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4The Daily Tar HeelTuesday, April 7, 1992 r Racial tensions By Chris Trahan Staff Writer A small Michigan college was pushed into (he national spotlight last week as many of the school's black students vacated the campus, claim ing racial tension was putting their personal safety at risk. Students at Olivet College, located 30 miles southwest of Lansing, Mich., exploded in a violent brawl last Thurs day evening after a white woman had a fight with her boyfriend, who also is white. When the boyfriend returned with two black friends, the woman called an all-white fraternity for help, according to police reports. Davonne Pierce, a black student at Olivet, was the resident assistant on duty at the dorm where the brawl oc curred. : "When I came out, there were two black students and about 1 0 white stu dents facing off with each other, and I tried to get between them,"he said. "A white guy hit a black guy to start the fight, and when the word spread, about 20 blacks and 35 whites were all brawl ing." Shannon Cunningham, editor of Olivet'sstudentnewspaper.TheOlivet College Echo, said she indirectly was involved m the scuffle because the girlfriend belonged to her sorority. vtKt Buy any dinner one of equal or lesser value FREE. . na;es; in, Mm. a, Play the most exciting live TV competitions in history. Trivia Countdown & Showdown pits your knowledge and skill against other players in Teddy's and all across the country. With QB1, you can actually interact with live TV football games by anticipating live quarterback plays via satellite - at Teddy's. During the promotional period, April 13-30, winners will receive the following prizes: $25 cash prize nightly Compact disc player weekly 19" color TV GRAND PRIZE 50 Draft Beer FREE Super Supper Buffet Mon.-Fri. 5:30-7:30 The Holiday Inn-Chapel Hill atEastgate 929-2171 mam m The short-sighted politicians in the General Assembly raised your tuition costs and made drastic cuts in this university's base budget allocation.. Do something about it. MWME Joe & Perot the Independent Way You can register to vote in the Post Office on Franklin Street, the public library, or by calling the Elections Board mountain Olivet "After (one of the white) fraternity brothers checked up on the girl, about 70 people got involved in a pushing and shoving match which broke right along racial lines," she said. In the face of student unrest, univer sity officials have attempted to downplay the incident, Cunningham said. Jerry Rashid, assistant director of Olivet's News and Information Ser vice, said the fight was just a name calling incident. "It was not really violent," he said. As a result of the violence, Donald Morris, president of 01 i vet Col lege, gave students the option not to attend class for the remainder of the week to ease the racial tensions. "There was so much anger and rac ism that I was shocked," Pierce said. "White students, whom I thought were my friends, were calling me 'nigger' and other racial slurs." The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has had several complaints from black Olivet students and their parents since last Thursday's brawl. The NAACP is working to alleviate the racial tension at Olivet, although it is not serving in any official capacity, said Earnest Bradley, the complaints and civil rights director at the Detroit branch of the NAACP. (13 v-n entree and get LOUNGE RGflSGS ffiASS Sign Joe Mavretic's petition for Governor. Why., because he voted against the tuition hike and the budget cuts placed upon you. College brawl "(The NAACP) is trying to mediate the situation, to identify the problems at Olivet and to achieve a win-win situation for both sides," he said. "The young people are totally frightened for their safety, and we are attempting to get things back to normal. Olivet has an enrollment of 704 students, approximately eight percent ofwhom are minorities. After the presi dent declared class attendance op tional, about 183 students, including most of the university's black popula tion, left campus. No reports have been issued on how many students have returned for this week's classes. Even if most of the students return to the school, Olivet's reputation will be tarnished, Rashid said. "The fact that there are racial prob lems here is not good," he said. "This school prides itself on admitting mi norities, and the fight just hurt what the school is built upon." Bradley said the school has a his tory of racial tension and discrimina tion by the college administration. "The school is lacking in black cul tural education and equity in disci pline procedures," he said. "Histori cally, blacks have been suspended when participating