Monday Novembe~r 42002iy .2002 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 42 One-Aundred-twelve years ofeditorialfreedom Weather TODAY: Partly cloudy in the morning with clouds dis- "48 sipating in the LOW, afternoon, mak- ing way for sun- Tomrrew: n.www.michigandaiycom Candidates campaign at pre-game tailgates By Tomislav Ladika and Louie Meizilish Daily Staff Reporters Politics mixed with football as Michigan's political candidates exhibited a more personal side to students during the tailgate before the annual football clash between rivals Michigan and Michigan State Saturday. Republican gubernatorial nominee Dick Posthumus walked among the tailgaters, shaking hands, introducing himself to voters and even signing footballs - which required the use of a reporter's pen. "It's a chance for them to see who we really are, Posthumus said. Wearing khakis and a gray sweater, Posthumus weaved through the Crisler Arena parking lot, escorted by his daughter MICHIGAN Heather and several stu- n dent supporters. ELECTIONS "Part of it is to fire 200 people up ... to get them out to vote," he said. Posthumus' message seemed to find a receptive audience before the game. Political yard signs and people wearing campaign stickers mixed in with the traditional Michi- gan and Michigan State fanfare. Posthumus called the turnout of students interested in politics "fantastic" and said he believed he had won new supporters, thereby accomplishing one of his campaign goals. "One of the things I wanted to do was to show that the political pundits were all wrong, and that the students are going to vote," he said. Matt Nolan, a member of Students for Posthumus, said the in-state rivalry and pre- game tailgate traditionally attract many politi- cal candidates. He said decisions made by voters now will affect college students in the future. "These are your issues, these are our issues," Nolan said. Fifty to 60 student volunteers formed satel- lite groups and scattered around the parking lot to support Posthumus, Nolan said. Melvin Butch Hollowell, the Democratic candidate for secretary of state, was also in Ann Arbor Saturday. Just prior to kickoff, he could be seen shaking hands and introduci-ug himself to prospective voters cutting across Elbel Field on the way to the game. "We want people to know help is on the way," Hollowell said. "We're going to bring people together for election reform, to profes- sionalize our election training staff and crack- ing down on car repair fraud." A contingent of students from the Associa- tion of Michigan Universities had arguably See CAMPAIGNS, Page 7A Senate hopefuls differ on health care, economy By Tomislav Ladika Daily Staff Reporter Recent economic struggles have many graduating college students wor- ried about finding jobs, and while Andrew Raczkowski, the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, has said President Bush's tax cut program will spur economic growth, incumbent U.S. Sen. Carl Levin said it only benefits upper income people. Raczkowski, a state representative from Farmington Hills, said Bush's program encourages economic growth "because it puts more disposable income in our pockets and not the gov- ernment's." In addition to supporting the tax cuts, Raczkowski said he favors the total elimination of all taxes on income saved for retirement, and he proposed removing taxes on income parents save for their children's col- lege education by replacing them with tax credits. Levin, a Democrat from Detroit, said instead of freeing up disposable income, Bush's cuts help to create a "deficit ditch" while only benefiting a small portion of the population. "Over 50 percent of that tax cut, by the time it is fully implemented, would go to the wealthiest 1 percent, and that's wrong," he said. See SENATE, Page 2A REBECCA SAHN/Daily A participant takes part in the Diwali celebration Friday. Diwali is known as the "festival of lights" and is a celebration of homecoming. Dkvalps homage to exiled Lord 'Day of the Dead' celebrates lives of lost loved ones By Rahwa Ghebre-Ab Daily Staff Reporter The Anderson Room of the Michigan Union was ablaze with tiny lights and hanging lanterns on Friday night in honor of the Indian Student Associ- ation's Diwali celebration. Diwali is celebrated in nearly all parts of India and it pays homage to Lord Rama, who returned to his kingdom of Ayodhya after 14 years of exile. "It's a welcome back celebration of sorts. And every time this year, we celebrate his homecom- ing," Business junior and ISA events coordinator Deepa Sawlani said. More than 350 people filled the Anderson Room and even more spilled out into the surrounding hallways. The celebration kicked off with the lighting of sparklers to offer up light, which is a significant part of the celebration. "Diwali is known all over as the 'festival of lights,"' Sawlani said. The lights are there to welcome