1 ' .t11. .1'
Thursday
December 5, 2002
@2002 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 62
One-hundred-twelve years of editorial freedom
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Panelists debate divestment issue
By Jennifer Misthal
Daily Staff Reporter
Members of the University community
gathered last night to re-examine the
issue of divestment at an open forum
sponsored by Students Allied for Free-
dom and Equality, a group in favor of
removing money it says funds the Israeli
army's occupying forces in the occupied
territories of the West Bank and Gaza
Strip.
Several student groups against divesting
'U' hopes
policies
withstand
scrutiny
By Megan Hayes
Daily Staff Reporter
from Israel did not attend the forum. The
forum came almost two months after SAFE
sponsored a controversial divestment con-
ference at the University.
Until last night, several pro-Israel groups
believed the event would be postponed for
another week, giving both sides adequate
time to prepare their arguments, said LSA
senior Yulia Dernovsky, co-chair of the
American Movement for Israel.
AMI wanted the forum to encompass a
broader debate and have an impartial mod-
erator, co-chair and Engineering junior Avi
Jacobson said.
"In selecting a moderator, we'd select
someone who has no opinion to act as a
moderator," he said. "We think divest-
ment is a method of squashing the
debate. By putting this discussion, it
gives the movement legitimacy it does
not deserve."
The panel included three members -
Muslim Students Association Political
Committee co-chair Ashraf Zahr, Rack-
ham student Andrew Ravin and SAFE
co-founder Fadi Kiblawi. Both Zahr and
Kiblawi supported the divestment move-
nent, while Ravin represented the count-
:r-argument, but stressed that he did not
epresent the entire pro-Israeli commu-
ity.
"I am one Jewish individual," Ravin said.
I am a representative of myself."
Zahr, an Engineering senior, said his goal
'r the forum was to dispel several myths
,rrounding the divestment movement and
alestinian sentiments toward the state of JESSICA YURASEK/Daily
srael. Students speak and answer questions about the University's
See DIVESTMENT, Page 3A stance on divestment at the Law School last night.
Budget cuts will
be larger than
first estimated
N4s
The scrutiny with which the Univer-
sity's admissions policies have been
examined since two lawsuits were filed
against it will only increase as the U.S.
Supreme Court plans to take an even
closer look at the use of race as a factor
in admissions.
Jennifer Gratz in 1995 and Barbara
Grutter in 1997 were denied admission
to the College of Literature, Sciences
and the
Arts and
the Law ADMI$SI N
School, ,
respective-
ly, while
they claim
less quali-
fied minor-
ity applicants were accepted. They
have both brought lawsuits against the
University, alleging that the Universi-
ty's use of race-conscious admissions
policies is unconstitutional and unlaw-
fully discriminatory.
In the brief it submitted to the U.S.
6th Circuit Court of Appeals, Universi-
ty officials said applicants to the
undergraduate program are evaluated
based on guidelines that "blend the
consistency of a formula with the flexi-
bility of a review that is ultimately a
matter of human judgment."
"This is not just a purely mechanical
process at all, but there are points
assigned," interim LSA Dean Terrence
McDonald said. "Every application is
read by several people in the admis-
sions process."
. The admissions staff is aided in the
evaluation process by a selection index,
which assigns applicant points based
on a variety of factors deemed impor-
tant by the University, both academic
and otherwise.
A maximum of 110 points may be
awarded based on academic achieve-
ments. No more than 40 points are
awarded to applicants for other fac-
tors, which include geography, quality
of the personal essay and leadership
and service. The greatest amount of
points in this category is given to
applicants from underrepresented
racial or ethnic minority groups, for
which 20 out of the 40 points may be
awarded. An applicant's selection
index is the total of the scores from
both categories.
Although a point system is used as
part of the evaluation process, McDon-
ald said the applications are carefully
scrutinized multiple times by members
of the admissions staff.
"The process is not clearly based on
numbers," he said. "We take into con-
sideration a wide a of characteris-
tics, first and foremost academics."
McDonald said race is one of the
factors considered when aiming for
diversity, but it does not outweigh con-
cerns of applicants' ability to succeed
academically.
"Within those who meet academic
standards, we want to have the most
diverse student body we can," he said.
While the Law School also takes
race into consideration when evaluat-
ing potential students, it does so on a
more personalized basis due to a small-
er applicant pool.
"Our admissions director reads
everything in an applicant's file," Law
School Dean Jeffrey Lehman said in an
interview earlier this week. "Ultimately
what is involved is a very individualis-
By Tomislav Ladika
Daily Staff Reporter
Budget cuts will hit state universities harder
than originally anticipated as Gov. John Engler is
expected to present an executive order to the
Michigan Legislature today calling for a 2.5 per-
cent cut in higher education funding, The Michi-
gan Daily has learned.
The Detroit News reported Nov. 16 that Engler
was considering proposing cuts to relieve the
state's $470 million budget deficit, and state leg-
islators last week said they expected a higher edu-
cation cut of around 1 percent, possibly ranging
up to 2 percent.
But yesterday Sen. John Schwarz (R-Battle
Creek), chair of the Senate subcommittee over-
seeing higher education funding, said the pro-
posed cut exceeds the highest level anticipated by
legislators.
"Two and a half percent, that's what's going to
be proposed," Schwarz said. "I think the governor
is trying to find a number where the appropria-
tions committees in both houses will approve the
executive order."
Schwarz added "there will be a lot of discus-
sion" today before the executive order is finalized.
