LOCAL/S TATE The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, January 12, 2000 - 3 HIGHER; EDUCATION 'U' plans for personalized, portal Website for students MSU senior found dead in Colorado park . ® 1 A Michigan State University senior died during a winter break trip to Gunnison National Park in Colorado. The body of Michael Tansy Jr. was found by a search helicopter Dec. 26 at the bottom of the 1,800 foot Black Canyon, located in the park. East Lansing Police Officers began searching for Tansy after his father filed a missing person report Dec. 22. Park rangers found Tansy's car by the canyon Dec. 21 and was identi- *ied two days later. Colorado police said they do not suspect foul play. Police have not yet labeled the death an accident or a sui- cide. Harvard institute faces dissolvement After a six-month investigation ocusing on scandal and mismanage- ent within Harvard University's Institute for International Development, a task force suggested last week that the institute be elimi- fhated. The institute, which was developed more than 30 years ago to counsel foreign governments, has a budget of more than $34 million a year and has offices in more than 20 areas outside of the country. The Harvard Corporation and (Jarvard University President Neil Rudenstine are expected to give a final decision later this month after reviewing the task force's recommen- dations. Harvard University spokesperson Joe Wrinn said the institute's resources and initiatives be incorpo- rated into other university schools such as the School of Public Health *nd Kennedy School of Government by the end of this academic year. Wrinn could not confirm that all of the institutes programs would contin- ue. In the last few year's the school has received unfavorable media attention including reports of a federal investi- gation of improper use of grant money by institute employees. prah reflects on 'teachingcourse at Northwestern After completing her first course as an instructor at Northwestern University's Graduate School of Management, television talk show host Oprah Winfrey said she would like to teach the course again next #11. Winfrey, who shared teaching duties with boyfriend Stedman Graham for the course, "Dynamics of Leadership" graded her effort a B. The courses' guest speakers included civil rights leader Coretta Scott King, ABC network chairman Bob Iger and former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. U. Nebraska %gent challenges pro-life leaders A University of Nebraska regent .has challenged local anti-abortion rganization leaders to discuss the university's use of fetal tissue for research in their medical center. In a letter to the directors of Rescue the Heartland, Nebraska *ght to Life and Metro Right to Life, Regent Drew Miller suggested they debate the issue in front of a group of citizens. Miller offered to not seek re-elec- rtion if the debate's audience voted to ban fetal tissue research. All of the anti-abortion advocates accepted Miller's offer to debate but did not support the condition of an audience vote. By Robert Gold Daily Staff Reporter In an attempt to offer students a Website separate from, more interac- tive and user specific than its current homepage, which receives 20 million hits each month, the University plans to unveil an interactive and customiz- able Website later this year. "We were one of the first institutions to have a Website, (but now) we don't have a state of the art Website," said Jose-Marie Griffiths, chief information officer for the University. The project's plan is to eventually allow students, faculty, staff and other University affiliates to tailor the site's content and design to their personal interests, said Gavin Eadie, project manager and director of strategic tech- nology of the Office of the Chief Information Officer. The initial system will be separate from the University Website, because the University wants to "get out a per- sonalized Website very quickly," Eadie said, adding that the goal is to incorpo- rate the two sites in the future. "The idea is people can go to (stan- dard sites) directly or through the por- tal," Griffiths said. The Website's organizers and cre- ators consist of a group of ITD staff members and the Office of the Chief Information Officer. The endeavor, nicknamed Project Janus after the Roman god of doors, beginnings and endings, has been allotted $250,000 funding by Griffiths' office for the cur- rent fiscal year. An initial student prototype will be available in April at www my. umich.edu. Garnering feed- back from various focus groups and steering committees, project officials look to develop a more comprehen- sive site by the end of the summer, Eadie said. Gordon Leacock, co-manager of Project Janus and director of planning for ITD, said the team plans on developing content relevant to staff, faculty and other University affiliates in the future. Eadie said the current University Website, which has remained unchanged for the past three years, is insufficient in satisfying the needs of students, faculty and staff. "The biggest criticism is it's really hard to find things. It's a very static site" Eadie said. "Three years is like a lifetime" Eadie said some future options include allowing students to access grades, e-mail and weather from a sin- gle site. LSA junior Debbie Helfman said she uses the University Website frequently. She said she is satisfied with the content but a customizable site may save time. "Everything is run through the com- puter," Helfman said. "It would be very