NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 14, 2004 - 3
THIS WEEK
*L'4 0 0AlIpELdrel.M I
MSA calls for
Trotter House renovations
I
11 1 \ 1l I-1 1 L 1 1 1 10 1 LI 1\ l I
Five years ago...
Michigan head football coach
Lloyd Carr announced on Jan. 13
that football players Jason Brooks'
and Ray Jackson were suspended for
violating team rules.
The suspension and announcement
came in the wake of Brooks and Jack-
son's alleged involvement in a fight
outside the Sigma Chi fraternity at
548 S. State St.
b Ten years ago...
University faculty unanimously
passed a new quantitative require-
ment during their monthly meeting.
This passage makes it mandatory
that students complete three credits
of quantitative reasoning in order to
graduate.
Classes that would fulfill the
quantitative reasoning requirement
involve a combination of mathemat-
ical and logical components.
This requirement can be fulfilled
by classes across the disciplines.
However, courses that contain only
minimal instruction in math and
logic may fulfill only half of the
requirement.
In an interview, LSA Associate Dean
Michael Martin said one reason the
committee recommended the require-
ment was as a response to a decline in
quantitative and computational skills of
college students.
He said he believes this added
requirement will serve to make stu-
dents graduating the University into
more well-rounded students.
Jan. 14, 1965
Although no names were men-
tioned, the Daily learned that a group
of prominent University students
were responsible for the disappear-
ance of the Paul Bunyan trophy.
Through an intermediary who
refused to divulge the names of
those responsible, the Daily offered
the opportunity of returning the tro-
phy to the Student Publications
Building quietly and unseen.
But Bunyan was still missing.
The State News at the Michigan
State University reported an anony-
mous phone call suggesting a pho-
tographer be at the
Michigan-Michigan State basketball
game held later that week because
"Paul will be there."
Jan. 18, 1980
Five former Alpha Delta Phi fra-
ternity members pleaded no contest
on Jan. 17 to animal cruelty charges
in connection with the killing and
burning of their house's cat Dec. 6,
1979.
Douglas Hamlin, David Froikin,
Brian Dungstan, Michael Anderson
and Jeffery Abrahason each faced fines
up to $100, or a deferred sentencing
program involving 72 hours of com-
munity service, according to 15th Dis-
trict Judge S. J. Elden, who presided
over the hearing.
The five fraternity members are free
on $500 personal bonds, Elden said.
The five LSA students were
charged with the misdemeanor "cru-
elty to animals" under the provisions
of a city ordinance.
Jan. 16, 1962
With one second remaining, Tom
Cole connected on a free throw to
give Michigan a 56-55 upset victory
over a powerful Iowa squad in the
Wolverines' Big Ten home opener.
Don Nelson of Iowa led all scor-
ers with 20 points, but the Hawkeye
star ironically made two fatal mis-
takes that cost Iowa the ball game.
Jan. 18, 1972
After just two days of classroom
use, the new Modern Language
Building on East Washington Street
fell victim to an onslaught of myste-
rious torrents.
The flood - down stairwells and
through corridors - resulted from a
pipe burst in a frozen sprinkler system,
Plant Manager Don Wendel said.
Flooding began just before 8:30
a.m., said Chuck Zimmerman, a stu-
__dent in a Spanish 362 class which !
was dismissed.
Zimmerman said a fire alarm went
off at 8:32 a.m., but "everyone
ignored it."
Jan. 14, 1993
The University applied for a gov-
ernment grant that would provide
$125,000 a year to fund an alcohol-
free nightclub on campus.
"I sense a strong desire for more
By Cianna Freeman
Daily Staff Reporter
After opening doors to University
students for more than three decades,
the William M. Trotter House is cur-
rently in need of renovations, Michigan
Student Assembly Vice President
Monique Perry said at last night's
MSA meeting.
"William M. Trotter House is a
space for students of color to feel wel-
come, to feel pride in their heritage
and to feel part of the University that
they were traditionally left out of,"
Perry said. "But it is not a space where
only students of color benefit."
