irAirni One hundred ezght year feditorin' redom tYi News: 76-DAILY Display Ads: 764-0554 Classified Ads: 764-0557 Tuesday November 24, 1998 jliogl it 1w t colors were plain old maize and Iliw? Not sofrist -thw answer is JILt that sitplet Research spending FILE PHOTO 0 Experts pinpoint U'shades By As=a Raeoq Daily Staff Reporter While Michigan's actual school colors have never changed, the exact shades of azure blue and maize have been debated and researched for more than 80 years. "U of M is just one of those unique places where these things are prone to change," said Liene Karels, University director of infor- mation design. Because of uncertainties about the exact shades, school colors have swung between pale and vibrant over the years in the University's banners, flags and uniforms. But thanks to color engineering technology and the efforts of sever- al people over the years, Michigan's true hues have been discovered. The story begins when a group of literary students in 1867 selected the University colors. Only verbal descriptions from the time, howev- er, record exactly what was meant by "azure blue and maize," Karels search she was inspired by the understanding of aesthetics shown by Lombard, who was also a pen and ink artist. "I have such respect for him," Karel said. "When you read his notes, you really feel the presence of a human idealist." Lombard's committee made a valiant effort to preserve the colors in a lasting form, even considering the enamel work of artisans in New York and Norway. But the project was ahead of its time. None of the permanent work sat- isfied Lombard as being the exact University colors. The committee eventually voted on the official colors from various shades of cloth. As the years passed, the school colors grew increasingly lighter. In official circles, pale yellow and baby blue was common. But these shades proved too meek for the Athletic Department, which unofficially adopted its own vibrant shades of dark blue and gold. "It's an interesting phenomena," Karels said. "The two together very nicely represent both ends of the spec- trum - subdued and vivacious." The ribbons the 1912 committee had selected remained tucked away in an envelope in University archives until Karels discovered them in 1996. See COLORS, Page 2 hits By Erin Holmes Daily Staff Reporter In the area of research, the University is keeping with two traditions - record setting and number one rankings. The University's research expendi- tures for the 1997-98 fiscal year sky- rocketed 7.2 percent to a record breaking $4.5 million - reflecting an increase in expenditure of nearly half a billion dol- lars that Vice President for Research Neidhardt told the University Board of Regents last week was "probably suffi- cient to assure retention of the number one position in the nation" The figure represents a total of 1,619 grants received for research. Katterman said 3,063 proposals were submitted. Research Communications Coordinator Lee Katterman said the number of grants received was not rela- tive to the number of proposals, because in some cases grants were awarded before the fiscal year ended. In other instances, some grants were given to fund projects that had been proposed several years ago. "This money means the ideas of the faculty are worthy of getting support," Katterman said. "It is one of the indica- tors we have to reflect our faculty and our institution" Katterman added that the increase in research expenditures was greater than the 3.9 percent increase in 1996-97. "The dollar amount is not so special, but the way we get these grants is," Katterman said. Scholars from other institutions must review the proposals submitted by the units of the University and agree that the suggested projects should be funded in order for the University to receive the money. "The number of proposals that actu- ally receive funding is one in 10," Katterman said. "We're competing very well in a world of ideas" Of the University's total research expenditures, 65 percent came from ugh federal agencies including the Department of Health and Human ser- vices, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense and the Department of Energy. Support from University funds accounted for 13 percent of the expen- ditures, and money from non-federal sources accounted for the remaining 22 percent. Two dollars out of every $100 the federal government spends on basic research comes to Ann Arbor, Neidhardt explained. Neidhardt was all smiles at the regents meeting last Thursday as he explained how the money was used, demonstrating that quality research can bestow honor on the University. "Why am I so happy?" he asked. His reason for his grin, he said, was the record-breaking research expen- ditures. "We are No. 1 because our faculty has an enormous capacity for sharing and for helping each other out," Neidhardt said. One in every eight funded proposals involves the collaboration of faculty members from various disciplines, Neidhardt said, and one-third of the money awarded to the University is for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary work. As an example of an unusual multi- disciplinary project, Neidhardt cited Seven Enigmas - a work of seven dances that expressed how humans are affected by the enigmatic. The art combined the talents of a choreographer, set designer, film maker, space physics scientist, neurobi- ologist and synthesizer musician -all of whom are faulty or students at the University. "This work across disciplines is very exciting," Neidhardt said. "We are still organized by disciplines; it brings mul- tiple disciplines together."4 See RESEARCH, Page 7 LOUIS BRN, Upper left: The new scoreboard boasts bright blue and yellow. Upper right: Colorful team apparel represents the University's recognized colors. Above: These old ribbons (left) were