NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 22, 2004 - 3
ON CAMPUS
NAACP holds bash
to inform students
on issues, voting
The University's chapter of the
National Association for the Advance-
ment of Colored People will have a
Voter Education Bash on Sunday from
7 to 10 p.m. at the William Monroe
Trotter House. The event aims to edu-
cate students about everything that
will appear on the Nov. 2 election bal-
lot, as well as to provide information
about the voting process in general.
Among the groups sponsoring the
event are the College Democrats, Col-
lege Republicans and the Stonewall
Democrats.
Fair provides info
on housing options
The University's fifth annual Hous-
ing Fair will be Monday from 1 to 5:30
p.m. in the Michigan Union. The fair
will give students the opportunity to
learn about many on- and off-campus
housing options for the 2005-06 school
year.
Landlords and representatives of
University Housing will be on hand to
answer student questions, and city lead-
ers will also provide information about
Ann Arbor services for the rental com-
munity.
Cookout features
samples of Greek
foods, recipes
An ethnic Greek cooking extrava-
ganza will be held at 4 p.m tomorrow
at the Trotter House. Recipes for Greek
foods and samples will be provided at
this free event, which is sponsored by
the Hellenic Student Association.
Religious group to monitor Detroit polls
By Mary DeYoe
Daily Staff Reporter
The race to win Michigan in the Nov. 2 presi-
dential election may come down to how many
Detroit residents, many of whom vote Democrat,
come out to the ballots. But such residents are
most often hassled at polling booths.
Students, with the help of national and local
organizations, are working to ensure that citi-
zens' rights at polling sites in the city are not
threatened.
The groups are collaborating to combat illegal
tactics to scare people away from the polls on elec-
tion day in Detroit and surrounding areas, in a pro-
gram called Election Protection.
Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling
Strength, which works to unite the community of
the metro Detroit area, is working in conjunction
with the National Association for the Advance-
ment of Colored People and People for the Ameri-
can Way in the project.
The Election Protection program is a nation-
wide effort created to ensure a fair election pro-
cess, including monitoring of polls in Florida.
Ryan Bates, MOSES electoral organizer and
LSA senior, stressed the importance of protecting
the polls from potential "vote challengers" whose
actions infringe on civil rights.
"These challengers or vote suppressors may
hassle people in polling lines, and ask to see
their voting registration cards," Bates said.
"Some people have been falsely notified that
they will be unable to vote if their child sup-
port is not paid, and these efforts to suppress the
vote have been mainly targeted at immigrants
and people of color."
This summer the Detroit Free Press quoted state
Rep. John Pappageorge (R-Troy) as saying, "If we
do not suppress the Detroit vote, we're going to
have a tough time in this election." Eighty-three
percent of the Detroit population is black and the
majority vote Democrat.
Pappageorge has since apologized for his
remarks and resigned from his position as chair-
man for Michigan Veterans for Bush-Cheney,
but the statement is one reason MOSES is pre-
dominantly concerned with monitoring polls in
"Some people have been falsely notified that they
will be unable to vote if their child support is not
paid, and these efforts to suppress the vote have been
mainly targeted at immigrants and people of color."
- Ryan Bates, LSA senior and MOSES electoral organizer
Detroit.
The Election Protection program was cre-
ated after thousands of black voters were turned
away from the polls in Florida during in the
2000 election. Black lawmakers in Florida said
poll workers were unhelpful, directions on how
to fill out ballots were confusing, precincts were
changed and road blocks were set up in front of
polling places.
Tomorrow in East Quad Residential Hall,
MOSES will train individuals on how to identi-
fy acts of disregard for civil rights and intervene
appropriately in the polling lines. A strike team of
lawyers will also be onhand at polls on Election
Day, to help voters by explaining their rights to
them, such as what type of identification is needed
to cast a ballot.
"This mobile legal squad will be able to appear
at a moments notice and apply legal remedies,"
Bates said.
Student volunteers are needed to ensure a fair
election process, Bates said. The training work-
shop will be held tomorrow at East Quad from 1
to 3 p.m.. General information as well as infor-
mation regarding alternate training times can be
found by e-mailing moses.core@umich.edu.
Proposal would restructure
Detroit schools' leadership
By Elizabeth Belts
Daily Staff Reporter
Detroit residents will vote to determine the structure and
power of the Detroit Public School Board during the upcom-
ing Nov. 2 election.
