a a ~
One hundred eight years ofeditonlfreedom ht
Monday, May 10,_1999
Ftp://wwwmichi onaivcm
cj./vwv. rcm arar.u
Universities Ford11ve
*Nfr$9.3 millionrto 'U'
r
"JIJA 111~V
By Nika Schulte
DAN, Dews Editor
Marking one of th
rate contributions e
the University, a $9.
#pledge from the
alternative Company Fund was
week by the Unive
Motor Company.
By Michael Grass Unlike previous
Daily Nows Editor the company which
As universities nationwide search for ly on the College of
better ways to monitor working condi- recent pledge will
tions in the factories that produce range of schools
licensed merchandise, a few schools including the Sch
recently announced they will form a one-
year pilot study to look at the collegiate
apparel industry in depth.
Officials from Harvard University,
The Ohio State University, the
University of Notre Dame and the
gniversity of California system have
. aid they will use a monitoring organiza-
tion to investigate factory conditions.
Some students in the anti-sweatshop
movement speculated last week that the
University was an unnamed school
which planned to sign onto the partner-
ship, but University spokesperson Joel
Seguine said administrators have not
committed to the project.
Seguine said it is an "effort the
University would support."
Officials from participating universi-
s said they hope the new partnership
will serve as an alternative to the highly-
criticized Apparel Industry Partnership-
Fair l abor Association.
.Many universities have accepted the
responsibility of taking action to see that
clothing bearing our names is made
under safe and humane conditions," said
H arsard attorney Allan Ryan in a written
statement.
0 he monitoring organization that the Engineering sophor
schools plan to retain for the project is
PricewaterhouseCoopers, a group hired Studr
by Notre Dame to audit factories pro-
diicing its licensed merchandise.
Charles Kemaghan, executive director
of the National Labor Committee, said
he doubts the effectiveness of monitor-
ing by groups like By Seva Gunitskiy
PricewaterhouseCoopers. For the Daily
While on a fact-finding mission in It's a sunny afte
Ilonduras and El Salvador earlier this junior David Luthi
0 onth, Kemaghan said he was told by major, is concentr
orkers that they would be reluctant to in the midst of a b
speak the truth about factory conditions Taking classes
to foreign monitors for fear of losing their may seem an unfo
jobs. many students h
"There is no role for Pricewaterhouse their education aft
here, we heard that from everyone," ic year.
Keriaghan said. Luther said alt
Vice President Al Gore speaks at 'The Mummy
the sustainable development ences as the
conference in Detroit. Page 3. aters. Page 9
he largest corpo-
ver received by
.3 million dollar
Ford Motor
announced last
ersity and Ford
donations from
focused primari-
Engineering, the
benefit a wide
and programs
ool of Natural
Resources and the Center for the
Education of Women.
University Senior Director of
Corporation and Foundation
Relationships Jay Hartford said the
collaboration between the
University and Ford in drafting the
pledge benefited the University's
desires greatly.
"Some universities end up with a
corporate written agreement," Hartford
said. "This is really a broad-based part-
nership."
Gary Nielsen, vice president and
executive for the Ford Motor Company
Fuind, the philanthropic division of the
motor giant, said the pledge, which has
been in development for more than 20
months, will foster better working rela-
tionships between the company and the
University.
"In prior relations, (contributors)
showed up with a large check," Nielsen
said, adding that Ford has a contact with
University faculty in each of the depart-
rnents receiving funds.
Carol Hollenshead, director for the
CEW said although the center has
received funding from Ford in the
past, the recent pledge was substan-
tial enough to create long-awaited
graduate fellowships for Women in
Business, Engineering and Natural
Resources.
"We have for many years had schol-
arship and fellowship programs, but
never had a program of this kind,"
H-lollenshead said.
Funds designated to the College of
Engineering will be used to support its
Summer Engineering Academy which
provides educational engineering
opportunities for middle and high
school students.
See FORD, Page 2
p J) T N
t
r A2 :i C
Legislators
consid er
Weapons bill
By Jason Stoffer
Daily Staff Reporter
In the wake of the shootings at Columbine I ligh School in
Littleton, Colo., many parents, teenagers and community mem-
bers have begun to push for stricter gun control ordinances.
Yet the Michigan State Legislature is considering a bill
that, if passed, would make it easier for state citizens to
obtain a concealed weapons permit.
Michigan's current concealed weapons law requires citizens
who desire a concealed weapon permit to prove to a county gun
board, beyond a shadow of doubt, that they need the permit.
If passed, the bill would shift the burden of proof to the
state and require county gun boards to automatically grant a
permit to any citizen aged 21 or older without a felony con-
viction or a history of mental illness.
State Rep. Michael Bishop (R-Rochester) said the bill would
give all state citizens equal access to guns - eliminating wide
discrepancies that currently exist between the number of con-
cealed weapon permits granted in different counties.
He said that while a vote on the bill was delayed following
the Littleton shootings, he expects the bill to be debated on
the floor of the House of Representatives this week.
"This bill is not about guns and gun violence" said
Bishop, a University alumnus. "It's just about clarifying the
language of the Carrying a Concealed Weapon Law.
"I genuinely stand behind gun holders' right to own guns
and I don't think its fair for gun boards to make arbitrary and
capricious decisions when considering whether to grant
someone a concealed weapon permit," he said.
But some representatives said granting many citizens the
right to walk armed in the streets is unnecessary and dangerous.
Rep. John Hansen (0-Ann Arbor) said while the bill's pas-
sage may put more guns in the hands of responsible gun own-
ers, the bill would also increase the likelihood of violent inci-
See LEGISLATION, Page 7
The Michigan Daily
Student Publications Building
420 Maynard St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48019-1327
News: 76-DAILY
Classifieds: 764-0554
Display: 764-0557
more Colin McDermitt enjoys Ann Arbor's spring weather on the Diag yesterday.
"its take spr ng classes,
dffietA atmospkere
y offer a more relaxed atmosphere, off-season
classes are not a blow-off for people looking to
rnoon on the Diag, and LSA bulk Lip their transcripts.
er, a jazz studies and physics "If you're set on taking classes in the sum-
ating on calculus equations mer, you're probably pretty serious about it,"
lossoming spring day Luther said.
in the spring and summer Officials in the Office of the Registrar said
ortunate fate for some, but they will not have the exact number of stu-
ave decided to continue dents enrolled for spring term until next
ter the traditional academ- week, but estimated that about six thousand
students will stay in Ann Arbor for classes.
hough classes in the spring See SPRING, Page 2
71mm mm e a 7
N
- s
spooks audi-
movie hits the-
9.
~Y
- '=n
v f