LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Monday, March 31, 2003 - 3A CRIM~E SAFE calls for divestment from Caterpillar Corp. Students' attempt * to make explosives discovered by DPS According to the Department of Public Safety, two subjects were dis- covered making an explosive device at a parking lot on Fuller Road Satur- day night. The subjects, who were identified as University students, were making the explosive from a water bottle and assorted cleaning products. DPS Sgt. Stacy Richmond said the subjects were questioned and that the case, which is still under investigation, was turned over to the Washtenaw County prosecutor. Child found lost, wandering in visit to Mary Markley A seven-year-old child visiting his brother was left unattended in Mary Markley Residence Hall late Friday night. DPS reports state the child was found wandering the halls of the resi- dence hall. The child's parents were contacted to retrieve their son. Skateboarders return, but none are caught DPS received reports of several subjects skateboarding on Universi- ty property throughout the day on Friday. Skateboarders were reported at the Regents' Plaza in the morn- ing, outside the School of Dentistry and near Dennison Hall in the after- noon. DPS reports state that all sub- jects were gone upon the officers' arrivals. Evening hit-and-run accident reported near 'U' building A caller reported a hit-and-run traf- fic accident outside the Ronald McDonald House on Washington Heights Saturday morning. The caller's vehicle was hit overnight. DPS filed a report but has no suspects at this time. Runner caught in traffic accident, sustains injuries A jogger was involved in a traffic accident near Washtenaw Avenue and -North University Avenue Saturday afternoon. DPS reports state the jogger was hit by a vehicle and sustained minor injuries. DPS transported the jogger to University Hospital. Subjects cited for soliciting outside Yost Ice Arena An incident of trespassing and solicitation occurred at Yost Ice Arena Saturday afternoon. DPS offi- cers cited two subjects for sales and solicitation on University grounds. One subject was cited for trespassing and escorted from the area. The case is currently under investigation. Unknown person breaks residence hall window Malicious destruction of property was reported at Mary Markley Resi- dence Hall late Saturday night. A caller informed DPS officers that an unknown person had broken the window of one of the main doors to the residence hall. DPS notified the building's mpintenance staff and filed a report. Unattended purse, airline ticket stolen from Angell Hall A caller reported an incident of larceny at Angell Hall Friday night., DPS reports state the caller left her purse at Angell Hall and discovered it had been stolen when she returned to retrieve it. The purse contained $100 in cash and an airline ticket. DPS has no suspects at this time. Emergency phone illegally used by drunk minors Several subjects were arrested for liquor law violations on Geddes Avenue early Friday morning. DPS reports state the subjects illegally used a blue light emergency phone and were under the influence of alco- hol. DPS arrested the subjects for minor in possession of alcohol. Chairs stolen from Couzens Hall By Camen Johnson Daily Staff Reporter Some students are calling for the University to divest from the Caterpillar Corp.as part of Palestin- ian Land Day - a day commemorating the death of six Palestinians who were killed by Israeli secu- rity during a demonstration 28 years ago. Caterpil- lar bulldozers are used by the Israeli army in the occupied territories. Students Allied for Freedom and Equality is urging students to write to University Presi- dent Mary Sue Coleman, asking her to use the school's investment as leverage to pressure Caterpillar to cease their sale of bulldozers to Israel. "University policy clearly states that moral and ethical concerns are taken into con- sideration when getting an account in their investment portfolios," SAFE Chair Fadi Kiblawi said. "So there is framework there for divestment in line with University policy." Students are also encouraged to contact Caterpillar directly to protest bulldozer sales in Israel. Focus on bulldozers being used as a weapon increased after American peace activist Rachel Corrie was recently killed by a bulldozer. "We are hoping the University forms an advisory committee to research the moral implications of investing in Caterpillar," Kiblawi said. But University spokeswoman Nancy Connell said divesting is a long and public process. "Divesting is something that requires regents to act and would take deliberation," Connell said. The last time the University regents divested was in 1978 from companies who engaged in business in South Africa due to the country's Apartheid policies. "University policy clearly states that moral and ethical concerns are taken into consideration when getting an account in their investment portfolios.' - Fadi Kiblawi Chair, Students Allied for Freedom and Equality But not all students are in favor of divestment as a way to influence companies. Co-Chair of the American Movement for Israel Avi Jacobson said Palestinian Land Day is being