! -Th Michigan Daily -- Tuesday, December 10, 1996 NATIONJIAORLD Plutonium disposal plan faces criticism Los Angeles Times WASHINGTON - Energy Department plans to destroy 50 tons of surplus Cold War plutonium by encas- ing it in glass or burning it in nuclear reactors drew sharp reaction yesterday from critics who fear that the solution is a sop to the nuclear power industry. Energy officials argue that the plan represents the most prudent way to dis- pose of plutonium. But they acknowl- edge that important issues involving the cost, environmental safety and technol- logy remain unanswered. The Energy Department plan does not indicate where the plutonium will be burned or, if encased in glass, where it will be buried. At best, the process would take 20 to 30 years to complete - and would result in waste products that remain radioactive for thousands of years. Plutonium, created during World War II, is a component of nuclear bombs that is used to start an atomic fission reaction to trigger the powerful fusion blast. Plutonium also can be converted to a fuel and burned in some nuclear reactors to produce energy. The plan announced yesterday to burn or glassify plutonium is certain to lead to extended lawsuits, fights over environmental impact statements and disputes over nuclear licensing, as well as the enactment of new laws by Congress. COLLEG ES Continued from Page 1. a stable volume of applications." This fall's incoming class was 1,200 students larger than in 1986. Although tuition costs have increased since 1986 and remain the highest among public univer- sities in the cII4 state, Baker DDE said tuition lowering t does not deter applicants. standards "The overall picture at the- University is Nursing firs that the quality of the student body is high and that Michigan is very competitively priced with its peer insti- tutions," Baker said. Spencer said a survey of students selected for admission found that the University is not losing applicants to "big-name" schools. "Of the students that get admitted to comparable prestigious institutions, the majority of in-state students will turn down a Harvard or a Yale for Michigan," Spencer said. Robert Johnson, associate vice presi- dent for enrollment management at Oakland University, said the nearly 20- percent increase of the university's acceptance rate does not mean Oakland - it- has lowered its standards. "We have the capacity to accept more students because we have quality pro- grams," Johnson said. "Over the past three to five years, the university has made a conscious effort to grow and has tried to make that happen by accepting more students." Nancy Rehling, director of admis- ges are sions for Michigan Tech ieir University, said the university's acceptance rate has been extreme- Lacy Hillman ly high for a long year student period of time. "It's something you have when you have a highly qualified body of stu- dent applicants," Rehling said. "I think people believe that it is harder to get into Michigan schools than it really is. A student that has worked hard and is well prepared should have no problem getting into a state school." Lacy Hillman, a Nursing first-year student at the University said it was very easy for her to get in, despite her decision to apply shortly before the deadline. "I'd say its easier than before, but you have to be a real good student," Hillman said. "I think high school is getting harder and colleges are lowering their standards." 4 f. . ,. . .,s.. .... .... . ' .. Archaeologist Leakey dies at 83 NAIROBI, Kenya -Archaeologist and anthropologist Mary Leakey, whose dri- ving curiosity about prehistoric humans.led her and her hus- band to momentous discoveries about man's origins, died yesterday. She was 83. Louis and Mary Leakey found fossils in Tanzania and Kenya that indicated man's evolution began in East Africa 2 million years ago, far earlier than was believed at the time of the discovery. Three months before her death, Mary Leakey agreed it was impossible for scientists ever to pinpoint exactly when prehistoric man became fully human. But then, the precise relationship between man and his ancestors was not her pas- sion; instead, she was fascinated by early man's behavior. "We shall probably never know where humans began and Leakey where hominids left off," she said in an interview with The Associated Press at her home near the easternmost edge of the Great Rift Valley. Since scientists can never prove a particular scenario of human evolution, Leakey said, "All these trees of life with their branches of our ancestors, that's a lot. of nonsense." JOIN AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY at the ECUMENICAL CENTER'S INTERNATIONAL RESIDENCE 921 Church Street (Between Hill and Oakland) * Winter Term, 1997 leases available * Programs and Activities * Individual Leases * Private bedrooms in shared apartments Call 662-5529 for information (office hours: 9-5 week days) FINALS Continued from Page 1 "I definitely stay up late, but I don't normally study," said LSA junior John Pak. "I deal with my stress by