One hundred nine years ofediton lfreedom
ar
NEWS: 76-DAILY
CLASSIFIED: 764-0557
www mlchigandaily.com
Wdneday
March 22, 2000
A 1 Y rr i t3 1 .
Smith
targets students for initiative
By Hanna Lopatin
Daily Staff Reporter
State Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith has taken
her campaign to get a collegiate tax credit
W the November ballot to a new place -
e inboxes of college students' e-mail
accounts.
CA M P A IG N In a letter
addressed to "E
Mail Constituents,"
Smith (D-Salem
Twp.) explains her
HELP tax credit as providing free tuition to
Michigan's public universities and communi-
colleges for "an associate and undergradu-
We degree for about 90 percent of
Michigan's residents."
The tax credit would apply to single filers
CHALK
Online polls
expected to
d l1 S
draw large
turnout
By Josie Gingrich
Daily Staff Reporter
Voting in student government elections offi-
cially started at midnight last night and the
Michigan Student Assembly is expecting
another record turnout.
"I think (turnout) is going to be pretty
high," MSA Elections Director Alok Agrawal
said. "There are more candidates than I've
ever seen before."
This year is the first time all voting will be
completely online.
Agrawal said since M S A
voting is online 1 ii
turnout should
improve immensely.
"It's a lot easier to
advertise for online;
voting," he said.
"You're just going to
a Website" instead of Vote today and
to a poll site. tomorrow at
But some students www.umich.edu/~
have expressed hesi- vote
tancy toward online
voting. LSA junior Justin Hovrath said online
voting raises concern for his voting privacy. "I
do agree that online voting improves the
amount of voters, but I'd have to be certain the
secrecy of the ballot is preserved," he said.
Students may have good reason to be con-
cerned. During last year's MSA presidential
elections, 71 fraudulent votes were cast on-
line, causing a delay in results as some affect-
ed students had to revote.
But this year, election officials have some
extra precautions.
"If a student receives a confirmation e-mail
See VOTING, Page 2
A2 senator aims for November ballot
with adjusted gross incomes up to $50,000
and joint filers with adjusted gross income
up to $100,000.
But before students can benefit from the
credit, the first step is to put it on the ballot
- a feat that is 355,000 signatures and two
and a half months away.
"It will be an uphill battle," said Smith,
who remains optimistic that she will get the
signatures by the May 31 deadline.
Bill Ballenger, a political analyst and
editor of Inside Michigan Politics, called
the prospect of obtaining enough signatures
in the short amount of time "absolute luna-
cy."
"I can't believe she is sending out some-
thing in March," he said. "It's not going to
happen."
Of the e-mail campaign, Ballenger said,
"It's OK as a supplement to everything else
you have to do, but by itself, its lunacy."
Smith said she is counting on 100,000 sig-
natures coming from college campuses
across the state.
"We are trying to get organization on each
of the campuses - focusing on the large
ones," she said:
Smith said she plans to officially
announce the petition drive during a press
conference tomorrow and then bring her
campaign primarily to Southeastern Michi-
gan - where the state's population is most
heavily concentrated.
As for the University, "There will be a
booth (on campus) for a week," Smith said.
LSA freshman Matt Nolan, a member of
the Michigan Student Assembly e-mail
group that was among the first University
students to receive the message, said he
had mixed feelings about the campaign
strategy.
"I'm slightly wary of it because they are
trying to get students the info without getting
students the info," he said.
Based on the information presented in the
e-mail, Nolan said, "It makes her look
extremely good in the eyes of students. Most
kids are going to think, 'Oh, college will be
free -we're going to like her."'
But Nolan said he doubts the intentions of
Smith, who has announced she will seek to
replace third-term Republican Gov. John
Engler in 2002 when he is forced out of
office by term limits.
"It might just be something to try to get
her in good with students," he said.
Originally, Smith said, she wanted the e-
mail to include the actual petition, but it was
too large to print on standard paper.
Supporters can request the petition or vol-
unteer to help at www.helpmichigan.com.
IT UP TO ELECTIONS
'U' prof. named
NCAA faculty
Rp. president
JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily
LSA sophomore Erin Reese, who is running for LSA Student Government Vice President for the Wolverine party,
chalks late Monday night. Voting in MSA elections started last night at midnight.
