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CLASSIFIED: 764-0557
wwwmichigandaily.com
Wednesday
January 31, 2001
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By Jen Fish
Daily Staff Reporter
Less than two weeks after the
announcement of its new seven-year,
$25 million Nike contract, the Universi-
ty has sent a letter to Nike expressing
concerns about labor abuses in a factory
listed as having produced Michigan
apparel
Located in Altlixco de Puebla, Mexi-
co, the Kukdong apparel factory is a
Korean-owned operation that employs
about 800 workers who primary pro-
duces collegiate sweatshirts.
Acting on worker complaints, the
Worker Rights Consortium, a student-
developed sweatshop monitoring orga-
nization, sent a fact-finding delegation
to investigate claims of worker abuse
for
facts.
and threats to worker's rights of free
association.
The WRC's preliminary report also
detailed complaints of workers being
fed rotten food, causing many to be sick;
workers being struck with hammers and
screwdrivers by supervisors; and chil-
dren aged 13 to 15 working more than
10 hours a day.
From Jan. 9-11, laborers staged a
work stoppage to protest the firing of
five factory supervisors who were fired
for attempting to organize a new union
for the workers.
During the fact-finding trip held from
Jan. 20-22, the consortium found that
the majority of workers were still not
back at work, said WRC Executive
Director Scott Nova.
See NIKE, Page 7
JEFF HURVITZ/Oaily
LSA seniors Jen Frink, Eva Frazee and Alissa Newman, LSA junior Alicia Gimenez, LSA freshman Julia Milne and LSA senior Laura Navarra dance yesterday in the
Michigan Union Ballroom as part of "UAC Attack." They are one of 17 student groups trying to arouse interest in the University Activities Center this week.
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By John Polley
For the Daily
Throughout this week, the 17 student groups com-
rising the University Activities Center are blitzing
4ampus sites with surprise performances and events,
despite the groups' recent concerns over internal
finances.
The "UAC Attack" is part of a greater UAC initia-
tive to increase name recognition for the group,
which has been expanding its programming substan-
tially over the past year.
UAC is an umbrella programming organization
formed to consolidate the interests of student-run
activities and host theater, dance, comedy, debate and
performances. It includes Amazin' Blue, Come-
dy Company, and the Michigan Pops Orchestra.
"We're operating on a higher level and with more
vade campus
committees than ever," LSA Senior and UAC Presi-
dent Jordan Litwin said of the expansion.
But the changes have not come without growing
pains. For years, the organization has operated with a
year-end budget surplus to guard against low return
income, but liberal budget spending has now forced
the organization to reassess the individual finances
of the member committees.
In a meeting held Monday, UAC announced wide-
spread budget cuts to the organization's groups in an
attempt to pull its year-end financial projections
from the red.
The cuts were an internal decision to impose fiscal
discipline on the organization, with the goal of pre-
serving UAC's long-term viability. Each committee
budget is to be cut by at least 7 percent, though some
committees will see more drastic reductions.
UAC. Vice President of Finance Jason
Wedlick stressed that the cuts were relatively
minor in nature, and had come as a result of
the organization's expansion.
"UAC is increasingly active this year," said
Wedlick, an LSA senior. "We have committees that
are around for the first time, and others that have
become more active."
Some committee chairs have had a less positive
reaction to the cuts.
Kinesiology senior Jeffrey Wank, committee chair
for UAC's Comedy Company and Laugh Track,
attributed UAC's budget problems in part to "a mis-
understanding of what the budget surplus was,"
resulting from "miscommunication last year and in
previous years"
One group, Laugh Track, has been rendered inac-
tive for the duration of the semester.
Despite the cuts, the festivities go on. Clad in
fatigues and bearing UAC-labeled gifts, the mem-
bers of the organization will continue their "attacks"
on campus sites, culminating Friday afternoon at a
public skate event in Yost Ice Arena.
BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daiiy
Ecology Prof. Burton V. Barnes, the 2001 Golden Apple Award winner, delivers his
"ideal last lecture" last night in Rackham Amphitheater.
