IV
LOCAL/S TATE
The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 4, 2001- 5A
Winter commencement marks last event of 2000
By Lisa Hoffman
Daily StaffReporter
As she stood among 2,000 graduate can-
didates during winter commencement,
School of Education graduate April Slater
said as a freshman she marveled at the size
f the University;
"I remember being in awe my first days, and,
yes, it is still big," Slater said.
Crisler Arena filled with excited stories of
parties, bowl games and study groups Dec. 17
as studentscrossed into new territory.
"Hallelujah, I'm done," rejoiced LSA
and School of Education graduate Andrea
Morrow, while reminiscing with fellow
Education School graduate Emily Toth
about storming the field at Ohio State three
years ago; a prelude to the Rose Bowl.
"We were running around in chaos," Toth
said. "We were sprayed with pepper spray and
had to jump on to these big mats."
Student speaker Renee Sakra united the
memories of fellow graduates in her
address, reminding them of memorable
events, including the celebration at Univer-
sity President Lee Bollinger's house follow-
ing the Penn State University game in 1997,
rallying to express views on the current law-
suits against the University in using race as
a factor in admissions and being the last
class to escape online registration.
"We were fortunate enough to have these
years together," Sakra said. "We need to
take these interactions and weave them
together to make the fabric of our lives."
Bollinger offered advice to students on
how to avoid glitches in their weaving dur-
ing his address titled, "The Need to Know."
Bollinger focused on how to cope with the
overwhelming amount of knowledge avail-
able to them.
"There is a huge amount of knowledge I
could possess and never will," Bollinger
said. "Having a purpose or a goal gives us
givens and makes the lack of knowledge
more manageable.
"Learn to live as comfortable as you can
with this natural cycle of life," he said.
Guest speaker and author Elmore
Leonard's address to the graduates remind-
ed them to "be cool and try not to take
yourself too seriously."
"If you're sufficiently driven, not even a
computer will stop you," Leonard said.
"There's nothing like doing something that
makes you happy."
Leonard received an honorary Doctor of
Humane Letters degree for his renowned nov-
els, which provide a look into contemporary
America. His works include "Get Shorty""Out
of Sight," "The Bounty Hunters" and his latest
work, "Pagan Babies." His novel, "Hombre,"
was chosen as one of the best 25 Western nov-
els of all time.
He has also received awards, inclding
the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mys-
tery Writers of America, the Michigan
Foundation for the Arts Awdrd and the'
Mystery Writers of America Grand Master
Award.
Other honorary degree recipients included
building expert John Tishman, the chair and
chief executive officer of Tishman Realty and
Construction Company, Inc., who received an
honorary engineering degree and Madame Lin
Ju Ying, honorary president of the Chinese
Nursing Association, who received an hon-
orary degree in science.
The graduates now venture on to new
opportunities, like LSA graduate Jon Cas-
sady who said he's taking the next semester
off and applying to law school.
"We're going to LA to work at Boeing
Satellite Systems," said engineering gradu-
ate Beatrice Hahn. "It's hard to sum up four
years into words."
Faculty Senate Vice-Chairman Moji
Navvab told the graduates, "Now, you wi!
be able to have fun!
New congress opens with
remarks on narrow, spiDt
WASHINGTON (AP) - The 107th Congress opened
yesterday with an optimistic blend of ceremony .and
speechmaking that bumped swiftly into the reality of a
House and Senate narrowly divided along party lines. First
lady Hillary Rodham, Clinton joined the ranks of lawmak-
ers who will govern alongside a new president.
"It serves no purpose to dwell on" the divisions of the
recent campaign, said Speaker Dennis H astert, elected to
preside over a paper-thin Republican majority in the
House. "My friends, we need to get over .
"Never before has America hadT a 50-50 Senate,"
Democratic leader Tom Daschle said in opening-day
remarks across the Capitol. "An even split does not
necessitate political gridlock ... but does require
bipartisanship.",
Mrs. Clinton, no ordinary newcomer, was sworn in as
New York's new senator while her husband, the president,
sat beaming in the spectators' gallery. Striding across the
Senate floor, the'first lady received the same handshakes as
other new senators, then an enthusiastic hug from Sen.
Strom Thurmond, the 98-year-old South Carolinian who
Jose unsteadily-from his seai to offer an embrace.
Mrs. Clinton and other senators took their oaths in
groups _of four ach newly elected or re-elected lawmaker
escorted by the othersenator from their home state.
