LNpathrsr Tuesday January 6, 2004 02004 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXlll, No. 70 One-hundred-thirteen years ofeditoralfreedom TODAY: Flurries and breezy, with winds from the west at 23 miles per hour. S17 LOW: 10 Tomorrow: 2117 wwwmichigandailycom ------ ---- ---------- B Administrators trim expenses to meet budget Blue Sad sacks: So. Cal. lands hard on Navarre loses Rose Bowl By Andrew Kaplan Daily Staff Reporter Facing a leaner budget than during the 2003 fall term, the University has begun cutting its expenditures across the board. Although administrators have not yet convened to determine spending reduc- tions, several personnel said they have already planned to trim costs by elimi- nating vacant faculty positions, cancel- ing a few courses this term - mainly seminars - delaying certain projects and infrastructure upgrades and locking up buildings a little earlier than last year. The Cos But mainly, the budget cuts University admi, will translate into a "notice- departments to n able reduction after state fundn in activity that Last month, th isn't scheduled ed 5 percent of it classes" being the University. canceled, Provost Paul Provost Paul Co Courant said. all academic units Some adminis- their spending. trators even said they had Cost-saving mea planned for include eliminating funding reci- positions, suspenc sions. ri- research/maintena The rbusiness travel. sions, ensuing from a 5-per- cent, $16.4-million state funding reduction last month, come on the heels of a previous round of reduc- tions when the state pared about $37 million from the University's budget, over a few different phases of cuts in the last fiscal year. Those previous measures - which included laying off faculty, increasing class sizes and cutting the Division of Student Affairs by $700,000, among, other moves - were permanent excises from the University's budget, known as "base cuts." By contrast, the current spending :4 iist red B5 ie s is f ur to asu g vI ding iac reductions are one-time cuts. When Gov. Jennifer Granholm plans the next state budget this spring, the Uni- versity may be able to restore some of the rollbacks for the 2004 fall term. Although the University must, in effect, give back 5 percent of its fund- ing this term, expenditure reductions are not necessarily everlasting. Nonetheless, some personnel said they anticipate an ongoing state fis- cal dilemma to generate a wave of permanent base cuts after the most recent round of funding recisions. If Granholm and the state Legis- of Cuts lature choose to withhold 5 ratos instnUct percent of higher educa- duce spending tion funds in CUtS the next budget state rescind- cycle, the Uni- funding to versity could face a signifi- cantly smaller ant has asked budget in years conserve to come. "Now if the cuts carry into ures may next year, that's acant faculty a whole differ- g ent situation," ice, reducing said University utting back spokeswoman Julie Peterson. She added that she plans to reduce some temporary COURTNEY LEWIS Full Court Press PASADENA, Calif. - Well, that didn't last long. John Navarre's leave of absence as resident punching bag is offi- cially over. He temporarily gave up that position after beating Ohio State in the Big Ten title-clinching game that should have defined his lega- cy. But in the stands during the Rose Bowl game, in the airport on the way home and in my inbox, Michigan fans grumbled about the 28-14 loss to Southern Cal., plac- ing the blame squarely on the sen- ior quarterback. He 's slow. He should've thrown the ball away. It's all his fault. My response to all of this jumping on the Navarre-sucks bandwagon? Get offNavarre's back. The South- ern Cal. players were there enough on Thursday. The Trojans sacked Navarre nine times. They hurried, harassed and hit him all afternoon. Navarre spent nearly as much time on the ground as on his feet. He fum- bled twice, although he recovered the ball both times. He was taken down by guys he never even saw coming. He threw an interception, albeit on a fluke play. He did not, to state the obvious, have a good game. See LEWIS, Page 7A TONY DING/Daily Michigan seniors Carl Diggs (43, left) and John Navarre (16) step off the fieid after Michigan's 28-14 loss to the University of Southern California Trojans in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. It was Michigan's 18th appearance In the Rose Bowl this year played in Pasadena, Calif. In the 90th game In the bowl's history. Despite bowl loss, thousands rom 'U' community celebrate zi~Gode n State staff positions this term, in order to cut expenditures in her communica- tions department. Peterson has said in past interviews that long-term state funding cuts will compromise the University's ability to "serve its students." While administrators said all depart- ments have been asked to make conces- sions to fill the gap, they added that state funding cutbacks will not reduce finan- cial aid payments or cause tuition fees to increase mid-year. See BUDGET, Page 7A By Ashley Dinges Daily Staff Reporter PASADENA, Calif. - $1,793: the cost of a standard five-day Alumni Association Rose Bowl package for one person. $589: one airplane ticket from Detroit to Los Angeles, with a connec- tion in Milwaukee. $285: splitting the cost of a rental recreational vehicle between eight friends. But no matter how fans traveled there, and despite the loss, they showed their