LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Monday, January 22, 2001- 3A
*CAMPUS
Erasmus U. law
prof. to lecture
on global society
The University of Michigan Center
for International and Comparative
Law will hold the first of two discus-
sions titled "Topics in International
Law" today from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. in
.1524 Rackham.
In the discussion, Mary Footer, an
Erasmus University at Rotterdam law
professor, will speak about "Rethink-
ingthe Concept of Culture in Global
Society."
Footer's talk will be in 118 Hutchins
all. The event is free and open to the
public.
Journalists to read
their latest works
The University English Department
will hold a presentation included in its
Visiting Writers Series at 5:00 p.m.
hursday in Rackham Amphitheater.
41Miles Harvey and Michael Paterniti,
two freelance journalists recently fea-
tured in National Public Radio inter-
views, will read from their new books.
Harvey will read from "The Island of
Lost Maps," his look into the high-
stakes underworld of map thieves.
University alum Paterniti will read
from "Driving Mr. Albert," his story
of a road trip with a pathologist who
is carrying with him samples of
lbert Einstein's brain. Paterniti's arti-
es have been published in Rolling
Stone Magazine, The New York
Times Magazine, Details and Esquire.
The event is free and open to the
public.
Qing dynasty, early
20th Century fiction
subject of talk
The University's Center for Chinese
Studies will hold a Brown Bag Lec-
ture tomorrow from noon until 1 p.m.
in room 1636 of the School of Social
Work Building at 1080 South Univer-
sity Avenue.
Visiting Prof. of Asian languages
Alexander des Forges will talk on late
Qing and early Republican fiction.
This lecture is titled "Inventing the
stallment Plan: Simultaneity, Frus-
Wation, and Excess at the Turn of the
Century."
The lecture is free and open to the
public. Cookies and coffee will be
served at the event.
Nobel Symposium to
discuss laureates
The University Center for the Study
Complex Systems will present the
second half of the 5th annual Nobel
Symposium on Thursday from 4:00
p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The first half took
place Jan. 11.
Three University scholars will dis-
cuss the work of one of this year's six
Nobel laureates. Physics Prof. Jasput
Singh will speak on Zhores Alferov and
Herbert Kroemer. Chinese languages
arid literature Prof. Yi-Tsi Feuerwerker
will speak on Gao Xingian. Another
*eaker, who is yet to be announced,
will speak on Alan Heeger, Alan Mac-
Diarmid and Hideki Shirakawa.
This second half of the sympo-
sium will be at 231 West Hall. This
event is free and open to the pub-
lic.
Reading features
'U' writers' work
The University English Department
will present the second of two nights
in its Mark Webster Reading Series at
$ p.m. Friday. Jan. 12 was the first
night in the series.
The event will include readings of
original poetry and fiction by Univer-
sity instructors and graduate stu-
dents.
.On Friday, instructor Eileen Conner
will read her poetry and instructor and
or Mojo's Almanack e-zine editor
tz Swanson, a self-described "post-
mddern feminist Longfellow," will
read his fiction.
The event will be held in Rack-
ham West Conference Room and is
free.
- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
Whitney Elliott.
Chinese prepare to celebrate New
Year
By Maria Sprow
Daily Staff Reporter
While Americans spent the last half of Decem-
ber in preparation for the upcoming new year, the
Chinese have only begun. Starting Wednesday,
many Chinese will take three days off to cele-
brate their new year.
"In China, people congratulate themselves on
the New Year," Chinese studies Prof. David Rol-
ston said. "Traditionally, there is a creature called
the Nian that eats people. If you manage to
escape it and make it to the new year, *you
deserve to be congratulated."
This year, the Chinese New Year falls on Jan.
24, according to the Western calendar. According
to the Chinese, it is the beginning of the year
4699, not 2001.
The date of the Chinese New Year varies every
year because the Chinese follow a lunar calendar,
unlike the Western calendar. New Year's Day is
always the day of the new moon.
Last year the' Chinese New Year fell on Feb.
