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www.michigmndaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 135 ©2004 The Michigan Daily
New
law increases MIP penalties
Students can receive,
in jall for breaking ti
By Farayha Arrine
Daily Staff Reporter
Weekends for students may never be the
same with the new penalties for underage
drinkers that Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed
into law this week.
Now, minors in possession of alcohol who
violate their probation from an MIP offense
Initiative
calls for
ban on gay
mamages
By David Branson
Daily Staff Reporter
sentence o 30 days
heir probation
face up to 30 days in jail and a $200 fine
under the new law. Subsequent offenses can
lead to a jail sentence of up to 60 days and a
$500 fine.
Minors in possession include anyone
between the ages of 17 and 20 who is caught
by a police officer consuming alcohol or
with a blood alcohol level more than 0.02.
"Jail can only be used as a last resort for
those who violate the conditions of proba-
tion," said Sherry Sofia, chief of staff for
state Sen. Tom George (R-Kalamazoo), who
proposed the bill last year.
In a written statement, George said minors
often will only complete court-ordered drug
and alcohol treatment programs if some pun-
ishment exists for noncompliant offenders.
"Substance abuse among minors is a real
problem," he said. "Altering a course of sub-
stance abuse among the young can be a life-
saving measure that ultimately will reduce
the cost to society and relieve suffering."
But the law does show leniency to those
who successfully complete their probationary
period. If a minor convicted of an MIP viola-
tion complies with the rules of his probation,
the MIP is cleared from the minor's record
and he does not receive a misdemeanor, as he
would have under the old state law. If the
minor receives a subsequent charge, it is con-
sidered to be his first one.
Sofia added it is important to note that
juveniles below the age of 17 still will not
face jail time under this provision. The law
was not, however, specifically pushed
through with college campuses in mind, she
said. Instead, legislators felt this law would
be the only way to limit underage drinking,
she said.
"There were some instances that occurred
around the state with underage drinking, and
there was nothing that could be done about
it," Sofia said. "(It was something) the prose-
cuting attorney's office brought to our atten-
tion."
The original bill would have made it illegal
for minors to possess any "bodily alcohol
content," meaning that minors could be
charged for consuming alcohol in Canada
and returning across the border intoxicated.
See DRINKING, Page 9A
FROM WALKOUT TO WORK-IN
Lecturers urge
'U' to resume
contract talks
AF Even after the state House of Repre-
sentatives voted against a resolution that
would effectively ban same-sex mar-
riages in Michigan, a citizen movement
is still set on banning those unions. The
March 9 vote failed to mount a two-
thirds majority by eight votes, but the
amendment could still be voted on in
the November election if a petition drive
gathers enough signatures.
Citizens for the Protection of Mar-
riage, a lobbying group in Lansing this
week began distributing petitions to
place the amendment on the Nov. 2
ballot. The group would need to collect
317,757 signatures by July 6, in which
case the amendment would be added to
November's ballot and, if passed,
would be written into the Constitution.
"I would be very disappointed if the
citizens of Michigan supported putting
this on the constitution," said Lorence
Wenke (R-Richland). "But I predict
that, with the petition drive, it will get
on the ballot and it will pass."
Wenke was one of three Republicans
who voted against the resolution
because he said it discriminates against
homosexuals instead of trying to pro-
tect the marriage institution.
Nebraska, Ohio, California and
Georgia are thus far the only states to
legally ban same-sex marriages.
"We believe that this should be on
the ballot, and people should be decid-
ing on the sanctity of marriage and not
judges or legislators here or Boston or
anywhere," said Gary Glenn, president
of the American Family Association of
Michigan. "We're confident that, once
it gets on the ballot, it will be resolved.
In the five states that have voted on
(restricting marriage), the lowest
amount of support was in California at
62 percent"
Many members of the gay communi-
ty plan to actively campaign against the
petition drive.
"We will fight it," said Sean Kosof-
sky, policy director for the Triangle
Foundation. "My neighbors should not
be deciding if I have a family or not.
It's not ethical."
Although petitions started circu-
lating earlier this week, the state
Board of Canvassers approved the
wording of the petition on Tuesday.
"The model for this petition will be
like the partial-birth abortion petition,"
See PETITION, 9A
By Alison Go
and Tomislav Ladika
Daily Staff Reporters
While grading essays, working on
laptops and eating lunch, a handful
of lecturers held a "work-in" yester-
day in the lobby of the Fleming
Administration Building to pressure
the University to return to the negoti-
ating table.
Lecturers' Employee Organization
President Bonnie Halloran said the
work-in was organized because the
University's negotiating team refused
to return to the bargaining table until
tomorrow.
"(This is) to remind people doing
the negotiating that we've been here,
and that we're not going away," Eng-
lish lecturer Gene Laskowski said.
Two professors negotiating on behalf
of the University asked for talks to be
put off until today because they had
papers to grade, Halloran said.
