NEWS The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, December 6, 2005 - 3 ON CAMPUS MSA to host fundraising forum The Michigan Student Assembly will hold a roundtable event tonight at 8 p.m. on how student organizations can obtain funding. Guest speakers will advise student leaders on devel- oping their organization. The event will be held in MSA chambers on the 3rd floor of the Union. Chamber choir to perform at Hill Auditorium The University's chamber choir, conducted by Jerry Blackstone, will perform Petite Messe Solennelle at Hill Auditorium tonight at 8 p.m. Admission is free and seating is first-come, first-serve. Sorority leaders will hold public Students criticize Coke's conduct in three countries Protesters from 18 student groups gather at Fleming to urge administration to cut contract By Carissa Miller Daily Staff Reporter A coalition of University groups expanded their criticism of Coca-Cola yesterday to include allega- tions of union busting in Turkey and Indonesia. About 25 University students assembled out- side the Fleming Administration Building last night to protest the University's contract with Coca-Cola. Protesters the building three times - once for Coca-Cola's alleged environmen- tal violations in India, again for Coke's alleged complicity in violence against union leaders in Colombia and a third time for alleged union busts in Turkey and Indonesia. Afterwords, they moved past various administration offices inside the building. "We wanted representatives from different groups to come to remind the University of the diversity of students in the coalition and the multiple aspects of this issue," said LSA senior Jayanthi Reddy, a member of the Association for India's Development. "It is not just an environ- mental issue or a labor issue. There are lots of students that would like to see the University cut its contract with Coca-Cola." Currently, 20 student organizations - includ- ing Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality, the College Democrats and the Univer- sity's United Asian American Organizations - have formally declared their support for the Coke Campaign Coalition. "We believe (the coalition) deserves a response from the University," said College Democrats chair Libby Benton. "Right now, it is important to keep up the presence and visibility and show that delaying a response won't make student activists go away." Representatives from 18 of the 20 student groups were present at the protest, including the campus chapter of Amnesty International and the Graduate Employees' Organization. Yester- day's turnout was an improvement over a dem- onstration last month, when only four student members of the coalition showed up to picket outside the administration building. During the past year, the Coke Campaign Coalition has pushed the University to cut its $1.3 million contract with Coca-Cola, based on the company's alleged international human rights and environmental abuses. The University announced in October that Coke successfully met the first requirement for contract renewal set forth by the University's Dis- pute Review Board, which stated that the com- pany must either engage in "good faith actions" or accept a third-party audit. The DRB, charged with investigating whether Coke adheres to the Vendor Code of Conduct, developed a set of deadlines Coke must meet for the 2005-06 academic year. University spokeswoman Julie Peterson said the University's position remains that the best rela- tionship it can have with Coke is one of exerting a positive influence on the company's conduct. She said the October decision to continue working with Coke was appropriate because there were indica- tions the company had made progress toward com- plying with the code of conduct. The University's next deadline for Coke is set for Dec. 31. Peterson said the University's contract with Coke will most likely be cut if the company does not meet the remaining deadlines or act in a man- ner that fosters a valuable working relationship with the University. "The University has been taking this issue very seriously," Peterson said. "Students are free to express their concern, and this group of students want to let the University know of their concern with this issue. We are aware of that." Some students, such as LSA junior and Environ- mental Justice member Ben Grimshaw, said that a show of support from multiple student groups might have more of an impact on the administration. meeting Members of Executive Board the Panhellenic and chapter repre- sentatives will hold a public meeting tonight at 7 p.m. in the Pendelton room in the Union. Meetings occur weekly but are open to the public only once a month. CRIME NOTES Two streakers hit Markley dining hall during lunch Two naked men ran through Mary Markley dining hall around 1 p.m. Sun- day, according to the Department of Public Safety. The crime is still under investigation and no suspects have yet been identified. Computer chair stolen from Markley lab A computer chair from a lab on the first floor of Mary Markley Residence Hall was reported missing Sunday around 1:49 p.m. DPS has no suspects in the larceny. Careless cooks set fire to stove in apartment DPS responded to a small fire in an apartment in Northwood IV around 8:23 a.m. Sunday. The fire was promptly extinguished. Vandal destroys handrail in stairwell A caller reported a damaged handrail in a stairwell in Mary Markley Residence Hall around 1:49 p.m. according to DPS Sunday afternoon. There are currently no suspects. THIS DAY * In Daily History Greeks consider plan to make rush " less structured Dec. 6, 1963 - The Panhellenic Association President's Council sub- mitted a revised rush plan to sororities yesterday in an attempt to make the recruitment season less structured. The proposed plan would cut down the number of rush sets from five to four. If approved, the two middle sets would be totally unstructured. Panhel President Patricia Elkins said the new system would let rushers set their own schedules and they could decide when to come and leave. She added that houses would be open three weekday evenings from 7 to 10:30 p.m. Mixers would remain virtually unchanged because the Panhel leader- SHUBRA OR / Daily Professor Carl Cohen and RC Director Thomas Weisskopf debate issues pertaining to the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative yesterday. Chavez supporters rally after successful election Election boycott and low turnout increases domestic political polarization CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Supporters of President Hugo Chavez vowed yesterday to accel- erate Venezuela's shift to a "new socialism" after claiming victory in elections that were expected to give pro-Chavez politicians all 167 seats in the National Assembly. Several of Venezuela's major opposition par- ties boycotted the vote on Sunday, which had an estimated turnout of 25 percent and is likely to further polarize Venezuelan society. The coun- try has been deeply divided by the leftist leader's rhetoric, his alliance with the Cuban leader Fidel Castro and his efforts to seize unproductive farms for poor farmers, start state-funded cooperatives and expand social programs for the poor. "Silence united Venezuelans," said