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One-hundred fourteen years of editorial freedom
www.michkandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan . Vol. CXV, No. 39 @2004 The Michigan Daily
LSA
mulls
drop/add
extension
By Farayha Arrine
and Aymar Jean
Daily Staff Reporters
Dropping a class well into the semester
may get a little less scary for some students
next year.
LSA administrators are considering
withholding the 'W,' which stands for
withdraw, from the
transcripts of first-
semester LSA freshmen W it h h
and transfer students
who drop classes after the "V
the allotted three weeks.
Students often perceive . LSA admi
the transcript annotation consdi
as a negative reflection of considerng r
their academic record. of first-seme
The LSA proposal will freshmen an
be voted on at a faculty students wh
meeting on Dec. 6. ateth
"The rationale for after the de
this revised policy is LSA facu
to promote academic the proposa
exploration and also on Dec. 6.
to ease the transition
from academic life at
the University," said
Marjorie Horton, assistant dean for
LSA undergraduate education.
The proposal was introduced by
LSA Associate Dean Robert Owen at
the October faculty meeting and has
been supported by the LSA curriculum
committee. Horton said she could
not predict if the proposal would be
approved by the LSA faculty, but remains
optimistic.
However, the new withdrawal policy
will not be extended to all students
because the W' 'is important in
maintaining an accurate record of the
student's enrollment activities, Horton
said.
"(The 'W') is not intended to be
punitive," she- said, adding that she did
not see it as presenting problems for a
student's future.
But most students, like LSA junior
Nicole Mellian, tend to view the 'W' on
their transcripts as having repercussions
for future employment or graduate school
applications.
"Just as a precaution, I would not drop
a class unless it was really, really bad,"
she said.
Besides viewing the 'W' as a blemish
on an otherwise clear transcript, students
olding
nistrators are
withholding
he transcript
ster LSA
id transfer
o drop classes
adline passes.
ulty will vote on
also point to the fact
that the drop/add
deadline is too early
for them to make an
informed decision
about the level of
difficulty of a class
and whether they
will be able to handle
the workload.
"I think that three
weeks may be a little
bit too short because
the first week you're
not really doing too
much and maybe
by the third week
things start getting a
little more difficult,"
Mellian said. "An
al
at a meeting
Abstinence education questioned
By Carissa Miller safe-sex measures such as contraceptives. approach to education, said Traci Jarrett,
a
Daily Staff Reporter
Abstinence-only sexual education, which
has seen major federal funding boosts in recent
years and is set to make further gains, is still
far from catching on among University students
and faculty.
Students, though divided on the question of
*whether to abstain from sex, largely question
the effectiveness of such programs in schools.
In 2001, President Bush launched an initiative
to fund both private and public organizations that
implement abstinence-only sexual education. To
receive funding, the organizations must agree
not to provide students with information on
Supporters of abstinence-only education say
providing students with information on safe
sex only encourages risky sexual behavior and
does not encourage young people to make good
decisions.
Special Projects of Regional and National
Significance Community-Based Abstinence
Education, one of three programs under the
initiative, more than doubled its funds in 2004,
and President Bush has requested a twofold
increase in the initiative's overall funding to
$273 million for 2005.
While the University is not affected by the
sexual education initiatives, the University
Health Service prefers a more comprehensive
sexual-health educator at UHS.
The UHS approach is to teach "with the idea
that, at some point, most young people will
decide to have sex. We cover the choices they
will have to make at that time." Jarrett said. "Of
course we support those who choose to abstain,
but we basically try to help (students) decide
what choice is best for them."
As the investment of taxpayer dollars
continues to grow and the initiative enters its
fourth year, many Americans are questioning
the effectiveness of abstinence-only programs.
LSA freshman Kristina Hartman said her
high school incorporated abstinence-only
See ABSTINENCE, Page 7
extra week or two would help."
The LSA Student Government has
voiced these concerns to administrators
in the past, but the University has opposed
moving the drop/add deadline to a later
date in the semester.
Administrators say they oppose
moving the drop/add deadline because
professors have a hard time sticking to
their curriculum if enrollment keeps
changing, and because waitlisted
students will have a harder time getting
into classes if the deadline is pushed
back.
