The Michigan Daily
Ten Cents
Twenty Pages
South African
divestment
bill passes
state House
. ui y r n Dy.UBUA LE
MICHAEL NELSON, a witness, points to the top of the 26-story Tower Plaza
apartments on E. William St. yesterday, where an unidentified male fell to
his death.
Man falls to hi~s
death from top
o cy h
f. Y
By FANNIE WEINSTEIN
The state House of Representatives
passed a bill yesterday that, ,if ap-
proved by the state Senate, would
require public universities and com-
munity colleges to divest from U.S.
companies operating in racially-
segregated South Africa.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Perry
Bullard (D-Ann Arbor), was passed by
an overwhelming 75-25 margin. An
amendment to the bill that would
require schools to divest from the
Soviet Union because of human rights
violations, also was approved.
IN RECENT years, several campus
organizations, amid what were
sometimes volatile protests, have
demanded that the Regents withdraw
University investments from cor-
porations with holdings in South Africa,
whose policy of apartheid is
dicriminatory to blacks.
The Regents agreed to invest only in
those companies that abided by the
Sullivan Principles - which ask com-.
panies to practice non-discriminatory
employment policies - but only with-
drew investments from one firm.
A number of universities across the
country, however, including Michigan
State University, have divested en-
tirely.
Several University officials, reacting
yesterday to the passage, said they
question the bill's legality.
A NUMBER OF University ad-
ministrators believe the state does not
have the constitutional authority to
determine how the University will use
its money.
"The constitution in this state; in my
opinion ... is that the Regents have the
exclusive authority to make such ex-
penditures," University Counsel
Roderick Daane said.
"I wouldn't contemplate initiating
one (a court battle) off hand," he said,
"but I might recommend that the
University take the position that the
statute is unconstitutional."
REGENT THOMAS Roach (D-
Saline) said he also doubted the
legislation's constitutionality. "In my
opinion," Roach said, "it would be an
unconstitutional exercise of legislative
authority."
The Regents, he continued, have
"complete power and authority over
the funds of the University and the state
Roach
. .. questions bill's legality
legislature can't'dictate the way we do
that.
Theoretically, Roach said, about
possible Senate approval, "if it was our
view that it was unconstitutional, we
would just ignore it."
NO DECISION, however, has been
made on University action -if the
legislation actually becomes law, he
said, adding "we haven't even con-
sidered the question yet."
Such legislation is not unprecedented,
according to Roach. At one point, he
said, the state passed a statute
declaring that the University should not
charge Michigan residents tuition. This
law, he added, was declared uncon-
stitutional by the Supreme Court.
"We feel we made a political
statement when we condemned apar-
theid and urged all the companies that
have operations in South Africa to im-
prove the situation down there and
work for the elimination of apartheid
government," Roach said.
"We don't own any stock in South
African companies," he said. "We're
talking about companies that are in
Michigan, that employ people in
Michigan, and pay Michigan taxes."
"WE DID SELLourholdings in Black
and Decker," Roach explained,
"because they didn't react positively to
our request that they adopt the Sullivan
Principles."
See SOUTH, Page 3
By GEORGE ADAMS
A man, whom witnesses described as
"middle-aged," fell to his death yester-
day evening from the roof of Tower
Plaza Apartments, a central campus
high-rise located at 555E. William.
Witnesses said the man fell from the
26-story building at approximately 7:35
p.m. Officers from the Ann Arbor
Police Department arrived moments
later.
POLICE BELIEVE the victim, who
was not a resident of the building, en-
tered through the front doors, took an
elevator to the top floor, and then took a
stairway to the roof.
"Anyone can get to the top floor, and
there's a door up there that leads to the
roof. Sometimes it's locked, and
sometimes it's not," Ann Arbor Police
officer William Wise said. "Our officers
went up there and they found the door
open," he added.
Sgt. Jan Suomala, of the Ann Arbor
Police Department, confirmed that the
man was not a resident or employee of
the building. Neither police nor a
security guard stationed at the,
building's main entrance would say
how the victim entered the building.
ACCORDING TO Wise, there was "no
See MAN, Page5