LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 19, 2000 - 3 ... .. NS By Sana Danish Dajil Staff Reporter gran Unwanted man masturbates in Markey room A male subject allegedly entered the Frost House room of a female res- ident of the Mary Markley Residence Hall without permission and mastur- bated in front of her Thursday after- noon, Department of Public Safety reports state. The suspect was described as a white male, with blond hair and a beard, wearing glasses, a hunter green shirt and shorts. DPS has not reported having any suspects in the incident. 40 year-old man exposes himself A white male, subject, described as about 40-years-old with glasses and white-grey hair, was reported exposing himself in Stockwell Residence Hall on Thursday afternoon, DPS reports state. DPS reports did not state whether the subject in the incident was alleged to be the same man who was seen masturbating in the Mary Markley Residence Hall. Teenagers found soliciting mags in South Quad Two teenage girls were reported soliciting for magazines in the South Quad Residence Hall on Thursday afternoon, DPS reports state. DPS reports did not state whether there are any suspects in the incident. Four spotted on Division Ave. smoking crack Four people were spotted smoking crack cocaine on Division Avenue on Thursday evening, DPS reports state. The caller was unable to provide descriptions of the people he had seen. DPS did not report having apprehended any of the suspects. Lunch stolen from medical building A bagged lunch was reported stolen from the Medical Inn Building locat- ed on Catherine Street on Thursday afternoon, DPS reports state. The lunch was allegedly in a black bag and was placed on top of a large red trash cart. The caller reported that he left the area for a few moments and when he returned, the bag was gone. Four men found travelling naked Four male subjects were reported walking down Geddes Ave. early Fri- day morning wearing nothing but shoes and socks, DPS reports state. The nude men were cited with Minor in Possession charges for alcohol viola- tions and the incident is under investi- gation pending other charges. Kids seen entering and blading in Dennison lobby Several children on rollerblades allegedly entered the Dennison Build- ing late Friday night through a door with a broken lock and skated through the lobby of the building, DPS reports state. The children were spotted later in the Diag and were told by officers to move from the area. Cruiser nearly hits subject on Sybil DPS officers reported late Sunday night that a subject ran out into Sybil Avenue in front of their cruiser, almost causing them to be hit. The subject was later arrested on alcohol violations and was issued a Minor in Possession charge. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Caitlin Nish. With a S16.I million grant from the National Science Foundation, the College of Engineering is planning to fund exploration and educational programs in integrated microsystems research. The University's "outstanding" program in wireless integrated microsystems known as WIMS - information gathering nodules the size of a wristwatch or sugar cube -- was the determining factor in obtaining the grant, said Larry Goldberg, a director of the Engineering research division for the National Science Foun- dation. The grant will cover a five-year period and is renewable up to 10 years. The grant will be matched by funding from corporate sponsors, ts Engineering scho the State of Michigan and the University, for a The WIMS devices, as gas analyzers, can total of S30 million in five years. detect atmospheric pollutants and monitor glob- Ken Wise, director of the University's Engi- al warming. neering Research Center and an electrical engi- Each microsystem contains a power source, neering and computer science professor at the computer chip, sensors for analysis and a wire- College of Engineering, said he hopes that both less transmitter and receiver to communicate the University and Ann Arbor community will with other systems. benefit from the research funded by the grant. The College of Engineering decided to bid "I hope that it will help Michigan to maintain for the grant in October 1998. The University's its position as an international leader in the area pre-proposal was one of two the National Sci- of integrated microsystems," Wise said. "We also ence Foundation selected from 89. The Univer- hope to provide some very important instruments sity is collaborating with M ichigan State for preserving the environment and improve- University and Michigan Technological Univer- ments in healthcare." sity. The integrated microsystem devices, which The money will be used to develop undergrad- are still in the research stages, serve a variety of uate and graduate courses within the College of purposes. The devices, when used as implants, Engineering, research opportunities for Engi- can help restore hearing for the profoundly deaf. neering students and summer workshops that l $16. M allow high school teachers to learn about the technology and incorporate it in their teaching. Goldberg said the intent of the grant is-to "establish large organizational units at univet sities to work on very state of the art research programs that bring faculty together with expertise." Goldberg said that key reasons for NSF awarding the University this grant includenits research and academic programs that involve outreach to underrepresented groups. For students, such as Engineering graduate stir- dent and research assistant Andrew Dehennis, the announcement of the grant is an exciting deve- opment in research. "I think it's going to be a pretty neat program that's going to develop technology better and influence society in a positive way, " he said. _,, Gone fishin' /- Faculty forum sets agenda; plans forentdebates By Lisa Hoffman Dailv Staff Re porter isdesigned toino lv e and During a luncheon yesterday at the Michigan Union, the Faculty Senate Assembly set its agenda for the academic year. Seventy-two faculty members compose the senate from the University's three campuses and each of its schools and colleges. The Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, an elected 10 member board, is the executive branch to the assembly, and begins their fall meetings next Monday. SACUA members held a June retreat to brainstorm