NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 6, 2005 - 7A
PARTIES
Continued from page 1A
hol poisoning at a party.
The current insurance plan already
mandates that guests provide their own
alcohol at parties, but IFC officials said
many fraternities have not followed the
insurance plan in the past.
"I've always heard rules being in
place, but not being enforced," said Engi-
neering sophomore Aaron Swick, who is
not in the Greek system.
To ensure enforcement, the social poli-
cy will incorporate the requirements of the
insurance plan to protect against liability.
The new rules will be enforced by mem-
bers of fraternities who will be trained by
IFC's Social Responsibility Committee.
Members of the committe will be charged
with monitoring parties from inside and
outside the houses and limiting attendance
to the number of people reported for the
party. The SRC monitors are also sup-
posed to ensure partygoers abstain from
drinking until getting sick or passing out.
But Manion said, "I don't think frats
and sororities should be responsible for the
irresponsible things people do, like over-
drinking and not knowing their limits."
Manion, like many freshmen, said
she attended numerous Greek parties
during the first week of school. Some
members of the Greek community have
expressed concern that ending the tra-
dition of allowing freshmen to crowd
into fraternity parties at the beginning
of the year would hurt Rush efforts. But
IFC officials at a November meeting
said massive parties were not helping
Rush efforts because the total number
of freshman rushing all fraternities in
2004 was about 400 - only a fraction
of a single party's attendance.
The IFC leaders further defended
their position by saying that under a
similar policy four years ago, the Greek
community recruited twice as many
GREENBELT
Continued from page 1A
hasn't posted any jobs or hired any permanent
staff. Even by city hall standards, that's awfully
slow," Hanson said.
Doug Cowherd, another former leader in the
effort to create and pass the Greenbelt plan
last year, also said it is unfair to compare Ann
Arbor's Greenbelt project to projects in other
cities because of the varying circumstances in
each city.
"Some conservation programs start slowly
because they're not under sprawl development
pressure, they have no money in hand and they
have no history of land acquisition. In Ann Arbor,
we have severe sprawl pressure; we started out
with around $4 million in the acquisition fund on
the day the proposal was passed, and we have a
20-year history of doing land acquisition, there's
no good reason our program couldn't have gotten
off to a fast start," Cowherd said.
Both Hanson and Cowherd said they feel the
Greenbelt is no longer a priority for the City
Council and that its lack of support has kept the
project from moving forward in a timely manner.
"There are good people on the Greenbelt
commission, but that body will only be as good
as the City Council it advises, and so far, regret-
tably, City Council hasn't made the Greenbelt a
priority. Land isn't getting cheaper, developers
haven't stopped developing, yet city council
has spent more time on matters like couch bans
than they have on the Greenbelt," Hanson said.
Mike Garfield, chairman of the Greenbelt
Advisory Commission, said he understands
these concerns and believes the commission
should continue to move forward and begin to
purchase properties soon.
"There has not been the same kind of
increase in property values that we've seen
over the last 10 years, but I take that with a
grain of salt because I think all the long-term
indicators say that property values are going to
escalate. I think we're going to save money if
we buy more properties soon, rather than wait,"
Garfield said.
He added that over the past year, commis-
sion members have been working on a variety
of tasks that need to be accomplished before
the first land acquisitions can be made.
Albert Berriz, Chief Executive Officer of
McKinley Real Estate Solutions and chief
financial advisor to the commission, said a lot
of the preparatory work has involved figuring
out how to finance the project. He added that
commissioners have been developing a point
system by which properties can be assessed
for suitability. The commission has also been
searching for a consultant who will help to
advise the commission and guide it in making
land acquisitions.
"A lot of what goes on in the first year of
a project like this is legal work, organization,
structure and is certainly less visible to the vot-
ers," Berriz said.
Commission members said one of the proj-
ect's challenges is finding properties that are
for sale. But Garfield said one of the important
aspects of the Greenbelt Project is that farmers
and land owners are not asked to sell their prop-
erties and give up their farms. Instead, farmers
may keep farming, but if enrolled in the pro-
gram, they must sell their right to develop that
piece of property.
