NEWS The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 13, 2005 - 3A ON CAMPUS Arts & Programs sponsors sock hop on North Campus The Michigan Union Arts & Pro- grams will host a '50s Sock Hop tonight from 9 to 11 p.m. at Pierpont Commons. Admission is free and prizes will be awarded for the best costume and dance moves. Opera singer makes 'U' debut at Mendelssohn In her debut appearance for the Uni- versity Musical Society, award-win- ning mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe performs tonight at 8 p.m. at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater. Blythe, an alum of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artists Pro- gram, has performed at some of the best opera houses in the world, including the Paris Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. Tickets are available from UMS for $30-40. MLK event features acclaimed poet and sitcom writer As part of the 2005 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium, author and award-winning poet Michele Serros will speak today from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Vandenberg Room of the Michigan League. Serros is a former writer for "The . George Lopez Show" and author of "Chi- cana Falsa" and "How to be a Chicano Role Model." Appetizers and refreshments will be served. CRIME NOTES Flasher's hearing adjourned until early February The preliminary hearing for Michi- gan football player Larry Harrison, who is facing charges of indecent exposure, has been adjourned until Feb. 9 at 1 p.m. The hearing was originally scheduled for yesterday but was postponed because Harrison's attorney had not yet read over the proceedings, the Ann Arbor police . department said. Harrison is suspected of involvement in 16 cases of indecent exposure, but prosecutors only have enough evidence to charge him with four. After starting in seven games for the football team, the defensive end was dismissed from the team in early December. Residence hall vending machine found marred A vending machine was damaged in East Quad Residence Hall Tuesday, the Department of Public Safety reported. DPS: Fire system malfunctions in Dana Building The fire alarm was set off in the Dana Building Tuesday afternoon, DPS reported. The alarm was set off by a malfunction in the system. THIS DAY In Daily History Profs upset with company selling lecture notes Jan. 13, 1983 - The new graduate stu- dent run company, Bartleby's Notes, was a pain in the neck for some University professors as it provided lectures notes to students of 23 courses for a price of at least $11.55 a term. "I think it's a dreadful idea," said history Prof. James Vann. While some professors disapprove of the company, Economics Prof. Paul Courant said the notes will give students a chance to listen in class, without worry- ing about writing everything down. Building auction may alter Liberty Street Stores housed in property can keep hope they location By Leslie Rott Daily Staff Reporter A court-ordered public auction that will take place on the steps of the courthouse today at 11 a.m. could potentially change the face and composition of Liberty Street. The auction is in response to a family rift over how two siblings should manage the property, previously owned by their deceased parents. Siblings Beverly Bell and Tom Clark have been at odds for the past few years over prop- erty on the street, but they no longer have con- trol of the outcome of the situation. On Oct. 6, a judge ruled that the public should decide the outcome by allowing the property to go to the highest bidder. If the highest bidder is someone other than Bell or Clark, storeowners on the street may be in danger of having to relocate. The property, which is composed of two buildings located on Liberty Street between Division and Thompson Streets, is home to several local businesses - Kim's Sports and Martial Arts Supplies, Le Dog, Liberty Street Apparel, Serendipity and Versailles Salon. The property is estimated at a value of between $1.25 and $1.3 million, said local developer Ed Shaffran, who was asked by the Bell family to be an expert witness during the trial. Shaffran said the site is attractive because of its proximity to campus. However, Shaffran added that because of restrictions from zoning laws, the property is not suitable for development. He also said that construction costs to replace the current businesses with a high-rise building would be very expensive. Bell and Clark seemed optimistic that the tenants of the businesses would not be in dan- ger of immediate displacement even if the property goes to a developer. But some business owners are skeptical and concerned that the future of their businesses will be in jeopardy if a developer purchases the property. Renay Mishler, owner of Serendipity, said "We want to see our children and grandchildren involved in the evolution of the family property." - Dale Bell Bidding for Liberty Street property she is worried about the future of her salon if someone other than Clark or Bell is able to purchase it. "(It is) such a beautiful building," she said. "I'll be sad to leave and see the building go." She said the building in which her business is located is 150 years old. "I like the funkiness of Ann Arbor," Mishler said. "I hate to see Ann Arbor be so corporate." Shaffran said the auction was a sad situation. "I really, really hoped that (the siblings) could work it out." "It wasn't supposed to be a corporate take- over at all," said Dale Bell, Beverly's husband. "My wife and I plan to be aggressive in our bidding," he added. Both Bell and Clark hope that whatever the outcome, the property remains in the family, as it has sentimental value. "That's where grandma and grandpa lived," said Bell of his children's connection to the property. "We want to see our children and grandchil- dren involved in the evolution of the family property," he added. Clark, who is an Ann Arbor native, lived with his parents in one of the buildings located on the property going up for auction. "This is a very common thing that two peo- ple can't agree (on)," Clark said. "In a perfect world, we wouldn't be doing this," he added. LGBT Continued from page IA Joining them, Rep. Chris Kolb (D-Ann Arbor) said he would introduce new civil rights legislation to outlaw discrimination based on gender and sexuality. "We're truly affected by Proposal 2," McCormack said, adding