Tuesday, February 3, 2004 News 3 Heart drugs benefit bypass patients. NYC-based quintet the Walkmen mature on their latest LP ... Arts, Page 5. ill Jjfoti c atu:i r TOMORROW.- Opinion 4 Columnist Jess Piskor promotes radical soci- etal change. Sports 9 A breakdown of Jeff Tambellini's shot. One-hundred-thirteen years of editorilfreedom , www.michigmdaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No.88 ©2004 The Michigan Daily DECONSTRUCTING A PATRIOT Bush's budget plan receives mixed reviews By Robert Dean For the Daily Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle waged assaults on President Bush's fiscal policy yesterday, this time over the administration's Fiscal Year 2004-2005 budg- et request. It calls for 7-percent increased defense spending to support the war on terror. An additional 10-percent increase in homeland security would strengthen the nation's borders to prevent future attacks, Bush told Congress yesterday. The remainder of the budget would freeze all other spending by restricting increases below the expected rate of inflation. Budget allotments for higher education the economy is rebounding, a gamble admin- istration officials hope will eventually shrink the deficit. "I'm confident our budget addresses a very serious situation," Bush said at a Cabinet meeting. "And that is that we are at war and we had dealt with a recession. And our budget is able to address those significant factors in a way that reduces the deficit in half." But some Democrats and Republicans have said they are skeptical of the president's plan. "He is making a lot Republicans angry; however, I think he's making do with what he has right now," said LSA senior Steve MacGuidwin, president of the University College Republicans. MacGuidwin added that he did not think BRETT MOUNTAIN/Daily LSA Senior Irfan Shuttarl (left), member of the executive board of Muslim Student Association and LSA senior Salah Husseini, President of the Arab American Anti Discrimination Committee and Vice Chair of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, have changed their views on President Bush. Renewal ofPatrot Act may cost Bush Arab, Muslim vote have been expanded under the new budget. Bush requested that the maxi- mum amount for individual Federal Family Education Loans rises from $2,625 to $3,000, according to the White House website. Additionally, students would see increases over 2004 in the Teacher Loan Forgiveness program, an initiative Bush proposed in 2002 that pardons college loans for students entering the teaching profession. More than $170 million "(Bush) is making a lot of Republicans angry; however, I think he's making do with what he has right now." - Steve MacGuidwin President, University College Republicans Bush's fiscal liberalism would dienchant his Republican base. "It's kind of naive to think we wouldn't have as big a deficit as we do right now (under a differ- ent president)," he said. But LSA junior Court- ney Skiles, secretary of the College Democrats, said the ever-deepening defecit will likely cost Bush in the election. "The fact that he has spent so much in the past term will definitely harm By Farayha Arrine and Michael Kan Daily Staff Reporters As the election year begins, the Arab and Muslim communities on campus are gear- ing up to send President Bush a strong sig- nal. Many have reconsidered their support for him, in part because of the Patriot Act that Bush has asked Congress to reaffirm. In the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001 the Patriot Act was almost unanimously passed by a Congress still shaken by the al-Qaida terrorist attacks. Measures of the act allow for surveil- lance of suspected homes, tapping of phone lines and access to personal records to better protect against future terrorist attacks. Many Muslim and Arab students claim the Patriot Act comes at the cost of every- one's civil rights and particularly their own. Because the Sept. 11 attackers were of the Islamic faith, many Muslim students said they feel that U.S. officials have used the Patriot act to target Muslims. Last week's State of the Union address has only caused more frustration as Bush told Americans they must renew the Patriot act, alarming some Muslim student groups who were awaiting the expiration of certain parts of the act in 2005. LSA senior Irfan Shuttari, a Muslim stu- dent on campus, believes the continuation of the act will further endanger the rights of Muslims in America. "An action like the Patriot act is the extent we wanted to take (to protect America from terrorism), but ... hundreds of citizens have lost their rights. So even though we voted for him, it's not what we See PATRIOT ACT, Page 7 more is proposed to the program. Cuts are proposed in health care, educa- tion, transportation and veterans benefits. Costs for the war in Iraq were not included. The federal deficit, expected to reach a record high in 2004, has been a source of criticism for the administration. The