Thursday, October 19, 2006 PANDORA.COM OPENS U THE -SIDE News 3A Voters still divided on MCRI Opinion 4A John Stiglich defends smokers' rights Sports SA Kickers, scoreless again, fall One-hundred-sixteen years ofeditornalfreedom NWW www.michikandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVII, No. 31 02006 The Michigan Daily Study: Race is more of a factor since lawsuits 'U' disputes methodology of study's authors By Walter Nowinski Daily Staff Reporter Race is weighed more heav- ily in undergraduate admissions at the University this year than it was under the point-based affir- mative action policy overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2003, according to a study released Tuesday. University officials have dis- missed the findings. University spokeswoman Julie Peterson questioned the validity and tim- ing of the study, calling it "flawed and shallow." The study, conducted by the conservative think tank, Center for Equal Opportunity, looked at the standardized test scores and grade-point averages of Univer- sity applicants from 1999, 2003, 2004 and 2005. The Virginia-based center found that the University gave more weight to an applicant's race in 2005 than was given in 1999, one of the years considered by the Supreme Court in Gratz v. Bollinger. The 2003 Supreme Court deci- sion overturned the University's policy of awarding extra points to underrepresented minorities because it was "not narrowly tailored, according to Chief Jus- tice William Rehnquist's ruling. But the court upheld considering an applicant's race as part of an See STUDY, page 7A Admission rates 1999 black rate 2005 black rate 1999 Hispanic rate 2005 Hispanic rate Source: Center for Equal Opportunity Black graduation rate up 10 percent LSA sophomore Sarah Jukaku and LSA senior Abdul EI-Sayed laugh together at the New York Pizza Depot on East William Street last week. They were married in May. Married with classes By Alex Dziadosz I Daily Staff Reporter 'U' administrators still concerned rates lag behind those of white students By Mariem Qamruzzaman Daily Staff Reporter The gap in graduation rates between black and white stu- dents at the University has narrowed significantly in the past 10 years, but Univer- sity officials are not satisfied. They want to understand why that gap still remains. University records show 72 percent of black students who started school in 2000 graduated within six years. Ten years ago, only 62 percent graduated within that time period. Over the same period of time, white graduation rates have not increased as rapidly but are higher - 86 percent in 1995 and 89 percent in 2005. Lester Monts, the Univer- sity's senior vice provost for academic affairs, is heading a task force to examine where the other 18 percent of black students are going and why they are leaving the Univer- sity before earning a degree. Monts said 95 to 97 percent of the freshman class returns for sophomore year on aver- age - it's during junior or senior-year that they leave. Although the task force is in its preliminary stages, it has found that black students are not flunking out. The task force suggests that black stu- dents often leave if they don't get admitted to an upper-divi- sion school such as the School of Business or School of Edu- cation. See GRADS, page 7A BURNING PASSION Muslims balance marriage, religion and student life By Alex Dziadosz Daily Staff Reporter LSA sophomore Sarah Jukaku looked tenderly at her husband as the couple sat together at New York Pizza Depot on East William Street last week. "When he proposed to me, I was a fresh- man," she said, smiling. "I was young, and one of the things he said was, 'We're still growing, now we can grow together."' Grinning, LSA senior Abdul El-Sayed leaned toward her. "I'm romantic," he joked. This sort of devotion is unusual in the morass of campus hook-ups and break- ups, to say the least. Facebook.com photo albums dedicated to wedding cakes, rather than beer bongs and keg stands, stick out like thin squirrels on the Diag. But the student body is diverse. Every so often, an undergraduate couple walks the aisle. This is true for students of all faiths, but Muslims - particularly devout ones like El- Sayed and Jukaku - are often more likely to marry young because of their values. "Islam teaches us not to let our desires play too much of a role in our lives," El- Sayed said. "The fact that we're so willing to commit to marriage is a byproduct of this general self-control." Because it is associated with premarital promiscuity, dating is discouraged in many Muslim cultures. Marriage is a practical decision for some young Muslims who have found partners. "What does anyone do when they get mar- ried? You find the person you want to marry and you marry them," El-Sayed said. "Isl- See MARRIAGE, page 7A First-year Washtenaw Community College student Max Vincent makes a marble for a friend last Saturday in Ann Arbor's Unearthed Rock and Glass Studio, where he also teaches lampworking classes. MSA gets rowdy over election director MCRI would also affect women { At last week's meeting, dispute devolved into shouting fest By Layla Asiani Daily Staff Reporter The Michigan Student Assembly chose a new director for its November elections last night, but the decision was made a week later then expected because of internal drama reminiscent of past assembly turmoil. LSA junior Ryan Bouchard was unanimously approved by MSA to fill the position of election director, the person responsible for making sure elections run smoothly. Last spring, campaigning got ugly in the four-party race to control the assem- bly. The election devolved into a mess of accusations that ended in three of the parties brokering a deal that certified the results. One of the provisions of the deal was that no student affiliated with Students 4 Michigan, the long-domi- nant party, be election director. Bouchard is involved in Army ROTC and has been active in other govern- ments on campus like the LSA Student Government, the Residence Hall Asso- ciation and the Mosher-Jordan Resi- dence Hall Council - but not an MSA faction. "He's not affiliated, nor has he ever been affiliated, with any student gov- ernment party on campus," said MSA Student General Counsel Zack Yost said. "He has no biases, no loyalties and he's an overall good fit for the posi- tion." With the instatement of Bouchard to the position, MSA hopes to have a smooth election - hopefully smoother than the events leading up to Boucha- rd's election. At the MSA meeting on Oct. 10, the process to find a director lead to shouting and the decision to schedule the fall elections for one day later than expected. Traditionally, the MSA Rules and Elections Committee is responsible for advertising, interviewing and recom- mending a director to MSA. The MSA Code states that a nomination must be made 36 days before the election. This year, due to apparent com- munication problems, the Rules and Elections Committee did not have a nomination by that deadline, which was Oct. 10. "I had been telling the Rules and Election Committee chairs for some time that their priority item needed to be finding an election director," Yost said. "I think they knew they had to do it, but I didn't know if they knew 100 percent that it had to be this Tuesday." Rules and Elections Committee Chair Laura Van Hyfte said people communi- cated the urgency of finding an elec- tion director to the Rules and Elections Committee vice chair Kenneth Baker, but not to her. "The urgency of what was going on wasn't expressed to me," she said. "I realized Sunday night 'Oh, you need to have this done by Tuesday."' Meanwhile, Baker said he had been waiting for Van Hyfte to take charge. "I was still waiting for Laura to say See MSA, page 7A Head of women's rights organization explains possible effects of affirmative action ban By Emily Barton For the Daily Throughout much of the 20th Century, women were treated as second-class citizens, especially in the workplace. Help-wanted ads were segregated by sex, females earned far less than men and sex- ual harassment was common. Affirmative action created and continues to create opportuni- ties for women and serves as a counterweight to sexism, said Kathy Rodgers, president of Legal Momentum, a women's rights organization. Rodgers spoke at a lecture yes- terday in Rackham Assembly Hall titled "For Good or Ill? Affirma- tive Action for Women." "Affirmative action is one of the key tools for continuing women's progress," she said. Rodgers said women are rep- resented in all professions, but in Michigan women are still making only 67 cents for every dollar men make. "Progress is not success," Rod- gers said. "Rights are fragile and can be rescinded. Progress can be reversed." Proponents of the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, a proposal on the next month's ballot would ban some affirmative action pro- grams in Michigan, say that affir- mative action is not progress but a form of discrimination. See MCRI, page 7A 5 1 A