Iaawaaw e ath;
TODAY.
Tuesday
October 8, 2002
©2002 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 26
One-hundred-twelve years of editorialfreedom
Skies will be
mostly cloudy
today and
begin to break
up tomorrow,
as the chills of
autumn set in.
~f:60
Tomorrow.
67/4
www.michigandaily.com
111 11111 .11, 111111,111,118114 logillill iiii:
Boycott of
newspaper
extends to
week two
By Jeremy Berkowitz
and Allison Yang
Daily Staff Reporters
As the boycott against The Michi-
gan Daily enters its second week
today, various student groups on cam-
pus have joined the boycott that began
last Tuesday because of alleged mis-
representation of minorities at the
publication and to show solidarity
with other student groups on campus,
members of the student groups
involved in the boycott said.
"The Michigan Daily has become a
publication that manifests the institu-
tional racism and ignorance that plague
communities of color, and threatens the
progress of the campus community at
large," the petition wrote.
The petition's grievances against the
Daily include culturally insensitive
comments, a lack of coverage of
minority events, the frequent mis-
spelling of minority student names and
an uncomfortable working environ-
ment for minority students, among
other things.
"If they truly believe they are being
misrepresented, whether or not I
believe it is true, doesn't matter," Daily
Editor in Chief Jon Schwartz said. "We
are taking these issues very seriously."
Representatives for groups that ini-
tially signed the petition, including
members of Students Allied for Free-
dom and Equality, the American-Arab
Anti-Discrimination Committee and
the Black Student Union did not return
phone calls made by the Daily.
According to the petition, the stu-
dent groups will end the boycott once
the Daily assigns at least one reporter
to each community within the larger
minority student population, creates an
advisory board to aid the Daily on mul-
tiethnic matters and implements cultur-
al sensitivity training for all Daily staff
members, along with several other
requests.
Until these demands are met, mem-
bers of the boycott have pledged not to
"read, submit letters or viewpoints to,
adrespond to reporters' requests for
comments."
But some minority students on cam-
pus say the petition is inaccurate and
grouips have joined the boycott without
having the opportunity to hear both
sides of the story.
"The Daily has helped get our name
out. The Daily has been beneficial to
our group by helping bring in mem-
bers. I would personally like to say that
these boycotts are blown out of propor-
tion with one person's problem with his
status at the Daily," said LSA junior
Michael Sanders, an executive board
member of Mixed Initiative.
Members of several groups who
wrote the petition met with the leader-
ship of the Daily last month addressing
these issues, but said in the petition
that their requests for a written state-
ment on the Daily's commitment to
diversity were ignored and in response,
they organized the boycott.
"Student leaders from communities
t of color have brought forth these issues
to the leadership of the Daily, request-
ing a written commitment to address
these issues. However, the Daily has
been unresponsive to these concerns
and have ignored the requests," the
petition wrote.
But Schwartz said the Daily has not
ignored the petition's demands and that
the meeting prompted the Daily to take
action, including the composition of an
internal mission statement.
"We have been attempting con-
stant contact with these groups, but
have been met with resistance,"
Schwartz said, adding he sent sever-
al e-mail to the leaders of the coali-
tion Sunday night and received
negative response.
LSA junior Lena Masri, a member
of a minority student group which she
did not wish to name, said she supports
the boycott because of a lack of cover-
age of minority events and a predomi-
nantly non-minority staff.
"I think the Daily should encourage
people in minority groups to join. One
way that they can do that is by show-
ing the minority groups that they are
welcome by covering their events,"
-----------------------------
'U
economic
ties to Israel
split campus
By Jennifer Misthal
Daily Staff Reporter
Student leaders on campus will be
hosting a conference this week calling
for the University to end its economic
investments in Israel, a request the Uni-
versity says it will not comply with.
For supporters of divestment, like
LSA senior and Students Allied for
Freedom and Equality member Eric
Reichenberger,
divestment is an
issue of ethics that
will end the sup-
pression of Palestin-
ian rights in Israel,
specifically in the
occupied territories.
"Divestment is
a movement
,.,x
?n'r'
' 4 ..
AP-PHOTO
President Bush announces he has reached an agreement with House leaders on a resolution giving him authority to oust
Saddam Hussein, in the Rose Garden yesterday.
Bush: Biological -attck on
U.S-may be in Iraq's plan
based on moral Part I in a
concerns arising three-part series
from the oppres-
sion of the Palestinian people at the
hands of the State of Israel,"
Reichenberger said. "It is the only
way effective pressure- can be
placed on the Israeli government to
convince it to discontinue its illegal
occupation of the West Bank and
Gaza Strip."
The University only has a small
percentage of its investments in
companies tied to Israel, University
spokeswoman Julie Peterson said.
"Out of our $3.4 billion invest-
ment portfolio, we have stock in
only two companies directly located
in Israel with a value of about
$500,000. It is impossible for the
University to report investments in
all companies that may have busi-
ness in Israel or some other indirect
connection," Peterson said.
Yulia Dernovsky, an opponent of
divestment and member of- the
American Movement for Israel, said
the movement to withdraw Univer-
sity investment in the region is
harmful to Israel's development.
"It is in the interest of the University
to stand against divestment because
divestment is directed against the only
democratic state in the Middle East,"
Dernovsky said.
While many students are divided over
the issue of the University's economic
involvement in the region, University
President Mary Sue Coleman said in an
e-mail to the University community last
month that the administration has no
intention of divesting from its economic
interests in Israel.
"As a matter of University policy, we
do not believe political interests should
govern our investment decisions," Cole-
man wrote.
Coleman was prompted to send the
message after she received more than
100 messages about the Second Nation-
al Student Conference on the Palestine
Solidarity Movement sponsored by
SAFE, Peterson said.
