Tuesday December 2, 2003 @2003 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 62 TODAY: One-hundred-thirteen years ofeditorialfreedom Mostly sunny with winds from the north at 11 miles per hour. HI: 36 LOW: 16 Tomorrow: 36119 wwwrmichigandaily. comn III OPINION== AirBus overflows during holiday With more than 900 participants, MSA declares airBus a big hit By Amy Kim For the Daily The surge of students headed home for the holidays and then back to school left the Michigan Student Assembly's airBus shuttle more pop- ular than ever. More than 900 stu- dents used the two-year old service, which provides cheap rides to and from the airport. "We had more people wanting to ride than we had room," MSA Presi- dent Angela Galardi said. The large turnout of students using the service caused many who had expected to be able to walk on without reservations to be seated in the aisles. "I didn't make reservations so when I got there, there weren't any more seats," said Phillip Chen, a Business School junior. "I think they should take into account for the number of people that hadn't bought tickets earlier," he added. Despite the inconveniences of not pre-registering, many who had paid earlier experienced reliable times "The timing of the buses is down to a science. They're never late," Galardi said. Pre-registered students who used this service were generally pleased with their experiences. "I reserved my seats two weeks ago so there were no problems in regard to seating," LSA senior Rob Goodspeed said. "Each time I ride it, there are more improvements." LSA senior Neil Greenberg, air- Bus reservation manager, said "Every reserved seat was sold out. And we provided rides to about 917 people." Last year, the main problem that MSA encountered was accepting only two forms of payment - cash and check. Students who felt inse- cure about using cash to buy airBus tickets were satisfied this year to find payments being charged to stu- dent accounts. "This is only the second year doing this but we're working on See AIRBUS, Page 3 Do re me Application process lags after revisions By Jeremy Berkowitz Daily Staff Reporter Some high school seniors are wait- ing longer than usual this year to receive letters from the University telling them whether they were accepted or rejected. Undergraduate Admissions Direc- tor Ted Spencer said yesterday that the University has sent 1,400 admittance let- ters as opposed to 2,200 at the same time last year. Spencer said the delays were due to revamped F'1STINATWOC PART SERIES ON THE.ADM19SSONS POGRESS ' ' 1..-. rulings that upheld the use of race as a factor in admissions. But the court knocked down the undergraduate point system, which automatically gave 20 points to all underrepresent- ed minorities. The new application includes an increased number of essays and requires several reads by counselors before its admittance or rejection is determined. Spencer said the Office of Under- graduate Admissions still aims to notify students of their admissions status six to eight weeks after receiv- ing their applications. He added that modifications to the admissions office and schedule could occur in the winter to accommodate applica-. tions, if necessary. "I don't have any indication that we're going to be significantly behind anywhere we were last year," Spencer said. Marilyn Brookwood, school coun- selor and psychologist at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, N.Y., said she originally expected the postponement. "It's the first year - they're right out of the gate," Brookwood said, adding that the University needs to implement the new system carefully. "People are going to be watching their process very slowly." But West Bloomfield High School senior Michael Eber sent his applica- tion in Sept. 30, and he has not heard from the University yet. "I had two friends who applied exactly 24 days after I did, and they found out this past week," Eber said. But he added that he is not wor- ried, in spite of his concerns about the length of time he has waited and the worry that his top academic qual- ifications could hurt him in the end. "I am a 4.0 student, and I have pretty decent test scores, so I hope something weird doesn't happen with that," he said, noting that students with special situations or that have unique talents are admitted over those with higher grade point aver- ages and test scores. At the other extreme, Rochester Hills High School senior Andy Put- man said he sent his application in around the end of October and got accepted to the College of Engineer- See ADMISSIONS, Page 3 admissions policies and a new appli- cation with more essays. The figures he provided were collected last week. "We started 30 days behind," Spencer said, adding that staff train- ing and acclimation to a new process contributed to the lapses. The University revised its applica- tion process in August to comply with the June U.S. Supreme Court ELISE BERGMAN/Daily Music school freshman Elizabeth Engle leads the a cappella group Compulsive Lyres in their rendition of Michelle Branch's "All You Wanted" at practice last night in the Burton Bell Tower. Council opts for more anaysis of traffic at deadly intersection By Mona Rafeeq Daily Staff Reporter In response to concerns raised by the Ann Arbor Muslim community, Mayor John Hieft- je announced yesterday that the city adminis- tration has decided to further analyze and study the traffic at the intersection of Ply- mouth and Beale roads, the site where two students were killed in November. The decision was met with disapproval by many Muslim community leaders, who have been lobbying for a traffic light at the inter- section near the Islamic Center since 1988. They recently intensified their efforts after Engineering students Teh Nannie Roshema Roslan and Norhananim Zainol were killed at the intersection last month while they were, crossing the road. "There was an expectation that there would be an action item on our agenda tonight addressing the issue of a traffic light at the Plymouth Road intersection," Hieftje said at the beginning of last night's City Council meeting. He added that the city administration feels the need to do some more traffic studies to assess the site's situation accurately. Associate City Administrator Ronald Olson was also present at the meeting and explained that there were technical difficulties with the study that was performed Nov. 17, which prompted a decision to conduct more studies. "We found, the better part of the 10 days, that the counters did not work because of