Friday, October 8, 2004

Opinion 4

Open the presi-
dency to all

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One-hundredfourteen years of edonalfreedom
www.mkhigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXV, No. 8 x2004 The Michigan Daily

'BE THE 12TH MAN'

Students
praise new
hall plan

By Ekjyot Saini
Daily Staff Reporter
One of the ugliest buildings on
campus, often said to resemble a
juvenile detention center, is clos-
ing its gates for good. While some
have shown concern for the demoli-
tion, the proposal to tear down the
Frieze Building in order to build a
new residence hall is being met with
much enthusiasm from the Univer-
sity community.
University President Mary
Sue Coleman
announced yes- "I think it
terday a proposal
to begin in 2006 hate this
the construction I wish th
of a new hall on
the Frieze site it sooner.
that combines
classroom facili-
ties with residen-
tial suites geared
toward upper-
classmen. The University intends
to create a structure that integrates
residential life and academics.
Residence Hall Association Presi-
dent Amy Keller called the new plan
a "step in the right direction." The
RHA played a hand in the develop-
ment of the proposal by providing
input through student representa-
tives who serve on the Residential
Life Initiative committee.
She said she would like to see "a
building that will attract not only

the students living in the building,
but also students in other residence
halls and off campus."
University Regent Rebecca
McGowan (D-Ann Arbor) also
praised the attempts being made by
the University to provide students
with facilities in a centralized loca-
tion.
"What President Coleman has
done, I think, is come up with a
comprehensive solution, and she's
been able to work them into a single
project at an incredibly desirable
spot on cam-
s great. I pus," she said.
Students
building. expressed great
did relief over
ly the proposed
demolition
of the Frieze

'
e9

ALEXANDER DZIADOSZ/Daily
peaks at the Homecoming Pep Rally on Palmer Field yesterday. The rally, which began at 6 p.m., hosted Michigan football players and featured
nt such as the University Dance Team, Cheedeading Squad, Dance 2XS and the RhythM and Allure dance teams.

Building. "It's
- Rachel Schloss kind of an ugly
LSA junior building and
it's obvious that
it needs renovation," LSA freshman
Jenny Lohner said.
"I think it's great. I hate this
building. I wish they did it sooner,"
LSA junior Rachel Schloss said.
The idea of creating apartment-
style housing piqued interest among
upperclassmen due to the new hall's
proximity to campus. "I think it's
cool. I think more people will be
inclined to stay (in the residence
halls) because of that," Schloss
See FRIEZE, Page 7

ELECTIONS '04
Social Security problems loom

By Farayha Arrine
Daily Staff Reporter
With discussions on war, a recover-
ing economy and homeland security at
the forefront of the presidential election,
Social Security reform has drawn lim-
ited attention from President Bush and
Democratic presidential candidate John
Kerry - even though it is a ticking time
bomb with serious implications for young
people if it is not reformed quickly.
Also detrimental to the future of
Social Security is that instead of pro-
posing specific plans to overhaul the
system and fix its problems, both
candidates have focused little on the

younger generation and what will hap-
pen when they retire.
Social Security funds are spiraling
toward depletion and will continue to
do so, as the number of young people is
decreasing and the number of retirees
in the country is expected to increase in
the next few decades - which means
fewer people will be paying taxes to
support the system.
The Congressional Budgetary
Office, as well as the Social Security
Administration, project that between
the years 2016 and 2022, money com-
ing into Social Security from taxes
will be less than money going out in
benefits. Medicare funds are expect-

ed to dry up even earlier.
Although both candidates have
acknowledged the problems facing
Social Security, they have proposed
reforms that undermine the severity of
the problem.
Kerry hopes that accelerated eco-
nomic growth, combined with a
decrease in government spending, can
bail out Social Security. Bush is call-
ing for a program that would encour-
age people to invest a small portion of
their benefits in stocks and other funds,
instead of having the government take
care of it for them.
Both candidates have also pledged
See ELECTION, Page 7

'Security'
Threat
The hole may deepen
Projections estimate Social
Security will face deficits as
early as 2016
Critics argue underfunding
would accelerate under
Bush's plan
Analysts say Kerry has no
Social Security reform plan

BUDGET CuTs
With volunteers
help, int'l center
overcomes cuts

By Carissa MIller
For the Daily

Wage policy strategy stilbn m o
By Victoria Edwards underpaid third world labor. (factories that produce clothing with the University
Daily Staff Reporter Students Organizing for Labor and Economic logo) to tell us what they are paying their workers.
E uality a groun advocating fair labor standards We felt this was really basic" Coolican said.

