The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Monday, October 11, 2010 - 3A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, Octoher 11, 2010 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS LANSING, Mich. Poll: Snyder keeps big lead in gov. race Republican Rick Snyder retains a wide lead over Democrat Virg Bernero in the Michigan gover- nor's race, according to a new poll released yesterday. Lansing-based EPIC-MRA says 49 percent of 600 likely Michigan voters back Snyder and 29 per- cent back Bernero, with 18 percent undecided. Four percent prefer one of three minor party candidates in the race. A September EPIC-MRA poll had Snyder ahead 53 percent to 29 percent. The two telephone polls were commissioned by the Detroit Free Press and TV stations WXYZ, WJRT, WOOD and WILX. The most recent one surveyed 600 like- ly voters statewide Oct. 3-7 and had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points. The polls show Bernero's state- wide name recognition increased from 81 percent to 89 percent in the past month. Snyder's name is rec- ognized by 92 percent. PHILADELPHIA Obama urges crowd to show him the energy of 08 President Barack Obama tried to recapture some of the big-stage excitement of his 2008 campaign yesterday, imploring voters not to reward what he called Republican cynicism and incompetence by sit- ting out the Nov. 2 elections. The president delivered one of his most stinging indictments yet of the GOP record to several thousand people under blue skies in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood. Obama acknowledged that many Americans are frustrated, espe- cially about the economy. He said Republicans have decided "to ride that frustration and anger" with- out providing solutions. And he said congressional Republicans deliberately opposed his adminis- tration and the Democratic major- ity on almost every issue, in hopes that stalemate would depress Dem- ocratic turnout in the midterm elections. "If I said there were fish in the sea, they said 'no,"' the president said. "Theyfigured 'if Ohama-fails, then we win."' BELGRADE, Serbia 0 Serb. police clash with protesters Serbian riot police fought run- ning battles yesterday with thou- sands of far-right supporters who hurled Molotov cocktails and stun grenades to try to disrupt a gay pride march in downtown Belgrade. More than 140 people were hurt and more than 200 were arrested, officials said. Thousands of police officers sealed off the streets in the capi- tal where the march took place, repeatedly clashing at several locations with rioters who tried to burst through security cordons. Several parked cars were set on fire or damaged, shop windows were broken, garbage contain- ers were overturned and streets signs destroyed. Several shops were looted before police restored peace late afternoon. The anti-gay rioters also fired shots and threw Molotov cocktails at the headquarters of the ruling pro-Western Democratic Party, setting the building's garage on fire. The state TV building and the headquarters of other politi- cal parties were also attacked, with many windows shattered by stones. BEIJING Wife allowed to meet imprisoned Nobel winner An imprisoned Chinese dis- sident who won this year's Nobel Peace Prize was allowed to meet yesterday with his wife and told her in tears that he was dedicat- ing the award to victims of a 1989 military crackdown on pro-democ- racy protesters, his wife and a close friend said. Liu Xia, the wife of democracy campaigner Liu Xiaobo, said in a Twitter message that his jailers had informed him a day earlier of his prize. "Brothers, I have returned," Liu wrote. "Seen Xiaobo, the prison told him the news about his award on the night of the 9th." - Compiled from Daily wire reports. CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION Distinguished alumni help commemorate the 100th anniversary of the political science department By SARAH ALSADEN For theDaily The University's Department of Political Science turned 100 years old this year and to celebrate, the department held panel presenta- tions with renowned alumni - in a variety of fields - who gradu- ated with political science degrees from the University. In addition to celebrating the department's 100th anniversary, the events aimed to show current political science majors the ver- satility of their degree, accord- ing to department officials. The department also used the event to celebrate its prestige and success throughout its history. Centennial celebrations began Thursday with a screening at the Michigan Theater of "Freedom's Fury" - a documentary written and directed by Colin Gray, a Uni- versity alum and political science major. Gray was also the keynote speaker for panel presentations on Friday morning in the Michi- gan Union Ballroom. Michigan Lt. Gov. John Cherry, United Auto- workers President Bob King and Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Kurtis T. Wilder also spoke at the event. During his lecture, Gray, who is an independent filmmaker, dis- cussed