One hundred ten years of editorialfreedom NEWS: 76-DAILY CLASSIFIED: 764-0557 wwwmichigandaily.com Friday November 3, 2000 F Pi ie '. L a3 ¢ ¢ : earing moved up in LSA Jawsuit Oral arguments for summary judgement rescheduled for Nov. 16 By Jen Fish Daily Staff Reporter * Oral arguments have been moved ,p to Nov. 16 for the summary judg- ment in the lawsuit challenging the use of race as a factor in admission to the College of Literature, Sciences and the Arts. The hearing will be held in Judge Patrick ON D ugg a n' s '~iA courtroom at- 9 a.m. in fed- al court for he Eastern District of Michigan, located in Detroit. Originally filed in October of 1997, this lawsuit and a similar one facing the Law School have been subject to numerous delays. A motion in September postponed the hearings from Sept. 18 to Nov. 21 due to an illness on the University's *-fense team. While University spokesman Julie Peterson said it was not clear why the hearing have been moved up, she said the University will be ready. "This is a small change in the schedule," Peterson said. "We've been preparing for many months and we look forward to the beginning of the process." Last spring both sides in the case bmitted motions for a summary 'dgment, which is a decision based on evidence presented to the court without a trial. If a summary judgment is not granted, the case is expected to go to trial sometime in December. The Washington-based Center for Individual Rights filed the case on behalf of Jennifer Gratz, who lieges that she was not admitted to e University because her spot was taken by less qualified minorities. The CIR also filed a case against the Law School on behalf of Barbara Grutter. The trial for the Law School case is still scheduled for Jan. 16, 2001. AMER ICAN WOMAN Candidates, supporters rally at Hill By Hanna LoPatin Daily Stafi Reporter Last night the backstage of Hill Auditorium was trans- formed into somewhat of a women's club. Congresswoman Lynn Rivers, State Rep. Liz Brater and other top Democratic Michigan female politicians greeted each other with hugs and kisses before a Democratic rally celebrating the 80th anniversary of woman's right to vote. At the head of the group was the mother of vice presiden- tial candidate Sen. Joe Lieberman, introduced to more than 1,200 people in the audience as 'Baba.' "I'm as proud as can be," Lieberman said before the event, as her daughters, granddaughters and great-grand- daughter chatted behind her. "I hope and pray that they will get in, because they will do a wonderful job for the young and the old and the those in-between." A survivor 1 of the Holocaust, Lieberman said she began voting as ,I soon as she was of age. Speaking on the low turnout of young voters, Lieberman said "I think the young folks are going to get out, I have con- fidence in them." CARRIE MCGEE/Daily The lone male in the parade of females to grace the stage U.S. Congresswoman Lynn Rivers (D-Ann Arbor) speaks at Hill Auditorium last night during a rally for the Democratic party that celebrated was actor John Cusack. the 80th anniversary of women's right to vote. See WOMEN, Page 7 lose races to determine size o Senate majon By Jeremy W. Peters Daily StaffReporter The plot of Michigan's highly competitive Senate race between Spence Abraham and Debbie Stabenow is being played out in several COUNTD other states, suggesting that when the new TO Senate convenes in January it could be operating on the thinnest majority in recent history. Republicans currently control the Senate with a 54-46 majority over the Democrat. This means Democrats need only gain five LL f seats to reclaim the majority they lost in 1994. But even Democrats acknowledge this will not be a sim- ple feat. "We need to flip five seats, and that could be a lot to do in a single year. but it's been done before," said David DiMartino, deputy communications director for the Democ- ratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "A bunch of close races will decide who has the majority. It's an outside chance. We're optimistic but realistic." Terry Holt, the Republican National Committee's Victory 2000 communications director, said he thinks the Democ- rats have an uphill battle ahead of them. "Obviously this is going to be a very close election for a lot of people ... but we are going into the weekend before the election very energized. It's very unlikely, at this stage, the Democrats will take the Senate," Holt said. Depending on what defines a "competitive race," seven GOP senators are considered at risk of losing their seats: See SENATE, Page 7 New KZvoters may face confusion U By Jeremy W. Peters Daily Staff Reporter Since Michigan residents must register to vote in the city listed on their drivers licenses, many stu- dents have changed their addresses to Ann Arbor but do not know where they should cast their ballot Tuesday. Couple this with one of the highest projected voter