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One-hundredjifteen years of editorialfreedom


www.michigandaiy. com

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Vol. CXVI, No. 50

@2006 The Michigan Daily


Ballot
wording
called
fair
New proposal modifies
language of ballot
measure that would ban
affirmative action
By Justin Miller
Daily Staff Reporter
The distance between the two sides of
the fight over affirmative action seemed
to shrink last week.
A new proposal put forth by the state
elections director has received mild sup-
port from the Michigan Civil Rights
Initiative - the group that is sponsoring
the ballot measure to ban some affirma-
tive action programs in Michigan - and
a coalition opposing the measure, One
United Michigan.
The proposed language would ask vot-
ers to decide on an amendment to the state
constitution that would "ban affirmative
action programs that give preferential
treatment to groups or individuals based
on their race, gender, color, ethnicity or
national origin for public employment,
education or contracting purposes."
MCRI Executive Director Jennifer
Gratz was lukewarm about the new
language.
"While this is not the exact language
we would have preferred, it is nonetheless
a reasonably fair and accurate statement
of the intent of petitions that were signed
by more than a half-million Michigan
citizens," Gratz said in a statement, The
Associated Press reported last week.
One United Michigan spokesman
David Waymire said the new lan-
guage is an improvement over previ-
ous proposals.
"I think it is more clear than what the
misnamed 'Michigan Civil Rights Initia-
tive' had proposed," Waymire said.
He added that the language used in
MCRI's petition drive led people to
believe they were signing a petition
in support of affirmative action, when
in fact they were endorsing a measure
to outlaw it.
MCRI has denied the allegations
of fraud.
Waymire said his group is still evalu-
ating portions of the proposed language,
such as the definition of affirmative
action as a "preference" instead of an
"opportunity," as One United Michigan
sees it.
While MCRI and One United Mich-
igan have expressed some positive
sentiments about the language, they
have not agreed that it should be on the
November ballot.
BAMN - a group vocally opposed to
MCRI - national co-chair Luke Massey
expressed his group's unmitigated oppo-
sition to the proposal, calling it "Nazi-
like propaganda".
"We think it's absolutely unacceptable
because it uses the utterly biased con-
See MCRI, Page 7A

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Carr
wants
playoff
But President Coleman opposes
head football coach's call for a
Division 1-A playoff system
By Nate Sandals
Daily Sports Writer
Lloyd Carr's play-calling throughout this football
season put him at odds with many fans. Now his opinion
regarding the college football postseason has him dis-
agreeing with University President Mary Sue Coleman.
In a press conference on Dec. 14, the head football
coach announced he had changed his opinion on a Divi-
sion 1-A playoff system.
"I never thought I would say
this - I think we should go to a
playoff," Carr said. "I think we
should play the top 16 teams and %
do it on the field because I think
that's only fair to the guys that
play the game."
Carr supported his new stance
by citing the Outback Bowl,
which offered Iowa a bid instead
of Michigan - despite the fact
that the Wolverines had the same Carr
record and had defeated Iowa in
the regular season.
In the past, Carr opposed extending the regular sea-
son to 12 games, saying it would be detrimental to the
health of his athletes.
But the University's position
on the postseason is not in Carr's
hands. President Coleman is
staunchly against the playoff sys-
tem, and it is her opinion - not
Carr's - that the NCAA consid-
ers. After hearing about Carr's
recent change of heart, Coleman
reiterated her disfavor for a playoff
in college football.
"I am not in favor of a playoff Coleman
system," Coleman said. "I am
firmly, firmly against it. I don't think it's in the best
interest of universities"
Many opponents of a playoff system say they believe
that the longer schedule will be detrimental to the aca-
demic development of student athletes.
Carr is not the only high-profile figure concerned
with the bowl system.
The issue of the bowl selection process has incit-
ed controversy in recent years - especially since
the creation of the Bowl Championship Series in
1998 - and it was the topic of a congressional
hearing last month in which the Big Ten registered
its opposition.
During the House Subcommittee on Commerce,
Trade and Consumer Protection hearing, U.S. Rep.
Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) expressed concerns simi-
lar to Carr's.
"What I don't understand is, how did Iowa get a better
bowl than Michigan when we beat them in the regular
season?" Upton asked.
While Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany, a witness
in the hearing, did not answer Upton's question, Assis-
tant Big Ten Commissioner Scott Chipman explained in
a later interview that a clause in the conference's agree-
ment with the bowls allowed the Outback Bowl to offer
Iowa this year's bid.
The only time a bowl is prohibited from offering a
certain team a bid is when another team within the con-
See CARR, Page 7A


