LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 21, 2003 - 3
Granholm will speak at commencement
Human rights
during Asian wars
to be discussed
State University of New York at
Binghamton sociology Prof. Mark
Selden will give a talk titled "State Ter-
rorism and Human Rights: The United
States, Japan and Civilian Victims in
Twentieth Century Asian Wars" in the
Michigan Room of the Michigan
League today at noon. The lecture is
sponsored by the Center of Japanese
Studies.
Seldon will examine the 20th centu-
ry efforts to create a regime of interna-
tional law designed to protect civilians
from the destruction of war and the
fact that civilians are nevertheless tar-
gets of war on an unprecedented scale.
Film festival to
celebrate APA
independent films
The first annual Flicker Film Festi-
val will present independent Asian
Pacific American films and student
filmmakers from the Midwest in the
Natural Science Auditorium tomorrow
and all-day Sunday. The event is free
and sponsored by the Office of Multi-
Ethnic Student Affairs.
Show to highlight
African culture
The African Students' Association is
hosting a cultural show in Michigan
Union Ballroom tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets for the show titled "African
Lights: The Connection" are $5.50
each.
Doctors to play
hockey for
transplant funds
University cardiology and surgery
ice hockey teams face off to raise
money for heart transplant patients at
Yost Ice Arena tomorrow at 5 p.m. At
"Hearts on Ice Hockey Challenge,"
University of Michigan Health System
teams will be playing alongside alumni
and members of the Ann Arbor Police
and Fire departments. Tickets are
required, and will be included in a raf-
fle drawing.
Author to address
corporate greed
Author and political commentator
Arianna Huffington will talk about her
latest book, "Pigs at the Trough,"
which focuses on corporate greed and
political corruption in the United
States.
Sponsored by Hillel and University
Activity Center, a dessert reception and
book signing will follow her discussion.
Profs explore
women's part in
nation rebuilding
A lecture titled "Rebuilding the
Nation" will discuss the role of women
after war in Lane Hall on Monday at 3
p.m. The lecture will be given by histo-
ry Prof. Nita Kumar, Notre Dame
anthropology Prof. Carolyn Nord-
strom, and Business Prof. Cindy
Schipani. This lecture is part of a
"Women in the Aftermath of War"
series.
Motivational
speaker to inspire
student success
The Society of Success and Leader-
ship is hosting a video conference with
motivational speaker and University of
West Florida Prof. Joe Martin in the
Kuenzel Room of the Michigan Union
Monday at 8 p.m.
Martin is author of two books,
"Tricks of the Grade" and "This Little
Light of Mine."
Panel to focus on
North Korean
nuclear crisis
A panel discussion sponsored by the
Korean Studies Program will be held to
talk on the North Korean nuclear crisis
in the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre on
Monday at 4 p.m.
Panelists include Selig Harrison,
director of the Asia Program at the
Center of International Policy, Leon
Sigal, director of the Northeast Asia
Cooperative Security Project in New
York and political science Prof. Mered-
ith Woo-Cumings.
Renaissance era,
Atlantic axis to be
topic of lecture
By Katie Glupker
Daily Staff Reporter
The University Board of Regents announced
yesterday that Gov. Jennifer Granhohm will give the
keynote address at the University's spring com-
mencement ceremony April 26.
"I am thrilled to be speaking to the class of
2003 at the University of Michigan,"
Granholm said in a written statement. "These
young people are our future. This is the per-
fect opportunity to talk to them about how
they will impact our world."
University President Mary Sue Coleman said she
is pleased that Granholm will address the gradu-
ates. "I am gratified that Governor Granholm will
deliver this year's commencement address - in my
first year as president of the University and her first
year as governor," Coleman said in a written state-
ment. "Governor Granholm represents an example
of energetic and dedicated public service that will
be of great value to our graduates as they begin the
next stage of their lives."
In addition to delivering the main address, the
Board of Regents also invited Granholm to receive
an honorary doctorate of law at commencement.
"Honorary degrees are a way the academic com-
munity represents achievement and accomplish-
ment," said Nancy Connell, director of News and
Information Services at the University.
"Th1s is the perfect opportunity to talk to (students) about
how they will impact our world:'
- Gov. Jennifer Granholm
She added that it has long been a University tra-
dition to confer an honorary degree on the gover-
nor. Former Michigan Gov. John Engler was
awarded an honorary doctorate of law in 1993.
Former Republican state Sen. John Schwarz of
Battle Creek will give the main address at the Uni-
versity Graduate Exercises on April 25 and will
also receive an honorary doctorate of law.
Four other guests will also receive hon-
orary degrees at commencement - Oleg
Grabar, professor emeritus at the Princeton
Institute for Advanced Studies; Judith Jami-
son, director of the Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theater; Hillel Shuval, Lunenfeld-
Kunen professor of environmental sciences at
the Hebrew University of Jerusalem; and
Billy Taylor, jazz pianist and educator at Uni-
versity of Massachusetts at Amherst.
My opinion
Graduate student instructors
will picket today, Monday
By Maria Sprow
Daily Staff Reporter
Hoping to increase campus-wide
awareness of several concerns shared by
its members, the Graduate Employees
Organization is planning an informa-
tional picket today and Monday.
Approximately 200 GEO members
are expected to arrive at Angell Hall
today between 10 a.m. and noon.
They will be picketing various Uni-
versity buildings around campus, but
GEO President Dan Shoup declined
to comment on which buildings will
be included, stating that the spread of
the picket would depend on the num-
ber of members who participate.
Shoup said the two-hour-long picket
will focus on two issues - the Universi-
ty's use of the private prescription drug
company AdvancedPCS and the ongo-
ing negotiations between residence hall
librarians and the University.
University spokeswoman Julie
Peterson said the University will
respect the students' rights to picket,
and that it is not expecting the picket
to cause any disturbances on campus.
