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DAILY ARTS UNVEILS A NEW SECTION ... THE B-SIDE
One-hundred-sixteen years ofeditorialfreedom
www.michaandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan m Vol. CXVI, No. 111 ®2006 The Michigan Daily
Michigamua commits to reforms
In sweeping reform,
society drops name,
releases list of members
By Andrew Grossman
and Karl Stampfl
Daily Staff Reporters
After 104 years as Michigamua, the
University's most controversial student
group announced yesterday that it has
retired its name and plans to have a new
one in the fall. The society also made
public the members of its classes of
2006 and 2007.
"Upon consideration of our over-
riding principle of service and gain-
ing significant input from our broader
Michigan family, our organization
has determined that we will continue
this tradition without using the name
Michigamua," the group said yes-
terday in a written statement to The
Michigan Daily.
The announcement was met with
mixed reactions on campus.
The reformation comes in response
to years of criticism and claims that the
senior honor society was racist because
it had previously used Native American
rituals and artifacts in its meetings. The
name Michigamua was chosen in 1902
to sound like a mythical Native Ameri-
can tribe.
The group is mostly composed of
athletes and the leaders of campus
groups. The "Pride of 2007" includes
Michigan Student Assembly President
Nicole Stallings, Michigan football
player Adam Kraus and Interfraternity
Council President Jon Krasnov.
LSA junior Brittany Marino, outgo-
ing co-chair of the Native American
Student Association,lauded the reforms,
but cautioned that they are not enough.
"I think that the name change is a
huge step and obviously something that
the Native community has been calling
for a long time, so I'm very glad to see
the name change,"she said. "But I think
it's only one of the many steps that need
to be taken. We still have a ways to go."
Marino said Michigamua members
past and present should recognize the
pain they've caused on campus with
an apology and by holding educational
events.
The group, which cut its ties with the
See MICHIGAMUA, page 7A
Lmembers
L Pride of 2006: Katie Banas, Nick Benson, Michael Caplan,
Jenny Deiley, Chris DeJong, Andrew Ebbett, Tyler Ecker, Andrew
Ellerton, Lori Hillman, Brian Hull, Jenny Knoester, Dennis Lee,
Neal Pancholi, A.J. Scheidt, Gerry Signorelli, Kelene Soltesz,
Davis Tarwater, Peter Vanderkaay, Greg Wagner, Sam Woll
Pride of 2007: Sirene Abou-Chakra, Lindsey Bruck, Josh
Churella, Tim Cook, Matt Hunwick, Brian Ignaut, Jon Krasnov,
Adam Kraus, Lauren Kraus, Jake Long, Christina Macholan, Leif
Mahler, Matt McLaughlin, Gopal Pai, Eric Rose, Ashish Shah,
Katelin Spencer, Nicole Stallings, Katie Tamarelli, Eric Tannen-
baum, Andrew Yahkind, Dave Young
Alum
triumphs
over
di~sabi~lity
Jim Abbott, born
without a right hand,
perfected his pitching
* while at University
By Gabe Nelson
and Karl Stampl
Daily Staff Reporters
The only thing Jim Abbott, the former
ace pitcher of the Michigan baseball team,
couldn't do was button his cuff links.
Pushed to succeed by his disability,
it seems like
there was noth- A L U M N- I
ing else Abbott,
who was born
without a right
hand, failed to
accomplish.
Win an
Olympic gold
medal? Check. PROFILES
Make it to the Ninth in a
Major Leagues? semester-long
Check. Pitch a series
no-hitter? Check.
After stun-
ning batters as a pitcher at Flint Central
High School, in 1986 Abbott came to
the University, where he hurled snow-
balls in the annual battle between South
Quad and West Quad while posting a
26-8 record with a 3.03 earned run
average over his three-year career. He
then played for 10 seasons in the Major
Leagues, where he won 87 games and
put up a 4.25 lifetime ERA.
"If you saw him, you'd say he had
a handicap," said Mike Ignasiak, who
pitched at the top of Michigan's rotation
See ABBOTT, page 2A
Coke to
return
to campus
University reinstates
contracts with soft-drink
giant after Coca-Cola agrees
to third-party audits
By Jeremy Davidson
Daily News Editor
The University resumed purchasing Coca-
Cola products yesterday about four months
after it suspended its contracts with Coke
because the company wouldn't agree to an
audit of its alleged human rights violations.
Coke products will be back in vending
machines on campus within a few days.
The company has proposed two independent
investigations into its labor practices in India
and Colombia. The University accepted them,
drawing both ire and praise from students.
The University received a letter from Coca-
Cola on Monday that said the company is
working with two organizations to conduct
independent investigations, one to assess its
practices in Colombia and the other in India.
Since suspending purchasing of Coca-Cola
in December, the University has been working
with the company to find a mutually acceptable
third-party auditor.
The International Labor Organization, a
branch of the United Nations that upholds inter-
nationally recognized human and labor rights,
agreed on March 24 to conduct an independent
investigation of the company in Colombia.
"We are committed to full cooperation,"
Donald Knauss, president of Coca-Cola North
America, wrote in a letter to the University.
