Wednesday September 24, 2003 @2003 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 17 One-hundred-twelve years ofed tonallfreedom TODAY: Windy with thunder- storms dur- ing the day and contin- uing into the night. 73 {UW7: 47 Tomorrow: www.michigandailycom IFC expels frat for hazing allegations Greek council withdraws recognition of Sigma Chi after student is hospitalized for dehydration, kidney failure By Maria Sprow Daily Staff Reporter The Interfraternity Council late Monday night unanimous- ly voted to withdraw its recognition of the Sigma Chi frater- nity following the alleged hazing of a pledge who was hospitalized for kidney failure. The move cuts Sigma Chi's ties to the University. University officials said they spoke with family members, who charged that the hazing involved a physically exhausting and demanding amount of exercise. Details on how many fra- ternity brothers were involved, whether any other hazing inci- dents occurred and exactly how the pledges were forced into participating are still unknown, the officials said. Greek Life Assistant Director John Duncan said the student and seven other members of his pledge class were "not given much food or water and they had to do an extensive amount of exercise for an extended period of time." Sometime after the initiation, the student, a Kinesiology junior and Ann Arbor resident, reported the incident to his family, who drove him to a nearby hospital. He was admitted Sept. 14 with muscle breakdown, which led to acute renal fail- ure. "We are under the impression that (acute renal failure) can be a result of (dehydration and food deprivation), and that is what we are operating under right now," Duncan said. The student's mother contacted the Office of Greek Life on Sept. 17 to inform it of the hazing incident. The student was released from the hospital Sept. 19. University officials said he is still recovering. Sigma Chi President David McMurtrie, as well as sever- al other members of the fraternity, declined yesterday to comment about the allegations or the revocation of their charter yesterday. Calls were not returned from the national Sigma Chi head- quarters in Illinois, but University officials said the national chapter has revoked the local chapter's charter for an "indefi- nite period of time." Also as a result of the allegations, IFC President Branden Muhl said Sigma Chi will no longer be recognized by or receive benefits from the rest of the Greek community until the "It's absolutely unfathomable what would produce or provoke hazing such as this.' - Branden Muhl Interfraternity Council president national fraternity petitions to return to its former status. The IFC's constitution states that "chapters will respect the human dignity of all persons and will not physically, psycho- logically, or sexually abuse any human being" and defines hazing as "any action or situation, with or without the consent of the participants, which recklessly, intentionally, or uninten- tionally endangers the mental, physical, or academic health of a student." Muhl added that it is a policy that the IFC strives to strictly enforce. "It's absolutely unfathomable what would produce or pro- voke hazing such as this," he said. "This is completely unac- ceptable" See HAZING, Page 7 'U' extends policy on identity theft, fraud By Carmen Johnson Daily Staff Reporter Last fall, Fadi Kiblawi signed into his e-mail account at the Shapiro Under- graduate Library and saw an unusually large number of e-mails flooding his inbox. The messages were mostly angry replies to an offensive e-mail that appeared to be written and sent by Kiblawi, then an LSA senior. Soon Kiblawi realized he was the vic- tim of forgery and called the Depart- ment of Public Safety. This year, the University has adopted a tougher stance toward identity misrep- resentation, responding to "spoofed" e- mail incidents like Kiblawi's and this summer's arrest of former Rackham stu- dent Ning Ma, who is charged with hacking into University e-mail accounts. Before September, the University's New Standard Practice Guide included guidelines for plagiarism and similar frauds. But last week a University task- force introduced new identity misrepre- sentation policies, which singled out e-mail spoofing and spam as punishable offenses. "We have reaffirmed the core values of our community, that we have to be responsible for our information sources and be aware of where it comes from," said committee head James Hilton, asso- ciate provost for academic information and instructional technology affairs. As stated in the guide, University community members may not "assume another person's identity or role through See IDENTITY, Page 7 TAKE TIME FOR NAPTIME JOEL FRIEDMAN/Daily Following allegations that Sigma Chi fraternity members hazed pledges, the Interfraternity Council voted on Monday to withdraw its recognition of the fraternity. DPS arrests suspect in knife incident By Victoria Edwards Daily Staff Reporter The Department of Public Safety arrested a 42-year-old homeless man who allegedly assaulted a 22-year-old Universi- ty student on South State Street late Monday night. The man, who was turned over to the Ann Arbor Police Department, was speaking incoherently and reportedly ordered the student to take him to "the underground" or he would kill him, AAPD reports state. The victim said he told the suspect he didn't know what he meant, and he was able to run away unharmed. Police declined to say what the man's motive was or