0 2 - Wednesday, November 4, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com MONDAY: In Other Ivory Towers TUESDAY: Off the Beaten Path THURSDAY: Campus Characters FRIDAY: Explained clrhe Ik1~ian DAfij 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com GARY GRACA DAN NEWMAN Editor in Chief Business Manager 734-647-3336 734-764-0558 graca@michigandaitycom tmdbusiness@gmail.com 0 On with the show MUSKET's productions are often as eccentric as the group's name: the Michigan Union Shows, Ko-Eds, Too. The troupe's origins date back to 1908, when it was called the Michi- gan Union Opera Company. The name was changed to MUSKET in 1956, when women were added to the group and the focus was shifted to performing musicals. Today, the group puts on two shows per year and stands out on campus as the only musical theater troupe that is entirely student-run. The student staff of MUSKET consists of four producers, who stay on throughout the year, and a changing set of marketers, directors, actors, orchestra members and stage crew, who vary by show. This group differs from most campus productions because it often offers parts to students from differ- ent schools and departments in the University, according to Music, The- atre & Dance senior Trevor Spon- seller, one of MUSKET's producers. "What's really cool is that we get a lot of theater and musical theater people, and then we get alot of really talented people from LSA and engi- neering and nursing and education, completely different majors," he said. In choosing such a diverse cast, members of MUSKET say they are trying to promote the ultimate goal of the troupe: to produce a student theater that offers theatrical oppor- tunities to all. Because the group is student-run, Sponseller said it also has more free- dom in the musicals that it chooses to perform. "We like to do edgier shows, stuff that tests the boundaries a little bit more than the department shows," Sponseller said. In the past, MUSKET has per- formed shows like "Assassins," "Uri- netown,""The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "The Full Monty." Maintaining that edgy theme is MUSKET's selection for this fall: the rock musical "Hair." The musical follows the lives and tribulations of a hippie tribe living in Central Park in New York City in the 1960s. The characters deal with complex issues like sexuality, iden- tity and the Vietnam War draft. LSAsophomoreLanceFletke,who plays one of the leads, said he knew from the beginning that this year's performance would be a "powerful show." "These are powerful people, each and every one with a story, each and every one with a history, and bag- gage, and experiences, and joys and pains," he said. "And we're all com- ing together to pour ourselves into this show." - CAITLIN HUSTON CONTACT INFORMATION Newsroomc News Tips Corrections Letters to the Editor Photography Department Arts Section Editorial Page Sports Section Display Sales tiassified Sales Online Sales Finance Office hours: Sun.-Thurs.Ita.m. - 2 a.m. 734-763-24s9 news@michigandaily.com corrections@michigandaily.com tothedaily@michigandaily.com photo@michigandaily.com opinion@oiehtgondaiy.con, sports@michigandaity.coe, disptay@michigandaily.om classiied@michigandaity~coe, onlineads@michiandaiy.ome Members of the MUSKET musical theatre company rehearse for their upcoming production of "Hair" in the Student Theatre Arts Complex. CRIME NOTES Cash stolen from You break it, CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Breaking the Performance purse WHERE: Biomedical Science Research Building WHEN: Monday at about noon. WHAT: A female staff mem- ber reported that $25 was stolen from her purse that was left unattended in a classroom, University Police reported. There are no suspects. Out of sight, out of mind WHERE: Central Campus Recreation Building WHEN: Monday at about 7 p.m. WHAT: A student left his bag unattended for about an hour and returned to find miscel- laneous items missing, Univer- sity Police reported.. you buy it WHERE: University Hospital WHEN: Monday around 11:45 p.m. WHAT: A staff member reported that a patient punched a hole in the wall and tore down the shower curtains in a room in the Maternal and