Tuesday,January 11, 2005 Opinion 4 Sports 10 Jasmine Clair: Stop the stupid lawsuits Cagers remain optimistic - -41P Weather Rim34 LOW:V-31 TOMORROW: 46/43 One-hundredfourteen years ofedtorialfreedom www.mihiandai-y.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXV, No. 57 02005 The Michigan Daily Some see chance ofpeace in Abbas By Christina Hildreth Daily Staff Reporter Sunday's Palestinian presidential elections inspired hope and hesitation about the future of Middle East peace talks among University students and faculty as Mahmoud Abbas was elected leader of the Palestinian Authority. Abbas's election has stimulated inter- national talk of renewed peace efforts in the Middle East. Moreover, Abbas has been portrayed by the media as more moderate than his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, who died on Nov. 11. "I would say that his election is a good sign for both peoples to restart the peacemaking. There are very high hopes for both sides," said Sammy Smooha, visiting professor of Judaic studies. In contrast to Arafat, Abbas is capa- ble of being a partner for peace, Smooha said. Carmel Salhi, president of Students Allied for Freedom and Equality, a pro- Palestinian student group, disagreed, saying Israel, not Arafat, has been the obstacle to peace. "The question is not if (Abbas) is willing for peace, because Arafat was willing to give up many things for peace," he said. "The question is whether or not the Israelis will allow a just peace. There can be no peace without a just solution for the Palestinians," Salhi added. Nevertheless, students and faculty said Abbas is more likely than Arafat to take steps to reduce the violence com- mitted by Palestinian militant groups. "(Abbas) believes that it is possible for both peoples to come to terms with each other. He really believes that. He also believes that it is impossible to reach this goal by violence," Smooha said. Since Arafat's death, Abbas has appealed to Palestinian militant groups to lay down arms and facilitate peace talks, Smooha said. "What he is doing is saying to them, 'Let's make a ceasefire for a year or half a year and see if I can deliver,"' Smooha added. See ABBAS, Page 7 HONORING THE FALLEN Greeks promote party policies By Carissa Miller Daily Staff Reporter The University's Greek leaders hope the recent social poli- cy changes - a set of new regulations concerning party size, alcohol and admittance - will boost Rush numbers, improve party safety and increase the number of registered events in the future. The vice presidents for social responsibility from the Inter- fraternity Council and the Panhellenic Association last night held a social policy meeting to educate fraternity and sorority leaders on the new policies and to clear up any misunderstand- ings. In the last few weeks, these policy changes have been met with mixed emotions and confusion in the Greek commu- nity because many members of the community have not been adequately or correctly informed of the changes, said Dustin Schmuldt, IFC vice president for social responsibility. Under the new policy, any event taking place on chapter prop- erty where more than 25 women are in attendance and where alcohol is allowed must be registered with IFC. Depending on the size of the party that is registered, a certain number of sober monitors must be supplied by the fraternity, and one member of the Social Responsibility Committee must be present to work the door. Parties with fewer than 25 women are not considered par- ties under the policy and are not required to be registered with IFC. Unregistered parties do not face IFC's restrictions. The policy changes, effective since Jan. 1 for all fraternity and sorority chapters in IFC and Panhel, address problems that resulted from previous policies, Schmuldt said. One problem with the old policy, Schmuldt said, was the restriction against cups, which interfered with certain drinking games. Previously, IFC banned party hosts at registered events from providing cups or serving liquor, which did not allow for partygoers to play various games such as beer pong, flip-cup or Beirut. Under the new "bring-your-own-alcohol" policy, cups and liquor are allowed at registered events because fraternities are no longer permitted to serve alcohol to guests. The policy allows each partygoer to bring one 12-pack of beer or one plastic pint of liquor, 80 proof or below. "One problem was that there were many unregistered events occurring, which is very unsafe because there is no one to take responsibility." Schmuldt said. "There was a lot of research involved of other Greek systems on other cam- puses that implement and enforce a BYOA policy, and we feel there will be a safer party atmosphere overall here at the See GREEKS, Page 7 ~SHLEY ntHnra. isiy in front of North Hall, Patrick Franklin, left, an Engineering junior and ROTC cadet, joins other ROTC cadets Greg Prisllpsky, right, and Alison Kinnin, center, in adjusting the U.S. flag to half mast. Gov. Jennifer Granholm ordered flags across the state to be lowered yesterday in honor of Staff Sgt. Jason Lehto, a Marine from Harrison Township who died in Iraq last month. ATTACKING AFFIRMATIVE ACTION MICHIGAN MCRI battle to center on public 0 0 0 opinon campaigns By Aymar Jean Daily Staff Reporter The movement to eliminate race- and gender-conscious programs in Michigan advanced substantially last week when a statewide campaign announced it had collected hundreds of thousands of signa- tures to put the issue on the 2006 ballot. But even as the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative basks in its achievement, its opponents are already planning a spate of attacks to thwart it. Numerous challenges face those who oppose MCRI's ban of policies based on race, ethnicity and sex in public educa- tion, employment and contracting. MCRI has collected more than 500,000 signa- tures, well above the roughly 320,000 it needs to get the issue on the ballot and the greatest number ever submitted for a proposal to amend Michigan's constitu- tion. As of now, the initiative also has the public's support. Public opinion polls, including those conducted by The Detroit Free Press and EPIC/MRA, a Lansing- based polling firm, show that about 60 percent of Michiganders would ban race preferences. The opposition - consisting mostly of BAMN and the coalition Citizens for a United Michigan - has a little less than two years to topple MCRI, in part by con- vincing Michigan voters of the proposal's potentially damaging effects. Opponents of MCRI said they face an uphill battle. "Any time in American history when See MCRI, Page 7 Students fal for more fraudulent TCF e-mails By Karl Stampfl Daily Staff Reporter The number of students and staff victim- ized by e-mail scams that prompted them to give out their TCF Bank account information has grown by three, bringing the total to seven. The Department of Public Safety received three reports in December about University students who lost money when people posed as bank officials and requested personal information that granted them illegal access to the students' accounts. The other four reports surfaced in November. Altogether, five reports came from students and two from University staff members con- cerning the scam, which is known as phish- ing. Phishers send out mass e-mails or pop-up messages that claim to be from well-known financial organizations in order to steal people's identities. The students and staff members responded to e-mails that appeared to be sent by TCF Bank officials. The victims later reported money was illegally withdrawn from their accounts. The seven recent reports prompted a mass e-mail from DPS Director Bill Bess to all University students, faculty and staff warning about the frauds. A similar e-mail was sent in November. Both e-mails reminded people that financial institutions will not renuest nervnnal informna.. Ward Connerly, left, and Jennifer Gratz talk about Michigan Civil Rights Initiative petition signatures during a news conference Thursday at the state Capitol In Lansing. V\IRGINIA Federal officials investigate UVA policies I I