1': 11, 1 , 1'::,. 11:1,: .:., 1', 1 1, Im"m
OLM r v
................. ................ ... ..
- lbe £idiipan ailg
Monday, July 24, 2000 One hundred nine years of editorial freedom www.michigandaily.com
iBollinger to act on recommendations
By Casa Koivu
Daily News Editor
Since the panel on Space Allocation for Student
Organizations and University Involvement with
Student Organizations issued its recommendations
to University President Lee Bollinger regarding
how University office space should be assigned to
student groups last April, the University commu-
* has been waiting to hear whether or not
llinger would follow the recommendations.
WRC
The panel, consisting of psychology Prof.
Patricia Gurin, Associate Dean for Academic
Affairs Christina Whitman and Earl Lewis, dean of
Rackham Graduate School, was formed in response
to the takeover of the Michigan Union's Tower by
the Students of Color Coalition last February.
The SCC protested, among other things, the
granting of privileged space and the usage of the
tower by three senior societies - Michigamua,
Phoenix and Vulcan.
The panel's job was to review the University's
current policy for space allocations and make rec-
ommendations for how student groups should be
assigned space, and also whether certain groups
should be granted privileged University space.
On Thursday, Bollinger issued a letter to the
members of Michigamua, Phoenix and Vulcan, in
which he said he agrees with the majority of the
recommendations issued by the panel.
"On the whole, I believe the recommendations
are fair, sound and infused with the best of our
community values," Bollinger said in the letter.
"We have evolved from the days when only a few
student groups were in existence into a modern-
day University with several hundred student orga-
nizations, all of which deserve to be recognized
and welcomed by our community."
"The recommendations are fully consistent with
our principles of fairness, access and tolerance that
all space allocated to student organizations be
available to all of these student groups on a rough-
ly equal basis, regardless of the group's viewpoint,
See BOLLINGER, Page 7
p -
council
Tieets
By Michael Grass
Daily Staff Reporter
WASHINGTON - The move-
ment to help end sweatshop abuses
in factories producing collegiate
apparel took a giant step forward on
Thursday with the first meeting of
* governing council of the
Worker's Rights Consortium.
To date, 57 colleges and universi-
ties, including the University of
Michigan, have signed onto the WRC,
under pressure in part by anti-sweat-
shop student activists nationwide.
The group plans to team up with
non-governmental organizations and
human rights groups to monitor
*or practices in factories world-
wide that produce apparel for col-
leges and universities.
The WRC's critics, including
commercial giants like Nike, have
deemed the organization a weak and
uncooperative group, run by student
radicals. Even University President
Lee Bollinger was hesitant about
signing onto the group in February.
following the invasion and three-day
occupation of LSA Dean Shirley
Niman's office.
C senior Peter Romer-Friedman,
a campus anti-sweatshop activist and
member of the WRC governing
board. said Bollinger should be
See MEETING, Page 7
GM files brief
supporting 'U'
By Anna Clark
Daily Staff Reporter
Adding to the tally of public
figures and institutions support-
ing the University in the upcom-
ing affirmative action lawsuits,
the General Motors Corporation
filed a brief last Monday that
announced the company's agree-
ment with the current University
policy of considering race in
admissions.
GM adds to the slowly grow-
ing list of backers resulting from
the University's active recruit-
ment of support in the upcoming
lawsuits, University President
Lee Bollinger said.
"This is the world's largest
corporation saying they also
believe in what we're doing,"
Bollinger said. "This is a very
important voice on behalf of the
University's position."
The University is currently
facing two lawsuits that are
scheduled to go to trial this
year. On behalf of three white
rejected applicants from LSA
and the Law School, the
Center for Individual Rights, a
Washington D.C.-based firm,
is challenging the University's
system of considering race in
admissions.
But not everyone agrees that
GM's support matters much.
"Nordoubt the executives at
GM are taking this step to
appease the gods of political
correctness and liberal hyste-
ria," LSA senior Rory
Diamond said in a written
statement. "I certainly hope
that no one on this liberal
campus is looking to the
Fortune 500 for. moral sup-
port."
In the past year, former U.S.
President Gerald Ford and for-
mer Michigan governor
William Milliken both
announced they are in favor of
the University's position with
signed editorials in national
newspapers.
But the recruitment effort
isn't wholly supported by stu-
dents. Dustin Lee, an LSA
junior and president of VOICE,
a student group against the use
of race in admissions, said the
public statements are irrelevant
to the case.
"Regardless of the support
the University garners from
outside people, organizations,
and companies, this issue is
going to be fought in the
courtroom," Lee said in a writ-
ten statement.
He added "the Center for
Individual Rights has put togeth-
er a marvelous case, and in the
See GM, Page 2
NORMAN NG/Daily
Women browse through the booths on Liberty Street at the Art Fair on Thursday. The fair ran
from Wednesday to Saturday and took over most of downtown Ann Arbor.
By Sara Fedewa
Daily Staff Reporter
The streets of Ann Arbor took on a whole
nesv atmosphere last week as people from all
over the country gathered to be part of the
annual Ann Arbor Art Fair.
According to Becky Best, tourism director
for the Ann Arbor Area Convention and
Visitors Bureau, an estimated 500,000 people
came to the fair for the chance to see and pur-
chase art from across the country.
"500,000 people has been the estimate used
for a few years now, but there is no clear way
to count the actual number," Best said. "I
think it is possible that there are even more
here this year becautse of the great weather
See ART FAIR, Page 3
I I
Taking the Initiative Blind? No, deaf.
Th Mi'hi' n L aderhip Initi' ti e is attemnptin to Third Lye Blind: heavy or the-
mprove the quality of teamwork education ir c asses. atrics, low on talent
\ <.Page3 A R ,Page8
Stay in the NIT, 65
Columnist Chris Dupre tackles the pos-
sibility of a 65-team NCAA tournament.
'S Page 12
I
x A ' + ' i. srY Yr ?yaG d ! ';, ay ., , _ e.< y ! v l ' z 'y ."4 )) ' s i,.:;4 .f.. W l ^.h vY "}s 'F *Tr rf °" w a 'S -" "k\t.;'. ,d'" ' S Milg M am a =