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One-hundred-thirteen years of editorialfreedom
ww.mkhigandat/y.com Ann Arbor, Michigan * Vol. CXIII, No. 169 62004 The Michigan Daily
ELECTIONS '04
Talk of
a draft
factors
into race
By Donn M. Fresard
and Justin Miller
Daily Staff Reporters
With the U.S. military stretched thin
in Iraq and potential conflicts brewing
elsewhere, the possibility of a military
draft is developing into a campaign
issue.
Rumors that President Bush intends
to reinstate the draft - which began
percolating on liberal websites and
chain e-mails - have pervaded the
rhetoric of the most notable figures in
the Democratic Party.
In response to an audience member's
question last week following a cam-
paign speech, Democratic presiden-
tial candidate John Kerry promised he
would not bring back the draft except in
the case of a major global conflict, hint-
ing instead that Bush might.
"If George Bush were to be re-elect-
ed, given the way he has gone about
this war and given his avoidance of
responsibility in North Korea and Iran
and other places, is it possible? I can't
tell you," Kerry, a Massachusetts sena-
tor, said.
Bush and other members of his
administration have insisted that they
do not believe a draft is necessary, and
have no plans to ask Congress to push
for one.
"There are no discussions about the
draft in this administration," said Bush
spokeswoman Sharon Castillo. "John
Kerry's raising that possibility 'is irre-
sponsible and a scare tactic."
Some of Kerry's surrogates have
been more explicit in using the issue
against Bush. Earlier this month,
according to the Associated Press,
former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean
told students at Brown University in
Providence, R.I. that they would be in
danger of being drafted in the event of
Bush's re-election.
"I think that George Bush is certain-
ly going to have a draft if he goes into a
second term, and any young person that
doesn't want to go to Iraq might think
twice about voting for him," Dean said.
The strategy may be working with
some students. Tim Johnson, a gradu-
ate student at the Gerald R. Ford
School of Public Policy, said he has
heard rumors about the draft and is
strongly opposed to it.
"It angers me that we'd have to insti-
tute such a policy," Johnson said. "At
the same time, the prospect of going to
war and getting killed is pretty scary."
J.D. Singer, a professor of political
science at the University, said public
outcry would make the passage of any
draft legislation "highly improbable"
barring another major conflict on top
of Iraq.
Much of the past buzz about a mili-
tary draft has been based on a pair of
bills introduced simultaneously in the
U.S. House and Senate in early 2003 by
* Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) and Sen.
Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.).
Both bills call for a draft of both
men and women, and they are typically
cited as evidence that Bush is planning
to revive the draft shortly after his re-
election.
But what the chain e-mails neglect
to mention, besides the party affiliation
of the bills' sponsors, is that both bills
have languished in committee since
shortly after their introduction in early
2003.
See DRAFT, Page 7A
DON'T GET MAD, GET EVEN
Rally seeks
state unity
in politics
Residents and state leaders
discuss host of regional changes
By Leah Guttman
For the Daily
DETROIT - Facing the state's top offi-
cials, Michigan residents gathered down-
town yesterday to present their social and
political agendas in hopes of finding com-
mon ground with politicians, and among
each other.
In a vibrant and power-
ful expression of democ- "We are d
racy, between 2,500 and
3,000 people assembled at to eithert
the University of Detroit
Mercy. The aim of the current p
rally held by the Metro- orChang(
politan Organizing Strat-
egy Enabling Strength, a politician
coalition of institutions
including the Univer-
sity, was to build regional - The Rev
unity around social issues
from civil rights to health Metropol
care.
Michigan is one of Strategy E
the most racially polar-
ized, politically divided and educationally
segregated states, said the Rev. Kevin Tur-
man, president of MOSES. He said MOSES
believes that existing government policies
- many of which disenfranchise minor-
ity groups, he added - are responsible for
these divisions. "We are determined to either
change current politics or change the current
politicians," Turnmian said.
Students, professors and residents of Ann
Arbor piled into University-provided buses to
attend the rally. Among them was LSA senior
Samantha Woll. "It's important to me as a
student activist at the University to discuss an
agenda for regional unity," she said.
First on MOSES's agenda for regional
unity was increased protection of civil rights.
A MOSES representative announced the for-
etermined
change
olitics
e current
s.
. Kevin Turman
President,
itan Organizing
nabling Strength
mation of a civil rights
task force that will work
with state legislators and
the Michigan Insurance
Commissioner to end
insurance redlining - a
practice that, according
to Turman, "sets insur-
ance rates based more on
one's zip code rather than
one's driving or claims
record."
Detroit Mayor Kwame
Kilpatrick promised to
aid the task force in all its
future work.
Members of Congress
were also asked to use
their political clout to pass a Civil Liber-
ties Restoration Act. If passed, this act will
drastically reduce the current waiting period
required for immigrant residency hearings.
