NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, February 3, 2005 - 5A
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BARRY WHO?
STUDENTS
Continued from page 1A
like Social Security is in a state of
crisis. It's not being honest to the
American people and what's going
to happen to them."
LSA sophomore Ryan Werdei
agreed. "(Bush) should be spending
money on Social Security instead of
making private accounts that will
put far too much risk into the system.
They give people the chance of put-
ting all of their money into a faulty
investment," he said.
But LSA sophomore Eric Burgess said
he felt Bush's speech was reassuring.
"I'm glad he made it explicitly clear
that he would not take away benefits
for people over 55," he said.
Michael Traugott, a research pro-
fessor at the Center for Political
Studies, said he does not think that
it will be easy to bring together the
two sides over the Social Security
reform issue.
"Social Security and Medicare
issues will divide the country along
generational lines. It turns the older
beneficiaries against the younger
payers," he said.
LSA sophomore Denise Wang
said she thought the most inspiring
aspect of the speech was when Bush
described programs to help small
businesses.
"I am a female minority who is
planning to go into business to start
my own company. I think his policies
will really support people like me.
Businesses today aren't getting the
incentive to develop, and he's giving
them help," she said.
Bush described his international
agenda during the second half of
his address. Corrigan said she was
dissatisfied with Bush's foreign
policy record.
"I would have liked to see some
kind of interest in fulfilling a for-
eign policy that isn't entirely bellig-
erent but instead builds coalitions,"
she said.
Jacobs said he felt differently.
"The biggest thing that will stick
with viewers is that we're not (in
Iraq) to establish our culture onto
them, but to give them the liberties
that we enjoy," she said.
Traugott considered the president's
guests in the audience to be indica-
tive of a message to viewers.
"It is very common for there to
be special guests in the audience,
but it is especially interesting that
his guests were foreigners from the
Middle East, as well as parents of a
deceased soldier from Texas. This
shows the sacrifice that Americans
make individually for this war in
Iraq," he said.
LSA Senior Julie Zachwieja sail
she felt that Bush made an effort to
bring the divided nation together. "A
lot of these ideas, Kerry had in his
campaign, this will get everyone to
stand behind him," she said.
Werdei disagreed. "I felt at points
he attempted to reach over the aisle,
but it was a half-hearted attempt. It
will take actions, not just three sen-
tences in his address to bring people
together," he said.
GEO
Continued from page 1A
on how well international students
can communicate in English.
Negotiations like these are not
new to the University, nor are the
extended deadlines.
Previous contract negotiations
between GEO and the University
have had their share of delays. Nego-
tiations in the past two contract peri-
ods - 1999-2002 and 2002-2005
- started in late October, and a
tentative agreement was not reached
until March, after several contract
extensions.
While GEO's bargaining team
will continue to meet with Univer-
sity officials to adjust the mechan-
ics of the contract in order to reach
an agreement, both sides say there is
still much work to be done.
The extended deadline for the
2005-08 contract is Feb. 24.
"Change is a gradual thing at this
University," Peterson said.
"We aren't dragging our feet on
the process."
AP PHOTO
With a bungee cord connected to his harness offering resistance, Eric Johnson, 12, of Lakeland, Fl. runs to
the goal line while playing at the NFL Experience in Jacksonville on Tuesday. Super Bowl XXXIII will be played
there on Sunday.
MSA
Continued from page IA
"I wasn't there, but my room-
mate went out to the bathroom, and
when he returned, he noticed five
swastikas and 'KKK' written on the
board," said LSA freshman Michael
Feldman, a resident of First Little.
"I was shocked. I thought that
the person who did it was obvious-
ly drunk but it's still a really shitty
thing to do," said LSA freshman
Antoine Brantley.
When asked whether he felt threat-
ened or worried, Brantley said he did
not fear for his safety, but he was
bothered.
"Whoever did this obviously did it
for a reason," he added.
LSA freshman Paul Tassi said he
felt the incident was blown out of
proportion.
"I got the e-mail (from Markley
staff) and (wondered), did some-
one spray-paint this on the wall or
something? Turns out it was just like
marker boards and such," Tassi said.
"I mean if it was, like, carved
into my door, maybe I'd worry. ...
Drunk people are just stupid," Tassie
added.
Brown said DPS has not seen a
pattern of increased hate crimes and
incidents on campus, but urged stu-
dents to be on the lookout. If anyone
has any information on such inci-
dents, Brown said they should call
DPS.
Other recent incidents cited by
the MSA resolution include racist
slurs written in multiple bathrooms
in Angell Hall, the destruction of the
large menorah in front of the Chabad
house in mid December and racist
graffiti in the men's bathroom on the
fourth floor of the Union.
GAP
Continued from page 1A
a higher education in their commu-
nities may also be reasons for the
gap," he said.
Despite the lack of scholarship on
the subject, Political Science Prof.
Vincent Hutchings said the higher
education gap between black males
and females has serious implica-
tions for the future of the black mid-
dle class.
At a time when studies have
revealed a strong correlation between
college education and membership
in the middle class, Hutchinson said
the gender gap implies the number
of black men entering the middle
class is on the decline.
Moreover, he added that the
nationwide gap between college-
educated black males and females is
especially pertinent because black
females are the least likely of any
demographic to marry outside of
their race.
According to 2000 U.S. Census
data, of the 4,097,000 black women
who are married, 108,000 are mar-
ried to a spouse outside of their
race.
Therefore, if there are not enough
college-educated black males, col-
lege-educated black females simply
will not marry, Hutchinson said.
"Assuming black women continue
this trend, there will be no replica-
tion of the black middle class. All
these black women are getting BA
degrees (and they have) no one to
marry, because for the most part,
people want to marry others of the
same class," Hutchings said.
The shortage of two-parent fami-
lies has serious economic effects on
the middle class as well.
Taylor said the middle class is tra-
ditionally made up of families with
two wage earners.
But if black women are more like-
ly to be alone, it is harder for them
to achieve middle-class status.
Hutchings said eventually, edu-
cated black women are either going
to have to start marrying outside of
their race, change their expectations
or stop marrying altogether.
Yet some black students said the
gender gap has not been much of an
issue in their lives.
School of Public Heath student
Montsine Nshom, who is black, said
she has dated outside of her race and
would marry outside of her race.
"I'm dating the person, not the
color of their skin. It's never been
an issue for me or for them," Nshom
said.
"It hasn't really affected my rela-
tionships with (black women).
I have learned to deal with black
women better because of it," Powell
said, "If anything, it's positive."
Still, maybe in part because of the
gender disparity, LSA junior Lashe-
anma Lumpkin said that at the Uni-
versity, and in general, black women
who see black men dating inter-
racially are more likely than black
men to have a negative response.
"I noticed (the small number of
black males on campus) when I first
came here. Because the males are
so few in number, the girls will do
whatever they can to keep them,"
LSA junior Nakia Kyler said.