Tuesday
02003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 107
One-hundred-twelve years ofeditorilfreedom
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U.S. delays vote after France threatens veto
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - With a French veto now a
certainty and other support still in question, the United
States and Britain were forced yesterday to delay a Security'
Council vote to set March 17 as the deadline for Iraq to dis-
arm - or face destruction.
The United States had hoped to present the resolution to
the council today. But despite an urgent phone campaign
waged by President Bush, it was evident that America and
its allies had not yet picked up the nine votes they needed
for a majority.
But even nine votes wouldn't be enough. French Presi-
dent Jacques Chirac declared that his country would veto
any resolution that opened the way to war. The Russians
also said they would vote against the proposal as it was cur-
rently worded.
Behind the scenes, diplomats were discussing compro-
mises, including extending the deadline and adding a list
of tests - or "benchmarks," as they are called - that
the Iraqis must pass to prove their disarmament and
cooperation.
Both the United States and Britain said they were
willing to negotiate both the deadline and other changes
to the resolution.
Some of the uncommitted countries were talking about
delaying the deadline a month, until April 17 - though it
was clear that such a proposal stood no chance with the
United States, as hundreds of thousands of American sol-
diers awaited their orders in the Persian Gulf.
White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said a vote on
the resolution will not come today. He said consultations
were ongoing and a vote could come anytime later in the
week.
"The vote will be the day we get nine or 10 votes, and I
think we're getting close," said Spanish Ambassador
Inocencio Arias, whose country is cosponsoring the resolu-
tion with the United States and Britain.
But on the surface, at least, yesterday was not a good day
for the coalition's efforts.
Pakistan's prime minister said for the first time publicly
that his country, a key swing vote on the council, wouldn't
support war with Iraq. And Chile, another vote which Wash-
ington is after, suggested it is not prepared to approve the
resolution without changes.
"We know our vote in the council is very important, and
that's why we seek a different alternative to the resolution
proposed last Friday," said Chilean Foreign Minister
Soledad Alvear.
The resolution - which authorizes war anytime after
March 17 unless Iraq proves before then that it has disarmed
- requires nine "yes" votes. Approval also requires that
France, Russia and China withhold their vetoes - either by
abstaining or voting in favor.
The United States is assured the support of Britain, Spain
and Bulgaria, with Cameroon and Mexico leaning heavily
toward the U.S. position.
See RESOLUTION, Page 2
Student intervenors denied time
to give oral arguments to court
By Jeremy Berkowitz
Daily Staff Reporter
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition
yesterday requesting time for the student inter-
venors to speak at the April 1 oral arguments of
Grutter v. Bollinger. The decision disappointed
the intervenors, who have defended the Univer-
sity's race-conscious
admissions policies SSIONS
for years.
"It's absurd that
the Supreme Court
won't allow these
students' voices to
be heard," Education
senior and student e
intervenor Agnes Down the
Aleobua said. homestretch
The student inter-
venors represent a group of high school and
college students who argue that the use of race
in admissions remedies past discrimination.
Last week, Miranda Massie, attorney for
the student intervenors, filed a brief to the
court asking that respondent Kimberley James
be allowed to speak for 10 minutes in Grutter
v. Bollinger. Massie noted that, previously, the
6th Circuit Court of Appeals and the U.S. Dis-
trict Court granted special time to the inter-
venors because they presented a viewpoint
different from the University's.
"The court has never been presented with an
abundance of largely uncontested evidence on
the racial bias and discrimination contained in
standardized test results and grades," Massie
stated in the brief. The court has "therefore
never had the opportunity to rule on affirmative
action as a means and method to offset discrim-
ination in what would otherwise be a thorough-
ly biased admissions process."
Massie requested that the court expand the
defendants' time or order the University to
share its time with the intervenors. University
attorneys expressed support for expanding the
defendants' time, but said they did not want
time taken away from their arguments.
"The University made a terrible mistake on
this question because the most important evi-
deuce 'in the case isn't going to be consid-
ered," Massie said yesterday.
When the student intervenors defended
their arguments in U.S. District Court two
years ago, the court allotted them 30 hours for
testimony and arguments, most of which they
used. When the casereached the 6th Circuit in
December 2001, the University allotted the
intervenors a portion of their time.
But at the district court level in both Grut-
ter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger, Judges
Bernard Friedman and Patrick Duggan reject-
ed the student intervenors arguments, respec-
tively, even though Duggan upheld the point
system used by the undergraduate schools.
At the district court level
in both Grutter v. Boffinger
and Gratz v. Bollinger,
Jutges Bernard Friedman
an PatrickDuggan
rejected the student
intervenors arguments.
But Massie said it was the intervenors who
strengthened the University's case and
brought forth evidence attacking the percent
plans used in Florida, California and Texas.
"We've always supported the University's
argument and in fact we've added a lot of evi-
dence" she said.
University General Counsel Marvin Krislov
said U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson's
decision to speak with the Center for Individ-
ual Rights greatly influenced the University's
decision to keep its time. "We thought we
needed the full 30 minutes because it was
pretty clear that the government was seeking
time," Krislov said, referring to the solicitor
general's request to speak at the hearing.
Georgetown University law Prof. Susan
Bloch said the court is usually very strict
about following the set times for oral argu-
See INTERVENORS, Page 7.
