LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 17, 1998 - 3 CRIME Student busts roommate for marijuana use- A South Quad Residence Hall resi- dent called the Department of Public Safety on Thursday afternoon to report that his roommate was smoking mari- juana, DPS reports state. The resident told police that his roommate keeps his marijuana in a dictionary on the top shelf of his desk. Police reporting to the scene located the marijuana and took the 20-year-old student into custody. Reports do not state whether charges were pressed against the student. Juveniles break into parked cars An Ann Arbor Police Department dispatcher advised DPS early Sunday morning that juveniles were breaking into vehicles on the second level of the Church Street parking structure, DPS reports indicate. DPS officers at the scene reported two vehicles had their windows broken and radios and other items stolen. There was blood on the outside of one of the cars. AAPD officers arrived at the carport with three suspects found in the area. One of the suspects had bur- glary tools in his possession, while another suspect had a cut on his hand. The suspects were arrested for larce- ny from a vehicle and were released pending warrant authorization. Fight erupts at Clarion Hotel A fight broke out Saturday night at a rap concert at the Ann Arbor Clarion Hotel, said AAPD Sgt. Larry Jerue. Before the concert was scheduled to begin, the crowd became unruly and sponsors decided to cancel the event. After the cancellation was announced, 300-400 crowd members began to fight. Concert security called police to receive help breaking up the skirmish. After 20 officers reported to the scene, the crowd dispersed. There were no injuries reported, but officers arrested four people for disor- derly conduct. AAPD officials said they do not know if these individuals are University students. Dialysis patient was drunk, uncooperative A University Hospitals employee called DPS on Saturday afternoon to request assistance with an uncoopera- tive patient at the main entrance of the Taubman Health Care building, DPS reports state. The employee said the woman was coming to the hospital for dialysis treatment but was intoxicated at the time of her appointment. Hospital security officers responding to the call brought the woman to the University Hospitals emergency room because dialysis could not be performed due to her condition. Racist graffiti found in parking carport DPS received a call Friday morning about race-related graffiti in a carport on East Hospital Drive, DPS reports state. A staff member said racist messages were written in the elevator. The officer reporting to the scene found racial epi- thets written on the elevator's side walls. DPS has no suspects in the inci- dent, but a report was filed. Boyfriend stops suicide attempt A student called DPS on Sunday morning to report his girlfriend was attempting suicide, DPS reports state. He told the 911 operator that the girl- friend was attempting to drink bleach, outside of his Vera Baits Residence Hall room. She did not drink the bleach but was transported voluntarily to the University Hospitals Emergency Room for psychiatric evaluation. -Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Jason Stffer City council delays vote on parking fees By Peter Meyers Daily Staff Reporter The decision of whether or not to raise the park- ing meter rates in Ann Arbor has been approached with extreme caution by the city government. For the third time in six months, a final decision on the issue was postponed last night. City council members first considered raising the meter rates from 60 cents to $1 per hour in November. At that time, councilmembers said they had insufficient information on how the change would impact downtown residents and businesses, and voted to delay their decision. Since then, Ann Arbor residents, businesses, the Downtown Development Authority, a citizen advi- sory group and the parking department have been consulted in the hopes of better understanding the issue and possibly revising the proposal. Councilmember Jane Lumm (£R-2nd Ward) noted that during the past five months, few revi- sions to the proposals have been made. "What we have in front of us is not really differ- ent from what we had in November' Lumm said. The two linked proposals are to raise street park- ing meter rates from 60 cents per hour to SI per hour, and to raise most parking ticket fines from S5 to S 10. Michael Scott, the city parking manager, said he was not surprised that the council chose to post- pone voting on the proposal again. "I think it's going to be tabled tonight.' Scott said before the meeting. Scott said councilmembers met with business owners earlier this month and he thought coun- cilmembers would want to take time to consider their latest suggestions. "A lot (of their suggestions) had