LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Friday, April 5, 2002 - 3
SOLE leads protest at Fleming Building
East Quad bulletin
board vandalized
A caller reported early yesterday that
the bulletin board near Room 304 in
East Quad Residence Hall was torn
down and ripped into pieces, according
to Department of Public Safety reports.
The total damage was valued at $35.
Foliage damaged
in Arb due to
winter sledding
The Nichols Arboretum Director
said Tuesday afternoon that plants were
found damaged in the Arb as a result of
sledding this winter, DPS reports state.
Truck runs over dog
on North University
It was reported Monday afternoon
that a truck accidentally ran over and
killed a dog on North University
Avenue, according to DPS reports.
DPS officers responded and were
unable to locate any of the parties
involved.
Trespassing man
found sleeping in
UGLi bathroom
Staff at the Shapiro Undergraduate
Library reported finding a male sleep-
ing in the first floor men's restroom
early Tuesday, DPS reports state. The
man was 32 years old with no Univer-
sity affiliation. DPS officers read him
trespassing regulations and escorted
him from the building.
Floor lamp stolen
from East Quad
An antique bronze floor lamp was
stolen sometime between Friday and
Tuesday from an East Quad Residence
Hall lounge, according to DPS reports.
DPS officers responded Tuesday morn-
ing and filed a report.
Walkers assaulted
on route home
from dance club
Two people were assaulted walking
home from The Necto early Wednes-
day, DPS reports state. Both people
called DPS from the Shapiro Under-
graduate Library and requested to file
mutual assault reports. They both
declined medical attention.
Hospital patient
accused of holding
fraudulent checks
A caller reported Monday afternoon
that a newly arrived patient at the Uni-
versity Hospital was in possession of
two possibly fraudulent checks, DPS
reports state.
Jacket stolen in
ER waiting room
A caller reported that his work jack-
et was stolen out of the University
Hospital Emergency Room waiting
room .area Wednesday, DPS reports
state.
The jacket was a navy blue wind-
breaker with a Forensic Center patch
on the left front chest.
Person playing
basketball breaks
fingers at CCRB
A person broke their fingers on the
basketball court of the Central Campus
Recreation Building Wednesday night,
according to DPS reports. DPS officers
arrived at the scene and escorted the
person to the University Hospital
Emergency Room.
LCD projector
stolen from van
A caller reported Tuesday a month-
old theft of an LCD projector, DPS
reports state. The theft happened on
March 9 from a van parked on the
sidewalk near the Modern Language
Building.
The vehicle was locked and unat-
tended. The projector was valued at
$3,500.
-Compiled by Daily StaffReporter
Jeremy Berkowitz.
By Maria Sprow
Daily Staff Reporter
People passing by the Fleming Administration Building
yesterday afternoon most likely read part of a 400 foot-long
banner wrapped around the building that asked the Universi-
ty to put "people before profit, cut the New Era contract,"
and enforce University principles because "our Code of
Conduct means nothing if we don't enforce it."
The banner was only part of what members of Students
Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality planned for
the National Student-Labor Day of Action, which included
protests and rallies at over 110 schools across the country.
University SOLE members focused their attention on
ending the contract between the University and the New Era
Cap Company in Derby, N.Y. The company has been under
fire since July 2001, when the Workers' Rights Consortium
released a preliminary report on New Era that included sev-
eral health code violations.
RC junior Aaron Goodman, a member of SOLE, said
the Day of Action was a success because he believes inter-
im University President B. Joseph White understood their
message.
Though SOLE members did not convince White to cut a
prepared symbolic contract, he did voice his dislike of New
Era and promised the group he would look into the possibil-
ity of ending the contract.
"I think his verbal commitment is really strong and really
hopeful," RC sophomore and SOLE member Jenny Lee
said. "We just have to see if he can follow through with it."
But White said cutting the contract early is unlikely
because of legal issues. The University has already sent a
letter to New Era saying the contract will not be renewed
after its October expiration date if the company does not fix
its problems.
"I'm no fan of New Era," White said, adding that it is not
his job to cut the contract. "The University has a committee
and the committee exists for the purpose of providing guid-
ance on what actions the University should take on these
matters."
