Tuesday, April 6, 2004
Opinion 4 Time to take action:
Piskor says window for
negotiation is closed
Sports 10 Olds makes impact
on M' softball team
Arthur Miller tribute arrives at the Trueblood Theater ... Arts, Page 7
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www.michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 128 @2004 The Michigan Daily
Wolverine
Access
changes
defended
Changes necessary under
con ract with so re company,
administrators say
By Donn M. Fresard
and Lindsey Paterson
Daily Staff Reporters
Although some students signing up for
classes this week have complained about
the confusion of the registration process,
administrators say the upgrade was nec-
essary to uphold the University's contract
with software company PeopleSoft.
LSA junior Ryan Bonneville, who
registered Friday, said the new Wolver-
ine Access is a step backward from the
old system.
"It's kind of clumsy - I mean, they
took out the frames, so you can't navi-
gate very easily from page to page,"
Bonneville said. "The search is messy
because it will only return 200 results,
so if you have to search an entire depart-
ment, you can't."
Despite such complaints, University
administrators said upgrading the sys-
tem was necessary to maintain the Uni-
versity's long-standing contract with
PeopleSoft and its software programs.
The new Wolverine Access is part of
the student administration package
licensed to the University by PeopleSoft,
a commercial software company that
develops and sells enterprise software.
The package includes software for
registration, student records, grades,
financial aid and transcripts, said Linda
Green, commu'nication coordinator for
Michigan Administrative Information
Services.
"It's much bigger than what students
see when they go to Wolverine Access,"
SGreen said. "There's all this other infor-
mation behind the scene that goes into it
and that's PeopleSoft."
Green said the University has "a
responsibility to PeopleSoft to imple-
ment their current version of software in
a timely fashion so that they're not sup-
porting five- or seven-year-old soft-
ware." Green said the current software
will be used for another three years.
"We want the system to work for stu-
dents," she said. "That's why we're doing
this. We want it to be easy. We want it to
be robust and functional for them."
In addition to the student administra-
tion system, the University purchased a
financial system from PeopleSoft to
handle general ledgers and accounts,
and a human resources system for staff
records and payroll benefits, Green said.
"The University has a long-term rela-
See REGISTRATION, Page 3
Spnzg growth
L~ABOR N LGOTIYTION S
Lecturers,
'U,'
fail to agree
on key issues
r
Union and admiws'trators divided
on success ofyesterday s meetg-
By Anne Joling
Daily Staff Reporter
After another day of negotiations, members of
The Lecturers' Employee Organization and the
University are still divided on key issues that will
likely lead to a walkout, if left unresolved.
Despite an impasse on wage and job security
issues, the two sides managed to agree upon anoth-
er contract article at yesterday's meeting, this one
regarding how the University posts its available job
positions. Since bargaining began in August, 18
articles have been tentatively agreed upon in what
will become the first contract between LEO and
the University.
While the University is pleased with the
progress of the negotiations, many LEO members
said they are unhappy with the bargaining process
and are still prepared to strike on Thursday.
LEO President Bonnie Halloran said the organi-
zation is still focused on its three key issues, which
were not resolved yesterday.
"We are looking for significant progress on the
issues of salary, job security and benefits, so the
agreement on job posting is not sufficient
progress," said Halloran, a lecturer on the Universi-
ty's Dearborn campus.
But University spokeswoman Julie Peterson
said yesterday's meeting was constructive.
"(We) felt they had a very productive conver-
sation. There are some big issues that remain,
and those will have to be negotiated out. It's a
big contract to finish, and it's going to take
some work. Every time they meet they're mak-
ing a little more progress."
Jeff Frumkin, lead negotiator for the University,
also said progress was made at yesterday's meeting.
"I think it was a typical and productive day of
bargaining. We were able to reach another agree-
ment, Frumkin said.
While specifics of the tentative agreement
reached on job postings have not yet been released,
Halloran explained that the agreement would estab-
lish a consistent way of announcing new positions
for lecturers.
Negotiations between LEO and the University
are scheduled to resume tomorrow.
Lecturers are planning to stage a one-day
walkout on Thursday if progress toward
agreements on the key issues is not made at
the meeting.
English lecturer George Cooper said LEO likely
will strike. "A walk-out will draw students' atten-
tion to the number of lecturers on campus. It
will also draw the attention of the University,"
he said. "If half of the classes don't run on
Thursday it will be a physical reminder of who
teaches the classes, and you can only hope that
this information leads to better decisions."
A letter sent last week from University
Provost Paul Courant to deans and depart-
ment chairs asked them to encourage faculty
and graduate student instructors not to strike.
