Thursday, February 12, 2004

Opinion 4A
Sports 8A

Jason Z. Pesick
wants to trade
Michigan cagers lose
to Minnesota, 81-78

Finding the perfect Valentine's lingerie ... Weekend, Page 6

Weather
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TOMORROW:

One-hundred-thirteen years ofedtorialfreedom
www.michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan m Vol. CXIII, No. 95 ©2004 The Michigan Daily
Greek execs apologize for incident

By Andrew McCormack
Daily Staff Reporter

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After three weeks of discussion and plan- and how v
ning, the leaders of the Interfraternity Council Bourke
and the Panhellenic Association are beginning tives of IF
to publicly apologize for their alcohol abuse ter of th
during a University-funded retreat at Tau Beta publicly.
Camp, which resulted in the hospitalization of nity, they
one of their members and a vote of no confi- Bourke
dence in some of the executives. the Offic
"What happened at the retreat was unfortunate. the weeke
Lwould like to emphasize our ability to move for- to the Un
ward," IFC President Casey Bourke said. "We're should be
all writing extensive personal statements with a The pre
Comcast offers
bid to purchase

ner reflection about what our offices
us, about our position in Greek life in
hings we've learned, how we've grown
we can use this, if at all, to our benefit."
, an LSA junior, added that the execu-
FC and Panhel are visiting every chap-
e Greek community to apologize
"As constituents of the Greek commu-
should know," he said.
also said the executives are refunding
e of Greek Life for money lost during
end, as well as giving a public apology
iversity administration. These measures
completed by Wednesday.
esidents of all sororities associated with

Panhel held a closed vote and issued a vote of no
confidence in all 10 members of its executive
board. But no one on Panhel will resign, said
Panhel spokeswoman Lauren Herskovic.
"More than just making apologies, we've con-
tinued with the jobs we were elected to do -
we've continued with our discussion with (Vice
President for Student Affairs) E. Royster Harper
and (Dean of Students) Ed Willis regarding
deferred recruitment," Herskovic said. "A vote
of no confidence does not mean they're asking
us to resign, it is them telling us they do not con-
done our acts, and since then, we have met with
them and we decided not to resign," she said.
The fraternity presidents did not issue a vote

of no confidence to the IFC, and no one in the
IFC will resign, either. "My decisions were nei-
ther quick nor easy, but I stand behind them,"
Bourke said. "On a personal level, I certainly
need to make amends with people."
Members of the IFC and Panhel cited as one
of their areas of concern the effect this will
have on the Greek community's image, consid-
ering negative stereotypes already associated
with fraternities and sororities.
"We are going to work extra hard to get the
good aspects of the Greek community known
to the (University) community," Herskovic said.
"The stories that make the newspaper are the
ones that are the most shocking, and unfortu-

nately, those are the only ones we get."
Some members of the University community
do not believe the incident will have much
effect on the public image of the Greeks.
"I think (the incident at Tau Beta Camp)
would be considered typical - I consider it
typical," said LSA senior Niki Piotrowski. "On
the weekends, their houses are trashed and lit-
tered with cups from beer containers."
Though the University doesn't condone their
actions, Willis said he feels that the IFC and
Panhel are working to remedy the situation as
best they can.
"Any time you're working with students, they
See RETREAT, Page 7A

Taking a moment for art


Disney Co.
NEW YORK (AP) - In a stunning move, cable TV giant
Comcast Corp. proposed yesterday to buy Walt Disney Co.
for stock valued at about $54 billion. The Disney board said
it :would study the offer, which would create the world's
la*gest communications company.
.Comcast, the nation's biggest cable systems operator, said
Disney chief Michael Eisner had rebuffed its request to talk
e'lier this week.
Comcast's proposal was made as Eisner is fending off
criticism from former board members Roy Disney, nephew
d founder Walt Disney,
adid Stanley Gold about Comeast Corp.
hrs performance and
lack of a succession proposed yesterday
plan as Disney's chief tobuy Walt Disney
executive. Michael Cit- tb IT
rick, spokesman for Co. for stock
Disney and Gold,
declined to comment on valued at about $54
Comcast'sproposal. billion. The Disney
"This is a very excit-
ing moment," Comcast board said it would
Chief Executive Brian study the offer.
Roberts said in a confer- o
ence call with investors

and analysts. Roberts said the combination "would create
one of the world's premier entertainment and communica-
tions companies, and, we believe, restore the Disney brand
to prominence and the company to growth."
"The ball's in Disney's court," he added.
,Disney's board of directors released a statement later yes-
terday saying it had received Comcast's offer and would
"carefully evaluate" it. "In the meantime, there is no action
for shareholders to take," the directors said.
Disney, which owns ABC and ESPN, and Comcast,
whose businesses include the Philadelphia Flyers hockey
team, together had $45 billion in revenues last year. Time
Warner Inc.'s $39.6 billion in revenues last year made it the
world's largest media and communications company.
@ In a news conference in New York, Roberts said he hoped to
See COMCAST, Page 7A

