LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 8, 2000- *HIGHER ED- U Wisconsin police request media photos University of Wisconsin police have requested all photographs from The Badger Herald and The Daily Cardinal of the recent sit-in by stu- dents protesting sweatshops. Fifty-four people were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and unlawful assembly Feb. 20 on the fifth day of the protest in the university's Bascom Hall --just outside Chancel- lor David Ward's office. The university police chief sent ~letters to Madison media requesting the photographs. The editors of both student newspapers said they do not expect to hand over any material. WYOU Outreach Director Todd Price said the public access television channel was told by police they may be subpoenaed for more than eight hours of video footage. Price said he did not expect to give lthe police any footage because he did not want to damage any relationships with the students. He added the film is his private property. The protest was a response to Ward's decision not to join the student-origi- nated Worker's Rights Consortium. Students pledge to reject job offers 0 A group of Ivy League students are campaigning against a number of large corporations because of alleged poor- environmental records. Students from Princeton, Harvard, Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia, Cornell and the University of Pennsylvania promised last week not to take jobs with Coca-Cola, General Motors and BP-Amoco. Students said there are many more companies they feel have objectional standards but these are the groups they are focusing on now. The students are part of a national program called Ecopledge.com. Princeton senior Keir Soderberg said the group opposes Coca-Cola because he said they broke a promise nine years ago to use 25 percent recyclable plastic in their bottles. The company's manager of commu- *nications Trey Paris said Coca-Cola never made this promise. He added that the company should be seen as progressive because they used the recycled plastic in its infancy in the early 1990's and began to use the plas- tic again two years ago. Yale bans Website *from posting notes Yale University has banned the popular lecture note Website, versitv.com, from posting notes from the classes of its professors. Versity.com said it plans to honor the university's request. Versity.com posts class notes on its Website from 150 universities nation- wide. Yale's director of public affairs Lawrence Haas said many professors did not like their material being used without their approval. The director of campus relations Janet Cardinell at Versity.com said 17 percent of Yale's students used the Website and the company had posted material from 37 percent of the class- es. - Compiled from U-tWirereports bv Daily Staff Reporter Robert Gold. Office tower sale raises $3.4M for research By David Enders Daily Staff Reporter It's not often the real estate market on the other side of the state has an effect on the University's medical research budget. But last weekend the University sold a 16-story office building it owned in Grand Rapids, netting $3.4 million. The building, originally owned by business- man and University alum Frank McKay, was willed to the University as part of a trust when McKay died in 1965. The University did not obtain full ownership until 1987. "Since that time, we have been looking at the market," said Norman Herbert, University assis- tant vice president and treasurer. He added that Building willed to University by former student in 1965 the University also made renovations to the building, in order to "enhance the saleability." The building is and has been occupied by many tenants since McKay owned it, mainly law firms. "The money will go in the endowment portfo- lio,' Herbert said. "The gift was designated (by McKay) to be used for cardiology, but it may be used for other research:" Herbert said it is common for alumni to will property to the University, putting the number of properties at approximately 30, located mainly within the state and varying in size. "They're dif- ferent parcels we've received over the years. Most of the property bequeathed to us is vacant an unimproved," he said, "Our objective is to sell. If we can, we do" Herbert added that it was unusual to receive a gift this large, in terms of monetary value or size. "We do not own another office tower of thi: magnitude,"he said. The building was purchased by a real estate. firm in Skokie, Ill. Jenny Shangraw of the Grand Rapids Chambe of Commerce said the sale is not likely to hav( any effect on the local economy because it i already occupied. But he indicated that the build ing may be affected by the changes occurinz around it in downtown Grand Rapids. McKay Tower stands on Campau Square, th( heart of the state's second largest city, the seen of massive redevelopment in the past decade. Maya Lin, the designer who created the Viet nam Veterans' Memorial in Washington, D.C., is currently redesigning Campau Square. I MSA meeting focuses on SAM HOLLENSHEAD/Daily The Michigan Dance team concludes their routine at practice last night in the CCRB. Dance team turns up athletic spirit. funding issue By Lisa Koivu Daily Staff Reporter Money matters topped the agenda of