LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, March 27, 2002 - 3 SNRE closed to freshmen, transfer students Cartoon in Texas A&M newspaper draws criticism COLLEGE STATION, Texas - A cartoon in the Jan. 14 issue of The Battalion that many called racist raised important issues at Texas A&M University. The cartoon portrayed an overweight black mother, wearing an apron and curlers and scolding her son for receiv- ing a bad grade. The mother warned her son his bad grades would lead to a job in airport security. The controversy caused The rfattal- ion, the schol's student-run newspa- per, to gather a panel of studentleaders to talk about the history of the school and the feelings surrounding race that still exist. Texas A&M was founded 125 years ago as an all-male, white, military col- lege, built on military traditions. As the school continues to grow and diversiy, student leaders wondered if past issues will disturb the A&M campus. Some leaders expressed concern because more students were not visibly upset by the cartoon. Daniel Hernandez, associate vice chancellor and panel moderator, said each individual is shaped by the history and culture from which he or she comes. He said understanding these factors will help students understand the cultures on campus and the events that led to the uproar over the cartoon. "If you don't know that you don't know, it is not bad; it is history," Her- nandez said. "Indifference has come because people don't ask questions about (each others') history." Indiana U. will not change building's Ku Klux Klan mural BLOOMINGTON, Id. - Amid reporters, cameras, lights and con- cerned students, Indiana University at Bloomington Chancellor Sharon Brehm held a press conference Mon- day in the Maple room of the Indiana Memorial Union to make public her decision on the Benton mural featuring Ku Klux Klan members in Woodburn Hall 100. Brehm stated the mural would not be covered because of moral issues and could not be moved because the paint- ing could suffer irreparable damage. "I am convinced that moving or cov- ering the mural would be morally wrong," Brehm said. "It would, in effect,do what Benton refused to do: That is, it would hide the shameful aspects of Indiana's past:' After discussing why the mural would not be moved or covered, Brehm talked about the bigger issue that helped to create the mural argument in the first place: The lack of an obvious commitment to diversity at the univer- sity. The campus has a black student population of 4 percent. Colorado bill aims to allow campus eliquor sponsorship FORT COLLINS, Cob. - Col- orado colleges with liquor licenses could get financial assistance from the liquor industry after a Senate bill on the issue passed through the state House on Monday The bill would allow liquor compa- nies to initiate contracts similar to the one Colorado State University current- ly has with Pepsi, and currently needs only a signature from Gov. Bill Owens before it takes effect - something the sponsors want to see happen by July. It is currently illegal for the liquor industry to provide financial assistance to licensed colleges and universities in Colorado. If Owens signs the bill, manufactures and wholesalers in the liquor industry will be able to provide financial assis- tance to state institutions of higher edu- 4 cation, including Colorado State. Liquor companies, like locally owned Coors, would be allowed to donate score boards for sports venues on college cam- pus if the bill passes, something current- ly prohibited. Liquor companies' donations also could display their logos, which could appear anywhere. "Students drink beer every day; we might as well make money off that," k freshman Kerri Haeflinger said. S -- Compiled from U-Wire reports by Daily Staff Reporter Maria Sprow. By Annie Gleason Daily Staff Reporter Freshmen and transfer students planning to enroll in the School of Natural Resources next year will be redirected to a new joint program in the College of Literature, Sciences and Arts - com- bining aspects from both schools. The intention of the new undergraduate degree program - Program in the Environment - is to provide a broader education to those interested in pursuing environmental careers by offering stu- dents background in environmental and natural resource issues, while including a liberal arts per- spective. The creation of the program means new undergraduate students will no longer be accepted into SNRE. "The idea is that it will be a new concentration," said John Knott, interim director of the program. "There will be a lot of the same courses, but now they will be more easily available." An information session was held yesterday after- noon giving students the opportunity to learn more about the new program and its requirements. Any student currently enrolled in SNRE will be given the option of either continuing in the school or transferring to LSA and earning a degree through the environmental program. Several current students said they thought the program would be beneficial to new students, but for the most part were planning to continue their course of study in SNRE. "I think it's a good idea because it helps integrate SNRE with other majors, but I probably won't transfer over," SNRE freshman Olivia Ott said. Knott said the program will offer a larger, more diverse