___ -weather I

November 21, 2002
02002 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXllI, No. 54

One-hundred-twelve years ofeditorialfreedom

TODAY:
Mostly cloudy in
the day with after-
noon rain and
snow showers
going into the
night and early
tomorrow morn-
ing.

g ~46
-35,
Tomorroiw.

wwwmichigandai y. cons

I= ----------

At home

Co cast, AT&T
acquisition causes
controversy, fears

By Shabina S. Khatri
Daily Staff Reporter

Amidst criticism from consumer groups
and governmental officials, the $47.5 billion
acquisition of AT&T Broadband by Comcast
Corp. happened early this week, creating the
nation's largest cable company and fueling
suspicions of a monopoly.
The deal took place less than a week after
the Federal Communications Commission
approved the acquisition by a vote of 3 to 1,
with Commissioner Michael Copps stating
the lone dissent.
The combination of AT&T Broadband and
Comcast, the largest and third-largest cable
networks, respectively, to form AT&T Com-
cast creates a potential for abuse too overt to
ignore, Copps said in his dissenting state-
ment.
"The sheer economic power created by this
mega-combination, and the opportunities for
abuse that would accompany it, outweigh the
very limited public interest benefits that
either the Applicants or the majority find
here," he said.
"The more I review the issues at stake in
this proposal, the more I am persuaded it
should not go forward."
While citing accelerated rollout of high-
speed Internet and increased supply as major
public benefits, the FCC decided to approve
the acquisition on the condition that AT&T
Comcast sell its 27.64 percent ownership

"The more I review the
issues at stake in this
proposal, the more I am
persuaded it should not
go forward."
- Michael Copps
dissenting member of the Federal Communi-
cations Commission
interest in Time Warner Entertainment, L.P, a
subsidiary of AOL Time Warner, the second
largest cable network in the country.
Michelle Russo, an FCC media relations
representative, said the sale was necessary to
prevent the possibility of complicity between
the country's three largest media conglomer-
ates.
"It's very complicated but the point is we
didn't want the new combined AT&T Com-
cast to have a relationship with AOL Time
Warner because that's a huge media compa-
ny," she said.
"On the day the merger closes they have to
start to get rid of that interest in Time Warner
Entertainment by putting the interest in a
trust. (They) still own it but have no control:
over it, and the government is giving them
See COMCAST, Page 7A

RYAN WEINER/Daily
Police are keeping a close watch on Ann Arbor's homeless community after Daniel Skodak died on East University
Avenue Nov. 4.
Research reveals largerse 
in anti-Muslim, Arab enmes

By Rahwa Ohebre-Ab
Daily Staff Reporter
A 1,700 percent upsurge in anti-Muslim and
anti-Arab hate crimes in the United States after
Sept.41 was -thesubject of the latesteport orr
the aftermath of the terrorist attacks in New
York and Washington D.C.
"It's surprising that the numbers have gone
up so much, but it doesn't surprise me that that
section of society is the one being targeted. It's

only because certain Muslims were named as
the perpetrators of Sept. I1," LSA freshman
R.J. Gibbs said.
The 41-page report, titled, "We Are Not the
Enemy," draws on studies with various police
-departments,-community activists and victims
of hate crimes in six cities, including Dearborn.
"These are cities that have big Arab and
Muslim populations or have a history of bias-
motivated violence among those groups", said
Amardeep Singh, author of the report and U.S.

program researcher at Human Rights Watch.
The research was done in response to steps
taken by government officials to prevent and
prosecute hate crimes, which included murder,
assault, arson and vandalism, after the attacks of
Sept. 11.
"This report is the only evaluation of
response to the backlash of violence against
Muslims and Arab-Americans. Many other
reports spoke of a backlash, but none really
See HATE CRIMES, Page 7A

