Miami Hurricane, September 29, 1995

              MUM FOOTBALL SPORTS, Page 4
■ INDEPENDENT FILMS ACCENT, Page 8	■ POLICE MISTRUST? PERSPECTIVES, Page 6
The Miami Hurricane
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1995	UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI » CORAL GABLES, FLA.
VOLUME 73, NUMBER 10
"Someone looked into my soul and saw my struggles. Before them, I was stripped naked."
LISA JOYNER
President, Black Student Law Association
"It is crystal clear that the person who delivered these documents to Res Ipsa did so for the purpose of challenging our ... commitment to a diverse student body."
SAM THOMPSON
Dean, UM School of Law
"Minority students have been placed in a position that no white person had been put in, that no human being should be put in. That is to justify why they are here."
D. MARVIN JONES
UM law professor
Affirmative Unity
Confidential files stolen
‘Res Ipsa’ holds on to copies left at door
DUNCAN ROSS Ill/Photo Editor
Carribean Student Assoication President Karen Andre motiviates the crow^ at the Law School slab during a privacy rally last Wednesday.
Students protest privacy invasion
FAYE CAREY/Assistant Phot Editor First-year law students Liz Stewart and Eirica Moore show their support at the rally.
By WILLIAM WACHSBERGER and RICHARD BIEBRICH JR.
Of the staff
Members of the University of Miami’s School of Law community spoke out Wednesday against the alleged theft of confidential files of first-year law students from the recruiting office.
The Black Law Student Association and Association of Caribbean Law Students sponsored the unity rally in the School of Law’s patio area known as the Quad.
The rally, attended by about 350 people, was held after the school’s student body learned that the files were reportedly copied and delivered to the School’s student newspaper, Res Ipsa Loquitur.
The newspaper was allegedly preparing an article for its Oct. 6 edition about the School's affirmative action policies, a School of Law source said.
According to flyers distributed by BLSA and ACLS, the rally was a “unified resistance against the violation of privacy and commitment to diversity.”
“Someone looked into my soul and saw my struggles. Before them, I was stripped naked,” Lisa Joyner, president of BLSA, said to the
Alleged
attackers
tentatively
identified
crowd, referring to the disclosed personal information in the files.
Sam Thompson, dean of the School of Law, made a statement to his students:
“It is crystal clear that the person who delivered these documents to Res Ipsa did so for the purpose of challenging our ... commitment to a diverse student body.”
As his emotions swelled, he told the crowd that he himself was an affirmative action admittee to the University of Pennsylvania.
“I am also proud to say I was not an affirmative action graduate. 1 am proud of that fact,” said Thompson.
The dean said it is a great opportunity to be in a fight over affirmative action and diversity.
“Let me personally assure you that I am confident that the University is taking all measures to correct this wrong.
“Whoever did this ... it is evil, unethical and illegal,” said Thompson.
Thompson also read two resolutions passed unanimously by the faculty on Tuesday.
“We celebrate the diversity of our student body and the admissions policy which has produced that stu-
See RALLY • Page 3
By KELLY RUANE And LOUIS FLORES
Of the Staff
After a Sigma Alpha Mu pledge was assaulted last Sunday, the University has made some progress in identifying the three UM students believed responsible for the attack.
“We've made some tentative identifications," Dean of Students William Sandler said.
Sandler refused further comment, but did say he expects to identify
the suspects some time this week.
Joshua Cohen, president of the InterFratemity Council (IFC), said he thinks the attackers will be penalized.
“I like to think they will if they did something this bad,” Cohen said. “It’s not really my decision what [punishment] they get. If the school does it, it is for a reason. I have no comment as to what they get. It’s not up to me."
Cohen also said he spoke to the
victim the day after the assault, on Monday, when the victim came to the IFC office. However, Cohen refused to comment on the discussion that transpired.
Cohen said there is a developing misconception on the assault and who may be responsible.
“This is not a fraternity issue. This is an individual issue. The greek system does not condone what happened,” Cohen said.
