One hundred ten years ofeditoiafreedom
.
NEWS: 76-DAILY
CLASSIFIED: 764-0557
www.michigandaily.com
Monday
January 29, 2001
....
10 die in
crash of
Oia.St.
.airplane,
0 Detroit native one of
two players killed after
game against Colorado
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - It
was supposed to be a day of Super
Bowl Sunday revelry in this college
*own, with the only worry being
whetlier stores would run out of pop-
corn, beer and peanuts.
Instead, the mood was as cold and
dreary as the rain soaking the streets
following the crash of a small airplane
bringing people home from Oklahoma
State University's basketball game
against Colorado.
"It's likea part of the school died,"
said Justin Battista, a freshman walk-
ing in the rain toward morning Mass
esterday.
Ten people were killed in Saturday's
crash in a field 40 miles east of Denver,
including two reserve basketball players
and six staffers and broadcasters. The
pilot and co-pilot also were killed.
The crew made no distress call before
the crash, said Arnold Scott of the
National Transportation Safety Board.
The school scheduled a memorial
service for 3 p.m. Wednesday in the
campus' Gallagher-Iba Arena.
At Eskimo Joes, a normally rowdy
off-campus hangout, one student
couldn't keep from crying as she seat-
ed the few customers on the quiet
morning yesterday. At a bagel shop
near campus, there was no laughter.
"Everyone is pretty melancholy,"
said freshman Chris Shumake.
"They're just walking around like
zombies, sort of. You hear of airplane
crashes like in Europe and overseas,
shut you never think of it hitting home."
The hostess at Eskimo Joes, student
Crystal Kelso, knew the two players who
died, Dan Lawson Jr. and Nate Fleming.
"Nate, he was that walk-on that
everybody wants to see get in the
game," she said. "I just remember
chanting his name a couple weeks ago
so they would put him in the game."
Kelso said Fleming planned to help
her start a community outreach pro-
gram with other student athletes.
Fleming, who also excelled academi-
cally, was going to talk to young ath-
letes about staying out of trouble.
Lawson was a star player at Detroit's
MacKenzie High School, where he
made the varsity team as a freshman. He
also was a three-year letterman in cross
country before going to play basketball
at Mott Community College in Flint. At
Mott, Lawson earned All-American
Shonors and was named Michigan Com-
munity College Player of the Year.
Lawson transferred to Oklahoma
State last year, drawn in part by the
"serene and peaceful setting," said his
older brother, Austin Jordan of Detroit.
Kelso said Lawson was a good
friend, even though they didn't always
get along.
"It's always hard when you didn't
*get a chance to say goodbye, or didn't
get a chance to say sorry for yelling at
you a day ago or whatever," she said.
Sports information director Steve
Buzzard said he expected the other play-
ers would spend the day in seclusion.
"I would be remiss to tell you I
know what they're doing today
because it's a private time," he said.
"They were together last night for
most of the night and I would guess
they'd be together today:'
The campus woke up slowly yester-
Wday, although Sara Byerly was up ear-
lier than most to attend church and
check her e-mail at the library.
"Everybody is going to go back to
life," she said. "But there are some
people who are pretty upset still:"
stock raised
By Anna Clark
Daily Staff Reporter
l awsuits Ar%
Photos by DAVID KATZ/aily
ABOVE: Aerodynamics Laboratory Supervisor Tom Grffin stands with some of the
machinery used to create an air current In one of the University's wind tunnels.
RIGHT: Inside the tunnel.
BLOWImNGI
While neither confirming nor deny-
ing that he would accept the Harvard
University presidency if offered to
him, Lee Bollinger's vague response
to his name appearing on a list of
candidates for the job has raised
questions about
whether he will
remain on campus r
in the coming
months.Y
Last week, The
Boston Globe
reported that theu
University of
Michigan presi-
dent was among
the top three Bollinger
finalists for the Harvard position.
Although his candidacy has made
headlines, Bollinger has only said that
he is flattered to be considered and is
happy working at the University.
Harvard spokesman Joe Wrinn
said Bollinger had been considered
from the start of the six-month
search but added that the search
won't be over until current Harvard
President Neil Rudenstine officially
relinquishes his post in June.
"It's a very fluid process," Wrinn
said. "We're concerned about get-
ting the best quality person and fo
do it in a way that is confidential,
without too many things getting to
the presses."
With Harvard's concern for confi-
dentiality, few details can be .con-
firmed on the search and many people
are reluctant to discuss the issue.
University of Michigan Regent
Kathy White (D-Ann Arbor) declined
to comment on the situation.
Other members of the Board of
Regents could not be reached for
comment over the weekend, although
Larry Deitch (D-Bloomfield Hills)
has been quoted as saying Bollinger
interviewed with Harvard twice this
month.
English Prof. Ralph Williams said
it would be a "great pity" if
Bollinger were to leave.
"He has begun a great many initia-
tives which urgently need his atten-
tion," Williams said.
