LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 3, 1997 - 3 Commnission to release report on COllege COSts A federal commission will release a *port on Dec. II about how Congress can help reduce the costs of higher edu- cation. The national group includes presi- dents and chancellors of five universi- -~tes, two professors and the heads of four state college associations. The commission met six times on campus- es nationwide. The commission is likely to suggest relaxing government regulation, reduc- *g the cost of accreditation and cutting down on paperwork, said Robert Burns, a commission member and a South Dakota State University political science professor. The commission's job is to examine vhy various costs are increasing and how that influences the price of obtain- ig a college education, Burns said. The National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education will make its cggestions before Congress revamps the Higher Education Act next year. The act is reauthorized every five years and determines federal funding for loan and grant programs. g U. of Coloradob seeks new policy on harassmentd The University of Colorado is look- cg into a new sexual-harassment poli- cy that may be implemented as soon as ianuary. Committee members who ,orked on the new plan say sexual- harassment complaints will be handled more quickly under this system. p The new policy will address signifi- cant delays that occurred when cases were investigated in the past. According to the revised policy, part-time investiga- fors will now look into harassment com- laints, the Colorado Daily reported. Critics of the current policy, which thas been in effect since December 995, say the university too often labels e victim as a "troublemaker." They contend that as long as men who harass women are allowed to continue work- Jg at the university, CU's sexual- harassment problems will not go away. J. of Virginia -students plead guilty in beatingg Four University of Virginia students may each face up to 20 years behind bars and up to $100,000 infines for the assault ofa first-year student last month. The four men turned themselves in last week in connection with the assault f Alexander Kory, who was attacked hile walking to his residence hall. Kory, who is pressing charges, suffered wroken bones abovehis teeth and will have to wear a brace for several weeks. He also will require several root canals. The four students turned themselves in after university police sent out a mass e-mail alerting students to the attack. 'Woman shot at ndiana University Indiana University Police Department officials are awaiting the result of powder residue tests to help determine how a 20-year-old woman -vws fatally shot last week. . According to IUPD, Heather Griffin, -ho was not an Indiana University stu- ZZent, a 15-year-old girl, and Griffin's boyfriend, an Indiana junior, were en route to the IUPD when Griffin appar- 'ntly shot herself in the abdomen, fatal- ly wounding herself. . Coroner George Huntington said noth- ing was found during Griffin's autopsy that would indicate she was murdered. . The Indiana Daily Student reported that the three were on their way to the IUPD to clear up circumstances regard- ing the theft of the boyfriend's car. -Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Megan Exley from U-wire reports. MSA urges change on North Campus By Susan T. Port Daily Staff Reporter The Michigan Student Assembly urged the administration to address the concerns of students on North Campus in resolutions passed at last night's meeting. A recent MSA-sponsored survey that polled 300 students and faculty on North Campus pointed to problems with inadequate transportation and din- ing options on North Campus. Engineering Rep. Jon Malkovich, who helped organize the survey, said students wait too long for buses, and the weekend bus schedule is particular- ly inefficient. "I hear complaining constantly from stu- dents who have to wait 20 minutes or more for a bus," said Malkovich, an Engineering sopho- more. Malkovich said the MSA resolution passed last night intends to urge the University to change the bus system and add more North Campus runs on weekends. He also highlighted survey results that showed students are unhappy not only with the bus system, but with limited food choices they have on North Campus as compared to Central Campus. "The recent survey showed students are very unhappy with the food selection at Pierpont Commons," Malkovich said. "The food selec- tion is very scarce, and it needs to be improved." Malkovich said students have suggested expanding the dining services to include Wendy's and Subway restaurants as well as other fast food restaurants. Vice President Olga Savic said concerns from students on North Campus have become apparent through the research done by the North Campus Affairs commission. "It seems a lot of students on North Campus are unhappy with the bus system," Savic said. "It was a really thought-out plan." Student