be 1MicI~igan0a6IVj
Ann Arbor, Michigan
PATROLLING THE CAMPUS POUCE
DPS cmte.
concerns
aired at MSA
Wednesday, November 18,2009
SMASHING THE SCARLET AND GREY
michigandaily.com
On advise of'U'
General Counsel,
MSA had ignored
issue until yesterday
By MALLORY JONES
Daily StaffReporter
Medical School Prof. Douglas
Smith finally got the chance to
speak to the Michigan Student
Assembly last night about his con-
cerns over the Department ofPub-
lic Safety Oversight Committee.
His comments came after months
of pushing members of the assem-
bly's executive board to meet with
him regarding those concerns.
The executive board members
had refused, to meet with Smith
after the University's General
Counsel's office advised them not
to meet with him.
Ambreen Sayed, MSA chief of
staff, said Smith contacted her
and asked about the appointment
of students to the DPS Oversight
Committee - a body comprised,
per state law, of students, faculty
and staff members charged with
holding DPS accountable for its
actions.
But MSA executive officers said
they chose not to meet with Smith
after they were advised by the
University's General Counsel not
to discuss the DPS issue with him.
Smith said that he thinks the
General Counsel's office is respon-
sible for him not being allowed to
meet with the executive board.
"I blame that mostly on the
General Counsel's office but I
think the University administra-
tion should trust the students to
be able to listen to both sides of an
argument and make a good deci-
sion," he said in an interview after
the meeting.
An article published in The
Michigan Daily Monday reported
that the DPS Oversight Com-
mittee has had a track record of
neglecting internal procedures -
a fact that lawyers quoted in the
article suggest puts the University
in violation of state law.
Problems surroundingthe body
include periods of time during
which the committee lacks stu-
dent representation, the failure to
hold elections for faculty repre-
sentatives every year and varying
participation rates for staff repre-
sentative elections. Additionally,
concerns have arisen regarding
the committee's light load of
grievances and the infrequency of
its meetings.
Sayed said she felt that a meet-
ing with Smith was unnecessary
because she had addressed Smith's
concerns about how student rep-
resentatives were appointed to the
DPS Oversight Committee.
MSA Vice President Michael
Rorro said that the executive
board made a decision not to allow
Smith to speak based on a recom-
mendation made from the Univer-
See OVERSIGHT, Page 3A
MARISSAMCCLAN/Daily
LSA senior Mike Rorro helps raise money for C.S. Mott Children's Hospital yesterday by smashing a car in Go Blue, Beat OSU Car Bash at the Sigma Chi house on State
Street. The event marked the beginning of Go Blue, Beat OSU week - a week of festivities leading up to the Ohio State football game on Saturday.
LIIG ATwIOrN R EPsRT
In awsit juyrlsfo h U
Research assistant
sued 'U' for wrongful
termination
By JENNA SKOLLER
and STEPHANIE STEINBERG
Daily StaffReporters
A Washtenaw County jury ruled
in favor of the University of Michi-
gan Board of Regents yesterday
in the Whistleblower's lawsuit
brought by Robert McGee, a former
University research assistant.
McGee, 54, filed a lawsuit
against the regents after he was
terminated from his position as a
research assistant in the Nuclear
Engineering and Radiological Sci-
ences Department. McGee alleged
that he was wrongfully removed
from his position because he filed
complaints about potential safety
violations in the laboratory.
Throughout the case, Christine
Green, McGee's attorney, empha-
sized that the case falls under the
Whistleblower Protection Act,
which protects employees who
report misconduct in the work-
place. The seven-member jury
found that while McGee did engage
in activity protected under the act,
he was not discriminated against in
the termination.
Over the course of the trial, the
defense tried to prove that McGee
was an inadequate student and that
the decision to terminate him from
his position was made well before
he reported the safety violations.
David Masson, the attorney for
the University, declined to com-
ment on the case, but University
spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham
said University officials were "very
pleased" with the results of the
trial.
