NEWS The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 9, 2005 - 3 * ON CAMPUS Speaker to promote grassroot activism, black power r Center for Afroamerican and African Studies Prof. Stephen Ward will be speak- ing at the CAAS brownbag series today at 9 a.m in Room 4701 of Haven Hall. Ward's lecture is titled Black Radical Thought, Grassroots Activism and the Roots of Black Power: Thoughts on the Lives and Work of James and Grace Lee Boggs. For more information about the event, contact ecnirp@asdroot.itcs.edu. Workshop to help prepare women S for job interviews The Career Center for the Education of Women will be hosting a workshop to prepare students for job interviews. The workshop activities will take place at noon at the Center for the Education of Women located at 330 E. Liberty St. There is no cost to attend, but Pegis- tration is required; to register call (734) 998-7080. Prof. to give his autobiography in Alice Lloyd lounge Todd V. Ester, the current director of multicultural affairs and an assistant clinical professor of Endodontics at the School of Dentistry, will speak today .as part of the Health Sciences Scholars W Program's Professional Autobiography Series at 7 p.m. in the West Lounge of Alice Lloyd Residence Hall. CRIME NOTES Parking permit . stolen from car A subject reported to the Department of Public Safety on Monday that a per- mit was stolen from her vehicle while it was parked in the carport on Kipke Drive. There are currently no suspects. Subject harasses woman at library A subject reported to DPS that she received harassing communication from another person at the Alfred Taubman Medical Library on Monday. The case is still under investigation. Officers unable to locate trespasser A caller reported to DPS that a sub- ject was trespassing in Angell Hall on Monday. The officers were unable to locate the subject. Clothing found without incident Clothing was reported missing to DPS in West Quadrangle Residence Hall early yesterday morning but was found without incident. THIS DAY Bush speaks in Detroit about new economic plans DETROIT (AP) - President Bush, who is trying to gain support for his second-term goal of chang- ing Social Security and improving the economy, made a strategic stop yesterday in Michigan, which lost thousands of jobs during his first term. "It is time to confront great challenges," Bush told an audience of around 1,500 people at a Detroit Economic Club luncheon. "If you care about the quality of life for our children and grandchildren, now is the time." Bush spoke about his plans to expand the econ- omy, including reduced federal spending, tax cuts, lawsuit reform and ensuring free trade and afford- able, reliable energy. He also spoke at length about his plan to overhaul Social Security. It was Bush's second visit to Michigan this year and his second speech to the Detroit Eco- nomic Club. He first spoke to the club during the 2000 campaign. Michigan's unemployment rate was 6.8 percent last year, lower than in 2003 but still higher than the national rate of 5.4 percent. Since December 2003, Michigan has lost 47,000 payroll jobs, mostly in manufacturing. "Parts of our country struggle just like Michi- gan. I'm very aware of that," Bush told those in attendance at yesterday's speech, including the chief executives of Detroit's Big Three automakers, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Cardinal Adam Maida, Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and Attorney General Mike Cox. General Motors Corp. CEO Rick Wagoner said Bush's goal of a business environment that is dynamic and flexible is a good one. He said GM supports Bush's tax cuts and wants to see a long-term fix for Social Security. He also said Bush understands the weight of health care costs on Detroit's automakers. "We share the view that health care costs need to be brought under control," Wagoner said. Bush's proposed budget - released Monday - includes a boost in spending on the military, which could be a boon for defense-related manufacturers in Michigan. It also calls for increased Medicaid spending in Michigan. But the proposed budget would cut education funds and subsidies to farmers, which could hurt Michigan. Bush also discussed his No. 1 domestic prior- ity, allowing younger workers to set aside some of their Social Security earnings in private investment accounts. Bush says Social Security will be running a deficit by 2018 and his plan would help stop the red ink. "The government has made a promise to young- er workers that it cannot pay for," Bush said. "The whole world is watching to see if we have the cour- age to fix this problem." Michigan Democrats say the Social Secu- rity plan is a dangerous one for the 1.7 mil- lion people who receive Social Security in Michigan. Rep. Sander Levin (D-Detroit) said Democrats want to keep Social Security sol- vent but believe Bush's plan is expensive and wouldn't help the shortfall. "We Democrats are always ready to help out, but not to divert these moneys and not to add terribly to AP PHOTO President Bush addresses the Detroit Economic Club yesterday. Bush was in Detroit one day after sending a $2.57 trillion federal budget proposal to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. the debt and not to cut benefits for younger work- ers," Levin said. Levin was among those who released a report Monday by the Institute for America's Future, a liberal Washington group, which said young Michigan workers would lose an average of $151,703 in benefits by the time they retire in 2050 under Bush's plan. Bush said benefits will be cut, but workers could make up for that with personal accounts that have a higher rate of return that the government now offers. Without his plan, he warned, Social Security will face a $300 billion shortfall by 2033. "If we don't act now, imagine what life is going to be like trying to fill that hole," Bush said. About 20 people - some holding signs read- ing "No War," others wearing T-shirts urging no changes to Social Security - protested Bush's visit from a spot near Cobo Center, where the president delivered his speech. College Dems endorse Dean for DNC chair By Julia Homing Daily Staff Reporter The University chapter of the College Demo- crats endorsed Howard Dean for the Democratic National Committee chairmanship this week. The endorsement comes late in the race, when six other candidates for the position have already backed down. A former candidate for the