Tuesday November 5, 2002 @9002 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 43 One-hundred-twelve years of editorialfreedom Evening show- ers will roll in as the afternoon progresses and will continue tomorrow. :a 4 Lf~~38 4&irow www.michigandaily.com now -------------- 111111111110111111111 Michigan State fires football head coach By Jae Smith Daily Sports Editor Michigan State football coach Bobby Williams said after Saturday's loss to Michigan he wasn't sure if he lost his team. But now he has lost his job. Michigan State Director of Athletics Ron Mason fired Williams after practice yesterday, two days after the Spartans fell to 3-6 with their worst loss in 55 years. Offensive coordinator Morris Watts was appointed interim coach, but said he expects there to be a new coaching staff next season. Mason said it wasn't one incident that sparked the termination, but rather a multitude of aspects that led him to believe the program was headed in the wrong direction. Mason said the "defining moment" was when reporters asked Williams after the Spartans' loss to Michigan Saturday if he had lost control of his team. Williams answered, "I don't know." "I felt if he wasn't sure, who was?" Mason said, adding he will create a plan to find a new coach, but there's no timetable. Williams has been under fire for sev- eral weeks, as fans have booed him See WILLIAMS, Page 8 High court won't fast track ' lawsuits By Megan Hayes Daily Staff Reporter The U.S. Supreme Court denied, a petition filed by the intervenors in the University's undergraduate admissions case that requested the Court speed up the legal process toward oral arguments. The petition asked that the filing deadline for parties responding to the intervenors' cert petition be advanced from Nov. 15 to Nov. 2. Ted Shaw, attorney for the intervenors in Gratz v. Bollinger, said. he filed the petition in an attempt to keep the two admissions '\ cases on asw cose a track D sSOS as possibleAL so they could t be ruled on together. B kthey might not grant the motion, but we were trying anyway he said. "It's not a setback' Shaw said he intervened in Gratz on behalf of black and Hispanic students on the side of the University in order to raise issues not included in the Universi- ty's argument. He said the arguments made by the intervenors are specific to the use of race as a factor in admissions policies as a means of remedying the effects of past discrimination. "If you show the context in which affirmative action arose, it's a long histo- ry of discrimination by the University and others," Shaw said. He said the intervenors will have an opportunity to raise their remedial issues in front of the Supreme Court regardless of whether it grants their motion. "Effectively, our concerns are going to get the consideration they need to get," Shaw said. But, he also said it would be signifi- cant if the court decides in their favor. "If our cert petition is granted, our role in the Supreme Court is definite," Shaw said. While the intervenors await a response from the court, the University already filed its brief in opposition to the their petition. "The cases are on their normal cycle," University spokesperson Julie Peterson said. "It is only a minor impact on tim- ing - if any." t "It has no practical effect on the Uni- OterS Ce many coices at poiis today By Jordan Schrader Daily Staff Reporter JONATHON TRIEST/Daily New voti lines upheld LANSING (AP) The U.S. Supreme Court upheld In an election that will fill many positions in Michigan government opened by term limits, a greater num- ber of voters are expected to go to the polls today than in any previous gubernatorial election. With polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Secretary of State Candice Miller expects 3.4 million voters today, or half of all registered voters in Michigan. Competitive races, redistricting and a slew of contentious proposals should add to the high turnout, Miller spokeswoman Elizabeth Boyd said. But political analyst Bill Ballenger, editor of the Inside Michigan Politics newsletter, is not so optimistic. He said apathy persists in the electorate despite the huge stakes of the election. Taking into account the lack of a central issue in the forefront and the mudslinging in the gubernatorial campaign, he said a lower turnout of about 44 percent is more likely. The number of absentee ballots returned indicate that 40 percent of Ann Arbor voters will turn out, said Yvonne Carl, assistant to the city clerk. The race to succeed 12-year Republican Gov. John Engler turned negative soon after the August party primaries, with Democrat Jennifer Granholm charging that her oppo- nent, Republican Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus, practices racial politics in his campaigns. Posthumus countered that Granholm will bring to state gov- ernment a level of cronyism unprece- dented in history. While Posthumus and running mate Loren Bennett will be cam- paigning almost until polls close, Granholm's last-minute 24-hour trip around the state, including a 9:15 MICHIGAN ELECTIONS Michigan's new congressional boundaries yesterday, just two days before voters were to pick occupants of the newly drawn seats. Democrats had challenged the plan, which favors Repub- lican candidates. They claimed the plan scatters black vot- ers, who tend to vote Democratic, throughout Republican districts. "Advances in political data-gathering and computer tech- nology have made it increasingly easy for legislatures to ger- rymander with surgical precision, excising and shifting just a few politically undesirable voters at a time," their lawyer, Paul Smith, had told the Supreme Court. "There has never been a clearer need for some enforceable limit on the ability of legislators to dilute the voting power of a class of citizens based on their political viewpoint." Political analysts expect the new districts to change Michigan's congressional delegation from a nine-seven Democratic majority to a nine-six GOP majority. The districts were redrawn by the Republican-controlled state Legislature to adjust for population