NEWS

The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, November 15, 2005 - 3

ON CAMPUS
Russel Crowe film
r to be screened at
Rackham
"A Beautiful Mind," starring Russel
Crowe as Nobel-laureate John Nash will
be screened at 3 p.m. in the Rackham
graduate school. The screening is part
of a series that delves into Hollywood
and mental illnesses.
Orientation leader
information session
on North Campus
Open to anyone interested in being a
summer orientation leader, this infor-
mational mass meeting will take place
after 7 p.m. in the Duderstadt Center on
North Campus.
Konevets Quartet
" to perform at the
University tonight
The famous Russian Quartet will be
performing tonight at 8 p.m. at the E.V.
Moore Building. The event is free and
open to all. The quartet will perform
pieces by Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky,
among others.
Women's rights will
be discussed dur-
ing presentation
Jana Nidiffer and Karen Downing
will be Speaking on women's rights and
suffrage. The presentation will begin at
noon at the Center for the Education of
Women. The event will focus on the first
two decades of the 20th century.
* CRIME
NOTES
Banner stolen, no
suspects found
A banner was stolen from outside
of Seeley House on Oxford Rd. The
Department of Public Safety has no
suspects.
Accidental fire
extinguished
A trash can outside of the Shapiro
Undergraduate Library was report-
ed to be on fire Sunday night. A
Department of Public Safety officer
was called to the scene and reported
that a cigarette put into the garbage
had not been properly extinguished,
causing smoke.
Man found
sleeping in OR
A man was found sleeping yesterday
in the operating room of the University
Hospital. He was given a warning and
escorted off the property.

THIS DAY
In Daily History
Protesters chase
CIA off campus
Nov. 15, 1984 - A crowd of about
100 protesters at the Modern Language
Building gave visiting representatives of
the Central Intelligence Agency a rude
reception yesterday. The three CIA rep-
resentatives who came to campus for
a recruiting presentation were forced
to leave by the persistent opposition to
their presence on campus.
"Obviously, we're not too happy
with the situation, but it wasn't
entirely unexpected," said one CIA .
representative. "We've met with
some opposition before at Columbia
and Berkeley, but this is unusual. We
haven't seen this before."
The protest was in the form of a
mock trial in which the CIA was the
defendant. As the CIA representa-
tives stood at the back of the room,
alum Tom Marx shouted, "The CIA is
charged with overthrowing the popular
governments of El Salvador, Chile and
Iran." Dressed in judge's garb, Marx
went on to "charge" the agency with a
variety of "illegal" activities, including

GM offers new
discounts aimed
at boosting sales

GM spokeswoman
said some vehicles will be
discounted $4,000 during
the 'Red Tag' sale
DETROIT (AP) - General Motors
Corp. is back in the discount game,
and U.S. rivals Ford Motor Co. and the
Chrysler Group could join in soon.
The world's largest automaker
announced yesterday it's offering "Red
Tag" prices through Jan. 3 on most Buick,
Chevrolet, GMC and Pontiac vehicles
from the 2005 and 2006 model years.
Under the program, dealers will post
fixed maximum prices on the vehicles.
GM said the deals generally won't be
as good as they were this summer, when
consumers could pay the employee
price. But the automaker hopes the pro-
gram will lure customers who tradition-
ally buy vehicles over the holidays.
"The prices are probably on balance
a little higher than with the employee
discount, but they're still very, very
competitive," GM spokeswoman Debo-
rah Silverman said.
Some vehicles will be discounted
$4,000 or more under the "Red Tag"
deal, Silverman said. A 2006 Buick
LaCrosse will sell for $23,595, $3,020
less than the retail price, while a 2006
four-wheel-drive GMC Envoy will sell
for $26,938, $4,612 off the retail price.
Ford spokesman Jim Cain said
Ford will consider its competitive
position and decide soon whether to
match GM's offer. Ford already has a
zero-percent financing deal for some
2005 trucks and sport utility vehicles
and a $1,000 discount on the 2006
Lincoln LS sedan.
Chrysler spokesman Kevin McCor-
mick said the division has a new dis-
count program in the works and could
announce details later this week. Chrys-
ler already is offering $1,000 on all
2005 and 2006 vehicles.
When its wildly popular employee-
discount program ended in September,
GM vowed to cut back on incentives in
favor of lower overall prices and ads that
stress the vehicles' value.
In October, GM led the major U.S.
and Asian automakers in pulling back
spending, with a 24 percent decline
in incentives, according to Autodata
Corp. Chrysler had the highest incen-

