Arts 10 'Superman Returns' in puzzling form Sports 14 World Champions to Q sign former Cager Monday,July 3, 2006 Summer Weekly One-hundred-sixcteen years oeditoriadfreedom www.michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 124 ©2006 The Michigan Daily State to boost funding A 3 percent increase would add approximately $11 million to the University's general fund By Leah Graboski Daily News Editor The state government came to a tentative agreement Friday to increase funding to the University by three percent - the first increase from the state since 2001. The increase would boost the state appropriations to $324,174,990 from $314,733,000. Over the past three years, the University has experienced decreases in appropriations of 13.7 percent, one of the worst periods of budget cutting in the University's history. "We are very grateful. We know the state is under very constrained circumstances," said Phil Hanlon, associate provost for academic and budgetary affairs. Hanlon is the chief budget manager for University Pro- vost Teresa Sullivan, who has the lead role in allocating the University's resources. Gov. Jennifer Granholm originally proposed a 2 per- cent increase, the same amount proposed by the state Senate, but the state House of Representatives called for a 3.5 percent increase. After a month of negotiations between legislative leadership and budget officials, the legislature reached an agreement at 3 percent, said Greg Bird, spokesman for the state budget office. Next week, Senate and House conference commit- tees will meet to make final adjustments to the bud- get. By mid-July, the House and Senate will vote to finalize the budget. "If you make it a priority, you can find the funding," said State Representative Pam Byrnes (D-Ann Arbor). Hanlon said that in the last two years there has been significant change at the state level with regard to con- cerns for funding higher education. For the 2005-2006 academic year, the University focused on demonstrating to the state government its importance in the overall state economy in terms of economic development, technology transfers and research and development power, said Cynthia Wil- banks, vice president for government relations. "We had a plan this year," Wilbanks said. Earlier this year, University President Mary Sue Cole- man gave testimony to Congress alongside the presi- dents of Michigan State University and Wayne State University, stressing the importance of higher education for Michigan students. State appropriations largely determine tuition, which is slated for approval by the Board of Regents at their July 21 meeting. Sullivan has been planning for a budget increase of 2 percent, Hanlon said. Despite the increase of appropriations, adjust- ments necessary to account for inflation and trends of decreased state funding will not allow for a tuition reduction. Instead, students and families should expect a "moderate increase" in tuition, said University Spokeswoman Julie Peterson. Hanlon 'tnd other budget decision makers have three wmton n:src ste wrk with w hen stelcnining s!ilocsiots 5e 're ( -- th tid tha esse the mwa o t AISER PROTESTED Former LEFT: Michigan Civil Rights initiative employee Max McPhail holds a sign accusing Civil Rights Commission Chair Mark Bemstein of bias against the MCRI outside of Bernstein's Ann Arbor home Friday while he held a fund-raiser for One United Michigan, an anti-MCRI group. Out- spoken MCRI supporter Jennifer Gratz and about 15 University students protested Bernstein's fund-raiser because it was held two weeks after his committee deliv- ered a report against the initiative. oet os BELOW: Bernstein surveys protesters' signs with his son Noah. Bernstein repeatedly came out to the students and even sent waitresses with hors d'oeuvres out to the group. "It's a radical act to come to someone's home in a quiet suburban neighborhood," Bernstein said. "They are really lowering the bar of civility in Ann Arbor." Poet Laureate Donald Hall will act as the nation's official lightning rod' for poetry By Andrew Klein Managing Arts Editor In his poem "The Alligator Bride," Donald Hall opens succinctly with "The clock of my days winds down." On June 16, Hall, a former University English prof., was appointed the Library of Congress's 14th Poet Laureate Consul- tant in Poetry. If Hall's clock is winding down, it surely hasn't stunted his creative output or his reputation. According to the Library of Congress, the Poet Laureate "serves as the nation's offi- cial lightning rod for the poetic impulse of Americans" and is obliged to present poetry as an accessible genre for the public. To fulfill this responsibility, some named to the position develop new pro- grams, such as former laureate Billy Collins's "Poetry 180," which analyzes a single poem each day to be used in high school classrooms. Gwendolyn Brooks, who was laureate in 1985, visited numerous elementary school students in the effort to promote poetry to America's youth. See HALL, Page 2 H1igh court assails Bush' s policies Il a 5-3 rtli1g., the B Stpreltm attempt to resurrect a type of military trial last - such as Bush - will continue to push for t used in the aftermath of World War II violates policies they support until somebody says "no." 011 rt fl111did thit I Presj( t Util United States military law and the Geneva con- The decision could have a broad impact on t 1311i1 vitolated Itilitarv la ventions that set international standards for deal- administration's legal justification for many of i ing with people captured in armed conflicts. policies in the global fight against terrorism, fro From Staff and Wire Reports The ruling focused on Salim Ahmed Ham- eavesdropping to detention policies in Iraq. he he its }m The Supreme Court rebuked President Bush and his anti-terror policies Thursday, ruling that his plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violates United States and international law. The president and congressional Republi- cans immediately pledged to work on a new strategy for special trials for some of the hun- dreds of suspected al-Qaida and Taliban oper- atives rounded up in Afghanistatn. Pakistan and othcr countries. iss sand the rnlist""won' tCuse killers to dan, a one-time driver for sama bin Laden who has spent four years in the United States prison at Guantanamo Bay. He faces a single count of conspiring to commit terrorism. Lt. Cmdr. Charles Swift, Hamrdan's Navy lawyer, said he told the Yemeni about the ruling by telephone. "I think he was awe-struck that the court would rule for him, and give a little man like him an equal chance. Where he's from, that is not true, Swift said. Public P'olicy lrof. and former Univeesity Provost Pau ± oureat ssid he is pleased wnith the :onrt's decision. "I think the most significant aspect of the Supreme Court's decision is that itrepudiatedtwo central claims of the Bush administration about the separation of powers," said Evan Caminker, dean of the University's School of Law. Caminker said one claim is that the congressio- nal authorization of the use of force gave the execu- tive branch blanket approval of anything it thought was important concerning the war on terrorism. The second claim, Caminker said, is that even if congress has purported to curtail vari- ous measures - such as telephone surveillance Bush uassmtises he has the power to override cntsgressional Iimits.