the Michigan Stu- dent Assembly last night as guest speakers and assembly members discussed everything from how the University sets its budget and tuition rates to the assembly's own bud- getary issues. Associate Provost for Budgetary Affairs Paul Courant spoke on the budget process at the University. Courant began by explaining exactly how the tuition rate is set each l year. "The budget cycle begins each year by asking each acade- mic unit how much money it will cost to do things and then we end up with a net increase of what is required. We look first to Lansing for support, and when we know the state t appropriation, the (University Board of) Regents cbntrol tuition," Courant said. "We try to keep this as low as possible. Last year tuition only went up 2.8 percent and we hope it will be similar this year," he added. Glen Roe, Budget Priorities Committee chairman, ques- tioned when the budget will be finalized for next year. Courant answered that the University wouldn't know any- thing about the budget until they have a good reading of what the state will do, which could be anytime from late May to mid-June. "However, there is not an actual budget until the regents approve it in mid-July," Courant said. Jeff Gerhart, the campaign director with the Ann Arbor Ecology Center also visited the assembly to ask for MSA to + support a resolution opposing the University's use and pur- chase of diesel buses. Gerhart suggested that the University currently uses diesel buses because they are cheaper than vehicles that run on alternative fuels and have proven to be reliable.j "This is a great opportunity for the University to take an easy step to get cleaner vehicles. MSA should support itl because the administration needs to hear from students and 1 others in the University," Gerhart said. SNRE senior Karen Knispel told the assembly that a clean car campaign will challenge car makers to meet a certain effi- ciency. "This resolution provides an opportunity to show the Uni- "This is th most money we've ever given away..." - Glen Roe Budget Priorities Committee chairman versity we care about the environment and global warming This will lead us down a more sustainable path in the future, Knispel said. LSA senior Kathryn Loomis added that the University would be the first in the state to take a stand on the issue of diesel buses. The assembly voted in favor of the resolution, which says the University "should commit to a full review of all availablk non-diesel bus technologies, including alternative fueled vehi- cles and commit to purchase no new diesel buses."' Roe gave the assembly a preliminary list of the funding BPC would be allocating this term, which totaled to S119,436. "This is the most money we've ever given away in a year. We are giving away 117 percent of the money availabk because not all of it gets picked up. This is one of the ways we've tried to make the funding process more accessible tc student groups" Roe said. The Community Service Commission also presented the assembly with their preliminary recommendations for student funds, totaling 540,000. Rodolfo Palma-Lulion, the Peace and Justice Commission co-chairman, called for $1,400 to be passed from the MSA's discretionary fund to P&J. "We're broke and we want to do things. $700 would be foi a newsletter to support activist groups, $500 would be emer- gency money for group actions and S200 would be for activist training" Palma-Lulion said. Assembly Vice President Andy Coulouris said he had a problem giving money to a commission and finding out what the funds would be used for after it had been spent for emer- gency group actions. "If they need the money, they can come to the assembly. i want to amend this to give P&J 5900 instead of S1400," he said. MSA voted to allocate $900 to the commission. By Tara Sharma For the Daily Shaking up the Maize and Blue pride at the University's sporting events, the Michigan Dance Team has stepped up activity this season by performing at all of the home men's basketball games. The dance team has been work- ing to get more visibility and respect, said team tri-captain Amy Lynne Friedman, an LSA junior. This year's team is a more solid part of Michigan's sports program. In the past the 18-member team, coached by Anne Marie Detkos, has performed at men's lacrosse games, men's gymnastics meets and a few men's basketball games - always during halftime. "Last year they didn't get much notoriety," said team member Brit- tany Johnson, an LSA freshman. This season they remain court- side throughout basketball games, making them an integral part of the game-day atmosphere. Tom Brooks, head of marketing for the men's basketball team, brought the dance team onto the basketball court regularly to raise the enthusiasm of the crowd in an effort to revamp the games. "I'm not surprised by the dance team's recent popularity. School spirit is really catchy here," said basketball fan Vidiya TR, an LSA junior. The men's gymnastic team and their coach Kurt Golder have also been very supportive, Friedman said. The gymnastics team has invited the dance team to perform at all of the men's gymnastics meets and Golder frequently attends basketball games to support them. "They bring a lot of excitement to our meets." Golder said. At the gymnastics events