Friday
April 4, 2003
b2003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 125
One-hundred-twelve years ofeditorialfreedom
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41124
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'A
vice
Is
closing
on
the
regime'
Coalition forces on edges of
Iraqi cap ital, take ai port
The Associated Press
Army forces launched a nighttime
attack on Saddam International Air-
port just outside Baghdad yesterday
and fought running battles with Iraqis
along the city's southern fringes. "A
vise is closing on the regime," Presi-
dent Bush told cheering Marines
stateside.
Some front-line units went on
heightened alert against the threat of
chemical weapons, ordered to wear
rubber boots and suits despite temper-
atures that soared into the '90s.
There was fierce fighting in Kut, to
the south of Baghdad, where desper-
ate Iraqis armed with rifles charged
tanks in a suicide raid. "We mowed
down" the attackers, said Lt. Col. B.P.
McCoy.
Despite declarations that further
tough fighting lies ahead, the nation's
top military official indicated there
may not be an all-out battle for Bagh-
dad. Gen. Richard Myers, chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, suggested
isolating members of the old regime
in the capital - cut off from the rest
of the country - while an "interim
administration" is put in place to
begin work on a postwar government.
A meeting to organize an interim
See WAR, Page 2
Congress approves $80B for war
WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress
voted overwhelmingly yesterday to
give President Bush about $80 billion
for initial costs of the invasion of Iraq
and other anti-terrorism efforts after
thwarting conservatives trying to lash
out at Turkey and other nations for hin-
dering the U.S. war effort.
Senators approved their measure 93-
0 and the House adopted a similar bill
by 414-12, underscoring lawmakers'
resolve to back U.S. forces in the field.
The votes put the two chambers on
track to send Bush a final package by
his deadline of April 11, which would
be uncommonly swift for a Congress
that received his request for $74.7 bil-
lion only a week ago.
Though lawmakers reined in Bush's
request to control most of the funds
and added aid for airlines and other
items, the vote gave him a welcome
victory on Capitol Hill, a week after
the Senate voted to cut in half his plan
for new tax cuts.
"It's imperative that we complete
this bill ... and get the bill on the presi-
dent's desk," said Senate Majority
Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.).
The lopsided votes masked partisan
disputes that raged in both chambers
over the measures' funds for security at
home. Both bills contained more than
$4 billion for securing potential terror-
ist targets on America's shores, which
Democrats said fell billions short.
"As we support men and women
in uniform in Iraq, it's hard to
understand how we can underfund
the needs of our men and women in
uniform in the front lines of home-
land defense in America," House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-
Calif.), told reporters.
See WAR BUDGET, Page 3
AP PHOTO/San Antonio Express-News, Bahram Mark Sobhani
Third Infantry Divison ground forces secure a gated area at Saddam International Airport outside of Baghdad early
this morning.
Possible 'U' SARS
case a false alarm
Astute academic
By Soojung Chang
Daily Staff Reporter
A possible Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome case under examination at
the University Hospital was deter-
mined yesterday to have been a false
scare.
University of Michi- Criteria
gan Health System 0 Fever ab
spokeswoman Kara degrees.
Gavin said the case did
not meet the definition of N Symptom
the mysterious respirato- illness, like
ry disease outlined by the shortness o
Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention - a N Travel to
list of symptoms and suspected
travel history that charac- of SARS or
terize a suspected case. with a susr
According to the CDC, case.
a total of 2,223 suspected
and/or probable SARS cases have been
reported to the World Health Organiza-
tion from 16 countries. The reported
cases include 78 deaths, or 3.5 percent
of the total cases.
Gavin said cases that meet all of the
criteria in the definition are called
"suspect," because there is no blood
ADC exe
test for SARS that can give a definitive
answer.
"All SARS cases are considered
suspect cases until the CDC can
exactly identify what exactly SARS
is," said Geralyn Lasher, a spokes-
woman for the Michigan Department
of Community Health.
for SARS Epidemiology Prof.
ove 100.5 Arnold Monto said
although scientists do
not have enough data at
ns of respiratory this time, many believe
a cough and/or the cause of SARS is
of breath. probably a coronavirus
- the cause of the com-
oan area with mon cold.
transmission "The current theory is
close contact that it might have jumped
pected SARS species and it may be a
coronavirus of birds,"
Monto said, who has per-
formed research on corona viruses.
Monto said because it is a new dis-
ease, there is no immunity in the popu-
lation. "I think people need to behave
cautiously," Monto said. "We've not
seen something like this in a while," he
added.
See SARS, Page 3
. scusses
-m-uV isoiay
Christopher Hayward is one of two University students being honored with the Barry M. Goldwater
Scholarship. Hayward plans to pursue a career in astrophysics. Inside: More on the winners. Page 3.
Students: Campus storeS
overprced, but necessary
House OKs
billto keep
scholarship
funding
Daily Staff Reporter
Contrary to Gov. Jennifer
Granholm's wishes, Republicans in the
state House of Representatives passed
a bill seeking to maintain the Michigan
Merit Award scholarships at the
expense of $60 million to the state's
General Fund. The -scholarships would
be in danger of being cut from $2,500
per person to $500 under Granholm's
proposal.
