Monday, March 13, 2006 News 2A Slobodan Milosevic autopsy suggests he died of heart attack Opinion 4A Suhael Momin won't buy American cars V/ITHI SWEEP, ICERS DO SME SPRING CLEANING ...SPORTsMONDAY One-/zundred-ffteen years ofedton'alfreedom Arts 8A Of Montreal gets laid at the Blind Pig ------------------- www.mihirandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXV, No. 89 @2006 The Michigan Daily o SEECIONSUNDAY NOT DANCING Cagers miss tourney for eighth straight year MCRI loses steam in polis Late-season collapse leaves team with only consolation prize: NIT By Matt Singer Daily Sports Editor When the Michigan men's basket- ball team jumped out to a hot 16-3 start, few expected it to be left out of March Madness for the eighth straight year. But last night, when the NCAA Tour- nament selection committee released its selections, Michigan's name was nowhere to be found. The commit- tee refused to ignore the Wolverines' monumental late-season collapse, in which Michigan lost seven of its last nine games. "I would say that I'm frustrated with how we finished," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "Certainly, I think that's how everyone feels right now. We didn't finish strong, and that cost us an opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament field this year." Instead of donning dancing shoes, the Wolverines will participate in the ugly stepchild of the college basketball postseason - the National Invitation Tournament, where the 18-10 Michigan squad earned a No. 1 seed. The Wolver- ines will face the winner of Tuesday's UTEP-Lipscomb match-up on Mar. 16 at 7 p.m. in Crisler Arena. Tickets go on sale at 9 a.m. this morning. In addition to being one of the most talented squads in the bracket, Michi- gan has plenty of NIT experience. The Wolverines ran the NIT table two years ago, earning the right to raise a cham- pionship banner to the Crisler Arena rafters. But while the team's 2003-04 NIT run appeared to be a stepping stone to bigger and better things, this year's appearance is only a depressing reminder of unfulfilled expectations. "This one may be different," senior captain Graham Brown said. "We were a younger team at that point (in 2003- Support for initiative to ban some affirmative action down about 20 points from two years ago By Neil Tambe Daily Staff Reporter Heading into the final months before November's election, support for a ballot initiative to ban some affirmative action programs in Michigan is waning. If the initiative passes, it will have a significant effect on University admis- sion policies. According to a statewide poll of 600 likely voters released last week, 47 per- cent of the people in the survey opposed the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative. Forty-four percent favored it and 9 per- cent were undecided. The poll, administered by EPIC/MRA for WXYZ-TV in Southfield, has a sam- pling error of plus or minus 4 percent. Two years ago the same polling firm showed the initiative, which at the time was still gathering signatures, had the support of 64 percent of those surveyed - 17 points higher than the most recent poll. Last December, another EPIC/ MRA poll showed 53 percent in sup- port of MCRI with 32 percent voters opposed. MCRI executive director Jennifer Gratz told the Associated Press that she was still confident voters would vote to pass the initiative. She also said the poll results were a special case and that many credible polls on MCRI show a margin of support that is nearly two to one. The University's College Republicans has endorsed MCRI. College Republicans Vice Chair Robert Scott said campaigning hasn't ended. "There's still a lot of work to be done on both sides," he said. "It's close enough so you can't really tell which way it's going to go yet." Students who hold opposite views on the issue are also involved. "We are trying to inform as many peo- ple as possible," said campus NAACP By the numbers Public support for MCRI has slipped since 2004 2004 percent supported the initiative percent opposed the initiative Last December 53 3..2 percent supported percent opposed Last week 44 419 percent supported percent opposed RODRIGO GAYA/Daily Tommy Amaker addresses the press after the team found out they had been left out of the NCAA tournament yesterday. The team will play in the National Invivational Tournament Instead. 04). We were satisfied with the possibil- ity of making the NCAA Tournament, but we were satisfied with making the NIT also.... I think this year, we were really focused on trying to make the NCAA Tournament." Michigan's six-member senior class - which also narrowly missed out on the NCAA Tournament in 2003-04 - was especially disappointed by the news. But the team didn't blame the selection committee. The Wolverines knew they had every opportunity to play their way into the tourney. They just didn't take advantage. "It's really disappointing," Brown said.. "This is something we've strived for four years, and we really wanted it. It's a tough pill to swallow right now, but we've got to try to build on it." For the second straight season, sus- pensions and injuries hamstrung the Wolverines. Junior Brent Petway was declared