~Weaiher Tuesday January 14, 2003 @2003 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 73 One-Aundred-twelve years ofedit'orifreedom Sr tli int TODAY: now showers ay continuing HI: 22 ito evening 1., 14 Wi western winds from 8 to 10 mph. Tomorow: 23111 www.michigandaily.com Bill joins Detroit transit systems By Andrew McCormack Daily Staff Reporter With the advent of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration, many resi- dents and legislators from Detroit and surrounding communities are calling for the reconsideration of a bill which would create an organization called the Detroit Area Regional Transportation Authority. "It's a huge city and there's no trans- portation there now ... as far as going out of the city or to the city," said LSA sophomore Lindsay Whalen. The bill would unify two existing bus systems, the Detroit Department of Transportation, which services Metro Detroit, and the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, which services Detroit's suburbs. The new system would serve Wayne, Macomb, Washtenaw, Oakland and Monroe counties. "Right now, if you want to go to the suburbs from the city, you have to take two bus systems that don't work together," said Dennis Denno, spokesman for state Sen. Buz Thomas (D-Detroit). "It's an arduous process." The bill, which was first introduced to the state Legislature in early 2001, was vetoed by former Gov. John Engler in one of his last acts in office. "We were very disappointed," said Jamaine Dickens, spokesman for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Engler's veto "took us back 30 years - that's how long its taken to get this on the table." The bill still has popular support in the Legislature, and Granholm has indicated that she supports it, not only for its practical applica- tions, but also for its economic See DARTA, Page 2 Push for draft bill debated by Mich reps By Andrew McCormack Daily Staff Reporter DAVID KATZ/Daily University of California at Berkeley Prof. Ronald Takaki provided the opening lecture last night for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium, which will sponsor events until Feb. 18. His speech focused on the need to ensure diversity and the American dream. M K " MKspeaker em fd phasizes strionger peace -move-ment U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel (D- N.Y.), a veteran of the Korean War, recently announced his intentions to reintroduce conscripted military service - an effort supported by Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit.). "If our great country becomes involved in an all-out war, the sacri- fice must be shared. In that regard, I am preparing legislation to authorize reinstatement of the universal draft and other forms of mandatory nation- al service," Rangel said in a written statement. Though Conyers openly opposes the war effort, he said he still supports the draft proposal out of necessity. "I'm doing this as one against the war, but it is evident that the president wants to go to war," Conyers said. "There aren't enough volunteers to sustain the number of military personnel required to police Iraq after the war.". But other legislators disagree that the military is lacking a sufficient number of volunteers. "Our Armed Forces are currently attracting both the quality and the quantity of young men and women volunteers they need to meet their recruiting goals," Sen. Carl Levin (D-Detroit.) said. "The senior mili- tary and civilian leadership of the Department of Defense have indicat- ed that there is no military reason to reinstitute conscription and I agree with them." Rangel stresses that the issue is not only a practical one, but a moral one as well. "I think, if we went home and found out4hetlhere were more families con- cerned about their kids going off to war, there would be more cautiousness and more willingness to work with the international community, instead of just saying that it's my way or the high- way," he added. If successful, his proposal would put into force the unbiased, two-year con- scription of both men and women from the ages of 18 to 26, the only exception being for those completing a high school diploma. "It is apparent ... that service in the armed forces is not a common experience and that disproportionate numbers of the poor and members of minority groups compose the enlisted ranks of the military," Rangel said. "We must be certain that the sacrifices that we will be asking our armed forces to make are shared by the rest of us." But some feel that a new, revised draft is not the answer. "If there was a threat to the country, if it was for protecting what we had now, I'd support a draft, but if it's for attacking another nation's ideals, that's not threatening this country," said LSA senior Benson Varghese. "I don't think the solution is drafting people for polit- ical reasons." Others feel Rangel's point about the composition of the armed services is valid, but that his efforts to promote a draft are too drastic. LSA senior Patrick Mills said although he is adamantly opposed to a draft, he thinks "the upper classes do not fight because they can make the lower classes fight for them.. The upper classes are educated peo- ple that are excused from military service because of their positions of power" By Min Kyung Yoon Daily Staff Reporter Ronald Takaki said his "dream for peace involves transforming the anti-war movement into a peace movement." The University of California at Berkeley professor said the anti-war movement has to be not just what we're against, but what we are for. Emphasizing the theme of this year's Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium, "We must be the change we wish to see in the world," Takaki spoke about America's war against terrorism and the importance of individual commitment to action in "A 'Dream' for Peace" speech at the Michigan Union Ballroom last night. With increased focus on terrorism after the Sept. 11 attacks, Takaki examined three reasons for President Bush's war against terrorism - partisan politics, oil and Bush's frontier mentality. "Partisan politics help win elections and they are planned to help in 2004," Takaki said. "Bush has not men- tioned oil a single time, yet we know our economy is dependent on oil imports from the Muslim countries." Takaki went on to ask "why has Bush made this war against terrorism an endless war?". Drawing influences from historian Frederick Jackson Turner's "The Significance of Frontier in American History," Takaki said the language Bush has used, like "hunt them down, smoke them out," is the language of the frontier mentality. See MLK, Page 3 Project seeks tax on Internet goods By Victoria Edwards Daily Staff Reporter Online shoppers should be aware that the next time they buy something from a company like Amazon.com or eBay, the price may be slightly increased as a result of The Stream- lined Tax Project, which would make states adopt a tax on products pur- chased over the Internet. "Michigan legislation is allowing us as a state to enter into a multistate com- pact to simplify the collecting and remit- tance of sales and used tax from remote sellers," said Larry Meyer, chairman and chief executive officer of the Michigan Retailers Association. "On the Michigan tax. form you are required to pay a Michigan used tax on purchases where sales tax is not included." Under this plan - which is backed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm - the online or mail seller would submit the used tax in the same way the retailer does the sales tax, Meyer said. As a substitute to the sales tax - the used tax is implemented when the pur- chasing process is not in a store estab- lishment. Examples include be purchases from mail order catalogues and the Internet. Meyer said the need for this tax arose due to the more than $300 mil- lion dollars that state of Michigan loses each year because people do not report their used tax. It is difficult for the state to try to audit everyone, he added. "It is a matter of fairness. Why should the shirt bought at a local store in Ann Arbor cost an extra 6 percent when the same shirt bought online from L.L. Bean doesn't?" Meyer said. "This bill has an excellent probability of passing - one, because of the terri- ble budget crises, legislators will understand the need for revenue. They should also understand the need of fairness for mainstream merchants." Smaller local stores will most likely receive the most benefits from this bill, Penny Corbett, business manager of Shaman Drum Bookshop, said. Corbett added that she is interested in seeing the law passed as larger cor- porations like Amazon.com can sell their products without sales tax. LSA junior Chris Cunningham said the enforcement of the used tax would affect his Internet purchasing. "If this bill is passed, I would no longer buy things from the Inter- net," Cunningham said. "I would just get it in a retail store - if there was a used tax there would be no advantage." But some students said they would See TAX, Page 3 JOHNATHON TIETh/Daily The Delta Phi Epsilon sorority house on Washtenaw Avenue and Hill Street is one of the Greek houses on campus that will bear the financial burden of the housing proposal. Ordinance threatens Greek housing costs By Emily Kraack Daily Staff Reporter The next time a window is broken or roof is damaged at fraternity and soror- ity houses on Hill Street and Washte- naw Avenue, members could be paying a higher price for repairs if a proposed Ann Arbor ordinance is passed, which calls for the preservation of historical architecture in the neighborhood. Members of the Washtenaw-Hill Historic District Study Committee are looking to expand the current historic district from 21 to 176 properties. Seventy-five percent of the Univer- sity's Greek houses would fall into the historic district. Co-ops, apartment buildings and individual homes are included as well, Historic District Coordinator Heather Edwards said. Under the proposed ordinance, prop- erties in the historic district would have to conduct repairs in a way that main- tains the historic architecture of the building, Historic District Study Com- mittee Chair Ellen Ramsburgh said. "You have to preserve as much as you can," Ramsburgh said. "Changes must be appropriate to the style of a particular house." For example, roof repairs would have to be done with slate instead of asphalt if the roof was originally slate, the propos- al says. The ordinance would also require the windows must be very dete- riorated before the historical commis- sion will approve replacing them. Alum Betsy French, who is the See HOUSING, Page 3 The University ice carving team practices outside Alice L~loyd Residence Hall for a contest in Plymouth for Saturday. Cocaine may kill brain's pleasure centers By Adhiraj Duff Daily Staff Reporter A University team of researchers has found that cocaine use may harm or kill the same brain cells that produce dopamine, the pleasure centers of the brain that allow users to feel a "high" from the drug. The researches said that this finding may explain why cocaine users have to continue increasing the amount of cocaine they use to get the same high, which strengthens their dependency on the drug. Taking brain samples from 35 deceased cocaine users and from 35 non-drug users, an interdiscipli- nary researcher team studied the effects of cocaine on the brain by examining dopamine-releasing brain cells from the samples. In decreased concentrations, dopamine has been associated with Parkinson's disease. "Dopamine finds its way to receptors on neigh- boring cells, triggering signals that help set off pathways to different feelings or sensations," the study says. Results also indicate that cocaine creates a high by trapping dopamine between receptors in the brain sending the pleasure signal repeatedly. "When first taken, cocaine has a disruptive effect on the brain's dopamine system. It-blocks the trans- porters that return dopamine to its home cell once its signaling job is done," according to the team's writ- ten statement. "With nowhere to go, dopamine builds up in the synapse and keeps binding with other cells' receptors, sending pleasure signals over and over again. This helps cause the intense 'high' cocaine users feel." Collecting data for nearly seven years, the team performed a. series of studies in the attempt to dis- cover what exactly cocaine does to the users' brains. "Chronic users have a depleted supply of dopamine and we found that the depressed users had the biggest changes in supply," Karley Little, one of the study's authors, said. "We now are wondering See COCAINE, Page 3