LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, January 8, 2002 - 3 Many larcenies 0 reported during winter ,break Both the Art and Architecture Building and Institute of Social Research were targets of burglars during the holiday break, accord- ing to Department of Public Safety reports. In addition, some students returned to the residence halls to * find that their rooms had been bur- glarized. "Most of the people perpetrating these crimes are between the ages of 15 and 25," DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown said. "In most cases they are not affiliated with the University." However, in most cases suspects of the building thefts were identi- fied and pursued as a result of employees remaining alert to their surroundings. "Since people are calling DPS promptly and that's making it easi- er to locate suspects," Brown said. Reports of larcenies on campus during the winter break made to DPS include: Audio tapes, employee's purse stolen from ISR Two men stole a female employee's purse and 20 audio tapes Wednesday morning from the Institute of Social Research. Police recovered the purse and audio tapes and traced the foot- prints of one suspect who was spotted near the Student Activities Building. The 24-year-old man had an outstand- ing warrant and was arrested. The other suspect was unable to be identified. Office burglary attempt foiled by employees Two men trying to remove office. equipment from the Institute of Social Research last Tuesday were interrupted by an employee who was alerted by the noises. The men had removed bolts from a door hinge to enter the office. DPS put out a description of the suspects with local law enforce- ment and Ann Arbor Police offi- cers assisted in finding the suspects. One man was located near West Hall and the other man was found at the corner of East William and South State streets. DPS questioned the 18- and 22- year-old suspects, who were released pending warrant autho- rization. DVD, Nintendo stolen from West Quad room A West Quad resident told police Sunday afternoon that his room was open when he returned from Christ- mas break. The student said his DVD player, Nintendo, money and a tool box were taken from his room. DPS had no suspects. Items taken from Art and Architecture Bldg. While investigating a larceny from desks in the Art and Architecture Building last Wednesday, campus police found several other items stolen. Several hundred dollars worth of pastel pencils had been stolen from a desk. Two graphic cards were taken out from computers. An Art and Architecture employee said he had a CD player and several CDs taken from the open third-floor studio. Police believe most of the items were taken during break. 'Stolen' vehicle moved by friend A University Hospitals staff member reported her vehicle stolen Wednesday afternoon from a parking garage on Catherine Street. Police discovered the vehicle had been moved to the opposite side of the hospital by a former employee who had obtained her keys. The suspect was identified as an person involved in a former relationship with the victim who had called her to tell her where the vehicle was. DPS was conducting an investiga- tion. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Jacquelyn Nixon. Book exchange offers cheaper alternative Ry Shannon Pettypiece Daily Staff Reporter LSA freshman Lei Lei Sun is like many students who feel they are paying too much for textbooks and getting too little cash in return when they sell their used books back to local bookstores. "It's ridiculous," Sun said. "I bought a book for my math class and I paid $60 for it and I only got half back, other books are more like 25 percent back. That's stupid." For students like Sun, there is an alterna- tive to the high prices of the bookstores - the Student Book Exchange. The Student Book Exchange, which will be held this week in the Pond Room of the Michi- gan Union from 11 to 6 p.m., allows students to save money by purchasing and selling their books directly to other students, thereby cut- ting out the bookstores as middle men. "It's a different way to buy your books," said LSA senior Michael Thompson, who is a volunteer at the Student Book Exchange. "The bookstores aren't going to give you a fair amount of money for your books. We allow the students to price their books; it also allows students to find the book they need for cheaper prices." Students will be able to drop off and name their own price for their books today and tomorrow, and on Wednesday and Thursday students can purchase books. On Friday, stu- dents can claim the money for the books they sold and pick up any of their unsold books, Thompson said. Many students have found books for a lower price at the Student Book Exchange than in the bookstores. "I