LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily Monday, September 15, 1997 - 3A s , Former 'U' public relations vp. dies at 79 Former Vice President for University elations, Lyle Nelson died of heart failure last week at age 79. Nelson also served as the general secretary of the corporation at Educational Radio Center in Ann Arbor, president of the American College Public Relations Association irr 1959 and a newspaper reporter. Nelson also accompanied former University President Harlan Hatcher to e Soviet Union in 1959 as an educa- nal delegate. Most recently, Nelson worked as a professor emeritus at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. He set up several graduate fellowships for journalism students at Stanford. Former professor, author Brandt dies at age 86 Richard Brandt, who taught as a University professor for 17 years, died Sept. 10, at the age of 86. Brandt was the author of about 100 articles and six books, includ- ing "A Theory of the Good and the Right." His writing discussed issues such as war, abortion and nuclear weaponry. Brandt was also widely known as an accomplished philoso- *er. Brandt organized the Ethics Table, a weekly discussion group at the Michigan League, to discuss and debate moral issues. Dentistry faculty members honored Three University faculty members ©pm the School of Dentistry were ntly recognized by the National Dental Association for their work in dental research and professional devel- opinent. Associate Prof. Michael Razzoog and Prof. Emerson Robinson were hon- ored for organizing the 1991 confer- ence, "Black Dentistry in the 21st Century." They received the NDA Foundation and Colgate-Palmolive Faculty Recognition Award in search. The NDA presented the 1997 NDA Recognition Award to Associate Prof. Marilyn Woolfolk for her contribution to women's oral health research. Center for Chinese Studies hosts programs The University's Center for Chinese Studies will be hosting sev- eral cultural programs, brown bag lectures and a film series through- out October. The topics for the Brown Bag Lecture Series range from "A Study of Community-Based AIDS Education in Eastern China" to a discussion about looting in Beijing as well as "The ongress, the Summit and Sino-US elations." The lunches are led by faculty from the Center for Chinese Studies. They are held on Tuesdays at noon in the Lane Hall Commons Room. Workshops to be held for gay, %sbian students Political and social issues for gay and lesbian law students will be on the table in a panel discussion later ths month. "Graduate School: How Out to Be?" is scheduled to be held Sept. 30, at 8 p.m. The panel will consist of a variety of. current graduate students who will share their choices and reflect ,rtheir experiences while coming The University Counseling and Psychological Services also will offer a two-session workshop designed to give tddents information about gay, les- bian, bisexual and transgendered peo- ple. The two-part workshop is scheduled to be held at the Michigan League on Oct. 14. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Marla Hackett. Parking problems still plague students 0 ® University, city look for ways to fix an 'unsolvable problem' throughout Ann Arbor By Peter Meyers Daily Staff Reporter Throughout Ann Arbor, people with cars are spending more time than ever looking for places to stash them. "Parking is a joke," Engineering sophomore Barry Chamberlin said. "Last year I had to walk 20 minutes to get to my car." But University officials say they have tried everything they can think of to ease the parking crunch. "Parking, to begin with, is the unsolvable problem," said University Planner Fred Mayer. "Whatever you do, there's a need for more." Ann Arbor's Downtown Development Authority commissioned a study this year to evaluate area parking demand. "The area that had the greatest demand was the South University area," said Susan Pauly, the DDA's executive director. From the two-day survey of the streets and the Forest Avenue parking structure, Pauly said that, on average, South University was at a parking capacity of 102 percent. "The number of people parking were more than the spaces by 2 percent," Pauly said. On average, every legal spot was filled and an additional 2 percent of the cars parked illegal- ly. The DDA is an independent body that works with the city on local economic matters. The DDA manages the seven city parking structures. The University also is doing what it can to alleviate parking woes. Officials plan to build a new parking structure behind the Power Center, next to the University's existing Fletcher struc- ture. Assistant University Architect Paul Couture said the structure should be finished in about three years and should hold about 1,000 cars. Pauly said the parking squeeze in Ann Arbor is divided into three particular regions: Main Street, Kerrytown, and the campus area. Of the three, she said, the campus area is the most des- perate for additional parking. "We know students have a need that's not being met," Pauly said. Compounding the problem is the fact that three of the city's parking structures are more than 50 years old and have decayed almost to the point of being unusable. "Two or three (of the structures) are in spec- tacularly bad shape," said Karl Pohrt, chair of the board of the DDA and owner of the Shaman Drum Bookshop, "The other four need minor work." The situation is so bad, Pohrt said, that some of the structures may soon collapse from their own weight. The top two levels of the Forest Avenue structure were recently closed, Pohrt said, because the DDA is afraid that the roof will cave in. "The capacity for concrete to hold weight diminishes over time," Pohrt said. Concrete used to construct the structures was not water-sealed when they were built - a step that is now a standard regulation, Pohrt said. The structures' concrete is reinforced by steel bars, but water has been seeping in, and these bars are now seriously rusted, Pohrt said. Both the Forest Avenue structure and the structure at Fourth and Washington streets will JOHN KRAFT/DaiI Cars fill the Thompson Street parking structure yesterday. City officials are hoping that revamping the structures at Fourth and Washington streets will ease mounting downtown parking problems. have to be demolished and rebuilt, Pohrt said. Pauly said the Fourth and Washington struc- ture will be knocked down this year and could be rebuilt by next spring. The Forest structure is scheduled to be knocked down and rebuilt at a later date, possi- bly by spring 2000. In the meantime, its roof will be removed so that the upper levels can be used. Pauly said that all seven of the structures will, over the next few