Monday October 65,D2003 02003 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan SVo. CXII, No. 25 One-hundred-thirteen years of editorialfreedom TODAY: Sunny with north winds during the n, 58 day and west winds at 41 night. Tomorrow. wwwmichigandally.com ----------- - Abortion foes try to keep issue in spotlight By Laurin Gracey and Trista Van Tine Daily Staff Reporters Nearly 300 people lined up at the cor- ner of State and Eisenhower streets yes- terday afternoon holding signs with messages such as "Abortion Kills Chil- dren," "Assisted Suicide Kills" and "Adoption is the Loving Option," anti- abortion supporters participated in a national event called the Life Chain. Marilyn Geyer, vice president of the Pro-Life Action Network, said that although abortion has been legalized for many years, the group hopes to return awareness to the issue. Geyer said the group has encountered hostility from its opponents, especially in previous years. "We used to march downtown and a couple of years ago the pro-choice sup- porters came and intimidated people," Geyer said. She added that some people who oppose their views yelled from their cars and made profane gestures. "Last year someone threw bottles at us," she said. Many anti-abortion supporters usually honked and waved, and some even parked their vehicles and join in the demonstra- tion. The annual event draws 300 to 400 people each year, including college and See ABORTION, Page 5A r . ___, i Job marl reaches ket 'key turning point' By Tomisiav Ladika Daily Staff Reporter Indicating that the long-announced eco- nomic recovery may finally be translating into more jobs, the unemployment rate stayed even during the month of September and businesses hired more workers than they laid off for the first time in eight months. The national unemploy- ment rate held at 6.1 per- cent last month, and Businesses 1 57,000 new jobs were cre- workers tha ated, according to statis- tics reported Friday by the off for the f U.S. Department of Labor. . Even the maligned manu- eight mOnti facturing sector posted fewer layoffs than in pre- vious months, with 29,000 job losses. "This is potentially the key turning point,"' said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pa. "It is real- ly taking on the tone of a labor market that is finally getting over the hump. Indeed, this is what we need to create the confidence in both the household sector and the business sector that this recovery is real." Although the economy grew 3.3 percent in this year's second quarter and the stock mar- ket has also been rising, those gains did not h: fir translate into job growth until last month. In August, total non-agricultural employ- ment fell by 41,000, and manufacturing firms laid off 46,000 workers. The unemployment rate fell from 6.2 to 6.1 percent, partly due to a decrease in the total labor force. Employment increased in September despite predictions by some economists that the unemployment rate would rise back to 6.2 ired more percent, with 25,000 more a they laid workers losing their jobs during the month. -st time in Business School gradu- ate student Peter Keith s. said the employment sta- tistics show the economy "is getting better, slowly but surely." He said he is optimistic the job market will be better by the time he graduates in 2005. U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao in a news release credited some of President Bush's economic policies for the employment turnaround. "The increase of 57,000 new jobs is posi- tive news for America's workers and is a sign that the president's Jobs and Growth Act is having a positive impact on the economy," See JOBS, Page 5A TONY DING/Daily Cathy Dowling, a former University Hospital anesthesiologist, participates in an anti-abortion demonstration yesterday at South State and Eisenhower streets. Israeli missiles hit base in Syria CHEATER'S CHOICE MAJDAL SHAMS, Golan Heights (AP) - Israel bombed a target inside Syria that it claimed was an Islamic Jihad training base, striking deep inside its neighbor's territory yesterday for the first time in three decades and widening its pursuit of Palestinian militants. The airstrike - a retaliation for a suicide bombing Saturday that killed 19 Israelis - alarmed the Arab world and deepened concerns that three years of Israeli-Palestinian violence could spread through the region. Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for Saturday's bombing, in which 55 people were wounded. Washington urged both sides to show restraint - but added pointed criticism of Syria, saying Damascus Strike shakes Arab world "must cease harboring terrorists and make a clean break from those respon- sible for planning and directing terror- ist action from Syrian soil." With little option for military' retaliation, Syria turned for interna- tional support. On requests from Damascus, the U.N. Security Coun- cil and the 22-member Arab League held emergency sessions yesterday as Syria's foreign minister Farouq al- Sharaa sought measures to deter Israeli "aggression." Syria's U.N. Ambassador Fayssal Mekdad called on the council to adopt a resolution condemning the attack. "Arabs and many people across the globe feel that Israel is above law," Mekdad said. ' Israel's Ambassador Dan Gillerman defended the attack. He accused Syria of providing "safe harbor, training facilities, funding, (and) logistical sup- port" to terrorist organizations. Syria's draft