to do with devel- oping brochures and flyers to encourage people to park in the structures, developing a grace period (and) changing the time limit on some of the meters," Scott said. Business owners in the area said they are divid- ed on the issue. "That's an outrageous thing that they're doing," said Kay Marsh, owner of the Main Street News store. "It's horrible to expect people to come downtown and pay that much." Marsh said she expects that if the measure passes, shoppers will stop frequenting downtown and go to "the outskirts" in other towns or Briarwood Mall. Other business owners said they encourage the increase, primarily because street parking would be used rarely and only by those x ho nCed it most. Paul Daniels, owner of Engineering Office, a downtown business, said he asks his customers to look for parking spaces in the parking structures. "I'm sure many of my clients would be happy to find unlimited, inexpensive space: right in front of my door," Daniels said. "But I think this is the next best thing" The DDA, which operates the parking structures, the Citizens' Advisory Council and the City Parking Department all expressed their support for the two proposals. David Devarti, a DDA member, said many cities charge a much higher hourly rate than Ann Arbor does for its downtown parking. lHe said Lansing charges S, Grand Rapids charges S 1.25 and Toledo charges S 1.50 per hour. 'Sesame Street' comes to town By Sarah Welsh Daily Staff Reporter Can you tell me how to get, how to get to "Sesame Street?" Hundreds of University students went to the Michigan Union yesterday to find out. Representatives of the popular children's show visited the Union Ballroom as part of the "Sesame Street Unpaved" tour, which cele- brates the show's 30th anniversary and gives college students a behind- the-scenes look at the show's cre- ation. "I love the - University of Michigan - so many things to count," said The Count, who appeared alongside his voice, mup- peteer Jerry Nelson. "I can count really high - I can count all the money it costs for your tuition!" the Count joked. The panel also included University alumnus Bob McGrath who has played "Bob" on the show since its inception in 1969. McGrath graduated from the School of Music in 1954, and he spoke yesterday about luck, extracurricular activities and get- ting his break in television. When people ask him how he got to be Bob, McGrath said, "I tell them, being in front of Carnegie Hall at the right time." There, he ran into one of his fra- Conference to address diversity on nation's campuses Muppeteer Jerry Nelson answered questions with The Count yesterday at a Sesame Street tour that celebrated its 30th anniversary. ternity brothers from the University who was involved in the planning stages of a new chil- dren's show with a bright, unknown talent -- Jim Henson. McGrath added that his experience as a soloist with the University's Men's Glee Club helped the early stages of his career. "Take advantage of every possible situation in school, out of school," he said. Art and Design sophomore Luke Daab took advantage of the event by bringing a puppet he made, hoping to show it to Nelson. infortunately, time ran out, but Daab said he was excited to have met Nelson. Sesame Street has been "so much a part of my life," Daab said. Many fans of Sesame Street came just to meet McGrath. "I had tears in my eyes when I saw Bob - I grew up with him," said Jenny Hallgren, LSA senior. The panel included composer Chris Cerf, supervising producer Arlene Sherman, senior writer Luis Santeiro and Vice President and Brand Manager Pam Green. Panelists spoke about the progres- sive curriculum of the show, includ- ing an appearance by Ellen DeGeneres. "Sesame Street is an inclusive place where everyone belongs," Sherman said. Nelson summed up the show's educational philosophy by pointing out that the Muppets are all mon- sters - portrayed not as scary, "but something maybe to understand," he said. "In life, we often need monsters." By Christine M. Paik Daily Staff Reporter In light of the national debate sur- rounding diversity in college cam- puses, a live national videoconfer- ence with six panelists, including Provost Nancy Cantor, will air tomorrow in the Michigan Union's Kuenzel Room from 1-3 p.m. Sponsored by the publication Black Issues in Higher Education, the two- hour videoconference is titled, "Recruitment and Admissions Dilemmas in Higher Education: What's Next for Students of Color?" and will be broadcast on campus via satellite from Washington, D.C. The videoconference will address such topics as recruitment strategies, California's Proposition 209, Texas' Hopwood decision and the lawsuit against the University. "It's important that we have dia- logue on these issues," said Lester Monts, associate provost for acade- mic and multicultural affairs. "The