-------- - W eather Thursday September 25, 2003 @2003 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 18 One-hundred-twelve years feditoriadfreedom Partly sunny during the day and night with winds up to 13 mph. , :62 LOW: 44 Tomorrow; 6& 52 www.michigandaily.com REASON TO DANCE Sources: NCAA lifts Blue's postseason ban By Chris Burke Daily Sports Editor It turns out the Michigan basketball team will be able to play for something more than pride this season. The NCAA's postseason ban on the Michi- gan program has been lifted, and the Wolver- ines will be eligible for the 2004 NCAA Tournament and the NIT, a source close to the Michigan basketball family told The Michi- gan Daily late last night. An official announcement is expected sometime today. The Detroit Free Press also reported a "per- son at U-M familiar with the situation" con- firming that the ban has been lifted. Michigan's appeal of the postseason ban was the final issue up in the air regarding the NCAA's investigation into the program's scan- dal involving booster Ed Martin. In the early- to mid-1990s, Martin had given more than $600,000 to players on the Michigan basketball team. Prior to the 2002-03 basketball season, the University imposed penalties upon itself, for- feiting 112 games, as well as returning more than $400,000 to the NCAA, taking champi- onship banners down and placing the program on two years probation. Last May, the NCAA Infractions Commit- tee cited the severity of Michigan's violations and handed down punishments to the Michi- gan program that included the postseason ban, four years of probation and the loss of one scholarship a year for the next four seasons. The ruling also demanded that the players who were known to receive money from Mar- tin - Chris Webber, Maurice Taylor, Robert Traylor and Louis Bullock - be dissociated from the University for 10 years. "In total, this is one of the three or four most egregious violations of NCAA bylaws in the history of the association," NCAA Infrac- tions Committee Chair Thomas Yeager said at the time. "The Committee on Infractions can- not shirk its responsibility to the entire mem- bership by failing to apply meaningful and appropriate sanctions against the University in order to protect the postseason opportunities of current and, as we acknowledge, unin- volved student-athletes." At that point, the University decided to appeal just the postseason ban, despite the fact that appeals are rarely upheld by the NCAA. "We believe the additional postseason ban is counter to the core mission of the NCAA enforcement," Michigan Athletic Director Bill Martin said in May. "Our current student-ath- letes were not involved in any way." Michigan went through with the appeal in hopes of minimizing the punishment to cur- rent players. Now, thanks to the unexpected reversal, the Wolverines have the opportunity to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. Late last night, Michigan coach Tommy Amaker returned from a recruiting trip and met with his team. While Michigan awaited word from the NCAA appeals committee, the situation jumped back into the public lime- light recently. Former Michigan player Chris Webber - who received $280,000 from Mar- tin - plead guilty to perjury on Sept. 16. Webber was then sentenced to 300 hours of community service in the Detroit area. On Sept. 19, University officials requested that a federal judge demand Chris Webber reim- burse the school with $695,000. Martin, ironically, passed away on Feb. 14, the day that Michigan representatives appeared before the NCAA to plead its case. Michigan was one of last season's biggest surprises, posting a 17-13 (10-6 Big Ten) record. The expected announcement also comes on the heels of an anonymous donor's gift that provided returning student season ticket holders with free season tickets for the upcoming year. FILE PHOTO Sherrod Harrell celebrates with fans after Michigan's 60-58 win over Michigan State last season. Harrell and the Wolverines will have the chance to celebrate with an NCAA Tournament bid this season. * OPEC's slashed oil output prompts gas price concerns Purple rain Heating, gas costs may rise this winter due to reduced oil production By Tomislav .adika Daily Staff Reporter Americans may face increased gas prices and higher energy bills this winter as a result of the Organi- zation of Petroleum Exporting Countries' decision yesterday to cut back its member countries' daily oil production quotas by 3.5 percent. Starting in November, OPEC will reduce its daily output of crude oil from 25.4 million barrels to 24.5 million, the oil cartel decided at its meeting in Vienna, Austria, yester- day. Oil futures prices in the United States responded yesterday by ris- ing more than a dollar to $28.24 per barrel. "The market was saying out of the gate that this is worth a buck a barrel," Business School adjunct Prof. Steve Percy said. If OPEC, which pumps about a third of the world's crude oil thor- oughly enforces the cutbacks, oil and gasoline prices most likely will rise, said Business School Prof. Francine Lafontaine. Because gas is an important source of electrical power, such increases could lead to higher ener- gy bills for companies and con- sumers this winter, Lafontaine said. And if people have to pay higher bills, they will have less money to spend on the consumption of other goods, which could slow down a possible economic recovery, Lafontaine said. "You increase the price of trans- portation of goods, you increase the price of how people get from one place to another," she said. The increases in gas prices could be compounded by a potential natu- ral gas shortage. Many economists have expressed concern that the nation's natural gas supplies are leveling off at a time when more than 60 million Americans use the fuel to heat their homes. Recent government reports have told Amer- icans to expect higher energy bills this winter. Despite the increase in oil prices yesterday, Percy said over the next few months the market will deter- mine how much prices change. Percy