LOCAL/STATE

The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 20, 2003 - 3A

CRIME
Beggar cited for
trespassing near
residence hall
A homeless beggar was found on the
south side of South Quad Residence
hall asking for money on Saturday.
The Department of Public Safety unit
said he is a repeat offender and gave
the subject a warning for trespassing.
'$100 computer
memory card
stolen in a flash
A computer "flash" card, used to to
upgrade memory on a computer hard
drive was stolen from Mott's Children
'Hospital Monday. The card was valued
at $100. DPS said there are no current
suspects in the crime.
North Campus hit
by triple-banner
burglary
Three banners were stolen from
the Lurie Engineering Center over
"'the weekend.
The banners were valued at $300.
DPS said there are no suspects for the
''theft and was reported on Monday.
Wallet stolen from
purse, DPS has no
current suspects
A wallet was stolen from a purse
that was left unattended in a room
on 716 Forrest St. on Monday. There
tare no suspects for the crime.
football tickets
taken from
unlocked room
Two football tickets to the Michigan-
Ohio State game, each valued at the
student ticket price of $20, were stolen
from an unlocked room and desk in
Mary Markley Residence Hall.
S-, The case is still under investigation.
DPS said there are no current suspects
in the theft.
Subject punches
out Angell Hall
bulletin board
DPS said a caller reported that a
University student punched out a bul-
letin board out of frustration at Angell
Hall on Tuesday
 osPS said that the damage was esti-
mated at $20 and that a report was
filed.
Three automobiles
collide in front of
Yost Ice Arena
DPS said that a breaking car col-
lided with another car in front of
Yost Ice Arena.
The accident led to another rear-
end collision that resulted in a three-
,4r traffic accident on Tuesday. No
4 injuries were reported.
ubject arrested
on warrant, later
released

A subject was arrested for an out-
standing warrant at the Kresge Bus
Plaza Monday.
The subject was then released pend-
Ing warrant authorization.
items stolen while
subject played on
basketball court
DPS said that a caller reported a
red jacket valued at $80, wallet val-
ued at $50, M-card valued at $20
and credit card valued at $1 had
been stolen at the Central Campus
..Recreation Building while the sub-
ject was playing basketball on Tues-
day at 7:30 p.m.
{The items were stolen while left
unattended in the main gymnasium.
Caller reports CD
* player stolen from
her parked car
DPS said that a caller reported
her compact disc player had been
taken from her vehicle on Tuesday
at the parking structure on Church
Street.
The theft was thought to occur
between the times of 10:45 p.m. on
OMonday and 12:40 a.m. on Tuesday.
*PS said they have no suspects in

Choosing fast food in North
Campus sparks MSA debate


By Kstin Ostby
Daily Staff Reporter

The Michigan Student Assembly was swamped with con-
stituents debating a proposed resolution to place a Taco Bell
restaurant in Pierpont Commons. At its meeting Tuesday night,
the assembly voted to postpone voting on the resolution until
the second week in January in light of information presented
by opposition.
"The heart of the opposition to this is that there is a nation-
wide boycott against Taco Bell, and it's recently been kicked
off 17 campuses including Notre Dame, the University of
Pennsylvania, Duke and many others ... due to the veritable
slave labor practices they subcontract," said Rosie Golden-
sohn, an LSA representative on MSA.
Taco Bell subcontracts Six-L Packing Co., a company that
Goldensohn said pays tomato-picking migrant workers in
Southern Florida only 40 cents per barrel - a figure that has
not changed in more than two decades.
Goldensohn, a sophomore, said United Students Against
Sweatshops is the group responsible for removing Taco
Bell - in its "Boot the Bell" campaign - from college
campuses.
Goldensohn headed the opposition to the resolution, which
was backed by members of Students Organizing for Labor and
Economic Equality.
Bobby Counihan, MSA External Relations Committee
chair, said Taco Bell told a different side of the story.
"I contacted Taco Bell about the issue and they sent me their
official statement. ... They deny the extreme labor conditions
that the boycott is surrounding," said Counihan, who spon-
sored the resolution.
Counihan, an Engineering senior, proposed that the assem-
bly postpone voting on the resolution so that the University's
Purchasing Ethics and Policies Taskforce could debate the pros
and cons of bringing a Taco Bell franchise to campus. The new
Taco Bell would replace McDonald's, which did not renew its
contract this year.
The taskforce is not yet formed but is expected to be in
place by the end of the fall term. The University is creating this
taskforce to make recommendations regarding its purchases.
Counihan said that he decided to present the resolution
Tuesday although he was aware of the strong opposition to it.
"I'm doing what students asked me to do during the last elec-
tion," added Counihan, the University Party chair. He said that
everyone he has spoken to has responded positively about
the placement of a Taco Bell in Pierpont Commons.
Meanwhile, the University of Michigan Engineering Coun-
cil ballot for student government elections today contains a
question asking students what type of food they want at Pier-
pont Commons. The ballot question asks students if they
would prefer Mexican, Chinese, subs or burgers at Pierpont
Commons. UMEC President Chitra Laxmanan said she was
unaware that MSA was trying to pass a proposal to put in a
Taco Bell at Pierpont Commons.
"I guess I just don't see why they think, one, that would

