One hundred nine years ofeditorilfreedom 74PI 40 Avomqwpl- WAW NEWS: 76-DAILY CLASSIFIED: 764-0557 www michigandaily. cam Friday September 15, 2000 Center renamed for Ginsberg By Jon Fish Daily Staff Reporter Not even gray skies and persistent rain could dampen yesterday's festivities that celebrated the re-naming of the University's Center for Community Service and Learn- t . W nder a:tent on the center's front lawn, students, faculty and staff gathered to chris- ten the newly named Edward Ginsberg Cen- ter for Community Service and Learning. University President Lee Bollinger and Provost Nancy Cantor attended the ceremo- ny, as well as Regent Olivia Maynard. "I'm just glad to be here today to help the center celebrate the naming of this building, which promotes our common goal of com- munity service," said Mike Pearson, a sec- ond year engineering student. He attended the party to help promote Circle K, one of the many campus community service groups with which the center works. The center has been renamed to honor Edward Ginsberg, whose family donated $5 million to the center in last November. Ginsberg, who died in 1997, graduated from the University in 1938. As an attorney in Cleveland, he became especially active in the Jewish community. Most notably, Ginsberg worked to raise money for the establishment and support of Israel. He earned the Eisenman Award for humanitarianism by the Jewish Community Federation. The University Board of Regents approved the renaming of the center at its meeting in November. The donation has been lauded by center employees as a tremendous opportunity to extend their reach across campus. Barry Checkoway, director of the center, said the money will be used to increase the number of students involved, encourage fac- ulty to teach more classes with community- service components, form University and community partnerships and initiate pro- grams to better prepare students for working out in the community. "There is little in this society that pre- pares students, even in higher education, to work in cross-cultural settings," Checkoway said. He added that the money will be used well at the University, which has "as many or more students motivated to do communi- ty service as any college in the U.S." "Students come to Michigan with exten- sive community service experience," he said. See GINSBERG, Page 7 Local and state community service leaders Barry Checkoway (right), Penny Pasque, Amber Long and Amy Knife Gould gather outside the Ginsberg Center to celebrate its renaming. Chemical reaction Ameritech to face inL By Jodie Kaufman Daily Staff Reporter, hearing ransing Department of Public Safety officers speak with members of the Ann Arbor Fire Department yesterday outside the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building on North Campus. Students and faculty were evacuated when gas used by a maintenance worker was found leaking in a laboratory. The harmless gas was contained inside the lab and students returned to class after an hour. Di ge causes headaches The Michigan Public Service Commission is attempting to help consumers end their frustra- tion with Ameritech. The MPSC has scheduled a hearing Mon- day morning at 9 a.m. in Lansing to examine some of the problems and delays that con- sumers have recently been dealing with in Michigan. "The company has reported. to us that they have been exceeding by a fairly sizable amount the average time frame for restoring lines," MPSC spokeswoman Mary Jo Kunkle said. "The commission has received a signifi- cant number of complaints, and for these rea- sons we have made legislative inquiry," she said. At the beginning of this year, Ameritech received nearly 40 complaints per month about repair problems and slow repairs. Since then the number has shot up to 1,900 complaints. On average, Ameritech usually makes repairs within 36 hours of receiving a non-emergency request. . Last month, the company's average repair time surpassed 100 hours. The state requires phone repairs to be complet- ed within 36 hours. "Ameritech realizes we are not performing up to the standards we would like to be performing up to, and we do have a plan in place which we have presented to the MPSC," Ameritech spokes- woman Julie Balmer said. Balmer said the company is "aggressively try- ing to hire more technicians throughout the state and upgrading to make for a more reliable net- work." Amy Starr, University adviser and mediator for off-campus housing, said during the first week of classes Ameritech received many complaints from students about the length of time Ameritech has taken to install and repair telephone lines. "There was one case when they gave an inter- national student a wait time of four to six weeks, treating him as an existing customer," Starr said. "I called them and after waiting 30 minutes on the phone, established he was a new customer, and they made it a priority to serve him within 24 hours." Her office has received fewer complaints about Ameritech this past week, she said. Ameritech has been facing delays across its five-state region of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin. "There has a been a significant demand in ser- vices over the past year," Balmer said. "We cur- rently have 5.5 million access lines, and 1.3 of them were installed in 1999 alone" See AMERITECH, Page 2 By Tiffany Maggard Daily Staff Reporter Located at the center of campus, the Diag hosts protests, fundraisers and even concerts. But the stream of noise generated by events on this highly energetic meeting ground has penetrating classroom walls and disrupt- i W students during classes. Students with classes in Mason Hall are especially sensitive to noise pollution from the Diag. RC junior Jordan Stein said the noise makes it extremely difficult to hear his professors. Especially in the early afternoon. "A lot the time there are people playing sports or having gatherings or there are