LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, April 3, 2003 - 3A
RIME
Student takes 25
pills in failed
suicide attempt
Police received notification Sunday
afternoon that a woman living in Alice
Lloyd Residence Hall attempted to
commit suicide by swallowing more
than 25 pills.
Huron Valley Ambulance transport-
ed the woman to the University Hospi-
tal Emergency Room, DPS reports
state. No more information was avail-
able at the time.
Angry hockey
players strike out
at vehicle
A group of rollerbladers damaged a
vehicle Tuesday afternoon after it ran
over some plastic tubing used to out-
line the skating rink at Elbel Field.
Department of Public Safety reports
state that several rollerbladers who
were playing hockey on the rink
became upset about the incident and
began striking the vehicle with their
hockey sticks, causing minor damage.
Credit card, money
stolen from Barbour
A woman in Betsey Barbour Resi-
dence Hall reported to police officers
Tuesday afternoon that an unknown
person had stolen her credit card. The
woman reported that her roommate
had also had some money taken. DPS
has no suspects.
Skateboarders
* comply with
request to leave
A DPS officer gave a verbal warn-
ing Tuesday afternoon to four people
who were seen skateboarding by the
west side of the LSA Building to leave
the area. DPS reports state the skate-
boarders complied with the request.
Residents start
Hash Bash early
Police confiscated a small amount
of marijuana and several marijuana
pipes late Tuesday night after a hous-
ing officer patrolling Bursley Resi-
dence Hall smelled marijuana coming
from one of the rooms.
Affirmative action
banner stolen
A banneinadvertisingthe owners
support for affirmative action was
reported stolen Monday afternoon.
The maize and blue banner was stolen
from the Madelon Pound House on
Hill Street sometime over the week-
end, DPS reports said. There are no
suspects in the theft.
Duct tape used
to fix
Three windows in the Harlan Hatch-
er Graduate Library were broken and
then repaired with duct tape sometime
over the weekend, DPS reports state.
DPS officers investigating the inci-
dent on Monday discovered that the
exterior of three double-paned windows
were cracked and taped back together.
Officers ruled the incident suspicious
but accidental, reports state.
Seat stolen from
secured bicycle
An unattended bicycle seat was
reported stolen Monday afternoon.
The owner of the seat told officers that
they had locked their bicycle to a pole
on the 500 block of Washington Street
at about 1 p.m.
When they returned at 4 p.m., the
bicycle was still locked to the pole, but
the bicycle's seat was missing.
DPS has no suspects.
DPS seeks suspect
in purse theft
A purse stolen from a patient's room
in Mott Children's Hospital on Sunday
afternoon was later recovered, but
missing $32. DPS reports describe the
suspect as being a black male in his
40s with a chipped tooth and goatee
and wearing a flannel jacket.
Bags with $900
contents stolen at
tennis courts
Two bags left unattended in the Var-
sity Tennis Center on State Street were
reported stolen Sunday afternoon. The
bags were left outside for an hour,
from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. and contained
contents worth an estimated $900.
DPS has no suspects
Injured student
SOLE optimistic about Coleman's response
By Carmen Johnson
Daily Staff Reporter
After months of meetings between the
University administration and students
who hope to terminate the University's
contract with Morgan Linen Services,
University President Mary Sue Coleman
proposed yesterday to form a taskforce
to promote "ethical purchasing."
Members of Students Organizing for
Labor and Economic Equality said Mor-
gan, a laundry service used by the Uni-
versity, treats its workers unfairly.
University spokeswoman Julie Peter-
son said while Coleman did not commit
to terminating the contract with Morgan,
the president will give more details on
the taskforce and the contract tomorrow.
SOLE members who met with Cole-
man and General Counsel Marvin
Krislov yesterday said Coleman will
write a letter to Morgan to ask the com-
pany to address labor relation problems
and to consider the possibility that the
University will not renew its contract.
SOLE member Molly Hegarty said
she hopes the taskforce is effective once
implemented.
"Although we still need to work out
how the taskforce will exactly work, it
will be a student and faculty taskforce to
look at language in a possible code of
conduct for University subcontracts,"
Hegarty said. "But since Coleman pro-
posed this taskforce, her brainstorming
to find a solution is commendable."
SOLE has pressured the administra-
tion to cut its contract since October,
when the group was approached by
workers of the laundry service based in
Toledo.
The University sends laundry to Mor-
gan from the Martha Cook Building and
from the Executive Residence of the
Business School.
Karen Burnett - international repre-
sentative of the United Needletrade,
Industrial and Textile Employees - said
it will be a positive statement for work-
ers if the University cuts their contract
with Morgan.
"Workers work in hot, nasty condi-
tions. If the University pulls its contract,
it will give a statement that they care
about the workers," Burnett said.
