2. While attending a party on July 2 at Koenigsknecht's house, Brody parked his 1998 Volvo S70 in the driveway. Koenigsknecht lives with one of Brody's friends. "When I came outside to leave, her SUV was parked touching my back bumper" Brody said. "He parked in such a way that he was taking up two spots. I had to pull up as close as possible so my car didn't get hit from the street," said Koenigsknecht, who drives a 1992 Ford Explorer. Both parties admitted that there was a problem and they exchanged phone numbers. Brody promised to call the next day with a complete assessment of the damage. "I called Julia seven days after the incident occurred. I worked full-time and it took me that long to get an estimate on my car. Additionally, the only Volvo body shop is over 30 minutes away. I think that was actually very fast com- pared to how long that can usually take," said Brody. "When I called her, she said that her dad is a lawyer and told her that I couldn't prove any- thing." lie also offers a dated statement sheet of the estimate in his defense. Koenigsknecht tells things a little differently. "I didn't receive a phone call until two weeks later. I had assumed that there was no problem because it took so long for him to get back to me. It came as such a shock to hear from him. Some- one else could have made the damage worse," she said. "I called my insurance company and they not only agreed with me, but refused to pay for the damages. After two weeks, who knows who could have hit it?" "Also, when she told me she would pay initial- ly I didn't think she would argue like this about how long it would take to get the estimate," Brody said. "Even if it had taken me six months, she would still be legally responsible." After filing a claim in Washtenaw County Small Claims Court for 5300 in damages, Brody's brother suggested submitting the story to "Judge Judy." "The story was just so ridiculous that I thought it might be fun to try and present it to Judge idge Judy' Judy," said Brody. "I was actually happy about the phone call from 'Judge Judy,"' said Koenigsknecht. A few days later, the show's producers contact- ed Brody. Both students were invited out to Los Angeles for a taping of the show and permitted to bring one witness each. The episode was taped this summer. Koenigsknecht and Brody were prepped at the studio and then their case was filmed. Including the post-case interviews, the whole process was relatively brief. "Judge Judy asked for Matt's story, and didn't let me say my side of the story. After that, I just joked on the show. It wasn't real court; it wasn't conducted in a real way. A real court asks for both sides of the story," Koenigsknecht said. Brody admitted Scheindlin was extremely friendly to him but not to Koenigsknecht. Both students said they enjoyed the perks of the free trip the show gave them. They received spending money and the show promised to cover the costs for the damages. RC 'commencement' gets Class of 20'05 started at 'U' By Shawn Sion For the Daily JONAIHON iI-ftAM/Daily James Dale, who was dismissed from the Boy Scouts in 1990 because he is gay, speaks at an LGBT-sponsored brunch Saturday at the Aut Bar. Gay Scout leader: De-mand equality Marked by Altoid mints and a directive to students to live for the moment, the first RC "commencement" was held Friday for the incoming Class of 2005. RC alum Tim Prentiss introduced new students into an environment where they will be encouraged to follow their creative ambitions. Fie told students that within the Resi- dential College they would be able to discover what is interesting and important to them and would not feel forced into one certain job track. "Don't even think about getting a job," Prentiss said dur- ing his commencement address, which marked the begin- ning of college rather than the end. "Free your mind and your arse will follow." He encouraged students to live in the moment, follow their passions and to have what he called "creative-radicality." "Students in the RC come up with good ideas and we like to let them go with them," said RC Director Charles Bright. Altoids were given out prior to the address and Prentiss instructed the audience to shake them when they agreed with what he was saying. After just about everything Pren- tiss said, the loud rattling of Altoids showed the audience's approval. "Your passions will lead you into a job that you will enjoy but they can easily change," Prentiss warned. "You will be a different person in four years." Although RC advisers are more then willing to discuss possible jobs with students, Prentiss assured students that they should not be worrying about their futures. "Don't even think about getting a job." Prentiss repeated. "Think about now, think about here. "Our lives are not meant to be lived in fear. Live with creative-radicality and have as much love as possible," he said. "You've found a good place