N w. e g G v
Newides, racticesa
alter campaign stylews
By Jen Fish
Daily Staff Reporter
University faculty member Percy
Bates was recently elected president of
the NCAA Faculty Athletic Represen-
tatives Association. Bates, a professor
in the School of Education, is the first
black to be elected to the position and
will serve a one year term.
"It's a real honor," Bates said. "I'm
delighted to be elected."
Bates was elected to the position by
his fellow faculty representatives at the
NCAA annual convention held in San
Diego this past January. Bates, who
had already served as president-elect
on the executive committee on FARA,
said his election wasn't surprising.
"I wouldn't say it was a surprise, but
more of a pleasant feeling in the sense
that this is really coming from your
peers," Bates said.
Bates currently serves as a member of
the NCAA Management Council and is
the University's athletic department fac-
ulty representative to the Big 10 Confer-
ence. While the level of involvement
varies from campus to campus, Bates
said his job is primarily to "provide aca-
demic oversight in the conference."
Bates said his position entails a
number of issues, including student-
athletes GPA requirements as well as
the impact of practice schedules on
their academic performance. Bates
said he and other faculty representa-
tives recently met to discuss NCAA
tournament scheduling and its impact
on student academics.
Faculty representatives are also
responsible for serving as a liaison
between campuses and the NCAA
when violations occur.
Associate Athletic Director for
Media Relations Bruce Madej
applauded the NCAA faculty repre-
sentatives' decision.
"Percy has done a great job as a facul-
ty rep - his peers recognize that"
Madej said. "We have a strong history of
faculty reps, and Percy is another one of
those strong reps. He really understands
the governance system of the NCAA."
Bates has been a member of the Uni-
versity's faculty since 1965. Some of
his other academic endeavors include a
tenure as Deputy Assistant Secretary
for Special Education in the Depart-
ment of Education in Washington DC
and Assistant Dean of the School of
Education. Bates also currently holds a
position as director of the Programs for
Educational Opportunities.
By Usa Kolvu
Daily Staff Reporter
With Angell Hall removed from the list of places
where candidates running in the upcoming Michigan
Student Assembly elections can post campaign fliers,
other buildings on campus are plastered and students
have busily been chalking, knocking on doors,
designing t-shirts and meeting as many students as
possible.
Perhaps one of the most visible campaigners has
been independent Presidential runner Hideki Tsutsu-
mi. He started campaigning last May, walking around
campus with a large sign advertising his bid for the
presidential seat.
"Two to three weeks isn't enough time for stu-
dents to get to know the candidates. Most people
know me now because I began so early," Tsutsumi
said.
Tsutsumi said if he wins, he will carry another
sign around throughout his term.
"I've spoken to many people who don't know
the name of the current MSA President. I want
people to know who I am so they can contact me
with concerns, so I will carry a sign around that
says 'Hi. Hideki is MSA President now."'
Elise Erickson, the vice presidential candidate for
the Blue Party, said outreach and talking to students is
important to campaigning.
"We will talk to any student who is willing to listen
to us or tell us what's important," Erickson said.
See CAMPAIGN, Page 7
m___mi
AAPD opens
branch on
MA
Maynard St.
By David Enders
Daily Staff Reporter
Aiming to bring the the Ann Arbor Police Department
closer to the community, the department officially
opened its fourth district office yesterday near campus.
Lt. Chris Heatley, the AAPD's director of community
operations, said the station, which is located on the ground
floor of the recently renovated Maynard Street parking
structure, is designed to make policing the city easier and to
make officers more accessible to residents.
The Downtown Development Authority built the space
for the department free of charge.
"We're really excited about it," he said. "Whatever we
can do to make ourselves more approachable. A lot of
time it's inconvenient for people to come to city hall."
History Prof. Sidney FRne speaks to students about American reactions to the
Holocaust yesterday in C.C Little.
Prof. explores U.
roleinHocas
By Charles Chen
Daily Staff Reporter
Although many students are able to
identify that the United States could
have been more involved in helping
Jewish refugees during the Holocaust,
in history" was "carried out by civi-
lized men in one of the greatest states
in the world"
During his lecture, which was a part
of the 21st annual Conference on the
Holocaust at the University, Fine said
that the anti-Semitic feelings within
MOR