Tuesday November 11, 2003 @2003 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 49 = - ~i~ELf ~f'~ One-hundred-thirteen years ofeditorialfreedom F v 1 ii r TODAY: Rain with winds up to 18 mph dur- ng the morning and LOW: 46 cIoudyby afternoon. Tomorrow-, 57127 wwwmichigandailycom Man rob shop at By Emily Kraack Daily Staff Reporter S bagel Einstein Bros Bagels was the scene of a hold up at gunpoint Sunday night. The Ann Arbor News reported that a masked man held a gun to the store manager's head, forced the manager to walk to the back office and open the store safe. Ann Arbor Police Department Sgt. Angela Abrams said the hold up occurred while five employees were cleaning the store before closing. The News reported that the store manager, who later called in the incident, was forced to open the safe, at which point the gunman took the cash and escaped through the back door. Abrams said an undisclosed amount of money was taken from the store. Investigations have not yielded a suspect. Abrams said the robber did not fire any shots and nobody was injured in the hold up. The robber is described as a male wearing a black coat, black jeans, a black cap and a black mask that covered half of his face. ELIE BERGUMAN/Dail Pedestrians pass by Einstein's Bros Bagels on State Street yesterday. The store was robbed at gunpoint on Sunday while the employees closed up the shop. gunpoint He also carried an automatic handgun. AAPD has no suspects, though investigations are ongoing. "It's still kind of fresh," Abrams said. "I know they're hitting the pavement because of the implication of the gun." Einstein management declined to comment on the incident. This is the third local business held up since last spring. Michigan Book and Supply was robbed in April. Digital Ops on Liberty Street was also robbed over the summer. But other local business managers still say the area feels safe. Rachel Armstrong, manager at Steve and Barry's University Sportswear, said she feels safe work- ing on State Street. Armstrong, who graduated from the University two years ago, said she always felt safe as a student in Ann See HOLD UP, Page 7 GOP party support increases 0 M* in Mich. Number of Michiganders affiliated with Republican party grows by 9 percent By Andrew Kaplan Daily Staff Reporter Accident prompts petition for traffic light on Plymouth Road By Victoria Edwards Daily Staff Reporter As a result of the tragedy involving Norhananim Zainol and Teh Nanni Roshe- ma, two University students killed Sunday night, there has been discussion about peti- tioning for a streetlight on Plymouth Road, in front of the Islamic Center of Ann Arbor, said Ann Arbor Police Lt. Gregory O'Dell. "There were discussions today with sev- eral groups of people about the intersec- tion. It is certainly something being looked at, at this point," O'Dell added. Muslim Students Association President Omar Khalil said members of the Muslim community have already begun to meet with city officials about measures that must be taken to ensure that accidents like this are not repeated. "Members of the Muslim community met with the mayor pro-tem (Jean Carlberg) and some members of the City Council to dis- cuss short-term and long-term solutions for the intersection," Khalil said. One short-term solution that will be implemented is having police direct the traffic in front of the mosque during high traffic times. Such times would include 5 to 6:30 p.m. during Ramadan, as well as after Friday prayers. Besides police escorts to monitor the traffic, Khalil said local community mem- bers are trying to get lighted signs in front of the mosque to warn automobile drivers to slow down. He said they also plan on painting a cross walk in front of the mosque. "We are also trying to increase lighting in the area. From Detroit Edison we are getting attachments to put on light bulbs in the area that will double or triple the amount of lighting in the area," Khalil added. Khalil said the Muslim community is also working through more bureaucratic means to petition for the building of a stoplight. He added that although the pro- posal was brought up at the last minute, Ann Arbor residents are still pushing to get it on the agenda for the city meeting on Nov. 17. If approved, Khalil said that it would probably take six months for the city to construct the traffic light. Some good may come from the tragedies with the increased safety on Ply- mouth Road. Because friends of the vic- tims are still going through an especially rough time, the University's Counseling and Psychological Services program has been offering help to students in need, said Lisa Payton, director of Student Leadership and Academic Services. Yesterday from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Johnson room of the Lurie Engineering Center there was a gathering where the victims' friends could meet with CAPS counselors. See DEATHS, Page 7 An automobile turns Into the driveway of the Ann Arbor Islamic Center. Two female University students were killed in an accident on Plymouth Road after breaking fast Sunday evening. Is anybody home? 44r ~ I 4"aT a # I I - r- 4 6 1 6 ~~~~ ' $ I 4I Sa i £4 x r F 1 Y -T a a t t , JONATHON TRIEST/Daily Law School student Dan Davis, left, and Ann Arbor resident Matt Birch run on the steps of Michigan Stadium yesterday. New Yorker's cartoon editor lectures at 'U' By Aymar Jean Daily Staff Reporter Renowned for wit and sophistication, cartoons in The New Yorker have enticed readers for over 75 years. An afternoon of chuckles and guffaws ensued as the magazine's cartoon editor, Bob Mankoff, spoke to University psychology faculty, journalism fel- dating back to 1925. The weekly magazine has archived all of its cartoons, maintaining a collection of over 65,000 drawings. As cartoon editor, Mankoff is