Health care also took the stage when
Granholm announced a new initiative
which invites states to join together in low-
ering costs of prescription drugs. Michi-
gan "needs to pool the uninsured and pool
See MOSES, Page 7A
TONY DING/Daily
Michigan wide receiver Braylon Edwards (1) celebrates his touchdown catch during the Wolverines' 30-
17 victory over Iowa on Saturday. owa beat Michigan last year and in 2002. See SportsMonday.
By Amy Kwolek
For The Daily
sees jump in electronic applications
The Internet makes practically everything -
from bidding to banking - faster, easier and more
accessible. That is why 60 percent of last year's appli-
cants to the University opted for the convenience of
the online application in lieu of the traditional paper
forms.
Although the total number of applicants declined
last year, the number of online applicants rose 10
percent.
"It was so much easier," Engineering freshman
Adam Smith said of the online application.
""They are catering to the new generation," LSA
freshman Kerri Gross said.
The online system breaks the appli-
cation into sections, which can be DM41
completed separately. Online forms
can be completed in one sitting, or
the applicant can revisit the application
several times. The information entered online is sent
directly to the University's Office of Undergraduate
Admissions, so there is less chance that the forms
will be lost than when paper applications go through
the mail.
Despite the convenience and popularity of the
online applications, some students still prefer using
traditional methods.
"I was more confident that I would get everything
done, that I would be able to double-check it and that
I would not miss anything," said LSA freshman Jen-
g$S
nie Hegwood, who applied using the
OI)NS paper application.
Such concerns prompted the Uni-
versity to equip the online system with
an "Application Inspector," which noti-
fies applicants immediately if any part of the applica-
tion is left incomplete.
By contrast, the applicant using paper forms must
wait until the application is received by the Office of
Admissions, filed and manually checked for comple-
tion, at which point the student will be notified if any
part is missing. That process can take weeks.
The opportunity to type information directly onto
the application can be seen as a benefit for not only
the applicant, but also the people on the other end:
the admissions officers. With the online system,
applicant information is downloaded directly onto
the University database. This reduces the chance that
an admissions officer will mistype an applicant's
information into University servers.
Additionally, with so many students applying over
the Internet, fewer and fewer paper applications are
needed, saving money on printing costs.
"We have sent far less paper applications to high
schools - 33 percent less in the past two years"
Associate Director of Admissions Chris Lucier said.
In previous years the number of paper appli-
cations printed annually was 200,000. Now, the
University sends 100,000 forms to prospective
students and prints 40,000 for high schools and
for use in college fairs.
See FORMS, Page 7A
Where church meets state: the presidential campaign
By Jamel Naqvi
Daily StaffReporter
DETROIT - Seeking to solidify
Democratic presidential nominee John
Kerry's small lead in the state, his run-
ning mate John Edwards mined the moral
and religious rhetoric - which President
Bush has used to great effect - during
his speech to an all-black congregation in
Detroit yesterday.
Edwards has also visited black church-
es in Florida and North Carolina, court-
ing churchgoers with his own strong
faith.
At times during his speech, the North
Carolina senator's morally charged lan-
guage evoked Bush's often dualistic
worldview, in which the president defines
Michi a Edwards tr
the monop
has over fa
issues in black-and-white terms.
"It's important to speak out against,
the immoral and unjust forces," Edwards
said. He later said his opponents on the
Republican ticket are "trying to exploit
our nation's greatest tragedy (Sept. 11)
for personal gain ... It's immoral and it's
wrong."
In a June Time magazine poll, a major-
ity of respondents said Bush is a man of
strong religious con-
ied to chip away at
oly Bush seemingly
ith ...
victions while a smaller number agreed
when that statement was applied to
Kerry. Edwards tried to chip away at the
monopoly Bush seemingly has over faith
with his speech at the New St. Paul Tab-
ernacle Church of God in Christ.
"The Bible is such an important part
of my life and Senator Kerry's life," he
said. -
But playing the religion card may not
See FAITH, Page 7A
FOREST
CASEY/Daily
Demo-
cratic vice
presiden-
tial candi-
date John
Edwards
speaks
at the
New St.
Paul Tab-
ernacle
Church
of God in
Christ in
Detroit
yesterday.
Group aims to ease students' searches for counseling
I
A helping hand
The Student's Health
By Margaret Havemann
For The Daily
to go to get aid for mental health
problems, Sommers helped found
the Student's Health Advocates and
Resource Exchange, a group that seeks
to streamline students' access to and
logical Services and Sexual Assault
Prevention and Awareness Center.
SHARE seeks to "work closely
with the administration to act as a link
between students and the system."
problems, Granader said.
"We hope to reach out to the campus
community and create a discussion that
is so often overlooked," Miller said.
Associate Dean of Students Stenha-
Should I stay or
should I go?
Today is the final day for
students to make changes
When she was approached by one
of her friends who was aoing through a
i
I
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