LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 9, 2003 - 3 CAMPUS Festival celebrates 150th birthday of Engineering The North Campus Day Festival will celebrate the College of Engineering's 150th birthday tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the North Campus Diag. The event will feature music, games and a birthday cake. There will also be an Art Walk and student organization information fair. Sept. 11 victims to be honored at vigil on Diag A vigil will be held Thursday at 8 p.m. on the Central Campus Diag to remember the victims of Sept. 11. Monique Perry, vice president of the Michigan Student Assembly, will give the introduction and Ann Arbor Police Chief Daniel Oates will speak. Religious leaders from many faiths will light can- dles in memory of the 27 University fac- ulty who died in the terrorist attacks. Student speakers wanted for Winter Commencement Students graduating during the Sum- mer 2003 term or Fall 2003 Term who are interested in submitting an entry for Winter Commencement speaker should get started now. Interested students should submit a resume, typed copy of their speech and audio recording of them giving their speech. Entries should be directed to the Office of the Vice Presi- dent for Communications, 2040 Fleming Administration Building, Campus Zip 1340, Attention: Student Speaker Entries. Submissions should be received no later than 5 p.m., October 16. Stu- dents needing more information should contact Julie Ashley at ashley@umich.edu. Economist writer to speak on China Olympics James Miles will give a speech titled "The Beijing Olympics and the New China" tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in the Wallace House Gardens on Oxford Road. Miles serves as the China corre- spondent for the Economist and used his Knight-Wallace fellowship to study China's economic development. The lecture will be followed by a reception hosted by University President Mary Sue Coleman and Rackham Dean Earl Lewis. Czar's rise will be featured in film The University of Michigan Museum of Art presents the second part of "Rus- sia: Land of the Tsars" tomorrow at 12:10 p.m. in the Museum of Art. The film focuses on the Romanov family, specifically following Peter the Great as he takes power from his sister and starts the modernization process of Russia. A view of Kuwaiti life after Gulf War A documentary on Kuwait after the Gulf War will show today at noon in the Rackham Building room 520. The documentary, titled "Lessons of Dark- ness," was created by Werner Herzog and is shown courtesy of the Institute for Humanities. Country music is the best medicine Gifts of the Arts will sponsor the Country R. Way, a traditional country music band on Thursday at 12:10 p.m. in the main lobby of the University Hospital. The concert features Wanda Bruening, a Michigan Steel Players Hall of Fame member. Go swing dancing in Union Ballroom There will be a swing dance from 9:30 p.m. to midnight tomorrow in the Union Ballroom. The dance will be preceded by lessons which start at 7:30 p.m. The entrance fee is $3 at the door. Judge to speak on human rights and international law Judge Bruno Simma of the Interna- tional Criminal Court will give a speech titled "The Impact of Human Rights on the Development of Interna- tional Law," today at 2:30 p.m. in the School of Social Work Room 1636. The talk is sponsored by the Interna- tional Institute and Law School. Ask Ahh-way Battered economy shows little sign of turnaround GRAND RAPIDS (AP) - Layoffs. Plant closings. Bankruptcies. Michigan's economy has taken a beating during the past three years. So when will it all turn around? "It's very difficult to say when this would happen," Jim Rhein, an analyst with the Michigan Department of Career Development's Labor Market Information Office, said yesterday. Rhein said the state's economic slump started around August 2000, seven months before the national recession began in March 2001. In August 2000, Michigan had a 3.8 percent unemployment rate. Earlier that year, in February and March, the rate had dipped as low as 3.1 percent, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state's jobless rate has risen steadily since then, up to 7.4 percent in July, the most recent month for which statistics are available. The rate was more than a percentage point higher than the national average of 6.2 percent. The number of unemployed Michiganians was 378,000 in July, the highest monthly total since November 1992, when it was 379,000. John Palmer, deputy direc- tor for Workforce Programs with the Michigan Department of Career The state's jobless rate has risen steadily since (August 2000), up to 7.4 percent in July. Development, said while manufac- turing employment typically declines in July, seasonal job cuts were higher than usual in manufac- turing and government for the month. From August 2000 through last July, the number of manufacturing jobs in Michigan dropped from 897,100 to 735,400, an 18 percent decrease. "It's certainly something to be con- cerned about," said Darren McKinney, a spokesman for the National Associa- tion of Manufacturers, a Washington- based trade organization. "The NAM's whole reason for being is to turn these types of numbers around." He said U.S. manufacturers would greatly benefit if the federal govern- ment would reform health care, pro- hibit "frivolous litigation" and reduce regulatory authority over the manufac- turing industry. Without such changes, no