Weather Thursday November 13, 2003 ©2003 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 51 One-hundred-thirteen years ofeditorialfreedom T ODAY: Flurries and wind during the day and mostly clear but windy at night. LOWAY.,24 Tomorrovwrr wwwmichigandally.com Chef's cookbook University leaders protest budget cuts By Jeremy Berkowitz and Carmen Johnson Daily Staff Reporters LANSING - Michigan might need a new investment banker, according to higher education sta- tistics provided by Wayne State University President Irvin Reid. At yesterday's inaugural address of the State of the Public Universi- ties - a gathering of the 15 state university presidents - Reid said that every dollar of investment in state universities generates a $26 output for Michigan. At the same time, Reid noted that the legislature cut 10 percent of state university funding last year. "No other public investment real- izes such a high rate of return," Reid said. "A serious and substantial invest- ment in higher education is critical to the state's prosperity both now and in the future." Reid addressed the 15 university presidents at the Historical Museum in Lansing. With a decline in state support becoming a more serious issue every year, Reid discussed the importance of the colleges, and pro- posed ideas to fight funding gaps. He said the state benefits from the accomplishments of faculty and students and the cultural environ- ments created at colleges. He added that the universities create numer- ous jobs for the state. "Our universities deliver econom- ic value by creating jobs and nur- turing Michigan's most important asset, a highly skilled workforce," Reid said, adding that it is getting harder to attract graduates to stay in the state after graduation. "To the state of Michigan, it means more than $35 billion annually in person- al earned income." He referred to yesterday's Detroit News article listing Detroit as one of the least desirable places for recent college graduates to live and noting complications with prevent- ing graduates from leaving Michi- gan. "We are in a war for the state's economic future," Reid said. Reid also noted that it is harder for students to maintain accessibili- ty to universities because declining state support always means increas- ing tuition. Appropriations for state universi- ties declined from 75 percent in 1975 to less than 50 percent this year. See UNIVERSITIES, Page 3A Chef Emeril Lagasse greets a young fan during a signing for his latest book, "From Emeril's Kitchens: Favorite Recipes from Emeril's Restaurants," at the Arborland Borders yesterday. BLASTING BUSH Krugman dicusses Bush administration, new book. Study claims online job search sites may violate privacy laws By Cianna Freeman For the Daily Students and faculty crowded the hall- ways and auditorium of the School of Education yesterday to listen to New York Times columnist Paul Krugman dis- cuss his views on the Bush administra- tion. In addition to writing for the Times, Slate and Fortune magazines, Krugman is also an economics professor at Prince- ton University. Krugman, a major critic of President Bush, attracted much of his audience with his analysis of the follies of govern- ment spending. "I accused the administration of exploiting September 11 for the political gain of wrapping itself in the flag while it sought weakened environment regula- tion, tax cuts for corporations and the rich," Krugman said. He added that one of the main goals of the Bush administration is to eliminate the role of the federal government in the social arena through a method referred to as "starving the beast," which is per- formed by cutting taxes and getting rid of government programs. "I'm a conservative and these guys are radicals," Krugman said. Krugman added that one of the main reasons that Americans are unaware of the radical nature of the Bush adminis- tration is the media. "The media is supposed to be objec- tive but it seems like they (media) are afraid to take a stand. If Bush said world is flat, then the headlines would say, 'Shape of the world: Views differ,"' Krugman said. He added that the Times has given him an outlet to speak to a mainstream audi- ence and he holds no remorse for criti- cizing the Bush administration. Krugman said he was not afraid of being persecuted for his outspokenness toward the Bush administration, joking that he could always find work as college TREVOR CAMPBELL/Daily New York Times columnist Paul Krugman talks about the Bush administration during a lecture yesterday, professor in England. Laurie White, a member of the Ann Arbor Area Committee for Peace, said Krugman is one of the nation's chief pro- gressive spokesmen and that he presents a different viewpoint on Bush than the mainstream media. "College students are a vital compo- See KRUGMAN, Page 3A By Ashley Dinges Daily Staff Reporter Students and job seekers who post their resumes on Internet databases may want to think twice before they do it again, according to a study released Tuesday. The study, conducted by the World Privacy Forum, states that professional job search web- sites are not the only ones violating privacy laws - even some internship and scholarship web- sites may be breaking the rules in their collection of personal information. The study raises questions regarding possible privacy violations - such as distribution of information to third parties - and specifically cites websites USAJOBS.gov, FastWeb.com and Eliyon.com. Pam Dixon, principle investigator in the study, originally worked for the Privacy Foundation of the University of Denver but left to create her own organization, the World Privacy Forum. The forum was launched Tuesday with the release of the study, which commenced in 2001. "I posted 25 resumes online, and I found that they were being shared. I would receive e-mails from sites thanking me for the submission of my resume, when I hadn't submitted it in the first place," Dixon said. One of the main concerns of the study is whether these resume services violate Title VII of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes it unlawful for an employer to offer employment or fire an employee based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. But sites such as the scholarship search engine FastWeb.com ask students questions about their sexual orientation and whether they are HIV pos- itive. These questions fall into the