One hundred eleven years ofedtoridfreedom
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NEWS: 76-DAILY
CLASSIFIED: 764-0557
wwm ilhigandaIt y. com
Thursday
February 14, 2002
Vol. , .. o.I7
Curious
students
explore
r tunnels
Three LSA freshmen
caught under Fleming
Administration Building
By Jeremy Berkowitz
Daily Staff Reporter
What started as general curiosity
turned into a debacle Tuesday night
when three University students were
arrested by the Department of Public
Safety for unlawful entry into the under-
ground tunnel system which exists
throughout Central Campus and the
Medical School.
LSA freshmen Michael Samples,
James McCann and another student who
did not wish to release his name could
be charged with unlawful entry. They
entered the tunnel system through an
unlocked door in the basement of the
Michigan Union. They were able to walk
easily around the tunnels for about an
hour until they were apprehended by
DPS officers directly underneath the
Fleming Administration Building at
around 11:15 p.m. Motion detectors
alerted officers to the students position.
"It is unfortunately a place where peo-
ple like to play," said DPS spokeswoman
Diane Brown.
The three freshmen were taken to the
DPS office, processed and handcuffed to
a bar in a holding cell until they were
released yesterday morning, two of the
students said.
Samples said although he was a little
disturbed about being handcuffed inside
the cell, he thought it was "pretty funny
that they would go to such trouble for
us."
When released from the cell, certain
items such as flashlights and a camera
were not returned to them, Samples said.
The officers said these items would be
j used as evidence in the investigation,
and the students would know in two to
four weeks whether they would be
charged with any crimes.
The students were surprised about the
seriousness of the charges.
"I like the University. I wouldn't try to
mess with it," McCann said
However, Washtenaw County Chief
Assistant Prosecutor Joe Burke said that
-despite the student's harmless intentions,
their actions may still be a felony.
"It is a crime in the state of Michigan
to trespass. It's a 30 day misdemeanor,"
he said.
The students said they were surprised
to see the officers and somewhat
amused by the arrest.
"I'm surprised that they were actually
bothered enough to come down here and
do something about it," said McCann.
The tunnel system, which provides,
internet connection, heat and water to
University buildings has been part of
campus lore for decades. It inspired
1940s English graduate student Ken
Millar to write a book about it, titled
"The Dark Tunnel," under the pseudo-
nym Ross MacDonald. In 1975, a group
See TUNNEL, Page 9A
Enron fall had little effect on
'U'
By Ted Borden
Daily Staff Reporter
The University was one of the many
investors who owned stock in the now bank-
rupt and embattled Enron Corp. But unlike
those who lost billions of dollars worth of
capital after the company declared bankrupt-
cy, the University did not suffer any losses.
"I'm clear that we lost no money," said
Robert Kasdin, University chief financial
officer. Though Kasdin did not have any
exact numbers, describing the investment as
only an "immaterial amount," he said the
University actually made a small amount of
profit, as it short-sold shares of Enron, a
practice in which an investor can make
money if a stock price falls.
The University also had a connection to the
Houston-based corporation from the dona-
tions it received over the years.
According to University spokeswoman Julie
Peterson, the company gave a $22,000 gift in
kind in 1987, although Peterson said she did not
know what kind of equipment was donated.
Additionally, the Enron Foundation, the
philanthropic branch of the company, donated
small amounts on an annual basis in match-
ing funds, a process in which a company
matches all employee gifts to an institution.
Last year's donation totaled $7,060.
As the Enron scandal continues to play out
before Congress, its effects are clearly being felt
on Wall Street, where investors are now being
cautious in looking at corporate earnings.
"The biggest problem it has caused is the
credibility issue - that's the most damaging
to the psychology of investing," said John
"I'm clear that we lost no money."
- Robert Kasdin
University chief financial officer
Schmitz, head of equity strategy at Fifth
Third Bank in Cincinnati.
