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Monday
January 13, 2003
©2002 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 72
£-Lt isuuOai4g
One-hundred-twelve years of editorialdfreedom
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Analysts:
Economic
conditions
to improve
By Lydia K. Leung
Daily Staff Reporter
More U.S. ships depart for Gulf
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - Four of
the seven Virginia-based Navy ships that
have received deployment orders in the past
week headed out to sea yesterday as a mili-
tary buildup continued ahead of a possible
war with Iraq.
The amphibious dock landing ships Port-
land and Ashland set sail from the Little
Creek Naval Amphibious Base, and the
amphibious assault ships Kearsarge and
Bataan left Norfolk Naval Station.
The ships and three others that left Friday can
carry a total landing force of about 8,000 Marines.
As the Ashland pulled away from its dock, a
couple dozen family members waved from a cold,
wind-swept parking lot.
Kerri Rodriguez wiped away tears as she
said goodbye to her husband, Petty Officer
2nd Class Edgar Rodriguez. She doesn't
know when she and their three children will
see him next.
"It's their job. If they've got to go, they've got to
go," she said. "I'm just very proud of him that he
has the opportunity to serve his country and bring
a lot of pride and honor to his family."
Elsewhere, the amphibious dock landing
ship USS Gunston Hall headed out to sea
from Morehead City, N.C. A Marine spokes-
woman, Capt. Kelly Frushour, said she did
not know how many troops were aboard the
amphibious dock landing ship.
The Ashland hadn't been scheduled to
deploy until this summer. Leaving six
months early
their families,
is tough on the sailors and
said Cmdr. Sam Howard, the
ship's commanding officer.
"I have a seven-month old son and I was
expecting to see him walk before I deployed,"
Howard said.
"There's the emotional aspect of it," he said.
"But that's also balanced with the emotional
aspect of doing something so important."
The Navy declined to say where the ships
were headed.
Despite rising concern over job-
lessness, the Labor Department
announced Friday that after reach-
ing an eight-year high in November,
the unemployment rate remained at
6 percent - even after employers
slashed 101,000 jobs in December.
"Generally, 6 percent is relatively
high for the United States but it is
not extremely high," Business Prof.
Katherine Terrell said.
However, some economists said
the unemployment rate would have
been higher had less people not
given up on trying to find a job
amid the sluggish economy.
Since the unemployed were not
considered part of the labor force
- people who are either employed
or unemployed and actively finding
a job - they were excluded from
the calculation of the unemploy-
ment rate.
Business Prof. Nejat Seyhun
agreed with the economists. "It's
exactly why when the economy
loses a hundred thousand jobs, the
unemployment rate doesn't go up,"
Seyhun said.
Their view was supported by data
compiled by Anthony Chan, Banc
One Investment Advisors chief
economist.
The data indicates that the labor
force grew at a much slower rate in
2002 when the average number of
people added to the labor force was
38,000 per month, down from an
average of 153,000 since the 1970s.
Though the unemployment data is
not likely to excite most people, the
economy is not as grim as it seems
and students should stay optimistic,
Seyhun said.
The unemployment figure is typ-
ically the lacking indicator, even if
the economy improves, the unem-
ployment rate will not react very
quickly and it changes last."
Seyhun said the stock market is
often the leading indicator of the
economy and with the recent rally
in the markets, it seems the econo-
my is improving slowly.
"Many economists are expecting
growth between 2 to 3 percent in
2003," he added.
Terrell said college students were
especially discouraged by the
decrease in job openings and want-
ed to delay their entrance to the job
market, which contributed to the
relatively meager growth of the
labor force.
"Students are more likely to
study in graduate schools when the
economy is bad and the unemploy-
ment rate is high," Terrell said.
According to the University's
See ECONOMY, Page 7A
Activists convene to
oppose potential war
By Kara DeBoer
and Carmen Johnson
Daily Staff Reporters
More than 800 people joined to advocate mounting
disdain for the potential war on Iraq at an anti-war
conference this weekend. University students, Ann
Arbor residents, journalists and political activists
came to the Law School to listen and participate in the
conference, organized by Anti-War Action! and the
Muslim Students' Association.
After an opening speech by Mahdi Bray, a civil and
human rights activist, various lectures and panels explored
topics such as the historical background of the Iraq conflict
and the impact of war.
Engineering junior Molly Hegarty, a transfer student
from the Rochester Institute of Technology, said she was
happy to find a politically active community on this cam-
pus.
"This conference is so cool because it's a diverse group
of older people, students and professional people getting
together and getting informed," Hegarty said. "Every cam-
pus should have something like this."
One of Saturday's 19 speakers, Andrea Buffa, coordina-
tor for the United for Peace organization, spoke about
wartime journalistic failures and emphasized the need for
accurate reporting of the anti-war movement.
"If we could get the media to cover the fact that there is
an anti-war movement, people would feel more comfort-
able getting involved," Buffa said.
She added the media's drive for profit and inherent bias
both perpetuate the lack of coverage
Speaking in the panel discussion of "The War at Home,"
Riva Enteen, program director of the San Francisco chapter
of the National Lawyers Guild, addressed the vulnerability
of immigrants, saying they are often profiled as terrorists
who subsequently face deportation.
"(Anti-war activists) have to be on the street, we have the
numbers and we have the moral high ground," Enteen said.
"We shouldn't be frightened of terror, we should be fright-
ened of repression."
Ann Arbor resident Leon Cribbins said he enjoyed histo-
ry of science Prof. Susan Wright's lecture, "Iraq, Biological
Weapons, and the Rush to Preemptive War."
