Weather

Wednesday
November 19, 2003
02003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 55

One-hurndred-thirteen years of editoriailfreedom

TODAY:
Rainy in the
morning,
becoming
partly
cloudy in thel
afternoon
with winds
at 14 mph.

LOw: 32
Tomorrow:
6.213

wwwmihigandailycom

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Mid-ye ar
tuition rise
unlikely,
'U' says
Rumors arise of a
possible 6-percent cut for


Candidates get

personal


state universities
By Andrew Kaplan
Daily Staff Reporter

0

Since first hearing about possible
state funding cuts to higher educa-
tion, the University has been waiting
for Gov. Jennifer Granholm to make
her move.
In the event of budget reductions, the
University will most likely be able to
avoid mid-year tuition hikes and finan-
cial aid adjustments, University spokes-
woman Julie Peterson said.
But she added, "I'm not going to pro-
pose never, because the budget situa-
tion is very difficult right now."
During a budget conference in Lans-
ing yesterday, Granholm, State Budget
Director Mary Lannoye and leaders of
the state Legislature deliberated meas-
ures to balance the budget. Although
lawmakers have refrained from com-
menting about the meeting, several
interest groups have geared up to
protest possible state funding cuts to
their programs.
In several publicly televised "budget
conversations," Granholm has said
higher education could receive more
funding cuts than nearly any other state
program - as much as $114 million.
Following the meeting yesterday,
unconfirmed sources cited proposed
cuts as high as 6 percent. But Senate
Minority Leader Bob Emerson (D-
Flint) said Granholm and legislators
have not agreed on specific funding
cuts to any program.
Responding to the unconfirmed
reports, Peterson said administrators are
preparing for possible cuts. But she
added that the University has yet to
devise a detailed roadmap for handling
funding cutbacks.
"It's still too soon for specifics,
because in the end we don't know what
the state's going to do," Peterson said.
"We don't have our head in the sand but
we don't know exactly what we'd do in
response" (to funding cuts).
Although Michigan colleges and uni-
versities saw 10-percent cuts to their
budgets during the past fiscal year,
Peterson said even a 6-percent cut
would pose serious problems to admin-
istrators trying to balance the Universi-
ty's budget.
A funding cut "threatens our quality
and our capacity to serve our students,"
she said.
The University cut its budget by $37
million last year to cope with the 10-
percent state funding reduction, but did
not raise tuition mid-year.
"Right now, I'm not aware of any
plans to increase tuition in the middle
of the year, and it would be a very
See BUDGET, Page 3

Turned of
students d
hop eful(s 0)
By Michael Kan
Daily Staff Reporter
For the past few weeks, whenever
Kinesiology sophomore Justin Laury :
walks through the Diag, he has to
strategize about how to pass through
without being approached by a candi-
date running for student government.
But when he is spotted, he just tries
to get away. "I just look the other
direction and keep walking," Laury
said. If necessary, he will even use the
most drastic measures to escape. "If I
see them coming, sometimes I'll pre-
tend I'm deaf."
Yet talking to students on the Diag is
one of the few avenues left for the can-
didates to campaign. Last semester,
the Michigan Student Assembly
passed a new regulation prohibiting
students from placing fliers in resi-
dence halls. Because of this, many stu-
dent candidates have adopted a more
personal, one-on-one campaign strate-
gy.
Students like Laury are not only
finding it difficult to get through the
Diag, but also finding the new cam-
paign strategies intrusive. LSA fresh-
man Beth Turk said passing though the
Diag has become annoying. "Some-
times the people (the candidates in the
Diag) will walk with you. They
assume that you have the time to hear
them," Turk said.
However, University Party candidate

l,

Paul Teske said the new MSA regula-
tion allows candidates to focus more
on students' needs. "It makes cam-
paigning more of a personal issue,
rather than bombarding them (stu-
dents) with a marketing strategy," said
Teske, an LSA sophomore.
Defend Affirmative Action Party
candidate and LSA junior Jessica Bra-
tus said she has campaigned by reach-
ing out to students on the Diag and in
residence halls because of the new reg-
ulations. But she does not agree with
them. "It sucks. I feel like it is much
harder to get your name out," she said.
MSA Rules and Elections Commit-
tee Chair Pierce Beckham cited several
reasons for the changes, including sav-
ing paper and cutting down campaign-
ing costs, as well as concerns raised by
the custodial staff.
Even with the new campaign strate-
gies, candidates have still been giving
out fliers and following many reluctant
students who do not have time to talk
with them.
Moreover, despite the new strategies
and the campaigning in this year's
elections, many University students
just don't feel like there's any point in
voting.
Turk said of the elections and the
fliers, "All I see are just names. I don't
see why I should vote for them. I don't
know any of their policies. So why
should I vote?"
See MSA, Page 3

y electi
DCMy

ons,
SA

DAVID TUMAN/Daily
ABOVE: Despite the rain, LSA sophomore Katie Krater promotes the Students First Party on the Diag yesterday.
BELOW RIGHT: LSA freshman Alexis Bates urges students to vote for the University Party. MSA polls are open until
tomorrow at midnight.

