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From the Daily: Stop
overlooking tuberculosis
Opinion, 4
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Ann Arbor, Michigan
wwwmichigandaily.com
Friday, March 23, 2007
ILLEGAL MUSIC SHARING
More suits
on the way
from RIAA
Battle brewing over funds
Three research
universities say they
should get separate
appropriations
By JESSICA VOSGERCHIAN
Daily StaffReporter
Worried aboutbecomingsecond-
class citizens in higher education
funding, nine of the state's 15 pub-
lic universities have formed a coali-
tion to block a push by the state's
three research universities - the
University of Michigan, Michigan
State University and Wayne State
University - that would allow the
schools to receive state funding
separately.
The coalition of colleges, called
The EducationalAlliance for Mich-
igan, is lobbying against the plan in
Lansing.
The colleges are worried that the
creation of two appropriation sys-
tems would lead state legislators to
neglect the state's smaller universi-
ties and allot them less money, said
Sheryl Roland, a spokeswoman for
Western Michigan University, a
member of the coalition.
"The separation of appropria-
tion is an end to the unity between
universities and could lead to two
separate, but unequal, tiers of high-
er education," she said.
The three research universities
want to be considered separately
from the rest because of their spe-
cial roles in the state economy as
research institutions, University
of Michigan spokesman Kelly Cun-
ningham said.
The plan was endorsed by Gov.
Jennifer Granholm in her budget
proposallastmonth. The presidents
of the three research universities
asked to be considered separately
for funding in testimony before a
state appropriations subcommittee
on Feb. 28.
The universities decided to push
for a separate appropriations sys-
tem because they think a program
the state created two years ago to
allocate funding has been largely
ineffective, Cunningham said.
The current formula doesn't
allow state legislators to accurately
evaluate whether investment in
research at the three major uni-
versities has been beneficial to the
state, she said. She said the uni-
versities receive 95 percent of the
See FUNDING, page 7
405 settlement
letters sent to
colleges around the
country
By KATHERINE MITCHELL
Daily StaffReporter
They're at it again.
The Recording Industry Asso-
ciation of America announced
Wednesday that it has sent a sec-
ond batch of pre-litigation settle-
ment letters to students at 23
colleges.
Although the University of
Michigan didn't receive any of
the 405 letters sent this month, it
has received notices that students
will receive pre-litigation letters
in the future, said Jack Bernard,
" the University's assistant general
counsel.
Theletters -partoftheRIAA's
recent crackdown on illegal
peer-to-peer file-sharing - give
students accused of copyright
infringement an opportunity to
settle with record companies
before a lawsuit is filed against
them.
On March 3, the University
began receiving notices, which
Bernard said list the IP addresses
of computers that the RIAA says
have been involved in illegally
sharingmusic. Several others fol-
lowed in the next few days. The
RIAA has now pointed out more
than a dozen IP addresses at the
University that allegedly shared
music illegally.
Bernard said he doesn't know
why the RIAA hasn't yet sent
the University any pre-litigation
settlement letters. The organiza-
tion refused to give Bernard any
information about the letters, he
said.
RIAA spokeswoman Jenni
Engebretsen said yesterday
that she couldn't comment on
any notices the University has
MSUYAF
labeled
hate group
School has no plans
to cut ties with
right-wing org
By ALESE BAGDOL
Daily StaffReporter
The Michigan State Universi-
ty chapter of Young Americans
for Freedom is slated to become
the first university-based stu-
dent group in the country to be
classified as a hate group by the
Southern Poverty Law Center.
The center will place MSU's
chapter of the far-right student
group Young Americans for
Freedom on its list of American
hate groups in April, said Heidi
Beirich, deputy director of the
center's intelligence project.
The center sends its list to
about 50,000 law enforcement
agencies across the nation each
year. Manyof the agencies use it
to monitor hateful and extrem-
ist activity, she said.
The center's report included
25 hate groups in Michigan last
year, including the Nation of
Islam in Detroit, the American
Nazi Party in Westland and the
National Socialist Movement in
See YAF, page 3
received, but she said the RIAA
contacts universities before send-
ing pre-litigation letters. The
RIAA asks the University to pre-
serve its records that show who
owned the IP addresses, she said.
