NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, April 6, 2005 - 3
ON CAMPUS
Jazz ensemble to
perform tonight
The School of Music is sponsoring
a free performance by the Jazz Lab
Ensemble at 8 p.m. tonight in the Horace
H. Rackham Auditorium. The groups is
directed by Dennis Wilson.
Harvard prof to
lecture on Yeats
Harvard professor Helen Vendler,
will give a lecture titled, "The Yeatsian
Sequence: Nineteen Hundred and Nine-
teen," at 5 p.m. tonight in the Hussey Room
of the Michigan League.
The event is free and is sponsored
by the University's Institute for the
Humanities.
State Dept official
to discuss visas
Deputy Assistant Secretary of
State for Visa Services, Janice
Jacobs, will give a lecture tonight
at 7:30 p.m. in the Rackham Amphi-
theater.
Her lecture aims to educate inter-
national students and scholars on the
federal government effort to mod-
ernize visa processing. There is no
cost to attend.
CRIME
NOTES
Intruder scared
away at "hello"
A woman said an intruder entered
her home at about 1:30 a.m. yesterday,
but immediately left after she called
out "hello" to him, according to the
Ann Arbor Police Department.
The woman, who lives on the
1000 block of Vaughn Street, said
the door was unlocked because she
was expecting her roommate to
come home. The woman said she
saw a man walking down the hall-
way to her bedroom, but he quick-
ly left after she called out to him,
police said.
Police said they were unable to
locate anyone in the area.
Woman falls off
bed, hits head
A caller reported to the Department
of Public Safety that a visitor fell out
of bed and hit her head in Stockwell
Residence Hall on Monday. The woman
declined medical attention.
Money stolen from
hospital desk
Hospital security reported that $20
was stolen from a desk near the main
entrance to the University Hospital,
according to DPS. There are currently
no suspects.
THIS DAY
In Daily History
Democrats take
strong position for
desegregation
April 6, 1960 - Midwestern
Democrats issued a strongly worded
policy statement vowing to uphold
U.S. Supreme Court decisions in
favor of desegregation.
Using oblique but clear language
addressing the southern wing of the
party, the statement threatened the use
of federal force to enforce desegrega-
tion in all states, saying civil rights
- including the right to vote, protest
and receive equal protection under the
law - "transcend state boundaries."
The proposal will be considered
for adoption as official party policy
at the upcoming Democratic National
Convention.
Delegates to the Midwestern con-
ference expressed indifference at the
possibility of a southern walkout.
"If the South wants to walk out, let
them do it," U.S. Rep. John Dingell
(D-Mich.) said. "I'll open the door."
Lecturer analyzes religious rhetoric in politics
By Rachel Kruer
Daily Staff Reporter
Washington Post columnist E.J.
Dionne said despite conservatives'
frequent use of religious rhetoric,
religion's role in politics transcends
partisan boundaries.
"I think the left is uneasy when
the right uses religious rhetoric, even
though the civil rights and anti-slav-
ery movements had religious roots,"
Dionne said.
Dionne spoke in the densely packed
Anderson D Room in the Michigan Union
yesterday about the often contradictory
role religion plays on both sides of the
political spectrum and how this conflict
fosters ambivalence for individuals.
Even though various liberal move-
ments were born out of religion, Dionne
noted the irony of how conservatives
still criticize those on the left for their
lack of spirituality.
"The Right pretends everything left
of the center is hostile to religion and
religious people," he said.
Dionne said that though opponents
have frequently criticized the Bush
administration's use of religious
rhetoric, many other presidents -
including former President Bill Clin-
ton - have also incorporated biblical
imagery into speeches.
"Bush is not the first president to
invoke God and the scripture, and he is
certainly not the last," Dionne said.
Dionne said he also objected to the
notion that the United States is a polar-
ized nation composed only of loyal
Democrats and Republicans. Instead,
he described Americans as "a deeply
moderate people" who float around the
center of the political spectrum.
Dionne also noted the sharp con-
trast between how John F. Kennedy
and U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-
Conn.) dealt with religion in their
political careers. Kennedy tried to
downplay his Roman Catholicism,
while Lieberman has professed his
faith in Judaism publicly - even jok-
ingly calling himself "Holy Joe."
Dionne used the term "flexidoxy" to
describe Americans who have strong
religious beliefs yet want to change cer-
tain religious strictures such as those
concerning birth control and abortion.
He ended his hour-long speech with
unlikely advice to politicians: He said
the Frank Capra movie "It's a Wonder-
ful Life" provides the means to tap into
the American psyche.
"It tells politicians everything they
need to know about the average Ameri-
cans, and watching it is a lot cheaper
than focus groups," he said.
