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One hundred eight years of edzm'onalfreedom
Friday
April 9, 1999
Vol. OM'No. 114 ft oai9
'U' ma'
By JmIe Wider
Daily Staff Reporter
The prospect of implementing a life sciences
institute at the University was the topic of discus-
sion when faculty members from the College of
Irature, Science and the Arts gathered yester-
day with University President Lee Bollinger and
Provost Nancy Cantor.
Many faculty members expressed excitement
toward the project and toward the promising
advancements related to their fields. But others
seemed to question from where funding for the
project money would come and the role that exist-
ing departments and faculty would play in the
institute.
open
life
sciences
Administrators, faculty optimistic about
proposalfor interdisciplinary institute
center
ments are an example of how the University
already utilizes methods to make life sciences a
reality, she said
The life sciences institution may have effects
beyond enhancing the current connections
between different disciplines.
"This may have an effect on our imaginations
like physics has had on art and literature,
Bollinger said.
Cantor said there is a ripple effect for an inter-
disciplinary program like life sciences. Many oth-
ers at the University will be invigorated to do new
work, she said.
Executive Vice President for Research Fawwaz
See INSTITUTE, Page 7
Yesterday's discussion follows a report that the
Life Sciences Commission released in February
outlining the strengths and weaknesses of the
University in areas concerning life sciences. The
report also made specific recommendations
regarding programs and structure of the institution.
Bollinger said he would most likely have a pro-
posal ready for the University Board of Regents
next month, and he speculated that life sciences
could have its own curriculum and faculty
appointments within three years - costing the
University $200 to $300 million.
"As a University we aspire to be at the top of
every major area of research and teaching we
engage in," Bollinger said, adding that the
University has strengths in areas relating to life
sciences, but this institution would help make the
University one of the leaders in the field.
Interdisciplinary work would be the basis for
the life sciences institution, joining together vari-
ous social sciences, humanities, law, business,
physics and biology.
"We don't want to create an institution that is by
itself isolated," Cantor said. Joint faculty appoint-
i
DAVID ROCHKINO/Daily
Ian Ellen DeGeneres speaks to'a packed Hill Auditorium yesterday in an
ress titled "Speaking Honestly."
DeGeneres talks
e
out experie
CRISIS IN THE BALKANS
NATO steps
upbombing },
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON -With no end in sight to the conflict
in Kosovo and diplomacy apparently at a standstill, NATO
warplanes zeroed in yesterday on Yugoslav soldiers and
military convoys in the rebel province, inflicting the heav- -.,.
iest direct damage so far on troops and weapons used to
kill and purge its ethnic Albanian population.
Pentagon officials said they believe NATO's air strikes
have almost completely cut off Kosovo from the rest of
Serbia, the dominant republic of Yugoslavia, by destroy-
ing all rail lines into the province from the north and dam-
aging most of the roads and bridges.
Both tactics were intended to make it more difficult for
military convoys to reinforce troops already there and
make slow-moving traffic more vulnerable to NATO
planes overhead, Pentagon officials said in the most
detailed briefings since the air campaign started March
24. r~
Yugoslav authorities, meanwhile, sent conflicting sig-
nals about the possibility that three U.S. soldiers captured
on the Macedonian border early in the air war might be
released. Veteran Cypriot politician Spyros Kyprianou
arrived yesterday night in Belgrade and scheduled a meet-
ing today with .President Slobodan Milosevic on a mis-
sion to win the three Americans' freedom.
The Yugoslav information' minister, Milan Komnenic
told a French radio station that "good news" is coming,
but declined to specify what he meant. But Yugoslav
Deputy Premier Vojislav Seselj said releasing the three is
"out of the question" and they should be tried as terrorists.
Earlier, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said they will be
freed only when NATO stops its air strikes.
The intensifying bombardment reported by NATO did NATHAN RUFFER/Daily
little to ease the alarm among NATO officials and relief Mechanical Engineering post doctoral fellow Loucas Louca discusses the situation in Kosovo
See BALKANS, Page 2 yesterday on the Diag with Wolfgang Moehler, a staff member in the biophysics department.
'Ethnic Peace-lovers 'protest US. involvement
By Yael Kohen
Daily Staff Reporter
Amidst screams of "We love Ellen"
that permeated a packed Hill
> ditorium last night and followed by a
ding ovation, Ellen DeGeneres had
to wait five minutes before she could
say a word.
Comedian DeGeneres, best known
for her role in the television sitcom
"Ellen," was "Speaking Honestly" to
students and Ann Arbor residents about
hier experiences and thoughts about life
and about being gay. Brought to cam-
pus by the University Activities Center
committee Laughtrack, DeGeneres
de Ann Arbor the final stop on her
-part tour.
Even though DeGeneres came to
speak on a serious note, it did not stop
her from trying to get a laugh out of the
audience.
"What do I say?" DeGeneres asked.
"I could say I'm gay but I think every-
one knows that."