program in environmental education but will not detract from the community feel of SNRE. "Students have had concern because they feel they're losing their program, but the classes will continue to be held in the Dana Building to keep the sense of community," Knott said. Most of the classes offered in SNRE will con- tinue to be offered in the new program. In addi- tion, new inter-disciplinary, team-taught courses will be offered, such as Tools for Environmental Problem Solving, taught partially by SNRE Prof. Bobbi Low. "We don't want to turn out a group of science nerds and a group of policy makers who don't speak the same language," Low said. "In this class every situation will offer a biology-behavioral learning example and a policy-making example." The program will go into effect next year, but there are still a few loose ties that need to be dealt with. "I'm looking for a sexier title for the class, so if anyone has any ideas, let me know," Low joked. For more information on Program in the Envi- ronment visit http://environment.snre.umich.edu. Democrats lose challenge of Republican-backed plan for congressional re districting By Loue Me"znlc Daily Staff Reporter"ArcnA eia vo rsh e State Democrats received a setback this week when the Michigan Supreme Court ruled Monday against the party in its challenge of a congressional redistricting plan approved by the Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature and signed by GOP Gov. John Engler last year. The Democrats are now beginning a challenge in U.S. District Court in Detroit. With Michigan losing one of its 16 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives after this year, the approved plan is expect- ed to give the Republican Party a 9-6 majority in the state's congressional delegation. Democrats currently hold a 9-7 majority. The plan consolidated the districts of three pairs of Democratic incumbents into the same district, including those of Reps. John Dingell of Dearborn and Lynn Rivers of Ann Arbor. The Democratic alternative plan would likely have given either the Democrats or Republicans an 8-7 majority. Democrats argued the plan violated Michigan law for two reasons. First, the plan was amended after it was approved by the Legislature. The secretary of the Senate, Carol Viventi, added two census tracts to a district that had been left out in the Legislature's plan. The party had also argued that the Republican congressional plan spread an unnecessary amount of counties and municipalities across two districts, contrary to Michigan law. In rejecting Democratic assertions, the court majority, con- sisting of Chief Justice Maura Corrigan and Justices Michael Cavanagh, Stephen Markman, Clifford Taylor, Elizabeth Weaver and Robert Young, wrote, "the correction of the enrolled bill before submission to the Governor does not inval- idate the statute" and that Redistricting guidelines approved in 1999 in Public Act 221 "were not binding on the Legislature." Justice Marilyn Kelly, the sole dissenter on the court, wrote: "The Legislature should be instructed to pass a new act, fol- lowing the precepts laid down in the Michigan Constitution. It is for the Legislature, not this Court and not the Secretary of the Senate, to fashion the bill so as to be legally valid." State Democratic spokesman Ben Kohrman, noting that all five GOP-nominated justices voted to uphold the Republican- approved law, decried the decision as partisan although he acknowledged that one Democrat, Cavanagh, was part of the majority. "We believe that the current law as it exists violates state and federal law and that the federal court can give us a fairer the. rights to have their votes counted. ... Since they vote predominanty Democratic, when they are buried in an overwhelming Republican district, they are effectively disenfranchised." - Mark Brewer Michgian Democratic Party Chair hearing," he said. The Democrats do not intend to appeal the state court ruling to federal court but are currently pursuing another lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Detroit. That case is now on a fast track for hearing before a three-judge panel, due to the quickly approaching Aug. 6 primary election. If successful, it would force a redrawing of district maps due to alleged violations of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 and of various civil rights laws. David Doyle, state Republican Party chairman from 1991 to 1995 and now a consultant with Marketing Resource Group, Inc. of Lansing, said he does not expect the Democrats to pre- vail in federal court. "The percentages of minorities in the districts are about the same as the plan approved in 1990, and the percentages of vot- ing age minorities are also about the same, he said. But Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer said that Democrats in their lawsuit, O'Lear et. al. v. Miller are contending that the Republicans diluted minority voting strength, in disaccordance with federal law. "African American voters have the rights to have their votes counted,"he said. "Since they vote predominately Democratic, when they are buried in an overwhelming Republican district, they are effectively disenfranchised." Brewer added that the new districts disenfranchise black voters in Lansing, Pontiac and Grand Rapids. LAURIE BRESCOLL/Daily Two-time Emmy