News: 76-DAILY Advertising: 764-0554 trirni *rn One hundred si years ofeditori lfreedom Wednesday March 26, 1997 Vol.o W y It .: .E n s. ores ~> w m'wv oQ ,- rRnll, vE:,c v3 :r UIY a n Vi ,p , , a an Daily ti ., .i. .. °h n Y¢'1/ ,!i. r. yh G N N.04"z & hig the --- --- ^l rv ,~ i . 9ro VP: U.S.- Sino relations an track Los Angeles Times BEIJING -Vice President Al Gore yesterday assured Chinese Premier Li Peng that U.S.-Sino relations will not be hurt by allegations that China ille- gally contributed to American politi- cal campaigns in an effort to influence policy, an administration official Li raised the issue during bilateral talks on the first full day of Gore's visit to China, but Gore interrupted him and "said very directly to the prime minis- ter that these allegations very obvious- ly were in the air and they would be there'" the official added. Gore told Li "the issue is being investigated, but the important point was that this in no way would deflect 'administration from pursuing its p icy of engagement with China," said the official, who attended the meeting and briefed the media but spoke on the condition that he not be named. Li reiterated his government's consis- tent denial that it engaged in any illegal See CHINA, Page 2 MSA vote candidate By Katie Plona Daily Staff Reporter Michigan Student Assembly members proved last night that campaign finance rrm is not limited to the national level. t their weekly meeting, assembly members passed a proposal that will cap MSA candidate campaign spending at $500 beginning this fall. After the reso- lution passed, LSA Rep. Dan Serota said he plans to sue MSA over the legality of the code changes. Rackham Rep. Josh Trapani, who pro- posed the code changes, said having unlimited spending on campaigns may ct some students who want to get i olved in student government, but don't have the money other candidates do to win votes. Trapani said the campaign spending limit would not infringe upon candi- dates' First Amendment rights. "I would argue that (the code changes) would definitely not," Trapani said. "I wouldn't support anything that did." While the majority of assembly voters agreed with Trapani, the resolution was *unanimously supported - it passed 17-5-1. Serota, who unsuccessfully ran for MSA vice president in last week's elec- tion, said he plans to sue MSA because he alleges the code changes violate the legality of the U.S Constitution and the MSA constitution. Serota said the $500 spending limit heavily favors incumbents who have Wre name recognition than candidates no prior MSA experience. "I believe it violates every students' rights to free speech," Serota said. Trapani said write-in candidates are Activists, *lebate p assisted si By Brian Campbell Daily Staff Reporter A diverse panel of professionals and niversity professors sifted through the moral implications surrounding physician-assisted suicide last night and attempted to draw firm conclu- sions about the complex issue before a solemn crowd gathered in Rackham Auditorium. Levin speaks to campus groups By Jeffrey Kosseff Daily Staff Reporter While talking about campaign reform last night, Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) discussed an upcoming "disturbing" Republican fundraiser where anyone willing to contribute $250,000 will have lunch with the chair of a Senate or House committee and a photograph with Speaker Newt Gingrich. For less money, the contributor will have lunch with a vice-chair of the committee of their choice. "I guess you get a smaller picture of Newt also," Levin joked. Levin used that blunt humor, along with updates on current legislation to discuss education, cam- paign finance reform and environmental issues to a crowd of more than 100 people at the Michigan Union last night. The event was co-sponsored by the campus College Democrats and Environmental Action, a University student group. Levin contended that when the 1994 legislators attempted to cut education funding, their con- stituencies reacted negatively. "In 1994, there was an effort to make significant reductions in education," Levin said. "There was a tremendous reaction because people know the more education you have, the more likely it is you will do better income-wise." In an age of close economic competition with many other countries, Levin said that educatioriis essential to the nation's success. "We must compete;" Levin said. "We've got to have the same kind of skills that other countries have." Currently, Levin said he is optimistic about bipartisan support of President Clinton's higher education plan. It would raise Pell Grant funding and either provide a $10,000 college tuition tax deduction or a $1,500 tax credit. "It amounts to a 10-percent overall- increase in federal funding for education," Levin said. Levin's sentiments on college financing were well-received by many in the audience. "I think he cares and he really wants to help stu- dents with loans," said Engineering first-year stu- dent Christine Bogaerts. Another controversial issue Levin tackled last night was campaign finance reform. Levin said he can understand the public's anger about the topic. "The repulsion is understood," Levin said. "We basically have no limits anymore." Although limits exist on how much individuals can give to candidates, and companies are not allowed to donate money to candidates, Levin said there is a "soft money" loophole. "You can give any amount of money to a (polit- ical) party," Levin said. See LEVIN, Page 7 Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) talks with student groups last night in the Michigan Union about campaign finance reform, education and national environmental policies. s to limit spending not subject to these rules, so they can make the decision to have their name on the ballot. Because of this option, Trapani said the financial restrictions do not impinge on the First Amendment. MSA Treasurer Jonathan Winnick said the code changes violate students' rights. "I feel MSA should not be micro- managing