LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, April 11, 2000-3
CRI ME
Students rush to file taxes amid exams
Patient hears
voices, threatens
*nurse at hospital
A hemodialysis patient at Univer-
sity Hospitals threatened a nurse
Thursday night, according to
Department of Public Safety
reports. The patient, who said he
was "hearing voices," was gone
upon the arrival of psychiatric care
providers.
Signs stolen from
*Med Center area
Numerous street and traffic signs
were stolen from the Medical Cen-
terarea early Saturday morning,
DPS reports state. Four no parking
signs were removed from the
ground and one stop sign was miss-
ing. DPS did not report having any
suspects.
*Research subject
bites employee
A dog being used for research bit
a University employee in Medical
Science Building I on Friday
evening, DPS reports state. The
employee received treatment at the
University Hospitals' emergency
room.
Unknown person
*uses ATM card
A woman reported that an
unknown person used her ATM card
without her permission Thursday
afternoon, DPS reports state. The
card was used at the University Cred-
it Union machines in the Michigan
.Union and Pierpont Commons. DPS
does not have any suspects.
*Woman injured in
fall at Stockwell
A female subject received medical
treatment at University Hospitals
after she fell and struck her head at
Stockwell Residence Hall on Satur-
day night, DPS reports state.
Fire alarm pulled
*at Grad Library
An accidental fire alarm was acti-
vated Saturday morning at the Har-
lan Hatcher Graduate Library, DPS
reports state. A DPS unit responded
and reset the alarm, and there was
no report of any suspects.
Trespasser found in
Stockwell lounge
A man unaffiliated with the Uni-
versity was found in a Stockwell
Residence Hall lounge Thursday
afternoon, DPS reports state. The
man was advised of trespassing
laws and escorted from the building.
Security officers
stop gas theft
University Hospitals security
gents detained a earful of suspects
after the owner of the Marathon Sta-
tion at Maiden Lane and Broadway
accused them of stealing gas. None
of the suspects had any outstanding
warrants.
A report onwthe incident was filed.
Packages stolen
from West Quad
* Several packages were stolen at
West Quad Residence Hall on
Thursday night, DPS reports state.
DPS has no suspects and the con-
ents of the packages were not
reported.
Trash can found
smoldering in Arb
A 55-gallon plastic trash recepta-
cle was found smoldering in
ichols Arboretum on Thursday
morning, DPS reports state. The
fire melted the plastic container and
burned itself out before being
found.
- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
David Enders.
By Jodie Kaufman
Daily Staff Reporter -
While many students are trying to figure
out which classes to CRISP into and how to
pull another all-nighter to study for their next
exam, they may overlook another concern -
getting their tax forms completed by the fed-
eral deadline.
Although some students are fortunate
enough to have their parents take care of their
financial statements, many must learn to deci-
pher their 1040s from their W-2s on their
own.
"My parents do it for me, which is OK for
now, but next year I will have to do it on my
own," LSA senior Erica Riddle said.
Unfortunately, neither students nor anyone
else cannot avoid paying taxes.
But Certified Public Accountant Mike
Raham of Weidmayer, Schneider, Raham and
Bennett in Ann Arbor said students "should
sit down. and gather all their tax documenta-
tion."
"I really haven't got any magic," Raham
said.
This year, taxpayers have two extra days to
get their completed forms to the IRS, since
the annual deadline of April 15 falls on a Sat-
urday.
Without an extension, all forms must be
postmarked by midnight Monday, Sutter said.
CPA Frank Sutter recommends that stu-
dents speak with their parents before filing
for dependency.
When a student earns less than $4,300,
there is a $2,750 deduction,. Either the parents
or student can file for this, Sutter said,
"One person can take a Social Security
number for dependency only," Sutter added.
With the deadline less than a week away,
many students seem to be on top of things.
LSA senior Nick Farr said he has been
completing his own taxes since he was 18
years old.
He said he now turns to the Internet for
quicker completion.
"I did my taxes on the Web, and they have
most of the information from last year, so I only
had to answer a few questions," Farr said.
Michigan Treasury Department spokes-
woman Bridget Medina said one third of tax-
payers have filed their returns online this year.
"It makes a huge difference. You can get
refunds in about seven days, versus eight
weeks for a paper copy," Medina added.
"Most software has error checks, which is
much more convenient, and helps avoid more
delays," Medina added.
Online forms for electronic filing are avail-
able through many tax preparers and a list of
Michigan's accountants who offer this service
is located at www.treasurv.state.mi.us.
So far this year, Medina said about 2.5 mil-
lion of the 5.5 million taxpayers in Michigan
have turned in their tax forms.
"Historically one million people turn them
in on the deadline," Medina said.
MeCain voters in no rush
to side with Gore or Bush
ROSEVILLE (AP) - Cast adrift by
John McCain's failed candidacy, many
of his supporters say they're unenthu-
siastic about the remaining presiden-
tial candidates and in no hurry to side
with somebody new.
In interviews from Missouri to New
Jersey, McCain backers said they
admired his Vietnam War record and
his promise to scrub the political sys-
tem.
Many knew little else about the Ari-
zona senator, but that hardly mattered.
He has become, in a sense, a political
mirage dancing in the eyes of voters
thirsting for alternatives after the pri-
maries narrowed their major-party
choices to Republican George W. Bush
and Democrat Al Gore.