Yet House members do not favor minimizing
cuts to higher education funding, said Gary Hen-
derson, chief of staff for Sen. George McManus
(R-Traverse City). State appropriations have never
been cut during Engler's 12-year tenure, but Hen-
derson said representatives want smaller cuts to
revenue sharing for local governments this year.
"You see an attitude among legislators to
spread the pain as much as possible," he said.
While the 2.5 percent cut to higher education
falls in line with cuts to most other depart-
ments, the executive order stipulates a 3.5 per-
cent cut in revenue sharing to local
governments, Schwarz said.
University Provost Paul Courant said a cut as
low as one percent would be significant enough
for the University to "postpone various kinds of
maintenance activities, postpone filling up vari-
ous open positions."
In addition to leaving some faculty positions
unfilled and delaying the replacement of equip-
ment used by various departments, Courant said
the University is prepared to chip away at por-
tions of each department's budget.
"We've told most of our deans and directors,
'Be ready to come up with a cut in this range,"
he said.
Courant declined to speculate on possible
tuition rates for next year, but said he expects
another increase.
See BUDGET, Page 3A
, 4
JASON COOPER/Daily
Emily Line shows a picture of herself and her sister, Katie. At age 1, Emily donated bone marrow
to her seven-year-old sister. Emily described Katie as someone who could light up any room.
Marrow transplant
mCCay help save lives
Webb er's father admits
accepting Martin's gifts
By Steve Jackson
Daily Sports Editor
By Maria Sprow
Daily Staff Reporter
Although she was diagnosed with leukemia
when she was only 7 years old, Katie Line was
considered one of the lucky ones.
Her family was able to travel all over the
country in search of the best doctors and med-
icine. Not only did she achieve remission after
months of chemotherapy and radiation, but
she had what many cancer patients at the time
could only wish for: an older sibling who was
an exact bone marrow match.
Emily Line was only 11 when she made the
choice to donate her bone marrow to help save
her younger sister's life but she said the deci-
sion was an easy one.
"I feel very, very lucky, and I feel it was the
greatest honor in the world," Emily said. "I
wouldn't have it any other way. It makes me
feel very close to her."
Now 24 years old and a University alum,
Emily said she still remembers what it was
like to go through the donation process.
"I was really scared because I knew my sis-
ter was really ill, but I think the scarier part
was not really understanding what the trans-
plant was all about," she said, adding that at
the time - 1989 - bone marrow transplants
were not as successful or as standard as they
are today.
"There were people dying all the time
because the bone marrow transplant was not
See MARROW, Page 3A
Chris Webber's father admitted to a grand jury
that he accepted gifts from banned Michigan
booster Ed Martin, according to court documents
filed by his lawyer.
Webber, a former star bas-
ketball player at Michigan,
was indicted in federal court
along with his father, Mayce
Webber Jr., and his aunt,
Charlene Johnson, in Sep-
tember on charges of making
a false statement to a grand
jury and conspiring to
obstruct justice in the federal
money laundering case Chris Webber
against Martin.
All three have pleaded innocent. Each charge is
punishable by up to five years in prison and a
$250,000 fine.
Martin pleaded guilty in May and admitted to
loaning large sums of money to Webber, which
the Sacramento Kings' star forward has repeated-
ly denied. In April, Webber admitted receiving
small cash gifts from Martin, but nothing in the
neighborhood of the $280,000 in loans that the
federal indictment against Martin alleges.
In the motion to dismiss the charges against him,
the elder Webber "acknowledged that Martin had
given some gifts to him, and Martin put a hotel bill
on a charge card and was paid back."
It is a violation of NCAA rules for boosters to
pay for hotel rooms for players or their families.
But the primary reason why the University
imposed sanction on its basketball program Nov. 9
was the $616,000 that Martin allegedly loaned to
Webber and three other former Wolverines -
Maurice Taylor, Robert Traylor and Louis Bullock.
In addition to dropping the championship ban-
ners and removing all other references to the rele-
vant players and teams, Michigan chose to forfeit
games won while those four players were on the
team, including two trips to the Final Four in
1992 and 1993. The Athletic Department will also
pay $450,000 in fines to the NCAA.
Michigan basketball will face a two-year peri-
od of probation and will be banned from this
See WEBBER, Page 3A
Many grad students do not
support 'U' side in lawsuits
Reflections
By Carmen Johnson
Daily Staff Reporter
"Before student government can do anything on an issue
such as affirmative action, you have to know what students
think," said Rackham Student Government President Brian
Hulsebus.
For that reason, this fall's Rackham Student Government
ballot asked students to respond to three questions concern-
ing the University's use of race in admissions in the College
of Literature, Science and Arts and the Law School in addi-
tion to casting votes for 13 new representatives.
Results show 57.8 percent of Rackham students support
the, T Tni rit'c1vrn i cofrace-cnnwrlr,11Q drmzCkcinn-,
not support the University's side in the undergraduate and
Law School cases.
Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the
two lawsuits filed against the University, students' voices on
both sides of the lawsuit will be heard more than ever,
Hulsebus said.
But Hulsebus said he was surprised by the large percent-
age of students who were undecided on the issue. The
results showed 25.8 percent and 28.6 percent of students
were undecided whether they supported the University's
defense of its University's Law School and undergrad poli-
cies, respectively.
"It seems that 25 percent to 35 percent of students are
f u: , f
JESSICA YURASEK/Daily
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