tives of any major automaker at $3,075
per vehicle; Honda's were the lowest,
at $618. But consumers didn't respond,
and GM's sales plummeted 23 percent
in October.
Silverman said the "Red Tag" dis-
count is consistent with GM's strategy,
called value-pricing, because it posts
one clear price. She said the employee-
discount program taught the company
that consumers liked no-haggle buying.
Rebecca Lindland, an auto analyst
with the consulting firm Global Insight,
said GM's decision to offer the discount
isn't surprising but reinforces how
tough it will be for the automaker to
implement value-pricing. Lindland said
she's not sure discounts can overcome
consumers' concerns about heating bills
and their hangover after a summer of
heavily promoted discounts.
"The consumer is just really tired.
Everyone that wanted a vehicle has
one," Lindland said.
Most automakers offer discounts over
the holidays, but GM announced its pro-
gram several weeks earlier than usual.
John Rogin, who owns GM dealer-
ships in Michigan and Ohio, said the
earlier date helps dealers make sure
they have enough vehicles in stock. It
also could lure buyers while the weather
is still mild, Rogin said.
"We'd be crazy not to be involved
at this time of year with some type of
promotion," Rogin said. "Normally that
promotion doesn't come out until later,
but why not push the market?"
But Art Spinella, president of CNW
Marketing Research Inc., said the dis-
count also could be an attempt to boost
GM's November sales, which have been
lackluster so far.
"They have to do something just
for survival," Spinella said. GM's U.S.
market share fell by nearly 3 percent in
the first nine months of this year, lead-
ing to production cuts and losses of
more than $3 billion.
Spinella said GM needs to have
some patience if it wants the value-
pricing strategy to work in the long
run. It took Toyota Motor Corp. 20
years to be considered a value-pricing
leader, Spinella said.
"You never hear about Toyota doing
blue-light specials," Spinella said.
"From a strategic standpoint, value-
pricing is really perfect, but it can take
years to register."

HOUSING
Continued from page 1
Potential tenants may also request
inventory checklists from past tenants to
learn of damages or problems that may
be glossed over in the initial tour of an
apartment or house. Inventory checklists
are filled out during move-in by each ten-
ant and detail the condition of property
features like walls, doors, appliances,
windows, lighting and furniture.
Viewing an apartment or house can
be quick or lengthy, depending on the
landlord and how much time is allotted
per tour. Amy Kahn, manager of CMB
Property Management, said a typical
tour through a unit lasts about 15 min-
utes. Leasing manager Susan Rolf said
Varsity Management schedules about
45 minutes for each viewing.
But students viewing their potential
homes can also control the length and
quality of their tour by coming equipped
with questions. "Some ... are very pre-
pared and have lots of great questions,

and some of them are doing it for the very
first time and don't even know where to
begin," Kahn said.
It's also a good idea to talk to students
who have experience renting, especially
the building's current tenants. Talking to
current and past tenants can provide a pro-
spective tenant with information that land-
lords may not normally divulge, such as
information about the relationship between
tenants and the landlord and the amount of
monthly utility bills, Lewis said.
LSA senior Jennifer Yee agreed. "The
agents aren't going to tell you the truth,"
she said. "The (tenants) there will give
you the real perspective."
LSA junior Neda Mirafzali advised
potential renters to "look at the type
of people the tenants are." If you aren't
comfortable with them in casual con-
versation, you probably don't want to
live next door to them, she said.
Anything a future landlord promises
should be in writing, as part of the legally
binding lease, because oral promises are
very difficult to enforce. The owners or

property manager's name, address and
phone number should also be on the lease.
Tenants should also find out whether
their lease is single or joint liability. Under
single liability, a tenant can't be held respon-
sible if a roommate defaults on his share of
the rent. Under joint liability, if any of the
roommates listed on the lease didn't pay
their share, the remaining roommates are
responsible for the remainder of the rent.
I Students can find more resources on
the University's housing website, hous-
ing.umich.edu, including a checklist of
things to consider before signing, like
which utilities are included in the rent,
if the building is furnished and if renters
can expect application and cleaning fees.
Also available is a list of questions to ask
a prospective landlord, such as how long
the lease runs and who is responsible for
insuring the property.
The most important thing for a
student tenant to understand is what
responsibilities he has under his lease.
As Lewis put it, "Read it before
you sign it."

E U

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F I,

for more information call 734/998-6251
The Universiy of Michigan College of Literature, Science,
and the Arts presents a public lecture and reception

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