B~athtr Friday ©2003 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 76 TODAY: One-hundred-twelve years of editorialfreedom Light snow showers will begin in the morning and continue until the late evening. A:19 LOW.- 10 S17 www.michigandaily.com wil: i : -------------------- imm Uncertain future of oil ups gas prices By Lydia K. Leung Daily Staff Reporter U.S. crude oil futures spiked to a two-year high with yesterday's dis- covery of 11 empty chemical war- heads in Baghdad, heightening tension between the United States and Iraq and further complicating the low oil supply caused by the oil strike in Venezuela. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil futures for Feb- ruary rose 45 cents to $33.66 a bar- rel yesterday, the highest closing . price since November 2000. The crude oil prices have jumped more than 6 percent since Sunday. "The strike in Venezuela and the potential disruptions in Iraq are playing very important roles in driving the oil prices," Business Prof. Nejat Seyhun said. The anti-government strikes in Venezuela, which caused the fifth largest oil exporter to reduce its oil output, is now in its seventh week and driving the U.S. oil inventory to a 26-year low level, according to a report released on Wednesday by the Energy Department. The oil supply will be further depleted if there is a war in the Mid- dle East, where most of the giant oil exporters are located, because "it might cause lots of damage to the oil fields," Seyhun said. As a result, the oil prices will stay above the $30 a barrel level if the "very tense and very dangerous" situation in Iraq, as describedby chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans ° Blix yesterday, worsens to the point of war. "With the high oil prices, compa- nies will reduce investment and employment ... it can definitely pull the economy back into the reces- sion," Seyhun added. The February price of gasoline, a major crude oil product, also shot up by 33 cents to 90.76 cents a gal- lon yesterday. Although the retail gasoline prices will not increase by the same percentage of crude oil prices, the extra costs on filling up are unavoidable. The hike of gasoline prices have been displayed on the pricing board of the Shell gas station on Plymouth Road, which shows a cost of $1.539 See OIL, Page 9 Bush's speech prompts more groups to file By Tomislav Ladika Daily Staff Reporter President Bush and approximately 15 organiza- tions stated their opposition to the University's admissions policies by filing briefs yesterday with the U.S. Supreme Court, but legal experts say the briefs will not heavily influence the jus- tices who have already formed a stance on race- conscious admissions policies. The amicus, or friend of the court, briefs will add to the written argument that the Center for Individual Rights, a Washington-based legal firm that is suing the University in the two lawsuits, presented to the Supreme Court yesterday. In his brief, Bush is expected to specifically address the legality of the University's admissions policies, but will refrain from denouncing race- conscious policies in general. Curt Levey, CIR's director of legal and public affairs, said such an argument affirms that the University's policies are unconstitutional, even if they promote diversity. "It makes it even clearer that under any stan- dard, even if you think race can be a factor in admissions, it should be clear that Michigan's blantant racial preferences are unconstitutional," Levey said. The two lawsuits, Grutter v. Bollinger [ital.] and Gratz v. Bollinger challenge the use of race as an admissions factor in the University's Law School and College of Literature, Science and the Arts, respectively. University President Mary Sue Coleman defended the constitutionality of the University's admissions policies in a written statement Wednesday, saying admissions criteria examine the entire background of each applicant. "We do not have, and have never had, quotas or numerical targets in either the undergraduate or Law School admissions programs," she said. "Academic qualifications are the overwhelming consideration for admission to both programs." The justices are expected to hear the cases in late March or early April, and many legal experts consider the Court's subsequent decision to bge the most influential in terms ofrace-conscious admission policies since the University of Cali- fornia Board of Regents v. Bakke decision, which banned racial quotas but permitted the use of race as an admissions factor if diversity was a com- pelling interest. Bush's argument will carry the most weight See BRIEFS, Page 9 Empty warheads to shifit Iraq war University student Maggie Smith takes notes and sketches a drawing of Luke Massie, a BAMN member and affirmative action supporter, as he speaks on the steps of the Michigan Union. Supporters maintain faifh in amissions By Carmen Johnson Daily Staff Reporter In response to President Bush's announce- ment charging that the University's use of race in admissions policies are flawed, the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and Integration, and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary, held a press conference on the steps of the Michigan Union yesterday, calling to uphold the University's admission policies and further integration in higher education. "What happened was a racist fraud perpet- uated against the American people," National BAMN organizer Luke Massie said, adding that Bush falsely described the University's admissions policies as quotas to negatively portray the issue. BAMN is involved with the third party interveners, whose case claims that institutionalized racism has per- petuated a system of segregation in higher education. See RALLY, Page 9 debate, I U.S. says Iraq has failed to cooperate fully with the U.N. Security Council requirements WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administra- tion said yesterday U.N. inspections in Iraq should not go on indefinitely, given what officials contend is Iraq's refusal to provide full disclosure of an arse- nal of forbidden weapons. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the inspectors themselves have indicated that Iraq has failed in a number of areas to cooperate fully with U.N. Security Council requirements. "There's no point in continuing forever, going on, if Iraq is not cooperating," Boucher said. The comments came against a background of strong sentiment in Europe that a military attack against Iraq should not take place without the spe- cific endorsement of the Security Council. A senior administration official, speaking to reporters in Germany yesterday on condition that he not be identified, said countries that support that view only encourage Saddam Hussein not to coop- erate with the inspectors. Hours later, inspectors said they found 11 empty chemical warheads at an ammunition storage area 75 miles south of Baghdad.The disclosure could change the dynamic of the debate over Iraq at the United Nations if the find represents the "smoking gun" that the inspectors had been unable to uncover during their first two months on the ground. European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has said he cannot see how a war against Iraq can start without clear evidence Iraq pursues TC[' 6 .). says biological, chemical and nuclear arms in violation of U.N. resolutions. He has not said what his posi- tion would be if such evidence were uncovered. But he has said it is the general view of EU mem- bers that a military strike against Iraq should have the prior endorsement of the Security Council. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan agreed. Boucher said he had not been informed by the time of his briefing of the chemical warheads find in Iraq but added the news did not surprise him. Making the case that time is running out on Sad- dam, Boucher said the Iraqi leader has failed to comply with 16 Security Council resolutions and appears to be going on 17. "He's failed every time," Boucher said. He added, however, that Jan. 27 - the date when the next U.N. inspectors' report is due - should not be viewed as a deadline for an attack. He said the Security Council will first consider the question of whether Iraq is in compliance with the resolution. Only afterward would the Council decide on next steps, he said. The chief U.N. inspector, Hans Blix, believes that, in addition to the Jan. 27 report, he has a March 27 deadline to issue another, based on 1999 language that set up the U.N. inspection team. Boucher declined to describe the U.S. view of that deadline but other officials said they believe it should be disregarded because it could be used by U.S. critics as an excuse to delay a confrontation with Iraq. U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Com- mittee, said the administration should respect the March deadline. Some presidents' spouses salaried By Michael Gurovitsch For the Daily Like most students on campus, Kenneth Coleman's life revolves around his studies, but with one catch: He is the husband of Uni- versity President Mary Sue Coleman. According to Caryn McTighe, vice presi- dent of diversity, education and global initia- tives for the American Council on Education's Office of Women in Higher Education, some universities provide presidential spouses with monetary compensation for planning func- tions and providing general support for their other half. "In some cases (spouses of university president's) get stipends when they are expected to fulfill institutional responsibili- ties ... they act as a staff person to the presi- dent," McTighe said. But like most other Big Ten schools, the University does not compensate Ken Coleman for his supportive role. "I receive no compensation from the Univer- sity of Michigan for being a presidential spouse. I have not requested such compensa- tion, nor would I accept it," Ken Coleman said. In addition to not receiving a salary for his role as the president's husband, Kenneth pays tuition. He also said situations vary at other institutions and those individual institu- tions are the best judges of "what arrange- ments best fit their circumstances." As the wife of the University of Indi- See SPOUSES, Page 9 MLK Day events aim to teach campus about civil rights Piano reflections By Daniel Kim For The Daily An actor, a doctor, a professor, a community organizer, a hip-pop artist - these are just some of the many people coming to the Univer- sity's 16th annual, seven-week-long celebration called the Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium, which kicked off last Friday. This year's theme for the sympo- sium, "we must be the change we wish to see in the world," is a state- ment by Mahatma Gandhi, whose nonviolent resistance to British rule in India greatly impacted King. Grace Lee Boggs, the keynote speaker and community activist from Detroit, will speak at the Rackham Auditorium this Monday, and Rajma- han Gandhi, a grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, will speak later that day at the School of Education. On the last day of the sympo- sium, February 18, 2003, B.D. Wong, a Tony Award-winning actor who starred in the Broadway play M. Butterfly, will share his life story as an Asian-American actor. Forty-five more events are planned between today and the last day of the symposium. "These are people who have made life commitments to making this soci- ety better. The message to the stu- dents is that they have to be part of the change they want," said John Mat- lock, director of the Office of Acade- mic Multicultral Initiatives. "MLK Day is a day that helps us to understand the issues that MLK fought for. A lot of things MLK fought for are relevant today, espe- cially with the affirmative action," LSA junior Olivia McCormick Martin said. "The point of MLK Day for stu- dents is to engage themselves and to stretch themselves intellectually," LSA junior Abdul Lediju said. But MLK Day isn't a day of intel- lectual enrichment and reflection of King's work for all students. Yesterday morning, fliers that read "Martin Luther King Cobra Party -'You don't have to go to school Monday SO, come out and Celebrate!"' with a drawing of King holding a bottle labeled "King Cobra" were posted on the walls of Haven Hall and the Union. See MLK, Page 9 T SETH LOWER/Daily Columbia University history Prof. Charles Armstrong is reflected in a piano as he delivers a lecture titled "The Cultural Cold War in Korea" at the International Institute.