the dance team not only performs dur- ing downtime but also displays ath- letes scores. "There is nothing like having the best looking girls on campus flash- ing the scores," Golder said. The dance team's performances at the men's gymnastics meets were such a hit that other schools have followed in the University's lead. The University of Massachusetts and the University of Illinois have dance teams performing during down time at their home meets because they saw it at Michigan, Golder said. Friedman said this year the dance team has "made leaps and bounds." Johnson said one of the best perks of the team is the new family she has found. "I really love the team," Johnson said. "We are all like sisters." The team will also lend its spirit to the Greek Week events March 30 and at men's lacrosse meets March 31 and April 1. The mass meeting for dance team tryouts will take place March 27 and 28 at 6 p.m. in the lobby of the Intramural Building. "We are looking for people who have the potential to learn new things," Friedman said. "We want to make sure that we have a group of girls who can deal with change." Dems push for gun control laws Republicans stand strong in their opposition to tougher gun laws LANSING (AP) -- A week after a first-grader allegedly shot his classmate to death in a school near Flint, state House Democrats hoped the time was right to force a debate over gun control on the House floor. But Republicans controlling the Michigan House don't like the tougher gun laws called for by the Democrats and say they won't let Democrats "exploit" the issue by discussing them. Republican leaders in the House cut off a floor debate on gun control yesterday before it even started. When Reps. Laura Baird (D-Oke- mos) and Buzz Thomas (D-Detroit) yesterday tried to get their gun control bills out of the House committee where they have been held up for months and to a vote in the full House, Republican leaders refused to consider the motion. "I think they are ducking it because they are afraid of it," Baird said. "I think people really want this Legisla- ture to take some action." The Democratic legislation calls for trigger locks on guns, background checks on people buying guns at gun shows, raising the gun purchase age at gun shows from 18 to 21 and holding parents liable for their children's gun violence. Baird theorized that Republicany don't want the vote because they are afraid of repercussions in this year's election. But House Speaker Chuck Perricone denied that Republicans were afraid of the vote. Perricone (R-Kalamazoo Town- ship) said he would not allow Democrats to "manipulate the process" by pulling the bills out of committee. Committees usually must vote to send a bill to the full House or Senate before it can be taken up. But Demon- rats say the GOP committee chairman won't bring the bills up for a vote, s6 they were taking the unusual step of' trying to get the bills to the full House without a committee vote. rI I Correction: Sen. David Jaye was not convicted of drunk driving. This was incorrectly stated on yesterday's editorial page. THE CALENDAR What's happening in Ann Arbor today I te'~2~Q~ EVENTS Food Addicts in Recovery Anony- mous, public meeting for the 12- step program for recovering food addicts, no dues, fees or weigh. ins, First Baptist Church, 512 E. Huron, 10 a.m., 913-9614 * The Ten Million Mile Man, Spon- sored by Borders Books & Music,Bob LaPlante logged 10 million miles traveling 197 coun- tries, he discusses his travels and the famous people he met along the way, Borders on Lber- ty 7e pwm., 668.7553 SRehorm Cavurah Weekly Meeting, Sponsored by Hillel, weekly meeting ofdthe Reform Chavurah, will organize upcoming events and hang out, Hillel, 7:30 p.m. * Utopia Roaming Jess Dobkin, a New York artist, uses puppets and noon. 764-0351 U "Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory," Columbia University physicist Brian Greene discusses his book explaining superstring theory, that attempts to reconcile rela- tivity and quantum mechanics. University, Exhibit Museum, 1109 Geddes Ave., 4 p.m., 764- 0478 ® "20th-Century Korean Historiogra- phy: Reflections on the Emer- Sence of a New Nationalist istori oraphy," University Kore- an Stu ices Program, discussion by Mokpo National University Korean history professor Chan- seung Park, 1636 SSWB, 1080 Sout University, 4 p m.764- 1825 * "BIG, BIG LOVE: A Sourcebook on Se for Peonle of Size and Those American performs a memorial for Martin Luther King, Rackham Auditorium, 7:30 p.m., 764-0586 * Ann Arbor Juggling Arts Club, Every Wednesdayand Saturday jug- glers from beginners to advanced practice together, Eberbach Cul- tural Arts Building, 1220 S. For- est, 12 p.m., 913-831 * WRAP Night Washtenaw Rainbow Action Project, discussion of gay community topics, WRAP office, 325 Braun Ct, 6:30 p.m., 764- 2372 SERVICES * Campus Information Centers, 764- INFO, info@umich.edu, and www.umich.edu/-info on the World Wide Web *Northwalk, 763-WALK, Bursley Lobby, 8 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. - ~ ~ aAin g VL 'CC hnntrf the Office of nid ergraduate becomse ant Ambassador ai Anrnual Phonte to Your assistance is needed to recruit over 400 admitted underrepresented students. March 1-16 is the filial week of the Call Out 'a'-.