General Counsel Dave Burden said plans by the administration do not fall in line with concerns brought about by the survey findings. Burden said the University plans to renovate a vacant computer lab in the basement of Pierpont Commons for office space that MSA wants the administration to allocate for expanded dining ser- vices. "I think it's necessary for the administration to understand the opinion of the student body," Burden said. "The space in the Commons should include more food choices and student entertain- ment." "We are hoping to convince the administration to change their plans. I think everyone agrees the bus system and food selection on North Campus needs to be improved," Burden said. "/ think everyone agrees the bus system and food selection on North Carpus needs to be improved" - Dave Burden Student General Counsel Engineering Rep. Mark Dub also agreed that action should be taken to support the survey find- ings. "I think the University needs to expand its ser- vices to include North Campus," said Dub, an Engineering junior. "i think the bus system is seri- ously lacking on weekends." Students to earn credits for service By Lee Palmer Daily Staff Reporter Between tests, papers and work, many University students are hard pressed to find time to just relax - much less tutor at-risk middle school students or teach creative writing to inmates of an area prison. But this past semester, more than 300 students vol- unteered at these and other sites and more than 400 are expected to partici- pate this winter. Students can earn University credit through Crisping into one of 40-plus sections of Sociology 389, also known as Project Community. Depending on the number of credits earned, course requirements include four to six hours of weekly service, one weekly seminar, regular contribution to a personal reflection journal and a final paper. "Project Community's biggest suc- cess is that it focuses on a different model of education," said Graduate Student Instructor Robin Lake. "Lecture format is not used and instead we have peer-led seminars that keep students more actively involved in their own learning," Lake said. Program director Joe Galura attribut- es the course's increased success to stu- dents sharing their good experiences with other students. "Students enjoy service learning and they talk to their friends about their classes," Galura said. "Their friends then want to take the course." LSA sophomore Linda Bassett took the course last spring and is now a section coordinator of a class designed to help tutor at-risk high school students. Bassett's job is to lead weekly discussions and read stu- dents' journals. "I'm basically there to make sure the discussion keeps rolling," Bassett said. "My group this year has been amaz- ing,"she said. "We've come across a lot of difficult issues but I think they have handled it very maturely." Sharla Smith, coordinator for the section focusing on HIV and AIDS awareness said her students are entirely responsible for planning the University's World AIDS Day activities, which will be observed Dec. 1. "The students from my section are all from different years and different ethnic backgrounds, but they have really come together and learned about this dis- ease," Smith said. Smith, who will teach the same sec- tion next semester, said she could not recommend the program more highly. "This class challenges your very belief system about education;' Smith said. "If students really want something dramatically different to happen to them before they graduate, they should take this class" LSA senior Lisa Goldman, who is currently enrolled in Smith's section, said Sociology 389 is different than any other class she has taken at the University. "In this class you learn more through dialogue and discussion than through lectures," Goldman said. "With volunteering, you get a prac- tical hands-on knowledge of the issues you are learning about," she said. "And I always look forward to going to class and doing the readings because they are about issues that I am interested in." Joan Shaw, director of Project Community, said the program is expanding in several ways for the win- ter semester "We are now looking for more ser- vice opportunities in Detroit," Shaw said. Project Community has offered credit to University students since the early '70s, making it one of the oldest service-learning programs in the coun- try. For more information on course offerings, visit the Project Community office located at the corner of Hill Street and East University Avenue or check out its Website at http://wwwumich.edu/-ocsl. Michigan Student Assembly President Olga Savic congratulates LSA Student Government President Lauren Shubow at last night's LSA-SG State of the College address. Shubow spoke to constituents and fellow representatives about LSA's future LSA-SG delivers first State of th ole e ad r s Late-night fire, smoke damanges Cottage Inn * LSA-SG members detail goals of its theme, "Initiate," yesterday By