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Tuesday
November 4, 2003
@2003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 44

One-hundred-thirteen years ofedtorialfredom

TODAY:
Mostly
cloudy
throughout
the day with
showers at
night.

~4:74
LOW: 53
Tomorrow:
57133

wwwmichigandailycom

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'U' health
care cuts
irk faculty
members
By Jeremy Berkowtz
Daily Staff Reporter
English Prof. Macklin Smith
receives one less birthday present
every year now - a card inviting him
for an annual physical at the Universi-
ty's Periodic Health Appraisal Unit.
Smith said he depended on those
reminders.
"I'm an absent-minded professor,"
Smith added jokingly.
A report written earlier this year by
the Budget Study of the Senate Advi-
sory Committee for University Affairs
predicted that quality health care for
faculty, including the ability to spot
diseases early, might be diminished by
the slow death of PHAU.
"Not all medical care programs
offer an annual physical examination,
descriptions of the various programs
provided by the Benefits Office are
vague and there is no evidence that
diagnostic services equivalent to those
provide by PHAU are available
through such programs," the report
states.
The University created PHAU in
1956 to provide a program where fac-
ulty received physicals and preventive
health care advice. It expanded
throughout the years to include advice
for professors travelling abroad who
needed ample immunizations. In
recent years, any faculty and certain
staff who participated in the Blue
Cross/Blue Shield program received
reminders on their birthdays to make
appointments with PHAU.
In 2000, due to rising costs, the
administration, in conjunction with
the provost's office, decided to stop
advertising the program with mailed
reminders. The goal was that less peo-
ple would take advantage of the pro-
gram as older faculty retired and
younger faculty were unaware of it.
PHAU Director Terry MacLean
said she is unsure whether the Univer-
sity's insurance plans offer similar
benefits.
"I think that's going to be difficult.
That's going to be the question that
these other units are going to have to
address," MacLean said. "It's been a
very nice service."
In addition, the report predicted the
University might end up losing
money.
"There will be a modest short-term
budgetary savings from termination of
the program but a long-term increase
in expenditures due to the cost of
treating disease states that were avoid-
ed by early diagnosis and treatment,"
the report stated.
The report foresaw some of these
increased costs, noting that in 2002
the cost for the unit to care for one
individual was $30.73, while the same
employee's medical plan averaged
$4,129.
But last week at the SACUA meet-
ing, Provost Paul Courant noted that
other programs already offered similar
services.
"The current plan which has been
in effect for a number of years has
been not to eliminate it, but not to
See FACULTY, Page 7

Winning big for fair play

Campaigns end
with today's

city
By Mona Rafeeq
Daily Staff Reporter

e ections
Inside: information on wards and voting sites. Page

The polls are open for Ann Arbor residents to
vote for two proposals and their City Council
representatives in city elections today.
The ballot includes two proposals, Proposal
A - regarding candidate requirements - and
Proposal B -which is the main issue debated
by City Council candidates.
Proposal A seeks to relax eligibility restric-
tions for people who wish to run for City Coun-
cil and mayor. Some say the bill could make it
easier for students to run for these elected posi-
tions because they would not be required to live
in their respective ward for a year before run-
ning for City Council.
The Greenbelt proposal, as Proposal B is
sometimes called, would use revenue raised
from a 30-year, .5-mil property tax to preserve
parklands and other open spaces in and around
Ann Arbor.
But opponents of Proposal B believe it could
increase housing and rental costs, negatively
impacting students.
Ann Arbor is divided intok
five wards and voters can
select their choice of coun-
cilperson based on the can- "
didates in their ward.
The 1st and 4th wards
include much of the cam-
pus community, and candi-
dates in these wards
include both University stu-
dents and an alum.L
In the 1st Ward, Democrat
incumbent Robert Johnson will oppose inde-
pendent Rick Lax and Green Party member Rob

