One hundred nine years ofeditonalfreedom 49 t AA ill NEWS: 76-DAILY CLASSIFIED: 7640557 wwwmkigandally.com Friday February 4, 2000 I Im ll~j: V :1.1!! BIAMN to protest Title IX symposium By Jeannie Baumann Daily Staff Reporter Members of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action By Any Means Necessary plan to protest a Title IX symposium sponsored by the Universi- tyournal of Law Reform today. Curt Levey, director of legal and public affairs for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Individual Rights, is scheduled to be one of the speakers at the two-day symposium. CIR is the law firm representing students suing the University because of its use of race as a factor in the admissions process. "CIR made its name originally by attacking women's rights," said LSA seor Aimee Bingham, a member of BAMN. "They should be afraid to set foot in the city and the community that they're trying to resegregate." "We have to call out that cynicism, that hypocrisy. We are going to unite the campus to defeat the CIR, BAMN member Lisa Resch said. Title IX is a federal statute passed in 1972 that prohibits discriminatory pr ices in higher education on the ba of gender, The law has particu- larly affected intercollegiate athletics. But Levey said he is not involved with the admissions lawsuits filed against the University's Law School and College of Literature, Science and the Arts. "Title IX is a completely separate issue," Levey said. "I have zero involvement with the lawsuit. I'm more ignorant of it than I'd like to be" vey is scheduled to speak on a panel at 3:45 p.m. today titled "How should we determine gender equity in sports?" Although Levey is not working on the lawsuits against the University, he is currently involved in a lawsuit against Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, challenging its use of Title IX. "The way gender equity is deter- m needs changing, he said, claim- in iami uses a quota system to determine gender equity. "Quotas are illegal and a bad idea. It should be based on interest, not num- bers" Levey said. University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform Editor in Chief Shannon Kimball said the symposium is an annual event centered around a differ- ent issue every year. "Our overall purpose is to generate ren proposals and discuss ways to nmT Title IX work more effectively," Kimball said. "Our purpose is not to promote a particular ideological view- point." Kimball said she welcomes BAMN's participation in the sym- posium. "I think that they certainly would argue their litigation strate- gy," she said, adding that there w Id not be discussion of affirma- ti action. "This is no way related against the lawsuits of the Universi- ty." But Rackham student and BAMN organizer Jessica Curtin said Title IX and affirmative action are very closely linked. The CIR has "intentionally been using white women in their lawsuits. See SYMPOSIUM, Page 2 ,Po 9W9990d941OrA4""A .'Fl!fiXTfYI/: YYY VTStt{K55 Y5..F K.YathSVmnuvlvhz nR 1 rts .Kx vs ssc4++x xxxsxxx^x_. n wk mn {^m+nM^ ¢tf-+^ ^+w ma eck in black McCain plans town meeting By Jeremy W. Peters Daily Staff Reporter The Feb. 22 Michigan GOP primary will be a pivotal point in the presidential campaign of Sen. John McCain - so important that the senator has barometer for the midwest," Rubens said. "Michigan is the number one priority." But three days before the Michigan primary, candidates will square off in the South Carolina primary, where a recent poll indicates McCain is currently five points ahead of Bush. scheduled a town meeting on campus the day before voters will head to the polls. The Arizona Republican trounced Texas Gov. George W. Bush in the New Hamp- shire primary earlier this week and a strong finish in the South Carolina and Michigan pri- maries has been deemed criti- cal by both political analysts and McCain supporters alike. Bill Ballenger, editor of Inside Michigan Politics, emphasized the importance of a victory for McCain in Michigan.; All eyes on Michigan X Texas Gov. George W. Bush plans to visit Detroit, Troy and Allendale tod i .'ti McCain, who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, believes he can appeal to the state's large population of military veter- ans. Bush, a former fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard, is well aware of McCain's populari- ty with the armed forces population and met yester- day with a group of veterans in South Carolina. Rubens said he is confident that McCain, not Bush, will capture this large, heavily vot- Arizona Sen. John McCain will visit the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Warren on Monday. * Magazine editor Steve Forbes will speak at the Jackson County GOP Lincoln Day dinner Wednesday. Source,:The Associated Press "Obviously everything is critical for him at this point," Ballenger said. "If he wins in the South Carolina primary, or comes close ... and then wins here, he could really be on his way to the nomination." Last night at a mass meeting for campus McCain supporters in the Michigan League, McCain Michigan co-Chair Will Rubens, an LSA juni'or, echoed the need for the senator to fare well in the primary. McCain's home state primary is also scheduled for the same day. "McCain sees Michigan as a swing state ... a ing segment of the population. "I think Gov. Bush is a veteran in his own right, but being in the Texas Air National Guard is not the same as being a PO.W," Rubens said. "I think they'll find it a little hard to swallow that Bush is as sympathetic to the needs of veterans as McCain is." Rubens said one of the ways the senator plans on carrying Michigan is by winning over the stu- dent population. McCain is scheduled to visit the University Feb. 21 to take part in a town meeting See MCCAIN, Page 2 Beck performs the song "Milk & Honey" from his latest album "Midnite Vultures" last night at Hill Auditorium. See story in Daily Arts. Page ;. aO& CLICKING FOR \SI Stu dentIs tradetoc oP We bsites By Dan Krauth Daily Staff Reporter The traditional image of college students working to make ends meet by returning empty soda cans for change or holding a job in a residence hall cafeteria may have faded with the past century. Many University students are switching from after-school jobs to online investing and earning thousands of dollars. "It's exciting to see how a few clicks of the mouse and typing a few numbers can make you