convenient to have everything on one site." Eadie said while few universities currently have personalized Websites, many are considering the feature. Universities that offer similar Websites in New York include the University of Buffalo in New York. Harvard University and the University of California at Los Angeles. America Online, Yahoo! and Excite offer widely used commercial portals with customizable features. Last year, Northwestern University's student government and technology department developed a new student- oriented Website, Associated Student Government President Steve Spalding said. The Website enables students to check vital information such as e-mail, grades, book exchange information and schedules. "All freshman have it here now as their default home page," Spalding said. "It's been very successful." Project members plan on developing student focus groups next month. Eadie said the project team has a long list of ideas, but the final product depends on what people want in a Website. "What we realize is you have to start with the users," Leacock said. "If peo- ple aren't motivated to use the site, why use it?" LSA senior Terrence Craion said he uses the University Website regularly and doesn't think the customizable option is necessary. "I think it's fine the way it is," Craion said. Leacock said the prototype will like- ly include news for students gathered from a range of information holders on campus. He added that he does not see any technical problems in implementing the site, but the challenge is gathering information from outside groups. "If people have various databases, they have a choice of whether they want to share it or not," Leacock said. JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily University students exploring their options for winter rush check out the Sigma Nu fraternity display in the Ballroom of the Michigan Union last night. Fraternities, sororities work to gain member-s during winter term R~qUSH Continued from Page 1 Robert Liera, a member of the Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, said the later intake process "is a good way for the fraternity to get to know prospec- tive students and they get to know us." The intake process for cultural- ly-based fraternities and sorori- ties is supplemented throughout the year by many activities rang- ing from community service pro- jects to parties. "We've held cultural dinners where we bring food from differ- ent backgrounds into dorms on a Sunday night when dinner isn't served to get to know people," Liera said. Bryan Cook, advisor to the Black Greek Association, said many houses wait to recruit mem- bers so that pledges have a better idea of what college is like before committing to a specific organi- zation. "First semester has generally been used to get students used to campus and get collegiate grade point averages, so they're more prepared when it's time to join," he said. The average culturally-based fraternity and sorority has six to 12 members, Cook said, although they expect to see around 100 people turn out for the Winter Rush Informationals, which allow prospective members to learn about the organizations history and activities. "We're different from the IFC and the Panhellic Association in that we don't do a lot of promo- tion ,to get our name out," said Cook. "Its (membership recruitment) pretty much a year-long process of doing the things we do and putting forth an image of the organization." GM stops production of EVi electric car, citing low interest Voters may get to decide voucher issue in November DETROIT (AP) -General Motors Corp. has stopped pro- duction of its sleek EVI electric car, and will not likely build more due to four years of waning interest from customers. GM Vice Chair Harry Pearce said yesterday that GM's attention was shifting from all-electric cars to vehicles powered by hybrid fuel-electric systems and fuel cells, which use hydrogen to create electricity. Pearce said the company had a sufficient supply of EVIs on hand and said while GM could build more, there was "no particu- lar need." GM will still lease EVIs in California and Arizona, but will "recycle" used EVIs as their leases end, giving them new battery packs or other updates. "They literally last forever," Pearce said. "The more of those vehicles that stay in the hands of customers, the more data we have on real-world operation ... We're the only com- pany that has put that kind of vehicle in the hands of cus- tomers over a number of years." GM announced it was building the EVI in 1996, and hoped to eventually sell thousands of battery-powered vehi- cles as pollution-free alternative transportation - especially in warm-climate cities set by smog. It spent $350 million to develop the EV I, and promoted it heavily, delivering some of the first vehicles to celebrities such as Sylvester Stallone. It billed the EV1 as a household's second car for short trips, and set a goal of leasing 100 a month. But after an initial flurry of interest, few buyers came for- ward, and the EV1s limitations became clear. EV1 leases cost between $400 and $600 a month, and for their money, own- ers got a car with a range of 80 miles that needed several hours to recharge. Of 703 prospects who went through a spe- cial sales pitch for EVIs in the first three months, nearly 80 percent decided against it. GM increased the EV i's range, but sales didn't improve. Last year, GM leased 137 EVIs, and has leased about 600 since 1996. Pearce said the EVI appealed mostly to die-hard fans of electric cars, and not a