got a class book winter of last year that was selling used in the bookstores for $70 and I got it for $35," said LSA senior Melissa Hofmeister. Hofmeister said students have the best luck finding books for first-year courses such as introduction to chemistry or economics. "There are mostly books for the larger "The bookstores aren 't going to give you a fair amount of money for your books." - Michael Thompson LSA senior classes; sometimes you have a hard time find- ing books within your major," she said. Thompson said he advises students to sell their books for less than the bookstore as well as other students who are selling the same book. "Go and find out what is it selling for new or used in the bookstores, and I'd typically try and sell it for a little less," Thompson said. "Its kind of a guessing game because we don't allow students to look at the prices for other students' books. You want to sell it for less than the bookstores but at the same time make yourself some money." Thompson said he feels students have noth- ing to lose by participating in the Student Book Exchange. "In my experience, when you do sell a book, I have always gotten a lot more than I've gotten at the bookstores," Thompson said: "If your book doesn't sell you can still take it to the bookstore after words." In the past, up to 600 students a semester have used the book exchange, but in recent years the number has drastically declined due to the better prices and service from online companies, Thompson said. "In the fall drive we usually consider it a pretty good job if you do about $10,000. I think last semester we dropped off a lot," Thompson said. r Feds investigate terrorist ties to illegal immigrants OW DETROIT (AP) - A federal prosecutor said yesterday the gov- ernment is trying to build a terror- ism case against three men already facing trial on charges of having illegal immigration papers. The government still hopes to seek a new or revised grand jury indictment charging Karim Koubri- ti, Ahmed Hannan and Youssef Hmimssa with terrorism, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino said during a bond hearing for the three. "We're vigorously pursuing the evidence at this point in time," Convertino told U.S. District Judge Gerald Rosen. Prosecutors, however, have not yet received responses to subpoe- nas or reports on the suspects sought from foreign governments, Convertino said. He did not state the government's reasons for con- sidering terrorism charges, did not say who had been subpoenaed and did not name the foreign govern- ments. Convertino said afterward that a gag order imposed by Rosen on Oct. 22 prevented him from dis- cussing possible terrorism charges. Koubriti, 23, Hannan, 33, and Hmimssa, 30, are resident aliens of Middle Eastern descent. They were charged with fraud and misuse of visas, permits and other documents following a Sept. 17 raid on a Detroit apartment that yielded a cache of false documents. Without specifying the three by name, Attorney General John Ashcroft said in October that three Arab men in Michigan arrested on false document charges were "sus- pected of having knowledge" of the Sept. 11 attacks. He later backed off that statement. Law enforcement officials in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the three are not believed to be connected to the Sept. 11 attacks but are being investigated for other possible ter- rorist ties. Koubriti's court-appointed lawyer, Leroy Soles, said he was concerned the case was drifting away from its original focus on document fraud. "I've never had a case like this where there was one adjournment after another, (while the govern- ment was) trying to decide if they're terrorists," he said. The men remained held without bond in the Wayne County Jail after Rosen rejected a defense request that they be released to a federal halfway house. Rosen agreed with the prosecutor to reschedule their trial for late March or early April. It was origi- nally set to begin Nov. 20, then was rescheduled for Jan. 22 and again for Feb. 19. He said the delay would give both sides time to com- pile more evidence, and for public- ity surrounding the arrests - made six days after the Sept. 11 terror attacks -to subside further. During the raid on Koubriti and Hannan's apartment, federal agents said they found a planner that con- tained notations in Arabic that they believe were plans for attacks on the Alia airport in Jordan and a plot to kill former Defense Secre- tary William Cohen during a visit to Turkey. Koubriti, Hannan and a third man who was not indicted were arrested while authorities were looking for Nabil al-Marabh, whose name was on the apartment mailbox. Al-Marabh was later arrested in Chicago and is jailed in New York on immigration charges. He