The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
ANGELOU lem Writer's Guild, acted in Jean
Arom pageGenet's Off-Broadway produc-
tion, "The Blacks," and wrote and
performed in a "Cabaret for Free-
"It is one of the kinds of glori- dom." In the early 1960s, Angelou
ous things that happen at this Uni- served as editor for "The Arab
versity that would be less likely to Observer" in Cairo and instructed
happen at a smaller place," Eng- at the University of Ghana's School
lish Prof. John Whittier-Ferguson of Music and Drama. Angelou
said. returned to the United States in
Born Marguerite Annie John- 1964 to aid Malcolm X with his
son April 4,1928 in St. Louis, Mo., Organization of African American
Angelou and her brother Bailey Usity. She never got the chance.
were raised by their grandmother He was assassinated shortly after
in Stamps, Ark. following their her arrival.
parent's divorce. During this time, Maya has taught modern dance
Angelou experienced racial dis- in Israel and Italy, appeared in off-
crimination, which she recounts Broadway productions, wrote the
in her 1970 best-selling autobio- Pulitzer Prize-nominated screen-
graphical work "I Know Why the play for the film "Georgia, Geor-
Caged Bird Sings." Angelou was gia" (1972) and published more
molested by her mother's boy- than 30 books including 12 best-
friend at age 7. When her uncle sellers.
killed the man that raped Angelou, Angelou served on various com-
she was haunted by the pervasive mittees for Presidents Gerald Ford
guilt that her words resulted in the and Jimmy Carter and read her
man's death. She didn't speak for poem "On the Pulse of Morning"
five years, except to her brother. at President Bill Clinton's 1993
While attending Mission High presidential inauguration.
School in San Francisco, Calif., Angelou's work advocates self-
Angelou dropped out and became acceptance and serves as a medi-
San Francisco's first African- um for promulgating diversity in
American cable car conductor. She culture, race and identity.
later returned to high school and Prof. Keith Taylor, the direc-
graduated prior to giving birth to tor of the LSA Creative Writing
a son, Guy. By her 20s, Maya had Program, said that Angelou's pub
been a cook, waitress, dancer and lic role as a supporter of the arts
single mother. She was married allows for art's connection to larg-
for five years in her 20s, but she er audiences.
eventually got divorced. While a "She has a moving story to tell
nightclub singer, Marguerite took that is important for many reasons
on the professional name Maya - an African-American experi-
Angelou, fusing her childhood ence, the life of a woman, an artist,
nickname "Maya" with her ex- and a public intellectual," Taylor
husband's last name. said. "All of those things are not
In the 1950s, Angelou settled only of interest, but necessary to
in New York, joined the Har- hear."
the Centers for Disease Control.
MEASLES The sample has now been sent to
From page 1A the Centers for Disease Control's
Atlanta headquarters for further
drink. testing.
Reedy said the department has So far, there has been one con-
adequately responded to the cases. firmed case of the measles, from
"An appropriate public health a student at Angell Elementary
response to a public case of School in Ann Arbor. The stu-
measles involves a notification dent was quarantined and the
to those who could be exposed," student's period of transmission
Reedy said. "We've not held has passed.
back." As the situation now stands,
The Burns Park Elementary four other tests have come
school case was initially reported back negative and four more
as a positive test, but it was later are still awaiting lab results.
discovered that two samples had The nine cases involved ele-
been mixed up, said Ann Schuchat, mentary school children in the
the director of the National Immu- Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti area, all of
nization Center for Immuniza- whom had already received the
tion and Respiratory Diseases at measles vaccine.
Shiites disillusioned
with militia in capital
Presents opportunity "Everyone knew who the killers
were," said a mother from Topchi,
for U.S. military whose neighbor, a Shiite woman,
was one of the victims. "I'm Shi-
ite, and I pray to God that he will
By SABRINA TAVERNISE punish them."
TheNew York Times The feeling was the same in
other neighborhoods.
