The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, September 212007 - 7A
* Co-op gutted, renovated
CO-OP From page lA
'U'students
join Jena
Protest.
unsuccessful changes convinced
ICC board members of the need for
a complete overhaul.
"Once I showed them how much
money had been poured into the
house with ineffective attempts at
change, they made the hard deci-
sion to empty it out completely,"
Christiansen said.
In addition to the physical reno-
vations, the co-op is now focusing
on attracting graduate students to
live there.
Two-thirds of Jones House's 38
residents are currently graduate
students. The remaining residents
are either undergraduates or are
no longer students.
Jones said the idea to market the
house to graduate students first
came up in 2006.
With the house's proximity to
the Ross School of Business and
the Law School, it's convenient
for graduate students to live there,
Jones said.
And unlike the house's former
tenants, Jones said graduate stu-
dents "tend to be more mature,
and able to take better care of the
house."
"There weren't any houses spe-
cifically for graduate students
yet," Jones said. "This was the first
chance we could give a house to a
graduate population."
Christiansen said the deci-
sion for a graduate-themed co-op
will improve the reputation of the
Jones House.
"We're really trying to change
the culture within the house,"
Christiansen said. "Now that it's
Last year, Jones House coop was in a state of decay.
graduate students in there, I think
it's really going to help the situa-
tion many times over."
Linda Phan, a graduate student
in the College of Pharmacy and a
Jones House resident, said what
she enjoys most about the house is
its democratic environment.
"Everybody has a say and it
actually matters," Phan said. "I've
never lived anywhere that's so
community focused with everyone
making an effort to try and make
SHMOOZING 'ROUND THE FIRE
this place look better."
Ultimately, Jones said it's the
residents at the Jones House who
make it so enjoyable.
"What really makes this house
a success right now is the people,"
'Jones said. "It's just a great group
and everyone is really dedicated to
the house."
House members recently took
part in a work holiday week-
end that involved various home
improvement projects.
SALARY
From page 1A
with you on the steps of the U.S
Supreme Court or reading abou
groundbreaking research by ou
faculty or hearing a monthly
fundraising report that break
another record, we recogniz
that your leadership has been
extraordinary," the letter read
"We look forward to your second
term and we look forward to your
continued successes as the leader
of this great institution."
Coleman said she had no ide
the letter was coming.
"You have taken me so much
by surprise that I am almos
speechless, and presidents ar
never speechless," Coleman said
The raise brings Coleman'
base salary to about $532,000.
Coleman earned $516,501 in
base pay and a $500,000 bonu
for completing her first term a
president last year, after which
she agreed to another five-year
term as president.
CLAUSE
From page 1A
der expression. Some activist
said that fix sent the messags
that gender identity wasn't a
important to protect as other
categories.
The Michigan Studen
Assembly, the Lecturers
Employee Organization and th
Senate Assembly - the main
representative bodies of Uni
versity students, lecturers and
tenured faculty - have all urged
the regents to make the revi
sion. Senate Assembly passed
a resolution last year and MSA
passed a resolution yesterday
urging the regents to approv
the change.
Regent Larry Deitch (D-Bing
ham Farms) was unable to attend
the meeting because he was in
Asia on business, but sent a letter
to the regents voicing his sup
port for the amendment. Regen
Martin Taylor (D-Grosse Pointe
Farms) read Deitch's letter to the
regents yesterday before they
voted on the change.
Deitch and Rebecca McGowan
(D-Ann Arbor) sponsored the
last change to the wording of the
non-discrimination clause. Tha
revision, passed in Septembei
1993, explicitly protected Uni
versity students and employeer
from discrimination based on
sexual orientation.
"From the standpoint of per
sonally having had a positive
impact on the culture of our Uni
versity, it is my proudest achieve
ment as a regent," Deitch wrote
in the letter.
Some residents painted walls
and hallways. Others sanded and
stained the house's wood floor-
ing.
For some, these improvement
projects create a sense of connec-
tion with where they live.
"It feels so personal working
together to improve our house,"
Phan said.
She added with a laugh, "But it's
probably the most work I've ever
done in my entire life."
The regents have given Cole-
man a small raise each year since
she became president in 2002.
The raises, typically on par with
. pay increases for faculty and
t staff, have never exceeded 3.5
r percent.
y "I and my follow regents wish'
s it could be more, but we took into
e consideration all that's going on
in the state and around the coun-
. try," Taylor said.
Coleman said she intends to
r donate her pay raise to Univer-
r sity graduate and professional
programs.
a Taylor joked that the regents
could approve a 50 percent pay
raise if Coleman would donate it
t to graduate programs. With the
e University's fundinguncertain in
. light of the state's fiscal woes, the
s room erupted in laughs - some
nervous, others raucous.
