onight: Partly cloud with lurries, low in mid-teens. omorrow: Partly sunny, igh in mid 20s. 1£,, latt One hundredflve years of editoNrzalfreedom Wednesday December 6, 1995 t.:. . 5.r a .31OK'41 I Cop on2 harges y Josh White aily Staff Reporter YPSILANTI - Black students at astern Michigan University contin- ed to rail against the campus police esterday in a controversy that has been owing since the Nov. 7 arrest ofEMU tudent Aaron Johnson. In a courtroom filled with Johnson's upporters, ajudge ordered the student to ace misdemeanor charges of aggravated ssault and obstructingjustice, stemming 'om a fight in a residence hail. And last night, protesters and activ- sts packed EMU's Student Govern- nt meeting and urged representa- ves to stand behind them. EMU junior Lavelle Lewis criticized he school administration's reaction to ohnson's arrest and a related protest uring Monday night's EMU-San Fran- isco State basketball game. "The administration is more inter- sted in threatening to expel students nvolved in peaceful protest than in orking with the students to deal with he problem at hand," Lewis said. "I ave been to the administration and obody there cares." EMU President William Shelton said he school may take disciplinary action gainst those students who interrupted e basketball game. Assistant Vice Presi- ent for Marketing and Student Affairs im Vick said sanctions could range rom verbal warnings to expulsion. "This kind of disruptive activity goes gainst our code of conduct, but there is o automatic discipline and I cannot ay if there will be any discipline at all," lick said. At last night's student government eeting, students urged representatives take action and to speak out against he administration. "I hope you understand you're com- itted to representing us," EMU junior alonji Ato - who said he is being hreatened with expulsion for his part in he protest - told the student govern- ent panel. "You can be my enemy or ou can be my friend. This school is rying to kick me out. I was doing your ob when I protested." Shante Driver, an organizer for the leftist National Women's Rights Orga- nizing Coalition, spoke at the meeting in support of Johnson. "You need to call for the university to rop the charges against Johnson," said Driver, who was involved in the protest fthe firing ofthree University of Michi- an Dental School workers last year. "You need to call for the firing of the racist, crazy, brutalizing cop who dared NTROVERSY GROWS AT EMU Pres. may have misled 4U' regents Above: Eastern Michigan University student Aaron Johnson and his lawyer (at left) face the media following a hearing at the 14th District Court yesterday, where he was charged with aggravated assault and obstructing justice. The charges stem from a Nov. 7 incident in an EMU residence hall. Left: Lavelle Lewis, a junior at EMU, expresses his thoughts during the student government meeting held last night at the McKenny Union on EMU's campus. Some students on campus feel the university's Department of Public Safety has problems with police brutality. Photos by JOE WESTRATE/Daily is a growing trend of racism." Masley pledged University of Michi- gan support for Johnson, and said she would rally students at the University. "We needto encourage student walk- outs, student strikes and protests to put the fear of God into the administra- tion," Masley said. Masley was the only white protester present at the basketball game demon- stration and one of a few University of Michigan students at last night's meet- ing. She said there is strong support at the University and that she plans to gather students for a "militant" movement in coming weeks, but offered no specifics. EMU Controller Edward Jolley said the administration is dealing with the See EMU, Page 2 Codeis not needed for accreditation By Amy Klein Daily Staff Reporter President James J. Duderstadt may have given misleading information to regents before they voted to adopt the new Code of Student Conduct, accord- ing to documents obtained by The Michigan Daily yesterday. During discussion on the Code at the last meeting of the Board of Regents, Duderstadt said a 1990 report from the North Central Accreditation Agency criti- cized the University for lacking a student code of non-academic conduct and for being "derelict in our responsibility." "(They said) we were at great risk because we didn't have a code." Duderstadt said at the meeting. But a copy of the accreditation report, written Feb. 19-21, 1990, does not men- tion a code in the "Concerns" portion. The only reference to a conduct code appears under the "Advice for Institu- tional Improvement" heading- a"pure- ly advisory" section of the report. "We support t the Un iversity administration's current consider-r ation of plans to develop an ex- plicit set of ex- pectations of ethical practice in and out of the classroom by students, faculty, Duderstadt and staff. At present there is no institution-wide con- duct code that applies to all members of the University of Michigan commu- nity," the 1990 report stated. Regent Deane Baker (R-Ann Arbor), who voted against the Code last month, said yesterday that Duderstadt's remarks implied the University would not be accredited again without a code. The agency is scheduled to re-accredit the University in 1998. "The inference was definitely there," Baker said. "I don't know why he raised it, but he obviously intended to influ- ence a vote." Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen A. Hartford, who supervised the writing of the Code, said the Novem- What the Report Says: Concerning a conduct code, the North Central Accreditation Agency wrote in its report to the University: "We support the University administration's current consideration of plans to develop an explicit set of expectations of ethical practice in and out of the classroom by students, facult, and staff. At present there is no institutionwide conduct code that applies to all members of the University of Michigan community." ber meeting was the first time she heard Duderstadt mention the accreditation report since the vote to adopt the last non-academic policy in October 1992. "I had heard about it early on in 1992, but I haven't heard about it recently," Hartford said. "I remember(Duderstadt) saying it was an issue a while ago." Martin Gold, chair ofthe University's Civil Liberties Board, stressed the sig- nificance of Duderstadt's comments to the regents. "The impression the president gave to the regents on the threshold of a very important vote may be the wrong im- pression," Gold said. "Maybe the presi- dent mis-remembered or misinterpreted the report." In an e-mail message to Gold dated Dec. 1, Duderstadt wrote that his