NEWS: 76-DAILY CLASSIFIED: 764-0557 www~michigandaily corn One hundred ten years ofeditoriafreedorm till Tuesday October 10, 2000 Abraham- Stabenow race picks ftp. tempo By Jeremy W. Peters Daily Staff Reporter Polling in recent weeks has shown Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Spence Abraham with a notable edge on challenger Debbie Stabenow - a r.that has C M A G intensified C M AG campaign ing~ 2000 on both sides. ___________ Although some polls have put Stabenow - a U.S Representative from Lansing - either slightly behind or even with Abraham, most independent polling in recent weeks give the senator a notable edge. "One thing I know is true is that *re ahead in this race," Abraham spokesman Trent Wisecup said. "If you look at credible independent sur- veys then you'll see that Abraham is ahead in all of them. It's fair to say that Sen. Abraham has consistently been ahead by 10 points in recent polls." The Stabenow campaign isn't pub- See SENATE, Page 7 gu 7 t eeilty in charges of dinking From staff and wire reports One former and two current Michi- gan basketball players entered guilty pleas yesterday to charges stemming from their arrest in suburban Detroit on Sept. 4. geshmen Avery Queen and Bnard Robinson both pled guilty to being minors in possession of alcohol. The two 19-year-olds agreed to pay $150 in fines, Nicholas Roumel, the players' attorney, told The Associated Press. Kevin Gaines, who Michigan coach Brian Ellerbe dismissed from the team for repeated violations of team rules, also entered a guilty plea for having an unlawful blood See BASKETBALL, Page 7 @;:: I :: I MINOR MINI '" moss"2171-71 = I ' suspends alleged pedophile By David Enders Daily Staff Reporter A pre-trial hearing has been set in the case of the University employee accused of having sexu- al relations with a 14-year-old boy. Brian Allen Reed, 34, will appear for a pre-trial hearing Nov. 14 in Washtenaw County Circuit Court. He appeared Friday for a preliminary hearing. According to the Pittsfield Township Depart- ment of Public Safety, officers found Reed and the 14-year-old boy in Reed's pickup in a Pitts- field Township park the night of Sept. 27. Both were unclothed when officers arrived. Reed has worked in the Office of the Dean of Students as coordinator of Student Organization Accounts Services since June 8, 1998. Scott Weinberg, Reed's lawyer, said the Uni- versity suspended his client without pay. Reed is free on a $25,000 bond that stipulates he may not have contact with anyone under the age of 18. University spokeswoman Julie Peterson said the University's policy of not discussing person- nel prevents her from disclosing Reed's status, but she did comment on the terms of his release. "The University is aware of the terms of his release on bond and is complying," Peterson said. Weinberg has officially been charged with three counts of third-degree criminal sexual misconduct, which involves penetration but with less coercion than first-degree criminal sexual misconduct.Wein- berg said Reed does not deny having sexual rela- tions with the boy, but said the boy deceived his client. "He readily admitted it, because the young man stated he was of age," Weinberg said. Under Michigan law, the minimum age for consensual sex is 16. Weinberg also said it was the boy who proposi- tioned Reed. "The young man asked my client to take him to the park." According to the Pittsfield Township DPS, Reed picked the boy up at the Meijer store on Carpenter Road the same night they were found together. The boy said Reed first approached him in the video rental section before the boy went outside the store, where Reed drove by three times before the boy accepted a ride. See EMPLOYEE, Page 7 SHOOT TO KILL Donor could face federal trial for pnce fixing By Lisa Koivu Daily Staff Reporter Retail mogul A. Alfred Taubman, one of the University's largest benefactors, has come under fire from the courts after allegations of price fixing surfaced involving the New York auction house he once headed. Taubman, who retired from Sotheby's auction house in February, may face federal charges for an alleged price fix- ing scheme since 1993 involving Sotheby's and Christie's auction houses - which control 95 percent of the market. Sotheby's Holdings Incorporated CEO, Diana Brooks, along with the auction house, pleaded guilty to fixing com- mission prices and fees last week. Brooks indicated that one of her superiors knew of the dealings. Taubman's Bloomfield Hills-based corporation manages and operates some of the nation's premiere shopping facili- ties. A University alum, Taubman has donated many large gifts to the University, the latest being $30 million given to the University's College of Architecture and Urban Plan- ning in June 1999, which led to the college's renaming in his honor. Judy Malcolm, director of development communications and donor relations, said Taubman's donations have benefit- ed many areas of the University. She said the nearly $37 million in funds donated over the years have benefited scholarships in the financial aid office, supported the College of Literature, Sciences and the Arts and lead to the creation of the