Demo- cratic presidential nomination, Dean runs unop- posed for the DNC chairmanship. Former Rep. Tim Roemer of Indiana was Dean's last remaining opponent until he dropped out on Monday. LSA junior and College Democrats Vice Chair Libby Benton said the decision to endorse Dean required much deliberation. "This is a very important aspect of the Demo- cratic Party, and it's important that students have a voice in it," she said. Members of the College Democrats registered their opinions at weekly meetings and in an online poll over the last month. Benton said about 60 per- cent of the members supported Dean. LSA junior and College Democrats Chair Ramya Raghavan said she supported Dean because of his track record of expanding the Democratic Party. She also said Dean appeals to younger Democrats because of his dedication to grassroots organization. "A lot of politics are top-down, and Dean gives young people today the ability to get involved from a lower level," she said. A former physician, Dean was the governor of Vermont before entering the presidential race. Benton said his effective campaigning in the primary race - including his use of technology and fundraising abili- ties - was encouraging to the College Democrats. But some feel Dean's policy record will be det- rimental to the Democratic Party. LSA junior and First Vice Chair of the College Republicans Jeston La Croix said Dean was too liberal for the position. "I think a political party should be reaching out to the people who tend to agree with them and not try to polarize the party," he said. Political Science Prof. Vincent Hutchings said the DNC chairmanship is more about the fund- raising abilities of the candidate than his policies. He said the role of the position is to organize the Democratic Party. "Because the Democrats are out of power in the White House and Congress, and because Dean already has recognition, he will be the face of the Democratic Party," he said. Hutchings said Dean will help the party because he is unapologetic. "They need someone who will not offer up Republican views, but instead will put up a Demo- cratic vision," he said. Business School senior Scott Foley, the senior advisor to the College Republicans, said the Repub- lican Party will see more victories with Dean as DNC chairman. "It's obvious from his failed presidential run that the American people don't connect with Howard Dean's view of the world. For the Republicans, hav- ing Dean as the DNC chair will be terrific," he said. Hutchings said it is important not to understate or overstate Dean's potential influence. "He is not single-handedly going to resolve the problems of the Democratic Party, nor is he going to destroy it," he said. "Dean will perhaps do some- thing that most of the party chairs cannot doand that is to be visible." GM introduces new airbags with more safetyfeatures TO IGHT, DETROIT (AP) - General Motors Corp. is introducing a new front pas- senger air bag that deploys differently based on the severity of the crash, where the seat is and whether the passenger is wearing a seat belt. The company planned to unveil the new air bags today at the Chicago Auto Show. They will be standard on two luxury sedans, the 2006 Buick Lucerne and the 2006 Cadillac DTS, which will go on sale this fall. GM spokeswoman Meganne Hausler said the company eventually plans to introduce the air bag on other vehicles. GM said the air bag is the first of its kind in the industry. The federal government is requir- ing all vehicles made after Sept. 1, 2006, to have advanced air bag sys- tems, which determine how much to inflate the frontal air bags based on the passenger's weight, seat belt use and seating position. Conventional advanced air bags inflate to a single size but adjust the air pressure according to the passenger's weight, position and belt status. GM said its air bag goes further by adjusting both the size of the bag and the pressure. Advanced air bags cost automakers about $127 per vehicle, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. GM isn't revealing the added cost of installing the new air bag system, Hausler said. Robert Lange, GM's director of struc- ture and safety, said early testing indi- cates the air bags could improve GM's ratings in frontal crash tests. Several GM vehicles already have advanced air bag technology, including the Cadillac Escalade, the Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado and Suburban and the GMC Yukon. GM's new air bag has a tether that holds the bag back to a smaller size if it detects the passenger is seated too close, unbelted or could otherwise be injured. The tether releases if the pas- senger is far enough back and belted. GM said it takes the vehicle's sensors only milliseconds to determine whether to unleash the full pressure. Brian O'Neill, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safe- ty, said he hasn't seen technology like GM's before. O'Neill said one issue with advanced air bags has been false signals - such as a heavy bag on a seat - which auto- matically turns the passenger air bag off. He said manufacturers are so wary of harming passengers that they may err on the side of not letting bags deploy. He said GM's option of a smaller air bag could help that problem. "It will more often be able to deploy the passenger side air bag without doing harm, so there's a safety gain where it might have been turned off," O'Neill said. Wednesday's unveiling was GM's second major safety announcement in two weeks. The company said on Jan. 31 that it plans to put two safety features - OnStar and electronic stability con- trol - in all of its vehicles by 2010. LEARN HOW YOU CAN LEAD THE MOVEMENT TO END EDUCATIONAL INEQUITY. Wednesday, February 9,7:30-9:00 pm Michigan Union, Anderson C&D In Daily History Faculty proposes nuclear war crisis conference at 'U, Feb. 9, 1983 - Although some may believe it is only a political fad, Uni- versity faculty members are joining colleagues from a growing number of colleges across the country by studying the threat of nuclear war. Instructors from various departments in the University have been meeting for the last 18 months as part of a fac- ulty arms control seminar to discuss the issues surrounding nuclear weaponry. Other faculty members, who have formed an Office of International Peace and Security Research, hope to stage a symposium that would produce a book summarizing existing knowl- edge about the international crises that