socializ- ing with friends at the UGLI." There are some rare students who strive to get a good night's sleep every night. "I can safely say that I haven't pulled an all-nighter yet," said Engineering sophomore John Whitehead. Some students said they do not need to pull all-nighters during final exam season [Expect More from Your MCAT Preparation OU OWE iT TO YOURSELF to find out all . that you can about how to best prepare for the MCAT. First, you must realize that the MCAT is not designed to be like a college exam; it is a test that requires the conceptual manipulation of scientific principles, much more than the mastery of science facts and formulas. The MCAT is an application of scientific concepts to unusual or non-routine problem situations; it is really much more like a laboratory application than a lecture exam. ONCE YOU BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND the nature and purpose of the exam, you need to prepare for it in a rigorous and systematic way. At EXCEL, we'll show you how to think like the test-makers and improve your ability to analyze the key features within each passage, including the often overlooked Verbal Reasoning passages. You'll find our professional instructors (no TA's) will efficiently and accurately prepare you to achieve your maximum score on the MCAT, all keyed to the U of M curriculum. Plus, our individual help both for the exam and the entire admissions process will ensure that you reach your career goals. Please call us or stop by our campus location at the corner of South Univ. and East Univ. (above the First of America Bank) for mOre inforiatioi on our upcoming classes for the April MCAT. r LF 996-1500 Test Preparation 1100 South University because they are not under any pressure. "This is one of the least stressful times of the year," said Engineering first-year student Rossalyn Quaye. "They give you a week to study before the tests." Undergraduate students are not the only students who face the intensity of finals. Graduate, Medicine and Law students also spend a great deal of time studying, in addition to teaching under- graduate sections and conducting research. "I'm driving myself to meet the requirements by thinking of the holi- days," said Law first-year student Makiko Murai. "I just have to get through it." Graduate student instructors face double pressure during finals. They have to grade papers and tests while they prepare for their own finals. Art history GSI Doug Hildebrecht said GSIs "face the stress all semester Astronomy graduate student John Arabadis said he faces a large amount of stress, but he simply deals with it and has no specific strategy. "You just have so much to do, you just do it," Arabadis said. "You kind of turn your brain off and do what you need to do." Various University groups have pro- grams to help students relieve stress dur- ing finals. In addition to providing coun- seling, Counseling and Psychological Services offers workshops to deal with final exams. Also, University Health Services offers information on proper health and nutritional habits. Good luck on finals The Daly will return Jan. & NOTICE MBA DAY & EVENING CLASSES BEGIN JAN. 6 UNIVERSITY CLASSES BEGIN JAN. 8 Outdated computer systems give IRS big headaches COVINGTON, Ky. - Along a drea- ry row of metal tables, Internal Revenue Service clerks perform what for ages has been the quintessential government job - stamping forms. The clerks use stampers, like the ones at grocery stores in the 1950s, to imprint a serial number on every tax return. During the spring rush, a few dozen clerks work around the clock here and at each of nine other regional tax centers - nearly 700 clerks pound- ing away day and night. This bizarre scene in suburban Cincinnati that might have been pulled out of a Dickens novel of a century ago is instead today's reality at an agency badly in need of modernization. Virtually every federal government agency is struggling with outdated technology, but nowhere are the stakes higher or the problems more apparent than at the IRS. The agency is a clear example of just how far the govern- Britain, Ireland report no prowess after peace tals LONDON - On a joyful, crystal clear night one year ago, President Clinton lit a Christmas tree in down- town Belfast that symbolized glowing hopes for peace in tormented Northern Ireland. This Christmas, those dreams are as tarnished as old tinsel. In a meeting delayed by fog, the British and Irish government architects of peace conferred here yesterday with- out markedly bridging the differences between them or mollifying Catholic and Protestant adversaries in the British province. Irish Prime Minister John Bruton and Britain's John Major had little progress to report after lunching at Downing Street over the Northern Ireland ques- tion in quicksilver search for a new cease-fire and meaningful peace talks. Meanwhile, British intelligence sources warn of likely terrorist attacks by the Irish Republican Army. And ment has fallen behind and how seri- ous the ramifications are for the American public. Town