Monday
November 10, 2003
@2003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 48

WAI hnr


One-hundred-thteen years ofeditonalfreedom

DAY:
Mostly sunny
with winds
from the
southeast at
eight miles
per hour.

KI: 48
LOW: 40
Tomorrow:
o'y 3,,

wwwmichigandailycom


Students killed while crossing road

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my victoria Edwards
and Emily Kraack
Daily Staff Reporters
Two women were hit by a pickup truck
last night and died after arriving at the Uni-
versity Hospital.
Ann Arbor Police Department Sgt. Brad
Hill said the women were crossing Ply-
mouth Road at 6:20 p.m., apparently on

their way home from the Islamic Center of
Ann Arbor after breaking their Ramadan
fast for the day.
The AAPD has not released the names of
the women, but members of the campus
Muslim community say the women are
Norhananim Zainol and Teh Nanni Roshema
Roslan, two Engineering students. The girls
were both international students and mem-
bers of the Malaysian Students Association.

Hill said AAPD interviewed the pickup
driver and took him to an AAPD station,
though he was not arrested. The department
is still investigating the situation.
Nazih Hassan, president of the Islamic
Center of Ann Arbor, said that, according to
surveillance cameras outside the mosque,
both students died on impact at the scene.
He blames the deaths of the girls on the
dangerous traffic conditions in front of the

mosque.
"This should not have happened - it was
absolutely preventable. This is a high-traffic
area and there is a school here, and every
night hundreds of people come (to the
mosque) and there is no traffic light. We see
people driving very fast down this street,"
Hassan said.
"This was an issue that was brought up
before the city officials but there was no

positive response to the request to have a
light here. It is very unfortunate that it had
to happen to wake up city officials," he
added.
Roslan's suitemate, Farah Nazihah Faisal,
a Muslim Malaysian and Engineering junior
who was friends with both girls, said poor
lighting on the street and the absence of a
pedestrian crossing have made the walk to
See DEATHS, Page 5A

U.S. rep.
speaks to
crowd on
gay rights
By Emily Kraack
Daily Staff Reporter
The first college chapter of the
Stonewall Democrats, a lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender caucus
under the College Democrats,
announced their presence in a big
way last night.
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-
Mass.), who is openly gay, addressed
a standing-room-only crowd in the
Michigan Union's
Kuenzel room
about gay rights,
the importance of
the Democratic
Party in the polit-
ical system and
the upcoming
presidential elec-
tion.
Frank dis-
cussed discrimi- Frank
nation, saying
that he originally feared his chances
of being elected were slim because
he was Jewish. "In 1957, being Jew-
ish was a real obstacle," he said.
"I've seen in my lifetime anti-Semi-
tism as an obstacle collapse."
He added that he hoped this would
eventually be the case with discrimi-
nation against homosexuals. He later
said that gay teenagers are at a high
risk for discrimination. "If I could
pick one issue, it would be to imple-
ment as many policies as possible to
protect gay teenagers," he said. The
crowd, predominantly college and
graduate students with a few older
people, responded with applause.
Honesty about sexual orientation
was a key agenda item for the night,
though Frank used humor to keep
his talk from being preachy. "A lot
of people who were angry at me
because I was honest about my sexu-
ality were angry at Bill Clinton 10
years later when he lied about his,"
Frank said. "Society is getting bet-
ter. It's getting better primarily
because we are being open about
who we are."
Frank questioned the motive
behind the state's Defense of Mar-
riage Act, which defines marriage as
a union between a man and a
woman. "The theory apparently is
that there are hundreds of thousands
of happily married men in Michigan,
in loving relationships with their
wives, and they pick, up a newspaper
with the Defense of Marriage Act on
the front page and say, 'Wow, I
could've married a man.' "
Jon Hoadley, who started up the
second college chapter of the
Stonewall Democrats this week at
Michigan State University, attended
the speech. He talked about the
opportunity to give gay, lesbian,
bisexual and transgender students on
campus more representation in poli-
tics through the Stonewall Democ-
rats movement. "I'm really excited
about giving students a voice. This
is way for us to reach out to students
on the (Michigan State) campus who

don't have a voice on campus," he
said. "Congressman Frank talked
about the parties just being the same
thing and about apathy. But when
your community is being attacked,
you can't be apathetic." Hoadley
said that although his chapter
opened just this week, it already has
24 people.
Senior Ken Nadolski founded the
University of Michigan chapter of
Stonewall Democrats and is vice
chair of College Democrats. "As a
f nrt fCle )P. nramatc_ Td heen

SHOUT IT OUT

Employees
strike
outside
Borders
Books &
Music on
East Liberty
Street on
Saturday.
Workers are
dissatisfied
with
inadequate
wages and
benefits.
(CURTIS
HILLER/
Daily)

Borders workers
strike for better
wages, benefits

TONY DING/Daily
University of Southern California junior Carl Swanson shouts during the BAMN rally in the Diag on Friday. The rally kicked
off BAMN's seventh annual national conference, which was held over the weekend.

Conference. protests ball

By Aymar Jean
Daily Staff Reporter
Defiantly wielding picket signs,
nearly 100 affirmative action support-
ers gathered on the Diag at noon Fri-
day to protest a ballot initiative
proposing to end the use of race in
admissions at public universities.
Organized by BAMN, the rally was
part of the seventh annual National
Conference of the New Civil Rights

Movement - a weekend of rallies,
pickets, workshops and informational
sessions designed to garner support for
affirmative action and defend the poli-
cy against its opponents.
With the U.S. Supreme Court cases
behind it, the organization is now
focusing on a ballot initiative spear-
headed by Ward Connerly, a Universi-
ty of California regent and outspoken
opponent of using race in public edu-
cation, contracting and employment.

