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Thursday
November 4, 1999
Weather
Today: Partly cloudy. High 55
Tomorrow: Partly cloudy. High
. Low 27.
h 58.
One hundred nine years of editori lfreedom
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fnternet
courses
widely
available
By Jewel Gopwani
ily Staff Reporter
, It's midnight. A long day of work is
finally over. Now it's time to hit the
Internet and do some homework.
t least that's the case for some, like
Con, Mich., resident Wendy Derby
who works full-time during the day and
takes college courses online.
At 35 years old, Derby is a junior at
Eastern Michigan University. She's
also the department administrator for
nuclear Engineering and radiological
sciences at the University. Through
online courses, Derby has been further-
ing her education to enhance her job
performance.
EMU initiated
its online pro-
gram in March
1998. This
semester EMU
is offering more
than 40 courses
on the Internet.
YrrloiI tliei The school
&1lofd~pdrl series dbOU charges the same
tuition costs as it
c ,es for the same course in a class-
room and adds a $40 programming fee
for each online credit hour.
Instead of meeting in a traditional
classroom setting, EMU online courses
utilize audio and video lectures, online
assignments, quizzes and exams as
well as threaded discussion sections,
where students leave their input on the
Internet for students and instructors to
give feedback.
its fourth year, the Virtual
University at Michigan State
University offers about 40 classes
almost entirely online. Co-Director of
the Virtual University Lori Hudson said
the purpose of the program is to help
students learn new skills and upgrade
the ones they have.
Also available on the Internet are
courses through Michigan Virtual
University, one of Gov. John Engler's
ir~tives. MVU offers 150 online
courses through an alliance of 17
See ONLINE, Page 7A
'U' defends
$89 price
of vaccine
LSA senior Payel Gupta celebrates Diwall at a gathering in Stockwell Residence Hall last night. The symbol seen in the
background represents friendship, prosperity and quality of relations in the Hindu faith.
Diwali rings"t
innew year
for Hindus
By Krista Gullo
For the Daily
Sitting on white sheets covering the ground, more than
100 people gathered around the Pujari last night as he
blew into a conch shell, symbolizing the beginning of tra-
ditional Hindu prayers used to celebrate the Hindu holiday
called Diwali.
The Pujari - a Hindu priest - then conducted the
Puja, the traditional Hindu prayer. University students
marked Diwali together in the Blue Lounge of Stockwell
Residence Hall, and many said they will go home this
weekend to their families to celebrate with dinner and pre-
sents. Diwali is one of the main festivals in India, and it
marks the beginning of the Hindu new year.
Medical second-year student Ashutosh Tyago said the
event brought together different Indian cultures. He equat-
ed India to modern Europe, a combination of many dif-
FE STIVAL
OF LIGHT
ferent cultures. Hindu people from nearly every state in
India attended last night's Diwali festival, ago said.
Some students wore traditional Indiai clothes
Salwar Kameez and Bindhis for women and Kuria Pajama
for men - and others wore their ex eryday clothes. They
took off shoes at the door to keep the room free from
unsanitary contact.
Sripada Raju, a former University research associate,
served as the Pujari. Raju said Diwali is a festival of light
and a festival of wealth and prosperity marking the new
year. Diwali is a time for farmers to forecast their future
crops and a time for bankers to settle transactions and
begin accounts for the new year.
"Essentially this festival is to affirm the resourceful-
ness of human beings and enm ironmental harmony. It
indicates interdependence of mechanical. botanical and
See DIWALL, Page 8A
By Michael Grass
Daily Staff Reporter
Although students who want the
meningococcal meningitis vaccine at
other colleges nationwide don't pay
as much as the S89 cost that
University students must pay, campus
officials are more than willing to
defend the University's price.
"We believe 'that we are passing on
the cost of the price in a fair fashion,"
interim Director of University Health
Service Robert Winfield said.
explaining that the process of estab-
lishing the S89 cost of the inocula-
tion is a little more complicated that
it seems.
The price UHS charges depends on a
number of factors, including the manu-
facturer's price and the cost of hiring
additional nursing staff members.
Winfield said that although the
University did receive a discount on
the nearly $80.000 worth of meningo-
coccal meningitis vaccine doses
ordered by UHS, schools like
Michigan State University, where a
greater number of students and staff
were inoculated, received a larger dis-
count -- one reason why some
schools charge less.
Meningitis is an illness that affects
the brain and spinal cord and includes
symptoms of fever, sever headache,
stiff neck, sensitiv ity to light, drowsi-
ness and nausea. Though treatable,
some types of meningitis can be fatal.
