LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Friday, March 1, 1996 - 3
AAPD
searching for
suspect in NBD
hBank -robbey
The search is on for a man who
walked into an NBD Bank branch
Wednesday, handed the teller a note
and walked out with an envelope full
of money.
The man was described by witnesses
as 25-35 years old and 5-foot-5 to 5-
~ft~ot-6, said Ann Arbor Police De-
plrtment Sgt. Phil Scheel. He was
wearing round-rimmed wire glasses,
a blue jacket and a blue hat.
Scheel indicated that the man
walked into the bank, located at 3500
Washtenaw Ave., at around 1:50 p.m.
He then approached the teller and
handed over an envelope with some-
thing scrawled on it. The teller
promptly filled the envelope with an
undisclosed amount of cash and re-
turned it to the man.
The thief escaped on foot but prob-
ably had a car waiting somewhere
nearby, Scheel said, as tracking dogs
lost his scent soon after starting a
pursuit.
Anyone with information is re-
quested to call AAPD at 994-2880 or
the confidential tip line at 996-3199.
asketball junkie
rrested, committed
to psychiatric ward
-Any fan of college basketball has
had dreams of being out on the Crisler
Arena floor and dunking over the op-
position. One man made those dreams
a reality Tuesday morning, at least in
his own mind.
* Sometime after 8 o'clock that morn-
ing, the man set up a table near one of
the Crisler Arena backboards and re-
peatedly climbed on the table and
jumped off, dunking a basketball
through the rim, over and over again.
Department of Public Safety reports
indicate that the man's leaps and dunks
were forceful enough to damage the
table he was using as a pedestal.
When DPS officers arrived on the
ene, they found the man speaking
coherently. The officers transported
the man to the University Psychiatric
Emergency Room where he was in-
voluntarily committed.
The man is not a University stu-
dent.
Also at Crisler Arena, a framed,
autographed picture ofthe men's bas-
ketball team was stolen from the
supervisor's office Tuesday night. The
*cture was taken sometime during
the game against Michigan State, a
29-point rout for the Wolverines.
Police have no suspects in their
investigation.
$6,550 worth of video
equipment stolen
Two camcorders and a lens, with an
*timated value of $5,000, were taken
from the G.G. Brown Building on
North Campus over the weekend.
The camcorders had been kept in a
locked cabinet in Room 3121 of the
building.
Police have no suspects in their
investigation.
Also, Room 1004 of the Art and
Architecture building was broken into
ver the weekend. DPS reports mdi-
te that entry into the room was
gained with a key but a lock was
broken on a storage cabinet.
Six camera lenses, worth about
$1,550, were taken from the cabinet.
Surprisingly, many other expensive
items were located in the cabinet that
were not taken.
- Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter
Lenny Feller.
Videotapes aim to
teach with humor
STEPHANIE GRACE LIM/Daily
A laughing matter
Mike Farina, Randi Roland, Rob English and Rachel Miller rehearse their act for UAC's Comedy Company. The troupe
is performing at the Mendelssohn Theatre on March 14-16.
rU po.tsiisthat fn tive
action fes iracial hostiit
By Matt Buckley
Daily Staff Reporter
If the Virginia-based Cerebellum
Corporation has its way, students' lists
of recommended class materials will
include VCR tapes as well as the stan-
dard books and coursepacks.
The company has introduced a new
line of instructional videotapes aimed
at college students. The series, called
"The Standard
Deviants Video " H
Course Review," Humoi
is named after a
comedy troupe YOU refmom
that appears on
the tapes.mat
The tapes aim
at education
through the use of LSA fir
humor. The Stan-
dard Deviants
perform skits throughout the tapes, ot-
ten incorporating concepts from the aca-
demic subjects.
Chip Paucek, Cerebellum's co-presi-
dent, said the idea for the tapes came
from his observations on his college
experience. "Professors who were able
to spice up the material a little bit were
much more effective ... not only did
you enjoy it more, but you learned
more."
Paucek said he and Cerebellum co-
founder James Rena found nothing on
the market that addressed this concern.
Though there are many educational vid-
eotapes aimed at younger ages, few are
available at the college level.
Both Paucek and Rena decided to
leave government jobs to form Cer-
ebellum. The two knew each other from
their college years at George Washing-
ton University in Washington, D.C.
