One hundred eleven years feditoraifreedom NEWS: 76-DAILY . CLASSIFIED: ,7640557 wwwmichigandaily..com Wednesday January 9, 2002 K0192dja M ly m I III--------------------- ------------- Tuition becomes hot political issue By Louie Meizlish Daily Staff Reporter College tuition is taking center stage as Michi- gan gubernatorial candidates weigh in on Central Michigan University's approval of a 28 percent tuition increase for the next academic year and the fear that other universities could follow. Combined with Central Michigan's 12.5 per- cent increase last year, that is a 44 percent increase over two years -a number some candi- dates say is too high. Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus, a candidate for the Republican nomination, proposed a constitution- al amendment that would cap university tuition increases at the level of inflation or 5 percent - whichever is lower. When appropriating funds to the schools this year, Posthumus urged legislators to require state appropriations be cut by the amount in excess of the inflation rate at universi- ties that raise tuition beyond the level of inflation. "Every institution, whether government or pri- vate, is going through tough times, but Dick Posthumus is not going to say we're going to bal- ance our budgets on the backs of students," said Sage Eastman, the Posthumus campaign's press secretary. One of the four candidates for the Democratic nomination, former Gov. James Blanchard, said he agrees with Posthumus that universities should roll back tuition and, if necessary, the Legislature should force them to do so. However, he said a constitutional amendment was unneces- sary. "Friendly persuasion usually works, and if that doesn't work you can issue an executive order" cutting state appropriations, Blanchard said. When the University of Michigan received a 1.5 percent state appropriations increase last year, it raised tuition 6.5 percent for most stu- dents. Interim Provost Paul Courant said the Posthu- mus proposal is unrealistic. "It fails to recognize that tuition is not the only revenue source on which universities rely" Courant said. "We have as many students and are doing as much research as we have ever had, and there is nothing in our cost structure that allows us" to keep our costs down because of hard economic times, he added. Also criticizing the Posthumus proposal was state Sen. John Schwarz, Posthumus' opponent for the GOP nomination and the chair of the Senate's higher education appropriations sub- committee. Schwarz said his opponent's proposal is unconstitutional because it strips the univer- sities' governing boards of tuition-setting authority. "I believe the implication is that the sky is falling and I'm here to say the sky is not falling," he said. "Having worked with the 15 public uni- versities in this state for 15 or 16 years - inti- mately with them - I know they do the very best they can to keep tuition and fees down but I know they do the best they can to provide a superb education." He said that compared to most public schools in the Midwest the University of Michigan is rea- See TUITION, Page 7 Professors look down on early admission Harvard study finds that early decision is detrimental to students By Maria Sprow Daily Staff Reporter The early decision admissions poli- cy used at Ivy League and private uni- versities is under heavy scrutiny after the recent publication of a comprehen- sive study by three Harvard University professors. The professors concluded that the policy, created to benefit high school seniors certain of their first choice school, is detrimental to those students and the admissions process in general. Under the early decision policy, high school seniors are notified of their acceptance status sooner than other students but are required to attend the institution. "It's sort of like a marriage propos- al," said John Boshoven, a counselor at Community High School in Ann Arbor. Boshky-n added that he usually discourages his students from applying for early decision. "For the regular middle class kid, the financial risk of the early decision ... is too high," he said. The majority of public institutions, including the University of Michigan, do not use the process, said Ted Spencer, the University's director of undergraduate admissions. Instead, the University uses a rolling admissions process, meaning that stu- dents who apply earlier receive their responses earlier, but do not have to make a commitment to attend. In a rolling admissions process, universi- ties try to get back to applicants six to eight weeks after the application was received. Private institutions accept early decision and early action stu- dents all at once. Many critics of the early decision process believe institutions using it are See EARLY DECISION, Page 7 i Senior aida fighters eld in Kandahar The Washington Post U.S. forces in eastern Afghanistan captured two senior al-Qaida fighters and bombed a suspected al-Qaida compound amid signs of continued resistance in a province south of Tora Bora that has been a longtime terrorist stronghold, defense officials said yes- terday. The two al-Qaida members were among a group of about 14 fighters apprehended late Monday near an underground cave complex used by Osama bin Laden's terrorist network, the officials said. While declining to identify the men, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters they were