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Monday
April 1, 2002
1± i. CX1i, 10.1{l Ann Arbor, Michigan 02003 The Michigan Daily
Reactions to
turmoil vary L
on campus
By Annie Gleason
Daily Staff Reporter
Crime spree
picks up over
weekend
The flag hovering above the Diag, which has flown at
half-mast for the greater part of this week, acts as a
constant reminder to University students of the ongoing
violence between Israel and Palestinian forces in the
Middle East.
There have been five suicide bombings since the
beginning of Passover last Wednesday when 22 Israeli
citizens were killed. In total, 42 Inside: More cov-
Israeli citizens and five Palestinian erage on the
soldiers have lost their lives in the IsraeVPalestinian
violence this week. In response, conflict, including
Israel has increased its occupation of President Bush's
Palestinian territories, making the response. age 2.
possibility of impending peace
between the two countries seem less plausible to many
University students.
"It seems like things are certainly out of hand, with
no one sort of guiding the way to find a common
ground," Business graduate student Brain Deiger said.
"I think the fundamental problem is that (Israel Prime
Minister Ariel) Sharon feels that (Palestinian leader Yasser)
Arafat isn't doing enough to stop the terrorists, and that
Arafat can't stop them," he said. "He can't stop his people
from that until Israel gets out of the territory."
LSA junior Fadi Kiblawi, president of Students Allied
for Freedom and Equality, shared similar sentiments.
He said people need to realize that all the violence is
occurring on occupied territories.
"The more brutal the occupation is, the more brutal
the resistance will be," he said.
Kiblawi said if anything can prove that Arafat has no
power to stop the terrorists, it is the occurrences this
past week.
"Arafat does not hold a remote control to what the
terrorists do," he said. "He's been held up all week, and
the suicide bombings have increased."
LSA freshman Kelly Jackson said she has been fol-
lowing the recent developments on the news, and she
believes the situation is too out of hand for the two
sides to reach an agreement.
"When people can calm down for a little bit, then
they can have dialogues about personal grievances,"
she said.
Many students said they don't believe the situation is
something that can be worked out between the two
countries alone. Several entioned that the United
See CONFLICT, Page 7A
By Rob Goodapeed
Daily Staff Reporter
A two-week decline in crime on
campus came to an end over the week-
end with reports of a peeping tom inci-
dent in Bates Housing Complex early
Friday evening, a break-in at an off-
campus apartment Friday night, and
four vandalism incidents involving cars
in University lots.
A resident of Parker House of the
Vera Baits I Residence Hall on North
Campus reported that a man spied on
her while she was taking a shower at
6:30 p.m. on Friday. The resident
described the suspect as a black male
about 20 years old, thin build, full beard,
approximately 6 feet tall, wearing a
black skull cap and a red long sleeve
shirt, according to Department of Public
Safety reports.
After the incident was reported, a
number of DPS officers and the canine
tracking unit responded. Officers were
also seen by eyewitnesses stopping any-
one seen leaving Parker House wearing
a red T-shirt.
Four incidents involving cars were
reported to DPS on Saturday. Two cars
had their windows smashed at a Uni-
versity lot on Murfin Avenue. A large
rock was thrown through the left front
window of a car parked in a University
lot on Hubbard Street, and a cell phone
was stolen from a car in the Church,
Street Parking Structure sometime:
between Friday evening and Saturday
morning.
Last weekend, no thefts or vandal-
ism of cars in University lots were;
reported to DPS.
In another incident, an apartment at'
316 E. Madison St. was broken into,
between 10:30 and 11 p.m. Friday.
Resident Jordan Seidel, an LSA jun-
ior, returned to his apartment at around
11 p.m. and noticed that the front door.
was chained when he tried to enter the,
apartment.
"I ran to the back window ... I could,
see they ripped out wires and went.
through the cupboards." Seidel said.
"They ransacked everything," he;
said, adding that he thought the sus--
pects did not have a car because they.'
stole duffel bags.
More than $2,000 worth of goods
were stolen, including an XBox, a VCR,
a cable modem, a digital video camera, a
watch, a cell phone, jewelry and credit,
See CRIME, Page 7A'
AP PHOTO
A poster of the Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat Is seen behind an Israeli soldier on top of an army tank
In central Ramallah yesterday.
Israeli move into
Bethlehem, w1 a
BETHLEHEM, West Bank (AP) - Israeli
tanks entered Bethlehem early today, stopping
500 yards from the Church of the Nativity,
which marks the traditional birthplace of Jesus,
witnesses said.
Earlier, dozens of Israeli tanks rolled into the
West Bank town of Qalqiliya, marking a widen-
ing of the Israeli operation that began Friday
when Israeli forces broke into the compound
around Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's office
in the West Bank town of Ramallah and took up
positions just outside his office. Other tanks
took control of the town.
The Israeli military refused to comment about
the Bethlehem incursion. Tanks and armored
vehicles were seen approaching Bethlehem
overnight. The invasion began at 5:30 a.m.,
shortly before daybreak.
In a statement, the Israeli military said its
forces took control of Qalqiliya and were con-
ducting searches for suspected militants and
weapons, "to destroy the terrorist infrastructure"
in the town. The statement mentioned exchanges
of fire but did not refer to casualties.
Yesterday, saying Israel is in a war for sur-
vival, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon vowed to
smash Palestinian militants in an uncompromis-
ing offensive, as he addressed a nation rattled by
five suicide bombings in five days, including
See MIDEAST, Page 2A
Boot, Glassel
w
finally declared,
official winners
Harvard prof. aims
to challenge ideas
Louis Uttlewind (right) ties a sack of tobacco to give to a
dancer for use during prayer ceremonies.
