LOCAL/STATE
The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 12, 2001- 5
IGHER ED
Woman would.
have been on
hijacked flight
MINNEAPOLIS - Ally Carnes,
originally from Cape Cod, Mass.,
understands the weight of yesterday's
events more so than many other trav-
elers. Carnes was originally scheduled
to be on the flight - from Boston to
Los Angeles - believed to be the one
that crashed into the World Trade
renter in New York.
"I wanted to get out earlier and be
in L.A. earlier so I switched to a flight
an hour earlier," she said. "My entire
family thought I was dead."
In an unprecedented event, all air
travel in North America has been halt-
ed in an event dubbed "Operation
Ground Stop." Travelers at Minneapo-
lis-St. Paul International Airport were
stranded as all flights coming and
loing were grounded.
As many as 10 planes were diverted
to Minneapolis-St.Paul International
after the Federal Aviation Administra-
tion issued the grounding.
Pay phones at the airport had lines
close to 30 minutes long, Carnes said.
Ticket lines were also extremely long
as airline personnel attempted to
accommodate people grounded in the
Twin Cities.
*Penn State student
caught near World
Trade Center blast
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn
State student John Raynar huddled over
a neighbor's computer wearing a pro-
tective mask in the shadow of the dev-
astated World Trade Center yesterday.
The senior telecommunications
major painted the chaotic scene for a
reporter the only way he could - via
AOL Instant Messenger.
"This morning, I was laying in bed
just waking up when I heard what
sounded like a very low flying mili-
tary plane," Raynar typed. "Then I
heard a huge explosion. I looked out
my window and saw scores of people
running in away from the explosion. I
then looked up and saw it was in
flames."
Raynar woke up just one and a half
blocks from the Trade Center in an
apartment building on John Street.
He's in New York City on a pair of
internships with MTV and the
Howard Stern Show.
About half an hour after the second
plane exploded into the Trade Center,
he decided to jump in the shower to
prepare to escape north, away from
dhe tip of Manhattan.
But he didn't get the chance to leave.
"That's when they collapsed. ... It was
like Ghostbusters. The entire sky turned
pitch black," Raynar said. "Unfortu-
nately, my windows were left open."
Dust and debris from the collapse
piled up about three inches thick
around Raynar's apartment, and came
in through the open windows, he said.
Oklahoma State
students react to
bombing tragedy
STILLWATER, Okla. - State and
local officials and Oklahoma State
University students responded locally
amid the nationwide chaos yesterday.
Students filled empty chairs
throughout campus, watching televi-
sion news reports in stunned silence
s symbols of America smoldered and
gruesome pictures of the thousands of
dead and injured unfolded on screen.
"This is the terrorist equivalent of
Pearl Harbor," said L.G. Moses, pro-
fessor of history at Oklahoma State.
"The implications of this attack are
much greater the (Oklahoma City
bombing). This is not an act of
domestic terrorism," he said.
Gov. Frank Keating ordered all state
office buildings closed following the
events in New York City and Wash-
O ngton and asked Oklahomans to
"pray for the nation."~
"This is a day of agony and infamy in
America;' Keating said. "Oklahomans
obviously know well the impact of ter-
rorism - we will be vigilant."
International U.
Utah students
Wear backlash
University of Utah administrators
are acting with caution when it comes
to providing crisis counseling to inter-
national students, following the terror-
ist attacks against major landmarks in
New York City and Washington.
The university does not want to
point fingers at any racial, ethnic or
national group, and therefore has
remained vague.
Travelers stranded at Detroit Metro
Hotels near Michigan's
largest airport raise prices as
demand for rooms grows
By Jon Fish
and Rachel Green
Daily Staff Reporters
ROMULUS - Detroit Metropolitan
Wayne County Airport and airline officials
struggled to accommodate hundreds of
stranded passengers following yesterday's
order from the Federal Aviation Administra-
tion grounding all flights across the country.
About 10 planes bound for other destina-
tions were rerouted to Detroit after the can-
cellation order at about 9:45 a.m. Flights en
route to Detroit were also diverted to the
nearest airport.
More than one thousand flights from 18
major air carriers take off and land at Detroit
Metro every day, most of them by Northwest
Airlines. The airport expects to resume its
flight services at noon today.
At the Northwest baggage claim, hundreds
of passengers searched for their luggage.
Northwest employees, toting bullhorns and
passenger lists, handed out the bags one by
one.
Some passengers diverted to the airport
were bewildered to find themselves in
Detroit. One man, who was traveling from
Minnesota to Boston, said the pilot of his
flight had not even announced that the flight
was landing in Detroit or the reason why.
"They said nothing," said Mathieu Roy of
Quebec. "I got off the plane and thought I
was in Boston. But I looked up at the sign
and said, 'Oh boy."'
Tim Matsuura of St. Cloud, Minn., was
heading to Hanover, N.H., for his freshman
orientation at Dartmouth College.
"We were told we would be circling near
(Detroit) and they didn't say anything on the
flight," he said. "It wasn't until we got off
that a lady told us what was up."
Northwest tried to secure hotel rooms for
its passengers but was soon forced to hand
out blankets, pillows and overnight toiletry
cases.
Hotel rooms around the airport became
substantially more expensive as the day pro-
gressed.
A single room at the Days Inn in Romulus
normally costs about $80 a night, according
to its website. Last night, the hotel was
charging $140 for a single room. A North-
west employee, speaking on the condition of
anonymity, said the nearby hotel chains
began refusing the airline rooms at their con-
tracted, discounted rate.
