The Iota Phi Theta Fraternity Inc. held a racial reconciliation forum, entitled “Partying While White,” before a packed audience in Maury Hall yesterday in response to a party held by some architecture students and the ensuing backlash it caused.

Panelists included Dean M. Rick Turner of the Office of African-American Affairs, Kelli Palmer, a graduate student representative from the Office of Fraternity and Sorority life, third-year College student Tim Lovelace and Cavalier Daily columnists Kimberly Liu, Anthony Dick and Laura Parcells. Teddy Nelson, one of the Architecture School students who held the “Medallion Party” on March 1 also attended.

The party offended several organizations within the University, including the Griot Society, because some found the language of the e-mail advertising the party, as well as the party itself, distasteful and racist.

Nelson apologized to members of the panel and the audience for the party.

“We have wished this party never happened,” he said.

He explained that the incident was a failure in judgment.

“I want to make it as clear as possible that the party was not affiliated with the School of Architecture, and that it was never our intent to depict or mock the black community in any way,” Nelson said.

Kenneth Schwartz, associate professor of architecture, emphasized the school’s involvement and interest in racial issues.

“Change is fundamental to the idea of a university,” Schwartz said. “I believe in change, and I look forward to the change this evening might support.”

Palmer spoke about race-based fraternity parties at Auburn University, the University of Louisville and the University of Mississippi, and how officials at the universities disciplined the offending parties.

A discussion period followed the panelists’ opening statements, in which Darin Simmons, Iota Phi Theta fraternity Inc. president, invited students to offer commentary and questions.

“I’m ignorant on a lot of things, but I don’t write articles on them,” said Bokar Ture, vice president of the Griot Society. “You have to become educated about people of an African descent.”

But, Dean Turner exhorted blacks to educate themselves.

“Most white folks are not going to change. It’s black people that need to change,” Turner said.

“You’re moaning and groaning, saying you are tired of talking about race. You can’t be tired. You have not done anything,” he said.

“You need to continue to read, and become more knowledgeable about yourself. You’re going to be black all your life, so don’t shy away from it,” he added.

University graduate students voted last week to form a student union and will vote next week on whether to affiliate with a larger professional union.

Forty-two College graduate students in attendance at the meeting voted unanimously to form the union, which has been under consideration since the beginning of the year.

“In the broad sense, the purpose is to give graduate students a voice in the decisions that affect their lives,” fourth-year Graduate student Daniela Bell said.

Bell said that particular goals of the union will be to acquire guaranteed health care, adequate wages and office space for graduate students.

Three aspects of Virginia law weaken the union’s ability to change University policy. The union cannot strike, collectively bargain or require graduate students to become members.

In addition, Virginia is a “right-to-work” state, which means unions cannot force individuals to join their organization in order to get a job.

“Because Virginia is this right-to-work state, a lot of what we can do is lobby the state legislature,” Bell said.

Affiliating with a national union is one method the graduate student organizers will try to use to gain more clout.

The experience and monetary resources of a national union will help in this effort, she said.

Representatives from the Communication Workers of America already have visited with the graduate students twice. The American Federation of Teachers is sending a representative to give a presentation at a meeting Wednesday when the union will decide if it wants to join a national organization.

After the AFT representative presents, union members will vote between affiliating with the AFT or the CWA.

Though there is a consensus that the union in its present formulation has a legal right to exist, what tangible impact it will have remains a matter of debate.

“They have a right to organize like any other citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia,” said Duane Osheim, associate dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

However, the union “probably won’t change the way we make decisions,” Osheim said.

Union members have not yet met with administration officials, Bell said.

The union also has not yet elected any formal leadership.

“It obviously is something that has to happen soon,” Bell said.

At the meeting Wednesday, union members also will vote to determine the name of their organization. An e-mail message sent out by union organizers listed Graduate Union of U.Va., Graduate Labor Union and Graduate Labor Alliance as potential names.

The cuts in the number of economics courses next year will not be nearly as severe as previously feared by some, thanks to funding provided by the Office of the Dean of the College to hire temporary faculty.

