Tuesday
November 18, 2003
02003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol.. CXIII, No. 54

One-hundred-thirteen years ofeditoralfreedom

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By Kristin Ostby
Daily Staff Reporter
The recent appointment of 10 stu-
dents to the University's judicial board
for student governments prompted
questions about the Michigan Student
Assembly's procedural practices -
and whether they violated the body's
constitution.
MSA discovered Friday that there
was no longer a functional Central
Student Judiciary. Because the CSJ is
needed to validate this week's election
results, the assembly exercised powers
authorized under its emergency
statute to appoint 10 new justices at
its steering committee meeting Sun-
day night.
But Matt Nolan, MSA president

during the 2001-02 school year, said
the way the justices were appointed
violated the MSA constitution. "MSA
basically just nominated and con-
firmed their own set of justices, which
is completely in the face of the consti-
tution," he said.
"Interviews are (supposed to be)
conducted by a panel of two justices,
two members of MSA and one stu-
dent-at-large," added Nolan, a Law
School student.
MSA Student General Counsel
Jason Mironov said MSA followed the
constitution indirectly when making
the appointments, but added that it fol-
lowed constitutional guidelines as best
as it could considering the proximity
of the upcoming elections. "I decided
to make an emergency call to make

Ann Arbor resident Elaine Rumman displays a picture of her mother who was struck last year on the same comer as the two Univerit
students. She spoke in favor of installing a stoplight at the Plymouth Road intersection at last night's Ann Arbor City Council meeting.
Council debates merits of
traffic light at fatal crossing


By Mona Rafeeq
Daily Staff Reporter
The installation of a traffic light at the scene of an
accident last Sunday's that killed two University stu-
dents would cost the city $100,000.
But costs weren't the subject of last night's City
Council meeting, where council members and Mayor
John Hieftje listened to Ann Arbor residents debate the
merits of installing the traffic light.
Last Sunday, Engineering students Teh Nannie
Roshema Roslan and Norhananim Zainol attended a
Ramadan iftar, or meal for breaking the fast, at the
Islamic Center of Ann Arbor.
Officials at the Ann Arbor Police Department said
Roslan and Zainol were possibly walking back to their
dorm on North Campus and were crossing the center
lane of the five-lane road, when an oncoming truck hit

them. The two women died after arriving at the Univer-
sity Hospital.
The mosque and an Islamic school are located near
the Plymouth intersection.
The traffic incident has prompted discussions
between Ann Arbor Muslim leaders and city officials.
The two groups held a meeting last Monday and then a
follow-up meeting last Thursday.
According to Kristine Abouzahr, spokeswoman for
the Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor,
leaders from the mosque have been trying to convince
city officials to put in a traffic light at the junction
since 1988. The Islamic Center was built in 1985.
"It hurts me deeply that the political capital that got
us here had to be this tragic accident," she said.
Abouzahr, who used to teach at the Michigan Islamic
Academy, said that she and another teacher took their
See COUNCIL, Page 7

Photo Illustration by JONATHON TRIEST/Daily
According to a study of Duke University students and their drinking habits, .
students overestimate the amount of alcohol In shots, beers and mixed drinks.
Students' zknorance
t b
leds to 0 n71 177 king


After first week of picketing,
SBorders stnke at standstill

By Adlra Dutt
Daily Staff Reporter
Exactly 10 days after Borders Books
and Music employees began picketing
the company, corporate executives and
union members have yet to set up nego-
tiations.
A handful of Borders employees and
community members continued to pick-
et outside the store on East Liberty
Street yesterday afternoon, handing out
flyers to passersby and deterring some
potential customers. After a series of 10
unsuccessful meetings to negotiate
working conditions, employees began
picketing Nov. 8 in an effort to have
their demands met. Since then, no nego-
tiations have been held.
While the picketers were successful at
dissuading some customers from enter-
ing Borders, many people continued

into the store as normal, past the three
security guards instead of the usual one.
"Today, we're kind of low," LSA
freshman and Students Organizing for
Labor and Economic Equality member
Ashley Aidenbaum said about the
turnout on the picket line. "We are usu-
ally out here all day. In the morning, it's
mostly employees but most of them
have to go home to their families at
night so its mostly students out here at
night creating a real raucous.
"Last Friday, we had 70 to 80 kids."
Borders Inc. spokeswoman Anne
Roman said that company officials had
planned to attend the last negotiation
session that was scheduled for Oct. 31,
but was canceled by the union.
"We fully participated in all negotia-
tion sessions in good faith. We remain
far apart on some issues," Roman said.
"We are working currently, right now, to

"We fully participated
in all negotiation
sessions in good faith.
We remain far apart
on some issues:'
- Anne Roman
spokeswoman, Borders Inc.
set a date for another session," she said.
Seventeen of the 43 union members
are on strike, but not all 17 are picketing,
Roman said. A number of community
members are also picketing, which has
given a skewed impression of the num-
ber of people on strike, she added.
Employees at the Ann Arbor Borders
formed their union after a 51-4 vote last
See STRIKE, Page 7