Universty students were not sure that
comedy could really work with some of
the subjects in the series. LSA first-year
student David Sowards-Emmerd said,
"There's not that many funny things
r
rst
you can say about calculus."
Other students said they found the
humor useful. LSA first-year student
Gregg Lanier said he had been ex-
posed to educational videotapes dur-
ing conferences he attended during
high school.
"If the speaker can be funny, then the
material is easier for students to under-
stand. The humor helps you remember
the material,"
Lanier said.
ShelpPaucek said
many students are
nber the skeptical of find-
ing humor in aca-
d e m i c
Gregg Lanier coursework. The
- Gegg Ladert videos, he said,
t-year student contain comedic
excerpts to lighten
up the material.
"We don't always try to make the com-
edy (reinforce the material). ... Relax-
ation is definitely a factor," Paucek said.
The process ofmaking each tape takes
about six to seven months, Paucek said,
most of which goes into script develop-
ment. The scripts are prepared by pro-
fessors and graduate students in the
subjects as well as by the comedians.
Paucek stressed that the tapes are
meant to be used as a supplement to a
course. "We don't try and replace the
process of going to school ... we're not
trying to say 'don't go to class,"'Paucek
said.
Last year, tapes were available for
subjects like economics, calculus, fi-
nance, accounting and statistics. This
year's new titles will include philoso-
phy, physics, biology and chemistry.
The company soon plans to release se-
quels to its calculus, finance and ac-
counting videos.
The videos can be ordered at Borders
Books and Music or Tower Records.
Questions concerning the videos can be
answered at 1-800-238-9669.
LANSING (AP) - Affirmative action fuels racial hostil-
ity, a University professor testified yesterday before a legis-
lative subcommittee reviewing measures to ban affirmative
action goals and timetables.
Carl Cohen, professor of philosophy, told members of the
House Judiciary subcommittee that affirmative action causes
resentment among whites.
"Racial tension in our country today
grows ever more pronounced; since Since
the early 1970s, when racial prefer-
ences began in earnest, race relations 1970 s E
have been going downhill," Cohen
said. relations
But Gloria Woods, president of the"
Michigan chapter of the National Or- been , go1
ganization for Women, said racism is downhill.
responsible for increasing racial ten- d W M -
sions, not affirmative action.
Woods disputed Cohen's claim that Philos
affirmative action programs humiliate
those they are supposed to help. Woods
said routinely being denied a job because of one's gender or
race is humiliating.
"This man (Cohen) comes from a position of privilege,"
she said.
"I don't think people in positions of privilege can make
decisions for others on how those others are humiliated and
are benefited by programs that help them become middle
class."
Their back-to-back testimony came during a series of
hearings on three measures:
One, offered by Rep. Michelle McManus (R-Traverse
City), would bar affirmative action programs that include
specific goals or timetables. Such programs also would have
to be aimed at remedying a specific problem.
The second, sponsored by Rep. Penny Crissman (R-
Rochester), would forbid use of race and general consider-
ations in test scores and college admissions.
The last, from Rep. David Jaye (R-Washington Town-
ship), proposes a constitutional amendment banning affir-
mative action programs.
The panel took no action on the bills
and plans more hearings within a month.
the early Cohen argued that giving preference
to individuals because of their race or
race gender is morally wrong. He said ef-
forts to make up for past discrimination
have are flawed because most often those
ng
- Carl Cohen
sophy professor
who benefit from affirmative action
were never the ones discriminated
against.
"We do not, we cannot right the
wrongs of times past by engaging
now in the same invidious practices
that engendered those wrongs," he
Drunk drivers that kill are
not necessarily murderers
said.
Cohen also said affirmative action was wrong because it
was aimed at groups, not individuals.
"Slavery was not defined based on individual character-
istics," responded Brent Simmons, an associate professor
of law at Cooley Law School. "It was a group characteris-
tic."
Simmons said individuals discriminated against today are
turned away based on group characteristics before their
individual characteristics are ever considered.
He said federal law already bars the kind of naked prefer-
ence Cohen was attacking.
Addressing past wrongs is only part of the goal of affirma-
tive action, he said. It also is aimed at eliminating systemic
discrimination.
LANSING (AP)-- Drunken drivers
involved in fatal accidents cannot be
charged with second-degree murder
without signs they intended to create a
high risk of death, a court says.