"I contacted Taco Bell.... They
deny the extreme labor conditions
that the boycott is surrounding:'
- Bobby Counihan
MSA External Relations Committee chair
carry any weight with the administration, and two, why they
think that's what students want;' she said.
"Pierpont does have its own board that has student represen-
tatives and they met in the last month and kind of decided
what categories of food would be best to have in the area
where McDonald's is," Laxmanan added.
Counihan said MSA President Angela Galardi is on the
search committee for Pierpont Commons. "All the resolution
does is it tells (Galardi) to present the resolution to the com-
mittee and has her lobby on behalf of that for Taco Bell," he
added. Laxmanan added that Pierpont conducted a survey last
semester of food preferences, and the most popular options
were Mexican or burgers. The question on the UMEC ballot is
to ensure that students' wants are being satisfied, as the majori-
ty of students on North Campus are engineers.
Pierpont will seek vendors that satisfy the wishes of stu-
dents, she added. But, "They're still in the process of making
their proposals to the vendors."
"At this point, the general feeling throughout UMEC is that
Mexican is going to be an overwhelming choice," said Couni-
han, an Engineering senior.
He added that he was unsure what the assembly would do if
the resolution passes in January and if UMEC students vote
for a different food choice in the election. But he said that he
plans to poll students himself to find out if they do indeed
want a Taco Bell at Pierpont Commons.
This resolution was the second time in recent weeks that
MSA has fostered debate over issues that have a political
scope that extends beyond the University. A resolution to sup-
port an employee strike at the Borders Books & Music on Lib-
erty Street was voted down two weeks ago.
"Basically there are those representatives who feel that
political issues have no place in MSA, and my opinion ... is
that if it's an issue that matters to students, then it should mat-
ter to MSA," said Matt Hollerbach, co-chair of MSA's Peace
and Justice Commission.
Hollerbach, an LSA junior, spoke during constituents' time
Tuesday night to express his anger with what he said was dis-
respectful way some MSA representatives treated constituents
supporting the Borders strike. Hollerbach, a former staff mem-
ber of The Michigan Daily, said he felt their opinions were
marginalized from the beginning.
But he added that he feels the atmosphere was different in
discussing the Taco Bell resolution. "I think the fact that it was
tabled illustrates that the constituency was heard at that meet-
'ing. I think that the representatives became aware of a lot of
issues that they weren't before and made an educated decision,
and I was happy with that," Hollerbach said.

LAURA SHLECTER/Daily
The Men's Glee Club performs on the steps of the Harlan Hatcher
Graduate Library yesterday to advertise their concert Saturday.

MATRIX
Continued from Page 1A
"We're talking about days as
opposed to seconds. If you have a
kidnapping or homicide, your initial
investigation efforts are paramount
to the successful conclusion of the
case," Halibozek said.
But the ACLU said MATRIX
officials need to be more forthcom-
ing about the database. "The pro-
gram has significant implications
and it needs to be (discussed) pub-
licly with public debate," said Jay
Stanley, communications director
for the technology and liberty pro-
gram at the ACLU.
"It increased the power of the
government and power of authori-
ties compared to the power of indi-
viduals. That's one of the reasons
why this kind of thing needs to be
taken seriously," Stanley added.
The database is not the first gov-
ernment attempt to create a person-
al information database of
Americans. Total Information
Awareness was started by the
Department of Defense, but was

scrapped after Congress cut its
funding.
"The MATRIX is TIA in another
disguise," Stanley said. "It is
receiving millions of dollars from
the Justice Department and the
State Department."
The MATRIX, created by Seisint
Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla., and moni-
tored by officials in the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement,
originally included 13 states. But
after hearing about the costs of par-
ticipation and the scope of data col-
lection, some states backed away.
Alabama Public Safety Director
Mike Coppage said he was impressed
with the database idea after seeing a
"fantastic" presentation from
MATRIX officials in Florida, but
could not afford the $1.4 million it
would cost to participate.
"Quite frankly, we just didn't
have the money. ... The state of
Alabama is in a budget crunch right
now," Coppage said. "We did have
some concerns ... we wanted to
make sure it was secure. But we
never got into those issues because
of the money."

Corrections:
. University Health Service Director Robert Winfield said that influenza vaccination is strongly recommended for
individuals at high risk of complications from the flu, including those with diabetes. In addition, Krista Hopson is a UHS
spokeswoman. The was incorrectly on page three of yesterday's Daily.

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