Friday, October 15, 2004 Weather Opinion 4 Can Kerry fol- low through on his promises? Arts 5 "Team America" attempts to offend everyone. 41nut 4k 5C., Sports 7 Oakland stuns women's soccer One-hundredfourteen years of edionalfreedom www.mzi'Aikandai7y.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXV, No. 13 @2004 The Michigan Daily Fewer black students enrolled By Aymar Jean Daily Staff Reporter This year's freshmen class, the first since a new application was created, is larger and in some ways less diverse than its predeces- sors, according to official enrollment figures released yesterday. Black enrollment is down, male enrollment is up, international students have increased, and while applications overall have declined about 18 percent, enrollment is at its highest level in the University's history - 6,040 stu- dents, almost 500 more than the University had predicted. Last year, the University admit- ted 5,553 freshmen. "These are things that we have not seen in the past," said Lester Monts, senior vice pro- vost for academic affairs who oversees the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. The University had previously released pre- liminary enrollment numbers, but the final statistics were announced yesterday. While Monts was hesitant to attribute the numbers to any one particular cause, he sug- gested that several factors could be at play, including the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court deci- sion overturning the LSA admissions point system and the new writing-intensive LSA application - which could filter out those who are not truly interested in attending. Black enrollment this year is at its lowest level in at least six years, numbering 350 stu- dents - down from 410 last year. Over the past few years, the number of blacks has fluctuated, but usually stayed above 400. This year, the University received 25 percent fewer appli- cations from blacks, although the percentage of accepted students that enrolled was about the same, said Theodore Spencer, director of Undergraduate Admissions. The number of Asian American students also decreased, from 730 to 703. But the num- ber of Native American students increased from 38 to 61, and Hispanic enrollment also increased slightly from 255 to 264. The most international students in the last six years, 310, also enrolled this year, up from 220 in 2003. Given the current political cli- mate and the restrictions placed on immigra- tion, Monts said this number was cause for excitement. A number of universities have seen declines in international student enroll- ment since post-Sept. 11 policies tightened made entrance to the United States more dif- ficult 3 years ago. Concerned over the decline in minority applications, the University is redoubling its efforts to increase applications from blacks. "Clearly, I'm disappointed about our Afri- can-American numbers, and we need to work harder at it," University President Mary Sue Coleman said in an interview last week. The University is increasing its recruitment efforts in areas like Detroit and developing targeted campaigns to reach out to high school counselors and families of minorities. In these areas, Monts said, the University has had to compete with other institutions like Michigan State University and Wayne State University. "We were thrown for a loop," Monts said. See ADMISSIONS, Page 3 Student issues a priority as Kolb seeks final term SLOWING DOWN TO FAST By Farayha Arrino Daily Staff Reporter Rep. Chris Kolb said serving his home- town of Ann Arbor in the state House of Representatives has been a blast and he looks forward to advocating for student issues during the next two years. Kolb, a Democrat, has represented the district since 2000. With 78 percent of vot- ers backing him in this August's primaries, he is ready to continue doing so for the next two years, which would be his last due to Sheagren said he also supports tuition caps at the rate of inflation. "I think universities are greedy if they're trying to get more than that. They're huge corporations and they get tax breaks," he said. "I don't think any of the universities are hurting right now." He added that he would work to improve financial aid. "I would work to protect ... support grants to help students go to the college of their choice. I'm for helping scholar- ships and grants." term limits. His opponent, Republi- can candidate Eric Sheagren, received 15 percent of the vote in the August multi-party primary. The 25-year-old self- employed landscaper said he is running so that Kolb is not uncontested in this year's election. As the repre- sentative from the House's 53rd district, which includes most of the University's campus, Kolb has passed numerous Race for A2 seat GOP vs. Dem. incumbent Rep. Chris Kolb says higher education funding should be a state budget priority Kolb also supports expand- ing the recently created Detroit regional mass transit system to Washtenaw County GOP challenger Eric Sheagren pledges to improve financial aid, and says universities do not need large tuition hikes Kolb emphasized his support of Gra- nholm's initiative to double the amount of college graduates in the state within the next 10 years. He added that it is important to make sure colleges don't just focus on accept- ing students, but that they monitor the