Wednesday, November 10, 2004

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News 3 Students remember
Kristallnacht, other
human rights violations
Opinion 4 Elliott Mallen
watches the watchers
Arts 8 A Perfect Circle
cover rock classics

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TOMORROW:

One-hundred fourteen years of editorialfreedom

www.michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXV, No. 29 c2004 The Michigan Daily

Minorities up
Medical school enrolls record numbe
By Alexa Jenner tions and enrollment from blacks, Hispanics "T
Daily Staff Reporter and Native Americans continued this year. "In itiest
1997, 22 percent of the incoming class were mino
Despite the drop in minority applications minorities, and since then there has been a the U
and enrollment in the College of Literature, pretty steady increase in minority enrollment," admi
Science and the Arts, the University's efforts Zearfoss said. This year, 27 percent of the last y
to promote diversity thrived in the graduate incoming class comes from underrepresented Th
programs this year, as minority enrollment minority groups, she added. and t
increased in the Law School, Medical School, More people overall are applying to the Law ly lo
and Rackham School of Graduate Studies. School, but in general there has been a slightly said.
Sarah Zearfoss, director of admissions at the larger increase in minority applications, Zear- "W
Law School, said the trend of rising applica- foss said. Zearf

i
n grad

programs

_r o Minorities
he commitment we showed toward minor-
brought a lot of positive attention from
rity students," Zearfoss said, referring to
[niversity's defense of its race-conscious
ssions policies in the U.S. Supreme Court
ear.
e Law School focuses on having a diverse
alented student body, but does not sole-
)k to race to achieve that goal, Zearfoss
Ve do a holistic reading of applications,"
oss said, "We read every application and

consider each piece of information. It's not just
about race and scores - those are just two of
many factors we use to review applicants."
The Medical School also had an increase in
minority student enrollment this year. Katie
Horne, who stepped down this summer after
serving as the school's director of admissions
for 13 years, said enrollment of minority stu-
dents varies each year, but this year saw a
record high, with minorities making up 21 per-
cent of the incoming class. Last year 13 percent
of students were minorities.
"The application pool continues to increase
each year and so has the trend among minority
See MINORITIES, Page 7

Grad programs diversify
Minority enrollment in the Medical
School increased from 13 percent in
2003 to 21 percent this year.
The number of minorities in the Law
School has increased from 22 percent
in 1997 to 27 percent this year.
The number of minorities in the
Rackham School of Graduate Studies
rose slightly, from about 24 percent
in 2003 to 25 percent this year.

Native
American
fund may
be re formed
By Michael Kan
and Iris Perez
Daily Staff Reporters
More than a century in the making, the larg-
est legal case in Native American history may
finally come to a close within the next year.
Although Cobell v. Norton was not filed until
1996, its origins lie in the United States govern-
ment's supervision of Indian trust funds dat-
ing back to 1887. In that year, the government
established the trust to manage Native Ameri-
can land, but it now admits to mismanaging it
from its outset by underselling the land and fail-
ing to retain documents proving the payments.
After years of grinding through the courts
and colliding with the Department of the Inte-
rior on nearly every proceeding to remedy the
system, the case's resolution is almost in sight
- an appellate ruling that may bring at least $10
billion to half a million Native Americans, said
Keith Harper, a leading attorney for the case.
"We're getting to that place to where there's a
light at the end of the tunnel," said Harper, who
is from the Cherokee tribe and is a senior staff
attorney for the Native American Rights Fund,
a Colorado-based organization that provides
legal representation for Native Americans.
Speaking last night at West Hall in a lecture
titled "Archives, Records, and the Multi-Billion
Dollar Indian Land Trust Litigation," Harper
sought to inform students about the inherent
failures of the government's individual Indian
trust fund system.
Marred by both the institution's apathy for
retaining accurate records and its inability
to rectify the problems, Harper said the trust
fund has become a "broken system" incapable
of insuring the proper management of many
Native Americans assets.
"That is the reality, it is a broken system. The
secretary of the Interior recognizes it. Nobody
doesn't recognize it," he added.
The Department of the Interior acknowledg-
es the system's error as well, but since the onset
of the case, the department has challenged the
reforms Harper's legal team have pushed in the
lawsuit.
Brought on by government attempts in the
1880s to remove Native peoples from their
land, the trust fund was created to facilitate
the dividing of their territory. Under the trust
fund, the government would manage the land
of the Native Americans and prospective buyers
would lease it. The money from the lease would
then go back to the Native American owners.
Clearly, this has not been the case, Harper said.
Navajos are now paid from $9 to $40 for their
land's lease, while most land leased in the sur-
rounding areas is valued from $140 to as much
See TRUST, Page 5

Students hope
for election if
Arafat dies

By Leah Guttman
Daily Staff Reporter
As Palestinian officials report
that Yasser Arafat lies in a coma in a
French military hospital outside Paris,
a heightened stir of emotion and con-
cern builds throughout the Middle
East and United States.
For the past 40 years, Arafat has
been the leading symbol of Palestinian
identity, said Ron Stockton, a research-
er for the University's Center for Arab-
American Studies. "His death will

a political and paramilitary organiza-
tion of Palestinian Arabs dedicated to
the establishment of an independent
Palestinian state. He is also presi-
dent of the Palestinian Authority, the
institution that has a split governance
of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip
with Israel.
Determining who should assume
Arafat's positions if he dies and when
and how that would happen are all
highly contentious issues due to cur-
rent division among Palestinians.
Carmel Salhi, president of Students

produce wide-
spread and sin-
cere grieving,"
Stockton said.
Stockton
described Ara-
fat as .both a
historic and a
tragic figure.
"At a time when
the Palestinian
people were in
exile, confused,
disoriented
and without an
organized lead-
ership, (Arafat)
established a
set of structures
that brought the

