LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily -Friday, April 16, 1999-- 3 CRIME Wallet stolen from Medical Sports Building A wallet was stolen Monday after- 'on at the Medical Sports Building, according to Department of Public Safety reports. The incident is estimat- edto have occurred between 4 p.m. and 6 p m. At the time of the theft, the wal- let was in the owner's gym bag inside a locker, and the locker was not locked, DPS reports state. The wallet contained $50 in cash, two credit cards, two automatic teller machine cards and a Michigan dri- r,'s license. There are no suspects in incident, according to DPS reports. $3,500 laptop computer swiped A laptop computer was reported stolen Tuesday morning, according to DPS reports. It was taken from the+ 2000 corridor of the Edward *nry Kraus Building on North university Drive. The computer is estimated to be worth $3,500, DPS offjcials state. A report was filed. Smoke fills part of 'U' Hospitals DPS was called to inspect a smoke- filled vending area in the Maternal and Child Health Center of the University *spitals on Tuesday evening, DPS reports state. The source of the smoke was a microwave in the vending area. An unknown suspect had put ketehup and mustard containers inside, according to DPS reports. The person proceeded to start the microwave, heat- ing the plastic containers to the point of causing a cloud of smoke, DPS offi- Sstate. ~arkleyresident gets harassing e-mail messages A Mary Markley Residence Hall resident called DPS on Monday after- noon to complain that she had received e-mail messages of a harass- ing nature. The student told DPS officers that she thinks the c-mails may be linked to the fact that she had forgotten to logout from her computer at the Markley computing cluster earlier in the day. It was after she used the Markley computer that she began to receive the messages from an. unknown subject. UBS power surge amages computer equipment A power surge in the North University Building computing center damaged a substantial amount of com- puter equipment, according to DPS reports. The surge occurred between 3- 5 p.m. on April 7. The damage was estimated to cost 1,430, DPS officials state. A report was filed. Student picks 4ights in CCRB A student was attempting to pick :girs in the Central Campus A.&reation Building on Wednesday night, DPS reports state. The student was playing basket- SI on Court 1 in the main gym of e building when he decided to start fights with other players in the gym. The student was informed that he would have to leave the CCRB if he datsed any more problems, according to DPS reports. Student breaks right hand playing roormball on rink A student broke her right hand Tuesday night at Yost Arena, according to DPS reports. The accident occurred when she was playing broomball on the ijc rink. DPS escorted the student from Betsy Barbour Residence Hall to University Hospitals emergency room, DPS reports state. - Compiled by Daily Staff" Reporter Marta Brill. Fraud bomb threat rightens students By Avrem S.Turkel Daily StaffReporter Sometime between 12 and I p.m. yesterday, a bomb threat directed at Angell Hall was called in to the Department of Public Safety. After what University spokesperson Julie Peterson called " a thorough investigation" of the building, DPS officials decided not to evacuate the building. As the rumors, of the threat filtered through the classrooms of Mason, Angell and Haven halls, sev- eral students and teachers left the building to have class outside and remain away from the building. DPS's official statement regarding the situation 'U police officials opt not to evacuate Angell Hall around the Diag sittin rather than in their class- rooms in Angell Mason or Haven halls. One English class opted to hold discussion in the base- ment of the Michigan Union. But LSA first-year student Greg Kula was wav of the truth of the threat. "I've been in the building for a while,' he said. "I think it's a prank" While details surrounding the scare are still unfolding, officials at the University and DPS urged students and faculty members yesterday to remain calm. The threat was fraudulent, evacuation was not necessary and students and faculty were not in danger for their lives, DPS officials said. was that there had been a bomb threat, but DPS had not evacuated the building. Neither DPS nor the University sought to inform the student body of the threat, but the department deans' offices and the facilities manager were advised of the situation. Multiple offices in Angell Hall, including the English department office, did decide to close early as a result of this notification. Some students said they feared for their lives when they heard the threat while others said they didn't believe there was a bomb. "People should have been notified," LSA first- year student Alyssa Hillman said. By 2:45 p.m. multiple classes could be seen MSA reps iobby against Senate bill I By Nick Bunkley Daily Staff Reporter After passing a resolution Tuesday in opposition of state Senate Bill 306, Michigan Student Assembly represen- tatives have begun to actively protest the proposed legislation. LSA Rep. Peter Handler spoke to the staff members of several Republican representatives yesterday, urging them not to support Senate Bill 306. The pro- posal would require Michigan residents to have the same address on their dri- vers licenses and voter registration cards. University students who have homes elsewhere in Michigan but vote in Ann Arbor would have to choose which address to declare officially. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Mike Rogers (R-Brighton), was approved in the Senate last month 23 to 12. Thej House Transportation Committee should that state elections officials "guaran- teed last year that the Qualified Voter File would never be used to prevent someone from voting." Brater said college students tend to support Democrats, and Rogers' pro- posal could lessen Democrat influence in districts like hers that include large universities. Republican Gov. John Engler sup- ports the proposal, spokesperson John Truscott said. But Democrats have said Engler's signature on the law would not quiet the debate. "There are serious questions as to whether the bill's constitutional," Brater said. Some Democrats have suggested an ulterior motive to the legislation, point- ing to the upcoming Congressional elections. Rogers is expected to enter the race for the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Debbie Stabenow (D- NATHAN RUFFER/Daily LSA junior Steve McCauley signs a People's Food Co-op petition on the Diag yesterday protesting the genetic engineering of food while co-op member Lori Fithian beats a drum. begin debating coming weeks, said Rep. Rick Johnson (R- LeRoy), the committee's chair. Rogers has said his pro- posal would the proposal during the "it's a fairly blatant attempt to discourage students from voting. " - Rep. