NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, November 16, 2005 - 3
. ON CAMPUS
Prof discusses
ways to prevent
hearing loss
Lidia Lee, an associate professor in
the Department of Special Education
at Eastern Michigan University, will
discuss hearing loss tonight at Britton
Recital Hall in the E.V. Moore build-
ing at 7:30 p.m. She will cover topics
associated with preventing hearing loss,
including exposure to loud music at
rock concerts, listening to headphones,
and general exposure to loud noise on
a daily basis. Sponsored by the Audio
Engineering Society Student Section,
the event is geared toward students
studying music or those who work regu-
larly with sound.
Lecture delves
into black-Indian
cultural ties
Afro-American and African Studies
Prof. Tiya Miles will give a presenta-
tion tonight in the Ambatana Lounge
in South Quad Residence Hall on the
current issues facing people of black-
Indian heritage.
The event is spon- sored by Multi-
Ethnic Student Affairs and will be held
from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. with a discussion
afterward regarding black and Native
American relations on campus.
LGBT office hosts
performance on
male body image
The office of Lesbian Gay Bisexual
& Transgender Affairs is sponsoring a
documentary-based performance tonight
at 7:30 in the Rackham Amphitheater on
the fourth floor of the Rackham Gradu-
ate School. The performance is called
MuscleBound and deals with storylines
relating to male body image including
eating disorders, steroid use and gym
obsession. The performance is free.
CRIME
NOTES
Computer mouse
stolen from Bursley
The Department of Public Safety
reported on Monday that a computer
mouse was stolen from a computing
site in Bursley Residence Hall in the
preceding 48 hours. There are no
suspects.
UM vs OSU game
ticket stolen
A caller reported to DPS that her
Michigan versus Ohio State Univer-
sity football game ticket was' stolen
from her room on Monday. There are
no suspects.
THIS DAY
In Daily History
Students protest
'U' security
deputization
Nov. 16, 1990 - About 400 stu-
dents, angered at the proposed deputi-
zation and arming of campus security
officers, stormed the Fleming Admin-
istration Building and forced their
way inside. Organized by the Michi-
gan Student Assembly Student Rights
Commission and the Students for a
Safer Campus, students ran into the
building and chanted, while other stu-
dents remained outside the exits.
As other campus security began
to arrive on the scene, the struggle
began to dissipate, though more than
20 student protesters still remained at
a sit-in. Ann Arbor police - several
in riot gear - made their way in, but
resolved the conflict peaceably.
Later, several SSC representa-
tives detailed their demands of the
University, including the immedi-
ate cessation of all plans to arm
campus security, the creation of a
body to decide policy on student
life with student involvement and a
committee to supervise the training
of campus officers. When asked to
neontiat hehind clned donrs awav
Prosecutor says no charges in Cox case
Gorcyca: Insufficient evidence
to charge Fieger with an
attempt to blackmail Cox
PONTIAC (AP) - No charges will be brought
in an alleged plot to blackmail Michigan's attorney
general for having an extramarital affair, closing a
chapter in the state's most bizarre political story in
recent years.
Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca
said yesterday he did not have sufficient evidence
to prove that attorney Geoffrey Fieger - through
lawyer Lee O'Brien - threatened to expose Mike
Cox's affair. Gorcyca said a conspiracy probably
did take place, and he plans to submit the matter to
the Attorney Grievance Commission.
"Neither Mr. Fieger or Mr. O'Brien should
claim victory, act virtuous or gloat," Gorcyca said.
"Far from it. In my opinion - and based upon my
review of the fact - the evidence soundly con-
vinces me that a severe and reprehensible ethical
violation or violations were committed by both Mr.
Fieger and Mr. O'Brien."
Cox admitted cheating on his wife last
week and accused a Fieger associate of trying
to expose the indiscretion unless he stopped
investigating Fieger for possible campaign
finance violations. The attorney general said he
respected Gorcyca's decision.
"It was his call to make," Cox told The Asso-
ciated Press. "He's 100 percent confident these
guys worked together to stop an ongoing inves-
tigation using threats. ... Regular folks under-
stand that proof beyond a reasonable doubt is not
always reachable. That doesn't mean something
never happened."
Fieger immediately called for Cox's resignation,
saying his allegations were "evil and malicious"
and adding there was never a "scintilla" of evi-
dence that he committed a crime.