videoconference medium allows for open debate of compelling (issues). It also allows interaction with the in- studio audience as well as call-ins from audiences from throughout the nation." Monts said the videoconference will help emphasize the University's important role in issues surrounding diversity. "In light of the anti-affirmative action sentiment that is spreading around the nation and the lawsuits filed against the admissions policies of our College of Literature, Science and the Arts and the Law School, this is a question that gar- ners a great deal of attention," Monts said. "I'm sure Provost Cantor will speak about the educational mission of thc University of Michigan as a public insti- tution and its role in educating a cross- section of the citizenry" Monts said he hopes the audience will leave with "a perspective from Provost Cantor that supports diversi- ty as a necessary element to achieve excellence at the University ... ant at other colleges and universities. Lisa Baker, associate vice presiden for University relations, said she believes Cantor will represent the University well. "Provost Cantor is obviously a distin- guished administrator and faculty mem- ber," Baker said. "Her perspective is very valuable and we are very fortunate that the University has someone with her rep- utation and scholarly credentials who can so ably represent us in this venue. I'm sure it will be very exciting:" In addition to Provost Cantor, panelists will include Don Brown, commissioner of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Bob Schaeffer, public education director at the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, Anthony Carnavale. vice president of the Educational Testing Service, Joyce Smith, execu- tive director of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and Bradford Wilson, executive director at the National Association of Scholars. The video- conference will be moderated by Carol Randolph, Court TV anchor and practicing attorney. The videoconference is the second tq be aired on campus within the past four months. ASSEMBLY Continued from Page 1. Report college rankings in 1996. "One example where I've appreciat- ed MSA input was when they were working with colleges across the country to talk about the importance of U.S. News and World Report rank- ings," Baker said. "I appreciated hav- ing a chance to hear what the com- ments were and to get their feed- back." In the '60s, the Student Government Council, MSA's predecessor, led a nationwide fight for civil rights and other issues of international impor- tance, according to Inteflex Lecturer Margaret Steneck. "SGC became radical in the early '60s," Steneck said, "They got the University concerned about human rights issues and women on campus. They worked to get rid of the highly paternalistic rule that women on cam- pus were under." In the hopes of making student gov- ernment less radical, the University replaced SGC with MSA. "SGC, which had been controlled by the school of LSA, was replaced by MSA, with its representation of all the schools," Steneck said. "It was certain- ly hoped that it would be less radical than its predecessor." Recently, MSA has been vocal- in both the state Legislature and on Capitol Hill. Cynthia Wilbanks, associ- ate vice president for government rela- tions, has worked with MSA to inform state legislators on student concerns at a hearing held on campus earlier this year. "We asked MSA to participate and some students there testified," said Wilbanks, the University's Lansing lobbyist. "The students presented their views very well. The legisla- tors were impressed with the num- ber of students and the preparedness of the students, MSA also comtnuni- cates well with its local representa- tives." MSA has been criticized by stu- dents and organizations for failing to make an impact in the past. Alan Levy, director of Housing Public Affairs, said the criticism leveled against MSA is unwarranted. Levy pointed to recent successful efforts to extend library hours and increase voter registration. "The extension of open library hours is a classic example of an effective student government," Levy said. "In and of itself, it's not earth-shat- tering, but for students, it's an impor- tant issue." In the end, student government is necessary because it is the only way for students to have a voice, Levy said. "Consider the alternative," Levy said. "Would we be better off with- out a student government on cam- pus'?" 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Guest Students should contact MSU at 1-888-MSU IS 4 U (1-888-678-4748) What's happening in Ann Arbor today GROUP MEETINGS Q Cleptomaniacs and Shoplifters Sponsored by Center for Chinese Studies, International Institute, Room 1636, 12 p.m. 0 Northwalk, 763-WALK, Bursley Lobby, 8 p.m.- 1:30 a.m. J Psychology Peer Advising Office,