Weatr TODAY: Wednesday January 8, 2003 02003 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 69 One-hundred-twelve years of editorialfreedom Cloudy during the day clearing bylate eveninag. ARM LOW: 35 '1tomorrow-. 37123 wwwmkhigandaily.com ----------- ego IBM - -- ---------------- ----------------- ---- M- Consumer confidence rises amid war threats By Lydia K. Leung Daily Staff Reporter Consumer confidence rose last month despite concerns about a possible war with Iraq, slow improvements in the job market and the restarting of a North Korean nuclear plan, according to the Uni- versity's Index of Consumer Senti- ment. The index rose to 86.7 points in December from 84.2 in November, indicating consumers are more opti- mistic about the economy than in the previous month. These numbers are still far below the recent high of 96.9 recorded in May 2002. Although the survey showed an improvement in consumer confi- dence, consumers are still cautious with their spending, according to reports from the Bank of Tokyo- Mitsubishi and UBS Warburg. Retail sales indicate that this was the worst holiday shopping season in almost 30 years. "For most consumers, they are now in a hunker down mood," Busi- ness Prof. Joel Slemrod said. "The situation in Iraq and in North Korea have a lot of uncertain- ty to the future for both ... is one reason that both consumers and businesses are adopting a certain wait-and-see attitude and why con- sumers are looking to build their assets rather than to spend". Slemrod said the proposal to end personal income taxes on corporate dividends, a centerpiece of the eco- nomic plan announced by President Bush yesterday, is not likely to stimulate much additional consumer spending. "Taxes are reduced, but the majority of consumers are unlikely to go out to spend that money and they are more likely going to save it or pay down their debts," he added. LSA sophomore .Joe Galante is among those who feel optimistic See INDEX, Page 7 INS deadline looms closer for foreigners By Layla J. Merritt For the Daily Citizens of some foreign coun- tries who are in the United States, including University students, could face deportation if they do not register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service by Fri- day. That is the deadline for the sec- ond group of non-immigrant aliens to register with the INS under the newly implemented National Secu- rity Entry-Exit Registration Sys- tem, which requires male aliens older than 16 and holding tempo- rary visas to complete a special reg- istration with the INS. The registration, which must be met by one of three deadlines, began Dec. 16 and ends Feb. 21, and is only applicable to persons from 22 countries - which, except for North Korea, have large Muslim populations. Citizens from Algeria, Lebanon and North Korea are among those who must register by Friday, while Saudis and Pakistanis have until Feb. 21. Law Prof. Nick Rine said there are hundreds of thousands of peo- ple in the United States who do not have proper visas. Of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers, three were in the country on expired visas. "If they are not in a legal status, they can be detained. Detention means they are put in jail. The INS is renting a lot of space right now," he said, adding that in Michiga non- immigrants are sent to jails in Cal- houn or Monroe counties. INS officials said 400 men were detained in Southern California after the December registration date, but most were released within three days, the Associated Press reported. Slim Mchela, a finance student who is permitted to study at Eastern Michigan University on educational visa, registered with the INS five weeks before his deadline. Mchela was required to check in with the INS at the airport on his way home to Tunisia over Winter Break. "Each time I leave to go to anoth- er country, I have to call the immi- gration officer to come and fingerprint and photograph me," Mchela said. Although Mchela reported that the INS officers were sympathetic, he said he was initial- ly annoyed by the extra attention he received in the airport. "At first, it bothered me because I was the only one. The whole plane was waiting for me because I have an Arab name." Mchela said. See INS, Page 7 BRETT MOUNTAIJN/Daily New parents Jaehak Woo and Youngsook Seo of Wixom, pass characters and Christmas decorations in the lobby of C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in Ann Arbor yesterday afternoon. Mott gets high marks in magazine's rankings By Michael Gurovitsch For the Daily As her six-year-old son Sokia receives his fourth round of chemotherapy, Deborah Kelbert takes notice of the superior level of care he recieves at the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital. Kelbert said the staff makes an effort to always include rice, one of Sokia's favorite foods, on its menu. "They really care about the kids. They also treat the whole family," she added. Child Magazine has also noticed the hospital's quali- ty of care too. It ranked Mott as the fifth best pediatric care facility in the nation. Mott, the only hospital in Michigan to be named in the top 10, was ranked ninth in last year's study. Top honors went to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Mott officials are pleased with the results. "We have a commitment to continually improve, which is part of our culture," said Patricia Warner, assistant hospital director. "We don't do that for the rankings. However, receiving national recognition for our excellence is energizing." Karen Cicero, senior editor of Child Magazine, cited Mott pediatric cardiology program, dialysis program, neuroblastoma research and emotional support services as reasons for Mott selection. "Mott has 50 support groups for patients and families, the most of any in the survey. They also distribute over 17,000 new books to patients through the giving library," Cicero said. "We are one of the best congenital heart children's hospitals in the world," Warner said. Child Magazine investigated the estimated 100 full members of the National Association of Children's Hospitals, then narrowed its search to 54 based on information provided by the Joint Commission of Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, an inde- pendent, non-profit organization. The magazine then sent surveys to the hospitals, which were developed by a panel of pediatric health- care professionals. "The survey itself was very compre- hensive," Warner said. She added that the survey See MOTT, Page 7 Granhoim inherits tbleak outlook for higher ed, funds ISR