The letter stated that a strike by public
employees is against the law in Michigan and
would disrupt educational activities.
CHRISTINE STAFFORD/Daily
Daffodils gleam in the sunny weather yesterday afternoon in the Law Quad as
pedestrians pass by.
Middle East trips continue despite war
By Lindsey Paterson
Daily Staff Reporter
Fighting in the Middle East has recently escalated, adding to
the danger of the conflict-ridden region, but for many students,
the benefits of a trip to the Middle East outweigh the risks. Many
students who plan to study abroad in the Middle East or go on
group trips said violence is not enough to deter them from going
abroad.
This May, 40 to 60 University students will travel to Israel on
the Birthright Israel trip, joining close to 50,000 students nation-
wide who have taken the trip since it began five years ago. The
trip, organized in part by University Hillel, offers students a free
visit to various cities in Israel in order to learn about Judaism and
the country.
University Hillel Program Director Ben Berger said he brought
35 students on the Birthright trip this winter, but he added that
security remains one of the program's main concerns.
"(Hillel International) feels very strongly that if we were not
able to provide a safe, secure and celebratory trip, we would not
go," he said. In the last five years, no Birthright participant has
been injured by violence in Israel.
"It's also important to realize that Israel is much more than you
see on the news. It's a vibrant, surviving democracy where there
is amazing culture and life, and we feel it's very important that
people from America get to see the country," Berger said.
Other students also said the media skews the portrayal of the
Middle East and that the region is not as dangerous as depicted
on television and in newspapers.
"The media portrayal of the situation in the Middle East is not
always accurate. People there do not live in fear. They live normal
lives in which they regularly go out and enjoy their country," LSA
sophomore Allison Hollander said.
But Hollander said she is still weighing the danger of a trip to
Israel against its benefits. Hollander has until the end of April to
withdraw from the trip. "All of the violence and conflict that is tak-
ing place there has definitely made my decision about the trip more
difficult. ... I plan to assess the situation in Israel until (April 30) in
"It's also important to realize that
Israel is much more than you see on
the news. It's a vibrant, surviving
democracy where there is amazing
culture and life ..'
- Ben Berger
Program Director, University Hillel
order to decide whether the trip is too big of a safety risk."
LSA sophomore David Morley said he also plans to travel to
Israel on the Birthright trip because of his curiosity about the
region. "I want to go see what it's about. What is this place every-
body's fighting over?" he said. "I believe that it's actually safer
there than it is here."
See TRAVEL, Page 3
Activist says media
portray image of
Palestinians unfairly
By Mil;ael Kan
Daily 4'.tReporter
Two small children together hold a
sign to protest the destruction of their
school. Rows of men and women block
the path of Israeli bulldozers from turn-
ing their farms into rubble. A slogan on
a cloth reads, "Peace needs bridges not
walls."
These were scenes of Palestinian non-
violent resistance that are disturbingly
absent in the media's portrayal of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, pro-Palestin-
ian activist Radhika Sainath said.
Sainath, a member of the International
Solidarity Movement, a campaign to end
the Israeli occupation of the West Bank
through nonviolent means, spoke last
night to students about her 11-month
P ereanc anA her effnrt tn aid Pales-
"I was not expecting
Palestinians to rise up in
nonviolent resistance.
But a lot of village
leaders would talk to me
about Gandhi.'
- Radhika Sainath
International Solidarity Movement
activist
resistance toward Israeli authorities.
"I was not expecting Palestinians to
rise up in nonviolent resistance. But a lot
of village leaders would talk to me about
Gandhi" she said.
U.S. calls for
radical Shilte
clencs arrest
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. administrators in Iraq
declared a radical Shiite cleric an "outlaw" yesterday
and announced a warrant for his arrest, heightening a
confrontation after battles between his supporters and
coalition troops killed at least 52 Iraqis and nine coali-
tion troops, including eight Americans.
U.S. officials would not say when they would move to
arrest Muqtada al-Sadr, who is holed up in the main
mosque in Kufa, south of Baghdad, guarded by armed
supporters.
U.S. troops surrounded the city of Fallujah, west of
Baghdad, poised for a major operation in response to
the grisly slaying and mutilation of four American civil-
ians by insurgents there last week. A Marine was killed
yesterday in the Fallujah area, the military said, without
providing details.
The showdown with al-Sadr threatened to heighten
tensions with Iraq's Shiite Muslim majority at a time
when U.S. troops are burdened by the Sunni guerrillas'
bloody insurgency. But American officials apparently
hope the Shiite public - many of whom distrust al-
Sadr - will not rally around the cleric.
Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said the potential for vio-
I