LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 4, 1996 - 3 Michigan secretary of state to visit Israel to better trade Alleged rape prompts protest on campus About 100 students at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., . rotested in front of the main adminis- tration building last month, criticizing the university's handling of sexual assault and harassment complaints, The Chronicle of Higher Education report- ed. The protests stemmed from an alleged gang rape of a woman at an off- campus party sponsored by the Kappa Alpha fraternity in October. The *emonstrators criticized the university for not punishing fraternity members and for not issuing a statement about the incident. A police investigation has not identi- fied any suspects, said university . spokesperson Jane Nicholson. Nicholson said police officers have not discovered evidence that fraternity members committed the crime. 0 Threats arise at San Diego Three months after three engineering .professors were murdered at San Diego State University, officials are investi- gating a threat against an unnamed black faculty member, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. An anonymous flier discovered in a campus library last month said a bomb would be placed in the faculty mem- ber's car. The flier included a racial slur. Rick Moore, a San Diego State spokesperson, said the flier referred to the earlier shootings and said, "You'll be the fourth professor to be killed." More said no details of the attack were specified. The university's 68 black professors *and teaching assistants were offered escorts and more secure parking spots after the threat was discovered. Moore said officials suspect the threat may have been the work of a student. Contagious virus hits Dartmouth A survey of 1,000 Dartmouth College students found that 45 percent of the student body has a virus that causes upper respiratory problems and an itchy rash, the school's student newspaper, The Dartmouth, reported. The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta administered the survey via the jnternet in mid-November to determine what kinds of symptoms students with the virus have. . CDC Director of Health Services Jack Turco said CDC and College Health Services see no need to place restrictions on the campus because the symptoms are relatively mild. Turco said the virus lasts up to 3 1/2 weeks with rash symptoms beginning "on the neck. Arepresentative, from the CDC is currently on campus to investigate the situation. Villa Julie pres. fined for smoking A few years after she established a -policy prohibiting smoking in campus _ iuildings, the president of Villa Julie College in Stevenson, Md., was fined $1,312 for smoking in a washroom, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported. An anonymous tip led the Maryland 0Occupational Safety and Health Department to Carolyn Manuszak, who .was smoking in the washroom next to 3 -her office. A report said the president admitted to smoking in her washroom but said she had tried to exhale the smoke through a window. Manuszak set a strict smoking policy .in 1994, and in a memo said "there would be no exceptions made for times of inclement weather." - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Janet Adamy. Correction By Jeff Edridge Daily Staff Reporter In a world increasingly referred to as a global village, Candice Miller is try- ing to raise Michigan's international profile in an effort to build stronger commercial ties. The Michigan secretary of state is scheduled to travel to Israel from Dec. 7-16, as part of an entourage of gov- ernment officials from several U.S. states. While there, Miller will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, members of parliament, Israel's chief rabbi and several mem- bers of the country's business com- munity. "It's my great honor to have been asked to participate," Miller said, adding that she is looking forward to "really understanding the country and the customs" and meeting with Israel's leaders. As foreign trade becomes increas- ingly integral to industrial nations, many U.S. states work on an individ- ual basis with other nations to foster commercial cooperation. Miller said the opportunity to work on bettering trade ties was an incentive for her to make the trip. "The world is becoming smaller all the time," Miller said. Michigan has worked to be proactive in building rela- tionships with industrial nations, she continued, although a trip of this sort is unusual. Talking to Netanyahu will be one of the trip's highlights, she said, adding that she will be the first Michigan offi- cial to personally meet with the recent- ly elected prime minister. "I'm curious to meet him," Miller said. "He certainly is an incredible international figure, and obviously. extremely conservative. From those perspectives, it will be an interesting conversation, certainly." Miller also said she is looking for- ward to touring Israel and getting a sense of its history. Visiting during the holiday season and touring the coun- try's holy grounds will be an added ben- efit to the trip, she said. "It certainly couldn't be happening at a better time of the year," Miller said. The trip is sponsored by Project Interchange, an organization funded by foundations and individual donors. In the last 10 years, more than 1,500 state officials, members of Congress and other leaders have participated in Project Interchange seminars. 