8. One hundred eikht years ofeditori'alfreedom "Ut Friday September 17, 1999 Veather oday: Sunny. High 71. Low 4 omorrow: Sunny. High 73. Em , ". 7 ., r Pr x e ' '- j' Scry -.V ire damages Sigma Chi fraternity Basement fire forces members from former Phi Delta Theta house By Nick Bunkley and Yael Kohen Daiy Staff Reporters Flames gutted a basement room in the temporary Sigma Chi fraternity house last night, in what Ann Arbor Fire Department officials said appears to be an accidental fire. The blaze, which began shortly after 9 p.m., was under control within about 40 minutes. AAFD Battalion Chief Jim Wallace said. At least 20 of the 36 students who live in the house and several fraternity pledges were inside when the fire broke out, according to Frank Cianciola, asso- ciate dean of students, who spoke with fraternity members following the inci- dent. The house, located at 1437 Washtenaw Ave.. in which Sigma Chi members are living during renovations to their own building, was formerly occupied by the now-disbanded Phi Delta Theta fraternity. "The chapter was doing some work trying to clean out a storage room downstairs," said John Mountz, Intrafratern ity Council adviser. AAFD Fire Marshal Scott Rayburn said four to seven small candles were found in the room during an inspection by AAFD officials. 'No lights were in the room that they were cleaning," Sigma Chi President Matt Zezima explained. Zezima said fraternity members used candles for light while cleaning and had left the room before the fire started, he said. 'They thought all the candles were out." said Zezima, an LSA sophomore. But Ann Arbor Fire Chief George Markus said the scene that investigators found in the basement gave a different indication of why candles had been used. "Apparently, there was some kind of initiation rite down there," Markus said. When asked about the suggestion that initiation rituals were being con- ducted prior to the fire, Zezima said, "Absolutely not." Zezima said several pledges who had gathered on the lawn in front of the building with other fraternity members had attended a weekly pledge dinner last night. The blaze caused smoke damage throughout three floors of the house. Rayburn said. but the majority of the damage was contained in the room here the fire began. Cianciola said fire officials gave him a preliminary estimate of 55.000 in damages to the structure. Three fraternity members, who fire officials identified as Engineering sophomore Reid Southby, LSA sopho- more Kyle Bunting and LSA junior Francis Gatfnev, were treated for smoke inhalation and released by Huron Valley Ambulance. "From what I know, those were the three guys that were down there when it started," Zezima said. Residents of the house gathered on the lawn and watched as firefighters removed charred pieces of furniture - chairs, couch cushions and wood frames - through a soot-lined base- ment window. See FIRE, Page 7 lark Edman, a driver operator for the Ann Arbor Fire Department, releases water from fire hydrant on South University Avenue last night. .Floyd smashes East Coast New York battered ~!y winds, downpour MONTAUK, N.Y. (AP) Creating havoc even at half-strength, Tropical Storm Floyd raced into the Northeast with gusty winds and drenching rain yesterday, grounding mdreds of flights, closing school r three million students, even post- poning a U.N. meeting on war. its winds falling below hurricane force to 65 mph by evening, Floyd headed for Long Island and New England after rolling through the Carolinas in the morning. At least seven deaths have been blared on Floyd, six from traffic accidents in the Carolinas and one qan presumed drowned in the ahamas. While still a hurricane, Floyd drilled ashore at Cape Fear, N.C., knocking out power to more than 1.4 million in the Carolinas and flooding highways andbasements with more than a foot of rain. But damage to buildings was modest. - "We're most fortunate," said George Lemons, a National Weather Service forecaster in Raleigh, N.C. From there, Floyd's winds weak- 1ned steadily to less than half its fearsome peak of 155 mph. The min- imum wind speed for a hurricane is 74 mph. At 5 p.m., the storm was 10 miles south of Atlantic City, N.J., moving north-northeast at nearly 30 mph. But even the gentler Floyd was threat enough for New York and New Jersey authorities, wlio *clared states of emergency. Public schools were closed in Washington, Baltimore, all of New Jersey, Philadelphia and New York City - a part of the country more accustomed to snow days. It was the first time anyone could See FLOYD, Page 2 Renovations await Haven, Mason halls 3 4i~P PHOTO Gary Kicka, front, and Mark Bailey paddle down a street In Myrtle Beach, S.C., yesterday on floodwaters left behind by Hurricane Floyd. Students weekend travel plans put on hold by storm By Michael Grass DallySt.aff Reporter More square footage of classroom, office and other academic space may come to Haven and Mason halls in the next five years as the University admin- istration considers plans to renovate the buildings. A proposed multi-story addition to Haven Hall, which will extend about 30 feet onto the Diag and rise above the Fishbowl, will also provide a connec- tion to Mason Hall. University Chief Financial Officer Robert Kasdin said ground floor areas, such as the Fishbowl are important stu- dent spaces that-need to be utilized effectively. "Public space needs to be preserved but it can be enhanced,' Kasdin said at yesterday's University Board of Regents meeting. Hank Baier, associate vice president for facilities and operations, said with the renovations to Haven, a new exteri- or will added to conform to other Diag area building