Thursday, September 30, 2004 Weather News 3A Cate Edwards stops by Ann Arbor Sports :OA Finley leads consis- tent punting game e irt iga4l H a73 y ;40 TOMORROW: 74/ Weekend 6B Exploring 'U' housing One-hundred-thirteen years of edtorialfreedom www.michganday.com Ann Arbor, Michigan . Vol. CXV, No. 2 x2004 The Michigan Daily Bush and *Kerry square off in debate First presidential debate will take place tonight at 9 p.m. By Donn M. Fresard Daily Staff Reporter The candidates will not be allowed to address each other directly, leave their lecterns or even use non-approved writ- ing utensils for note-taking. But despite the meticulously scripted format, stu- dent political leaders say the first presi- dential debate, which will take place at 9 p.m. tonight, will be much like tele- vised debates of the past - that is, at least as much about image as it is about issues. Tonight's debate in Florida, the first of three scheduled between Bush and Kerry, will focus on foreign policy. The debate is widely expected to be a defin- ing moment of the campaign - espe- cially for Kerry, who analysts say has yet to make a connection with a large portion of the voters who are dissatis- fied with Bush. The debate will provide Kerry with his best chance yet to clearly define his position on the war in Iraq. Kerry, who in recent weeks has dramatically sharpened his message against Bush, is expected to use the continuing violence in Iraq to convince voters that Bush has mismanaged the war and neglected other dangers. Bush will likely stick to the message he has used throughout the campaign, attempting to paint Kerry as indecisive and weak on defense and defending the war for bringing democracy to Iraq College Republicans chair Allison Jacobs and College Democrats chair Ramya Raghavan said student interest in the debates this year is high, and pre- dicted that the debates would be impor- See DEBATE, Page 9A Filmmaker and activist Michael Moore speaks about the upcoming election and defends Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry last night at Hill Auditorium. Moore turns up heat in Hill By Sarah Peterson Daily Fine Arts Editor Students protest filmmaker's visit "Calm down, Republicans," said Michael Moore, setting the tenor for sold-out Hill Audi- torium. "They're a little ornery. They only have a few weeks left." The activist and filmmaker announced that while he respects Republicans, "Bush has got to go" and the only way for the American people to accomplish this is to go out and vote. The goal of the night was to reach out to col- lege-aged students, one of the largest under- represented groups at the polls. Moore gave out - prizes to people who registered to vote while at the speech, but the majority of the night was an anti-Bush rally. Moore talked about the catchphrases of the Bush campaign: "Top liberal, flip-flop, you're going to die," chanted Moore. Moore compared the "mantra" to a bad song that gets stuck in your head. He continued on to say that those mantras do get stuck in your head, saying all challenger John Kerry has is "I'm not Bush." Moore then laughed, "This is good enough for me." The Michigan Student Assembly, who paid for the event using student funds, made a $200 profit and sold out all 3,500 seats in Hill Audito- rium, according to Jesse Levine, MSA student general counsel. Another issue Moore discussed was the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads that criti- cize Kerry's Vietnam war record. He com- mented on how the advertisements complained that Kerry did not bleed, to which, after an impregnated pause, the auditorium erupted into laughter. Moore then offered five ads as a "gift" to the Bush campaign. The ads sported such catch lines as "one limb left equals cow- See MOORE, Page 8A Group considers commuter train to Detroit Commuter consensus By Karl Stampfl Daily Staff Reporter * In the case of an emergency at home in Chicago, LSA fresh- man Michael Rabinowitz would first have to hail a taxi, com- mission it to go to Detroit, then find a flight out of the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. However, a study of mass transportation options between Ann Arbor and Detroit may lead to making a trip to Detroit simpler. The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments General Assembly is studying whether a rapid transit route to Detroit would be feasible. The assembly is a private organization that plans on behalf of local governments on the subjects of trans- portation, economics and the environment. "We've started the process by looking at all options," said Carmine Palombo, SEMCOG's director of transportation planning. "We'll whittle it down to the best alternative." One of the options is a commuter train. Another option is Bus Rapid Transit, designed to combine the flexibility of a bus with the comfort of a train. It would be capable of running on exclusive transitways, expressways and ordinary streets. One of its benefits is its cleanliness and quietness, according to the assembly. Nothing has been decided yet. The study will range 18 months - it began in October 2003 and is scheduled for com- pletion in June 2005. "We've done a regional transit study to identify corridors of candidacy for more public transportation," Palombo said. "The Ann Arbor to Detroit Corridor was one of those. We're moving forwgrd with the next phase, determining whether the costs and benefits make it feasible." The study's public kick-off is a series of meetings open to all citizens from Oct. 19 through Oct. 21. In the meetings, the assembly will judge interest in local communities. "We've heard that a number of communities are very inter- ested," Palombo said. "Washtenaw County, Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Wayne County and Detroit have all expressed inter- est." Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick believes his city is in an upswing and mass transportation is a way to facilitate the progress. "We absolutely believe wholeheartedly in mass transit," said Howard Hughey, Kilpatrick's press secretary. "The mayor and Legislature believe it would make our region more competi- tive globally. It would help grow Detroit." Exploring how rapid transit may help local economies is a goal of the study. "The transit plan aims to enhance overall transportation," Palombo said. "But it also aims to improve the region's eco- nomic competitiveness." Ann Arbor residents, who number 114,000 during the school year, would have greater access to visit and spend money in See DETROIT, Page 9A Public meetings will be held to gauge community support for increased mass trans- portation from Ann Arbor to Detroit Oct. 19, 4 to 8 p.m., Washtenaw Community College. Oct. 20, 4 to 8 p.m., SEMCOG office, 535 Griswold St., Suite 300, Detroit. Oct. 21, 4 to 8 p.m., Henry Ford Community Performing Arts Center, Dearborn. Animal rights . activist shocks with pictures, message ELECTIONS '04 Polls: Michigan likely to vote for gay marriage ban By Allie Horevitz and Lucille Vaughan Daily Staff Reporters Lecturing to a mostly sympathet- ic audience, Paul Shapiro delivered a controversial and heated message yesterday: conscious consumers should reject meat and egg products, which are created in an atmosphere of suffering and economic waste. "From our very childhood we create these myths to help us feel better about eating these products," Shapiro, campaigns manager for the animal advocacy group Compas- sion Over Killing said, in the Pend- lntnr inn of a .a Miaan T ~ Tn adding that egg-laying hens are kept in tiny cages and suffer intense misery. "If it was strictly about humane considerations, I would eat a steak over an omelet any day," he added. However, United Egg says in their online Egg Nutrition Center that eggs provide nutritional contri- butions to the diet and are afford- able and convenient sources of food for many Americans. Shapiro also condemned the dairy cow industry. "We are the only species that not only never weans itself but drinks milk from another species," he said. "It's hard t.o ti a1-f 'vina n imnaihira i By Justin Miller Daily Staff Reporter New polls show a majority of Michi- gan voters approve of a ballot proposal which would amend the state constitu- tion to ban gay marriage. The Lansing-based Marketing Resource Group reported Tuesday that 61 percent of registered Michigan voters support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Thirty-three percent oppose it and 6 percent are undecided. An earlier poll conducted by the Gal- lup Organization showed supnort for the 61 percent of registered Michigan voters support a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. don't feel threatened by it at all. I hope that Ann Arbor will stand out and send a message that we're tolerant here." The Michigan numbers are slightly higher than those in a national poll con- I