Bush administration hopes to cut the deficit in half by 2008. Bush and his economic team maintain that as tax receipts recover from the recession in 2001 and 2002, the increased revenue will justify the president's current levels of spend- ing. Already, they say, future indicators such as "continued strength in housing starts" and "extraordinary productivity growth" suggest him," Skiles said. She added that Bush's defense spending constitutes "misallocated" expenditures, as millions of jobs have van- ished domestically while the government con- tinues to spend overseas. MacGuidwin countered that statement, stat- ing that the U.S. occupation of Iraq is now a necessity and thus a fixture of the budget. "The reality of the situation is, we're not going to pull out of Iraq now and it would be best to plan for it," he said. "The president clearly does not understand the economic, social and security challenges that our nation faces today," said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), a leading presidential con- See BUDGET, Page 7 Students meet to discuss, oppose SAPAC changes By Aymar Jean Daily Staff Reporter As Southern primary approaches, activist " stresses civil rights Responding to recently announced changes in the administration of sexual assault services, students and advo- cates met yesterday to voice opposition to the plan. Held in the chambers of the Michi- gan Student Assembly, the meeting - organized by the newly-formed Our Voices Count, "a coalition dedicated to preserving SAPAC's mission and serv- ices" - sought to educate students on the effects of the changes and enlist students in ways to oppose plans to reorganize the Sexual Assault Preven- tion and Awareness Center. SAPAC, along with Counseling and Psychological Services and the com- munity-based SAFE House, announced that it would change its counseling and crisis intervention serv- ices yesterday. University administrators said the changes will streamline its response to incidents involving sexual assault and domestic violence. No changes will take effect until this summer. As one major change, SAPAC's two counselors will be transferred to work full-time at CAPS - a move intended to lessen the burden of ongoing coun- seling and strengthen education and advocacy. But some students view the changes - allegedly made without student See SAPAC, Page 3 By Jameel Naqvi Daily Staff Reporter When the Democratic presidential candidates fought a fierce battle in Iowa and New Hampshire, one man was con- spicuously absent - the Rev. Al Sharp- ton. Sharpton skipped these early contests to focus his efforts on South Carolina, which holds its primary today along with four other states. While his com- petitors braved the subzero New Eng- land winter to campaign in the Granite State last week, Sharpton, a Baptist preacher from Brooklyn, N.Y., delivered sermons in South Carolina churches to mostly black congregations. Despite his efforts, Sharpton came in at 7 percent in r a Zogby Doll of South Carolina primary Before his presidential bid, Sharpton rose to prominence as an activist in New York City. Under the tutelage of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sharpton championed civil rights and protested police brutality. In 1999, he led a march across the Brooklyn Bridge after West African immigrant Amadou Diallo was shot to death by New York City police officers who mistook Diallo's wallet for a weapon. Following Sharpton's protests, the city moved the officers' trials from the Bronx upstate to Albany. "I think (Sharpton) brings a level of legitimacy to some of the issues that not only African Americans, but poor and working Americans have in South Car- olina...,issues such as job opportunities, certainly civil rights issues," James said. Sharpton has built his platform on BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daily Students gathered In the Michigan Student Assembly chambers yesterday to discuss changes to the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center. Business dean upsets student group by cancelling lecture for MLK symposium By Farayha Arrine Daily Staff Reporter With two weeks of the 17th annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium remaining, mem- bers of the Black Business Students Association say they are regretful that they were unable to sponsor an event to commemorate King. In the past, the BBSA has participated in the Eleven days before the event, Dolan informed the BBSA through e-mail that the event was can- celled. He suggested the BBSA commemorate the day through another activity, which he believed was a better celebration of King - business planning for the Heidelberg Project in downtown Detroit, which aims to revitalize com- munities through art. Dolan said he thought doing the event on a day "We were told that 'the dean's office would handle it.'" - Rodney Emerson Treasurer, Black Business Students Association "Do you celebrate Christmas in July? No, you