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NEWS: 76-DAILY
CLASSIFIED: 764-0557
www.michigandally.com

Thursday
November 8, 2001

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Soldiers
near key
Taliban
outpost
JABAL .SARAJ, Afghanistan
(AP) - The Afghan opposition
O claimed its fighters edged closer to
W the strategic northern city of
Mazar-e-Sharif yesterday,'and U.S.
special forces reported northern
alliance fighters on horseback
charged Taliban tanks and armored
personnel carriers.
Officials of the ruling Taliban
denied losing territory but
acknowledged fighting was intense.
In Washington, Marine Corps
Gen. Peter Pace said the fighting
south of Mazar-e-Sharif was "very
fluid" and that the opposition
appeared to be making progress.
Pace, vice chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, said of the alliance
fighters: "They're taking the war to
their enemy and ours."
Capturing Mazar-e-Sharif would
be a major victory for the northern
alliance because it would open sup-
ply corridors to neighboring coun-
a tries, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and
cut Taliban supply lines to the west
of Afghanistan.
U.S. bombers were also in action
yesterday across northeastern
Afghanistan, pounding Taliban
artillery positions near the border
with Tajikistan. Reporters at this
village 45 miles north of Kabul
could hear the roar of warplanes
and the thud of distant explosions
after sundown.
The private South Asia Dispatch
Agency also reported air attacks
around Kandahar in the south and
Jalalabad in the east of the country.
After 10 days of heavy air attacks
along the front lines south of
Mazar-e-Sharif, opposition
spokesman Ashraf Nadeem said the
northern alliance had captured Shol
Ghar district and that some opposi-
tion units were within 10 miles of
the city.
In Kabul, Taliban officials denied
losing Shol Ghar but said they were
rushing 500 fresh troops to front
lines south of Mazar-e-Sharif to
block the opposition advance.
The claims could not be indepen-
dently verified. The border with
Uzbekistan, 35 miles north of
Mazar-e-Sharif, is closed, and
Western reporters in northern
alliance-controlled territory more
than 150 miles to the east cannot
reach the area without crossing Tal-
iban lines.
However, reporters stay in daily
contact with commanders by tele-
phone.
Pace confirmed that U.S. special
forces teams were with opposition
forces near Mazar-e-Sharif "to help
in directing airstrikes."
The general said the American
soldiers reported cavalry charges,
with opposition fighters on horses
going against Taliban armor.
"These folks are aggressive," he
said of the alliance.
The commander of Shiite Muslim
fighters in the alliance, Mohammed
Mohaqik, said opposition officers
would confer over the next two
days on plans to capture Mazar-e-

Sharif without incurring large civil-
ian casualties.
President Bush launched
airst'rikes against Afghanistan on
Oct. 7 after the ruling Taliban mili-
tia refused to hand over Osama bin
Laden for his alleged role in the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the
United States.
Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban's
ambassador to Pakistan, reportedly
said yesterday that the Taliban will
never hand over bin Laden and will
* fight America if necessary for 100
years.
Zaeef made his comments dur-
ing a dinner for Pakistani editors in
Islamabad; one of those who
attended provided details on condi-
tion of anonymity.
Earlier, Pakistan told Zaeef to
stop using the Afghan Embassy in
Islamabad for propaganda against
any third country after a series of
news conferences in which he

Sky blue

edesco to
step down
as p rovost
Associate Provost for
Academic Affairs Paul
Courant to take over post
By Rachel Green
Daily Staff Reporter

Interim Provost Lisa Tedesco has
decided to step down after only two
months on the job, citing a desire to
devote more time to the search for the
next University president. Tedesco will
be replaced Jan. 1 by Paul Courant,
associate provost for academic and
budgetary affairs, said B. Joseph
White, who will become interim presi-
dent when Lee Bollinger steps down at
the end of the semester.
The change requires final approval
by the University Board of Regents at
its scheduled meeting Nov. 15 but is not
expected to encounter any opposition.
"I've been serving both as interim
provost and vice president and secre-
tary to the University, but I will go
back to my singular duties on January
1," Tedesco said.
"She put the University first again,"

Teaesco

White said, adding that Tedesco's deci-
sion to leave the provost's office was her
personal choice.
Regent Olivia Maynard (D-Goodrich)
said she believes Courant is an excellent
candidate for the interim provost posi-
tion and does not anticipate any dissent
among the other regents.
"I know Paul professionally....
When Nancy Cantor was provost he
worked on the budget and he's really
top notch," she said.
Cantor stepped down as provost ear-
lier this year to become chancellor of
the University of Illinois.
See PROVOST, Page 7A

JONATHON TRIEST/Daily

A sculpture outside the G.G. Brown Building on North Campus sits against the crisp, blue fall sky.


