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March 19, 2001
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By Carrie Thorson
Daily Staff Reporter
Michigan Student Assembly
lections are two days away and the
campus is covered with posters,
banners and chalked sidewalks
bearing candidate and party names
- and those don't come cheap. As
many candidates have seen, cam-
paigning comes with a substantial
monetary impact.
Candidates said they see party
affiliation as beneficial because a
team of people are working together
to get everyone's name out. Some
arties collect dues and subsidize that
with personal contributions. This
funds expensive items such as copies,
fliers candidates pass out, posters and
T-shirts.
"Party-wise we get a lot of sup-
port from people who aren't up for
re-election but who want to help
out," said LSA freshman Elizabeth
Edwards of the Blue Party.
* Final spending figures cannot be
calculated until the end of the cam-
paign, but right now the Blue Party
seems to have spent the most out of
all the parties.
"We've probably spent around
$3,000" said LSA sophomore John
Carter, Blue Party chair. Each candi-
date pays $40 in dues, and many add
to that for their personal campaigns.
"It's all personal money," Carter
said. "We work off no outside dona-
ons. '
Several candidates said they
worked over spring break to finance
their campaigns.
The University Democratic
Party collected $30 in dues from
it candidates, along with approxi-
mately $1,200 in personal contri-
butions from the presidential
See CAMPAIGNS, Page 7A
Investors
reassess
TOM LIN/Dily
LSA senior Tom Aronson moderates the MSA presidential debate last night involving Blue Party candidate Matt Nolan,
DAAP's Erika Dowdell and independent Hideki Tsutsumi. Michigan Party candidate Doug Tietz and Michael Simon of the
U-Dems also participated in the debate, although FRAT Party candidate Galaxor Nebulon was not invited.
stratie
* Online trading may
suffer after a bad week
on Wall Street
By John Polley
Daily Staff Reporter
In the face of steadily declining
stock prices, many students who
have entered the market with self-
managed online accounts are now
reassessing their investment strate-
gies. Lead by heavy losses in the
technology sector, the transition
from bull to bear market has left
many investors reeling.
"It's been terrible," admitted Busi-
ness junior Ashish Parikh. "I hold
biotech and Internet infrastructure
- stocks you really shouldn't be
holding right now. My experience
has been just like anyone else, it's
frustrating."
One of the central questions for
investment analysts is how online
investor behavior will change in the
wake of growing losses.
"The usual psychology is that peo-
ple are highly reluctant to sell stock
when they lose money," said Busi-
ness School Prof. Vikram Nanda.
"People have the expectation that this
is temporary, that it has to come back
up. It may not be rational, but that's
the investor psychology."
With the stock prices of many
online brokerages declining,
investors and analysts have also
questioned the vitality of online
investing.
"There is no evidence to support
the idea of a significant move away
from online investing," said Philip
Nunes, an Ameritrade representa-
tive. "Ameritrade had a 66 percent
increase in total accounts from Feb-
ruary 2000 to February 2001. This
FRAT
prdddotests snub at
MSA candidate debate
By Carrie Thorson
Daily Staff Reporter
To the surprise of other candidates and onlookers, uninvit-
ed FRAT Party presidential candidate Galaxor Nebulon
unexpectedly took the stage last night at the televised Michi-
gan Student Assembly presidential debate.
"We called ourselves the Friends Rebelling Against
Tyranny Party as a joke," said Nebulon, also know as LSA
senior Ryan Hughes. "We didn't think we would actually
have to do that. The moderators of this debate saw fit to dis-
clude me from this debate and make my voice not be heard."
Nebulon was not invited to the debate because last year
the FRAT party received less than 5 percent of the student
vote, said WOLV-TV General Manager Mike Sahnonowicz.
"They participated in the debate last year, and students
were not interested in what they had to say," said Salmonow-
icz, an LSA senior.
Nebulon, who said he was unaware that he was not invit-
ed, took a seat on the stage next to the other five presidential
candidates and agreed to observe without a microphone.
"He protested because the debate was held in a public
place," said Salmonowicz. "But it is our show and we do
make the rules;'he added.
This year marked the first time the debate was open to the
public, and the fifth year WOLV has televised the debate.
Few students, aside from party members and participants,
attended the event.
Nebulon spoke twice before leaving the stage -first to
See DEBATE, Page 7A
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past quarter was the company's third
best for acquiring new accounts."
"People have been predicting a
mass exodus to bricks-and-mortar
firms" said Marissa Hermo of Datek
Online, "but we haven't seen that.
Our funded accounts have risen by
100,000 between October of 2000
and February of 2001."