exploited to push a dishonest campaign. "In practi- cal terms, if this divestment push would ever be successful, it's only to economically destroy the State of Israel, which ultimately hurts Palestinian people because their economies are so intertwined," Jacobson said. Divestment supporters say Caterpillar should stop selling the bulldozers to the Israeli military in order to coincide with the company's own ethical code to "use their resources to improve the lives of our neigh- bors around the world." "When pressure is put on Caterpillar to stop selling bulldozers to Israel, they usually respond by saying they are not responsible for the use of bulldozers after sold while ignoring their ethical policies," Kiblawi said. Caterpillar Corp. was not available to comment. Wax on, wax off 'U' officials, students of color discuss lawsuits, budget cuts By Cannon Johnson Daily Staff Reporter BRETT MOUNTAIN/Daily Ann Arbor resident Jeremy Axelrod drips candlewax onto the sidewalk during a peace vigil on Main Street last night. Detroit Project shines as dlay, of servce to city Responding to concerns over how the University's budget cuts and the contin- gency plan after the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the University's race-conscious lawsuits will impact students of color, Vice President for Student Affairs E. Royster Harper and Dean of Students Ed Willis met with students of color on Friday to answer questions. Harper and Willis expressed their commitment to services directly affect- ing students and the need for student input on any changes made based on the court's ruling. "We aren't going to make any decisions until we have some legal guidance from the court. But we do know we want students involved and student affirmation on changes," Harper said. Willis added that if students are not on campus during the spring and sum- mer term when changes would be made, there would be opportunities for stu- dents to voice their opinions in the fall. Students expressed concern that cer- tain programs would not maintain the integrity of providing services to stu- dents of color if the programs were no longer legally allowed to use race as a factor in instances such as minority recruitment and retention programs. "How do we know that the University will not strike race-based programs, especially when not everyone in the fac- ulty cares about diversity as much?" asked RC senior Monique Luse, who was facilitating student questions. Students' concerns were sparked earlier this month at the Virginia Technological Institute, which elim- Harper added that she has no present plans to cut MESA's budget inated many race-conscious pro- grams after the administration decided to stop using race as a fac- tor in admissions in an attempt to ensure the university aligns with the changing legal landscape. Some participants said they are also worried that in response to the Universi- ty's expected 10 percent cut in state funding, some positions in the office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs would not be filled in an attempt to reduce costs. Reducing the amount of coordinators working in the office would make the service less effective, students said. Harper said operational costs and "strategically-selected programs" would be cut before positions were cut. Harper added that she has no present plans to cut MESA's budget, calming the worries of students who utilize the office's services. "The budget cuts could go up higher, depending what comes from the state. But my principle is a commitment to guard the services that have a direct effect on stu- dents," Harper said. Another issue discussed was hate crimes in the residence halls. But because Department of Public Safety incident reports are kept isolated in the residence hall where the incident occurred, DPS is sometimes not informed. Harper responded by agree- ing with students that hate crime inci- dent records should not be kept within the residence hall where it occurred. "It's true that the administration does- n't get the sense of the total experience for minority students - something needs to change," Harper said. During a debriefing session, LSA sophomore Brandon White said minority communities should con- tinue talk to administration about their specific concerns and issues. "We just have to keep following up on details, even if we say the same thing as other minority communities," White said. By Katie Glupker Daily Staff Reporter Instead of sleeping their Saturdays away, more than 1,100 University stu- dents rolled up their sleeves and spent the day cleaning up a northwest Detroit community. Demolishing abandoned houses, landscaping, planting trees and painting murals were some of the tasks undertak- en by the Detroit Project in the commu- nity of Brightmoor on Saturday. LSA junior and site leader Kate Woolley worked at DP Day for the third year in a row and spent Saturday cleaning up an abandoned lot near an elementary school. "We made an unus- able space a safe place for kids to play," she said. The residents of Brightmoor were grateful for the students' service, Woolley said, adding that several peo- ple stopped their cars to tell the stu- dents how much they appreciated their