Thursday, November 10, 2005 AMAKER'S FIRST CLASS HAS ONE LAST SHOT AT THE BIG DANCE ... TIPOFF News 3A FBI investigates * handling of Detroit ballots Opinion 4A Eric Jackson discusses discrimination patterns ini aiV Arts 9A 50 Cent talks about his first big-screen starring role One-hundredffteen years ofeditorialfreedom www.michiandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 28 2005 The Michigan Daily Coleman focuses on ethics In response to need to teach morals, University holds forums on issue By Anne VanderMey Daily Staff Reporter University President Mary Sue Coleman didn't have any ideas, but she knew what she was getting into. "I didn't have a game plan, I just thought that there are so many interesting things going on that we should have a forum," Cole- man said. The topic of the forum: ethics. And in the past several months, the issue has become a major concern for University officials who believe students need a place to discuss ethical and moral issues that extend from the classroom to day-to-day activities. Last night, Coleman embarked on this endeavor as administra- tors and students came together in the Michigan Union in a heated discussion about plagiarism, intellectual robbery and academic "borrowing." The event was the first in a series of forums born out of Coleman's $500,000 ethical initiative, which may eventually culminate in the creation of new ethics-based classes. "We don't know how it's going to work, but we're going to try it," Coleman added. The University founded the initiative in September in response to a report produced by a University taskforce that recommended administrators develop a setting for students to explore ethical and moral dilemmas. So far the initiative includes holding two public forums for students every semester. Yesterday's discussion marked the first forum of the school year, and about 50 students attended. Initiative chairs Marvin Krislov, the University's general counsel, and John Chamberlin, a professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, hope to eventually implement other pro- grams geared toward teaching ethics at the University in addition to more discussion forums. Chamberlin said that as early as next fall students can expect to be able to register for new ethics classes or existing classes with a new focus on ethics. He said that changes to the curriculum may include special class sections that would place an added emphasis on morals, or optional "companion-courses" that would provide a place to discuss ethical issues that are already present in a class. "Students are so busy worrying about the trees that they don't see the forest," Chamberlin said . "I'd be surprised if fewer than two-thirds of students haven't taken courses that deal with ethical issues.... (We'll) identify things professors are already doing and amplify the effect." Michigan Student Assembly President Jesse Levine, who is on the initiative steering committee, said he felt a focus on ethics would be a good first step for the University. "I think it's important that (people) throughout the University are taking a hard look at this issue; clearly there are some issues on campus that need to be addressed," Levine said. "(But) it will take some time to find the 100 percent solution." Yet some feel that while the initiative may be a step in the right direction, it will not be enough to resolve the University's ability to teach ethics. Residential College Lecturer Hank Greenspan, who attended the event, said although forums and supplemental ethics classes are a good thing, he hopes for larger-scale changes. "One can't do everything in one night, but my hope is that this initiative will rethink the entire curriculum," said Greenspan. "It has to do with what kind of (people) are we hoping this University will graduate. Candidly, I think we have a long way to go." Greenspan said he thought required ethics classes specific to See ETHICS, Page 5A I PETER ScHOTTENFELS/Daily University students eat at the East Quadrangle cafeteria during dinner yesterday. 'U' CAFETERIA PRICING cafeterias fall short, students say k By Karl Stampfl Daily Staff Reporter OXFORD, Ohio - At Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, which claims it has the best cafeteria food in the nation, students eat in dining centers that look more like food courts in upscale shopping centers than typical college dining halls. MU is one of a number of universities that have taken campus dining to a level beyond the University of Michigan, where many students say they are unhappy with their dining experiences. At MU, most students said they were satis- fied with the food, some even going to the point of calling it one of the best aspects of the school. In a recent survey of students by MU's dining services, 92 percent said they were satisfied in general with their dining experiences. "The food at Miami is better than any other school I've ever eaten at," said MU junior Kaleigh Coughlin, who has also dined at Ohio