NEWS The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 10, 2004 - 3 ON CAMPUS Sept. 11 event to * feature former U.N. weapons inspector The Michigan Student Assembly is sponsoring a conference tomorrow to commemorate the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks which will feature former U.N. weapons inspector Scott Ritter and CNN legal analyst Jef- frey Toobin. The conference's theme is "Moving Forward While Looking Back: How America Has Changed Since 9/11," and it will take place at the University's Ste- phen M. Ross School of Business from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The conference is free and lunch is provided, but students need to register with MSA at its website, www.msa. umich.edu/911.html. Failure to attend the event after registering will result in a $30 fine being charged to the student's account. Student Affairs advisory board website created The University has created a new student advisory board for the Division of Student Affairs - which makes key decisions regarding the funding of stu- dent groups. Students can access more informa- tion about the board, composed of both undergraduate and graduate stu- dents, on the website www.umich.edu/ ~ovpsa/advisory. The site will include information about the division and its priorities, as well as allow students to post feedback. CRIME N O T E S Football tickets snatched from unattended room A student reported to the Depart- ment of Public Safety Tuesday night that his or her Michigan football tickets were stolen. The tickets were taken while the student left a room in Mary Markley Residence Hall unat- tended. 'U' truck damaged in collision with dumpster Damage to a University-owned truck was reported to DPS Wednes- day morning after the driver collided with a dumpster near the Transporta- tion Services building on 1213 Kipke Dr. No injuries were reported. Car damaged with boot marks, dents A caller reported malicious destruc- tion to DPS after finding boot marks and dents on the hood of their car yesterday morning in a parking lot on 1600 E. Medical Center Dr. THIS DAY In Daily History Sept. 10,1982 While emphasizing that college campuses are a "magic kingdom" for sex, the October edition of Playboy magazine ranked the University of Michigan ninth out of 20 schools in terms of sexiness. The University's sexual temperature barely topped 94 degrees, while Indi- ana University reached a scorching 199 degrees, according to the article. How- ever, Ohio State and Michigan State universities did not make the list. The article also went on to say that "college is both a more conservative and sexier place today than when anar- chy reigned (in the '60s)." The article based its conclusions on a survey of 2,000 college students across the coun- try, and the results indicated that most schools were becoming more liberal, but that "virginity is not quite dead." It also reported that women "claim Companies may be selling overpriced insurance to recruits WASHINGTON (AP) - House members voiced outrage yesterday at pressure put on military recruits to buy what they said were overpriced, unsuit- able mutual funds and life insurance, lining up behind bipartisan legislation aimed at curbing such abusive market- ing to soldiers, many of whom are being sent to war zones. At a time when U.S. soldiers are fighting and dying in Iraq, lawmakers denounced widespread instances of financial companies targeting military personnel with high-pressure sales tac- tics and charging them exorbitant com- missions. There are reports of some companies using retired military officers to make sales pitches to recruits for mutual funds with commissions that take 50 percent of the investor's contributions in the first year. "Just sign here, son," the retired offi- cers are urging young soldiers in the "desperate hours" before they ship off to combat duty, Rep. Richard Baker (R- La.), chairman of a House Financial Ser- vices subcommittee, said at a hearing. Fund plans with 50 percent com- missions disappeared from the civilian market in the 1970s and now are nearly exclusively sold to military personnel, industry experts say. Legislation proposed this week by Rep. Max Burns (R-Ga.) would prohib- it all sales of the so-called contractual mutual fund plans. The bill also would expand the authority of state regulators over sales of insurance policies on mili- tary bases. With a number of supporters from both parties, its prospects for passage appear strong in the waning days of Congress's session this year. Baker said it was impossible for law- makers to "stand by and not take cor- rective action." Rep. Michael Oxley (R-Ohio), chair- man of the full committee, called it "a systemic problem that needs to be fixed." He cited reports of groups of recruits being "marched into compulsory brief- ings on veterans' benefits by salesmen pretending to be financial planners (who) quickstep them into signing up for what turns out to be long-term life insurance." The briefings are organized under the Pentagon's policy of having finan- cial management classes for personnel on bases. Some young soldiers without depen- dents are paying more than $100 a month for life insurance on top of rela- tively inexpensive policies they already have as members of the military. Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) told of his 19-year-old Long Island constituent, Raheen Tyson Heighter, who enlisted in the Army and served in Iraq: "He was told he needs life insurance and he figured, 'I'm 19 years old; I don't really need life insurance.' He was told again, 'Well you need to have it.' He replies, 'What's the cheapest policy I can get?' and they tell him a $10,000 policy. He gets a $10,000 policy." After he was killed in action in Iraq, Israel related, Tyson Heighter's mother got a phone call from an Army officer saying, "All your son bought was a $10,000 policy. We're sorry." Tyson Heighter had been unable to afford the $20 a month for the stan- dard military policy, which provides for $200,000. An official of American Amicable Life Insurance Co. told the hearing that after improper sales practices by sever- al of its agents at Fort Benning, Ga., and Camp Pendleton, Calif., came to light, the company fired the agents and gave refunds to affected policyholders. Sharon's newest settlement order causes govt discord JERUSALEM (AP) -A group of prominent Israeli hard- liners urged soldiers yesterday to disobey orders to dismantle Jewish settlements, widening the bitter divisions over Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and parts of the West Bank. In new fighting, eight Palestinians, including a 9-year- old boy, were killed in a string of clashes in the West Bank and Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz ordered a closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the upcom- ing Jewish holidays, preventing thousands of Palestinian workers from entering Israel. A ministry spokeswoman said the order would go into effect this morning and last until early October. Military sources said humanitarian cases would still be permitted into the country. Since fighting erupted four years ago, Israel has restricted the entry of Palestinians to varying degrees, imposing strict closures during holidays and other times of high alert. In April 2002, a Palestinian suicide bomber blew up a Passover gathering,'killing 29 pe6ple. The call to soldiers and other security forces to resist evac- uating settlements appeared to signal a significant escalation in the debate over withdrawal. ' Sharon says exiting Gaza, where 8,000 Jewish settlers live among 1.3 million Palestinians, will boost Israeli security. He hopes to complete the pullout next year. But hard-liners, including members of his own Likud Party, have grown increasingly vocal in their opposition to the withdrawal. The hard-liners accuse Sharon of caving in to Palestinian violence, and fear that the initial pullout will lead to further withdrawals from West Bank land. The petition published yesterday in the Besheva weekly contained some of the harshest language yet against Sharon's plan. It called the pullout a "crime against humanity" and urged security forces to disobey orders to evacuate settlements. "We call public officials who are being asked to lay the groundwork for the ethnic cleansing of Jews from their homeland, and on all of the officers, troops and policemen, to listen to the voice of their conscience and not take part in acts that will sully them," it said. The petition was signed by 185 people, including former lawmakers, academics military officers and retired officials. The newspaper is oriented toward a religious nationalist audi- ence, including Israel's 240,000 settlers in the West Bank and Gaza, a Besheva spokesman said. The Yesha Council; an umbrella group representing Jew- ish settlers, said it had no connection to the ad. Yesha spokes- man Josh Hasten said the group continues to support only nonviolent and legal means of resistance. Among the names on the petition were Ben Zion Netanya- hu, father of ex-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Yossi Ben Aharon, Netanyahu's bureau chief. I Ann Arbor Branch AAUW 52nd Annual Used Book Sale September 10 - 12, 2004 . . ........ . ....... .. Friday: 10am - 8pm Early admission $10, Sam - 10am Saturday: 10am - 8pm Sunday: 10am - 3pm Friday: Saturday: Sunday: $1 - $4 price range, some books individually priced all books half price all books $5 per bag Luxury L iving At A Great P rice! Morris Lawrence Building Washtenaw Community College Supporting the education of women for over 100 years! www.aauwaa.org Ask About Our FREE MOVE " lniquEdiak " O $e & ivbedooapartmet and two bedroom towhomtes " Heat and water iMoe " Paio or akoii " wi~mmngpo d " Coy 1redparking " On RATA bIs line near Uof M " CQiporate Suites PINEY VALLEY MOVE-INGUARANTEE Ask About SPECIALS! (734) 971-5210 1521 Pine Valley Bh d. Ann Arbor, MI48104 : (800)989-1833 Emaik info@ i artments~com 1925.0W, . ,