added that these changes are difficult to predict or interpret, but that he believes the production cutbacks will not significantly impact oil and gas prices over the short term. The quota reduction may have "an almost minimal impact" because on a daily basis the price of oil can fluctuate by about one dollar per barrel, he said. Lafontaine added that despite See OPEC, Page 7A Lightning illuminates the sky during a thunderstorm last night that dumped rain on Ann Arbor. States say divorcees must split tuition fees By David Branson For the Daily To those who think their parents are going to pay their way through college - they might be right. Many states are introducing new legislation allowing courts to force' divorced parents to pay their universi- ty student's bills. Michigan state legis- lators yet to pass such a measure, but problems surrounding paying tuition and other college expenses still exist for parents. For children of divorced parents, pay- ing for college can be especially diffi- cult. LSA junior Aaranisa Clay lives with her mother, and the two of them. pay for most of her school-related expenses. "My dad is disabled and unemployed, so paying anything would be pretty impossible," Clay said. "I don't expect it,"A At the University, total undergraduates costs run near $17,000 for Michigan residents and $34,000 for out-of-state students. Fall tuition costs $7,800 to $8,800 for Michigan residents and$24,600 to $26,300 for out-of-state residents. The actual amounts vary depending on class standing, but all figures are up 6.5 per- cent from 2002-2003. All other costs are associated with meal plans, housing expenses and books. Richard Victor, president of the: Michigan chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, said paying for college is very difficult for students and parents impacted by divorce. "Custodial parents often get handed all their child's expenses while the other parent gets off free. ... Divorced parents shouldn't be different than married parents when paying for school," Victor said. New Hampshire and Connecticut leg-' islation states that custodial parents can sue non-custodial parents for up to half of their child's overall college expenses. For University parents, this could mean that courts could force payment of up td $9,500, even if the non-custodial parent had no input on the student's school choice. But sometimes not splitting the bill can work out in a student's Study: Cell phone use linked to cancer By Ashley Dinges For the Daily With the barrage of cell phone ads in the media offering free long distance or unlim- ited nights and weekends, it is no surprise that mobile phones are a convenient way for students to stay in touch with their friends and family at home. However, according to a study published in June by researchers from Lund Universi- ty Hospital in Lund, Sweden, the results suggest that with time, cell phone users may grow more susceptible to brain damage. In the experiment, rats were exposed to levels in contact with. The rats were split into two groups, each containing eight rats. One group was sub- jected to the radiation, while the other was used as a control group. The researchers then waited 50 days before examining the brains of the animals. "We found highly significant evidence for neuronal damage in the cortex, hip- pocampus and basal ganglia in the brains of the exposed rats," the study states. These areas of the brain are responsible for functions such as motor and higher learning skills, said Psychology Prof. Steve Maren, who participates in the University's new memories, and damage to the area can result in difficulty of storing new informa- tion, he added. "Hippocampal damage could potentially cause memory loss. Patients who suffer (damage) might produce behavior similar to that of Alzheimer's patients," Maren said. The basal ganglia, another area affected by the radiation areas, is involved in motor control, Maren said, and a person with dam- age to the area would exhibit symptoms parallel to those associated with Parkinson's disease. The study also stated that, "(the researchers) cannot exclude that after vn vuuavau~, vr w", = LAURA SHLECIERI~aiy--------- ------------- - .. LSA freshman Sonal Sheth talks on her cell phone on her way of microwave radiation similar to those that neuroscience program. The hippocampus in some decades of daily use, a whole gener back to her dorm yesterday. an average mobile phone user would come particular is responsible for the creation of See STUDY, Page 7A Calif., Mich. legislation targets unsolicited e-mail spain ,r- A By Evan McGrvey Daily Staff Reporter The digital plague of spam e-mail is encountering a new wave of opposition, both in Michigan and across the country. Today California Gov. Gray Davis announced that he would sign a bill outlawing any commer- cial e-mail message sent to someone within Michigan Legislature passed a bill, sponsored by state Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Zeeland), requir- ing explicit identification of commercial e-mail over course of the summer. All spam e-mails must now feature the abbreviation "ADV, " an indication that it is an advertisement, in the sub- ject line and must include, within the body of the e-mail, an option to remove the recipient's e- mail address from the company's database. "We want Michigan to be the most restrictive, the most prohibitive state in the union when it comes to spam;" Bishop said. University students have felt the impact of spam on campus, mostly through e-mail services outside the University, like Yahoo! or Excite. Engineering freshman Sue Shokoohi recalled her spam ordeal. "I used to have an account at Excite.com, but it and stopped using my Excite account. I don't want the same thing to happen here so I'm really cautious about giving out my University e-mail address" she added. Most students said they did not notice the new "ADV" markers but knew how to avoid the incon- venience of spam. Medical school student Brett Bartz said he regularly deals with spam. "I get a lot of spam.