The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 3, 2003 - 5A

I4SA commemorates
20th anniversary with
cultural peformance

Shall we dance? 1

SHOW
Continued from Page 1A
1983 and shared his delight in the
organization's progress from its
small beginnings.
"We used to count the people
who came in the door for each
meeting to see if we had enough
people to break even. We lived
event to event. We disconnected our
stereos from our dorms to bring to
meetings and play music," Shekar
said.
"IASA is a great example of the
contribution that Indian Americans
are making at this University, state
and nation," he said.
In contrast, the show now has
major corporate sponsors and IASA
has become one of the University's
largest student organizations. Phar-
maceutical company Pfizer and
DTE Energy were just two of the
corporate sponsors featured in the
show's program.
The show's festivities included a
variety of songs and dances, rang-
ing from the traditional Banghra to
a modern salute to Bollywood cine-
ma. Before, during and after each
piece, the crowd erupted with
shouts of encouragement for the
performers.
Participants in this year's show
invested significant amounts of
time preparing, beginning their
rehearsals in mid-September.
IASA member and cultural show
participant Niraj Shah recalled the
practice schedule and time commit-
ment that went into the show's pro-
duction.
"We practiced three days a week
for about two hours outside Angell
Hall. We'd sometimes go from nine
at night until midnight, just practic-

ing," said Shah, an LSA sophomore.
Both of Saturday's shows sold out
as the University community and
others from southeast Michigan
came to watch.
"We draw the South Asian com-
munity of Detroit as well as the Ann
Arbor community," said Mehta, an
Engineering junior. "Our show is
highly regarded. High schoolers in
the area regard this as an amazing
show, ane hey come to watch their
siblings in the show. They watch
people they knew from school."
It was Engineering junior Samir
Shah's sixth time watching the
show. He had heard about it from
his brother even before attending
the University.
"It's unbelievable to see a produc-
tion like this put on completely by
students. It shows a lot about what
people get out of (IASA) and what
they want to give back," Shah said.
Other audience members echoed
Shah's praise.
"It makes me appreciate their cul-
ture much more since you don't
normally get to see their back-
ground and experiences on an
everyday basis," Engineering junior
Dave Pickney said.
Scott Doerrfeld, a performer, said
the both the show's preparation and
execution were memorable.
"It's incredibly fun with all of the
friendships formed and the cultural
knowledge gained," said Doerrfeld,
a Music and LSA senior.
"I'm not Indian American and I
didn't know that I could be a part of
the show, but you see it once and
you're pretty blown away. I think
people see it once and want to be a
part of it."
-Daily News Editor Kylene Kiang
contributed to this report.

CONSUMERS
Continued from Page IA
nificant numbers of new workers,
Seyhun said. He said productivity gains
will prevent the unemployment rate
from dipping below the pre-Sept. 11
level for a year or more.
Seyhun added that because of low
interest rates, he does not believe con-
sumer spending will decrease in the
months ahead. He said the more relevant
question is whether the growth rate in
spending can be maintained.
The Surveys of Consumers report
states that consumer confidence is high
enough to encourage high consumer
spending even if employment does not
increase. But if hiring does not pick up,
the increase in spending would be much
smaller than the 6.6-percent growth rate
in the third quarter.
MBA student Rahul Gupta said he
believes the increase in consumer confi-
dence indicates that the economy is
improving, and that consumers will
spend more in the upcoming holiday
season.
The Index of Consumer Expectations,
which is a component of a U.S. Depart-
ment of Commerce index of economic
indicators, also rose from 80.8 in Sep-
tember to 83 in October, according to
the Surveys of Consumers report.
Consumers indicated that their finan-
cial situation has improved due to
increased income and the federal tax
cuts, but Curtin said they are less opti-
mistic about future prospects.
But consumers also expect a
lower inflation rate next year, and
low interest rates have brought
vehicle and home-buying attitudes
back to record levels, he said. "Con-
sumers more frequently cited low
mortgage rates in the October sur-
vey and were less fearful about
potential mortgage rate increases
during year ahead," he said.
IRAQ
Continued from Page 1A
weaponry, first using homemade
roadside bombs, then rocket-fired
grenades in ambushes on American
patrols, and vehicles stuffed with
explosives and detonated by suicide
attackers.
In the fields south of Fallujah, some
villagers proudly showed off black-
ened pieces of the Chinook's wreck-
age to arriving reporters.
Though a few villagers tried to
help, many celebrated word of the hel-
icopter downing, as well as a fresh
attack on U.S. soldiers in Fallujah
itself. Two American civilians working
under contract for the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers were killed and
one was injured in the explosion of a
roadside bomb, the military said.

IE:LLY LIN/Daily
Windsor resident Catherine Meloche and Bloomfield Hills resident Ben Chatham dance with the
Ballroom Dance Club at the Michigan League last night.

CANDIDATES
Continued from Page 1A
Proposal B, should it pass, on
property taxes, housing costs and
housing availability," he said. Bir-
kett is the vice chair of the Ann
Arbor Libertarian Party.
The third candidate, Democrat
Leigh Greden, was unavailable for
comment.
In the 5th Ward, incumbent
Democrat Wendy Woods, who also
supports the Greenbelt, said, "(Pro-
posal B) will keep Ann Arbor from
looking and feeling like a cookie-
cutter community."
Libertarian contender Jason
Kantz was unavailable for com-
ment.
In addition to expressing their
views on Proposal B, the candidates
spoke on other issues of concern to
students.
Some of the candidates said they
support more building density in
Ann Arbor.
Increasing density would add
more housing units and higher
buildings to the city's downtown
area.

Seetoo compared the city to her
birthplace, Taipei, Taiwan. Land is
limited in both cities, she said, and
Ann Arbor and Taipei have to build
their cities upwards instead of
building out.
Birkett said the wider a building
is, the less impact its height will
have on its neighbors.
"The density issue is mostly a
height issue. Restrictions on build-
ing height should be relative to the
impact of (the building's) surround-
ing neighbors," he said.
He added that the city should be
receptive to private housing proj-
ects that increase affordable hous-
ing options.
In regards to parking in Ann
Arbor, Birkett said he would like to
see a short grace period before a
parking violation is issued.
Rose is a strong advocate of pub-
lic transportation, which she said
would eliminate parking problems.
"Ann Arbor is a very safe city
and I think people, both residents
and students, should feel very com-
fortable taking the bus," said Rose,
a member of the Ann Arbor Trans-
portation Authority's Local Adviso-

ry Board.
Both Seetoo and Rose said they
would be interested in extending
bus services further than the city's
boundaries.
The candidates had differing
views on the relationship between
students and the Ann Arbor Police
Department.
Some of the candidates mini-
mized the importance of this rela-
tionship, noting that the University
has its own law enforcement
agency, the Department of Public
Safety.
"I think it's desirable to have a
better working relationship between
the DPS and the AAPD," Seetoo
said.
She said there have been commu-
nication problems between the two
organizations in the past.
Woods said she believes the rela-
tionship between the AAPD and
students is better today than in the
past few decades.
"While the University does main-
tain its own separate police force,
the AAPD is working hard to keep
open lines of communication with
students," she said.

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