"When your confidence and integrity of the
quality of earnings has been nearly destroyed,
it makes it nearly impossible for valuations to
go up according to earnings," he said.
Schmitz noted that the "fear that was creat-
ed by Enron has played out with other com-
panies," notably Tyco International and
General Electric.
Tyco, a Bermuda-based manufacturing and
service conglomerate, saw its stock plummet
when word circulated that its numbers may
have been overstated.
Analysts are still unsure how long the
after-effects will be felt.
"People don't have a good grip on how wide-
spread it is'" said Tyler Schumway, assistant pro-
fessor of finance at the University's Business
School.
"There have always been questions about
accounting. But if the economy turns around,
it will probably disappear from a lot of peo-
ple's radar screens," he added.
Yet as Schmitz noted, "It takes a long time
for faith to be restored."
Ashes to ashes
Tenant rights,
concerns part
of campaign
DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily
Worshippers gather for Ash Wednesday services, the beginning of the holy season of Lent, at St. Mary's Parish
yesterday. inside: Students talk about the significance of Lent. Page 7A.
College campuses empl oy
varying safety mea"Sure s
By Jeremy Berkowitz because the elevators and stairs also require card access.
Daily Staff Reporter But, UCLA Director of Housing, Mike Foraker said
that many times students will sign in and then tailgate
Over the years, the Department of Public Safety has laud- with other residents to gain access to the elevators. Forak-
ed the security in the residence halls at the er added that with these procedures,
University, saying it goes farther than most as well as extra foot and car patrols
colleges in the country by providing each outside, most crime within the resi-
residence hall with one professional securi- dence halls is committed by people
ty officer every night. But most other uni- ( ' 1Iwho live in them.
versities around the country have efficient 14j"We think in terms of concentric
security procedures in their residence halls circles. ... I don't think we're an easy
even if they are not all implemented by pro- t e t s target," he said.
fessional security officers. Indiana University also has securi-
The University of California at Los Angeles, with a cam- ty officers present in the dorms at night. These officers
pus population of 37,000 students, has locked residence hall are provided by the Indiana University Police Department
doors and a manned front desk 24 hours a day. Like the Uni- who make periodic rounds from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. every
versity of Michigan, access to the residence halls is guaran- night. But, unlike the University of Michigan, Indiana has
teed by swiping an access card. At night, door monitors sit by a door monitor system that starts at 5 p.m. and goes until
the front desk and require guests to sign in and leave a photo the next morning. All guests of residents are required to
id. Guests must be escorted through the dorm by a resident See SAFETY, Page 9A
By Jordan Schrader
Daily Staff Reporter
The Ann Arbor Tenants Union may
be coming to your home soon, as they
canvas campus-area households to
inform residents of their rights as ten-
ants and learn what problems residents
are having.
AATU's door-to-door campaign,
which began Monday and continues
throughout the semester, will assess
the state of both rental housing and
tenants' willingness to organize for
improvement..
"My sense is that students would be
ready to sign on to something if some-
one organized it and made it easy for
them," said Bree Kessler, a Social Work
student and volunteer in the canvas.
One tenant the volunteers visited, an
LSA senior who wants to remain
anonymous, said she had to deal with a
flooded basement, a filthy house and
an infestation of mice when she moved
into her home. Her landlord was little
help in fixing the problems, she said.
"He had all these promises but then
we never saw him again," she said.
AATU Executive Director Amy Kul-
lenberg said landlords' refusal to do
needed maintenance is one of the major
problems tenants call the organization to
complain about. Other complaints result
when landlords withhold security
deposits, invade tenants' privacy and dis-
criminate against minorities, she said.
To combat these problems, Kullen-
berg said AATU hopes to facilitate
communication between tenants with
the same landlord so that they can
share their problems and solve them
together. The group is focusing first on
five landlords who have repeatedly
been reported for problems.
"We have some landlords in town
we know have a long history of ...
deliberate poor performance, disregard
for the rules," Kullenberg said.
