November 21, 2003
-2003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
,Vol. CXIII, No. 57

One-hundred-thirteen years ofeditoralfreedom

TODAY:
Skies will be
partly cloudy
with low w~ 53
humidity,4
and winds
from the
north. Tomorrow:
54/4
www.michigandaily.com

GSIs agree to

negotiate

W-

Graduate Employees
Organization decide to
avoid a labor strike
By Adhiraj Dutt
Daily Staff Reporter
Graduate student instructors voted not
to go on strike over a health-care-premi-
ums dispute with the University in a
closed-door meeting last night.
For more than an hour, members of
the Graduate Employees Organization
discussed whether or not to accept the
administration's response to their
demands and conducted a vote that
could have begun the strike process by
sending strike ballots to GSIs. Choosing
to send these ballots would have resulted
in GEO's 10th strike since 1975.
The GSIs decided against this course
of action during the meeting, which had
an optimistic feel, GEO President David

Dobbie said.
"We are happy that today the Univer-
sity offered to negotiate the difference of
opinion and go to the bargaining table in
good faith on Monday," Dobbie said.
"What we've asked all along is to sit
down and talk about this."
University spokeswoman Julie Peter-
son said the University looks forward to
the Monday meeting.
"We are hopeful that we can make
progress and resolve the grievance in a
way that is in the best interest of both
parties and in accordance with the con-
tract," she added.
Though Dobbie would not disclose
the number of votes for and against the
strike, he said the GSIs "strongly
endorsed" meeting with the University
rather than going on strike-though the
possibility of a strike remains.
"We're optimistic that we will have a
solution within the next few weeks," he
added. "Hopefully we will have a cele-

ith 'U'
bration next (week)"
This evening's meeting was preceded
by a rally yesterday afternoon outside
the Fleming Administration Building.
Members of the All Campus Labor
Council and GEO met to unite against
the University's proposed increases in
health care premiums.
Donning red shirts with "M
Labor" emblazoned on the front,
members picketed with signs saying
"Be fair, save our health care" and
"Premiums make us sick."
Disconcerted by the proposed
health care changes, GSIs contemplat-
ed whether to stop teaching classes or
to withhold grades at the end of the
semester.
In the event of a strike, one option
some GSIs were considering would be
to tell students their grades or to give
grades to students graduating in Decem-
ber, GEO member Leela Wood said at
See GEO, Page 5A

SETH LOWERt/LDily
GEO members Adam McCormack and Matt Ides participate In a rally in front of the Fleming Administration Building yesterday. In a
meeting last night, the GSIs agreed to negotiate with the University on health care payments, avoiding a potential strike.

Bombing attack on British
consulate inTurkey kills 27

KEEP IT OFF THE FIELD?

On a rivalry's centenna,
'U' urgesfans to stay safe

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) - Suspected al-Qaida
suicide bombers blew up trucks packed with explo-
sives at the British consulate and a London-based
bank yesterday, killing at least 27 people and
wounding nearly 450. The twin attacks coincided
with President Bush's state visit to Britain.
The blasts, just minutes apart, were the worst ter-
rorist bombings in this Muslim nation's history, and
marked the second attacks in Turkey to be blamed
on al-Qaida this week. On Saturday, bombers
struck two Istanbul synagogues, killing 23 people.
Turkey's security forces were put on highest
alert, and the army briefly deployed soldiers in the
streets. Arab and other world leaders were swift to
condemn the bombings in Turkey, NATO's only
Muslim member and a close ally of the United
States and Israel.
British Consul-General Roger Short and his per-
sonal assistant, Lisa Hallworth, were among the
dead.
British Foreign Minister Jack Straw, who rushed
to Istanbul, said he was aware of 13 deaths at the
consulate, including one other Briton. Istanbul Gov.
Muammer Guler put the total at 16.
"Once again we are reminded of the evil these
terrorists pose to people everywhere and to our way
of life,' Prime Minister Tony Blair said in London,