Taubman Health Care Center and the Taubman Medical Library. Taubman is one of the key people under suspicion for price fixing at Sotheby's, although he has not been charged. University President Lee Bollinger said the University had no idea about the suspicions surrounding Taubman when the architecture and urban planning school was named for him. "The school was named before any of this became pub- lic," Bollinger said. "Mr. Taubman is one of the most gener- ous people ever in the history of the University. His $30 million gift is one of the largest gifts ever donated to a uni- versity and the largest ever given to a school of architec- ture." Bollinger said there is no indication that any of the money donated to the University was "tainted." See TAUBMAN page 2 I JEFFH UTViTZ/Uail Members of the Society of Assassins fire their Nerf guns as they gather last night at the Michigan Union to discuss future games. Campustan nss By Susan Loth Daily StaffReporter While walking back from a shower, LSA freshman Rachel Appelblatt thought she was safe - but she was wrong. Dressed only in a towel, Appelblatt was "stalked" and "killed" by an "assassin" - a member of the Society of Assassins. They have come to the University loaded with Nerf guns, foam bullets, strategy and a list of stu- dents to "kill" "I was still in my towel. What a horrible, although funny, way to die," Appelblatt said in a written statement. The society, currently boasting 113 mem- bers, is a new club comprised of students who participate in a "hunt and kill" type of game with foam "bullets." Students pick teams of five to work togeth-. er to find and kill assassins on other teams in the club. Participants choose their favorite Nerf guns to eliminate other players. The object of the game is to assassinate as many people as possible by shooting them with Nerf guns. Students pay $2 to partici- pate. The money is pooled into a jackpot and awarded to the last team standing. Although there are some safe havens, stu- dents can be shot almost anywhere at any- time of day. "There's a lot of paranoia when you walk through the Diag," LSA junior Adam Damerow said. "There are thousands of peo- ple and anyone could be in the game." See ASSASSINS, Page 7 3 Planting ideas Students forced to balance religion, class on holiday By Jacquelyn Nixon Daily Staff Reporter In addition to repenting, many Jewish students had breakfast, lunch and dinner on their minds as they broke the Yom Kippur fast last night. Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement, is the 10th day of repentance and is one of the most impor- tant holidays of the Jewish faith. Some students traveled home to celebrate the holi- day with family and for those students who remained at the University, on campus services ran through the weekend and yesterday. As a result of the holiday, many students in the Jew- ish community chose to take the day off from classes. Those students who aren't Jewish, like LSA sopho- more Laura Nussel, may have noticed a drop in yester- day's class attendance. "There was a significant drop in the group in my accounting class," Nussel said. "There are supposed to be 300 students but today there seemed to be a lot of room." LSA sophomore Jessica Ollendorff also noticed a drop in attendance. "My criminology discussion is more than half Jewish. I feel that (the University) should take heed to more different groups' religious needs. This is a really big holiday for the Jews," Ollen- dorff said. Nussel said, "I think it's a good idea to recognize more religions and observe not all the holidays, but the really important ones." The University policy on religious observances con- tains a clause that allows students to miss class if it conflicts with their religious holidays. University Dean of Students Frank Cianciola said "the University has come out in honoring students' religious celebrations." Some students have trouble getting excused absences from professors, said John Matlock, assistant provost and director Office of Multicultural Affairs. "They were instructed to talk to the department chair or instructor and it was always resolved." LSA freshman Sarah Kruman said that she experi- enced some frustration since she was going to miss all JEFF HURVITZ/Daily LSA freshmen Mike Seider, Nate Winter, Amy Jaick and Lance Emanuel look over a prayer book. of her classes. "One of my professors was discussing what was going to be on the midterm during the class I missed. Now I'm going to have to go out of my way to get the notes," Kruman said. Unlike Kruman, LSA freshman Brett Mountain has only experienced positive reactions to the holiday observance. See YOM KIPPUR, Page 7 Authors to read their work for students By Jackie Reitzes F'or the Daily Following the first installment of the series last month - a reading by J.D. Dolan from his memoir, "Phoenix, A Brother's Life," - poet Peter David- Reading on Thursday is English Prof. Richard Tillinghast, who teach- es, English 313 on Beat Generation works, offered this semester, and Eng- Southern voices such as William Faulkner, Robert Penn Warren and John Crowe Ransom. Growing up in the South and later attending Throughout the semester, mem-