Thursday, April 6, 2006 Opinion 4A Andrew Perrine's university in France is on strike Arts 7A Boys of Baraka' offers no easy answers CAN INTERNET BUSIN"SS ETTHETyE - ...T I Sports 8A Blue stomps on Chippewas 19-4 One-hundred-sixteen years of editorialfreedom www.mchirandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 107 ©2006 The Michigan Daily BAMN clashes . with MCRI . director "WE WORK HAR), WE'RE WELL-EDUCATED, STRIVE FOR THE HIGHEST, TRY TO ACHIEVE EXCELLENCE. MICHAELHALL, CA, E x ENR AND NCMG UN VERQUr REN Gratz tries to dispell misconceptions she believes surround MCRI By Andrew Grossman Daily Staff Reporter Activists from across the political spectrum came to hear Jennifer Gratz, executive direc- tor of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, speak last night in Palmer Commons about the group's ballot initiative. MCRI is a ballot proposal that, if approved by voters in November, would ban some affirmative action programs in Michigan. The attendees' demeanors were as diverse as their politi- cal views. Members of the University's chapter of College Republicans, which sponsored the event, sat in the front row of the auditori- um, listening to Gratz's speech without uttering a word. A group of students from Students Supporting Affirma- tive Action sat in the rear, just as quiet. Members of the pro-affirma- tive action group BAMN were less reserved. About a dozen members ral- lied outside Palmer Commons before the event, marching in circles around a light post and chanting anti-MCRI slogans. "We want to keep letting Jennifer Gratz and MCRI know that they can't get away with Jim Crow tactics," BAMN member Liana Mulholland said. Inside the auditorium, they peppered the speech with shouts of "fraud," "liar" and "racist" until an event organiz- er warned them three times that if they continued they would be kicked out of the room by one of three Department of Public Safety officers in attendance. Though Gratz glanced at the group throughout her speech, she only directly addressed the group's accusations once. Gratz centered her speech on what she called the myths sur- rounding MCRI. Among these she said were allegations that, if passed, the initiative will end all affir- mative action programs and decrease racial diversity on campus. BAMN's most fervant com- plaint against MCRI has been the allegedly fraudulent tac- tics used to gather signatures for the petition that placed the measure on the ballot. BAMN maintains that signa- ture gatherers for MCRI lied to voters so they would sign the petition, allegedly telling them it was a pro-affirmative action measure. "Hundreds of thousands of people who signed this peti- tion thought it was for affir- mative action," said Donna Stern, a national coordinator for BAMN. Gratz flatly denied that any fraud took place. "This initiative was signed by over 800,000 Michigan resi- dents," she said. "There was no fraud committed to get this on the ballot." Gratz also disputed BAMN's argument that the language of the initiative itself is deceptive. "The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative language is very.clear," she said. No sooner were these words out of her mouth than BAMN See GRATZ, Page 7A 1- EMMA NOLAN-ABRAHAMIAN/Daily Clockwise from top left: Cass Tech teacher Dana Davidson, a University alum; incioming University freshman Michael Hall, now a senior at Cass Tech; EngIneer- ing senior Alfred Davis, a Cass Tech alum, and Cass Tech teacher Michael Jones, a UnIversity alum. Returning home and giving back Graduating: A tale of two seniors By Mariem Qamruzzaman Daily Staff Reporter It wasn't until Michael Jones began his first semester at the University that he realized the racial tensions and academic difficulties he would face. When he returned to his alma mater, Lewis Cass Technical High School, as a teacher in 1992, he had one goal: to push his students to become independent so they could rise to meet the collegiate challenges he had faced. "Just as much as the U of M was an eye-opener for me, I try to open the eyes of my students as well," said Jones, whose mother is white and father is black. Because he overcame fast-paced classes and a strained racial climate at the University, Jones - who was named one of the top five teachers in the state this year - had a rare opportunity to use his experience to encourage his students. Jones began by employing physics problems from his old college text- books to show that college standards are achievable. "I ask them to gauge the difficulty of this problem from one to five, five being so super hard and one just being first-grade easy," Jones said. "Usually they would give it a three or a four." Jones