Ann Arbor officials also tend to be
unhelpful to tenants, she said.
Although the city makes rental inspec-
tions, it notifies landlords several days
before a visit, allowing them to make
cosmetic changes to the property that
cover up code violations. She would
like to have an ordinance that allows
city officials to inspect homes upon
tenant request without warning land-
lords first. Among the goals of the can-
vas is to assess tenant opinion on this
and other issues.
LSA junior and volunteer Amy
Ament said response to her questions
and advice has been positive so far.
"Tenants were very receptive. We
woke one woman up. She was still
willing to talk to us about all her prob-
lems,' Ament said.
One major hurdle AATU faces in
addressing problems is inadequate
funding, Kullenberg said.
Kullenberg is the only paid employ-
ee of the group, which depends on stu-
dent volunteers to respond to the more
than 3,000 tenant complaints it
receives a year and to canvas homes,
she said. She added that AATU has not
been able to respond to all calls
because of a lack of resources.
Registered as a student group, AATU
receives money from the student fees,
funneled through the Michigan Student
Assembly's allocation process.
But members of the organization
want to change the way it is funded. A
proposal in the next MSA election
would separate AATU's allocations
from MSA's control and charge Uni-
versity students a flat rate of a dollar
that would be used by the group. MSA
members are expected to vote on a res-
olution adding the proposal to the bal-
lot at their next meeting.
"(The funding changes) would give
us the stability and the appropriate
level of funding to be able to help
everyone," Kullenberg said.
Sand discusses
lives of Jews
living in Africa
Dal=Saf "Zore
Enrollment dip tied.
to faltering economy
By Ted Borden
Daily Staff Reporter
One late night in December, traveler Jay Sand found himself standing
on a hill in Uganda with his backpack and guitar asking "Where are the
Jews?"
He said he had no idea where to go until he heard singing and looked
in a window to find children dancing around a menorah, the candelabra
used during Hanukkah. He had arrived during Hanukkah and he had
found the Jews.
Sand spoke last night at Hillel about his experiences in Jewish commu-
nities around Africa. He showed slides and played music featuring tradi-
tional elements and representations found in Jewish communities in
Uganda, Ghana and Zimbabwe.
He showed pictures of Jewish stars on the outside of houses and slides
DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily
Jay Sand talks to students at Hillel last night about living life as an
African Jew.
"It was an idea brought in from the outside, with the idea that it con-
nects them to what Jews are doing around the world," Sand said.
Sand found communities which had begun following the Old Testa-
ment and converted to Judaism. He talked to people who had over time
developed Judaism from their understanding of the Bible - Western
As a result of the current economic recession,
the University Business School's Executive Edu-
cation Program has seen a precipitous fall in
enrollment, said program officials. Enrollment
has declined about 30 percent over the past six
months, a trend shared by competitors nation-
wide, the officials said.
"The Executive Education Program is very
closely tied to economic conditions," said Brian
Talbot, associate dean of the program. "Firms fhat
are doing well tend to put money into employee
training. When the economy goes down, man-
agers immediately cut training budgets."
Talbot said he first saw a drop in January of
last year, but the problem was exacerbated with
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "We rely very heavi-
really been testing us and interesting for us in
terms of coming up with solutions for the current
situation," said Bill Curtis, marketing director for
the Executive Education Center. "Economic indi-
cators are the things we watch here, and it looks
like we'll see a turnaround if the economy recov-
ers in the fall."
Talbot agreed. "We've been seeing a very
slight up-tick ... it's the first sign I've seen of
economic improvement in over a year" he said.
Despite the cautiously positive outlook, the
program is taking new initiatives to draw reluc-
tant applicants in.
"We're not just sitting on our laurels," said Tal-
bot, noting the program is actively seeking people
within driving distance of Ann Arbor, as well as
adding new programs.
"We offered a three-day program in the fall,
'Managing in Difficult Times,' that was offered at
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