Wednesday
March 12, 2003
©2003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 108
TOD
£ ii gritae
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Busing to
D.C. will
. cost MSA
$12000
By Andrew Kaplan
Daily Staff Reporter
Since passing a resolution support-
ing race-conscious admissions last
month, the Michigan Student Assem-
bly has found itself mired in internal
controversy and under attack by con-
stituents.
But although the assembly is still
divided about University admissions
policies, last night representatives easi-
ly passed a resolution funding student
busing to Washington on April 1, when
those policies go before the U.S.
Supreme Court.
The resolution - which MSA rati-
fied by a vote of 32 to 1 - earmarks
$11,910 of the Peace and Justice Com-
mission's funds to pay for four buses to
Washington and coordinates trans-
portation with Students Supporting
Affirmative Action.
Although SSAA is providing the
thrust behind the campaign, sponsors
of the resolution say MSA is impartial
in this matter.
"SSAA is doing this, it's nonpartisan
and everyone is welcome," Communi-
cations Committee Chair Pete Woi-
wode said, explaining that publicity for
the buses will target students support-
ing and opposing race-conscious
admissions. "The flyers will say that,
we'll say that, anyone outside this
room is going to say that"
Woiwode and other representatives
said the reasons for MSA's collabora-
tion with SSAA are twofold - to pro-
vide an outlet for student opinion and
to receive discounts on the buses.
"All that we're asking is that we get
the same price we've already negotiat-
ed for, and save the students money,"
Woiwode said. "These will be view-
point-neutral buses."
Despite the neutrality of the resolu-
tion, debate over its passage still
reflected current political tensions on
campus.
Peace and Justice Commission Co-
Chair Jackie Bray said she supports
transporting students of all viewpoints
to Washington. "But the assembly sup-
ported affirmative action a week ago
... so (SSAA's) name is not inconsis-
tent with the assembly," she said.
"I don't even think the buses got
See MSA, Page 2
Rumsfeld: British
role in possible
Iraqi war 'unclear'
Defense secretary, British
officials assure continued
cooperation
WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld says the Bush administration
"has every reason to believe" the British will make
a significant contribution to any war with Iraq,
although he would not count out going to war with-
out Britain.
At a Pentagon news conference yesterday, Rums-
feld was asked whether the United States was pre-
pared to invade Iraq without British help - or with
a reduced British role. He said those matters were
under almost daily discussion and that he had just
talked to his British counterpart, Geoff Hoon.
"What will ultimately be decided is unclear as to
their role; that is to say, their role in the event a
decision is made to use force," Rumsfeld said.
Britain is the only U.S. ally that so far has con-
tributed substantial numbers of ground forces to a
possible war against Iraq. Britain also has thou-
sands of naval and air forces in the area.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair faces enor-
mous public opposition for his support of Bush.
The matter of Britain's role will not be known for
certain until efforts to gain approval for a U.N.
Security Council resolution authorizing the use of
force against Saddam Hussein are completed,
Rumsfeld added.
"Until we know what the resolution is (going to
say), we won't know the answer as to what their
role will be," Rumsfeld said of the British military,
which is deploying 45,000 troops to the Gulf. "And
to the extent they are able to participate - in the
event that the president decides to use force - that
would obviously be welcomed," he added. "To the
extent they're not, there are workarounds and they
would not be involved, at least in that phase of it"
Asked whether that meant the United States was
considering going to war without Britain, he said,
"That is an issue that the president will be address-
ing in the days ahead, one would assume."
Later, after reports that British officials were sur-
See IRAQ, Page 7
Study: TV violence
causes aggression
Laila al-Arlan, whose father, Sami al-Arian, was arrested in February and accused of having ties to
terrorist groups, spoke at the University yesterday.
Al-Arian speaks out
on father's arrest
By Soojung Chang
Daily StaffReporter
Trying to inform the public about her impris-
oned father and threats to American civil liber-
ties, Laila Al-A rian spoke yesterday in the
Michigan Union Ballroom at the First Annual
Banquet for a Free Palestine.
Al-Arian's father former University of South
Florida engineering Prof Sami Al-Arian, was
charged and detained in February by the US.
Justice Department on allegations of terrorist
ties. Laila A/-Arian is a junior at Georgetown
University, majoring in English.
The Michigan Daily sat down with Al-Arian
last night for an exclusive interview
The Michigan Daily: What has been the
effect of your father's arrest on you and your
family?
Laila Al-Arian: We're devastated. We all feel
like we're living a nightmare. He's such a strong
figure in my family and in the local Muslim
community. He wore so many different hats,
from religious leader to marriage counselor,
from father to civil rights activist. It's been very
painful. He's on a hunger strike now. I'm on
spring break so I went home to Florida to visit
and I saw him about four or five times. He's vis-
ibly thinner. He lost like 20 pounds so it's just
See AL-ARIAN, Page 7
By Erin Saylor
Daily Staff Reporter
Watching violence on television as a child
can lead to the development of violent adult
personalities, according to the University
Institute for Social Research. Both young
boys and girls who are heavily exposed to TV
violence have a greater risk of exhibiting vio-
lent behaviors such as spousal abuse and
criminal offenses later in life.
The 15-year study by social psychologist L.
Rowell Huesmann is one of the first to exam-
ine the long-term effects of violence on tele-
vision on both men and women.
