NATION/WORLD The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, December 10, 1997 - 3 Tuition costs may earn students IRS tax credit eginning in January, tuition costs related expenses may earn income tax credit for students or their parents under a new Internal Revenue Service provision, the Guardian reported. Taxpayers who pay post-secondary education tuition bills may be eligible to claim non-refundable Hope Scholarship Credit when reporting taxes for 1998. The Hope Scholarship Credit, a pro- pWIsl made by President Clinton and eed after his hometown, does not apply to expenses paid before Jan. 1, 1998, nor can it be claimed for tuition paid in 1997 to cover academic periods in 1998. Under the provision, up to 100 per- cent of the first $1,000 and 50 percent of the next $1,000 of tuition can be claimed for tax credit by whoever pays students' tuition. o claim credit, the student must be led at least part-time in one of the rat two years of post-secondary educa- tion and in a program leading to a degree or certification. Expenses for graduate-level courses are not eligible. Internet university to launch degree pilot program estern Governors University, a edgling school whose campus is in cyberspace, plans to launch a pilot pro- gram next month to offer its first degree, the Daily Evergreen reported. WGU is a consortium between state universities, including Washington State University, and technology com- panies that plan to offer college degrees through the Internet. The consortium's board of trustees modes the governors of Colorado, Utah, Nebraska and Wyoming, plus 10 other members from public universities and companies such as Microsoft and IBM. WGU spokesperson Jeff Edwards said the pilot program would offer a two-year associate of arts degree and vocational degree in electronics manu- facturing. Seventeen universities around the country will take part in the i al program by offering classes ine. The consortium is working on getting more programs accredited, Edwards said. Eventually WGU hopes to offer a variety of associate degrees online. U. of Wisconsin students protest Weatshops niversity of Wisconsin students and community members held a demonstration against child labor and sweatshop labor abusers outside the University Book Store last weekend, the Badger Herald reported. The protest comes during the "Holiday Season of Conscience," a nationwide campaign against sweat- shop labor practices, said members of t UW-Greens, a campus group. 'he "Santa's Sweatshop" protest Saturday featured volunteers undergo- ing sweat-shop-style labor for penny wages with special guest "Mickey p$sner" overseeing the labor. . A video supported by the National Ladbor Committee, entitled "Mickey mpuse goes to Haiti," was shown, where Haitian Disney workers spoke about their working conditions. testers pointed out that Disney CEO hael Eisner makes $102,000 per hour, compared to seven cents made per hour by children in Disney's Haitian sweatshops. The National Labor Committee is "attempting to solicit one million sig- "natures on a petition that will be pre- sented to President Clinton in an effort to end child labor and sweat- shop abuses. "This petition is circulating all over ''country to raise people's awareness about the brand-names who use chil- dren in sweatshops," said Kim Banz, a UW-Greens member. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Megan Exley from the University Wire. MSA creates online student database By Susan T. Port Daily Staff Reporter Last night's meeting marked a new era for the Michigan Student Assembly - again. The meeting consisted of tearful goodbyes from outgoing mem- bers and a fresh start for new representatives. The assembly passed a resolution to create a stu- dent database to allow student groups to register online when they sign up for Festifall. Ryan Friedrichs, who chairs the assembly's Communications Committee, said registering online will avoid a lot of red tape for MSA. Friedrichs said the database will be an information center for students to access all year-round. "Students will be able to access anywhere on campus," Friedrichs said. "This is an old idea to finally create a central student database." MSA Vice President Olga Savic said the student database will provide useful information about how to contact and get involved with student groups. Savic said the new project will foster stu- dent groups and allow them to grow. Savic said the system "makes the bureaucracy easier." MSA also passed a resolution creating a com- mittee to work with the M-Card office. Engineering Rep. Mark Dub said he wants MSA to work with the M-Card office since they plan to make substantial changes to the services the card provides to students. "The M-Card office