The MSA already has created a
Trotter House taskforce with the hope
of illustrating to students, faculty and
staff the building's importance to the
University community.
The Trotter House originally opened
its doors in 1971 as a Black Student
Cultural Center.
In 1981, the building became a stu-
dent multicultural center.
The Trotter House is facing a num-
ber of difficulties, Perry said.
"There is currently only a facilities
director, it is not handicap accessible,
there are no storm windows and it
probably cannot hold more than three
student groups comfortably," Perry
added.
While the Michigan Union and
other University buildings sometimes
charge for use of their facilities, the
Trotter House's facilities are free to all
student groups.
MSA also passed a resolution to
create a Code of Conduct Advisory
Board, which will attempt to revise
the University's disciplinary rules for
students.
"C-CAB focuses specifically on
just amending the Statement of Stu-
dent Rights and Responsibilities," C-
CAB co-chair Priya Mahajan said.
"The Board is allowed to propose
amendments to the statement every
two years."
The board is reviewing the part of
Statement that deals with the Ann
Arbor city and campus jurisdiction,
Mahajan said.
"Students feel restricted, the code is
more disciplinary and non-academic,"
she added. "The students are under
state jurisdiction, Ann Arbor jurisdic-
tion, and additionally the University
jurisdiction."
Three of the members of the board
must be assembly members and the
complete composition of the advisory
board must include at least six students.
Additionally, the chair of the
board is expected to update MSA
through written reports every other
week.
LEGACI ES
Continued from Page 1
to minorities. In both 2002 and 2003,
it was a deciding factor for no more
than three dozen black and Hispanic
applicants, according to a report by
the Houston Chronicle.
For this reason, legacy preferences
- as opposed to race-conscious affir-
mative action - are discriminatory,
Boyle said.
On Monday, the MCRI officially
started its petition drive to end the
use of race, ethnicity and other
characteristics as factors in state
institutions.
The group was spearheaded by
University of California Regent Ward
Connerly and his group, the American
Civil Rights Coalition.
"This could be the alternative to the
Connerly initiative that targets people
who are already largely underprivi-
leged and underrepresented," he said.
By presenting his efforts as a
counter-Connerly initiative, Boyle
hopes to highlight the "fundamentally
flawed" reasoning of the MCRI pro-
posal, which he said supposes to pro-
mote equal protection in a society that
is unequal.
But the two initiatives are similar in
some ways. Boyle modeled the text of
his proposed amendment on that of
MCRI. Both efforts focus on elimi-
nating different forms of preferential
treatment.
State Rep. Leon Drolet (R- Clinton
Twp.), who co-chairs MCRI's steering
committee, said he agrees with
Boyle's belief that legacy preferences
are unfair.
"I personally am against any admis-
sions policy not based on merit or on
what someone could bring to a uni-
versity," Drolet said, citing the Uni-
versity's consideration of not only
legacy status, but also geography.
"Most people within our organization
oppose them as well."
MCRI's opposition to legacy pref-
erences is evident. The group leaders
considered adding a clause banning
alumni preferential treatment in their
proposed amendment, but opted not
to for consistency reasons.
There is, however, at least a surface
distinction between the two proposals,
Boyle added.
"(Connerly's proposal) may force
a decrease in merit, because one
thing that 111
affirmative We shouldn
action pro- that are mor
grams rec-
ognize is just with the
that affir- -
m a t i ve lt raises Som
action is not the school.'
just about
numbers,"
he said.
B o y l e
believes that
his proposal encourages merit, since
those who benefit from an alumni
affiliation are less diverse and typical-
ly privileged, he said.
Universities consider legacy for a
number of reasons. While it may fos-
ter school spirit and promote loyalty,
administrators say that it also helps in
raising money. According to U.S.
News and World Report, the Universi-
ty ranks 111th in alumni donations
among the nation's top universities,
with an average giving rate of 15 per-
cent. Many other selective institu-
tions, from Harvard to Rice
University, have giving rates upwards
of 30 percent.
