LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 11, 2002 - 3A CAMPUS Writer explores religious themes Renowned Indonesian writer, Goe- nawan Mohamad is speaking tomor- row at 2 p.m. in a "Poetry and the end of the Holy," a lecture sponsored by the Institute for Humanities. Mohamad, a respected poet, journalist ad essayist, is speaking in room 1636 at the School of Social Work. Speaker hopes for 'Peaceful Tomorrows' Since Sept. 11, Rita Lasar has traveled to Afghanistan to speak with those who have lost loved ones since a bomb campaign began more than a year ago. As a member of the September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, Lasar is speaking at the Anderson Room of the Michigan Union about the Afghan victims' fund the group has started at 7 p.m. Saturday. Murder, mystery part of Japanese film showing Kiyoshi Kurosawa's original psy- chological thriller, "Kyua (The Cure)" is being shown with Japan- ese subtitles tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Lorch Hall. The film follows a detective pursuing a drifter who commits murders while hypnotized. The showing is sponsored by the Center for Japanese Studies. Chinese film series to feature Sun Zhou The Center for Chinese Studies is showing a moving film by Sun Zhou. Originally premiering in 1999, "Break- ing the Silence" chronicles a Beijing woman forced to raise her deaf child alone. The film will be shown at Angell Hall Auditorium A today at 8 p.m. with Mandarin subtitles. 'U' to hold annual A Cappella Festival Winners of last year's 2nd Annual Michigan A Cappella Festival, the Compulsive Lyres are hosting the festival this year. The event is at Rackham Auditorium, tomorrow at 5 and 8 p.m. Featured in this year's event include Amazin' Blue, the Friars, Gimble, the Dicks and Janes, Head- notes, the Sopranos, the Harmon- ettes, 58 Greene, the GMen, Good News, Kopitonez, and Kol Hakvod. Tickets are available at the Michi- gan Union Ticket Office and at the door. Arboretum prepares for new plants Nichols Arboretum Director Bob Grese and others are removing unhealthy plants from the Arb in an effort to create new planting sites from 9 a.m. to noon. All should be dressed for a day in nature. Tools will be provided. Museum celebrates Asian Culture The University Museum of Art is celebrating its current Asian art exhibits with a community day on Sunday from 1-5 p.m. Participants have the chance to try Chinese painting techniques, see calligraphy and brush painting demos, and enjoy performances. Fall hike highlights arboreal wonders With fall in the air, Nichols Arboretum docents will be leading, "Fall Color Walk," a hike to explore and discuss the natural wonders in the Arb, including oaks, maples and hickories. The walk will start at 2 p.m. Sunday and depart from the Reader Center. Thespians share theater knowledge As part of Basement Arts Theater, theater student Johanna Schuster- Craig and LSA student Blair Preiser will be hosting a discussion for stu- dents about effective stage manage- ment methods. The talk will be at the Arena Stage in the Frieze Build- ing, Sunday at 7 p.m. Hellenic Students Association play Greek tragedy Regent candidates list tuition as top pronty By Tomislav Ladika Daily Staff Reporter Support for the University's recent tuition rate increases may be rapidly dwindling, if last night's Candidates forum for the University Board of Regents is any indication. All eight of the candidates present agreed to limit, if not completely halt, tuition increases. But few concrete plans for increasing the University's affordability were outlined. In their opening statements, every candidate said tuition is one of their main concerns, and several of the candidates blamed the University administration outright for past hikes. Green Party candidate Susan Fawcett, a School of Art student, and Natural Law Party candidate David Arndt said the University is spending too much money constructing new buildings. "We don't need a Taj Mahal ... The University doesn't seem to have a conscience, like they're sleepwalking," Arndt said. "And the reason is we don't have people here who know what they're doing with the money." LSA sophomore Pete Woiwode, Michigan Stu- dent Assembly communication committee chair and a sponsor of the forum, said the criticisms reflect a general concern on campus that tuition rates are too high. To deal with these concerns, Arndt and Reform Party candidate Nick Waun, an LSA senior, both said they would not vote for any tuition increases that exceeded the rate of inflation. Saline Democrat Greg Stephens, a business and financial manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 252, said he will use his experience to limit the University's construction costs, freeing more money for tuition. Republican candidate Andrew Richner, a state representative from Grosse Pointe Park, and current Regent Andrea Fischer Newman (R-Ann Arbor), said University administrators are capable of find- ing creative ways to limit the budget. The only detailed program was proposed by Green Party candidate Matt Petering, a second-year Rackham student. He offered