Weather Wednesday October 22, 2003 ©2003 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 35 n m am MOWN& a as One-hundred-thkrteen years ofeditorilfreedom TO DAY: Partly cloudy dur- ing the day with late afternoon and evening showers. P; :53 LOW: 37 Tomorrow: 51!3i wwwmichigandailycom - - - - - - -- - - - - - - 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 * un Aaretn A t anot naoc nthp r npanlp ii,, Arctfnnd i