The department hopes to offer only six fewer courses or sections of courses than were offered this year, Economics Chairman David Mills said. Mills had previously stated he thought the department would have to cut 30 courses.

“It’s very good news,” Mills said.

The department already has used “replacement funding” provided by the College to hire graduate students and other temporary instructors to teach next school year. Mills said he hopes to hire one more visiting professor before next year.

The courses cut will be evenly split between lower-level and upper-level classes, he said.

“We will have fewer trimmings and more turkey,” he added.

The downsizing comes as a result of the upcoming departure of 11 economics professors, mostly visiting or temporary professors, after this year.

The College awarded the replacement funding, which each academic department requests on an annual basis, last week. The economics department was granted all the funding it requested, said Karen Ryan, associate dean for the arts, humanities and social sciences.

The dean’s office assured the economics department last semester that it would receive the money it had requested, Ryan said.

Mills said he did not get that message last semester, resulting in his fears that up to 30 courses might be eliminated.

“My understanding of the situation was different,” he said.

The economics department still has one faculty search for a permanent, tenure-track professor in progress. The faculty search is separate from the replacement funding, which the department can use as it wishes to hire temporary instructors.

Most tenure-track faculty searches, including five others being pursued by the economics department, were suspended last semester by the Dean’s office. The College allowed the economics department to keep one faculty search open.

“We’re very interested in helping the economics department to grow, to become a first-rate department, to have an excellent graduate program and to teach the undergraduates they attract,” Ryan said in response to economics professors’ concerns that the University does not fund their department equitably.

However, Ryan said that the department in part determines its own future.

“We also believe in departmental self-determination and autonomy,” she added. “Departments make decisions that affect their growth and trajectory as well.”

In particular, Ryan criticized the comparatively light teaching load of economics department professors, resulting from exemptions from teaching courses that professors can receive for various reasons.

Most tenure-track professors in the social sciences at the University teach two courses each semester, or four courses per year, she said. However, tenure-track economics professors rarely teach that much, she added.

“We in the Dean’s office would like them to teach two and two,” meaning two classes each semester, Ryan said. “That’s what we need them to do.”

But the top economics departments at universities across the country require professors to teach only two classes a year. Therefore, the University’s economics department cannot require professors to teach four courses a year and stay competitive in attracting top faculty, Mills said.

Large class sizes are another factor making it difficult for the economics department to attract faculty, he said.

The department will take steps to relieve the crunch resulting from fewer classes next year, he added.

Some students who would normally take statistics courses through the economics department will be referred to the statistics department, Mills said.

A 21-year-old University male student was arrested on Wednesday on a charge of sexual battery on a 19-year-old woman.

The offense occurred at the O’Neill’s restaurant on the Corner.

The woman was walking on a staircase at O’Neill’s, and a male who also was on the staircase proceeded to make an inappropriate comment as they were on the staircase, Sgt. Richard Hudson said.

“The male grabbed her inappropriately, then he grabbed her buttocks,” Hudson said.

He said the woman then hit the male and after which they went outside where he made another inappropriate comment and the woman hit him again.

He added that the male was injured by the woman.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs speaks at University

President George W. Bush’s Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Anthony J. Principi, gave a speech to the University’s Judge Advocate General School yesterday.

The Judge Advocate General School is a branch of the United States Army that offers a graduate legal education program to its students leading to a masters of law degree. The school has been at the University since the fall of 1951.

Principi spoke on improving health care for veterans. He said it often takes too long for elderly veterans to receive adequate care because of long processing periods for health claims.

He also spoke on creating a database of information on Persian Gulf War veterans. The database would aid research into whether or not Persian Gulf veterans are more prone to certain types of diseases.

– Compiled by Michael Loatman

If proponents of a new renovation plan have their way, a dramatic makeover of the Downtown Mall may be in the works.