considered important enough to transfer to a detention facili- ty in the southern city of Kandahar where U.S. authorities have been inter- rogating suspected al-Qaida and Tal- iban members. Seized in the process were computers and cell phones that Myers said might provide additional intelligence clues. The capture added to a mounting collection of detainees, equipment and files that U.S. authorities say they are trying to exploit to build a more com- plete picture of the al-Qaida network and head off potential future terrorist operations. As of yesterday, the num- ber of detainees under U.S. control had grown to 364, with more expected. As U.S. ground troops conclude their search of the Tora Bora caves that were the focus of an intense hunt for bin Laden and senior associates last month, the center of U.S. combat action has shifted south to the Zhawar Kili al-Badr cave complex and the area around the towns of Khost and Gardez in eastern Afghanistan's Paktia province. Myers said U.S. forces investigating the Zhawar Kili compound, after three days of air attacks against it in the past week, have been surprised by the enor- mous extent of it, particularly its war- ren of underground caves. "There was just no indication of that from any other" surveillance or recon- See WAR, Page 7 Students wait in line to buy books outside Shaman Drum Bookshop on State Street yesterday afternoon. ' receives portion of class textbook profits By Shannon Pettypiece Daily StaffReporter At the beginning of each semester, students inevitably gripe about the high cost of textbooks and may blame the bookstores for putting a dent in their budget. However, each sale bene- fits many sources, including Universi- ty programs and professors who use their own texts. The average undergraduate student spends $740 on books each year and students in professional-level and graduate programs spend around $860 each year, according to estimates by the Office of Financial Aid. Textbooks prices are divided between various parties involved in the distribution and production of the text- book, with the main portion of the sale benefiting the publisher - not the author or the bookstore. According to information published by Barnes & Noble College Book- stores, 67 percent of the price of new textbooks goes to the publisher and about 18 percent is split evenly between the author and whatever uni- versity is using the book. About 2.5 percent is used to cover shipping costs and 12.5 percent is given to the book- store to cover its operating expenses. Not only does the publishing com- pany receive the most from the sale of its books, the publisher also deter- mines the price of textbooks, said Uni- versity of Michigan Press Business Manager Gabriela Beres. "There might be an occasion where we are able to get a discount on some- See TEXTBOOKS, Page 7 STea time Student killed in holiday accident By Tomislav Ladika Daily Staff Reporter A memorial service will be held tomorrow for Engineering junior Rebecca Hilger, who was killed Dec. 30 in a car accident. Hilger was on a skiing trip in Arizona with boyfriend Patrick, Kelly, a student at the University of Arizona. The ' trip was meant to be a present for Hilger, whose 21st birthday was. Dec. 31. The car she was driving was Hilger struck head-on by a truck. Kelly was injured and is still recovering from the crash. Tomorrow's memorial will be held at 7 p.m. in the Michigan Union Ballroom. Kinesiology Hilger's clbsest friends, said it will remember her life and provide any- one who wishes to speak a chance to do so. SNRE junior Amanda Sprader, who was a close friend of Hilger's while the two attended Northville High School and the University together, said the memorial will provide closure for her friend's death. She said Hilger's most unique characteristic was love for her family. "Her sister, Shelly, and her brother, Chris, were special to her," said Chuck Hilger, Rebecca's father. "She would surprise them by showing up at Shelly's cross-coun- try meets or Chris's basketball games just to see them perform. She would help them with math over the phone if they were stuck on a problem." Hilger said his daughter also cared deeply for her friends, who he said often told him "of how she AP PHOTO A Marine unloads his vehicle in front of a garbage burn at the American military compound at the Kandahar airport yesterday. Term- mits widen election-ye ar field By Louie Melzlish Daily Staff Reporter The second year of the millennium will be a unique year for Michigan pol- itics. Many lawmakers are being forced out of office because of the 1992 con- stitutional amendment mandating term limits or as a result of last year's con- gressional redistricting process. Both parties hope to gain advantages from these changes. "With term limits and Governor (John) Engler and (Secretary of State) races to focus on," said David Doyle, vice president of the Republican con- sulting firm, Marketing Resource Group. Miller is running for a U.S. House seat in Macomb County while Engler's future remains unclear, although there has been much speculation that he would join President Bush's cabinet. The term limits seem to favor the Democratic Party. They could take control of the state Senate for the first time since 1982, the governor's office for the first time since 1990 and the LAURIEBRESCOLL/Dildy ThirrLuparIMA stude4nt Rnoisalee Lohic in nns fo Ioftea t Esoresso Rovale Aghk I - i