News 76-DAILY Display Ads: 764-0554 Classid Ads: 7640557 'Attacks By Mike Spahn Daily Staff Reporter Some people think students should be ted to universities solely based on thei school academic performance. Others arg tors such as race, economic status and legacies should augment a student's appli And each year, state legislators, stu emissions counselors and Michigan c debate whether state high school gra should gain admission preference ove of-state applicants to state-funded un ties. Matters of the harp y - $11 q. f +/t 1 Music sophomore Alison Perkins plucks of The Hight-member ensemble plays at even By Mellssa Andrsejak Daily Staff Reporter Does God exist? What is the meaning c is my place in the world? ,Wouldn't it be nice to have someone h answers? Well, the good news is that somebody try. The bad news is what they may seek i r,... " . r f r A" A . e Yan ti One hundred eight years of edatorz&zlfreedom Wednesday October 7, 1998 on out-of-state enrollment continue admit- ir high ue fac- alumni cation. udents, itizens duates er out- iversi- State Sen. John Schwarz (R- Battle Creek), who chairs the Senate Appropriation Subcommittee on Higher Education, said this issue emerges yearly during the x Legislature's debate on state funding for Michigan's 15 pub-. 0of lic colleges and universities. ( l oD "The issue has never really come up in any forum other than the pertaining to the University of Michigan," Schwarz said. "The University is accepting virtually all quali- oari fied, and I underline qualified, Michigan high school graduates that apply." Although this year's admis- an sions data is not yet available, the University historically has serf.,been composed of about one- Iothird out-of-state students and ______Jtwo-thirds in-state students. That guideline, while not offi- cial, dates back to the former University pres- ident Robben Fleming, who suggested limiting out-of-state enrollment to 30 percent of the student body in the late '60s. Vice President for Government Relations Cynthia Wilbanks said that number "remains in the memories" of state legislators, and their debates on the issue often center on Fleming's idea. "The issue was raised years ago by the Legislature," said Wilbanks, the University's Lansing lobbyist. "Now, the Legislature says the University should work hard to recruit and admit qualified Michigan students," but the Legislature stopped short of setting a quota. That legislative intent is included in a boiler P 'c deal : Amer Students who live off campus will be able to access Internet faster By Michael Grass Daily Staff Reporter Students, faculty and staff living off- campus in Ann Arbor will be able to gain access to the Internet via high- speed lines starting in Januarythanks to a deal the University made with Ameritech on Monday. At speeds up to 1.5 megabits per sec- ond, "or about 50 times faster than a 28.8 modem, it will be just as fast as Ethernet," said Jean Medina, a media representative with Ameritech's Chicago office. Campus residence halls and offices have access to the University's high- speed Ethernet network, but those liv- ing off campus most often access the Internet and other on-line resources via slower dial-in connections. This deal will make the service avail- able to up to 20,000 students, faculty and staff, said Cheryl Munn-Fremon, director of Information and Technology Communication Services. Access to Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Lines will cost $50 per month, said Andy Palms, a manager with the University's Information and Technology Division. That price is likely to rise to $60 within the next few months, Palms said. - the list of suggestions and requirements to the University along with their budget )riation, le some legislators, including state House priations Committee Chair Morris Hood troit), advocate further action to admit tudents, the autonomy of state universities e maintained, Wilbanks said. e Rep. Jessie Dalman (R-Holland), a can- for regent, said she has never voted to te a quota, but she does think this issue be dealt with at the University. See ENROLLMENT, Page 2 tts vith itech Some students said the steep prices make the connection package unattrac- tive. "I don't think I would pay (that much) for it' LSA sophomore Ryan White said. Ameritech and the University will set up a pilot ADSL program later this month to see how users like the ser- vice. Setting up the ADSL connections between the University and the off- campus sites will not be very difficult because Ameritech will use existing phone lines, Medina said. "It will require some equipment at (Ameritech's) end and equipment at the customers' end," Medina said. But due to the geographic limitations of the equipment involved, only those who are within 9,000 feet of Ameritech's two Ann Arbor's offices will have access to ADSL. These offices are located at E. Huron and Division streets and at Packard Street and Carpenter Road. While plans are still uncertain, access maybe expanded to 18,000 feet from those locations next year, Palms said. ADSL is "not the right thing for everyone,' Munn-Fremon said. The University currently offers two forms of Internet access to those who are off campus. The first is MichNet Dial-in, which requires a standard modem. The second See AMERITECH, Page 7 JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily nd strums with the University Harp Ensemble yesterday at the School of Music in preparation for the group's next performance. nts all over campus. ous groups of life? What hand you the is willing to in return. den agenda of power. This agenda is a deceptive recruitment and control over the lives of its members. College students make easy targets forc ment. "College students are between two maji their lives," Hill said. This transition ph from the questioning of one's borrowed f oped in childhood, and a need to establish sonal beliefs. The internal chaos makes stu ceptible to someone who says this is the ar said. "Students must be comfortable with ambiguity," Hill said. "Be comfortable with ing." seek students chieved by Charles LaBounty, a professor of psychology at minds and Hamline University in Madison, Wis., said students and much of the college-aged population are at risk of cult recruit- psychological manipulation. "A student is