re- marks on the accreditation were taken from "a discussion at the exit inter- view" with the agency. North Central Accreditation Agency could not be reached for comment yesterday. Associate Vice President for Univer- sity Relations Lisa Baker said she did not have any information on the exit interview and that Duderstadt was un- available for comment. Following November's 7-1 vote to adopt the Code, Regent Andrea Fischer Newman (R-Ann Arbor) said Duderstadt' s reference to the accredita- tion report may have influenced some regents. Newman criticized Duderstadt in an interview yesterday. *The president stated it in public at a regents meeting," Newman said. "You would like to believe that when the president says something that you can count on that statement to be true." Lisa Baker said she did not think Duderstadt' s comments swayed the vote. "My sense would be that this was not a decision made by the board in a day," she said. "A single comment at a board See CODE, Page 2 to draw. his gun and you need to call for amnesty for every student in this cam- pus who stood up for their rights." Johnson, who is black, allegedly stepped into a Nov. 7 fight in an EMU residence hall and injured a white EMU police officer. He faced three charges- disarming a police officer, aggravated assault and obstruction of justice. Fourteenth District Court Judge John Collins yesterday removed the first charge and set Johnson's trial date for Feb. 12. "I don't think this should even go to trial," EMU junior Willie Green said outside the courthouse. "Seeing the judge drop one of the charges was good, but I don't understand why Aaron is even facing any charges." Green said Johnson stepped into a fight in order to break it up and was doused with pepper spray by officer Kenneth Hardesty. Green said Johnson then knocked the spray can out of the officer's hand and inadvertantly hit Hardesty. Johnson, who attended the student government meeting last night, said he did not want to comment without his lawyerpresent. School officials say their investigation has been hindered because Johnson has never made an official, statement about the Nov. 7 incident. Driver and LSA senior Jodi Masley, who have championed many activist causes at the University, said the entire situation rises out of racism. "I think this event has deep and far- reaching significance forcampuses in the area andacross the entire country as well," Masley said after last night's meeting. "It axpayers o get bonus refund LANSING (AP) - Taxpayers will have an incentive to file their 1995 state tax returns early: They can expect a refund about $25 bigger than normal, Gov. John Engler said yesterday. The state's booming economy has boosted state tax revenues more than expected, and a constitutional amend- ment requires that taxpayers get some of the money back. They'll get it by paying 2 percent less of their state tax bill - or getting back 2 percent more - than they would otherwise, Engler said. For a family of fourmaking $40,000, the refund is about $26. For a family with an income of $60,000, the cut is $45. Engler took credit for the refund yes- terday, unwrapping a $113 million card- board "check" for taxpayers and noting that tax cuts enacted by the Republican- controlled Legislature this year will total Some facts on the extra refund: 8 The Headlee Amendment Refund will lower a person's tax bill or increase the size of the refund. 5 The refund is a one-time-only, $113 million refund to lower tax revenues that have swelled above state constitutional limits. * Most households can expect to get about $25 extra, with wealthier households getting more. * The refund is expected to be approved by the Legislature in coming weeks. make a big difference. "As far as helping the economy, I don't think it's going to do much," said Johnson, a self-employed baker. "The biggest effect is good will ... probably toward Engler." Dr. Mike Brown, an emergency-room physician at Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, had a similar reaction. "That amount doesn't grab me at all," he said. Parking lot attendant Art Goodall, 76, would rather see the money spent on other projects. "We could use another bridge over the Grand River here," the U.S. troops begin setting up command base Los Angeles Tires TUZLA, Bosnia-Herzegovina-The vanguard of the U.S. deployment to Bosnia came to Tuzla yesterday and set about preparing a command center for the 20,000 American GIs who will soon be launched on an ambitious peace- making mission. Ten members of an advance recon- naissance team checked maps, mea- sured bridges and inspected roads as they slogged through the frosted coun- tryside of northwestern Bosnia- Herzegovina, the heart of what will become the American sector in the larg- est military operation NATO has ever undertaken. "A big adventure!" said one soldier from Vienna, Va., summing up his work thus far as he lugged his backpack into the dark at the Tuzla air base. Brig. Gen. Stanley F. Cherrie, an assistant division commander from the U.S. Army's Ist Armored Division who led the reconnaissance team to Tuzla, said the conditions in Bosnia had not surprised them, but they were concerned about the condition of the infrastruc- ture, especially the roads. "We had heard the roads were frag- ile," Cherrie told reporters. "But they're in a little bit worse shape than I thought." The U.S. contingent, which traveled to Tuzla on Dutch armored personnel carriers of the U.N. peacekeeping force, is part of a 2,600-member NATO team sent to set up headquarters, communi- cations and other facilities and to pre- pare transportation hubs for the full peacekeeping force. About 735 soldiers in the advance team are Americans. The full deployment of 60,000 mostly Western troops begins in mid-Decem- ber after the presidents of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia -formally sign the peace agreement reached last month following arduous negotiations in Dayton, Ohio. Under the accord, NATO troops, in- cluding the 20,000 Gls, will establish a buffer about two miles wide between Bosnian government and Serb forces. For now, U.S. troops are arriving in spurts rather than in large bursts, appar- ently to keep the operation as discrete as possible before the signing ceremony Dec. 14 in Paris. The G Is, however, are outnumbered by the U.S. television crews pursuing them. Inside: A roundup of yesterday's Bosnia developments. Page 7 Gearing up for the holidays Phil, who works for a tree farmer in northem Michigan, ties a Christmas tree on the roof of a customer's car. He has set up a lot on Washtenaw Avenue, naming the lot "Flatsnoots - World Headquarters." Phil said the name stems from the fact that everybody i .