category of Equal Employment Opportunity information, which is covered in Title VII. Because sites such as FastWeb do not directly deal with employers, they technically do not fall under the jurisdiction of Title VII. Yet according to the study, if students opt for it, the services will forward their information to potential employers. The study also raises questions because FastWeb is a division of Monster.com Inc., an employment service. See PRIVACY, Page 3A Schools encourage legral music downloads By Evan McGarvey Daily Staff Reporter Suicide truck bomber attacks Italian coalition forces stationed in Iraq NASIRIYAH, Iraq (AP) - A suicide bomber blew up a truck packed with explosives at an Italian paramilitary base yesterday, killing at least 26 peo- ple. The United States struck at the Iraqi insurgency hours later, destroying a warehouse in Baghdad and chasing attackers who were seen firing mortars. The Nasiriyah attack was the deadliest against an American ally since the occupation began and appeared to send a message that international organizations are not safe anywhere in Iraq. It came on the same day the chief U.S. administrator for Iraq went to the White House to put forth proposals on transferring more authority to the Iraqis. Col. Gianfranco Scalas said 18 Italians were killed: 122 n l Carabinieri paramilitary r26 people v police, four soldiers, a civil- the deadlies ian working at the base and a documentary filmmaker. A fOn-Alfefl( spokesman for the U.S.-led i coalition said at least eight since the b( Iraqis also died. The bomber the occupat whose nationality was not known - also died. The blast wounded 79 people, 20 of them Ital- ians, hospital sources and Italian officials said. Italians were stunned by their nation's single worst military loss since World War II and its first in the Iraq campaign. At Rome's tomb of the unknown soldier, the green-white-and-red flag rippled at half-staff, and parliament held a minute of silence. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi pledged that Italy's mission in Iraq would not be derailed. Opposition leaders who opposed the deployment b to notwar Iran called on the government to with- F st ca eg lC There were conflicting accounts of the attack, which took place about 10:40 a.m. at a three- story building used by the Carabinieri's multina- tional specialist unit in Nasiriyah, 180 miles southeast of Baghdad. Witnesses said the decoy car ran a roadblock in front of a square where the Italian barracks was located. Guards opened fire but as the vehicle sped away, the fuel tanker approached from the opposite direction and rammed into the gate of the building before exploding. Italian Defense Minister Antonio Martino said the truck, followed by an armored car, approached the compound at ere killed in high speed. Gunmen inside one of the vehicles opened attack on fire at Italian troops guarding the entrance, he said. The 111 COanlitiOn guards returned fire, but the )inning of vehicle plowed through the i i f gate, and then exploded, he >n. added. It was the 13th vehicle bombing in Iraq since Aug. 7, when a car exploded at the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad, killing at least 19 people. Yesterday's blast from the estimated 650 pounds of explosives col- lapsed all three stories of the building, gouged a 6- foot-deep crater in front of it, and set fire to parked cars. Secondary explosions from stored ammuni- tion shook the area. The scorched, twisted remains of military jeeps littered the parking lot, and bulldozers cleared rubble. Chunks of concrete and wiring hung from partly destroyed walls. "This is terrorism, oure and simple," Scalas said. LAUHA SHLETER/Daily Rackham student Fatima Ashraf signs up yesterday to help out with the annual Ramadan Fast-a-thon. The event is sponsored by the Muslim Students Association and is intended for non-Muslim students. " 0 Non-Muslims fa4nst to raise donations and awarUeness With recent crackdowns on the ille- gal downloading of copyrighted music, college students who still download have been living in fear of loss of Inter- net access, loss of their computers or worse - loss in court after being sued by the Recording Industry Association of America. Most students, especially those who regularly access music online, are beginning to grasp the new dan- gers of downloading. "I think it's a big deal, I understand some groups can get pretty annoyed with people who download music," LSA freshman Chris Devulapalli said. Last week, Pennsylvania State Uni- versity negotiated a deal with the newly relaunched Napster. The deal grants all Penn State students unlimited access to Napster's music files at only a $160 - charge, to be taken from each student's technology fee. The Penn State deal adds to an already tumultuous period in the file sharing debate. The Massachusetts Insti- tute of Technology announced this week that a student-designed music sharing service would be suspended, as reported in The Chronicle of Higher Education. By creating a web-based system to allow MIT community members to pick music and play it through their By Adam Rosen Daily Staff Reporter For non-Muslim students who have ever won- dered what its like to fast all day in observance of Ramadan, the Muslim Students Association is offering a unique opportunity today. MSA is sponsoring an all-day fasting event for non-Muslims with the goal of assisting a local char- ity in combating hunger as well as raising aware- ness of the Islamic faith during the holy month of Ramadan. Dubbed Fast-a-thon, the event, which has attract- ed between 200 to 300 non-Muslim students, pro- hibits participants from eating, drinking all beverages - even water - or smoking anytime The student group is holding a free "break fast" meal open to all students, regardless of whether or not they fasted, at 5:15 p.m. in West Quad to com- memorate the event. Aisha Jukaku, MSA administrative affairs chair, defined fasting in Ramadan - one of the five pil- lars of Islam - as a time for Muslims to increase their spirituality through hunger and to learn to be submissive to God. "Fasting as well as charity are the basis of our religion; one of the reasons that we fast is to gain self-control over other aspects of our lives," Jukaku said. MSA community affairs chair and event organiz- er Lubna Grewal said she feels it will give non- Muslims a unique chance to see what its like "to be