Plans to renovate the area were officially presented at City Hall on Wednesday night by architects of the design firm Wallace, Roberts & Todd. The firm hopes to use over $3 million already issued in federal grant money to design a transfer station for riders to change buses. Architects also suggested an extension of the Downtown Mall’s brick surface past 7th Street, a refurbished amphitheater, an underground parking lot and several new buildings, including apartment complexes and the planned Lewis and Clark museum.

City Councilman Maurice Cox, who also is a University architecture professor, lauded these changes as “the first opportunity to create a significant public realm” on the east end of the Downtown Mall.

“We have a habit of wanting good public space,” Cox said. “This is the single most important opportunity to feed that habit.”

City Councilwoman Meredith Richards said she believes renovations will bolster social and economic activity in the downtown area.

“It will extend the life of the Mall and create new space for businesses to locate,” Richards said. “This has the potential to bring more employment, more residents downtown and more tourists. It creates a healthy economy.”

Richards said the project also would please property owners in the area, who are “keenly interested in expanding the availability of parking.”

Despite the apparent benefits of such an undertaking, some community members voiced fiscal criticism. The city’s capability to fund the project and whether this would strain taxpayer revenue figured as prominent concerns.

While Cox admitted the endeavor would require “an enormous amount of innovation,” he said he believes resources will be found.

“I believe we can receive significant grants,” Cox said. “We will certainly be involved in a private sector partnership.”

He said the community should see the project in terms of its long-term impact, and not the immediate inconvenience.

“I think our first responsibility as city leaders is to dream big dreams and inspire people to see beyond our current condition,” he added. “I’d be saddened if our city leaders did not have vision.”

Albemarle County may eliminate its current requirement for a national background check to receive a concealed weapons permit because of concerns with the system.

Albemarle County Sheriff Edgar Robb said current regulations “exceed the requirements of state law.”

Robb said the national background check takes six weeks, thereby adding a substantial delay for citizens seeking a concealed weapons permit. He therefore asked the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors to amend County Code 2-502.

County Code 2-502 requires all applicants for such permits to give personal information as well as fingerprints, which would then be forwarded through the Central Criminal Records Exchange of the State Police.

The information is then sent to the FBI to determine whether or not the applicant has a criminal record in any state other than Virginia. If an applicant meets all the requirements of the check, a permit is issued within 45 days.

Albemarle County adopted these requirements in 1997 at the request of the county sheriff. Yet, the sheriff office now is requesting an appeal on the basis that the national records check rarely reveals any unknown criminal history, and the price of the process surpasses its value.

Albemarle County Board of Supervisors member Walter Perkins said the sheriff informed the Board of these problems and they now are considering amending the ordinance after the sheriff requested they put the changes on the agenda.

The amendment would remove the national records check from the procedure.

Perkins said the county supervisors are likely to pass the amendment.

This change would not violate any state law, as the Commonwealth does not require applicants for concealed weapons permits to undergo a national criminal records check. Virginia code 18.2-308 only requires that county law enforcement authorities be consulted and receive a report from the Central Criminal Records Exchange. This exchange is not based on fingerprints, but on personal information alone, and it can be accessed almost immediately. The national check uses fingerprints and can reveal applicants who are using false identities or have a criminal record in another state.

Presently the applicant is charged the maximum fee of $50 for their application with $35 going to the local law enforcement fee, $5 to the state and $10 is a clerk of court fee. The national check costs $24.

Given recent terrorism, some are concerned that it might not be best to relax requirements for concealed weapons.

“Everyone is concerned about potential threats, and we will have to look at the whole issue to decide what to do,” said Lindsay Dorrier Jr., Albemarle County Board of Supervisors member.

Neither Dorrier nor Perkins could recall any event where a permit had been denied through a national check.

A public hearing on the ordinance has been set for April 17.

The recent unveiling of second-year student Abdalmuhssin El-Yacoubi’s letter leaves the community in a state of confusion and, probably, shock. But the community is obliged to remember that it is just that – confusion not conviction – with which the revelation ought to be met. The University community must avoid a rush to judgment, treating El-Yacoubi with fairness and rationality.

