NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 19, 2004 - 5A
Rhyme showcase
Religious murals start of
campus decoration plan
for new student group
By Genevieve Lampinen
Daily Staff Reporter
The Hillel Mural and Sculpture Club, a new organization
_h dedicated to creating art on campus, unveiled its first fin-
ished projects Friday at "Mural Shabbat," an evening dedi-
:,. cated to displaying the religious artwork of students.
The pieces are only the beginning for the group, which
consists of Hillel members and Art and Design students.
The group plans to create secular art in the future and is also
accumulating donations of work that can be displayed on
Central Campus.
"What I'd like to do from here on is I currently have a
board of 11 dedicated people together, we're planning to
create art installations all over campus," said group Presi-
dent David Landau, an LSA freshman.
Landau said next semester the club will place art in East
Quad Residence Hall and tentatively in the Michigan Union,
Michigan League, Pierpont Commons and Chemistry
Building. "We are trying to raise as much support as we can.
Our goals are we want to create high-quality public art to
beautify the campus." Landau said.
He added that the art pieces will not change the build-
ings' current aesthetic motifs.
"If we were doing a piece for the Union, then the pieces
would reflect the Union's current decor - it wouldn't change
the buildings, it would add to them," he said.
The 15 religiously themed paintings that are now hanging
in the cafeteria and upper floor of Hillel Center were com-
memorated with a mural-unveiling ceremony following
Shabbat service.
Two four by 16 foot murals, and one four by 12 foot
mural, were painted with bright colors and creative designs,
illuminating two of the once-blank walls. The other two
walls are covered with similarly imaginative works captur-
^''{ ing notions of spirituality and unity.
The three main large murals, themed "Creation," "Exo-
dus," and "The Garden of Eden," were done in Art and
Design lecturer Amanda Miller's class. The class worked
with the mural and sculpture club, Landau said.
"Her class did a phenomenal job combining skills to cre-
ate the larger murals," Landau said.
SrsMiller said the project was a good opportunity to have
students showcase their art in public,and that she plans to
work with Landau's group in the future.
"This was a set commission by Hillel, (with) David as
FOREST CASEY/Daily the liaison, that I turned into a class assignment. We
went to Hillel and the cafeteria and did research on
Law student Yasser Museitif, also known as MC Locksmith, freestyles on the mic at Big Ten Burrito what the themes could be. We made sketches, submitted
on Saturday as Music senior Jno Hunt and LSA senior Patrick Kim provide the beats. them to Hillel and painted. It's a good opportunity for
students to get their work in a permanent setting,"
Kerrycriticizes Bush on foreign,,
policy, pro-mises to halve deficit
"It's exciting now that they've
finally put art here. (It) makes
this room as lively and colorful as
the people in it."
- Rachel Rose
LSA senior
Miller said.
Art and Design sophomore Geoff Silverstien said he was
excited to have worked on the project.
"I helped work on the mural (of the) seven days of cre-
ation. I was in a class that did a number of the larger paint-
ings. It was a nice way to get work out and give people
something to look at. Having quality art work around can
really help make a space more interesting," Silverstien said.
Students said the paintings have made the room, which is
used for celebratory activities such as Shabbat Dinner and
Israeli folk dancing, more lively and appropriate for such
occasions.
"I like how the art work has a Jewish component to it -
it's not just any artwork. People coming can relate to it. That
room is used for meals, people come. down and eat on Fri-
day and after service," LSA junior Kim Newstadt said.
LSA senior Rachel Rose said that her time in the room
will now be more enjoyable.
"I've been here for almost four years and this room is
really plain. It's known to be empty, just crying for some art-
work. It's exciting now they they've finally put art here. (It)
makes this room as lively and colorful as the people in it,"
Rose said.
Hillel Program Director Ben Berger said the room typi-
cally draws in between 100 and 200 people for Shabbat din-
ner on Fridays, and between 40 and 60 students daily who
are on kosher meal plans.
"We serve hundreds of meals to students on campus. The
murals really liven up the room. Response by students has
been overwhelmingly positive," Berger said.
He added that funding secured by Landau has enabled
the group to provide free supplies for any student who wants
to work with it, either for Hillel or for art work that will be
placed around campus.
Landau said so far primary collaborators with the Mural
and Sculpture Club include the Residential College, the
School of Art and Design, LSA Student Government, and
Arts at Michigan, an organization on campus that creates
connections between students and different forms of art.
Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee
argues that Bush left U.S. troops shouldering too
much of burden in Iraq war
MIAMI (AP) - Democrat John Kerry yesterday accused President
Bush of being "stunningly ineffective" at foreign policy and stuck by
his argument that the war against terrorism isn't primarily a military
struggle.
