Wednesday, April 21, 2004 News 3 Opinion 4 Sports 17 Harper explains the student affairs budget Sravya Chirumamilla discusses international feminism The Realest says goodbye cul Daily Arts swings into summer... Arts, Page 20 i1v c Weather Hz 71 LOW: 46 TOMORROW: 61142 s One-hundred-thirteen years ofeditorialfreedom www.michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 139 ©2004 The Michigan Daily .Ballot in MCRJ officials divided on concerned about funding itiative faces disarray strategy, By Aymar Jean Daily Staff Reporter During the next two months, the campaign to end race-conscious policies in public education and employment will make critical decisions for its petition drive. But with a deadline fast approaching, the group is facing financial and organizational challenges. A response to the U.S. Supreme Court's affirmation of the University's race-conscious admissions policies last summer, the Michi- gan Civil Rights Initiative needs 317,757 sig- natures by July 6 to get a constitutional amendment banning "race and gender prefer- ences" on the November ballot. But MCRI is now in a state of uncertainty. While it has several contingency plans in place, MCRI faces a rift in its campaign structure, questions concerning its financial situation and organizational disarray. Several proponents of the initiative have recently questioned its direction. Former treas- urer Leonard Schwartz posted an update on the state Libertarian Party website last week stating that the petition drive had been "suspended." "MCRI decided that continuing the petition drive now would be a waste of time and money," he wrote. Schwartz also wrote that the initiative could start up next year to get on the 2006 ballot, an option echoed by some other MCRI officials. But Schwartz's positing highlights a disagree- ment in the campaign. Others in the organiza- tion disagree with delaying the initiative. MCRI spokesman Chetly Zarko said the ini- tiative should focus on the 2004 ballot, whether or not a state appeals court rules in favor of the initiative's current petition form. A state judge ruled that MCRI's petition forms were invalid because they did not state the text of the constitution article the initiative would amend. In many ways, the future of the campaign hinges upon the appellate ruling. Until the decision is made, the campaign will not make any definitive choices on future strategies. If MCRI loses the appeal and must redo the peti- tion, all the signatures collected since January would be invalid. Ample finances will also be critical to the initiative's success, as MCRI officials say it will soon pay circulators to collect signatures. Opponents of the initiative have wondered whether Ward Connerly, the University of Cali- fornia regent and chief promoter of the initia- tive, will provide the funds necessary to obtain the required amount of signatures. Connerly's most recent ballot initiative in California, Proposition 54, which sought to prohibit the government from collecting racial information, was reportedly underfunded and See MCRI, Page 9 THE TRADITION CONTINUES ... ADMISSIONS 'U': Essays may be cause of fewer applications By Donn M. Fresard Daily Staff Reporter An across-the-board decrease in under- graduate applications to the University this year may have been caused by reluctance on the part of high school students to write the extra essays included in the new appli- cation, according to a preliminary admis- sions report. The LSA application, which the University implemented at the beginning of this school year after the U.S. Supreme Court forced it to discard its point-based, race-conscious policies, includes a set of three essays designed'sothat appli- cants provide more informa- tion about their backgrounds. While the current admis- sions cycle is not yet over, preliminary data released by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions indicate significant drops this year in applications. The number of total applications received as of March 30 was 18 percent lower than the number received by the same date last year, and applications from underrepresented minorities decreased 20 percent over the same period. The number of accepted students mean- while dropped 3.5 percent, while minority admissions decreased 11 percent. According to a background report on undergraduate admissions released by the administration, the new application's exten- sive essay portion may have discouraged some students from apply- ing to the University. The administration reasons because the new application is relatively time-intensive, students for whom the Uni- versity was not a first- or second-choice school may - have decided that the added effort was not worth their time. According to the report, this speculation was based on discussions between University staff and high school counselors. Melissa Pierce, a guidance counselor at Grosse Pointe North High School, estimated that applications to the University this year from her students have dropped 10 to 20 per- See ADMISSIONS, Page 11 Students run from Lorch Hall through the Law Quad and the Diag at 11:00 last night. They are running an alternative Naked Mile, a day early, in an attempt to keep the tradition going without the interference of the police. Mile day earlier than expected Hmm ... B-E-E Students hope to keep tradition alive, avoid police patrols By Donn M. Fresard and Andrew McCormack Daily Staff Reporters Seeking to keep an 18-year-old tradition alive, a group of University students and alumni par- ticipated in an alternative Naked Mile run at 11:00 last night. They evaded a police campaign against the run by scheduling it one night early and altering the route. All Naked Mile participants reached for comment requested that their last names not be printed. About four years ago, the University began a campaign with the Ann Arbor Police Depart- ment to end the Naked Mile due to concerns about student safety. During the 1990s, the event had grown into a media spectacle with the run eventually being broadcast on the Internet. But the runners didn't have to worry about gropers or cameras last night. Susan, who said she rode a bicycle while clothed to scout the course and relayed information with the run- ners via cellular phone, described the event as a success. "The only problem we encountered was at the corner of State Street and Washington' (Street), where a cop car pulled up, but nobody was stopped," she said. "We all sprinted away at that point." The group was reportedly comprised of 13 naked runners, two clothed bicyclists and one naked bicyclist. Three members of the group were recent University graduates, while the rest were students. Runners said they took extra precautions against police intervention by setting up safe houses and plans to scatter if they saw a patrol. Justifications for the run varied among the participants, with some citing personal and polit- ical expression as their objective. "I think the Naked Mile has been deteriorat- ing, and these grassroots efforts are the only way to bring it back," said Adrien, a University alum who participated in the run. Emilie, an LSA senior, said she felt the partic- ipants acted in the true spirit of the Naked Mile. "We ran with the heart of it, with no freaky men with cameras," she said. "I'm not an exhi- bitionist." Some runners expressed defiance toward the Department of Public Safety and the AAPD for what they perceived as a crackdown on the Naked Mile. "There isn't a single person who ran here tonight that wasn't angry at the police," Adrien said, adding that the runners' outrage was caused by what they felt was a draconian suppression of the Naked Mile. "I hope people will be inspired to do similar acts in the next 48 hours." See NAKED, Page 11 Student committee to begin work with administration in fall DORY GANNES/Daily Stephen Savage, 12, competes at the qualifying exam for the Ann Arbor Book Festival Spelling Bee at the Ann Arbor District Library. Five ears later: Students irecallColumbine Today s edition is the last Daily for the aca- demic year but check out our weekly summer edition, which begins 7 1" . !, t Students, administrators willprepare for committee during the summer By Melissa Benton Daily Staff Reporter Students and administrators will work together during the summer months to establish a student advi- University Provost Paul Courant and Dean of Students Ed Willis. SVA will also be involved in cre- ating the student advisory commit- tee. "The group represents a very representative group of student leaders on campus. ... Just as a result there will be plenty of SVA students involved," said MSA Rep. Matt Hollerbach, a member of SVA. Although LSA seniors Jackie will be briefed and have input on all decisions regarding the Division of Student Affairs. Harper has met with members of several student groups including the Native American Student Asso- ciation, LSA Student Government, the Latino Law Association and Students of Color of Rackham. She said the meetings have been productive because the different By Jeremy Berkowitz Daily News Editor LSA sophomore Jenisha Evans was sitting in a high school classroom five years ago students and one teacher, and injuring sever- al others. But the effect of the Columbine shootings, described as the worst school shooting in the nation's history, spread nationally beyond Littleton. I i