academically ineligible for Michigan's non-conference season and missed the team's first 11 games. Redshirt junior Lester Abram, who played just three games in 2004-05, struggled with inju- ries once again. Toe and ankle injuries kept him out of 12 games. Key con- tributors Chris Hunter (knee) and Dion Harris (ankle) also succumbed to the See BIG DANCE, page 7A NIT tickets TICKETS: $10 Blue reserved $8 Gold General $5 Student Bleachers GAME TIME: Thursday, March 16, 7 p.m. LOCATION: Crisler Arena President Riana Anderson. She said NAACP has been taking an approach to educate, but will work to mobilize oppo- sition to MCRI over the summer. Anderson said her group has hosted forums to debate both sides of the issue as well as to distribute educational infor- mation. Anderson said she thinks people can use the new information in the poll to campaign against MCRI. Eboni Mack, publicity chair for Stu- dents Supporting Affirmative Action, said her group will discuss strategies to combat MCRI next week, and will hold Residence Hall events about the initia- tive toward the end of the month. - The Associated Press contributed to this report Rare falcons invade Burton Two peregrine falcons that may be nesting in bell tower prompt U' to silence ringing By Leah Graboskl Daily Staff Reporter If you noticed less music around Central Campus last week, you weren't alone. Two peregrine falcons have silenced the hourly bells on Burton Memorial Tower. The falcons, which are quickly becoming the most talked-about birds in Ann Arbor, were spotted Wednesday perched on the highest ledge of the 70-year-old tower. While on a lunchtime stroll, Jacco Gelder- loos, a member of the Washtenaw Audubon Society - an organization that promotes the protection of birds within the county - first spotted one of the falcons circling the tower. Peregrines are the fastest animals in the world. During dives, they have been known to top speeds of 200 miles per hour. In the 1960s, peregrine falcons were near extinc- tion and could not be found anywhere east of the Mississippi River. "For most of my life, these birds were basically legendary phantoms," Dave Sing, a student in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, said in an e-mail inter- view. Experts believe the bell tower's newest residents are the first of their kind - there are no documented cases of Peregrines nest- ing in Ann Arbor. It is not yet clear whether the birds are nesting in the bell tower, but bird experts believe it is highly possible. "There is strong evidence that the falcons are nesting'" said Ray Stocking, president of the Washtenaw Audubon Society. "We know there are two. We've seen the court- ship dance. We've seen them fend off crows. This is not proof, but it is encouraging" Bradley Bloom, associate dean for admin- istrative affairs at the School of Music, Burton's bird Scientific name: Falco pererinus Falcons' fastest record- ed speed: 242 mph Preferred nesting site: High cliffs Favorite food: Smallert birds Incubation period: 32 to 35 days g j Symposium focuses on d1gitizat10on Professors, librarians, search- engine junkies talk about necessity of putting books online By Ekjyot Saini Daily Staff Reporter Search-engine junkies gathered in Rackham Auditorium last weekend for a University sympo- sium on digital information. The symposium was organized around the Uni- versity's involvement in the Google Book Proj- ect - a massive digitization campaign in which Google aims to copy and digitize books available in the University libraries as well as others. Google is hoping to create a searchable data- base of copyrighted works that would present searchers with snippets from books. Because of this project, the Authors Guild - a group that represents 8,000 published authors - is suing Google for allegedly violating copyright laws. University President Mary Sue Coleman opened the symposium with continued strong support for the project. Coleman stressed the need for mass digitization to protect books murky heritage and culture. "Our work is about the social good of promot- ing and sharing knowledge," she said. "As a uni- versity, we have no other choice but to make this happen." Coleman addressed the legal concerns of the publishers who object to the project. "We know there are limits on access to works covered by copyright," she said. "If, and when, we pursue those uses, we will be conservative and we decided to stop the chimes at Burton Tower because "one of the society's members observed that the hourly striking of the bells caused the birds to fly away." Steven Ball plays the tower's bells, which See FALCONS, page 7A A peregrine falcon atop Burton Tower. Since the endanged animals have nested in the tower, the bell has not been rung. A2 Says goodbye, Faz Legendary pizza man remembered for charm, generosity By Ashiea Surles Daily Staff Reporter When Infonnation on Husain's memorial service Is available, it will be on The Wire blog at www.mchlgandally.com. with idiopathic lung disease sev- not been smiling and laughing and talking to us," said Wajeeha Shutwtari, vice president of Muslim Students' Association. "He was very personable and friendly, and he was just a really good man." .~- ,,~ I