SOLE members claim the company is in violation of the
University's Code of Conduct for Licensees. The code
states, "Licensees shall provide a safe and healthy working
environment to prevent accidents and injury."
University officials said they feel New Era has not fully
responded to the allegations.
As part of the Day of Action, dozens of SOLE members
piled into the Office of the President and read statements from
New Era workers who are currently on strike. In the state-
ments, workers described the unsafe conditions of their jobs.
"Every Friday, I used to cash my check and cry, and won-
der, 'Why am I doing this? Why am I killing myself?' And
after I cashed my check, I'd pick up goodie bags for my
kids, rent a movie and buy some pizza. I was able to do that
for my kids. That's what made that whole week worth it,"
New Era worker Belinda Adey said in a statement.
Adey said her injuries and health problems have been
numerous because of her work at New Era. Her thumbs
have been permanently damaged, and she suffers from mus-
cle inflammation. She also said she and other workers suffer
from low morale as a result of New Era's management and
harassment.
"They know who's very, very union and treat them
accordingly," she said.
Several administrators said they believed SOLE mem-
bers had been "orderly" and "respectful," though several
Department of Public Safety officers did show up at the
demonstration.
"We had blocked the entrance with our banner, so they
requested that we take the banner down," Goodman said.
Students participating in the Day of Action at other
schools, like San Jose State University, were also working to
cut contracts with New Era.
"Our administration is very corporate-friendly out here,
but they are slowly coming around," said San Jose State stu-
dent Dale Weaver, a member of Students for Justice. Weaver
and others at the school also participated in a rally outside
their president's office yesterday. "The more things we have
like this, the more they are realizing that we have to be bet-
ter citizens."
JESSICA YURASEK/Daily
Members of Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality hang a banner.
around the Fleming Administration Building yesterday.
Gubernatorial candidates address health care
By C. Price Jones
Daily Staff Reporter
The future of Michigan's public health care sys-
tem could flourish or flounder under the leadership
of the next governor. At a gubernatorial forum last
night, the candidates for governor discussed their
plans to strengthen public health care through an
increase in taxes and reallocation of funding.
"The executive leader has neglected public
health care in the state," said Patti Kukula, deputy
director of the Wayne County Health Department,
who spoke on behalf of gubernatorial candidate
and Attorney General Jennifer Granholm. "We are
at the bottom concerning health care."
Only two of the three Republican candidates, one
Green Party candidate and representatives for the
three Democratic candidates attended the forum.
The panelists included State Sen. John
Schwarz (R-Battle Creek), Republican Edward
Hamilton and Green Party member Douglas
Campbell. Speaking on behalf of the three demo-
cratic candidates - U.S. Rep. David Bonior (D-
Mt. Clemens), former Gov. James Blanchard and
Granholm - were Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith (D-
Salem Twp.), Policy and Field Coordinator
Christopher Trebilcock and Kukula, respectively.
Republican candidate Dick Posthumus neither
appeared to answer questions nor sent a proxy to
represent his views.
Responding to the possibility of a tax hike for
health care funding and nursing home funding,
candidates generally eluded the yes-or-no answer
requested by Sederburg. Schwarz said he supported
a postponement of the tax cuts, a 6-percent sales
tax on hospital payments and a 25 cent hike on cig-
arette tax.
Invoking former President Bush's aphorism
against taxes, Hamilton said, "Read my lips, no
new taxes. ... I'm against taking young people's
money so that I can stay alive to the age of 95."
"Everyone is going to die sooner or later," he
added.
Candidates also discussed the need to provide
broader health care options to the public through
taxation. "Some people view health care as a privi-
lege, not as a right," Smith said. "We need to
change that'attitude."
"We need a complete overhaul," Kukula said.
"Hospitals cannot go on treating. ... Public health
needs to reprioritize."
Schwarz responded to the hope of universal
health care coverage doubtfully after an audience
member's question about coverage for poor and
uninsured people.
"There will never be a satisfactory answer of
how to get everyone under the umbrella," he said.
Concerning health care funding, many of the
candidates suggested cutting merit scholarship
funding, which takes up 75 percent of the tobacco
settlement money. Schwarz and Hamilton said they
would not cut money to fund merit scholarships,
while Smith, Trebilcock and Kukula favored using
State Sen. John Schwarz (R-Battle Creek) speaks
last night at a forum for gubernatorial candidates.
the money for health care spending.