used as official documentation of the school colors in 1912 and at graduation ceremonies throughout the early 1900s. said. So for years the University relied on dictionary definitions, said Karels, who spent two years digging into the mystery as the University president's director of market com- munications. The 1888 Oxford Dictionary declared azure blue "the clear blue color of the unclouded sky, or of the sea reflecting it." Maize was "a delicate pale yel- low" in the 1909 Webster's New International Dictionary, but the 1895 Century Dictionary defined it as the color of "the sodium salt of the disulphonic acid of azoxy-stil- bene." In 1912, the University appointed a committee headed by a physiology professor named Warren Lombard to find a consistent representation of the colors. Karel said that throughout her Iwo committees examine Code By Katie Plona Daily Staff Reporter Two groups representing different constituencies on campus have taken different approaches to scrutinize the same subject - the Code of Student Conduct, a document that primarily affects students' lives. The nine-member, University-led committee, which .bmitted its final report to Vice President for Student !Wffairs Maureen Hartford about one month ago, tack- led the task of evaluating how well the Code has been implemented since it took form nearly three years ago. The student-led group, organized by Michigan Student Assembly members, broadened its scope of review to include a full evaluation of the Code itself and not just the procedures. Rackham Rep. Olga Savic, chair of MSA's Student Rights Commission and one of three students to sit on the University's committee, said MSA took on the *avy task of reviewing the Code in its entirety because it thought the University Code Implementation Review Committee's analysis was limited. "There was a certain level of analysis that didn't happen because it wasn't supposed to happen,' Savic said, adding that the assem- bly's Student Code Review Committee went a step fur- ther by asking such question as, "What would students want in a code of conduct?" , "The charge of the University committee was very narrow" Savic said. "So we were only able to look at "The charg~ University 4 Was very a two different committees will be reflected in their reports to the University Board of Regents, which are scheduled to begin at the board's meeting next month. "They'll find stuff. They find what they're looking for" Reich said. "But, that's not good enough for our ;S of the purposes" Reich's comments, committee which mirrored those of Savic's, said the student- led committee sought to include more students in - Olga Savic its review. ghts Commission chair "If we can prove that there is a need for a com- plete rewrite of the Code, that's what we're going to do," Reich said. Because of the narrower scope of CIRC's review, a recommenda- See CODE, Page 7 MSA Student Rig the Code in terms of a few questions" LSA sophomore Brian Reich, public information director for the MSA committee, said the tasks for the Marsh fire rages in Michigan * Y & cross country runner Katie McGregor runs to victory In Lawrence, Kan. yesterday as she becomes Michigan's first-ever national cross country ~ r champion. GRAHAM K. JOHNSON/ University Daily Kansan Cross counstar winsntn title Clay Tow CLAY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - A fire in dried out marsh land spread over 120 acres last night and forced the *acuation of about 10 houses in St. Clair County. The fire covered parts of Clay County, Algonac and Algonac State Park, Clay Township Fire Chief Rick Edler said. He said there was some dam- age to homes, although he had no infor- mation about how many or how badly the houses damaged. WPHM-AM reported three homes were damaged. Emergency personnel at the scene ported that three firefighters had received treatment, two for smoke inhalation and one for minor injuries sustained when the fire burned over him. Firefighters were working late last night to put the fire out and keep it away from nearby houses. Bob Un:+-;-.a ia e hn .a o...v . lre- nship pointing to pine trees next to his garage. The flames that shot up to 30 feet' into the sky could be seen from Michigan Highway 29 and the glow from the fire could be seen in the sky from miles away. Attempts to put out the fire were hampered by the 20 mph winds, the terrain which made it difficult to get equipment to the scene and the dry- ness of the brush, Edler said. "We've got heavy brush that's been dry all summer. With the wind, it makes it tough to fight." Rick Furtah, a retired Marine City firefighter who was called onto duty last night because of the size of the fire, said that it was mostly grass and brush that were burning, along with some wood piles. He said the fire was so strong that it burned over a 20-foot- wi11t- hievh- ath an d a rainat; ditch- - By Mark Francescutti Daily Sports Writer T= LAWRENCE, Kan. In her last season, her last cross country race and her last opportunity to become a cham- pion, Katie McGregor struck gold. The senior, in one of the toughest tests of her Michigan career, now can add 'first Michigan cross country national champion' to her resume after taking first place in the NCAA Championship race yesterday in 16:47. McGregor, trailing throughout much of first the two-thirds of the race, kept pion said. "It was a good race, and there was a lot of good competition, but I had my team here with me. McGregor earned her title by keep- ing her focus, even though she fell back to thin and fourth place early in the race. "There was Stanford, Arizona, and a few people up there," McGregor said. "I felt OK. I ran my own pace for the whole race. I didn't go out extremely fast. I just stayed up with the people I knew who were going to finish up in the front and let them pull me along. I