The Michigan Doily-Tuesday, May 18, 1982--Page 5
poily Photo by DEBORAH LEWIS
A GRADUATING LAW student waits serenely--even on crutches-for the Law School graduation ceremony to end Satur-
day.
C oleman addresses law grads
Pupil sues
Princeton;
plagiansm
penalty
'too severe'
PRINCETON, N.J. (AP)- A Prin-
ceton University senior disciplined. for
alleged plagiarism in a term paper is
suing the university, saying her
punishment was too severe.
Gabrielle Napolitano, a Rhodes
Scholar nominee with a 3.7 grade-point
average, was found guilty of plagiarism
by the university's Committee on
Discipline earlier this year.
THE UNIVERSITY has decided to
withhold Miss Napolitano's diploma for
a year and to notify the law schools to
which she has applied of its decision.
In a preliminary hearing on April 22,
Mercer County Superior Court Judge
William Dreier said the school's
decision was "an overreaction, a
failure to see the human problems
here," and scheduled another hearing
for next Monday.,
"1 look at the nature of what hap-
pened here ... and Ilam frankly, at this
point before I see Princeton's answer,
shocked ....at this knee-jerk reaction to
the label of plagiarism," the judge said.
DREIER ASKED the university to
reconsider its decision "and let her go
on with her career rather than lose a
year of her life." The university has
defended the decision as crucial to the
school's standards of academic in-
tegrity.
Thomas Wright, a lawyer for Prin-
ceton, said, "Courts have the right to
look into matters of wrongdoing but
should be reluctant to second-guess
matters like this. The standard should
be whether an action is academically
reasonable, not arbitrary or
capricious."
Miss Napolitano, an English major,
said her lawyer advised her not to
comment on the case, but university
documents show she told the committee
her paper was in "technical" violation
of university regulations.
THE 12-PAGE paper was brought to
the committee's attention in February
by Miss Napolitano's Spanish teacher,
Sylvia Molloy, who said two pages of
the 12-page paper were either copied
verbatim or paraphrased without at-
tribution from a text.
University guidelines say, "Any
quotations, however small, must be
placed in quotation marks or clearly
indented beyond the regular margin."
The paper, an analysis written in
Spanish of the Gabriel Barcia Marquez
novel "One Hundred Years of
Solitude," cited five quotations from a
book of criticism by Josefina Ludmer.
By SCOTT STUCKAL
Lawyers today are "undeniably un-
popular" because traditionally they
have been both "part of the problem
and part of the solution" to society's
woes, one of the nation's leading defen-
ders of civil rights told the law school's
graduating class Saturday.
The large number of lawyers and a
flood of laws that intrude on people's
personal lives have also contributed to
the profession's unpopularity, said
William Coleman, who was also
Secretary of Transportation during the
Fordadministration.
COLEMAN outlined three personal
goals for the graduates to accept so that
they may project a better image to the
public. "Above all a lawyer should be a
detached observer," Coleman advised.
"The craft of an excellent lawyer is like
the craft of an excellent painter. The
painter observes detail but never loses
sight of the broad picture." He added,
"not every lawyer has the same style.
The law needs both its Rembrandt and
its Chagalls."
Secondly, Coleman said, lawyers
should "help society mediate conflic- .
ts." He said a good lawyer strives to
solve cases before they get to court, and
that is why 90 percent of all cases are
mediated without a trial.
"Most importantly, lawyers are
valuable to society because they are
public persons," said Coleman, who
volunteered to represent the case
against tax breaks for private,
segregated Bob Jones University. He
criticized lawyers who take "too
narrow an interpretation of the kinds of
public service available. It is perverse
to limit pro bono (free work) to a few
hours a month."
COLEMAN challenged the new law
school graduates to solve two future
problems-economic stagnation and
the possibility of international conflict.
He stressed that American lawyers are
specially equipped "to teach the world"
how to peacefully mediate against in-
ternational conflict.
Degrees were awarded Saturday at
the Hill Auditorium Senior Day
ceremonies to 346 Juris doctor can-
didates, 21 master of law candidates,
and 5 students of comparative law.
AFSCME ratifies concessions
LANSING (UPI)- The Milliken ad-
ministration yesterday announced
ratification of a $10 million concession
pact with the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Em-
ployees, the state's second largest civil
service union, while denouncing the
largest one, Michigan State Employees
Association, for refusal to bargain.
The ratification vote by the 7,000-
member AFSCME, the third union to
accept a pay concession pact, was ex-
pected.
THE ACTUAL vote count was not
released by the administration,
although officials said approval was by
"a wide margin."
AFSCME officials could not im-
mediately be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, the MSEA Board of
Directors; at a stormy meeting Satur-
day, voted not to resume bargaining
with the state until a reduction in
working hours imposed by the ad-
ministration is either rescinded or
overturned by the courts.
THE HOURS reductions, which
average about 10 per two-week pay
period, were ordered by the governor
as part of a plan to extract forced con-
cessions if no voluntary agreement
could be reached. They affect the 16,000
MSEA members covered by union con-
tracts.
State employer Stanley Kravit said of
the MSEA action, "I think it's com-
pletely irresponsible." Kravit claimed
the hours cuts were designed to save
jobs.
Kravit said he was preparing a letter
to members of the MSEA outlining the
terms of the state's last offer on the pay
concession issue-a proposal he has in-
sisted would be ratified if union leaders
would submit it for a vote.
Gov. William Milliken has been
seeking $20 million in pay concessions
during this fiscal year and $60 million in
fiscal 1983.
The AFSCME pact requires mem-
hers of the layoff-wracked union to
choose between 48 hours off without pay
or 55 hours of deferred compensation
this fiscal year and to forego a 5 percent
pay hike and benefits improvements set
for the beginning of the new fiscal year
Oct.I.
In return, there will be no layoffs this
year, except at two hospitals, and 87.5
percent of the union's membership will-
be protected in fiscal 1983.
TV Rentals andAir Conditioning
TV & Stereo Service
Student Rates Used, Reconditioned Equipment for Sole
Hi Fl Studio
215 South Ashley, Downtown Ann Arbor
I block westoftMain Street '/ block north otiberty
Telephone 769-0342