"I can't listen to Gore; he's too bor-
ing. I can't vote for Bush; he's too
shifty-eyed," said Karen Morley, a hos-
pital administrator eating lunch at a
diner in the Detroit suburb of St. Clair
Shores. "McCain has got to be better,
but I'll probably end up settling for
Gore."
After he left the race with seven pri-
mary victories, McCain's supporters
became a major target of both Gore
and Bush. Mostly independent-minded
voters, McCain backers could be piv-
otal in what is expected to be a tight
race.
Recently, for example:
A month after quitting, the Ari-
zona senator scored about one-fifth of
the GOP primary vote in Pennsylvania
and Wisconsin, two key general elec-
tion states.
a McCain was favored more than
Gore and Bush by voters who describe
themselves as uncommitted in a hypo-
thetical matchup of congressional can-
didates,
McCain still gets major news
coverage, as when he campaigned
over the weekend for Rudolph Giu-
liani in the New York Senate race
and said in a speech at Columbia
University yesterday that Hillary
Rodham Clinton would be a star in
the Senate but is just too liberal.
Candidates nationwide are clamor-
ing for his help this summer.
Seven months before the election,
The Associated Press interviewed
self-described McCain backers in
five states that analysts say could
determine the election: Illinois,
Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and
New Jersey.
Amy Schumacher of St. Clair
Shores was sitting on the ledge of a
cement planter outside a mall in
Macomb County, a swath of blue-col-
lar Detroit suburbs that swing between
Democratic and Republican presiden-
tial candidates. She had purple-tinted
sunglasses, fingernails painted in 10
different shades and a coffin-shaped
purse.
"He was an original like me, I
think," she said of McCain. "He
seemed to be his own man."
McCain voters say they plan to take
their time deciding on a candidate.
And many urged him to withhold his
endorsement of the fellow Republican
Bush, the Texas governor.
"It would look like he's falling into
the political scene," said Mike Wescott
co-owner of the Goal Line bar in East
Stroudsburg, Pa.
"I would rather see him work in
the Senate and campaign for other
Republicans rather than standing
there shaking hands with Bush,"
Wescott said.
Mindful of the sentiment, McCain
and Bush are tiptoeing toward a recon-
ciliation after their primary battle.
A few self-described McCain sup-
porters said they backed Ross Perot or
other third-party candidates in the
past.
MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
Ann Arbor resident Abby Schlaff discuss their 14 day School of America fast
in the Henderson Room of the Michigan League.
1anationalp itest
By Josie Gingrich
Daily Staff Reporter
Orange, apple, kiwi strawberry
and grape juices are among those fill-
ing the stomachs of four protesters,
who are in day six of a 14 day juice-
only fast. The fast is aimed at attract-
ing attention to the highly criticized
School of the Americas.
The nationally organized protest is
sponsored locally by the Interfaith
Council for Peace and Justice, which
is planning events for each of the 14
nights of the protest.
Four community members are fast-
ing in protest of SOA, a United States
military school based in Columbus,
Ga., which trains officers of Latin
American armies. Protesters claim
SOA graduates have been responsible
for thousands of civilian deaths in
Central and South America.
Local fasters gathered last night in
the Michigan League's Henderson
Room to hear a Colombian speaker
talk about the political situation in the
South American nation.
Despite the fact the speaker was
not able to attend, fasters presented
their case to the audience and
focused particularly on the atroci-
ties that have occurred in Colum-
bia.
"Columbia, by most people's
analyses, has the current worst
human rights situation in the hemi-
sphere," said fasting participant
Abby Schlaff, an Ann Arbor resi-
dent and University alum affiliated
with Amnesty International. "More
labor organizers are killed in
Columbia than the rest of the world
combined."
"It's an evil, bad thing," Schlaff
said. "Even though the situation is
very complicated, at some level, it's
very simple. A small number of peo-
ple control a large number of
resources. The U.S. has always stood
on the side of those who have every-
thing."
Protesters spoke of the impor-
tance of expressing public officials
to government officials, even
though the requests often fall on
deaf ears.
"There's a pattern present here that
nobody in power wants to see, said
Jim Kalafus, an Ann Arbor resident
who is participating in the protest.
"The American people don't want to
face up to what happens in the rest of
the world"
Schlaff said legislators are in
denial about the purpose of the SOA.
"You have to think they're lying to
us or they're lying to themselves,"she
said. "They maintain the School of
the Americas can be reformed and it
was never that bad."
Protesters also emphasized the
importance of vocal protest.
"We all have to speak out and say
this is ridiculous," Schlaff said. "All
of us have a voice and we need to
speak out."
Four members of the audience
were Colombian citizens who were
hoping to hear the speaker, identified
only as Pedro, talk about the current
status of their home country. Instead
they talked about their own situation.
"In Columbia we have fear to
talk," Ann Arbor resident Jose
Penaranda said. "We are in the mid-
dle of a war. We don't know what to
do or where togo"
Penaranda spoke of being trapped
for 16 hours in a battle between the
guerrillas, composed chiefly of drug
traffickers and the United States sub-
sidized Colombian army. But he said
many people have the wrong impres-
sion of Colombians.
"People think all Colombians are
drug traffickers," she said. "But
Colombia is full of good people."
THE CALENDAR
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
EVENTS
Hebrew Table, Sponsored by Hillel,
Middle Eastern, North African
Studies and the Department of
Near Eastern Studies, lecture by
Ursula Dreibholz, department of
Groupe de Francais, fluent French
speakers to speak French, Cafe
Zola, 112 W. Washington. 7:30
p.m., 996-1848
I
i
Now."