LAURA SHLEcTER/Daily
LSA sophomore Rita Subhedar and Fumiko Azumo spend time viewing the new exhibit "India Viewed From Afar" yesterday at the University of
Michigan Museum of Art.

Students plan for housing advocacy

By Genevieve Lampinen
Daily Staff Reporter
For students, especially freshman, making
housing plans as early as a month after
move-in can be difficult.
Engineering junior Anita Lenny, the
Michigan Student Assembly's Budget Priori-
ties Committee vice chair, said freshmen do
not have enough time to make suitable hous-
ing decisions for the following year because
they have to find people to live with only
about a month after coming to the University.
"I think the main (problem) is lease sign-
ing. By signing leases in October, Novem-
ber, December, we are perpetuating the

problem," Lenny said.
Last night, Lenny joined a handful of stu-
dents met in East Hall to discuss this and
other student housing issues as well as pos-
sible ways to bring them to the attention of
City Council and community members.
"The meeting was to initiate student
response to many housing problems that we
face on and off campus, and begin to
address and organize around these chal-
lenges in order to establish ourselves as a
legitimate voice in current housing discus-
sions taking place," said event coordinator
Sam Woll, an LSA junior and vice chair of
MSA's External Relations Committee.
The gathering provided a forum for stu-

dents to voice their concerns and to devise
an approach for addressing City Council
and community members.
"The goal is to have a follow-up town
meeting where someone from City Council
would come and address the issues," said
Bobby Counihan, Engineering senior and
MSA External Relations chair.
Some of the concerns of the students
included early lease signing, landlord-stu-
dent relations and building code violations.
MSA Communications Chair Rachel Fisher
said her former landlord didn't know enough
about how to conduct his job. She said her
landlord misinformed her about the poor qual-
ity of the apartment she leased from him.

"He didn't know anything about being a
landlord. Students shouldn't feel threatened
in their own houses, and they should not
have to go through legal battles just to have
adequate living situations," she said.
The impact of off-campus housing on the
environment was also discussed.
LSA senior Ben Chess said that
because his building is poorly insulated, it
is an environmental concern. "We want it
to be (insulated), but we don't have the
money. It's really expensive to keep up
these old houses. The things that make up
for having a historical house are the ener-
gy issues," Chess said.

k'Sex workers

See HOUSING, Page 3A
'seek

Justice Dept.
subpoenas 'U'
doctor's records
By Aymar Jean
Daily Staff Reporter
The effects of the federal government's partial-birth
abortion ban just hit a little closer to home.
The U.S. Department of Justice, defending the feder-
al government's ban on certain abortion procedures,
subpoenaed the University for the medical records of a
physician serving as a plaintiff in the legal case against
the ban.
Obstetrics and Gynecology chair Timothy Johnson, one
of seven doctors working with the National Abortion Fed-
eration and the American Civil Liberties Union on the
case, is the subject of the subpoena.
The case objects to the ban on the procedure anti-abor-
tion advocates call a partial-birth abortion, which is the
extermination of a fetus as it exits the mother's womb.
President Bush signed into law legislation banning this
procedure in November of last year, although abortion
advocates say the law would outlaw a number of other
abortion practices.
The Justice Department is using the subpoenas to
determine the expertise of those doctors challenging
the abortion legislation. The medical records provided
by the University's health system could also help the
federal government gauge the circumstances of any
abortions Johnson has performed in the past three
years, according to The Associated Press.
University of Michigan Health System spokeswoman
Kallie Michels said the University would comply with the
subpoena and release the information, pending a court
order. She said the records will not contain any informa-

to shed industry'

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"

negative stigma

Performers claim viewing
sex industry as degrading is
anti femins attitude
By Lucille Vaughan
For the Daily

dents for Choice and Students Orga-
nizing for Labor and Economic
Equality, the evening gave University
students and community members a
better picture of the lives of sex
workers.
Annie Oakley, organizer of the show,
said she hoped to dispel social and

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