"It's obviously just a blatant appeal
to alumni, who are the key donors,"
said LSA senior Ruben Duran, editor-
in-chief of the conservative journnal
Michigan Review. "Nevertheless, I
wouldn't be sad to see it go."
Boyle likened giving alumni special
treatment to help fundraising to a
form of prostitution or bribery. Alum-
ni should donate because they love
the school, he added.
"We shouldn't do things that are
morally wrong, just with the excuse
that it raises some
school," he said.
't do things
ally wrong,
excuse that
e money for
- David Boyle
Law School alum
money for the
The Univer-
sity gives pri-
mary legacy
status to any
applicant
whose parent or
stepparent
attended the
University and
secondary sta-
tus to those
whose grand-
parents, sib-
lings or spouses have graduated.
Under the new undergraduate
admisions program, applicants are
judged holistically, and points are no
longer used to determine characteris-
tics such as race, geographic location
and alumni affiliation. These attrib-
utes are supposed to contribute to the
school's diversity.
Currently, legacy is a qualitative
factor for applicants, but under the
former point system, applicants were
given four points out of 150.
In absence of a point system, it is
difficult, if not impossible, to quantify
gAVICrsdMAN/Daiy
Law School alum David Boyle holds his proposed ballot measure outside the
Michigan Alumni Center.
the extent to which legacy contributes
to admission or rejection. Boyle says
this is a disburbing ambiguity.
But Sally Lindsley, associate direc-
tor in undergraduate admissions, said
that "nothing is done in isolation" and
that "(legacy status) is one of many
things that we look at."
IDENTITY
Continued from Page 1.
issue. According to Nowling, there
were more than 160,000 identity theft
victims in 2002. "It is one of the
fastest growing crimes in the United
States, and affects more people each
year," said Nowling.
"Identity theft in general is becom-
ing a scare throughout the country,
and the recent influx of (television)
ads about the matter is an indicator,"
said Mike Phillips, vice president of
College Republicans.
Identity theft can also pose a threat to
students at the University. "Students are
WINTERFEST
Continued from Page 1
more student leadership positions and
opportunities for students.
"We have a lot of people leaving our
executive board," said Dory Benford, a
member of the National Council of
Negro Women and a LSA sophomore.
Her group plans to have a cultural
day at the Trotter House to teach local
elementary and middle school students
about Black History Month.
With the new semester, groups use
this opportunity to re-establish their
presence with the student body.
heavy online shoppers, and the many
security implications in these bills
should help people feel more confident
in doing so," Phillips said.
But not all students are optimistic
about the success of the bill. "It may
be beneficial, but at the same time
people always find their way around
the system," LSA junior Marlowe
Marsh said.
In addition to the bill package, a
two part Senate resolution asks
Congress to provide greater protec-
tions against identity theft and to
increase the statute of limitations
for identity theft lawsuits to two
years from the time the fraud is dis-
covered.
"I think it's important to remind peo-
ple of what is going on," said Kristy
Hanson, an LSA and Music school
senior who was working at Winterfest
to promote Arts at Michigan.
Students like LSA freshman Victoria
Shen used the opportunity to discover
new groups.
"I want to explore more to get more
exposure ... I'm interested in volun-
teering," Shen said.
Many students, such as LSA sopho-
more Leica Cerdena, believe groups
and activities are a way of enriching
the college experience.
"It gets your mind off school and
doing other things," Cerdena said.
1717
TE
a
..f..,: .
OUT,
Correction:
The Jet Propulsion Laboratory lectures tomorrow and Jan. 20 and 22 will be
in the Space Research Building, room 2246. The Daily incorrectly reported the
location on Page 1 in Monday's edition.
wew -
Do you know who your roommates are?
Have you and all of your roommates looked at 4 - 5 units?
Have you done your homework and researched the
landlord/property manager?
Have you read the lease and had Student Legal Services/
Off-Campus Housing Program help you figure out what it means?
Did you remember that you can try to negotiate clauses in
your lease with the landlord/property manager?