Barnes delivers
his 'ide.al lcue
Engineers
question
fairness
Of code
By Carrie Thorson
Daily Staff Reporter
Making the grade'
Scores for different aspects
of Michigan government, as
reported by the Government
Performance Project in its
2001 report
Overall
Financial
management
Capital
management
Information
technology -'
Human.
resources
Managing for
results
State government
receives top grade
By Whitney Elliott
Daily Staff Reporter
By Hanna LoPatin
Daily Staff Reporter
Governor John Engler is not the
only one reporting on the condition of
the State of Michigan this week. Yes-
terday the Government Performance
Project released a study that ranked
Michigan among the three best states
in government management - a day
before Engler's State of the State
Address.
This is the second set of state rank-
ings published by the project. Michi-
gan garnered a B-plus in 1999, but
moved up this year to join Utah and
Washington with an A-minus, the
highest rankings given thus far. Michi-
gan was the only state to rise to an A-
minus, Utah and Washington
maintained it from the 1999 study.
"Michigan has done quite well and
we have recognized that," project
director Dale Jones said. "There will
be other states in the country looking
towards Michigan."
"Michigan is one of the best in the
nation when it comes to managing
state government and getting results,"
Engler said in a statement released
yesterday. The ranking "reflects the
See GRADES, Page 7
It wasn't the familiar lecture last
night at Rackham Amphitheater.
There were no notes taken, no dis-
cussion on any texts and no newspa-
pers open in the back of the room.
But there was a man who had the
whole train scene from the Music
Man memorized. And he did take
time out of the lecture to take a bite
out of a juicy golden apple.
All eyes were on ecology Prof.
Burton Barnes, the 2001 Golden
Apple Award recipient. And all ears
were perked, listening to his ideal
last lecture, "What on Earth is Envi-
ronment?"
"You gotta know the territory,"
Barnes told a laughing audience.
"What is important today is to
change our understanding of the
world, to focus on ecosystems
rather than the individual species
that are a part of them," Barnes
said.
The Golden Apple Award honors
teachers who "treat every lecture
they give as if it were their last and
... inspire and engage students." The
award was created in 1990 by a
group of University students called
Students Honoring Outstanding
University Teaching.
Throughout the lecture, Barnes
emphasized the interconnection of
organisms.
People and plants are so intercon-
nected to their place in the environ-
ment that if you take them to a
different place, they behave like
they would at their home, Barnes
said.
SNRE senior Kim Pierce was one
of hundreds who attended the lec-
ture.
See APPLE, Page 2
Qjnlike exams in the college of Litera-
ture, Science and the Arts, during which
professors and graduate student instruc-
tors patrol the room, authorities imme-
diately leave the premises when
Engineering exams are passed out.
Instructors leave because of the
Honor Code that College of Engineer-
ing students have adhered to since 1915.
At every exam students sign a pledge
that says "I have neither given nor
r eived aid on this examination, nor
HInconcealed any violation of the
Honor Code."
Violations of the code are not limited
to peeking at answers on someone else's
test or copying homework. For some
professors, violations include working
together on homework assignments or
getting help from anyone other than the
class instructors.
Some students believe the College of
i neering is trying to "stunt their per-
sonal growth" and turn them into "her-
mits," but Engineering Junior Ted Way
said that's not the case.
Currently, the Honor Code is under-
going minor changes to make it more
relevant to students and easier to
uiinerctanl
Along the way
Senator makes bipartisan
effort for finance reform
By Hanna LoPatin
Daily Staff Reporter
State Sen. John Schwarz is establishing a
bipartisan statewide campaign finance reform
organization that will be running parallel with the
national package proposed by U.S. Sen. John
McCain, for whom Schwarz served as Michigan
campaign chairman during the 2000 Republican
presidential primaries.
The nonprofit group, which will be called
"The Campaign for Michigan," will focus on
three ways to clean up the system, Schwarz (R-
Battle Creek) said. He olans to orohibit elected
Schwarz said he would also like to put a stop
to money changing hands between legislators
who approach lobbyists and lobbyists who
approach legislators.
"The system is awash in money and it's not
good," he said.
Schwarz said another problem facing Michi-
gan is the use of so-called soft money-contribu-
tions from individuals, corporations and unions
to political parties.
"If we could get to a situation where we've
eliminated the worst in soft money and achieved
full disclosure (of funds), that would be tremen-
dous," Schwarz said.
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