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One-hundred fourteen years ofeditorialfreedom
www.michgandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan * Vol. CXV, No. 97 x2005 The Michigan Daily
Courant to step dov
University President
Coleman to announce chair
of committee to find a
replacement in next few days
By Karl Stampfl
Daily Staff Reporter
University Provost Paul Courant
announced yesterday that he will step down
from his position on Aug. 31 instead of seek-
ing reappointment for a second term.
Courant, who has held
the University's second
most powerful posi-
tion since 2001, said he
was successful in his
two chief objectives as
provost - easing the
transition of Univer-
sity President Mary Sue
Coleman and guiding the
University through an Courant
ongoing tough budgetary
situation.
"I was able to help the president adjust and
learn about Michigan and for Michigan to
learn about her," Courant said of Coleman,
who assumed her post in 2001.
In an e-mail yesterday to faculty, Coleman
wrote that she relied on Courant to aid her
during her acclimation to the University. She
said his knowledge of the University bud-
get in a time of declining state funding was
essential to the University's ability to main-
tain its world-class academics.
"Under his leadership, our academic units
have continued to innovate and grow, despite
resource constraints," she said.
Courant named his management of budget
vn as provost
cuts while sustaining the University's aca- but we're having trouble sustaining support,"
demic excellence as the accomplishment he Courant said. "It's the problem the president
is most proud of. is working very hard on right now. Other-
"I hope I'm remembered as someone who wise, I think I'm leaving the place in pretty
kept his eyes on what mattered more - aca- good shape."
demic quality of institution," he said. Courant will end his role as provost on
But with Gov. Jennifer Granholm propos- Aug. 31 and until then will continue working
ing to strip the University's state funding on the University's fiscal year 2006-budget.
again of $5.6 million, the University is still "I'm still on the clock," he said. "I wouldn't
in a budget crisis. Courant cited those cuts leave in the middle - Aug. 31 is a very dead
as the greatest challenge his successor will time around here. So we'll get through this
face. budget cycle and make sure we'll be in solid
t
1
r
a
C
"American higher education is one of the
spectacular successes of the modern world,
shape for next year."
See COURANT, Page 7
Divestment
resolution
likely to pass
By Donn M. Fresard
and Justin Miller
Daily Staff Reporters
A resolution supporting divestment
from Israel appears to havea reason-
able chance of passing in tonight's
Michigan Student Assembly meet-
ing, several top MSA officials said
yesterday.
The resolution, which attacks the
Israeli military's practices toward
the Palestinians as "reprehensible"
and "unjustifiable" in 14 paragraphs
leading up to its conclusion, would
urge the University Board of Regents
to create an "advisory committee
to investigate the moral and ethi-
cal implications" of the University's
$11,000,000 worth of investments
in companies that do business with
Israel.
As of 3 a.m. this morning, a vote
c'ount by The Michigan Daily found
that MSA representatives who knew
how they would vote were almost
evenly divided between support-
ing and opposing the resolution.
MSA officials said a similar late-
night tally, conducted by assembly
officials, yielded roughly the same
results.
The student government at the Uni-
versity's Dearborn campus passed
a similar resolution last month, and
the student government at the Flint
campus is also expected to take up
the issue tomorrow.
In an unusual move last night,
MSA President Jason Mironov came
out against the resolution before the
vote. While its supporters claim
the resolution merely suggests that
a committee explore the issue,
Mironov condemned it as disingenu-
ous, saying it presents only the anti-
Israel side of the argument.
"Ninety-five percent of the docu-
ment condemns the state of Israel,
See DIVESTMENT, Page 7
ASHLEY
HARPER/Daily
The
Michigan
Theater
on Liberty
Street will
host the
Ann Arbor
Film Fes-
tival this
week. The"
festival will
screen 125
different
projects,
ranging
from local
films to
national
and inter-
national
works.
Minority bone
marrow drive
comes tc
By Adrian Chen
Daily Staff Reporter
)
U,
AZ FILM FESTIVAL MAINTAINS ITS EXPERIMENTAL LEGACY
By Marshall W. Lee
Daily Film Editor
On a historic evening 43 years ago, University
School of Art and Design Prof. George Manupelli
gathered a casual group of close friends, artists and
fascinated students into a smoke-filled Lorch Hall
auditorium to watch a few films. When the lights
dimmed and the whispers subsided, a projector
jumped to life and the show began. From these rather
inauspicious beginnings came the Ann Arbor Film
Festival, an internationally renowned celebration of
the filmic arts that will continue in its grand tradition
March 15 through 20 at the Michigan Theater.
Originally intended as an exhibition space for
Midwestern and Michigan-based 16mm work, the
festival has evolved and expanded over the past
four decades to become, in the words of Festival
Programming Director Chrisstina Hamilton, "a
chrysalis of international ideas" and a highly dem-
ocratic showcase for narrative and experimental
work in all film, video and digital mediums.
One of the largest, oldest and most celebrat-
ed events of its kind in North America, this
year's AAFF will screen more than 125 proj-
ects, including film and video exhibitions, lec-
tures, workshops and seminars over a six-day
run. The festival's events begin tonight at 7 p.m.
with a public gala reception and premier exhibi-
tion at the Michigan Theater. The theater itself,
an ornately detailed and beautifully restored
1920s art house located on Liberty Street, will
be transformed with installations from local
artists. For those who have never had a chance
to visit the theater's two screening spaces
- the 1,700-seat main auditorium and the
See FESTIVAL, Page 9
It started innocuously enough, with a
small, blurry dot in her field of vision.
But Tara Revyn's doctor told her this
was caused by a hemorrhage in her eye
- a potential sign of serious brain dam-
age. Tests were done and no damage was
found, but in February of 2003, further
examinations showed something just as
serious: myelodysplastic syndrome, a
precursor to leukemia.
Myelodysplastic syndrome is a can-
cer of the bone marrow, the site of the
body's blood manufacturing. The dis-
ease, like most others affecting bone
marrow, damages the marrow in such
a way that it cannot produce the white
blood cells vital to a person's immune
system, making the patient vulnerable
to infections and other diseases.
Without a bone marrow transplant,.
Revyan is likely to die.
"I was in disbelief," Revyan, a 24-
year-old Korean American with a 7-
year-old child, said of receiving the
diagnosis. "I had just started my career
and received my degree, and that's the
last thing you expect to happen."
Saving a life
Minority Bone Marow Dave
The bone marrow
drive will be held in two
locations today from 11
a.m. to 4 p.m.
Locations are the Ander-
son room of the Michigan
Union and room 3817 of the
Medical Science II building.
Participants will be
registered for bone marrow
type and are not required to
commit to a transplant.
Revyan has undergone a number of
experimental treatments in the hopes
that one might cure her. They did not,
and now Revyan is searching for a bone
marrow transplant from a compatible
donor to restore her immune system and
save her life.
The transplant would replace her
See MARROW, Page 7
History of Holocaust offers lessons for modern audience
This year's conference
puts Holocaust in context of
temporary human rights issues.
Conference co-chair Tori Roth said what
makes this conference - themed "A World
The weeklong conference, taking place from
today to March 23, features a series of events
including speeches by professors and survivors,
it's a human issue whose impact can be seen and
felt throughout the world today," Lacks added.
The main organization behind the event is
room at 7 p.m., features speaker Tom Marti-
nez, a former member of the white supremacist
group The Order who later went undercover to
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