LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 1, 2000 - 3
MSA accepts committee nominations
Texas A&M to
end 93 year old
bonfire tradition
Texas A&M students will not build
a bonfire this year, a tradition dating
back to 1907. Keep the Fire Burning
announced last Friday it would not
build an off-campus bonfire because
of time restraints and insurance prob-
lems. KTFB formed after Texas A&M
President Ray Bowen banned the
Aggie Bonfire, an on-campus event,
in May for two years.
Last November, the bonfire struc-
ture collapsed, leaving 12 students
dead and more than 25 injured.
KTFB organizers said developing
an insurance plan took longer than
expected, adding that this left little
time to safely build the bonfire.
NIU suspends 20
for alleged hazing
Northern Illinois University sus-
pended about 20 students last week
after a fraternity member was tied
naked to a tree and rubbed with
human feces and urine.
The university's judicial office
banned students who took part or
watched th incident. NIU Judicial
Office Director Larry Bolles said
many students suspended expected to
graduate in December or had academ-
ic scholarships revoked.
Todd Mattran, a member of Kappa
Ensilon Gamma frternitv. was found
Wednesday tied to a tree, covered in
waste, outside his girlfriend's sorority.
KEG members said they did not
think their actions were wrong but
part of a tradition of fraternity mem-
bers showing their love for sorority
members, called lavaliering. The
sorority's vice president said Mattran
agreed to participate in lavaliering.
Penn State forces
removal of anti-
Republican sign
A Pennsylvania State University
student's sign was recently removed
from her residence hall window after
an administrator complained it was
offensive.
Freshman Lavinia Lindsay said her
sign, "The road to hell is paved with
Republicans," should not have been
taken down because of her First
Amendment rights.
Lindsay's residential adviser Alicia
Krupa said she was following orders
when she told the student to take the
sign down. Krupa said she personally
had no objection to the message.
According to an Penn Stat RA hand-
book, a special committee is supposed
to decide when signs can be forced
down. This particular case was not
brought before the committee.
Penn State Director of Residence
Life Gail Hurley said if complaints
are made against a sign, it does not
mean the university can take the sign
down. She said further investigation
was necessary to deem whether the
sign would be returned to Lindsay
UC-San Diego
races for money
University of California at San
Diego students, faculty and alumni
raced last week to raise money for
undergraduate scholarships.
The fifth annual Chancellor's 5K
challenge brought about 1,000 partici-
pants looking to beat San Diego
Chancellor Robert Dynes. Dynes and
This wife, Frances Dynes-Hellman,
-donated S25 for every person who
bested him and for every woman who
beat Dynes-Hellman.
Dynes placed 123rd and Dynes-
Hellman finished 22nd among
women. The event raised about
S178,000, an increase of $20,000
from last year.
-Compiled by Daily Staff
Reporter Robert Gola
from U-1Wire reports.
By Jane Krull
Daily Staff Reporter
Although a motion at last week's meeting
failed to require all members of Michigan
Student Assembly to dress in costumes for
their meeting on Halloween, Vice President
Jim Secreto celebrated the holiday by wear-
ing pink wings and a rhinestone tiara at the
meeting in the Michigan Union last night.
Even with the festive spirit, the assembly
discussed student group allocations and nom-
inations from Campus Governance.
During constituents' time, Dance Marathon
Executive Director Vikram Sarma addressed
the fact the Budget Priorities Committee has
not yet finished allocation funds to students
groups.
"This strongly affects student activism on
this campus," said Sarma, an LSA senior.
"Student groups don't have the money they
need to put on their programs."
The hectic schedules of the BPC members
is the reason the allocations were later than
usual, BPC Chair Siafa Hage said.
"We had trouble getting together due to it
being a busy time of year due to mid-terms,"
Hage said, adding that the allocation recom-
mendations are now finished and available at
the MSA Website.
Hage said there will be efforts to address it
at next week's meeting.
In committee reports, External Relations
Committee chair Sarah Pray asked for the
participation of the assembly in the Associa-
tion of Michigan Universities Conference
that the University will be hosting Nov. 18
and 19.
Public universities in Michigan were invit-
ed to attend - all have confirmed, except
"We had trouble getting together due to it being a
busy time of year due to midterms."
- Siafa Hage
Budget Priorities Committee chair
Wayne State University.
"The main goal of the conference is to create a
lobbying platform to get Michigan students' con-
cerns voiced in Lansing," Pray said:
The assembly also unanimously accepted
campus governance nominations last night.
"The nominations appoint student mem-
bers to various campus committees," Campus
Governance Committee Vice-Chairwoman
Liz Mullane said.
"We had a large number of applicants this
year and had to choose between many quali-
fied students."
Any University student could have applied
to be nominated to the committees through
an online application, Mullane said.
Student General Counsel Alok Agrawal, ran
last night's meeting for the third week in a row -
not MSA President Hideki Tsutsumi.
Tsutsumi said he might return to his role as
chair as soon as next week.
"I learned the specifics on how to run the
meetings," Tsutsumi said. "I feel comfortable
taking back my role."