State University, Xavier University, the University of Cincinnati and Ohio-Wes- leyan University. Couglin cited the freshness of ingredients, large selection and generous portion sizes as pluses. The food at MU is regarded so highly on campus that many students who live off-cam- pus purchase meal plans, MU sophomore Kat Peterson said. Another reason students said they like the food at MU is its quality per dollar. The basic meal plan costs $1,670 per semester and includes three meals a day, which comes See CAFETERIA, Page 7A Part Two of Two Voice Your Vote registers less voters Disappointing student turnout blamed on lackluster voter registration efforts By Jeremy Davidson Daily Staff Reporter Voter apathy plagued every demographic in Tuesday's City Council elections, in which only 12,000 ballots were cast, compared with 21,000 in 2003. And despite the strong recent display of activism in city politics from the Michigan Student Assembly, the Voice Your Vote Commission came up short in its efforts to register voters say members of the College Democrats. The voter turnout was especially low this year when compared to the efforts of the Voice Your Vote commission's effort in last year's presidential race, during which they registered nearly 11,000 students to vote. In 2003, an off-year election, Voice Your Vote registered about 500 students, an important year for Ann Arbor because the Greenbelt initiative was on the ballot. According to Voice Your Vote, the com- mission registered 80 students to vote. "This number is lower than we had hoped, largely because it proved difficult to get stu- dents interested in registering to vote in an off year," said Matthew Schopfer, Voice Your Vote co-chair. "We only had our full commission about two weeks before the reg- istration deadline:' Libby Benton, president of the College Democrats and 2003 chair of the Voice Your Vote commission, said Voice Your Vote came nowhere near to fulfilling its duty. "My main concern was that they never had tables set up on the Diag or in the Union, which is just a small thing they could have See VOTE, Page 5A Institute for Judaic studies inaugurated Int'l graduate student enrollment rises 1% By Drew Philp Daily Staff Reporter Judaic studies aims to venture into new fron- tiers as the next generation of Jewish scholars hopes to expand the scope of the field with the University's new addition to the Frankel Center. Yesterday afternoon, University President Mary Sue Coleman gathered with the directors of the Frankel Center and members of the Fran- kel family, as well as various Jewish community members, to celebrate the inauguration of the University's new Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies. "This institute will provide a staging ground for Judaic studies and become a crossroads, a point of intersection for different fields," said Deborah Dash Moore, director of the University's Frankel Center. Made possible by a $20 million grant from the Samuel and Jean Frankel Foundation, the new Despite increase, total enrollment at 125 colleges still down 3 percent from last year By Kelly Fraser Daily Staff Reporter A 1 percent increase may not seem like much, but to educators, it represents the possible recovery of international student enrollment at U.S. graduate schools after three years of decline. The Council of Graduate Schools recorded the increase in a report released Monday that compiled enrollment statistics for 125 colleges, including the University., Since 2002, international graduate student enroll- ment rates have declined. But this year marks the first year rates have not dropped. While total enroll- ment of international graduate students is still down 3 percent from last year, the 1 percent increase among first-time applicants suggests the number may be on the rebound. ed the quality of applicants and the efforts of Univer- sity student support programs for sustaining first-time enrollment levels. The overall drop in international student enroll- ment during the past three years reflects two major factors, said Rodolfo Altamirano, director of the Uni- versity's International Center. Since the Sept. 11 ter- ror attacks, international students entering the United States have faced tightened security, Altamirano said. Meanwhile, other countries like the United Kingdom and Australia have boosted their efforts to attract tal- ented graduate students from around the world, he added. "At the same time we are closing our doors, other countries are opening them," he said. Beyond providing academic and research opportu- nities, Altamirano said, universities need to provide a welcoming atmosphere to both increase and retain the number of international graduate students. "We need to greet them with open arms,' he said. "The International Center is poised to provide them a welcoming home." Rackham has also expanded support services for inte~rnaitinal students. includingy offe~ringv help with . -' r' p d t t ' Si .r,_. .u . z, . ..... .. ..a. .v,._.. ,a ,;.