Still, Garfield said he understands the coi
cerns that some landowners have about enroll
ing in the program.
"People don't just decide to sell their land or
their development rights on land that's been in
the family for 100 years," he said.
But Garfield and other members of the com-
mission said they hope that farmers and other
landowners will see the value of participating
in the Greenbelt Project.
"I'm very pleased with the project. It's going
to be a great thing for our kids and grandkids.
It's a great legacy," Berriz said.
TSUNAMI
Continued from page 1A
"We have heard back now from little over
half of them that they are safe and able to return
to class," Eklund said. "We're hoping over the
next day or so we'll hear from many more."
To try and locate students who have not yet
responded to the University's e-mail, the Dean
of Students Office and the International Center
are taking further steps such as contacting the
residence halls to find out if anyone has seen
these students, Eklund added.
Eklund said although she has only received
responses from students who were safe from the
tsunami, many of them said they lost friends and
loved ones.
"There are some truly heartbreaking instances
where people are saying virtually their whole town
or some real important part of their country to them
has been destroyed," Eklund added.
The University has prepared psychological sup-
port for any student who has been either directly
or indirectly affected by the disaster, Eklund said.
Counseling and Psychological Services has opened
extra walk-in hours, and the University Hospital is
prepared to help. The Dean of Students Office is
also available for assistance.
Eklund also said the University is currently
identifying funds to financially assist interna-
tional students in serious need of aid because
of the tsunami.
Students attending the meetings last night were
affected by the disaster in a number of different ways.
LSA sophomore Konark Vani was visiting
family in northwest India when the tsunami
occurred, but he said he did not find out about
it until the following morning while watching
the news.
"In India, you don't find out as fast as you do
here. People were just traumatized," Vani said.
Vani said he immediately saw people reaching out
to help. "In the (airport) terminal, there were hun-
dreds and hundreds of cargo bags filled with food
and supplies. You couldn't even walk," he said.
Beth Bovair, a RC senior and RC Student Govern-
ment member, said she was heartened by the large
turnout at the meeting. "For me, getting everybody to
the table was my first goal."
"(The next step) is going to be how to initiate
their ideas and go about setting the foundation,"
Jayasuriva added.
Many of the attending student groups already
have individual fundraising plans underway.
The Indian American Student Association is
working to gear its upcoming events around fund-
raising and disaster aid. IASA chair Neal Pancholi
said they are planning a political awareness forum
and a skate night at Yost Arena to donate proceeds
towards disaster relief.
The United Asian American Organizations
held a meeting last night to express their senti-
ments in the wake of the disaster, as well as
to discuss fundraising ideas and concerns, said
UAAO chair Stephanie Chang.
Chang, an LSA senior, said she hopes to target
pre-existing UAAO fund- "
raising programs toward There are
tsunami relief.
The Michigan Student instanCes W
Assembly plans to write virtually th
resolutions to organize
fundraising efforts, said real import
MSA general counsel and
LSA junior Jesse Levine. to them ha
The Center for South
Asian Studies and the
Center for Southeast Asian
Studies are currently coor-
dinating activities to raise
funds for relief. Judith
Becker, director for the Center for Southeast
Asian studies, said the center plans to coordinate
with the Center for South Asian Studies and the
International Center for a benefit concert to take
place at the end of January.
Both Eklund and Altamirano said the Uni-
versity needs to consider culturally appropri-
ate methods of mourning and remembrance in
the aftermath of the event. Eklund added that
due to the different ethnicities affected by the
tsunamis, certain forms of mourning may be
incompatible with cultures of students who
wish to participate.
Eklund said religious affiliations might also
factor into how the international community will
want to handle the situation. "Some people don't
want to be at the point of thinking of a memorial
service yet," she added.
some truly heartbreaking
ihere people are saying
.eir whole town or some
Cant part of their country
s been destroyed."
- Sue Eklund
Dean of Students
Eklund said students have the opportunity to
give input on how best to recognize the event
at a planning meeting tomorow at 6 p.m. in the
assembly's chambers on the third floor of the
Michigan Union.
There will also be two outreach sessions
facilitated by the Division of Student Affairs.