'

grading policies go- under review

By Shannon Pettypiece
Daily Staff Reporter

The question of whether it is appropriate for
University administrators to change students'
grades without the consent of the professor will
be discussed at the next meeting of the Universi-
ty's chapter of the American Association of Uni-
versity Professors this coming Tuesday.
According to a U.S. District Court ruling last
May regarding the University's Dental School, an
administrative change to a student's grade is not a
violation of the First Amendment rights of the

faculty member who assigned the grade as long
as the faculty member is not forced to change the
student's grade.
"If a grade is changed administratively as
opposed to requiring the educator to personally
alter the grade marking, then such a situation
does not rise to the level of a constitutionally pro-
tected First Amendment right' the ruling in the
case Yohn vs. Board of Regents stated. The case
involved an incident in which an administrator
overturned a failing grade a professor had given.
This ruling has caused the AAUP to become
concerned that professors will take their grading

less seriously, which could result in grade inflation.
Currently, when a student receives a grade they are
dissatisfied with, each college has a grievance proto-
col that students must follow. Colleges are recom-
mended to adopt a procedure designed by the Senate
Advisory Committee on University Affairs, which
suggests a faculty committee hear all grading com-
plaints. But not all schools follow this procedure.
"It really is an attempt to mediate, not change a
grade," said Donald Brown, former director of
the University's Center for Research on Learning.
"Generally the issue gets resolved there - the
student may go away dissatisfied, but if the stu-

dent then feels that they still have a grievance,
most of the colleges then have a procedure where
they then can appeal above the department."
While some schools have a faculty committee
that students go to when they are dissatisfied with
a grade, others schools, such as the Medical
School, send grade grievances to an administra-
tor who has the ability to override a grade issued
by a professor.
The AAUP also said it believes the faculty will
begin grading students more generously in order to
avoid any confrontation between the student and
See GRADES, Page 7A

How safe are campus parties?

By Jacquelyn Nixon
Daily Staff Reporter
Along with the increased freedom stu-
dents experience upon leaving home for col-
lege comes the often overlooked risk of
falling victim to the complications that can

arise from social drinking,
House and fraternity parties, an integral
part of weekend rituals at most universities,
bring risks such as alcohol poisoning, black-
outs and, as illustrated most recently at the
University, sexual assault.
Two freshmen have recently made allega-
tions that they were drugged and raped at an
unregistered party at the Beta Theta Pi fra-
ternity house.
The environment at house and fraternity

parties can be the most dangerous because
students are often deceived and believe the
party atmosphere is "safe," said Department
of Public Safety Lt. Joseph Piersante.
He said students are often unaware of the
type of alcohol in their mixed drinks or the
amount of alcohol they are drinking.
Awareness about alcohol at this time of
year is critical because many people are
encountering new social situations, Piersante
See PARTIES, Page 7A

emoods
affeced
by seasony
By Lisa Hoffman
Daily Staff Reporter

DAVID) ROCUHKIDJ/Daily
Washtenaw County Prosecutor Brian Mackie looks on at a
gun control debate yesterday as author John Lott speaks.
Frearm control
laws di*sc(.,ussed
By Shabina S. Khatd
Daily Staff Reporter
Yoshihiro Nishizaua said he is confused about the number
of people in the United States carrying guns.
"In Japan the regular person is not allowed to possess guns.
I have no idea why people in this country are allowed to pos-
sess guns, but maybe today I can understand."
This visiting scholar from Japan, along with about 130
other students and members of the University community,

The last leaves of fall continue to drop
onto the streets, signaling the need to
dig out hats, gloves and winter coats
from storage in preparation for the
freezing cold days of winter that lie
ahead.
For many University students, it also
means less productive days and increase
in time spent on the couch. '
"I get a lot more tired, and I get
crankier," said Nursing sophomore Eric-
ka Gess. "I don't want to do anything. I
just want to stay inside. My class atten-
dance drops about 50 percent."
LSA freshman Nick Rutledge agreed.
"When you go outside and your face

LSA sophomore Lauren Leyser sits under an umbrella yesterday. Many students report
feeling depressed during winter months.

Rutledge also said that earlier sunsets
cause him to get less work done in the
evening.
The seasonal mood change experi-
enced by many students resembles a
much more serious condition known as
seasonal affective disorder, a specific

low or depressed do not really have sea-
sonal affective disorder," said Ziad
Keonfol, the Medical School's director
of psychiatry . "It affects function and
shows a physical change in appetite,
weight, sleep, energy and motivation for
weeks or even months."


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