that straight couples don't know how lucky they are to have the ability to legally marry. "Too often we are represented by shows like 'Will and Grace,' but we're "I feel very much broader," Kolb said, adding that he that what would introduce leg- islation to amend the happened Elliot-Larsen Act to outlaw lesbian, gay, the electi bisexual and trans- a result of gender discrimina- tion. The act is the not know state's civil rights protection law and of LGBT makes no mention of discrimination based on sexuality. "We're going to Co-chair, support the amend- ment to Elliot-Lars- en," Andrea Knittle, co-chair of the Stonewall Democrats said. "I feel very strongly that what's happened after the election was a result of people not knowing a lot of LGBT people," she added. Knittle said the Stonewall Democrats would continue to educate people about LGBT affairs by using events like an art show and a campaign, composed of both straight and LGBT people, to continue pushing their goals. The legislative agenda of the LGBT community to protect and help its fami- lies is much larger than amending the Elliot-Larsen Act. The LGBT community wants to have crimes against them classi- fied and prosecuted as hate crimes. They also wish to repeal sodomy laws, allow gay couples to jointly adopt children and be able to extend their healthcare benefits to their spouses and children. "We expect our y strongly 's [after on was people ring a lot people." - Andrea Knittle of the Stonewall Democrats families to be pro- tected - yes, even in the face of the crude and shameful result of Proposal 2 - so that we can build families, adopt children and raise them in safety and with all the expectations that any family holds for its future and the future of their kids," said Jeffrey Montgomery, exec- utive director of the LGBT advocacy group the Triangle Foundation. Some people in the LGBT community were optimistic about the future of their movement's agen- da because they believe the state's citizens are more tolerant than ever. "I think the more tolerant and fair minded people voted for Proposal 2 without understanding how extreme it was," said Penny Gardner, program director of Michigan Equality, a LGBT advocacy group. StateRep.ChrislKolb (D-Ann Arbor) speaks at an LGBT rally at the CapitolBuilding In Lansing yesterday. Kolb introduced the Elliot-Larsen Act to the state Legislature. The bill could outlaw gender discrimination. FTC tries to stop college a id scams The Associated Press After a 90-minute sales pitch from a company that promised to increase the financial aid eligibility of her college- bound kids, Corrine Nocerino signed a $1,950 contract on the spot. She would soon regret that decision. Her son's guidance counselor found out and immediately warned Noceri- no, who lives in Spotsyvlania County, Va., that the symposium she attended in November 2003 at a nearby hotel sounded like a scam. The counselor explained that the kids' funding eligi- bility would not suffer if Nocerino filled out the form herself, as the symposium led her to believe, and that free help was available. Feeling. betrayed, Nocerino demanded her money back. "They were not completely honest," she said. The Federal Trade Commission agreed. Now the agency, which had cracked down on the company once before, is attempting to shut it down and return nearly $2 million to thousands of consumers. Nocerino's story has a famil- iar ring, educators say, and an important lesson in it for parents: As long as there are college-bound students who need financial aid, there are scammers look- ing to take advantage of them. "For the 10 years I've been a guid- ance counselor, I've seen it every year," said Amy Miller Spavlik of the Franklin Learning Center, a Phila. delphia high school. The rising cost of education and igno- rance about the plethora of financial aid readily available and how to apply for it - for free - have helped to create a climate in which thousands of financially vulner- able Americans are defrauded every year out of millions of dollars exnerts said. Red flags Avoid these warn signs of financial afd e igibility scams When a company asks for pay- ment up front When scholarships or financial aid are promised When a company calls promis- ing to conduct a search of all available sources of aid in order to match students with potential fits: that information is available for free on the Web consultants generally charge one-tenth the amount of scammers, whose fees often exceed $1,000 and whose money- back guarantees may not be as rock solid as they seem. The FTC accuses NSFA of violat- ing the terms of a previous settle- ment, reached in August 2003, by falsely representing, as it allegedly did to Nocerino and others, its ability to boost students' financial aid eligi- bility, as well as the amount of money likely available to them. The FTC says that over the years NSFA, which agreed in its August 2003 settle- ment to pay $115,000 and cease making false claims, has defrauded some 40,000 consumers out of $10 million. The FTC also alleges that NSFA lied to consumers who were promised refunds in the event they did not receive aid.t Keith Flicker, a New York lawyer representing Integrated Capital, called the FTC's actions "over the top, outra- 2eous and baseless" and said they grew Looking for an Opportunity to Make a Difference? CIA's Directorate of Intelligence will be interviewing candidates for Analyst Positions. Representatives from CIA's analytical arm, the Directorate of Intelligence, will be interviewing for analyst positions in Detroit during the week of February 21 st.Analysts work on the forefront of protecting national security, quickly assessing how rapidly changing international developments will impact US interests at home and abroad.They use information from classified and unclassified sources from around the world to develop and provide the reliable intelligence that is essential for US policymakers to make informed decisions.The DI is hiring for the following positions: - Analytic Methodologist " Collection Analyst " Counterintelligence Threat Analyst " Counterterrorism Analyst " Economic, Political, Leadership and Military Analysts " Science,Technology and Weapons Analyst * Medical Analyst - Psychological/Psychiatric Analyst - Crime and Counternarcotics Analyst Candidates must have at least a bachelor's degree with a minimum GPA of 3.0. Language skills, previous