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October 17, 2003
02003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 32
One-hundred-thirteen years of editorial freedom
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ROOM OBSERVERS Ill 11 ills 1;
Practice makes perfect
Proposed bill seeks
to criminalize
By Michael Gurovitsch
Daily Staff Reporter
Two bills introduced yesterday
morning in the state Legislature
would make hazing a criminal
offense in Michigan. Michigan is
one of only a handful of states that
does not have anti-hazing legisla-
tion on the books, said Emily Car-
ney, chief of staff for Sen. Michelle
McManus (R-Traverse City), who
introduced the bill.
"This would expressly prohibit
hazing practices at education institu-
tions," Carney said. The bill applies
to all public or private middle
schools, high schools, vocational
schools and universities in the state.
Carney said the proposed bill
would be particularly effective
because it would remove student
consent as an allowable defense.
That provision would have
changed the outcome of the recent
Sigma Chi fraternity hazing on
campus. Earlier this week, Washte-
naw County prosecutors decided
not to press charges against Sigma
Chi members for the hazing of a
pledge who was sent to the hospital
with acute kidney failure. Prose-
cuters said the pledge consented to
the hazing activities, according to
reports from The Ann Arbor News.
Although the timing of the leg-
islation comes after the allega-
tions against Sigma Chi, Carney
said McManus began looking into
the legislation this summer after
the issue was brought to her atten-
tion by a resident adviser at Ferris
hazing
State University in Big Rapids.
Interfraternity Council Presi-
dent Branden Muhl said the
Greek community is not only
against hazing, but was also in the
early stages of formulating its
own legislation in cooperation
with University officials, which
they hoped would be introduced
by a state legislator sometime in
the future.
"We fully support this bill,"
Muhl added. "The IFC has always
come down hard on the side of
anti-hazing in the past."
Under the provisions of the bill,
penalties for hazing range from
93 days in prison and a $1,000
fine for a non-serious injury to 20
years in prison and $10,000 for
injuries resulting in death.
Sigma Chi vacates residence
in light of hazing incident
Ten-year-old Ann Arbor resident Jessa Miller attends her dance
Dance Theater Studio.
SHUBRA OHRI/Daily
class yesterday afternoon at the
'U' commemorates 50 years of
Brown with theme semester
By Adhiraj Dutt
Daily Staff Reporter
"A lotco
LU.. A4I
The University will commemo- he Mic
rate the 50th anniversary of Brown are a Pa
v. Board of Education during the
winter semester with the theme of Brown
"Fulfilling the Promise of Brown."
The semester's special courses, lec-
tures and events will examine the
case's legacy and its effect on inte-
grating schools over the past 50 political rig
years. mation of p
The theme was created after The them
Senior Vice Provost Lester Monts Jan. 12 wi
requested that schools on campus Brown Th
meet and discuss ways in which to Brown Hen
commemorate the anniversary of center of th
the Brown case. The meeting led to Martin Lu
the creation of a planning commit- Oliver Bro A
tee which chose the theme. plaintiff in
The University hopes the com- Among t
memoration of the anniversary will Guinier w
provide the chance for people to Jan. 19 as
reflect on the impact of the case. Day Speak
"The University of Michigan is black wom
holding a semester-long commemo- Harvard La
ration of the 1954 decision to take Clinton's n
stock of a difficult and yet hopeful Rights Div
half-century in American race rela- of Justice
tions," LSA assistant Dean Evans become th
Young said. "We've witnessed a head the di
tremendous expansion of civil and withdrawn
Profs address
Arab-Israeli
conflict, honor
Edward Sald
} By Farayha Arrine
For the Daily
In an effort to promote discussion and debate on
the Arab-Israeli conflict, Students Allied for Freedom
and Equality held their first lecture in memoriam of
the late scholar and literary critic Edward Said with
university professors Asad Abu Khalil and Joseph
Massad who led a discussion titled the "Palestine
Question."
SAFE chair Carmel Salhi said the goal of the
event was to give students "a better understanding of
what's happening when they read the newspaper so
that they take it for more than. face value -so they
take it for more than a headline."
The lectures took place in the Michigan Union
Ballroom, where over 100 people attended. Massad,
a political science professor at California State Uni-
versity and author of "Bin Laden, Islam, and Ameri-
ca's New War on Terrorism," began the first of the
two speeches with an in-depth look at the history of
the conflict. Through this emphasis on the history,
Massad argued that Israeli treatment of Palestinians
. __ __ argu - :.. ._4 ... , . 4L_+ _F Y- -
)f people feel
chigan cases
art of the
legacy."
- Joseph Serwach
University spokesman
ghts and a vast transfor-
ublic education."
ned semester will begin
ith speeches by Linda
hompson and Cheryl
derson - the girls at the
he Brown case - at the
ther King Symposium.
awn, their father, was the
the Brown case.
the major events, Lani
ill deliver a speech on
the Martin Luther King
ker. Guinier, the first
aan to receive tenure at
aw School, was President
ominee to head the Civil
ision of the Department
in 1993 and would have
e first black woman to
vision if Clinton had not
her nomination.
On Feb. 12, Ernest Green of the
"Little Rock Nine," will deliver a lec-
ture as part of the themed semester.
Following the Supreme Court's ruling
in the Brown case, Green and eight
other students were among the first
black students at Little Rock's Central
High School in 1957. After the nine
students were initially turned away
from the school, President Dwight
Eisenhower sent federal troops to the
school to enforce the desegregation.
Students are also encouraged to
participate in the Ann Arbor Reads
program. Based on last year's pro-
gram, where students read "Abraham
Lincoln's DNA," this year's program
will feature a book, yet to be chosen,
relating to the Brown case.
