Tuesday, November 29, 2005
News 3 GOP pushes for
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Opinion 4 Sam Singer on
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www.michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan m Vol. CXVI, No. 38 ®2005 The Michigan Daily
Holiday burglars target students
Break-ins Near Campus
WednesdayNov.23 to Sunday Nov.27
£ $20,000 worth of electronics
and jewelry were stolen from 10
residences in the city of Ann
Arbor
2 Stolen items include TVs,DVDs,
laptops, an Apple iPoct a micro-
wavea $2,500 ring, video games
and video game consoles.
X Most break-ins were through
Windows.
Other weekend break-ins:
2100 block of Hemlock Court
1400 block of Washtenaw Avnue
2$00black of South Main Street
2000 Block of Com" erceDive
800 block of Bruce Street
Ann Arbor police
officers say there was no
significant spike in crime over
Thanksgiving Break this year
By Ian Herbert
and Christina Hildreth
Daily Staff Reporters
When LSA sophomore Alex Sutton came
home after Thanksgiving Break to find
thieves had broken into his house on the 800
block of East Ann Street, he realized it would
be a long night.
Thieves had kicked in his locked bedroom
door and stolen his desktop computer.
To finish his homework for Monday, Sutton
worked on a computer in the Shapiro Under-
graduate Library until the early hours of the
morning. He said the Ann Arbor Police Depart-
ment told him and his housemates, who lost
thousands of dollars in electronics, that it was
unlikely they'd ever see their belongings again.
The theft at Sutton's house was part of a
string of robberies and break-ins during the
Thanksgiving weekend, when thieves stole
televisions, DVD players, computers, a micro-
wave and other valuables. The Ann Arbor
News reported yesterday that the holiday rob-
bers nabbed more than $20,000 in electronics
and jewelry from 10 residences in the city. Ann
Arbor police officers said they made one arrest
related to the break-ins.
According to the AAPD, there was no sig-
nificant spike in the number of burglaries com-
pared to past Thanksgiving weekends.
LSA senior Andy Zasuwa, who lives on the
400 block of East Kingsley Street, has a room-
mate who lost a computer monitor, an iPod, a
speaker and a digital camera. He blamed the
break-ins on a lack of police patrols.
"(The problem is the) police presence," he
said. "There's none of it. It's horrible."
Sutton's housemate, Kinesiology sophomore
David Woodside, said he felt there was nothing
he could do to prevent the larceny and that the
housemates had locked all their doors before
leaving for break.
"This house has a history of (robberies),"
Sutton added. "The people before us said it was
broken into three times."
Housemate Kenny Altenburg, an LSA
sophomore, said that while they are gone dur-
ing Christmas Break, they will probably ask
their neighbor to keep an eye on the house. The
AAPD told the housemates that the thieves
probably entered through an unlocked window
The residents said they locked all but two win-
dows, both of which did not have locks.
LSA senior Dan Moranville and LSA senior
Greg Lavigne said there were at least six people
in the Phi Beta Alpha fraternity house on the
1400 block of Washtenaw Avenue when it was
See BREAK-INS, Page 7
SOURCEANN ARBM NEWS GRAPHIC ASHLE.Y DGES
Calif rep
admits truth
of bribery
allegations
SAN DIEGO (AP) - U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunning-
ham, an eight-term congressman and hotshot Vietnam War
fighter jock, pleaded guilty to graft and tearfully resigned yes-
terday, admitting he took $2.4 million in bribes, mostly from
defense contractors in exchange for government business and
other favors.
"The truth is I broke the law, concealed my conduct and dis-
graced my office," the 63-year-old Republican said at a news
conference. "I know that I will forfeit my freedom, my reputa-
tion, my worldly possessions, most importantly, the trust of my
friends and family."
He could get up to 10 years in prison at sentencing Feb. 27
on federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and fraud,
and tax evasion.
Investigators said Cunningham, a member of a House
Appropriations subcommittee that controls defense dollars,
secured contracts worth tens of millions of dollars for those
who paid him off. Prosecutors did not identify the defense
contractors by name.
Cunningham was charged in a case that grew out of an
investigation into the sale of his home to a defense contractor
at an inflated price.
The congressman had already announced in July - after
the investigation became public - that he would not seek re-
election next year. But until he entered his plea, he had insisted
he had done nothing wrong.
Cunningham's plea came amid a series of GOP scandals:
Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas had to step down as majority leader
after he was indicted in a campaign finance case; a stock sale
by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is being looked at by reg-
ulators; and Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff was
indicted in the CIA leak case.
Cunningham, a swaggering former flying ace with the
Navy during the Vietnam War, was known on Capitol Hill
for his interest in defense issues and his occasional out-
bursts.
In court documents, prosecutors said Cunningham
admitted receiving at least $2.4 million in bribes paid in
a variety of forms, including checks totaling more than
$1 million, cash, antiques, rugs, furniture, yacht club
fees and vacations.