"Both decisions to divest were
reached only after sustained, campus-
wide support that followed extensive
research by faculty-led committees,"
Coleman said. "Those conditions do not
exist, and I do not plan to ask our Board
of Regents to pursue divestment."
The University has only divested from
economic interests twice before - once
from South Africa in 1983 to show its
disapproval of apartheid and from tobac-
co companies in 2000 - Peterson said.
"Both the South Africa and tobacco
divestments took place over a number
of years," Peterson said. "The process
by which divestment decisions have
been reached in the past has set a very
high bar for this sort of deoilion2 In
the past, faculty review has only been
instituted after the emergence of very
broad support."
See ISRAEL, Page 2
CINCINNATI (AP) - President
Bush, seeking support for war against
Iraq, called Saddam Hussein a "mur-
derous tyrant" last night and said he
may be plotting to attack the United
States with biological and chemical
weapons.
Saddam and his "nuclear holy war-
riors" are also building a nuclear
weapons program and could have a
nuclear weapon in less than a year,
Bush said in prime-time address.
"If we allow that to happen, a terri-
ble line would be crossed," the presi-
dent told civic group leaders at the
Cincinnati Museum Center "Saddam
Hussein would be in a position to
blackmail anyone who opposes his
aggression."
"I am not willing to stake one
American life on trusting Saddam
Hussein," Bush said.
His address opened a week of
debate in Congress over resolutions
giving the president authority to wage
war against Iraq. The House and Sen-
See IRAQ, Page 2
Gubernatorial candidates face
off in first debate of campaign
By Louie Meizlish
Daily StaffReporter
. GRAND RAPIDS - Truthfulness, taxes
and race relations took center stage tonight
during the first and so far
only scheduled debate.
between the major party can-
didates for governor.
Republican Lt. Gov. Dick
Posthumus repeatedly
accused Democratic oppo- MICHIGAN
nent Jennifer Granholm of ELECTIOJI
having trouble saying no to
Democratic interest groups, /*"
while the state attorney general said Posthu-
mus has a record of flip-flopping on issues
and misrepresenting his own position.
When asked whether they would raise
any taxes, Granholm said she would only
raise the diesel tax. One of the central
themes of the Posthumus campaign is a
promise not to raise taxes.
Speaking on Grand Rapids' WOOD-TV,
Granholm said, "I do not want to raise a
single tax, except for one - to make sure
there is parity between the diesel tax and
the gas tax."
Responding to allegations from the Posthu-
mus campaign, she said she would not allow
local millage elections that would raise prop-
erty taxes.
Posthumous shot back, "The question was
'will you raise taxes?' and what my opponent
said was, 'I don't want to raise taxes,' not, 'I
won't raise taxes."'
Granholm repeatedly accused Posthu-
mus of practicing "divisive politics,"
referring to a Republican Party-sponsored
television ad that highlighted a memo
from Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. In
the memo, Kilpatrick promised to bring
out the Democratic vote in Detroit in
exchange for the appointment of Detroi-
ters as heads of several top state offices.
"This is not about racial politics," Posthu-
mus said. "Corruption - whether it's white or
it's black - is corruption."
But Granholm accused the lieutenant gov-
ernor of tapping an anti-Detroit feeling to win
votes outside of Detroit.
"This tactic of dividing people east from
west or city from suburb is deplorable and I
condemn it," she said: "This is not leadership.
This is divisive politics."
Posthumous, however, said the memo
points to a pattern of corruption, noting that
Granholm's mentor, Wayne County Executive
Edward McNamara, had issued 84 percent of
country contracts to campaign donors.
"This is about a pattern of behavior that is
at the very least, poor judgments by my oppo-
nent," Posthumus said of Granholm's tenure
as the county's corporation council. "That
shows almost corruption in Wayne County.
See DEBATE, Page 3
B-School awarded for Lookout point
supporting minorities
PAlHICKJJUNES/Daily
North Campus Redux Reception participants view proposed plans
for revisions to North Campus yesterday at the event, sponsored
by the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.
North Campus
redesign could
add vibrancy
By Maria Sprow
Daily Staff Reporter
By Allison Yang
Daily Staff Reporter
For the second consecutive year, the
Business School was selected as the
2002 recipient of the Outstanding Edu-
cational Institute of the Year Award at
the National Black Masters in Busi-
ness Administration Association's 24th
Annual Conference and Exposition.
The school received the award
because of efforts and contributions
made toward supporting and encourag-
ing black students to study business.
"We chose the University of Michi-
gan for their leadership taken in affir-
mative action and their work done over
said Antoinette Malveaux, president
and CEO of the NBMBAA.
She added the NBMBAA wishes
that more universities would show as
much commitment and strength as the
University.
"Dealing with this issue (of affirma-
tive action), we believe the (Universi-
ty) is in a class of its own," she said.
Lester Monts, senior vice provost
for academic affairs, said, "This is
one of several awards the University
has received for its commitment to
diversity and excellence."
With the Business School ranking
No. 2 in the nation in U.S. News World
Report and its 21 percent ratio of
Fifty years from now, most University officials say North
Campus. won't be the same students are accustomed to, as
the area's open land creates many possibilities for new
buildings and scenery.
But if the visions presented last night by the Taubman
College of Architecture and Urban Planning Dean Doug
Kelbaugh come true, the Arthur Miller Theater will sit
across from Pierpont Commons, and those inhabiting the
Flemming Administration Building on Central Campus will
pack their bags and head for Bonisteel Boulevard.
Retail shops will line Murfin Avenue and a new residen-
tial college will stand at the corner of Murfin and Hayward
Street, leaving academic buildings and a meditation chapel
to finish off the North Campus Diag that surrounds the
Ann and Robert H. Lurie Tower, according to Kelbaugh's
I.
PATRICK JONES/Daily
I