more than half the jobs that Michigan lost during the last three years will return, McKin- ney said. "There are a myriad of policy areas in which action has to be taken sooner than later or we will, in fact, jeopardize the long-term ability of U.S. manufac- turers to remain competitive - and solvent, for that matter," he said. Although corporate bankruptcies grab most of the headlines, those num- bers remained steady during the past year. But there was a sharp increase in personal bankruptcy filings when comparing figures from the first seven months of 2002 with those from the same period this year. The total number of federal bank- ruptcy filings in the state rose 19 percent, from 31,524 to 37,489, according to the two U.S. Bankrupt- cy Courts in Michigan. The com- bined number of Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 filings - the two routes most commonly chosen by individu- als - also increased 19 percent, from 31,374 to 37,334. Michael Baum, a Bloomfield Hills attorney experienced in bankruptcy law, said part of the problem is that, in the current economic climate, some cash-strapped companies can't find willing lenders. "The result is that workers are find- ing themselves in a position where they are either unemployed or under- employed," and facing their own finan- cial difficulties, he said. AP Photo Arnold Schwarzenegger talks to the crowd during "Ask Arnold," a meeting with students and locals at Chapman University Memorial Hall in Orange, Calif. yesterday. Lawmakers seek more info on budget decsion IRAQ Continued from Page 1. the groundwork for speedy work by the GOP-run Congress, expressed support for the president's plan. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), who spent much of the day in his home state with Bush, said the proposal "warrants the sup- port of Congress." And House Appropriations Committee Chair- man Bill Young (R-Fla.), whose panel will help write Congress' version, said he would "aggres- sively expedite the president's request" through the committee. But in a foreshadowing that it would take law- makers longer than the three weeks they needed to approve the $79 billion package in April, some top Republicans said they didn't expect Bush to send a formal, detailed request to Con- gress until next week. And GOP committee chairmen spoke of holding hearings on the pro- posal so administration officials can be asked questions. "People will have an opportunity to vet" the request, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) said in a brief interview. "But life goes on, and we really need to go ahead with the president's plan," Lugar said. Five months after Congress approved the earli- er money, lawmakers of both parties are chafing over the scant detail the administration has pro- vided over how the funds have been used. The White House said that of the $87 billion, $66 billion would be for U.S. military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Of that, $51 billion would be for supporting what the document called "a robust force in Iraq" of U.S. and multinational forces, and to repair and replace equipment. Currently there are about 140,000 U.S. troops in the country. The money was to include an unspecified amount to allow U.S. troops in Iraq for a year to get two weeks of leave, $300 million for body armor and $140 million for "Humvee" vehicles. An additional $20 billion was to help rebuild Iraq - $5 billion to set up an Iraqi army, a police force and other security, and $15 billion to rebuild drinking water and electrical systems, railroad lines and other facilities. The reconstruction request ranged from $6 bil- lion to buttress the country's electric power sup- ply to $300 million for private sector business initiatives and job training. Overall, the paper said, initial estimates were that rebuilding the country would take $50 bil- lion to $75 billion. The administration is hoping the costs can be split about evenly between U.S. taxpayers, allied countries and funds from Iraqi oil sales, said one GOP congressional aide. In their briefing with reporters, the adminis- tration officials said they expect Iraqi oil sales to produce $12 billion next year, and $20 billion each of the two succeeding years. The request included an additional $11 billion for U.S. military efforts in Afghanistan, and $1.2 billion - including $400 million provided in earlier legislation - to help rebuild that coun- try's infrastructure and security forces. ROBBERY Continued from Page 1 fers from a crime rate higher than other downtown locations. The structure is one of the few on campus that is unat- tended and free to the public after 6 p.m. It often sees much of its activity after dark. "I think (the relatively high number of crimes) is largely because it gets a lot of use after hours due to all the businesses along South University (Avenue) and adjoining streets," Lewit said. He added that DPS officers do regu- larly patrol the parking structure, but added that "it's a matter of being at the right place at the right time." In addi- tion to frequent surveillance, the car- port has emergency phones on each level of both stairwells and another phone along Church Street near the structure's main entrance. Still, the department is currently in the process of reviewing its security practices for the parking structure, Lewit said. "We are constantly doing reviews any time there is a pattern of crime in the area," he said. The safety procedures