faces. The Haven and Mason renovations, with estimated costs of about S16 mil- lion are part of a larger University ini- tiative to upgrade and more effectively utilize Central Campus academic spaces. Other building projects presented at the regents meeting yesterday include proposed renovations to the LS&A, Perry and Frieze buildings and West Hall. The administration will not immedi- ately seek regental approval for the pro- jects. Kasdin said each project will be brought individually to the board in coming months, but a timeline has yet to be set. Although Kasdin said cost estimates could fluctuate, the total estimated cost of the projects is set at S8b million. Through government-sponsored cap- ital outlay funding, S60 million of the total amount will come from state cof- fers. I For the time being, thee administra- tion removed the Frieze Building from its renovation package and the building will be addressed at a later time, Kasdin said. The Frieze Building could be used as a transition building during construc- tion. LSA Dean Shirley Neuman described many Central Campus facili- ties as "atrocious," "appalling" and "uninhabitable." Although Neuman said a top pri- ority of the initiative is to have "top- notch" facilities, even more impor- tant is the re-evaluation of the acad- emic uses of Central Campus build- ings. With some LSA departments with offices spread across campus, a top pri- ority is to unite departments like anthropology, a department with office space in West Hall and the North University Building. Neuman said the current physical and logistical separation in anthropolo- gy is putting the department "in danger of implosion." Along with creating physical cohesion within LSA academic units, Neuman said she wants "to establish geographic centers" among groups of similar depart- ments, like the humanities and social sciences. The proposed structural addition to Haven Hall would create newly reno See RENOVATE, Page 2 From staff and wire reports Although University studentsare hundreds of miles from its high winds and flooding, Hurricane Floyd caused headaches for many who were trying to travel to the East Coast for the weekend. In between her classes yesterday, LSA sophomore Michelle Bezos spent time on the phone with Northwest Airlines representatives trying to confirm whether her flight home today to Baltimore-Washington International Airport would be allowed to take off from Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Northwest Airlines canceled between 80 and 100 depar- tures to East Coast cities yesterday, including Washington D.C. and Boston, Northwest Airlines spokesperson Brian Lassaline said. Northwest is responsible for about 75 percent of passenger traffic at Detroit Metro. Passengers planning to get on a flight to the East Coast shouldn't give up hope. Northwest Airlines spokesperson Doug Killian said the major carrier expected to resume its full schedule today, after resuming some of its flights to East Coast points late yesterday. Bezos said she bought her tickets to Baltimore more than a month ago so that she could visit her boyfriend. As of 6 p.m. last night. Bezos said she planned to drive to the airport to see whether she could travel home. Bezos said she was nervous about the potential wait time she could have if her flight was canceled. "Sitting at the airport would suck," Bezos said. "But I'd get a plane tomorrow I would think." Lassaline said Detroit Metro airport was ready to distribute pillows, blankets, diapers, baby food and See PLANS, Page 2 VS.SYRACUSE O R A N G E M E N toorv Arrir dme8 prn.B THE OPPONENT: Syracuse has cruised through its first two opponents Toledo and Central Michigan, and this week ?our suspended starters return to help *ie team get win #3- THE OUTLOOK: This is not the same Syracuse team that shocked Michigan last year, but the Dome is always a tough place to play and the option is always trouble for the Michigan defense. Wayne State teachers strike for wages By Shabnam Daneshvar For the Daily Nearly 200 of Wayne State University's approximately 1,500 pro- fessors went on strike yesterday after numerous negotiations with universi- ty officials since the beginning of April. The one-day event, which could spur into a series of similar actions, supported higher salaries, said Marlene Kilbey, president of the American Association of University structions sites and two loading docks of the campus. The members are angry with what they call unfair salary raises within sev- eral departments and have decided to "do something about it," Kilbey said. Earlier this year, Wayne State offi- cials planned a 5 percent raise for administrators and a 0.8 percent raise for faculty members. An uproar from AAUP-AFT members and several heated talks have lead the university to renegotiate plans. Yesterday, (N---- to afford what we are asking, which is a 5.4 percent increase in salary," Kilbey said. Wayne State President Irving Reed was not available for comment. The strike did not disrupt students on campus, Wayne State officials reported more than 80 percent of classes met yesterday as scheduled. "This is not surprising given the fact that 80 percent of the faculty choose not to be in the union," Wayne State Provost Marilyn Williamson "If this doesn't work now, we have a . . . strike authorization beginning next Wednesday to continue with the strikes. They will go on," Kilbey said. This possibility is a reality for stu- dents like senior George Gaudenzi who do not want to consider facing prolonged class disruptions. .Gaudenzi, who witnessed the strike yesterday on his way to class, said he is concerned about his pending grad- uation this December.. I . .