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One hundred seven years of editorialfreedom
Thursday
November 20, 1997
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Pols hi
By Jeffrey Kosseff
Daily Staff Reporter
State political figures hurled insults and lou
ly argued their positions on affirmative action
a panel discussion last night.
The discussion on affirmative action featun
s~ Reps. David Jaye (R-Macomb) and T
' ace (D-Detroit), state Sen. Alma Wheel
Smith (D-Salem Twp.) and Tim O'Brien, cha
of the Michigan Libertarian Party.
As soon as the debate on affirmative actin
began, the discussion became heated. Jaye, or
of the legislators who encouraged students
come forward as plaintiffs for the lawsuit cha
lenging the University's affirmative action pr
grams, made statements that angered man
members in the audience of more than 400.
*ffirmative action hurts minority studen
by admitting incompetent and unprepared st
dents and puts them in a rigorous curriculum
Jaye said. "I truly believe there is not a lot
racism in America."
Smith and Wallace vehemently disagree
with Jaye's stance.
"The U of M does not admit anyone who
unqualified," Wallace said. "David Jaye knov
that. But he wants you to believe that unqual
Regents to
vote on
stadium
Byeather Kamins
1WStaff Reporter
Today's meeting of the University
Board of Regents will include a vote on
the expansion of Michigan Stadium,
speeches from student and faculty lead-
ers and a student visit touted as a "field
trip."
If approved today, a proposal to add
5,000 seats to Michigan Stadium will
be implemented, making the stadium
thelargest outdoor sports arena in the
r wn.
Athletic Director Tom Goss said the
additional seats will help the University
accommodate a high demand for foot-
ball tickets. Due to a surplus of ticket
requests, first-year students received
split-season ticket packages for this
year's games. Goss said this will not
happen again.
"I think it gives us an opportunity to
not-only add the 300 students that we
14to split tickets with, but it also
gives us the opportunity to offer some
student ticket requests that we haven't
been able to meet yet," Goss said.
As is customary with the November
meeting, representatives from the
Michigan Student Assembly and the
Senate Advisory Committee on
University Affairs will present reports
to the regents.
MSA President Mike Nagrant said
lans to discuss MSA's ongoing pro-
j~, including the new coursepack
store, LSA's environmentally focused
Winter theme semester and the student
regent initiative.
"1 am also going to lay a few ideas
on the table, including a possible
implementation of a fall break some-
time in the future and the need to
extend the hours in the graduate and
law libraries," Nagrant said.
fagrant added that he also is going
t resent to the regents an MSA reso-
lution that asks that students be allowed
to rush the football field following the
Michigan-Ohio State game this
Saturday.
Louis D'Alecy, chair of SACUA,
said he will not bring any new busi-
See REGENTS, Page 2A
url insults at panel
discussion
fied minorities are being admitted. He is trying
to take us back to the days of the Jim Crowe
laws.
"Every black person has to deal with racism
from the time they are born until the time they
die" said Wallace, who is black.
O'Brien said affirmative action programs
should not exist on the campus because the
University is a public institution.
By using race as a factor, he said,
the government institutes a poli-
cy of racial discrimination.
"We hold to the hope that
someday there will be no coer-
cive government, O'Brien said.
"It is totally wrong to discrimi-
nate."
Following last night's forum,
about 50 students, many of them
members of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative
Action By Any Means Necessary, marched to
the Fleming Administration Building for an
informal gathering to demonstrate their commit-
ment to a pro-affirmative action student move-
ment.
LSA first-year student Laura Kennedy said
the march was a way for students to mobilize in
defense of affirmative action.
"As a young adult, this is one of the first
opportunities to preserve what we believe in,"
Kennedy said.
Wallace and Jaye, who are both University
alumni, brought the debate to a personal level by
questioning the other's qualifications for being
accepted to the University.
"David Jaye likes to say he is
the best and brightest," said
Wallace, a Law School alumnus.
"But when he came to the
University, I'm sure there were
more qualified blacks who were
denied admission."
Jaye fired back later in the
panel discussion by challenging
Wallace's qualifications.
"When Ted Wallace was a stu-
dent, he took the place of a more qualified stu-
dent," Jaye said.
Smith said that in his statements about affir-
mative action, Jaye makes two false assump-
tions.
"One of his assumptions is that any student of
a minority background on this campus is inher-
See SYMPOSIUM, Page 7A
EMILY NATHAN/Da ly
LSA senior Jerica Shields shows emotion during a symposium on affirmative active in Angel Hall
yesterday, where state politicians gathered for an argumentative debate on the issue.
SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS
Merchants
cash in on
Wolverines
By Mike Spahn
Daily Staff Reporter
The Michigan football team's run for the
roses has many local businesses hoping cus-
tomers will make a run for the cash registers.
As the 1997 regular season reaches a cli-
max Saturday with Michigan facing off
against Ohio State, truckloads of red roses
and Michigan apparel are arriving into Ann
Arbor. While fans scramble for memorabilia,
student entrepreneurs look to profit as well
- by selling their game tickets.
Nielson's Flower Shop and Greenhouse
more than doubled its rose order this week.
Co-owner Diane Nielson said the shop is
trying to boost support for the Michigan
team.
"We usually get 12-14 dozen roses every
other week, but this week we'll get an extra
15 dozen, which will be available Saturday,"
Nielson said.
