LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 21, 2003 - 3A CAMPUS Downtown A2 to celebrate holiday season An old-fashioned celebration will take place today in downtown Ann Arbor. Marking the beginning of the holiday season, Christmas carols will be sung and the downtown tree lights will be turned on. The lighting event, Light Up for Life, will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on Main Street and is sponsored by the Main Street Area Association. Non-perishable foods and wrapped toys will be accepted for the C.S. Motts Children's Hospital. Refresh- ments will be served. Activist-author to discuss gender issues in prisons Activist and author Angela Davis will discuss gender issues in America's prison system today in a lecture titled, "How Gender Structures the Prison Industrial Complex." The event, 7:30 p.m. in Rackham Auditorium, is part of the 7th Annual Vivian Shaw Lecture and is sponsored by the Department of Women's Studies. Museum exhibit to display human fetishes Today the Michigan Media Union Video Studio will showcase the works of Guillermo Gomez-Pena, depicting various human fetishes, in an event titled "Mexotica: A Living Museum of Fetish-ized Others." The event will be from 7 to 9:30 p.m. and -is sponsored by the School of Art and Design. Play on interracial relationships to be shown "Interracial," a play exploring interracial relationships among young people, is showing Monday at the Mendelssohn Theater in the Michigan League. The event begins at 7 p.m. and is produced by the The- atre Company. Taiwanese poet to give lecture, slideshow In an event titled "The Empty Pavilion: Poetry and Painting: A Semiotic Approach," Lo Ch'ing will lecture and present a slideshow of his works and experiences. Ch'ing has had his works displayed at vari- ous museums around the world, including the British Museum, the Ashmolean Museum and the Royal Ontario Museum. The event is spon- sored by the Center for Chinese Studies and the Asian languages and cultures department and will be ° Monday at 4 p.m. at 1636 School of Social Work. Computer science and engineering building to open University President Mary Sue Coleman, Jerry Levin, American Household Inc. chief executive offi- cer, and Kevin O'Connor, co-founder ,of DoubleClick Inc., will attend the groundbreaking of the Computer Sci- ence and Engineering Building on North campus. The event is today at 4:30 p.m. Award-winning Texas professor to give lecture University of Texas architecture Prof. Michael Benedikt will lecture on the architectural effect of doors and lighting. Benedikt is a winner of the Amoco Foundation Teaching Award, the Chancellor's Council Teaching Award. The event will be at the University's Art and Architecture Auditorium, 2000 Bonisteel Blvd., beginning at 6 p.m. and sponsored by the College of Architecture and Urban Planning. Poet, novelist to give reading at Business School Poet and novelist Richard Katrovas will read his poetry Monday at Hale Auditorium in the Business School. : :Katrovas also teaches English in Prague and New Orleans. The event, 'which will begin at 5 p.m., is spon- U.S. ambassador to Greece to speak at graduation By Carmen Johnson Daily Staff Reporter When nearly 15,000 students graduating in December file into Crisler Arena for their com- mencement ceremony, they can expect to hear a few words from the U.S. ambassador to Greece. University President Mary Sue Coleman announced Thomas Miller as the commencement speaker at yesterday's meeting of the University Board of Regents. Miller, who received his bachelor of arts in polit- ical science from the University in 1969, remem- bers what it was like to sit at the ceremony. "This is not going to be a major speech on for- eign policy. I remember being a student, I just wanted to celebrate with my family and friends after the ceremony;' he said. Still, Miller has a lot of experiences to share after serving as a State Department diplomat for over 30 years. Miller has served as ambassador to Greece for two years. From 1999 to 2001, he was ambassador to Bosnia-Herzegovina. He won the U.S. Depart- ment of State's Equal Opportunity award and served as special coordinator for Cyprus in 1997. Miller, who also received two master's degrees and a doctoral degree from the University, said the skills he gained as a student have been fundamental in his role as ambassador. Miller and his wife Bonnie - who received a masters degree in social work from the University - were married as undergraduates. They stay in touch with the University and anticipate this weekend's football game even though they are out of the country, said Miller. "We owe the institution a great deal, but it's all about the people. There are some professors that I have formed lifelong relations with," added Miller. Miller will receive an honorary degree, as will philanthropist Ann Lurie, who has donated funds to the Business School and College of Engineering. University of Chicago Prof. Leo Goldman, who has done work in sociology research methods, will also receive an honorary degree at the ceremony. "I am pleased that we will be hearing from one of the distinguished graduates at commencement and that we will be able to honor him and two other great friends of the University," Coleman said. Students travel to Florida to protest NAFTA's expansion The Shinning By Adam