it lll One hundred eleven years of editorial/freedom ti NEWS: 76-DAILY CLASSIFIED: 764-0557 wwwmichigandaity.com Monday November 19, 2001 Vol CXI o, 3 reAbr,;iia' .-@001 The. ith.t a ITaliban offers to surrender Kunduz BANGI, Afghanistan (AP) - The Taliban offered yesterday to surrender their last northern stronghold if Arab and other foreign fighters loyal to Osama bin Laden in the city are spared, an anti-Taliban commander said. The northern alliance, meanwhile, agreed to a conference on neutral ground to plan a multiethnic government. The offer to surrender Kunduz came after U.S. bombers unleashed their heaviest strikes so far on the city. War- planes were also reported in action near the Taliban southern stronghold of Kan- dahar and areas of eastern Afghanistan where bin Laden is believed to maintain camps and hide-outs. In Washington, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said the advances on the ground were reducing bin Laden's room to maneuver. "We think that the more that we are stripping away his protection ... that we're begin- ning to narrow his possibilities for hid- ing," Rice told CNN's "Late Edition." Secretary of State Colin Powell said the northern alliance had agreed to take part in U.N.-brokered talks with other Afghan factions about forming a new power-sharing government in Afghanistan. The head of the alliance, Burhanud- din Rabbani, said Saturday his group supported such a conference but wanted it to take place in the capital, Kabul. The United Nations favors a neutral site. Following talks in Tashkent, Uzbek- istan, with U.S. envoy James F. Dobbins, the alliance's foreign minister, Abdullah, said the meeting "will be held outside Afghanistan," possibly as early as this week. That would represent a major conces- sion by the alliance, which clearly want- ed the conference to take place in a city under its control. Abdullah said some locations proposed by the United Nations "were acceptable to us," citing Germany, Switzerland and Austria. "It is my understanding based on the discussions we had today that the issues of venue and timing of such a meeting are agreed," Dobbins said. The United States had been putting heavy pressure on the northern alliance to drop Kabul as a venue for the talks. Powell expressed hopes the meeting organized by the top U.N. envoy for Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi, would take place in days. - "We've got to get this moving," Pow- ell said on "Fox News Sunday." See AFGHANISTAN, Page 7A Field hockey team wins title Cham lonshi z frst or any M' women's team By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Writer KENT, Ohio - Years from now, people won't remember that yesterday the Michigan field hockey team played the consensus No. 1 team in the coun- try. They won't remember that its opponent had six senior starters. They won't remember that its opponent had beaten the Wolverines just two years earlier in the same game. But they will remember that these women were the leaders and the best. Led by the incredible play of senior goaltender Maureen Tasch and a great all-around defensive effort, the Michi- gan field hockey team knocked off top-ranked Maryland 2-0 to capture the NCAA Division I National Cham- pionship and Michigan's first national title in a women's sport. "I'm happy to bring another one home for the Wolverines," said Michi- gan coach Marcia Pankratz. "Men's programs, women's programs, rev- enue, non-revenue, it doesn't matter. We're just really proud to be a part of the University." Inside: Victory finally puts Michigan women in the spotlight Page 1B. This completes a rise to promin- cance for a program that had never made the NCAA tournament until 1999, when the Terrapins defeated the Wolverines in the title game. "It's pretty darn exciting," Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin said last night. "Being the first of anything is pretty historic." Tasch pulled out the first shutout in a championship game since 1996. She stopped 13 shots against the nation's No. 1 scoring offense, giving the first field hockey title to a school west of Virginia since Iowa won in 1986. "Obviously nothing could be better than this and it still hasn't quite all processed in my mind," Tasch said. "I haven't cried like everyone else yet." Maryland controlled the play early, but with two minutes remaining in the first half, Kristi Gannon sent a cross- ing pass from the far right side through the Maryland defense and Maryland keeper Ashley Hohnstine and some- See FIELD HOCKEY, Page 7A LESLIE WARD/Daily Michigan field hockey captains Catherine Foreman (front left), All Balmer and Jessie Veith hold the team's national championship trophy yesterday after defeating Maryland, 2-0, to win Michigan's first NCAA title in a women's sport. Many afraid to fly home for Thanksgiving break By Casey Ehrlich Daily Staff Reporter Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington and last week's crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in New York, many students who usually fly home for Thanksgiving are now opting to drive because of their concerns over air travel safety. "I have flown