is a former Boston cab driver who was licensed in Michigan to haul haz- ardous materials. Authorities have said he has ties to Raed Hijazi, an associate of the chief suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks, Osama bin Laden. Hijazi is jailed in Jordan on charges that he planned to blow up a hotel filled with Americans and Israelis on New Year's Day 2000. Koubriti and Hannan have denied knowing al-Marabh. But the FBI has-said they acknowledged that al- Marabh may have lived previously in the apartment. Hmimssa was arrested Sept. 28 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. His photo with the alias Michael Saisa was found on documents in the raided apartment. EMMA FOSDICK/Daily Caleb Richie waits outside Michigan Stadium to see the passing of the Olympic Torch on its way to the Winter Games in Salt Lake City. MSA to offer oner CCRB ours, better student group funds By Kara Wenzel Daily Staff Reporter The Central Campus Recreation Building will extend its hours until the end of February in an effort to meet stu- dent demands and help users with their new year's fitness resolutions. The Michigan Student Assembly will be funding the later hours. Starting Sun- day, the building will be open until 1:30 a.m. on Sunday and Monday nights. The North Campus Recreation Building and the Intramural Sports buildings are open until 11 p.m. every night, and the CCRB is still open until 11 p.m. everyother night of the week. "The assembly hopes usership pat- terns during that added time will be able to make a case for permanent changes," said MSA President Matt Nolan. Nolan said the advisory committee for Rec Sports will consider next year's hours and fees in March and April. At that time they may approve keeping the CCRB or another building open later next year. "We're not exactly sure what the added costs and usership patterns will need to be to make this a worthwhile permanent change - that's why we're having this trial period," Nolan said. In other MSA news: Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Pendelton Room of the Michigan Union, the MSA Budget Pri- orities Committee will hold an informa- tional session to discuss changes in the funding application and the number of times a group can apply per semester. The assembly approved changes to the cycle of funding for BPC at their last meeting of last semester. "We're looking to attract anybody who has interest in the new way MSA will be allocating funds and at least one representative from any student'group who was already planning to apply," said BPC Chair David Goldman. "In the past, there was just one cycle of funding at the beginning of the semester and all groups filled out one application for the entire semester," Goldman said. Starting this semester, BPC will hold three funding cycles in January, Febru- ary and March. A student group can apply during any or all of the cycles. A presentation explaining the fund- ing and application changes will take place at the session, as well as a few speakers to explain how to get funding from sources other than MSA. The main reason for the change in funding cycles is that while some groups plan their budget for the semes- ter ahead of time, others are still unsure of their plans, Goldman said. "We think this will be a better and more logical process for everybody involved - student groups and BPC," he added. Last semester, groups requested more than $500,000, and a lot of them asked for more than they needed, Goldman said. BPC hopes the two additional application times will help groups ask for only what they actually need. "When we make our allocations we work on a reimbursement process," Goldman explained. "Groups don't get money unless they show receipts, and usually BPC ends up over-allocating." The committee hopes the additional cycles will keep groups from asking for more money than they need and keep it from sitting in the MSA account, he said. REC SPORTS The University of Michigan Department of Recreational Sports INTRAMURAL SPORTS PROGRAM WHATS HAPPENING I INTRAMIURALS Intramural Basketball' Officials Needed!!' " N o E x p e rie n c e *T Necessary T * Oficiafr are NU Paid for AlIN T R AURALS Games Worked Get a Free =Shirt Flexible Vours THE CALENDAR What's happening in Ann Arbor today EVENTS 0 "Steward's Circle of the Huron River Watershed"; Sponsored by the Huron River Watershed Coun- for Peace and Justice, Noon - 1:00 p.m., Feder- al Building, Liberty at Fifth Avenue "Ann Arbor in the 19th Century: A Photographic 6:00 p.m., Cava Java, East University Philippines Studies Initia- tive; Sponsored by the SERVICES Campus Information Centers, 764-INFO, info@umich.edu, or w ww.umich.edu/ info S.A.F.E. Walk, 763-WALK, Training Clinics Continue Tonight - Tuesday 1/8 -- 7:00pm I ,