No More 'Bans for Life' at U. of Michigan

The University of Michigan is ending a longstanding practice that has resulted in scores of people being "banned for life" from its campus, the Detroit Free Press reported. The newspaper said that under pressure from the American Civil Liberties Union, the university would no longer give its police department broad discretion to ban people from campus for life for things such as vandalizing property. (The ACLU had charged that some people were barred for criticizing the university.) Under the new policy, the Free Press reported, the police chief can impose a one-year ban, then can let it lapse or extend it for a year.