"We've been grading papers for two
semesters while we've been at the bar-
gaining table, and that hasn't stopped
us from negotiating," said Halloran, a
lecturer on the University's Dearborn
campus. "It seems like an excuse by
the University - like they're dragging
their feet."
In response to this claim, University
administrators said the time not spent
at the bargaining table has still been
used productively.
"It has taken us a couple of days to
fully understand these new proposals
and figure out a response," Provost
Paul Courant said. "An enormous
amount of behind-the-scenes work is
going on now"
The lecturers' three main demands
for the contract are higher minimum
wages, increased job security and more
health care benefits.
At the work-in, Halloran also men-
tioned the possibility of future LEO
protests if an agreement on a con-
tract between the union and the Uni-
versity is not reached soon. LEO,
which was formed last year, current-
ly does not have a contract with the
University.
Members of LEO organizing com-
mittees on all three campuses will
meet on Monday and Tuesday. LEO
will either vote to approve the con-
tract - if an agreement has been
reached - or decide on future union
action, she said.
That may include anything ranging
from a complete strike to what more
moderate forms of collective action,
she said.
Art and Design lecturer Amanda
Miller said the University should be
more willing to negotiate after last
week's LEO walkout. "To stall for an
entire week after our walkout is signif-
icant,' said Miller, who participated in
the work-in.
See LECTURERS, 9A
English lecturer Aric Knuth meets with Blair Mezibov, an LSA senior and English concentrator, during the LEO 'work-in'
held in the Fleming Administration Building yesterday.
Taylor s o..
than most z c z an citiesf
Newman ww~~w~~n f
By Anne Joling
Daily Staff Reporter
With the presidential elections just seven
months away, Ann Arbor residents have
donated the second largest amount of money
among Michigan metro areas to candidates,
political action committees and parties in the
2004 election cycle, according to the website
Opensecrets.org.
Some of the money comes from groups
such as political action committees, but most
of it comes from individual donors.
Washtenaw county voters typically favor
Democratic candidates - the county gave a
majority vote to the Democratic candidates
for governor, secretary of state, attorney gen-
eral and U.S. senator in 2002, while county
residents have voted for Democratic presi-
dential candidates in the past four elections.
But the statistics from the Federal Elec-
tions Committee show that individuals in
Ann Arbor have donated $244,260 to Bush
and only $16,500 to John Kerry. Former Ver-
mont Gov. Howard Dean, who dropped out
of the race in February, received $64,350,
Opensecrets.org reported.
The Center for Responsive Politics rims
Opensecrets.org, a non profit, non partisan
research group that tracks money in politics.
According to the website, the reason for the
imbalance of Republican and Democrat con-
tributions can be partially attributed to the
many Republican business owners and exec-
utives who live in the Ann Arbor area.
University Regent Larry Deitch (D-Bing-
ham Farms) said he also felt that the number
of wealthy Republicans in Ann Arbor con-
See DONATIONS, 9A
4 ++wrrrrrrrrr++u+rr
$0
Republican
U Democratic
$2,000 $4,00
$6,000
G3RAPHCAsey ine
Bush OKs Sharon plan
to keep W. Bank sites
Iraq truce crumbles
as heavy battles loom
WASHINGTON (AP) - Breaking with
long-standing U.S. policy, President Bush yes-
terday endorsed Israel's retention of part of the
West Bank in any final peace settlement with
the Palestinians. In a show of support for
Israel's leader that brought immediate condem-
nation from the Palestinians, Bush also ruled
out Palestinian refugees ever returning to Israel.
An elated Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon said his plan would create "a new and
r better reality for the state of Israel."
broadly smiling Sharon, endorsed as "coura-
geous" the Israeli leader's plan to pull out of
Gaza and parts of the West Bank.
The president said there were "new realities"
on the West Bank since Israel captured the ter-
ritory in the 1967 Mideast war. Bush said major
Israeli population centers in the West Bank now
make it "unrealistic to expect the outcome of
final status negotiations will be a full and com-
plete return" to pre-war borders.
Past U.S. administrations had anticipated
FALLUJAH, Iraq (AP) - U.S. war-
planes strafed gunmen in Fallujah yes-
terday, and more than 100 guerrillas
with rocket-propelled grenades pound-
ed a lone Marine armored vehicle lost
in the streets - a sign of heavy battles
ahead if Marines resume a full assault
on this besieged city.
With a truce crumbling and Presi-
dent Bush calling for a key U.N. role to
keep the country's political transition
moving amid the violence, a top U.N.
guard, is the first known execution of a
foreign hostage in Iraq and could fur-
ther dissuade international aid workers,
contractors and journalists, some of
whom are already restricting their
activities in the country. Earlier yester-
day, Russia announced it will evacuate
its citizens.
With 22 foreigners currently held
captive and at least 87 U.S. troops
killed halfway into April, the unprece-
dented violence has largely eclipsed
iWit