the cold weather," Olson said. He added that the cars traveling on Ply- mouth and Beale had to be counted using a machine. "We need to get professional consultations to make recommendations to pedestrians and students about how to deal with the traffic," Olson said. He said the contract with the consulting firm will be finalized at the end of this week and that results of the report can be expected to come out at the end of January. The city administration staff will release its recommendations by Feb. 17. "I think what the mayor has proposed is "I think what the mayor has proposed is inadequate," - Nazih Hassan President, Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor inadequate," said Nazih Hassan, president of the Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor, reacting to Hieftje's announcement about another analysis. "A study with an open-ended scope (like this one) will not lead to anything tangible," Hassan said. He estimated that nearly 200 people attended last night's meeting and when he asked those in the room who sup- ported the traffic light to stand, about 30 people stood up. In response to the community's concerns, Hieftje said that the city is very concerned with the issue. "We are very, very sincere when addressing See TRAFFIC, Page 3 New nursing course offers perspectives on physical disabilities By Jameel Naqvi Daily Staff Writer "I still can't believe I'm in a wheel- chair." Todd Hammond, speaker for Think First, which aims to prevent spinal cord injuries among middle and high school students, was paralyzed in important for students because they could find themselves in the same position. "It's as easy as making some wrong decisions," he said. Heumann said the rates of paralysis among young males are high because this demographic is more prone to risk-taking. But he added, "This Loretta Napoleons discusses her book "Modern Jlhad: The New Economy of Terror" last night in Angell Hail. COntJ]C1St of ink etween terrorst money U.S. economy By Cianna Freeman Daily Staff Reporter In a lecture in Angell Hall last night, economist Loretta Napoleoni took a break from the traditional discussion of the religious aspects of terrorism and instead explored the economics behind the terrorist networks. Napoleoni defined a terrorist as anyone who uses vio- lence to achieve political means or goals. "I believe that terrorism is not a war of religion, but rather it is a clash between two economic systems," Napoleoni said. "On one side, the emerging middle class of the Muslim world and those Muslims who want to return to their orig- inal purity, and on the other side is the oligarchy of Mus- lim countries which are backed by the West," she added. Her interest in the economic aspect of terrorism began when she conducted an exclusive interview with the Red Brigades, a terrorist group in Italy that was known for not talking to the media. The Red Brigade was a Marxist group that wanted to separate Italy from the Western alliance. She found that the group was not immersed in politics but rather engrossed in economics. Napoleoni is the author of "Modern Jihad: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks." In the book, she discusses the "new economy of terror" as a web based on terror, crime and corruption that was created by the interaction between armed and criminal organizations. This network, she writes, is an international economic system linked to both legitimate and illegiti- mate sectors of traditional economies. One of Napoleoni's most notable discoveries was that the terrorist organization generated a $1.5 trillion eco- nomic system, which is twice the GDP of the United Kingdom. One-third of this amount is generated by legal business- es, and the money is reportedly recycled primarily in the United States and Europe. Napoleoni asserted that one of the major problems is 1989. Hammond, along with Daniel Heumann, founder of Heumannly Cap able , described his daily struggles with paralysis to a class of Nursing and LSA students yes- terday in the Mod- ern Languages Building. The class, Nurs- "Better research is being done in other countries. They don't have the religious fervor that keeps us in our wheelchairs:' - Daniel Heumann founder of Heumannly Capable injury does not discriminate." During his talk, Heumann criticized the Bush adminis- tration for scal- ing back stem cell research, which may potentially be used to repair damaged tis- BRENDAN ULJONNELL/Daily Local poet and Community High School teacher Ellen Stone performs at the Day With(out) Art event in conjunction with World AIDS Day at the University Museum of Art yesterday. " " Activists, ealth workers mrark ID ayin Kenya ing 214, marks the first time in the University's history that there is a class being taught on disability, said LSA junior Jeff Kominsky. Kominsky and Laura Zang, a nurse at the University Hospital, created the one-credit class to show students that disabled people can succeed in life, Kominsky said. The class covers all aspects of disability, including med- ical and legal viewpoints. The sur- vival panel was the culmination of a sues. "Better research is being done in other countries. They don't have the religious fervor that keeps us in our wheelchairs. They feel that human suffering needs to be alleviated now," he said. "Stem cells are not the magic bul- let for spinal cord injuries," he added. "They're only one piece of the puz- zle." Heumann described other promis- ing therapies, like the injection of NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - Tens of thousands of activists and health workers rallied worldwide yesterday to mark World AIDS Day, and officials hailed new initiatives, new funding and a new pill to fight the disease that has infected 40 million people and kills more than 8,000 every day. The World Health Organization and UNAIDS promised cheaper drugs, simpler treatment regi- mens and more money as part of a campaign launched in Nairobi to provide 3 million HIV- infected people with the latest drugs available by the end of 2005 in a $5.5 billion effort. mote international agreements to streamline treat- ment programs. "In two short decades, HIV/AIDS has become the premier disease of mass destruction," said Jack Chow, the assistant director-general of WHO. "The death odometer is spinning at 8,000 lives a day and accelerating." Medecins Sans Frontieres, an aid agency that has led efforts to simplify HIV treatment, wel- comed the announcement but said funding will be critical. "The treatment has to be free; if the treatment r