5th.
Traditionally, New Year's festivities lasted 15
days, with an emphasis on family and friends.
Fireworks, which are believed to scare away evil
influences, are also a big part of the New Year's
celebrations.
"It was a process of going to visit other people
and paying their respects," Rolston said.
Other Chinese traditions include buying cere-
monial door gods and a kitchen god. Door gods
are draped over the external doors of people's
homes to protect them; kitchen gods act like
spies on the household. The Chinese put honey
on the lips of the kitchen god so they can only
say sweet things about the household, Rolston
said. Kitchen gods are later burned to signify
their departure and return to heaven. Money is
also burned for traveling expenses.
Students in Ann Arbor might not be able to
participate in all of the traditional Chinese cele-
brations, but they still celebrate the New Year.
The Main Street Area Association is holding
its 9th annual Chinese New Year celebration Sat-
urday. The celebration starts at I p.m. at Champi-
on House Restaurant on Liberty Streets, when a
large, traditional Chinese dragon will walk down
Fourth Avenue and Main, Liberty and Washing-
ton streets, blessing stores as it goes by. It also
features calligraphy artists and paper cutting
demonstrations.
The Chinese Students and Scholars Associa-
tion is hosting a celebration party on Sunday in
the Michigan League. The festivities include a
fashion show, a Peking opera, a dance party,
Chinese movies and a video of the New Year's
Eve festivities that will happen tomorrow in
China.
"This is the biggest holiday in China and
every family will buy something to celebrate the
coming new year. They will dress in new
clothes and eat the best food. The kids like it
because they get money from parents," said
CSSA President Weiguo Zhang, a University
graduate student.
Unlike Western astrology, which is based on
30-day intervals, the C(hinese zodiac is based on a
12-year cycle of 12 different animals. The
incoming Chinese year is the Year of the White
Snake. The snake comes from an ancient Chinese
tragic love story between a man and "Lady
White,' which originated around A.D. 618. Last
year was the Year of the Dragon.
According to the zodiac, the Year of the Snake
is a year of preparation for potential hardships
and difficulties. To overcome hardships, it's
important to remain close to friends and family
and keep focused on goals, the Chinese zodiac
says.
Many students said they won't make any pre-
dictions about the upcoming year.
"I have no idea what to expect," Zhang said.
Student drops from running
for open city council seat
By James Restivo
Daily Staff Reporter
When LSA senior Chiddima Ozor heard about the
vacant seat on the Ann Arbor City Council, she applied
with hopes of giving back to the city where she has spent
her entire life.
"I was interested in doing a little more for the commu-
nity - and this was a means for me to do it," Ozorr said.
"I didn't feel like I was a part of the place where I had
grown up."
Ozor asked Thursday to be dropped from considera-
tion for the Ward V council seat because she said her
current status as a student would hamper her ability to be
an effective city council member.
"Since I'm a student, taking a full load, I stepped out
of the race," Ozor said. "The position could easily turn
into a 20-30 hour a week job and it wouldn't be best for
the city if I stayed."
Although Ozor isn't being considered anymore, she
brought important student issues to the proceedings,
including parking, affordable housing and the coopera-
tion between the city and the University. "There needs to
be more communication between the University and the
city," Ozor said. "There is not enough understanding or
accommodation specific to students."
Ozor and eight other residents went through intensive
questioning last Tuesday by the city council and again
from community members on Thursday.
Remaining candidates are Augustine Amaru, Jean
Bogan, Willie Cambell, Susan Crabb, Angela Jackson,
Ira Mark, Rebeckah Warren, and Wendy Woods. All are
residents of Ward V, which includes downtown Ann
Arbor and the western parts of the city. Susan Pollay,
interim public information officer for the city of Ann
Arbor, said the candidates offer a wide range of opinions
and experiences for council to choose from.
"We hada pretty exciting array of people," Pollay said.
"There are many topics that have a great bearing on stu-
dents and the community."