a tuition stabilization plan directly linked to state government appropria- tions. Woiwode said the candidates cannot be cer- tain if they will be able to avoid tuition increas- es because they do not know what will come up during their terms. He said regents are in a dif- ficult position because they have to decide which programs to fund and how much funding to provide. All of the candidates said they support a diverse Democrat Ismael Ahmed, director of the Dearborn-based Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, discusses tuition increases during a forum for University regent candidates. campus, although Petering and Waun said they do not support the University's current admissions policies. Democrat Ismael Ahmed, director of the Dearborn-based Arab Community Center for Eco- nomic and Social Services, said he supports the policies, while Richner said he does not support quotas, but believes the University should reach out to inner-city communities. The forum, sponsored by MSA, the League of Women Voters and the Youth Vote Coalition, was held yesterday in Hutchins Hall in the Law School. The eight candidates, along with two other third party candidates who were not pres- ent, are running in the Nov. 5 general election for the two available positions on the Board of Regents. Pre-Fall Break study Airline, travel industry still suffering following Sept. 11 By Ted Borden Daily Staff Reporter With the economy weak and the possibility of a war loom- ing, airlines continue to show losses a year after the worst ter- rorist attacks to take place on American soil devastated the industry. Locally, travel agencies say business is slowly recov- ering, although travelers are still somewhat cautious. "Different segments of the travel industry are still suffering the repercussions of Sept. 11," said Connie Pierce, owner of Travel Centre on Packard Avenue. "Business travel has declined, but leisure travel has returned. People aren't afraid to get on a plane, but they're staying closer to home." At Travel Centre, popular destinations include the Caribbean, Hawaii and Alaska. Pierce said she has not sold any tickets to Israel or the Middle East and has seen hesitation in people traveling to Greece and Turkey. Although she said she expects pre-Sept. 11 travel levels to return, at the moment, it's "more of an eco- nomic issue than a feeling of not being safe." Ryan Tell, manager of STA Travel on South University Avenue, said business is definitely returning. "We are back 95 to 98 percent," he said, but noted that STA is well known for its discounted fares and collegiate, customer base. "The college student is a little more resilient than the market - a little more brave and courageous and more likely to look for deals," he said. Tell added that while he expected airlines would continue to raise prices for tickets, "our fares are different than published fares - they have not changed and will stay the same." Pierce also predicted the price of plane tickets would rise. "I think you will continue to see fares rise because of the economics within the airline industry. They need to maximize revenue and we see that in their new penalty structure," she said. "I'm not seeing great fares, and with security fees and fuel surcharges, overall ticket price is not going down." In recent weeks, airlines have taken new measures to raise their profitability. Northwest Airlines recently announced it would reduce the number of flight atten- dants by 1,600 to cut costs and meet slower demand. Also this month, the Transportation Department allowed United Airlines and U.S. Airways to sell seats on each others' flights. It is rumored that a similar agreement between Northwest, Delta and Continental may follow. Students on campus have shown discontent with the air- lines' new business strategies. LSA junior Amy Isaacson, who is flying to Pennsylva- nia for Fall Break, said she was annoyed with higher fares and fewer perks for travelers. "I'm upset that the cost of flying has risen significant- ly," she said. "I travel a lot and at $250 a ticket, I am not going to able to afford to travel soon. I kept hearing rumors that after.(Sept.1.1), prices would drop, but I've yet to see it. It's absolutely ridiculous what they are charg- ing to fly now." Pierce acknowledged, "Flights are fuller and more in demand." But as for the general outlook for the industry, she said, "People are going to continue to travel and whether they're traveling for business or pleasure, there's always going to be an industry." SARAH PAUP/Daily LSA freshman Amy Krukemeyer diligently studies in the grass near the Diag Thursday afternoon. LIBERTIES, Continued from Page 1A "S ince Sept. 11, our nation has been at war - not just with the ugly face of terrorism - but with the ugly face of intolerance ... as if Sept. 11 has given a green light to trample on other peo- ple's rights," he said. "Today our nation is being chal- lenged.... In fact, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights are being challenged. Ironically, this challenge is being called the Patriot Act." "What remains of the Swiss cheese