TODAY:
Tuesday
October 1, 2002
©2002 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 21
One-hundred-twelve years of editorialfreedom
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-------- --
Kilpatrick
wants say
in state
leadership
By Loule Melzlish
Daily Staff Reporter
SAFE spokesperson
speaks out on effect
of Coleman e-mail
By Soojung Chang
Daily Staff Reporter
Republican gubernatorial nominee
Dick Posthumus is crying foul over a
memo he says demonstrates the
extent of the corruption voters can
expect from an administration head-
ed by his Democratic opponent.
In a memo obtained by Detroit's
WKBD-TV, Detroit Mayor Kwame
Kilpatrick demands that in
exchange for his support of state
Attorney General Jennifer
Granholm in the governor's race, 20
" percent of the next governor's polit
i c a 1
appointees
should be
black, and
D etr oite rs
should be
chosen to
head six top
state offices
i c hi the MICHIGAN
State Hous ELECTIONIS
ing Develop-
in e n t 2 0
Authority,
the Michigan
Economic Development Corp., the
Family Independence Agency, the
Office of Financial and Insurance
Services and the departments of
Corrections and Community Health.
"Based on the policies of the last
12 years, the next administration
must address the issues that face the
African-American community," the
memo read.
The memo also says that any new
state buildings should be constructed
in Detroit and more state contracts
should be given to "Detroit based,
minority owned business."
But representatives of the Detroit
mayor's office and the Granholm
campaign stressed the memo was a
draft that was never sent to Granholm
and also that no promises were made
in exchange for Kilpatrick's support.
"Granholm is a product of Wayne
County's corrupt government, and
she has demonstrated time and again
that she will put the special interests
of her political friends in Wayne
County Government before the needs
of Michigan residents," Posthumus,
the lieutenant governor, said in a
* statement.
This follows allegations from the
Posthumus campaign chastising
Granholm for approving no-bid con-
tracts at Detroit Metropolitan Airport
while serving as corporation counsel
to Wayne County Executive Edward
McNamara.
"She has called Ed McNamara her
'political mentor,' hired the former direc-
tor of Detroit Metro Airport as her cam-
paign manager, and stood silently by
when McNamara gave out sweetheart
deals to his cronies: free cars, 5 to 1 in
matching 401-k funds, and inflated
salaries," Posthumus said.
"It's shocking he's been parading
See GRANHOLM, Page 3
Palestinian supporters vocally opposed University Presi-
dent Mary Sue Coleman's response to an offensive e-mail
sent to more than 1,000 members of the University commu-
nity last this week and her stance on the University's finan-
cial investments in Israel.
Students Allied for Freedom and Equality spokesperson
Eric Reichenberger, a first-year Rackham student, said yes-
terday during a press conference at the Union that Coleman
acted prematurely and unprofessionally in responding to the
fraudulent e-mail without confirming its origins.
"Rather than seriously address the offensive e-mail and
reassure the campus that it did not originate from SAFE, she
irresponsibly seized upon this opportunity to advance her
own personal and political agenda," Reichenberger said.
Coleman's e-mail was sent out one day after unidentified
computer hackers used SAFE's e-mail account to send a
"spoofed" e-mail to University faculty and staff members
inviting them to the upcoming Second National Student
Conference on the Palestine Solidarity Movement, spon-
sored by SAFE.
The e-mail was falsely signed by SAFE co-founder Fadi
Kiblawi, an LSA senior, and also contained what some stu-
dents said were anti-Semitic remarks.
"As part of an organized campaign to disrupt next month's
national student conference on Palestine, a viciously anti-
Semitic e-mail was spoofed in the name of SAFE and one of
its key organizers," Reichenberger said at the conference,
which was attended by more than 40 students, both pro-
Israeli and pro-Palestinian.
Coleman said in the e-mail that the conference does not
represent the views of the University and condemned the
"spoofed" e-mail's inflammatory language. She also said the
University does not support selling University stock in com-
panies doing business in Israel.
Reichenberger demanded an apology from Coleman foi
not consulting SAFE before sending her message to the Uni-
versity community.
"As a result of her statement, (Coleman) now has ar
even more urgent responsibility to publicly exonerate all
members of SAFE of any involvement in the offensive
e-mail," he said.
"Her statement outrageously implies that SAFE has
either not acted in a civilized manner in the past or thai
there is reason to suspect that there will be a lack of civility
from us in the future," Reichenberger said in response to a
section of Coleman's e-mail advising conference partici-
pants to "respect all University rules concerning appropri-
ate conduct on campus."
Rackham student Idris Elbakri said, "It was a mistake tc
link the hacker's e-mail to our movement. She did not in any
way try to explain to the community that the e-mail was the
act of hackers,"
As for the upcoming Palestinian Solidarity Conference.
Kiblawi said it is still going ahead as planned.
Reichenberger also protested what he said was Coleman's
message that she does not support the conference.
"I think any student organization in our position would
feel the same way. We have to protect the rights of all stu-
See SAFE, Page 3
JONATHON TRIEST/Day
LSA senior Fadi Kiblawi, co-founder of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality,
whose e-mail was allegedly spoofed last week, sits outside the Fleming
Administration Building yesterday afternoon.
Richner stresses budgetary know-how
By Tomislav Ladika
Daily Staff Reporter
Andrew Richner was raised by his father, a
University alum, to value the educational
opportunities provided by the institution, and
now Richner, a Business and Law graduate,
credits the education he received here for his
political success as a Michigan state repre-
sentative.
