LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, January 7, 2003 - 3- CAMPUS Land seeks bipartisan Prof analyzes religion during colonial period Anthropology professor Webb Keane will be discussing "Religion Culture and the Colonies" today at noon as a part of the University's Institute for the Humanities Brown Bag Lectures. It will take place in the Common Room at the Comerica Building on 250 S. Thayer. Bring a bag lunch. Lecture explores development of Jewish America English and Jewish studies prof. Julian Levinson will be lecturing on "Washed in the Blood of Israel: Emma Lazarus and the Rebirth of Jewish Culture in America" tomor- row at noon in room 3040 of the Frieze Building. The talk is sponsored by the Uni- -versity Center for Judaic Studies. Film screening features Islamic art, architecture A video screening of "The Cities of Islam: Istanbul and The Isfahan of Shah Abbas," offering a look into the cities' architecture and culture will be shown in University of Michigan Museum of Art audiovi- sual room tomorrow at 12:10 p.m. This is part of a series of video screenings this month highlighting Islamic art and culture. Harpist brings soothing sounds to 'U' Hospital Mellow jazz harpist Christa Grix will be performing Thursday at 12:10 p.m. at University Hospital lobby. The event is part of the "Gifts of Art" program. Speaker proposes new cyberspace interactions The School of Art and Design is sponsoring a lecture by MIT Media Lab Tangible Media Group Director Hiroshi Ishii, who will be talking about his efforts to create "beyond the keyboard" ways of interfacing with cyberspace. The lecture will be held in the Art and Architecture auditorium Thurs- day at 5 p.m. Event encourages dancers of all abilities to swing The Michigan Union Arts and Pro- grams and Swing Ann Arbor will host a series of swing dance lessons Wednesday beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Michigan Union. The evening will begin with a beginner dance lesson followed by an intermediate session at 8:30 p.m. and an open session at 9:30 p.m. Admission is $3. Health education of women to be topic of talk Prof. Nancy Hunt will be dis- cussing "An Experiment in Global Women's Health Education: The Women's Health in the City of Accra Project." The event, spon- sored by the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, will be held today at 4 p.m. in Lane Hall. U-Move invites students to jazz aerobics class To provide students with a variety of exercise classes, U-Move is sponsoring a Fitness Jazz Aerobics Promo Class in the Central Campus Recreation Building today for $3. Images of youth development to highlight event Terry Blackhawk and Toby Kahn- Loftus will be presenting "Images of Good Practice: Education, Child and Youth Development Programs, and Social Organizations" at the Schorling Auditorium in the School of Education today at 6 p.m. i Presentation to focus on human civility, changes in Department of State By Louie Melzllsh Daily Staff Reporter As Michigan's newly sworn-in secretary of state, Terri Land offers some of the old and a little of the new. The former Kent County clerk says she wants to carry on the work of her predeces- sor, Candice Miller, by continuing to stream- line Department of State operations. This allows Michiganders to conduct more of their business with the department online and keeps Michigan elections free of the type of problems Florida experienced in 2000. In a recent interview with The Michigan Daily, Land said she is also working to imple- ment the proposals on which she campaigned, even as the State Department expects cuts in funding due to the state's $1 billion-plus budget deficit. Prior to taking office, Land said, "I had quite a few of the department heads who Can- dice had take early retirement." Also, she said the number of division directors within the department has been reduced from four to three. Among her plans in the coming months: touring every branch office and meeting with employees to discuss problem areas and ways to improve the department. Land, a Byron Center Republican and unsuccessful State Board of Education candi- date in 2000, said she sees movement on making it easier for Michigan residents to obtain absentee voting ballots, one of her key issues. Currently, those who desire absentee bal- lots must provide an excuse, such as being out of town on election day. Land wants to eliminate the need for such an excuse. After meeting with Democratic Gov. Jen- nifer Granholm, Land said the two see eye-to- eye on the issue. "So I said, 'Great! Let's get the legislation moving on that."' Granholm also pledged to work with her in securing federal funds to purchase new vot- ing equipment. Another of her top campaign issues in 2002 was taking over from local police depart- ments the responsibility for towing aban- doned cars. Land has met or plans to meet with the Democratic chief executives from the state's largest city, Detroit, and county, Wayne, to discuss how her proposal could be imple- mented. "First we need to talk about how it's going to work for all three of us and then we can start talking to legislators," Land said. But while Land stresses bipartisan coopera- tion and civility, she said she will not shirk her responsibilities in speaking up for Repub- lican values. Land said she and Michigan's other top elected Republicans - Attorney General Mike Cox, House Speaker Rick Johnson of LeRoy and Senate Majority Leader Kenneth Sikkema of Wyoming - "will be working very closely. We've already talked about that, how we're a team. "(Former GOP Gov. John) Engler down- sized government and kept taxes low, and that's something we're going to be talking about," she said. "I'm very concerned