Friday
October 11, 2002
©2002 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 29
TODAY:n
One-hundred-twelve years ofeditonrazlfreedom
Mostly sunny
throughout the
day but turning
partly cloudy in
the evening.
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DIVESTMENT DISSENSION
Hillel rally
ur es campus to
ta e stance
By Alssa Tskakoshil
For the Daily
In a rally organized by the American Movement for Israel
and the Israel-Michigan Political Affairs Committee, more
than 1,000 people gathered on the steps of Dennison Hall
yesterday where speakers vocalized support for the Univer-
sity's investments in Israel.
InsIde: Students from Referring to this weekend's Second
universities nationwide National Student Conference on the
react to the question of Palestine Solidarity Movement, Joan
divesting from Israel Lowenstein, president of the Jewish
Page 144 f Federation of Washtenaw County, said,
"When a group of propagandists hijacks
the University of Michigan and uses its good name to promote
anti-Semitism, we are under attack.
"We should not have to be here today. It should be a given that
the state of Israel is secure and that Jews all over the world are
safe," Lowenstein said.
"But that is not a given. Israel is under attack from terrorist
See ISRAEL, Page 7A
JOHN PRATT/Daily
Students and members of the University community gather on the steps of Dennison Hall yesterday to support Israel and the
University's interests in Israel.
Judge denmes
Aean in suit
brou t against
con erence
By Jordan Schrader
Daily Staff Reporter
The legal fight to stop the University from
allowing speakers to attend a controversial
conference this weekend appears to have been
defeated, plaintiffs and defendants agreed
yesterday.
Washtenaw County Circuit Court Judge
Melinda Morris denied a request yesterday for
a temporary restraining order to stop the con-
ference.
Deborah Schlussel, attorney for the plain-
tiffs, LSA sophomore Richard Dorfman and
LSA senior Adi Neuman, made the request.
Barring an appeal - which Schlussel said
would be unlikely to succeed - the Second
National Student Conference on the Palestine
Solidarity Movement will likely go on as
scheduled, tomorrow through Monday.
But Dorfman said his effort was partially
successful because it raised awareness on
campus of the threat posed by the conference,
which is organized by the group Students
Allied for Freedom and Equality.
LSA senior and SAFE co-founder Fadi
Kiblawi declined to comment on the lawsuit.
The judge's action reflects a victory for the
right to free speech, University spokeswoman
Julie Peterson said.
"The judge applied the law as we expected
and made the right decision," she said. "I'm
not concerned that the Court of Appeals will
change the decision.
"We're focusing on making sure everything
this weekend is safe and respectful. I'm pretty
sure we can count on our students to have a
responsible environment."
But Dorfman predicted more legal action if
the speakers incite violence. Meanwhile, he
said he will concentrate on protesting the con-
ference.
The lawsuit's brief alleges that speakers
such as Sami Al-Arian, who it linked with an
Islamic Jihad organization, will spread hate
and may provoke violent acts on campus.
"This is the equivalent of adding a match to
a powder keg," Schlussel said. "We know this
is already a campus where ethnic intimidation
is apparently a practice you can engage in.
See LAWSUIT, Page 7A
Speakers discuss ifrbzged
civil iberies, government
By Emily Kraack
and Ricky Lax
Daily Staff Reporters
It was standing-room only in 150
Hutchins Hall last night.
"Our rights are being stolen and
there's no end in sight," Kary Moss,
executive director of the Michigan
branch of the American Civil Liberties
Union, told the crowd in a panel presen-
tation about the eroding status of civil
liberties post-Sept. 11.
Many of the more than 200 students
attending the lecture wore "DIVEST FROM
ISRAELI APARTHEID" shirts and spoke
of this weekend's Second National Student
Conference on the Palestine Solidarity
Movement sponsored by Students Allied for
Freedom and Equality.
Suspended University of South Florida
Prof. Sami Al-Arian, a proponent of Pales-
tinian statehood, spoke of immense scrutiny
after his controversial "O'Reilly Factor"
appearance. Al-Arian said the University of
South Florida put him on paid leave with a
stated attempt to fire him.
He said he was told by Fox News that
they wanted him on the show because he
lived in Florida, where many of the Sept.
11 hijackers lived. He said he realized,
"With a five minute interview, you're not
going to be able to say much ... but I was
not expecting the death threats and what
would follow."
He added that the president of the Holo-
caust Association even accused him of
being a member of the advisory board of al-
Qaida.