For these reasons, LSA-SG president
Ryan Ford said he considers the proposal
to change the withdrawal policy for first-
semester freshman and transfer students
a good compromise between the Univer-
sity's position and extending the drop/add
See DROP/ADD, Page 3
SAFE urges 'U' to
divest from Israel
By Jameel Naqvl
Daily Staff Reporter
In the wake of Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat's death, Students Allied for Free-
dom and Equality has renewed calls for the
University to divest from companies sup-
porting the Israeli occupation of the West
Bank and Gaza Strip.
SAFE, a pro-Palestinian group, held a
forum last night in
the Michigan Union The group
to discuss ways to plns to bi
persuade the Univer-
sity to divest. resolution
SAFE expanded
its scope last night Michigan
by criticizing the Assembly
defense firms that
deal with Israel for Board of R
their role in the U.S.-
led war in Iraq.
"The goal of divestment is to put pres-
sure on ... the Israeli government to force
(its) hand in providing a peace deal and
ending the occupation at the same time,"
said SAFE president and LSA senior Car-
mel Salhi.
"A lot of the same companies that we're
focusing on with the Israeli occupation ...
also provide the weaponry in Iraq," Salhi
said.
SAFE co-chair and LSA senior Tareq
Dika said the group plans to bring a resolu-
tion to the Michigan Student Assembly and
then to the University Board of Regents.
According to SAFE, the University holds
more than $11 million of stock in compa-
nies that sell military equipment to Israel
- including Raytheon, General Electric,
United Technologies, Lockheed Martin
and General Dynamics.
Dika rebutted the claim that divestment
ing a
to the
Student
and the
Zegents.
threatens the University's
bottom line, saying that its
investments in the target-
ed firms are only a small
chunk of its total holdings.
"The University can
invest in companies that
have nothing to do with
Israel and Iraq," he added.
"They're not only active
in one occupation but in
Budget cuts
limit holiday
bus service
By Melissa Benton
Daily Staff Reporter
For North Campus residents who are planning to
stay in town for Thanksgiving, it could be a long walk
in the cold to reach Central Campus. There will be no
University bus service tomorrow or Friday, but bus
service will resume on Saturday morning.
Due to budget cuts, the University shut down the bus
routes on these two days for the first time ever.
In past years, the only two days with no bus service
were Christmas and New Year's Day. Because of budget
cuts, however, this year there will be no bus service on
four additional holidays - Thanksgiving and the day
after, Memorial Day and the Fourth of July. Independence
Day this year was the first time these service cutbacks
were imposed.
"We looked where we could cut back with minimal
impact to students and faculty," said David Miller, director
of Parking and Transportation Services, referring to the
reduced bus routes.
Miller said Parking and Transportation Services
researched the issue to see how cutting bus service on
the holidays would affect students and faculty.
They made the decision to cut bus service on the
holidays because of the dramatic decrease in passengers.
Generally the buses transport more than 2,000 passengers
on a typical Saturday or Sunday, but carry just 300 to
See BUSES, Page 7
more than one and in any they can get their
hands on," Dika said. "These companies
have obvious ethical issues in multiple
areas of the world."
Salhi said educating students about Pal-
estinian suffering is one tool that can be
used to put pressure on companies that deal
with Israel.
"They would rather save face than show
their undying support for Israel," he added.
American Movement for Israel vice-
See SAFE, Page 3
MIKE HULSEBUS/Daily
A University bus parked near C.C. Little bus stop. The buses will be out of service
four additional days this year: Thanksgiving and the day after, Memorial Day and
Independence Day.
Rather to step down in wake of National Guard scandal
NEW YORK (AP) - Dan Rather, the hard-
charging embodiment of CBS News who saw
his reputation damaged by an ill-fated report
ML on President Bush's National Guard service,
Rather replaced broadcast legend Walter
Cronkite in 1981 and lasted even longer than
his predecessor's 19 years. Rather, Tom Brokaw
of NBC and Peter Jennings of ABC competed
off his newscast with the word "courage," a
September "60 Minutes Wednesday" story It has been, and remains, an honor to be
about Bush's service that turned out to be
based on allegedly forged documents forced welcomed into your homes in the evenin
g and