JAMES DICKSON MICHIGAN NEEDS ENTREPRENEURSHIP OPINION, PAGE 4 ALMODOVAR'S LATEST A RETURN TO MELODRAMA WOMEN'S HOOPS FALLS TO WISCONSIN SPORTS, PAGE.8 ARTS, PAGE S 40ie fidigan DrnIj 1)NE- UNI) N IX EL N AI \IS F IIDITR AL 11El)OM Ann Arbor, Michigan w w.michigandailycom Friday, January 26,2007 Society asks Angell family to use its name JERELMY CHn/a Brighton resident Casey Janis drinks a beer at Ashley's Restaurant and Pub on State Street yesterday afternoon. The Center for Michigan, an Ann Arbor-based think tank, has proposed raising the tax on beer. TAX HIKE BREWING? Think tank wants to hike state's beer levy By ALESE BAGDOL Daily StaffReporter Love cheap beer? Enjoy it now - it might not be as cheap next year. With an $800 million defi- cit projected for the state of Michigan this year, the state might raise the beer tax, said John Bebow, executive direc- tor of the Center for Michi- gan, an Ann Arbor-based think tank. In previous fiscal pinch- es, the state legislature has increased tobacco, income, liquor and business taxes. The beer tax has remained at 20 cents per gallon since 1962. Had the 1962 tax been adjusted for inflation over the last 45 years, it would now be generating more than $270 million a year instead of the $44 million it brings in today, Bebow said. The taxes on a barrel of beer, the equivalent of 2 kegs, would be $39 and a can of beer would cost about 10 cents more. Raising the beer tax could have other implications, though. According to a 2003 study by the National Academy of Sciences, increasing the beer tax could reduce alcohol con- sumption and curb irrespon- sible behavior. "While this is something to consider, I don't know if that motivation is necessar- See BEER, page 7 SIN TAXES How much these vices net the state of Michigan's treasury percent of the cost of liquor per pack of cigarettes per gallon of beer Controversial group asks to call itself Order of Angell By ANDREW GROSSMAN Daily StaffReporter Members of campus's most elite honor society are seeking the permission of the descendants of James B. Angell to name the group after the former University president. James K. Angell - the great grandson of James B. Angell, who helped found Michigamua in 1902 - said last night that two members of the controversial society came to his Bethesda, Md. home on Wednesday night and asked his permission to call the group order of Angell. For more than a century before it dropped its name last year, it was called Mich- igamua - a name picked to mimic a mythical Native America tribe that has since become synonymous with controversy and racism for many. Angell said the two men askedhimtosignadocument that said, in part, "I hereby give my blessing to the Pride of 2007 (interim name for the organization formerly known as Michigamua) to use Order of Angell as their organization's name now and forever." Angell said he had no objection to the use of his great grandfather's* last name, but he has not signed the form because he wants to consult with his sister, who lives in Michigan. Society member Andrew Yahkind, who often serves as an unofficial spokes- man for the group, refused to deny or confirm that the group would callitself Order of Angell when reached last night. When The Michigan Daily obtained a list of pos- sible names for the group last week, Yahkind said the society would likely release the new name in about three weeks. When the society announced a slate of reforms last spring, which included releasing the list of mem- bers of the current class to the public, it vowed to announce a new name late last semester. The list of possibili- ties, which the society also refused to confirm, includ- ed the name Order of the Angell. other names that the group was reported to be considering include Blue Flame, Union of the M, the Order and the Ms. Matt McLaughlin, the captain of the men's golf team and a member of the society, condemned the Dai- ly's coverage of the group in a written statement last night. "We find it unfortunate that the Daily continues to focus its attention on idle speculation regarding the internal decision-making process of our organiza- tion," he wrote. "Although we're flattered that a story must be told every step of the way, we are commit- ted to releasing our new name and vision for cam- pus involvement in the near future." James K. Angell, who graduated fromtheUniversi- ty in 1945, said he had hardly heard of the organization before the men approached him and asked him to release the name. "I didn't realize my great grandfather had any relation to this organization," Angell said. "I'd never read that. I read the book about him but I don't remember that being brought up." The younger Angell never met his great grandfather, who died in 1916 and served as president of the Univer- sity from 1871 to 1909. He is also the namesake of Angell Hall. The society already uses the Angell family name for some of its secret members, who are called Honorary Angells. Prof who led peace movement dies at 95 "This has been the place where kids have had their first drink, their first everything," - Jones House President Ali Thompson Anatol Rapoport helped plan first teach-ins By TARYN HARTMAN DailyStaffReporter Anatol Rapoport, one of the leaders of the peace move- ment on campus in the 1960s, died in Toronto on Jan. 20. He was 95. Rapoport, a former profes- sor of mathematical biology in the Medical School's Mental Health Research Institute, helped plan the University's first teach-in protest against the Vietnam War. The protest was one of the first of its kind nationwide, said his former colleague J. David Singer, a professor emeritus of political science. Faculty members decided to hold a teach-in rather than go on strike in protest. They wanted to make a statement without forcing the Univer- sity to close, Singer said. Rapoport also helped create a "Peacemobile" that traveled the Ann Arbor area distribut- ing pamphlets, said Anthony Rapoporthis son. "Our house was a center for anti-war activity," Rapoport said. Rapoport said his father's ideas helped unite University students and faculty around a common goal and erased the generational gap between them. Anatol Rapoport was discouraged that his efforts at the University didn't seem to have an impact on the govern- ment's policy, Anthony Rapo- See RAPOPORT, page 7 SNAKE BYTES A damaged wall inside the Jones House, an I nter-Cooperative Council co-op. After years of a reputation of theft, wild parties and other assorted vices, the ICC will renovate the house and reopen it as housing for graduate students in September. Rowdy co-op to be revamped By MICHAEL COULTER Daily StaffReporter The co-op commonly known as the Joint' House stands half-empty. Its is scarred with the reminders of parties past. On a crooked ceiling fan, a single light bulb burns as the building waits for remodeling. The Jones House - two connect- ed houses occupying 917 and 923 S. Forest Ave. - will undergo repairs over the summer to become central campus's first co-op for graduate students when it reopens in Septem- ber. Travis Jones, president of the Inter-Cooperative Council, which manages campus co-ops, said the building has caused trouble for six or seven years in the form of wild par- ties, property damage, theft, vacant rooms and what Jones called "illegal transactions." Engineering' junior Ali Thomp- son, president of Jones House, said it is known for its rowdy parties with eight bands and eight kegs. "This 'has been the place where kids have had their first drink, their first everything," Thompson said. Many Jones House residents have been evicted in recent years because of illegal activity, Thompson said. The house can hold 46 people, but currently only 24 people live there. Until recently, squatters inhabited some of the empty rooms. In 2003, the ICC decided to take action against Jones House. The council put the house on See TUITION, page 7 Research engineer Malik Hansen controls the OmniTread OT-4 through a hole at the University's Mobile Robotics Lab in the Computer Science and Engineering Building yesterday. The robot is a highly maneuver- able machine capable of negotiating rugged terrain and urban obstacles. Possible applications for this type of robot technology include surveillance as well as search and rescue. TODAY'S HI: 30 WEATHER LO24 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail news@michgandaily.com and let us know. COMING MONDAY The University's biggest college goes wireless NEWS INDEX NEWS.,......... Vol.CXVI, No.84 SUDOK ................ @2007 The Michigan Daily michiaandailv.com O PIN ION. . 2 ARTS.....2A .RT................... 5 ................3 CLA SSIFIED ...................... 6 .................4 SPORTS ..................8 i 4