to do that" Prentiss proposed a cross-generational learning program "Your passions will lead you into a job that you will enjoy but they can easily change. You will be a different person in four years." - Tim Prentiss RC alum in which adults and students within a 40-year RC commu- nity can teach each other. That way, everybody in the com- munity can learn about what is important to everybody else, he said. Prentiss also brought up the need for more money within the RC. The Robertson Fund was set up to give out money to exceptional RC seniors. Although "Robbie" awards have been given out, he said, the amount of money is not really enough. "I'll volunteer to get rich and die," he joked. "But seri- ously, if I had $5 million, I would be more then willing to donate four to the RC." A drama major, Prentiss found that there were plenty of ways for him to make a living after graduating from the RC. His drama skills paid off selling wine. Then after learning to "speak geek," he began work as a computer consultant. Now, Prentiss teaches classes ranging from computing, scanning and web design to home beer brewing and even juggling for elementary school students. His web page, wwwelcottage.coma, offers online courses in both web design and beer brewing. "Online there is no limit to the classroom," he said, "I could be teaching 1,000 students in one class and they would all be paying me a decent amount of money." By Karen Schwartz Daily Staff Reporter James Dale spent more than a decade fighting what he alleged was illegal discrimination after he was dismissed as a Boy Scout troop leader in 1990 for being gay. This weekend he spoke at the Michigan League and participated in a fundraiser for the Office of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Affairs 30-year anniversary, sharing his story with the Ann Arbor com- munity. "It's a really good time to be talk- ing about what America stands for, what patriotism is and where civil rights fit in with all of that," he said. "People are starting to get involved, trying to understand the issues and that's what America is about - -con- versation, standing up for the right thing -- you have to be a part of it. ... You have to demand full equali- ty; you won't always get it but we've made incredible strides," Dale said. Dale's case started in New Jersey, eventually making its way to the U.S. Supreme Court. On June 28, 2000, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the Boy Scouts of America had the right to keep homosexuals from being troop leaders because of the organization's rights to free expres- sion and free association as a private group. Dale said he never thought it was possible to lose in the Supreme Court and still win, but he added that he feels he has gained a victory by bringing these issues to the fore- front of public attention and making people reconsider what kind of mes- sages they're sending to today's chil- dren. "Since then, America has responded and it has gone from an issue about Boy Scouts to some- thing bigger, how is America sup- porting LGBT youth," he said. "I'm happy I had a part in bringing about a conversation but it's not about me, it's about our kids and what's best for America's youth. The success we've had isn't about any one per- son, it's about all of us" The fundraiser was held at the Aut Bar and raised more than $650, which will be used to support 30th Anniversary programming or staff internship payment, said Frederic MacDonald-Dennis, director of the Office of LGBT Affairs. MacDonald-Dennis also com- mented on the importance of com- munity education and the relevance of Dale's case to current events on campus. "I think it's important for students to know about civil rights and dis- crimination and to educate the com- munity about it," he said. "We always try to bring interesting speakers for exposure for students and we thought he was a good one." MacDonald-Dennis said that dis- crimination in the Boy Scouts strikes home especially now as there's talk around campus about the University's relation to the United Way, which funds the organization. Those opposing University ties to the United Way say that having the University connected to a group that funds a discriminatory organization goes against the school's non-dis- crimination policy. School of Social Work graduate student Foula Dimopoulos said she attended the fundraiser because she believes in the safe space the Office of LGBT Affairs provides for stu- dents, faculty and staff that they might not have otherwise and because she wanted to support the LGBT community. Dimopoulos also said she thinks James Dale's presence was impor- tant because it brought a human face to the discrimination many face within the LGBT community. "What impresses me the most is that he went all the way to the Supreme Court to challenge unfair laws," she said. 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