Knauss also wrote that the company is pur-
suing an independent investigation through
a Delhi-based group called the Energy and
Resources Institute, which specializes in envi-
ronmental issues, to look into the company in
India. The details of the investigation have not
been finalized, but will be determined in the
next few weeks. q
In its letter to Coca-Cola, the University
expressed its support for the company's pursuit
of audits in both countries.
"We respect the reputation and track record
of ILO in advancing the rights of workers
around the world," Timothy Slottow, the Uni-
versity's chief financial officer, and Peggy Nor-
gren, associate vice president for finance, wrote
in their co-signed letter to Knauss.
In the same letter, they said the Univer-
sity is supportive of Coke's plans with TERI,
which they called "a highly respected non-
profit organization."
The decision to bring Coke back to cam-
pus has outraged members of the Coalition to
Cut Contracts with Coca-Cola, a network of
student groups.
"Coca-Cola has done nothing to comply
with the University's lauded code of conduct
and has made no effort to rectify any of the
allegations against it. I have lost all faith in this
University'" said RC junior Julia Ris, a former
student member of the Dispute Review Board,
the board responsible for advising Slottow on
alleged violations of the University's Vendor
Code of Conduct.
Students in the coalition said they were
angry with the administration for leaving them
out of the process.
"It's a massive betrayal of the trust the
administration claimed to value with their stu-
dents," RC sophomore Adri Miller said.
Some students had not heard of the decision
until asked about it by The Michigan Daily.
"Students have been shut out of the process.
I am ashamed that my University has made
such a naive decision," said RC senior Clara
Hardie, a member of the coalition.
Some students on campus reacted positively
to the decision.
"Market demands and people's political
beliefs met at a reasoned compromise," Law
student Brett Greenberg said.
The Dispute Review Board announced last
June that it had found credible evidence of
Coke committing human rights and labor vio-
lations in India and Colombia.
Since that time, the University has been
attempting to negotiate a schedule for the com-
pany to agree to an independent investigation
and publish the results.
The results of both investigations will be
public. The University will now try to renew
its 13 direct and indirect contracts with Coca-
Cola, worth a total of about $14 million.
Coca-Cola spokeswoman Kari Bjorhus said
the company is pleased that the University will
resume sales of Coke products.
"The University's decision was based upon
facts,and we appreciate its diligenceinreviewing
our commitments to conduct business responsi-
bly," Bjorhus said in a written statement.
AARON SWICK/Daily
Engineering senior Brian Swift walks past a Coke mural on the corner of State and Packard
yesterday.
Coalition fights
. unfair conditions
in A2 restaurants
LEO holds informational picket
Group says it is not
yet ready to name
offending eateries, calls
boycotts a last resort
By Carissa Miller
Daily Staff Reporter
What is everyday life really
like for restaurant workers in
Ann Arbor?
In an attempt to recognize
and remedy the hardships faced
by employees of local eater-
ies, a group of University stu-
dents developed the Restaurant
Workplace Project-Ann Arbor,
a-n.:- t --.: ndurain c af n
to obey the law," said LSA senior
Dae Keun Andres Kwon, a proj-
ect contributor. "To go by what's
in the books, that's all."
A small group of students
enrolled in a political science
course created the coalition in
October.
Political Science Prof. Greg
Markus, who also serves as vice
president for the Detroit-based
Metropolitan Organizing Strat-
egies Enabling Strength which
works with the group, facilitates
the project.
From October 2005 to last
month, students surveyed and
interviewed more than 100 Ann
Arbor restaurant workers, includ-
in am nv ,nArncmntPA ;.mm-
Group doesn't strike,
but members educate Diag
passersby about grievances
filed against the University
By Ekjyot Saini
Daily Staff Reporter.
Even amidst all the other activity,
it was hard to miss the bright red
T-shirts and the chants of "We are
the union, the mighty mighty union"
that resonated across the Diag yes-
terday.
Members of the Lecturers'
Employee Organization staged an
informational picket to protest what
they said are increases in workload
without extra pay. The group has not
decided to strike as they have in the
past.
The alleged violations are mainly
in the Comprehensive Studies Pro-
gram, a unit of LSA that provides
academic support and instruction to
dkicivantaued -etndentr,.
previously continued to make excep-
tions by granting additional pay
Peterson said the University
reduced the administrative duties of
CSP advisors during this past school
year so that they could teach more
without a boost in pay.
CSP advisors allege that this has
not been the case and that their
duties remain the same.
LEO and the University have been
negotiating, but no resolution has
been reached. The grievances are
now moving to arbitration with an
independent negotiator.
At the picket, lecturers carried
signs urging the administration to
"support affirmative action, settle
CSP" in light of developing prob-
lems in CSP that they call into ques-
tion the University's commitment to
affirmative action.
About 85 percent of CSP students
are minorities.
The University has may eliminate
CSP 100 for the fall term. CSP 100
is a reading seminar aimed at help-
ino stidents develnn cnonitive and
ANGELA CESERE/Daily
Members of LEO picket and chant in front of Angell Hail yesterday. They
allege the University has increased the workload of some lecturers with-
out increasing their pay.
of the LEO contract that states the
University cannot replace current
instructors with new hires.
"There is no cancellation of the
ic development.
Students and graduate student
instructors joined the picket line yes-
terday in a show of solidarity, while
i
I