money," LSA freshman Adam Zweibel said. Numerous students like Zweibel research investments online on Websites such as charlessch wab.com, erade.com and aneritrade.com. These Websites have tips and charts on the latest invest- ments in stocks, options, bonds and mutual funds. "When I get a tip on something that looks hot, I act on it and I check my portfo- lio under vnivahoo.com," Zweibel said. Zweibel started investing online at the beginning of the academic year with $1,500. Now, five months later, Zweibel boasts more than S8,300 in his portfolio. LSA freshmanAnthony Chubb has also clicked his way to successful earnings. Although Chubb initially invested ' ag s e Magitrate clears charge for 'U'alum U Ten of the 23 protesters have been cleared of charges for their part in a protest against the School of Americas By Shomad Terrelonge-Stone Daily Staff Reporter DAVID ROCHINO/ Daily LSA sophomore Josh Warsaw, a member of the Michigan Interactive Investments Club, checks stocks online in the Angell Hall Computing Site last night. S2,000 last May, Chubb's earnings now total S45,000. Chubb said he spends about an hour per day checking his investments. Chubb said one secret of his success is that he buys many penny stocks using Ameritrade, an online investing site, and then researches them on other sites and by watching news sources such as CNBC. The increase of student investing prompted LSA senior John Yen and two other students to begin the Michigan Interactive Investments Club in the fall of 1998. Through Mll, which is a non-profit stu- dent-run investing organization, more than 50 students meet weekly to focus on learn- ing how to research stocks. "We teach people the business and the jargon," said MII President Yen, a former Merrill Lynch intern. While the group teaches technique that can be used for individual investing, the group also invests collectively. "We all have one portfolio and buy as a group. All of the returns that we get go back to the organization," Yen said. Yen said first-time investors can benefit by using online resources. "If you want to get involved with stocks, go with the online investing but with a low amount of capital -- until you're experienced - that's how I start- ed," he said. LSA sophomore Josh Warsaw said Mll has taught him to "evaluate stocks better, how to understand the numbers and See INVESTING, Page 7 Charges against University alum Abby Schlaff for her part in an illegal protest against the U.S. School of Americ- as were dropped by the United States Magistrate for the Middle District of Georgia, Columbus Division. Schlaff said she received a letter earlier in the week from the court clearing her of the misdemeanor charges. Last month Schlaff and 22 other protesters received let- ters in the mail from the court stating that they were to appear before the United States Magistrate to be arraigned on the charges against them for actions during last Novem- ber's protest of the SOA in Columbus, Ga. The 10th annual demonstration, which involved more than 10,000 religious, labor and student leaders, mourned the killing of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and daughter in El Salvador on Nov. 16, 1989. Ignoring threats of arrest, Schlaff and more than 5,000 other protesters crossed onto Fort Benning property in a simulated funeral procession carrying signs and crosses to commemorate those who were killed in Latin America by SOA graduates. "The charges were dropped because we chose not to prose- cute further," Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean Daskull said. "We considered each of the defendants based on the strength of the evidence and the allocation of our resources." Schlaff said she was disappointed that the charges against her were dropped because she thought if she went to trial, "it would have got more publicity," against the SOA, she said. "I think that's why they dropped the charges." Schlaff's offense was punishable with a sentence of between 30 days and six months in prison and a maximum fine of 55,000. If she was convicted, the judge would have had the authority to reduce or suspend the sentence. Thirteen of the 23 protesters have been arraigned and will be charged, but 10 protesters have had charges against them dropped. SOA was established in 1946 in Panama. In 1984 it was relocated to Fort Benning, Ga. Schlaff and other protesters allege that SOA is responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans who were tortured, massa- cred, assassinated and raped by graduates of the school. But SOA supporters deny these allegations and say the school provides relevant military training and education to soldiers from Latin America and the Caribbean while pro- moting democracy and respect for human rights and cooper- ation between the militaries of the western world. Supporters also say SOA teaches democratic values to the U.S. and Latin American students who fill the school's classrooms. Schlaff said she is not sure if she would do the same Chinese students ready to kick off new year By Tiffany Maggard Daily Staff Reporter The ball may have dropped a month ago in Times Square, but New Year's celebrations in China will'begin tonight and many University students will be commemorating the holiday on this side of the globe as well. According to the Chinese lunar cal- endar, the millennium begins at mid- night tonight. The rollover to the year 4698 is the beginning of the year of the dragon, one of the 12 signs of the The dragon is a symbol of longevity, love and prosperity. In a typical New Year's celebration, the "dragon dance" is performed to dis- pel evil spirits and welcome pros- perity into the new year. "Everyone wants their kid to be born in the year of the dragon," Chen said. Chen said many of the traditions associated with the new year are simi- lar to customs for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. "It's like Thanksgiving because families get together. It's like Christmas because f en s tirin",cht hi "Basically, the whole country stops," Chen said. Asian American Association Pres- ident Teresa Kuo said she remem- bers attending the festivals and watching the fireworks in China as a child. "I remember it being very elabo- rate," she said. Chinese Studies associate Prof. San Duanmu said most people commemo- rate the occasion by spending time with family. "The biggest thing is family gather- iacIt le oThanksviving _- neonlie I , ,. - .' 1 1