The scene was far different in the House, where Hastert
administered the oath of office to 433 other lawmakers en
masse. In contrast to the studied decorum of the Senate,
dozens of House members brought their young children
onto the floor.
The opening gavels fell at noon in both chambers, and
the talk turned quickly toward political accommodation.
At the same time, the struggles under way in both hous-
es over organizational details seemed to foreshadow battles
over policy in the two years ahead.
Democrats complained about proposed changes in the
House rules that Republicans crafted, and said the GOP
was proposing to deny them adequate representation on
committees. "This is the first test of bipartisanship ... and
the Republican leadership has failed it," said Rep. Robert
Menendez, (D-N.J.).
The rules changes cleared on a party-line vote of 215-
206.
In the Senate, Daschle and the Republican leader, Sen.
Trent Lott, were struggling to agree on a set of ground
rules to guide the Senate in an unprecedented 50-50 era.
Democrats reached parity by picking up four seats in the
election, but Republicans will have control after Inaugura-
tion Day, when Vice President-elect Dick Cheney is sworn
in and can break ties in the Senate.
Jean Carnahan of Missouri took the oath of office in the
Senate, gaining the seat her husband was fighting for when
he was killed in a small plane crash a few weeks before
Election Day.
to joln
Bush. team
ABRAHAM
Continued from Page 1A
lion and appointment will be good
for DTE Energy and for the energy
industry and users throughout the
country."
Rusty Hills, chairman of the
Michigan Republican Party, said in
a written statement that he also
supports Abraham's nomination.
"Spence led the charge for
Michigan and Midwestern families
who were hit hard by gas prices this
past summer, Hills said. "And, it's
also why he will be an effective
advocate for common sense poli-
cies that benefit hard-working.
middle class Americans."
But Abraham did not rece ve
m1u:h praise from the League of
Conservation Voters, which had
given him a career environmental
rating of 5 percent and a rating of
zero for last year. According to its
Website, the league spent S700,000
to help Stabenow defeat 'nt last
year.
"Senator Abraham has one of the
worst environmental records of any
formner;° enator, and that's why the
LCV named him to the= Dirty Dozen
and that's why we ran a campaign
against him," LCV communication
director Lisa Wade said.
Wade later added that the 1eaguii
did -not "expeCt his attitude to
chang' and proni sedi t; ,asc
Abraham's \-otng record during the
confirmation process.
"It's a signal of envuronmenta,
regression, not progression," Wade
Dan -arough, a conservation
organizer with the Sierfa Cb,
went so far as to characteruize
Bush's selection of Abraham as' an
abysmal choice."
"Hle has even voted to abolish the
agency he was named to head,"
E rough said. "George Bush 'talked
about wanting to be-a uniter afd
healer ... this a highly divisive
appointment."
- The Associated Press con-
tributed to this report.
AP PHUiU
Sen. Jean Carnahan (D-Mo.) participates in a mock-swearing in-Washington on
yesterday, which was facilitated by Al Gore. Carnahan was appointed to the
seat won by her late husband.
Group protests urban sprawl, sets fires
MOUNT SINAI, N.Y. (AP) -- Warning "If you
uild it, we will burn it," a radical environmental
toup opposed to urban sprawl has claimed respon-
sibility for thle bdtnino f three luxury houses winder
construction on what was one of Long Island's last
remaining farms.
A small explosive device was set off over the
weekend, causing up to 530,000 in damage to each
home. No one was injured.
"This 'iopeftrlly-provrided a firim message that we
will not t-oeraw the' destruction of our island," the
arth Liberation Front said a statement faxed to The
Sssociated Press on Sunday.
Police also believe the ELF is responsible for mil-
SNO W
Continued from Page 1A
"The main issue is t'he streets couldn't be clea
because of parked cars," said Michael Scott, manage
parking and street maintenance. "Vehicles were plo
In, narrowing the street to one lane. It was a mecihan
to get streets clean."
Before the declaration, flyers were posted on cars
residences explaining where residents could park on
Win days. -
Cars that were still left on the streets were finod
and towyed, Scott said.
On less congested streets, Scott said tow trucks w
move the cars, plow the street and return the car. ThIe
cited 124 violations and moved 166 cars.
To help facilitate the city, the University opened p
ing lots to help keep cars off the street.
"We suspended parking enforcement in any par
tructures adjoining city streets, such as Church Stre
*trown said
LSA junior Jessica Burstrem stayed in Ann Arbor
the break and -said the snow emergency helped clea
parking congestion.
