Tuesday, November 15, 2005 ALL-STAR NOIR CAST KSS, KISS' OVER NEW FILM ... AR s, PAGE 8 News 3 GM tries to boost sales with new incentives Opinion 4 Sports I11 Sam Singer on the politics of abortion For Buckeyes, we need Blue Out One-hundredfifteen years ofedorialfreedom www.michzandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 31 62005 The Michigan Daily oleman: eader of the salary pack Coleman refused a salary increase her first year and limited it the next By Karl Stampfl Daily Staff Reporter Isn't it great to be a Michigan Wolverine? it is for University President Mary Sue Coleman. She receives the highest salary of any president of a public university, according to a survey by the Chronicle of Higher Educa- tion released yesterday. Coleman will make $724,604 during the 2005-06 academic year in pay and benefits, the survey said. She makes just over $4,000 more than the second-highest paid universi- ty president, David Roselle of the University of Delaware. University of Texas President Mark Yudof placed third with $693,677. Coleman's 3.5 percent pay increase from last year comes at a time when the state is slashing funding for the University. Facing a budget crisis, the state has cut 13 percent of its total funding since 2002. To counter- act the cuts, the University upped tuition by 12.3 percent last summer. Coleman has a history of refusing or lim- iting her salary increases. In her first year as president, she refused any increase in sal- ary because of the state budget cuts. In her second year, she limited her salary increase to 2 percent. But this year, she accepted the full 3.5-percent raise the University Board of Regents offered her. Did Coleman consider foregoing the 3.5 percent raise this year? "I didn't," she said yesterday. "The regents "The salary of our president is appropriate given the significance of the job she has been asked to do." -Julie Peterson University spokeswoman $326,550 in base salary the year before he resigned, significantly less than Coleman, who earns $500,000 in base salary. Bollinger, who left after only five years of service, was considered a highly capable University president. "The University of Michigan competes not only against other top public universities but also against private institutions," Peterson said. The contract the regents gave Coleman in 2002 to lure her to the University included a $100,0004per-year bonus if she stayed at the University for five years. The survey's fig- ure of $724,604 includes that bonus, which she won't receive until she completes her fifth year in 2007. Coleman oversees a budget of $4.6 bil- lion, which includes $750 million in spon- sored research each year, Peterson said. See COLEMAN, Page 7 wanted to show that they appreciate the job I'm doing." Coleman said that when she came to the Uni- versity in 2002, the regents conducted exten- sive research on the salaries of the leaders of comparable universities to determine her sal- ary. The comparison of peer institutions also included private schools, where presidents tra- ditionally earn more than their public counter- parts. Nine presidents of private schools made more than $900,000 in total compensation in the 2004-05 academic year, the last year for which data are available. The regents also wanted to make sure Coleman's salary would be competitive enough to keep her at the University, Uni- versity spokeswoman Julie Peterson said. Lee Bollinger, who left his post as Uni- versity president in 2001 to lead Columbia University, a private institution, earned Reports of Paris riots overblown, some say By Laura Frank Daily Staff Reporter 'U' stays near top in int'l Despite more than two weeks of riot- ing and a state of emergency in Paris, LSA senior Kathleen King says she still goes jogging in the city every night. While media coverage has portrayed Paris as a city under siege, King said the city has changed very little. "The perception outside of Paris is total- ly exaggerated," she said in an e-mail. The riots, which are in their third week, were sparked by the deaths of two teenag- ers in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois on Oct. 27. The boys were electrocuted while try- ing to climb a fence at an electrical power station in an attempt to escape police local residents have said. Parisian authorities say the boys were not fleeing police. Since that night, disgruntled French resi- dents, mostly youths of North African and Arab descent, have burned cars, destroyed buildings and clashed with police in a series of violent protests that have spread to neighborhoods on the outskirts of Paris and suburbs of more than 20 other cities across France. Although the violence appears to be subsiding, the French cabinet approved a bill yesterday to extend last week's declared state of emergency for another two to three months. But despite the widespread media cov- erage of the events, University students studying abroad in Paris say the riots have not been as severe as they have been por- trayed in the U.S. news. "The U.S. media coverage of the events has been ridiculous," King said. "The riots truly haven't affected Paris the way the U.S. media is projecting." Parisians are still going about their daily business, and the riots are not an urgent concern for them, she said. Even though she lives in central