Kerry, in a wide-ranging interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," also
stood by his promise to create 10 million jobs and halve the deficit in
his first term if elected, though he conceded that soaring red ink could
squeeze some proposals.
The Massachusetts senator and presumptive Democratic presidential
nominee pressed his argument that Bush, the Republican incumbent,
went about the Iraq war in a way that has left the United States and its
troops shouldering too much of the burden. He said he would build an
international alliance to share the responsibility for rebuilding Iraq.
"I think this administration has proven, frankly, stunningly ineffective
in diplomacy," Kerry said, citing Bush's policy change on Israel last
week. "There were Arab leaders that were taken by surprise by this
announcement."
"I will immediately reach out to other nations in a very different way
from this administration," he said. "Within weeks of being inaugurated I
will return to the U.N. and I will rejoin the community of nations."
Kerry rejected the suggestion that he's been inconsistent on Iraq
because he voted for the congressional resolution that authorized the
use of force, and against $87 billion in additional funding for the war. A
Bush campaign commercial currently on the air criticizes Kerry's vote
against the aid package last year.
Kerry noted that Bush himself had threatened to veto the $87 billion
bill if it included money to pay for health care for reservists and
required Iraq to pay back some of the money set aside for its recon-
struction.
"Think of that. The president threatened to veto that bill, and yet he is
now accusing me for voting no," he said.
Asked whether he'd vote against another funding bill for U.S. troops
in Iraq, Kerry said: "It depends entirely on what the situation is ... I'm
not going to say that."
The Democrat and Vietnam War veteran said he supports the long-
term goal of stability in Iraq, but warned that the public's patience may
wear thin.
"If we are stuck for a long period of time in a quagmire where young
Americans are dying without any sense of that (stability) being able to be
achieved, I think most Americans will decide that's failure," Kerry said.
Kerry also defended his argument that the fight against terrorism is
more than just a military operation.
"You need the best intelligence, the best law enforcement cooperation
in the world," he said. "I will not hesitate to use those forces effectively.
I think I could fight a far more effective war on terror."
Marc Racicot, chairman of Bush's re-election campaign, suggested
that Kerry wasted an opportunity to explain why he voted for the use of
force in Iraq but against money for the U.S. troops in harm's way.
"John Kerry went even further and instead of sending a message to
the troops that we are behind them, when asked about his new support
in the future, he said 'it depends upon the situation,"' Racicot said.
"This conditional support for the troops that John Kerry voted to send
to Iraq in the first place demonstrates a disturbing lack ofjudgment."
Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said Kerry's appearance
"was filled with inaccuracies, attacks and pessimism toward the future
of the country."
Kerry campaign officials pointed to a comment by White House
spokesman Scott McClellan as evidence that the administration has
essentially the same position about the war being more than a military
operation. McClellan recently said, "We are fighting the war on terror-
ism on many fronts."
Kerry's interview came as he opened a three-day campaign swing
through Florida, where the disputed 2000 election was decided in favor
of Bush, who won by 537 votes.
Afterward, Kerry returned to courting young voters at a rally of sev-
eral thousand students at the University of Miami.
"All across America, tuition has gone up in the last three years by 28
percent" forcing thousands to abandon plans for college, he said. "I
believe no American should downsize their dreams."
In a nod to local politics and the influential community of Cuban
expatriates, Kerry said he remained opposed to lifting the U.S. embargo
against Cuba, though he favors talks with the country and possibly
encouraging travel.
Kerry held to his promise of creating 10 million jobs, drawing com-
parisons with former President Clinton. Kerry said Clinton pledged to
create 8 million jobs when he ran in 1992, but ended up creating 11
million.
AP PHOTO
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), left, sits next to U.S. Rep. Kendrick
Meek (D-Fla.), right, as a donation basket is passed during services at the Ebenezer United Methodist
Church, in Miami, Fla., yesterday.
Minn. city mourns missing student's death
PEQUOT LAKES, Minn. (AP) - Residents of
this tiny northern Minnesota city felt a sense of relief
yesterday, a day after the discovery of University of
North Dakota student Dru Sjodin's body, but they
have yet to find the closure they seek.
That won't happen, several residents said, until
Sjodin's killer is brought to justice.
"It kind of brouiiht some closure, but it rekin-
Attorneys familiar with the case have said federal
prosecutors probably will take over for a murder
case, although the top federal prosecutors in Min-
nesota and North Dakota have said it is too early to
determine that.
Neither state has capital punishment, but federal
law allows the death penalty for murder committed
during a kidnaoing.
Doolittle said she generally opposes the death
penalty but said it should apply in this case. "He took
a wonderful life away," she said.
On the University of North Dakota campus in
Grand Forks, several hundred mourners left candles
on the lawn in front of Sjodin's sorority after gather-
ing for a memorial last night.
"Now she has been initiated by God's angels and