in a fight, but whites have not been suspended. There is a real threat recognized here, and the kids are just very frightened." DTH Night at the Bulls IV April 24 Mark your calendars "One of the areas top fine dining restaurants." -SpectatorMagazine for GRADUATION WEEK MAKE RESREVATIONS 31 7 W. Main St, Durham, NC (919)688-7062 HE'S NOT HERE on the Village Green. Coming Soon! Live Spring Entertainment and don't forget our Tuesday specials! $1.75 Blue Cups $3.50 Pitchers 942-7939 GLOMATIQfJS If you are disgusted with the political process and want to do something about it, register to vote and send a powerful message to Raleigh by signing oe Mavretic's petition, appearing in Wednesday's DTH. fee Judge rules honor court records open to Ga. student paper By Jason Richardson Staff Writer A recent ruling in favor of a Univer sity of Georgia student newspaper could open the door for college publications and citizens to access the records of previously closed student judiciary pro ceedings. In the recent court case, the Univer sity of Georgia's student newspaper. The Red and Black, won the right to view student judiciary records but did not have its request to attend meetings of a student judiciary committee granted. Despite winning part of its case. The Red and Black has appealed the deci sion of Fulton County Superior Court Judge Frank Hull to the state Supreme Court in hopes of gaining access to student court meetings. The University of Georgia has filed its own appeal in an effort to deny the paper access to student records. In her decision, Hull ruled that al though the public had, under the Geor gia Open Records Act, a right to see student disciplinary records, the state open meetings law did not require the student court in question to open its hearings to the public. Lance Helms, editor-in-chief of The Red and Black, said the suit was a battle Join youMriends Crescent Cafe ROXBORO RD. NOW W Vf wo V Mf I N p ? l.I O DUKE ST. J7 gregson WIM over the Buckley Amendment to the Federal Education Rights and Privacy Act, the national law which protects the privacy of student records. But Helms said Hull'sdecision meant that the Buckley Amendment did not forbid the release of student disciplin ary records. The University of Georgia Organized Court of the Student Judiciary deals with judgments involving groups of 15 or more students. The cases typically involve Greek organizations and are closed to the pub lic, Helms said. The cases in question involved haz ing anddisorderly conduct charges filed against the Omega Psi Phi and Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternities last spring. The Red and Black filed with the university to open the hearing records last May, shortly after the Organized Court found the fraternities guilty of hazing and disorderly conduct. The pa per filed suit in July after being denied access. Both of the fraternities temporarily have been closed. The University of Georgia is appeal ing the case because it could lose fed eral funding if found in violation of the Buckley Amendment, said William . Bracewell, director of the university's office of judicial programs. Helms said the paper continued to pursue the action out of a desire to report and examine problems such as hazing, alcohol abuse and date rape, often associated with large campus groups, especially fraternities. Kent Middleton, a professor at the University of Georgia's College of Jour nalism and Mass Communication, said Hull's initial ruling reinforced a Mis souri judge's decision that non-academic records were similar to police records in that they did not fall under the Buckley Amendment Middleton said the judge had used poor reasoning in denying the students and the public access to the meetings. "(Hull) argued that the student judi ciary is not a governing body, and there fore is not by law required to have open meetings," he said. Hull ruled that because the court's decisions can be appealed to the univer sity president, it does not constitute a governing body and cannot withhold non-academic records, Middleton said. "Under that logic, the only govern ing body in the University of Georgia system is the Board of Regents," he said. Helms said the case could have a major impact on campus papers nation wide. If the Georgia Supreme Court grants the newspaper's appeal, most student newspapers, except those in states where the local government has put additional blocks on meetings and records, could have access to disciplinary case histo ries and the freedom to attend student court meetings, he said. But Bracewell said the case dealt only with Georgia open meetings and records laws and would have no effect on out-of-state publications. The Daily Tar Heel does