Abdalmuhssin’s letter contained references to “jihad,” which does not have one set meaning. His brother Mohammed also attempted to bring the letter as part of his carry-on luggage on El Al, Israel’s national carrier, known for security measures that put American carriers to shame. Many questions arise: Why would someone intending to carry out a suicide mission carry a letter that would assuredly be an obstacle to it? Then again, what if Mohammed just didn’t remember he was carrying it, and why didn’t he have any luggage aside from a carry on? There are no definitive answers to these questions. The FBI didn’t proceed with the case because of a stated lack of evidence, yet they still remain suspicious of the letter.

No single theory appears to be consistent with all the evidence. Believing that Abdalmuhssin knew of an attempted attack necessarily ignores facts to the contrary – such as the blatancy with which his brother tried to carry the letter aboard a heavily secure aircraft. Similarly, to assume nothing fishy was occurring and that the letter was entirely innocent also would be imprudent. Nobody but Abdalmuhssin knows precisely what the letter meant. Any attempt by the University community to make sense of the situation, subject to its limited information, only would be an exercise in fitting facts to theories, instead of theories to facts. The facts do not lead inexorably to one theory of events.

Some students likely are outraged by the situation, but reactions must remain calm, rational and appropriate. Following Sept. 11, the Arab community at the University and across the nation, experienced backlash. It was unfair then and it would be unfair now to make the school an unwelcome environment for Arab students because of this incident. There’s nothing members of the community can do to assist in the situation. Authorities likely will be monitoring it for a substantial amount of time to come. It’s imperative that students step back and allow authorities to do their job.

Although the facts are ambiguous, the possibility that Abdalmuhssin could be wrongly accused is powerful enough of a reason to withhold judgment on the matter. Mistakes have been made in the past. Abdalmuhssin, in a letter to the editor published on this same page, identifies Richard Jewell and Wen Ho Lee as examples. Surely, it’s too soon to know if he belongs in the same category as either of these two, but he is a human being, and throughout all that ensues, nobody should lose sight of that. If the community treats the situation with the aplomb and rationality it should, Abdalmuhssin should never have to be associated with Jewell or Lee because he will have been accorded the respect a person in his situation deserves.

This situation understandably is sticky for everyone. But we must resist letting consternation turn into frustration and then unjustifiable anger.

Expect a tough physical and mental game Saturday afternoon when the Virginia women’s lacrosse team faces a fresh style of play against Temple at 1 p.m. Saturday at Kl”ckner Stadium. The Cavaliers (7-2) are ranked No. 4 in the country and are coming off a 14-8 victory over UMBC on Tuesday.

After starting the season 0-2, Temple (3-2) has won its past three games, including a crucial home win over 11th-ranked Penn State. The Lady Eagles have 12 starters returning for the 2001 Atlantic 10 Conference Champions.

Since Temple has proved to be tough competition in recent wins over strong teams, the Cavaliers have been preparing all week for Saturday’s game. The Cavaliers are not taking the Owls lightly and know they must be organized.

“Temple is tough and fast, so we’re going to get our minds into Saturday’s game,” senior defender Tiffany Schummer said. “We’re going to have to physically come out as hard as we can and keep building on what we’ve done so far.”

The Cavaliers are prepared for a physical game against Temple.

“I think Temple’s rough,” junior midfielder Lauren Aumiller said. The Owls “have a different style of play, so we’ll definitely have to come out hard and expect them to give us everything they’ve got.”

Virginia will need to continue its solid offensive and defensive efforts to defeat Temple this weekend. They will most likely look at their 11-8 upset over third-ranked North Carolina last week as an example of unyielding play. Against North Carolina, the team prevailed with a tough defense and was led by co-captain Schummer, who caused five turnovers and five ground balls.

Following the victory over the Tar Heels, Schummer was named National Player of the Week by insidelacrosse.com. For the same performance, she was named ACC player of the week, the first time this season that a Virginia women’s lacrosse player was awarded this honor.

