One hundred nine years ofeditornalfreedom
4 -Iqr
NEWS: 76-DAILY
CLASSIFIED: 764-0557
www.michigandaily.com
Tuesday
April 4,2000
.-
I
Michigamua debate
goes
nowhere
By Tiffany Maggard
Daily Staff Reporter
Out of sheer frustration, Native Ameri-
an Student Association member and Stu-
ents of Color Coalition spokesman Joe
Reilly ended a meeting the association
organized with members of the senior
honor society Michigamua.
The crowd of more than 50 Native Amer-
ican community members questioned
Michigamua members, LSA seniors Nick
Delgado and Rohith Reddy and Business
senior Doug Henry about whether their
r
Fans celebrate in the Cedar Park area of East La
MSU studen
By David Endors
and Raphael Goodstein
Daily Staff Reporters
EAST LANSING - A controlled sense of parn
moniurn ensued last night and early this morning
Michigan State University fans danced on cars
fireworks and clogged area streets to celebrate tI
basketball team's NCAA championship, replac
talk of last year's riots with talk of
school pride.
Police at Michigan State took
the same precautions for last
night's game that they did for Sat-
urday's semifinal, closing off
Streets -and having extra officers
on foot and horseback at the ready in case reve
got out of hand.
Officers closed the Cedar Village apartm
complex - where last year's riots were concent
ed - to traffic to allow students to party in
streets and stood by with video cameras in orde
"film whatever happens" Michigan State Dep
ment of Public Safety Capt. Tony Kliebecker s
during the game.
group would change its name.
Shannon Martin, student services associ-
ate at the office of multi-ethnic student
affairs, asked all of the people at the meet-
ing to raise their hands if they found the
name offensive.
Immediately, all hands went up in the
crowded meeting room at the Trotter
House.
The meeting turned from a discussion
about Michigamua and the changes it has
implemented, to a debate solely concerned
with the society's name.
"The name is racist," said Rackham stu-
dent Andrew Adams, a member of NASA.
Adams and other Native Americans at
the meeting said "Michigamua" is racist
because it was taken from a dead Indian
tribe.
Michigamua members said after rigorous
discussions with their entire group, they
decided not to change the society's name
for the time being.
Michigamua's representatives said they
did not know the name's origin and credited
alumni with three different inspirations for
the name.
Members said the Native American com-
munity members' concerns would again be
relayed to the group's full membership, but
the representatives could make no promis-
es.
Reddy said the name is part of the 98-
year history of the organization. Despite
fact that part of that history is tainted -
some of it remains very positive, Reddy
added.
"It's important to be reminded of the bad,
just as it is important to be reminded of the
good," he said.
Michigamua conducted the dialogue
process similar to the meetings along its
campus tour "Michigamua Live!" - by
simply taking questions from all people
attending.
Many individuals asked the Michigamua
members what changes it has made to the
organization.
Delgado, Michigamua's spokesman, said
in addition to repatriating all Native Ameri-
can artifacts found in Michigamua's meet-
ing space to their respective communities,
the group is working with its legal counsel
to demolish the current "wigwam" design
of the group's meeting space on the seventh
See MICHIGAMUA, Page 2
)LA- 'EFN
Smith, College
Democrats
rally support
JuN KRAFT/Daily
nsing last night after the Michigan State Spartans win the NCAA men's basketball championship in Indiana.
ts pour into streets after win
7But th& only thing that happened w.s aceebration
for Michigan State's first men's Final Four victory
since 1979, when Magic Johnson was a sophomore
point guard.
Students congregated to watch the game and filled
the Breslin Center before pouring into the streets and
jubilantly blocking traffic on Grand River Avenue,
campus' busiest thoroughfare as news helicopters
circled overhead.
Michigan State Trooper Lt. Tom Johnstone, who
headed the investigation into last year's riots, esti-
mated there were 15,000 people in Cedar Village,
far more than last year's total of 5,000 to 6,000,
when rioters overturned cars and caused more than
$200,000 worth of damage.
"This is by far a mellower crowd - there's not
even a comparison to last year," he said. Johnstone
said some there was some damage and "a few
arrests, but nothing serious."
"When you talk to students, there's a consensus
that last year was way too much," he said.
Michigan State spokesman Terry Denbow said he
agreed with that sentiment.
"I think that people won't do anything to detract
from the team, and that's a commitment," he said.
buL a jack of violence did not keep the crowd from
being rowdy - alcohol was an obvious part of the
festivities as some students streaked and people were
packed tight enough to allow crowd surfing.
"This is just like how I imagined Mardi Gras," said
Michigan State freshman George Raymond, who
partied with the crowd in front of the 7-11 on Grand
River Avenue.
The victory also instilled an enormous sense of
spirit in Michigan State students.
"1'm just so happy to be a Spartan. I'm bleeding
green and white right now," said Michigan State
junior Ujo Amama.