"Both girls and boys with a high exposure
to TV violence in first to fourth grades were
more aggressive as adults, even when we sta-
tistically controlled for their childhood
aggressiveness, social class, intelligence and
many other factors," Huesmann said in a writ-
ten statement.
"We also found that greater identification
with same-sex aggressive characters and a
stronger belief that violent shows 'tell it like
it is' predicted violent adult behavior."
Boys who were heavily exposed to violent
television between the ages of six and nine
were twice as likely to as other boys to push,
grab or shove their spouses and three times
more likely to be convicted of criminal
behavior by their early 20s.
Similarly, girls who often watched violence
on television were more than two times as
likely to have thrown something at their
spouse as girls who had not, and more than
four times more likely to have punched, beat-
en or choked another adult.
Beginning in 1977, researchers interviewed
329 children ranging from six to nine years
old, as well as their families and classmates.
Fifteen years later, they re-interviewed the
subjects now in their early 20s, as well as a
spouse, parent or sibling. They also included
public archival information, such as criminal
justice records, in their analysis.
Earlier studies in the 1960s by Huesmann
See VIOLENCE, Page 3
Author Rushdie
talks politics in
U' interview
Saddam poses no
threat, Rivers says
By Andrew McCormack
Daily Staff Reporter
Students, faculty and members
of the Ann Arbor community
packed into Rackham Auditorium
yesterday to hear the award-win-
ning writer Salman Rushdie inter-
viewed. Though Rushdie's play,
"Midnight's Children" debuts at
the Power Center today, his topic
of conversation was not literature.
but his political views.
"Why should we talk of the
political Rushdie at all? Why
should we not entirely abandon
Salman to the literary scholars?
Because Salman is an intense
political being," said Ashutosh
Varshney, director of the Center
for South Asian Studies, who
interviewed Rushdie.
Rushdie has indeed been a
character of intense political con-
cern since 1989, when the spiritu-
al leader of Iran, Ayatollah
Ruhollah Khomeini, issued a fat-
wah - an order for his death -
against him for the views on Islam
expressed in his novel, "The
Satanic Verses," which Khomeini
and much of the Muslim commu-
nity viewed as heretical.
Since then, Rushdie said he has
developed very strong notions
about the right to free speech, and
this was one of his major concerns
in tonight's engagement.
"If you live in a society where
you have free speech, you don't
think about it that often. When
you have enough air to breath,
you don't think about the air, and
See RUSHDIE, Page 3
By Maria Sprow
Daily Staff Reporter
A billboard on westbound Interstate
94, just east of exit 169, shows a map of
the world. The words "The world says
no to war" spread across it in bold capi-
tal letters and below it, a question is
raised: "Why won't George Bush lis-
ten?"
Several Ann Arbor community lead-
ers met yesterday to strengthen that
statement and provide some insight to
the question.
At an Ann Arbor Area Committee for
Peace press conference attended by sev-
eral community members - ranging
from American war veterans to former
Iraqi citizens - former U.S. Rep. Lynn
Rivers and the Rev. Kenneth Phifer, a
minister at the First Unitarian Universal-
ist Church, spoke about the scope of the
anti-war movement.
"Across the planet, opposition to vio-
lent intervention in Iraq is unshakable,"
Rivers said, adding the movement is not
contained to left-wing activists. "It's lib-
erals. It's conservatives. It's middle of
the road people ... people from all walks
of life."
Although President Bush has stated
many times that Saddam Hussein is har-
boring weapons of mass destruction and
has lied about his intent to destroy them;
Rivers, who represented Ann Arbor in
Congress for eight years, said she does
See PEACE, Page 7
"Midnight's Children" author Salman Rushdie talks about war, politics and free speech last night
at Rackham Auditorium. His play debuts today at the Power Center.
Survey results challenge Arab stereotypes
By Michael Gurovitsch
Daily Staff Reporter
The opinions of many Arabs on democracy and
peace with Israel are different from what many
Americans currently believe, according to a study
conducted by the University. Researchers also found
that public opinion in Arab countries is generally
based on economic conditions, not religious beliefs.
"It seems that most Americans think that Arabs are
militant, aggressive, opposed to democracy ... and
they are this way because Islam encourages such atti-
tudes," said political science Prof. Mark Tessler, who
conducted the study with Rackham student Dan
Corstange. "Surveys in many countries show that
these are stereotypes and not correct."
"The belief that Islam is anti-democratic or anti-
peace does not really hold in the data," Corstange
said. "You can't tell one way or other based on some-
one's religion."
The study also suggests that Arabs prefer democ-
racy to other forms of government. "Most want
democracy and are unhappy about authoritarianism
and corruption of their government," Tessler said.
"There is broad support for democracy among ordi-
nary people."
Researchers also concluded that Palestinians want
to make peace with Israel. Corstange said Palestini-
ans show a fundamental willingness to compromise.
"The proportion of Palestinians who support a recon-
ciliation with Israel is great compared to those who
don't," Corstange said.
Tessler said nearly two-thirds of Palestinians sup-
port peace based on a two-state solution with territo-
rial compromise and mutual recognition. He added
that the views are equally as common among reli-
gious and less-religious Arabs.
The perception that Arabs generally dislike Ameri-
cans is also false, Corstange said. "People don't have
a problem with Americans. They have a problem
with American policy," he said.
See SURVEY, Page 3
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Ice carving team captain Sultan Sharrief, an LSA sophomore, cuts a
block of ice for a sculpture for the 41st Ann Arbor Film Festival.
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