Nielson said that after Michigan won rights
to its last trip to the Rose Bowl in 1993, her
daughter handed out two dozen roses to cele-
brating students on South University Avenue.
Along with ordering extra roses,
Nielson's will cut the price of roses by
more than 50 percent this weekend. "We
think they can use all the support they can
get," Nielson said.
With booming sales in Michigan athletic
wear, Ann Arbor merchants are benefiting
from the football team's success. Managers at
stores specializing in Michigan apparel said
sales are up 30 percent compared to this time
last year.
"There has definitely been an upswing in
sales, mostly in the last three weeks," said M
Den Manager David Frick. "I don't think it
hit anybody until after the Penn State game."
Frick said this year's excitement is greater
than in past potential Rose Bowl years.
"I worked at the store the last time they
went (to the Rose Bowl) and there wasn't the
same effect," Frick said. "The last time it was
Holocaust
survivor talks
on heroism
By Carly Southworth
Daily Staff Reporter
More than 50 years after escaping his Nazi captors and
liberating Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto, this year's recipient
of the Wallenberg Medal hopes to show that one person
can make a difference in the world.
A crowd of about 250 gathered in Rackham Auditorium
last night to hear Simha "Kazik" Rotem give the eighth
annual University Wallenberg Lecture. The lecture and
medal honor those who have made extraordinary accom-
plishments toward liberty and human values.
"I am here because I believe it is my duty as a survivor
to tell human beings, especially the young generations,
what they can do for their fellow humans," Rotem said,
noting that he is "not a professional speaker" and apolo-
gizing for his heavy accent.
After receiving a standing ovation, Rotem spoke about
his dramatic experiences in the Warsaw Ghetto during
World War 11.
In 1943, at age 19 Rotem and a friend not only escaped
from the ghetto, but returned to rescue 60-70 members of
the Jewish Fighting Force by organizing escapes through
the sewer canal systems of Warsaw.
"We had the question whether we had the moral right to
take upon ourselves the responsibility of the thousands
still living," Rotem said.
While telling his story, Rotem told stories about digging
underground tunnels, making weapons, posing as a Nazi
soldier, crawling on his stomach through sewers and fight-
ing hunger and hopelessness in order to survive. He said
that there are no words that could even begin to express
the horror of the Holocaust.
Even though there were times when life passed before
his eyes, Rotem said he somehow managed to keep his
spirit.
"I had begun to lose all sort of survival - my only
weapon of revenge," he said.
Fortunately for those 60-70 Jews and their loved ones,
Rotem retained his hope and survived to tell his story.
Rotem was introduced by University President Lee
Bollinger, who later presented Rotem with the Wallenberg
Medal and shared his thoughts about the award's meaning.
"The Wallenberg Lecture raises among us, on the cam-
pus and beyond, a perennial and ever-lasting question of
what we would do if faced with a world of evil," Bollinger
said.
LSA junior Cynthia Epler said she was moved by the
speech.
"It is shame that there weren't more students here.
There. won't always be that opportunity to hear something
See LECTURE, Page 1OA
EMILY NATHAN/Daily
Diane Nielson, co-owner of Nielson's Flower Shop and Greenhouse, prepares a bouquet of
roses. Roses will be a common sight Saturday should Michigan beat Ohio State.
the fifth time in a row, so this one will be
much bigger."
Anything related to Michigan football has
been flying off the shelves, said Steve &
Barry's University Sportswear General
Manager Daniel Switzer.
"We've had to increase our inventory
recently because anything with football has
been blowing out," - Switzer said.
"Everything's selling so fast, it's hard to keep
things in stock."
Both Switzer and Frick said the most pop-
ular item has been the football jersey don-
ning the number two - the number of star
See ROSES, Page 10A
The Showdown
Countdown to The Game
DAYS
No.1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Ohio State
Saturday, noon (ABC)
Candidates make
final rush for votes
Students ambivalent
about MSA election
By Susan T. Port
Daily Staff Reporter
LSA sophomore Andy Coulouris
hanging out at Angell Hall by 4:30
erday morning, but he did
not have a class to attend. M
Coulouris, who is running
for an MSA seat with the
Students' Party, woke up early
to hang posters in the hall-
ways through which thou-
sands of students would walk
turnout and win over voters. Students
have the opportunity to elect represen-
tatives of their college to the assembly
twice each year.
SA
Coulouris said he is try-
ing to be light-hearted about
the whole election process.
"If I can convince a hand-
ful of students to vote, then
it's better than nothing,"
Coulouris said.
MSA President Mike
By Jennifer Yachnin
Daily Staff Reporter
If the number of students who vote in
the Michigan Student Assembly elec-
tions yesterday and today, equals the
number of posters stuck to walls across
the University, it could be considered a
miracle.
But MSA President Mike Nagrant is
hopeful that student turnout will top the
15 percent rate of last spring's election.
"Unless you make it easier for stu-
'Why should I vote when I don't under-
stand what (the candidates) stand for?"'
To increase voter awareness, a mass
e-mail announcing the MSA elections
was sent to all students, Nagrant said.
Dean of Students E, Royster Harper
said many students do not value their
right to vote until something happens
with which they don't agree.
"I'm not sure the students under-
stand the value of making their voices
heard," Harper said. "It's obvious to
them w~he'ntheir voices are. heinu
EMILY NATHAN/Daily
LSA students vote yesterday in Angell Hall during the first day of MSA elections.
The election continues today and students can vote online and around campus.
"I think it gives them the opportunity
right track."
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