LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 9, 2001- 3A CRIMIE Vehicle crashes 0 through fence, hits 2 pine trees A vehicle driving in the 2200 block of Dixboro Road crashed through a fence Monday morning, according to Department of Public Safety reports. The vehicle then glanced off of a pine tree and drove through another pine tree. Police were unable to find the vehicle which fled the scene. The driver is unknown and DPS was investigating the incident. Player assaulted with basketball A student was assaulted Monday evening at the Central Campus Recreation Building when another student threw a basketball at him. The basketball struck him in the head, DPS reports state. Wendy's employee sleeping in Union Police approached a man sleeping in the Michigan Union Wednesday morning since h~e was believed to be trespassing, DPS reports state. He was later identified as an employee of Wendy's Restaurant. The man was advised not to sleep in the building. Man ignores 'No soliciting' sign A student said a man with a beard wearing a blue "mechanic-like" outfit was soliciting Saturday afternoon in South Quad Residence Hall, DPS reports state. The resident said he ignored the "No soliciting" sign on 5 her door and was trying to promote a clothing service. 'U' staff members fight in Angell Hall Students watched as two female Human Resources staff members fought in. Angell Hall Tuesday morn- ing, according to DPS reports. A large group crowded around the pair and began to yell. Human Resources staff members broke up the fight and both women were suspended." DPS was investigating the incident. Backpack stolen from under chair A student said her backpack was stolen Tuesday evening while she was sitting at a table at Shapiro Under- graduate Library, DPS reports state. The backpack was taken from under- neath her chair. Police found the backpack and returned it to her. No items were miss- ing, but papers not belonging to the victim were found inside. DPS had no suspects. Food missing from hotel refrigerator A staff member for Med Inn hotel said Wednesday morning that food had been stolen over several nights from the refrigerator, according to DPS reports. Police are investigating the incident. DPS had no suspects. Projector worth $12,000 stolen A new video projector valued at $12,000 and a $200 DVD player were stolen from the Literature, Science and Arts Building between Monday evening and Wednesday morning, according to DPS reports. The equip- ment had been placed in a closet and were secured to a cart. Police suspect a crow bar was used to tear the equipment apart from the cart. DPS had no suspects and was investigating the incident. S Wall damaged by skateboarders Skateboarders damaged the newly installed brick retaining wall on the east side of Burton Memorial Tower between the end of October and Nov. 5, according to DPS reports. The damage is estimated to be more than $1,000. DPS had no suspects. - Compifed by Daily Staff Reporter Jacquelyn Nixon. Yeza party attempts to avoid 'nonsense' By Kara Wenzel Daily Staff Reporter Engineering junior Joel Wollborg said the strongest point of the Yeza party's platform is the fact that none of the Yeza candidates running for the Michigan Student Assembly seats have had any experience with MSA at all. "None of us have done this before, but we con- sider that an asset to our campaign," said Wollborg. "We just got sick and tired of all the politics on campus," Wollborg said. "The people playing politician should be more focused on what the Uni- versity's students need." The meaning of the word "Yeza" has been a question on many other candidates' minds. "The word Yeza means many things to many people," said candidate Dave Sackett, an LSA MS~eiections 29($liii 298 Part five of a fve-part series aut campaign platforms senior. "I like to think of it as a feeling of cama- raderie, an ideal of friendship and love." The 12 men in the party formed the group dur- ing their freshman year when they lived together in South Quad Residence Hall, but said they had no interest in student politics at the time. The Yeza candidates want to assure students they are not running as a joke. "We're not trying to do what the FRAT party did," Sackett said, referring to the Friends Rebelling Against Tyranny Party that ran in last year's MSA presidential election on platforms of afternoon recess and free pizza. "But we're not tak- ing it with such gravity that what we do is so earth shattering everybody has to pay attention to us. Yeza is a bunch of average guys who think we can approach things wisely." Yeza is not advertising its campaign on campus as the other parties are. "The campus is inundated with these (campaign advertisements) and it's like everyone is shouting, Sackett said. "When they're all shouting, you can't hear anything." Sackett said the Yeza candidates "also don't want to saturate the campus with such nonsense. We're students and we have classes and other things to do." "All the other parties agree issuing resolutions against sanctions in Iraq are pointless and they're ashamed of it, but the same people who broke the machine are trying to fix it," Wollborg said. Yeza has decided that on a few main goals they would like to pursue if they are elected. Wollborg said his party is interested in making sure the University attracts better quality graduate student instructors. "The GSIs, particularly the math department GSIs, seem to be less than adequate," Wollborg said. "I'm running as an engineer, and everyone in my college has to take math through at least calcu- lus - Math 216 - and most graduate students have to do a semester or two of teaching even though they might not be good at it or want to." Sackett said his party's other goal is to ask that new dorms be built new for upperclass students. "Less than half of the undergrads can live in the dorms,' Sackett said. "And if you live off campus, a lot of people you are friends with are separated from you geographically." 