NEWS The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 3 " ON CAMPUS Senator Levin comes to Union U.S. Sen. Carl Levin (D-Detroit) will speak in the Michigan Union Kuen- " zel Room today at 4 p.m. The event is sponsored by the University's College Democrats. Desegregationist speaks on fighting hate, prejudice The Hillel Center for Jewish Activi- ties presents Dick Lobenthal, former director of Michigan's Anti-Defamation League, tonight from 8 to 10 p.m. at the Mandell L. Berman Center on Hill Street. Lobenthal, who aided the deseg- regation of the South and continues to fight for the rights of various minority groups, will share and discuss his life experiences of fighting hate and preju- dice in the United States. 'U' tsunami aid groups to discuss " future fundraising Learn more about the University stu- dent organizations committed to raising tsunami aid at the Tsunami Aid Volun- teer Meeting tonight from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Anderson Room of the Michigan Union. There will also be an opportu- nity to sign up for March fundraising events. For more information about Uni- versity relief efforts, visit www.umich. edu/-tsuaid. CRIME NOTES Purse snatcher loose on campus A 19-year-old reported to the Ann Arbor Police Department that a man stole her purse as she was walking down Oakland Avenue at about 1:40 a.m. Sun- day morning. She said after grabbing her 0 purse, the man ran toward Packard Street, but AAPD was unable to locate the purse snatcher. The woman was not injured. Peeping Tom peers into woman's bedroom window 0 A University student reported to the AAPD that someone was standing out- side her bedroom window watching her change clothes at about 3 a.m. on Sunday. The incident occurred on the 800 block of Arch Street, but when police arrived, they were unable to locate the subject. Exit sign defaced in Markley hall A Department of Public Safety offi- cer reported early Sunday morning that an exit sign was damaged in Mary Markley Residence Hall. There are currently no suspects. Rowdy spectator escorted out of Crisler Arena DPS ejected a subject from Crisler Arena during a basketball game on Sun- day. DPS reports said the subject was ejected for acting disorderly. THIS DAY In Daily History 'U' alum admits to forging sarcastic note from U.S. Rep Feb. 22, 1990 - Dean Baker, a former University graduate student and current professor of economics at Bucknell Uni- versity, admitted yesterday to forging a letter that was supposedly signed by U.S. Rep. Carl Pursell. The letter sarcastically implied that the United States should not support the El Salvador government. It was distributed three weeks ago to 10,000 of Pursell's Coalition continues to rally against Coke By Talia Selitsky Daily Staff Reporter The Killer Coke Coalition is reaching a critical moment today in its campaign as Michigan Student Assembly votes on whether to support a motion to cut contracts with the Coca-Cola Company. The Killer Coke Coalition is a growing col- laboration of 11 student groups, including La Voz Latina, Amnesty International and Envi- ronmental Justice. They are part of a concerted campaign to pressure Coca Cola to amend its business practices which they allege include human rights violations and environmental irresponsibility in underdeveloped countries. On Friday, the coalition put on a panel called "Verifying the Scrutiny" with three speakers who are involved in the campaign against Coke. David Kovalik, who spoke at the panel, is an attorney representing the plaintiffs in a court case against Coke which began in 2001. The plaintiffs claim that many union work- ers have been killed and injured in Columbia as a result of Coke's unethical business prac- tices. For instance, Panamco - a company that had exclusive bottling rights to produce and distribute Coke in Latin America - has bottling plants in Colombia where union members claim eight union workers have been killed and many others had been harassed by paramilitaries, which the plaintiffs claim hap- pened under the full knowledge of the bottling plants' managers. However, Coke contends that only two myr- ders have taken place in its bottling plants and those victims were unaffiliated with the bot- tling plants at the time of their deaths. The plaintiffs claim that union members have been persecuted in Columbia for more than a decade. On Dec. 5, 1996, the plaintiffs said paramilitaries invaded the bottling plant in Carepa, Columbia and killed union leader Isidro Gil and Jose Librado Herrera, a low - level supervisor with trade union sympathies. Louis Cardoba, who also spoke at the meeting on Friday and worked at the bottling plant in Care- pa, said he was kidnapped that day by the para- militaries, but he said he managed to escape and fled with his family to Miami. The plaintiffs allege that Coca-Cola had responsibility over the abuse of the workers in Panamco bottling plants because Coca-Cola directly administers its managers, whom the plaintiffs believe were in collaboration with the paramilitaries. The plaintiffs said they intend to back their claims in court with witnesses who have said they have seen the manager pay off paramilitaries. However, the court said Coke had some con- trol in the realm of the quality of its product, but it was not responsible for the human rights violations. Amit Srivasta of India Resources, a group that supports movements against globalization in India, also spoke at the event about Coca- Cola's alleged unethical business practices in India. He said that Coke has caused artificial water shortages in six areas where its bottling plants are present, has poisoned the ground water with toxic metals like mercury, has sold solid waste to farmers laden with cadmium and lead under the guise of fertilizer and Coke products in India have up to 30 percent higher levels of pesticides, including Dichloro-diphe- nyl-trichlorethane, than in other countries. Coca-Cola disagrees with the findings. In its opinion, after doing studies through the Central Science Lab. As one of the most respected science labs in the world, Ott said the science lab found that the samples of solid wastes were below Indian standards of lead and cadmium. "We believe the