Tuesday, March 23, 2004 News 3 Opinion 4 A new look for South University Columnist Jess Piskor laments about David E. Art-rock legend David Byrne returns, Breaking Records ... Arts, Page 9 Weather hI:48 LOW: 36 TOMORROW: 56/45 Sports 8 Men's tennis plays Notre Dame today One-hundred-thirteen years of editorialfreedom www.michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 118 @2004 The Michigan Daily Student stabbed in foiled robbery By Adhiraj Dutt Daily Staff Reporter A University student suffered stab wounds and a collapsed lung after being attacked with a knife on the 500 block of West William Street as he walked home from Pizza House early Sunday morning. At 2:05 a.m., the 28-year-old stu- dent heard the assailant run up to him from behind. The attacker then grabbed the student's backpack and jumped on top of him, said Ann Arbor Police Sgt. Andrew Zazula. He said a neighbor heard the stu- dent yelling while she was sitting in her basement bedroom nearby. According to Zazula, the woman said she went outside and saw a man dressed in dark clothing lean- ing over the victim. Zazula said the woman then screamed, "Stop, I am going to call the police." The assailant ran off and neighbors waited with the injured student for the police to arrive. Though the attacker attempted to steal the victim's backpack, he was unsuccessful in robbing the student, Zazula said. The victim is currently in the University Hospital recovering from bruises resulting from * punches to the face and from three stab wounds - one on the leg and two on the left side of his body. The student also had a punctured left lung, Zazula said. There are currently no suspects in the stabbing case, though Zazu- la said the attacker was described as a 6-foot- 1 maledweighing about 180 pounds and dressed in dark clothing. In the interest of safety, students should make sure their valuables are hidden, said Diane Brown, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety. She added that students should make sure others know their plans in case they don't reach their destination. "We encourage all students and others to walk in well-lit areas, to try to walk with another person and to avoid being alone," Brown said. "Everyone should be aware of emergency phones on campus and be alert to their surroundings." Brown emphasized that stu- dents who are suspicious of their surroundings should act on that suspicion and move into a well-lit area where they can be around other people. The University offers cab services that students can use around Ann Arbor. Ride Home is free and trans- ports students to their residences See ATTACK, Page 7 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION Both sides get set for ballot fight By Aymar Jean Daily Staff Reporter LANSING -As winter turns into spring, both the group behind the initiative to end race-conscious poli- cies in Michigan and its opponents have publicly unveiled their cam- paign strategies, setting the stage for months of caustic competition. The petition drive for the Michi- gan Civil Rights Initiative - a ballot initiative to end the use of race, sex and ethnicity in public education, employment and contracting - will soon begin in all parts of the state, according to MCRI officials. If the initiative obtains 317,757 signatures by July 6, Michiganders will vote in November on amending the state constitution to ban "racial and gender preferences." MCRI held a public meeting last weekend at the Marriot Hotel in Lansing to educate citizens eager to join their campaign. Present at the meeting were MCRI Executive Director Jennifer Gratz, the plaintiff in the undergraduate admissions lawsuit, and University of California Regent Ward Connerly, chairman of the American Civil Rights Coalition. "I thought it was good. It was sup- posed to be a training session those who want to collect signatures and on the methodology of collecting signatures," said LSA sophomore Laura Davis, chair of Young Ameri- cans for Freedom. But an opposition group, Citizens for a United Michigan, seeks to undercut MCRI's efforts and prevent the issue from reaching the ballot. The group has recently hired a campaign manager, Tricia Stein, to coordinate its activities. Stein worked on Gov. Jennifer Granholm's campaign for attorney gen- eral. "We've got a good one here," said Michael Rice, the group's director. The coalition includes more than 40 individuals and organizations, including the Michigan Catholic Conference, the AARP and the United Auto Workers. Both groups have spent the past two months girding for their campaigns. MCRI has organized its campaign See INITIATIVE, Page 5 Rosier economic future predicted RYAN WEINER/Dally Michigan senior Bernard Robinson drives by an Oklahoma defender during last night's game. The Wolverines' 63-52 win puts them in the NIT quarterfinals against Hawaii tomorrow night at Crisier Arena. Wolverines down Sooners, will face Hawaii to-morrow By Daniel Bremmer Daily Sports Editor In its biggest game of the year in front of the loudest home crowd of the season, the Michigan basketball team didn't disappoint its fans. The Wolver- ines played solid defense and endured a late Sooner rally en route to a 63-52 win over Oklahoma in last night's sec- ond-round NIT game at Crisler Arena. After Michigan took a nine-point lead with 6:28 to go in the game, Okla- homa made a late surge as the Wolver- ines settled