The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com NEWS BRIEFS LANSING State government braces for shutdown Gov. Jennifer Granholm has asked state directors to tell her by next week what programs might be affected and what steps should be taken if the state runs out of money in May and has to shut down. "The money issue is real. This is not a fabricated crisis," Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd said yes- terday. "The governor has made it clear for months the emergency we're facing." The Democratic governor has suggested a plan to help resolve some of the $940 million short- fall in this year's budget through $?44 million in cuts and account- ing changes. But she also wants to put a new 2 percent tax on services in place by June 1 to raise more money. Senate Republicans last week voted down the tax on services, adopted the governor's $344 mil- lion executive order and then passed another $600 million in cuts and accounting changes. BAGHDAD Policemen go on ethnic killing spree off-duty Shiite policemen enraged by massive bombings in the northern town of Tal Afar went on a revenge spree against Sunni residents there yesterday, killing at least 45 men execution-style, police and hospital officials said. The policemen began roaming the town's Sunni neighborhoods on foot early in the morning, shooting at Sunni residents and homes. A senior hospital official in Tal Afar said at least 45 men between the ages of 15 and 60 were killed with a shot to the back of the head and four others were wounded. He spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns. Police saiddozens ofSunniswere killed or wounded, but they had no precise figures. MANILA, Philippines Daycare owner takes kids hostage MliO~ tory of l1ine grgbling stunts took a busload of students and teachers hostage from ' s day-care center and drove them o City Hall yesterday, keepingthem bnboard for hours and demanding better lives for the children. Jun Ducat reportedly chartered the tourist bus for a field trip mark- ing the end of the school year. Instead, he and at least one oth- er hostage-taker had the driver take them to City Hall, where they taped a handwritten sheet of pa- per to the windshield, saying they were holding 32 children and two ,teachers and were armed with two grenades, an assault rifle and a .45- caliber pistol. "I love these kids; that's why I am here," Ducat, identified by po- lice and parents as the owner of the 145-student day-care center, told DZMM radio by mobile phone. "I invited the children for a field trip. WASHINGTON Congress faces war funding standoff with White House Congressional Democrats are showing no signs of backing down on their rebuke of the Iraq war, insisting President Bush will have to accept some sort of legislative timetable in exchange for the bil- lions of dollars needed to fund the war. "We would hope that the presi- dent understands how serious we are," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, (D-Nev.), after the Senate voted to uphold a proposal in a war spending bill calling for the troop withdrawal. - Compiled from Daily wire reports 3,233 Number of American service members who have died inthe War in I ;raq, according to the Department of Defense. The following service mem- 'hers were identified late Wednesday: Sgt. Curtis J. Forshey, 22, of :Hollidaysburg, Pa. Spc. Sean K. McDonald, 21, of 'Rosemount, Minn. LEASE LAW From page IA "We got the short end of the stick of this ordinance," he said. This loophole was the key issue that students addressed at a pub- lic hearing last night hosted by the Michigan Student Assembly and the Ann Arbor City Council. The ordinance - billed as a stu- dent-friendly law that gives stu- dents more time to navigate tre difficult Ann . Arbor off-campus housing market - is up for review a year after it was passed by the City Council. "I feel there needs to be at least discussion on the waiver provision in the ordinance," said Matt Stoker, a member of MSA's external rela- tions committee, in an interview after the meeting. Engineering junior Kyle Goszyk said there needs to be a concrete way of avoiding loopholes in the revised ordinance. MSA Vice President Mohammad Dar said the committee will focus on reviewing the loophole. Several landlords also attended the forum. Alice Ehn, executive director of the Washtenaw Area Apartment ADMISSIONS Association, said that students From page IA want to have no pressure to sign, p but landlords want to fill their to data from the Office of Under- properties. Ehn and two other graduate Admissions. landlords met with Mayor John These five clusters range from Hieftje and members of the Stu- middle-class to very affluent. About dent Relations Committee yes- 90 percent of students in each of the terday to discuss their side of the five groups are white. issue. Ted Spencer, executive director Ehn said forums like the public of the University's undergraduate hearing last night don't produce admissions office, said the Uni- any solutions. versity hopes Descriptor Plus will City Council passed a resolution prevent the sharp drop in minority on March 16 to entrust review of attendance that was seen at the Uni- the ordinance to the Student Rela- versity of Texas and the University of tions