Repis urge end to stud

By Kristin Ostby
Daily Staff Reporter
Though they said it is higher than
at other schools, low voter turnout in
University student government elec-
tions is a disappointment to elected
representatives.
University of Michigan Engineer-
ing Council President Chitra Lax-
manan said students should vote
because student government can real-
ly affect them. "The students that are
on these boards and governments
really care and are trying to change
things, and if people knew that their
voice mattered and that they could
change things they might vote,"she
said.
Michigan Student Assembly Presi-
dent Angela Galardi said if students
understood the effectiveness of stu-
dent government, more of them
would vote. "Students that are voting

understand what MSA does for them
in terms of (accomplishments with
airBus and Entree Plus). The students
that don't know about that don't real-
ly see where MSA makes a differ-
ence in their lives," she said.
Student government elections are
underway today and tomorrow for
the Michigan Student Assembly,
UMEC, and Rackham and LSA Stu-
dent Governments. Students can vote
online today and tomorrow at
vote.www umich.edu.
Galardi said she estimates that 20
percent of the student body votes in
University government elections, in
comparison with approximately 5
percent at Michigan State University.
Still, she said, more students should
be voting.
"A lot of (student apathy) is
because people feel like the student
governments don't really accomplish
anything," Laxmanan added.


mnt apathy
MSA Vice President Monique
Perry said she believes that low voter
turnout for MSA in the fall is partly
due to the fact that the elections are
only for representative positions, not
for executive officer positions. As a
result, she said, students care less
about elections.
Perry added that due to cold
weather, students don't notice chalk-
ing and rush past campaigners in the
Diag.
"I know for a fact that a lot of stu-
dents are irritated with the amount of
spam e-mail they get, the amount of
flyering on campus, to the point that
they are turned away and they don't
want to vote almost in spite," Lax-
manan said.
Perry said when she ran last spring
that voter turnout was the second
highest in MSA history. She said this
was caused by a ban on flyering in
public buildings which forced candi-

dates to personally interact with stu-
dents.
MSA passed a resolution last Feb-
ruary that banned candidates from
posting flyers on all campus building
walls, with the exception of the resi-
dence halls.

"I think that when they stopped
(allowing flyering), it forced candi-
dates to actually go door-to-door
more. ... It is really important that
you have face-to-face interaction with
students... so they actually know
(how issues are) affecting them."

i

,

I

U.S. more religious

X1.Visiting Israelis learn
how to treat cancer

t

than other nations,
researchers find


By Aymar Jean
Daily Staff Reporter
Political scientists once believed
that modernization would diminish
the importance of religion. But the
United States, which is considered
the most modernized country in the
world, has not followed this trend,
University experts say.
For years, researchers have studied
the United States' religious fervor, a
peculiar blend of moral piety and
economic progress.
The University's World Values Sur-
vey, a division of the Institute for
Social Research, has released a study
confirming the United States' perva-
sive religious beliefs - or traditional
values, as political scientists say.
The study has broad implications
for political science research and
raises a number of sociological ques-

every week, compared to 14 percent
in Great Britain, 7 percent in Sweden
and 4 percent in Japan.
The study also reported that 58
percent of Americans look for pur-
pose and meaning in life. Twenty-five
percent of British adults and 26 per-
cent of the Japanese said the same.
Reasons for this phenomenon are
numerous. Political science Prof.
Ronald Inglehart, who directs the
World Values Survey, said the wide-
spread theories on secularization and
industrialization are flawed and that
the post-modern world actually sup-
ports religious views.
"The post-industrial world, the
world of the computer, in a way, is
more compatible with ideas, and, in a
sense, magic. You can tell that you
almost understand (technology), but
you don't really," Inglehart said.
But technology is not the only

By Kal Emeick
For the Daily
A fellowship program sponsored by
the University Oncology Department is
seeking to increase the number of well-
trained cancer specialists in Israel. With
only 15 radiation oncologists in the
entire country, the current situation is
alarming when compared to the 30 radi-
ation specialists at the University alone.
"The difference in both the amount
and quality of training of radiation
oncologists between Israel and the Unit-
ed States is enormous," Oncology
Department Administration Director
Marc Halman said. Oncologists in Israel
receive about half the duration of train-
ing, yet care for nearly four times as
many patients per year than doctors in
the United States.
Founded by former Oncology
Department Chair and current Med-
ical School Dean Allen Lichter, the
fellowship program has trained about
half of Israel's radiation specialists
since its inception in 1993. Inspired
by a six-month sabbatical to the coun-

ing two Israeli oncologists.
Amichay Meirovitz and Merav Akiva
Ben-David, the current Israeli fellows
working as residents under current
Oncology Department Chair Theodore
Lawrence, have had first-hand experi-
ence with the cancer situation
in Israel.
"The workload is so overwhelming,"
said Ben-David, referring to her position
at the Shiba Medical Center in Ramat-
Gan, Israel. "We have the equipment
and technology, but a shortage of prop-
erly trained oncologists, as well as clini-
cians and technical support staff, makes
things difficult."
The situation is equally frustrating for
Israeli patients seeking to undergo can-
cer treatments, Halman said.
"Besides having to face the disease
and possible side effects from therapy,
they also might be forced to seek care in
another country. Although Israel can
provide some radiation therapy, there are
not enough fully-trained specialists in
this field," he added.
As of today, the fellowship has trained
five of Israel's roughly dozen qualified

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