The Michigan Court of Appeals, in a 3-0
ruling released yesterday, said lawmakers
had created the crime of drunken driving
causing death to cover cases where drunken
drivers kill someone unintentionally.
"The sole fact that a defendant drives
while intoxicated and causes the death
ofanother, without extenuating circum-
stances, does not constitute probable
cause that the defendant acted with
malice sufficient to charge him with
second-degree murder," the ruling said.
Second-degree murder carries a pen-
alty ofup to life in prison. The charge of
causing the death ofanotherwhile driv-
ing drunk carries a maximum penalty of
up to 15 years in prison.
The ruling reversed a decision by
Oakland County Circuit Judge Hilda R.
Gage to reinstate a second-degree mur-
der charge against Jason Adam Goecke
in connection with a Nov. 11, 1993,
accident in Pontiac.
Internet University educates,
entertains World Wide Web users
By Marisa Ma
Daily Staff Reporter
What university charges no tuition
and allows "students" to be pizza mak-
ers?
To "enroll" at the Internet University
on the World Wide Web, users only
need a computer, a modem and an
Internet connection.
"Internet University offers the best
on the Internet," said Doug Levy, the
creator of the site and a recent Univer-
sity of Pennsylvania graduate.
Targeted at college students, Internet
University's 12 departments and more
than 250 homepages offer a wide range
of information, from world and local
events to entertainment news and job
listings.
There are also more entertaining
options for users. Busy student-cooks
can retrieve easy recipes or be cre-
ative at "iPizza," an electronic pizza
kitchen.
"(Students) can make a pizza and
send it to a friend through e-mail,"
Levy said. Some fun toppings include
chocolate ice cream, light bulbs and
Spam.
The site also offers "Fusion Box,"
a service through which "users take
two people like Jennifer Aniston and
Ross Perot and fuse them together,"
he said.
LSA first-year student Jenny Geyer
said the Fusion Box is "funny" and
iPizza is "cute" after she made a pizza
topped with kiwi and dog food which
she then sent to a friend.
Users can access pages dealing with
more serious issues at the site. There is
"Net Vote '96," an information and
discussion forum on the presidential
campaign.
"That gives us access to the candi-
dates' perspectives that you won't
be able to find anywhere else ... It
totally lays it out for you," Geyer
said.
She also said she liked the advance
schedules of college sports. "You get
access to all the team pages," Geyer said.
Levy came up with the idea from his
college experiences. "As a busy stu-
dent, I realized the need for an easy-to-
use resource that had all the informa-
tion I wanted," he said.
"Students are busy and with Internet
University, students can hop on the
Internet and find out what they are
looking for," Levy said.
Both Geyer and Education senior
Scott McIntyre agreed the site is easy to
use.
"I don't play on the Internet much,
but it seems easy to get where you want
to go," McIntyre said. "You can get the
information in other ways, but it's all
right here."
Levy said tens of thousands have
logged on, and he estimated that the
number is increasing 50 percent each
week. The average user spends an
hour and 30 minutes at the site, which
is a lengthy time for a web site, Levy
said.
And there is always something new
for regular users.
"We always add stuff to the site
every week - new, fun stuff," he
said.
1 . P.-. AArirA +that hPhnb rz. vp
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What's happening in Ann Arbor this weekend
FRIDAY'
© Ninjitsu Club, beginners wel-
come, 332-8912, IMSB, Room
G-21, 6:30-8 p.m.
U "Taiwan Table," sponsored by
Taiwanese American Students
for Awareness, location TBA,
e-mail: tasa.officers
@umich.edu, 7 p.m.
a "Tax Workshop for International
Students," sponsored by Inter-
national Center, International
7-8:30 p.m.
SATURDAY
I "Ann Arbor All Species Parade
Kick-Off Event," film presenta-
tion and storytelling, sponsored
by National Wildlife Federation,
Ann Arbor Public Library, 2-3
p.m.
J "Block Grants to States: How
Can Michigan Seniors and Their
Arbor, Kiwanis Activity Cen-
ter, corner of Washington and
First Streets, whole building,
9 a.m.-12 noon
SUNDAY
U "Hudson Hills Hike or Ski," hike
or ski the trails of Metropark
area, sponsored by Sierra Club
Huron Valley Group, meet at
I
r
I