BAGHDAD - In a number of "We thought they were sol-
Shiite neighborhoods across Bagh- diers defending the Shiites," said
dad, residents arebeginningtoturn Sayeed Sabah, a Shiite who runs
away from the Mahdi Army, the a charity in the western neigh-
Shiite militia they once saw as their borhood of Huriya. "But now we
only protector against Sunni mili- see they are youngster-killers, no
tants. Now they resent it as a band more than that. People want to get
ofstreetthugswithoutideology. rid of them."
The hardening Shiite feeling in While the Mahdi militia still
Baghdad opens an opportunity for controls most Shiite neighbor-
the American military, which has hoods, early evidence that Shi-
long struggled against the Mahdi ites are starting to oppose some
Army, as American commanders parts of the militia is surfacing
rely increasingly on tribes and on American bases. Shiite sheiks,
local leaders in their prosecution the militia's traditional base, are
of the war. beginning to contact Americans,
The sectarian landscape has much as Sunni tribes reached out
shifted, with Sunni extremists early this year, refocusing one
largely defeated in many Shiite entire front of the war, officials
neighborhoods, and the war in said, and the number of accurate
those places has sunk into a crimi- tips flowing into American bases
nality that is often blind to sect. has soared.
In interviews, 10 Shiites from Shiites are "participating like
four neighborhoods in eastern they never have before," said Maj.
and western Baghdad described Mark Brady, of the Multi-National
a pattern in which militia mem- Division-Baghdad Reconcilia-
bers, looking for new sources of tion and Engagement Cell, which
income, turned on Shiites. The works with tribes.
pattern appears less frequently in "Something has got to be not
neighborhoods where Sunnis and right if they are going to risk call-
Shiites are still struggling for ter- ing a tips hot line or approaching a
ritory. Sadr City, the largest Shiite JSS," he said, referring to the Joint
neighborhood, where the Mahdi Security Stations, the American
Army's face is more political than neighborhood mini-bases set up
military, has largely escaped the after the troop increasethis year.
wave of criminality. "Everything is' changing," said
Among the people killed in the Ali, a businessman in the heav-
0 neighborhood of Topchi over the ily Shiite neighborhood of Ur, in
past two months, residents said, eastern Baghdad, who, like most
were the owner of an electrical of those interviewed, did not want
shop, a sweets seller, a rich man, his full name used for fear of being
three women, two local council attacked. "Now in our area for the
members and two children, ages first time everyone say, 'To hell
9 and 11. with Mahdi Army.'
It was a disparate group with
one thing in common: All were Reporting was contributed
Shiites killed by Shiites. Residents by Ahmad Fadam, Kareem
blamed the Mahdi Army, which Hilmi, Qais Mizher and Johan
controls the neighborhood. Spanner in Baghdad.
Friday, October 12, 2007 - 7A
Dan Cutler, a People's Food Co-op mernber, speaks against the proposed boycott of Israel at a meeting of the co-op's board last night. The board announced that rnerr
overwhelmingly voted against imposing the boycott.
Co-op votes downboycott
CO-OP From page 1A
expect that to end.
"If someone would like to chal-
lenge the vote, I will be in touch
tomorrow," she said.
Another boycott of Israeli
goods could still be proposed in
the future, said Kevin Sharp, the
co-op's marketing and member
services director, in a phone inter-
view yesterday.
The audience at the meeting was
amixofBoycottIsraeli Goodsmem-
bers and opponents of the ban.
Although he was satisfied with
the outcome, Stephen Pastner, a vis-
iting associate professor of anthro-
pology at the University, clenched
his fists during the board meeting.
Pastner said he was furious at the
motivations of the boycott's sup-
porters.
,"I'm very angry at these people
because they represent a perversion
of everything I believe in," Pastner
said. "I consider myself a political
progressive: they have co-opted the
name of being progressive. They
call themselves Jewish, witnesses
for peace, but they're anti-Semites,
and they're not for peace."
Ann Arbor resident Elaine Rum-
man, who said she is Palestinian,
spoke against the outcome of the
vote when addressing members of
the board. She said the Israeli gov-
ernment uses its power over the,
Palestinian people unjustly.