privy to these archives. On the art of humor, Mankoff discussed a number of skills and methods, such as "taking an idea to the extreme, but then egging us to see it another way." "That's a common mechanism in humor. But unless you have the lows and community members yesterday. Seeking to forge an academic relationship between the Universi- ty and the weekly publication, the Psy- chology Department invited Mankoff to give a series of five lectures on cartoons and the art and sci- ence of humor. "Right now, our faculty doesn't study humor. And I would like, if there is suffi- Bob Mankoff Lectures on Cartoon Humor Today: "The Process of Picking Cartoons"v Noon, 1360 East Hall * Tomorrow: "How One Judges What is Funny" 4 p.m., 4448 East Hall * Thursday: "Editing Humor" Noon, 1360 East Hall * Friday: "How to Create Cartoon Humor" 3:30 p.m., 4448 East Hall right type of head, peo- ple stop short of it. It's about looking at the ordinary and seeing that little part where you move it and make it extraordinary," he added. As an example, he presented a cartoon of businessmen seated around a table. The cap- tion read: "On the one hand, eliminating the middleman will result in lower costs, In nearly every presidential elec- tion, analysts have steadfastly labeled Michigan a "swing state" - meaning that Michigan voters do not always choose a Republican or a Democratic chief executive but vary their party affiliation between elec- tions. Based on the results of a recent survey,, more Michigan voters have aligned themselves with the Republican Party this year than dur- ing the last election season. Released by the Pew Research Cen- ter for the People and the Press - a Washington-based, independent insti- tute that polls public opinion of the press, politics and public policy - the survey finds that since Sept. 11, 2001, Republicans and Democrats have gained near-equal shares of the national voting populace. Thirty-one percent of persons polled now pledge Democratic allegiance, while 30 per- cent said they support the Republican Party. But in Michigan and five other swing states, Republican sympathizers now outnumber Democratic ones. Michigan Republican Party affiliation has increased 9 percent since 2000, overtaking Democratic Party affilia- tion by 3 percent. Pollsters at the center said they attributed the pro-Republican shift - both nationally and in swing states - to Bush administration foreign policy. A sharp spike in President Bush's popularity following Sept. 11, coupled with his efforts to bolster homeland security, account for the increase in Republican support. "The message here is that people felt very good about (Bush) for almost two years after 9/11 in swing states like Michigan," said Pew Center Director Andrew Kohut. "Secondly, Republicans are stronger than Democ- rats on security issues. ... In swing states it's particularly important - (Republicans) have gained ground because the president has been well regarded." Michigan Republicans expressed similar views. "Obviously, September 11 had a significant impact on this nation," said Michigan Republican Party spokesman Jeff Stormo. "And Repub- licans have shown to be strong on security." "The 2004 presidential election will be the result of Bush's and the Repub- licans' strong foreign policy," said LSA senior Steve MacGuidwin, presi- dent of the University of Michigan College. Republicans. "The survey reflects that Americans are truly satis- fied with Bush's job in holding the nation together in times of crisis and in the war on terrorism." cient faculty interest, to develop a center on the study of humor," Psychology Department Chair Rich Gonzalez said. For most of the presentation, Mankoff showed cartoons from The New Yorker's extensive history, increased sales and greater consumer satisfaction. On the other hand, we're the middlemen." This humor, recently published in The New York- er, is markedly different from the earliest cartoons See CARTOON, Page 7 Decision could alter state of graduate student employees By Tomislav Ladika Daily Staff Reporter While University of Michigan graduate stu- dent instructors have long enjoyed the right to unionize, student teachers at the University of Pennsylvania hold no such benefit. They receive lower wages and have to pay for insurance coverage designed for undergradu- ate students, Rackham student Cedric De Leon said. But an upcoming decision by the National Labor Relations Board, a federal agency that handles disputes between unions and private day, Chairman Robert Battista said a ruling may be announced by December or January in cases dealing with graduate student teach- ers at Columbia and Brown universities. Although the board already ruled in November 2000 that graduate student teach- ers can be considered employees, the latest case is unique because graduate students at Columbia and Brown are required to teach under their curriculum, Battista said. The schools "are saying they're just stu- dents, and not employees," he said. "We're going to have to come to grips with whether teaching assistants are employees or stu- "We're going to have to come to grips with whether teaching assistants are employees or students:' - Robert Battista Chairman, National Labor Relations Board participate in collective bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act. Battista said he could not elaborate on the details or main arguments in the cases, but he said several factual and legal issues challenge whether graduate students at the schools are required to teach. prior stance by deciding that student instruc- tors at New York University were both stu- dents and employees, he said. The decision was based on the fact that NYU students were receiving wages and ben- efits in exchange for providing services for their employer, Battista said. i