"You have brought scorn and disrespect upon
your office," Fieger said. "For the welfare of the
state of Michigan you must resign."
Cox, a Republican, said he plans to run for re-
election next year. Fieger, a Democrat who ran
unsuccessfully for governor in 1998 and became
famous for defending assisted suicide advocate
"Neither Mr. Fieger or Mr. O'Brien should claim victory,
act virtuous or gloat."
-David Gorcyca
Oakland County Prosecutor
Jack Kevorkian, has been highly critical of Cox
and last month announced he wants to run against
him for attorney general.
Elbert Hatchett, O'Brien's attorney, criticized
Gorcyca for his "editorial commentary" about
Fieger and his client.
"You either prosecute the case or you don't,"
Hatchett said. "You don't get on television and
make excuses that involve disparaging the
character of people in the investigation and
then walk away without charges. It's very irre-
sponsible."
Cox is investigating Fieger's role in a
$457,000 television ad campaign that urged
viewers to vote against Justice Stephen Mark-
man in last year's state Supreme Court elec-
tion. Fieger did not file papers acknowledging
he paid for the anti-Markman ads until seven
months after the election, and county clerks
say the disclosure should have been made
much earlier.
Cox said O'Brien contacted his office on Oct.
14 and relayed Fieger's threats to expose his affair.
O'Brien subsequently met with a Cox staff mem-
ber and Fieger at a Morton's steakhouse in South-
field, Gorcyca said.
"While no definitive statements or legally admis-
sible extortion threats were stated at the meeting, I
am 100 percent confident there was a meeting of
the minds and each was very cognizant of the quid
pro quo agreements being discussed," Gorcyca
said during a news conference at his office.
GM bankruptcy
fears continue to
rise on Wall Street
Cost of buying
insurance protection
for company soars
NEW YORK (AP) - An increas-
ing number of investors are betting that
General Motors Corp., the world's largest
automaker, may be forced to seek bank-
ruptcy protection within the next six to
12 months as it struggles to overcome
slumping sales and the high cost of health
care benefits for workers and retirees.
Concerns about the automaker's
future are showing up in the credit
default swaps market, where investors
effectively buy insurance protection
against defaults. Holders of GM debt
who want to arrange a hedge against the
risk that they won't be repaid are find-
ing that the cost of buying the protection
has risen dramatically in recent days.
"The markets are telling you that
more traders are starting to see a greater
risk that a default scenario could hap-
pen sooner in time than later," said John
Tierney, a credit strategist at Deutsche
Bank Securities- in New York. "You
cannot deny there is a pattern here."
GM' spokesman Jerry Dubrowski
responded by saying the automaker has
"ho plans 'to declare bankruptcy," and
he noted that GM has about $19 bil-
lion in cash on hand. Beyond that, he
declined to discuss recent pricing trends
for credit default swaps. "Typically we
don't comment on stock prices or bond
prices," he said. "We don't think it is
appropriate to do that."
At issue is-the nearly $31 billion
in debt related to GM's automak-
ing operations that ratings agencies
already have downgraded to junk
status, or below investment grade.
Dubrowski said GM's total debt,
including debt sold by its General
Motors Acceptance Corp. unit, now
stands at $276 billion.
Credit default swaps for GM are
now trading at what is known as an
"upfront" basis, meaning a bond-
holder seeking protection against
a default has to pay more money up
front because the Wall Street firms
arranging the hedges have to pay more
to protect themselves.
Michiko Whetten, a quantitative cred-
it analyst at Nomura Securities Interna-
tional Inc., said GM debt had previously
never traded on an upfront basis. But now
that it is, it puts GM in an unenviable cat-
egory with Delphi Corp. and Delta Air
Lines Inc. - other companies whose
debt traded on an upfront basis ahead of
their petitioning for bankruptcy.
Auto parts maker Delphi, once owned
by GM declared bankruptcy in October,
and Delta, the nation's third largest car-
rier, went bankrupt in September.
GM lost nearly $4 billion in the
first nine months of this year. The
Detroit-based company has been
hammered by high labor costs and
rising prices for raw materials like
steel. And while it recently reached
agreement with the United Auto
Workers union to temper the rise in
health costs, GM still has been losing
U.S. market share due to competi-
tion from healthier foreign rivals and
weakened demand for sport utility
vehicles, its longtime cash cows.