"We expect it to be peaceful, and
we do not expect it to interrupt any of
the University's normal business,"
Peterson said.
The second picket, scheduled to take
place Monday outside various residence
halls from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m., will run con-
gruently with an expected strike by the
residence hall librarians. The librarians
voted 9-2 late Wednesday night to
strike Monday unless the two parties
reach a tentative agreement concern-
ing the group's wages beforehand.
Though residence hall librarians
originally approached GEO about
gaining membership in September
2001, the University officially agreed
to recognize them as members in
October 2002, after GEO contract
negotiations ended. Negotiations
between the University and the librar-
ians started in January. They have
been bargaining for higher wages,
retroactive pay and better training.
Currently, residence hall librarians
- who are all graduate students in the
School of Information and are required
to live in the residence halls they work
in - are paid with a $5,500 stipend
and free room and board. They are ask-
Residence hall librarians
make approximately 75
percent of what graduate
student instructors and
other graduate
employees make.
ing that the University pay them the
same salary given to other graduate
student employees, who, because they
receive tuition and other benefits, make
approximately $18,000 more per year,
Shoup said.
The University yesterday proposed
to pay the residence hall librarians the
same salary as other University
library associates, who make approxi-
mately 75 percent of what graduate
student instructors and other graduate
employees make.
"We are unhappy with the wage pro-
posal the University has made to us,"
Residence Hall Librarian Margaret Bas-
ket said, adding that librarians have
numerous administrative responsibilities
and require special training to perform
their work. "For us, it's about the profes-
sionalism of our jobs."
Basket added that she does not
think it is reasonable for the Univer-
sity to pay librarians less than what
it pays other graduate student
employees.
"We don't understand why librarians
are in the contract at a wage below GSI
wages," she said, adding that one theory
is that, because women hold the majori-
ty of librarian positions, those positions
are underpaid. "Librarians all over the
world right now are having problems
with pay equity."
Peterson said she believes negotia-
tions between the two parties have been
making progress. So far, the University
and the librarians have tentatively agreed
to four proposals, she added.
Those proposals include the Uni-
versity's agreement to classify resi-
dence hall librarians as graduate
student staff assistants for the purpos-
es of the GEO contract. Librarians
will also receive additional supplies,
such as computers, to use in their
workspaces in order to help them
with their jobs, Peterson said.
The parties have also agreed to a
plan that would move residence hall
librarians out of the residence halls,
giving them compensation through
tuition instead of room and board. As
part of that agreement, the University
has set up a plan to provide transi-
tional housing options for current
librarians who are planning to keep
the position next year.
"We were really disappointed when
the University made the decision that
living in the residence halls was not a
necessary part of our job, because we
feel that being part of the community
has been really important to the resi-
dence hall librarian program," Basket
said. "But we were really glad that
they came up with a transitional
agreement. It's'late in the year to be
looking for housing in Ann Arbor,
and housing is really expensive"
NICOLE TERWILLIGER/Daily
Ann Arbor resident James Middlestadt argues with pro-war
demonstrators during a protest on the Diag yesterday.
New software helps
Internet users cope
with pop-up ads
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By Sara Eber
Daily Staff Reporter
"Win a free vacation today!"
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For many Internet users, surfing the
web can resemble a trip through an
old-fashioned bazaar - vendors
thrusting products in your face in
hopes of attracting you to their display.
Potential consumers are bombarded
with online advertisements, the most
notorious being "pop-ups" or "pop-
unders."
Heeding the complaints of its cus-
tomers, America Online announced
last week its latest software addition,
"AOL Web Pop-Up Qntrols." Part of
the new 8.0 version, it features an
icon at the bottom of the user's screen
which, when clicked, disables pop-up
messages from appearing.
While Earthlink and Microsoft
recently developed similar services,
AOL distinguishes its software by
its ability to differentiate between
unsolicited pop-ups and those nec-
essary for certain shopping or bank-
ing sites.
LSA junior Scott Meves said AOL's
new pop-up feature is a positive response
to user demands. "When those ads pop-
up, it's just plain annoying," he said.
Meves, co-founder and webmaster
of EatBlue.com, a popular university
website for restaurant discounts and
menus, steered clear of using pop-up
advertisements for his site.
"We knew people would get irritated
if we used pop-up ads. Nobody goes to
a website to see advertising. We want
to give people what they want to see,
and if that doesn't happen, they will
stop coming back," he said.
Business School Prof. Rajeev Batra
said the new software was introduced
in response to growing consumer
"We knew people
would get annoyed if
we used pop-up ads.
Nobody goes to the
Internet to see
advertising.
- Mary Sue Coleman
University president
Internet ads dividing into two separate
spheres, she said.
"I think in the future, the Internet
will- become a two-headed monster:
One set of companies will become
more in-your-face and aggressive
about getting ads in front of con-
sumers, even consumers who don't
want to see them," she said.
"Another set of companies will get
really smart about Internet advertising
and work out how to make the ads
more interesting and meaningful to
people - in the same way the best TV
or print advertisers make their ads
entertaining to watch," Brown said.
Meves said current online adver-
tising is not very effective. "Busi-
nesses think if people click on an ad
it will help them sell their products
or increase traffic on their site, but
with me, the reverse is true. If I see
a pop-up, I'll try to avoid them alto-
gether," he said.
Yet communications graduate student
Nathaniel Poor said AOLs developments
will not have a far-reaching effect.
"In the end, it's not a huge differ-
ence," he said. "It's just AOL users and
only pop-ups. So pop-ups will still
mostly work with everyone else."
LSA sophomore Chad Jones said
he questions the necessity of AOL's
new software. "It's just clicking.
We're ~ ist la7. individua~ls w~ho Ccan't
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