Monday, November 14, 2005 News 3A Commission: More students need to study abroad Opinion 4A Suhael Momin: The dangers of the Christian Right Arts 5A 50 Cent shoots up the big screen MICHIGAN S LOCOMOTIVE ROLLS THROUGH INDIANA ... SPORTSMONDAY elq~ir aug Blood Battle Update vs. One-hundredffteen years ofeditorialfreedom 835 pints 805 Dints www.mifhirandaiy.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 30 ®2005 The Michigan Daily Team vies for piece of *Big Ten MichigmnOhio State wi nner could play h Fiesta, Sugar or Orange bowl By Ian Herbert Daily Sports Editor At the press conference after Saturday's football game, no one really wanted to talk about Indi- ana. After all, that just seemed silly. With Ohio State looming on the horizon, the interest was on how well-prepared Michigan was for the Buckeyes. The bottom line: The winner of next Saturday's football game will get at least a share of the Big Ten Championship if Michigan State can pull off an upset win over Penn State. So what seemed like a long- shot four weeks ago - when Mich- igan was 3-3 and near the bottom of the Big Ten standings - is now tantalizing. Because the Rose Bowl is the national championship game this year, the Big Ten champion's des- tination is still up in the air. The conference winner could play in the Fiesta, Sugar or Orange bowl. Carr admitted two weeks ago that he would use at least part of the bye week to prepare for Ohio State. This week, he made another shocking admission. "I don't think you ever stop thinking about them," Carr said. After hearing Carr's comments, Michigan quarterback Chad Henne said, "I certainly don't." And good luck getting any Michigan player to admit he's been sneaking peeks at the team from Columbus. "Film study and all that stuff starts on Ohio State this week," defensive tackle Gabe Watson said. "So we had to focus on Indiana first, and now that we got that out of the way, we can focus on Ohio State." Watson pointed out the obvious when asked for specifics about the Buckeyes. He said Troy Smith - Ohio State's mobile quarterback who last year rushed for 150 yards and one touchdown and threw for another 240 yards and two touch- downs against the Wolverines - was "real good." Wideouts Ted Ginn Jr. and Santonio Holmes are "key players who can spark the offense," he added. In all, Michigan has 10 players on the roster who hail from the Buckeye state - Ohio State has just one player from Michigan. Most participants know what the game means. The rest will find out soon enough. "It was a new experience. The crowd was overwhelming," Henne said about last year's battle in Columbus, where he was a fresh- man starter in a 37-21 win for the Buckeyes. "Last year, it came down to the Big Ten Championship, and this year there's a chance. The rivalry is just a great rivalry. It's See BCS, Page 7A As heating prices rise, students bundle up against the cold *0 Heating bills expected to jump 46 percent this winter By Christina Hildreth Daily Staff Reporter With winter just around the corner and the ailing energy market scrap- ing to stockpile natural gas for the winter, students who live in poorly insulated rental houses are dialing down their thermostats in hopes of avoiding big utility bills. "Last winter we kept the house at 50 degrees, trying to keep the bills down somehow," said LSA junior Allen Weiss, who lives in an off- campus rental house. But when the icy weather arrives this year, dodging high bills may be unavoidable. The price of natural gas - the fuel that heats most Michigan homes - has clambered to unprecedented heights since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita decimated natural gas wells in the Gulf of Mexico, para- lyzing a supply already strained by ever-increasing demand. Southeast Michigan's natural gas supplier DTE Energy estimates the average resi- dential heating bill this winter will be 46 percent higher than last year - a jump from $164 to $240 per month. In response, the Michigan Public Service Commission, which regu- lates gas and energy prices within the state, issued emergency rules last month to help consumers avoid shut- offs and stay toasty in cold weather. Effective Nov. 1 through Mar. 1, residential customers have five extra days to pay heating bills. Utility companies also cannot cancel ser- vice or charge late fees for failure to pay an estimated bill by the due date, as long as they pay the minimal fee. Other new rules protect the elderly and poor from winter shutoffs. MPSC also offers a budget pay- ment plan to help customers distrib- ute costs over the course of a year. The plan does not erase the winter cost spike but can lessen its drain on monthly finances, said Judy Palnau, spokeswoman for MPSC. Len Singer, spokesman for DTE, urged students who anticipate trou- ble paying high bills to contact their utility company as soon as possible. "Don't wait till a disconnection notice comes in the mail or someone shows up at the door for payment. We can work with