support for the football team and University. Many fans opted for one of the Alumni Association's Official Bowl Tour packages, including hotel accom- modations, game tickets, and other optional excursions. In total, the association accommo- dated about 6,000 to 6,500 people on both five-day and two-day land/air or land only packages. Rita Werthman, manager of the Alumni Association Board and Employee Relations, worked at several of the organization's events, including the pre-game tailgate. "We thought it was a great trip, the weather cooperated, which we were concerned about. We loved being with the Michigan group - they were very enthusiastic," Werthman said. See FANS, Page 7A Borders employees, executives reach'tentative' labor agreement By Mona Rafeeq Daily Staff Reporter It's back to business as usual for the downtown Borders bookstore after a "ten- tative agreement" was reached last week between Borders Group and hourly employees. The agreement came after nearly a year of negotiations between the two parties. During that time, 16 of the store's 43 hourly employees went on strike for more than a month after failed negotiations. Union executives are recommending that employees ratify the agreement, said David Radtke, the union lawyer for the Borders case. Since the breakthrough in the negotia- tions, the striking employees put away their signs and began arriving back at work on Friday. Jim Kirk; a former striker, negotiated with the Borders Group. Kirk and other Borders Books and Music hourly workers are members of a Madison Heights chap- ter of the United Food and Commercial "We are especially pleased because the tentative agreement is in step with two of our principles: to treat all Borders employees nationwide fairly and consistently and to remain competitive in the retail sector. - Anne Roman Borders Group spokeswoman Workers.. The downtown Ann Arbor store is one of two Borders in the United States with a union. The other store is located in Min- neapolis, Minn. "This has been a long hard struggle over the last couple of months and the last year," Kirk said. But he added that he and the other ex-strikers are happy with the terms reached. Anne Roman, spokeswoman for Borders Group, said she is satisfied with the terms tentative agreement is in step with two of our principles: to treat all Borders employees nationwide fairly and consis- tently and to remain competitive in the retail sector," Roman said. Employees plan to vote on the ratifica- tion at a meeting either tomorrow or Thursday. The union will supervise the voting. The parties have agreed not to discuss the terms with the public until the agree- ment is ratified. But employees said the terms address their concerns. See BORDERS, Page 7A RC junior Matt Kessler (left) and Engineering senior ElI Cooke (ight) shop the bargain tables outside Borders Books and Music yesterday afternoon. Borders workers, who had been striking against their employer since November, reached a tentative agreement last week with company negotiators to return to work. reached. "We are especially pleased because the 'U' report: economy not as robust as expected By Tomislav Ladika Daily Staff Reporter Just as the national economy appeared to be overcoming a two-year slump and people were beginning to look forward to significant job growth, economic reports released during the holiday shopping season indicate the recovery may proceed slower than initially expected. Last month's Index of Consumer Sentiment fell from 93.7 to 92.6, according to a news release by the University's Surveys of Con- sumers, marking the first time the index has fall- en in three months. Many department stores also reported that l salcs the weekend- after Thanksgivina - which Sears, Roebuck and Co., for example, reported a 3.6 percent decline in sales during November, and Kohls experienced a 4.4 percent decrease in sales, according to company news releases. Both results were lower than expected. Other stores such as Wal-Mart saw increases in holiday sales that were lower than expected. A Wal-Mart news release states that total sales were "tracking nearer the low end of the 3- to 5 - percent range for the December period." The sluggish holiday sales and fall in con- sumer confidence indicate that the national economy will recover slower than many analysts earlier predicted, Business School Prof. Claes Fornell said. Becaue conumer nendina makes un almost declines, Fornell said. But he added that while the economy will grow at a modest rate, he does not believe the upward trend will reverse itself and lead to another recession. Despite the decline in consumer confidence, Surveys of Consumers Director Richard Curtin said in a written statement that many consumers expect the economy to remain strong and create further job growth in the year ahead. "The highest proportion of consumers in two decades anticipate a falling unemployment rate in 2004," he said in the statement. According to the survey results, consumers expect the unemployment rate to fall to 5.5 per- cent by mid-2004 and GDP to grow by 4.5 ner- Welcome, Michigan, to a new semester of and, of course, exciting and informative issues of The Michigan Daily! lBe sure to stop by our stands and pick up a weekday paper, and log onto www.michigandaily.com for online updates throughout the year. As you return home to the University, we are proud to serve you as your .most, trusted i . i I