Wall Street's credit default swaps
traders now view GM as a company
so risky that a holder now must pay as
much as $12 per year for every $100 of
the automaker's five-year corporate debt
if they want to hedge against a default,
up from $8 to $9 just several weeks ago.
In addition, credit default swaps traders
are now demanding more of that money
up front from investors looking to pro-
tect their GM holdings.
These losses may not actually occur,
but the pricing moves in the swaps mar-
ket are a good indication of how Wall
Street traders and investors are judging
the risk of a GM default.
Schools push for tougher graduation requirements
State public education chief
recommends high school students
take more math and science
LANSING (AP) - In a big wave of possible reform for Michi-
gan high schools, the state's schools chief yesterday recommended
students be required to take more math, science and other classes
to graduate.
The changes proposed by Superintendent of Public Instruction
Mike Flanagan will be reviewed by the State Board of Educa-
tion next month. Any mandatory changes to the state's graduation
requirements would have to be approved by state lawmakers.
Tougher statewide requirements are needed to improve Michi-
gan's academic image and economy, Flanagan said. A better-edu-
cated work force could help attract jobs to the state, he said.
"Our kids will be left in the global dust if we're not careful,"
Flanagan said at a Board of Education meeting. "This is urgent."
Local school districts now are free to decide their own graduation
requirements. Michigan's lone statewide mandate, a single civics class,
is one of the least stringent in the nation and in some ways makes
Michigan a "laughingstock" in academic circles, Flanagan said.
His proposal - which would include 16 credits and other ele-
ments _ would make Michigan's standards among the toughest in
the nation, according to the Michigan Department of Education.
Flanagan wants students to be required to take four credits of
math - including algebra - and three credits of science to gradu-
ate. He also wants to require four credits of English or language
arts, three credits of social science, one credit of health or physi-
cal education and one credit of fine arts. Completion of an online
course also would be required.
The schedule still would allow the typical high school student
plenty of room for elective classes, including career and technical
education programs. Elective classes would have to be linked to
be so-called "21st Century Skills" such as foreign languages or
economics, Flanagan said.
Students also would be required to take the Michigan Merit
Exam - a standardized test now under development - in the
spring of their junior year.
The requirements would start with the graduating class of 2010,
which is next year's freshmen class.
"If anyone perceives this as a radical plan, you're wrong ... it's
the right thing to do," said Mark Thomas, principal at Northview
High School near Grand Rapids and a member of the task force
that helped shape the recommendations.
Flanagan said he expects exemptions to the requirements
would be rare - students would be required to take the state
curriculum into the third year of high school. With parental per-
mission, a student could modify the plan to pursue other options
in their senior year.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm and business leaders are among those
calling for some form of mandatory graduation requirements. A
Michigan Department of Education survey done earlier this year
found that requirements vary widely from district to district
The survey showed that many districts currently require four
years of English, three years of math, three years of social stud-
ies and two years of science. It also indicated that about one-third
of responding high schools specifically require algebra, which the
business community has said is unacceptably low.
The question of whether the state should set academic require-
ments for school districts, or leave them to local officials, will be
an issue for state lawmakers. Flanagan and other supporters have
emphasized that there is plenty of room for local decisions in his
plan - including what order the required classes come in and what
sort of electives would be offered.
WAGE
Continued from page 1
Students Organizing for Labor
and Economic Equality organized
and led the coalition's kickoff.
SOLE chairman Ryan Bates said
the purpose of the evening was to
educate students about the problems
ansociated with the current mini-
because America believes in progres-
sive economic issues," Bates said.
Libby Benton, president of the
College Democrats, said her orga-
nization supports the initiative, add-
ing that Michigan voters will most
likely pass the initiative if it makes
the ballot.
"There's a great feeling that all
the local Democrats are completely
Authorities announce security
plans for Detroit Super Bow l
DETROIT (AP) - Law enforce-
ment officers from more than 100
local, state and federal agencies are
Rear Adm. Robert J. Papp, com- technological resources to the security
mander of the U.S. Coast Guard's 9th efforts, which will be spearheaded by
District and federal homeland security the Detroit Police Department.