winner and "Dateline NBC" news correspondent John Hockenberry discussed conclusions drawn by media in the aftermath of Sept. 11 in the Michigan Union yesterday. Students get peek atlife ojorals By Soojung Chang Daily Staff Reporter "Dateline NBC" news correspondent John Hockenberry's twin daughters, Zoe and Olivia, took vastly different approaches to learning how to walk, in spite of growing up in virtually the exact same environment4.; While his daughter Olivia climbed up on furniture like a gymnast, "Zoe's approach to walking was to remain on her stomach and flap like a manatee." When he eventually picked her up and put her on his wheelchair, "she pro- ceeded to roll away in the chair." Hock- enberry realized that Zoe had been emulating her father in her attempt to gain mobility. "They had adapted completely differ- ent pathways to figure out how they were going to do it," he said. "There is no preordained script to the mind." Hockenberry, who suffered' a spinal cord injury during college that left him dependent on a wheelchair to get around, said disabilities are a good indi- cator of how Americans react to the issue of diversity. ,1 "There's a story implied by a disabili- ty. We're obsessed with 'normal' in American society," he said. Hockenberry related his story about his daughters and his experience with living with a disability to other serious subjects, such as the aftermath of Sept. 11, disabled individuals, diversity and Americans as media consumers at "An Evening With John Hockenberry," yes- terday at the Michigan Union Ballroom. Hockenberry said during his recent trip to Saudi Arabia he interviewed the family of suspected hijackers and found "there was kind of a puzzlement and a shock" -- similar to the reactions of the American victims of Sept. 11. Hockenberry emphasized the impor- tance of the American public becoming active consumers of media. "Conclusions will be drawn, myths will be created, people will act on those myths. It is the responsibility of all of us to be context-providers. If there's any letson from Sept. 11, it is to keep that vigilance strong;"he said. Hockenberry said the government is not doing anything substantial to allevi- ate the public's fears. He used the recent color-coded alert system unveiled by Homeland Security as his evidence. In the aftermath of Sept 11, he warned against paranoia and said, "This moment is much more important than the immediate aftermath of Sept. 11. Americans sh*ild act with knowledge, not fear." Ann Arbor resident Brigit Macomber said Hockenberry was "like a breath of fresh air." "It's nice to hear somebody speaking from a base of knowledge rather than the mainstream media syndrome that he was talking about;" she said. Hockenberry is the author of "Mov- ing Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs, and Declarations of Independence," a memoir about his life as a foreign corre- spondent. He signed copies of his recent work, "River Out of Eden" at the event. He began his career as a journalist with National Public Radio and joined "Date- line NBC" in 1996 where he has earned two Emmys. Hockenberry, who grew up in western Michigan, chose to speak at the Univer- sity because "this is an extraordinary community of thinkers." "Its hold continues on me," he said. He was a frequent visitor to the Univer- sity's campus during college. Kipatrick moves for casinos DETROIT (AP) - With a stroke of a pen, the city and its three casino operators yesterday moved a giant step forward in expanding gaming in Detroit under an agreement that will bring more slot machines, hotel rooms and more than $100 million to the city. The agreement in principle calls for each casino to build a 400-room hotel, give the city $34 million apiece and forgive a $150 million debt. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who took office in January, said he made the casino issue a priority. A perma- nent casino agreement languished under former mayor Dennis Archer, in large part because of failed efforts to acquire land on the city's riverfront. "I'm ecstatic about bringing this to a close' Kilpatrick said. LOOING FOR GREAT INTERN HOUSING THIS SUMMER IN NEW YORK CITY We've got a great place for you to live this Summer. Spacious, safe, affordable and convenient off-campus housing with all the cool stuff... cable TV, internet access, fully furnished and ready for fast easy move in! The perfect place to really enjoy your intern or summer study program. But space is limited and demand is high. Check us out right now. Call the Hotline at 800-297-4694! Go online at www.studenthousing.org. if you are in New York visit us at our new Student Housing Center @ Lexington Avenue and 24th Street. EDCATIONAL HOUSING Student Housing for Real Living NEW YORK'S # 1 RESOURCE FOR STUDENT HOUSING Celebrating Five Years as University of Michigan s #1 Test Prep Company' Classes Starting Now! Seats are limited. THE CALENDAR What's happening in Ann Arbor today EVENTS "Disaster and After: Charlotte Delbo and Questions of Communi- p.m., Michigan Union Swing Dance, Sponsored by Michigan Union Pro- grams, 7 p.m.-midnight, Michigan Union Sponsored by Pierpont Commons Arts and Pro- grams, 8 a.m., Atrium Gallery, Pierpont Com- SERVICES Campus Information Centers, 764INFO, info@umich.edu, or www.umich.edu/~info ® S.A.F.E. Walk, 763-WALK, iii