with President Bush by his side. "There must be no
holding back, no compromise, no hesitation in con-
fronting this menace."
Bush said the bombing showed "utter contempt
for innocent life."
"The terrorists hope to intimidate, they hope to
demoralize. They are not going to succeed," the
president said. U.S. and Turkish officials said the
bombings bore the marks of an al-Qaida operation,
with near-simultaneous timing and the use of fertil-
izer-based explosives.
The first pickup truck exploded outside the Turk-
ish headquarters of HSBC, the world's second-
largest bank, shearing off the white facade of the
18-story building and exposing the gray concrete
beneath. Windows were blown out and scraps of
white ceiling material dangled, caught on torn elec-
trical wires swaying in the breeze.
About 10 minutes later, a second truck crashed
through the gate of the British consulate five miles
away in Beyoglu, a historic district popular with
tourists. The vehicle looked like a food delivery
truck with the explosives in large metal food con-
tainers, the Anatolia news agency reported.
The blast destroyed annexes to the main build-
ing and tore apart a wall surrounding the con-
sulate's garden.

By Emily Kraack
Daily Staff Reporter
Students all over campus are readying
their face paint and Blue-Out shirts for this
Saturday's football game against Ohio State.
But some preparations are causing growing
concern among University administrators.
One of the biggest worries is an e-mail
sent out Wednesday urging students to
rush the field in the event of a Michigan
win. Department of Public Safety spokes-
woman Diane Brown called the e-mail
"concerning." She said one specific line
could create a dangerous situation. The
line reads, "Especially if you're not in the
first few rows, just start heading down,
because that'll force people in front of you
to do so and then the momentum can't be
stopped ..."
"That's not true Brown said. "That has
the potential for creating a crush situation at
the bottom. The wall (at the bottom) doesn't
move." Brown said that if people start mov-
ing down from the top of the stadium, they
could trap people at the bottom of the
stands next to the brick wall.
Brown said the University is nervous that
a situation similar to what happened at the
University of Wisconsin at Madison in
October 1993 could happen in the Big

House if fans rush the field.
Steve Malchow, associate athletic direc-
tor at the University of Wisconsin, said in
that game against Michigan, thousands of
fans rushed the field. "It ended up becom-
"I think it would be
fun to rush the field. I
guess there might be a
problem with the goal
posts.... It can be hard
to control.'
- Jeff Collins
LSA junior
ing a waterfall of human beings," he said.
"A number of people got crushed against
some guardrails." He said 69 people were
critically injured, though no one died.
"It was an exceptionally scary situation
and very dangerous," he said. "It was a
scary thing. People at the top did not know
what was happening below. They kept lean-
ing forward, crushing those below."
Students rushed the field after the Ohio

FILE PHOTO
Fans rush the field at Michigan Stadium when
Michigan beat Ohio State In 1997, clinching a
Big Ten Championship and a Rose Bowl Berth.
State game in 1997, the last time Michigan
went to the Rose Bowl.
LSA junior Jeff Collins said he thought
students should be allowed to rush the field.
"I think it would be fun to rush the field. I
guess there might be a problem with the
goal posts," he said. "It can be hard to con-
trol."
LSA junior Rondell Collier said he did
not have an opinion on rushing the field,
though he said it could get dangerous. Col-
lier added that Michigan fans could be
louder. "The students are all right, (but) it's
the alumni. For 100,000, it sometimes
sounds like less than 50,000," he said.
Brown said the Big House also poses
See FOOTBALL, Page 7A

Students First banned from
SRes HallsRgtsge-mail threat

By Kristin Ostby
and Karen Schwartz
Daily Staff Reporters
As final votes in student government elec-
tions were cast late last night, the Students
First party was faced with more than just the
anticipation of the evening's results.
According to a Department of Public Safety
report filed yesterday, a male LSA Student
Government candidate received a death threat
in an e-mail that also made derogatory
remarks about the candidate's sexual orienta-
tion. The e-mail was a response to spam mail
sent from someone posing as the candidate,
the report said.
Students First Chair Jesse Levine confirmed
that the student was a Students First candi-
date. He declined to comment on the situation
aid to provide the name of the candidate who
received the threat because of safety concerns.
The party is also facing complaints filed
with University Housing alleging that mem-
bers violated campaign and solicitation policy

