Tuesday, November 22, 2005 News 3 Learn how to become an activist next semester CHECK OUT WWh.MICHIGAN2DAILY.COM FOR PODCASTS OF DAILY ARTICLES 9 Opinion 4 Whitney Dibo: Vaginas are colorless Arts5S 'Bee Season' doesn't spell success One-hundred-ffteen years ofeditorilfreedom www.mcdigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 35 ©2005 The Michigan Daily Lease- GM to lay 0 0 signing proposal attacked; Landlords oppose S mayor's ordinance to push back lease signing to December By Jeremy Davidson Daily Staff Reporter In the past, student concerns have taken a back seat in Ann Arbor poli- tics, but yesterday, they hardly seemed to be in the car at all. Representatives from the Washt- enaw Area Apartment Association and campus=area landlords dominated a discussion yesterday about the mayor's off 30,000 workers proposed ordinance "Landlords will respond in whatever way they need to in order to lease their property." - Alice Ehn Executive officer, WAAA that would buy students time when signing leases in the fall. More than a dozen land- lords and Realtors ' out- numbered the three students that showed up to speak for the benefits of pushing back lease-signing deadlines. The pro- posed ordi- nance would not allow land- lords to enter a premise for the purpose of showing it to * 17 percent of company's North American work force will lose jobs DETROIT (AP) - General Motors Corp., pounded by declining sales and rising health care costs, said yesterday it will cut more than a quarter of its North American manufacturing jobs and close 12 facilities by 2008. The United Auto Workers called the plan "devastating" and warned it will make negotiations more difficult, but some Wall Street analysts said GM's actions may not go far enough. To get production in line with demand, GM will cut 30,000 jobs, which represent 17 percent of GM's North American hourly and salaried work force of 173,000, and will close nine assembly, stamping and pow- ertrain plants and three parts facili- ties. GM's U.S. market share fell to 26.2 percent in the first 10 months of this year, compared with 33 percent a decade ago, the result of increasing competition from Asian rivals. GM lost almost $4 billion in the first nine months of this year. "The decisions we are announc- ing today were very difficult to reach because of their impact on our employ- ees and the communities where we live and work," GM Chairman and Chief Executive Rick Wagoner said. "But these actions are necessary for GM to get its costs in line with our major global competitors." GM isn't the only U.S. automaker cutting costs. Last week, Ford Motor Co. told employees it plans to elimi- nate about 4,000 white-collar jobs in North America early next year as part of a restructuring plan. GM said the plant closings are part of a plan to shave $7 billion off its $42 billion annual bill for operations by the end of next year. That includes a $3 billion cut in health care costs, $1.5 billion in manufacturing cuts and $1 billion in savings on materials. The company's shares fell 47 cents, or 2 percent, to close $23.58 in trad- ing on the New York Stock Exchange. They have traded in a 52-week range of $20.60 to $40.82. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, which lowered GM's debt to "junk" status earlier this year, said the com- pany remains on credit watch. S&P said the staff cuts are substantial but may not be adequate considering GM's problems, including a possible strike at Delphi Corp., its largest supplier; an ongoing federal investigation into accounting errors; and an uncertain outlook for its new lineup of full-size sport utility vehicles, which may fall See GM, Page 7 ALEXANDER LLIA OS/ LDil GM's Willow Run plant will soon be closing as part of GM's plan to shut down 12 plants. The company is clos- ing the plants to save $7 billion, as announced today. O mative action potential tenants or enter into a lease with new tenants until one-fourth of the current lease period had expired. Three out of five of the students appointed to the newly created MSA- City Council committee were at the I meeting, but two of them left early. Committee members Jesse Levine, MSA president; LSA senior Mike For- ster; and MSA's City Council Liaison Laura Van Hyfte represented student interests at the discussion. Committee members Mara Gay and Daniel Tay- lor-Cohart did not attend the forum. Van Hyfte said that while campaign- ing to become an MSA representative, most students she talked to voiced sup- port for the mayor's proposed ordinance. Levine echoed Van Hyfte's statements and said that the ordinance would be very popular among students. However, Levine excused himself from the meeting about 15 minutes after it started to finish writing a paper for a class. "I'm a student too," he said. Forster also left before the meeting fin- ished, leaving Van Hyfte, a newly elected MSA representative, as the only student voice at the meeting for almost an hour. Alice Ehn, executive officer of the WAAA, raised objections to the ordi- nance on behalf of her organization. Ehn said landlords would not let leg- islation prevent them from doing their job. "Landlords will respond in what- ever way they need to in order to lease their property," she said. Several landlords said that while they would not be able to enter into a formal agreement under the proposed ordinance until one-fourth of the lease period had expired, they could accept formal applications whenever they wanted and assign housing for the next year on a first-come, first-serve basis. The current draft of the ordi- nance would not prevent landlords from using an application process to See ORDINANCE, Page 3 MConnerly wants youto support MCRI By Carissa Miller Daily Staff Reporter "They say Jim Crow, we say hell no!" "Affirmative action will not die, MCRI is a big fat lie!" The familiar sounds of protesters could be heard at Lawrence Technological University, the site of last-night's affirmative action debate between Ward Connerly, the former University of California regent who opposes affirmative action and Frank Wu, dean of Wayne State University's law school. Connerly is the leader of the Michigan Civil Rights Ini- tiative - a proposal that would ban the use of racial and gender preferences in government hiring and University admissions in the state if approved by voters next fall. This year, proponents of MCRI collected enough signatures to place the initiative on the 2006 ballot. More than fifty people - including students from Mum- ford High School in Detroit and several nearby college campuses - gathered outside LTU's Ridler Field House to protest Connerly's appearance and his argument against affirmative action policies. "The main reason behind this picket is to shine light on the racially targeted voter fraud of MCRI,"said LSA senior and.BAMN organizer Monica Smith. "We want to tell vot- ers that MCRI is not for affirmative action like they were told." Smith was referring to claims by opponents of MCRI that signatures collected to place the initiative on the ballot were done so using fraudulent means. See CONNERLY, Page 3 GOP hopefuls oppose initiative By Nell Tambe Daily Staff Reporter Republican candidates hoping for success in next year's state elections have recently taken opposing stances on the Michi- gan Civil Rights Initiative, but these endorsements may not mean much for the outcome of the elections. MCRI is a proposed ballot measure expected to be on next November's statewide ballot. If passed, the measure would ban preferential treatment by the state or its public colleges and universities on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin. Republicans who have recent- ly voiced opinions about the ballot initiative are vying for the chance to challenge Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Lansing) and Gov. Jennifer Granholm for their seats next fall. U.S. Senate candidate Jerry Zan- See MCRI, Page 7 Former University of California Regent Ward Connerly debates with Wayne State University law dean Frank Wu about affirmative action. TB testing will be required for international students By Kelly Fraser Daily Staff Reporter account for 80 percent of the world's report- ed cases of the disease. The list includes India. China. Indonesia, the Russian Fed- arriving from high-risk areas. The Ameri- can College Health Association proposed similar guidelines in 2000 to stop the spread Director Robert Winfield. "In doing this, we will be careful to respect the privacy of individuals who will to the Stop TB Partnership, which is affili- ated with WHO. The potential for students infected with I ]