customers for bill paying arrangements," he said. Even with MPSC and DTE's programs, some students said they see little chance to circumvent high bills. "What are you going to do about it? Even if prices are bad, you have to pay them. It's the market value," Weiss said. Yet natural gas's soaring price tag does not immediately affect many students. Students living in residence halls and most apartments near cam- pus do not pay for heat, which is fac- tored into rent or housing costs. That means University housing See HEAT, Page 7A 1eeuing your spending Tips for students to keep energy costs from burning a hole in their wallets D D r Dial down the thermostat. For every degree, you save 3 percent on your bill Ask your landlord to "winter- proof" your house by caulking windows and sealing doors Turn down your water heater. Experts say 120 degrees should be enough for most people EMPOWERMENT THROUGH EXPRESSION Monologues' looks for all- minority cast Producers hope new method will remedy play's inherent biases By Carissa Miller Daily Staff Reporter Calling all women of color. "The Vagina Monologues" wants you. That's the message students have heard in the past weeks, as the annu- al show has opted to bring women of color center stage, while planning to leave many white women behind the curtains. Late last month, producers and directors of the show announced their intention to push for an all-minority cast. Some students have deemed the new casting policy reverse discrimi- nation, but supporters of the show say they view the change as a way to rectify biases of the show and reig- nite interest among the student body. "The Vagina Monologues" is a play written by playwright Eve Ensler that attempts to address topics relating to violence against women. The play is part of the V-Day College Campaign - a political movement to stop violence against women. University alum Carol Gray, who directed the famous play last year, said that the majority of women who audition for past monologues have been white. "By seeing white people in the show, (women of color) come to think they're not welcome or not part of the community," Gray said. "People have probably refrained from purchasing tickets or participating because of this feeling." This lack of diversity, she said, is the result of a lack of distribution of audition notices and informational e- mails targeting minorities. But many other students who participated in previous shows said women of color have stayed away from the play because they believe the script portrays minor- ities negatively. A major problem with the script for some is that many of the roles for women of color deal with sex- ual violence. And because few women of color audition for the show, minorities gen erally assume these more traumatic roles, while monologues dealing with more positive subjects such as liberation and beauty are filled by white cast members. Women of color are thus portrayed as only constant victims of sexual violence and never in a positive light, the producers and directors said. Because the national V-Day organization prohibits groups from modifying the script, producers of this year's show said the only way to remedy the bias of the show was to push for an all-minority cast. "We can't change the words of the script, but we can change the way the words are presented," said Lauren Whitehead, director of the show this school year. "The script is flawed in its attempt to give all women a voice because it seems to give certain women certain voices. I often won- der why angry vaginas can't be white and happy vaginas can't be Asian," she said. See VAGINA, Page 7A EUGENE ROBERTSON/ Daily Dancers perform at "Kalakriti: Empowerment Through Expression." presented by the Indian Ameri- can Students Association at Hill Auditorium on Friday. Tackling diversity beyond the 'U' New center to explore institutional diversity, examine its value and how to use it By Karl Stampfl Daily Staff Reporter level, but will also reach beyond the issue of race-based admissions to business, K-12 education and other areas. Since 2003's U.S. Supreme Court victory concerning the law school's admissions policies, the University has been a national leader for promot- ing diversity in higher education. "It was expected by many people around the nation that we would continue in this leadership role and expand it beyond the issues raised in the court cnes." Monts 'sid in an e- "The center can take the University and higher education to a new level to deal with diversity." - Lester Monts Senior vice provost for academic affairs The inevitable fate of the United States is a more diverse society - by 2050 the country's population will nnly he hetmeen 50 to 60 nercent diversity and creating inclusive communities. The center plans to offer a fellows nroeram and snonsor colloauia for Gurin has been on the Univer- sity faculty since 1996 and has also served as chair of the psychology denartment for 10 years and as inter- 1 mrnm I