Jr p.1 ti News: 76-DAILY Advertising: 764-0554 One hundred sx years of editorialfreedom Monday February 24, 1997 Vit. c ; 3 Cx dd -:U' f B-School attracts more students U 34-percent increase in applications attributed to school's reputation By Heather Kamins Daily Staff Reporter After being ranked No. I by *inessWeek magazine this year, the University's MBA program is attract- ing more sheep to its flock. Application rates for the School of Business Administration graduate pro- gram are up 34 percent this year. "MBA application rates are up tremendously," said Judith Goodman, assistant dean of admis- sions of the School of Business. "The volume is higher and the qual- Ssh higher." ssociate Dean of the School of Business Edward Snyder said that although the increase is part of a national trend, the University's rates have increased far beyond other top business schools. "What we hear is that there is still an upward trend to top business schools," Snyder said. "It is a national trend, but other top schools have only mreased (their application rates) 5- S percent." Application rates are rising because of increased visibility and the continu- ing excellence of the program, said Business associate Prof. Aneel Karnani. "People outside the Business School are beginning to recognize our innova- tion of curriculum design, quality of faculty and instruction nature," Karnani said. (arnani also said the school's posi- tive image affects the quality of appli- cants. "The better the school is perceived, we get a stronger pool of applicants, which makes the Business School even stronger and then makes the quality of the school even higher," Karnani said. Snyder said he would like to ieve the increase in applications is esult of greater appreciation for the quality of the school - not just the ranking. School of Business second-year graduate student Brian Tanis said he believes the BusinessWeek rankings have great implications for the school. "One of the things that makes Michigan unique is that people are pretty well-rounded," Tanis said. eople have a lot of different inter- ests and backgrounds. As long as that doesn't change, it can only help the school." See BUSINESS, Page 2A Regents hike housing rates by 4 percent 6-2 vote Friday makes 'U' housing rates the second- highest in the Big Ten By Katie Wang Daily Staff Reporter Residence hall rates will increase by 4 percent next year, after the University Board of Regents approved the increase Friday at its monthly meet- ing. The proposal passed by a vote of 6-2, with Regents Andrea Fischer Newman (R-Ann Arbor) and Daniel Horning (R-Grand Haven) dissenting. "For the two years that I have served on the board, I have been asking the housing committee to look at alternative ways of cutting the cost of student living expenses, such as private manage- ment and private building construction of resi- dence halls," Newman said. "I do not feel that they have met my request." The hike includes a 3-percent inflationary increase to maintain current programs and service levels. Another 1 percent was added as part of a two-year plan approved last year to complete pay- ment of the renovation projects to Alice Lloyd and Couzens residence halls. "Our residence halls are some of our oldest buildings," said Vice President for Student Affairs Maureen Hartford. "The buildings get a lot of wear and tear that need constant renovation:" Hartford also said she has started looking into expanding the residence halls, but plans remain sketchy. The regents also approved a 3.9-percent increase for family housing rates. Director of University Housing William Zeller said the role of the University's 15 residence halls extends beyond a place to sleep - they provide a variety of services to facilitate living and learning for 9,248 residents. "The 15 residence halls have a number of enti- ties that really add value to the University of Michigan," said Zeller, highlighting academic advising and multicultural programs. Hartford said University Housing has worked to reduce costs, citing the proposed Hill Commons dining facility as an example. "We've looked at ways to reconfigure the staff without reducing services to students," Hartford said. "We're building the new dining commons, but it won't cost more to students because we're reducing the number of dining services by three." Horning said he was not convinced the hike was necessary. "It seems like we're always arbitrarily adding inflation," Horning said. "We're adding costs without justification. Inflation as an automatic benchmark to increase costs doesn't make sense." Room-and-board rates have increased by 20 percent since the 1991-1992 school year. With the 4-percent hike, the rate for a double room will increase from $5,137.44 to $5,342. LISA BELLON/D6uly JEANNIE SERVAAS/Daily LSA sophomore Cara Nadler studies in Ann Arbor's newest coffeeshop, Java House, on Saturday. Java House, on South University Avenue, replaced Not Another Cafe. Jaa Hoseopens with. ice. credam, coffee By Kerry Klaus Daily Staff Reporter In most Ann Arbor coffee houses, students can find an assortment of items to comple- ment their joe - muffins, bagels, scones. But how about a hazelnut cappuccino and a scoop of mint chocolate chip? That's the twist that owner Mark Haidar has concocted with the latest addition to Ann Arbor's coffee scene. The new Java House, which has replaced Not