Dionne said the movie illustrated
that most Americans are egalitarian
but still striving for upward mobility,
Rebecca Blank, dean of the Gerald
R. Ford School of Foreign Policy, said
she invited Dionne because his insight
into religion was especially pertinent
in the current political climate.
"The role of religion has been visible
since the last election and especially in
the last week," she said. "E.J. Dionne
seemed a natural person to discuss the
role of religion in politics, since he
speaks to people along all divides."
University students had mixed reac-
tions to Dionne's ideas.
Engineering freshman Rob Hosch-
ner said he enjoyed parts of Dionne's
lecture but disagreed with others.
Hoschner said that as a conserva-
tive, he agrees with Dionne that reli-
gion can sometimes play a positive
role in politics.
"But I didn't get the impression that
he thought politicians' beliefs could or
should be deeply inspired by religion,"
he said. "He was more guarded on
whether politicians should make that
decision or not."
Joyce Koo, who is a fourth year
student in the joint Public Policy and
Law School program, thought Dionne's
speech was incredibly informative as
well as balanced.
"I thought it was interesting. I felt it
could be part of a booklet to talk about
both sides of how religion affects poli-
tics," she said.
Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne spoke in the Anderson Room of the
Michigan Union yesterday
Amid objections, MSA approves executive officers
By Jeremy Davidson
Daily Staff Reporter
The Michigan Student Assembly approved
the nominations made by MSA President Jesse
Levine last night for the positions of treasurer,
student general counsel and chief of staff. Busi-
ness junior Devesh Senepati was approved as
treasurer, LSA sophomore Russ Garber was
approved as student general counsel and LSA
sophomore Justin Paul was approved as chief
of staff.
A number of concerns were raised by mem-
bers of the assembly about each of the nominees
- particularly Garber.
Representative Ben Royal voiced strong con-
cern over Garber's conduct within MSA. Royal
said he was dissatisfied with actions Garber had
taken against the chairs of the Peace and Justice
Commission - RC juniors Ryan Bates and Ash-
wini Hardikar.
According to Royal, Garber attempted to form
a committee to look into whether Bates and Har-
dikar had the right to criticize President Bush in
a resolution last semester.
Royal also expressed dissatisfaction with Gar-
ber's knowledge of the MSA Code of Conduct
when Garber was unable to produce the section
of the code he had cited to support his objection
to a proposed redefinition of the Peace and Jus-
tice Commission.
At last week's MSA meeting, Garber claimed
that all changes to the code must be approved
by the Rules and Elections Chair - the posi-
tion which he held. Representative Mat Brener
discovered that Garber's claim was unfounded
after what Brener said was a brief review of
the code.
Royal said this action demonstrated that Gar-
ber did not have a good understanding of the
code and was therefore not suitable to be student
general counsel.
Brener said that because the student general
counsel is responsible for knowing and uphold-
ing the code and understanding parliamentary
procedure, there was "legitimate concern" for
questioning Garber's appointment.
Garber's nomination was approved by 19 repre-
sentatives, with 9 voting against and 8 abstaining.
Garber said his political views were the basis
of the opposition to his nomination.
Concerns were also raised by some repre-
sentatives during Senepati's nomination over
the lack of female nominees on the MSA exec-
utive board.
There was also an objection made regarding
Paul's nomination.
RC senior Matt Hollerbach, an outgoing
MSA representative, questioned Levine's moti-
vations for Paul's nomination, asking if an
agreement guaranteeing Paul's nomination had
been made prior to the application process for
the position.
Paul firmly denied he had made an agree-
ment with Levine, saying he took "personal
offense" to Hollerbach's allegations and chal-
lenging him to "call (Paul's) parents" to ask
them how nervous he had been prior to being
nominated.
Music sophomore Laurel Harris said she was
concerned that the president and vice president
had not nominated any women to the executive
board, even though more than half of the cam-
pus is composed of women.
"I feel that the appointments should be rep-
resentative of the entire student body," Harris
said.
MSA Vice President Alicia Benavides said
Harris raised a valid point but that it was coun-
terproductive to affirmative action to nominate
unqualified candidates to fill "token spots" on
the board.
"I believe it's more important to choose peo-
ple who would do the job best," Benavides said.
Levine said he felt their nominations were
made with the best interest of the student body
and the assembly in mind.
"I feel confident that the new team will be
able to accomplish great things for students in
terms of improving the University on many lev-
els," Levine said. "The individuals approved by
the assembly have proven themselves as quali-
fied campus leaders."
- Matthew Orley and Mary Wilcop
contributed to this report.
These packages do not include airfare. Taxes and other
applicable fees are not included.
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