0 8 - Tuesday, February 19, 2008 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Amtrak to implement new safety measures Clinton, Obama make final Wisc. efforts Company's security policies went mostly unchanged since 9/11 WASHINGTON (AP) - Amtrak will start randomly screening pas- sengers' carry-on bags this week in a new security push that includes officers with automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolling platforms and trains. The initiative, to be announced by the railroad today, is a sig- nificant shift for Amtrak. Unlike the airlines, it has had relatively little visible increase in security CENTER From Page 1 the majority of the University's work on Africa is done in sub-Saha- ran Africa, and that the focus of the center would likely reflect that. The University's Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies already coordinates programs in North African countries. Kevin Gaines, the director of CAAS, said the center would prob- ably focus first on coordinating current research endeavors, and since the 2001 terrorist attacks, a distinction that has enabled it to attract passengers eager to avoid airport hassles. Amtrak officials insist their new procedures won't hold up the flow of passengers. "On-time performance is a key element of Amtrak service. We are fully mindful of that. This is not about train delays," Bill Rooney, the railroad's vice president for security strategy and special oper- ations, told The Associated Press. Nor will the moves require pas- sengers to arrive at stations far in advance, officials said. Passengers who are selected randomly for the screening will be delayed no more than a couple of minutes, Amtrak then launch new programs once it has a larger staff. Gaines said staff salaries and other expenses will be fundedthroughtheProvost's Office until external funding sources are found. Askew's first task will be to find a new director for the center. The center's officials will also organize a large conference for its inaugura- tion. She said the conference would likely be held in winter 2009 and that smaller seminars and lecture series might also be held in the near future. Along with holding conferences chief executive Alex Kummant said. "We're very conscious of the fact that you're in an environment where commuters have minutes to go from train to train," he said. Concern about Amtrak security has been mounting since the 2004 bombings of commuter trains in Madrid that killed 191 people. Trains also have been bombed in London, where 52 people were killed in a series of blasts in 2005, most of them on subway trains, and in Mumbai, India, where 200 people were killed in2006 on com- muter trains. Russia also has had several bombings on subway, com- muter and long-distance trains. The new procedures draw and bringing speakers to the Uni- versity, the center would facilitate faculty exchange between the Uni- versity and African institutions, Askew said. She said that CAAS has brought more than 40 faculty members from South African uni- versities to Ann Arbor through the Charles Moody Exchange Scholars Program, which was established in 1996. She said the center's goal isto increase that number and attract professors from other African countries. On Friday, Coleman and 12 other University faculty members will heavily on measures being used in the New York City subways, Rooney said. That model has been upheld in court challenges, he noted. Amtrak plans to roll out the new "mobile security teams" first on the Northeast Corridor between. Washington and Boston, the rail- road's most heavily used route, before expanding them to the rest of the country. The teams will show up unan- nounced at stations and set up bag- gage screening areas in front of boarding gates. Officers will ran- domly pull people out of line and wipe their bags with a special swab that is then put through a machine that detects explosives. travel to South Africa and Ghana for two weeks to build relation- ships with universities there. Dur- ing that time, Coleman will meet with leaders of Universities in an effort to develop faculty exchange programs with them. Askew said professors at Afri- can institutions usually don't have the same resources that are pro- vided at American institutions. "By bringingthemhere,we'rehelp- ing them gain some of that access, which they can then take back and share with students and colleagues there," she said., Badger state sets up major contests in Qhio, Texas By JOHN M. BRODER and JEFF ZELENY The New York Times WAUSAU, Wis. - Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, 0-N.Y, and Barack Obama, D-Ill., intensified their pop- ulist appeals yesterday, responding to widespread economic anxiety and pushing the Democratic Party further from the business-friendly posture once championed by Bill Clinton. Hillary Clinton, speaking on the eve of the Wisconsin primary but looking forward to primaries in Ohio and Texas on March 4, issued a 12-page compendium of her eco- nomic policies that emphasizes pro- grams aiding families stressed by high oil prices, home foreclosures, costly student loans and soaring health care premiums. In public appearances here and in her economic booklet, she took aim at hedge fund managers, oil compa- ny profits, drug company subsidies and trade agreements that she says encourage companies to export jobs. Freshmen and Sophomores, are you looking for a summer internship? Would you like to take a step towards bolstering your resume? Do you wan to work with the coolest people on campus? The Michigan Daily Business Staff Department is a student run group that sells all the ads in the Daily. We are looking for dedicated and motivated people to continue the legacy that has been going on for over 118 years. Simply send e-mail to dailydisplay@gmail.com, call (734) 764-0554, or stop in at the Daily building (420 Maynard) to pick up an application! T H E OR 1 0 N A L 512 E. William (734) 663-3379 LIMITED TIME OFFER For Our Friends at The U CUSTOMER APPRECIATION Lunch Buffet M-F 11-2pm $2 OFF our Lunch Buffet With Beverage Included Just Present Your U of M 4.D. Offer Expires: 2/29/2008 Earl of Sandwich 307 S. State St. 734-213-6762 Clinton told an audience that the Wisconsin primary and subsequent contests were "a chance for all of you here to help take our country back." "We need tax breaks for the mid- dle class, not for the wealthy and the well-connected," she said yesterday morning at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wis. "We're going to rein in the special interests and get the $55 billion in giveaways and subsidies they've gotten under Republicans back into your pockets." Clinton referred to the "two oilmen in the White House" and repeated her call for a windfall-prof- its tax on the oil industry to finance a $50 billion program to develop alternate energy sources and create "green jobs." Campaigning in Ohio before fly- ing to Wisconsin for an election-eve rally, Obama said the wealthy had "made out like bandits" under the Bush administration and called for an end to tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas. "In the last year alone," Obama said, "93 plants have closed in this state. And yet, year after year, poli- ticians in Washington sign trade agreements that are riddled with perks for big corporations but have absolutely no protections for Ameri- can workers." GROUP From Page 1 the resident halls. He said that would be a more direct, personal experience for freshmen than being flagged down in the Diag. For upperclassmen, Kendall said, the group wants to compile student mailing lists and send them instructions on how to apply for voter registration. Voice Your Vote has also asked the University to add voter regis- tration drop boxes in every LSA building. Currently, campus has only one dropbox, located on the third floor of the Michigan Union. Fishman said the group is in talks with administrators in Angell Hall and the libraries to install them there as well. Secu- rity concerns have held up the process. She said the group is still work- ing on ways to insure the boxes won't be stolen and students' per- sonalinformation won't be threat- ened. Fishman said they also want the University's gateway website to provide students with informa- tion on how to register to vote. Trelawny Boynton, an associ- ate director in residence educa- tion, said she supports working with Voice Your Vote to help it gain more access to residence halls. Bynton said she plans to meet with Fishman and Kendall soonto work on their plans. Jim Kosteva, director of the University's community relations in the Office of Government Rela- tions, said he thinks that many of the groups ideasuwill be feasible. He said the next step will be examine any security issues before coming up with a timeline for implementation. Fishman said she and Kend- all are hopeful that most of these changes will be made before the presidential election in Novem- ber. "We've really been working hard to try and make that hap- pen," Fishman said. T M E 0 R I G I N A L 512 E. William (734) 663-3379 WEEKDAY HAPPY HOUR at bar only 4 FREE Breakfast Sandwich With the purchase of a beverage Sandwich Combo: $7.9 Includes sandwich, side & fountain beverage Pleasepresentilsiscoupon. Expires53108. -A-R U - -- 0 6