While the number of online
accounts remains steady, a number
of other effects of the recent price
declines have become evident. Trade
volumes, especially among casual
investors, have been on the decline.
"Less active investors are more
easily scared off, and our trade vol-
ume has decreased," said Hermo,
who reported a drop in trades per
See TRADING, Page 2A
Ann Arbor
chosen to
host UN
conference
By James Restivo
Daily Staff Reporter
Ann Arbor will be recognized at
tonight's City Council meeting as one
of six cities worldwide selected to host
a preparatory United Nations meeting
on sustainable living.
Last fall, David Konkle, energy
coordinator for the city, was told by
Mayor John Hieftje that the city had
been invited to submit an application
to host the conference, which will
address issues such as climate change,
water pollution and the retention of
natural spaces.
"Just being invited was great," Kon-
kle said. "I don't think any of us
thought it would happen."
Ann Arbor was chosen from 35
cities to be the North American host
for the International Council for Local
Environmental Initiatives. It is being
held June 20-22 to prepare for the
2002 World Summit on Sustainable
Development.
Ann Arbor beat out Seattle, Min-
neapolis/St. Paul and Berkeley, Calif.,
among other North American appli-
cants. The other meetings are being
held in London; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;
Johannesburg, South Africa; and
Hamilton, New Zealand. The sixth city
is still unknown.
Konkle said Ann Arbor is very for-
tunate to have this honor bestowed
upon it and received support from both
Conference inspires
healthcare advocates
Break time
Karen Schwartz
y Staff Reporter
In an effort to raise awareness of problems
and issues facing today's children, faculty,
staff, community members and students from
around the state gathered Saturday at the Law
School for the ninth annual Medstart confer-
ence.
The student-organized conference, titled "Edu-
cation: Enriching Minds, Opening Doors, Paving
Path to a Brighter Future," is designed to pro-
mote child advocacy and educate participants on
children's issues
The program featured speakers and work-
shops on topics ranging from health to educa-
tion, in which professionals offered ideas and
solutions to current problems.
Author Alex Kotlowitz, the keynote speaker,
addressed racial disparity and socioeconomic sta-
tus, and speaker Jeanne White-Ginder, mother of
the late AIDS activist Ryan White, spoke about
her son's story and the problems she had with his
school system.
"They invited me to this conference, which is
focused on the child, to share my story, the Ryan
White story, because of the discrimination
against children with AIDS and other diseases,"
White-Ginder said.
Program organizer Heh Shin Kwak said this
year's Medstart conference was important
because there are so many different facets to rais-
ing children.
"When you look at a child you're not just
looking at one aspect, you're looking at many
facets and you have to consider all these dif-
ferent people who influence them," Kwak
said.
Kwak said the conference was a rare
opportunity to bring together a diverse group
of people who influence children and provide
a forum for them to discuss and learn about
the issues.
See MEDSTART, Page 7A
Engineering senior Gary Wu finishes up his weekend with a game of billiards last night at the
Michigan Union.
Professors bemoan race portrayals in media
By Mara Sprow
Daily Staff Reporter
The media's portrayal of race and identification
was the topic of the weekend-long "Race and
Media: Persistence of Stereotypes, Prospects for
Pange" symposium, brought to campus by the
ommunication Studies department.
Professors and researchers from around the
country --including the University of California at
Los Angeles, Penn State University and the Uni-
versity of Arizona -- visited Ann Arbor for the
event and contributed to the diversity of lectures
presented throughout the weekend
"It's almost apparent that someone at the networks is
doing a head count, or face count, to avoid criticism,"
- Bradley Greenberg
Michigan State University professor
Bradley Greenberg, a professor at Michigan
State University, later lectured on minorities repre-
sentation in television.
Greenberg said the misrepresentation of minori-
ties affects minorities more than it affects whites
because minorities spend 30 percent more time
watching television than the 20-30 hours white
Americans spend every week in front of the televi-
sion. He added that while blacks are misrepresent-
ed, they are not underrepresented.
"It's almost apparent that someone at the net-
works is doing a head count, or face count, to avoid
criticism'" he said, addressing the fact that the per-
centage of black faces on TV represents the per-
remains a highly segregated society,' Traugott said.
"We work together but do not live together."
Traugott said the media's representations of
minorities promotes misunderstandings.
"The media plays a very important role in per-
petuating stereotypes and in inventing stereotypes,"
world."
Oscar Gandy, a communications professor at the
University of Pennsylvania, addressed several
problems found in television, the dot-coin revolu-
tion and advertising.
"The new media is supposed to be something
I