rn outs in the state's history, and the result could be omewhat chaotic come Election Day. Secretary of State Candice Miller released the state's official projected voter turnout numbers this week, and at 4.3 million, it is significantly higher than in 1996 when 3.9 million voters went to the polls. The figure is about the same as the number of Michigan voters who cast ballots in 1992. Michigan Student Assembly's Voice Your Vote commission, which registered more than 6,000 peo- ple to vote in Ann Arbor in the past year, is express- ing concern that some students may run into difficul- ty when they try to vote. VYV Chair Shari Katz cited the fact that some of the voter registration forms could have been illegible or contained mistakes -- factors that could inhibit some from receiving their registration cards in the mail. "If students registered to vote in Ann Arbor and have yet to receive their voter registration card they can call the City Clerk's office ... and the Clerk will take their word for it that they registered before the deadline," Katz said. Considering that many newly registered voters have never voted in Ann Arbor before, many may not know where their polling place is located. Interim City Clerk Yvonne Carl said those unclear as to where they vote should either call or stop by her office before Tuesday to avoid any confusion. Carl said her office has been swamped during the past few days with voter registration concerns. "We're just making sure the kids know where they need to go before they vote. It's much better if they call now because on Election Day they may not be able to get through," Carl said. The tightness of the presidential and senatorial races, combined with a high projected voter turnout in Michigan should crowd the polls. The secretary of state's prediction was based on these two factors and more. "In this case Michigan is ground zero," secretary of state spokeswoman Liz Boyd said. "We looked at particular circumstances of the election such as this but we also look at turnout in similar elections." But previous data suggests that an election this close should have an unusually high turnout. In 1960, the closest presidential election before this year, Michigan experienced a 96 percent turnout among registered voters. This year the secretary of state is predicting 63 percent of its registered voters See VOTERS, Page 7 DAVID KATZ/Daily A former gang member and his friend stand outside of Pinball Pete's on South University. Arcade managers enforce a dress code to eliminate gang-related clothing. City Successful idn ]crbngag rel;ate,d activities No. 12 MICHIGAN VS. SN WESTERN Ryan Field, Evanston 3:30 pm. tomorrow ABC THE OPPONENT: IS rviinas the dark horse of the Big en NorThwestern plays host to Michigan tomorrow at Ryan Field. TOMORROW: Michigan is coming off a bye week and is still on line for a share in the Big Tern title. It will have to deal with scrambling QIR Zak Kustok and TB Damien Anderson. Students wa ed no By Caitlin Nish to study in Mieas By Jodie Kaufman Daily Staff Reporter Recent clashes between Israelis and Palestinians have prompted concern over the safety of American students in the Middle East and the future of college study abroad programs there. The University of Michigan does not sponsor study abroad programs in tant director for the Office of Interna- tional Programs. But students coming to OIP for study abroad information are advised to not travel to Israel, Pollack said. "We discourage them from going, at least in the current-period," Pollack said, "but we encourage students they can apply on a conditional basis, in case the current conditions change." Ac of nnwr~ PrAl'Inr,nidA"the citii Daily Staff Reporter Teenage patrons of Pinball Pete's arcade on South University Avenue say that it is not uncommon for a manager of the game hall to ask them to turn the brims of their baseball caps around. When employees of Pinball Pete's tell patrons not to wear their hats cocked to one side, they are enforcing the arcade's dress code aimed at elimi- nating all gang-related clothing and paraphernalia from the arcade. Pinball Pete's dress code is a reminder that affiliations with gangs or with o~in nfmmhershin exit in Ann specialist, said the first step to fighting gang activity is publicly declaring that there is a problem. "Back in 1994,.we publicly came out and said we had a problem with gangs in the city," she said. EI-Ayoubi added that after the pub- lie declaration, the police department worked with local schools, neighbor- hood community watches and local businesses to stop all gang activity. "We have very little activity now, but we still have some. It's very mini- mal," she said. El-Ayoubi attributes the decrease to city-sponsored education on gangs and additional activities available for young people in Ann Arbor. El-Ayoubi participates in the Gang Reistaince- Fduicatioin and Traininoy I I I I r