Monday, February 20, 2006 Opinion 3A Sam Singer on Bush and Hamas Arts 4A 'Date Movie' truly horrendous CONTROLLING THE MINDS OF SHARIS ... SCIENCE, PAGE 5A One-hundredfifteen years of editorialfreedom Sports 1B Cagers split series with intra- state rivals I '' I I, Is 1: 11 a www.michikgandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan m Vol. CXV, No. 79 02006 The Michigan Daily A2 lawyer tries to spur boycott of 'U' Mott hospital design given green light Former student asks Native American students to boycott undergraduate programs By Neil Tambe Daily Staff Reporter In addition to suing Michigamua and the University Board of Regents, a local lawyer wants prospective Native American students to boycott the University's undergraduate programs. Christopher Bell's lawsuit claims the Uni- versity breached a 1989 agreement by allegedly allowing Michigamua to use rituals and other f symbols associated "I feel that w with Native American culture. In the 1989 make the U agreement, Mich- choose betwN igamua agreed to elim- inate all references to and M ichigo Native American cul- ture after complaints from the Native Amer- - C ican community that Ann the secret society was demeaning its culture. University representatives have criticized the lawsuit and are calling the proposed boy- cott, the latest development in the saga, irre- sponsible. "It is extremely irresponsible to recom- mend that students boycott our academic programs," University spokeswoman Julie Peterson said. "Our University is strongly committed to creating and nurturing a diverse community." Bell, a former University student, sent out the boycott request in an e-mail to members of the campus's Native American community last week. "It may feel weird that I am asking that you support a boycott of U-M undergraduate programs when you yourself have benefited from that very opportunity," Bell wrote in the e-mail. "But I feel that we need to make the University choose between us and Mich- igamua - because the two cannot co-exist without keeping us in the position of being third or fourth class students." Bell said he will not make comments to any media outlet until Wednesday, when he will hold an off-campus media event. LSA senior Cynthia Biro, who is of Native American descent, said she does not support the boycott. Biro said she thought it would hurt the Native American community if a boycott e need to niversity veen us amua. Christopher Bell, Arbor attorney ble, but did not speculate about what conclusion the group would reach. While Marino said she doesn't think having fewer Native American students at the University will solve anything, she feels that Native Ameri- can students should not support a university that oppresses them. Marino also said she finds that the relationship happened. "How are we supposed to represent our people? How are we supposed to get an edu- cation? It doesn't make any sense," she said. But Biro also said a boycott was a way to garner attention and support for the issue. LSA junior Brittany Marino said given the University's history with Native American students, she understands where the lawyer is coming from. "I think that the boycott is asking a lot, but I don't think it's asking too much," she said. Marino's a Native American Student Asso- ciation co-chair, said a consensus among the group has not been reached. She said the group will discuss the issue as soon as possi- New C.S. Mott Hospital to be completed by 2011, could cost $523m By Gabe Nelson Daily Staff Reporter The University Board of Regents approved the design for the much- anticipated new C.S. Mott Chil- dren's and Women's Hospital at its meeting Friday. When it opens its doors in spring 2011, the state-of-the-art facility, will replace the existing Mott children's hospital and the women's hospitals. The most notable features of the hospital will be its environmental friendliness and its comforting interior. Most patients will be able to see the Nichols Arboretum and the Huron River from their rooms. Suggestions from patients and their families guided the design, which will include an outdoor courtyard and abundant natural light. It will be the length of two football fields and is expected to accommodate 4,500 births per year. The facility will house both inpatient and outpatient programs and is slated to cost $523 million. In addition to approving the between students and administration can be impersonal, and sometimes it takes an action that could affect the University's bottom line for student needs to be addressed. "I think that not just native students, but anyone who gives money to this university should know something about this universi- ty's history," Marino said. "Based on this his- tory and the decisions the University makes today, that individual needs to decide if it's something they want to be supporting." Phil Deloria, a professor of Native Ameri- can Studies, said in a written statement that the