The assault raises a question
By WILLIAM WACHSBERGER and RICHARD BIEBRICH JR.
Of the staff
Law School officials confirmed Thursday that confidential files containing personal information on first-year minority law students were stolen from the school’s recruiting office two weeks ago.
A Law School source said copies of the files were slipped under the door of Res Ipsa Loquitur, the School of Law’s student newspaper.
“There are some admission files that have been stolen and were turned over to the Res Ipsa” said Sam Thompson, dean of the School of Law. "The files contained information protected by the Buckley Amendment. The University has demanded the return of all the documents.”
The Buckley Amendment, also known as the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, requires schools receiving federal funds to ensure the privacy of student records.
Thompson said he believes those responsible for the theft of the files dropped the information to the Res Ipsa in order to cause a division among black students and the rest of the student body. Thompson speculated that the source(s) of the records hoped the newspaper would investigate the School’s affirmative action policies for admitting minority students.
Sources said Res Ipsa was to print a story on the School’s affirmative action policies Oct. 6, but that the paper’s editorial board has decided not to print the files.
Thompson said that “for someone to take a group of students’ files, a group of black students' LSATs, a group of Hispanic students LSATs, and try to build an argument against affirmative action is evil, unethical, and in this case illegal.”
Thompson said the University is trying to ensure the return of the files, which administration officials believe are still in the possession of Res Ipsa Editor in Chief Dave Roy and Copy Editor David Scott, or the paper’s legal counsel, Angel Castillo.
Roy was out of the country and unavailable for comment. Scott, who allegedly found the copies and
about the efficiency of security on campus.
Robert Redick, director of Residence Halls, said security has been a main concern for Residence Halls.
Redick said that for the past eight to 10 years, external lighting is provided and maintained and foliage is trimmed. Student security patrols exteriors of buildings, walkways and entrances to residential colleges.
was to write about the policies, was also unavailable for comment.
The staff of the Res Ipsa would not comment on the matter and referred all questions to Castillo.
The files had been in the recruiting office, but were apparently not locked in a cabinet. They had been taken from a shelf, Thompson said.
UM Deputy General Counsel Lourdes La Paz told The Hurricane that the General Counsel office is investigating the matter.
La Paz would not comment on whether documents were taken from the recruiting office. Nor would La Paz confirm that. Res Ipsa had copies of the files or whether local and/or federal authorities were contacted.
Does the Law School have an obligation to contact the authorities?
“If there is stolen property at the school, then the University could contact the authorities just like an individual could if something was stolen from them," Tom Julin, an attorney with Steel, Hector and Davis in Miami, said. "It would be appropriate.”
The Res Ipsa
Thompson said the University sent a letter on Monday to the Res Ipsa demanding the documents be returned to the administration by 5 p.m. Tuesday. Thompson said these files were not returned.
Castillo said talks were ongoing between him and the University, but no deadline had been violated.
During a rally at the Quad Wednesday, Vice Dean Laurence Rose said that “a box had reappeared at the student recruitment office with notebooks,” but could not comment on what was inside the notebooks. The rally had been organized by minority law student organizations, to reaffirm the feelings of unity among law students toward cultural diversity.
"The ... information was turned over to the authorities,” Rose announced to a crowd of approximately 350 people.
Castillo said he has no knowledge of an investigation of any stolen private property.
Late Thursday, Law School sources confirmed Roy has been suspended from his position along with a reporter whose identity cannot be confirmed. ,
UM TV NewsVision producer Vanessa Kraft contributed to this report. Her story aired last night on NewsVision.
The Hurricane and News Vision will be working in conjunction and bringing you the story as it unfolds.
According to Redick, no students have contacted him concerning security worries, and there has been no case to his knowledge of a student requesting a relocation to another residential college for security reasons.
"We've done focus groups with students and staff,” Redick said. “And we've done a survey over the Spring, and they feel that security within the residential colleges is good."
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