As of 4 a.m., there were no reports of any major
disturbances as crowds dispersed. "This is just nice
clean healthy fun - nobody wants a riot," Michigan
State junior Brian Webster said.
"Hopefully this will prove That we can be respect-
ful,' said Michigan State senior Adam LaCroix.
"Obviously this is a party school but I think we
learned our lesson from last year."
- Daily Sports Editor Jacob Wheeler contributed
to this report.
Inside: More coverage of Michigan State's win. Page 9.
By Jeremy W. Peters
Daily Staff Reporter
Considering that only 17 percent
of people ages 18 to 25 vote, cam-
pus political leaders attempting to
mobilize students to vote have their
work cut out for them.
State Sen. Alma Wheeler-Smith
(D-Salem Twp.), who represents the
University campus, is hoping to
work with the College Democrats
to motivate students
for this year's
upcoming elections.$ign;
"We're not reaching
young people andd
you're not reaching us College' Demo
in return,' Smith said. colecting sib
"We need to get some Alma Wheeke
excitement going." colege tuitio
One of the ways in proposal:
which she hopesto Today 3 p.m.
increase student
voter turnout is Uonsrr
through an August-Uonrbasem
primary absentee-
ballot drive. Fidhyowl
"The race is often
decided in August. If
people don't partici-
pate in August," she said, "they
have missed the opportunity to
make a choice."
This year's Michigan August pri-
mary will be held on Aug. 8 when
many University students will be
away from Ann Arbor. Smith said
she hopes the drive will motivate
students registered to vote in Ann
Arbor to vote by absentee ballot.
The University College Democrats
are focusing on voter registration dri-
ves to increase student political partic-
ipation in this year's elections.
"We'll be doing stuff in residence
halls, the Fishbowl and the Union and
we'll be having tables everywhere,"
College Democrat Vice President
Rebecca Perring said.
Both Wheeler-Smith and Perring
said their efforts to mobilize stu-
dents could be greatly hampered by
an act that prohibits people from
voting anywhere but at their perma-
nent address. The act is currently
the subject of an American Civil
Liberties Union lawsuit.
"We are hoping to get a good
decision," the senator said, "but we
are not going to promise anything."
"It was designed to disenfran-
chise students," she
added. "They are
iture trying very hard to
disperse (students)
V throughout the
:rats will be. state."
atures for Perring also
Smith's freeacknowledged that
ballot the act could hinder
the efforts of Col-
lege Democrats.
p.m. "it'seunfortunate
t because students live
most of the year at
5 - their campus resi-
dence. If that goes into
effect we will be doing
an absentee ballot
drive," Perring added.
Wheeler-Smith said she hopes
the Democratic platform, which
focuses this year primarily on edu-
cation, will attract students to the
party.
She identified smaller class
sizes, full funding for special edu-
cation classes, and free tuition for
students attending state colleges
and universities as cornerstones to
the party's education reform pro-
posals.
"We have added no new money
for K-12 education that would
make up ... for the shortfall in spe-
cial education," Smith said.
"As for free tuition," she added,
"I think that is a huge statement for
See SMITH, Page 2
Im I
hello Faz
travels on
Cli*nton s
* i
By Hanna LoPatin
Daily Staff Reporter
Days before President Clinton
embarked on his trip across the
Indian subcontinent of Asia last
month, Ann Arbor pizza store
Wner Faz Husain received a fax
from the White House asking him
to come along.
"I'm just a little pizza man. I'm
not Tom Monaghan," Husain said,
referring to the politically influen-
tial former owner of Ann Arbor-
'U'
engages in creativity
By Jeannie Baumann
Daily Staff Reporter
University President Lee Bollinger was one of several
administrators and professors who worked with crayons yes-
terday at an initiative called "Imagining Michigan: a cultural
caucus" in the Pendleton Room of the Michigan Union.
Artists, academicians and leaders of arts and humanities
organizations from across the state gathered to engage in
creative discussions of promoting the arts and humanities,
specifically taking an active role at a local level. The Uni-
versity co-sponsored the caucus along with the Michigan
Humanities and Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural
Affairs.
"To plan an initiative and to see a group like this come
together - not just talk about what culture means and
engage in a kind of creative play was pretty wonderful -
released a flood of energy," English Prof. Julie Ellison said,
who is also the director of the Imagining America, a nation-
al organization anchored in the University Office of the
Vice President for Research.
Bollinger said the University was dedicated to the initiative.
"We're really about trying to do interesting things to
inspire culture in the state," he said.
i_ L:1..,,..,. ..,, t 1 - A 4.1 - T T_.- «.4
JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily
Faz Husain, owner of Ann Arbor's Hello Faz Pizza, remembers his trip to India with
President Clinton last week, at his home in Ann Arbor.
between India and Pakistan over the
region of Kashmir.
"If this thing doesn't stop it
could be a World War III, that's
why the president went there,"
A year later, when Clinton
announced that he was taking his
first trip to India, Husain was one
of the 300 people to receive a paid-
for trip.
-I