Wednesday, October 4, 2006 CARL COHEN ON CRI AND WHITE GUILT ... THE STATEMENT Opinion 4A From the Daily: Down with DeVos Arts 5A Comedy Central freaks Daily Arts Sports 9A Early-bird Taylor gets worm One-hundred-sixteen years ofeditorialfreedom www.mkchziandady.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVII, No. 22 ©2006 The Michigan Daily Dearborn student gov't demands divestment Bill passes unanimously; regents almost certainly won't vote to divest By Kelly Fraser Daily Staff Reporter The student government at the University's Dearborn campus last week unanimous- ly passed a resolution calling for the University's Board of Regents to vote to divest from Israel. The student government passed similar resolutions in 2004 and 2005. This year's resolution reads, "We demand that the Universi- ty cease all investment in com- panies that financially benefit from the actions of the Israeli military in illegally occupied territories." Bilal Dabaja, Dearborn's student government's senate speaker, said the resolution is stronger than the previous two because of this summer's war between Israel and Hezbollah. Dearborn Student Govern- ment President Tarek Bay- doun said the resolution has broad support on campus. It is unlikely, however, that the resolution will be meet with the same level of support in Ann Arbor or by the regents, who would ultimately decide whether the University divests. As a branch of the Univer- sity, the Dearborn campus can- not independently divest. The resolution asks the regents to form an advisory committee of administrators and students to examine the University's financial ties with Israel. This request fol- lows procedure created by a resolution adopted by the board in 1978 to consider divestment cases. The 1978 resolution reads, "If the Regents shall determine that a particular issue involves See DEARBORN, page 7A Gov. Jennifer Granholm and husband Daniel Mulhern speak to the press after the first gubernatorial debate in East Lansing on Monday. Portrait of a first gentleman Along with his parental duties, governor's husband doesn't shy away from the 'first lady mantle' By Dave Mekelburg Daily Staff Reporter Daniel Mulhern is something of a rarity in the world of American politics: He's a gover- nor's husband. Mulhern is married to Gov. Jennifer Gra- nholm, one of only eight female governors in the country. Mulhern's most common moniker is "first gentleman," though there is no standard title for a female governor's husband. Other titles range from "First Coach" Raymond Blanco, an ex-football coach and husband of Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D-La.) to "First Dude" Gary Sebelius, husband of Gov. Kath- leen Sebelius (D-Kan.). "It's amusing from time to time," Mulhern said. "One of the fellas on the state police used to kid me - he'd call me AG." The name "AG,' he said, refers to Gran- holm "and guest." In an attempt to capitalize on his position, Mulhern advocates programs for children throughout the state of Michigan. The first gentleman's most prominent project is "Men- tor Michigan," a program started by Gran- holm while she was attorney general. The program provides opportunities, fund- ing and recognition for adults mentoring chil- dren. Mulhern doesn't shy away from what he calls the "first lady mantle" - the idea that an executive's spouse should use his or her power to champion a cause. Mulhern, who was student director of a mentor program as an undergraduate at Yale University, said kids have always been impor- tant to him. Mulherns career aspirations have varied over the years. "My husband was going to become a Cath- See GENTLEMAN, page 7A MSA on divestment The Dearborn campus's student government has passed three resolutions to divest from Israel in the past three years. The Michigan Student Assembly has not taken up the issue since the spring of 2005, when a resolution requesting that the University Board of Regents form a committee to examine the University's investments linked to Israel was defeated by a 25-11 vote. Hundreds of students crowded the scheduled room, anxious to hear the results. MSA was forced to relocate the meeting to the Michigan Union Ballroom to accommodate the crowd. At times, the tension erupted and crowd members interrupted speakers with passionate outbursts. Prior to the vote, 12 clauses - all but the final three - were removed from the resolution because of concern that the resolution's language targeted and condemned Israel. Coming out at the 'U Group supports students during what can be a difficult time By Taryn Hartman For the Daily Last summer, Mike* sat in his base- ment - just weeks before leaving home for his freshman year at the University - anxiously drafting and re-drafting an e-mail to his mother while she sat upstairs. The e-mail would confirm that Mike was gay - a possibility his mom had been considering for two years. After writing for nearly an hour and acci- dentally deleting his first attempt, he clicked "send" and sat nervously await- ing a reply. He told his mom in the e-mail that it was OK to share its contents with his father. A short time later, Mike received a "polite" reply from his father telling him his sexual orientation was "just a phase." "It was really intense," he said about two months later. "There's always the worry that your family won't accept you, even if you know that would never happen." He said he didn't take offense to his father's initial response. "Right now, that's what I believe (that I'm gay), and you just have to go off what you know," Mike said. What Mike doesn't know is how to make his coming out easier on his mother, whom he said isn't good at talking about it. Is Wikipedia worthy of trust at ballot box? Several mistakes found in entries for gubernatorial candidates By Amanda Markowitz For the Daily What do Arnold Schwar- zenegger and Gov. Jennifer Granholm have in common? According to wikipedia. org, they were both once con- testants on the daytime televi- sion show The Dating Game. Wikipedia is the online encyclopedia with more than 5 million articles and 229 language editions. The site allows user- to add, remove and edit its content. Anyone can create and update articles, but this open policy has led to debate over the reliability of the entries. Politically charged entries come under especially close See WIKIPEDIA, page 7A Wikipedia vs. Britannica In 2005, Nature maga- zine compared 42 pairs of entries from Wikipe- dia.com and Encyclope- dia Britannica Online. The study found that Britannica averaged three errors per entry and Wikipedia four errors per entry. POTTERS GUILD "I hope she doesn't feel bad that I told her and then moved away," he said. Top 20 Mike also has questions about how ask another guy on a date and how to Campus PrideNet named the know whom it's OK to talk with about University one of the 20 best his sexuality. campuses for LGBT students. He said he hopes he'll find the Ranking was based on resourc- answers to his questions at a Univer- es and support sity-sponsored support group for those Oct. 11 is National Coming Out who are just discovering, are curious day. The LGBT office will sponsor about or are questioning their sexual events in the week before it. See GROUP, page 7A Ann Arbor resident Deborrah Frable works on a mug yesterday at the Potters Guild on Hill Street. The guild was founded In 1949. It has about 44 full-time members and 30 students. "