"That'd cure our budget prob-
s lem," said Regent Andrew Rich-
s ner (R-Grosse Pointe Park).
r
Deitch said he considers this
change another necessary step
toward equality on campus.
"I enthusiastically and whole-
s heartedly endorse this amend-
e ment, and would be voting for it
s were I able tobe present," Deitch
r wrote. "As in1993, this very sim-
ple change will have a profound
t positive impact on the culture of
our community."
e Four University students and
one University alum urged the
- regents to approve the measure
I duringthe meeting's public com-
J ment period, which was moved
- to the beginning of the meeting
1 so the regents could hear the
speeches before voting.
Y Law School alum Denise Bro-
e gan-Kator, who is transgender,
told the regents that she has been
- fired three times throughout her
I career because of her gender
identity and worried that she
r would face discrimination while
- studying at the University.
t She said she was disappointed
by how long it took to add the
phrase to the University's non-
discrimination policy. Ninety-
two other colleges have similar
wording in their bylaws, Brogan-
Kator said.
LSA senior Jen Hsu, the co-
t chair of MSA's LGBT Affairs
r commission, saidthe University's
- decision would send amessage to
s other colleges, despite the delay.
"We can't go back, but today is
the day when we can begin going
forward," Hsu said. "Today, we
can still set precedent for so
- many other higher educational
- institutions across our nation,
because when Michigan takes a
stand, others take notice."
JENA From page 1A
dents were among the throngs of
mostly black protesters who over-
whelmed this tiny central Louisi-
ana town.
Among those students was a
group from the University of Mich-
igan.
"When we said we were from U of
M, people's eyes leaped out because
they knew how far we came," said
Rackham studentAyodele Alli, who
helped organize the trip to Jena.
Alli's group, organized by the
Iota Phi Theta fraternity, spent 20
hours on the road. It received finan-
cial support from a range of sourc-
es, including the University's Office
of Multicultural Initiatives and pri-
vate donors. One Detroit resident
gave the group $1,500 for the trip,
Alli said.
"We got money from eight to 10
people and organizations," he said.
"This money was raised in weeks.
To say the least, it was a miracle
that we got the money."
The teens' case galvanized dem-
onstrators as few legal cases have in
recent years.
The cause of yesterday's dem-
onstrations dates to August 2006,
when a black Jena High School
student asked at a student assem-
bly whether blacks could situnder a
shade tree that was a frequentgath-
ering place for whites. He was told
yes. But nooses appeared in the tree
the next day. Three white students
were suspended but not criminally
prosecuted. LaSalle Parish District
Attorney Reed Walters said this
week he could find no state law cov-
ering the act.
Brown said the Jena case reso-
nates with the college-aged crowd
because they aren't much older
than the six youths charged. Many
of the student protesters had been
sharing information about the case
through Facebook, MySpace and
other social-networking websites.
Jackson, who led a throng of
people three blocks long to, the
courthouse with an American flag
resting on his shoulder, likened
the demonstration to the marches
on Selma and the Montgomery bus
boycott. But even he was not entire-
ly sure why Jena became the focal
point.
"You can never quite tell," he
said. "Rosa Parks was not the first
to sit in the front of the bus. But the
sparks hita dry field."
The noose incident was followed
by fights betweenblacks andwhites,
culminating in December's attack
on white student Justin Barker,
who was knocked unconscious.
According to court testimony, his
face was swollen and bloodied, but
he was able to attend a school func-
tion that same night.
Six black teens were arrested.
Five were originally charged with
attempted second-degree mur-
der charges that have since been
reduced for four of them. The sixth
was booked as a juvenile on sealed
charges.
Alli said the Jena case was just a
symptom of a much larger, national
problem of an unfair justice.
"It was definitely a disparity in
the justice systemthattheblackstu-
dents were charged," he said. "Jena
happens every day, but not every-
body gets the attention Jena gets."
Martin Luther King III, son of
the slain civil rights leader, said
punishment of some sort may be
in order for the six defendants, but
"the justice system isn't applied the
same to all crimes and all people."
People began massing for the
demonstrations before dawn yes-
terday, jamming the two-lane high-
way leading into town and parking
wherever they could. State police
estimated the crowd at 15,000
to 20,000. Organizers said they
believe it drew as many as 50,000.
Demonstrators gathered at the
local courthouse, a park, and the
yard at Jena High where the tree
once stood (it was cut down in July).
At times the town resembled a giant
festival,with people settingup tables
of food and drink and some dancing
while a man beat on a drum.