The gubernatorial forum was held at the Michi-
gan League and was sponsored and organized by
the Student Association for Health Policy.
Asian Americans
speak on 'U' policies
By Shabina S. Khatri
Daily Staff Reporter
As black and white students partici-
pate in the debate over the University's
use of race in admissions, one minority
is often left out of the picture - Asian
Americans.
"Most people believe Asian Ameri-
cans are neutral on the issue, but we're
not. Other organizations on campus go
to extremes, but we don't believe
there's just one solution, so we'd rather
hold our own beliefs," said LSA fresh-
man Elizabeth Chang, a Taiwanese
American and president of Asian
Americans Against Affirmative Action.
Because Asian Americans have
comprised 40 percent of the Universi-
ty's minority student population over
the past five years, the group does not
benefit from the University's admis-
sion policies..
University spokeswoman Julie
Peterson said this minority does not
receive preferential treatment in admis-
sions because they are not considered
underrepresented like blacks, Hispan-
ics and Native Americans.
"Asian Americans end up adding to
the diversity of our student body with-
out affirmative action," she said.
But Chang said the University
should do more than just benefit
minorities that are underrepresented on
campus.
"Asian Americans are widely dis-
criminated against in the U.S. Maybe 1
percent of (chief executive officers) in
the Big Ten (companies) are Asian,"
she said. "If affirmative action is there
to give college minorities a boost, then
the fact that Asian Americans are
underrepresented in the workforce
must also be addressed."
But studies show that the implementa-
tion of affirmative action policies in
schools does indirectly benefit Asian
Americans. One study performed by
psychology Prof. Patricia Gurin found
that young people who are placed in
racially and ethnically diverse class-
rooms blossom intellectually when long-
held beliefs and ideas are challenged.
Law and sociology Prof. Rick Lem-
pert said he believes the University's
race-conscious policies benefit Asian
Amperican students in many ways.
"Without affirmative action this cam-
pus would be much whiter, causing
Asian Americans to stand out more;' he
said. "By increasing the number of
black, Hispanic and Native American
students, the University becomes a more
diverse educational atmosphere of many
non-white groups."
Lempert also said all students
should stand for the principles behind
the University's decision to use race in
its admissions policies.
"The University is enhancing diver-
sity while it enhances social justice,
and like white Americans, Asian
Americans have the same interest in
promoting this social justice," he said.
Chang said A-5, which she founded
this year, is not completely against affir-
mative action but seeks to improve it.
"Our bottom line is that affirmative
action has good intentions, but if
blacks, Hispanics, and Native Ameri-
cans receive benefits, why can't Asian
Americans have these special privi-
leges?" she said. "It's not all about
underrepresented minorities, it's the
discrimination issue too."
THIS WEEK IN
The Michigan Daily History
April 4, 1973 - Student Government Council, the fore-runner of the
Michigan Student Assembly, invalidated its all-campus election due i
massive fraud. Election officials estimated that 1,400 ballots were
fraudulent - about one quarter of the total votes cast. More than 300
were identified as stuffed ballots, while many others were shown to
carry the ID numbers of alumni graduated more than 40 years before. A new
election proposed for later in the month was described by SGC presidential candidate Ro Nagey as
"burning your right hand and sticking your left hand in the oven to see if it'll happen again.,
THE CALENDAR
What's happening in Ann Arbor this weekend
FRIDAY
"Relocating Ethnogra-
phy: Theory, Practice,
Use" Conference; Spon-
sored by Alfred P. Sloan
Center for the Study of
Korean Cultural Arts Fes-
tival; Sponsored by the
Korean Students Associa-
tion, 5:30 p.m., Confer-
ence Room A, Michigan
League
sored by Michigan
League Programming, 4 -
6 p.m., Michigan League
CT T *'-A
SERVICES
Campus Information
Centers, 764-INFO,
info@umich.edu, or
www. umich.edu/-info
S.A.F.E. Walk, 763-WALK,
Calil 24 hours a dav.
e-el-,- , , -etg: vAiibb