Kristin Wright Daily Staff Reporter Representatives of the LSA Student Government present- ed LSA's first State of the College address last night. The event in the Michigan Union included a brief slide show, detailing major ongoing projects to the University community. "No one's ever put on a presentation that summarizes all they've done," said LSA-SG Rep. Sanjeev Krishnan, an LSA sophomore. "One of the things you'll see from our presentation is that we're differentiating from any other student group on cam- pus," Krishnan said. LSA-SG chose the word "Initiate" to represent this year's theme of cooperation and communication within the col- lege. The theme describes projects such as collaborating with LSA Academic Advising, fostering an open dia- logue with the administration and starting a campus speaker series. The presentation mapped out current and past efforts to better the quality of the LSA experience for students. "The purpose is to show the University community what projects LSA-SG has been working on this semester," said LSA-SG President Lauren Shubow, an LSA junior. "Our main goal as a government is to facilitate our members into taking a more personal initiative:' LSA Dean Edie Goldenberg congratulated LSA-SG on its strong leadership and success in creating closer relation- ships between LSA students and administration. "I want to commend the student government leaders Goldenberg said. "We've really reached a new level of part: nership this year, which I'm really excited about." Major LSA-SG projects this semester include offering midterm evaluations in all classes to give students the opportunity to express concerns, and forming more depart. mental student clubs to reinforce the relationship betweeit students and their concentration department. LSA-SG representatives said their work will benefit LSA students. "It's rewarding because we actually make decisions that, are going to affect 12,000 students," said LSA-SG repre- sentative Pejmon Shemtoob, an LSA first-year student. "I'd like to encourage everyone to come to meetings," Shemtoob said. "It's a great way to have your voice heard." The presentation is appropriate because LSA-SG has cul- minated to its highest point of success in history, said LSA Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education David Schoem. "We really need to build upon the success of this year andi the leadership that all the representatives of student govern ment have brought this year to SG to build for the future,' Schoem said. Schoem also said LSA-SG should be an influential group" on campus, as well as within LSA. "I firmly believe as the students in the largest college should be the strongest government in the University" Schoem said. By Katie Plona Daily Staff Reporter A small fire broke out in the Original Cottage Inn Restaurant last night when a possible electrical short caused a mal- function in the ventilation system used for the restaurant's wood-fire oven. Fifteen members of the Ann Arbor Fire Department responded to a 10:01 p.m. call and arrived at the restaurant, which is located at 512 East William St. "It's under investigation, but it looks like an electrical short". said AAFD Capt. Bob Lechtanski. Cottage Inn Manager Lorenzo Viera- Patron said the few customers in the restaurant at the time were asked to evac- uate. No injuries were incurred by either customers or Cottage Inn employees. Damage was contained to the ventila- tor system and did not affect the build- ing's frame or interior, Lechtanski said. Although some employees originally thought the fire began when grease and other cooking materials got caught in the chimney of the wood-fire oven, Lechtanski said that was not the case. Rex Bender, a Cottage Inn cook and Ann Arbor resident, said he was cleaning near the oven when it started smoking. "It was vibrating and bright red," he said. "I looked outside and saw flames." Viera-Patron said most customers were nearly done eating when they were asked to leave because of the fire. "It wasn't a big deal. They made it pret- ty worry-free," said customer and Ann Arbor resident Doris Malfese. ' Correction: Pollyanna Johns considered leaving the University, but never actually withdrew. This was incorrectly reported in Monday's Daily. GROUP MEETINGS U ENACT, 647-9189, Dana Building, Room 1040, 7 p.m. v Reform Chavurah, 769-0500, Hillel, 1429 Hill St., 7:30 p.m. EVENTS Sponsored by the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Michigan Union, Art Lounge. Q "NAACP presents: Angel Gift-Giving Tree," Sponsored by The Salvation Army, Michigan Union, First floor across from IC desk. U "The Real Deal: Interactive Panel Discussion of HIV/AIDS," Sponsored by Project Community, Michigan Union, Anderson Room Amphitheater, 7 p.m. SERVICES U Campus Information Centers, 763- INFO, info@umich.edu, and www.umich.edu/-info on the World.Wide Web U "HIV/AIDS Testing," Community Family Health Center, 1230 N. M Anp ri AD Q n ~m I Tv nai the MCATlennuinn the sciences isn't enough.