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