12 new members get first taste of MSA procedures IOSH BIGGS/Daily Charles Baxter, renowned author and University English professor speaks at Rackham Auditorium yesterday. Baxter only gives reads on campus every three or four years. Renowned author, ''Prof. Baxer re'adS from his fiction Assembly passes proposal supporting student regent By Will Welssert Daily Staff Reporter At last nights meeting, some members of the Michigan Student Assembly could not find seats around the table and were forced to sit in window sills or stand up. The lack of seating was caused by the filling of six previously vacant seats. MSA held two meetings last night: one to bid farewell to the six members leaving the assembly and another to initi- ate the 12 newly elected representatives. "It was a little overwhelming;" said incoming LSA Rep. Jennifer Genovese. "There was a little more debate and pol- itics involved in the process than I was expecting." Outgoing LSA Rep. Amer Zhar, who was unsuccessful in his bid for re-elec- tion, said he would still be active in assembly politics. "I think I got a lot done, but I would have liked to do more" Zhar said. "I will still be involved. One thing I learned from being on MSA is it's easi- er to stir things up from the outside than from the inside sometimes." Zhar used the constituents' time por- tion of the second meeting to discuss upcoming programs he will work on in the next few months. In an effort to make the newly elect- ed assembly members feel comfortable, LSA Rep. Willie Jurkiewicz established an assembly buddy system in which veteran members will act as mentors for those new to the process. "The purpose of this program is so (new representatives) don't have to sink or swim - you can hit the ground run- ning," Jurkiewicz said. But some new members said they had already experienced the assembly firsthand. "I've been to some meetings in the past and this one was true to form, said incoming LSA Rep. Doug Yatter, who served as vice chair for MSA's Academic Affairs Commission this term. "I must admit I was a little nervous speaking in front ofthe whole assembly - but I'm glad to be here and I look forward to speaking more during future meetings;' he said. The new members were treated to a lengthy debate on ammending a pro- posal that calls for the creation of a stu- dent regent. LSA Rep. Andy Schor, who drafted the original motion, said the measure would have to be reworded to allow all voters in the state to vote in student regent races. "Legally we have to do this - I don't want to see this struck down because of a loophole;" Schor said. "I'd love to have just students vote for a student regent, but we can't do that." But other assembly members said statewide elections would mean that the state political parties would chose potential candidates. "The two parties will pick a candi- date and one will win," said Engineering Rep. David Burden.."The students won't be electing a student regent, the two political parties will." LSA Rep. Dan Serota said a student candidate would not be able to get on the ballot. "It's impossible for a student to get on a statewide ballot," said LSA Rep. Dan Serota. "A student won't get the necessary signatures - you'd have a better chance of running against Carl Levin because at least then students would care." After more than 30 minutes of dis- cussion, the measure passed 27-7. Schor said now that the measure has been accepted, assembly members have their work cut out for them. "In the next six months we need to get 260,000 signatures to get this on a (statewide) ballot," Schor said."This will be my life during the next six months.' By Alice Robinson Daily Staff Reporter Seeking advice on how to get over her lost lover, Kit, a character in a short story titled "The Cures for Love;" turned to the Latin writings of the Roman author Ovid. "I tell you, when you're heartsick ... trust me, get knocked down in public, you'll be helped up," was Ovid's advice. Later in the story, Kit takes the advice. But the results are less than sat- isfying. "OK, so it happened as predict- ed, but it didn't make you feel wonder- ful (comfortably numb was more like it);" Kit said in the story. University English Prof. and renowned author Charles Baxter, who created Kit, told the audience her story last night at Rackham Amphitheatre. Although Baxter lives in Ann Arbor, he said he doesn't do readings at the University "more often than every three or four years." The meticulous attention to detail in Baxter's fiction kept the 160 audience members intrigued during the two half- hour-long selections, a piece from the novel "The Feast of Love" and the short story about Kit. Baxter's first selection described the narrator's steps in a disappointing quest for love, including an impulsive excur- sion to Jackson, Mich., and his inescapable observance of couples in the throes of love. In "The Cures for Love" Baxter focused on Kit's feelings as she comes to grips with the fact that her lover has gone away. Many audience members said Baxter's reading met their expecta- tions. "I thought it was splendid, both the work in progress and the work achieved," said English Prof. Nicholas Delbanco. "It had that spe- cial slant of his that brings every- thing into relief while remaining in the first light." As Baxter read his work, different phrases caused knowing smiles or chuckles to escape from the audience. Baxter's unique and memorable style was evident in his word choice and descriptions, from referring to a woman's nod as "therapeutic" to describing a man in Chicago's O'Hare Airport as wearing a polyester suit and reading USA Today. Baxter said he was pleased with his reading of the first selection, "The Feast of Love?' "I liked reading it - it's fun;' he said. A former student of Baxter's, English lecturer Lauren Kingsley said she went into Rackham Amphitheatre confident of what she was about to hear. "I know his work and it's as good as I expected it to be,' she said. "He's a sure thing.' 4 in GM-VW lawsuit seek postponement of crininal case DETROIT (AP) - Four key defen- dants in General Motors' corporate theft lawsuit against Volkswagen AG want the case against them postponed until criminal charges in Germany are resolved, their attorney said yesterday. Attorney Plato Cacheris told a judge in U.S. District Court that he will file motions by Dec. 13 asking that the civil case be delayed against Jose Ignacio Lopez, Jose Manuel Gutierrez, Jorge Alvarez and Rosario Piazza. All four are under investigation by German authorities in the alleged theft of trade secrets from GM and its German subsidiary, Adam Opel AG. They also are being investigated by a federal grand jury in Detroit, Cacheris said. No charges have been filed from either investigation, but Cacheris said the German case is expected "to come to fruition" by year's end. Lopez's Frankfurt lawyer said last month that he expected Lopez to be charged in Germany soon. GM alleges that Lopez, a former GM purchasing chief, conspired with top VW executives to steal trade secrets when Lopez defected to VW in 1993 with several other managers from the world's largest automaker. GM seeks unspecified damages in the lawsuit, filed in March. If Edmunds grants the motion, pro- ceedings against VW, its U.S. sub- sidiary and other company executives presumably would continue. But VW attorney James Denvir said the case probably would not come to trial until 1998 because of its complexity. He pre- dicted a trial would last at least nine months. Denvir said no negotiations for an out-of-court settlement were under way, but that VW remained willing to dis- cuss one. GM and Opel publicly have taking a hard line with VW, insisting that any settlement would have to include a pub- lic apology, the dismissal of the remain- ing VW managers named in the lawsuit, and significant damages. OPEN-MINDED BIBLE STUDY all denominations welcome all faiths welcome all sexual orientations welcome all people welcome FRIDAYS 3:30-5:00 at Canterbury House Blue house past the Frieze Bldg. 721 E. Huron The headline on the front page of Monday's Daily should have read: "Israel eyes permanent spots in West Bank." Nobody prepares you like KAP L A Kaplan has the most complete arsenal of test prep tools available. From videos to virtual reality practice tests, to software and on line services, nobody offers you more ways to practice. Kaplan's dynamic teachers will show you the proven skills and test-taking methods that help you get a higher score. Voted "The Best of Ann Arbor In Test Prep" EVENTS U "Advent Evening Prayer," spon- sored by Lutheran Campus Kelsey Museum Tappan Building, Room 186, reception to follow, 6-7 p.m. 0 "South Quad Safety Forum," spon- sored by South Quad Council, 444C, 7-11 p.m. U Northwalk, 763-WALK, Bursley Hall, 8 p.m.-1:30 a.m. U Psychology Peer Academic Advising, 647-3711, sponsored by.. ln.. k..I dVnal. fnrtmfant ,