Wednesday night, leading to their removal
from the residence halls. Elected officials or
candidates for student office are permitted to
go door-to-door in the residence halls between
10 a.m. and 8 p.m. during the campaign peri-
od, said Mary Hummel, associate director of
University Housing. Three violations occurred
yesterday, Hummel said.
Candidates not permitted to be in the halls
if they violate the rules, Hummel said.
Engineering senior Elliott Wells-Reid,
Michigan Students Assembly treasurer and a
member of Students First, served as the vice
chair for the MSA Rules and Elections Com-
mittee last semester and said he has seen first-
hand the violations alleged against different
parties.
He recalled multiple semesters in which dif-
ferent groups were ejected from the residence
halls, which is not an uncommon occurrence,
he said.
"The way the residence halls do it is sort of
arbitrary because there's no due process," he
See MSA, Page 7A


Employment, GDP to see big gains
over next two years, 'U' economists say


Promising economic
forecasts presented at
University conference
By Tomislav Ladika
Daily Staff Reporter
More than five million new jobs will be cre-
ated in the next two years and unemployment
will soon fall to its lowest rate since before the
recession, according to projections released yes-
terday by University economists.
Speaking at the University's 51st annual Eco-
nomic Outlook Conference, Saul Hymans,
director of the Research Seminar in Quantita-

tive Economics, said 2.1 million jobs will be
created nationwide next year and 3.1 million
jobs will be created in 2005.
According to forecasts produced by the
Research Seminar, the unemployment rate will
fall from the current rate of 6.1 percent to 5.4
percent next year, Hymans said. By the end of
2005, the unemployment rate should drop down
to 4.8 percent, he said.
With the turnaround in the job market, "the
summer of '04 should feel much better than the
summer of '03" for college graduates seeking
employment, Hymans said.
Gross domestic product, which is the total
value of all goods and services produced in the
United States, is projected to grow by 5.1 per-

cent in 2004 and 3.9 percent in 2005, said
Hymans, an economics professor at the Univer-
sity
The forecasts indicate that economic growth
will level off.from the 7.2 percent-increase in
GDP achieved in the third quarter of this year,
which was the highest quarterly increase since
1984. But even a 3.9 percent growth rate is
"still healthy," Hymans said.
The announcements kicked off a full day of
lectures and presentations by various econo-
mists from the University, other colleges and
the private sector. The conference, which is
being held at the Michigan Theater, will contin-
ue today starting at 9:30 a.m. with a presenta-
See ECONOMY, Page 7A

Butt out

Lawmakers criticize textbook-pricing policies

By MichaelGurovitsch
Daily Staff Reporter

Congress may soon join the fight
against what some are calling exorbitant
college textbook prices. Legislation pro-
posed in the House of Representatives
yesterday calls for an investigation into
the pricing practices of textbook pub-
lishers.
Cameron Johnson, a spokesman for
Rep. David Wu (D-Ore.), who intro-
duced the legislation, said he finds it
troubling that identical textbooks can
cost up to twice as much in the Unites

son said. "Even with shipping costs,
often times (imported) books are cheap-
er than they are at the local college
bookstore"
The bill would require the General
Accounting Office - a non-partisan
investigative wing used by the legisla-
tive branch of the government - to
examine the cause of the price discrep-
ancy and report back to Congress.
Higher American prices have led
some students to purchase textbooks
abroad, particularly from Amazon.com
in the United Kingdom, which in many
instances charge less for the same book.
In nrditin rmm aniCmn as.mamn

Johnson said.
For example, "Multivariable Calcu-
lus," a hardcover textbook used at th
University, costs $144.50 at Michigan
Book and Supply. Amazon.com in the
United States sells the book for slightly
over $100, including shipping.
But if students are willing to shop
across the Atlantic Ocean, they can buy
the exact same book on Amazon.com in
the United Kingdom for around $70,
including shipping.
Brooks/Cole, the publisher of "Multi-
variable Calculus," declined to comment
when contacted for an interview by The
Michigan nariv

control over prices, except for the
markup which is similar for most stores.
"We're evaluating what, if anything,
we can do," Smith said. "It's certainly of
concern to us. We want the best possible
prices for students."
"If we get a better discount, our
markup is the same (percentage)," Smith
added.
Smith said he attributes the
cheaper prices overseas to econom-
ic forces.
"They're are selling books in a
(European) market that can't sup-
port the prices (charged) here. They
do it because they can." Smith said.

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