I I
Planning the charge
Hopwood awards
offer money, prestige
By Jen Fish
Daily Staff Reporter
Aspring authors or just poor college students
who have a way with words can find extra cash at
the University through the English Department's
Hopwood Program.
But those looking for the easy money should
beware - former Hopwood winners are a presti-
gious group, whose company includes playwright
Arthur Miller and "Big Chill" director Lawrence
Kasdan.
The Hopwood Awards were established
through a gift from 1905 alumni and playwright
Avery Hopwood. Under the terms of his will,
one-fifth of Hopwood's estate was given to the
University to encourage creative work in writ-
ing.
First awarded in 1931, the awards give out
about S100,000 every year, Program Associate
Andrea Beauchamp said. There are three Hop-
wood contests - the Graduate and Undergradu-
ate Hopwood Contest, the Summer Hopwood
Contest and the Hopwood Underclassmen Con-
test.
The Underclassmen Contest deadline is
Dec. 7 and interested students can visit the
Hopwood's Website for manuscript require-
ments.
Each contest is divided into different writing
categories, including short story and essay writ-
ing.
While Hopwood winners like Elwood Reid,
author of the Michigan football team novel, "If I
Don't Six," have gone on to professional writing
careers, many Hopwood winners have been tu-
dents who simply like to write.
Students do not have to be English concentra-
tors to enter, as long as they have been enrolled
in a writing course in the past year.
"You don't have to be an English major and
you might have a more interesting slant if you
haven't," Beauchamp said.
Some winners have been not even been full-
time students. Two women in prison taking corre-
spondence courses through the University have
won the prize.
In addition to the Hopwood Awards, the pro-
gram also gives out a number of other fellow-
ships and other writing awards. Some of these
include a number of poetry contests with prizes
up to S250.
The Sweetland Writing Center is offering a
new S1,000 prize to undergraduate students.
Funded through a gift from the Contempo Com-
munications Foundation for the Arts, the Call-
away Prize has been established in the memory
of community activist and columnist Mary Lou
Callaway.
More information on the Hopwood Program is
available at wiwt.lsa. umich.eda/english/hop-
wioo/hopiw'ood.htm or by calling the Sweetland
Writing Center at 764-0429.-
NORMAN NG/Daily
Devon Tvaska, a graduate staff assistant for the Michigan Marching Band, helps coordinate the
bands' moves during practice at Elbel Field.
WRITE FOR THE DAILY
CALL 76DAILY OR
STOP By 420 MYNARD ST*
Family leads pro-
voucher fuin
with $4.5 milo
m
/- j
49 ! JJJ s
drew bill
barrymore Murray
LANSING (AP) -- Members of
the DeVos family have contributed
more than a third of the S12.9 million
raised by the pro-voucher Kids First!
Yes! campaign but other well-known
business executives also have stepped
in to help fund the campaign, accord-
ing to campaign finance reports.
Amway Corp. President Dick
DeVos and his wife Betsy, former
chairwoman of the state GOP, are
among those leading the effort to
pass the statewide referendum on the
Nov. 7 ballot. The measure would
require poorly performing school
districts to offer vouchers that stu-
dents could use at private or
parochial schools
Among the largest Kids First! Yes!
contributors are Dick and Betsy
DeVos, S550,000; his parents,
Amway Corp. co-founder Richard
DeVos and his wife, Helen, S2 mil-
lion; and her mother, Elsa Prince, S2
million.
The group opposing vouchers, ALL
Kids First!, has raised S5.3 million
over the course of the campaign,
according to records filed Friday with
the Michigan Secretary of State's
office. Teacher unions and school
administrators are among the group's
most generous supporters.
Among those contributing the most
to ALL Kids First! were the Michigan
Education Association and National
Education Association, which have
given about S5.4 million combined.
The Michigan Association of School
Administrators gave at least
SI95,000.
Besides getting help from the
DeVoses, the pro-voucher campaign
has received large donations from
Wal-Mart heir John Walton, who con-
tributed S2 million, and Domino's
Pizza founder Tom Monaghan, who
gave S-50,000. Amway co-founder
and Chairman Jay Van Andel donated
525,000.
Catholic dioceses across Michigan
also contributed heavily. The Archdio-
cese of Detroit gave about Sl.5 mil-
lion, the Diocese of Lansing donated
nearly S445,000 and the Diocese of
Saginaw contributed S 156,000.
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THE CALENDAR
What's happening in Ann Arbor today
EVENTS
Michigan Roundtable Meeting,
Topic: Affirmative Action, 5:30
p.m., Michigan Union MSA Cham-
bers, 615-CM SA
Community Service Commission
Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Michigan
9614
Judy Collins Storytelling, Songs and
Signing, 6:00 p.m., Liberty Bor-
ders, 668-7652
Ann Arbor Support Group, 6:30
p.m., First Baptist Church, 512
E. Huron, Room 102, 973-0242
Meal and Discussion, 5:30 p.m.,
ty, 764-0351
Self-improvement Reading Group,
7:00 p.m., Barnes & Noble, 3245
Washtenaw, 677-6475
SERVICES
I Campus Information Centers, 764-
DfllyD'/D
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