The departments of Psychology,
History and Sociology, and the Pro-
gram in American Culture and the
Center for Afro-American and
African Studies are offering special
courses related to the Brown case.
In addition, there will be film
screenings, lectures and cultural
events throughout the semester.
"Some of these events are still being
planned and finalized," University
spokesman Joseph Serwach said.
The themed semester will culminate
See BROWN, Page 7A
Fraternity disbanded, members
evicted from alumni-owned house
By Victoria Edwards
Daily Staff Reporter
Sigma Chi fraternity members were evicted and told to
move out of their fraternity house at 5 p.m. Wednesday. The
move was in response to a hazing incident involving 21-
year-old fraternity pledge and Kinesiology junior Evan
Loomis that resulted in the fraternity's disbandment from
the national Sigma Chi organization and the University's
Interfraternity Council.
"The housing is not owned by Sigma Chi but rather by a
local housing corporation of alumni for the sole purpose of
owning a house," said Chris Moore, chairman of national
housing for Sigma Chi's national office in Evanston, Ill.
"They've determined there is a risk involved with hav-
ing non-Sigma Chi (members) living in the structure. The
University is working with the housing association to find
housing for those guys."
Although Sigma Chi was disbanded, members are not
facing criminal charges for the hazing. The charges were
dropped against the Sigma Chi fraternity on Tuesday
because it was determined that Loomis participated in the
pledging events voluntarily, Ann Arbor Police Chief Daniel
Oates said.
"We kind of knew there wouldn't be any criminal action.
There are no anti-hazing laws in Michigan, so it is impossi-
ble to prove there is criminal misconduct in these situa-
tions," Oates said.
But this inability to charge Sigma Chi with a criminal
offense is one that legislators are trying to change. State
Sen. Michelle McManus (R-Lake Leelanau) introduced a
bill yesterday morning that Sen. Liz Brater (D-Ann Ann
Arbor) cosponsored to make hazing a criminal offense in
Michigan, whether voluntary or not.
Loomis said that if any good could come from his expe-
rience, it would be such that legislation that would crack
down on hazing so that incidents such as his would not
longer occur. "I think it (the legislation) is good, hopefully
it will prevent anything like this from happening to anyone
StLU KLVa1yVL.U
Members of Sigma Chi fraternity were evicted and told to
move out of the chapter's house Wednesday.
else. I guess that is the goal," Loomis told the Detroit Free
Press..
Interfraternity Council President Branden Muhl said that
the lFC was also planning on revising its anti-hazing laws.
Muhl said the IFC will look at the legislation that Brater is
proposing and it plans to support the bill although the IFC
has not yet read it. "We'll look at what she put out there
and see what we think compared to what we would have
produced," Muhl said.
In the case of Loomis, however, no criminal charges
See SIGMA CHI, Page 7A
Events aim to expose
more students to Islam
By Karen Schwartz
Daily Staff Reporter
Since his freshman year, LSA senior
Halim Naeem has been telling people
about Islam. Beginning Monday, Naeem
and other Mus-
lim students will Islam Awar
volunteer to
stand on the E MONDAY: Dr. Jera
Diag, run Islam- "Standing on Comm(
ic Jeopardy in Christianity, and Juc
the basement of Room 100, Hutchins
the Michigan TUESDAY: "Findir
Union, and Converts to Islam"
share informa- Room 100, Hutchins
tion about their WEDNESDAY:
religion with the "Islam in America: F
campus com- Room 100, Hutchins
munity as part THURSDAY:
of the annual "Faces of Islam: A (
Islam Aware- Sophia B. Jones Roc
ness Week. 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
"It's a good "Beyond Stereotype
week for expo- Truth about Islam"
sure, it's a solid Room 100, Hutchin
week with lec-
tures every night ... there's just a lot of
rep
lald
'in
dai
'a;
Naeem said while the week can take a
lot of work, he feels being part of the
effort is well worth it.
"Especially for this campus, with the
Muslim population as big as it is, and
leanings for and against Islam, it's really,
really important
ness Week for people to get
educated from
Dirks, Muslims and peo-
i Ground: Islam, ple and who
sm" know about Islam,
fall, 7:30 p.m. to know what
God: A Panel of Islam and Mus-
lims are really
1a1l, 7:30 p.m. like," he said.
Discussion top-
end or Foe?" ics "will involve
Hall, 7:30 p.m. issues concerning
Islam and its rela-
Itural Display" tion to the other
n, Michigan Union two Abrahamic
faiths, namely
Examining the Christianity and
Judaism, Islam's
Hall, 7:30 p.m. relation to the
West and its por-
California State University political science Prof. Joseph Massad addresses a crowd of over 100 people in the
Michigan Union Ballroom yesterday, discussing the "Palestine Question."
these blatant similarities, "Zionism and Israel show
no embarrassment." Massad ended his lecture by
reiterating his focus that "the persistence of the
Palestinian question depends on the persistence of
the Jewish question."
Massad's lecture was followed by a much shorter
^,, hi A hnvWhzi n ~.rfec nr mnrMrn Arn ni-
talk around the American perspective of the Palestin-
ian problem. Abu Khalil cited the lack of discussion
about the Palestinian question on college campuses
as a factor leading to ignorance about events taking
place in the Middle East. He also blamed the media
for its skewed reporting in students' inability to relate
to the Palestinian dilemma stating that only 4 per-
Muslims trying to tell a lot of people
about our religion and I really think it's a
areat oportunity for non-Muslims to
trayal in the media,' according to the
IAW press release.
This year speakers are coming from
around the country, said Ali Rana, a