NEWS The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, October 26, 2004 - 3 ON CAMPUS Sexual assault survivors 'speak out' to community The Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Centewill present "Speak Out!," an opportunity for survivors of sexual violence to share their stories with other members of the University community. The event will take place tonight in the Michigan Union Ballroom at 7 p.m. Free screening of new Disney film 'The Incredibles' There will be a screening of Dis- ney's new animated film, The Incred- ibles, today in the Natural Science Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. The director, Brad Bird, will also be in attendance at the screening, which is hosted by the Film and Video Student Association. To pick up a free ticket, go to the Film and Video Office on the second floor of the Frieze Building at the Donald Hall Collection or the FVSA office in room 4345 of the Michigan Union. * Daily hosts student-led election debate The Michigan Daily will host a debate among various student politi- cal groups, including the Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, Socialist and Reform parties. The debate will take place at 100 Hutchins Hall at 7:30 p.m. Non-Muslims forego food, drink for Fast-A-Thon Participants will observe fasting from sunrise until sundown tomorrow in this year's Fast-A-Thon. The Muslim Students' Association will be serving dinner around 6:40 p.m. in the Wedge Room of West Quad for participants. All the money raised from the event will be going to the Ann Arbor Food Gatherers. CRIME NOTES Gate arm collides with vehicle leaving parking lot A vehicle was damaged by a gate arm when trying to leave a parking lot on Hill Street Sunday morning, the Department of Public Safety reports. Martha Cook disrupted by intentional alarm A fire alarm was intentionally set off in the Martha Cook Residence Hall Sunday morning at about 8:20 a.m., according to DPS reports. THIS DAY In Daily History School of Natural Resources loses third of enrollment Oct. 26, 1983 - The School of Natu- ral Resources lost almost a third of its enrollment this year, forcing the school to consolidate some courses and elimi- * nate others. John Basset, the school's associate dean, attributed the drop to concern among pro- spective students over the budget cuts. The school will undergo a 25 percent budget cut in the next five years. Enrollment in the school dropped to 509 students, down 29 percent from last year. Basset also attributes the drop to a lack of interest in the field in general and high tuition rates. " CORRPETIONS On campus, students find credit card use more accessible By Carissa Miller For the Daily This year it has become easier to swipe on cam- pus as more and more local stores and restaurants modify their credit and debit card acceptance policies. Over the past few months, many local businesses have changed how they handle credit card purchas- es. Jimmy John's no longer requires customers to sign for their purchase, with the exception of deliv- eries. Espresso Royale, which used to have a $3 minimum on credit card purchases, abandoned the restriction early this fall. Other eateries, such as Subway and Potbelly Sandwich Works, retain their minimum but do not require a signature. Katy Kershner, a manager at Potbelly Sand- wich Works on State Street, said there have been mixed reactions from customers in response to the company's change in credit card policy. Many customers are surprised at the new change and happy that their experience is quicker and easier. But others react with uneasiness concern- ing the security against identity theft because a signature is not required, she said. LSA sophomore Jenny Sasena said she uses a credit card for most of her purchases on campus. "I think it's good because it gets me in and out quicker, and I am not worried about theft," Sase- na said. "But I can see why people might feel it's unsafe." Businesses reap many benefits from credit card acceptance. Credit cards offer consumers the conve- nience of not having to carry much cash around or waste time writing a check. By presenting a greater number of payment options, a business can attract more customers and bring in more profit. But there are disadvantages to this practice as well. Credit card companies charge a fee to busi- nesses that decide to accept their cards. In addi- tion to monthly or annual fees, businesses often pay for transactions on a per-transaction basis. This fee, charged on each amount taken out by the card holders bank, typically involves a percentage deduction of each amount charged being taken out by the issuing bank. This fee is usually about 2 to 3 percent, but can be higher. Due to this factor, credit card acceptance is an additional expense that some businesses cannot afford. Large businesses with large volumes pay a lower fee, which gives them an advantage over small businesses. To combat this problem, many business- es establish a minimum requirement for credit card purchases to ensure that there is enough money to cover the fees of the credit card companies and to make a profit. Amer's Mediterranean Deli, for example, absorbs an average fee of about 2.5 percent, with Master- Card being the highest of the major credit cards, said Sean Carter, a store manager. The deli's credit card processing company takes a portion of the fee and in turn deals with the credit card companies with which the business is affiliated. Though the trend on campus is moving toward more lenient credit card policies, there are local businesses that still operate on a cash-only basis, such as the State Theatre, The Backroom pizzeria and local ice cream