Friday, March 10, 2006 News 2 Dubai company relinquishes stake in U.S. ports Opinion 4 Sports 8 Imran Syed stands by Crash' Ruden to lead Icers against Ferris State SPOKEN-WORD PERFORMER TAKES STAGE AT POWER CENTER ... ARTS, PAGE J One-hundredffteen years of editorialfreedom ._x I ww.michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan m Vol. CXV, No. 88 02006 The Michigan Daily Wage raise bill clears Senate, moves to House innesota 39, MICHIGAN 55 OUT OF REACH. 1' off Dance floor Loss may keep 'M State Senate approves bill that would increase minimum wage over two years From staff and wire reports After months of organizing petition drives, the Raise the Wage Coalition at the University and similar organizations across the state are finally starting to see results in Lansing. Michigan workers making the state's minimum wage would get a raise of $1.80 an hour later this year under legislation passed unanimously yesterday by the state Senate. The minimum wage is now $5.15 an hour. Under the Senate-approved bill, the wage would go to $695 in October and gradually increase to $7.40 an hour by July 2008. If passed by the Republican-controlled House and signed by Gov. Jennifer Gra- nholm, the wage hike would be the first in nine years. RC senior and Raise the Wage Coali- tion member Ryan Bates was wary of the Senate's motives. "It is unclear at this time whether this is a legitimate move to raise the mini- Current minimum wage: $5.15/hour or $10,712 per year Under the Senate- passed proposal, the wage would rise over time. October 2006 wage: $6.95 July 2008 wage: $7.40 Last time wage was raised - 1997 (from mum wage or just another parliamentary procedure,"he said. The surprise vote is a response to a state-wide petition drive to raise the mini- mum wage in the state constitution. The student coalition, part of a state- wide minimum-wage campaign, has been actively soliciting signatures at the University since February. The Michigan Student Assembly passed a resolution See WAGE, page 7 INDIANAPOLIS - The scenario was crystal clear: Win and earn a trip to the Big Dance. Lose and pre- pare to enjoy another thrilling ride in the NIT. Only a below-average Minnesota team, playing a below-average game, stood in Michigan's path. It seemed like the coast was clear for a Michigan victory and its first NCAA Tournament bid in nearly a decade. There was only one prob- lem. The Wolverines couldn't get out of their own way. Michigan's implosion certainly wasn't unprec- MATT edented; the team has right- fully earned a reputation for SINGER folding in big games. But the Spitting Fire magnitude and significance of yesterday's collapse sur- passes any previous choke-job of the Tommy Amaker era. Granted, Minnesota brought'solid defensive pres- sure and hit the boards hard, which is what you'd expect from a hopelessly overmatched team with noth- ing to lose. Still, Michigan's "C" game would have been enough to win the game comfortably. But the Wolverines didn't bring their "C" game. They brought their "F" game. Michigan threw up bricks all day, connecting on just 38 percent of its shots. The team was even worse from downtown, shooting just 18 percent. And the Wolverines couldn't take care of the ball, committing 21 turnovers. Amazingly, Minnesota nearly matched Michigan's futility in each of those categories. It appeared that the Gophers were trying their hardest to hand the Wolver- ines an undeserved victory. To start, Minnesota turned the ball over six times in the opening six minutes. But Michigan couldn't capi- talize and never opened up a double-.igit lead. To finish, Minnesota missed eight free throws in the last 90 seconds, leaving the door wide open for a Michigan comeback. But the Wolverines responded by missing five relatively open looks from 3-point range. Had they made just two of those shots, they would be dancing. The missed opportunities at the beginning and end were maddening. But they were overshadowed by Michigan's total breakdown in the middle of the second half. As Minnesota stepped up the defensive pressure, the Wolverines simply freaked out - there's no other phrase to describe it. Michigan's 14 second-half turnovers weren't the forgivable type that result from aggressive drives and passes. Nope. They were the deer-in-the-headlights turnovers. The ones that occur 30 feet away from the hoop. The ones that come from playing not to lose instead of playing to win. Coming in, no one questioned Michigan's ath- letic superiority. But in the second half, Minnesota - normally a slow-it-down, grind-it-out type of squad - excelled at the showtime game. Time and time again, the Gophers raced past the Wolverines in transi- tion, converting easy undefended lay-ups. On the other j EMMA NOLAN-ABRAHAMIAN/Daily Music senior Carol Jantsch holds her tuba Wednesday at the music school. Jantsch will rake in $100,000 as the principal tuba player in the Philadelphia Orchestra. Senior snags spot n1 Phi orchestra end, Michigan slowed the tempo and dribbled the ball around the perimeter, usually finishing its possession with a turnover or missed jumper. Watching Minnesota simply rip the ball out of Ron Coleman and Dion Harris's hands, I could only sadly conclude that Michigan didn't have the intestinal forti- tude to come away with the win. Unfortunately, the Wolverines seemed to agree. As Minnesota surged ahead in the second frame, I expect- ed to see Michigan ratchet up the focus and intensity. Instead, I saw hands on hips, resigned expressions and, most shockingly, a lack of hustle from a Wolverine squad that had everything to lose. With the team overthinking and underworking, Amaker could have taken steps to reassert Michigan's athletic superiority. In the last 1:21, the Wolverines' See SINGER, page 7 At 20., Carol Jantsch is first female principal tuba player in a major orchestra By Alexandra Jones Daily Arts Writer Carol Jantsch isn't a typical college senior. On Feb. 22, while her peers were pre- paring to embark on spring break trips and finishing mid-terms, the School of Music student built on a remarkable musical i career at the University with an achieve- ment most musicians never realize in a lifetime. After completing three rounds of auditions for the position of principal tuba with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Jantsch aced the final round, winning the spot with one of the country's top 10 major orchestras. "(Winning) it was totally awesome, basically'" Jantsch said. "It's something you've been daydreaming about for along time and it actually comes true." Along with securing a job with prestige most performers her age can only dream about - not to mention a salary topping See JANTSCH, page 7 STATS DON'T LIE Wondering how the Wolverines lost to Minnesota, a team they had defeated twice in the regular season? One glance at the team's final statistics should quench your curiousity. Percentage from field (21 for 56) Three-point percentage (4 for 22) Number of turnovers committed .4 Turnovers in the second half alone FOREST CASEY/Daily TOP: Graham Brown lunges during the Wolverines' loss against Minnesota yesterday at the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. BOTTOM: Daniel Horton fights off a defender. Hopefuls compete for endorsement Funding groups that lobby is major issue in College Democrats' forum for MSA candidates Jewish group might allow gay rabbis Conservative Jewish leaders delay vote on gay rabbis, but issue up again in December By Andrew Grossman Daily Staff Reporter Jews at the University. Now, he has brought his faith and his sexuality together. "My religion is a part of my life,"Marco- vici said. "My sexual orientation is part of my life. One doesn't preclude the other." Marcovici is part of the Conservative Jewish movement, which has recently Lf5V~Ut3rr ;cav4 lltlqIL:tV1'd(~1