Issues such as underground sewage, the State Street
renovation and parking may be looked at in the next year,
Pollay said.
Council members face the decision of choosing some-
one for the vacant seat who will sit until elections this
November. Jean Carlburg (D-Ward III) said the council
"will have no difficulty" choosing a well-qualified
replacement from the applicants.
"I was very pleased that they all had a lot of experi-
ence in the community," Carlburg said. "We just need to
figure out what's the best choice for the city."
Councilman Joseph Upton (R-Ward II) said last week's two
and a half hour questioning gave him a very good feel for the
candidates because none focused on only a single issue.
"We have to try to evaluate if they are qualified and if
they have a strong background in community service,"
Upton said. "We need someone who would represent that:
ward well."
Ozor said the questioning was beneficial to her because it
taught skills she will need for her professional life.
"A lot of students are ill-equipped for the length and
the intensity of an interview," Ozor said. "There was no
way of knowing what they would ask - it provided me a
lot on an individual level."
The other eight candidates should find out by today
whether they have received the seat or not, Upton said.
"It's a tough decision, but.the council will choose a
good person - someone who will serve well."
The victor may be sworn in at tonight's city council
meeting, which starts at 7:30 p.m.
TOM LAN/Daily
Lady Liberty lies in a coffin in front of the Federal Building during the "Funeral for
Democracy" held Saturday to coincide with George W. Bush's inauguration in
Washington.
Local UGreen;s hold
demccratc uner al
duling inauguration
w U
By Stephanie Schonholz
Daily StaffReporter
At the same time George W Bush
was being sworn in as the 43rd presi-
dent of the United States in Washing-
ton, about 50 protesters held a "funeral
for democracy" in front of the Ann
Arbor Federal Building.
Demonstrators carried makeshift
signs reading "Democracy Where?"
and "Mourn the Death of the Truth"
while shouting "Hail to the thief'!"
and chanting "What do we want?
Democracy. When do we want it?
Around the time that Bush was plac-
ing his hand on the Bible, a protester
dressed as the Statue of Liberty inten-
tionally fell to the ground, mimicking
respiratory distress. Two "medics"
attempted to revive her, failed and laid
her in a wooden coffin.
Ryan Desana, a junior at Eastern
Michigan University, said "disenfran-
chisement began when only two par-
ties were able to debate" during the
campaigns.
The demonstrators advocated
what they called "instant runoff vot-
ing," or "allowing voters an oppor-
tunity to show their
support for the can-
didates they really
ted the prefer without
throwing the election
niding to their least favored
contender."
Id have The Huron Valley
Greens and the Uni-
versity Student
Greens stated in
-Justin Palk writing that "the
'arty member most outrageous dis-
e n fr a n c h i s e m e n t
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The rally,
organized by
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ley Greens and
the University
Student Greens,
intended to
make the public
aware of what
the protesters
said was the
downfall of
democracy in
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way our four
fathers woul
wanted it."
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this past presidential election. Rob
Haug, a second year graduate student,
as well as several other protesters said
they were furious with many aspects
of the 2001 presidential election.
"I'm not going to sit down and let
the election go the way it did," Haug
said. "Hopefully we'll change corpo-
rate involvement in future elections."
Justin Palk, a University alum and
member of the local Huron Valley
Greens, said he thought "there was an
insane amount of corporate contribu-
tions" funding the presidential cam-
paigns and said he believed "the
election wasn't handled the way our
founding fathers would have wanted
it."
occurred when the media, con-
trolled by the same corporate
donors, focused only on a short list
of approved issues and treated as
taboo many huge, crucial questions"
like trade policy, the drug war, wel-
fare reform and military spending.
The Greens said they hope the
future holds great change in our
election process including "unhook-
ing democracy from deadly infusions
of soft corporate money" and
"allowing all political parties freer
access to the ballot, to debates and to
the media."
The protesters also marched down
State Street, vocalizing the protest's
themes along the way.
Rangoon
A delicious creamy blend of crab & herbs in a crunchy shell
6
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