"The snow emergency was good, because before ti
was never anywhere to park," Burstrem said.
The city budgets money for snow removal from
street fund's surplus.
Scott attributed the expedience of the emergenc
three factors: "The Christmas break for students,
prior notification helped," he said. "Alternative par
took cars off the street that would have normally im
*d process."
To help avoid problems in the future, Scott said,
more than four inches of snow, residents should rem
their cars from the street to reduce congestion. "Ti
,are record snowfalls;" Scott said. "It's hard to keep
but we do what we can."
lions of dollars in arson and vandalism to six otherr
unoccupied homes on Long Island over the past
month.r
Police, the district attorney's office and the FBI have
formed a task force to investigate the fires and identify
the members of the loosely constructed environmental
group, headquartered in Portland, Oregon.
"This is not an environmental action. This is a crimi-
nal act," Suffolk County Police Commissioner John
Gallagher said yesterday. "I am concerned with their
latest statement that everything we build that they
deem environmentally sensitive, they will destroy."
The Long Island Builders Institute has offered a
S 10,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of those ;
SUICIDE
Continued from Page 1A
red According to Public Act 339, an officer has a
r of responsibility to take someone into protective
wed custody. if they are of a mind to hurt themselves,
ism Kinsey said.
"Obviously, he wafnted to hurt himself, which
and is why he was taken into psychiatric services," he
cer- said.
"Based on their findings lie would either be
S30 admitted or released. It's up to them afterwards
what happens to the person's treatment and
ould whether they are admitted or released," Kinsey
city said. "It's up to them at that point."
A socipl worker, who asked to remain
ark- anonymous, said upon their arrival into the
Psychiatric Emergency Services, the clini-
king cians evaluate patients who are diagnosed for
et," hospitalization or are referred to an outpa-
tient facility.
- for "Like any emergency room, we assess and
r up diagnose them to a safe setting," the social work.
er said.
here
the
y to READ
and
king THE
ped- DAILY.
love
hese AvLY.
responsible for the weekend vandalism.
The ELF acting at times with the Animal Libera-
tion Front, has claimed responsibility for dozens of
actions across the country since 1996, including' ia
19-8 blaze at a Fail, Colorado, ski resort that caused
SI2 million in damage. The environmental group
said the expansion project threatened lynx.
"They want to stop endless devastation of the
American landscape by overdevelopment,," said
Craig Rosebraugh of Portland, Oregon; 'hp( idei-
fies himself as FLF's spokesman but says he is jM a
member. lie said ihe group's leaders communicate
with him by a variety of means that preserve their
anonymity.
If the patient sufficiently passes the evaluations,
they can be released from the temporary care of
the facility
Kinsey said in his experience, most suicide
attempts have come from people who have had
something significantly catastrophic happen in
their life.
Also, in most suicide attempts there is usually
a history of mental illness, he said.
Kinsey said the longer the victim talks with an
officer, the better chance an officer has of keeping
them alive.
Following previous suicide attempts, the Ann
Arbor department has discussed safety devices
for suicides in order to catch a victim, but deter-
mining the appropriate length and size of a
device are not the issue.
Kinsey said such a device might make the
r situation more dangerous for those on the
- ground, since a landing spot would not be defi-
ni te.
Using the Maynaid Street parking structure as
- an example, Kinsey said "the ledge is so long, he
could move back and forth."
SETTLEMENT
Continued from Page I1A -
ed into New Student Orientation in
1995. Although she was unsure if
information was handed directly to
students, Benz said that the infor-
mation -was deii nitely available '
"They get so n uh .mat rial. that
they just pitch most of it," Benz
said.
To change that, this year the Uni-
versit y handed out information
t;egaii g dh-r.g atfd, atlcqhoj use, a
xsyithesancr~s ,of GlIB in residence
halls and Greek houses after classes,
began iii an attempt to "get past
that point where everything gets
lost in the shuffle."
In February 2000, the Washtenaw
Country Circuit Court dismissed
the part of Cantor's law suit th at
claimed the University failed to
provide reasonably safe housing
and adequately warn the students of
hazardous conditions in Mary
Markley Residence Hall.
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from astha?
Subjects are needed to participate in a clinical
research study to evaluate the effectiveness of
an investigational drug for asthma.
Participants must be:
Men or women between 18 and 70 years old
An asthmatic for 6 months or longer
Willing to stop current medication or onlv use Ventolin
Able to complete 6-7 outpatient visits over 6-8 weeks
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Jobs!!!ff
Winter Term
Apply now at the
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