campaigns, Winnick said. "In a perfect world, everyone would have equal amounts of resources, but I think it's naive to pretend that world exists:' Winnick said the code changes are an easy target for loopholes and will face consequences down the road. "This is virtually unenforceable," Winnick said. "You cannot stop a friend of a candidate from spending money to assist him." MSA President Fibna Rose .turned over her gavel during the code changes debate because she said she felt strongly about the issue. Rose said some course of action needs to be taken concerning campaign finance spending "and the only way to do it is to plunge ahead with this propos- al and work form this on enforcing and implementing it." Anne Marie Ellison, chair of the stu- dents' rights commission, said the $500 spending limit does not violate students' First Amendment rights and that $500 is even too high of a limit. Ellison said candidates still have the opportunity to use other forms of free campaigning, including talking to stu- dent groups or being members of stu- dent groups, instead of spending mass amounts of money. See MSA, Page 7 I DREAM OF BEANIE Tir nie Babies' are bi'g trend By Kathy Camp For the Daily Hippity, Hoppity, Floppity and Moppity have come to Ann Arbor for Easter. But don't expect these cuddly stuffed animals from the Beanie Baby collec- tion to stay in local stores for long. The Crown House of Gifts on State Street com- pletely sold out of its latest shipment of 3,000 Beanie Babies in just three days. "It's really hard for us to get them in stock since the company is so backordered that they can't get them out to the stores," employee Emma White said about the toys that are turning out to be the Cabbage Patch Kids of the '90s. "They sell much more than anything else in the store. The demand is just incred- ible." These hand-sized, bean bag creatures were con- ceived by Kalamazoo College graduate H. Ty Warner. They come with a birthdate, a poem, a $5 price tag and a playful name like Inky the Octopus, Spike the Rhinoceros or Crunch the Shark. The appeal of these huggable, understuffed toys is broadly based and includes children, college students and parents alike. "Probably about one-third of our sales are to col- lege students or even parents who want to collect for themselves," said Katie Eory, an employee at the Crown House of Gifts. Engineering first-year student Kelly Zagorski said Beanie Baby fever has caught on in her residence hall room. "They're cute, they don't cost very much and they make great gifts" Zagorski said. "I have the skunk, one of the cows and the penguin, and my roommates have about 20 more." ROB (GILMOF Scoyeon and Sooyeon Lee admire some 'retired' Beanie Babies that now reside behind glass at Aussie Outfitters in Briarwood Mall. These rare 'babies' sell for about $80-$250 each. University alumna Tiffany Heutal visited the Crown House of Gifts last week to add three green bunnies named Hippity to her collection of about 40 Beanie Babies. "My friend got me into it," Heutal said. "You go to the store and you buy a couple. I mean, some of them are really cute, but it's more like the craze. First introduced on a small scale in 1993, Beanie Babies are without question the toy of the moment. According to Ty Inc. spokeswoman Anne Nichols, annual sales increased 1,000 percent in 1996 and are on track to grow another 1,000 percent in 1997. Beth Callas, an LSA first-year student, attributed these figures to Ty Inc.'s ability to make its product the latest fad. "I think they sell because they're marketed well and everyone rushes to buy them," she said. "My sis- ter has eight and her friend has, like, 40. They just collect them." MBA second-year student Greg Lipper pointed to low prices to explain the Beanie Baby success. "One of the big reasons they sell is the cost. Parents are fueling this thing more than the kids," said Lipper, whose daughter owns the owl, giraffe and one of the bunnies. "Because they pay in increments of $5, they are not aware of how much it's costing them to buy 50. It's a pretty smart marketing ploy." While Beanie Babies are relatively inexpensive in the stores, at Ty Inc.'s Web page - which has had more than 1.5 million visitors so far - the market gets more competitive. Beanie Babies come in about 70 different characters, some 20 of which are no longer produced. The price of these harder-to-find Beanie Babies can skyrocket to more than $150 per animal or even $1,500 for some of the original fig- ures, according to the Web page, http://www ty com. professors yician- iiCide Resume service offers help in job searches University students. Derek Humphrey, an author and one of the keynote speakers, said opponents of the procedure should show tolerance and take a more pragmatic view. "Assisted suicide is the ultimate civil liberty that we want, and it's time we have it," said Humphrey, whose wife took her own iife several years ago. "If you don't like this law, just By Bernard Swiecki For the Daily For students still looking for that per- fect summer job but who fear that time is running out, there may still be hope. University Opportunity Network, a new online resume service exclusively for University students, will have a pro- motional event from 5 to 9 p.m. tonight at Java House on South University Avenue. With the help of UON consul- tants, students can submit their resumes using computers at the cafe. UON Project Manager Joshua Ginsberg said the service atracts both Another cafe promotion is planned from 6 to I1 p.m. Sunday at Rendezvous Cafe on South University Avenue. UON is run by Web Elite, an Ann- Arbor based Web-page design company founded by University graduate Jacques Habra. The service keeps a database of students' resumes and charges companies who wish to peruse resumes of students who fit company criteria The entire process is done through the World Wide Web and a paper resume is never used, Habra said. "I like the fact that it's so straightfor- ::r-..A" c',.ia Cl nFna nprinr zr.'n rrnr., ~ I