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Monday
September 20, 1999
.
cantor's
$5M grant funds LSI
Father
program
Fles suit
ainst 'U'
y Gerard Cohen-Vrgnaud
ily Staff Reporter
George Cantor is suing the
niversity for negligence in the
eath of his daughter Courtney
antor, who suffered fatal injuries
fter falling from her sixth-floor
ary Markley Residence Hall win-
ow last October.
a complaint filed Aug. 9,
orge Cantor alleges that the
Jniversity "failed to use due care
nd caution in providing and main-
aining a reasonably safe and fit
uilding for students."
At issue is the question of who is
o blame for the LSA first-year stu-
ent's death Oct. 16.
The Cantor family says the
niversity is guilty of having faulty
B dows, which open too wide, at
kley and led to Courtney
antor's death.
George Cantor's lawyers refused
to comment
specifically on
the case, but
did say the
lawsuit result-
ed from an
Seight-month
investigation
undertaken by
the family.
University
Cantor spokesperson
Julie Peterson
denied that the University was
responsible for Cantor's death in
any way.
"The University is sympathetic to
the grief of the Cantor family and
fr. nds," Peterson said.
6u t we strongly believe that the
residence hall rooms and windows
at Marklev hall, as well as all our
residence halls, are safe and did not
contribute to Ms. Cantor's death,"
she said.
The Cantors are seeking an
unspecified amount of money above
S0,000, said Susan Lister, lawyer
for the family.
"That's an issue for the jury,"
L~er said. "It's often the subject of
expert testimony."
An issue that may arise during a
trial between the Cantor family
and the University is whether
drugs and alcohol contributed to
Cantor's fall.
Prior to her death, Cantor was
seen drinking at a party at the Phi
Delta Theta fraternity house.
The Washtenaw County Medical
miner's autopsy revealed that
itor's blood alcohol level was
0.059, below the 0.1 legal limit for
intoxication.
But the coroner's report also
found traces of the drug gamma
hydroxy butyric, which is known to
intensify the effects of alcohol.
The Drug Enforcement Agency
attributes at least 26 deaths to the drug
since reports of its abuse began in
*W.
More than 600 emergency room vis-
its in 1996 were GHB related, accord-
ing to the Office of National Drug
Control Policy.
GHB is odorless, colorless and has
very little taste.
GHB, which has similar effects to
ecstasy, is commonly used at raves and
parties, according to the National
Institute on Drug Abuse.
, imilar to Rohypnol, or
Wofies," GHB can be slipped
into a victim's drink to aid in sex-
ual assaults, since one of its
effects includes memory loss.
For that reason, GHB and
Rohypnol are both commonly
referred to as "date-rape drugs."
In the wake of Cantor's death, the
Ann Arbor Police Department raid-
ed the Phi Delta Theta fraternity
se and discovered dozens of fake
Ten fraternity members were
charged with a host of offenses con-
nected to providing alcohol during
the party held the evening of Oct.
15.
The national organization for Phi
By Nika Schulte
Daily Staff Reporter
To bolster the beginnings of the
University's Life Science Institute,
the Parke Davis Pharmaceutical
Research Division of Warner-
Lambert Company will donate S5
million to the University for the
development of a new program in
bioinformatics.
At the University Board of
Regents meeting Friday Vice
President for Medical Affairs
Gilbert Omenn said bioinformatics
is a component of the University's
Life Science Initiatives and the
donation serves as a "head start" to
its development.
Through the donation and the S5
million contribution from the
University Health System last
October, new faculty and research
space will be added, said microbiol-
ogy and immunology Prof. Michael
Savageau, interim director of the
program for bioinformatics.
Bioinformatics, Savageau said,
combines the revolutionary develop-
ments in the field of microbiology
with the recent advancements in
computer technology.
Savageau said about five addition-
al faculty members will be added,
but that initial appointments will be
within the Medical School.
Renovations to the Medical
Science Buildings I & II, which will
create five research laboratories as
well as office space for the pro-
gram's new faculty, are set to begin
in November.
But the teaching of the program's
curriculum is already underway this
academic year. Savageau said more
than 50 students are enrolled in an
introductory course in bioinformat-
ics in the Medical. School this fall,
adding that interest was so high
there are also many students still
trying to get into the course.
"Microbiologists have been gener-
ating enormous amounts of data and
extracting meaning has been diffi-
cult for individual scientists to do on
a manual basis," Savageau said.
See DONATION, Page 7A
---7
Sigma
Chi fire
JAZZINil'
Jazz and
blues fest
rocks A2
By Anna Clark
Daily Staff Reporter
"No matter where you go - even over-
seas - if you sing the blues, you'll get a
reaction, said Thornetta Davis following
her performance Saturday afternoon at
the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival in
Gallup Park.
