LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 22, 2002 - 3 C AMPUS History professor explores colonial and western issues of India The Center for South Asian Studies will host a lecture today entitled, "Objects and Attachments in Colonial Western India: A Chapter in the Social Life of a Thing." The talk will feature prominent scholar and History Prof. Rachel Sturman. The lecture begins at 2 p.m. in room 1644, School of Social Work Building. Film recounts historical events of 1972 Japan Masato Harada's new film, "The Choice of Hercules," based on events of 1972, will be screened today in an event sponsored by the Center for Japanese Studies. The movie portrays the conflict between police and Red Army soldiers seeking prisoners. The film begins tonight at 7 p.m. in Lorch Hall. A cappella group performs annual fall concert The a cappella group 58 Greene is performing tonight in its annual fall con- cert. Included in their program are hits by Stevie Nicks, Coldplay, En Vogue and Stevie Wonder. This small group of 13 derived their name from a practice room in East Quad. The performance begins at 8 p.m. in Rackham Auditorium. Tickets cost $8 and are available at both the Michigan Union Ticket Office and the door. Indian American cultural show blends new and traditional The Indian American Students Asso- ciation will host its Annual Cultural Show Saturday at the Michigan Theater. This year's show, "Prathanjali," will fea- ture both traditional and contemporary aspects of Indian culture, including skits, fashion shows of Western and Eastern attire and dance performances. Tickets can be purchased in advance from any Ticketmaster outlet or at the door. Main floor seats are $15 and bal- cony seats are $11. Japanese tea, party enacted in Omote style The Museum of Art is offering mem- bers of the University community an opportunity to perform a traditional Japanese tea ceremony Sunday after- noon at 3 p.m. The theme of the ceremo- ny, "Deer's Cry in Late Autumn Dusk," will be enacted in the Omote style. Fol- lowing the ceremony will be a discus- sion of the symbolism and significance of the rituals. Caribbean writer reads poetry Jamaican poet Lorna Goodison wil read her work Monday at 5 p.m. Good- ison is one of the most prominent and respected poets to write on the culture and people of the Caribbean. Her read- ing, sponsored by the English Depart- ment will be in room D1276 of Davidson Hall. Campus orchestra to perform classics The Campus Symphony Orchestra will be led by three graduate students, Patrick Farrell, John Goodell and Rachel Lauber, Monday evening in a concert sponsored by the School of Music. This ensemble of non-music majors will perform musical pieces by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Borodin and Shostakovich. The concert, held at the Michigan Theater, begins at 8 p.m. Hospital hosts benefit for heart disease research A fine dining buffet will be held tonight at Mott Children's Hospital as part of the 10th annual "Save a Heart." Proceeds from the benefit will go toward heart disease research and treat- ment programs for the hospital. Also scheduled for the charity event is a silent auction of goods and servic- es. For reservations, call 936-9134. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. Movie depicts disease outbreak in T-%:"wnn To smoke or not to smoke Student government elections end, final results still pending MSA campaigning and controversy fail to increase voter turnout on campus By Carmen Johnson Daily Staff Reporter Complaints and controversy are just part of student government elections and this year is no different - but whether controversies affect voter turnout is questionable. "An election doesn't go by that there isn't a scandal or some complaint filed," Michigan Student Assembly Elections Director Collin McGlashen said. This year 5,881 students voted in the elec- tion, although official results will not be available until this evening, McGlashen said. Numerous factors, such as the national elections earlier this month and less cam- paigning activity, were said to influence voter turnout. This fall's election controversy includes a mass e-mail the Students First party claims contained false statements to benefit the Blue Party and a petition filed by the Blue Party stating Students First violated the "campaign- ing near a polling place" code. The Blue Party and Students First present- ed their case last night at an election board hearing. As of midnight, the board had not reached a verdict, which could result in can- didates receiving demerits. The Blue Party members said a Students First campaigner had placed quarter sheets on computer workstations in the Media Union at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Blue Party claims this is a violation of the election code which states that there should be no campaigning near a polling place. The Media Union computer worksta- tions would be considered polling sites at midnight when the voting website would be activated. "The quarter sheets are a proxy of the Stu- dents First campaign, (to) influence voters and gain an unfair advantage over the Blue Party," said John Simpson, spokesman for the Blue Party. "I know the election code very well. If there was any question I would have not have risked the campaign of my candidates," said Students First member Pete Wiowode, who was seen walking through the Media Union the night before elections polling sites opened. "I did not intend to influence stu- dents voting." Candidates are now ready to hear results. "In the last two days everything has been the campaign. We are pushing so hard to talk