The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, November 16, 2007 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.
Reward offered in
CMU noose case
Police are trying to find out who
hung four nooses in a classroom on
the Central Michigan University
campus.
A student discovered the hang-
man's nooses in the Engineering
and Technology Building on Mon-
day. Campus Police Chief Stan Din-
ius says the nooses were made from
"flexible compressed gas lines" that
are used for laboratory work.
President Michael Rao and
other CMU leaders issued a state-
ment calling on the university and
Mount Pleasant communities "to
join us in our denouncement of this
reprehensible act."
Police are questioning students
and faculty about whether they
noticed suspicious activity in the
building. A $500 reward is being
offered for information in the in-
cident.
SEOUL, South Korea
North, South Korea
agree to run
cross-border trains
North and South Korea agreed
yesterday to launch cross-border
rail service for the first time in
more than half a century, the lat-
est sign of improving relations
between the two sides.
The rail's Dec. 11 opening will
also mark one of the first tangible
results of a summit last month
between South Korean President
Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean
leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang.
The service, which will be lim-
ited to freight transport, will have
trains running along a16-mile track
across the heavily armed frontier
to a joint industrial complex in the
North's border city of Kaesong.
KHULNA, Bangladesh
Cyclone kills 41 on
Bangladesh coast
A cyclone packing 150 mph
winds slammed Bangladesh's
southeast coast late yesterday, kill-
ing at least 41 people and forcing
hundreds of thousands from their
homes, officials said.
Cyclone Sidr leveled numer-
ous homes as it sent driving rains
and high waves across the lowland
coastal areas before weakening to
a tropical storm by this morning,
according to the Bangladesh Mete-
orological Department.
Local government officials
across the region said that at least
41 people had been killed, mainly
from collapsing homes and falling
debris, and 650,000 people had
been evacuated.
WASHINGTON
Gates vows cuts if
Congress doesn't
pass war funds
Defense Secretary Robert Gates
said yesterday that unless Con-
gress passes funding for the Iraq
war within days, he will direct the
Army and Marine Corps to begin
developing plans to lay off employ-
ees and terminate contracts early
next year.
Gates,whometwithmembers of
Congress on Wednesday, said that
he does not have the money or the
flexibility to move funding around
to adequately cover the costs of the
continuing operations in Iraq and
Afghanistan.
"There is a misperception that
this department can continue
funding our troops in the field
for an indefinite period of time
through accounting maneuvers,
that we can shuffle money around
the department. This is a serious
misconception," Gates told report-
ers at the Pentagon.
Asaresult,hesaidthatheisfaced
with the undesirable task of pre-
paring to cease operations at Army
bases by mid-February, and lay off
about100,000 Defense Department
employees and an equal number of
civilian contractors.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
U.S ADE AT HS
3,866
Number of American service mem-
bers who have died in the war in
B Iraq, according to The Associated
Press. No new deaths were identi-
fied yesterday.
Army Spc. Derek R. Banks,
24, Newport News, Va.
Army Pfc. Casey P. Mason, 22,
Lake, Mich.
PRESS
From Page 1A
heid-like racist state in Israel and
that a single, secular, democratic
state is the only solution to the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The University Press halted dis-
tribution of the book in August,
citing "serious questions" raised
by "members of the University
community," only to resume dis-
tribution amonth later.
Although copies of Pluto's books
distributed by the University Press
do not bear the University's logo,
the three regents argued in the let-
ter that the University is endanger-
ing its reputation by continuingthe
agreement.
According to the letter, Pluto's
revenues made up between 4 and 5
percent of the University's Press's
total revenues in the fiscal years
2005,2006 and 2007 -not enough
to warrant the "potential for pro-
found reputational damage."
Although the Board of Regents
has the power to terminate all Uni-
versity contracts, the letter states
REGISTRATION
From Page1A
other students said they had to
exploit the registration system to
enroll in classes they needed to
graduate and worried might fill
too quickly.
LSA senior Ashley Hagaman
said she used her roommate's
enrollment appointment at the end
of her sophomore year to sign up
for classes required for her neu-
roscience major. She said upper-
level science classes tend to fill
extremely quickly, and she wanted
access to classes that would have
otherwise been full.
Hagaman's roommate was set to
transfer to another college but still
had a registration date. Hagaman
usedthatregistrationdateto enroll
in several additional classes so she
would have more flexibility later in
that it chose not to do so out of
respect for the University Press's
executive board. To terminate a
contract, a majority vote on the
eight-member board is needed.
