10A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 9, 2004 NEWS WISH Continued from page 1A work to support the foundation. "The Stars program has really spread through grassroots efforts, where people like (Tosoian) have taken the reins and started this pro- gram at the University of Michigan. This is a wonderful opportunity to get students interested in outreach for Make-A-Wish. We are truly excited about it," Tarcha said. UM Stars, now the second of two chapters in Michigan, hopes to expand with the help of students at other uni- versities around the state and coun- try. Currently, Rosenthal is working with students from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Northwest- ern University and others to open new chapters in the coming years. A mass meeting for UM Stars will be held Tuesday, Sept. 21 at 9:15 p.m. in Anderson Room D of the Union. Con-3 tact the program at stars@umich.edu or call 1-800-622-9474 for more info about Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan. BILL Continued from page 1A that bring international scholars to the University, which Tessler said improves academic quality. Hoekstra in a written statement said this legislation is pivotal in increasing the awareness of international educa- tion in light of recent events occurred since President Bush announced the war on terror. He said an advisory board would be beneficial, as it will ensure accomplishing the govern- ment's goal. "Since the events of Sept. 11, 2001, international education has taken on a more fundamental and immediate role than ever before," Hoekstra said The main supporters of the bill say the board would actually monitor curri- cula to ensure lessons are unbiased and both sides of the issues are presented. NADER Continued from page 1A would encourage a lot of Nader voters to vote for them." She added that instant runoff vot- ing, a system that allows voters to rank their preferences instead of voting for only one candidate, would give alterna- tive candidates a better chance than the current system does. Students for Nader lists instant run- off voting in its mission statement as an issue it aims to promote. Krishnaswamy said some Demo- cratic groups on campus have been less than supportive of Nader's upcoming visit. She said members of Billionaires for Bush, a group whose trademark is facetiously supporting Bush in order to ridicule his economic policies, tore down Nader flyers and caused mischief in other ways. "One of them came up to us and started asking for flyers," she said. "After a while we figured out he was asking for an inordinate amount of flyers and just trying to take all of them." Lois Waldman, co-director of the Commission on Law and Social Action of the American Jewish Congress, said this resolution is aimed at ensur- ing unbiased education in the United States. "Our study shows that some pro- grams are biased and distorted. Aca- demic freedom is required on both sides," she said. Although the advisory board pro- posed in the legislation is weak, it would ensure that bias is not present in universities, said Waldman. She said the professors would not be censored or removed, but this gives them a reason to provide a more diverse and impartial education. Last October, the bill passed in the House of Representatives with an unre- corded vote and it is expected to come before the Senate Committee on Health, Education and Labor and Pensions for debate this month. A Delta commuter jet, right, makes it's way to a terminal at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in Grapewine, Texas yesterday. Delta Air ines to cut jobs, close down Dallashu 0 ATLANTA (AP) - Delta Air Lines is axing up to 7,000 jobs, cutting employee wages and shedding its Dallas hub as part of a sweeping turnaround plan aimed at helping the nation's third largest carrier cope with high fuel costs and competition from low-fare rivals. But even with those changes - part of a $5 bil- lion cost-saving program - Chief Executive Officer Gerald Grinstein warned yesterday Delta would seek bankruptcy court protection if Delta can't slow the pace of pilot retirements by the end of September. Grinstein told reporters that he fears pilots could jump ship en masse because they are worried about their pensions and keenly aware of UAL Corp.'s threat to terminate the employee retirement plans at its Unit- ed Airlines unit. Several hundred Delta pilots have retired early in recent months, and more have threat- ened to do so, he said. "We have to know what we're dealing with before the end of the month," Grinstein said, after delivering a speech to 300 middle managers that was broadcast on the Internet.. The normal pilot retirement age at Delta is 60. Senior pilots with enough years of service can retire early at age 50, and roughly 2,000 are currently eligi- ble, Grinstein said. If that many retired early, it would hurt Delta's ability to operate the international flights that many of its senior pilots handle, Grinstein said. Pilots union spokesman Chris Renkel said pilots would be less likely to retire early if Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines Inc. would heed the union's request for the company to promise not to try to take away any employees' accrued benefits. So far, Renkel said, Delta has refused to guaran- tee the future availability of lump-sum payments pilots can get if they retire early. "It is unfortunate that our management has chosen a Webcast envi- ronment to deliver this ultimatum," Renkel said in a memo to pilots. Neither the airline nor the union would say what the maximum lump-sum payment is. Delta pilots who retire can elect to receive 50 percent of their pension benefit in a lump sum and the other 50 percent as an, annuity later, regulatory filings show. Pension benefits paid to Delta pilots and other retir- ees rose almost 23 percent to $1.1 billion in 2003 from $888 million the year before, regulatory filings show., The increased pace of early pilot retirements would likely push that number even higher this year. Before the retirement issue escalated, Delta had been warning investors for months that it may have to file for bankruptcy protection if it didn't get deep wage cuts from its pilots. Management said on July 30 it needed a minimum of $1 billion in conces- sions from pilots to survive. Pilots have offered up to $705 million. Grinstein told reporters yesterday that talks with the pilots are continuing, "but time is running out" to reach an agreement. He declined to be more specific. Delta also is trying to restructure its roughly $20 bil- lion in debt, and Grinstein said private discussions with creditors are going well. Despite the latest measures, Grinstein said "bank- ruptcy is a real possibility." "We're working hard and fast to avoid it," Grinstein said. But he added, "If the pilot early retirement issue is not resolved before the end of the month, or if all of the pieces don't come together in the near term, we will be required to restructure through the courts." On the New York Stock Exchange, Delta shares fell 44 cents, or 9.8 percent, to close yesterday at $4.04. In his speech to employees, Grinstein said that the airline will cut 6,000 to 7,000 jobs, or about 10 per- cent of its overall work force, over the next 18 months. More job cuts are likely in the future, he told reporters afterward. 0 4 6