Among other things, prosecutors said, Cunningham
was given $1.025 million to pay down the mortgage on
his Rancho Santa Fe mansion, $13,500 to buy a Rolls-
Royce and $2,081 for his daughter's graduation party at
a Washington hotel.
"He did the worst thing an elected official can do
- he enriched himself through his position and violat-
ed the trust of those who put him there," U.S. Attorney
Carol Lam said.
Cunningham was allowed to remain free while he
awaits sentencing. He also agreed to forfeit his mansion,
See BRIBE, Page 7
Many
'U'
grads
go on to top
grad programs
. Many of the University's
graduate programs take
more applicants from
Michigan than from any
other school
By Anne VanderMey
Daily Staff Reporter
When LSA junior Joseph Sussman
was applying to college, he had to choose
between Tufts University and the Uni-
versity of Michigan. He said he chose
the University of Michigan because its
reputation would be more likely to com-
mand the attention of premier medical
schools.
"(The University's) got a great name,"
Sussman said. "When you apply from
the University of Michigan, it's going to
mean something to a lot of people."
It turns out he was right.
In a 2003 study conducted by The
Wall Street Journal, the University
ranked 30th nationwide on a list of top
feeder schools for prestigious gradu-
ate institutions. Tufts trailed behind,
coming in at 45th. The survey ranked
the schools by the percentage of their
graduating classes that enrolled at 15
top graduate institutions.
In 2003, the University sent 156 stu-
dents to the 15 graduate schools selected
by the Journal as the best in the country,
a higher number than any other public
school and the fifth-highest total nation-
wide.
Sarah Zearfoss, assistant dean of
admissions for the University's Law
School - one of the Journal's top 15
graduate schools - said she was sur-
prised by the University's ranking.
"It really should be even higher, but
30th is good, especially considering
how big a school it is," she said.
She added that as dean of admissions,
she spends much of her time dispelling
rumors that it is harder for applicants
to get into the University's law school
if they received their bachelor's degree
from the University. According to her
data, University students are actually
more likely to get in than applicants
from other schools.
"We really like getting Michigan
people," Zearfoss said. "(Each year),
we admit on average 18 to 19 percent
of total applicants but 24 to 25 percent
of the applicants from (the University).
That seems like a small difference, but
it's huge when you take into account the
amount of people that apply."
The University's MBA program, law
school and medical school all have more
students from the University than from
any other undergraduate institution.
Nearly 30 percent of last year's entering
See SCHOOLS, Page 7
University of Michigan Law School assistant dean of admissions Sarah Zearfoss says
applications from Michigan undergrads compare to those from Harvard and Yale.
School of Dentistry helps children smile
Professors in the
school do crazy things to
encourage donations
By C. C. Song
Daily Staff Reporter
How much would it take for you to agree
to be taped to the wall?
For Dentistry Prof. Phil Richards, it
would take $1,500.
Richards agreed to be taped to a wall, for
kicks, if the Jonathan Taft Honorary Ser-
vice Society, a volunteer organization in the
School of Dentistry, could raise the $1,500
necessary to help two children with facial
deformities.
The organization was able to raise
$1,300 - almost enough to cover the cost
of surgeries for two children. Inspired by
their success so far, the Taft Society has
decided to hold a second fundraiser this
week, and more professors have joined in
the fun to encourage donations.
Dentistry Prof. Merle Jaarda plans to
shave his head, beard and mustache if
enough money is raised, and Dentistry
Prof. Jeff Shotwell will let students take
an impression of his face with alginate, a
substance commonly used in dentistry to
make a cast of teeth.
"It's a chance for the students to see
one of their (professors) on the receiving
end of some type of dental procedure and
not in the role as their supervisor," Shot-
well said.
The money raised will go to Opera-
tion Smile, an international fund-raising
organization for children with facial defor-
mities. The group sends volunteers all
over the world to help with corrective
surgeries.
This year marks the first time Uni-
versity students have collected funds for
Operation Smile. ,
Although collection cans are only
set up in the Dental School, third-year
Dentistry student and fundraising orga-
nizer James Powell encouraged students
in other schools to join a branch of the
See SMILE, Page 7
Week spotlights global AIDS
By Deepa Pendse
and Drew Philp
Daily Staff Reporters
"A Closer Walk" is a documentary focused on
the struggle of people across the globe living with
AIDS and those who are leading the fight to eradi-
cate the disease and educate people about it.
LSA senior Ayako Ohata, a member of SERVE's
HIV and AIDS committee, said she organized the
LSA junior Sunil Joy, a member of Open Your
Eyes/Student Global AIDS Campaign, the group
that brought Gupta to campus, said this year's
World AIDS Week is different than in years past
because of the combined efforts of the many stu-
dent groups involved.
World AIDS Week - a series of events that
address the profound changes a positive HIV test
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