Haug. Lax is an arts writer for The Michigan
Daily on leave for the campaign, and Haug is a
Rackham student working on a degree in Near
Eastern studies.
Lax said if elected, his
priorities would include
making parking easier in
the downtown and Central
Campus areas and afford-
able student housing.
"I will represent the stu-
dent interests without worry-
ing about what any political
organization or special inter-
est group says," he said.
Haug is also concerned Haug
about student housing.
"The University could rent retail commercial
housing off campus as part of an agreement
between the University and the city," Haug said,
on the issue of affordable housing for students.
He also would like to insti-
tute a ranking system of vot-
ing for candidates in
multi-party elections.
Johnson and Lax support
Proposal B. Haug opposes it.
Libertarian Dan Sheill and
Green Party member Scott
Trudeau are running in the
Ward 4 against independent
Jon Kinsey and Republican
incumbent Marcia Higgins. Sheill
Sheill plans to oppose the Greenbelt proposal
while Trudeau will support it. Kinsey has mixed
feelings on the issue, and Higgins could not be
See CITY ELECTIONS, Page 7

JONATHON TRIEST/Daily
The Black Coaches Association gave sports management Prof. C. Keith Harrison a
grant to study the lack of diversity in NCAA Division I football head coaching. Harrison
and his 48 race-relations students are producing a documentary on the subject.

Native American month
takes aim at stereotypes

By Karen Schwartz
Daily Staff Reporter
When people think about Native American culture,
LSA senior Nickole Fox wants them to think about a
current and involved commu- -
nity of diverse individuals
instead of deferring to the Hetra ge i
"feathers and beads" imagery
she said is often stereotypical- SeC.OI M
ly associated with the identity. 0
This month Fox, co-chair of F
the Native American Student H
Association, said she hopes
people will take advantage of U
the opportunity to learn more illfor pd
by taking part in the 2003 p
Native American Heritage I>
Celebration, a series of activi-
ties, speakers and performanc- tivalit the UM Mus
es aimed at raising awareness toryfromnon to4;
of Native American culture Nov. 16.
and issues.
"Popular culture seems to represent Native Ameri-
cans as these mythical beings of the past and the Her-
itage month activities are trying to break down those
stereotypes," she said. "People should know that we
aren't a monolithic group of people. We are comedians,
authors, singers, and our cultures are very much alive

today."
She added that much of the information available in
movies and on television reinforces the stereotypes,
and that in addition, many students have not had previ-
ous interactions with Native Americans that would pro-
vide them with a more
-nt h up-to-date or realistic picture.
"I've seen a lot of ignorance
-' about Native American issues
0" JT a+ t1> 5 and I don't feel there's been
easily accessible opportunities
for people before college to get
to know the issues ... so we're
having these Heritage Month
niCaiactivities so students at U of M
can get to know a little more
about contemporary Native
Americans," Fox said,sadding
,n HitresFs that she would like to see peo-
ple take the time and make the
n Seffort to educate themselves
about Native American culture
and get to know members of
the community.
"I've had, not specifically on campus but overall,
some of my friends have been asked 'do you live in a
teepee?' or 'oh, you are Native American, you don't
look Native American' ... like you have to look like that
See STEREOTYPES, Page 7

Members of the Jewish Witnesses For Peace protest outside former U.S.
Ambassador Dennis Ross's speech at the Marriott Hotel inYpsilanti last night.
Fomer diplomat
addresses poli1cy

Parents with girls more prone to divorce

By Nalla Moreira
Daily Staff Reporter
Few parents would agree that their daughters bring
them less joy than their neighbor's sons. Yet nation-
wide, parents with daughters are more likely to divorce
than parents with sons, recent research has shown.
Economists Enrico Moretti and Gordon Dahl

