Weather Wednesday October 23, 2002 ©2002 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 34 One-hundred-twelve years of editorialfreedom Mostly or partly cloudy all day today with a chance of rain showers that continue into the night. FH'i48 ..OW: 32 Tomorrow: 49139 www.michigandaily.com Students to 'Blue Out' Big House BgBy Christopher Anderson For the Daily It is time to break out the blue coats, sweatshirts, T-shirts - even body paint - to create a unified blue backdrop at Michigan Stadium. In an effort to create unity in the student section and among fans at the Big House, three students are creating the first annual Blue Out for the November 2nd game against Michigan State. The idea for a Blue Out began when LSA senior Melissa Roach visited a university in the South earlier in the year. Inspired by the unification of the school's student section, Roach talked with LSA senior Maggie Malone and they decided to create unity in the Big House by starting a simple tradition. "I can just imagine how great it would feel to see my fellow classmates and Wolverine fans dressed all in Blue to show support for a common goal ... to beat Michigan State," Roach said. LSA senior Rebeca Fefer- man joined this team of organizers and set out to show support to the team and provide, what the event's statement calls an, "unparal- leled intimidation by sending the Spartans to drown in a sea of blue." With the help of various members of the Athletic Department, Michigan Student Assembly, the Alumni Association and other students who shared similar visions, the three seniors said they decided Blue Out could be done. Similar to Michigan Marching Band Drum Major Matt Cavanaugh's idea of a Maize Out against Penn State, the organizers chose blue for a few reasons. First, the game is in November, which means cold weath- er in Michigan. More people are likely to own a blue jacket than a maize or yellow jacket. "We don't want anyone to feel like they have to buy something," Feferman said. The second and more obvi- ous reason is the color blue fits well with the "Go Blue" motto. The blue shirts also show unification with the team's blue jerseys. "I think it is a great way to get many of the students here involved and show school spirit during the game," LSA freshman Kristen Anderlite said. Members of the football team said they are also excit- ed about the idea of a blue sea of fans, including coach Lloyd Carr. "I hope you will support the Blue Out," Carr said. "It is a positive way to energize and inspire our team. It is also a reminder to our opponent that they are in Michi- gan Stadium." The excitement carries over to the bench, players said. "Running out onto the field come game day and seeing See BLUE OUT, Page 7. Albright returns for lectures By Ted Borden Daily Staff Reporter Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright is visiting cam- pus this week. A distinguished scholar at the Business School's William Davidson Institute, Albright gave opening remarks yes- terday at a panel discussion on the Argentine debt crisis and will give a keynote address to Business School alums on the situation in Iraq on Friday. Since her term began in Septem- ber 2001, Albright has been praised by those affiliated with her work on campus. "It's been an unqualified success," said Brent Chite, managing director of the William Davidson Institute, of Albright's term thus far. "We've been very pleased with the outcome. We are grateful ... to have her talents and energy at the institute." Chite credited Business Prof. B. Joseph White, former interim Universi- ty President and Business School dean, with helping bring Albright on board last year. Negotiations over the specifics of the position "took several months. It was back-and-forth. Generally for something that was new to both of us ... (the negotiations) really weren't overly complex or difficult," Chite said. Officials at the institute hope to extend her term, which is due to expire next year. Jan Svejnar, exec- utive director of the institute, explained that Albright is required to visit Ann Arbor three times a year during her term. "It really is a very good fit for both of us. We've had a great relationship with her," Chite said. Aside from the institute, Albright has no ties to the University. She was asked to take a position because, as Svejnar noted, "she is complementa- ry to us. She has strength in policy and political aspects." The Business School's William Davidson Institute was established in 1992 and is named after a 1947 Busi- ness School alum. It was founded after the fill of the Beflin Wall with a $30 million donation from Davidson, with an aim to focus on the transition economies of the former Soviet Union and its successor states. Davidson made his endowment because "he wanted to increase the understanding of transition of former See SCHOLAR, Page 7 -N A YNE/Daiy Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, a distinguished scholar at the Business School's William Davidson Institute, speaks on the Argentine debt crises yesterday at Hale Auditorium. Alums give Engrneening $1OM By Min Kyung Yoon Daily Staff Reporter With a total of $10 million in donations from alums Jerry Levin and Kevin O'Connor last week, along with proposals for the new construction on North Campus, the College of Engineering is on a fast track for vast improvements. Brad Canale, executive director of college relations, said these donations will significantly advance the quality of the school with new equipment and laboratories. "The gift will help toward new programs, new instructional equipment and laboratories. It will work across the entire col- lege," Canale said. Considered one of the top engineering programs in the nation, the college will benefit from enhanced academic pro- grams and student resources. The donations will also con- tribute to a new computer science building on North Campus. Stephen Director, dean of