'Angry white man'
speaks in favor of
affirmative action
Nursing school sophomore Brad Braggons runs down a fire escape of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.
Concern over whether clubs and fraternities are prepared for fires was heightened after a blaze
killed more than 90 people at a Rhode Island club last month.
FIRE PARTIES
By Kate Dewey
and Victoria Edwards
Daily Staff Reporters
AND PANIC
Are clubs, house
By Victoria Edwards
and Maria Sprow
Daily Staff Reporters
0
The beer is flowing, the party is jumping,
the music is blasting and the hallways are
overflowing with people. It's Friday night, and
house and fraternity parties are happening all
over campus, just like always. But what if
something goes wrong?
Concern over safety at m ess ot
house parties, fraternity
parties and area bars and Imow what
clubs has risen in the last
month, due to the two hap pen... I
tragedies that occurred in bad has ev<
clubs in Chicago and at any hou
More than 20 people ever been t
were killed and 50 people
were injured in Chicago hard for m
last month after someonel
sprayed a can of Mace to people beij
stop a fight at the nightclub inconsiderm
E2 that failed to meet safe-
ty regulations. The incident trampling (
was followed by another other"
tragedy just days later
when more than 90 people
died in a Rhode Island club
after a band used pyrotech-
nics during its show. The pyrotechnics started a
fire, which panicked club-goers who were
unable to escape due to the overcrowding of
people inside the building.
Although LSA junior Melinda Hathaway
said she feels many parties are overcrowded,
she remains unconvinced an incident such as
the ones that occurred in Rhode Island and
Chicago could happen in Ann Arbor.
ti
v spec7Ions:
artes fire-safe?
"You do get pushed around a lot and you
don't really know the best way around the
house, because it's not your house," Hathaway
said. "I guess you never know what is going to
happen .. but nothing bad has ever happened
at any house party I've ever been to, so it's
hard to me to imagine people being rude and
inconsiderate and trampling over each other to
push their way out of a house."
But Ann Arbor fire
Sneverinspectors said there is
more danger involved
is going to with house and fraternity
it nothing parties than people are
>Ci~t= 9 aware of. They also said
r happened that, due to budget and
TT departmental cuts and the
party Ive lack of a permanent fire
so itfs chief, many of Ann
Arbor's bars and clubs
to imagne have not been inspected.
ude and for fire safety standards in
several years.
:e and Ann Arbor City Fire
Inspector Doug Warsins-
Ver each ki said the most impor-
tant factors when
determining the safety of
qelinda Hathaway a club or bar are the
LSA junior number of exits in the
building, whether or not
they are obstructed in any way and are easily
identifiable, the existence of a sprinkler sys-
tem, the type of insulation being used and the
material that composes the building.
Warsinski added that though inspections are
not occurring as regularly as they should, the
majority of Ann Arbor clubs and bars are still
safer than The Station, where the Rhode Island
See FIRE SAFETY, Page 7
As a white man growing up in a
Southern community, lecturer Tim
Wise said that he enjoyed all of the
special perks that "white privilege"
offers, yet he still said he is an
active supporter of affirmative
action.
Wise addressed the undergraduate
and Law School policies in the admis-
sions lawsuits yesterday to roughly 75
students and members of the Ann
Arbor community in Hutchins Hall.
Wise said there exist cases of
white privilege embedded in the
undergraduate admissions process.
"The point system to get into the
undergraduate program is based on
a 150-point scale. A minority stu-
dent can get 20 points based on
race," Wise said. "However, while
the preference for minorities are
spelled out, the preferences for
whites are invisible."
According to Wise, these prefer-
ences are shown through the 10
points given to students who go to
top-tier public and private schools
that are predominately white. Eight
points are also given to students
who have taken Advanced Place-
ment classes. Hispanic and black
schools are one-third as likely to
offer AP classes, he said. Geograph-
ical location is also a factor, with
students coming from the predomi-
nately white Upper Peninsula get-
ting 16 points.
"There are 58 to 60 points in the
admissions process that are almost
exclusive to whites, while there are
only 20 exclusive points for minori-
ties," Wise said.
Wise said these points would con-
See WHITES, Page 3
Tim Wise, known as the "angry white man," speaks yesterday in
the Law School's Hutchins Hall. There are many points for whites
embedded in the admissions process, Wise says.
Small: Poor environment means poor health
By Carmen Johnson
45 Daily Staff Reporter
Ships rusting in an exposed seabed
depicted what was once the fourth-
largest inland body of water - the
Aral Sea in Uzbekistan - which has
dried up in the last 25 years, leaving
the population increasingly vulnerable
to tuberculosis. These images com-
menced this week's global health sym-
posium, which focused on the
environment's effects onxpublic health.
Keynote speaker Ian Small headed
the Doctors Without Borders -an
independent humanitarian medical aid
agency - 1997 mission to Aral Sea.
Small's speech yesterday afternoon
was directed toward the health prob-
lems near the Aral Sea.
"What happened to the Aral Sea rep-
resents the fact that helping the envi-
ronment is more than just recycling
cans," Small said. "It's on a larger scale
JONATHON TRIEST/Daily
Keynote speaker Ian Small, head of Doctors Without Borders, an independent humanitarian medical aid
I
I