Arts 10 Spielberg shines again in awe-inspiring War of the Worlds' Opinion 4 Stampfl: Old people are crazy One-hundred-foureen years ofeditoral freedom Tuesday,July 5, 2005 Summer Weekly www.michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXV, No. 131 @2005 The Michigan Daily BAMN activist murdered in Detroit By Justin Miller Daily News Editor BAMN activist Joe Wagner was stabbed in Detroit two weeks ago and died the following day from his wounds. Wagner, 21, was dancing at a fundraiser for Holy Redeemer Catholic Church on Saturday, June 18. After leaving his friends to get a drink, Wagner was surrounded by five men, according to witnesses. No words were exchanged in the ncounter, and Wagner sustained a stab-wound that left him staggering and unaware of what had transpired "Joe didn't know anything happened to him," said Donna Stern, a Midwest coordina- tor for BAMN who recounted what a witnesses told her. "He went up to his friend and said he thought he'd been punched, and then his friend saw blood and Joe collapsed." Wagner was transported to Henry Ford Hos- pital where he died 11 hours later. Stern said that witnesses said the attackers were all wearing red shirts - leading some to think the stabbing may have been gang- related. "It's possible. We're exploring that avenue to see if that's gang-related," Detroit Police Department spokesman Sgt. John Claybourne said. "We've heard that several perpetrators were there but we can't confirm (their) race or dress." No arrests have been made in the case, but Claybourne said the police are investigating some leads and requesting that witnesses who may have seen anything speak to the police. Stern said the fundraiser did not seem dan- gerous at all, as it was filled with music, danc- ing patrons and parents with their children. "I would have sent my daughter to it without hesitation," Stern said. Wagner graduated from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School in 2002 and moved to Detroit to continue his work with BAMN, an organization that seeks to defend affirmative action. When he was not canvassing around the state, he was speaking to high school students in Detroit - a group of people he uniquely identified with. "He made a real connection with high school students. He had struggled with a learning disability all his life - he had a real sense of how people could be underestimated and how they could contribute. He was very passionate about affirmative action ... he viewed an attack on affirmative action as an attack on black and Latino potential," Stern said. Stern said that Wagner had a difficult time overcoming his learning disability, but he even- tually succeeded in this endeavor and became a public speaker and tried to help others. "The things that he found hardest, he was absolutely determined to do," Stern said. BAMN will continue, but Stern said it has lost more than just a member. "It's a great loss to us personally and Joe was an extremely lovable guy," Stern said. Wagner is survived by his father John, moth- er Ann and brother Tom. CELEBRATING INDEPENDENCE Court limits student publishing freedom By Laura Van Hyfte Daily News Editor The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has extend- ed university administrators' power to censor college and university student newspapers. In the decision made June 20, the court ruled that the Supreme Court's 1988 Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier decision, permitting censorship on high school student newspapers, applies to pub- lic university and college publications. The Hosty v. Carter case was first heard in 2001, giving rise to uncertainty over collegiate journalists' First Amendment rights. In the case, student editors at Governors State University in Illinois sued their university after a dean told the newspaper's printer to stop printing future issues until a university official had examined and approved the paper's content. The paper was being censored because the editors had printed editorials and news stories that were critical of the administration. The dean's restrictions were done despite the university' current policy, which allowed the newspaper's editors to determine the con- tent without advanced approval. Because of the controversy behind the issue, it made its way to the 7th Circuit Court, where Illinois attorney general defended the school's right to censor its campus newspaper. In Hosty, it was requested by the university's attorney that the Hazelwood decision be extended to public college press. While the decision in Hosty should technically affect only public colleges and universities that fall in the 7th Circuit - Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin - many fear that a precedent has now been set by the court that could potentially limit the rights of student publications. David Adams, a professor of journalism atIndiana University and a member on the Student Press Law Center board of directors, said that Hosty could even affect independent student publications because of the almost inevitable connection that the publication would have to the university. "Probably 99 percent of all public college student media (publications have) some connections with their university, funding-wise," Adams said. Student-run publications can be connected to their university in a variety of ways: they can be housed in a university building, receive money from student fees, have electricity or other utilities paid for by the university, or their business operations may have to comply with university guidelines to avoid theft and fraud, Adams said. For this reason, all public college and university student publications have been urged by the Stu- dent Press Law Center - which has been develop- ing a campaign in response to the Hosty decision - to work with their university administrations to immediately declare their student media as "quali- fied public forums." "A qualified public forum is when the student pub- lication or media has been set up to providea 'forum for discussion of ideas on a wide variety of topics and issues' and that duly appointed student editors make final content decisions (not an adult, faculty or administrative staff member at the university)," Adams said. Benjamin Bass - a former editor in chief for the Gargoyle, a University student humor magazine - said that Hosty appears threatening because it makes the First Amendment not seem applicable to college students, and reduces them to almost second-class citizens. But Bass added that he had no fear that the Hosty decision would affect the University and its student publications. "This sort of thing appears to happen at small schools where the student body might appear weak and submissive to a dictatorial administration. Despite the apparent apathy felt, at times, towards the Michigan Daily by the student body, I believe there would be an uproar from the (University's) 24,000 (students) if the administration were to try and lay a finger on the editorial freedom of student publications," Bass said. Alan Lenhoff, a general manager of Third See HOSTY, page 8 Fireworks filled Comerica Park Friday night after the Detroit Tigers' 10-2 victory over the New York Yankees on Friday night. - ------------ --------- ------- --