Rosen Daily Staff Reporter In a protest against the further global- ization of the world economy, 16 Uni- versity students traveled to Miami Wednesday to assert their opposition to the expansion of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The new agreement, known as the Free Trade Area of the Americas, is cur- rently being negotiated by representa- tives from all 34 countries in the Western Hemisphere except for Cuba, and will drastically enlarge the current free-trade zone established by NAFTA - which includes the United States Canada and Mexico - under former President Bill Clinton. University groups Students Organiz- ing for Labor and Economic Equality and Anti-War Action! traveled by plane or braved a 24-hour car ride for the opportunity to voice their opposition to the adoption of the FTAA. SOLE member Becky Tarlau's deter- mination led her to sell her Michigan- Ohio State football ticket for $140 to pay for airfare to Miami. Tarlau, an LSA sophomore, said it is very important for FTAA and NAFTA opponents to attend the conference and represent the people who will be affected by the measures. "Labor organizations, environmental organizations, all of the people that will be affected (by the FTAA) are exclud- ed," Tarlau said. "The people who it impacts are not invited to attend." Economics and public policy Prof. Alan Deardoff, who specializes in sever- al classes on international trade and eco- nomics, said that the proposed FTAA agreement does not constitute complete State steps 1 By Ashley Dinges Daily Staff Reporter free-trade - rather, it is a "preferential" free trade agreement at the expense of countries in the rest of the world. But, referring to the new free-trade zone of the Western Hemisphere, Deardoff argued the old economic theory of com- parative advantage usually holds true in agreements between countries like the FTAA. Deardoff explained that compar- ative advantage occurs "when countries that engage in free trade get stuff cheap- er because they can buy where it can be produced the cheapest - increasing the size of the economic pie" He added that a natural consequence of moving from a trade-barrier economy to one without any barriers is displace- ment and job loss. "Anyone who competes with imports will lose out," he said. But, "most peo- ple in the U.S. aren't farmers anymore - it's a painful process, but in the long run the country is better off." Tarlau said SOLE feels NAFTA has already proved a failure, and that expan- sion to the FTAA will only result in making even greater the gap between poor countries and rich countries. "What happens is that every year, 100,000 Mexican farmers are pushed off their land, because it is cheaper for Mex- ico to buy American corn than to buy Mexican corn, " Tarlau said. RC senior Moira Birss said SOLE is not concerned only with labor outside of the U.S., and has been working with organized labor such as steelworker's unions to further their cause. "(Free trade agreements) undermine labor laws we have in the U.S.;' she said. Tarlau said that aside from closing manufacturing plants in the U.S. and moving them to other countries that offer cheaper labor, under NAFTA, cor- u seatbelt e "(Free trade agree- ments) undermine labor laws we have in the U.S:' - Moira Birss RC senior porations also have the right to sue local governments that they feel blocked their ability to make a profit. "In California, there was a really bad chemical leak and the Canadian compa- ny who was responsible sued California because they felt the state was impeding their ability to make a profit," Tarlau said. "NAFTA allows corporations to have a lot of power." But, SOLE and its allies have found protesting difficult, in light of a $9 mil- lion appropriation to the city of Miami to beef up its security and police forces. Security has been high priority for cities hosting international trade talks since riots broke out in Seattle during the World Trade Organization talks in 1999. "Florida just passed a law stating that if you are walking with more than a group of seven, you are walking in a 'parade,' and if you are walking in a 'parade' without a permit, you will be arrested," Tarlau said. In addition, there is a fence five miles in perimeter sur- rounding the site of the meeting. Birss and Tarlau said their ultimate goal is raise awareness of the problems that are caused by free-trade agreements between rich and poor countries. "I think it is possible for there to be (world- wide) regulations that would help the poor and not just the rich," Tarlau said. nforcement Overall, University students seem to prefer the use of seatbelts. "I wear mine almost all of the time," said LSA sopho- more Craig Salveta. "It's just out of habit - I almost feel more comfortable with it on." Engineering sophomore Scott Moore shares the same view. "I wear a seatbelt for safety. It's there, so I might as well wear it," Moore said. The law enforcement agencies focus on different violations at different points in the year. For example, a similar pro- gram is enforced for drunken driving close to New Year's Eve. FOREST CASEY/Daily Marty Crandall, keyboard player for the band The Shins, waves his arms during a Monday performance at Detroit's Majestic Theatre. Flattery will get you everything including a cushy a rich bride, and lots of trouble! tf job, 3s o S .*.+ 4 0'