edu- cation those students receive during their college careers. Another issue Kolb has been work- ing on is improving mass transit for stu- bills in the House on topics that directly affect students. Among these issues is higher educa- tion in the state. "The state's corrections budget is now surpassing our higher education budget by a little bit. That's a state- ment on where the priorities have been," Kolb said of the Republican-controlled House's funding priorities. Kolb, a member of the House Appropria- tions committee which makes budget deci- sions, voted for a proposal sponsored by Gov. Jennifer Granholm which encourages public universities to cap tuition increases at the rate of inflation in exchange for receiv- ing back some of the money cut from their budgets in 2003. The University expects to receive $20 million dollars from the state this year under the plan. dents in Ann Arbor, but he says he has not been able to overcome all hurdles in doing so. The Detroit Area Regional Transpor- tation Authority was created last year to coordinate the operation of a regional public transportation system in the south- east Michigan region, according to DAR- TA's website. Since the start of the program, Kolb has supported an additional bill that would extend its services to counties such as Washtenaw. Even though the measure has passed in the House, it was received by the Senate last year and has been stalled since then. Representatives opposed to the mea- sure feel that the transit connection is not needed between Detroit and Washtenaw county, and that extending it would be an See KOLB, Page 3 ALEXANDER DZIADOSZ/Daily Muslims gather at the Muslim Community Association of Ann Arbor's mosque on Plymouth Road for Taraweeh prayer ceremonies last night in anticipation of the beginning of Ramadan tonight. Mulis alnc fs, cholprssr By Victoria Edwards Daily Staff Reporter Tonight marks the beginning of a month-long fast for Muslim students at the University, as they seek to strengthen their relationship with God dur- ing Ramadan, the Islamic month of blessing. Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims worldwide, commemorates the time when Muslims believe their holy book, the Quran, was revealed to their prophet Mohammad. During the month, Muslims around the world recite optional extra prayers, and they fast from food and water and abstain from sex from sun up to sun down, to increase their devotion to God. In addition, Muslims try to let go of anger, jealousy and other character vices. LSA junior Lubna Grewal said there are many challenges pertaining to the month of Ramadan, the most difficult for her being managing her time. "You always want to increase yourself, but coursework is just as heavy as it was freshman and sophomore year. But still I want to do more spiritu- ally (every year). All three of these things combine to make the month pretty rigorous," Grewal said. She added that it is not uncommon for Muslim students to get really sick because of the fasting or fall behind in school. To decrease the pressure that fasting places on her body, Grewal said she per- forms short fasts throughout the year so Ramadan won't be such a shock to her body. "It's easier, but (the fast) is still something you have to deal with. It's a sacrifice I make for being Muslim," Grewal said. Still, Law student Maleeha Haq said such sac- rifices pay off in the end because they make her a more devout Muslim. "It makes you a better person in some regard. I See RAMADAN, Page 3 Challenger to mayor calls for verse councl By Anne Joling Iand Abby Stasson Daily Staff Reporters Is it possible for a Republican to be elected mayor of Ann Arbor? According to the City Council's history the answer is yes, but for Republican mayoral candidate Jane Lumm, being elected to a predominantly Democratic council is still a daunting challenge. Lumm, a University alum and former City Council mem- ber, is running against incumbent Democratic Mayor John Hieftje, who was elected to head the council in 2000. During his term, Hieftje has led the council in imple- menting a broad range of projects to clean up the city's neighhorhoods and reduce urban sorawl while preserv- Trotter House plans renovations By Kim Tomlin For the Daily When students walk into the Wil- liam Monroe Trotter House, they notice stained carpets, chipping paint and missing handicap features. But students who attend activities in the University's 33-year-old multicultural center say they hope a new renovation plan will make such features a thing of the past. The Trotter House - which is locat- ed on Washtenaw Avenue and attracts more than 18,000 students yearly to activities ranging from multicultural conferences to tutoring services - is- while at the same time preserving its original architecture, said Patricia Aqui Pacania, director of the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs. House managers have already begun to examine all of its facilities to assess which ones need to be reno- vated or reconstructed. Detailed plans of these renovations will be announced once the assessments are completed in November, said Edward Burnett, facil- ities manager and program coordinator for Trotter House. The house's disrepair earned atten- tion last year when a group called Stu- dent Voices in Action protested against - ..~