Only three regents signed the let-
ter.
Inaninterviewaftertheregents'
meeting, Deitch said the rationale
for terminating the Pluto contract
focuses solely on the University
Press's lack of review authority
and has nothing to do with issues
of free speech.
"The University Press, through
its relationship with Pluto Press,
has elected to profit from books
over which it has no editorial con-
trol and which press officials have
said that it would never publish
based on its own editorial stand-
ings," Deitch said. "That being the
case, I simply don't think we ought
to be in that business."
Several representatives of
groups opposed to the University
Press' contract with Pluto also
voiced their concerns during the
public comments of the meeting
yesterday about the University's
continued relationship with Pluto.
Donald Cohen, the director of
designingher schedule.
University spokeswoman Kelly
Cunningham said in an e-mail that
LSA officials know about the issue
and have taken steps to protect
students who might have trouble
enrolling in the classes they want.
The college hasn't crafted a policy
officially banning students from
holding seats, though.
"The overarching structure that
allows those with more credits to
register earlier is to give priority to
students who are close to gradua-
tion," Cunningham said. "There
is also a flip side. U-M has certain
courses reserved only for fresh-
men, and upper-division students
are not allowed to enroll."
The College of Engineering has
revised its honor code to deal with
the problem. In 1997, language
explicitly prohibiting students
from registering for a course to
hold a seat for another student was
the Great Lakes Region of B'nai
B'rith International, a Jewish ser-
vice group, said the University
Press should reevaluate its contract
with Pluto because of the "strong
political overtones" of the Univer-
sity's relationship with Pluto.
Cohen cited a July 2004 Univer-
sity Press release that described
Pluto as a renowned independent
publisher "known for some of the
best in critical writing across the
social sciences and humanities,
with a spotlight on Middle East
politics and terrorism."
Betsy Kellman, regional direc-
tor of the Anti-Defamation
League, a Jewish advocacy group,
said the University was condon-
ing anti-Semitism by continuing
to distribute Pluto's books and
called for the termination of the
Pluto contract.
"You are in a unique position to
promote diversity and prevent the
furtherance of anti-Semitism and
all kinds of bias, rather than fur-
ther these awful hate-filled refer-
ences," Kellman said.
Representatives of Pluto Press
and the University Press could not
be reached for comment.
added to the Engineering Honor
Code. Before then, the code only
said it was a violation to submit fal-
sified documents.
James Holloway, the College of
Engineering's associate dean for
undergraduate education, said the
change to the Honor Code became
necessary after the college made
its enrollment system digital.
"Before Wolverine Access, we
required an advisor's signature
to register for classes," Holloway
said. "With the new system, there
was a check process that was lost."
Holloway said most Engineer-
ing advisers don't consider manip-
ulation of the enrollment system
a major problem. There were no
cases of abuse reported to the
Engineering Honor Council last
year, he said.
"It's up to the society and the
community to follow the rules," he
said.
Members of the University chapter of the College Democrats watch the Democratic
presidential debate last night.
Cli*nton accuses
rivals of mudslinging
Obama, Edwards say
she's still not
answering tough
questions
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Under pres-
sure in a feisty debate, Sen. Hill-
ary Rodham Clinton accused her
closest rivals last night of slinging
mud "right out of the Republican
playbook" and leveled her sharpest
criticism of the campaign at their
records.
"People are not attacking me
because I'm a woman, they're
attacking me because I'm ahead,"
Clinton said, striving to protect
her standing as front-runner in an
increasingly competitive nominat-
ing campaign.
"What the American people are
looking for right now is straight
answers to tough questions, and
that is not what we have seen from
Senator Clinton on a host of issues,"
said Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois
in the opening moments of a debate
seven weeks before the first contest
of the race for the Democratic pres-
idential nomination.
"There's nothing personal
about this," said former Sen. John
Edwards of North Carolina, who
joined Obama in bluntly accusing
Clinton of forever switching posi-
tions on Social Security, driver's
licenses for illegal immigrants
and other issues, turning aside
the suggestion that she was seek-
ing to hide her positions. Long an
advocate of universal health care,
she said Obama's current proposal
leaves millions uncovered and that
Edwards did not support health
care for all when he first ran for
president in 2004.
The three-way confrontation at
the beginning of a lengthy debate
reduced the other Democratic
presidential hopefuls on the debate
stage to the uncomfortable role of
spectator, yet it perfectly captured
the race for the party's nomination.