Lakshmi, god- dess of wealth and prosperity, and the goddess Kali, who the festival also honors, said Engineer- ing senior Kunal Aggrawal, an ISA executive board member. Following the lighting of the sparklers was the ceremonial prayer and prasad, which were accom- panied by the traditional bhajan, a worship song specifically used during the festival. "In India, on this day, we just worship and make a certain food which we call prasad. It is given up as an offering," Engineering graduate student Ambal Jayaraman said. Soon after the prayer the crowd settled onto the ground for the cultural show, which included vari- ous songs, dances, instrumentals and skits. A cere- monial dinner followed. "Through events like these, the campus is See DIWALI, Page 2A By Rahwa Ghebre-Ab Daily Staff Reporter Emotions ran high as various stu- dents spoke about loved ones lost in honor of el Dia de los Muertos - The Day of the Dead - Friday evening in the Michigan Union Art Lounge. Pictures, skull sculptures and vari- ous altars were set up to memorialize those who have passed. "El Dia de los Muertos is primarily a Mexican tradition, but it's big all over the Latino world," said LSA junior Myrna Vaca, executive board member of La Voz Latina, the sponsoring group. "El Dia de los Muertos has its roots in the Aztecs and it commemorates the lives of those who have passed. Instead of remembering their deaths, we are celebrating their lives," said a member of the Latino Task Force who wished to remain anonymous. See RESPECT, Page 2A 'Tour' shows students Mid-East Bye, bye, Bobby By Karen Schwartz Daily Staff Reporter "Where is Armenia?" one student asked another as they perused the Armenian Stu- dents' Cultural Association table at the Tour of the Middle East exhibition. "I'm not sure, maybe somewhere near China?" her friend replied as they bent down to look at a map. The two were among the around 150 students and community members who came to watch dances and skits and explore exhibits about "F cultures of the Middle East at the Trotter they House yesterday afternoon. wha The ASCA set up and manned a table at the S event covered in books, maps and information Rita with the hope that they could spread informa- East tion about their culture. tura "We wanted to get the word out - if any- thes one had any questions or wondered who we 4" are," said ASCA president and LSA senior East Vartivar Sagherian. Annual A By Shabina S. Khatri Daily Staff Reporter People will know an Armenian or say that yknow an Armenian, they just won't know at it means to be Armenian," he said. chool of Public Health graduate student Aouad co-chaired the Tour of the Middle t, which featured a variety of campus cul- l groups and has been in the works since start of the school year. We felt there was a need to bring Middle tern organizations on campus together for See AWARENESS, Page 7A dvocacy positive government officials that want to do the right thing - and it's up to us as constituents to inform them of what we want and what we need," event organizer and School of Social Work graduate student Han- nah Enright said. The day's events, which were sponsored by Project SERVE and The Edward Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning, were structured around a panel dis- cussion, two issue sessions and a mini-fair of activist student organi- zations. LSA Student Government Presi- dent Monique Luse, an LSA senior, Michigan State University fans put in their two cents regarding their football team's recent woes during the game against the Wolverines Saturday. 'U' honors nominees for prestigi~ous scholarshi"ps More than 120 college students from across Michigan registered to participate in the University's second annual Advocacy Day on Friday, a one-day seminar designed to promote student empowerment in the social and political arenas through activism workshops. State Rep. Chris Kolb and U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers, both Democrats from Ann Arbor, commenced the program by encouraging students to get involved in the political process. "Lynn Rivers basically said that By Kara DeBoer Daily Staff Reporter Provost Paul Courant and numerous faculty members honored eight University students Fri- day who were nominated for the 2002-03 Rhodes, Marshall and Mitchell Scholarships. Though this nomination is the first step of many requisites for scholar status, Courant emphasized the students' achievement. Courant also urged attending professors to take pride in their former students' accomplishments. "Enjoy this moment, because they're about to leave you in the dust. Celebrate the influence you've had," he said. Accomplishments and contributions of the stu- dents legitimize bragging rights, said scholarship subcommittee member Ejner Jensen, He said the nominees were chosen only after reviewing more than two dozen applications and conducting 12 TONY DING/Daily