After Spring Break, the Uni-
versity told students who owned
the computers implicated in the
notices that the RIAA intended
to issue the University pre-litiga-
tion letters to their IP addresses.
After the RIAA sends letters
to the University and the Uni-
versity forwards them to stu-
dents, offenders have 20 days to
respond.
If a student fails to reply, the
RIAA issues a subpoena to the
University asking for the stu-
dent's name. The record company
alleging copyright infringement
then files a lawsuit.
The University of Wisconsin
at Madison received 16 pre-litiga-
tion letters on Wednesday.
Brian Rust, the communica-
tions manager for the school's
Division of Information Tech-
nology, said the university had
received notices two weeks
before. The notices said that the
University of Wisconsin would
receive settlement letters within
a week.
The University of Wisconsin
doesn't pass along any type of
notice to students. The 16 indi-
viduals on the Madison campus
who will be sued for copyright
infringement won't be given a
chance to settle with record com-
panies before the RIAA subpoe-
nas their names.
The University of Wiscon-
sin will not pass along notices
because there is no proof of ille-
gal activity, Rust said.
"It's not something the uni-
versity wants to be a party to," he
said.
Rust said he saw the pre-litiga-
tion letters. The letters don't con-
tain specific monetary figures, he
said. Instead, they direct students
See RIAA, page 3
STUDENT GOVERNMENT VOTER TURNOUT DOWN
ROB MIGRIN/Daily
Business sophomore Kelvin Fong votes in the student government election at a polling station in Haven Hall on Wednesday. Polls closed at 11:59 last night. In this year's
election, 4,992 students voted, 41.5 percent less than last year, according to Michigan Student Assembly Election Director Ryan Bouchard. For election results, which were
not available as of press time, check michigandaily.com/thewire this afternoon.
THESE WALLS CAN TALK
APPLYING TO LAW SCHOOL
Toughelling up the LSAT
Reading
comprehension,
writing sections
to be altered
By ALLISON PINCUS
Daily StaffReporter
With changes to the Law School
Admission Test going into effect
in June, students applying to law
school will have to take a slightly
different test under conditions some
say could make the testing environ-
ment more stressful for students.
The Law School Admission
Council, which administers the
LSAT,haschangedthereadingcom-
prehension and writing sections of
the exam. It has also instituted new
rules about what students can and
can't bring into the LSAT.
Students are no longer allowed
to bring digital watches, cell
phones or other electronic devices
into the testing room, which might
make the test feel like a trip to the
airport, said Jeff Meanza, the
director of graduate marketing for
Princeton Review, a test-prepara-
tion company, in a written state-
ment.
"It's sort of a hassle," Meanza
said. "In the past, rules like these
were not explicitly stated nor were
they enforced with uniform regu-
larity."
LSAT LEGALITIES
What you can take into the classroom when taking the LSAT...
A clearplastic bag (for storingpersonal items)
. Tissues
* Juice orwater
Anpnack
* Hygienic products
and what you can't
* Cell phone
* Digital watch
. Electronic devices (laptop, PDA,
mp3 player)
. Backpack
* Hooded sweatshirts or hats
The rules were instituted to
make the testing experience the
same for all students, said Tricia
McCloskey, the executive director
for graduate program development
at Princeton Review.
"LSAC has become more con-
cerned with test security and admin-
istering the test," she said. "In the
past, proctors have had their own
interpretations of the testing rules."
McCloskey said 'the rules are
"silly" and will stress out students
- for example, those who need to
call friends during breaks in the
test for moral support or to arrange
a ride home.
The LSAC has also changed the
writing section of the LSAT.
Test-takers currently write an
essay either about making a tough
decision or evaluating a point of
view. The writing section will no
longer include the point of view
prompt starting in June.
The change was made to make
grading easier for the LSAC, said
Tricia McCloskey, the executive
director for graduate program
development at Princeton Review.
LSA junior Claudia Perez-
See LSAT, page 7
vBENJI DELL/Dail.
Art and Design freshman Kinsey Brock poses as a picture frame in the Michi-
gan Theater yesterday evening as part of an art and design class project about
students blending into their surroundings.
TODAY'S HI:49
WEATHER . LO:41
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