Peterson said the meeting was
productive with good exchange of
information.
"There were no specifics agreed on
but Coleman will be working on the
details over the next couple of days and
plans on giving more information soon,"
Peterson said.
SOLE member Mike Swiryn said the
University has enough leverage on Mor-
gan and other companies to change how
they treat workers.
"The University has tremendous
power as an prestigious institution and a
consumer to influence companies. This
taskforce would potentially be on the
cutting edge as an institution promoting
more ethical purchasing policies,"
Swiryn said.
I
SPEAKER
Continued from Page 1A
cies of both sides. "The only time anything good
has happened, it has been a consequence of top-
down change"
Miller added that part of the reason the leaders
are not making concessions is because "embittered
constituencies are not pressing" them to do so.
Political Science Prof. Mark Tessler, who teach-
es a class on the Arab-Israeli conflict, agreed with
Miller's assessment that negotiators know what
the eventual solution to the conflict will be.
Tessler also said a tougher negotiation stance is
needed. "We need serious diplomacy where we
are tougher on both sides,"he said.
Miller said he resigned from the State Depart-
ment in January because he felt the peace process
was a long way from being completed.
"I resigned because we are in danger of losing
an entire generation," Miller said. "Everything I
thought the U.S. could achieve fell apart."
LSA sophomore Kraig Peterson listened to
Miller speak as an assignment for Tessler's class.
He said he found Miller's views both optimistic
and sobering. "It was one of the most hopeful
speakers we've had," Peterson said. "I wish he
was still in the State Department."
Miller is currently the president of Seeds of
Peace, an organization that brings children from
countries around the world - such as Israel,
Athletic department
approves new field turf
By J. Brady McCollough
Daily Sports Editor
Aaron Miller, who worked under five presidential
administrations as an advisor for the Middle East,
speaks yesterday at Angell Hall about the conflict.
Cyprus, India, Pakistan and the United States -
together in a camp in Maine. According to the
Seeds of Peace website, the program is designed
to develop a sense of "mutual understanding and
respect" among the participants.
------------- j
With a new, sturdier field beneath football
players' feet, Michigan Athletic Department
officials say the Big House will be a safer
place to play when the Wolverines open their
season against Central Michigan on Aug. 30.
The athletic department has decided that
FieldTurf, the same surface that the team prac-
tices on at Oosterbaan Fieldhouse, is the best
choice to replace the current natural grass sur-
face at Michigan Stadium.
Michigan Associate Athletic Director Mike
Stevenson said a committee chose FieldTurf
over Prestige Monday, and they received per-
mission from the University purchasing
department to finalize the decision yesterday
afternoon.
"It's a proven product that has been on the
market, and the people who have it have been
satisfied with it," Stevenson said.
The FieldTurf, which is advertised to "look,
feel and play" like grass, won't be the only
new site for fans at The Big House. Stevenson
said there will be a large, block 'M' at mid-
field to accompany the traditional Michigan
endzones.
"We want the millions of people who watch
Michigan football seeing that mark (the block
'M')," Stevenson said. "If it's not the most
famous mark in collegiate sports, it's one of
two or three."
There are 17 NCAA Division I schools who
use FieldTurf, including the University of
Nebraska and the University of Washington.
Twelve NFL teams use FieldTurf as well, as
the surface is becoming an increasingly popu-
lar alternative to natural grass.
"The only thing that is important is that it's
the best," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.
"We got the best field."
Stevenson and Associate Athletic Director
Scott Draper were in charge of the process,
which began after the Big House field became
an embarrassment during a home game Oct. 12
against Penn State. Players from both teams
said that they were not comfortable playing on
the surface, and one player said that the divots
in the field were "more like potholes."
Draper and Stevenson met with nine compa-
nies soon after the season's end, and dwindled
down the list to FieldTurf and Prestige. Draper
and Stevenson went to Nebraska to look at the
FieldTurf and the University of Iowa to check
out the Prestige surface.
After evaluating all the options, they felt that
FieldTurf, which uses a combination of sand and
rubber to hold the polyethylene blades of grass in
place, was the best option over Prestige, which
uses a chrome rubber mat.
Stevenson said the University Board of
Regents gave the department a spending limit
of $850,000 for the turf.
The athletic department and FieldTurf set-
tled on a sum of about $650,000, which was
the most expensive option that they considered
at the end. The amount includes the removal of
the current surface and the installation of the
FieldTurf.
The installation process is expected to
begin Monday, April 28, the day after gradua-
tion at The Big House, and Stevenson hopes
that the new surface will be ready by Satur-
day, June 14 for the University's Women's
Football Academy that benefits the Coach
Carr Cancer Fund.