"I'm not happy at all for sure
because they can do anything with
power," she said. "The Gaza is real-
ly shut off from all ways, I mean
- why're they doing that?"
Some members of Boycott Israeli
Goods said the outcome was skewed
by the way the voting and balloting
were organized. During a question-
and-answer session, audience mem-
bers repeatedly asked questions the
possibility of ballot fraud.
Ed Morin, a Boycott Israeli Goods
member, said the ballots could have
affected the outcome because they
were confusing, but he said there
were other factors in play.
"It wouldn't have been this lop-
sided if that were the only cause,"
said Morin, who ran unsuccessfully
for the University Board of Regents
in 2006 on the Green Party ticket.
"I think a bigger factor is that we
had opponents who were clearly
supporting Israel unconditionally
- in other words, Israel was.their
chief value, and they weren't going
to subject Israeli behavior to any
moral criteria."
He said many people were likely
influenced to vote against the pro-
posal by the members of the board
who were concerned about the co-
op's image.
"If the ballot passes, we'll losea
lot of members, we'll lose business,
and we'lllose money,"hesaid, imag-
ining the board's rationale. "It's not
good for the co-op, and therefole
this sort of thing shouldn't be hat
pening here."
AD: Crisler arena needs overhaul
CRISLER From page 1A
currently take turns using the are-
na's court.
Martin said a practice court
could be built into a hillside
attached to the southeast corner of
Crisler. The Athletic Department
could also expand the wrestling
practice facility to include a third
wrestling mat.
Martin said it's too early for a
cost estimate because the ultimate
cost of the project will depend on
what the final plans look like. He
said he doesn't yet know how the
Athletic Department would pay
for the project but said he expects
the University to supplement Ath-
letic Department funding "in one
form or another." Martin plans to
speak with University President
Mary Sue Coleman and Chief
Financial Officer Timothy Slot-
tow before moving forward with
the project.
Although the University doesn't
usually provide funding for athletic
buildings and programs, Crisler
Arena is a special case. Because
the construction of the arena was
funded by the University's general
fund operating budget, the Univer-
sity administration gets first prior-
ity for use of the arena.
Martin said the Athletic Depart-
ment has spent decades making
small stopgap changes to avoid an
expensive renovation project. The
lighting, for example, needs a full
overhaul, he said.
Crisler's basketball court is
darker than most, in part because
the large scoreboard and speak-
ers are mounted above the middle
of the court, blocking some of
the light from the ceiling lamps
and creating, a shadow at center
court.
Although changes to the light-
ing have made the shadow less vis-
ible, it's still there. Using varnish to
lighten the color of the floor wasn't
enough to solve the lighting prob-
lem either, Martin said.
Wolters said poor lighting is his.
primary problem with Crisler's
atmosphere.
"The concourse just feels cold,"
he said. "Not the temperature, but
it's dark, it's dingy. You shouldn't
be walking into a basketball arena
feeling like that."
Martin said he wants to add a
curtain that could be closed around
the upper level of the arena. The
curtain could create a more inti-
mate atmosphere for wrestling and
women's gymnastics meets, which
are occasionally held in Crisler but
draw fewer fans than basketball
games.
Other likely changes include
wider aisles with handrails, new
chairs, more wheelchair-accessible
seating for disabled fans and more
concessions stands, he said.
Martin said the University
will meet the requirements of the
Americans With Disabilities Act of
1990 when fixing up the arena.
The project to renovate Michi-
gan Stadium has drawn fire from
disabled fans because it doesn't
provide the number of wheelchair-
accessible seats required by the
ADA. The University has argued
that the project is a repair, not a
renovation, and therefore isn't
bound by ADA regulations. A group
called the Michigan Paralyzed Vet-
erans of America has filed a lawsuit
against the University demand-
ing that the University meet ADA
requirements.
"When we renovate Crisler, we
will certainly work with the'ADA
folks to be compliant," Martin
said.