protections of the fourth amendment is now being eroded," Moss said, also criticizing the Patriot Act - a law passed by 99 percent of the Senate that gives the government increased power in investigating possible terrorism- related leads, which Moss said infringes on individuals' right to priva- cy. "The Attorney General is disre- garding the rule of law," she added. "We must not confuse patriotism with nationalism," Al-Arian said. "To be patriotic is to challenge the Patriot Act." "In Decembef of 2005, (the govern- ment) will have to vote on it again, so that gives us about three years to mobi- lize," he added. Moss discussed recent alleged gov- ernment breaches of the Bill of Rights, including the use of "sneak-and-peak" warrants, which do not require law enforcement officials to notify sub- jects of searches in advance, and increased government scrutiny of for- merly protected records - such as credit card and public library records. Moss recalled, "The last time I came to speak about the erosion of civil lib- erties about 10students showed up. What happened'? "We have lost the right to be free from government surveillance," she said. "The John Ashcroft administra- tion has shown a rugged determination to eliminate many of the protections in the Bill of Rights," including increas- ing the power of the executive branch of government and decreasing the role SAT policy changed for untimed tests By Lauren Hodge Daily Staff Reporter Universities will no longer be informed of applicants who received extra time to take the Scholastic Assess- ment Test or the American College Test because of learning disabilities. In the past, an asterisk was placed next to the name of the student who took the SAT untimed. The College Board, which owns the SAT, will no longer flag students who take the test untimed at the start of the 2003-2004 school year. This change occurred because of a July 15 settle- ment where an applicant with a disability objected to having his score singled out because he required extra time. Immediately proceeding the settlement, ACT officials who isolated tests by marking them "special" said they would reexamine their own poli- cies. Eleven days later, officials decided to stop flag- ging scores and imitated the SAT's policy of not identifying students with disabilities. One student who requested to remain anonymous said the practice is beneficial because students will not have to feel categorized by the asterisk, something of an "academic scarlet letter," for taking the test through nonstandard administration. ACT spokesman Ken Gullette said, "We'd been watching the SAT situation for some time and had been evaluating our own policy. We made our decision to end the practice. We are all in the business to make the tests as fair to everybody as we can." Many students said they are worried that admissions will now be more competitive because higher scores will be reported without knowledge of untimed test takers. Some students say it is quite simple to ask a doctor or psychiatrist to write a note on the basis of anxiety attacks or attention deficit disorder simply to get more time on the tests. "The only difficult aspect of the tests is the issue of time. If I were allowed more time, my score would dramatically increase. What's to say that I don't deserve some extra time?" LSA sophomore Bryan Sofen said. LSA sophomore Joanna Lee said the new settlement is advantageous and necessary. "People shouldn't think about others' scores. I think students should focus on themselves and their own scores. If this helps to level the playing field for students with disabilities, then I think it is a good idea." According to The National Report of 1997 College Bound Seniors, 22,441 of 1,105,403 college-bound seniors who took the SAT indicated on their applica- tion that they had a learning disability. These students' scores on both math and verbal means of the SAT were vastly lower (59-66 points) than those of students reporting no disability. The math mean scores were 448 for those reporting a disability and 514 for those without disabilities. The verbal mean scores were 450 and 509 accordingly. Gayle Bellafiore, a researcher for the publication Teaching Exceptional Children, said SAT scores of stu- dents with learning disabilities are significantly lower becausd of the characteristics inherent within the dis- ability itself. You are cordially invited to the Third Annual Lecture in memory of Tamara Williams (1976-1997), a University of Michigan senior killed by her boyfriend, September 23, 1997, on the grounds of Family Housing on North Campus. amara Wiams Ending Dating and Domestic ri k<< # 1 X Violence on Campus: Prevention, Intervention and Social Support Speaker: Dr. Oliver Williams Dr. Oliver J. Williams, Executive Director of the institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community, is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He has worked in the field of domestic violence for more than 20 years. He has been a child welfare and delinquency worker. worked in battered women's shelters, and developed and conducted counseline on