LOCAL/STATE The Mchigan Da y - Wednesd ay November 10, 1999 - 3 HIGHER EDUCATION Police arrest 20 at GWU in sex gsting operation Police at George Washington University ended a two-week under- cover operation Friday when they barred 20 men from campus for solic- iting sex in the bathrooms of Marvin Center, a university building. The university police began the sting operation after learning of a posting in the bathroom of the Website www.cruisingforsex.com in 9ctober. Keith Griffiths who created the Website said the bathroom at George Washington University have been "sexually active for decades." Administrators are considering mak- ing the bathrooms accessible only to tfidintQ with an idenifiontion card Minorities at Penn State get hate mail 0At least 68 black and Latinoa stu- dents at Pennsylvania State University received anonymous e-mails express- ing racial slurs and racist messages. The e-mails were traced to a computer in the Philadelphia area. The message came from an account titled "the patriot," and was also sent to The Daily Collegian columnist Laura Hennessy in March. The FBI is working with Penn State *olice and the Penn State Network Security Office in investigating the e- mails. Students protest dismissal of TA More than 200 University of South Florida students flooded the school's administrative offices last week protesting the school's ,deci- ion to remove t4aching assistant Derek Washington, who showed a photograph of himself having sex to an art class he taught. The dismissal was prompted by a letter a parent sent to administrators in October, calling the photo and other works he showed in class as "smut. The university is making an infor- mal inquiry into the possibility of Washington sexually harassing stu- dents in the class with the photo. The 252 students in the class decid- ed to storm the university's adminis- trative offices after they found out class was cancelled due to Washington's dismissal. Princeton dean recommends %lternative to A+ Princeton Dean Nancy Malkiel is proposing that the grade A+ be replaced with A*, an A with distinc- tion. The Committee on Examinations and Standing recommended the change to remedy an "inequity" that exists between students in depart- ments that often give A+'s and those that don't. Along with the A with distinction, *structors would write "a distinction statement," that students could use for graduate school and job applications. But students expressed concerns that instructors would be reluctant to give A's with distinction if it requires a written statement. Texas passes deal for student loans 0 Last week the state of Texas passed Proposition 13, granting the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board permission to issue up to $400 million in bonds for student loans to residents of Texas. The bonds will be a part of the Hinson-Hazelwood Loan program, which provides more than $900 mil- lion in loans to low and middle income Texas residents enrolled in olleges. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Jewel Gopwani from U-wire reports. Party ties have little impact in assembly By Jeannie Baumann Daily Staff Reporter Although more than half the candidates for the representative seats in the Michigan Student Assembly fall elections are running with a political party, party affiliation generally has little impact on how repre- sentatives vote once the assem- bly is in session. "I vote how I feel my con- stituency would want me to vote," Law third-year student Jasmine Abdel-Khalik said. "I think everybody does." Abdel- Khalik was elected as a member of the Defend Affirmative Action Party last spring. But Abdel-Khalik noted that her constituency elected her M S xi3 .tix rnM "When I vote on a resolution, it's what I gen- uinely believe in and it's usually the same as DAAP's political platform. But the whole party doesn't vote together," Dowdell said. LSA senior and MSA Rep. Peter Handler, who was a Blue Party candidate last spring, said "I don't think there's really a party system except during elections" Handler said he does not take party affiliation into consideration when voting. "If I think it's a good resolution and it's going to accomplish something, then I'll vote for it. It can't just be catchy; it has to be effective as well," he said. MSA President and Blue Party mem- ber Bram Elias said representatives should prioritize constituents before party affiliation. "I think the goal is that (political par- ties) shouldn't have any effect at all. Any MS \ member who doesn't think for themselves whenev- er we make a decision isn't really doing their job right," Elias said. He added that, overall party affiliation has not obstructed the assembly's ability of proceeding through business during its meetings. "By and large, we do a very good job of check- "Any MSA member who doesn't think for themnselves whene ver we make a decIion isn't really doing their job right - Bram Elias Michgan Student Assembly President ing pre-conceived notions at the door," he said. MSA Vice President Andy Coulouris said party affiliation plays a meaningful role when the assem- bly initially goes into session but fades within a few months. "The party you run with will dictate who you asso- ciate with immediately, but in the long run, it makes no