NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 27, 2004 - 3
ON CAMPUS
Diag festivities
encourage
students to vote
Voice your Vote, a commission of the
Michigan Student Assembly designed to
raise voter awareness, will have members
on the Diag today at noon to encourage
students to vote in Tuesday's election. In
addition to playing root beer pong, Elec-
tion Day T-shirts will be given away.
New Yorker fiction
writers, editor hold
talk in League
As part of its college tour, the New
Yorker Fiction Editor Cressida Leyshon
will hold a conversation with fiction writ-
ers Alexsander Hemon and Antonya Nel-
son in the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater in
the Michigan League at 4 p.m. today.
Pagan student
group discusses
beliefs at session
The Pagan Student Alliance will hold
an informational session to discuss the
beliefs, practices and experiences of dif-
ferent types of pagans tonight from 7:30
to 8:45 p.m. in the rotunda of the Natu-
ral History Museum.
CRIME
NOTES
Vehicle rolls out
of parking lot and
across street
The Department of Public Safety
reported that a vehicle parked in a lot
on Washington Heights rolled out of its
space and across the street.
Construction
signs stolen from
'U' property
Two construction signs were stolen
from the Academic Center on 1110 State
St. Monday morning, according to DPS
reports.
Person splashes
chemical in eye,
seeks medical help
DPS reports that a University affiliate
was seeking medical assistance Monday
* evening after splashing a chemical in
his or her eye in an Electrical Engineer-
ing and Computer Science Building on
1301 Beal Ave.
Caller claims
wallet stolen, then
retracts report
A caller reported to DPS that his
or her wallet was stolen from the
Central Campus Recreational Build-
ing sometime between 4 and 5:15
p.m. Monday. The caller later noti-
fied DPS that the larceny report was
unfounded.
THIS DAY
In Daily History
Students told to
leave bikes on
grass by buildings
Assembly votes
against Mich. gay
marriage ban
By Leslie Rott
Daily Staff Reporter
The Michigan Student Assembly
voted overwhelmingly in favor of a
resolution to oppose Proposal 2, which
seeks to prevent same-sex marriages
and unions in Michigan, at last night's
MSA meeting.
The debate among MSA members on
whether to come out in opposition to the
proposal was heated and divided.
Many of the members were against
formally opposing the proposal because
they felt that it is not MSA's place to tell
students what to think, although they did
not advocate voting for the proposal.
However, most members agreed that
MSA should formally speak out against
Proposal 2.
"The mere consideration of this
amendment threatens all (lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender) people," said
LSA Rep. Paul Spurgeon, who also
chairs the Budget Priorities Committee.
MSA representatives felt that this
was a pertinent issue because it threat-
ens many members of the University
community, including professors who
now receive domestic partner benefits
through the University, said Spurgeon.
University administers have said they
do not believe Proposal 2 will make
such benefits illegal and that they will
continue to grant them even if it passes.
MSA Vice President Jenny Nathan
said: "I don't see how we can be silent
while anyone's rights are being discrim-
inated against."
Although there were those opposed
to the resolution, most agreed with the
sentiments of Spurgeon and Nathan.
Four members voted no, two abstained
and 23 voted yes.
"The execs are excited about this
particular result," MSA President Jason
Mironov said. He also said that MSA
is a "student-involved coalition against
institutionalized discrimination."
Other topics at the meeting included
a debate between Ann Arbor Mayor
John Hieftje and Mayoral candidate
Jane Lumm. The candidates debated
on local issues affecting students and
the University community, including
housing costs, the ban on couches on
porches and each candidate's qualifica-
tions for the position of mayor.
Confidence 1n economy hits seven-month low
NEW YORK (AP) - Worries about job pros-
pects sent consumer confidence to a seven-month
low in October and its third consecutive monthly
decline. The steeper-than-expected drop raised ques-
tions about whether consumers will be in the mood to
spend during the critical holiday shopping season.
The Consumer Confidence Index dropped
3.9 points to 92.8, down from a revised 96.7 in
September, according to a report yesterday from
The Conference Board, a private research group.
Analysts had expected a reading of 94.
The October figure is the lowest since March,
when the reading was 88.5. The index had been ris-
ing since April, before falling three points to 98.7
in August and another two points in September.
"Subdued expectations, as opposed to erod-
ing present-day conditions, were the major
cause behind October's decline in consumer
confidence," said Lynn Franco, director of The
Conference Board's Consumer Research Center.
"And, while consumers' assessment of the labor
market this month showed a moderate improve-
ment, the gain was not sufficient to ease concerns
about job growth in the months ahead."