"What I thought was powerful was when she said that
economic sanctions are a form of weapons of mass
destruction," Cribbins said. "It's just interesting to hear
these kinds of lectures."
Local speakers were also represented at the anti-war
conference. Detroit activist Maureen Taylor, president of
the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization, asked the audi-
ence "where's the money?" referring to the rise in military
defense funding in the midst of an economic slump.
"Students go to college and everyone's studying because
they expect a job afterward, but they can't find one," Taylor
said. "Instead they are still paying money that goes to the
defense department."
Max Sussman, event organizer and AWA! member, said
he was extremely happy with the outcome of the confer-
ence and said he knew*of a few attendants that were not
anti-war.
"Some of the speakers asked the audience if there were
any people in the audience that were for the war and a few
people raised their hands," Sussman said. "The majority of
the people there were againk the war af wantedto iearn
about the war in general and talk about all the issues."
Bill Thomson, a clinical psychology professor at the
See CONFERENCE, Page 7A
REBECCA SAHN/Daily
Civil and human rights activist Mahdi Bray gives opening remarks during the "Stop
the War" conference Saturday morning.
HSSP finds i hmproved.
facilities i new home
By Jeremy Berkowitz
Daily Staff Reporter
For 35 years, the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program
has been fortunate enough to have a large amount
of classroom and recreational space in Alice
Lloyd Residence Hall to work with. But it is now
planning to share the abundant space.
University Housing announced last week that
the Health Science Scholars Program - current-
ly housed in Mary Markley Residence Hall -
will be moving across the street to Alice Lloyd in
September. HSSP Faculty Director Michelle
O'Grady said Alice Lloyd would give the pro-
gram quality instructional space, and a location
on the Hill area of campus, near the Medical
School.
"Markley is not equipped to provide classroom
space," O'Grady said. "We want to provide first-
year seminars that we sponsor as well as curricu-
lar and co-curricular activities."
In its second year, HSSP is one of 10 living-
learning communities, intended for first- and sec-
ond-year students interested in the health
sciences. In addition to offering a wide array of
See HSSP, Page 7A
The skeptical eye
Talk focuses on state
of multiculturalism
I
By Soojung Chang
Daily Staff Reporter
A discussion about the role multi-
cultural communities play in projects
that involve the University and the
local community on Friday was the
first event on the calendar for this
year's 16th annual Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. Symposium.
The discussion, titled "Reflecting on
multiculturalism and community collab-
orations," took place at the International
Institute and focused on the challenges
and benefits of working with diverse
communities.
Silvia Carranza, program associate
for the Office of Academic Multicultural
Initiatives - and a member of the plan-
ning committee for the symposium -
said the discussion's topic fit in perfectly
with the goals of this year's symposium.
"We must be the change we wish to
see in the world," is the symposium's
theme, a quote from Mahatma Gandhi,
who helped lead India's independence
movement. Carranza said they wanted to
emphasize the significant contributions
that individuals can make.
Carranza said while making that
change often involves individuals look-
ing internally and in the areas closest to
them, it also involves working with peo-
ple outside of their own communities.
"Communities sometimes get
focused on themselves and don't real-
ize that it pays to work with one
another just to get a different perspec-
tive and also to discover similarities
with one another," she said.
The participants of the discussion
talked about a range of topics, from the
definition of multiculturalism to their
experiences in working with diverse
communities in their own projects.
Some of the difficulties that were
described included tensions between dif-
ferent ethnic communities and following
through once multicultural projects have
been initiated.
The discussion was sponsored by the
Arts of Citizenship Program, which
explores how the University's arts and
humanities departments can contribute
to the public through different projects
and initiatives in conjunction with the
local community. They hold monthly
See MLK. Page 7A
AP PHOTO
General Motors' Cadillac Sixteen was one of many of concept cars featured at the 2003 North American
International Auto Show in Detroit.
International auto show
debuts new hybids, SUVs
By Andrew Kaplan
and Eric Weiler
Daily Staff Reporters
DETROIT - Despite an ailing economy and
demands by environmentalists for more fuel-effi-
cient cars and trucks, the 2003 North American
International Auto Show showcased more-high-
performance and sport utility vehicles than in
years past.
"Every company's making SUV's. That's the
trend," said Engineering sophomore Rachit Jain,
who attended the auto show's Saturday opening.
"Everything's heading in the same direction," he
said.
Car manufacturers like Porsche and Lexus,
which traditionally produce lavish passenger
sedans, have also begun turning out new lines
of off-road vehicles.
The 2003 Porsche Cayenne, the carmaker's
debut truck model, took center stage in the
Porsche display while its traditional sport cars
sat off to the side.
Lexus distinguished itself from other luxury car
manufacturers by offering three lines of SUVs,
including the four-wheel drive 2003 GX.
Mitsubishi spokesman John Bouvier said
increased gasoline prices and recent advertise-
ments linking fuel consumption for SUVs to
terrorism have not discouraged companies like
Mitsubishi from offering new models of
"crossovers" - off-road vehicles that support
an SUV body on a car frame, but typically burn
more fuel than passenger sedans.
"Sport utility vehicles blended with sports cars is
a definite intent of the auto industry," he added.
"Until the public's not willing to buy them,
(automakers) will make them."
Although several manufacturers have worked
toward developing new lines of hybrid cars -
which save gas by operating on both petroleum and
electricity - some showgoers said they still prefer
the good looks, versatility and speed of SUVs and
crossovers.
"(Hybrids) don't have power. I want power," Jain
See AUTO SHOW. Page 7A
REBECCA SAHN/Daily
A woman views a painting in Pat Steir's exhibit at
the University's Museum of Art yesterday.
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