not have access to UNC student honor court pro ceedings or records. The Honor Court releases the results of cases but does not release names. Tom Ziko, an N.C. special deputy attorney general, said UNC-system schools, in compliance with the Federal Education and Privacy Rights Act, are not allowed to release student disciplin ary records. BUB8E7 UT MAVRETIC'S QUALIFICATIONS Speaker of the House 89-90 Decorated Marine Lt Colonel Sixterm House Member Environmental Legislator of the Yr. 1986 ,and most importantly a UNC-CH graduate To Go! at 967-9251 Ext. 2350 Labor leader Kinnock , resigns following defeat LONDON Neil Kinnock an nounced his resignation as leader of the Labor Party on Monday, ending a nine year term in which he rebuilt the party but failed to regain control of the gov ernment. Kinnock called his decision "an es sential act of leadership" following the party's fourth straight election defeat to Conservatives on April 9. The loss was a shattering blow to both the Labor Party and Kinnock, who took the party from disarray to a cred ible challenge to Prime Minister John Major's Conservatives. Kinnock looked tense and drawn as he read a statement at the House of Commons. "It is not to do with any personal sensitivity it arises entirely from my desire to see that the Labor Party will gain further strength," he said. Kinnock and his deputy, Roy Hattersley, who will also quit, will stay on as caretakers until June. Both will remain members of Parliament. Mandelas plan to split after 33 years together JOHANNESBURG, South Africa A shaken Nelson Mandela said Mon day he was separating from his wife Winnie, but insisted the move was not linked to charges she lied about kidnap ping and beating four black youths. The African National Congress presi dent did not say why he was living apart from his wife of 33 years. ANC officials had been pushing for the separation, fearing controversy over Winnie Mandela could damage its ef forts to become South Africa's first black government. Monday s announcement came one day after new allegations that she lied and indicated the ANC wanted to dis tance itself from her. Earlier Monday, Winnie Mandela denied accusations from one of her co defendants that she beat four young men, one of whom was found dead. - Winnie Mandela and John Morgan, her driver, were convicted last year of taking part in the abduction of the four young men. Libya proposes turning suspects over to Malta UNITED NATIONS In a late attempt to avoid U.N. sanctions, Libya has proposed turning two suspects in the Pan Am flight 103 bombing over to Malta. But the Security Council is unlikely to approve, U.N. diplomats said Mon day. But Venezuelan Ambassador Diego Arria said Malta was not truly a neutral country because of reports that a suit case bomb intended for the Pan Am flight reportedly was loaded in Malta. There was no word whether Malta would accept the proposal and take custody of the two men. The United States and Britain are demanding that they be handed over for trial in the West, but have said they do not object to intermediaries taking ini tial custody. Flooding stymies downtown Chicago CHICAGO Downtown Chicago virtually shut down Monday when the Chicago River's retaining wall cracked, sending water cascading into a turn-of-the-century tunnel system beneath the city's business district The flooding knocked out electrical power to a large section of the down town area, forcing thousands of work ers to be evacuated at midday. Thousands more were sent home at the fringe of the problem area as a precaution. Traffic was snarled and commuters jammed trains and buses in an eerie, early rush hour mess. City workers threw gravel, rocks, sandbags and mattresses off barges into the river, hoping to plug the car-sized hole in the retaining wall, which holds the Chicago River in:its course. The mayor said the cause of the prob lem was not immediately determined. Rascals deliberations delayed another week FARMVILLE Jury deliberations in the trial of a former day care operator charged with sexual abuse recessed for a week Monday because of the death of the judge's girlfriend. Superior Court Judge D. Marsh McLeJIand, his voice cracking with emotion, told the jury a recess was the only way to handle the problem. McLelland said he found Kathleen Johnston, 67, of Burlington, dead Sun day night. The interruption came in the mara thon trial of Robert Kelly Jr., 43, of Edenton. Kelly is charged with 100 counts of sexually abusing 12 children at Little Rascals Day Care Center, which he owned and operated with his wife, Eliza beth. The Associated Press V
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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