Wednesday, March 30, 2005 Opinion 4 Sports 8 Jordan Schrader examines GEO's arguments Looking to extend winning streak, softball stays focused c ..1 N11 -; ti Weather LOWl47 TOMORROW: 59/32 One-hundredfourteen years ofeditoralfreedom www.mzhki~andaziy.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXV, No. 108 @2005 The Michigan Daily GSIs, 'U' Doctor shortage foretold reach some agreements EIf progress continues, GSIs says they may not need to authorize an open-ended strike next week. By Ekjyot Saini Daily Staff Reporter With negotiations continuing late last night, the Graduate Employees' Organization and the University have begun to make significant progress since last week's walkout, which includes agreement on international GSI issues. GEO President Dave Dobbie said that if progress continues on this manner, he is hopeful that the union will not have to authorize an open-ended strike next week. The agreement reached yesterday dealt with the testing and training of international GSIs. Various GEO members had expressed concerns that their English skills were not being accu- rately assessed by the exam that they were required to take, and that certain countries were being targeted. The University accepted GEO's proposal of instituting a pre- test that would gauge an international student's English language * ability before having to take the English language exam. "(The University) agreed in principle that a pre-test makes sense," Dobbie said. GEO also demanded that the University provide financial sup- port for all GSI training that occurs before the semester starts - not just for LSA GSIs. Under the new agreement, GSIs in all academic units would be eligible for financial support. GEO also agreed to the same tuition wavier clause that was in the previous contract. GSIs that are employed at a ".25 frac- tion" or greater - which means working 10 hours or more per week - will not pay tuition, while those at lower fraction appointment - less than 10 hours a week - will pay a certain See GEO, Page 7 Penny wars to grant wishes The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan is raising money for children with life-threatening illnesses By C. C. Song Daily Staff Reporter The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan has declared a penny war between Central Campus, North Campus and the Hill. The proceeds of the "war," which started Monday and will end Friday, will help the national Make-A-Wish Foundation grant more kids their wishes. The organization has placed donation jugs in the lobbies of all the residence halls. Every penny added to the jugs will add one Thirty-one percent of medical schools will "definitely" or "probably" increase enrollment By Kingson Man Daily Staff Reporter The prognosis is dire: By the year 2020, there will be a nationwide short- age of 85,000 doctors. The recommend- ed treatment? Increase the number of medical school students by 15 percent each year. The congressional Council on Gradu- ate Medical Education presented this scenario in a report released last month, and Medical advocacy organizations are heeding COGME's call to action. The Association of American Medical Colleges has changed its position from claiming there is an oversupply of phy- sicians to calling for a "modest increase in medical school enrollment," accord- ing to a press release. Reversing the decades-old stance that there are too many medical students, medical schools around the country are preparing to increase the number of stu- dents they enroll. A recent AAMC poll showed that 31 percent of medical schools were "definitely" or "probably" going to increase enrollment in the next few years, with another 20 percent "possibly" plan- ning on taking the same route. The dean of admissions and the direc- tor of the Medical School could not be reached for comment because they are out of the country. See DOCTORS, Page 7 Graphic by Mathew Daniels GLENN GETTY/Daily MSA President Jesse Levine shakes hands with outgoing president Jason Mironov last night. New MSA president inugurated "We have so many people here looking to make a difference." = Jeff Tosoian President of Make- A-Wish of Michigan point to the campus where the dorm is located and subtract one point from the other two campuses' totals. The competition is also being held between fraternity and sorority hous- es as a part of Greek Week activity. Make-A-Wish participated in Diag Day on Monday - the first day that fraternities and sororities contributed to the Penny War - and will take part in State Street Day - when fraterni- ties and sororities compete to make donations again on Friday. The Penny War is just one of the many fundraising activities - includ- ing December's open skate in Yost By Jeremy Davidson Daily Staff Reporter Former MSA President Jason Mironov called the last MSA meeting of his term to order last night at 7:30 p.m. and passed the torch on to MSA President Jesse Levine. Though the new administration had not even been sworn in, constituents brought issues for the next year to the attention of the assembly from the start of the meeting. Jennifer Holmes, director of Operations for Uni- versity Hospitals and Health Centers, voiced con- cern with part of Levine's platform that emphasized increased privacy for students who were admitted to the hospital for alcohol-related incidents. Members of the assembly had voiced concerns about minors being afraid to seek treatment, due to fear of being turned over to police or the Depart- ment of Public Safety. Holmes assured the assembly that privacy was at the foundation of all policies of the University's hospitals and health centers. "I want students fo be secure in knowing that if they come to the hospital for care for any reason, that their case will be held in the utmost confiden- tiality," Holmes said. "We protect the confidential- ity of all our-patients, including students, and there is no reporting to any University officials." Levine said he was pleased to hear this, but that he wanted to ensure that past infringements of stu- dent privacy were not repeated. "Privacy laws need to be respected at the U of M Hospital, and I'm glad to hear that the policy at the U of M. hospital respects those laws. However, I am troubled to hear that there was an instance in which a students privacy rights may have been infringed upon," Levine said. "I'd like to make sure that such aberrations do not happen in the future," he said. These early points of clarification did not bring any doubt about Levine's ability from Mironov. "I have the utmost faith in Jesse, and I hope he and the assembly lead and serve this campus to the best of their ability," Mironov said. These sentiments echoed Mironov's motto for Levine, and the job of MSA president, "Loved, hated, but never ignored." Mironov emphasized that while everyone may not have always agreed with his decisions, that he always acted with what he believed to be the best interest of the students. Former MSA Chief of Staff Elliott Wells-Reid had similar advice for the next administration. "Remember that your job here is to represent the students, and not to forget to put students first when making all decisions," Wells-Reid said. Levine said he was eager to start his term and looked forward to an ambitious year as president. "MSA is on a total and complete upswing, and See MSA, Page 7 Arena - that Make-A-Wish of Michigan has sponsored since it was founded last semester. The event at Yost raised $2,000. "We have so many people here looking to make a difference," said LSA sophomore Jeff Tosoian, president of Make-A-Wish of Michigan. Tosoian said his organization has expanded its mem- bership to 100 people in less than a year. Make-A-Wish Foundation, a world-wide organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses, was See WISH, Page 7 *Former ambassador calls for U.S. action in Sudan Steinberg says students can effectively work 4 to relieve the crisis by I writing letters to Congress pNBy Olga Mantilla For the Daily ti ', Donald Steinberg. former U.S. Steinberg's reflection immediately evoked the gravity of the events that are taking place in Sudan's western Darfur region today. "In retrospect, no Qone can deny that they knew what was going on. Rwanda happened in 100 days. Dar- fur is that same genocide, in slow motion, and warrants an adequate response from our government," said Steinberg, who is also the former chair of the Student Network on Asy- lum and Refugee Law, the genocide in Sudan has been largely ignored by the media. "This is an area where we've seen alarming lack of awareness," she said. "We feel responsibility to raise consciousness on campus about this massive humanitarian crisis." SNARL co-sponsored the event, along with the Muslim Law Student Association and Students Taking Action on the other, has largely been respon- sible for the killing that has been carried out. The violence has moved several groups on campus to petition Congress in an effort to change the tide of events in Sudan. Steinberg said that although the humanitarian relief being provided by the international community has been impressive, it is not enough to stabilize the situation in Sudan. I