the benefits to his career from his degree. He said his politi- cal science degree influenced his filmmaking and inspired him to pursue an unconventional career after he graduated from the Uni- versity. "I was starting to see how doc- umentary filming is one of those many jobs where there could be a potentially unusual application of a polisci degree," Gray said. He added that political scien- tists are trained to "seek out mul- tiple perspectives" and identify the causes of issues - a technique Gray said he uses in the filmmak- ing process. ANNA SCHULTE/Daily Political science department officials and other event attendees celebrate the department's1tOOth anniversary on Friday. "(Filmmakers) seek out mul- tiple people to interview and then we weave that information into a compelling narrative or story," he said. Public 'Policy junior Ajooni Sethi, who attended the event, said she enjoyed listening to Gray and learning about issues like social justice even though she is not majoring in political science. "I think it's great that (it was) all-encompassing," Sethi said. "What (Gray) was speaking about wasn't just for political science majors." More than100 students, faculty and alumni gathered to hear the panelists speak. Stephen Snyder, a recent graduate who came back to the University for the celebration, said he thought it was interesting that Gray took a "different path" with his political science degree. "As a student you hear that if you want to be successful in a cer- tain field, you have to do x, y and z," Snyder said. "You have to fol- low a blueprint, but (Gray) went so far outside the box, and he's making a profound social impact through his work by doing it in such an unconventional way." Planning for the centennial celebration began last year, and topics were chosen based on the careers of the panelists, according to Jenna Bednar, associate profes- sor of political science and mem- ber of the centennial planning committee. Bednar said the planning com- mittee chose a variety of accom- plished alumni to speak at the event. "Our goal was to find speakers that represent the many different things that people can do with a political science degree," Bednar said. "Many of our students go into law but not all, and we wanted people to see the variety of occu- pations or career paths they could follow with a political science degree." Bednar also said the celebra- tion is meant to showcase how the department has maintained its strong academic standing for the past 100 years. "We're unrivalled ... the politi- cal science department has a his- tory of being number one, number two, number three (in rankings) and again we're right there," Bed- nar said. "Even though the depart- ment has changed so much over the years, we have changed in a way that has kept us strong." Charles Shipan, chair of the political science department, ,said students with political sci- ence degrees pursue a variety of careers. Some have become active in local politics, but others have pursued careers outside of the political arena like business and law, he said. "I think there are other people who major in political science and find it a fascinating topic of study who are then just going to simply use the skills they've gotten like the ability to ask questions, think deeply about an issue and the abil- ity to think about evidence and will take it in a completely differ- ent direction," he said. Death row inmate seeks DNA analysis Convicted murderer says new tests will prove innocence LIVINGSTON, Texas (AP) - An ex-con sent to Texas' death row for three murders and spared from execution earlier this year by the U.S. Supreme Court is set to take his case before the high court, which may decide whether his attorneys cantest items for DNA he claims could prove his innocence. Hank Skinner was convicted of pummeling his girlfriend with a pickax handle and stabbing her two sons on New Year's Eve in 1993 in their Texas Panhandle home. DNA evidence at his trial showed blood on his clothing from that night was his and from at least two of the victims. The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday on whether prison inmates may use a federal civil rights law to get DNA test- ing that was not performed before their conviction. Prosecutors in Skinner's case have refused to make some evidence available for DNA testing, including knives from the scene and a jacket next to one of the bodies. The arguments come seven months after the Supreme Court spared Skinner just an hour before he was to go to the death chamber. Justices said then they wanted to postpone his execution until they decided whether to review his case. "The relief Mr. Skinner seeks is simple and limited: the oppor- tunity to obtain access to physical evidence for the purpose of con- ducting DNA testing," Rob Owen, a University of Texas law professor and Skinner's lead attorney, said in a brief to the high court. Gray County District Attorney Lynn Switzer has refused to sur- render the items and lower courts agreed with