The measure proposed diverting $60
million in tobacco settlement money
from Granholm's $162.5 million Med-
icaid expansion plan, replacing the
missing Medicaid funding with money
from the depleted General Fund. The
vote was split almost entirely down
party lines, with only one Democrat
voting with the Republican majority.
The governor is openly opposed to
the change in her budget proposal and
said that the measure now shifts the
responsibility for balancing the budget
to Republican shoulders.
"The budget's now out of balance.
The Republicans are going to have to
show us where they're going to get the
$60 million," Granholm spokeswoman
Mary Detloff said.
But House Appropriations Commit-
tee Chairman Marc Shulman (R-West
Bloomfield) said finding alternative
sources of funding will not pose a
problem.
"Basically we found some money in
the General Fund to fund one of the
top priorities we had in this budget,"
Shulman said. "The Democrats maybe
don't view the Merit Award as one of
their top priorities."
Shulman added that the Republican
plan preserves all of Granholm's health
care proposals, including prescription
drugs and community health care pro-
grams for low-income residents.
Rep. Chris Kolb (D-Ann Arbor) said
the awards were not a partisan issue,
but added that Democratic criticism of
the proposal stems from the procedural
steps the Republicans took to pass it.
"People should not look at this as we
either do or do not support Merit. The
Merit scholarships are not going to be
a partisan issue," Kolb said. "There
was a virtual agreement on the budget
and 12 hours or so before the vote, the
Republicans decided to withdraw the
tobacco settlement money without any
real discussion. It's just not fiscally
responsible to do it this way."
See SCHOLARSHIP. Page 2
implications of war
By Taaha Haq
For the Daily
"This was an avoidable war and cer-
tainly an unjustified war, creating more
problems than it is solving," said Hus-
sain Ibish, referring to America's poli-
cies on the war. Speaking to a packed
crowd in Hutchins Hall, Ibish, commu-
nications director of the American-
Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee,
spoke about the role of the Iraq war on
American foreign policy.
Referring to policy makers in the
United States, Ibish said that the "neo-
conservatives have hijacked American
foreign policy."
Ibish also said it was naive for Arabs
and Muslims to dismiss the American
political agenda as a Jewish plot, see-
ing that the main actors in the neo-con-
See ADC, Page 2
By Ryan Vicko
For the Daily
School is expensive. Housing is
expensive. Books are expensive. But
does food also have to be expensive?
Some students believe there exists a
culture of overcharging in the Uni-
versity area which exploits their situ-
ation as four-year visitors, and one
place they feel charges too much is
the grocery store.
The Blue Apple, in Bursley Resi-
dence Hall on North Campus,
charges $5.69 for a box of cereal,
$3.19 for a box of Pop Tarts and
$4.29 for.a package of two bars of
soap. LSA senior and Blue Apple
employee Nakia Frazier said prices
keep rising. She said the price on
items the owner knows people will
buy is inflated, whereas deals can be
found on obscure products that are
rarely sold.
Mary Sabin,.School of Music
sophomore, said the Blue Apple is
mainly used as an alternative to the
meal plan. If you miss a meal, you
can use $4.55 at the Blue Apple, she
said, but added that it's not a good
alternative. Apart from unreasonable
prices she said, "There's not a large
"That's the sacrifice you make for not going to
dinner (in the residence halls). I'm glad we have
it."
- Kavin Chung
LSA freshman
selection ... it's mostly junk food."
On the other hand, some students
are just happy the store is there, and
they use it for emergency situations
only. Speaking of the high prices,
LSA freshman Kavin Chung said,
"That's the sacrifice you make for
not going to dinner. I'm glad that we
have it."
Winter is the season when students
have the most trouble getting gro-
See PRICES, Page 7
A prepares for Hash Bash events
By Maria Sprow
Daily Staff Reporter
In the midst of a war abroad,
some are attempting to put an end
to a different type of war here at
home, a battle that has been going
on since Richard Nixon's presiden-
cy - the war on drugs.
Call them stoners, pot heads,
marijuana aficionados, hippies, or
liberal political activists - in any
case, they'll be turning out in full
force this weekend for the 32nd
Ann Arbor Hash Bash.
"We do get a much larger crowd
than any other event or rally on
campus. We get many more people
than the anti-war rallies, we get
many more people than the affirma-
tive action rallies," said long-time
organizer Adam Brook. "Why?
Because people love weed. They
show up for weed."
Like previous years, the main
event takes place at noon tomorrow
on the Diag, following an 11 a.m.
rally and march in front of the Fed-
eral Building on Liberty Street. The
event will be followed by a Hash
Bash after party on Monroe Street,
near Dominick's Restaurant.
The Department of Public Safety
and the Ann Arbor Police Depart-
ment plan to increase patrols tomor-
row for the events. AAPD Sgt. Ed
Stuck said there will be 15 extra
officers on duty, while DPS Sgt.
Melissa Overton said DPS will also
be significantly increasing its force,
which will patrolling the Diag and
See HASH BASH. Page 7
Ann Arbor resident Ed Frazier arrested by DPS in the diag at last year's Hash
Raeh_