Sharpton admonished the crowd
to remain peaceful, and there were
no reports of trouble. State police
could be seen chatting amicably
with demonstrators at the court-
house.
In Washington, the chairman
of the House Judiciary Committee
said he would hold hearings on the
case, though he did not set a date
or say if the prosecutor would be
called to testify.
Walters,the district attorney, has
usually declined to discuss the case
publicly. But on the eve of the dem-
onstrations, he denied the charges
against the teens were race-related
and lamented that Barker, the vic-
tim ofthebeating, hasbeen reduced
to "a footnote" while protesters
generate sympathy for his alleged
attackers.
President Bush said he under-
stood the emotions and the FBI was
monitoring the situation.
"The events in Louisiana have
saddened me," the president told
reporters at the White House. "All
of us in America want there to be,
you know, fairness when it comes
to justice."
While Jena Six supporters were
overwhelmingly black, young
whites were also present.
"I think what happened here
was disgusting and repulsive to the
whole state," said Mallory Flippo, a
white college student from Shreve-
port. "I think it reflected badly on
our state and how it makes it seem
we view black people. I don't feel
that way, so I thought I should be
here."
Other rallies in support of the
black teens were held elsewhere,
including Oklahoma City, where
about 500 people gathered.
"It is time for us to express our
outrage that such a blatant injus-
tice should happen," said Roosevelt
Milton, Oklahoma City NAACP
president.
"I'm just glad people are starting
to stand up for what is right," said
KiaraAndrews, 15, of the Oklahoma
City suburb of Midwest City.
In Jena, many white residents
expressed anger at the way news
organizations portrayed their town
of 3,000 people.
I believe in people standing up
for what's right," said resident
Ricky Coleman, 46, who is white.
"What bothers me is this town
being labeled racist. I'm not racist."
Mychal Bell, now 17, is the only
one of the defendants to be tried.
He was convicted of aggravated
second-degree battery, but his con-
viction was tossed out last week by
a state appeals court that said Bell,
who was 16 at the time of the beat-
ing, could notbe tried as an adultcon
that charge.
He remained in jail pending an
appeal by prosecutors. An appellate
court yesterday ordered a hearing
to be held within three days on his
request for release. The other five
defendants are free onbond.
A group of about a dozen white
residents and black demonstrators
engaged in an animated but not
angry exchange during the march.
Whites asked blacks if they were
aware of Bell's criminal record.
Blacks replied that Jena High
administrators mishandled the
incidents.
Another white resident, Bill Wil-
liamson, 59, said he tried to con-
vince visitors that the town was
being treated unfairly and that Bell
belonged in jail.
"I think we changed one man's
mind," he said. "But most of these
people don't want to hear."
As she trudged up a hill to a
rally at a park, 63-year-old Eliza-
beth Redding of Willingboro, N.J.,
remembered marching at Selma,
Ala., when she was in her 20s.
"I am a great-grandmother now.
I'm doing this for my great-grand-
children," she said.
Alecea Rush, 21, a senior at Prai-
rie View A&M University in Texas,
said her grandmother used to tell
her stories about the civil rights
movement, including one in which
she witnessed a lynching in Okla-
homa City.
"I thought about every one of
those stories being out here today,"
Rush said. "I never really felt the
significance until today."
- Jillian Berman and
The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
Engineering senior Ilana Riback plays guitar atla backyard campfire on Elm Street
while LSA freshman Joey Eisrhan shows LSA senior Heather Goldstein how to play
the didjbox, a box-shaped didgeridoo last night. Others were roasting shmorze over
the fire, which are s'mores wade with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. The event was the
Second Annual Shmorze Fest held by the Shmooze Club, a Jewish cultural club that
emphasizes good food, good times and good conversation.
SPEAKER
From page 1A
praised Collins's hard work and
dedication to the project at the
regents meeting.
"I think that few people could
have made this happen," she said.
Every year, honorary degrees
are awarded to the commencement
speakers. Collins will be granted a
degree as a Doctor of Science and
Woodruff as a Doctor of Laws.
This year's announcement
comes much earlier than previous
ones.
Formner President Bill Clinton,
the 2007 graduation speaker, was
not announced until that Decem-
ber. Christiane Amanpour,
CNN's chief international corre-
spondent, was announced as the
2006 commencement speaker
that March.
Coleman said there was no par-
ticular reason that the commence-
ment speaker was announced so
soon this year. She said it some-
times takes more time to secure
certain speakers.
It took three years of work to
land Clinton, Coleman said.
-Gabe Nelson contributed
to this report
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