Since being unanimously selected
as the University's 12th president in
See BOLLINGER, Page 7A
'U' aerodynamics lab serves
as testing site for GM, NASA
By Tovin Lapan
For The Daily
Supported by Michigan's automotive and engineering
industry, the University's aerodynamics department has
garnered numerous contracts 'over the years for studies
using wind tunnels.
Using one of the largest university-owned wind tunnels
in the nation, aerodynamics researchers on North Campus
are currently involved in a project with General Motors to
reduce the drag on vans and other large vehicles.
Aerodynamics graduate student Sabi Balkanyi has
been working on the GM project this year. Balkanyi uses
models to test modified van designs for drag.
The University's Department of Aerospace Engineer-
ing; housed in the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Building on
North Campus, has been doing aerodynamics research
with wind tunnels for a variety of companies since 1956.
The University's first and largest wind tunnel was built
See TUNNEL,-Page 7A
Prof Minority i nOce
on elections symbolic
By Elizabeth Kassab
Daily Staff Reporter
Presidential candidates stressed the role of minorities
during the 2000 campaign - a tactic to appeal to groups of
voters whose overall presence is increasing.
Emphasis on minority groups in political campaigns
stems from the shrinking Caucasian majority and the
growth of minority groups, said Stanford political science
Prof. Luis Fraga in a lecture delivered as part of the ongoing
2001 Martin Luther King Symposium in the Rackham
Amphitheater Friday afternoon.
As the Latino population grows, so should its influence,
he said.
Fraga mentioned results from the past five censuses
which showed "very substantial population growth" in
the nation's Latino population. Latinos comprised 3.2
percent of the country's overall population in 1960 and
11.5 percent in the most recent count, making them the
second largest minority group. Blacks, the most popu-
lous minority group, make up 12.8 percent of the total
population.
I Clash of the titans at the Jo
"It seems to me Latinos played a very different role in
this election" than in any previous race, he said.
Both Republicans and Democrats increased their efforts
to include diversity in their campaigns, sending a message
to minority groups that "they're not so small as to be
insignificant," Fraga said.
"Certainly there was more Spanish spoken," Fraga said,
highlighting one occasion when George W. Bush answered
a question in Spanish and provided a simultaneous English
translation.
Increased attention on minority groups "suggests poten-
tial," Fraga said, but he later added "the potential has yet to
be realized."
The efforts the candidates made to include diversity in
their campaigns may not have had as much of an effect as
they may have hoped. Latinos' and other minorities' roles
in the election may have been more symbolic than statisti-
cal, Fraga said.
Latinos were "symbolically included as a group that has
been oppressed and ignored," Fraga said. By aligning him-
self as a friend of minority groups, Bush established his
See FRAGA, Page 2A
e X-Men
ELLIE WHITE/Daily
A two-man lion leads the way as the Chinese New Year Parade begins Saturday In
front of Champion House Restaurant on South Fourth Avenue.
0
Celebr atons mak
Chinese ;Ne4,w Year
By Maria Sprow
Daily Staff Reporter
Main Street was up and jumping Sat-
urday afternoon in honor of the new
year being celebrated half a world away.
The ninth annual Main Street Associa-
tion's Chinese New Year's parade kicked
off at 1 p.m. at the Champion House
Restaurant on the corner of East Liberty
Street and South Fourth Avenue.
A drummer, followed by a two-man
lion puppet, led the parade down Main
Street. The lion, which is often mistak-
en for a dragon because of its ethnic
appearance, was followed by dozens of
residents as it made its journey down-
town, said Alicia Steele, an employee
of Four Directions on Main Street.
Shop owners and employees waved
envelopes of money as it came by in
hopes the lion would come by and
bless their stores. The lion took two
hours to make it around the block.
"It was just awesome. The guy who
was doing the lion was just so ener-
getic. Ile was rocking the house," said
See NEW YEAR, Page 2A
visual effects artist
explains digital revolution
Today The
Michigan Daily,
passes into the
hands of news
leadership. We
will uphold the Daily's 1110-year
commitment to covering campus
and local news as completely and
accurately as possible while also
maintaining a focus on national and
By Karen Schwartz
Daily Staff Reporter
As part of an ongoing University series on visual effects,
digital artist Andy Willcot - who worked on special effects
for the movie "X-Men" - spoke Friday to a large audience
in Pierpont Commons.
"I was right on the other- side of this a few years ago.
Now this is what I do everyday, working with technical
directors," said Willcot, an employee of commercial and
movie effects house Digital Domain Inc. of Venice, Calif. "I
"You have to be a perfectionist. You're always going to
want another day, five more minutes," he said. "You're
going to have to be able to give your client their vision -
that's what our job is."
Friday's seminar was part of series aimed at increasing
awareness and understanding of the visual effects field.
Each week a different professional from the industry will be
speaking on his experiences and endeavors.
Future speakers include people who have worked on
movies including "Star Wars: Episode I," "Mission: Impos-
sible: 2" and "The Grinch."
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