:411-

KE

Networking site
popular with
campus police, too
By Neil Tambe
Daily Staff Reporter
Students aren't the only ones in town
who Facebook.
Facebook.com,. the online college net-
working community used obsessively by
freshman girl and senior boy alike, is also
being used as an investigative tool by law
enforcement.
Department of Public Safety spokes-
woman Diane Brown said she is not sure
whether DPS officers use the site, but said
it is likely.
"I would presume that campus law
enforcement in many places - including
DPS - use it," Brown said. "It's smart for
them to use that."
The Ann Arbor Police Department also
uses the site.
Kinesiology sophomore Dan Rais, a
member of the men's gymnastics team, was
at a house party with several of his team-
mates last fall when someone flung a beer
bottle at another party guest standing near

him. The victim stuffered cuts to his face
and went to University Hospital for treat-
ment.
According to a police report The Michi-
gan Daily obtained through a Freedom of
Information Act request, AAPD detective
Noel Scott contacted him asking for infor-
mation on the incident.
When the detective came to his house for
questioning, Rais noticed that he was holding a
printout of his Facebook profile.
Rais said the investigator did not pres-
ent or elaborate on the document, but the
sophomore speculated that his profile could
have been used to match him to the descrip-
tion of the suspect given by an eyewitness
at the party.
Several hours after Rais was questioned,
the victim checked Rais's Facebook profile,
the report said. The victim said Rais's pic-
ture did not match the assailant.
Campus police in Pennsylvania used Face-
book profiles and groups at Penn State Univer-
sity to identify students who rushed the football
field after the school defeated Ohio State.
In the Penn State incident, campus police
used profile images and a Facebook group
of students claiming to have rushed the field,
along with normal crime-catching tools,
such as photos from stadium cameras.
According to Tyrone Parham, assistant
director of PSU campus police, two officers
were assaulted during the rowdy celebration.

When the detective
came to his house
for questioning, Rais
noticed that he was
holding a printout of
his Facebook profile.
Pepper spray and other police maneuvers were
needed to suppress the crowd.
PSU's campus police identified about 50
people who rushed the field after the game. The
campus police then contacted the suspected stu-
dents, and many confessed to their actions.
Parham said it is easy for officers to access
the website because many possess university
e-mail accounts - the prerequisite to signing
on to the site.
"It's the same as someone posting this
type of group on a general-purpose bulletin
board," he said.
Using information from public web spaces
is not uncommon to law enforcement in general.
Cases against pedophiles and child pornogra-
phers using information posted on the Internet
have been upheld in court, Parham noted.
He added that Facebook profiles are not pri-
See FACEBOOK, Page 7A

Coleman: U.S.
risks losing
int'l students
University president cites issues with
export controls, says they may cause
foreign students to study elsewhere
By Gabe Nelson
Daily Staff Reporter
Concerned about the ability of American universities to
draw and retain international students, University President
Mary Sue Coleman joined more than 100 other university
presidents in Washington last week for the U.S. University
Presidents Summit on International Education.
Coleman said she is concerned international students are


Students pray for
Sharon's recovery

Israeli prime minister
still in coma after suffering
massive stroke last week
By Ashlea Surles
Daily Staff Reporter
Students gathered in a freezing drizzle
on the Diag Saturday night to pray in a vigil
for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
Sharon suffered a significant stroke
last week and is currently in a medically
induced coma.
The 25 vigil attendees prayed "to
inspire the minds and guide the hands

Olmert presided over Israel's weekly
Cabinet meeting yesterday, leaving the
seat Sharon usually occupies empty.
Omert said that the Israeli government
"will continue to do what (Sharon) would
want-running affairs as they should be,"
CNN.com reported yesterday.
Some students said they believe Sha-
ron's illness will make Israel's continuing
peace process more difficult.
"It's going to be a much more tumultu-
ous time now, said Alana Kuhn, politi-
cal chair of the American Movement for
Israel, a student group.
Sharon's health is "necessary for the
continuum of talks and the move toward

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