under consid- eration include making the parking structure a monitored staff-only lot 24- hours a day, but Lewit said the depart- ment wants to strike a balance between protecting the structure's users against crimes and providing convenient park- ing to patrons of the downtown area. Not allowing for after-hour public parking "has its drawbacks," Lewit said. VISAS Continued from Page 1 students on campus, the Interna- tional Center works with the stu- dents on visa issues and other adjustment aid. International Center Director Rudy Altamirano was an interna- tional student from the Philippines twenty years ago. Now a U.S. citi- zen, he said academic visa policies need revision. "I recognize the need for home- land security but international stu- dents make a very significant intellectual contribution," Altamira- no said. "Tightened security makes inter- national students hesitant to go back home in fear that they won't be able to enter the United States again." A reformed appeals process for students who are denied visas and added provisions to allow interna- tional students to change their visa status or renew their visas without leaving the country are some of the reforms advocated on the petition. But the petition has yet to be for- mally given to the University. The Bureau of Citizenship and Immigrant Services, which works under the Department of Homeland Security, has stated that one of the bureau's immediate priorities is to promote national security and improve immigration customer services. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the number of student visas issued have decreased from 226,465 between October 1999 and August 2000 to 174,479 in 2002-2003, according to the State Department. ASHLEY HARPE LSA junior Chlrag Badkar, an International student, displays his visa and alien Identification forms, which took several hours to complete. WRIGHT Continued from Page 1. "After elections, the United States is going to have to be fairly tolerant and open-minded of what is going to happen in Iraq, and realize that it may not be perfect. ... But the Iraqis must believe that they were allowed to do it them- selves." Wright added that to encourage reform, the United States should educate the Islamic world and develop alternative sources of energy to eliminate dependence on Middle Eastern oil. She added that the latter solu- tion is politically unattractive. Despite her long-term optimism, Wright said she is pessimistic about the outcome of some the imme- diate challenges for the United States in the Islamic world, including the ongoing reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, and the roadmap for peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "The trouble we've witnessed so far may well con- tinue into next year. ... Iraq reminds me a lot of Lebanon 15 years ago on the eve of its civil war," she said. "The outcome in each area will have a tremen- "Iraq reminds me a lot of Lebanon 15 years ago on the eve of its civil war.... The outcome in each area will have a tremendous impact on America's credibility.' - Robin Wright Global Affairs Correspondent The Los Angeles Times whom enjoy U.S. support - are building militias and that the Bush administration has lowered its expectations of success in the country. Afghanistan is an even more precarious situation because President Hamid Karzai enjoys little support and parts of the nation have succumbed to warlords or anarchy, she added. Both countries are at risk of suffering out- breaks of renewed hostilities between ethnic groups within their borders, she said. Time is an additional burden due to several deadlines the United States has set, such as free elections in Afghanistan next summer or the cre- ation of an interim Palestinian state by the end of the year, Wright said. Failure to meet such dead- lines could threaten the long-term success of the roadmap and reconstruction processes. Wright added that other threats from the Islamic world come from Iran - whose govern- ment is probably trying to develop nuclear weapons, she said - Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, which she said has the worst human rights record in the world. Yet little pressure for change in these countries will come from the United States because "we don't have the time, the resources or the military troops for another intervention," Wright said. She also highlighted a third tier of countries, such as Turkey, Egypt, Syria and Jordan, which she said may but hopefully will not create prob- lematic political situations. The lecture, entitled "The Middle East Chal- lenge: Coming to Grips with Islam, Democracy and Terrorism," was held at the Michigan Union in honor of University alum and Sept. 1lth victim Josh Rosenthal. The Gerald R. Ford School of Pub- lic Policy sponsored the event. dous impact on America's credibility." She said many Iraqi politicians - some of TRASH Continued from Page 1. Katzmann said she agreed that it is not a problem between the two countries. "The Toronto versus Michigan spin potentially halt waste shipments from Canada though it has yet to be enforced. "I think the message the people of Michigan have sent is loud and clear: 'Enough is enough - Stop those stricter regulations. Neely insists that there is no harm from importing Cana- dian trash. With respect to recycling, Canada's "mindset is two to three generations from where we are right now," Neely Ann Arbor Branch 9; th Annul SIlcpd Rook Sale