But when DeGeneres finally got to
the crux of her speech, she started
aking about her childhood.
While growing up, DeGeneres said,
she was taught that "everyone has to
like me" and it didn't matter what she
really felt. "Of course I end up in a
business where everyone has to like
me," she said, adding that the fear of
rejection made her hide the fact that she
was a lesbian.
DeGeneres said that as a comedian
she wanted "to reach everybody" and
make everybody laugh "because it was
about humor" and not about being gay.
Although DeGeneres said she did not
want to publicize her private life out of
fear of injuring her career, she finally
used her television sitcom "Ellen" to
announce her sexual orientation. In
1997 in a landmark episode, character
Ellen Morgan - DeGeneres' on-screen
person - came out on national televi-
sion, causing a stir nationwide.
"The fact that I've turned out to be a
such a controversial figure is hysterical
to me," DeGeneres said, getting a rise
out of the crowd.
"When I came out I really did it for
personal reasons," she said. "I don't
care if people don't like me anymore."
DeGeneres said that coming out was
giving up "the shame that I had been
living with."
The audience cheered as DeGeneres
recounted her "coming out" experi-
ence.
It was not until the TV celebrity
came out as a lesbian that she became
more aware of the discrimination that
surrounded her and others for being
gay.
Once she became aware of her polit-
ical and social situation DeGeneres
began speaking at high schools and col-
leges to educate and provide support for
those who need it.
But it was important for DeGeneres
to make one point clear. "I am not rep-
resenting every gay person ... these are
See DEGENERES, Page 2
By Jennifer Sterling
For the Daily
Their intent was peaceful and the message was
clear. The Ethnic Peace-lovers, a group of about
30 students, demonstrated on the Diag yesterday
at noon to protest for peace in Kosovo. Their
mission was to educate students on the situation
in Kosovo and tell them what they consider to be
the truth of the Yugoslovia crisis.
Sporting black and white bullseye pins to sym-
bolize that all people are targets, protesters
marched on the Diag, holding signs, handing out
pamphlets to passers-by and chanting "One, two,
three, four, stop the bombs in Kosovo."
A Serbian woman, who did not wish to be
identified because she said she wanted the stu-
dent activists to be heard instead, spoke against
U.S. actions. "Americans haven't heard the story
from the other side," she said.
She added that U.S.government officials "only
inspire hatred" by neglecting to hear grievances
from Albanian and Serbian groups.
She concluded by saying that this has "all
been for nothing," arguing that for Yugoslavia
to accept unconditionally a solution that the
United States feels is best for Kosovo is unrea-
sonable..
"Violence cannot solve anything," said
Engineering graduate student Dejan Filipovic, a
native of Serbia.
Speaking against NATO's bombing campaign
he said, "Nobody from the outside can solve
internal problems. Serbian government and
Albanian representatives should be involved in
talks."
In a pamphlet distributed to students, the
group advocated that the solutions to the war
should include peaceful negotiations under the
auspices of the Secretary General, rather than
bombings.
Protestors also blamed members of the media,
claiming that they do not "give the public the
opportunity to understand the complexity of the
situation," Education graduate student Ioanna
Vekiri said.
Vekiri said she is for solutions that protect eth-
nic Albanians, and she wants "more opportunity
for the promotion of democracy."
The Ethnic Peace-lovers' pamphlet concluded
with the words, "Bombing is not part of the solu-
tion. It is part of the problem."
k
Archer speaks on
urban development
*Dily to assess affirmative action attitudes
The Michigan Daily will conduct the first comprehensive survey of student
opinions on affirmative action and admissions policies at the University.
The survey, designed in conjunction with the Department of
Communications Studies and the Institute for Social
Research, will be a probability sample of 1,600
University students, selected at random from all current-
ly enrolled University students.
Students selected to take the survey will receive an
e-mail with the subject heading, "Michigan Daily
Student Survey."
To ensure all University students are represented, a
1 II II l l Ihigh level of participation is required. If you receive
an e-mail with this subject line, please respond as
soon as possible. The survey takes about 15 minutes
to complete.
The results of the survey will be reorted in a series
By Kelly O'Connor
Daily Staff Reporter
Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer faced a
critical audience yesterday as he spoke
on campus to about 100 students, pro-
fessors and community members about
urban development and the environ-
ment.
Archer came to the University as a
part of a series of speakers on sustain-
able development - an effort to revi-
talize and improve urban areas without
damaging the environment. The mayor
expressed an enthusiastic appreciation
issues that continue the rebuilding and
renewal of the city of Detroit,' Archer
said.
Because of many recent projects and
community efforts involving residents
and business owners, Detroit is moving
in the direction of an environmentally
conscious city, Archer said.
But some skeptics say Archer's
actions do not reflect his words.
SNRE senior Annette Labiano-
Abello, a member of the Environmental
Justice Group on campus, said in a writ-
ten statement that Archer often sides
I
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