shifts after the 2000 Census. Michigan lost one congressional seat. ELECION DAY INFO Polls will open today at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. To find your voting site, visit zUU www.pub- lius.org. Read tomorrow's Daily for full election coverage from across the state. a.m. stop yesterday at Zingerman's Delicatessen on Detroit Street, was expected to finish last night. * "The message at every stop is it's time for a change, and if people get out and vote that change can hap- pen," said state Sen. John Cherry Jr., Granholm's running mate. "That change will put behind us that worn- out politics of division and move us forward on the issues that are impor- tant to people - economic security, jobs, access to healthcare and educa- tional opportunities." Posthumus spokesman Sage East- man said the lieutenant governor is more qualified to hold the state's top office. The race "comes down to who shares the values of working men and women in this state and who's the better leader for this state," Eastman said. "And of course there's a big push to get people out to vote." In other races: See ELECTIONS, Page 3 AP PHTIU TOP: Attorney General Jennifer Granholm campaigns for governor with fellow democrats U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (left) and Sen. Gary Peters yesterday at Zingerman's Dell on Detroit Street. BOTTOM: Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Dick Posthumus reaches to a supporter yesterday at a rally at the Capitol in Lansing. ti1n o 1incidentsiSouth Qua ma ave connecon By Maria Sprow Daily Staff Reporter roommate through the No further d The Department of Public Safety is investi- A suspec gating a string of home invasions and thefts that tioning but occurred in South Quad Residence Hall this DPS spokes weekend. Officials said one of the incidents if the perso: may be connected to two previous West Quad reported sto Residence Hall home invasions. Quad rooms Two South Quad residents reported that their Despite t keys were stolen out of bathrooms while they larity amon were taking showers Friday morning. In the first believe they incident, which was reported around 9:30 a.m., "At thisI an unknown person broke into the victim's room nected, but and stole $20. In the second incident, reported those incid' around 10:15 a.m. and occurring in a third floor investigatin restroom, an unknown person stole keys from a thefts, one hook near the showers and knocked on the vic- South Qua tim's door, disappearing when the victim's room- DPS rele mate answered. According to DPS reports, the who office Martin next im line for top Olymupic post By Steve Jackson Daily Sports Editor observed a darkly clothed male peephole prior to opening the door. description was given. t was located and detained for ques- later released in the first incident. swoman Diane Brown could not say n is still a suspect. Money was also len from two other occupied South s Friday. he number of crimes and the simi- ng them, Brown said she does not are connected. point, they don't appear to be con- they are still investigating each of ents," she said, adding that DPS is g a connection in two other recent which also occurred Friday in .d. eased a composite sketch of a man rs believe entered a room in West Quad Wednesday and demanded money from the resident. After taking an unspecified amount of money, the man left the room, entered another unoccupied room down the hall and took a wal- let, which he returned after being confronted by its owner as he was leaving the room. He then fled the scene on foot. Witnesses described the man as being a 5-foot-10, 240-pound black male in his mid-30s with medium complexion, a scruffy goatee or beard and crooked teeth wear- ing a black watch cap, red work-type coat, green pants and black work boots. Brown said the description also matches another one given to officers about a man ask- ing South Quad residents for donations to an area homeless shelter. The man allegedly asked two residents if he could use their phone and one saw him thumbing through a wallet. The suspect then left the area, without the wallet. See CRIME, Page 2 Long distance DAMVIU KAT/Daily A homeless man was found dead yesterday night in front of In and Out on East University Avenue. M an found dead on East University By Maria Sprow Daily Staff Reporter A shocking scene greeted students walking past In and Out party store and Bella Napoli's Pizza and Italian Restaurant last night, when a man was found dead on the sidewalk. Ann Arbor Police Department officers said they believed the man is homeless but would not release his identity until his family is notified, which hadn't happened as of 11 p.m. last night. Witnesses said the officers began arriving at the scene between 9:15 and 9:20 p.m. "I left the UGLi at about 9:20. The ambulances and every- thing were still there and it looked like the police had just arrived because they were just starting to string up the caution tape," said Engineering senior Paul Miska. "I saw the body covered by the sheet, his feet hanging out:' The causes of death are unknown, but the death itself did not come as a surprise to many area residents. "We haven't been told who it was yet. Chances are we do know him because a lot of the (homeless) come in here a lot," Ann Arbor resident and In and Out employee Jacob Howe said. "I see most of them a lot and they don't treat themselves Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin will become the next vice president-secretariat for the United States Olympic Committee. Martin was the only candidate nominated for the position by the USOC executive committee on Friday. He will formally take over the job after all 123 mem- bers of the Board of Directors mail in their ballots. His term lasts until 2004. "I have accepted the position, it's just a formality now," Mar- tin said. Martin replaces Marty Mankamyer, who was elected USOC president in August. Mankamyer replaced Sandra Baldwin, who resigned in May after she admitted to lying about her aca- JONATHON TRIEST/Daily Beverly Shulman (left) and Robbie Biederman speak on the | i