differnec," Coulouris said, addig that some of h.s lo. est iiends on th a'. mblv are people who ran with differen: partis Idunng the spring elections MSA Rep. and LSA sophomore Kym Stewart, whose yearlong term ends this month, is cur- rentlv running for re-elect ion an indepIndent candidate, but ran with the Students' Party last fal. "Being an independent, I really only have to answer to my constituents," Stewart said. "You don't have to xote along party lines or politics. If a party doesn't come through in its campaign promises, tlhere's no individual to pinpoint. This way, l'm con emplet el accountable for what I do," she said. But representatives noted that there were some adv antages to running with a party. "Ii's a lot easier to run with a group, and it makes campaigning a lot of fun," i andler said. E[ias noted that party aifiliation is a better indi- ation of efficacy than political perspectives. "Being in a party is a good w av to share attitudes. i doesn't mean that you agree on everything; it just means that you think all ot you can do the job,' he s'aid. MSA 'Citions are set r Wedne'sday, Nov. 17 and Thursday, Nov. 18. based upon specific political ideologies, namely her support of affirmative action. LSA sophomore and DAAP member Erika Dowdell echoed Abdel-Khalik's sentiments. "Because DAAP has a political perspective and program, we take our perspective into considera- tion," she said, adding that her personal opinion and the official DAAP opinion often coincide. MSA dissolves Super fan task force; makes 14 appointments ALLISON CANTER/ODily University students participate in a panel discussion of Pakistani intergenerational issues in the Michigan League yesterday. r0 cutura sse, %is By Karolyn Kokko Daily Staff Reporter A group of students last night shared stories about religion, relationships and maintaining cultural ties to their native countries while at the same time taking on their American identities. The Michigan League hosted a panel discussion for the members of the Pakistani Student Association. The discussion was part of the League's semester theme of promoting cultural diversity. Patty Aquino, an LSA junior and employee of the Michigan League's Programming Office, said through activities such as the panel, the pro- gramming office hopes to increase "understanding of issues of different groups." Of the 10 people who attended the discussion, seven were PSA members. The panel started off formally, but soon after, everyone gathered in a circle for a more intimate discussion. One of the issues the panelist raised early on in the discussion was the defi- nition of culture. All of the student pan- elists have either lived in Pakistan or were raised by parents who had expressed different ideas on what cul- ture means. "To me, it's not the clothes we wear or the food we eat, but the idea that family is so strong," LSA junior Aroosha Rana said. Discussion surrounding the defini- tion of culture led to a talk about how the students' Pakistani backgrounds affect their lives. Most of the members of the group said they felt their parents were more strict than some of their friends' parents, whose families have lived in the United States for several generations. "In Pakistan, parents don't worry about the society around them because they are consistent with their (values), but here the values are different," LSA sophomore Muhammad Haseeb Saadat said. The group agreed that one of the major differences between American culture and Pakistani culture is the way dating and relationships are viewed in society. One member said although arranged marriages do not occur as often as in prior decades, they still are not out of the ordinary. PSA President Junaid Iqbal, an LSA junior, talked about how he has no choice but to marry someone who was Pakistani and Islamic, just like himself. "It's what I have to do," he said, adding that if he married someone with a different cultural background, his family would consider him an outcast. The panelists also discussed the importance of religion in their lives. Regardless of how much they practice tenets of Islam, it impacts all aspects of their lives, many said. "Islam is a way of life," Saadat said. One of the last topics discussed was the issue of assimilation. All of the students shared their experiences of adjusting to American culture, whether it occurred when they were younger, or after they arrived on cam- pus. LSA senior Adil Sommro shared one of his experiences with an American friend who Sommro said "assimilates a bit of his (or her) culture to you and you assimilate some of yours, so you can meet in the middle." After further discussion, Business junior Kamroan Parekh summed up the discussion by saying "A big part of intercultural interaction is making them feel comfortable." Students who are interested in issues similar to those discussed at the panel can contact Iqbal via e-mail at junaid@umich.edu. By Jeannie Baumann Daily Staff Reporter The Michigan Student Assembly unan- imously passed one resolution and 14 nominations during their weekly meeting last night in Bursley Residence Hall. The single resolution dissolved the assembly's Super Fan Task Force. "The task force was done, so there was no need to have it anymore," former SFTF Chair Jennifer Zorko said. "We