"It clearly shows that Prof. Mike
See WHISTLEBLOWER, Page BA
THE LAWS OF MUSIC
SERIES: OFFkE HOURS
Profs talk 'don't ask, don't tell'
Un
wei
rel
I
Sin(
the "d
of the
has b
eral la
Clinto
tiversity experts making their sexual orientations
public while actively servinginthe
gh in on Obama's military.
Initially enacted in an effort to
ictance to revise protect the well-being of the gay
po c community in the armed forces,
nilitary policy many believe the policyhas actual-
ly had the opposite effect, prompt-
By ALLIE WHITE ing the discharge of upwards of
Daily StaffReporter 12,000 service members since its
inception on the grounds of sexual
ce its introduction in 1993, orientation, whether actual or sus-
on't ask, don't tell" policy pected.
United States armed forces The Michigan Daily sat down
een controversial. The fed- with four University experts on
w, signed by President Bill the topic from several disciplines,
n, prohibits gay people from including women's studies, psy-
chology, history and theories of
sexuality to get their take on the
subject.
While the experts believe that
President Barack Obama is an ally
of the gay community, they are
anxious for the changes that his
campaign platform promised.
During his campaign and since
his election, Obama has advocated
for the repeal of the policy. At the
Human Rights Campaign dinner
last month, he said definitively: "I
will end'don't ask, don't tell'."
The American public, for the
most part, appears to be on the
See OFFICE HOURS, Page 3A
Members of the Law School Classical Music Society practice in the Michigan Union yesterday. The group was preparing for its
event "Bach's Lunch," which will take place in the Lawyer's Club lounge on Friday at 12:15 p.m.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
Challenge to affirmative action
ban heard in appeals court
ST UDYN G IN HE STATES
Report: 'U' among top destinations
for international students' studies
Three-judge panel
will consider
constitutionality of
0 2006 state-wide ban
By JOSEPH LICHTERMAN
Daily StaffReporter
Opponents of Michigan's 2006
Civil Rights Initiative that banned
public institutions from using affir-
WEATHER HI: 50
TOMORROW LO: 40
mative action had their day in court
again yesterday.
A three-judge panel of the 6th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in
Cincinnati heard oral arguments
from both sides regarding the
legality of the state's constitutional
amendment.
The ballot initiative - when it
was on the ballot as Proposal 2 -
amended the state's constitution
by barring all state institutions and
agencies, including public universi-
ties, from using any programs that
show preference based on race,
gender, national origin or ethnicity.
The measure passedby a 58-42 per-
cent margin.
The main plaintiffs in the case
are the state of Michigan, Univer-
sity of Michigan, Michigan State
University and Wayne State Uni-
versity.
In a brief written to the 6th Cir-
cuit Court, the universities stated
that they wished to be removed
from the lawsuit.
See SIXTH CIRCUIT, Page 8A
Wit
Mic
6 in
A re
Institr
tion s.
a pops
studen
list of
intern
Wit
tional
h 5,790 students, academic year, the University of
Michigan places just behind Pur-
chigan ranks No. due University with 6,136, the
University of Illinois at Urbana-
national survey Champaign with 6,570 and Colum-
bia University with 6,685. The
By ALLIE WHITE University of Southern California
Daily StaffReporter and New York University topped
the rankings with 7,482 and 6,761
rcent study conducted by the students, respectively.
ute of International Educa- John Greisberger, director of
hows that the University is the University's International
ular destination for foreign Center, said that while these
tts, ranking at No. 6 on a numbers are accurate, they differ
U.S. colleges with the most slightly fromthe University'snum-
ational students. bers in that they include students
h a total of 5,790 interna- who have graduated from the
students for the 2008-2009 See INTERNATIONAL, Page 8A
COLLEGES WITH THE MOST
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
1. University of Southern California
7,482 students
2. New York University
6,761 students
3. Columbia University
6,685 students
4. University of Illinois(Champaign)
6,570 students
5. Purdue University
6,136 students
6. University of Michigan
5,790 students
Source: InstituteoftInternational Education
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