the major issues of this year, including the affect of corporate sponsorship oii the University, the ongoing lawsuits against the University's use of race in admission and how athletics affect academics. The growing concern of the amount of academic freedom that professors have will also be a major topic of discussion in conjunction with the unannounced visit of Regent Dan Horning (R-Grand Haven) to Prof. David Halperin's Eng- lish class titled "How to be Gay" earlier this semester. Horning has been a critic of the course. SACUA Chairwoman Jackie Lawson said the board has not established its position on the subject as of the lun- cheon. Senate members present at the luncheon also drew atten- tion to last year's discussions on benefits for professors and the parking crunch on campus. Behavioral science Prof. Marilynn Rosenthal said she hopes "for continuity of the issues from last year and to get feedback. The long, heated parking issue was never settled, and it is important to monitor the past suggestions." In response, Lawson said that "New spaces continue to ope.n, and we continue to monitor parking:' engage more faculty than in the past, and raise consciousness and visibility." -Jackie Lawson SACUA Chairwoman Faculty members said the University is overselling p4rk- ing permits and lacking in parking enforcement. Members of the assembly also voiced concerns over the closing of parking spaces due to construction. The Senate's major project is the Regents' Candidate Forum scheduled for Oct. 23 at 4:30 p.m. in the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater. The forum will allow the public to question the candi- dates running for the University Board of Regents. Lawson said she expects all six candidates including Republican nominees Wendy Anderson and Susy Avery, Libertarian candidates Tim Maull and Marvin Surowitz, and incum- bents Laurence Deitch (D-Bloomfield Hills) and Rebecca McGowan (D-Ann Arbor), to attend, although the Assem- bly is still waiting for replies from Deitch and McGowan. "This is an effort to bring more to the faculty and the public," Lawson said. "It is designed to involve and engage more faculty than in the past, and raise consciousness and visibility." The Senate's next meeting is set for Oct. 23 at 3:15 p.m., where University President Lee Bollinger is scheduled to address the senate. MARJORIE MARSHALL/Dady Laura and Melbourne Smith of Lansing fish yesterday in the Huron River at Gallup Park. Amertech otcial apologiEzwesbefor ., A state regulators WWW-MICHIGANDAIL Y.COM LANSING (AP) - The head of Ameritech in Michigan apologized to angry customers and state regulators yesterday for service problems that have generated a flood of complaints in recent months. The apology did little to satisfy angry customers, several of whom said they've lost time, money and peace of mind waiting for the state's largest local phone company to repair or install their phone service. Jake Jacobsen drove to the Michi- gan Public Service Commission hear- ing from Lake Odessa to fiid out when Ameritech would restart his telephone service. When he lost his phone service on July 29, Ameritech officials said he would have it back by Aug. 30. Seven weeks later, they're now saying he should have a working phone in late October. "I just, don't think this is right," he said. "We depend heavily on telephone service." Ameritech Michigan President Gail Torreano told the commission at its second public hearing on the problems that a combination of too much rain, too much work and not enough techni- cians has left the company struggling. "We are sorry when our service falls short," Torreano said. "We're painfully aware that we have fallen short." Her comments did little to pacify upset customers. Gary Satterfield told commissioners that Ameritech disconnected the telephone service at his limousine company's new location in Howell for three consec- utive days, even after an Ameritech manager put a note on his file to correct the problem. Satterfield, owner of American Cel- ebration, recounted long waits and numerous conversations with Ameritech employees before the prob- lem was finally fixed. "When you call Ameritech you miiight as well give up your afternoon," he said. "It's almost impossible to get a live person.let alone someone who cares about you." Chris Van Koevering, who works for a computer service company, has not had telephone service in his new Eaton Rapids home since it was built in June. Since April, Van Koeveri ng has been given eight deadlines for service. "I have been living off my cell phone," he told the commission. "I'm at wits end, I don't know what else to do." An Ameritech customer service employee spoke with Van Koever- ing and other frustrated customers as they stepped away from the podi- um. Ameritech, a regional phone compa- ny that's now part of San Antonio- based SBC Communications Inc., and Texas-based Verizon, formerly GTE, control 95 percent of Michigan's local telephone market. Torreano and Cindie Bucks, Ameritech Michigan general manager, unveiled a revamped service improve- ment plan a week after Ameritech handed in its origiial proposal to the commission. Ameritech was ordered by state regulators to submit a plan to improve service. The newest plan says Ameritech will drop its average repair time to 36 hours by Dec. 31, three months earlier than it had first projected. The average repair time now is 115 hours. --- ® --s ------- --®- ® ®. 1 I 1 1 1 I I 1 1 I I I 1 I 1 I 1 00 s I 1 I 1 1 1 1 I 1 1 1 )nw THE CALENDAR What's happening in Ann Arbor today 1 1 I 1 I 1 EVENTS "Race and the Idea of the Aesthet- ic," Sponsored by LSA, 4:10 p.m., Michigan Union Kuenzel Room Golden Key Informational Tables, the Institute of Humanities, noon, Rackham Auditorium East Study Lounge, 936-3518 "Death by Degrees: The Health Threats of Climate Change in Michigan," Sponsored by hysi- cians for Social Responsibility, 8:00 p.m., Rackham Auditorium, 763-4726 SERVICES Campus Information Centers, 764- *1 I Subscribe to The Scoop, Michigan's free official e-source for campus news, events and cheap fun, and you'll get a free scoop of Ben & Jerry's ice cream.* Written by Michigan students like you, The Scoop e-newsletter has the insider info and success secrets you need to make the most of your college life--certified spam-free and delivered right to your i i I