environmental damage allega- tions are false," said Harry Ott, director of global environmental assurance for Coca Cola. "But India's a democracy. We will obey all laws put into affect," he added. Through hip hop and pasta, Greeks raise tsunami aid By Amine Tourki Daily Staff Reporter When LSA freshman Matthew Klein, who is a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, wanted to give back to the community and help rehabili- tate the Greek image, he started the Greek Philanthropy Organization to coordinate and encourage participa- tion in charity. "A lot of good things that happen in the Greek system are overlooked. Hopefully, by working with different organizations on campus, people will realize that we have good hearted peo- ple," Klein said. LSA freshman Jeffrey Chod, who is the chief financial officer of GPO and a member of SAE, also said fraternities need to focus more on charity. "Frater- nities are based on three things: social, academic and community involvement. We felt the community involvement part has been overlooked. This is a way to bring them back to it and emphasize it," Chod said. So far, GPO has registered 75 people from the Greek community to do chari- table work. "We have already set up a few events for this semester. We will be partnering with organizations on campus and we will be putting on Best of All Worlds to help Tsunami Victims" said LSA freshman Laura Zeligman, who is a member of Alpha Phi and Director of University Rela- tions for GPO. Zeligman added that 'Best of All Worlds' is a hip-hop, freestyle dance show that will be per- formed on April 8; the proceeds will benefit tsunami victims. One of the events that was advertised during their first meeting last Wednes- day was the annual Kappasta chaity dinner that was served last Sunday and was sponsored by Kappa Kappa Gamma. Tickets to the dinner were sold for $8 and over 90 pounds of pasta was served. ILSA sophomore Beth Turk, who managed the event, said they sold more than 500 tick- ets and raised more than $2,000 to aid tsunami victims. "As soon as the tsunami happened we knew we wanted to donate toward that fund," said LSA sophomore and presi- dent of KKG Erin Stierwalt. Stierwalt added that the two months of planning and advertising made a big difference. LSA sophomore Kathryn Burnside of KKG also said that Kappasta was a huge success. "It is a great opportunity for all stu- dents and the great Ann Arbor commu- nity to have a great dinner on a Sunday night, meet each other and donate to a cause," said Burnside. LSA freshman Chris Johnson, who attended the dinner, said he heard of the event from his neighbor, LSA freshman' Henry Pubin, in Couzens Residence Hall. Johnson said they thought the pasta was almost as good as a home-cooked meal. The next GPO meeting will be March 24 in the Michigan Union,rand it is open to anyone who wishes to get involved. Voters participate in first election under new law LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Voters in 28 Michigan counties will cast ballots today in the first of just four elections this year. The move is part of the state's new election con- solidation law, which limits the number of elec- tions to the fourth Tuesday in February and the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May, August and November. The goal, according to Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land, is to save money and make elections more efficient and accessible. The secretary of state said consolidating elections will allow voters to better plan for elections and put elections in the hands of trained local clerks. Land said Tuesday's election will mark a new chapter in the state's election process. "Consolidating elections is a progressive and com- monsense step," she said in a statement. "Our goal is to have more efficient, economical and inclusive elec- tions. This law will help to get us there." According to the state House Fiscal Agency, less than 5 percent of eligible voters in nearly half of Michigan school districts voted in the 2000 school board elections. In three-quarters of the districts, the turnout was less than 10 percent. Critics of the low election turnout said there were too many elections in the past, citing a hodgepodge of election dates at various levels of government. With so many elections, critics said, voters became over- whelmed. Voters on Thesday will decide matters involving school districts, community colleges, cities, villages, townships, counties and library boards. Most K-12 and intermediate school districts will have their elections May 3. A handful of districts plan to hold school board elections in November. School districts currently run some of their own elections. The new law, signed in 2003, mandates that municipal and county clerks run the elections. The law does include an exception from the four dates for a special election called by the governor or the Legislature, or a special election held by a school district. PIRGIM Continued from page 1 chair. "We don't want to get into that gray area." But there is a still a question of wheth- er Student PIRGIM's activities would be construed as lobbying, Wells-Reid said. CSJ delayed the vote until it could be sure that MSA's tax-exempt status was not in danger. "We'll send it to the trial and let the trial figure it out," CSJ Chief Justice Pierce Beckham said. If the verdict of the trial is that the vote can go through, the earliest it could happen is March 15. "We've been working on this for the last four or five years, and it's really unfortu- nate that something wrong is causing this to be delayed for so long," Hwang said. "I just feel like (the petitioners) don't have a case. This is delaying something that will empower students." Hwang said PIRGIM has been meet- ing with MSA representatives since the beginning of the semester, but the injunction to suspend the vote was only brought up last Friday, limiting PIR- GIM's time to respond. "I'm extremely disappointed that members who are concerned with the tax structure did not speak with us to voice our concern earlier," said Rese SPRING BREAK SPECIAL! $37.95 One Month Unlimited Tanning (734) 996-3-GLO ia ' 'R a 1 A"c 5?v:fiS°%iv:uE>.? ;:fiso: yk'a :s o ,h ,..:.:5$ M