Wednesday, March 31, 2004 Opinion 4 Sports 10 Daniel Adams is sick of loony activists Brian Hung makes transition from Hong Kong to Ann Arbor We believe in a thing called love - The Darkness hit Detroit ... Arts, Page 8 j5 4 4igauI:39aitg weather HI: 46 LOA36 TOMORROW: 45135 One-hundred-thirteen years ofeditorialfreedom www.michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 124 @2004 The Michigan Daily SWoman denies rape at SAE house Alleged victim says fraternity z' innocent ofany wrongdoing By Donn M. Fresard Daily Staff Reporter The alleged victim of a reported sexual assault at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraterni- ty house said yesterday the act in question was consensual and she does not intend to press charges. The Ann Arbor Police Department could not confirm yesterday whether the investigation into the incident, which reportedly occurred last Friday, had been stopped. Detectives assigned to the case could not be reached for comment. The female student, who chose to remain anonymous, said she had not talked to the AAPD since the original interview after the incident. The police spoke with her Satur- day morning. SAE President Dustin Nelson initially said the alleged victim told the AAPD yes- terday that the act was consensual. When later told that the alleged victim had not spoken with the AAPD, Nelson said a frater- nity member who was a friend of one of the alleged victim's friends had given him the information. "From what I understand there was complete consent between the two individuals involved," Nelson added. Police officers reported Monday that the alleged victim did not remember the details of the incident. In an interview yesterday, the woman refuted some details of the police report. "The truth is that we snuck into the party, and SAE was not responsible for anything that happened that night," she said. The police had reported that the woman and her friends were allowed into an unregistered party although they were not on the guest list. She also said her friend - whom police said had been pulled out of the room where the incident took place - had not been phys- ically removed from the room upon finding her. "The person just shut the door in front of her and didn't let her enter," she said. "I do not approve of (SAE) being kicked off campus because of this event," she added. Nelson said SAE members have cooperated with AAPD detectives, and plan to continue doing so. "We take this very seriously and it's not a reflection on who we are as a group of broth- ers," he said. Nelson added that the SAE member involved in the incident was a pledge. Cagers feast on Ducks, will play Rutgers tomorrow By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Writer NEW YORK - Last September, before an appeal of a second year of postseason sanctions was accepted, the Michigan basketball team thought it was one year away from having any opportunity of playing postseason basketball. Now, it stands just one win away from a banner. Michigan dominated Oregon 78-53 in the semifinals of the NIT last night at Madison Square Garden by playing one of its most com- plete games of the season. The Wolverines will now compete for their first recognized champi- onship since 1989, when they won the national title. They forfeited their 1997 NIT champi- onship and other titles after following NCAA sanctions regarding program violations in the mid-1990s. After winning an appeal with the NCAA last fall, the team was allowed to com- pete this postseason. "It's big for us," senior forward Bernard Robin- son said. "I think making it to the championship game speaks volumes for our team and the suc- cess that we have been able to accomplish." The Wolverines took control in the first half thanks to excellent interior defense and outside shooting. The Ducks could not get anything going on offense inside the 3-point line from anyone other than second-team All-American forward Luke Jackson. Outside of Jackson, the only sig- nificant opportunities Oregon could muster came off the fast break. The Wolverines forced 16 Ore- gon turnovers leading to 28 points, and held the Ducks to 34.5 percent from the field. "I think we played tremendous half-court defense today," Robinson said. "We knew how important it was to defend the 3-point line, so I think we were getting them off that, and our big men were helping us." Jackson scored seven consecutive points to give Oregon a 17-15 lead in the first half, but that would be the last lead the Ducks would hold. Michigan would then go on a 24-7 run that included six 3-pointers. The Wolverines were able to get open shots by moving the ball around the perimeter and getting the ball inside. Michigan See DUCKS, Page 10 RYAN WEINER/Daily ABOVE: Michigan sophomore guard Daniel Horton celebrates a Michigan run as Oregon senior Jay Anderson rubs his face in frustration. The Wolverines beat Oregon 78-53 in the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden yesterday. RIGHT: Michigan sophomore forward Graham Brown takes a contested shot over Oregon's Ian Crosswhite. AFFiRMATivE ACTION State to appeal. petition decision Mayor discusses growing A2 sprawl By Aymar Jean Daily Staff Reporter Attorney General Mike Cox will appeal Thursday's circuit court deci- sion, which effectively invalidated the petition forms used by a group trying to end race-conscious policies in Michigan. But BAMN, which won the case, says Cox, an outspoken opponent of such policies, is acting on his own bias and not the wishes of his clients. Judge Paula Manderfield of Ing- ham County ruled Thursday the State Board of Canvassers, Cox's client, must rescind its approval of the Michigan Civil Rights Initia- tive's petition form. She wrote that MCRI's amend- ment is trying to "alter or abrogate" an existing article of the state con- stitution guaranteeing equal protec- tion under the law. This article is illegally missing from the wording of MCRI's form, she ruled. MCRI is spearheading a ballot initiative to amend the constitution to ban "preferences based on race, ethnicity and gender." If the group receives 317,757 sig- natures by July 6, the question on racial preferences will appear on the November ballot. The case will now go to the state Court of Appeals. George Washing- ton, BAMN's lawyer, said a ruling is likely within the next few weeks. If BAMN, Washington's client, loses at the state court of appeals, the state court of appeals, they will take the case to the state Supreme See MCRI, Page 2 By Kristen Przybyiski Daily Staff Reporter Urban sprawl is the next great civil rights fight, said Conan Smith, Michi- gan Environmental Council land pro- grams director. Smith was one of five panelists discussing the growing prob- lem in the state at the Michigan Union last night. Students for Public Interest Research Group in Michigan hosted the discussion, titled "Sprawled Out: The Fight to Stop Sprawl in Michigan and Ann Arbor." The event was a part of the University's Earth Week events. Four of the panelists gave brief speeches addressing their own involvement in the fight against urban sprawl - the decline in urban density and loss of open space due to people moving farther and farther outside of urban areas. They also fielded ques- tions from the audience. The panelists mentioned the dam- aging effects of urban sprawl on the environment and concentrated on encouraging students and other Ann Arbor residents to become politically active in improving the condition. Each of the panelists pushed increased density in urban housing as a means of curbing sprawl. "If we don't keep our cities strong, we're going to keep spreading out into the country," Smith said. "We recommend that the city increase density by 50 percent," histo- ry Prof. Matthew Lassiter said. Ann Arbor Mayor John Heiftje said increasing density is a goal for the city. "We plan to build 1,000 new hous- ing units in Ann Arbor in the next decade and 2,500 more by 2020," said Heiftje. "We're going to build twice as much as we have in the past decade." The mayor stressed that promoting density would be in the interest of pre- See SPRAWL, Page 3 JORDAN STECKLOFF/Daily Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje and City Councilmember Jean Carlberg speak about urban sprawl in the Michigan Union Ballroom yesterday STUDENT GOVERNMENT MSA addresses new faculty-student policy By Cianna Freeman a student, then the staff member is educated on the policy. and 13 commissions. Committees can lk La/ itan J4II1XpUIe obligated to disclose tme rlC14lIU11s11p "Iena aiiuam a I14 L\V1Ioc4111nc III uiuy LJI. t .J; r