for numerous poor shots. Freshman Lawrence McKenzie nailed a pair of triples as part of a 7-0 run for the Sooners to pull Oklahoma within two. Then, in the next two minutes, Michigan freshman Dion Harris hit two free throws sandwiched between a pair of Daniel Horton floaters in the lane to give Michigan (9-9 Big Ten, 20-11 overall) a 55-47 lead and put the game out of reach. "Daniel hit a couple of shots down the stretch like he did in the previous game against Missouri," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "He was able to get a few to drop in big situa- tions for us." Oklahoma (9-9 Big XII, 20-11) had its chances to take advantage of Michigan mistakes down the stretch but failed to do so. During a three- minute span with less than five min- utes to play, the Wolverines forced up several bad shots, including a 25-foot 3-pointer from Horton that followed a timeout. But Michigan's tough defense down the stretch was too much for an under- manned Oklahoma squad which had just two players on its bench after sophomore DeAngelo Alexander injured his shoulder in the first half. The Wolverines forced the Sooners See SOONERS, Page 10 By Koustubh Patwardhan Daily Staff Reporter University experts say the U.S. economy is poised for an upswing. America's economy, which has endured a recession, is finally show- ing some signs of recovery and could see a growth in employment soon, according to the annual spring forecast released by the University's Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics. In the report, economists Saul -Hymans, Joan Crary and Janet Wolfe predict an increase of nearly 3 mil- lion jobs in the next two years. "We expect the economy to be strengthening," Crary said. "We think that strong productivity growth necessarily will slow down and in order to produce more, jobs will have to be added to the economy." The researchers predict employ- ment growth of 900,000 jobs this year and 2 million jobs in 2005. In addition, they claim that unemploy- ment will continue to decrease, falling below 5 percent after 2006. The economists said the dollar is currently weak compared to interna- tional currencies, meaning that exports will increase since American goods will be cheaper overseas. Improving economic conditions abroad will allow exports to continually rise, thus expanding the economy at home. Despite outsourcing to third world nations, Crary said that the growth would continue. "I think that this sort of growth is still possible even if that is true," she said. Outsourcing has been happening for a long time but since it is now affecting the service sector, awareness of it is heightened, Crary said. Outsourcing had previously affected mostly industry. National economic output, measured in terms of real gross domestic product, See ECONOMY, Page 5 'U' lecturer takes on Dingellfor House seat A Greek circus By Farayha Arrine Daily Staff Reporter Not too many congressmen can say they've rocked out on acoustic drums at a concert or recorded with the local blues ensemble The Witch Doctors. But if School of Informa- tion lecturer Hans Masing were to win the congres- sional elections this V November, he would become perhaps one of the most colorful additions to the U.S. House of Repre- sentatives. The 39-year-old inde- pendent candidate from Ann Arbor will go up against incumbent John Dingell (D-Dearborn) in this year's congressional elections for the 15th Dis- r trict which was redrawn in "My ideolo, most Amer doesn't fit i Democratic Repubican School of Info and U.S.] member of Congress, looking to be re-elected for what would be his 50th year of public service. Dingell has a record of successfully pushing through legislation and remains popular with his constituents. He is currently involved in the University as one of the strongest adversaries of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative to end affirmative action in state gy, like programs, an issue that Mas- ing views from a different icafS, perspective. nto a "One thing we're lacking here at Michigan and at C or other top schools is that we bucket" have ethnic diversity but b ke. not economic diversity," he said. "Are we in fact truly helping people that need a - Hans Masing leg up or those that have the rmation lecturer socioeconomic capacity but House candidate are of a different race?" Masing also takes a con- servative stance on gun con- Wage-disclosure push shifts to administration By Nicole Frehs". For the Daily Your favorite Michigan sweatshirt is warm, comfortable - and could be made by underpaid factory workers. The same goes for your Rose Bowl T-shirt, your hockey hat and your NCAA jersey. University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman will address this issue Friday after hearing the final recommendation of the University's Advisory Commit- tee on Labor Standards and Human Rights, when she will decide if the University will require companies that manufacture University apparel to disclose of workers' wages. Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equali- ty is fighting to mandate wage disclosure in the Code of Conduct for University of Michigan Licensees. SOLE initiated the push for wage disclosure in a letter sent to Coleman last month. The letter states that monitoring corporations' compliance with the code's current com- pensation clause is difficult without awareness of work- ;1 I I ~ I