may rename itself Sleepy Hollow NORTH TARRYTOWN, N.Y. -- Washington Irving is buried in a churchyard here. A few blocks to the south is the Horseman Diner, where the horseman is pictured headless. Not far away are the Sleepy Hollow Animal Hospital, the Sleepy Hollow Bicycle Shop and Sleepy Hollow High School. This is Sleepy Hollow country. But it isn't called Sleepy Hollow - not yet, at least. The 8,000 people of North Tarrytown, in need of some revenue now that a General Motors plant has closed, will decide today whether to change their vil- lage's name to the more evocative and perhaps more lucrative Sleepy Hollow North Tarrytown is the setting for Irving's 1819 tale "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," in which teacher Ichabod Crane is terrorized by a headless horseman, Republican sources fuel the gloom by ruling out a Christmas truce, which the IRA has traditionally declared during its struggle to overthrow British control of the northern six counties of Ireland. Russian voters reject nuclear plant MOSCOW - In the first referendum of its kind in Russia, voters handily turned down the government's bid to fin- ish a partially constructed nuclear power plant in their impoverished rural region. Results of the referendum, mea Russia's Atomic Energy Ministry wi not be allowed to complete the project, which was halted after the 1986 nuclear catastrophe at Chernobyl in Ukraine. Residents in Kostroma, 250 miles northeast of Moscow, had feared a nuclear plant would drive away the tourists who steadily stream in to enjoy the region's clean lakes said Karen Richardson of Greenpeace International. - Compiled from Daily wire reports REGISTRAR'S BULLETIN BOARD Wolverine Access via the World Wide Web http://waccess.umich.edu WINTER TERM CLASSES BEGIN WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 1997 WINTER TERM REGISTRATION * Register or drop/add using Touch-Tone: Call 8-1881 (on campus) (313) 998-1881 (off campus) WITHDRAWAL FROM WINTER TERM (DROP ALL COURSES) Touch-Tone will be available over the Winter Break. Registration transactions available through Touch-Tone: INITIAL REGISTRATION for classes, ADD a course, DROP a course, SWAP a course or sections of a course. MODIFY a course, WAITLIST a course, DISENROLL for all courses prior to the first day of classes. DROP/ADD for Winter 1997 will be available through TOUCH-TONE from your appointment time through January 28th (except during scheduled maintenance). Access CRISPINFO through Wolverine Access on the World Wide Web (under Student Business). If you need to obtain an OVERRIDE for a class, you must I) contact the department to obtain an electronic override AND 2) access Touch-Tone to process an add. PLEASE NOTE: IN ACCORDANCE WITH REGENTS' POLICY, STUDENTS WHO REGISTER AND SUBSEQUENTLY WITHDRAW AFTER THE BEGINNING OF CLASSES WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE REGISTRATION AND DISENROLLMENT FEES. THIS ASSESSMENT OF $130.00 FOR WINTER TERM WILL BE MADE WHETHER OR NOT YOU ATTEND. If you wish to disenroll from Winter term and avoid all charges, you must do so by January 7, 1997. Either 1) send a letter to the University of Michigan, Office of the Registrar, 1524 L.S.A. Bldg., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1382, requesting disenrollment from Winter term, postmarked no later than January 7, 1997, OR 2) access Touch- Tone at (313) 998-1881 and at the menu press "7". The dates to withdraw from Winter Term and pay only a $50 Disenrollment Fee and an $80 Registration Fee are: January 8-28 L GVIIViiIML. %71Mrr I1VlllllC %X10001JU1ay G1111V1 519 VU1Gl A NEWS Amy Klein, Managing Editor EDITORS: Tim O'Connell, Megan Schimpf, Michelle Lee Thompson. Josh White. STAFF: Janet Adamy, Brian Campbell, Prachish Chakravorty, Anita Chik, Jodi S. Cohen. Jeff Eldridge. BrainElias, Megan Exley Jennifer ~ Harvey, Heather Kamins, Jeffrey Kosseff, Marc Lightdaie, Laurie Mayk, Chris Metinko. Heather Miller, Katie Plona, Stephanie Powell,.; Anupama Reddy, Alice Robinson, Matthew Rochkind, David Rossman, Matthew Smart, Ericka M. Smith, Ann Stewart, Ajit K. Thavarajah, Katie Wang, Will Weissert, Jenni Yachnin. EDITORIAL Adrienne Janney, Zachary M. 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GRAPHICS Melanie Sherman, Editor BUSINESS STAFF Erin Essenacher, Business Manager The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September. via U.S. mail are; $85. Winter term (January through April) is $95, yearlong (September through April) is $165. On-campus sub- scriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of the Associated Press and the Associated collegiate Press. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily. 420 Maynard Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. PHONE NUMBERS (All area code 313): News 76-DAILY; Arts 763-0379; Sports 647-3336; Opinion 764-0552; Circulation 764-0558; Classified advertising 764-0557; Display advertising 764-0554: Billing 764-0550. E-mail letters to the editor to daily.letters@umich.edu. 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