One will be tonight at 7 p.m. in the Vandenberg
room of the Michigan League, and the other
will be Sunday at 7 p.m. in the Family Housing
Community Center on North Campus.
Eklund said she is encouraged by University-
wide efforts to assist in the aftermath of the
disaster.
"The University is a big, decentralized place,
and I haven't yet encountered anyone who is not.
interested in trying to step up and do the right
thing," Eklund said.
MUSLIMS
Continued from page 1A
He added that he hoped fear would not
lead Americans to make decisions about civil
liberties that they would later regret.
To gauge basic knowledge of Islam, par-
ticipants were asked to answer two questions
about the Islamic faith - to state the name
by which Muslims refer to God (Allah) and
to name the Islamic holy book (the Koran).
Roughly a quarter of respondents answered
neither question correctly, and another 20
percent answered one question correctly.
Twenty-seven percent of respondents agreed
"Islamic values and beliefs are very similar
to Western/Christian values and beliefs."
Anthropology Prof. Andrew Shyrock,
an expert on Muslims in America, said he
thinks American ignorance and geopolitics
are both explanations for those who want to
restrict the civil liberties of Muslims.
"The U.S. is involved in imperial projects
in the Middle East that are very unpopular
in the region," he said. "People resist these
projects. Sometimes they use Islam to orga-
nize their opposition, sometimes they use
nationalism, sometimes it's a local mix of
the two."
Aisha Jukaku, Muslim Students Associa-
tion vice president, said she has personally
experienced discrimination because of her
race and religion, saying she has been ver-
Many Americans harbor stereotypes following 9/11
bally assaulted in the past.
Jukaku said the University and MSA have
taken extensive measures to educate the cam-
pus community about Islam and ensure the
safety of Muslim students on campus since
the start of the war on Iraq.
"We have put on community service events
and education workshops, in an effort to work
together and understand more about (Islam.)
We are always looking for new ideas and
new ways to help people understand more,"
she said.
Some students on campus felt that civil
restrictions for Muslims were unnecessary.
"These ideas come directly from the 9/11
bombings. These terrorists happened to be
Muslims, and automatically everyone thinks
Muslims are terrorists," said LSA sophomore
Andy Michalsky. "One incident is not enough
to stereotype a whole religion," he said.
The study investigated correlations
between support for restrictions on civil lib-
erties of Muslims and political ideology, reli-
giosity and television news exposure.
Erik Nisbet, a Cornell communications
graduate student and contributor to this
study, said that it found "The more religious
you are, the more you watch TV news and the
more conservative you are, the more likely
you are to support these restrictions."
Nisbet said exposure to TV news is prob-
ably the biggest factor influencing support
of restrictions.
"On TV, (Americans) are seeing images
of war, images of Americans and Muslims
overseas clashing and images of possible ter-
ror alerts. Obviously this may lead to fear or
misperceptions of Muslims."
Shryock said the University plays a large
role in resolving and correcting misconcep-
tions about Islam and should make it a high
priority to educate students.
"I think we need to commit our best intel-
lectual and political efforts to explaining
what civil liberties are, why they are impor-
tant and why protecting the rights of Arabs
and Muslims in the U.S. will make all of us
more secure - not less," he said.
The University has given this semester a
Middle Eastern theme, offering classes, lec-
tures and other events on Middle Eastern cul-
ture and religion.
Shyrock said attitudes such as these are
found in southeastern Michigan and also
extend to Arab Americans, as he found in a
study he conducted in 2003 of Detroit Arabs
and non-Arabs.
"We found that 49 percent of the general
population supported increased surveillance
of Arab Americans, and 41 percent believed
it would be acceptable to detain "suspicious"
Arabs or Muslims without evidence to pros-
ecute," Shyrock said. "Only 17 percent of
Arab Americans agreed on the surveillance
question, and only 12 percent agreed on
detention."
Shryock said the reverberations of the
findings of this study are being felt across the
Muslim community. Many are afraid stud-
ies like these will plant the seeds for future
restrictions on their civil liberties.
