Tuesday, October 11, 2005 News 3 National Coming Out Week organizers plan week of events Opinion 4 Sports 10 Chris Zbrozek hates urban sprawl Harris's defense wasn't enough for an 'M' win One-hzundred fifteen years of edit'orial freedom ------- --------- ------------------- www.mchikandaziy.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 9 @2005 The Michigan Daily IYhas yet to decide on Coke By Jeremy Davidson Daily Staff Reporter The efforts of a group of students to bring The Coca-Cola Company's alleged human rights abuses to light have garnered the attention of the international media. The Wall Street Journal and The Econ- omist have both published stories about the worldwide movement against the soft drink giant; The Journal specifically dis- cussed the role of student activists at the University. Even The Hindustan Times has been following the response of the University administration. But despite making headlines around the world, the deadline for Coca-Cola to comply with University demands passed last Friday without a decision from admin- istrators as to whether it would sever ties with the company. In response to pressure from students, the University told Coca-Cola last semes- ter that it had to agree to a third-party audit of its practices. This demand came after an investigation into the labor prac- tices of the company. But even though the deadline for Coca- Cola to agree to a third-party audit of its labor practices passed last Friday, the Uni- versity has still not decided whether Coke has met the deadline and doesn't plan on releasing its decision until the end of the week at the earliest. A letter from Coke that arrived Friday does not explicitly state that the company agrees to a third-party audit. "We're discussing right now whether the actions (that Coca-Cola has taken) to date and the letter fully support cooper- ating with the investigation," said Peggy Norgren, the University's associate vice president for finance. Norgren, along with University Chief Financial Officer Timothy Slottow, will determine if Coke is compliant Coke's letter says it has committed sev- eral working teams it established during the summer to assess the feasibility of conducting a third-party assessment of labor conditions in Colombia and India. "As we understand it, one (team) is reviewing issues such as security, scope and assessors for a potential Colombia evaluation, another is reviewing potential approaches to evaluating environmen- tal- performance in India and a third is addressing funding issues," Edward Pot- ter, director of Global Labor Relations for Coca-Cola, wrote in the letter addressed to Slottow. Members of the Coke Campaign Coali- tion, the group of students pushing the University to take action against Coca- Cola, said there was a possible loophole that may lead the University to continue relations with the company, despite its refusal to conduct a third-party audit. In a letter to Frank Stafford, chair of the University's Dispute Review Board, Slottow said he would take into account the progress to date and sense of good faith action taken by Coca-Cola prior to our acting premature- ly to sever the contract on a (specific date) as recommended in the report." RC senior Clara Hardie, a member of the campaign, said the sentence under- mines the rest of the letter, in which Slottow writes, "We all understand that there will be times when it is best to sever the (Uni- versity-vendor) relationship and move on." Ashley Graham, a student member of the DRB, wrote an e-mail to Norgren and Slottow about her disappointment with Coca-Cola's response. "The recommendation was clear: Coke was to explicitly agree to a third party investigation by September 30th. ... The September 30th deadline was set; that deadline was missed - now something must be done," Graham wrote. "All we're asking the University to do is. adhere to its own standards," LSA junior Ben Grimshaw said. Members of the coalition say they have not been happy with the approach the Uni- versity has taken in enforcing the Vendor Code of Conduct. "This is the first time the University is evaluating a complaint about the Code of rln a ofter an imctiua ticn from the Quake affects few students Campus groups work together to organize vigil, raise money for earthquake's victims By Karl Stampfl Daily Staff Reporter Few or no University students or their families were directly affected by Saturday's deadly earthquake in Pakistan, according to campus groups. About 45 students are Pakistani citizens, Dean of Students Sue Eklund estimated. Pakistan bore the brunt of the disaster that officials estimate killed between 20,000 and 30,000 people. About 2,000 have been reported dead in India and four in Afghanistan. As of yesterday afternoon, the University had not yet begun to contact Pakistani stu- dents to find out if any are from the affected