MSU sophomore Adam Busutill
contracted meningococcal meningitis
last month, prompting MSU to vacci-
nate more than 14,000 students and
staff members for free. Another case of
the illness arose this weekend when
Pennsylvania State University student
Ryan Hockensmith showed signs and
later was diagnosed in Champaign, Ill.
Winfield said UHS gave about 650
vaccine shots to students last week and
more than 93 inoculations yesterday.
To follow the latest guidelines from
the Centers for Disease Control calling
on schools to provide more education
about meningitis for their students, the
University is mailing letters to students
who live in residence halls, encourag-
ing them to consider the option of get-
ting the xaccine.
Those students lix ing in residence
halls have a higher chance of contract-
ing the disease, Winfield said.
A female student from Bursley
Residence Hall was admitted to
University Hospitals last month to be
tested for meningococcal meningitis,
but results revealed that the student had
the less dangerous x iral meningitis.
Winfield said the Uniersity is pre-
pared with multiple emergency plans if
more cases of meningitis arise and a
mass immunization of the University
community is necessary.
If a student needs the vaccine and
cannot pay the X89 inoculation cost,
the Office of Student Affairs has an
emergency fund set up to help allevi-
ate student costs. Winfield said stu-
dents in such a situation should con-
tact Student Affairs or the University
ombudsman.
Although the meningitis cases have
been limited, students nationwide are
receiving the vaccine.
See MENINGITIS, Page 2A
Week raises Muslim awareness
By Charles Chen
Daily Staff Reporter
early 40 students gathered last
n t in Angell Hall Aud. C to listen
to Tariq Colvin's presentation,
"Protecting the Environment through
Islam," one of several events
designed to promote Islam Awareness
Week.
"Protecting the environment is a fun-
damental concept responsible upon us
as a community to take care of," said
Sarah Mohiuddin, outreach community
c * of the Muslim Students
AMciation.
The overall theme for the annual
week is "Islam Serving Community."
MSA is sponsoring the week's events
in an effort to raise the campus com-
munity's awareness of the Islam
Speakers discuss issues
facing Islamic relgon
faith.
MSA Vice President Zain Bengali
said, "We wanted to bring a different
perspective, of Islam to campus,
showing that Muslims care about
society.
Colvin, who works with the Muslim
Community Center in Ann Arbor and
teaches at the Michigan Islamic
Academy, stressed in his presentation
that, "The priority given to the environ-
ment is low."
ness is a part of the Islamic religion,
which focuses on teaching its members
of the importance and duty of serving
humanity.
"It is important to have a sense of
community, and every Muslim should
be concerned about the environment,"
Mohiuddin said.
Colvin's presentation incorporated
more than just the importance of pro-
tecting the environment but expressed
many of the ideals ard purposes of the
"We want to put forth that Islam is a
multi-faceted way of life," Colvin said.
"This religion is built for reality. It cov-
ers all aspects of humanity."
Colvin conveyed the importance
of conserving resources and protect-
ing the environment and how
Muslims must use moderation as a
part of their lives.
"It doesn't matter how much change
we have in the future, but what kind of
change we have." Colvin said.
Last night's presentation is part of
a week of events centered around
various issues, including domestic
terrorism, human rights and con-
fronting poverty. Islam Awareness
Week will conclude tomorrow with a
special prayer in the Blue Lounge of
See ISLAM, Page 7A
Environmental protection and aware- Islamic religion.
New jerseys
hit local. stores
By Mark Francescutti
Daily Sports Writer
The secret's out. The new Michigan men's basketball uni-
forms are on sale - days before the public was supposed to
see them.
The Michigan Athletic Department planned to unveil the
new jerseys and shorts to the public at the Wolverines' Maize
and Blue scrimmage - commencing about 20 minutes after
the Michigan-Northwestern football game Saturday. Instead,
replicas of the uniforms appeared on store racks, including
those of Moe's Sport Shop on North University Avenue,
almost a week early.
Moe's owner Buddy VanDeWege said his shop received the
uniforms late last week ands tirted selling them Mondav. The
JEREMY MENCHIK/Daity
University President Lee Bollinger speaks with students last night in the Kuenzel
Room of the Michigan Union at the first of four fireside chats.
Bollinger kicks off
firsid chat series
By Lisa Koivu
Daily Staff Reporter
Hot cider, a blazing fire and
snowflakes falling presented a cozy
atmosphere when students gathered
around University President Lee
Bollinoer vesterdav in the Kuenzel
University," said interim Vice President
for Student Affairs E. Royster Harper.
"Students are also important to him
and he wants to meet them. Setting up
activities like this gives both a chance
to interact and talk," Harper said.
The event was organized by the
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