LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 3 HIGHER ED Regents suspend admissions at U. Wisconsin system MADISON, Wis. - Effective March 9, the University of Wiscon- sin System Board of Regents sus- pended undergraduate admissions to all of its campuses. Regents said the decision was necessary in light of additional budget cuts the university currently faces. . "The regents (Friday) morning ordered the president of the System and all the chancellors to suspend sending out offers of admission to any more students until we have a chance to analyze the impact of the Joint Finance Committee's actions on our budget," Wisconsin Madison Chancel- lor John Wiley said. Board of Regents President Jay Smith supported this decision by say- ing that the university has no choice in the matter. "We must operate like a business," he said. "We can't enroll students if we don't have the (general purpose rev- enue) to pay for them:' Gay man sues U. Maryland hospital for discrimination COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Robert Daniel and Bill Flanigan knew the day would come when they would have to say goodbye to each other forever. But as the AIDS virus finished ravaging Daniel's body at the University of Maryland Medical System's Shock Trauma Center, Flanigan, Daniel's gay partner, never got his chance to say goodbye. In a claim filed against the hospital on Feb. 27, Flanigan said he was not allowed to see his partner because the hospital didn't recognize their partner- ship as being "family." By the time Flanigan did see Daniel, he had lost consciousness. Daniel died three days after being admitted to the hospital on Oct. 19, 2000, from a form of gan- grene brought on by complications of the AIDS virus. Daniel "left the world without the support of the person who loved him most," said David Buckel, Flanigan's attorney. Thomas Scalea, the chief physician at Maryland Shock Trauma Center, said Flanigan was not discriminated against. The reason Flanigan was not initiallyallowed to see Daniel is because the doctors were still trying to stabilize him and any visitors could have hindered the process, according to a statement issued by Scalea. Flanigan and Daniel signed a legal document giving Flanigan the power to make medical decisions for Daniel in expectation that doctors might not rec- ognize Flanigan. Daniel confided to Flanigan that he did not want to go on life support at the end of his life. Daniel was transferred to the Shock Trauma Center from the Harford Hos- pital in Havre de Grace, Maryland. That night, Flanigan sat in the waiting room for four hours while they worked on Daniel but was never consulted about medical decisions, according to the claim. By the time Flanigan saw Daniel, he was unconscious with his eyes taped shut, and a breathing tube had been inserted, contrary to Flani- gan's requests, according to the claim. U. Connecticut fined $129,500 for animal abuse STORRS, Conn. - The University of Connecticut has agreed to pay $129,500 in federal fines after admit- ting to allegations by the U.S. Depart- ment of Agriculture that it abused research animals. The USDA gives evidence of 99 separate violations of the Animal Wel- fare Act since 1998 in its formal com- plaint against the institution. Some of the complaints include the deaths of 22 naked mole rats that occurred while their caretaker was on vacation, failure to provide veteri- nary medical care to rabbits, failing to keep proper records and neglect of several animals. Last April, the university announced $20 million would go to research facil- ity construction and improvements as part of the Connecticut. 2000 project. -- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter' Maria Sprow. Wahhaj:Islam 'positive force' in America By Leslie Ward Daily Staff Reporter Muslims in America must act as a con- science for the country, Muslim leader Imam Sirah Wahhaj said yesterday in a lec- ture at the Michigan Union. Wahhaj, who spoke to a crowd of more than 200, discussed the issues facing Mus- lims in America today and how the pres- ence of Islam is a positive force in the country today. "Islam is here to make America better," Wahhaj said. "Muslim people should not be afraid to warn against the evils that we all commit. Muslims around the world are waiting for us to change policies in America for the better." Wahhaj said he believes that Islam will play a crucial role in the future of America. "We are talking about a topic that has the potential to divide us, but at the same time, the great power to unite us," he said. Wahhaj emphasized the importance of compromise, and the ability of Muhammad to see that all people have limitations. He encouraged people to view compromise as a positive step of progress as opposed to an act of weakness. "(Muhammad) kept it real not part of the time, but all of the time. Prophet Muhammad was the master in the art of compromise. He had the tremendous ability to see human lim- itations," Wahhaj said. Wahhaj focused on the importance of understanding the motives behind the words of Muhammad. He said it is not just an issue of what the prophet said but why he said it. "If I were going to teach Islam in college, I would teach not only the Quran, but the context. Without the context, it's silly. We need to stop (taking it out of context). We need to start examining and dialoguing with one another," Wahhaj said. Freedom makes America unique, Wah- haj said. He said this freedom is having different effects on Muslims and voiced his concern about the ability of Muslims to avoid the temptations which come with that freedom. "The strength of America is its freedoms. What is the strength can also e its weak- ness. Everything has a limit; you can go too far. Everything has a boundary, so for the Muslims, we look at what are the bound- aries," he said., Students who heard Wahhaj speak were impressed with his ideas. "He definitely possesses a lot of charis- ma. He (speaks) truthfully. It's good to get someone who is passionate about this sub- ject," Engineering senior Pratik Shah said. "He brings a very good American per- spective of Islam, especially when many people think that Islam can't be integrated into Western culture," added Engineering junior Kashif Sheikh. Wahhaj.has been Imam of Masjid At- Taqwa in Brooklyn, New York since 1981. He is also Vice Amir of the Council of Muslim Leaders in New York, serves on the Board of Advisers for the North Amer- ican Islamic Trust and is Vice President of Majlis Ash-Shura Islamic Society of North America. Wahhaj was also a speaker on campus earlier this year during Islam Awareness Week. LAURIE BRESCOLL/Daily Imam Sirah Wahhaj spoke of the role of Muslims and Islam in American life yesterday evening at the Michigan Union. Movement medicine Students First makes MSA accessibility a top priority By Tomislav