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©2003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 35
n m am MOWN& a as
One-hundred-thkrteen years ofeditorilfreedom
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HEALING WORDS
Percentage of
black freshmen
at
'U,
declines
By Jeremy Berkowitz
Daily Staff Reporter
Although the University's general enrollment
increased to a record 39,031 students this fall,
freshman enrollment of black students fell for the
second consecutive year.
The overall number of freshman rose by 366 stu-
dents, but new statistics released yesterday show
black students now make up 7.6 percent of fresh-
men, down from 8.9 percent last year and 9.4 per-
cent in 2001. In addition, the percentage of
Hispanic freshmen declined from a peak of 6.1 per-
cent in 2002 to 4.8 percent this autumn.
But Senior Vice Provost Lester Monts said these
patterns are nothing unusual, given past experience.
"We experience fluctuations in one or more of
the race/ethnicity categories every year. There are
so many variables to consider, which makes it diffi-
cult to say exactly why these changes occur," Monts
said, adding that enrollment figures vary depending
on annual demographics and applicant talent pool.
But Monts acknowledged that the Universi-
ty's involvement in two national lawsuits last
year regarding its race-conscious admissions
policies might have discouraged some students
from applying.
The U.S. Supreme Court in June struck down the
former undergraduate point system, which granted
See ENROLLMENT, Page 7
Changes in freshman enrollment
by ethnicity over the past 3 years
number of students (by hundreds)
mo 499/9.0%
'[ 433/ 8.3%
7=1410/ 7.4%
263/ 4.7%
3051/5.9%
255/ 4.6%
3 50/.9%
. 53/1.0%
38/3.%
i 112.5%
5 8/ 11.3%
730/13.1%
3,461/ 2.3%
+ 406/7.3%
0/ 207.7%
439 7.9% 2001
v 220/ 4.0% 2003
189/ 3.6%
0 %; 220/ 4.0% 2003
Senate passes ban on
abortion procedure
Photos by JASON COOPER/Daily
ABOVE: Rackham student Heather Lerner looks at T-shirts created for the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center's project
clothesline, which was displayed during last night's Speak Outl In the Michigan Union Ballroom.
By Sara Eber
Daily Staff Reporter
"I didn't call it sex, I called it 'bad sex.' I
thought that rape happened to other people,
not to me," a SAPAC volunteer said while
recounting how she came to terms with her
rape experience.
She was one of 10 female University stu-
dents who recounted their tales of rape,
molestation and sexual assault last night at the
Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness
Center's 17th annual Speak Out! in the Michi-
gan Union Ballroom. The event served as an
opportunity for survivors of sexual assault to
break the silence often associated with such
incidents in a supportive environment.
Nearly 100 people waited in silence for
five minutes, waiting for someone to break
the ice. After a period of contemplation, a
freshman student approached the podium and
talked about her experience with rape and
sexual assault, the first incident occurring in a
"It's always harder when it's someone you know and
someone you think you trust ... but I think things
will be okay. I'm working toward wanting to be
around people but not needing them to be around.'
- Anonymous LSA freshman
Sexual assault and date rape survivor
janitor's closet when she was in 8th grade.
During her first week at the University this
year, she was date raped after her brother's
wedding.
"It's always harder when it's someone you
know and someone you think you trust," she
said. "But I think things will be okay. I'm
working toward wanting to be around people
but not needing them to be around."
Another 22-year-old woman detailed her
rape experience while she was in high school,
when four teenagers kidnapped her after a.
basketball game and each raped her in the
woods. Her attackers planned to leave her in
the woods until one begged to bring her
home. "I feel weird because in a way I owe
him my life, but he raped me," she said. After
two criminal trials, her attackers were found
guilty.
Now married with a baby, she discussed
the frustrating processes survivors and their
families go through, and said her husband still
could not manage to attend the event.
"I can understand why people don't report
this," she said, as she continued to explain that
See SPEAK OUT, Page 3
Opponents of legislation say
they plan to challenge the ban in
front of the U.S. Supreme Court
By Michael Gurovltscha
Daily Staff Reporter
For the first time since the Roe'v Wade Supreme
Court case in 1973, Congress has passed legislation
placing restrictions on the practice of abortion.