Al-Arian said, "The whole thing is about
changing the subject, so they won't have to
answer the burning questions about whatev-
er the subject might be."
Law student and co-president of the Mus-
lim Law Student Association Ali Ahmad
said that Al-Arian's "views have been exag-
gerated" and that "that makes him an easy
target for the media." K,
"How sorry I am for the horrible
tragedy of Sept. 11 ... but, the Muslims
of this country had to endure not only
the tragedy, but also the backlash." Al-
Arian added.
See LIBERTIES, Page 3A
JOHN PRAT/Daily
Suspended University of South Florida Prof. Sarni
AI-Arian speaks last night at a lecture on civil
liberties.
Brater discusses tax cuts, budget +
By Tomislav Ladika
Daily Staff Reporter
Tax cuts are usually meant to provide people with
more hard income, which they return to the govern-
ment through increased consumer spending, but state
Senate candidate Liz Brater says Michigan's tax cut
programs accomplish neither objective.
Brater, a Democrat from Ann Arbor who also served
six years in the Michigan House of Representatives, is
running for Michigan's 18th District, which includes
Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti and much of northern Washtenaw
County. Her Republican opponent is Scio Township
Trustee Gordon Darr.
Brater said if she is elected in the Nov. 5
statewide general election, she will favor pausing
any cuts to Michigan's income taxes and Small
Business Tax, which are currently 4.2 percent and
2.1 percent, respectively. Each tax is usually
decreased annually by .1 percent, and although state
law has halted cuts to the SBT, both state Attorney
"We need to stop arguing over who's going to get a
bigger piece of the pie and look at how to make the
pie bigger"
- Liz Brater
State Senate candidate (D-Ann Arbor)
General Jennifer Granholm and Lt. Gov. Dick
Posthumous, the Democratic and Republican candi-
dates for governor, respectively, support reinstating
the cuts.
Brater said the tax cuts cost the state a total of $300
million each year - $120 million from the SBT cuts
and $180 million from the income tax cuts.
At the same time, the cuts are not saving Michigan
families a significant amount of money to make up for
the state's losses, Brater said.
"The way it was structured, (the income tax cut)
gives the average Michigan family $50 a year,"
Brater said.
Michigan's budget, which currently has a $1.2 mil-
lion deficit, must be reviewed and restructured, Brater
said. The main goal of the new budget, she said, should
be "restoring the money we lost to the SBT and income
tax cuts, and stopping this pattern of tax cutting that is
reducing our revenues below the level needed to sup-
port existing state revenues."
Another option Brater offered was raising the diesel
See BRATER, Page 7A
No.13 MICHIGAN
No. 15PENN STATE
tomorrow 3:30 p.m. Michigan Stadium I abc
House gives Bush
increased power
THE OPPONENT
Penn State's 1-1 record in the Big
Ten could very easily be 2-0, or 0-2.
Tomorrow could be an indicator of
what it should be.
LAST WEEK
Michigan had a bye. Penn State beat
Wisconsin 34-31 in a dramatic day in
Madison.
OUTLOOK
Zack Mills, Larry Johnson and the versatile
Penn State offense will try to stay on cruise
control aryainsr Marlin lackson and the
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House
voted 296-133 yesterday to give Presi-
dent Bush the broad authority he sought
tco use military force against Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein - with or without
U.N. support. The Senate was poised to
do the same and to deliver Bush a major
national security policy victory.
"The House of Representatives has
spoken clearly to the world and to the
United Nations Security Council: The
gathering threat of Iraq must be con-
fronted fully and finally," Bush said
posal, opening the way for a final vote
late yesterday or early today. "It is clear
that we have lost this battle in the Sen-
ate," said Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WVa.),
the most outspoken Senate foe of the
resolution. Byrd accused Congress of
"handing the president unchecked
authority."
While Bush hailed the strong show-
ing, a majority of House Democrats
voted against the resolution - even
though their leader, Dick Gephardt of
Missouri, was one of its authors.
DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily
Defensive end Larry Stevens celebrates with fans after Michigan's last minute win
over the Washington Huskies at Michigan Stadium on Aug. 31.
Band encourages
crowd participation
By C. Price Jones
Daily Staff Reporter
"The Big House is too quiet. Our
past football dominance has replaced
our enthusiasm and pride with expec-
These remarks are taken from a let-
ter sent to University students from
Michigan Marching Band Drum
Major Matt Cavanaugh, who is
encouraging the student section to
cheer in the upcoming Penn State
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