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News 3A MLK symposium
theme and
speakers chosen
Opinion 4A
Suhael Momin
wants the military
to ask and tell
ri t..k aug YI
Arts 5A Children's classic
enlightens audiences
One-hundredfifleen years of editoriIdfreedom
www.michgandady.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 47 ®2005 The Michigan Daily
BREAKING IT DOWN
NYU
cans
Coke
contract
Administrators say Coca-Cola violated
an agreement by refusing to submit to an
independent investigation of its practices.
By Jeremy Davidson
Daily Staff Reporter
Another school has joined the list of nearly a dozen institutions worldwide
that have divested from the Coca-Cola Company on the grounds of alleged
human rights violations in Asia and South America.
New York University began pulling all Coke products from its campus
last week after Coke refused to submit to an independent investigation by its
Dec. 8 deadline.
This decision could have significant implications for the University
of Michigan, which decided in June to cut its contracts with Coca-
Cola if the company failed to agree in writing to an independent
investigation by Sept. 30.
But 72 days later, Coke has not agreed in writing to an independent inves-
tigation and the University has not taken any action.
Timothy Slottow, the University's chief financial officer, has said it would
be premature to cut the contracts now because the University believes the
company is acting in "good faith." He cited Coke's recent signs of willing-
ness to work with the University
The call for the University to review Coke has been the first test of the
University's Vendor Code of Conduct, which was established last year to
ensure that all vendors who conduct business with the University adhere to
specific ethical guidelines.
Members of the Coke Campaign Coalition, a group of campus organiza-
tions that are pressuring the University to cut its ties with Coke, said the
University is not living up to its own standards.
"I think that we are telling Coke through our inaction that our Vendor
Code of Conduct is just there to make us look good," said LSA Senior Ilan
Brandvain, a member of the Coke Campaign Coalition.
"This shows that a large university can take a stand and it should set a
precedent for the University of Michigan," Brandvain added.
Activists said they think it's not too late for the University to stand by its
word.
"I hope the University will be able to take a really strong stance like NYU
has done" said Jory Hearst, a Coke Coalition member and RC junior.
NYU junior Erin Keskeny, who is involved in the school's campaign
against the company, said that she hopes other schools will follow NYU's
example.
"We are certainly glad that our university has taken a strong stand against
Coke'" Keskeny said. "We would prefer that Coke would cooperate, but
we're still glad that our university is getting involved."
Ed Potter, Director of Global Relations for Coca-Cola, said the company
couldn't agree to the investigation because of unresolved legal complications.
Potter has asked Terry Collingsworth, the lawyer representing plaintiffs who
are suing the company's affiliate in Miami, to agree that investigations the
company undergoes for its review of contracts with universities be withheld
from trial. Collingsworth has adamantly refused Potter's request, saying that
it would be an ethical violation to agree to the request.
EUGENE ROBERTSON/Daily
Ren performs two songs from his new album Anno Domini, which can be found at trooprecords.com, at The Remix presented by FOKUS
at the Union on Saturday.
Attorneys come cheap efor students
By Karl Stampfi
Daily StalReporter
When they get into legal trouble, stu-
dents are faced with a choice: either pay
thousands of dollars to hire a private law-
yer or take advantage of the $6.50 they've
already paid to Student Legal Services as
part of their student fees.
Art and Design sophomore Patrick Con-
nor chose the latter. And he has no regrets.
By receiving his fourth minor-in-pos-
session pen-
alty near the This is the
end of last second story
school year, in a three-part
Connor . series on the
violated his University's
probation, student services.
"Without SLS, my parents would have
had to pay for a lawyer, whatever
thousands of dollars it would have cost."
- Patrick Conor
Art and Design sophomore
who give students legal counsel on top-
ics as wide ranging as divorce/family law,
employment grievances, bankruptcy and
criminal defense.
At $6.50 per semester - much closer
to the cost of a pizza than to the cost of a
private lawyer - students can receive top-
notch counsel, said SLS Director Doug
Lewis.
"It's bargain basement prices;" Lewis
said.
Students may be asked to pay certain
fees, which max out at about $200 and are
usually less, Lewis said. These fees include
long-distance calls, postage and litigation
costs, such as court-filing costs.
Unlike other student services, where it is
often difficult to schedule a timely appoint-
See SLS, Page 7A
which meant he could have faced up to 30
days in jail and a $200 fine.
But SLS helped him get the charges dis-
missed in exchange for the completion of
36 hours of service at a local community
kitchen and a substance abuse class.
"Without SLS, my parents would have
had to pay for a lawyer, whatever thousands
of dollars it would have cost," Connor said.
"To get the same quality, I don't know how
much money I would have had to spend."
SLS is the University's team of attorneys
'U' makes music
with new label
CLASS OF '71
Block M Records
hopes to put spotlight on
unconventional tunes
By C.C. Song
Daily Staff Reporter
E3Q, a band of three Residential
College faculty members, would
not have the record of their dreams
if Block M Records did not exist.
Last Thursday, the University
publicized Block M Records, the
University's first official record
label.
As Block M Records's current
feature artist, E3Q's music is a
combination of jazz, contempo-
rary, rock, funk and other genres of
music, said Mark Kirschenmann, a
band member and an RC lecturer.
Because of its unconventional-
ity, E3Q's music would probably
face alteration if produced by other
record labels, said RC Prof. Michael
Gould, who is also a band mem-
ber. But through Block M Records,
Gould said that their music's origi-
nality is preserved.
"I do not have to alter my aes-
thetic for the sake of commercial
Other than providing an oppor-
tunity for University faculty and
students to produce unconventional
music, the label will also provide
listeners with the performances
that alumni and students want to
hear but don't have the opportunity
to attend.
Wolff said with the growing
interest in downloading music
online, the School of Music wanted
to capitalize on the growing trend.
"The recording industry is hav-
ing a difficult time these days," she
said. "There will be pieces never be
heard outside of auditorium."
The music is now available on
Block M Records's website for
streaming. But to download the
pieces, Wolff said, listeners will
have to pay a fee.
Torrella said that because art-
ists can act as their own producers
through the record label, Block M
Records also allows the artists to
control their works more directly
and retain more royalty fees.
He said that after a portion of the
profits goes to copyright clearance,
the remainder will be shared by the
School of Music and the artists.
Torrella said that Block M
Daily
elects
new set
of edlitors
By James V. Dowd
Daily Staff Reporter
The Michigan Daily elected current
news editor Donn Fresard as its new edi-
tor in chief on Friday, Nov. 11. Fresard
will succeed current Editor in Chief Jason
Pesick on Jan. 30.
Fresard said he hopes to follow his
predecessor's penchant for pushing the
Daily to write in-depth news stories
and help readers stay on top of breaking
news as it happens.
"I want to take the Daily further in
the direction that it has been going over
the last year with more aggressive news
coverage," Fresard said. "I think we're
going to try to do things that make us
more connected to and more account-
able to our readers."
Upon assuming the position of edi-
tor in chief in January of this year,
Pesick appointed former news editor
Alison Go to the newly created position
of managing editor. Over the summer
Pesick and Daily staffers revamped the
PETER SCHOTTENFELS/Daily
Marching Band alum Randy Safford, class of '71, performs at the 7th Annual Tuba Christmas led by
George Thompson of Ypsilanti on the corner of State and North University avenues yesterday.
Students support embattled prof
MSA member begins
leter writincy camnaip'
Al-Arian, an outspoken pro-Pales-
tinian activist and former engineer-
family friend.
A jury acquitted Al-Arian last
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