with everything that happens because I'm a citizen of Michigan, too." In the interview, however, Land hinted that implementing one of her campaign proposals - taking over from county clerks the issuing of concealed weapons permits - may be more difficult than expected. DAVID) KAZ/Daily Despite expected cuts in the Department of State's budget, Secretary of State Terri Land said she remains optimistic about achieving her campaign proposals. "It's still there but we're going to kind of wait and see how the budget issues go," she said. "We have to make sure the constituency groups and the local groups are comfortable with this idea." Airport security plan follows national trend By Dan Trudeau Daily Staff Reporter The Michigan legislature passed a bill at the close of 2002 approv- ing the new Airport Safety and Protection plan, which allows for near- ly $1 billion in airport safety and security improvements. Drawing from local, state and federal funds in addition to sizable bond proceeds, ASAP will secure Michigan's airports through more intense screening of passengers, baggage and employees and tighter restriction on access to secure areas. The flexibility of the plan's funding will make it eligible for $160 million annually in federal funds over the next several years and lays the ground for continuing improvement of the state's airport security capabilities, officials from the Michigan Department of Transporta- tion said. "This legislation will put us in prime position to land federal securi- ty dollars when they become available," Transportation Director Gre- gory Rosine said in a written statement. The state's decision is symptomatic of a national trend regarding airport safety and security. With federal funds becoming available, California, New Jersey, New York and many other states are launch- ing similarly ambitious campaigns to update and improve security. "This is something that we're seeing across the country. We're all faced with security issues, so all transportation agencies are concerned," MDOT spokeswoman Stephanie Litaker said. With many of the nation's..airlines struggling since the Sept. 11 attacks, the consequences of tightened airport security on the travel industry remain uncertain. But in spite of the poten- tial problems of increased customer wait times and anxiety over flying, local travelbased businesses remain unconcerned about the new, strict procedures. "To start with, anything new makes people apprehensive. But in general the new rules are only going to be positive for the traveling public," said Charlie Corbin, manager of STA Travel in the Michigan Union. "From what I've seen and heard, the lines are actually moving quicker under the federal- ly employed screeners." Corbin added that he did not expect any negative economic reper- cussions from the new legislation, citing the stability of the student market as an asset to local businesses. Transportation officials said that while customer satisfaction at air- ports is a concern, security should be the top priority. "Obviously, everyone faces a little more time with these screenings, but we all have to stand back and realize that this is for everyone's safety,"Litaker said. University students also said they recognized the necessary inconvenience of strict airport security and called for more com- munication with the public regarding new security developments. "When I flew out of Detroit in December there was an extremely long line, but as long as I know what I'm dealing with I can work around it. There should be more advertising about this kind of thing" Engineering senior Jeremy Harris said. LSA senior Evan Lison said that while increased funding for secu- rity is necessary, it does not'guarantee an entirely safe traveling envi- ronment. "I think that the main place where security can lapse is with the personnel. Human error could be the biggest problem with the screen- ing process in the future," Lison said. MDOT lobbied heavily for passage of the legislation, as transporta- tion officials worked with other state agencies, including the state Aeronautics Commission and the Transportation Commission, to frame the bill before bringing it to the state Legislature. "We worked closely with legislators and agencies and put this together before going to the Legislature. We all pulled together and worked as one big team," Litaker said. eed Books? ByUSED BOOKS & Save 25%! 1v , 1'V. rJx. 't"cE'o Bookstore and MICHIGAN BOOK & SUPPLY Open Extended Hours This Week ALYSSA WOOD/Daily As part of her thesis research, LSA senior Molly Murphy inspects a 5,000-year-old animal bone yesterday at the Exhibit Museum of Natural History. City Council votes to reduce pa king fines given over break t wj F r ., .._ + . E Y i /+' f ,.-.a -,.,,,+ r . -,,,, Mw ,. ' fs 3 t . i. mow.,. .. ' / ....................,.. ,. i -. i Chanel Lancome Donna Karan DKNY Intimates Christian Dior Elizabeth Arden .and many more! By Emily Kraack Daily StaffWriter Students who received tickets for snow emergency parking violations over winter break can celebrate the new year with reduced parking fines. The Ann Arbor City Council last night reduced the fine accompanying narking tickets issued for cars narked on the street dur- This ordinance, meant to prevent buildup of snow, narrowed city streets during the winter. The $125 ticket cost aided the city in recouping some of the cost of towing cars off streets during heavy snow accumulation, estimated by Councilwoman Heidi Cowing Herrell (D-2nd Ward) to be about $270 per car. But no cars were towed in the December snow emergency. Herrell also said the original fine was meant "to be Over.1000 Designer Fragrances for Men & Women m il es fierrt ger e cve earn