Child Health Area. University Police reported that the patient will be charged $500 for damages. Lock cut, bike stolen WHERE: 750 North Univer- sity Avenue WHEN: Monday at about 8 p.m. WHAT: A student left her bike locked up for four days and whenshe returned for it found the lock cut and the bike gone, University Police reported. The bike was valued at $100, aience WHAT: A brief presentation about the Congo Conflict, followed by a screening of the documentary "Rape of a Nation" and a discussion. WHO: African Student Asso- ciation WHEN: Tonight at 7 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union Room 2105B Sleep disorder discussion WHAT: Louise O'Brien leads a discussion on Sleep-Disor- dered Breathing's connection with obesity and poor preg- nancy outcomes. WHO: Institute for Research on Women and Gender WHEN: Today from 3 to 4:30 p.m. WHERE: Lane Hall WHAT: Female songwriters and singers Eric McKeown and Jill Sobule perform. WHO: Institute for Research on Women and Gender WHEN: Tonight at 8 p.m. WHERE: The Ark Chinese modern art lecture WHAT: A lecture from Melissa Chiu about the last three decades of Chinese art. WHO: Museums Theme Year WHEN: Tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. WHERE: Helmut Stern Auditorium, Museum of Art CORRECTIONS . Please report any error in the Daily to correc- tions@michigandaily.com. A high school algebra teacher in California said he would any student who would eat a dead fly he killed during class an 'A' on his or her next test, cbs13.com reported. However, the student who com- plied instead received an 'F'. The school's principal is currently investigating the situation. Michigan's latest budget bill decreased K-12 edu- cation funding by nearly $292 per pupil for the next fis- cal year. a>FORMORE, SEE OPINION, PAGE 4 3 A Sterling Heights, Mich. family found a live frog in a bag of lettuce from Kroger, myfoxdc.com reported. Kroger asked the family to return the package with the live frog inside, but the family decided to send a photograph and set the frog free instead. EDITORIAL STAFF tourtney Ratkowiak ManagingEditor ratkowiak@michigandaily.com Jacoh SmilOitZsnaangNeswsEditor smilovitz@mchga::daily.com noSITAN ES EDITORS: Nicole Aber, Mallory Jones, Emily Orley, Stephanie Steinberg, EshwarThirunavukkarasu Robert Soave Editorial Page Editor soavermichigandaily.com ASSOCIATE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITORS: Emily Barton, Brian Flaherty, Rachel Van Gilder ASSISTANTEDITORIALPAGEEDITORS:EmmaJeszke,MatthewShutleras Andy Reid Managingsports Editor reid@michigandaily.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITORS: Nicole Auerbach, Mike Eisenstein, Ian Kay, Ruth Lincoln Alex Prosperi ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITORS: Mark Burns, Chantel Jennings, Gnn Juncaj, Ryan Kartje, Chris Meszaros, Ryan Podges David Watnick ManagingArtsEditor wanick@michigandaily.com SENIORARTSEDITORS:JamieBlock,WhitneyPow ^ASS NTARTS EDITORS:JoshuaBayer, CarolynKlarecki, AndrewLapin,DavidRiva, ZacharyMeisnerand photo@michigandaity.com Clif Reeder ManagingPhoto Editors SENIOR PHOTO EDITORS:Said Alsalah, ChanelVon Habsbur-Lothringen ASSISTANT PHOTOEDITORS:Max Collins,Chris Dzombak,Sam Wolson AngelaChih and design@michigandaily.com MareenGStyh Manaong Gesgnditors Jessica Vosgerchian Magazine Editor vosgerchian@michigandaily.com Katherine Mitchell CopyChief mitchet@mtchigandaily.com ASSOCIATE COPY CHIEF: Melanie Fried, Adi Wonstein BUSINESS STAFF Katie Jozwiak Sales Manager SALES FORCE MANAGER: Molly Twigg MARKoETNG MAuNAGER: Michael Shrotenboer Ryan B sinski CtassifiedManagr CLASSIFIED ASSITANT MANAGER: Kayla LaFata Ben English Production Manager Allison Santacreo Layout Manager Vivian Lee Finance Manager Brittany MoralestCirculationrManager Brad Wiley Project Coordinator Thre cinDail ISN 074-967is pulihdoinay tgFrday da',tefalland ite rerm ystdentsathnenversofMcigan Oneoysaila beaeto alreder. Additionalcopiesmay be pickedup at the Dalyso eefor$2.Subscriptonsf t i tam, sating SetemreiasU.e ai re$10,itrtmnuaryexthoughApriltsltt5,erong (Steptember trougtAprsi t eli$1.Uneiyantesaresujetto a reuedsscaionrte.earpus subscriptionsfor faltermare$3.Subscriptionsmust be prepaidTheMian yailsamembeo The AssociatedPressand The Associated Collegiate Press. 