home to Cincinnati before," said Priya Sehgal, an Engineering sophomore who is driving home for the break. "Now, I would feel insecure about using public trans- portation or flying." Many travel agencies, such as Stamos Travel in Ann Arbor, have noticed an enor- mous decrease in the amount of people wanti- ng to travel by plane. "What's happened is that traffic has dropped in airlines because of a dramatic cut back on schedules. There have been fewer flights to make up for the lower amount of traveling people," said a Stamos Travel employee. "We have had dramatically less customers." "There has absolutely been a big decrease in air travelers," agreed Ken Ascher, chairman and chief executive officer of Communica- tions Electronics Inc. Emergency Operation Center, a division of the Airline and Travel Safety Bureau. "People are scared of flying on a plane and dying. They are scared of terrorists and of the plane crashing. A lot of people have switched to using automobiles. There is certainly a downward trend every time there is a plane crash," Ascher said. For some students, it is impractical to travel any other way except via plane, making the decision an easier one. "I have to fly home," said Social Work graduate student Jill Sur of Kailua, Hawaii. "I've never been afraid to fly before; obvious- ly I live on an island and anywhere I have See TRAVEL, Page 7A Fire extinguishers 0 BRETT MOUNTAIN/W~ily ee increase a p roved *, An IASA member performs a dance titled "Hipnatyam" at the group's cultural show, "Ranga: Shades of Brilliance," held at 13 BeHill Auditorium Friday night. 13Blue candidates win TASA cutua By Kara Wenzel Daily Staff Reporter University students approved a $1 increase in mandatory fees by a vote of 2,309 to 1,779, and Blue Party candidates won 13 of the 22 seats up for election last week on the Michigan Student Assembly. "I think it shows clearly students are in step with the Assembly in thinking student organiza- tions are underfunded," said MSA Treasurer Josh Samek. "The assembly hopes and expects Vice President (E. Royster) Harper will recommend the fee increase to the regents." MSA and LSA Student Government members are hoping to make a presentation at the January or February Board of Regents meeting to "pre- sent a clear picture to the regents of all the fund- ing increases necessary on campus," Samek said. If the regents approve the fee increase, Samek said, it will become a part of next fall's tuition bill. In the MSA election, the Michigan and Uni- versity Democratic parties each won three seats, while the Defend Affirmative Action Party took two seats. The newly elected candidates will take office tomorrow. DAAP candidate Aimee Coughlin, who was elected to represent the School of Social Work on the assembly, said she is looking forward to "learning everything about MSA I can and taking it from there." Coughlin said the election was "an impor- tant step in defending affirmative action. I feel the University Democratic Party, said, "I am real- ly excited to make some changes in MSA and give a new group of students a voice." Harris, like other newly elected representa- tives, said she plans to "start an in-depth look at the bussing system." Engineering Rep.-elect Matthew Franczak, who ran with the Michigan Party, said he plans to start looking at the bus situation at next week's steering committee meeting. "I plan to help write a resolution to form a transportation task force to get real work done on the bussing problem," Franczak said. "It generally feels good to win because the North Campus election was really hard fought," he added. LSA Rep.-elect Scott Meves, a Blue Party can- didate, said he was "really excited and relieved to find out the results of the election." show focuses on heritage By Karen Schwartz Daily Stff Reporter After more than nine months of planning and the com- bined efforts of about 300 students, the Indian American Student Association's annual cultural show debuted Friday to an audience of 3,000. The show at Hill Auditorium, titled "Ranga; Shades of Brilliance," featured dance segments from the different states of India and incorporated modern and traditional ele- ments of expression. Skits addressed the interactions between Indian American students and their parents and the challenges associated with being part of two cultures. Show co-coordinator Adil Daudi said the performance was designed to educate people about India and give them a chance to take away a better understanding of India and the issues faced by Indian Americans on campus. He added that it is important to let parents know that their children haven't lost their Indian values despite growing up in America. "The balance is trying to find where that blend is so you can feel like you're adhering to the culture and they feel comfortable with how they brought you up," he said. "When you go home you don't want to be a different person than you are at school." Co-coordinator Smita Kalokhe said another of the show's important messages was to recognize India's different cultures DANNY MOLUiUK/uaily As the sun sets Saturday, Pittsfield Township firefighters help prevent a fire i I i