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor) Lansing), who is running for the Senate. Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer said Rogers' bill is an Women, men to reCl cut down on voter fraud and ease the burden on the Secretary of State's office by smoothly integrating motor vehicle records and voter registration lists into the Qualified Voter File. Mark Grebner of Practical Political Consulting in East Lansing said the proposal is intended to clear up an esti- mated 4 million discrepancies in Secretary of State-records. But the proposal has drawn deep lines of partisanship through the Republican-controlled Legislature in recent weeks while Democrats argue that the bill could have dramatic effects on college students. "It's a fairly blatant attempt to limit students from voting," said Rep. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor). Voice Your Vote co-founder Ryan Friedrichs, an LSA senior, said the bill could be detrimental to the University Housing voter registration program that began sending voter registration cards to incoming students with their resi- dence hall leases last fall. "That would be put in jeopardy if this was enforced," Friedrichs said, adding "abuse of power" - a ploy to discourage Democratic Michigan State University students from voting in his district. "Obviously Rogers knows he cannot win on merit alone, so he has to create something like this to give himself an edge," Brewer said. The race would likely pit Rogers against Sen. Dianne Byrum (D- Onondaga), who has received signifi- cant support from her constituents at Michigan State in past elections. Grebner speculated that Republicans did not specifically design the bill to bolster Republican support in elections. "But the fact that it does screw up the Democrats is part of the motivation for pushing it through," he said. "There's incompetence but not partisanship." While in Lansing yesterday, MSA representatives also met with lawmak- ers to request that the state's fiscal year 2000 budget allocate more funding to the University. MSA launched a letter-writing drive yesterday to encourage students to write to legislators in favor of increased higher education appropriations. By Yael Kohen Daily Staff Reporter People throughout the Ann Arbor community want to reclaim the night. This Saturday, during the Take Back the Night rally and march, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. on the Diag, both women and men will stand up to violence against women. The rally will be followed by a march for women only. But, while the women march, men will be invited to the first ever Make a Statement event, where they can show support for women. Organizers want men to support the women's issues and they want to give men an opportunity to experience women's feelings of empowerment, said LSA senior Stephanie Zeskind, a Take Back the Night organizer. The Take Back the Night rally and march is a national forum with a lengthy history. Women Against Violence and Pornography in Media held the first conference in San Francisco in 1978. That same year, it was then held simultaneously in Ann Arbor by a different group. Participants are "protesting sexualized violence in our society" Zeskind said adding that the reason for including both women and men in the rally is "to come together for this common cause." Two survivors of sexualized violence, a poet and an activist are among the speak- ers planned for the rally, said LSA senior alm n1ght and organizer Debbie Frankle. A folk musician will perform as well. Zeskind, said women will truly be "reclaiming the streets" when they par- ticipate in women-only march. Marchers can meet on the Diag after the rally to circle Ann Arbor. Last year, about 300 women marched. The Make a Statement forum will include a drum circle, Frankle said. The drum circle is "something that inspires a feeling of solidarity," she said, adding that it is designed for men who want to support the women marching without intruding on women's experience. Take Back the Night is sponsored by the Ann-Arbor Coalition Against Rape. INSTITUTE Continued from Page 1 "We are on the brink of another rev- olution" Dixon said. In the near future, one benefit of life sciences could be perfecting a microchip that would analyze a person's DNA to predict how their body will react to certain medications, Dixon said. The University is expected to spend $200 million to $300 million to develop the institution plus yearly maintenance. "This is not the only University pri- ority we are fundraising for," Vice President for Development Susan Feagin said, adding that the University's fundraising campaign will be continual to contribute to the program's mainte- nance. Feagin said while many big name companies are interested in contribut- ing to the project including Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Chrysler, many other contributions and private donations are needed. Regent Andrea Fischer Newman (R-Ann Arbor) echoed other regents' enthusiasm but gave a detailed list of her concerns regarding the project. The impact of this project on University campuses in Dearborn and Flint, the effects, on tuition and the University's ability to keep up funding for the institute were among Newman's concerns. "The last thing I would want to do is create something as fantastic as this and have it take a down turn because we cannot sustain it," Newman said. Very few at the meeting ques- tioned the necessity of implementing some sort of life sciences program to stay on the cutting edge of technolo- gy. Regent Larry Dietch (D- Bloomfield Hills) asked what would happen to the University if it chose not to be a competitor in life sciences. "What do you see happening if the University says we want to wait," he asked. Engineering Prof. John Holland said if the University did not devote lots of energy to the life sciences, it could lose many highly-esteemed pro- fessors. "If we are not players, our best people are going to be targeted" by other life science programs, Holland said. University Provost Nancy Cantor said faculty and graduate students have been very receptive to the life sciences and the administration wants under- graduates to be as excited. Cantor said life sciences should be thought of as a "literary test" for undergraduates, explaining all liberal arts concentrators need exposure to complexity in life science issues. It'm o_ (. ': ' .. '. (JL.END AJ}J Iz .ti ,:- } ,. ______