Stevenson said the natural grass that will be
removed from the Big House will be a big help
for the fundraising projects for new baseball
and softball facilities. The athletic department
plans to stockpile the grass behind the Varsity
Tennis Center and use it for the outfield of the
new facilities when they are built, he said.
ADS
Continued from Page :A
to run the advertisements.
"The First Amendment protects the
newspaper to run what they wish,"
Steinberg said. "But it's wise for any
newspaper to have their own clear
guidelines when it comes to contro-
versial ads like these, so they cannot
be accused of arbitrary decisions."
Muslim Students Association Presi-
dent Kenan Basha said the advertise-
ments over-simplify complex issues
of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict.
"By using good versus evil
imagery, they utterly castigate all
Palestinians, which is racist and
offensive," Basha said. "People are
never satisfied until justice is
served. We will keep pushing for
the ads to be withheld."
FOR THE..
DAILS'
OVER
SUMMER
. CALL
DAILY
FUTURE
Continued from Page 1A
that in a long time."
"It'svery, oftenthe biggest cases,,
the most important and celebrated
cases are not decided until the very
end of June or July," said University
of Califoonia atLos Angeles lawx
Prof. Kenneth Karst, agreeing that
the court will present its decision
this summer rather than hold it for
the new term. "I would be very sur-
prised if they did that, partly
because there may be some retire-
ments at the end of this term."
While the public can do nothing
but wait, the Supreme Court jus-
tices will be spending the next three
months deciding whether to draft
concurring opinions or join the
majority or dissenting opinions.
Karst said the majority opinion
will likely be drafted by Chief Jus-
tice William Rehnquist, a staunch
conservative who has said he
opposes using race in admissions,
or Justice John Paul Stevens, a sen-
ior member of the court who is
expected to decide in favor of the
University.
Though they are reluctant to
speculate, experts are already
debating the possible content of
those opinions, as well as the possi-
ble divisions among court members.
What many experts do agree on is
that the outcome does not look
favorable toward the undergraduate
policies.
"I think there are four votes to sup-
port the Law School's program and
three votes against both programs,"
said Susan Low Bloch, a Georgetown
law professor. "I would predict either
they uphold the law program and strike
down the undergraduate program, or
that they will say you can use race, but
these are not narrowly tailored."
But Wayne State University Law
School Prof. Robert Sedler dis-
agreed, stating that the court will
want its decision to be all-encom-
passing and not focusing on just the
University's policies.
"It does not want the current situ-
ation, with divisions between the
circuit (courts)," Sedler said.
Bloch said Justice Sandra Day
O'Connor's concern over the appar-
ent limitlessness of racial prefer-
ences may indicate that the decision
will not completely favor the Uni-
t~varsity,,.,,, ,. /I ,1, - ,s-
Though O'Connor suggested she
agreed with the Bakke decision, she
"expressed concern over whether
Saffirma tiveaction had any end
point, had any termination point.
She was expressing the concern that
it may last forever, which she was
clearly uncomfortable with," Cole
said.
Another reason that experts are
predicting a loss for the undergrad-
uate case is Justice Anthony
Kennedy's statement that the policy
looks like a "disguised quota." But
Kennedy also expressed his willing-
ness to allow universities to use
race as a factor in admissions. He
asked University lawyers whose job
it would be to come up with a more
individualized - as opposed to
race-neutral - admissions process,
should the court rule against the
University's policies.
"It's not impossible that you
would see a 6-3 decision. I can
imagine a scenario where you
would have a court strike down the
undergraduate case by 6-3, but
upholding the Law School program,
also by 6-3," Karst said.
If the court rules in favor of the
University, the debate surrounding
race-conscious admissions policies
will most likely continue far into
the future, experts said. Levey
added that future lawsuits would be
likely in that scenario.
Whatever the prediction, come
June, all eyes will once again be on
the Supreme Court.
"You can't really tell from oral
arguments what is going to happen.
I've had it happen many times
where a justice will ask a question
and I've thought, 'Ah-hah, I know
how he will vote,' and then he does-
n't do it that way," Karst said.
Even after the court rules, a
change in the court's makeup could
allow a reconsideration of the issue,
he said. "As Yogi Berra said, 'It's
never over 'till it's over.' And this
one is going to be an object of con-
tention for a long time."
ECONOMY
Continued from Page 1A
"I don't see an upside but a
downside of the uncertainty," Sloan
said, and added that the war creates
barriers to international trade and
capital flow, which would hurt the
U.S. economy.
Business Emeritus Prof. Paul
economies of both these U.S. trad-
ing partners are in bad shape.
"A nation is like a corner grocery
store, it does better if its customers
prosper. If your customers are hav-
ing economic trouble, they are not
such good customers," McCracken
said.
He added that even though he
does not doubt there will be further
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