BAMN is waging a boycott against
Coors, calling the brewing company
one of Connerly's few known funding
sources.
The picketers, consisting of Detroit
middle and high school students, col-
lege students from across the country
and local BAMN supporters, chanted
vociferously.
Protesters proclaimed, "by any
means necessary, we say fight. Affir-
See BAMN, Page 7A

By Kristin Ostby
Daily Staff Reporter
After nearly a year of negotia-
tions, employees at Borders Books
& Music began a strike Saturday
that they say will last until store
management complies with their
demands.
Instead of going to work Saturday
morning, employees picketed at the
East Liberty Street storefront along
with members of United Food and
Commercial Workers Local 876
Union, members of the Ann Arbor
community and University students.
Picketing began at about 8:30 a.m.,
half an hour before the store's open-
ing. At almost any time on Saturday
and Sunday, about 50 to 100 pick-
eters walked in front of Borders.
Susan Fawcett, an Art and Design
junior, said she joined the picket
line because she supports the strike
and is upset with the low wages and
benefits the workers receive. "I
think it's really important, especially
in a university town where college
students are desperate. They're easy
to take advantage of."
Hal Brannan, an 18-year employ-

ee at the store, said Borders has
begun treating its employees unfair-
ly only within the last few years.
"The reason we unionized is
because the company has changed.
We accept change, but it isn't
change for the good. The focus has
shifted to shareholder value in the
stock market and away from
employees and customers," he said.
Picketers carried signs and chant-
ed, intending to prevent people
from entering the store. Many pass-
ing cars honked in support of the
union, and picketers cheered in
response. Security guards stood at
the entrance to the store as a pre-
caution.
Borders remained open Saturday
and Sunday despite the strike. "They
brought over district managers,
regional managers. They asked peo-
ple from other stores to come in to
work. They're probably overstaffed
today, which is a change because
we're usually understaffed," said
Borders employee Heidi Sherman.
But business was slow, she said.
"We've effectively shut the store
down."
See BORDERS, Page 3A


Come and get it

Students feel A2 does little to
respond to parking problems

City takes in more
from'parking fees than it
spends on system
By Adam Rosen
and Ryan Vicko
Daily Staff Reporters
The notorious parking situation in
Ann Arbor has led many students to
believe that some Ann Arbor officials
are at least complacently, if not deliber-
ately, taking advantage of them -
using obscure signs, last-minute no-
parking notices, a lack of structures and
a liberal issuance of expensive tickets.
According to the 2003-2004 city
budget, Ann Arbor is expected to take
in nearly $12 million from downtown
meter and parking structure revenues.
But the city is only expected to spend
$9.7 million on the system.
The city is expected to receive an
additional $3 million from tickets and
towing fees -not including what tow-
ing companies make - said Karen
Lancaster, the city's associate finance
director.
Added to this are the University's
revenues for tickets and meters on
campus, which Lancaster said are not
included in the city budget report
because the city allows the University
to keep the money it makes from
parking.
nA rfthe '0 1S millinn tha-t t i

Morehouse, deputy director of the
Downtown Development Authority.
The general fund is used to pay for city
services such as the fire and police
departments
"The city is definitely overzealous
when it comes to parking," said Rachel
Fisher, vice chair of the External Rela-
tions Committee of the Michigan Stu-
dent Assembly.
Fisher recognizes the city's need to
maintain revenues, but said that need
must be balanced with avoiding bur-
dening students at a time when they
are already coping with large debts for
tuition and living expenses.
LSA junior John Pargament, whose
previous landlord did not provide him
with parking, said his car was towed
because of an unclear sign, and that he
spent $170 that could have been avoid-
ed.
Pargament was forced to hunt for a
parking spot around town when sudden
construction shut off his street from
parking. He parked his car in a spot he
thought was legal, misinterpreting the
meaning of arrows pointing in the
direction that is banned, not the direc-
tion which is allowed.
Pargament said his car did not have
to be towed. He left his car in the spot
for two days, and he was given a ticket
on the first day, he said. But his car
was towed on the second day before he
ever saw the ticket. He said he would
hnu nntinpds the in etad mnAhie

"The city is definitely
overzealous when it
comes to parking.'
- Rachel Fisher
LSA representative,
Michigan Student Assembly
does not have parking where she lives.
She said she is forced to go through a
weekly ritual of roaming the streets
for an open space. "If you go far
enough, you will usually find some-
thing," she said.
Grewal said she has found a spot
that is usually open, but at times she
has gone as far as the University Hos-
pital area, although she lives at Tower
Plaza on East William and Thompson
streets.
She said she had the most trouble
during spring semester, when signs for
street maintenance took many students
by surprise by shutting off blocks from
parking with only a few days' notice.
Ann Arbor City Councilwoman
Heidi Herrell (D-3rd Ward) said the
problem is that the city is not able to
afford an adequate parking infrastruc-
ture for the demand that exists. She
said, "It's not cheap. ... It is a cost that
tha n.ter ri e no:fol4 -n -:xT;

FOREST CASEY/Daily
rs Melissa McElhinev and Boni Wen. Asian American

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