AROUND HIGHER EDUCATION: U. Mich. turns away man accused of rape

The Associated Press CLINTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- The University of Michigan has refused to let a freshman accused of rape attend school, a move that was criticized by the teenager's lawyer. "I believe they have forgotten the presumption of innocence," lawyer William Bufalino II said earlier this week. Daniel Granger, 18, class president of his 1998 graduating class in Grosse Pointe North, was ordered in July to stand trial on charges of statutory rape along with three of his classmates. The four are charged with having sex with 14-year-old girls who said they were given alcohol by the boys. Statutory rape does not require proof of force or coercion, only that the girls were under the age of consent at the time. The legal age of consent in Michigan, as in most states, is 18 years. Granger said he was "greatly disappointed" about the decision to suspend his admission. "This is a sad day for me as well as my family," he said. "Personally, this one is a pretty tough pill to swallow." The teen had already been accepted as a freshman when he was informed by letter last month that a hearing was to be held on whether his admission should be suspended. The letter stated that the university's student code of conduct allows officials to suspend a student on an emergency basis if they determine the student's conduct poses an immediate threat. In a letter to Granger made available to media last week by Bufalino, the university's provost, Nancy Cantor, said school officials had decided to defer Granger's matriculation until winter term, 1999, pending a full review. The university refused to discuss the move last week. "He hopes to and prays to attend the University of Michigan in the winter term," Bufalino said.