Paris, King said the first place she heard about the riots was on The New York Times website. Margaret McCarthy, an LSA junior who is also living in central Paris, about eight miles from the suburb where the riots began, said she also feels safe in the city. "The suburbs are truly a world away from Paris," McCarthy said in an e-mail, adding that most Parisians do not travel to the areas affected by the riots. Carol Dickerman, director of the Office of International Programs, said the Uni- versity has been in touch with all of its students studying in France - two in Paris and 11 in Aix-en-Provence - and has passed on the State Department warn- ing about train travel through areas affect- ed by riots, including routes to Charles de Gaulle Airport. But McCarthy said the University has not contacted her. She said she was sur- prised that the University had not suggest- ed any precautions but added that she felt perfectly safe. enrollment Students say visa difficulties are not to blame for lower U.S. int'l student enrollment By Kelly Fraser Daily Staff Reporter Min Haung, a Rackham student from China, had reservations about applying for her student visa, having been told visa offi- cials always make things difficult for students. But ultimately, she received her visa relatively easily. Like Haung, many inter- national students at the University say they have had little trouble getting a visa. "In fact, the visa was not a problem for me at all," said Deepak Goel, an Engineering freshman from India. "I just went there, filled out the forms and submitted the application fees and met with the interviewer. There was no problem at all." In a press release, the Institute of International Education cited yesterday the ease of the visa application process as a possible reason the decline in international student enrollment seems to be leveling off. The IE released the 2005 Open Doors Report yesterday, a study conducted by the IE and the U.S Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The survey reported that total international student enrollment for 2004-05 is 565,039, about a 1 percent decline nationwide since last year. Compara- tively, this figure is a slight improvement considering last year's 2.4 percent drop. Additionally, a report released last week by the Council of Graduate Schools found a 1 percent increase in first-time interna- tional graduate student enrollment. Officials cite several factors for the recent enrollment patterns. After the Sept. 11 terror attacks, international enrollment fell in See STUDENTS, Page 7 SHUBRA OHRI/Daily Arsalan Ahmed, an Engineering sophomore from Dubal. Alito's anti-abortion position revealed in document Sen Arlen Specter said the documents provide a reason for Alito to be questioned closely WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito boasted about his work arguing that "the Constitution does not protect a right to an abortion" while trying to become a deputy assistant attor- ney general in the Reagan administration, according to documents released yesterday. Alito, a federal appellate judge nominat- ed by President Bush to the nation's high- est court, was a young lawyer working for the solicitor general's office in 1985 when he applied for the position under Attorney General Edwin Meese. As part of his application, Alito sent a document saying his work in the solicitor general's office had included helping "to advance legal positions in which I person- ally believe very strongly." "I am particularly proud of my contribu- tions in recent cases in which the govern- ment argued that racial and ethnic quotas should not be allowed and that the Consti- tution does not protect a right to an abor- tion," he wrote. That sentence provides one of the first clear-cut statements attributed to Alito about abortion, which will be one of the main topics of his January confirmation hearing as retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's replacement. "I think that it is more reason to question him closely at the hearing," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who will run Alito's Jan. 9 hearings as chairman of the Senate Judi- ciary Committee. Housing tips for tenants By Ben Beckett and Amber Colvin Daily Staff Reporters You've found your roommates, decid- ed what part of campus you want to live on and know what kind of place you want. Your housing search seems nearly complete. But Doug Lewis, director of Student Legal Services at the University, says you have much more to consider. Lewis said most students find a house or apartment based on location and aesthetics and immediately have their hearts set on it, without completely researching some impor- tant details. "But some students want to live on a cer- tain street, so they put up with it." The city's Housing Inspection Bureau is required to inspect all rental property every 30 months, but tenants can request an inspection anytime if they believe their property is not up to the city's build- ing code. Inspections commonly check for viola- tions like insect infestations, insufficient heat, broken smoke detectors and fire and safety hazards. If a problem is found, landlords have 60 days to correct it and are given a certificate after resolving the issue. Lewis said student renters can access records of past inspections by visiting the i I