"Even if the U.S. was
successful in electing
the next Palestinian
leader, that person
would be seen as
an American agent
and be discredited"
- Ron Stockton
Researcher in the University's
Center for Arab-American Studies

Allied for Free-
dom and Equal-
ity, said he feels
the best choice
for the Palestin-
ian people is to
hold an open
election.
But he
expressed con-
cern that this
will not be pos-
sible. "The cur-
rent situation,
under Israeli
occupying
forces, makes
setting up an
open election
very difficult,"
addition, Palestin-

Palestinians back into existence. He is a
tragic figure because the very qualities
that enabled him to unite the Palestin-
ian people - his evasive equivoca-
tions and balancing act - made him a
poor negotiator."
In Arafat's absence, the Pales-
tinians will face major leadership
changes. Arafat currently holds many
titles. Among them, he is head of the
Palestinian Liberation Organization,

Salhi said. "In

ians are looking at the leadership (as
it stands) and taking it upon them-
selves to decide who should take
control and how much control that
person should have."
SAFE is a group of student activ-
ists dedicated to the cause of justice,
freedom and self-determination for the
Palestinian people, the group's website
See ARAFAT, Page 7

AP PHOTO
A Palestinian man lights a candle to place it with others around a portrait of leader Yasser Arafat at a
makeshift shrine In support of the Palestinian leader in Gaza City yesterday.

Two parties compete i n student elections

By Leslie Rott
Daily Staff Reporter
Although the presidential election is over,
University students should prepare to be bom-
barded with more campaigning - not from
major politicians, but from fellow students.
Student government elections will take place
on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18, and about half the seats on
the Michigan Student Assembly, as well as spots
on other governing bodies, are up for grabs.
With Students First - the party that has
led the Michigan Student Assembly for three

straight years - disbanding this year, the
two parties competing in the elections are the
Defend Affirmative Action Party and the new
Students 4 Michigan Party.
Students 4 Michigan consists mainly of
members of the Students First party, which was
reorganized because its leaders said it is com-
mon practice for a party to change names and
restructure every two or three years. DAAP,
meanwhile, has been running candidates in
student government elections since 1997.
Candidates will be campaigning door to
door in the residence halls and placing flyers in

the mailboxes of residents living in residence
halls in the run up to the election.
More than 50 candidates will run as represen-
tatives of the two parties and as independents,
said MSA Rep. Russ Garber, who is running for
reelection this year as a member of Students 4
Michigan. The MSA president and vice presi-
dent will be elected in the winter term.
Although many of the members of Students
4 Michigan have been involved in Students
First, "Students 4 Michigan Party does not
have an owner. ... This ensures diversity and
representation from all schools," said Sashai

Alvarez, vice chair of MSA's Budget Priorities
Committee.
"The founders of Students 4 Michigan
include many current MSA and LSA (Student
Government) representatives, as well as stu-
dents who are new to the government," Stu-
dents 4 Michigan Campaign Manager Monica
Woll said.
The Students 4 Michigan party platform
says it is committed to improving campus life
for all students. Its members said they believe
in fostering dialogue between student groups
See ELECTIONS, Page 7

Clarett accuses OSU of illegal donations

COLUMBUS (AP) - Former Ohio State star
Maurice Clarett accused coach Jim Tressel, his staff
and school boosters of arranging for him to get pass-
ing grades, cars and thousands of dollars, including
for bogus summer jobs. The school immediately
denied the claims yesterday.
Most of Clarett's charges,
made in an interview with ESPN
The Magazine, were addressed
as part of an NCAA probe that
found the running back lied to
investigators, leading to his sus-
pension from the team he helped

ating high school. He won an initial federal court
ruling but lost several appeals and was kept out of
the draft.
Friends and family members say Clarett has been
working out with a personal trainer in preparation
for the 2005 NFL draft. He has not spoken publicly
in months.
"I have had a chance to read the article, and the
allegations as they were mentioned are, simply,
untrue. Period," Tressel said.
According to the magazine, Clarett said Tressel
set him up with a loaner car.
Geiger said Tressel did try to help Clarett buy a
car. th 4a th dA erhithat- leases cars tosra ~l

The former Ohio State player
alleged that the football
staff arranged an academic
adviser who set him up with
professors who would pass
him even if he skipped class.
money in your pocket?' They make sure your mon-

FROM THE EDITOR
A DAILY STORY VIOLATES ETHICAL STANDARDS
To our readers:
At The Michigan Daily, we believe accountability to our readers is our No.
1 job. That's why we feel compelled to tell you about an investigation the Daily
is conducting.
The editors have discovered that parts of an article published on April 9,
2004, are not the original work of the author. Sections of "About a Boy," which
looked back on rocker Kurt Cobain a decade after his death, were plagiarized
from another news source.
Plagiarism is simply unacceptable at the Daily because it violates the trust
between newspaper and reader. It undermines our mission of speaking with an
independent voice, and it violates our deepest sense of ethics. That is why the
storv's auithor is no longer ai member of the Dailv's staff.



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