Officials say more WTC remains
could have been found
NEWS, 3

Jason Pesick on why luxury
K Cboxes will ruin Coleman's legacy
WHITAKER, MCAVOY FILL OUT ROLES IN LAST KING OF SCOTLAND OPINION, 4

Iic lligan DaiI&,

Ann Arbor, Michigan

www.michigandaily.com

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

A question
of tolerance
.and belief

SOAR process
toes legal line on
equality clause
By ANDREW GROSSMAN
Daily StaffReporter
To become an officer of
the Christian Legal Society,
a Christian student group at
the Law School, members
must sign a document stating
that they believe in "One God,
eternally existent in three
persons, Father, Son and Holy
Spirit."
As an organization offi-
cially recognized by the Uni-
versity, the group must agree
to abide by the University's
nondiscrimination state-
ment, which prohibits dis-
crimination on the basis of
religion, along with age, sex,
color, creed, national origin
or ancestry; marital status,
sexual orientation, disability
and veteran status.
Administrators say the
Christian group isn't dis-
criminating on the basis of
religion, but making sure its
members are committed to
its mission. They argue that
any student, regardless of his
or her religious background,
can decide to signa statement
of faith like Christian Legal
Society's.
"It's not necessarily dis-
crimination based on their
religious status," said Donica
Varner, a University assistant
general counsel who helped
create the Student Organiza-
tion and Recognition process.

"But it is expecting members
to understand what this group
is about and agreeing to be
about the same thing."
Several religious student
groups require their members
or leaders to sign the state-
ments.
The benefits of being rec-
ognized by the University as a
student group include access
to University buildings and
the ability to apply for fund-
ing from the Michigan Stu-
dent Assembly.
Since beginning to grant
official recognition to student
groups last year, the Office of
Student Activities and Lead-
ership has struck a delicate
balance between enforcing its
nondiscrimination policy and
avoiding disputes with reli-
gious groups.
At least one court decision
has strengthened the Univer-
sity's position.
A Christian fraternity sued
the University of North Caro-
lina at Chapel Hill when it was
refused recognition because it
didn't let non-Christians join.
A federal judge dismissed the
suit this spring when UNC
changedits nondiscrimination
policyto allow groups to make
membership decisions "on the
basis of commitment to a set of
beliefs." That's exactly what
student groups at the Univer-
sity are allowed to do.
As the University designed
the SOAR process, some
administrators pushed for a
harder line on membership
rules for religious groups.
A proposal for the SOAR
process, released in April
See SOAR, Page 7

Sean Morrison, director of the University's newly created Center for Stem Cell Biology, sits in a fifth-floor room of the Life Sciences Institute. The room will soon become a safe haven
for research on federally restricted stem cell lines because it is supported entirely by private money.
Sldesteps stem cell restrictions
creating privately funded safe haven
By KELLY FRASER No funding from federal sources will be used in for Stem Cell Biology, which will oversee the room.
Daily StaffReporter the room, allowing the University to sidestep fed- "I can't even use a piece of equipment that was pur-
--eral restrictions. chased with federal funds."
A lab no bigger than a dorm room tucked on the Because many researchers receive at least some Federal fundingcan only be used to study the 64
fifth floor of the Life Sciences Institute will soon federal funding through the National Health Insti- embryonic stem cell lines approved by President
become a focal point for stem cell research at the tute or another federal source, it is nearly impossi- Bush in a 2001 executive order.
University. ble to separate out federal dollars, said LSI.Director However, other than a law prohibiting the cre-
In the room, University scientists will be able Alan Saltiel, who led the fundraising effort to cre- ation of embryos for research purposes, there are
to conduct research on stem cell lines otherwise ate the room. no federal laws dictating what types of research
restricted by federal law, because everything "The prohibitions against embryonic stem cell can be conducted.
involved in the research will be entirely privately research are very stringent," said Sean Morrison, The primary purpose of the new room will be to
funded. director of the University's newly created Center See STEM CELLS, Page 7


