The Michigan Daily - Saturday, June 4, 1983-- Page 3 Sentences stand for baseball bat beating death By HALLE CZECHOWSKI A Wayne County Circuit Court judge announced Thursday he has no legal basis for withdrawing his sentence of probation and fines for two men convic- ted of beating a Chinese-American man to deathwith a baseball bat. The decision came after groups from around the nation, including one in Ann Arbor, asked Judge Charles Kaufman to reconsider the manslaughter senten- ces of Ronald Ebens and his stepson, Michael Nitz. KAUFMAN SENTENCED the two men to three years probation and fines of $3,780 each in March following their convictions for manslaughter. Chin was beaten to death in June 1983 outside of a Highland Park bar, an hour-and-a-half after an argument with Ebans and Nitz which some said was racially motivated. Detroit area Asian-Americans and others were outraged at the lenient sen- tences. Many believe Kaufman made his decision based on misleading or in- sufficient evidence since there was no trial - both men pleaded guilty - and no prosecuting attorney appeared at the men's hearing. IN LATE APRIL, Southfield attorney Liza Chan asked Kaufman to withdraw his sentence. He agreed to take the matter under consideration. Chin supporters demonstrated two weeks later at a rally in Detroit's Ken- nedy Square sponsored by the American Citizens for Justice, a predominantly Asian-American group. More than 800 people attended, in- cluding 80 people who came on buses rented by the Ann Arbor Vincent Chin Support Committee. Tinko Ting, head of the Ann Arbor committee, said he was upset by the decision, although he said it was "exac- tly what we expected." He added that he does not know what Chin supporters will do next to fight the sentences. Larry Lee, a protestor from Ypsilan- ti, said he was "very disappointed and kind ofsurprised" at the decision. The FBI and the United States Justice Department in Detroit said they will continue their month-long in- vestigations into the case to see if Chin's death was indeed racially motivated. If there is evidence to back this claim, Chin's family could sue to prove that his legal rights were violated. Financial aid delays fewer this year By JACKIE YOUNG Students applying for financial aid will be notified two months earlier than last year if they qualify for aid awards, according to University financial aid officials. The University's financial aid office is trying to notify student of how much money they will receive by July 1, said Harvey Grotrian, financial aid direc- tor. THE PROCESS IS running ahead of schedule to allow financial aid officials to deal with problems during August such as late applications. Last year was a nightmare for the financial aid office, because of so many federal government delays. The gover- nment didn't send needed forms or disperse funds for months into the school year. By July 1, the office will have notified nearly 500 students, compared to the same time last summer when no students had been notified. THE BULK of student aid will be dispersed during the first two weeks of September, Grotrian said. With the same number of applicants last year the office spent 8 weeks distributing awards, he added. Guaranteed Student Loans will also be ahead of schedule this year, said Elaine Nowak, senior financial aid of- ficer. The office is expecting to have one of its best years, she said. "We have an experienced staff with no job turnover which is uncomparable to any other year," Nowak said. There are also no procedural changes by the federal government, which in past years have backlogged - loan ap- plications for months. THOMAS BUTTS, the administrative assistant to vice president for academic affairs located in Washington, said that this year there were many decisions made at the federal level that will help college campuses to distribute financial aid more efficiently than in past years. "Last year no one knew what was going to happen (when aid would be disbursed to students), because of the long delay the administration had in making the proposed cuts in the budget," Butts said. However, Butts said there might be delays in distributing aid money to students if the fate of the Solomon Amendment isn't decided until this Oc- tober. The delay would occur because students would be required to fill out an extra form before they receive their aid, he said. The Solomon Amendment, a law that was passed last year to go into effect July 1, would require all students ap- plying for financial aid to certify that they have registered with the selective service. Although the law is currently inactive throughout the nation due to a tem- porary injunction issued by a federal judge in Minnesota, a decision is expec- ted soon to decide permanently whether or not the law is a violation of students' civil rights. Grotrian said that students call him every day to see if the law will go into effect as planned. Y a ssooo Doily Photo by DEBORAH LEWIS Bette Kussurelis-Ellis displays a Greek flag, an example of the memorabilia for sale at the Ya'ssoo Greek festival at 414 N. Main Street. Sponsored by the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, the celebration continues through tonight with Mediterranean melodies, food, dancing and spirits. Liuzzo family seeks to reverse eourt costs By GEORGEA KOVANIS The children of Viola Liuzzo, a civil rights worker murdered 18 years ago, will file a motion Monday asking a federal judge to reverse his order requiring the family to pay the gover- nment's court costs, attorneys said last night. Judge Charles Joiner last Friday ruled in a U.S. District Court in Ann Ar- bor that the Liuzzos must pay for the government's court costs which are estimated at about $100,000. THE LIUZZO family lost their case against the government last week when Joiner ruled that the government was not responsible for the death of Viola Liuzzo, who was gunned down while transporting a black civil rights march worker in the historic 1965 Selma-to- Montgomery Voting Rights March in Alabama. Liuzzo was killed by shots coming from a car carrying three Ku Klux Klansmen and FBI informant Gary Thomas Rowe. The family claimed that the government was ultimately respon- sible for their mother's death by hiring an informant who did not do anything to prevent the murder. The Liuzzos have already spent $60,000 on their own court costs which don't include attorney fees. The gover- nment's costs include fees for court reporters, witnesses, and filing, but not attorney fees. AFTER THE motion is filed Monday, the family will have at least 10 days to pepare their argument, said Dean Robb, chief counsel for the family. Lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) will assist the Liuzzo's in the litigation and could be the ones to argue the case before the court. "(The ACLU) is very upset with assessing costs in cases like these," said Robb, who, like the other Liuzzo at- torneys, volunteered his services in the suit." The ACLU believes that charging costs hinders citizens chances of win- ning cases against the government. The Liuzzo children, who were shaken by Joiners decision last Friday, said the charge was excessive. "I think it is disgusting," said Tony Liuzzo. "I think it has outraged the public."