Clinton leads in the nationwide
polls, but recent surveys in Iowa
show she is in a virtual dead heat
with Obama and Edwards.
For Richardson, Sens. Joseph
Biden of Delaware and Chris Dodd
of Connecticut and Rep. Den-
nis Kucinich of Ohio, the opening
moments were frustrating - and
they repeatedly tried to break in.
STOCKWELL
From Page 1A
next fall.
"It's a very elegant solution,"
Coleman said.
Regents still need to approve a
contractor for the project, but the
University plans to start construc-
tion in May 2008 and complete it
during the summer of 2009.
During a presentation to the
-------
COLEMAN
From Page 1A
term is the plan for interdisci-
plinary research. The University
plans to set aside $20 million for
start-up costs like equipment and
facilities and $10 million more for
compensation for the new faculty
members. Provost Teresa Sullivan
said the money will come from the
Presidential Faculty Recruitment
and Retention Fund created last
summer and from cutting costs in
the office of the provost's operat-
ing budget.
Coleman said she hopes multi-
faceted areas of study like envi-
ronmental sustainability and
alternative energy will become
the University's bread and butter
over the next decade.
"This kind of work has never
been more important," Cole-
man said in her address. "Great
universities like Michigan must
transcend disciplines to be truly
effective in addressing societal
needs."
In an interview with reporters
afterthe speech, Coleman said she
thinks the investment in interdis-
ciplinary research will pay off in
the long run.
"We're making a strategic bet
by doing this that that it's going
to, within the next five years, help
us address the areas that are of
most interest to the students and
also in which there might be the
best research opportunities," she
said.
Sullivan said after the regents
regents about the planned addi-
tion to the College of Architec-
ture and Urban Planning, an
architect from Miller/Hull Part-
nership - the company designing
the addition - said the 16,300-
square-foot addition will allow
for more outdoor working space-
as well as studio and classroom
space. He said the addition will
be to the south side of the build-
ing, which was used as the back
door, but will provide more access
meeting that she envisions a
system where the University's
schools and colleges compete to
produce the best proposals for
new faculty members.
Departments will be able to use
the program to hire additional
faculty on top of those they hire
with their normal operating bud-
get because the appointments will
be funded by the provost's office.
For that reason, Sullivan said she
expects schools and colleges to
start competing for the positions
almost immediately.
"I'll hear the first ideas tomor-
row morning," Sullivan said. "Did
you see how fast the deans left
that room?"
Coleman also announced the
creation of the Michigan Innova-
tion and Entrepreneurship Initia-
tive, a $100 million-plus project
that will create entrepreneurship
training programs at Michigan
colleges and provide funding so
researchers in the state of Michi-
gan can market their research to
investors.
The project will be funded by
private donations and invest-
ment by the state's colleges and
universities. Stephen Forrest, the
University's vice president for
research, said the program will
eventually earn some money in
royalties that will help offset the
cost of the initiative.
"The initiative will advance
commercialization of university
research, promote partnerships
between higher education and
industry, and propel the work of
entrepreneurial students and fac-
from that direction. He said the
addition will include classrooms,
studio space, a library and offices.
There will also be new stairways
and bathrooms.
The addition was first approved
in July and is expected to cost
about-$13 million. The-regentsA
must still approve construction
contracts before construction can
begin. If all goes according to plan,
the renovation will be completed
by spring 2010.
For video of the speech, visit
michigandaily.com/videos
ulty," Coleman said in her address.
"It is, in effect, an investment in
the people and ideas that emerge
from our public universities as
drivers of a knowledge-based
economy."
Coleman also touched on sev-
eral other goals for her term in
the address.
She said she intends to continue
working to make North Campus a
cohesive community of its own.
She suggested that Baits Resi-
dence Hall could be renovated
and converted into a living-learn-
ing community for students inter-
ested in the arts.
"Is North Campus like Cen-
tral Campus? No, and by design it
never will be," Coleman said. "It
is its own distinctive place, with
distinguished academic programs
and beautiful natural surround-
ings."
Coleman also vowed to pro-
mote study-abroad by University
students, increase the amount
of research funding garnered by
University faculty and continue
raising money to offset declining
state funding.
"It has been a privilege to
serve this university for the last
five years, and I am grateful for
the support of the regents and so
many others," Coleman said. "I
look forward to joining with all of
you as we work together to carry
this university to even greater
heights."
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