For the past five years the school district has been run by a
seven-member reform board, which was appointed after the
state took over the board and fired its members.
A "yes" vote on Proposal E would allow Detroit Mayor
Kwame Kilpatrick to appoint a chief executive officer to head
the city's school system, while a "no" vote would permit a
restored school board to choose a superintendent to fill the role.
The proposal would also allow voters to elect a nine-mem-
ber advisory school board, which would have the power to
approve or veto the mayor's choice for CEO and rate his or her
performance. The board would also review contracts of more
than $250,000 and approve the annual district budget.
If Proposal E does not pass, the school board will return to its
structure before the takeover. Under this scenario voters would
elect an 11-member school board next year, which would have
the power to elect a superintendent and have authority over all
district decisions and the annual district budget.
The most debated portion of the proposal involves the
process of appointing a CEO to oversee all district functions
and decision-making. In addition to allowing the mayor to
appoint a CEO, Proposal E also gives him the authority to
remove the CEO from power.
Education Prof. Percy Bates, director of Programs for
Educational Opportunity, which works with public school
districts, said two main issues are at stake in November vote.
The first involves determining the structure of the school
board and whether the accountability of the district would
fall into the hands of a CEO or to an elected board and super-
intendent.
The second issue involves the citizen's right to elect a
representative school board or to sacrifice the power of the
CRIME
NOTES
Car stolen from
Hill Street lot
A caller reported to the Department
of Public Safety that his car was stolen
sometime between Tuesday night and
Wednesday afternoon. The car had been
parked in the parking lot at 300 Hill St.
Solicitor sells
coupons in front
of Grad library
A person was seen selling coupons
on the Diag in front of the Harlan A.
Hatcher Graduate Library on Wednes-
day afternoon, a caller reported to DPS.
DPS breaks up
fight at hospital
parking lot
A University Hospital employee
reported to DPS that a fight was going on
Wednesday evening at the hospital's park-
ing lot. DPS officers made an arrest and
took the suspect to the police station.
THIS DAY
In Daily History
Student charged
with sexual assault
Oct. 22, 1992 - A 15th District Court
judge determined that enough evidence
existed to bring an LSA sophomore to
trial on charges of third degree crimi-
nal sexual conduct. The judge made the
decision based on testimony from the
survivor of the assault, an LSA senior,
who alleged she was molested in her
Vera Baits apartment.
The survivor said during the pre-
liminary examination that she met
Moore Oct. 1 and later invited him to
her apartment. He tried to kiss her, at
which point she pulled out a bottle of
mace, but he grabbed it and threatened
to use it on her.
Moore had no comment, but his
h attorneys said he was "asserting that
board to a CEO with supreme authority over all dis-
ision-making, Bates said.
nizations such as the coalition "Vote for Kids, Vote
Proposal E" support the transition from a superin-
to a CEO because "a professional educator should
nsible for the daily operations of the district," said
Stancato, co-chair of the newly formed coalition
sists of a cross-section of community activists, civic
itions and grass-roots and business leadership.
;ver, some opponents feel the proposal will take away a
right to choose who controls the school district. "Pro-
is an attempt to privatize and charterize (the public
," said Luke Massie, national co-chair of BAMN.
n public school districts in Illinois, Ohio and Massa-
have also experienced similar state takeovers in the
ade. While the organization of the districts may have
:d, a modified school board and CEO-run system in
will not necessarily solve the problems of low gradu-
tes and poor academic achievement, Bates said.
id the residents of Detroit cannot look to Proposal E
swer to the issues that plague the district. "I don't
e have any empirical evidence to suggest this is the
to these problems," he said.
ite their varying takes on Proposal E, both sides say
ieve in accountability of leadership of Detroit public
Both agree that lowering class sizes and increasing
lability of resources and materials is essential for the
to overcome its current hardships.
xample, the 2003-2004 school year Michigan Edu-
Assessment Program scores show that the achieve-
ap between schools across the state and Detroit
School children is wider than before the state took
district five years ago.
rdless of what type of school board is implemented,
residents will elect its members during the November
ayoral elections, and it will resume control of many
Public School decision-making in January 2006.
Regardless of endorsements, Rackham student
Haroon Ullah said their impact will be minimal
as he says Muslim voters at the University will
still remain in the category of undecided voters.
