8 - The Michigan Daily -- Wednesday, May 25, 1994 Guinier questions U.S. representation in gov't By Wayne Alejandro Wolbert FOR THE DAILY Lani Guinier addressed an eager and attentive overflowing crowd of more than 400 people at Rackham Amphitheater last night, discussing the nature of democracy in theUnited States. Guinier received national acclaim late last spring as a result of her ap- pointment - or, as she cynically re- marked, her "dis-appointment"-- to the assistant attorney general position in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. She also is author of "The Tyranny of the Majority: Fun- damental Fairness in Representative Democracy," and a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. Shefocusedonconceptssurround- ing cumulative voting and "majority tyranny" in political representation. "We have a tremendous commit- ment as a country to democratic ide- als ... (yet) we have been raised on a contradiction." She explained the workings of democracy in the United States by saying, "If you've got the most votes you got all the power. If you don't, you got nothing. "How can this be a democracy? How can we believe majority vote is functioning as a democracy?" Guinier said that if the majority 338 S. State 995-9101 Daily Specials I I. Pint Night $2.99 Cheeseburgers (11:30 - 3) Pitchers of Fuller's $9.25 Live Music I, All U Can Eat Ribs $6.75 I, Live Jazz Foster's Pitchers $5.25 '9 eias9-- rik - r rules with its own interest in mind, instead ofon behalfofeveryone, "You have majority tyranny." Cumulative voting - where the voter has multiple votes to distribute accordingly - "allows a cohesive minority to act strategically to ex- press their preference by placing all their votes on one candidate." She stressed, "It does not mean the minor- ity rules, but the minority gets a turn." Guinier questioned democratic procedures, instead initiated a debate on thestateofourdemocracy."Rather than being a premier democracy we are a failing democracy." She reminded the audience of the remarkably high voter turnoutin South Africa as an example of an even more advanced system of representative democracy, where a political party needed as little as 5 percent of the vote to gain representation. In comparison, "We give whoever gets elected all the power... (exclud- ing) other thoughts from debate," whereas cumulative voting "invites diversity, invites debate and provides an opening for other political parties to emerge." "People should have the opportu- nity to vote for and elect people who advocate their interests.... Democratic representation is a right that not only Blacks should have, but women and gays and environmentalists, and even Republicans," she said. Summer MSA * lobbies in Lansing * After pulling out @ from MCC, MSA officers spend summer lobbying By Michelle Lee Thompson DAILY STAFF REPORTER In April, the Michigan Studen Assembly pulled out of the Michigai Collegiate Coalition, a student lobby ing organization in Lansing. a To fill this void over the summr, the assembly passed a resolution re quiring MSA executive officers an members of the External Relation Committee (ERC) to lobby in Lan sing three times a week through Jul for issues concerning University stu dents. The first week of spring classe MSA delegates started their t weekly trips to the state capital conducting research on bills befor the state Legislature. Jacob Stern, MSA vice president said he was slightly disappointed wit the receptiveness of some of the leg islators they met. "I think there's always going to b a stigma because we're students anm we're hampered by our age group, Stern said after returning fromj Wednesday's trip. Assembly members researche many bills, including one that woul awardtheUniversityandotherschool: the profits from special license plate with the schools' names and logos The bill is catching some criticisn from the transportation department which claims that it will lose mone' on the deal. ERC chair Andrew Wright 5 the three bills that interest the assem bly most are those relating to univer sity presidential searches, tuition in creases and income tax deduction for room and board scholarships. Stern said the ERC lobbyists ar also concerned with state budget ap propriations to the University - se at $280 million this year. MSA is also gathering infor tion on the campus sexual asss information act and its 11 bills. The bill has passed in the stat House, but the Senate is questionin its constitutionality. Wright said most of the work tha Stern, President Julie Neenan, Aca demic Issues chair Michael Christi and he are doing is limited to gather ing information and researching tle issues at hand. 4 Stern said this summer MSA wil concentrate highly on the offices an staff of Lansing policymakers an began making contacts last week. Lani Guinier addresses a crowd at Rackham Amphitheater last night. LSA considers student honor statement By Michelle Lee Thompson DAILY STAFF REPORTER "I have neither given nor received aid on this examination nor have I concealed any violation of the Honor Code." Most LSA students have never seen this statement, although it must be written and signed by students in every class in the College of Engi- neering. But according to the recommen- dation from the LSA Joint Faculty- Student Policy Committee on the fu- ture of the Academic Judiciary, LSA students may be asked by their pro- fessors to sign a similar statement. "It's not an honor code. It's not a requirement. It's another idea. We want to raise awareness," said David Schoem, LSA assistant dean for un- dergraduate education and chair of the policy committee. "Thecommitteefeltthatgivenour size and lack of history that we would be more successful with this ap- proach," he said. The latest draft, which will be proposed to a faculty meeting in Oc- tober or November, contains three key recommendations: increase edu- cation, clarify and define academic integrity issues, and streamline the judiciary structure and process. Although an honor code may never be established in LSA, faculty will receive several examples of state- ments that they may require their stu- dents to sign on examinations and collaborative work. "It's not a central part of therecommendation," Schoem said. Sarah May, an LSA sophomore who was one of LSA Student Government's five delegates to the committee, said, "I don't think estab- lishing an honor code is necessary. The important thing is to make people more aware of the issue." Schoem said incoming students may be asked to signa "Commitment to Academic Integrity" statement as partof the admissions process as soon as next fall, and that a pamphlet titled "Standards of Academic Integrity" may be compiled. Other recommendations include discussion of academic integrity is- sues at Orientation, distributing one- page synopses of the "Standards" booklet at large-enrollment introduc- tory courses and at concentration dec- laration appointments, and the publi- cation of related statistics. The committee was spurned by a report from the Journal of College Development that 40 to 90 percent of nationwide college and University students have admitted to some form of cheating. "It said to us that there's a problem here. We're not sure if it fits U-M, but there was widespread agreement that we're not seeing everything that hap- pens," Schoem said. Schoem expressed concern that many cases of cheating are never brought to thejudiciary, but are settled between the student and instructor. "If it were easier, people would be more likely to bring cases forward," Schoem said. Only about 40 to 50 cases are brought to thejudiciary each year. The committee recommendedcre- ating a "case investigator" position, and assigning someone - possibly Gene Nisson, assistant dean for aca- demic affairs - to determine sanc- tions. Broadening student represen- tation was another goal of the Judi- ciary. During the 1993-94 academic year, five students served on the committee and two on the Judiciary board. Both numbers were matched by an equal number of faculty members in the groups. "We were allowed to voice any concerns we had and we were as well- received as anyone else who spoke," May said.