The Senate overwhelmingly passed a measure
yesterday banning what the bill's sponsors call par-
tial-birth abortions. The bill, approved by a vote of
64-34 in the Senate, was also passed earlier this
month in the House, and the legislation will
become law if President Bush signs the bill, which
he supports. Opponents have vowed to challenge
the legislation in the U.S. Supreme Court.
"This legislation would ban one simple
grotesque unjustified procedure that destroys the
life of an unborn child," said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-
Ala.) in a speech from the Senate floor yesterday
morning.
"This is a historic day for life. ... The child in the
womb is not a piece of property," said Sen. Sam
Brownback (R-Kan.), also speaking on the Senate
floor yesterday morning.
A "partial-birth abortion" refers to an abortion
performed when the fetus has already been partially
delivered,usually occurring in the second or third
timester. Doctors who perform the procedure ille-
gally would face up to two years in prison.
The bill contains a "life" exemption, meaning the
abortion procedure is allowed if it is necessary to
save the mother's life. But the bill does not contain
a "health" exemption, so women who face non life-
threatening health problems are still banned from
having a partial-birth abortion.
Several senators, including Barbara Boxer (D-
Calif.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) voiced their
opposition to the bill because it does not provide a
health exemption. President Clinton twice vetoed
similar legislation for the same reason.
Opponents have reason to believe the Supreme
Court will rule the law unconstitutional. In 2000,
the high court ruled 5-4 that a Nebraska law, similar
to the law passed today, was unconstitutional
because it did not contain a provision for the health
of the mother.
"The bill is purely political. Everyone knows it
See ABORTION, Page 3
Study links
physical
pain with
rejection
Resources at 'U'
provide help to students
suffering from rejection
By Aymar Jean
Daily Staff Reporter
Feelings of rejection are not sim-
ply "in your head," as the saying
goes. A study released Oct. 10 in
the journal Science concluded that
the brain registers social and physi-
cal pain similarly.
The study, conducted by the Uni-
versity of California at Los Angeles
and Macquarie University in Aus-
tralia, simulated rejection by
excluding one young person from a
computer game. The researchers
found that systematic rejection
leads to increased activity in the
anterior cingulate, an area in the
brain associated with physical pain.
"Becoming
a Muslim
to me s
disbelieving
in Jesus
or leaving
everything
from
Christianity
behind.
It was
about
believing
in what I
considered
to be a
more
accurate
version of
God's
message.
Islam converts speak on
how they found religion
By Karen Schwartz
Daily Staff Reporter
LSA sophomore Michael Dann was raised as a
Christian, going to church and Sunday school in
Amherst, Mass., as was his family's tradition. But
four years ago, he decided he was destined for a
different path. Dann converted to Islam, which he
said has changed his life.
Dann said he went from being involved in "the
drug culture" and party scene in junior high
school to looking for something more in life -
thanks to the example set by his tennis coach, a
black Muslim man from New Jersey.
"Through my contact with him, and especially
through tennis, I got to see there was something
more serious about life, something more serious
than gratifying your immediate desires," he said,
adding that his coach did not often talk about
Islam explicitly but rather led by example.
"It was just through his approach to life and his
character, being around him - I was attracted to
something I knew he had, something that was
motivating his life," Dann said. "He gave me dif-
ferent books to read, not mostly about Islam
except for the Quran, but those books served more
to wake me up to that there's more to life than par-
tying and fun, and that God should be in my life."
DAVID TUMAN/Daily
Medical School student Laura Cohon, LSA Junior
Luqman El-Amin and alum Jeremy Campion talk about
the reasons why they converted to Islam in a panel
discussion held last night In Hutchins Hall.
people who converted to Islam, who told an audi-
ence of 50 their stories and answered questions
about their experiences with the religion.
"It's important because it's a chance to speak for
ourselves, for Muslims to present Islam as they
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