Friday, April 14, 2006 News 3 Former 'U' radio exec pleads no contest to embezellment 'M'-NINE TO FACE ', T .PYE . FORTSPAGE 8 u4aii Opinion 4 Andrew Bielak calls for BTB revolution Arts 5 Seussical the Musical hits Power Center One-hundred-sAteen years of editorifreedom www.midzigandady.com Ann Arbor, Michigan . Vol. CXVI, No. 113 62006 The Michigan Daily SACUA urges regents to add . clause to bylaws Regents have long refused to add 'gender identity 0 and expression' to non- discrimination clause By Neil Tambe Daily Staff Reporter The pressure is mounting on the University Board of Regents to add a clause to the Univer- sity bylaws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression. This time, the prodding is coming not only from the LGBT community on campus, but from University faculty. The faculty senate Assembly will vote Monday on a resolution passed 6-1 last week by the Sen- ate Assembly Committee on University Affairs, the executive arm of the faculty senate. Proponents say the clause would protect transgender individuals from discrimination and would be a symbolic sign of recognition and respect. The resolution also requests that policies in the University's Standard Practice Guides - separate from the bylaws - also be changed to describe gender identity and expression as a distinct protection. The SPG policy on nondis- crimination currently footnotes gender identity and expression as subcategories under the gen- eral category of sex. "(The University administration) has moved to change the language everywhere they are able," University spokeswoman Julie Peterson said. Peterson said the decision to footnote gen- der identity and expression stemmed from the University general counsel's interpretation of a 2004 case in which the 6th Circuit Court ruled that discrimination of gender identity and expression is assumed to be "expressly" pro- tected along with sex. In a Februrary 2005 letter that followed, then-University Provost Paul Courant informed the campus community of the University's posi- tion. "Discrimination against members of the Uni- versity community based on gender non-con- forming behavior, gender expression or gender See BYLAWS, page 7 Students protest Coke reinstatement FOREST CASEY/Daily A firefighter walks through the ruins of the Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Store last night. A fire started in the employee break room and spread throughout the entire store, destroying the building and the inventory. Fire destroys PTO Thrift Store Coalition members claim 'U' left students out of decision- making process when bringing Coke back to campus By Kelly Fraser Daily Staff Reporter Despite Tuesday's announcement that the University would resume purchasing Coca- Cola products following the company's agreement to two independent investigations into its alleged human rights and enivorn- mental violations, the Coalition to Cut the Contract with Coca-Cola hasn't canned its protests. About 20 disgruntled coalition members ral- lying on the Diag yesterday provided a sharp contrast to students and participants in cam- pus tours happily soaking up the atmosphere of Goodness Day, a festival of student groups attracting passersby with everything from free pencils to cotton candy. Protesters gathered on the steps of the Hatch- er Graduate Library to display their opposition to Coke's return before meeting with University representatives at noon. The students then met with Peggy Norgren, associate vice president for finance, and Dan Sharphorn, the University's deputy general counsel. Coalition members said they felt blindsided by University administrators who did not notify them before reaching an agreement with the soft-drink giant. "We haven't just been betrayed as consum- ers, now we have been betrayed as students," coalition member Ashwini Hardikar said. Norgren said administrators attempted to inform the coalition of the decision on Tuesday morning but downed e-mail serv- ers delayed the correspondence. When asked why Norgren didn't call coalition leaders, she said she didn't because the last time she called them they were "terse" and asked her See COKE, page 7 Store loses all its merchandise; employees escape flames unscathed By Christina Hildreth and Ashley Dinges Daily Staff Reporters One of Ann Arbor's most popular places to buy second-hand soccer T-shirts and resale dishes lay in smoldering ashes last night after a fire destroyed the Ann Arbor PTO Thrift Shop on State Street. The blaze was sparked when a lamp in the employee break room caught fire, store employees said. Several employees who were in the store when the fire broke out called 911, and Ann Arbor Fire Department trucks were at the scene by 6:30 p.m. According to AAFD Battalion Chief Mike French, no one was injured, but all the merchandise in the store was lost. All of AAFD's six engines responded to the scene, and 19 firefighters struggled to put out the flames. Twelve additional AAFD units were called to the scene. Firefighters had the blaze under control in about an hour. By about 10 p.m., street maintenance crews were using bulldozers to clear the collapsed roof out of the building's charred shell so fire- fighters could extinguish any remaining hot spots. Firemen expected to work throughout the night and into the morning to ensure the small spot fires buried under debris would be com- pletely extinguished. French said the owners have not yet deter- mined the estimated financial loss from the fire, but said more information should be available today. Police