her, saying Texas law already gave Skinner "plenty of opportunity" to show additional testing could prove his innocence. Skinner, a former convicted car thief and parole violator, was try- ing to "game the system," Switzer said. Prosecutors have said there's no evidence to conclusively prove Skinner wasn't the killer and that ample evidence exists to show he is guilty. They also contend new DNA testing "would not affirmatively prove anything." "They're fixing to kill me for something I didn't do," Skinner, 48, said last December from a tiny visiting cage outside death row as his execution date neared. To head off the scheduled March execution, his legal team renewed its appeals seeking release of evi- dence for new DNA testing. Since the Supreme Court jus- tices agreed to look at the case, the high court ruled in a DNA-related case from Alaska that convicts have no constitutional right to test genetic evidence to try to show their innocence. The court said it would not second-guess states or force them routinely to look again at criminal convictions. Attorneys for Switzer, citing that case, argued in court briefs that Skinner's lawyers hoped to get federal district courts involved in "second-guessing the decisions of state courts" under state DNA statutes. They also noted his trial lawyer chose not to test items Skin- ner now wants access to, and that using the civil rights law was an improper attempt to circumvent other appeals already refused. Fed. govt to try detainee without its star witness Coor&Ceign Grep, 208 E. Washington St. Ann Arbor. MI 48104 (734) 997-7030 www~scionxi.com Featuring Products by Kg RASTASE --Uals U.S. not appealing NY decision to ban witness NEW YORK (AP) - The U.S. government announced yesterday it would prosecute the first Guan- tanamo Bay detainee to face a civil- ian trial without its star witness because appealing a judge's ruling excluding him could cause signifi- cant delay and inconvenience other witnesses and victims. Besides, the government said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, there was enough evi- dence without the star witness to convict Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani of conspiring in1998 to blow up two U.S. embassies in Africa, killing 224 people, including a dozen Ameri- cans. The decision by the government not to appeal clears the way for the trial to resume Tuesday, when openingstatements are expected to begin after a jury is chosen from a pool of about 65 potential jurors in Manhattan. Inthe letter,Assistant U.S. Attor- ney Michael Farbiarz said the gov- ernment disagreed with the judge's decision and would have appealed it under different circumstances. But he said many trial witnesses had planned to come to New York based on the long-scheduled date of the trial and some might even be unwilling or unable to return if the trial faced a significant delay. He said many victims have already arrived in New York after a long wait to see Ghailani face trial after having traveled significant distances. "Anappeal at thisjjuncture would obviously cause a delay - a delay of uncertain, and perhaps significant, length," the letter said. "Weighing all of the circumstances, the gov- ernment does not wish to delay the trial in order to take an appeal." The judge had handed the gov- ernment a significant setback days earlier when he ruled that the star witness, Hussein Abebe, a former cab driver from Tanzania, could not testify that Ghailani bought explo- sives from him. The judge said the government learned about Abebe when Ghailani underwent a coer- cive interrogation at a secret CIA- run camp overseas. "The court has not reached this conclusion lightly," the judge wrote in his decision. "It is acutely aware of the perilous nature of the world in which we live. But the Consti- tution is the rock upon which our nation rests. We must follow it not when it is convenient, but when fear and danger beckon in a different direction." During that hearing, defense lawyer Peter Quijano tried to show that Abebe felt coerced to testify because he feared law enforcement, but Abebe insisted that was not so. Another lawyer for Ghailani, Steve Zissou, said the government's decision not to appeal was "a signif- icant victory for the Constitution." "As we saw duringlhis testimony, Mr. Abebe was hardly a credible witness," Zissou said. Ghailani has been accusedby the government of being a bomb maker, document forger and aide to Osama bin Laden. He has pleaded not guilty and has denied knowingthat TNT and oxygen tanks he delivered would be used to make a bomb. There was little controversy when Ghailani was brought to New York for trial in 2009, but the subject of where totry detain- ees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, became heated after Attorney General Eric Holder announced last November that professed Sept. 11 attacks mastermind Kha- lid Sheikh Mohammed and four others would be tried blocks from where the World Trade Center stood. Holder later said he was reconsidering the decision.