The Muslim community is afraid studies
like these are "testing the currents of pub-
lic opinion to see what the reaction will be
to new restrictions on civil liberties," said
Shryock.
The tendency to confuse "Muslim" with
"Arab" shows that the animosity is racial as
well as religious.
"Most Americans don't know that Arabs
living in the U.S. are majority Christian.
They also don't know that most Muslims,
in the U.S. and globally, are non-Arab,"
Shryock said, "They just know that Arab
and Muslim are two labels closely associat-
ed with each other. There's also a pervasive
sense in America that these labels describe
people who, unless they constantly and
loudly proclaim otherwise, belong to 'the
enemy camp."'
MCRI
Continued from page 1A
order to ensure its success.
The campaign is now also free from the legal
challenges that crippled its drive last year. In December,
the court battles led by the campaign's opponents halted
abruptly with an order by the state Supreme Court.
Opponents - BAMN and United Michigan -
contend that MCRI's petition is deceiving. MCRI seeks
to amend the constitution to ban "preferential treatment"
based on race, sex and other characteristics, in order
to make sure every person is treated equally. But the
state constitution already guarantees "equal protection"
regardless of race, sex, ethnicity or national origin, a fact
not stated on MCRI's petition. The campaign therefore,
is deceptive and unnecessary, opponents say.
A circuit court judge agreed with the opposition
in March of last year, ruling that MCRI's intent
was not to eliminate racial preferences but undo*
the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding;
affirmative action.
But the state Court of Appeals reversed that
decision by validating MCRI's petition, a ruling the,
state Supreme Court has now let stand.
The Michigan Supreme Court declined - in a 4-
order - to hear an appeal by MCRI's opponents on.
that Court of Appeals ruling. Invalidating the petition
through the courts had been the opposition's primary
method of stopping the campaign before it reached
the ballots.
United Michigan has said it will try to challenge.
the validity of the signatures submitted by MCRI.
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LANSING (AP) - The state standardized test for high
school juniors is a step closer to being replaced with a version
of a college entrance exam.
The Michigan House voted yesterday night to send the
five-bill package to the Senate for final approval. The House
voted 99-10 on the main bill to replace the Michigan Educa-
tional Assessment Program test.
The legislation doesn't specify a test to replace the MEAP
test, but two of its three parts would resemble the ACT and an
ACT work skills exam.
Eleventh-graders would start taking the test, called the
Michigan Merit Exam, in the 2006-2007 school year, accord-
ing to the legislation. A sample group could begin taking it in
the 2005-2006 school year.
The bills are strictly limited to the 11th grade MEAP test
and wouldn't affect elementary and middle school students
who take the exam.
The House already approved a bill to supplement the Sen-
ate legislation by setting up qualifications for vendors hired to
create the test, administer and score it.
The bills approved yesterday night were changed by the
House to require that social studies be a part of the new test
and require the state school superintendent to check that test
questions are accurate.
The Senate is expected to send the bills to Gov. Jennifer
Granholm before adjourning at the end of the day today.
Three House Democrats voted against the bill: Stephen
Adamini of Marquette, Glenn Anderson of Westland and Jack
Minore of Flint. Seven Republicans also voted no: Clark Bis-
bee of Jackson, Sandy Caul of Mount Pleasant, Judy Emmons
of Sheridan, Philip LaJoy of Canton, John Pastor of Livonia,
John Stakoe of Highland and John Stewart of Plymouth.
Democratic Rep. Artina Tinsley Hardman of Detroit was
absent and didn't vote.
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Marine fails to return after
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holiday, ag
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The
Marine charged with desertion after
he claimed to have been kidnapped
last year in Iraq was again declared
a deserter yesterday after he failed to
return from a holiday leave.
tin declared a deserter
left Dec. 28, family spokesman Tarek
Nosseir said. He said there was no indi-
cation of any trouble.
"We went to lunch, he was upbeat,
there was no problem,"'Nosseir said.
On Dec. 28, Hassoun's family took
sword behind his head.
Hassoun contacted U.S. officials in
Beirut, Lebanon, on July 8, and was
taken to the American Embassy there.
He has made one statement since
returning to the United States, saying he
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