0 WANT TO WRITE FOR NEWS? gypt-srae rtion E-mail smilovitz@michigandaily.com complicate peace efforts Hillary Clinton will concernothat Egyptian and Arab sup- for attempts by African countries port for the Israeli-Palestinian peace to grab a bigger share of the Nile's meetwith Egyptian efforts maybewaning. waters. Clinton, who extended he i- "If generally they have been col Al F T Nil C) N F cF-S H M EN & S O P H O M O R E S2[ president today east trip by a day to come to Cairo, nowtheirtiesseemtobefrosty,"said 0 0 ARE YOU AMBITIOUS, ASSERTIVE AND SOCIABLE? .11 ads for 2lhe Dui. CAIRO (AP) - A sharp dete- rioration in Egypt's relations with Israel is further complicating Washington's faltering efforts to move the Middle East peace pro- cess forward. The U.S. has long relied on Egypt's key role as a mediator in the region, most crucially in try- ing to reconcile rival Palestinian factions. But those efforts are now stalled as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton rushes to Cairo to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak today - a clear sign of arrives at one of the lowest ebbsin three decades of Egyptian-Israeli peace. Over the past month, Egypt has been scaling back its already limited contacts with Israel in an apparent protest over Israel's refusal to halt Jewish settlement in the West Bank and east Jerusalem. Egypt has tried to keep Israe- lis away from several international forums and censured an academic for meeting Israel's ambassador to Cairo. Egyptians have also bitterly blamed Israel for their culture min- ister's loss of the top post at the U.N. culture agency, UNESCO, and even We need new account executives for the Winter/Spring/Summer period. Are you up to the challenge? It's not just a job. It's the training you need to succeed! Where else can you learn to: Build customer relationships Close deals Convince skeptics Become a leader and build a Killer Resume? Please pick up an application at The Michigan Daily Student Publications Building 420 Maynard Street, first floor or call (734) 764-0554 or e-mail, attn: Molly Twigg dailydisplay@gmail.com Application deadline for Winter 2010 positions: November 20, 2009 Q~- Samir Ghattas, head of the Cairo- based Magdus Center for Strategic Studies. IsraelacknowledgedtheEgyptian frictions but tried to play them down, contending the hard line against the Jewish state comes more from the society than from Egypt's govern- ment. Egypt was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel in 1979 and though ties have never been warm, it has played a critical role as Mideast peace mediator. The Egyp- tians helped end the Gaza vvar early this year. More recently, Egyptian and German mediators brokered a deal between Israel and Hamas to exchange 19 Palestinian women prisoners for the first video images of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalitsince he was captured in a cross-border raid from Gaza in 2006. The deterioration of relations poses another obstacle to the Obama administration's plan for Egypt and other Arab countries to forge a regional peace deal. Other Arab countries - most of which refuse all contact with Isra- el - have rejected the U.S. call for small steps toward normalization with Israel that could create a bet- ter environment to restart Israeli, Palestinian peace talks. Palestinians are demanding a total settlement freeze before they will return to talks,t suspended. since latelast year. Clinton angered Arabs this week when she lauded Israel for what she called an unprecedented offer to curb Jewish settlement on lands Palestinianshopetoincorporateina future state. It was unusually strong praise forIsraeli peace effortswith- out explicitly mentioning any posi- tive acts by the Palestinians. Arab governments interpreted her comments in Jerusalem as a tilting of U.S. policy toward Israel. On Monday in Morocco, Clinton issued what she called a clarifica- tion, saying her wordsin Jerusalem were meant as "positive reinforce- ment" for the Israelis. She said Israel's effort still fell far short of U.S. expectations, and strongly praised the Palestinians. Ak