to as many people as we can and encourage people to vote," MSA Blue Party candidate Anita Leung said. "The whole competition thing is pretty intense but if there wasn't any competition then it wouldn't be fun." In this fall's midterm election, 4,955 ballots were cast for MSA compared to last fall's 5,924 MSA ballots. Voter turnout for LSA Student Government and University of Michigan Engineering Council remained the same. SARAH PAUP/Daily The Great American Smokeout yesterday encouraged people to stop smoking for a day. Some students, like LSA sophomore David Salinger, chose not to quit. SIncrease iMedica costs crea tes 'sucking sound 'instate budget LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan must make drastic changes to its Medicaid system before it is overwhelmed by rising health care costs, according to participants in a summit yesterday sponsored by Democratic Gov.-elect Jennifer Granholm. Around 500 people attended the forum at Lansing Community College. During the guber- natorial campaign, Granholm had promised that fixing Medicaid would be among her top priori- ties. She takes office Jan. 1. Medicaid provides health care to more than 1.2 million low-income people in the state, many of whom are elderly or disabled. The state expects to spend 25 percent of its $9 billion general fund on Medicaid in the 2002-2003 fiscal year. If there are no changes to the program, the state will be spending 32 percent of its general fund on Medicaid by 2004 and 37 percent by 2007, said Paul Reinhart, director of health and human services in the state Department of Man- agement and Budget. "In the state budget, that giant sucking sound you hear is Medi'cAid;"'Graiiholm said. The problem is one all states are facing. In the past fiscal year, Medicaid costs rose an average of 12.8 percent nationwide, while general fund budget spending rose about 2 percent, according to Vernon Smith of Health Management Associ- ates, a consulting firm with offices in Lansing and Farmington Hills. In the current fiscal year, Medicaid costs nationwide are expected to go up another 6.8 per- cent, but states have only appropriated an average increase of 4.8 percent, Smith said. There are several factors leading to the increase in costs. In Michigan, more people have enrolled in Medicaid as the economy has worsened, from just over 1 million in 2000 to 1.24 million in 2002. "Every month for the last six months, Michigan has set a record for enrollment,' Reinhart said. Because of rule changes, Michigan will be get- ting less from the federal government for Medic- aid in the coming year. The state also has nearly depleted a trust fund established in 2000 to help pay Medicaid costs. Michigan and other states also have been hurt by the rising cost of prescription drugs. Accord- ing to Health Management Associates, prescrip- tion costs nationwide are growing by double-digit percentages each year, including a 14.5 percent average increase in 2000 and a 13.8 percent increase in 2001. During her campaign, Granholm said she would support multi-state compacts to buy drugs in bulk and lower their cost. She didn't mention that idea yesterday, but said she is committed to making Medicaid a high-quality system that focuses on preventive care and minimizes bureaucracy., Granholm invited participants to give her ideas for improving Medicaid on a new website. Granholm said the comments will be considered' as she drafts a Medicaid plan to be released later in January. "I am not interested in a conference that does- n't produce results," she said. "I want to fix it." Some states are limiting enrollment to cut down on Medicaid costs, something Granholm said she wouldn't want to do. Michigan has tried to cut costs by instituting a preferred prescription drug list that requires drug companies to give discounts. Drug companies have sued over that measure. "Michigan has been at the forefront of Medic- aid reform. Let us continue that," Granholm said. Michigan State Medical Society president Dr. Dorothy Kahkonen, an endocrinologist at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, said Granholm's approach is innovative. International students cite advantages with U.S. higher education By Tomislav Ladika Daily Staff Reporter Pass by 10 people on the way to class and chances are that one of them left their fami- lies, friends and home countries to study at the University. A large number of international students are attracted to the University - Michigan ranks ninth in the nation with 4,149 international stu- dents, according to an article published in this week's issue of The Chronicle of Higher Educa- tion - and there are many reasons behind their decisions to study here. LSA sophomore Akshay Bajpaee, who attend- ed school in Hong Kong and is originally from India, said his high school administrators and par- ents encouraged him to study either in the United States or Great Britain. "It was expected, ever since I entered high school," Bajpaee said. LSA sophomore John Lim, an international student from Singapore, said his parents stud- ied in the United States and likewise expected him to do so. The educational opportunities offered by the University also influenced the decisions of Lim and Bajpaee, as well as many other international students. "The University of Michigan is well known for its reputation," said Shahrun Sofian, an LSA sophomore from Malaysia. "It is a huge opportu- nity in every single thing." American schools, including the University, are known for having the best engineering programs in the world, said Onur Cetin, president of the Turkish Student Association. "The focus (at the