E-mail questions
effectiveness of
MSA leadership

By Carmen Johnson
Daily Staff Reporter
Receiving e-mails from student
government candidates asking for
votes may be part of elections, but
what is unusual is a widely distrib-
uted e-mail from former Michigan
Student Assembly President and
Blue Party member Matt Nolan
expressing his frustration with the
current assembly.
MSA President Sarah Boot and
Vice-President Dana Glassel -
both Students First members -
said the e-mail was in direct viola-
tion of the integrity of the election.
"He sent that e-mail with the
malicious intent of ruining the elec-
tion for our (Students First) candi-
dates," Boot said. "My concern is
that now it's too late for the truth to
be told."
In the e-mail, Nolan lists specific
initiatives by the current assembly
he charges are not addressing the
needs of students. He encouraged

students to vote for the Blue Party.
"These past six months Students
First members have been tooting
their own horn," Nolan said. "They
keep students out of MSA's reach
and I think it's wrong although it
has nothing to do with the current
Blue people."
Blue Party leader and representa-
tive Sarra Nazem said she was not
aware the e-mail was going to be
sent.
"Matt acted on his own free will
and everyone is entitled to their
own opinion," Nazem said. "We
agree with a lot of the things he
wrote but there was no kind of
coordination between us to send out
the e-mail."
The e-mail claims that MSA does
not affect students with specifics
such as MSA spending $10,000 on
a voter registration concert and
MSA asking administration to take
down the American flag and replace
it with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
See MSA, Page 7A

JASON COOPER/Daily
State Democratic and Republican chairs Rusty Hills and Mark Brewer take questions yesterday from the
Political Science 420 class, taught by Prof. Marvin Krislov, who Is also the University's general counsel.
Party representatives
mweet with students,
look fiorward to 2004

RYAN WEINER/Daily
The LSA Building, located on State Street, will soon see a
new roof and cooling tower.
LSA Buildi*ng
reno-Vations in
planning Stage
By mil Kaack
Daily StaffIReporter
The LSA Building is about to get a facelift - plus a new
roof; new cooling tower and chillers; and revamped wiring,
said Diane Brown, spokesperson for Facilities and Opera-
tions.
Students expressed mixed emotions about the idea of the
LSA Building renovations, but most said they were in
favor.
"This whole place seems run-down," said LSA freshman
Suchi Sethi as she pointed to the chipped paint on an office
door in the basement. "If you go to any engineering build-
ing, they are so much nicer."
do "Tn +-- of lnr-+- it'c a c -A Q rl~ar." aniA RC" inninr

By Tomislav Ladika
Daily Staff Reporter

Despite mixed results for both Republicans and
Democrats in this year's elections, the heads of
Michigan's two major political parties are already
looking ahead to the 2004 presidential campaign.
Democrats had reason to celebrate Nov. 5
when Michigan voters elected Democrat Jennifer
Granholm as their next governor and extended

Democrat Carl Levin's tenure in the U.S. Senate
to five terms. Yet Republican candidates claimed
the secretary of state and attorney general offices
in Michigan, and Democrats also produced disap-
pointing results on the national level by failing to
gain control of the U.S. Senate or House of Rep-
resentatives.
"We let the President turn the election into a
referendum on Iraq," Mark Brewer, chair of the
See PARTIES, Page 3A

Native American prof. sues 'U' for discrimination

By Jeremy Berkowitz
Daily Staff Reporter

Only eight months after it became the first
higher educational facility in Michigan to fall
victim to a sexual harassment and discrimina-
tion verdict, the University will soon go to
court again to defend itself against more accu-
sations of discrimination.
English and American culture Prof. Betty
Bell, a faculty member since 1993, is suing
the I Inverit, aswell aE Pnolish Prof in-

tion, gender discrimination, sexual harass-
ment and intentional
infliction of emotional
distress. She is asking
for $25,000 in damages
and compensation.
In a brief written by
Bell's attorney Christine
Green, Bell claims her
troubles started in 1994
when she was asked to
establish the Native

oping and teaching most of the new classes,
in addition to fulfilling other requirements, as
an assistant professor without any assistance
or additional compensation. She said this
caused a delay in filing her application for
tenure as well as emotional distress, which
caused her to take a medical leave of absence.
"Plaintiff's responsibilities in that regard
were far in excess of those imposed upon
other assistant professors;" Green wrote in the
brief. "Furthermore, (she) earned approxi-
matelv $11,500 less annually than Prof.

of numerous untenured and tenured faculty."
But University spokeswoman Julie Peter-
son said during Bell's tenure as an assistant
professor, she had one of the highest salaries
of her rank in both departments.
"Prof. Bell has been supported by the Uni-
versity throughout her career, including the
granting of tenure over a year ago," Peterson
said. "Professors Faller and Wald ... have
supported her requests for additional leaves
and research assistance beyond that typically
afforded faculty in those denartments."



i