faculty in his department will be drafting a collective response to the lawsuit and to the boycott shortly. The University has not yet been officially notified of the lawsuit, but Peterson said the lawsuit has no merit and the University will seek a dismissal. Until 2000, Michigamua was a student group and the University could oversee its practices. In 2000, the University and the group severed their ties with each other. "The University does not have any power to regulate how students choose to affiliate with organizations that are outside of our boundaries and processes," Vice President for Student Affairs E. Royster Harper said in a written statement. COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Design plans for the new C.S. Mott Children's and Women's Hospital. The project could cost up to $523 million. Mott Hospital will replace the parking lot on East Medical Center Drive and East Hopsital Drive. design, the regents approved a $25-million increase to the proj- ect's budget. The money will primarily go toward Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification. LEED certi- fication indicates that a building is enivornmental sustainable. The change of the hospital's plans to include LEED certifi- cation was spurred, in part, by student input at previous regents meetings. "We absolutely value input from students, but it had been in our minds already," said Krista Hop- son, spokeswoman for the Uni- See HOSPITAL, page 7A Group leads discussion on cartoons Muslim Students' Association hosts dialogue, film about Prophet Muhammad By Kelly Fraser Daily Staff Reporter Turning the focus onto education and understanding and away from ink sketches, the Muslim Students' Association hosted an overflowing crowd at a dialogue and viewing of a film on the role of the Prophet Muhammad in Islam, at the Michigan Union Friday night. The event, "Not in the Name of Our Prophet," was an effort to educate the community about exactly why the recent Danish cartoons negatively depicting the prophet were so offensive to Muslims around the world. The cartoons were published last September. Since then, they have appeared in other newspapers that believe printing the cartoons is within the realm of responsible speech. In one cartoon, the prophet Muhammad appears in a turban shaped like a bomb. In another, he tells suicide bombers lined up at the gates of heaven that he is out of virgins to reward them for their sacrifice. While mnnv nennle thmnk' Muss find the cartons to be Student dies in boarding accident 0 Freshman died Saturday after week in coma; friend remembers him as greatest guy I have ever known By Drew Philp Daily Staff Reporter LSA freshman John Mitchell died Saturday morning at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City after a week .in a drug-induced coma following a snowboarding acci- dent. He was 18. Mitchell's funeral will be held on Thursday at St. Andrews church in Livonia. Visitation will be held on Tuesday from 5 to 9 p.m. and Wednesday 2 to 9 p.m. at the Will Harry J. funeral home on Six Mile Road in Livonia. He was born on June 17, 1987 and grew up in Livonia with his mother Chris, father Harold and sister Katie. With Mitchell's clothes still hanging in his closet and personal effects still resting on an empty desk, his long- time friend and roommate, LSA freshman Josh Wilson, described him as "the greatest guy I have ever had the pleasure to know." Wilson said Mitchell was a great athlete who loved sports and his girlfriend of five years. "(Mitchell) brought everyone around him up," he said. Wilson remembered his friend's sense of humor, rem- iniscing about lying across from each other in the lofted beds of Mary Markley Residence Hall. Mitchell would yell "torpedo" and launch a soft object across the room, lightening the mood after a hard night of studying. In high school, Mitchell was a varsity basketball play- er and an all-conference track runner who also volun- teered as a reading tutor. He was contemplating applying to the business school or a medical school. LSA freshman Linda Sobh said Mitchell was some- one she could confide in. "His friends relied on him," said Chris Mitchell, his mother. Sobh said Mitchell was the kind of person who would leave a party to "walk someone home and make sure they were OK." "I wish everyone would have had the pleasure to meet him," Wilson said. Neighborhood groups to represent student tenants MPP offshoot aims to form student neighborhood associations SPAN is a sister group of the Michigan Progressive Party, which was formed to challenge the domi- nant Students 4 Michigan in next month's Michigan Student Assem- blv elections. "We want it to be something students can take ownership of," she said. So far, it only has one associa- tion, for the precinct that extends from the corner of Packard Street I I .::. . :. ?:. F '4 L, ' ., ...,:c' ...,. . . . vo w...>! x,7,2. ,.,..5. . ., . *2.. .. , :.... < c .