By Evan McGarvey
Daily Staff Reporter
Students that drink at parties
might be getting more bang for their
cup. By pouring more alcohol into
larger-size cups, students may be
downing more booze than they real-
ize, according to a recent study.
The study, published in Novem-
ber's issue of Alcoholism: Clinical
and Experimental Research, focused
on 106 Duke University students and
their drinking habits.
The students all overestimated the
amount of alcohol contained in what
they believed to be one shot, one
serving of beer and one mixed drink.
University of Michigan LSA
sophomore Jackie Gamache said the
results are not surprising.
"It's not like people are walking
around with a shot glass, measuring
how much alcohol is going in each
drink," Gamache said.
Binge drinking, defined as the
consumption of five or more drinks

by men and four or more by women,
plays into the new study as well.
With more alcohol unintentionally
being poured into cups, students
may be binge drinking unknowingly.
The effects of binge drinking,
both acute and chronic, are well doc-
umented. The potential hazards
include liver damage, tissue damage
and a greater potential for sexual
assault. According to the National
Institute on Alcohol and Alcoholism,
binge drinking is responsible for
1,400 student deaths per year.
The University has seen its share
of binge drinking-related deaths in
recent years.
The most highly publicized was
the death of international student
Byung-Soo Kim in 2000. Kim died
of alcohol poisoning after drinking
shots on his 21st birthday at a stu-
dent-run party.
Unlike campus parties, local bars
and taverns claim to carefully meas-
ure the amount of alcohol that goes
See DRINKS, Page 7

Inside: What Students First
and the University Party candi-
dates plan for election. Page 3.
bipartisan appointments to CSJ," he
added.
Mironov said that because there
was no existing CSJ, MSA was
unable to have the required two jus-
tices on the panel. Mironov, who ran
for MSA with Students First, said he
worked together with Bobby Couni-
han, University Party chair, and with
LSA senior Jackie Bray, the student
at large, to fill the other required
panel positions.
"We have a very polar assembly and
if anyone disagreed with (the way in
which we appointed justices), they
See ELECTION, Page 7
GEO, 'U
argue over
contract
language
* GSIs to vote Thursday
on strike over health care
changes
By Jeremy Berkowitz
Daily Staff Reporter
The Graduate Employees Organi-
zation may vote to strike on Thurs-
day over contractual interpretation
disputes with the University.
Graduate Student Instructors
remain upset at recent University-
proposed health care changes,
which could potentially increase
health care premiums. Currently,
the University pays more than 90
percent of all premiums, but new
recommendations, which are pend-
ing approval from the Board of
Regents next month, could lower
that number to an average 85 per-
cent of all premiums. University
health care costs more than doubled
between 1995 and 2003.
GEO President David Dobbie
claims that the University's pro-
posed changes violate the GSIs'
contract. According to state law, the
University cannot change benefits
without reverting to negotiation.
"State labor law designates health
benefits as a 'mandatory subject of
bargaining' - meaning employers
cannot change workers' benefits
without reopening formal negotia-
tions," Dobbie said in a written
statement issued last week. Dobbie
could not be reached for further
comment today.
But the University claims that the
proposed changes are legal as long
as GSIs are notified 60 days before
they take effect.
James Hilton, associate provost
for academic affairs, said he
respects the difference in language
interpretation between both sides,
but that GEO needs to handle the
situation properly. He noted that
GEO is in the middle of appealing
to the Michigan Employment Rela-
tions Commission.
"What we have here is a disagree-
ment about what the obligations
are," Hilton said. "I really don't
understand why they're not just
waiting for the appeals process." He
added that GEO's current contract
forbids the union from following

through on job action threats.
Dobbie said the University would
only save $120,000 with the new
health care system.
"This is a drop in the bucket for the
University, whose health system made
$22.5 million last year, and the Uni-
versity spent over $2 million remodel-
ing the president's mansion over the
past year," Dobbie said.
He added that he hoped the Uni-
versity could take a national lead in
fighting health care costs across the
country, much like it did with affir-
mative action policies.
Hilton acknowledged that health
care is a national problem but added
that the University is trying to solve


Cell phone providers balk at allowing
customers to switch services freely

Precious bodily fluid

By Ashley Dinges
Daily Staff Reporter
Beginning next Monday, cellular users will
be able to enjoy the freedom of keeping their
phone number when switching service
providers.
The ruling, which was released last week
by the Federal Communications Commission,
will also allow some customers to switch
from a landline carrier to a wireless carrier, or
vice versa, depending on the service provider.
Because the ruling also affects landline
services, landline companies have filed law-
suits to delay its progress.
The new ruling covers cities in the 100
largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas of the
country, including Puerto Rico. The MSAs,
measured by the 2000 Census, rank Ann
Arbor as No. 93, as well as Detroit, which
was No. 6. Other ranked areas in Michigan
include Grand Rapids and Flint.
"After numerous delays, consumers are on
the verae of eniovinQ the significant new abil-

Michael Copps said in a written statement.
"This gives consumers much sought-after
flexibility and it provides further competitive
stimulus to telephone industry competition."
To keep customers from switching service
providers with this new freedom, companies
may begin to offer better deals and new serv-
ice plan packages in order to make their serv-
ices more appealing.
"We're ready to go on November 24,"
Sprint PCS spokesman Dave DeVries said.

"We're excited now for those customers who
have been married to their old numbers and
now have the flexibility to the provider of
their choice."
Yesterday, Sprint launched a new service
called Ready Link, a two-way radio capability
similar to the walky-talky service offered by
Nextel. But the company said that the release
of new technologies has nothing to do with
the ruling.
"By and large, the end of the calendar year
is the busiest time of the year because of gift-
giving. It's more coincidental than anything,"
DeVries said.
The ruling "is good. I probably won't
switch, but I don't have a landline and if I did
switch, this is my primary contact number. It's
a pain to keep switching numbers," said LSA
senior Amy Abramson, a Verizon Wireless
customer.
For others, the ruling will create freedom to
get out of a plan that they are unhappy with.
Engineering sophomore Tim Hannon said he
plans on changing services from AT&T Wire-

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