would then open the college textbook. When the students saw they had solved college-level problems, their eyes lit up with the realization of "wow, I can actually do this," he said. Although Jones didn't expect to encounter racism when he arrived at the Uni- versity in 1985, it took time for him to adjust to a campus W that was mostly white. "I had some roommates Sec who weren't so liking of a f people of color," he said, describing an instance when he checked his mail and found enve- lopes covered with racist slurs stuffed inside. Financial restrictions also affected Jones, who came from a low-income family. "Calculus was the hardest class because I couldn't afford the book, so I had to go to the library and get the book, which was an earlier edition," he said. See TEACHERS, Page 3A By Mariem Qamruzzaman and C.C. Song Daily Staff Reporters ASS TE ond and th our-part se Each year, Lewis Cass Techni- cal High School, a public magnet school in Detroit that is 95 per- cent black, sends dozens of its brightest students to the University. Many of them come with plans to become doctors, lawyers, engineers. At the Univer- sity, most of these students CH experience being in the i minority in the classroom ird in for the first time. Here's a ries look at two of them - one at the beginning of his col- lege years and another on the verge of stepping into the pro- fessional world. On his way in Incoming freshman Michael Hall has a bold dream - he wants to transform his home town into a city of architectural glamor. Hall plans to study structural archi- tecture with a background in civil engineering. He then hopes to get a job in an architectural firm where he can work to revitalize Detroit. Hall is one of almost 40 students from Cass Tech who will arrive on campus next fall. As an officer in the National Honor Society, captain of the track team and president of the Southfield Kappa League, a youth scholarship program within the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, he stands out among his classmates. No one can say he lacks motivation. Hall juggles his extracurricular activities with a rigorous academ- ic schedule, which includes two Advanced Placement courses and engineering and science classes. Hall boasts a 3.6 GPA and a 23 on the ACT. "My environment is kind of a motivation," Hall said. "When I look around (Detroit), I'm not pleased with what I see." On a typical day, Hall wakes up at 6 a.m. and rides a Detroit public bus for 30 minutes to get to school. Because of a lack of funding, Cass does not provide transportation, forcing students to use the public bus system or get rides from par- ents or friends. After track practice, Hall boards the See GRADUATES, Page 3A BEN SIMON/Daily A Department of Public Safety officer walks by BAMN member Ben Royal during a speech by Jennifer Gratz, executive director of MCRI, at Palmer Commons last night. Golden Apple winner speaks on versatility, power of words * Rabkin 'still smiling at the oddest moments, so gratified and humbled' by teaching award By Jason Lin For the Daily In his Golden Apple lecture last night at Rackham Auditorium, Eng- lish Prof. Eric Rabkin focused on the power and significance of words and the role they play in daily life. More than 300 students. faculty. the fiction of a life that we create," he said. "Association of words gets us to cre- ate another context in which they function; every time we combine words we make a new world, a new fiction."; Rabkin illustrated Rabkin his arguments with real-life analo- He detailed the various conota- tions of the word "apple," including its prominent role in the Biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Gar- den of Eden and its original mean- ing in Greek mythology, where it also served as a symbol of tempta- tion. Rabkin asked the audience to randomly select two words. When audience members offered the words "Cadillac" and "dishtowel," he said both were objects any hus- band should be adept at handling. Rabkin used his love for words to contextualize their undervalued sig- Greeks raise tens of thousands Fraternities and sororities band together to raise $53,000 for various charities, collect blood for Red Cross By Carissa Miller Daily Staff Reporter Question: What do a hot dog eating contest, a mechanical bull and women's arm wrestling have in common? Answer: Greek Week 2006. An annual 10-day philanthropic project with activities like dunk tanks and Greek Olympics as well as more serious fund- raising events like a silent auction and a charity ball, Greek Week aims to raise money for local and national causes. Funds from this year's events, which totaled $53,000, will be ..It - -+' ys Y ,