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.

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