Wednesday, February 15, 2006
ALIaN DoAi osTHE iBEST M' vUSEUM\S MVE 'TON! i 'S . a .RTS :' , FACE
News 2 Man vice president
accidentally shot
suffers heart attack
Opinion 4
Sports 9
Emily Beam
misses feminism
Cagers face must-win
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One-hundredfourteen years of editorial freedom
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www. michigandaily. cor
Ann Arbor, Michigan
s Vol. CXV, No. 76
02006 The Michigan Daily
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MSA votes down
$4 student fee to
fund yearbook
Rep. Rese Fox, sorority
sister of Michiganensian's
editor, proposes extra
money for yearbook
By Ashlea Sures
Daily Staff Reporter
Use the $4 that won't be tacked onto
your student fee this year to buy your-
self something nice.
The Michigan Student Assembly
voted down a resolution last night that
would have placed an initiative on the
ballot in March's presidential elections
to add $4 per year to undergraduate's
tuition bills.
The additional revenue would have
been used to fund the Michiganensian,
the University's yearbook.
MSA voted not to carry the resolu-
tion by a vote of 18 to 3.
Michigan Progressive Party presi-
dential candidate Rese Fox proposed
the resolution.
With elections looming close, the
debate over the resolution was heat-
ed between the dominant Students 4
Michigan party and the newly formed
MPP.
The MPP supported the resolution
to put the funding option on the bal-
lot.
"Students are more than capable of
making the decision about the Michi-
ganensian on their own," Fox said in
an e-mail to The Michigan Daily.
S4M took the opposite stance.
"As a student I am in favor of my
money going to the yearbook, but as
an MSA rep it's irresponsible to vote
to fund one organization and not 300
others. I am against preferential treat-
ment," S4M vice presidential nominee
Justin Paul said after the meeting.
Tension at the, meeting increased
just prior to the vote, when an S4M
member questioned Fox's personal
relationship with Michiganensian edi-
tor in chief Emily DeMarco.
Fox then told the assembly for the
first time that she was in a sorority
with DeMarco.
S4M party chair Robbie O'Brien
accused Fox of "cronyism" and said it
could be a reflection of her party as a
whole.
"The fact that I know Ms. DeMarco
does not change the fact that students
should have been able to vote on this
issue," Fox said.
There was also contention over a
petition to put the increase on the bal-
lot, signed by 1,000 students, that Fox
presented to the assembly.
The assembly deemed the signatures
inadmissible because the petition had
not cleared MSA standards prior to the
signings.
The petition sheets read, "Petition
to get Michiganensian fees on student
tuition" and failed to print an actual
question, leading some MSA members
to question the validity of the signa-
tures.
Ally Jacobs, chair of MSA's Com-
munications Committee, and several
other S4M members said it would be
"irresponsible" to put the question on
March's ballot because students would
not have the background knowledge to
make an informed decision.
O'Brien said it is important to note
"the (Michiganensian's) history of
not being able to spend their money
right."
According to Michiganensian mar-
keting manager Katrina Deutsch, one
year ago the Michiganensian had a
$50,000 debt because fewer yearbooks
See ENSIAN, page 7
STEVEN TAI/Daily
LSA sophomore Joel Skaistis waits outside University President Mary Sue Coleman's house on South University Avenue yesterday morning. Skaistis intended
to propose marriage to University President Mary Sue Coleman, but his efforts were thwarted.
Police fo 1 student's quest to
propose to PresidentColeman
Student who had
yearned to make Coleman
his Valentine goes home
di sappointed, bw i otarrested
By Gabe Nelson
Daily Staff Reporter
Red," is by a 46-year-old amateur poet
named Mel Sharrar.
"So take my heart and treat it well and
forever in this life, come walk with me
your hand in mine, the one I call my wife,"
the poem read.
He would never get a chance to read it.
At about 7:45 a.m., Coleman's garage
door opened and a sport utility vehicle
Dressed in a tuxedo, LSA
Joel Skaistis stood on the sidew
of University President Mary
man's house early yesterday m
His mission: matrimony.
His target: Coleman.
Four months ago, Skaistis'1
challenged him to create a Fa
group that would attract a lotc
He decided to promise that h
something embarrassing if en
joined the group. When his frier
that he pledge to propose marri
one on Valentine's Day, Skaisti
chose Coleman.
"We chose her because
she's a local celebrity, she
lives right on campus and
she's already married,"
Skaistis said.