The changes to the seating areas
could lead the Athletic Department
to remove some seats from thy
arena. Martin said he's not opposed
to lowering Crisler's capacity,
which is currently 13,751.
Because Michigan rarely sells
out sporting events at the arena, it
wouldn't usually make it harder for
fans to get tickets. It might make
what is already a relatively small
venue even smaller, though.
Crisler Arena holds the sec-
ond-fewest people of any Big Ten
basketball facility. The smallest is
Northwestern University's Welsh-
Ryan Arena, which holds 8,117
people. Value City Arena at Ohio
State University is the largest with
a capacity of 19,500.
Wolters said he's not worried
about a possible drop in size.
"Having a person in every sin-
gle seat means more than having
a 15,000-seat arena," he said. "I
don't want to see them come under
11,000 seats, but if they lost 1,000
or so, I don't think anyone would
really notice."
S.C. Dem bigwig wants Clinton off Mich. ballot
Former state party
chair says Clinton's
refusal to withdraw
would hurt S.C.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - A for-
mer chairman of the South Carolina
Democratic Party wants presiden-
tial contender Sen. Hillary Rodham
Clinton to take her name off Mich-
igan's presidential primary ballot,
claiming her refusal to do so could
undermine South Carolina's role in
choosing the next president.
Former state party chairman
Dick Harpootlian, who supports
sent a letter yesterday to the state
party Chairwoman Carol Fowler,
asking her to pressure Clinton to
pursue "every legal resource to
have her name removed from the
Michigan ballot."
"This strikes us as a parsing, cyn-
ical maneuver that could do great
harm to South Carolina Demo-
cratic primary voters, who could be
ignored in favor of larger states like
Michigan who may also try to jump
the line," said the letter, also signed
by David Adams, who is backing
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardon's
campaign.
Harpootlian supports Illinois
Sen. Barack Obama's candidacy.
Democratic presidential candi-
dates had pledged not to campaign
in Michigan because the state had
broken Democratic National Com-
mittee rules by scheduling its pri-
mary ahead of Feb. 5. The rules
ban states from holding their 2008
contests before Feb. 5, except Iowa,
Nevada, New Hampshire and South
Carolina.
Rivals Obama, John Edwards,
Bill Richardson and Joe Biden took
their names off Michigan's Jan. 15
primary ballot this week, ending
Michigan's big for power in the
nominating process.
Clinton, however, has refused.
Yesterday she said taking her name
off that ballot would sacrifice her
chances against the Republican
nominee.
"It's clear, this election they're
having is not going to count for
anything," Clinton said during
an interview on New Hampshire
Public Radio. "But I just per-
sonally did not want to set up
a situation where the Republi-
cans are going to be campaign-
ing between now and whenever,
and then after the nomination,
we have to go in and repair the
damage to be ready to win Mich-
igan in 2008."
Harpootlian admitted his call
for Clinton to pull her name from
the ballot was partly a partisan
move. He said Clinton's refusal to
take her name off the ballot strikes
him as part of a pattern from the
New York senator akin to her once
voting in favor of military action in
Iraq, but now voicing her opposi-
tion to it.
"The constant theme that we've
seen with her is avery careful pars-
ing of words so she can have it both
ways," he said Thursday night.
"This is too cute, too calculating.
And I would suggest a part of the
problem with her campaign."
Clinton is slated to campaign in
South Carolina today.
Zac Wright, her spokesman in
South Carolina, said Clinton pull-
ing her name from the ballot is
"unnecessary" because she won't
be campaigning in Michigan and
won't snub voters here.
"Hillary recognizes and honors
the unique role that our four early
states play in the presidential nom-
inee selection process," Wright
said.
Fowler, a member of the Demo-
cratic National Committee's rule
committee, said last night she
hadn't seen the letter from Har-
pootlian and Adams but considerel
the request "pointless" because
Clinton won't take an active role
in seeking a win in a Michigan pri-
mary.
"I don't see that it has any impact
on South Carolina," she said.