blocked off State Street from Stim- son Street almost to Oakbrook Street so fire- fighters could stretch their water hose across the road to a water supply. PTO employee Megan Hildebrandt, an art and design senior who has worked at PTO since February 2005, said because the store obtains its merchandise solely from donations, it might be hard to restock the inventory. "I imagine that because it's not a business - it's a community, and it's connected to the public schools - I think it will be not easy, but not horribly difficult to get new stuff," Hildeb- randt said. She said the store was scheduled to be moved to a new location on May 1, but that this plan will probably be halted because the store lost its entire inventory. "I think it will end up taking us a little lon- ger to start things back up when we move into the new space'" she said. Closely tied to the Ann Arbor Public School system, the store provides a place for middle and high school students to work and earn money for school programs. As Hildeb- randt explained, students earn about $8.50 an hour for doing tasks around the store, such as tagging or hanging clothing. This money directly funds specific programs and trips at their schools. A board of parents whose chil- dren attend public schools in the community oversees the store. See FIRE, page 7 Group aims for Guinness record for organ donation Greek houses look to return to campus 145 is the number to beat for most organ donor registrations in an eight-hour period By Layla Aslani For the Daily A new group of students is trying to save lives. And they might break a Guin- ness world record along the way. Students for Organ Donation, which encourages students and community members to register to donate their organs, joined more than 50 other col- lege campuses Wednesday in a nation- wide attempt to break the Guinness World Record for registering the most organ donors in eight hours. The current record is 145. It was set at a rugby match in Wales in 2003. At the University alone, 51 students registered, pledging to donate every- thing from ligaments to livers. Although Guinness World Records will not verify the results for another four weel- aronn memher were nnti- while registering donors in the basement of the Michigan Union. "You catch (students) by surprise when you ask them if they want to be an organ donor," Patel said. Despite being caught off-guard, many students were receptive. "If I were to die, I wouldn't want my body to go to waste if it could help peo- ple," said Meera Arghal, an LSA fresh- man who registered. Gift of Life Michigan, an organiza- tion that serves as a liaison between donor hospitals and transplant centers, will enter the registered donors into a national computerized database that links donated organs to patients in need of transplants. Christy Hammond, the group's pub- lic relations chair, said although many people believe signing the back of their driver's licenses is enough to ensure their organ donation, registering for the data- base is the most certain way to become a donor. Hospitals don't always check licenses and often the deceased do not have their licenses with them at the time of their deanths. she said. Sigma Pi, Delta Tau Delta left 'U' because they lacked members By Carissa Miller Daily Staff Reporter Thirty-six years after closing its doors because of insufficient resources and membership, Sigma Pi will get a second chance when it returns to cam- pus this fall. The Interfraternity Council unani- mously voted last week to approve the return of the fraternity, placing it on expansion status beginning this fall. Sigma Pi follows in the expansionary footsteps of the Pi Lambda Phi inter- national fraternity, which founded a University chapter last semester and is currently an IFC expansion chapter. "The Greek community continu- ally welcomes strong chapters that look to further the ideals of brotherhood, philanthropy and scholarship," IFC spokesman Brian Millman said. Representatives from Sigma Pi's national organization began commu- nicating with the University last year. Last week's vote finalized plans to set up a colony on campus, said Jim DiVi- ta, Sigma Pi's senior expansion consul- ing for a diverse group of individuals," DeVita said. DiVita, an alum of Sigma Pi's chap- ter at Michigan State University, said the national organization will officially declare the University organization a colony when it meets the goal of 20 to 25 new recruits. To form a new chapter on campus, the national fraternity, or a group of students representing the national organization, must engage in a multi- step process outlined by the IFC. If approved by the IFC executive board, the representatives present their plan for expansion to the 27 campus frater- nity presidents. The initial stage of the process is the expansionary period, during which the group recruits new members and attends IFC meetings without voting. After a semester, IFC evaluates the progress of a fraternity's expansion efforts and votes on whether to move the group to probationary expansion status. At this point, members must pay dues, attend meetings and vote on issues brought before the council. At the conclusion of this phase, typi- cally a semester in length, the frater- nity presidents conduct a final vote to determine whether to bring the colony to active status. If the vote passes, the JEREMY CHO/Daily LSA sophomore Shaun Patel sits outside the University Medical Center yesterday. Patel is a member of Students for Organ Donation, which registered i i