originally created the task force to find a new Super Fan because (Jeff Holzhausen) graduated at the beginning of last year,"explained Zorko, an LSA sopho- more. When LSA sophomore Reza Breakstone fulfilled the position, Zorko said SFTF redirected its goals to build school spirit. The task force put its efforts into improving this semester's Homecoming, with events such as the StudenP-ts plan for prXottest By Jody Simone Kay and Shomari Terrelonge-Stone Daily Staff Reporters Twenty members of the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice met last night to plan their trip to protest the U.S. Army School of the Americas, alleging that hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been tortured, assassinated, raped and massacred by SOA graduates. SOA was founded in 1946 in Panama as a Latin American Training Center with the goal of promoting democracy and impeding drug traffick- ing between Latin American countries and the United States. It was later relo- cated to Fort Benning, Ga., in October 1984, where it became an official U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command School. Since 1946, SOA has graduated 57,000 Latin American cadets, officers and government civilians from 22 Latin American countries and the United States. ICPJ claims that the Latin American soldiers were trained by SOA to use combat skills, commando tactics, tor- ture techniques and military intelli- gence against civilians. Spirit X-plosion that took place on the Diag to kick off Homecoming Weekend. The task force also started Fxtreme Wolverines, a pep club for underrepre- sented sports. "Basically, SFTF oversaw all these events," Zorko said. But once the Extreme Wolverines became an indepen- dent student group, the goals of SFTF became obsolete. "We're going to be doing all the work that we have been doing, just without the SFTF," she said. The Campus Governance Committee also presented its final nominations for student representatives for various administrative advisory groups, such as the Information Technology Division Advisory Committee, the Senate Advisory Committee on University Student Affairs and the Budget Study Committee. These people can start sitting on com- minttees right away. The students and the advisory committees just need to be con- tacted," Student ceneral Counsel and CmC Chair Josh Trapani explained. City Liaison and LSA junior Marisa Linn also made .seven appoi ntments of stu- dent officers for onanizations of the Ann Arbor City Council. These organizations include the Human Rights Commission, the Housing Commission and the Domestic Violence Coordinating Board. Linn said these appointments are in the process of being submitted to the city, but the assembly's approval of these nomina- tions does not necessarily mean these students have these positions. "it originally sounded as if they wanted the students nominated. Now when positions open up, these names will be considered for appointment,' she said. Community members meet at the First Baptist Church yesterday to discuss an upcoming trip to Columbus, Ga., to rally against the School of the Americas. About 60 people from the Ann Arbor area plan to travel by van to Fort Benning to participate in the 10th annual protest of SOA during the weekend of Nov. 19 to 21. Toby Hanna-Davies, ICPJ director and member of the Ann Arbor City Council (D-Ward I), said she is protest- ing because, "the SOA should be closed. Our tax dollars as American citizens has been supporting atrocity after atrocity committed by people trained at the U.S. Army School of the Americas" Similarly, LSA Junior Jack Tocco said, "The major thing the protest aims on doing is consciousness raising so people know what their tax dollars are being used to fund." Some of those planning to attend the protest are currently involved in nonvi- olence training sessions to prepare for possible confrontations they may encounter during the protest. "We are not expecting violence. People who want to be nonviolent should prepare for it just like Martin Luther King organized nonviolent training for people who were nonvio- lently protesting in the Civil Rights Movement," Hanna-Davies said. Last year, SOA Watch, the primary national organizer of the movement against the SOA, estimated that 2,319 people attended the 1998 protests. This year, the organization anticipates 10,000 protesters. Part of protesting may involve "crossing the line" or entering the school's property. "It's a symbolic act. It's putting your body where your beliefs are," Tocco said. "It could land me in jail but my conscience feels so strongly about this. I. GROUP ME O Amnesty i Meeting, N Room, 8 p.i U Ann Arbor I Meeting , Welker R oo n nivarmift What's happening in Ann Arbor today ETINGS of Student Affairs, Angell Hall, begets change Room G115, 7 p.m. begets opportun nternational Mass J "Kristalinact Commemoration," Donald Norman, ichigan Union, Pond Sponsored by the Conference on MOCHI and t m g the Holocaust Committee and Speakers Comm tenants Union Mass M-Flicks, Michigan Theater, 7 School. Hale Auc Mic h ian Union, p.m. Dm, 7:36-9 p..' Seeking the Signature of Desire: SERVICES sr.adtcn+ Against Brain Imaging During Cue- begets crisis ity" lecture by Sponsored by the Students' ittee, Business ditorium, 7 p.m.