Gerardo Blyde of Justice First, one of several leading opposition parties that pulled out days before the vote, complaining the voting system could not be trusted. The U.S. - long skeptical of Chavez's com- mitment to democracy and his leftist policies - cast doubt on the results. "Given that rate of abstention, plus expressions of concern by prominent Venezuelans, we would see that this reflects a broad lack of confidence in the impartiality and transparency of the electoral process," State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said yesterday. Official results were still pending yesterday, but internal tallies showed Chavez's party won 114 seats and the remainder went to aligned par- ties, said Willian Lara, a leader of Chavez's Fifth Republic Movement party. That would give the party the needed two- thirds majority to allow it to amend the consti- tution. Some lawmakers have said they hope to extend term limits for all offices, including the president. Pedro Lander, a newly elected congressman, said yesterday the new National Assembly will aim to "deepen the revolutionary process more and more." Chavez has accused the opposition of plotting the boycott with the help of the United States as part of a larger plot to "destabilize" the country. Both Washington and the opposition have denied the accusations. The head of Venezuela's electoral authority defended the vote and criticized the opposition and the country's private media. "The direct consequence of having carried out transparent elections ... is a calculated attack, scorn, insults and finger-pointing," said Jorge Rodriguez, president of the National Electoral Council. The turnout - lower than in 1998 and 2000 congressional votes - came despite a govern- ment effort to get Venezuelans to the polls. "We're not satisfied with the results of the elections," Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez said yesterday. Chavez' officials also blamed an explosion on a major oil pipeline Saturday on government opponents and said the U.S. meddled in the elec- tions through the nonprofit group Sumate, which receives money from the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy, a private group funded by Congress. MCRI Continued from page 1A were. Cohen vehemently dis- agreed with Weisskopf. "Our state, our government, has no business giving prefer- ence to anyone on the basis of the color of her skin - that is morally wrong," he said. Cohen said affirmative action today is much different than it was 40 years ago. "What is called affirmative action now is blatantly dis- criminatory," he said. Weisskopf said Cohen wrongly assigned a higher pri- ority to the "procedural ideal of treating every individual exactly the same way" than "the substantive ideal of reduc- ing enormous-inequalities." Weisskopf also made a dis- tinction between "positive" and "negative" discrimina- tion. He described negative discrimination as the unfair treatment of a particular group and defined positive+ discrimination as unequal treatment aimed at improving a group's standing in society. Cohen disagreed, saying, T II "It is unacceptable to talk about positive discrimination and negative discrimination. Discrimination by race is intrinsically invidious." To illustrate how he thinks students are hurt by the use of racial preferences in the Uni- versity's admissions process, Cohen excerpted a letter from LSA junior Miesha Williamson printed in The Michigan Daily: "When I ask a question in class, I have to worry about being seen as the dumb black girl who doesn't deserve to be here." Cohen said the fact that Williamson must face this stigma is cruel. Weisskopf said he agreed "It is unacceptable to talk about positive discrimination and negative discrimination. Discrimination by race is intrinsically invidious." - Carl Cohen RC professor that Williamson's concerns are a negative consequence of affirmative action but stressed that race-based preferences are only one small factor in the admissions process and that all students must be high- ly qualified to gain entrance to the University. RC sophomore Mike Lamarra said debates such as last night's meeting provide an important outlet for cam- pus dialogue on affirmative action. "A debate like this is good because both sides are equally represented," he said. "It gives people a healthy opportunity to express these ideas." I C Continued from page 1A tech transfer office. Slessor speculated on what factors make Caltech the leader of the tech transfer pack. "Every single person in our office of tech transfer has a PhD from Caltech, so we all have very personal relationships with the Uni- versity's faculty," he said. "Furthermore, we all understand what we do on both a technical and business level, and we remind ourselves to be very hands-on in terms of the licensing process." With the promise shown by recent gains, the University's Tech Transfer Office is already taking steps to ensure such phenomenal growth will not be an aberration. "We have made terrific progress with such a large increase," - Kenneth Nisbet Executive director University's Tech Transfer Office "We are strongly committed to keeping our superb staff motivated by challenging them with new, unique projects and retaining well- qualified partners who will be strong assets in the future,'' Nisbet said. UK gay couples register for legal partnerships New law allows same-sex couples to hold civil ceremonies and share legal benefits LONDON (AP) - Gay couples began reg- istering for civil partnerships at town halls across Britain yesterday as a law took effect giving them many of the same legal rights as married heterosexuals. Although the law stops short of allowing same- sex couples to marry, many said they were still eager to claim the benefits and official recognition of their relationships - for which some have waited decades. The Times of London marked the day by publishing notices of "gay marriages" for the first time. "We're absolutely delighted," said 80-year-old John Walton, registering in London with his partner of 40 years, Roger Raglan. "It's enormously important to us that we should be able to state to everyone that we are partners." The law nassed last year desnite some onosition "It was wonderful," said the Rev. Debbie Gaston, a minister at Metropolitan Community Church in Brighton who plans to formalize her union with Elaine Gaston on Dec. 21. "We were aware that it was history in the making and we were overwhelmed by it all. It's been a long time coming. The first partnership ceremonies will be held Dec. 19 in Northern Ireland, Dec. 20 in Scotland and Dec. 21 in England and Wales. The Netherlands, Canada, Belgium and Spain have legalized same-sex marriage, while Ger- many, France and Switzerland have laws similar to Britain's. In the United States, only Massachu- setts allows gay marriage, while Vermont and Connecticut permit civil unions. While the legislation aroused some opposition in Britain, it did not provoke a huge controversy. It caps a remarkable transformation in social atti- tudes that began when Victorian laws outlawing homosexuality were overturned in England and Wales in 1967 - although they persisted in Scot- land until 1980 and Northern Ireland until 1982. i .IBM