"What you find is the majority of the com-
munity feels alienated from Bush, and they feel
he hasn't been sensitive to their concerns. And I
think a lot of the endorsement is their dissatisfac-
tion with the administration, rather than a huge
endorsement for Kerry," he said
As for Arab students, LSA junior Rama Salhi
said the endorsements don't hold enough power
to be the main determinant of how the commu-
nity votes, but definitely boosted Kerry's stand-
ing in the Arab American community.
EN DORSEMENT
Continued from page 1.
- Osama Siblani, AAPAC's treasurer and former
president, said reneged promises, an unjustified war
in Iraq, and America's reputation in tatters underline
the reasons fueling the disappointment and betrayal
many Arabs and Muslims feel toward Bush.
Built on a platform of arrogance and neglect,
Siblani added, Bush's presidency backtracked on
its 2000 election promises to end racial profil-
ing. The Patriot Act and its enforcement caused a
sharp rise in racial profiling, he said.
"In (AAPAC's meetings) with him, he said to
us that racial profiling would not be used, and
he was sensitive to our concern. But what hap-
pened? We have had more secret evidence and
racial profiling since he was elected," he said.
Further underscoring the opposition to Bush
of many Arabs and Muslims is the Iraq war. A
nationwide poll by Bendixen and Associates, a
Florida-based consulting group, found more than
70 percent of both Arab and Muslim Americans
rate Bush's handling of Iraq negatively. At the
same time, 54 percent of Arab Americans believe
Bush misled America about the need for war.
Both Muslim and Arab groups say while Kerry
does have weaknesses, they judge Kerry's poli-
cies superior and more progressive than Bush's.
AMT President Saeed said, "Kerry has at least
taken half a step. But Bush stands still."
Not all Muslims and Arabs believe the
endorsements reflect their community, said Jafar
Karim, national coalitions director for the Bush
campaign.
From the support he has seen in the Muslim
and Arab communities, Karim said, "I'm cer-
tainly not convinced of the polling. We are seeing
a lot of great support." Karim added that many
Muslims and Arabs recognize Bush's contribu-
tions and are drawn by Bush's consistency and
his efforts to listen to the community.
"This president has appointed more positions
to Arabs and Muslims then any previous
administration," he added.
I
EXECUTIONS
Continued from page 1
that adolescents are more deterred
by the prospect of "rotting in prison"
through life without parole than they
are by the death penalty. "Deterrance
is also irrelevant to adolescents, since
they do not plan their actions or engage
in cost-benefit analyses," Streib said.
Simmons was 17 when he was indicted
and was consequently convicted and sen-
tenced to death. The Missouri Supreme
Court ruled in August 2003 to re-sen-
tence Simmons to life without parole.
The court said that because Simmons was
under 18, his execution would violate the
"evolving standards of decency," which
defines cruel and unusual punishment by
gauging the mood of national law.
The Missouri state attorney then peti-
tioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear
the case.
Streib said along with the drop of
juvenile death sentencing - only two
juveniles were sentenced in 2004 - the
actual number of juvenile executions
has dropped from five in 1999-2000,
to four in 2001-2002 and only one in
2003-2004. "Prosecutors appear to be
less willing to bring capital charges in
juvenile cases," Streib said.
International law has also been called
into question, as the United States is
the only country in the world where the
death penalty is legal for people under
18. While the Court is split on whether
to acknowledge international law as a
factor for shaping domestic constitu-
tional standards, this argument will cer-
tainly be a factor in the final decision,
Streib said.
While Streib said it is "foolish to try
to predict the Court's decisions," he and
other organizers of the lecture anticipate
a 6-3 decision in favor of Simmons to
effectively overthrow the juvenile death
penalty. Many justices have expressed
opinions in the past on this issue, with
Sandra Day O'Connor representing an
important swing vote that could sway
the decision.
Although the death penalty has not
been legal in Michigan since 1846,
University students still feel strongly
about the issue.
Bob Koch, a second-year law student,
said, "It's easy to lose sight of the impor-
tance of this issue here at Michigan since
this state hasn't executed somebody in
over 100 years. But this school produced
national leaders, and in this country reral
juveniles face real execution, and that's a
real problem that we have to face.
I
THE 2004
(STUDENT POLITICAL DEBATE
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