The group, titled "I'll pro-
pose to Mary Sue Coleman
on Valentine's Day If 250
People Join This Group,"
had 285 members as of yes-
terday.
With the requirement met,
a choice: either fulfill his pro
appoint the group's members.
"As Valentine's Day got c]
kind of nervous about going t
it, but this morning, I was
gung-ho," Skaistis said. "I ha
prepare, and I knew exactly
going to say."
And so Skaistis found hins
Coleman's home at 815 Sout
ty Ave. at 7 a.m. yesterday, t
shrouded in darkness. Two fr
with him to witness the propo
rying a video camera to record
Skaistis was carrying a poen
ed to read to Coleman.
The poem, called "Deep as
sophomore emerged.
walk in front Skaistis and his friends grew excited, hoping
Sue Cole- it was Coleman. It was her husband Kenneth.
orning. He shot the group a puzzled look and
continued on his way.
By 8 a.m., Coleman still had not left for
buddies had work.
acebook.com Skaistis' friends were cold and frustrat-
of members. ed. They decided to leave.
le would do Skaistis, though, remained determined.
ough people He stared through the windows and com-
nd suggested mented on every sign of movement within
age to some- the house.
s agreed and At about 8 a.m., Skaistis's attempt was
foiled by a call to the Department of Pub-
lic Safety.
According
T d 'tthnto DPS officer
Ithik David Dupuis,
're her type." acaller told
you'r e ye DPS there were
strangers loiter-
- Officer David Dupuis ing and video-
Department of Public Safety taping outside
Coleman's
home. It was
Skaistis had not clear who called the police.
mise or dis- Dupuis assured Skaistis that he was not
breaking the law, then asked why he was
loser, I was standing there.
hrough with Skaistis, after pausing uneasily, said he
completely had a "special Valentine's Day present for
d months to Mary Sue."
what I was "I don't think you're her type," Dupuis
replied.
self in front Last night, Skaistis wrote an announce-
h Universi- ment to members of his group, informing
:he sky still them of his failure.
riends came "Coleman was too terrified to leave her
sal, one car- house, so I didn't really get a chance to
lit. ask her to marry me," he wrote.
m he intend- Still, he has not given up hope.
"On the bright side, she never said 'no,' "
the Rose is he wrote. "So there's still a chance!"
STEVEN TAI/Daily
After waiting an hour and 15 minutes in the early-
morning cold, Skaistis decided to leave.
Presidential hospitality
Student access to president's house
Most University presidents have discour-
aged students from entering or assembling
near the historic president's house, but some
have allowed it on select occasions.
University President Mary Sue Coleman
invites all students, staff and faculty into
her home for an open house on the Friday
before classes start in the fall every year.
Former University President Lee Bollinger
famously invited a mob of celebrating stu-
dents into his house after a football victory
over Penn State in 1997.
Hundreds of students crammed them-
selves into his home.
"You can stay here as long as you want
and come inside," Bollinger said.
For many students, it was the defining
moment of his presidency.
"I puked with the president," then-LSA
sophomore Andrew Schreiber told The Michi-
gan Daily that evening. "I puked on the house.
I feel so much better with the president now
that I puked."
STEVEN TAI/Daily
Retired track
coach Red
Simmons
stands in the
Track and
Field Building.
Simmons's vision
predated Title IX
String of thefts stings Ann Arbor
Coach jump-started
womens sports at
the University after
Olympic inspiration
By Chris Herring
Daily Sports Writer
gram while he was coaching the men's team
at the University. He attended the 1960 Olym-
pics in Rome and saw that the American
women's track and field team was perform-
ing poorly.
"The women did so badly that I said, 'We're
going to start a women's track team,' "Sim-
mons, 96, said as he watched a recent meet.
The program was not officially affiliated
Burglary streak
rivals winter recess in
number of break-ins
By Drew Philp
Daily Staff Reporter
connections among the string of
crimes.
The crimes occurred on Brook,
West Liberty, West Huron, North
Maple, Signature Boulevard and Pack-
ard Road, while unsuccessful attempts
were made on Varsity Drive and Hill
house on Green Street.
The officers interviewed two men
at the house on Green Street. The men
admitted to the crime.
AAPD Lt. Mark Hoornstra said the
men were acquaintances of the resi-
dent. The resident was not home. The
is either someone knows what they're
going in there for or they see it from the
outside," Hoornstra said. "Very rarely
do you have people break into a place
not having any idea what's in there."
Hill reminded students to lock their
doors before bed as well as before
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