a person in progress" Hill said. or stages in When encountering new ideas and belief systems, ase results the safest way to protect your well-being is through aith, devel- critical thinking, experts said. h one's per- Don't take any information a group presents at face ;dents "sus- value, Hill said. "Always question, don't trust any nswer," Hill body's answer, get a variety of viewpoints," he said. When trying to distinguish whether or not an orga- mystery or nization has legetimately good intentions, LaBounty h not know- suggests checking out its sources. See CULTS, Page 7 Student to run for city' top position Rick Hill, coordinator of interfaith ministries at mes Madison University in Harrisburg, Va., said many "dangerous groups" - or cults, as they are more commonly known - are giving students the answers to many of life's most baffling ques- tions. A cult, Hill said, is a destructive group with a hid- Father of liacalsto lecture By Gerard Coheo-Vrlgnaud Daily Staff Reporter The recently released movie "Pi" depicted the story of a fictional genius who sought to explain life through a Wthematical equation. University stu- dents will get a real-life opportunity to brush with someone with a similar pas- sion when Yale Prof. Benoit Mandelbrot speaks on campus during the next three days. Best known as the founder of fractal geometry, Mandelbrot revolutionized the way complex patterns in nature are viewed. His theory of fractals has gone a g way towards explaining snowflakes, ,f patterns, cloud formations and countless other natural phenomena. "It has been a great surprise and a great joy to discover one of the most pervasive patterns in nature," Mandelbrot said. "Fractals are encoun- terable in all of nature." Manidelbrot will deliver three lectures on campus this week: - "Fractals and Scale-Invariant Roughness in the Sciences" Today at 4 p.m. in Rackhamr Ampitheater - Seminar on application of fractals in physics Tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. in 340 West Hall - Fractals in relation to financial markets Friday at noon in 1640 Chemistry Building will be a general introduction to fractals, Mandelbrot said. Mandelbrot expressed amazement at the way his theory of fractals has found applications in many academic fields, ranging from physics and mathematics to economics and geology. "Nobody could have expected it to develop to this point," Mandelbrot said. "In the mid'60s, it became clear that my work had wider applications." Mandelbrot's "The Fractal Geometry of Nature," published in 1982, was a much-read and discussed work and has continued to sell well since. uic s- . .. r - --r a Arl . ubn Y2K could hinder financial aid dispersal By Jason Stoffer Daily Staff Reporter If the U.S. Department of Education does not accelerate its Year 2000 Compliance efforts, students may not receive their financial aid envelope in the mail on time for the 1999-2000 school year. The U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Oversight and Investigations gave the department a grade of "F" for Y2K compliance in a recent report. Committee Chair Peter Hoekstra (R- Holland) said the consequences will be severe if this federal department is unable to fix "mission critical" systems. "If the systems are not up and work- ing, for those young people expecting loans, there's no way to get them those loans" Hoekstra said. 'The loan collec- tion system could go down too and pay- ments may get lost in a huge black hole." Doug Levy, associate director of the University's Financial Aid Office, said t .+.thia theh + n fr.ps h cnlh tA oi with the Department of Education we've had growing pains," Levy said. "But we have a good presence in Washington. When things happen, we get responded to quickly." Levy said that he does not expect the worst-case scenario to occur. "I'm not sitting behind that desk in Washington, but from everything I've seen and how well designed federal aid software is, I don't see a complete col- lapse of the system as possible," Levy said. Spokesperson Jim Bradshaw said the department "takes issue" with the com- mittee's findings and said he expects financial aid requests for 2000 to be processed with no more flaws than usual. He said 86 percent of the depart- ment's computers already comply with Y2K standards. "We're quite confident that by early next year we'll have all our systems year 2000 compliant and students will get their aid efficiently," Bradshaw said, addino that the nmmittee may have By Kelly O'Connor Daily Staff Reporter A new twist has been added to the 1998 Ann Arbor mayoral election. Joining Republican Mayor Ingrid Sheldon and Democratic Mayoral can- didate Christopher Kolb, Architecture and Urban Planning junior Elizabeth Keslacy is making a run for mayor on the Libertarian Party's ticket. The presence of a Libertarian candi- date can benefit all involved with the election, Keslacy said. "This will be an educational experi- ence for me because I will be learning about local politics and how they work:' Keslacy said. "It also educates others about the views of the Libertarian party." Those views are often too extreme for the average person, said Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid Sheldon. "I haven't met this candidate person- ally, but the Libertarian party always has strong perspectives and interesting philosophies. " Sheldon said. Keslacy said she has her own opin- ions on the differences between politi- cal parties. "Republicans want to tell you how to live, who to have sex with, what not to do," she said. "Democrats want to tell you how to spend your money. Both are very oppressive. "Libertarians are big. on personal responsibility. If everyone took care of themselves, there would be no need for KELLY M(KINNELL/Uaily Architecture and Urban Planning Junior Elizabeth Keslacy is running for mayor. Election Day Is Nov. 3. Other "political parties are nothing more than coalitions and money," she said. "They have no philosophical background. Libertarians do. A highlight of Keslacy's platform is the city income tax. "I am completely against the city income tax," Keslacy said. "The city skins us alive in every other way: park- ing tickets and property taxes that are extremely high. "Instead of raising the tax, they should cut some of their programs; she said. F