regions, a process that is usually done via e-mail. Muslim Student Association Vice Presi- dent Wajeeha Shuttari said she had not heard of any students who were directly affected. Shuttari said most Pakistani students at the University do not come from the affect- ed regions, which are less developed than major cities such as Islamabad, the capital, which lies about 60 miles southeast of the quake's epicenter and sustained only minor damage and casualties. "A lot of international students here come from (Pakistan's) bigger universities," she said. Neal Pancholi, co-chair of the South Asian Awareness Network, said that he has not heard of anyone whose families have been affected. "(Pakistani students) confirmed that their family members are safe," he said. "Some of their families are worried about the relief effort though." It will be difficult to get aid to the region because of inadequate transportation, Pan- choli said. Pakistani Student Association Execu- tive Chair Nida Javaid said she also had not heard of anyone affected by the disaster because most Pakistani students come from Lahore and Karachi. Despite the fact that students at the Uni- versity have not been directly affected by the quake, student groups have still mobi- lized in support of earthquake victims. Three student groups, including the Indian American Student Association and PSA, have collaborated to hold a vigil for victims on the Diag at 9:30 p.m. Thursday night. MSA plans to collect money on the Diag tomorrow. It also plans to team up with PSA to hold a benefit dinner tomorrow night, with pro- ceeds from a required minimum donation going toward relief efforts. The dinner, which will be held at 7 p.m. in Betsy Barbour Lounge, is open to all. It is part of a month-long series of daily din- ners to mark the end of the day's fasting during Ramadan. Students can find information about how to donate to relief efforts at PSA's website, www.umich.edu/-pakistan. Survivors of Rwanda genocide to reunite Man who inspired 'Hotel Rwanda' to give lecture in honor of Holocaust hero Raoul Wallenberg By Christina Hildreth and Kelly Fraser Daily Staff Reporters Thomas Kamilindi was on his way out of the Hotel des Milles Collines in Rwanda. But since he had recounted his story to a French reporter the day before, the Hutu militia had increased its threats on the hotel. As one of the country's top radio personalities, Kamilindi thought it may have been safer for the hundreds of refugees inside the hotel if he left. It was Paul Rusesabagina, then manager of the hotel and the inspiration for the movie "Hotel Rwanda," who talked him out of leaving. "He said, 'You leave this hotel and I will tell the peacekeepers to kill you themselves,"' remem- bered Kamilindi with a laugh. Although Kamilindi knew UN peacekeepers could not kill anyone, and could only fire in self- defense, Rusesabagina's joke was enough to calm Kamilindi's fears and convince him to stay inside the hotel walls. Tonight, the two men will meet at the 15th Annual Wallenberg Lecture for the first time since Rusesabagina fled Rwanda in 1996. Rusesabagina will be honored for his efforts that saved 1,268 refugees taking shelter in the hotel during the 1994 genocide that killed almost a million people in 100 days. "I'm excited to see him," said Kamilindi. "We have many things to talk about." "I wanted to leave, but I didn't know how." Kamilindi recounted his harrowing story yesterday from one of the cozy rooms at the Wallace House on Oxford Street. The house is the head- quarters for the University's Knight-Wallace Fellows, a $55,000, one-year journal- ism fellowship program that allows experienced journal- ists to research and develop a topic of their choice. Kamilindi, a fellow in the program who studies repre- sentations of violence in the media, got connected to the University's program through the Committee to Protect Journalists, an international nonprofit group based in New York. "We survived (by drinking) the swimming pool water, that is correct " - Thomas Kamilindi Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow Candidate's son arrested 1n A2 Son of Detroit mayoral candidate Freman Hendrix L 1 "Mt- AKIA - I^1 A A1 County Jail. The arraignment is likely to occur at 10 a.m. today at the Washtenaw County 15th District Court the A APD sid. The AAPD would not Freman Hendrix, deputy Detroit mayor under Dennis Archer, is running against incumbent Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick in the Nov. 8 elec- tion He canceled his nublic annearances today In Rwanda, the government controls the press, he explained. "Journalists who try to do their job are threatened, intimidated, newspapers are seized, journalists are put in jail - because of their job only," he said. Leading up to the massacres, Kamilindi lived under intense oressure at the national radio sta- i 1