1,250 fa milies expected for Parents Weekend By Mathew R. Warren For the Daily With the recent bio-terror and terrorist attacks in the United States, uneasy students may take a little extra comfort in having family in town for parents weekend. "Being from New York, and with all that's going on with the country, it'll be especially nice to have my family here with me," said LSA freshman Courtney Tillem. "My parents live on the East Coast, and I rarely get a chance to see them, especially here. They come once a year, and that's for Parents Weekend," said LSA sopho- more Nick Wilson. But for students whose families live close, parents weekend is not always considered that important. "I live in Grand Rapids, so I just saw my parents last week," said LSA freshman Sara Gregory. Tillem said she will appreciate the opportunity to show off her new life at school to her parents. "It's a really nice idea to have your parents come see your life here. I'd wonder what my kid was doing," Tillem said. At the same time, some students are a little apprehensive. "I'm a little nervous, my parents haven't seen my room yet, or met any of my new friends, I don't know whether they'll approve or disapprove," said Wilson. "This is definttely a busy week- end, even more so than most game weekends, because we get a push Thursday though Sunday rather than just on Saturday," said Grace Singleton, general manager of The Gandy Dancer restaurant. For the estimated 1,250 families expected to attend, the Alumni Association has planned an event- filled weekend. There will be open classes today, hosted by various professors. Most schools and colleges will host receptions for parents. Today at 4 p.m., English Prof. Ralph Williams, who was voted favorite professor by students in 2000, will host a lecture at Kellogg Auditorium in the Dental Building. Tonight, the Chicago Comedy Company will be performing for parents and students at Hill Audito- rium. The show will begin at 7:30 p.m. The highlight of the weekend will be the Michigan football game against Minnesota tomorrow. Tick- ets are still available but are expect- ed to sell out. Prior to the game, the Alumni Association is having a tailgate for parents and students, beginning at 9 a.m. in the Indoor Track Building. Tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m., the School of Music will be performing the opera "The Consul," in the Power Center. On Sunday there will be farewell brunches for parents and students at 8 am, 10:30 a.m., and 1 p.m., in the Michigan Union Ballroom. DAVID KATZ/Daily Engineering Dean Stephen Director looks on yesterday as professors prepare for a series of lectures sponsored by the College of Engineering about the responsibilities of engineers after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Engineers evaluate, their res ponsibilities By Casey Ehrlich Daily Staff Reporter University professors gave a series of six lectures addressing topics such as bio-terrorism, aircraft security and the collapse of the World Trade Cen- ter at a teach-in yesterday afternoon sponsored by the College of Engineer- ing and the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. The professors related these issues to the emerging responsibilities and opportunities of the University popu- lation, especially those involved in engineering. "Now that some time has passed and the shock has worn off, other questions besides 'Who did this' and 'What should we do' have come up," said Chris O'Neal, an event organiz- er and member of the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. "Questions like 'Why did the World Trade Center collapse and what can we do in the future?' can now be more rationally and respectfully addressed." A lecture centered on bio-terrorism was given by Pester Adriaens, director of Fundamental and Applied Microbi- ology for the Environment, in order to explain the actual threat of terrorists using bio-weapons and to help sepa- rate facts from myths about anthrax. "What has happened so far is like a blip on the radio screen," said Adrieans. "If one death is too many then we are going to have bio-terror- ism no matter what." In addition to the stated goal of improving public understanding, Adrieans spoke about the hope for the further development of technology that could possibly detect anthrax without the enormous cost currently involved. Adriaens asserted that although anthrax does have the potential to