Granger attends Dearborn, sues high school By Jeannie Baumann Daily Staff Reporter Grosse Pointe Woods resident Daniel Granger, whose admission to the University was revoked in 1998 during a sexual misconduct scandal with Granger at its center, took several classes at the University's Dearborn campus while applying to the Ann Arbor campus for winter term admissions. "Under the circumstances, it was the next best alternative," Daniel's father Rick Granger said yesterday, adding that the University denied his son's admission to the College of Literature, Science and the Arts for the current semester. "They have made it so incredibly difficult for him to do so, but if they were to accept him, then he would attend." Daniel Granger's attorney Richard Drake concurred with his father. But, "according to (University administration), they decided he was guilty until proven innocent. He was never a threat to anybody," Drake said. To protect Daniel's privacy, Rick Granger would not disclose where his son now attends school. In 1998, Daniel Granger accepted a plea bargain, down from charges of criminal sexual misconduct to the charge of conspiracy to contribute to the delinquency of a minor. Three 14-year-old girls at Grosse Pointe North High School, where Granger also was a senior at the time, had claimed Granger committed statutory rape. University spokesperson Julie Peterson, who is prohibited by federal law from commenting on Granger's student record, said the fact that the University's Dearborn campus accepted Granger does not infringe on decisions the Ann Arbor administration has made. "Each campus has its own admission's policies," Peterson explained. Donna McKinley, vice chancellor for student affairs at the University's Dearborn campus, emphasized this fact, saying the decision to admit Granger was made independently of officials in Ann Arbor. "Our environment is considerably different. Our campus is smaller, so it's easier to keep track of people on an individual basis," McKinley said. The commuter-based student population makes a difference, she said. "We don't have a residential population. That is one of the big differences, and it presents a whole different set of responsibilities and decisions that we have to make." McKinley said admissions officers take all factors regarding applicants into account before making a decision about their admission status. "If we are aware of some behavioral problem that occurred here or some place else, we'll look at that during the admissions process," she said. But McKinley added that any violations students commit will not necessarily prevent them from attending the University's Dearborn campus. "We can admit the student on disciplinary probation, placing restrictions on what the student could and could not do," she said. "We look at it in light of all the circumstances: what the student has done between the time they were suspended, whether they had any rehabilitated." Drake said Granger is suing the Grosse Pointe Board of Education, superintendent Suzanne Klein and Grosse Pointe North High School administrators. "We are suing the school for violating his constitutional rights. It has nothing to do with the criminal case." Drake said. "It's just what these administrators did to all these kids." The sexual misconduct scandal began during the 1997-98 academic year, when the Grosse Pointe North High School yearbook staff ran a picture of Granger's genitalia. Mark McInerney, attorney for the Grosse Pointe Public School System, said Granger and several of his friends had purchased the page, and the picture was removed before the yearbooks had been distributed to all students. "The school system and its employees believe they have acted properly and responsibly throughout this matter. They intend to aggressively and successfully defend themselves in this litigation," McInerney said. Drake said Granger "is a kid" who has been punished for what he has done. The real perpetrators, he said, are the Grosse Pointe school administrators. "The bigger picture is the real adults who destroyed seven kids' lives to protect themselves from getting fired," Drake said. Originally on page 1A in the 1-27-2000 issue of the Daily.