is looking into making sig- nificant improvements in the services to students provided by the M-Card," Dub said. Dub resigned last night after completing nearly two semesters on the assembly because he plans to work in a co-op program with NASA. Dub said he was leaving the assembly with mixed emotions. "I want to be the first MSA member on the moon," Dub said. "I am sad to leave but I'm glad I had the chance to work in a student government. I hope I made a difference." Savic said the new members are full of enthusi- asm and ideas and want to be a part of "a student organization that makes a difference. "It's sad to see the old representatives leave," Savic said. "A lot of new people are going to serve the students very well." MSA President Mike Nagrant advised the new assembly that Tuesday nights are not the only time to work on projects. Nagrant encouraged the new representatives to work hard for the student body and to revamp student attitudes about the assembly. "The most significant importance is the other six days in the week," Nagrant said. "Keep show- ing the student body that we are doing something." Outgoing member and Campus Safety commis- sion Chair Jennifer Genovese said she has enjoyed her time on the assembly and has faith the new assembly will continue to meet success in the future. "I am happy. I feel I did enough in my year on the assembly. I have no regrets of leaving," "I feel I did enough in my year on the assembly. -- Jennifer Genovese Former MSA member Genovese said. Outgoing Rep. Doug Yatter, who chairs the Academic Affairs Committee, said MSA proved to be a great learning experience. "I was a lot of fun," Yatter said. "I'm glad I had the opportunity to serve. I wish luck to the new assembly." Incoming LSA Rep. Bill Briggs said he was impressed with the issues discussed at the meeting. "It Nsas a good start," Briggs said. "I am eager to get started." Rich holiday food leads to overeatng and weight gain The average American puts on five to 11 pounds during the holidays By William Nash Daily Staff Reporter As winter break approaches, stu- dents have visions of home-cooked meals and holiday feasts dancing in their heads. But they may want to think twice before making their dreams a reality. The average American puts on an extra five to II pounds between. Thanksgiving and New Year's,'accord- ing to the American Institute for Cancer Research. To help battle a possible holiday bulge, the institute offers tips that include eating before a cocktail party or family feast. By eating small portions beforehand, it is less likely for a person to overeat the season's often-fattening foods. "Don't skip meals before going to dinner," said University Hospitals dietitian Judy Tomer. "If you go really ravenous, you're setting yourself up to overeat." Though the holidays provide the perfect excuse to indulge, Americans often find reasons to overeat, Tomer said. Most students say they're not wor- ried about gaining weight during the holidays. "I'm not concerned because I'm a strapping young lad," said LSA senior Alex Demots. "I think I'll have more time to exercise and not to just be sit- ting around eating." Demots asserted that "absolutely everyone" should indulge over the holidays, even "radi- cally obese people." Others did express some anxiety, but most thought that eating over the holi- days is inevitable. "I am concerned," said LSA sopho- more Erica Gwyinn, between spoonfuls of a Wendy's Frosty. "You can get caught up in activities and not think about exercising." To keep weight down, students do a variety of activities. "I plan to go hiking, play basketball and go skiing over break," said LSA senior Ben Caid. The richness of holiday food is a frequent problem: Typical festive foods, which range from appetizers to dessert sauces, are loaded with fat. "Much of the holiday food is very fattening," Tomer said. "If food were money, it would be a $100 or $500 bill." But there are many low-fat alterna- tives to calorie-heavy foods: Tomer suggested baked nacho chips and salsa rather than chips and dip. She also rec- "I'm not concerned because I'm a- strapping young lad3" --Ales Demnots- LSA senior ommended Cabot, a cheese with 75- percent reduced fat. She does not, however, recommend a crash .diet for the new year, "Dieting afterwards is totally cao- terproductive," Tomer said. "Take five to 10 minutes and walk or run up sand down the dorm's stairwells. Just do' ditch your exercise." Some students said they have eat- ing habits that keep their waists slim. "I'm a vegetarian, and for Christmas we'll probably cat rice, beans, and maybe fish," said LSA sophomore Derik Marrero. But most reaction was pro-indul-r gence. Many students said that take- ing advantage of home-cooked meals is not only a right, but a. responsibility. JOHN KRAFT/Daily Engineering senior Eric Mason examines the wire twisting machine that he and his fellow Mechanical Engineering students Tim Flynn and Jon Bixler made. 