NEWS
Monday, September 18, 2006 - The Michigan Daily - 3A
ON CAMPUS
I Dingell to speak
at Constitution
anniversary
U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-Michi-
gan) will give a speech commemo-
rating the 219th anniversary of the
signing of the U.S. Constitution. The
ceremony will be at Rackham Grad-
uate School at 4 p.m. today. A video
presentation and discussion panel
will follow.
International
Institute starts
citizenship series
John Bowen, an anthropology
professor at Washington University
in St. Louis, and University history
Prof. Joshua Cole will discuss the
concept of citizenship in modern
France from 4 pm, to 6:30 p.m.
today in the School of Social Work
building.
Ford School to
present new
degree program
Public policy Prof. John Cham-
berlin will present the Ford School
of Public Policy's new interdisciplin-
ary liberal arts degree program from
6:30 pm. to 7:30 p.m. in Weill Hall
today. Prof. Chamberlin, the fac-
ulty director of the program, will be
available for questions following his
presentation.
CRIME
'NOTES
Patient throws
full bedpan at
hospital nurse
A patient in the University Hos-
pital emergency room threw his
bedpan, full of urine on a nurse
early yesterday, the Department of
Public Safety reported. The reason
behind the patient's actions remains
unknown.
Flyers accuse
student of sex
* crimes
Someone distributed flyers
accusing a student of being a reg-
istered sex offender in the Shapiro
Undergraduate Library on Friday,
DPS reported. A line on the fly-
ers indicated DPS had posted the
notice, but DPS denies this claim.
Voter-friendly
bills common
before election
Fi ve coliege athletes shot,
two in critical condlition
One plan proposes
interest-free student
loans, raising weekly
unemployment benefits
LANSING (AP) - It was a day
of dueling news conferences at the
state Capitol.
House Democrats last Tuesday
promoted bills giving interest-free
loans to students who get a high-
tech job and stay in Michigan.
House Republicans, meanwhile,
unveiled a proposal to better safe-
guard people from identity theft.
The plans were new, but the
lawmakers sponsoring them were
incumbents facing tough chal-
lenges in November. Looking for
a list of accomplishments they can
use in their re-election campaigns,
they introduced new measures
even though it's unlikely many will
become law this year.
"The leaders of both the majori-
ty and minority in both houses care
first and foremost about protecting
incumbents who might be vulner-
able," says political analyst Craig
Ruff of Public Sector Consultants
in Lansing.
So it's common for incum-
bents in battleground districts to
be out front on issues, Ruff says.
Lawmakers may get local media
attention after pushing consumer
protection or other themes popular
with the voting public.
"Every little bit of that helps,"
Ruff says. "It's free."
In the last two weeks alone,
Republican Rep. Rick Baxter of
Concord helped unveil the ID theft
package and sponsored measures
to better protect children against
abuse and neglect and to combat
the worsening problem of mort-
gage fraud. Baxter faces Jackson
Mayor Martin Griffin in his bid for
a second two-year term.
Democratic Rep. Gary McDow-
ell of Rudyard proposed the inter-
est-free student loan plan and
introduced a bill increasing the
maximum weekly unemployment
benefit to $408 from $362. The
one-term legislator is in a swing
district running against Republi-
can businessman Jay Duggan of
Petoskey.
In a recent breakdown of the
fight for control of the House
- Republicans have a 58-49 edge
Democrats hope to erode - politi-
cal pundit Bill Ballenger listed
nine of the 110 districts as toss-ups.
Seven of those nine races feature
incumbents seeking re-election,
including Baxter and McDowell.
Other incumbents in toss-up
races who frequently have pushed
new legislation or taken other roles
such as heading legislative hear-
ings into high-profile topics include
Democratic Rep. Kathy Angerer
of Dundee and Republican Reps.
David Law of West Bloomfield,
David Farhat of Fruitport and Les-
lie Mortimer of Horton.
Baxter denies the main reason
for the flurry of bills is political, and
others point out that he has been
very active since he first became
a legislator in January 2005. Bax-
ter says the prospect of being in a
tight race is one reason he tackles
so many legislative issues.
"The point I've always made
is: I'm not sure if I'm going to be
around for two years, four years or
six years;' he says. "I know I have
at least a few more months in office
to get something done. I guess
we'll see what the voters decide
later. But that's kind of the point.
I want to make sure I'm actually
doing something when I'm here."
McDowell also rejects the view
that his interest-free loans plan is
nothing more than election-year
maneuvering.
"This is real. These are real
jobs, real people who need help
with their student loans," he says.
"Even though we're all up for re-
election, we need to continue to
work to move this state forward to
build our economy:"
The chances the new bills
will become law this year may
be slim.
Although House Republicans
plan to approve their proposals,
the bills still must get passed by
the Senate and signed by Gov.
Jennifer Granholm in the "lame
duck" session between the Novem-
ber election and Jan. 1.
If the bills don't pass, they
could be reintroduced next year.
But they can't automatically be
carried into next year from this
year's session.
The pattern of nervous incum-
bents using the power of their
positions to introduce a flurry of
legislation has been noticeable
since early this summer.