College of Engineering) is industry-sponsored projects. Almost all the gradu- ate students are sponsored, which means I am not paying anything to the school," said Cetin, an Engi- neering doctoral student. "If the industry is paying you money, it's something important to them." In addition to the quality of education, diversi- ty factored into LSA junior Joy Kuang's decision to leave Hong Kong and attend the University. Kuang said tourists account for most of the diver- sity in Hong Kong. "I wanted to go some place where people are different," she said. While the experiences and excitement of studying in a different part of the world attract many international students, the cultural and aca- demic differences pose major challenges. To cope with the difficulties they face in adjusting to col- lege life at the University, some international stu- dents turned to friends and family who had studied in the United States. Kuang said her sister helped her by explaining slang terms such as "all-nighter" and advising her on where to go for certain services while the two attended the University. Kuang's sister graduated at the end of her second year. "My parents weren't really nervous since my sister was here to take care of me," Kuang said. Cetin said Turkish students who had stud- ied at the University warned him about the practical, everyday problems he would face, such as opening electrical accounts and deal- ing with landlords. But plenty of student organizations are ready to step in and help international students who do not have friends or family to help them. Groups like the Turkish Students Associa- tion focus on helping international students make the transition to independent life in the United States, Cetin said. "The real services for the newcomers, for the first few months, are advising on how to solve the problems," he said. Many student associations also help interna- tionals meet other students. Kuang said she met many Americans and other international students through AIESEC, a global organiza- tion that promotes cultural understanding through internship exchange programs. Bajpaee became involved in many extracur- ricular activities, such as The Michigan Inde- pendent, the Indian American Student Association and the Hong Kong Student Asso- ciation to forget the distance separating him from his family and home country. "I was known for never being in my room," Baj- paee said. "It really helped in adjusting to the envi- ronment, meeting new people. I didn't have the time to feel homesick.' Counting errors hinder atty. gen. election results LANSING (AP) - The state Democratic Party has discovered enough vote counting errors and inconsistencies in the attorney general's race to lead it to think a Gary Peters victory is possible, Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer said yesterday. The differences aren't firm enough for the party to know yet if it wants to ask for a recount in the race between Peters, a Democ- ratic state senator from Bloomfield Township, and his Republican opponent, Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Mike Cox of Livonia, Brewer said. Cox on Tuesday named the director of his transi- GUERRILLA GiButdi Continued from Page 1A current when the community hears the same war wit message from a group like the Guer- "I kn rilla Girls, it starts to have an effect. present "They're important to the art was ho world," she said. "They point to all the con forms of bigotry." the sam Jacobsen added that even at the Altho University, 66 percent of Art students to Ann. are female, while less than 23 percent said the are full-time faculty. versity's Michelle Hinebrook, an Ann Arbor "Wet resident who facilitated bringing the to its lib Guerrilla Girls to the College of Cre- But d ative Studies in Detroit a year ago, group's1 said she has been a friend of theirs intentio since working together. "Wet "They made a difference in the bility t overall community of CCS, and the Guerril tion team and said his 5,198-vote lead over Peters made him the winner, regardless of what the Democrats decide. But Brewer said it's too early to declare victory until the votes are certified Monday by the Board of State Canvassers and the two sides decide if they will ask for any of the votes to be recounted. Both sides have up to 48 hours after Monday's meeting to ask for a recount. "We believe we have found enough votes to turn the race around if we ask for a recount," Brewer said yesterday. "We found enough uncorrected errors at this point that it could alter the outcome." Hinebrook regrets that the didn't directly address more issues, like the possibility of h Iraq. now it's hard to keep (their ation) current," she says. "I ping there would be more in tent, but their message is still Ze. ough the Girls have never been Arbor before tonight, Kahlo ey heard rumors that the Uni- s Art Department needs work. think Michigan should live up beral reputation." despite the biting humor in the publications, there is a serious n in their actions. think it's everyone's responsi- o fight discrimination," said la Girl Kathe Kollwitz. "And EQOD PC '(THOUIJGHT HANOI JANE For refusing to make propaganda broadcasts with Jane Fonda in North Vietnam, our prisoners were tortured. One POW was forced to kneel on a gravel covered floor for three days, holding steel weights in front of him and beaten with bamboo canes every time his arms dropped. When our POW's returned home, Fonda accused them of being liars and hypocrites for saying that they had been tortured. In a chance meeting, Benge a Vietnam vet challenged her to a debate on TV, but she would not respond.