efforts. "The residents were thankful and kept saying, 'Now it's just up to us to keep it up' - we were just here for one day." The morning began with an address by Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. "He spoke about the importance of service and of giving back to the com- munity," said executive project director Catie Baetens, an LSA senior. University students were not the only ones involved in the project. Baetens said about 100 students from other area colleges and univer- sities and about 150 community members participated in DP Day. "It was such a cold day, but they were all troopers," she said. The volunteers were spread out at over 60 sites and accomplished all their projects by the end of the day. "It's easy to volunteer (for DP Day)," Baetens said, "You hear a lot of things about Detroit, and I think peo- ple participate in DP Day partly because they want to check it out for themselves." W I NLaw University began camping out Fri- for most of the time, allowing others to day and started to draw up a list for catch a few hours to sleep in a hotel Continued from Page 1A whoever came down. They plan to give room or warm up at Union Station six inside the courtroom. "I want to be a list of 50 seats to the court marshal at 6 blocks away. down at the ground level," Coleman a.m. tomorrow when tickets will be Discussion about the cases is mini- said, adding that he plans to sleep on an given out. There is a "suicide pact" mum, but most seemed to support the air mattress for the next 36 hours. among people on the list that a represen- University's policies, except of four stu- A group of law students at Howard tative from their group must be present dents from the Michigan Review. te te 9 t99c The Osceola County School District, located in the heart of beautiful Central Florida, is the fastest-growing school district in the state. We're a local leader in K-12 education, with some of the best resources and brightest educators in the Orlando/Kissimmee, Florida area! Dialogue on Iraq war centers on precedent, U.S. foreign policy Sign Up For An Exciting Teaching Career Today! Visit Us At: www.osceola.kl2.fl.us By Michael Kan For the Daily "This is a revolutionary war," said journalist Jonathan Schell in a dialogue on America's war in Iraq Friday at the Alumni Center. Schell and other speakers discussed the context of the war in global geopolitics and how the current and long-term actions of the U.S. government will affect the world. "There is a danger in assuming that we know what the war means," anthro- pology and history Prof. Fernando Coronil said. Schell then explained his analysis of the war in Iraq. "We have to devote spe- cial attention to its justification," Schell said. He also said the war is revolution- ary in the sense that a new government in Iraq will be created. He said the war is also revolutionary because the U.S. gov- ernment now has found ways to surpass the international community's jurisdic- tion and its own constitution in conduct- ing its foreign policies. Because of this, Schell said U.S. for- eign policy also wishes to assert its military power in securing its own interests. "Iraq furthermore is the pilot- project of this policy," he said. In this regard, America's current plan of pre- venting foreign countries from obtain- ing weapons of mass destruction is just another "imperialist strategy," Schell said. He added, "This is the old-fash- ioned business of taking over a country and running it for them." By adopting this strategy of prevent- ing the use of weapons of mass derctio- Schelsaid theUnite'd Schell said, adding the war will only worsen the dangers of the situation. LSA junior Ryan Watkins, a long time reader of Schell's works, came to the lecture to hear more about Schell's opinions on U.S. foreign policy. "Recent events make this issue even more urgent," Watkins said. Other speakers had similar messages when analyzing how different areas of American society, such as civil liber- ties, have been affected by the war. Law School Prof. Richard Friedman said civil liberties have not been threat- ened by the American government's policies since Sept. 11. Yet he added that secret arrests and secret deportations have occurred with- out the government providing any infor- mation about who has been subjected to this treatment. "It's a question of how far do we go. Now, only narrow civil issues have been affected." Friedman said. Anthropology and psychology Prof. Scott Atran commented on the media's portrayal of the war. He said it has thus far been appalling. "The media isn't doing their job," Atran said. He added that the media is trying to convince people to support the war, when the media doesn't support the war itself. Rackham student Zareena Grewall also spoke at the event on how Mus- lims have been treated in past years due to American politics. Grewall said Muslims "made a big mistake in vot- ing for Bush" because he has not ade- quately supported Muslim-related concerns. With hate crimes against Muslims only increasing after Sept. 11, Grew21 added "This isa verv fright- All Majors Are Encouraged To Apply, Including: * Elementary Education * English/ Language Arts Ia;tc...e.9 ~Righ #t ..