Although the gap is declining, "even in the most
recent years, you still have a significant effect."
Gender bias towards children is common in devel-
oping countries, said economics Prof. David Lam.
But in the United States, "it's surprising that this
would be an issue today," he said.
Several possible reasons exist for the divorce gap.
Families may prefer male children and put more

examined U.S. Census
Bureau data to show that
over the last 60 years,
families with one girl
were 6 percent more likely
to divorce than families
with one boy. The gap
increased depending on
the number of daughters
in the family, climbing to
8 percent for families with
two girls compared to
those with two boys.
Families with three girls
were 10 percent more

"I'm not sure we can say
yet that there's a causal
relationship that families
stay together for boys. I
don't know that sexism is
the cause of the gap per se."
- Leslie Ross
spokeswoman, Women and Gender in Public
Policy

effort into maintaining a
marriage for their sons
than their daughters. Men
may also have a particular
preference for sons and be
more reluctant to leave
when male children are
involved.
"There's a lot of social
science evidence that does
suggest that men parent
differently than women
do," said Pamela Smock,
sociology professor and
associate director of the

Gender bias could cause the divorce gap, Moretti
said, but other factors may be at fault. For instance,
parents may believe the presence of a father figure is
more important for boys, a possibility Moretti called
the "role model story."
Public Policy student and student group Women
and Gender in Public Policy spokeswoman Leslie
Ross said, "I'm not sure we can say yet that there's a
causal relationship that families stay together for
boys. I don't know that sexism is the cause of that
gap per se."
Whatever the cause, the gap has researchers con-
cerned. Children from divorced families tend to have
more social and behavioral problems, be jobless as
young adults and attain lower levels of education
than other children. Dahl and Moretti believe these
problems could worsen inequalities girls encounter
later in life, such as the persistent wage gap between
men and women.
But others disagree. The divorce rate disparities
"certainly aren't substantial enough to cause the dif-
ferences we see in society today," Smock said. She
attributes gender discrepancies to the perpetuation of
trn',Ait, rvr Q 1female ~aen.iar r Ulc Wme.n still1seve ac

Dennis Ross discusses
U.S. relations with Arabs,
Israelis
By Adam Rosen
Daily Staff Reporter
Peace in the Middle East is not out of
the question, but it may soon be if the
situation is not addressed immediately,
former U.S. Ambassador Dennis Ross
said last night.
Ross offered his opinions on the cur-
rent state of the Middle East peace
process to a large crowd at the Marriott
Hotel in Ypsilanti last night. Hosted by
the Jewish Federation of Washtenaw
County and sponsored by Ford Motor
Company, the event drew a few hundred
people and a handful of protesters, who
stood at the entrance of the hotel's drive-
way and displayed signs condemning
Israeli actions.
Ross served in the former Bush and
Clinton administrations as a diplomat
for Middle Eastern affairs. He is credit-
ed with being one of the architects of the
1995 Interim agreement and 1997
Hebron Accord between the Israelis and
Palestinians.
After a brief introduction by Federa-
tion campaign co-chair Steve Director,
PRoscomtwmenced hby saving that Israisi

undermine its scope.
"The Israeli economy (has been) suf-
fering absolutely the past few years, and
the Palestinian economy is shattered,"
Ross said.
Ross added that he felt Palestinians
knew the consequences of the most
recent escalation in violence but did not
anticipate its long duration and the ensu-
ing immeasurable suffering.
Before his discussion on the current
situation, Ross addressed issues that h8
felt have impeded the peace process
within the past few months.
Referring to the resignation of former
Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud
Abbas on Sept. 6, Ross said current
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has mar-
ginalized those who seek to undermine
the head of the Palestinian Authority's
power.
"Yasser Arafat did not want to give
any competitors a chance," Ross said.
While speaking with each other a few
months ago, Abbas asked Ross hoW
much time he had left as prime minister.
"I told him four months - he was
around for three," Ross said.
"We had one Palestinian prime minis
ter, we have a second and we will not
have a third," Ross added.
Ross also discussed what he consid-
ered the flaws of the "Road Map," the
latest effort ,at cnciliation de~velond hb

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