But both parties argue they've
been aggressive ever since t e
2005-06 session started.
House Democrats accuse House
Republicans of stealing their ideas
and passing bills just so they can
cite them in campaign mailings
and commercials, knowing the
legislation won't get through the
Senate.
Republicans deny the charges
and respond that they're in the
midst of a three-week "session for
reform" with nine proposals they
say are crucial to turning Michigan
around.
Pittsburgh police searching transferring to Duquesne, and Aaron Jackson, a
guard who is one of only two returning players
for man suspected of shooting from Duquesne's 3-24 team of last season.
Duquense basketball players New Duquesne coach Ron Everhart, formerly
at Northeastern, had rebuilt the Duquesne pro-
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Five Duquesne bas- gram almost from scratch after being hired in
ketball players, all but one of them new players March by bringing in 10 recruits - one of the
who enrolled only this month, were shot early most sweeping upheavals of any Division I pro-
Sunday during an apparent act of random vio- gram in recent years.
lence on campus. Two players were in critical According to police, two players were return-
condition, and the condition of a third hospital- ing from a campus social function when they
ized player was not immediately available. encountered a man who apparently had been dis-
Police were searching for a man believed to ruptive at the party. After the players tried to
have done the shootings, and were investigating calm the man, the players began walking away,
whether anyone else was involved. The shoot- only to be shot. Several other players who were
ings occurred about 2:15 a.m. as several players nearby rushed to their aid, also to be shot.
were returning from a campus party at the stu- James, expected to be Duquesne's top player
dent union and others were sitting on benches when he becomes eligible in the 2007-08 season
outside Vickroy Hall, the dormitory where the and an NBA prospect, was shot in the foot but
shootings took place. no bones were broken. Mensah was believed to
The players most badly injured were 6-foot- have been shot in the shoulder. Jackson was shot"
7 forward Sam Ashaolu, a transfer from Lake in the hand.
Region State College and a cousin of former The shooter was not a Duquesne student,
Houston Rockets star Hakeem Olajuwon, and police said. Duquesne is located in downtown
Stuard Baldonado, a 6-7 transfer from Miami Pittsburgh.
Dade College who was considered the Dukes' "First and foremost, we are concerned about
best recruit. our students and are praying that each of them
Ashaolu is from Toronto, and his parents were has a full recovery," Duquesne spokeswoman
traveling to Pittsburgh yesterday to be with their Bridget Fare said in a statement. "We will offer
son. support and services to the victims and their
Also hospitalized is Kojo Mensah, a guard families, as well as to our other students who
from Brooklyn, N.Y., who averaged nearly 17 may have been affected by this tragic incident.
points last season at Siena before transferring, This type of situation has never occurred before
school officials said at a news conference yes- on Duquesne's campus. The university is coop-
terday. erating fully with the ongoing investigation."
Treated and released from Mercy Hospital Several students who were distraught after
were 6-10 Shawn James, the nation's leading witnessing the shootings were being counseled
shot blocker last season at Northeastern before yesterday.
oofr-goers
receive MIPs
A West Quad housing officer CollegeS
cited three students for MIPs early
Saturday morning, DPS reported.
The students were found on the roof LLuent
of Thompson House in West Quad.
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Miller speaks
against war in
Vietnam
Sept 18, 1965 - Arthur Miller
spoke to a packed Hill Auditorium
last night alongside several other
notable figures as part of the Inter-
national Conference on Alternative
Perspective on Vietnam.
The speakers rebuked both the
United States and British govern-
ments for their errors in Vietnam
and subsequent inability to correct
problems or admit to mistakes.
Emil Mazey, secretary-trea-
surer of the United Auto Workers,
expressed disappointment in Presi-
dent Lyndon B. Johnson for his
"lack of candor when talking to the
American people about the war."
Mazey refuted the president's
argument that the United States is
occupying Vietnam in order to pre-
serve its democracy, pointing out
that the United States had created
a military dictatorship.
Miller, a celebrated playwright
and University alum, expressed
distrust in the current adminis-
tration.
Miller also said he feared that
"we may win, and we will win a
graveyard."
18.5 percent of MSU
students say online
habits led to poor
grades, dropping class
EAST LANSING (AP) - For
all its utility, it's no secret the
Internet is one of the most effec-
tive distractions invented.
Experts say online addiction is
becoming a problem on college
campuses across the country.
Increasing numbers of stu-
dents are reporting their extra-
curricular online activities are
taking a toll on their academics,
forcing college officials to con-
sider remedies.
In a health survey conducted
this year, 18.5 percent of Michi-
gan State University students
reported that spending time using
the Internet and playing computer
games had caused them to get a
low grades or to drop a class alto-
gether. In comparison, 8.5 percent
of students said drinking had hurt
their academics; while 17 percent
said it was depression.
What's more, the study showed
men seem to be drawn more to
the Internet. Only 13 percent of
women reported harmful effects
on their schoolwork; for men, it
was 25.2 percent.
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Professor Steven Bleiler
Portland State University
Undergraduate Mathematics Colloquium
September 21, 4:10-5:00
1324 East Hall (Auditorium)
www.math.lsa.umich.edu/-smdbackr/mathclub/
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