Meet the new boss: New party
replaces long-dominant S4M

New party is a
who's-who of S4M
rising stars
By DAVE MEKELBURG
Daily StaffReporter
Would a Michigan Student
Assembly party by any other
name smell as sweet?
Only this November's.
elections will tell.
After controlling MSA for
two consecutive years, the
Students 4 Michigan Party
has evolved. The Michigan
Action Party, a purportedly
new party which is led by a
conspicuous number of old
S4M representatives, formed

earlier this semester.
MAP members deny con-
nections between their new
party and S4M, but all of
the party members leading
MAP's mass meeting on Oct.
11 had ran on the S4M ticket
in the past.
"With respect to Students
4 Michigan, we're obviously
not them," said MAP official
Zack Yost, who won a seat
in the assembly last year on
S4M's ticket and now serves
as the Student General Coun-
sel for the assembly. "We
wanted to form a new party."
Other MAP leaders
who reached the assembly
through S4M include LSA
representatives Nate Fink
and Mohammad Dar and
current MSA treasurer Josh

Kersey.
Despite sharing members,
there are key differences
between S4M and MAP.
Running as a non-ideological
umbrella party, S4M's elec-
tion campaigns focused on its
diverse makeup,andthe party
carried a purposefully vague
platform. MAP has more a
specific platform. Its slogan
is "Protecting your wallets,
protecting your rights and
taking action for you."
Party shakeups and name
changes are nothing new in
MSA.For three straight years
starting in 2001, the Students
First Party dominated the
assembly. In 2004, the party
crumbled and reappeared
under the moniker Students
See MAP, Page 7

PET E0CH01 ITNELS/Daily
A crew member prepares the sets for the Royal Shakespeare Company's performances at the Power Center on Saturday. The world-famous troupe
kicks off its nearly three weeks in Ann Arbor with a show today.

'U' prepares disaster plan
for possible flu pandemic

Chief health
officer takes lead
on project
By ARIKIA MILLIKAN
Daily StaffReporter
Years ago, Dean of Students
Sue Eklund took an emergen-
cy resuscitation class where
she learned the Heimlich
maneuver and CPR.
Maybeshe'dneverusethose
skills, she thought at the time,
but maybe they'd savea life.
With the threat of an avian

influenza pandemic grow-
ing as birds migrate south for
the winter, every University
department is making prepa-
rations that could potentially
save your life.
Eklund's sentiments on
her CPR skills echo those of
administrators involved in the
efforts to prepare for an influ-
enza pandemic: You never
want to have to use it, but it's
good to know.
RobertWinfield, the man at
the nucleus of the University's
pandemic response prepara-
tions, said he would much
rather be safe than sorry when
it comes to the avian flu. As a

co-chair of the University's
tnfectious Hazards Planning
Group and the University's
chief health officer, Winfield
is mobilizing each of the 19
colleges at the University as
well as non-academic units
like the Division of Student
Affairs.
It's impossible to tell if,
when and how a pandemic
will strike campus, but each
department is developing
a plan to determine how it
could maintain the flow of
daily business in that situa-
tion.
Winfield said his focus is
See FLU, Page 7

CONFIRMED CASES
Countries with the most humtan
cases of avian flu:
1.Vietnam-93
(42 deaths)
2. Indonesia - 72
(55 deaths)
3. Thailand -25
(17 deaths)
4. China-21
(19 deaths)
5. Egypt -15
(6 deaths)
Total cases worldwide: 256
Total deaths worldwide: 151

The Athletic Department will present preliminary designs for the Michigan Stadium reno-
vations at three public meetings in the upcoming weeks, and audience input is welcome.
Oct.26,7 p.m. Oct. 30,7 p.m. Nov. 1, 7p.m.
Ann Arbor The University's Flint campus The University's Dearborn
lunge Family Champions University Center-The campus
Center,1000 S. State St. Ontarion Room at 303 E. University Center-Kochoff
Kearsley St. Hall, Section A, 4901 Ever-
green Road

ppp

TODAY'S Hi:46 .5

TODAY'S 0; 6-k HI: 46
WEATHER ; , Lo: 31

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