engineering, emphasized a growing awareness in engineering due to increased inter- est in the areas of health care, life sciences and war on terrorism in today's society. "The momentum that the College of Engineering has achieved over the past decade, and the leadership role it enjoys, could not have occurred at a better time," Direc- tor said in a written statement. "Given the global situa- tion, it is likely that we will see an ever-increasing interest in engineering." Projects for a new Computer Science and Engineering building, a new building for Cellular and Molecular Biotech- nology Engineering and a renovated and expanded Solid State Electronics Lab are the three major components of the reconstruction program, Director said. "This plan as a whole achieves important benefits from the physical adjacency of related activities," Director said. "Creating spaces for these critical faculty and stu- dent groups to work together will offer synergies that we have not been able to capture while the groups have been dispersed in multiple locations." While these plans for North Campus met with high praise, Christopher Coronado, an Engineering senior, expressed con- cems about limited availability of space and the impacts of increased traffic caused by the reconstruction. "Growth is good, but there is no space'for a building. The only viable spaces are the forest behind the GG Brown Build- See ENGINEERING, Page 7 Posthumus talks about campaign Rep. Chris Kolb (D-Ann Arbor) wants to keep his 53rd District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives but must first defeat Republican John Milroy Nov. 5. Koib pushes green policies in election By Tomislav Ladika Daily StaffReporter Repubican gubernatorial candidate Dick Posthumus called the Michigan Education Savings Plan, which allows parents to save college money in a tax- free 401-K, "absolutely critical" for combating rising tuition rates at Michi- gan's universities. Posthumus, currently lieutenant gov- ernor under Gov. John Engler, discussed higher education funding and mental health policies yesterday with The Michigan Daily prior to attending a fundraiser in Barton Hills. Posthumus, of Kent County's Alto, is running against Democrat Jennifer Granholm, the state attorney general, in the Nov. 5 general election. Income that parents save in an MESP account can be use to pay for their chil- dren's higher education, in which case it is exempt from federal and state taxes. Posthumus said storing money in MESP accounts is advantageous because "most working families can only put away a little (money) at a time." In addition to the MESP, the second idea Posthumus outlined for higher education is fully funding Michigan's public universities through the state legislature. Posthumus proposed that the "appropriations to universities be tied to whether they increase tuition at the rate of inflation or not." Posthumus also credited Engler for shutting down aging mental health insti- tutions and appropriating more state mental health funds to community health centers. The centers are compara- ble to outpatient clinics - they provide patients with needed treatment, but the patients can reside with their families instead of living in the care centers. "Families did not want to put them in a prison-like institution," Posthumus said. "It's important that the families be part of (the process)." Turning to property taxes, Posthumus criticized Granholm for recently decid- See POSTHUMUS, Page 7 By Jordan Schrader Daily Staff Reporter Rep. Chris Kolb's background in environmental consulting is key to his vision for Michigan's future. The Democrat is stressing the impor- tance of green policies - both on a global scale and in the Ann Arbor area - as he campaigns to keep his 53rd District seat in the Michigan House of Representatives. Kolb will face Republi- can John Milroy in the Nov. 5 election. Steps must be taken locally and statewide to curb pollution, preserve rural land and promote alternative energy sources, Kolb said in an Kolb said urban sprawl springing up around Ann Arbor is a problem faced by many Michigan cities. The result is increased pollution, caused by traffic backups and power plants that fill the air with smog and chemical runoff that con- taminates ground water, he said. "You have a lot of people moving closer and closer to Ann Arbor because it is such a vibrant city," he said. "You have the potential to lose the very nature of the community." He said he spent much of his first term in the House developing legisla- tion to address these issues aided by his experience in the private sector. He also served on the Ann Arbor City BRENUAN 'UONNELL/Daily Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick Posthumus is making savings for college and property taxes important items on his platform. MSA joins boycott against Daily MSA passes a resolution to join more than 30 organizations already boycotting The Michigan Daily By Carmen Johnson Daily Staff Reporter The Michigan Student Assembly debated into the early morning hours at last night's meeting decided to support the boycott after changing the original text of the resolution. Although members were gridlocked for most of the debate, once the proposal was amended by one of the sponsors, Minority Affairs Commis- sion Co-Chair Ed McDonald, to not include the section "encourages all students to boycott the newspaper," the amendment was finally passed with a 20 to 9 vote. Some members said they did not feel MSA had "We cannot tell students not to read the paper. It's a personal choice," Rackham student Ryan Robinson said. Robinson added that he under- stood the boycott's demands. "What's next, burning papers?" Rackham stu- dent and MSA rep. Konstantinos Ghirtis said. "You can't tell students what to do." Many members said they did not want to be quoted with regard to their stance on the boycott, but McDonald said he agreed with the boycott .,1- - -n ~ on~ni n , - - i~