VOTE IN TODS CITY L ELECTIONS Where? See below. I Why? See Page 4. Tuesday, November 8, 2005 News 3 Students celebrate Native American culture Opinion 4 Chris Zbrozek: The curse of student apathy it4v41 Arts 8 Depeche Mode returns with a thud One-hundredfifteen years ofeditorialfreedom www.michkandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 26 ©2005 The Michigan Daily City holds Council elections, Where to vote on campus Polls will be open from 7 a. m. to8 p.m. Coleman part of higher ed discussion By Jeremy Davidson Daily News Editors b d Last summer, former MSA Rep. c Stuart Wagner passed out earplugs at a City Council meeting to sym- l bolize the deaf ear that the Council's a members turned to student issues. t Wagner's "protest" was in B response to a parking restriction that 1 City Council passed, which turned r open parking spots near a number of s fraternities and sororities into park- f ing places that required annual for- fee passes. I Second Ward Elections for City Council mem- bers are being held today, and stu- dents have a chance to be heard by asting a ballot. Students can vote at the polling ocation for the ward in which they re registered to vote. Polling loca- ions are at the Michigan Union, Bursley, Mary Markley Residence wg Hall, East Quadrangle, South Quad- angle and at Jefferson and fifth r>. treets. Polling stations will be open rom 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today. There are several election issues See CITY, Page 7 Third Ward Speakers agreed that Michigan needs an educated workforce By Anne VanderMey Daily Staff Reporter Detroit higher education leaders and state elected officials bowed their heads in prayer yesterday in Detroit's Cobo Hall to ask God to help them improve Michigan's universities. The opening, prayer, led by a member of the Detroit Economic Club's board of directors, kicked off a roundtable discussion featuring influential voices on higher educa- tion, including University President Mary Sue Coleman and Lt. Gov. John Cherry. The event, titled Growing Minds, Grow- ing the Economy: Forging Higher Expecta- tions about Higher Education, delved into universities' role in propelling the state into the knowledge-based economy of the future. Although speakers agreed that an edu- cated workforce will lay the foundations for Michigan's bid to compete in a global- ized economy, some panelists expressed concern that state leaders fail to provide universities with adequate funding to keep pace with the rising demand for education, despite vocal commitment to the cause. "Across the state the quality that exists (in higher education) is really quite astounding," Coleman said. But as the state revamps its industries, she added that deci- sions made now about higher education will steer Michigan's transition into the information age. "We're at a critical time here in our his- tory," Coleman said. The event highlighted the findings of Cherry's Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth, on which Cole- man served. The creation of the commis- sion was part of Gov. Jennifer Granholm's broader effort to bolster the state's economy by developing a strategy to double the num- ber of college graduates in the state in 10 years. After six months' work, the com- mission made 19 recommendations earlier this year to the state on how it can improve Michigan's higher education system. The recommendations included propos- als to expand degree programs, strength- en high schools and make college more See COLEMAN, Page 3 GRAPHIC: ASHLEY DINGES ---- Fourth Ward _ Cagers see decline in ticket sales C U) *1f Student ticket sales dropped significantly despite a reduction in the price By Jack Herman Daily Sports Writer For whatever reason, something caused student season ticket sales for men's basketball to fall by more than 40 percent this season. Numbers obtained from Associate Athletic Director Marty Bodnar show that while nonstudent sales dropped just 7 percent, the number of students buying season tickets this season declined from 1,563 to 920. This drop occurred despite a, price decrease from $160 to $130, which resulted from a lower number of home games this year. Last season, Michigan host- ed three Preseason NIT matchups but did not compete in the tournament Empty seats Number of tickets sold has declined from 1,563 to 920 The decrease comes even after ticket prices were lowered from last year's $160 per ticket to $130 Much of the decrease is attributed to loss of anonymous donor who purchased all bleach- er seats in past two years this year. The biggest reason for the lower sales was the loss of an anonymous donation that had boosted sales in the past two years, Bodnar said. The benefactor purchased all 520 bleacher seats, which the Athletic Department See TICKETS, Page 7 I I "I will be happy to work with the new committee but I doubt that if I am elected the Mayor would appoint me to the committee. Even if I'm not on the committee, I would be happy to communicate by email with students and with student groups that are interested in the city." "Students are alegitimate part of the community and should be treated as such. Student issues are the community's issues they are inextricably intertwined. It was my suggestion, and one that City Council recently approved, to constitute a City MSA Commission. (The mayor has already said Greden will be appointed to the committee if re-elected.) "I wholeheartedly support not only student contact by any and all means possible, I also support more input from non-voters including non-citizens, non-residents including homeless, commuters, visitors, unregistered residents and non-voting residents." "(Students) are my constituents and receive the same respect as my other constituents and bring a fresh perspective to many issues." Did not respond in time to meet deadline. s a Students from Detroit can't "find rides to city for elections By Juia F. Homing Daily Staff Reporter Though the race between incumbent Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and former Deputy Mayor Freman Hendrix has inspired debate among many Univer- sity students from Detroit, student vot- ers may not turn out in high numbers because many of them don't have a way to get to the polls. Riana Anderson, the president of the University's NAACP chapter, is from Detroit but is registered to vote in Ann Arbor. She said the NAACP organized carpools to Detroit for the national elections last year but hasn't received any requests for a transportation ser- vice for today's election. The NAACP and the all-black Delta Sigma Theta sorority held a discussion "He might have made some bad decisions, but he tries to keep the city in the hands of the people." - Chris Villerot Engineering freshman said she supports Hendrix because of allegations of Kilpatrick's misuse of city funds. Engineering freshman Chris Villerot said he also does not have a way to get to the polls. He said he supports Kilpat- rick despite the charges of corruption. "He might have made some bad deci- sions, but he tries to keep the city in the hands of the people," he said. LSA senior Jennifer Raupp said she tA L UIAUU5Z~/ UdIIy LSA senior Monica Smith of the Defend Affirmative Action Party and LSA sophomore Andy Ramos of the Students 4 Michigan Party pose in the Michigan Union In front of a display of their flyers. Parties ear Up f con By Ashlea Surles Affirmative Action Party are the only two parties I