Economists closely track consumer confidence
because consumer spending accounts for two-
thirds of all U.S. economic activity.
The Expectations Index, one component of
the Index that measures consumers' outlook over
the next six months, declined to 92.0 from 97.1.
Meanwhile, the Present Situation index dipped to
94.2 from 95.3.
The Conference Board's gauges are derived
from responses received through Oct. 19 to a sur-
vey mailed to 5,000 households in a consumer
research panel. The figures released yesterday
include responses from at least 2,500 households.
The figures for September were revised after all
the surveys for that month were tabulated.
Michael Niemira, chief economist at the Inter-
national Council of Shopping Centers, said it is
unclear whether the decline shows a "real deterio-
ration" in confidence or was a political statement
in advance of next week's presidential election.
Deteriorating job expectations "could be tied
to a vision of what the economy might be six
months down the road, shaped by how effective
Senator Kerry's message is - whether you agree
or not," he said. Democrat John Kerry is chal-
lenging President Bush.
In that case, he said the report would be less
worrisome for the holiday season or for the over-
all economy.
But if the decline in consumer confidence is
indicative of a "real deterioration," than it is a
troubling sign for the holiday season, he said.
Federal court rules provisional
ballots must be cast in precinct
LANSING (AP) - A federal appeals court
ruled yesterday that provisional ballots cast out-
side the precinct where a voter lives cannot be
counted in Michigan.
The 6th U.S. Circuii Court of Appeals reversed
a lower court ruling that said provisional ballots
should be counted on Nov. 2 as long as they are
cast in the right city, town-
ship or village. Provisional t
Provisional ballots
- required in all states required in o
for the first time this year.
- are used when vot- the first tim(
ers say they are properly and are used
registered but their names
are not on the registration say they are
rolls. The ballots are later
counted if elections offi- registered bl
cials determine the voter
is validly registered. are not on ti
The three-judge appeals
panel said the Help Amer-
ica Vote Act, passed by Congress in 2002, "does
not require the state to count as valid those bal-
lots that are cast outside of the precinct in which
the voter resides."
The Michigan case, the panel noted, is similar
to a recent Ohio case in which the same panel
ruled that provisional ballots cast by Ohio vot-
ers outside their own precincts should not be
counted.
The Michigan Democratic Party, Bay Coun-
ty Democratic Party, the NAACP and voter-
rights groups sued
F
ballots are
all states for
e this year,
I when voters
properly
ut their names
Republican Secretary of
State Terri Lynn Land
last month, arguing
that federal election
law says some provi-
sional ballots cast in the
wrong precinct should
be counted. State offi-
cials had ordered that
only provisional ballots
cast in the correct pre-
cinct be counted.
"It's a relief that we
don't have to imple-
ment new procedures
just before the elec-
are cast in the wrong precinct but the right city,
township or village.
Michael Pitt, lead attorney for the Michigan
Democratic Party, said the group will not appeal
before the election. He could not say whether the
party could appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in
the future.
"The Democratic Party wants everybody to
know that they should make an effort to get to
the right precinct," Pitt said.
He said it was a "sad day for the rights of our
average citizens who now will be unable to vote
for president."
Pitt said voters who are misdirected to the
wrong polling place, and can't get to the right
one due to a lack of transportation or time,
should not be penalized for others' mistakes.
But the state had argued that changing course
so close to the election would not ensure an
orderly election or timely certification of the
results. It accused Michigan Democrats and oth-
ers of delaying the suit for months and attempt-
ing to "railroad" it through the courts at the last
minute.
Chesney said yesterday the state's goal all
along has been to direct voters to the right poll-
ing precinct.
he rolls.
tion," Land spokeswoman Kelly Chesney
said.
A Bay City federal judge had issued an
injunction saying the ballots should be counted
for federal races, including president, if the votes
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Family
Housin
Experience the Diverse Community
Apply For Immediate or Winter Term Occupancy!
Efficiencies to Three-Bedroom Townhouses
Reasonable Rates / No Security Deposit
Utilities Included in Rent
Academic and International Community
60 Day Notice to Vacate
Close Parking Available
Free Commuter Bus / Near Classes, Work, Shopping
Language Programs / Programs for Children
Close to North Campus Recreation Building
Community Center
Oct., 27, 1959 - Students strug-
gling to find places totlockup their
bicycles on the overstuffed bike racks
are free to leave them parked on the
grass in front of University ouildings,
Vice President for Student Affairs
James Lewis said.
"We are interested in safety, not
asthetics, at this stage," Lewis said.
In the past three weeks the admin-
istration has cracked down on bicycles
parked near the entrances of several
campus buildings, predominantly the
z