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EDWARDS
Continued from page 1.
in detail on the Kerry-Edwards cam-
paign Web site, calls for 200,000 young
people each year to commit to two
years of service - working full-time in
jobs such as building low-income hous-
ing and assisting teachers in urban and
rural schools - in exchange for four
years of college.
The initiative also aims for 300,000
college students each year to work part-
time tutoring and mentoring children
and low-income teens. In exchange,
they will receive scholarships, of up to
$2,000.
In an interview after the rally, Phelps
said he was impressed by the initiative.
"If I could do two years of commu-
nity service to have four years of col-
lege paid for, I would've jumped on it,"
Phelps said, adding that he has been
attending college for five years so far.
"Four years of school and two years of
service - I've almost done that much
doing school part time."
The Kerry campaign estimates a cost
ofroughly $13 billion over the course of
10 years for the tuition plan. According
to the campaign Web site, that cost can
be covered with the money saved by an
overhaul of the student-loan program.
The plan involves eliminating "wind-
fall profits" for banks - caused when
interest rates on student loans exceed
the rate that the government guarantees
lenders - and forcing banks to bid on
student-loan contracts.
During the rally, Edwards focused
almost exclusively on economic
issues. He described plans to give
businesses tax incentives to pro-
vide health insurance for employers,
receiving loud cheers for reiterating a
proposal to end tax breaks for compa-
nies that outsource jobs.
The state Republican party issued a
press release Friday, accusing Edwards
of supporting a "plan to decimate the
auto industry" by increasing fuel-
efficiency standards for automobiles.
Edwards addressed concerns over
those standards at the rally, saying he
and Kerry plan to ensure that new fuel-
efficient vehicles are "built by (United
Auto Workers union) workers."
Edwards's remarks on jobs and
unemployment struck a chord in resi-
dents of Flint, where the unemployment
rate is 14.5 percent. The national rate is
5.5 percent.
Jerry Winfield, a neighbor of Phelps
who watched the front-lawn discussion
from his own porch across the street,
said he appreciated seeing Edwards in
the economically downtrodden area.
"Coming into a neighborhood where
people have lost their jobs - I like
that," Winfield said. He added that he
felt Edwards, having grown up in a
working-class family, "seems like he
cares about the people."
Bill Karl, a retired construction
worker who applauded enthusiastically
during the rally, said he "liked all of
(Edwards's speech), every bit of it." But
NEWS
the issue he cares most about, he said, is
"bringing jobs to America."
"The younger generation needs jobs
here," Karl said. "Not out of the coun-
try, like the Republicans think is best
for our economy."
Although many union members and
other area residents who attended the
rally said they supported Edwards and
Kerry because they felt the Democrats
would curtail job outsourcing, some say
the Kerry-Edwards ticket's anti-out-
sourcing message belies a more moder-
ate, pro-trade agenda.
According to Jason Zengerle, a
senior editor for The New Republic,
Kerry economic advisor Laura Tyson
advised an audience of pro-trade for-
eign diplomats to "simply ignore some
of Kerry's anti-trade language" at a
National Democratic Institute forum
during the Democratic National Con-
vention in Boston.
Frank Moxam, a resident of New
Mexico who attended the Flint rally
while visiting family in Michigan, said
Edwards's language on trade was mis-
leading and that his policies would not
have a great effect on job outsourcing.
"Perot was right: we're hearing that
big sucking sound," Moxam said, refer-
ring to aprediction by the 1992 presiden-
tial candidate that the North American
Free Trade Agreement would cause
American jobs to move to Mexico.
If Kerry and Edwards wanted to stop
outsourcing, Moxam said, they would
advocate tariffs and pledge to pull out
of NAFTA.
WEB SITE
Continued from page 2
No matter what will be posted on
the Web site, good or bad, Bruce
DeKraker of Campus Rentals, an
agency with more than 30 properties
in Ann Arbor, said he feels that good
landlords should not be concerned
about students' comments.
"You can't make everyone happy 100
percent of the time, but we're as help-
ful as we possibly can be," DeKraker
added, "I'm not too worried."
Mironov said that the Web site will
be the first of several housing initia-
tives that will serve as a new way
to resolve landlord-tenant disputes
among students.
He added that the Web site will be
"the beginning of the strategic plan
on how housing activism will be
organized post-tenants union."
Created by students in 1968, the
Ann Arbor Tenants Union is a non-
profit service, independent of the
University. It is designed to resolve
landlord-tenant disputes outside of
court. Funding of AATU has been a
hot topic for debate in MSA for sev-
eral years.
In the spring of 2003, under the
guidance of Mironov - then General
Counsel - MSA finally withdrew all
funding from the organization.
The funding had consistently been
a crucial 5 to 10 percent of AATU's
budget.
"Landlords' replies
will help even out
the playing field."
-Jason Mironov
MSA President
The withdraw, following claims
of AATU as being ineffective, came
despite a student mandate to increase
funding.
AATU services are no longer avail-
able to University students.
The demand for student services
provided by AATU were then shifted
to the University's Housing Informa-
tion Office and Student Legal Servic-
es, where the AATU currently directs
University students.
Yet, entering the 2004 MSA elec-
tions, Mironov campaigned that stu-
dents' housing rights were not being
properly protectedandpledged$20,000
of MSA funds towards the redevelop-
ment of an AATU-like program.
According to Mironov, MSA is cur-
rently, "looking for more viable routes
directed at filling any type of void felt
surrounding student housing."
This new Web site, Mironov said,
is a test to see how students react to
such a program.
He further explained that, "we
don't expect the first version tobe the
final."
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