whether alcohol was involved. "We do know whether or not he was intoxicated, but at this point I don't feel comfortable telling you about it. It has to do with his intent, and it might interfere with the investigation, which is ongoing," AAPD Sgt. Laura Anderson said. "(The student) was somehow able to get away from the sus- pect without getting injured,-but I don't know-how;' AAPD Sgt. Paul Curtis said. Anderson said that DPS arrested the suspect and turned him over to AAPD officers, who brought him to Washtenaw County Jail. She would not give the date of the man's arraignment, but said arraignments ordinarily take place the day after the crime. The reported attack came a day after another violent assault, when a 20-year-old female University student was attacked at 4 a.m. Sunday morning, as she walked alone down Oakland Avenue near Tappan Street, AAPD reports state. According to reports, the student began to hear footsteps following her, which led her to call a friend on her cell phone and ask to meet her halfway home. The male assailant pushed her to the ground, grabbing her shoulders from behind her. The aggressor reportedly straddled the woman and attempt- ed to muffle her screams when another man rescued her by pushing the attacker off. The aggressor fled on foot and the woman did not report any injuries. The suspect is described as being a 5 See ARREST, Page 7 DAVID TUMAN/Daily A student takes time out to sleep between classes in the Shapiro Undergraduate Library yesterday afternoon. Experts say sleep deprivation is common among college students. Experts By JaMeel Naqvi For the Daily link depressiorn, slee) Some psychologists say students who deprive themselves of sleep - whether because of jobs, social habits, approaching midterms or irregular class schedules - may be putting themselves at risk for depression and other health problems. "I definitely don't get enough sleep," said LSA freshman Robert Rice, who said he sleeps between five and eight hours a night. Rice has balanced work and school since he was 15, so he said he is used to the daily Sleep deprivation perpetuates a vicious cycle that causes stress, which in turn, hinders restful sleep. grind. Rice attributed his lack of sleep to the commute from his off-campus house to class and to his job as a manager at BankOne. Like many students, he enjoyed the honey- Sdeprivatirn moon of welcome week only to settle into the hustle and bustle of campus life. Rice is not alone, psychology Prof. Teresa Lee said. "Virtually all kids are coping with some sleep deprivation," Lee said. There is plenty of data to support the claim that college stu- dents are disproportionately affected by sleep deprivation, Lee added. "Long-term sleep deprivation can lead to depression," she said. The New York Times recently reported a correlhtion between high- er rates of depression among college students See SLEEP, Page 7 Protesters rally for Borders workers Weight-ing for a new floor By Adam Rosen Daily Staff Reporter Protesters said Borders has deliberately sought to keep its employees non-unionized and punished them when they voted to unionize by a 92 percent vote last December. "Borders has been able to crush the union work- ers, and we are trying to make sure that doesn't happen any longer," protester Mark Dilley said. Dilley said it is particularly insulting that the Borders in Ann Arbor is not allowing its employ- ees to organize. "This is store number one," Dil- ley said, referring to the fact that Borders started in Ann Arbor. Founded 10 days ago, Borders Readers United placed about 60 people around the front entrance of Borders, marching, chanting and picketing - all under the watchful eye of several Ann Arbor Police Department officers. Had they entered the store, the protesters could have been arrested, they said. "(Borders Readers United) is a coalition of community groups that have come together to sup- port Borders employees," member and Rackham student Matt Ides said. Complaints voiced by protesters ranged from insufficient wages to excessive demands placed on employees due to understaffing. They said the contract Borders has offered them would make them worse off than they are now. Borders management could not be reached by phone last night to comment. In the past, man- agers have said they encourage communication with employees and do not feel unionization is necessary. The few protesters who stayed after the demon- stration all agreed that the average book buyer should also care about Borders' treatment of its employees, noting that customer service has been affected by the recent unionization conflict. See BORDERS, Page 7 Lack of jobs prompts students to try law By Karen Schwartz Daily Staff Reporter A weak job market is motivating more students nationwide to stay in school and is sending law school appli- cation numbers through the roof. Between 2000 and 2003, the number of applications the Law School receives has increased dramatically. With 5,487 applicants for the Fall 2003 class, the number of applicants was up by 11.1 percent for Fall 2003 and applications increased by 17.7 percent, according to statistics released by the Law School Admission Council. Last year there were more than 98,000 law school applicants. Tim Zessin, a Business School senior, is taking the Law School Admission Test in October and plans to head to law school next fall, a decision he made JASON COOPER/Daily Construction worker Justin Allen lays down'new flooring in the .Y. 1 i i I I