mass audience. "Range, two seats, recharging ... those are very real con- cerns that consumers have," Pearce said. "We have spoiled customers with respect to motor vehicles. They want normal range, they want four or five seats, they don't want to spend any time recharging." Despite the disappointing customer reaction, Pearce said the EVI had been a valuable tool for the company. "Right now, we think we are the leader in electric propulsion systems and it's the result of 10 years of work on the EV I," he said. "That was the whole concept within GM; that was the foundationfor all the hybrid and fuel cell vehicles." Pearce also said GM was working with Toyota Motor Co. on new power technologies, and said a hybrid vehi- cle that would be a joint effort was possible. Hybrids use an internal combustion engine mated to an electric', motor. GM and Toyota share a factory in California; Toyota will: put a hybrid version of its Echo compact, called the Prius, on sale later this year. "I think Toyota has done an elegant engineering job with respect to the powertrain in the Prius," Pearce said. "It prob. ably needs to be beefed up a bit for this market in terms o4 performance. That's doable." GM also showed off its fuel cell technology yesterday, unveiling a fuel cell version of its high-efficiency Precept- concept vehicle. The five-passenger sedan has a range of 50C- miles, and an equivalent of 108 miles per gallon of gasoline based on federal testing standards, Pearce said. Fuel cells are attractive because the only byproduct is water. One of the biggest hurdles to using fuel cells has been ways to store liquid hydrogen in the car; it has to be chilled to 430 degrees below zero. Instead of liquid hydrogen, the Precept's fuel cell uses a gel-like chemical hydride that fills tanks below the rear seat. "This is a no-excuses vehicle," Pearce said. "When this vehicle is up and running - as I predict it will be by the end- of the year-this vehicle will have performance of nine sec- onds, zero to 60 (mph). It will have a top speed well in excess of 120 miles per hour." Byron McCormick, co-executive director of GM's Global Alternative Propulsion Center, said fuel cells will be ready for production by 2004, but more work needs to be done to build fueling stations and other infrastructure. "We're trying to set the stage to get millions of these out there. ... You don't clean the air by putting just a few of these:. on the roads," he said. GRAND RAPIDS (AP) - School voucher proponents have collected enough signatures to put the issue on the November ballot, the group's chair says. Richard DeVos declined to say Monday exactly how many people have signed the Kids First! Yes! peti- tion. But he confirmed that at least 302,711 signatures have been collect- "YOU've got to get asafety margin. - Richard DeVos Kids First! Yes! chair ed, the minimum ballot. Now the group signatures in case fied, DeVos said. "You've got to gin," DeVos said. for getting on the is collecting more some are disquali- get a safety mar- &1IT profs. sue Internet service .I Two Massachusetts Institute of Technology professors have filed a lawsuit against Ask Jeeves, Inc., the Internet Search Engine claiming that the company is infringing on patents that incorporate the use of natural language to retrieve information from e atabase. W eather Staple, director of Corporate Communications for Ask Jeeves, said the company only uses technology it has developed. - Compiled from U-Wire reports by Daily Staff Reporter Robert Gold. "We right now are well into ... determining what kind of safety mar- gin we need to make sure we quali- fy," he said. The signatures may be enough to guarantee the issue of a slot on the ballot, but the campaign to pass it faces a fight. Michigan Gov. John Engler oppos- es the effort, saying it has no chance of winning in November, and various public school advocacy groups are gearing up their own anti-voucher campaigns. The Kids First! Yes! proposal would require school districts with a graduation rate lower than 66 percent to offer vouchers that could be used by parents to pay tuition at private or parochial schools. Residents or school boards in other districts could vote to expand the program to their districts. DeVos said support for the cam- paign appears to be growing, although he wasn't sure if support was equally strong across the state when it hits the ballot. A November poll by Mitchell Research & Communications Inc. of East Lansing showed 58 percent of Michigan voters favored the Kids First! Yes! ballot initiative and 22 percent opposed it. Vouchers didn't come up during Monday's 90-minute Republican presidential candidate debate at Calvin College. But U.S. Sen. John McCain, maga- zine publisher Steve Forbes and con- servative commentator Gary Bauer have said they support the Kids First! Yes! proposal. DeVos made his remarks following the debate. WANT TO WRITE FOR THE DAILY? COME TO THE MASS MEETING TONIGHT AT 7 P.M. IN THE STUDENT PUBLICATIONS ga 11: 1naubaUI ( MU Max & Erma's Understands N SRestourant .4 ;.4 " f\GJ14 V 141 tl 1 J the Importance of Educational G ~ 3 : . :. i. %oas. il± ' SAmbitious, fun~oving individuals can ? really hit paydirt at Max & Erma's, where our flexible schedules and good wages are perfect for college students seeking full and part-time opportunities. We're winning additional customers at more than 50 locations throughout the nation with excellent food and a casual environment. If you're fanatical about success, join us as: HOSTS/HOSTESSES WAITSTAFF DISHWASHERS ti ., 'U .