SUMME ' \ One hundred and one years of editoriai freedom Decisii by Victoria Kuohung Daily Staff Reporter A recent unanimous Su- preme Courtruling is forcing the University to reconsider its con- troversialInterim PolicyonDis- criminatory Conduct. The Supreme Court's June 22 decision in R.A.V. v. St. Paul ruled that restricting speech "solely on the basis of the sub- jects (it) addresses" is unconsti- tutional. Adopted in 1989, the University's Interim Policy on DiscriminatoryConductprohib- its "verbal slurs ... referring to ... race, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation, creed, na- tional origin, ancestry, age or handicap." But the Court's ruling invali- dates the policy. "We cannot enforce the in- terim policy," said Shirley Clarkson, director of presiden- tial communications. Inreaction totheruling,Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen Hartford said the Uni- versity plans to draft a replace- ment for the old interim policy. Previous drafts for a new 'U' shifts Office of Student Affairs by Victoria Kuohung Daily Staff Reporter The Office of the Vice Presi- dent for Student Affairs is being restructured, but some members of the University community are uncomfortablewiththeproposed changes. By this fall, the position of Associate VicePresidentforStu- dent Affairs will be expanded to include a new function -Dean of Students. Current Associate Vice President for Student Af- fairs Royster Harper will assume the Dean of Students responsi- bilities upon regental approval. "'There has been no office with a central focus for (serving students).... We built the Dean of Students office to serve as a general assistance center," said Maureen Hartford, Vice Presi- dent for Student Affairs. "We hope to make it easier for stu- dentstogetthroughbureaucratic red tape." invalidates -nt policy had already been consid- ered before the Supreme Court ruling. Last winter, law students Michael Warren and Peter Mooney, membersoftheMichi- gan Student Assembly's Student Rights Commission (SRC), asked the University to rescind the interim policy because they believed it violated free speech. This stance was then adopted by MSA. Students have complained they had no input into the vari- ous drafts being considered to replace the interim policy. To address these concerns, Hartford met with members of the SRC, the Senate Advisory Committee on University Af- fairs, Minority Student Services, the Center for Education of Women, andstudentgrouplead- ers and Deans. Hartford said the meetings were productive in formulating an alternative tothe code. "There was a fair amount of consensus aboutadopting an approach simi- lar to Stanford University," she said. Stanford's Fundamental S tandard,adoptedin1906,states, "Students at Stanford are ex- pected to show, both within and without the University, such re- spect for order, morality, per- sonal honor and the rights of others, as is demanded by good citizens. Failure todothis willbe sufficient cause for removal from the University." The Office of the Vice Presi- dent for Student Affairs is now working on a ninth draft of a replacement policy, tentatively tided "The Student Community Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities." Hartford said the University plans to have students enforce any new policy. "It's like an honor code with students chal- lenging (other) students' inap- propriate behavior," she said. Under the proposed policy, charges would be presented to a six-member Student Hearing Board (SHB) drawn from a ran- domly-selected pool of 50 stu- n code dents. SHB members would be screened for potential biases and their participation may be chal- lenged by both parties of a case. A faculty member - with- out voting privileges - would chair the SHB and collect infor- mation about the case. Hartford said the University has the option of going into the Fall Term without a speech code or implementing the draft as an interim policy. See CODE, Page 2 Court ruling sparks throughout 'U' comp by Victoria Kuohung Graduate s Daily Staff Reporter boardmember Many people in the University community are Court is acce questioning theimplicationsof the recent Supreme racism." Court decision in R.A.V. v. St. Paul, which ruled "(Burning prohibitions on hate speech based on its content intention to ha were unconstitutional. said. "I thinkf LSA senior Jewel Shim said she felt the ruling more difficult was ominous. Executive "People can take this further," she said. "Burn- Walter Harris ing crosses can be put under arson or trespassing general intent. but the motivation behind it is racial." concern munit tudent and Baker-Mandela Center rReginaFreersaidshebelieves the pting and protecting "a history of crosses) to me indicates graphic aim if the fear isn't heeded," Freer fighting racism on campus is a far task because of this ruling." Director of University Relations on said he agrees with the ruling's . See REACTIONS, Page 2 Abortion activists frown on Pennsylvania ruling Harper The Dean of Students will oversee four Associate Deans of Students, each with separate ar- eas of responsibility: Student Assistance,CounselingandSpe- cial Services, Activities and Programmingand Multicultur- alism. Hartford mentioned the Office's reorganization was con- sidered even before she became Vice President in January. She also noted the University had a Dean ofStudentsuntilthe 1970s. "This is not new to the Univer- sity," she said. Executive University offic- ers and the Directors of Assess- mentandDevelopment,Univer- See DEAN, Page 10 by Melissa Peerless Daily Staff Reporter A week after the Supreme Court's controversial ruling in the Planned Parenthood v. Casey abortion case, local poli- ticians and abortion activists ore criticizing the decision. The ruling struck down the Pennsylvania law requiring married women to receive spousal consent before obtain- ing an abortion. However, the Court upheld a statute mandating parental consent for abortions for girls under the age of 18 who are supported by their parents. The Court alsoleft in place a mandatory 24-hour waiting period for women who want abortions and a provision al- lowing health care institutions to make records of abortions and the women who have them available to the public. Health care facilities are also required to inform women who want abortionsof alternatives to ter- See ABORTMON, Page 2 MOLLY STEVENS / Daily Rachelle Driscoll and Jean Leverich read some of the literature passed out at a rally protesting the Casey decision June 29 in front of the Federal Building. . -r..