years, undergo various amounts of renovation, ranging from aestheti+ improvements like repainting to more extensive improvements like replacing the elevators. These improvements will force the structures to close temporarily. Pauly admits that the situation will temporar- ily get worse while the structures are closed for renovation. "You can't sugar coat it. We need this parks ing," said Pauly. "We're asking everyone to, beat, with us and try to get through it." New students search radio dial for right sound, style . * it , t1INATHAN SUMMER/D aiy Pulitzer Prize-winning joumalist Michael Vitez of The Philadelphia inquirer address- es a crowd of about 60 in the Michigan League on Friday. #. . Pulitzer Pnze winner reflects on tim-e at'U By Kristin Wright For the Daily As students adjust and settle into col- lege life, the radio may become a source of relaxation and a way to stay informed of current events. However, some out-of-state students said it is difficult to find a radio station that is well suited to their taste and interests. Greg Dairyko, an LSA sophomore from Chicago, said he had his alarm set to a country station his entire first semester because he was unaware of the variety of radio stations available on campus. "When I got here 1 was not impressed at all with the radio sta- tions," Dairyko said. "It took me an entire semester to realize that there were in fact R&B stations that I could listen to." Paul Friedmen, a University alum- nus and DJ for the student station WCBN 88.3 FM, said the station tries to attract as many listeners as possi- ble. "The station is for those who are sick of commercial radio;' Friedmen said. "WCBN targets the intelligent lis- tener with an open mind and those that are looking for a smaller sta- tion." WCBN is a good choice for those students who enjoy listening to a variety of music styles, he said. The station's musical genre includes jazz, reggae, gospel, country, techno, rock, rap, Spanish and Latin American music and movie sound- tracks. WCBN, which is run by both stu- dents and alumni, also has special pro- gramming on the weekends and a 30- minute news segment beginning at 5:30 p.m. every day. The daily schedule of the station varies from jazz to rock-'n-roll. From 9 a.m. to noon, jazz fans tune in. From 6:30 to 8 p.m., WCBN plays only reg- gae. After 8 p.m., the station plays a variety of music. For those students who are more interested in keeping up with the local and national news, the campus station WUOM 91.7 FM offers less music and more information. Harriet Teller, WUOM programming director, said the station targets an audi- ence that is interested in detailed news coverage. "The students to attract are those interested in public and current affairs, national and world news, local and state coverage and environmental issues, Teller said. The Michigan Association of Broadcasters named WUOM 1997 Public Station of the Year. The staff at WUOM consists of stu dent interns and a professional staff of non-students. Volunteer opportunities are also available for students who are interested. After 8 p.m., WUOM plays oni classical music. The station provide$ special programming throughout every weekend. An Ann Arbor station that may be appealing to those alternative music lis- teners is WIQB 103 FM, said a spokesperson from the station. WIQB targets adults between the ages ofl8 and 35. The station also tries to attract student listeners by doing remote shows at University functions. Besides these local stations, the Ann Arbor radio dial also offers Detroit- based stations. By Joshua S. Cohen For the Daily When Mike Vitez arrived on campus as a Michigan Journalism Fellow in the fall of 1994, he chose to take Prof. Frank Beaver's screenwriting class and Eileen Pollack's creative writing class in order to hone his storytelling skills. Those classes paid off for the 20-year journalism veteran and Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer, who received a 1997 Pulitzer Prize for a series he wrote last fall about dying with dignity. Vitez returned once again to Ann Arbor on Friday to deliver the University's 12th Annual Graham Hovey Lecture. "I would not have won the Pulitzer if I hadn't come here;" said Vitez, who was selected to participate in the Fellowship program for one academic year in order Vitez's speech, "One Reporter's View: Storytelling Is Our Salvation" was well received by about 60 former Fellows and local journalists who filed into the Michigan League's Hussey Room. After his fellowship, Vitez returned to the Inquirer and covered the aging beat, which he cited as "the story of the next century." Starting with the premise that "any- body could be a front page story," he wrote a five-part series titled, "Final Choices: Seeking the Good Death." The series chronicled the stories of five elderly patients and examined the important decisions that they and their families make near the end of their lives. Vitez's successful incorporation of a mixture of storytelling and factual infor- mation secured him the Pulitzer Prize for explanatory journalism, an award which Eisendrath described as "the premier showcase for fine writing." Vitez used part of his speech to point out the University's influence on his writ- ing and to thank professors who helped him re-examine his use of language. For example, Vitez said the fiction writing class helped him improve his ability to tell stories. Beaver, who now uses Vitez's series as an introduction to his screenwriting class, said Vitez was "an important cat- alyst within the class" "He is a wonderful narrative journal- ist;" Beaver said. "I wasn't at all sur- prised to hear he won the Pulitzer." Although the speech was on central campus, a large part of the University community was missing: students. The Director of the Michigan Journalism Fellows, communication studies Prof. Charles Eisendrath, main- cized - yet almost no students showed up to hear the speech. The Hovey speech is named in honor of Graham Hovey, a former member of The New York Times Editorial Board, distinguished foreign affairs reporter and former director of the University's Fellow program from 1980-86. "We aim to bring back a journalist who has performed outstandingly after the Fellowship program, to celebrate the good work they've done," Hovey said. "We like to think it is a reflection of what they learned in their nine months of study at Michigan?' Hovey said Vitez's talent was shown through his ability to deal with a taboo subject in a sympathetic and purposeful way. "Articles like his that deal with impor- tant yet often unspoken issues are impor- tant," Hovey said. Seekinga summer internship in Washington; DC? 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