Thous ands
participate in
A2 Pow Wow
Dal f f Reporter
Ties between community, family and nature were reaf-
firmed this weekend at the 30th annual "Dance for Mother
Earth" Ann Arbor Pow Wow, a three-day celebration of Native
American culture, at Crisler Arena. Honoring Native Ameri-
cans of the past and present, more than 1,000 singers, dancers,
artists and craftspeople participated in one of the premier
Native American cultural events in North America.
Originating from the Grass Dance Societies of the early
1800s, Pow Wows gave Native American warriors the opportu-
nity to recreate deeds of wartime bravery through song and
dance. Today, pow wows are a medium for preserving tradi-
tions through dancing, singing and drum competitions. They
are also a time to share with family and friends.
This year's event gave LSA freshman Zubair Simonson
his first taste of what it means to be a part of a Native Amer-
ican community. Originally from North Carolina, Simonson
said his exposure to Native American organizations had
By Jordan Schrader
Daily Staff Reporter
Harvard University Law Prof. Lani Guinier said
she wants to change assumptions about what makes
people qualified for college education and to chal-
lenge the entire idea of what merit means.
Guinier, the first black woman to become a
tenured professor at Harvard Law School, spoke at
the Michigan League Saturday night in support of
affirmative action and discussed ways to use the
lessons learned from minority issues to fix broader
problems in society.
Diversity is a crucial element of merit but is
currently being used to make only a small num-
ber of admissions decisions, Guinier said. To pre-
pare students for life in a democratic and diverse
country, she said every college applicant should
have to show how they bring diversity to the stu-
dent body.
"(Diversity) should be integral to the criteria for
the admission of every single applicant to a public
institution,"'she said.
Guinier attacked America's "testocracy" and
said standardized test scores do not successfully
predict an applicant's college or career perform-
ance. She said affluent students score higher on
the tests because they can pay for preparation
lessons that teach them the strategy needed to
succeed.
Experimentation on the measurement of merit is
necessary to change this system, Guinier said. She
suggested that some colleges could try to use a lot-
tery system in admissions that would randomly
choose students to accept.
"(A lottery) is honest," she said. "It is arbitrary
and you know it is arbitrary. What we have now is a
system that says, 'I'm so smart,' or 'I'm so dumb.'
That's what I think is so poisonous."
Some states have adopted a system that ensures
the top 10 percent of each high school's graduat-
ing class may attend a state university. Guinier
said a 10-percent system in Texas designed by
minority legislators has helped both minorities
and poor white students to attend college, show-
ing how affirmative action can lead to benefits
for society as a whole.
See GUINIER, Page 7A
By Tomislav Ladika
Daily Staff Reporter
The Michigan Student Assembly
election results have been officially
confirmed, and although Students First
candidates Sarah Boot and Dana Glas-
sel squeaked into the MSA's executive
office by a mere 28 votes - about
one-half of one percent of all votes
cast - 13 other Students First candi-
dates rode their coattails through to
join the assembly.
All pledge to continue the MSA's suc-
cess and fulfill their party's campaign
promise of increased interaction with
student groups.
Boot, who will take over as MSA
president at tomorrow's meeting, said
MSA has a lot of transitioning to go
through before the end of the assembly's
winter session in a few weeks. She said
communication with the new committee
and commission chairs, who will be
appointed at tomorrow's meeting, is her
first priority.
"The first thing that I will do is meet
individually with each representative.
If they have been around for awhile, I
want to hear their input on improve-
ments that could be made to the
assembly. If they are new, I want to
hear fresh ideas," Boot said.
"From all reps, I want to find out
what sorts of projects they would like to
be working on. With this information, I
would like to create a common vision
for the upcoming year with concrete
goals."
Glassel said many regular MSA rep-
resentatives need to realize they can
develop working relationships with
administrators. "I plan to act as a moti-
vator to the different representatives to
keep getting the different projects, but I
plan to make myself accessible to all the
reps;" she said.
Jason Mironov, the top vote-getter in
the College of Literature, Science and
the Arts election, said that with 13 Stu-
dents First candidates elected to the
assembly, MSA will be able to affect a
wide variety of student groups next year,
but the candidates must not forget their
campaign promises.
"We're now an important party on
campus and we have to uphold our part
of the bargain," Mironov said.
Glassel said she and Boot plan to
begin fulfilling those promises by
working to develop a student out-
reach program, an idea they pro-
posed that would require all
See MSA, Page 7A
MSAelections
Winter 2002
APA cultural show extends
beyond song and dance
By James Ng
For the Daily
The United Asiap Pacific American
Organizations began preparations for
this year's Asian Pacific American cul-
tural show before winter break, with
participants having to go through
numerous costume fittings, choreogra-
phy lessons and skit practices. Their
hard work paid off Friday night when
roughly 700 people came to the Michi-
through the creative arts. It coincides
with Asian Pacific American Heritage
Month, which runs from March 5 to
April 10 at the University..
"GenAPA is more than just a show.
Participants have to go to events like the
APA high school conference held here
on campus, in which we discuss issues
related to Asian Pacific Americans with
high school students from the Detroit
and metro-Detroit areas" said event co-
chair Brian Kim, an LSA senior.
tures that make up the Asian Pacific
American community," he added.
The show was a mixture of traditional
and contemporary, American elements
of the Asian Pacific American commu-
nity, with 11 acts ranging from a classi-
cal Indonesian dance to modern hip hop
dances. LSA junior Ashish Sinha said
the adrenaline rush he experienced dur-
ing his performance was simply amaz-
ing. He and his brothers from the Alpha
Iota Omicron fraternity step danced
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