Committee, which arranged California system after their states last night's forum. banned the use of affirmative action. The committee will gather feed- "We make no bones about the back from students and landlords fact that diversity's important to that will be used to make recom- us," he said. mendations to City Council for But Lucier said it's unclear amending the law. whether the new system will work. "We'd like to see action taken "We don't know if it willhelp us," within the next month or two," Stoker said. Re-im The committee plans to host another forum this spring before E-mail si presenting any amendments to City Council. -Amina Farha contributed to this report he said. The service costs $15,000 per year, University spokeswoman Deborah Green said. Forty-one other colleges - pri- marily private schools - currently use Descriptor Plus, according to a list provided by Steve Graff, direc- tor of admission and enrollment services for the College Board. Michigan State University and Northwestern University are the only other Big Ten schools using it. "Many institutions are using it to findunderserved populations because they can find populations that aren't necessarily part of their mix of stu- dents" he said. "They can pay more attention to students that they aren't sure are getting the message." Although some colleges use Descriptor Plus to analyze how stu- dents from certain neighborhoods perform academically or how like- Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 3A ly they are to attend the school if accepted, most don't use the service as a key factor when making admis- sions decisions, Graff said. When the University bought the right to use Descriptor Plus three years ago, it originally intended to use the service to recruit students from underrepresented groups, Lucier said. He said admissions officials eventually decided it would be more useful in admissions. Lucier said Descriptor Plus is a more accurate snapshot of a stu- dent's background than the appli- cation previously provided. Admissions officers are currently able to see an applicant'sgender and race - but they can't use that infor- mation when making an admis- sions decision. Admissions officials haven't decided whether that will change next year, Lucier said. ATHLETES From page IA Edwards said. "We shouldn't force student-athletes to be role models, but being on TV everyday, people are going to look up to you. I have younger nephews and I'd like to see them do what I've done." Michael Rosenberg, a Detroit Free Press columnist and former Michigan Daily editor in chief, said athletes don't have to live a perfect life to display good character. "I understand there is more pressure on these student-athletes than there was maybe 30 years ago," he said. "ButI also don't think the standards we're talking about are that difficult. I think these are reasonable standards we're talking about." The forum came less than one week after three football players were removed from the team for being charged with crimes includ- ing assault and battery and marijua- na possession. However, the forum was planned before their dismissal was announced. University President Mary Sue Coleman, who was on the panel, said coaches have difficult deci- sions to make when their players break rules. "It is a huge responsibility to be able to discern whether that error in judgment has something to do with the brain, which is not fully developed yet, or if it is a case where the person is not going to get over it and won't ever learn," Cole- man said. BLUEPRINTS From page IA hour, but he did not say why the event was scheduled at that time. Many of the speakers requested more discussion forums so that more students could attend. LSA sophomore Bryon Maxey said that he would like to see at least three more forums before the end of the semester. Monts said that the committee would continue to provide students with time to further discuss these Make it happen for your career. Send us your best on video. Busch Gardens of Tampa, Florida is hiring performers of many talents for a variety of live show productions. Outgoing personalities and comic acting abilities are always a plus. Seeking male and female dancers and singers proficient in all types of musical theatre styles, specialty performers, technicians and stage managers. Visit our website for helpful audition tips, photos and pay rates. Mail your video, recent headshot and resume to: You can also audition in person at Busch Gardens Auditions, Entertainment Department, Busch Gardens Tampa on the first Attn: Debbie, P.O. Box 9158, Tampa, Florida 33674-9158 Wednesday of each month. Sorry, but we don't return DVDs, tapes or photosl See our web site for more information. Ifyou have a live audition on your website, email " _ The Worlds of a link toyour site at bgtaudtns@BuschGardens.com Please do not send email attachments. Excellent Benefits! Call 813-987-5164 or visit: G ACR ID EN S. wwwb uschgardenStalent.com ~ RC You must be 18years old to appiy. Busch Gardens is an equal opportunity employer and supports a safe and drug free workplace. Applicants for positions in every BEC job classification will be subject TAMPA BAY, FL to testing (both pre and post employment) for the presence of illegal drugs.