incapacitate and kill a large number of people, it is not a method of mass destruction preferred by terrorists. Even though the effectiveness of this weapon is high, it is extremely ineffi- cient and costly to refine anthrax into a transmittable state. "I tend to be on the positive side, I'm not entirely sure if there is a wide mass destruction issue," said Adri- aens. "The biggest advantage that ter- rorists have is that the public is primed for panic. There comes a point when people have too much information and must put it into a proper perspec- tive." Engineering Prof. Peretz Friedmann gave a speech titled "Aircraft Security Through Design - Is It Practical," shedding light on how terrorists were technically able to maneuver a passen- ger plane and made suggestions about how the United States could improve security measures and deal with future terrorist threats. Friedmann said airplanes should have the ability to lock into autopilot when a pilot is threatened, allowing Air Traffic Control to, take over the flight path and thus prevent a terrorist from flying the aircraft. Although Friedmann explained the many possible advancements in the future of air travel he warned that the terrorists would probably use different methods of attack next time. "We can't focus too much on the terrorist attacks as a model, it is very unlikely that the same thing would happen," Friedman said. Levi Thompson, associate dean for undergraduate education, explained that the lectures were given in order to give information about the technical and engineering aspects associated with the events of Sept. 11 and how these aspects now apply to the after- math. "It was a real privilege as an admin- istrator," Thompson said. "You don't usually see directly what the benefit of an event like this is. You can see on people's faces that they were learning. There was a heightened sense of responsibility. I don't think that would have come out without an event like this." Bush makes 6th C WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush announced yesterday that he has selected three Michigan judges to fill longtime vacancies on the 6th U.S. Court of Appeals, but their confirmation could be slowed in a political struggle with Michigan's Democratic senators. The White House issued a statement saying that Bush plans to nominate Judge David McKeague of the U.S. Dis- trict Court in Lansing, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Susan Neilson and Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Henry Saad, McKeague and Neilson are both University of Michigan alumni. The Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit Court handles appeals from federal dis- trict courts in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio READ TIE RAILY. DAILY. and Tennessee. A senator from a nominee's home state can block the confirmation. Michi- gan Sens. Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow said yesterday they would not approve the new nominations because President Clinton's.nominees to the 6th Circuit were never given a confirmation hearing. The Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee kept Clinton's nomination of Michigan Court of Appeals Judge Helene White for more than four years, longer than any nomi- nee in Senate history. Clinton's nomina- tion of Detroit attorney Kathleen McCree Lewis was pending for a year and a half when Bush officially with- cuit picks drew their nominations in March. In a letter written Nov. 1, Levin and Stabenow asked the Bush administra- tion to establish a bipartisan commis- sion to fill the Michigan vacancies on the court. The White House rejected that proposal in a Nov. 2 letter to the senators. Levin and Stabenow said yes- t*rday they still hoped a bipartisan com- promise could be reached. One alternative would give the Clin- ton nominees one of four Michigan vacancies on the 6th Circuit Court and the other a seat on the U.S. District Court in eastern Michigan. Bush's nominees would then fill the three other Michigan vacancies on the 6th Circuit. j I Headaches?. Michigan Head*Pain & Neurological Institute is conducting a research study evaluating an investigational z.f medication as a potential treatment for migraine. Participants must be 18 or older and experience at least 2 headaches per month. Study- related medical care and compensation for time and travel will be provided. Please call our Research staff for more information. Michigan Head-Pain & Neurological Institute JoelR. Saper, MD, FACP, FAAN, Diector 3120 Professional Drive Ann Arbor, Mi 48104 (734) 677-6000, ext. 4 www.MHNI.com s THE CALENDAR What's happening in Ann Arbor this weekend rH AN OPERA BY ElAN CARLO MENOTTI 6 __ FRIDAY "People Believe the Strangest Things: Delu- sions and Where They enmA From": Snonsored by for South and Southeast Asian Studies, 12:00 - 1:30 p.m., 1636 School of Social Work Building, 1080 South University Nichols Arboretum Restoration Work Day; Join Arb Director Bob Grese and Arb staff mem- bers for restoration SERVICES Campus Information Centers, 764-INFO, info@umich.edu, or www iimih nrfi a/-.info, A rivetinq indictment of totalitarian regimes, The Consul follows the tale of a family r