Another Cafe on South University Avenue, fea- tures a full line of Stroh's ice cream. "It's a very high premium ice cream" Haidar said. "It's homemade." There are currently 18 rotating flavors of ice cream to choose from, and 42 different coffee syrups, he said. Haidar added that Java House offers some ice cream rarities. "We have both Superman and Blue Moon," he said. Though Java House has been open less than a month - and does not yet have a working phone line - it is already crowded with stu- dents studying, talking and munching on assorted ice creams. LSA junior Kelly Fogarty said she has visited Java House almost every day since it opened. "It's a nice atmosphere," she said. "It's com- fortable, and it's not so cramped." In addition to the standard table and chair See JAVA, Page SA Residence Hall Association President Randall Juip said the increase is relatively fair as compared to other colleges and universities. "I think it's an increase that's in line with, if not below, other schools," Juip said. "It's financially responsible:' LSA first-year student Jessica Adams, who lives in a South Quad converted triple, called the increase a "ripoff." "I think the University rips us off anyway;" Adams said. "I don't think room and board should be what it is now. I don't think they should be rais- ing it at all." But some students who live in residence halls said the rate increase won't affect their decision about where to live next, year. "There's nothing I can do about it," said Engineering first-year student Cheryl Cheng, who lives in Helen Newberry residence hall. "It's easier to find a place to live in the dorms than in an apart- ment." In comparison with peer institutions, the University's room-and-board rates for a double room fall in the middle of the scale, with Boston College charging $7,500 and Iowa State at $3,700. The University charges the second-highest rate in the Big Ten for a double room. Northwestern University charges close to $6,000 for a double room. ---Dai/y Staff Reporter Heather Kamins and def iev Kosseffcontributed to this report. ---------- ,U' ranked hmong top' 10 best buys By Chris Metinko Daily Staff Reporter Students wanting the best value for their dollar ay be disappointed to know that six other public universities may offer more bang for every educa- tional buck. The University recently placed seventh in a ranking of top public universities for best value by Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine. The survey evaluated the universities by four main criteria - affordability, admissions, faculty access and achievement, said Laurie Baker, a spokesperson for the Rosen Group, which pub- *hes the magazine. Kiplinger's then assigned value points to the universities. The 10 schools with the highest points received value ratings of five, Baker said. University officials did not seem concerned with the ranking. "I am pleased that we received the highest rat- Best Buys ins Higher Education 1. University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill) 2. University of Virginia (Charlottesville) 3. University of Wisconsin (Madison) 4. University of California (Los Angeles) 5. Rutgers; State University of New Jersey (New Brunswick) 6. University of Georgia (Athens) 7. University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) 8. University of Hawaii (Manoa) 9. University of Iowa (Iowa City) 10. University of Washington (Seattle) Source: Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine Kiplinger uses a set of quantitative indicators that are only very rough measures of quality," Goldenberg added. Julie Peterson, director of the University's News and Information Services, seemed skeptical of the ranking criteria. "Any individual rankings that attempt to mea- sure quality, if taken alone, are not very meaning- ful because small changes in their methodology can make very large changes in the rank order of the top universities," Peterson said. Peterson said that although various ranking sys- tems are often flawed, the University continues to garner high rankings. "If you look at all of the various rankings -..L bT1 .antrnr oon ti."~aea h iq uor shortag hits A By Jeffrey Kosseff Daily Staff Reporter As a result of Gov. John Engler's new plan for privatiz- ing liquor distribution, LSA senior Matthew Kirk's week- end plans were stalled. "We had a party last weekend and I had a lot of trouble finding vodka," Kirk said. Kirk is not alone. Many University students have noticed that certain types of alcohol are difficult to find now that the state no longer distributes liquor. _ Bar owners complained about the disorganization of the new system, which places alcohol in the hands of private distributors. "It's a disaster," said Rick Buhr, a manager of Good Time Charley's. "We're not able to get a complete order yet. We placed an order for 30 bottles and we only got three." However, Phil Arthurhultz, chair of the Michigan Liquor Control Commission, said that although the sys- tem got off to a bumpy start, it is now working smoothly. "They have all gotten their ordering systems perfected," Arthurhultz said. "There will still be little kinks, but there will be minor ones. Store owners also said they have serious objections to private distribution. "If you took a look at my shelves, they're virtually bare:' said Chuck Haas, owner of the Maize and Brew conve- bars I :: I C