Monday, September 27,2004 SHIAUN 11 F THE EAD' EAMILES>LY Bl HUMR, HORROR ... ARTS, PAGE 5A Weather News 3A Opinion 4A Sports 11B Walk raises awareness on depression, suicide D.C. Lee goes to the bookstore Field hockey completes Hoosier State sweep. c . it i .wni aiIg 47 TOMORROW: 67/31ow 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 __