Richner (R-Grosse Pointe Park), who is
finishing out his third term in the state Legis-
lature, says he will use his political experi-
ence to help solve the University's current
financial issues if he is elected to one of two
available University Board of Regents posi-
tions in the Nov. 5 election.
He says he understands the role of a regent and
the decision-making
processes that accompany
the position.
"I have a solid foundation
Y in the duties and responsibil-
ities of a board member," he
said. "My experience in the
legislature will help when it
comes to the appropriations
process."
That experience is espe-
cially important because
of the numerous financial constreints the
University is facing, which Richner said
cause him to "worry that we're pricing the
cost of a college degree out of the range of
working class families."
The challenge of keeping education afford-
able might become even greater, Richner says.
Though the Michigan government has not yet
included higher education funding among the
numerous budget cuts of the past couple
years, Richner said he "would be absolutely
shocked if there weren't budget cuts coming."
The reality of the current financial situation is
that the University's budget will probably have to
be tightened, Richner said, adding the University
must not raise tuition rates beyond the level of
inflation and instead may need to search for more
creative, yet fair ways to cut down its budget.
Richner added that other solutions include seek-
ing research grants more aggressively, raising
funds for the University by supporting endow-
ments and increasing alumni support, he said.
In addition to keeping the University
affordable to students of all economic back-
grounds, Richner said University admissions
policies should support diversity because a
variety of experiences and opinions add to the
richness of higher education.
Richner said he does not believe in the use
of racial quotas, but supports the idea of
recruiting more minority students and provid-
ing more funding for them.
Taking a more active role in helping Detroit
See RICHNER, Page 3
Degree of procrastination
linked with lower grades
Ain't no mountain high enough
By Adhiraj Dutt
For the Daily
Late night study sessions and
frantic paper-writing sessions are
activities very familiar to some stu-
dents, specializing in the art of pro-
crastination.
"I am a horrible procrastinator,"
RC junior William Trenary said. "I
always put off work that is uninter-
esting and mechanical until the last
moment. On the other hand, I can't
keep myself from doing things that
I find interesting."
A study on procrastination conduct-
ed by Bruce Tuckman, professor of
education at Ohio State University,
found that extreme procrastinators
have lower grades than students who
slightly procrastinated.
The study found that on a 4.0
scale, slight and moderate procras-
tinators averaged grades of 3.6 and
3.4, respectively, while extreme
procrastinators averaged 2.9.
The study also concluded that the
worst procrastinators tried to justify
their actions.
"The results show that procrasti-
nators don't work better under pres-
sure, but it may be the only way
they work. They don't have any idea
how well they might do if they did-
n't procrastinate," Tuckman said in
a written statement.
The study involved a 10-week
study skills course with 116 stu-
dents. The class was packed with
deadlines for more than 200 assign-
ments, all of which were submitted
See GRADES, Page 3
LSA senior Eric Goodman and Dave Patterson, a senior at Eastern
Michigan University, climb a wall at Planet Rock in Ann Arbor.
Chan gathers worldwide appeal
using common body language
By Jeff Dickerson
Daily Arts Editor
With the overwhelming success of "Rush Hour" in
the United States in the fall of 1998, Jackie Chan
established himself as the most popular movie star in
the world. Prior to the release of the action/comedy
co-starring Chris Tucker, Chan was a mere cult per-
sonality in America, while in the rest of the world he
was an international superstar. Four years later, Chan
continues to be a massive draw both here and abroad.
"I think I am successful because I have interna-
tional humor and international body language," says
Chan. "Because my movies are shown around the
world, I use more body language to tell the story."
Chan's body language is more than just exaggerated
facial expressions and physical humor. He is the mar-
tial arts version of Buster Keaton, risking life and
limb for the sake of his audience, whether it be iump-
times, his ankle once, most of his fingers, both
cheekbones and his skull, just to name a few. "Every-
body thinks 'Jackie you're a great stunt guy.' No!
I'm not a great stunt guy, I just have the guts to try it
is all," he explained.
"I do the things the people believe I can do," Chan
said of his movie stunts. "I think of other ways to do
things. When I'm planning my own stunts, it's some-
thing I can really do. I don't do crazy things. I know
how far I can go and how high I can jump." Over the
years the actor has played a wide variety of behind
the scenes roles, from directing, producing, writing
and choreographing.
His latest film, "The Tuxedo," follows Chan as a
chauffeur who comes in possession of a $2 billion
high-tech tuxedo. The special effects heavy action
film was a new experience for Chan, who has starred
in more than 100 films in his extensive career. "I
decided I wanted to learn something about special
Chan has nothing but praise for his co-star, the
effervescent Jennifer Love Hewitt. "She is a wonder-
ful girl. She's just like the female Chris Tucker," he
adds. "After weeks I realized, not only is she pretty,
she can act, she can dance, she can sing and she can
do some acrobatics."
While he enjoyed virtually limitless freedom with
his Asian releases, Chan finds himself with less con-
trol in the Hollywood system. "I had almost half and
half creative control with what I did in "The Tuxedo'"
because of the special effects. Not like in "Shanghai
Knights" when it was about 100 percent.' No matter
how much control he has in his films, he said "I
always choose Jackie Chan-style movies, I do my
own thing."
"Sometimes I think do I need a break," the star
admits. In the last few years his schedule has been
almost non-stop, beginning new projects as others
wind down. "They've mentioned "Rush Hour 4,"
0
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