The Cavaliers have excelled on both offense and defense this season, ranking nationally in each category. They are currently ranked second overall in ground balls per game with a 33.13 average, and they rank third in draw control averaging 14.13 per game. With the ball, they rank third in the nation in scoring offense with 14.13 goals per game and seventh in scoring margin, scoring 4.25 more goals per game than they allow.

Saturday’s matchup is expected to be an intense game featuring national-caliber players and skills. Fans should expect a well-played game by both Temple and Virginia.

“It’ll be a good game,” Aumiller said. “We’re looking forward to it.”

Virginia sophomore Luke Anderson finished sixth in the finals of the 50-yard freestyle at the NCAA swimming championships in Athens, Ga. to earn first-team All-America honors. Fellow sophomore Ian Prichard finished ninth in the 500 free to earn honorable mention All-America honors

The Virginia teams in the 400 medley and 200 free relays also earned honorable mention All-America accolades with ninth and 11th-place finishes, respectively.

After the first day of competition, the Cavaliers are in 10th place with 52 points.

Two men’s basketball players to leave Clemson

Clemson guards Tony Stockman and Dwon Clifton have asked to be released from their scholarships and intend to transfer to other schools in order to be closer to home.

Stockman, a sophomore from Medina, Ohio, led ACC sophomores in scoring this season with 12.2 points per game, second best on the Tigers. He led Clemson with 80 three-pointers and ranked second on the team with 64 assists.

Clifton, a sophomore from High Point, N.C., played in all 61 games in his two years at Clemson, starting 24. This season, he started seven games and played in all 30 games for the Tigers, averaging 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds per game.

- Compiled by Chip Knighton

The Virginia men’s tennis team was back in Charlottesville on Thursday to continue its busy schedule with a match against Brown. Unfortunately, the Cavaliers (9-6) were unable to produce a breakthrough win against the Bears (8-8), a team recently ranked among the top 60 in the nation. The Cavaliers gave the Bears plenty of challenges, but fell, 5-2.

Virginia coach Brian Boland said he felt his team was capable of beating a high-powered team like the Bears and was disappointed that the Cavaliers did not play to their full potential.

“We just played flat,” Boland said. “We haven’t come over the hump and made the next step yet. We can’t afford to play flat.”

Virginia started off the match winning one of the three doubles matches. The Cavaliers were able to pull out an early victory in the No. 1 doubles match as senior Michael Duquette and freshman Stephen Nolen defeated the Bears’ team of Justin Natale and Chris Drake.

Virginia’s big guns took this momentum into the singles matches as all top three seeds each won their first sets.

However, only Cavalier senior Jason Romesburg capitalized on his early lead by defeating his opponent, Nick Malone, in straight sets in the No. 2 seeded singles match.

Malone, who usually plays at Brown’s No. 1 position, recently was named to Ireland’s Davis Cup team and will represent his country in the international competition against some of the greatest players in tennis.

“His game matched up well with mine,” Romesburg said after his victory over Malone, who is ranked 89th in the country. “He played to my forehand, which is definitely my strength.”

Boland commented on Romesburg’s huge win with great praise.

“He’s just a winner,” Boland said. “He always finds a way to come up with a big win.”

Although Nolen did not command his match as Romesburg did, he was able to produce a win in the longest match of the afternoon. After dropping the second set to Brown’s Jamie Cerretani, Nolen battled back in the third set and won 7-5 in Virginia’s only other singles victory.

The Cavaliers lost the remaining four singles matches, including No. 1 seed Duquette’s match against Natale. Despite Duquette’s strong start, breaking Natale’s serve three times and winning the first set, Natale, who appeared frustrated at first, was able to turn his frustration into power and won the second and third sets in a commanding fashion.

The other Cavalier losses in singles came in the bottom three seeds. These matches weren’t without their share of excitement, though, as Virginia No. 5 seed Jay Curtis rallied back from a 0-6 second set only to drop the third set 5-7 in a narrow defeat at the hands of Brown’s Adil Shamasdin.

The loss leaves the Cavaliers at 9-6 on the season. The Cavaliers head back into ACC competition this weekend when they travel to Georgia Tech and Clemson.