shops such as Stucchi's. On the other hand, the campus Sprint store has incorporated another new form of payment that is becoming popular, electronic check processing. Electronic check processing converts paper checks, at the time of sale, into electronic checks by submit- ting them through the same system used to authorize credit and debit cards. This procedure cuts down on handling costs and guarantees payment in the same way as credit cards. Tom Scalan, a Washtenaw student and Amer's employee, rings up a customer yesterday. Amer's on State Street is now accepting credit cards. Libertarians seek limited gov't intervention By Karl Stampfl Daily Staff Reporter At yesterday evening's forum for University Board of Regents candi- dates, while the Democratic and Repub- lican candidates sparred over how best to ensure that the University receives more money from the state, Libertarian candidate James Hudler had a different idea. "If we say we're the Harvard of the Midwest - if we really want to be that - the University should be privatized," Hudler said. After the event, Hudler explained that he believes the government should not fund education in any way. Such is the creed of Libertarians: that govern- ments should be limited to only protect- lican lawmakers have sought only to reform the nation's welfare program, Libertarians have aimed at ending the current welfare system altogether. As presidential candidate Michael Badnarik's campaign website puts it, "Current proposals for welfare reform, including block grants, job training and 'workfare' represent mere tinkering with a failed system. It is time to recog- nize that welfare cannot be reformed: it should be ended." On this year's presidential ticket, the Libertarians have nominated former gun-rights activist Michael Badnarik. The issues Badnarik is concentrating on in this election are the conflict in Iraq and the possibility of a draft. "For young people, this election is a matter of life and death," said Barb seeks to limit the role and scope of the ers will be able to vote for Badnarik, government. This is the first election according to Bill Redpath, the party's since 1988 when they have not had a national ballot access coordinator. presidential candidate in all 50 states, "Because the Libertarian Party has according to the party's website. been around for 33 years, we have "There's still a possibility that Mr.. organizations in every state, so we can Badnarik will be on 49 states if we can get on more ballots because we're bet- get New Hampshire," Moylan said. ter-prepared and more experienced," The other missing state is Oklaho- Goushaw said. ma, where no third-party candidates Although Libertarians believe they are on the ballot. There is also no pos- will only garner one percent of the pop- sibility of voters writing in Badnarik's ular vote, they are running as a matter name there because Oklahoma offers of principle, Moylan said. no write-in option. "I don't feel that either Bush or Kerry Still, roughly 98 percent of vot- represent my principles or the principles of a lot of other Americans," he said. "We're not just going to succumb to the two major parties. This is really the start of something larger - a larger move- ment toward a libertarian government." Meanwhile, Libertarians have worked to take smaller offices across the coun- try. They expect to field more than 1,000 candidates this year in federal, state and local office elections. In Michigan, Hudler said, Libertarians currently hold 15 local elected positions. -Daily Staff Reporter Donn M. Fre- sard contributed to this article. ing the basic rights of citizens. Libertarian thought discourages government inter- vention on all types of issues - social, economic or oth- erwise - so cat- egorizing them on a left-right scale can be a murky task. "You could call us mix and match," said. Instead of funding higher education, the government should only protect citizens' basic rights, Libertarians say. Goushaw, a Bad- narik campaign manager. "Both Republicans and Democrats say, 'No, we're not going to have a draft' But the reality is, no matter which gets elected, if we stay in Iraq, we're going to need a draft." Badnarik has said Andrew Moylan, chair of College Libertarians and an LSA senior. "Libertarians want Repub- licans out of your bedroom, and Demo- crats out of your wallet. The basic policy is that people should have more freedom to say anything they choose so long as they don't violate anyone else's rights." That means when it comes to issues such as gay marriage, Libertarians side with some political liberals by saying that same-sex couples should be able to marry. But regarding issues such as welfare, libertarianism takes a socially conservative stance. Whereas major welfare initiatives endorsed by Repub- the draft would be involuntary servitude and the war in Iraq was a mistake. He calls for the removal of troops as quickly as possible. Despite the wealth of media cover- age devoted to independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader, Badnarik will appear on more states' ballots. Bad- narik will also appear on more ballots than any other third-party candidate for president in next Tuesday's election. Voters will find his name on the ballots of at least 48 states and the District of Columbia. Still, this is only a partial victory for the Libertarians, whose party platform CHINESE CUISINE $3.99 Daily Lunch Specials 11-5 pm Open 7 days a week from 11 am-Midnight (Sunday Noon-Midnightl Fax (7341998-0303 Tel: (7341998-0008 ANN ARBOR - 241 E. Liberty * www.dinersty.com BEAT BUSH! A E 0 EYI On Election Dag, Send Bush: back to Crawford - and put $40 in gour pocket.