Robert Ball, vice-president of customer
service ground operations for Northwest,
said at an afternoon press conference that the
MARJORIE MARSHALL/Daily
Agents at the American Airlines counter of Detroit Metropolitan Airport look out over the empty terminal yesterday afternoon following the Federal Aviation
Administration order grounding air travel nationwide. Two American passenger jets were among the four planes hijacked by terrorists.
airline was able to accommodate most of its
passengers. The airline waived all ticket
change fees for stranded travelers and is
offering refunds or transportation credits for
passengers who were unable to fly out yester-
day. Northwest, he said, has no concerns over
the extra costs that the day's shutdown will
create for the airline.
While the airline was kept busy with its
own passengers, Ball said it was also assist-
ing the other airlines. Special sympathies, he
said, are extended to United and American
airlines, who lost two planes each to the ter-
rorist attack.
In this situation, he said, "the only emotion
missing is (the relief) that your plane wasn't
it."
"The airline community is very close and
we're doing everything possible to help our
comrades," he said.
Wayne County was no exception to the
nationwide shutdowns in response to the
attacks in Washington D.C. and Manhattan.
The county activated its Emergency Opera-
tions Center and maintained its highest state
of alert.
Mark Sparks, the county's director of
emergency management, said "we are at the
maximum level of preparedness we could be
in Wayne County."
Emergency personnel, ranging from struc-
tural engineers to medical examiners could
be sent to New York or New Jersey to aid in
the relief effort, he said. Sparks also
implored residents to contact the Red Cross
to donate blood.
In Detroit, the Coleman A. Young Munici-
pal Center, City Hall and the U.S. District
Court building were all closed for the day. A
voluntary evacuation was issued for the
Renaissance Center, which houses the head-
quarters of General Motor Co., and security
across the border to Canada was tightened.
The Windsor-Detroit tunnel was temporarily
closed and the Ambassador Bridge was
closed for the day.
All Detroit offices are expected to reopen
today, along with the bridge.
Closings in Michigan
At Michigan's tallest building, Detroit's
Renaissance Center, General Motors Corp. gave
its 6,000 headquarters employees the day off.
Ford Motor Co. closed its world headquarters
in Dearborn.
Security was tightened at all U.S.-Canada
border crossings, including the Detroit-Windsor
Tunnel and the Ambassador Bridge.
Security was heightened for Great Lakes
shipping, with the closing of the U.S. section of
the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Coast Guard was
inspecting ships at the St. Marys River, which
links Lakes Huron and Superior, before they
entered the Soo Locks.
Wayne County declared a state of emergency.
The Detroit Tigers-Minnesota Twins game at
Comerica Park Tuesday night was canceled, as
were all major league baseball games.
Sanborn defeats
Jaye in primary
MOUNT CLEMENS (AP) -
State Rep. Alan Sanborn Yvon the
Republican primary in the 12th
Senate District yesterday, ending
expelled Sen. David Jaye's bid to
have voters return him to the Sen-
ate.
With 87 percent of precincts
reporting, Sanborn had 10,531
votes, or 48 percent, former Rep.
Sue Rocca of Sterling Heights had
4,975 votes, or 23 percent, and Jaye
had 4,183 votes, or 19 percent.
"The special interests won this
election," said Jaye, who conceded.
He thanked voters for getting to
the polls despite the tragedies in
Washington and New York.
Sanborn said he outworked Jaye.
"I think he got out of touch with
his district," Sanborn said. "They
didn't want to be bogged down by
controversy anymore."
Thirteen candidates ran in the
GOP primary for Michigan's 12th
Senate District that takes in north-
ern and western Macomb County.
At Virgil Grissom Middle School,
Joe Rubino said he voted to make
sure Jaye did not get re-elected.
Jaye, of Washington Township, was
expelled from the Senate in May on
a 33-2 vote for behavior that includ-
ed three drunken driving convic-
tions and accusations - but no
charges - that he assaulted his
fiancee.
"He's a low-life character who
shouldn't get back into office," said
Rubino, a 47-year-old truck driver.
Helen and George Jarzab said
they voted for Jaye because they
disagreed with his expulsion.
The Senate "did an injustice to
him," Helen Jarzab said. "It was
very important to vote today."
Jaye was elected to the seat in a
1997 special election to replace the
late Republican Sen. Doug Carl and
re-elected in 1998. His fiancee
defended him during the Senate
investigation that led to his expul-
sion and denied several times that
he ever hit her.
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Drivers wait in line for
gas despite
LANSING (AP) - Panic over yes-
terday's terrorist attacks in New York
and Washington was causing long
lines and high prices at Michigan gas
stations.
In East Lansing, Mobil station
owner Jim Little said he was selling
1,500 gallons per hour yesterday. He
normally sells no more than 3,000 gal-
lons per day.
Little, who has been in the business
for 31 years, said yesterday's reaction
was similar to a rush on gasoline after
the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
People panic during a national crisis
and buy more gas, Little said. In addi-
price hikes
Cirigliano said late yesterday. "We
have ample supplies. We're trying to
avoid an artificial shortage."
But Little said he planned to raise
his price from $1.98 a gallon because
he would sell out of gas otherwise.
"I've got guys calling me and telling
me I'm the lowest price in town," he
said. "I've got to raise my prices or I'm
going to go out of business."
As many as 25 cars were lined up at
each of three gas stations in the Lans-
ing area. Little said a friend in Kala-
mazoo was charging $4 a gallon.
At a Shell station in Detroit, manag-
er Mike Sabra said the station was