J

A group of students have participated in an ongo-
ing protest to expedite the University's process of
cementing a clear proposal to implement wage dis-
closure.
The wage disclosure policies would force compa-
nies using the University's logo to make their work-
ers' wages public knowledge, a proposal that was
approved - but has not yet been implemented - by
the Labor Students and Human Rights Committee,
which has been overseeing this issue. This would
expose companies that manufacture clothing using

has been organizing these protests.
SOLE member and LSA junior Marlowe Coolican
said the committee is not sticking to the timetable
that it promised SOLE.
"They said they would work on it over the summer
but that never happened," Coolican said.
She said this is especially frustrating because
many of the steps SOLE has suggested are already
in the Code of Conduct for University Licensees, but
have not been enforced.
"We said we wanted them to send out letters asking

Coolican said the committee ignored the letter-
sending campaign because it said it was too "ideal-
istic." Yet she said that no other strategy has been
proposed to substitute it.
But Sioban Harlow, an epidemiology professor and
chair of the Labor Standards and Human Rights Com-
mittee, said the issue of wage disclosure is more com-
plex than SOLE realizes, and therefore the committee
requires more time to discuss the proposal.
"It's a complicated issue of how to create a system
See SOLE, Page 2

When Jumin Song arrived from
South Korea six years ago to begin
studying in the United States, he had
to adjust to a new culture and academic
environment.
Song, a student in Rackham since
2002, said he has now become accus-
tomed to life in Ann Arbor, yet also
knows the unique and often difficult
obstacles that many international stu-
dents face.
"(International students) have to
learn how to get along with classmates,
which requires other strategies than
in their native countries, and have to
confront attitudes which make them
frustrated," Song said. "Some profes-
sors expect as much (of international
students) as they do American students

- without considering the difficulties
that international students may have
- while other professors apply stereo-
types to international students."
The International Center has been
helping students like Song prepare for
life at the University, but last year the
center received a 4.6 percent decrease
in funding as part of a larger series of
University budget cuts, which forced the
center to scale back its summer orienta-
tion program for international students.
Despite the budget cuts, Interna-
tional Center Director Rodolfo Altami-
rano said the center encountered only
minor setbacks and continues to work
diligently to provide students with the
services they need.
In past years, the center has hired
peer advisors to assist with the summer
orientation for international students.
See CENTER, Page 2

Bush concedes Iraq had no

WMDs, points to U.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President
Bush and his vice president conceded
yesterday in the clearest terms yet that
Saddam Hussein had no weapons of
mass destruction, even as they tried to

ity of making any either - while Bush
unapologetically defended his decision
to invade Iraq.
"The Duelfer report showed that
Saddam was systematically gaming

shift the Iraq war
debate to a new
issue - whether
the invasion was
justified because
Saddam was abus-
ing a U.N. oil-for-
food program.
Ridiculing the

This week marks the
first time that the
Bush administration
has listed abuses
in the oil-for-food

the system, using
the U.N. oil-for-
food program to
try to influence
countries and
companies in an
effort to under-
mine sanctions,"
Bush said as he

1. program
three times in reference to Saddam's
plans to resume making weapons.
This week marks the first time that
the Bush administration has listed
abuses in the oil-for-fuel program as
an Iraq war rationale. But the strategy
holds risks because some of the coun-
tries that could be implicated include
U.S. allies, such as Poland, Jordan and
Egypt. In addition, the United States
itself played a significant role in both
the creation of the program and how it
was operated and overseen.
For his part, Cheney dismissed the

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