Innovative trombone player Steve Turre
said jazz has similar influence on audi-
ences.
"Jazz is the original world music," he
said.
"It combines so many different ele-
ments. It's inclusive rather than exclu-
sive," he added.
Audience response to their favorite
artists this weekend seemed to affirm
Davis and Turre's theory on their
music.
More than 1,000 advance tickets
were sold to Saturday's show alone.
While most lounged on blankets
and lawn chairs in the park. taking
in the sound, fans came to life
between sets when they bombarded
the musicians for autographs on
everything from CD covers to'denim
See FESTIVAL, Page 5A
deemed
* AAFD officials say
candles used in
basement room are
cause of Thursday's fire
By Dave Enders
For the Daily
The fire that damaged part of the
Sigma Chi fraternity Thursday
night has been ruled accidental by
Ann Arbor Fire Department offi-
cials.
Ann Arbor Fire Chief George
Markus' said the basement fire
caused about $20,000 in damage to
the building. The fire was contained
to a basement storage room, but
smoke damage reached the second
and third floors of the building. The
fire caused no structural damage to
the house.
The house, located at 1437
Washtenaw Ave., in which Sigma r
Chi members are living during
renovations to their own building,
was formerly occupied by the
now-disbanded Phi Delta Theta
fraternity.
Sigma Chi members were clean-
ing a storage room Thursday
evening shortly before the fire ignit-
ed, Intrafraternity Council officials
stated. Sigma Chi President Mike
Zezima said Thursday the basement
room contained no electrical light-
ing and candles were used to illumi--
nate the room.
Ann Arbor Fire Marshall Scott
Rayburn said the fire has been
r uied accidental and no criminal
charges will be filed in the case.
There will be no further investiga-;
tion into the cause of the fire,
Rayburn added.
Fraternity members were able to
return to the house Thursday night,
following inspection by AAFD offi-
cials, said interim Dean of Students
Frank Cianciola.
But "it may take a couple of
weeks to get through the cleaning of
the house due to the smoke,"
Cianciola said,
AAFD officials returned to the
Sigma Chi house Friday night to,
educate fraternity members about
fire safety, Rayburn said.
Members of Sigma Chi could not be
reached for comment.
IGHU~fLt ~LLLO NIb/UtJOIy
Members of C.J Cehnier and The Red Hot Louisiana Band play the the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival at Gallup
Park on Saturday.
Festival draws variety of
By John Uhl
Daily Arts Writer
The Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival drew thou-
sands to Ann Arbor this weekend to hear musicians
like saxophonist Pharaoh Sanders and trombonist
Steve Turre.
Saturday afternoon, two young boys played the
blues in a small corner of Gallup Park between head-
lining acts. Nearby, at the meet-the-artisf tent, Turre
answered questions and told stories to fans.
Not more than 15 minutes earlier, Turre had been
closing his set by playing 'All Blues" on conch shells
in choppy phrases that swept over themselves like the
breaking waves of his instrument's ocean home.
The trick seemed to be a favorite of the fans under
the tent, who were intent on
learning all about the origins and
development of the seashell
instruments. Turre answered
questions politely, but asserted
his talents are'best displayed on
trombone.
More enlightening, were
Turre's anecdotes about Rashaan
Roland Kirk, the incomparable
multi-reed player who first guid-
ed him into the professional jazz
realm and, incidentally, inspired
Ann Arbor
Blues and
Jazz
Festival
Gallup Park
Sept. 18 -20.
performers
for it," while explaining that the heritage of the
improvising musician is inherited through perfor-
mance and interaction with the masters.
"I've got a master's degree in music but that does-
n't have anything to do with what I do up there," Turre
said pointing to the stage.
While Turre was recalling his musical education,
musical heritage manifested itself on-stage through
C.J. Chenier's Zydeco performance.
Chenier inherited his musical abilities from
his father both literally and in the figurative
manner of which Turre spoke. After training
in the band, Chenier now leads the band of
his father, Zydeco legend Clifton Chenier,
See JAZZ, Page 2A
Turre's seashell idea. The trombonist described his
gigs with Kirk as, "going to school and getting paid
Burrito blitz
Electronic funds
create efficiency
By Kevin Magnuson
Daily Staff Reporter
Some students probably have wished
that they did not have to deal with bulky
dollar bills in their pocket or have to
hear the annoying jingle of coins when
dealing withmoney every day.
But the University's School of
Information believes it may have the
answer to end this discomfort. On
Friday, the school welcomed Federal
Reserve Gov. Edward Gramlich to
address the Symposium on Electronic
Payment Systems.
described the past and future of elec-
tronic payment
systems in the
United States and
abroad. He said he
hopes a system
can be developed
that either uses a
computer chip or
another electronic
device to record
payments and deb-
its automatically.
Gramlich "There are obvi-
i
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