plans survey of local Arab values By Emily Kraack Daily Staff Reporter The University's Institute for Social Research has an ambitious New Year's resolution. This spring, the ISR is set to launch a study investigating social val- ues within the Detroit-area Arab American and Chaldean community. In addition, investigators hope the study will begin to break down stereotypes held by many non-Arabs. The principal investigators are Profs. Wayne Baker and Ron Stockton of the University's Dear- born campus. Stockton said he believes the study will show the Arab American community shares many of the traits valued by non-Arabs. "I think you'll find a lot of convergence," Stockton said. "I think we'll find that Arabs and non-Arabs are very similar on a whole variety of things." Specifically, Stockton cited that - like other Americans - members of the Arab community are very family-oriented. He said the Arab-Ameri- can community is also diverse, something com- monly associated with American society but often overlooked when referring to Arab Americans. "(There are) wealthy and poor Arabs, Christians, Muslims and different groups within those cate- gories," Stockton said. LSA senior Ehab El Sharkawy said tha, in his experience, values within the Arab community are much the same as values in other American groups. "For the most part, the values are similar," he said. "It's not like we have this alien system of values that conflicts," adding that both groups value democracy, freedom of speech and religion, honesty and hard work. An investigator for the ISR survey team, polit- ical science Prof. Mark Tessler said a main goal of the study is to give a voice to the people of the Arab-American community. "There's a lot of misinformation and stereotypes about the com- munity, and we hope to dispel those," he said. Accurate portrayals of their community is important for Arab Americans, Stockton said, which is why many leaders of the community are working with the survey team. "We want to do it right," Stockton said. "There's so much bad information." El Sharkawy, who was born and raised in Detroit, said he believes the key to clearing up misconceptions held about the Arab community lies in giving the community a personal face. "There is a large population of Americans who have not interacted with Arabs," he said. He added that he feels this makes people more prone to use stereotypes. El Sharkawy also said the media disseminate misinformation about the Arab community. "The media plays a huge role in people's perceptions," he said. The survey's effectiveness "depends on how well those results are publicized," he said. The study continues the ISR's annual tradition of surveying 1,000 Detroit-area residents to learn more about specific issues. Past studies sought information on smoking, health issues and education. After the Detroit race riots in 1967, the survey focused on racial attitudes of whites and blacks. The survey will involve face-to-face inter- views with what Stockton described as "scientif- ically randomly selected" Arab Americans and Chaldeans as well as 500 randomly selected members of the Detroit population in general. Detroit has one of the largest and most diverse (Arab and Chaldean communities in the world. Chaldean refers to a group of Christians from northern Iraq. There are about a quarter of a mil- lion people of Arab or Chaldean origins living in Detroit, according to Stockton. New governor faces budget challenges affecting the University By Christopher Johnson Daily Staff Reporter While a new governor has taken the helm of the state government, the trend of declining provisions for higher education will likely contin- ue this year. Gov. Jennifer Granholm's spokeswoman, Mary Dettloff, said Granholm would allow more funding if the money were available, but the $1.8 to $2 billion deficit will most likely reduce the grant to the University. Granholm will release her budget proposal in March. "It's a complicated mess that we've inherited from the last administration," Dettloff said. "The first year or two is going to be very difficult because of the enormous budget deficit we face. The cuts will probably be very painful and pretty much everything is on the table." The only area of state funding that would assuredly retain all pre- vious funding will be K-12 educa- tion, Dettloff said. The state establishes its budget plan in a method similar to that of the federal government. The gover- nor proposes a budget to the state Legislature for its members to review, amend and approve. Former Democratic state Sen. Alma Wheeler Smith expressed similar doubts that the state govern- ment could retain its previous fund- ing for higher education. "Unless the Legislature takes a couple of steps, there will definitely be cuts in the University appropria- tions from last year," she said. Smith said that the Legislature might avoid the budgets cuts if it delayed the income tax reduction planned for this year. "If the cut were delayed, the Leg- islature might not reduce (funding) from last year's appropriations or at least not to the degree it would be otherwise," she said. Having experienced a reduction in funding from the government during the last fiscal year, Universi- ty Provost Paul Courant said he is preparing for a similar cut in March. "We've taken a small cut already. See BUDGET, Page 7 Paper creations 1500 years of Bibles on display at library By Andrew McCormack Daily Staff Reporter Some of the rarest Biblical documents in the world are now on display in an exhibit at the University's Collections Library, a division of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library. The display, "From Papyri to King James: The Evolution of the English Bible," ends Saturday. "It chronicles the development of the Bible, with emphasis on the New Testa- ment, from the year 119 to 1611. "Visitors to the exhibit really are able to get a sense for how the text first looked and how it survived until the printing press," said Kathryn Beam, curator for humanities collections in the Special Collections Library. "The bulk of the exhibit is original material - papyri, medieval manuscripts, and the early printed bibles." All of the documents on display come from University collections, she said. See BIBLE, Page 7 DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily Students Katrina Alspaugh and Kristen Donnay observe Oragmi being made in the Union. The University's Special Collections Library is featuring Bibles as part of "From Papyri to King James: The Evolution of the English Bible," which ends Saturday.