Ladika Daily Staff Reporter University students may have noticed the chalk markings and campaign posters of a new party among more familiar party names running in the winter Michigan Student Assem- bly elections. That party is Students First, a diverse group of candidates who want to renew student interest in their own government by representing as many student organizations as possible. Sarah Boot, Students First presidential candidate and cur- rent MSA Communications Committee chairwoman, said she noticed apathy toward student government this year when few students attended her "Meet a Rep" program, which provided them the opportunity to discuss student gov- ernment issues with an MSA representative. Boot said she feels students are not interested in MSA because "a lot of people in student government right now don't have connections to the University other than student government." The lack of involvement in student organizati'ons and diversity in the MSA have resulted in a lack of new ideas this year, Monique Luse, an MSA representative and Stu- dents First candidate for president of LSA Student Govern- ment, said. In response, Luse and Boot, along with Students First vice presidential candidate Dana Glassel, decided to create a new party. Students First members believe they can increase interest in student government because the party is composed of candidates from many different student groups and back- grounds, MSA candidate Jason Mironov said. "Almost every aspect of campus is reached," he said. "If elected, the candidates would successfully represent all con- stituents on campus because of their affiliation.". MSA candidate Brandon White said his status as a black student inclines him to support all University minorities. "If elected, I plan to serve as a potent voice for minority Winter 2002 students and continue to ensure equitable funding for minor- ity student groups," he said. In addition to candidates like White, Students First also is promoting leaders from a wide variety of student organiza- tions on campus - from Hillel to the Greek system, Mironov said. Boot said the slate includes experienced student govern- ment leaders from the former Michigan Party and Universi- ty Democrats - two parties that disbanded this year. Although diverse, the slate is composed of candidates who all agree that "there needs to be a change in MSA that results in a positive, forward-moving motion in our student assembly," Mironov said. If elected to MSA, Students First representatives hope to create an outreach program which requires each MSA repre- sentative to keep contact with a certain number of student organizations, Boot said. Another big concern is the effectiveness of MSA, Mironov said. He said less than half of the assembly's money is handed out to student groups, and that instead of trying to win the administration's approval, MSA should demand changes it feels are necessary for the University. Mironov said his platform includes improving residence halls and off-campus housing, and-White said improving tutoring services and implementing bike shelters are several of his ideas. But while developing student projects is important, it only comprises half the role of student government, White said. "The other half is having an ear close to the ground and being responsive to who matters the most - the student body," he said. EMMA FOSDICK/Daily Stella Raudenbush instructs the neuromus.cular integration action technique at the Michigan League yesterday. This is an alternative medicine expressive fitness movement. Compuware files plagiaris-m lawsuit * " againsti DETROIT (AP) - Compuware Corp. filed a federal lawsuit here yesterday claiming IBM Corp. copied parts of the software compa- ny's computer codes - including the glitches - for the technology giant's own products. The 50-page complaint seeks an undetermined amount of financial damages. It also claims IBM illegally used its monopoly power in main- frame hardware and software products to compete unfairly in the software tools market. "We have been considering this dis- tressing issue for quite some time and regrettably concluded that Compuware was required to take this action in order to protect the interests of the company, its customers and its share- holders," Compuware President Joseph Nathan said in a statement. A spokeswoman for Armonk, N.Y.- based IBM said the company doesn't comment on pending litigation. Analyst John McPeake with Pruden- tial Securities said the lawsuit illus- trates tension in the relationships between IBM and companies that cre- ate software for its computers, since IBM offers some of the tools itself. But he noted neither Compuware nor IBM likely will see immediate bot- tom-line effects because of the lawsuit. "I don't think over the near term it means a whole lot for either compa- ny in terms of their results," McPeake said. In early-afternoon trading, shares of IBM, which Monday issued encourag- 9 ing news about its performance, were up $2.96 at $108.20. Shares of Com- puware were down 41 cents at $12.36. Compuware's Nathan said the suit came about after the Farmington Hills, Mich.-based software and professional servicescompany discovered that cer- tain IBM products contained portions of Compuware code. The IBM products - File Manager and Fault Analyzer - mirrored fea- tures, such as the way the data is dis- played, of Compuware's File-AID and Abend-AID products, he said. The company alleges the software even had the same glitches as earlier versions of Compuware products. And the lawsuit claims that portions of IBM's File Manager manual includes passages that are "nearly ver- batim copies" of manuals produced by Compuware. Nathan said because IBM dominates the market, many of Compuware's products must be able to interact with IBM products. But when IBM devel- oped File Manager and Fault Analyzer, as well as a debugging program similar to one Compuware makes, Nathan said IBM stopped sharing information. "Commencing in at least 1999, IBM developed and carried out a scheme specifically intended to compete unfair- ly in each of these markets, and to utilize its monopoly power in the mainframe, operating system and other markets ... to gain an unfair competitive advantage and, ultimately, monopoly power in each of the three mainframe software tools markets," the suit alleges. THE CALENDAR What's happening in Ann Arbor today EVENTS Pak, noon -1:00 p.m., Health Service, 7 - 9:00 SERVICES School of Public Health, Campus Information Running Effective Meet- Room 1152 p.m., Pond Room, Michi- Centers, 764-INFO, ings Workshop; Spon- "Japanese Americans in UiUfo@um ich.ed/, or sored by Engineering World War II and gan union www umich.edu/-info stuenb ELnee nd A S.A.F.E. Walk, 763-WALK, 4 Student Leadership and. Arab/Muslim Americans Gues.. Rectal:+ Jonsua Call 24 hours a day, ';