bands playing on the steps of the graduate library. In the summer it is really hard because (instructors) have to close the windows and it gets really hot," he said. Barbara Maclin, office manger and Diag coordinator at the Office of Student Activities and Leadership, said student groups who want to reserve space for activities must undergo a formal applica- tion process, which limits the times and types of events. Only three groups are permitted to use the space at one time, Maclin said. While all three groups could have inform: tables, Maclin said only one of the groups could have a bucket drive and only one may have amplified sound between the hours of 12 p.m. and I p.m. Maclin said the Office of Student Activities See NOISE, Page 7 Abraham targeted in ACLU ads Jeremy W. Peters Daily Staff Reporter The American Civil Liberties Union has made Republican Spence Abraham the target of its first- ever paid television ads, urging the Michigan senator to support a bill that would address the issue known as racial profiling. "To this date, Senator Abraham hasn't taken a position oi the bill, and that's disappointing," said John Crew, coordinator of the ACLU National Cam- paign Against Racial Profiling. As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Abraham has a key vote on whether the bill, which would provide federal funding for police agencies to collect racial data on traffic stops, goes on to a vote before the full Senate. Abraham's campaign insists it's not an issue of whether the senator supports efforts to end racial profiling, but whether he feels legislation is the appropriate way to address the problem. "We're certainly looking at all racial profiling bills," Abraham spokesman Joe Davis said. "One of the most effective means to enact change in racial profiling is to work directly with the Justice Depart- ment as we have been doing for a long time." Davis said Abraham has met several times with Attorney General Janet Reno C A M F and other Justice Department officials to discuss how to end the practice. . "He is keenly aware of ... the prob- pose of the ad is to raise public visibility on the issue. Obviously, a second benefit is the greater visi- bility on the issue, the greater the pressure is on pub- lic officials to take action." In the midst of a highly competitive re-election campaign against U.S. Rep. Debbie NStabenow(D-Lansing), the ads carry considerable political weight. Stabenow has come out in favor of a House bill identical to the one currently ! ; ^.; CAHHIE MUCEE/1 *e Rep. Liz Brater speaks with college Democrats from the University and oter state schools yesterday in the Michigan League in support of Al Gore. Braterbingsor campignto 'U' lem of racial profiling. The ACLU would be wise to understand his background on the issue before they start running ads questioning his position on the issue," Davis added. Though the ads do not specifically mention Abra- ham, the ACLU admits they are intended to shed light on the fact that the senator has not taken a posi- tion on the bill. "Why (Abraham) would not support such legisla- tion is confusing," Crew said. "The principle pur- , before the Senate Judiciary Committee. "She supported legislation in 1998 that was very similar, said Robert Gibbs, spokesman for the Stabenow campaign. "She certainly opposes racial profiling and supports the legislation before the House and Senate." The House version of the bill has passed out of committee and is awaiting a vote before the full House. See ACLU page 2 By Manna LoPatin D Staff Reporter Students from across the state cele- brated National Students for Gore Day yesterday by joining state Rep. Liz Brater and members of the University of Michigan College Democrats and Students for Gore to promote the vice president's agenda for the upcoming election. A e meeting in the Michigan Lgue brought together students from colleges and universities including Eastern Michigan University, Kalama- zoo College, Michigan State Universi- ty and Western Michigan University. "Michigan is a battleground state," said Brater (D-Ann Arbor), who will Al Gore and Lieberman." Students spoke of the importance of getting their classmates not just to vote but to cast a ballot for Gore. "It's not get out the vote. It's get out our vote," said Curtis Hertel, an MSU senior. A recurring subject in the meeting was the proposed higher education policies of Gore and running mate Joseph Lieberman. "Al Gore understands your struggle to pay for college," Brater said. Participants in the discussion high- lighted Gore's proposed College Opportunity Tax Cut, the 401(j) account, and the National Tuition Sav- ings program - the Democratic nomi- nee's primary plans to make higher Study reveals possible ways to kill bacteria i UCLA NO. 3MICIIANVS. Rose Bo Pdena 3:30 p.m. tomorrow ABC By Undsey Alpert Daily Staff Reporter Dangerous bacteria may have met its match due to new information released in a study by a team at the College of Pharmacy. The study, which is published online and will appear in the Sept. 27 issue of Journal of the American Chemical Society, identifies a compound that shows the potential of killing Gram negative bacteria. which can cause food poisoning from undercooked meats. "There are a lot of really nasty Gram negative bacteria," said mnedici- nal chemistry and pharmacognosy Prof. Ronald Woodard, the project's leader. "So there are a lot of Gram negative bacteria that we'd like to get rid of" The research team looked at more than 150,000 compounds in search of one that would inhibit the KDO 8-P synthase enzyme in the bacteria. THE OPPONENT: 4 The undefeated Bruins should be the first real test for the Wolverines after opening the season against two pushovers at home. TOMORROW: John Navarre will start in his third game at the helm of the the Maize and Blue against a defense that is leaps and bounds above those he's seen so far this season. LAST WEEK: , U Ui