calls for Israel to stop committing acts that could threaten regional security. It was unclear when the council would vote on the resolu- tion or whether the United States would veto it. Leaders of Islamic Jihad and other militant groups are based in Syria, but Jihad yesterday denied having any training bases there. Syrian villagers near the targeted site said the camp had been used by Palestinian gunmen in the 1970s but was later abandoned - and was now only used by picnick- ers and other visitors to its spring and olive groves. The raid was a dramatic new tactic for Israel in its attempts to stop Palestinian militants. Closures, assassinations and mili- tary strikes into Palestinian areas have failed to stop suicide attacks, and Washington strongly opposes expelling Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat as Israel has threatened. Week aims to open up closet door 0 Gay community urged to "Shout it Out" after hour of reflection By Aymar Joan Daily Staff Reporter A week of celebration and inquiry will begin with a somber hour of silence. Today is the first day of National Coming Out Week, a week of celebration and reflection for the gay community, which will recognize those unable come out of the figurative closet with one hour of silence at noon today on the Diag. "While our theme for the week is 'Shout Out Loud,' we decided to take a day of silence to recognize that not every- one in our community is afforded the opportunity to come out," said LSA junior Jeff Souva, co-chair of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender commission of the Michigan Student Assembly. At 5 p.m., participants will break the silence, officially beginning the Shout Out Loud celebration. Among the festivities is an "An Evening with Larry Kramer," at 8:00 p.m. tomorrow at Rackham Auditorium. Kramer is a prominent AIDS-awareness activist and founder of Act Up, an AIDS advocacy group. Other events include a viewing of "The Laramie Project" on channel 72, the Residence Halls Association channel. The RHA has collaborated with the LGBT commission to coordinate group showings and discussions of the movie, about the Wyoming town where Matthew Shepard was mur- dered in an anti-gay hate crime. On Thursday in the Art Lounge of the Michigan Union, the LGBT Commission and the Office of LGBT Affairs will host an event called Queer Eye on the Media. Many students commended the LGBT community for addressing the troubles of the oft-forgotten closeted All hands-on deck NICK AZZARO/Daily The Internet offers a wealth of resources for students Interested in cutting corners on their schoolwork. Students download ready-made essays to avoid assignments TONY DING/Daily Five-year-old Zoe Zimmerman peers at a large sound reflector Saturday at the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. Despite fewer volunte ers , GandhiDay lends a hand By Adrian Chen For the Daily Each night, University students have a choice - hit the book or hit the bars. They face the same question as other students across the country: Work or play? Body paragraphs or body shots? Increasingly, however, students have been choosing a third option, one that lets them finish their writing assignment, while leaving time to hit the clubs: Internet plagiarism. Internet plagiarism is the prac- tice of taking all or part of an essay from a website. Whether the student "cuts and pastes" passages from public web pages, or patronizes one of the many free or for-profit essay sites, there is a wealth of resources available for the savvy on-line, cheater. The growing popularity of Internet plagiarism can be seen in the number of ready-to-down- load essay web pages available. dozens of such sites. Each page contains essays that can be downloaded and printed, or used in part to add to a student's own writing. One site, DirectEssays.com, claims to offer more than 100,000 essays on topics ranging from "A Med- ical and Moral Look at Ectopic Pregnancy" to "Gottfried Wil- helm Von Leibniz". Many sites are strictly for prof- it, usually charging about $20 for a month of unlimited downloads. Others see their purpose as more philanthropic, providing free essays to students. One free site greets users with, "In a jam? Can't seem to come up with any ideas for that essay or term paper you have due tomorrow? You've come to the right place!" Such sites often rely on student sub- missions. Most essay websites urge stu- dents not to hand in downloaded papers as their own. DirectEs- says.com has an entire section titled "Acceptable Use Policy." In By Adhiraj Dutt Daily Staff Reporter Contributions to the community were abun- dant Saturday as more than 180 students assembled to provide community service at various sites around Ann Arbor and the Detroit area. Their services were part of the 7th annual Gandhi Day of Service. The day was organized by a collaboration between the Indian American Student Associa- +in an OA FRmV ,sad Kmnl Patel T 'SA sonh- to participate but want everyone to get involved, Patel said. "We want to expose the community to com- munity service and make it a good experience for them so they continue." Participation was down this year compared to the 275 students who attended last year. Patel attributed this decrease was due to the unusually cold weather. "We added new sites and the sites were better this year, but even though we had this decrease this vear nrticination will 'o nun next year." i . i I I