'U Egineering su et1w vorld expenence By Gerard Cohen-Vrignaud Daily Staff Reporter Seniors enrolled in Mechanical Engineering 450 spent this semester earning credit and getting practical working experience. A term spent solving real-world problems culmi- nated yesterday in the Mechanical Design Expo, which showcased the work of those students. "The idea here is that the students all had the theoretical courses," said Engineering Associate Prof. Sridhar Kota. "This class bridges the gap between theory and practice" For $3,900 plus expenses, a compa- ny can sponsor a team of students to solve one of their problems. Companies like Ford Motor Co. and General Motors benefit from innova- tive ideas generated by young engi- neers, and get a chance to meet poten- tial recruits from the University's graduating Engineering class. "The key thing here is to work on real-world problems, not end-of-the- chapter problems," Kota said. For students, the class offers the opportunity to apply what they have learned through their classes. The engineer hopefuls also get to work with equipment and laboratory mate- rials not available at the University. "It was extremely intense and involved a lot of hard work," said Engineering senior Sarah Weber. "But it paid off, because we produced a product that could work in the outside world:' Weber and four other students worked to create a new X-ray mam- mography technique that could diag- nose breast cancer more effectively The project, sponsored by the University Radiology Department, resulted in a revolutionary process that could soon find its way to hospi- tals and clinics everywhere. "We're very satisfied," Weber said. "We're excited that this technique could make an impact on reducing breast cancer in the future. Hopefully, it will be implemented within the next five years as a final product." Course coordinators pick the design teams based on the project choices of the students. No compen- sation is given to the students or teachers for the products they invent. "I think this class prepared me very well for the outside world," Weber said. "It gives you a lot of experience with suppliers, troubleshooting and dealing with last-minute changes." Yesterday's exposition showcased 18 different student projects, which ranged from the "Right-Temperature Steering Wheel" to a "Design for a Variable Camber Airfoil," a prototype for the optimal wing shape. "I really enjoyed this course," said Engineering senior Aaron Rinn. "It's been my favorite class at U of M. It felt really good to spend so much time on something. Sometimes, we would- n't even see the light of day." Rinn and his team members designed a wing shape for airplanes that would avoid the turbulence encountered at takeoff and allow an aircraft to take off and land at lower speeds. Several companies were look- ing at using the team's design for future airplanes, Rinn said. presents: eIipse Friday Dec. 12, 1997 (after 9pm) Live at theJAVA HOUSE HOLiDAY BI OWOUT POIGNANT PLECOSTOMUS "If-you don't know then you re late already!" -Stuart Bogey, "Transmission" With special funk-groove guests: AIXELSID Tix. only $5 at the door ki-ROUP MEETINGS Q ENACT, 647-9189, Dana Building, Room 1040, 7 p.m. U Reform Chavurah, 769-0500, Hillel, 1429 Hill St., 7:30 p.m. EVENTS "Ann Arbor Art Center's 19th Annual Holiday Gifts Show," Sponsored by the Ann Arbor Art Center, 117 East Libert St., 10 a.m.-9 p.m. o "Annual Chrstmas tree sales," Sponsored by The Ann Arbor Jaycees, Fox Tent and Awning park- ing tot, 6517 S. Ashley St. U "Crossing Over: images of Transgender Performance Across Cultures, Photo exhibition, Sponsored by the Institute for Research on Women and Gender, Michigan Union, Art Lounge. i "NAACP presents: Angel Gift-Giving Tree," Sponsored by The Salvation Army, Michigan Union, First floor across from CIC dask. SERVICES U Campus information Centers, 763- INFO, info@umich.edu, and www.umich.edu/-info on the CALENDAR POLICY: The calendar's purpose is to provide a place for organizations to announce free events open to the University community. However, we can only print announcements the day of the event. Announcements for events that charge admission will not be run. All items for THE CALENDAR must be mailed or delivered to the Daily at least three days before publication. Events on Friday, Saturday or Sunday must be submitted by 5 p.m. Wednesday prior to the event. We can not accept requests over the lephone, and we can not guarantee that an announcement turned in within three days of the event will be run.