LOCAL/STATE

The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, February 20, 2002 - 3

HIGHER ED
Ivies early decision
grows in popularity
despite debate
HANOVER, N.H. - Despite grow-
ing concerns about the fairness of early
decision, its use continues to prolifer-
ate throughout the Ivy League, with
some schools filling half of their
incoming freshman slots with early
applicants.
The most dramatic increase came at
the University of Pennsylvania, where
50 percent of its freshman class will be
admitted by early decision this year, up
from 43 percent last year. Columbia
University, accepting 490 students,
admitted 49 percent of its incoming
class by early decision.
The growing popularity of early
decision has raised many serious ques-
tions because it does not allow students
in need .of financial aid to weigh offers
from other schools, and once accepted
under the program, a student must
attend regardless of better financial aid
offers at other institutions. For these
reasons, most early decision applicants
tend to be from relatively affluent
backgrounds.
Dartmouth College accepted 387
early applicants out of a pool of 1,118,
2.5 percent more than were admitted
under the early decision program last
year. Harvard University accepted
1,172 early applicants out of a pool of
6,126. Last year, it accepted 1,105
early applicants out of a total 6,096.
And Brown University adopted an
early decision policy this year, making
Harvard the only Ivy League school
not to offer such a program.
"We have a non-binding program,"
Harvard Director of Admissions Mari-
o lyn McGrath Lewis said.
"We oppose early decision because
it causes a student's chance to compare
financial aid to be a problem. It is a
rich kid's game if there ever was one,"
Lewis said.
Reports of illicit
activities halt
sexuality class
BERKELEY, Calif. - The Universi-
ty of California at Berkeley male sexual-
ity class that came under fire last week
has been suspended by administrators
while an investigation into reports of
illicit class activities is conducted.
The class's female counterpart is
also under review but has not been sus-
pended, officials said.
Students and instructors of the class
told the Daily Cal they took trips to
strip clubs and "sex exchanges" and
watched an instructor strip. Some also
said a party at an instructor's house
included group sex and a "party game"
that had students photographing their
genitalia and then trying to match the
pictures to the correct body.
Those activities came as a surprise
to the professor charged with oversee-
ing the course, Caren Kaplan, chair-
woman of the women's studies
department. She told the Daily Cal she
does not "police the content."
U. Arkansas will
eliminate three
biology degrees
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Degrees
in botany, microbiology and zoology
have been eliminated starting next fall

. after a decision Friday by the Universi-
ty of Arkansas System Board of
Trustees in Little Rock, Ark.
The elimination of the three pro-
grams was upon the request of the bio-
logical sciences department.
"The department of biological sci-
ences decided we wanted to come up
with more integrated programs," said
Fred Spiegel, vice chairman of the bio-
logical sciences department.
The motivation behind the deletion
of the three programs is to give stu-
dents alternatives within their majors
and give them a broader education in
biological sciences.
"We're hoping that it will give stu-
dents more flexibility in choosing
advanced courses and allow them to
take more junior- and senior-level
courses earlier," Spiegel said.
- Compiled from U- WIRE Reports by
Daily Staff Reporter Maria Sprow.

Athletes sing for charity at Mock Rock

By Kyle O'Neill
Daily Staff Writer
Britney Spears, neon lights and guys in drag:
Put those together and the result is - no, not
Las Vegas - but the third annual Mock Rock.
Last night Michigan athletes dressed as their
favorite musical icons to entertain for a good
cause.
Funds raised from raffle tickets, admission
tickets and T-shirts will go toward the Special
Olympics. Last year the event raised $7,000. The
event is also held in remembrance of Jeff Reese,
a Michigan wrestler who died in December 1997
while training for a competition.
Fox Sports Detroit's Doug Karsch was the
emcee for the event and introduced himself in

hospital scrubs as he announced he was a one-
day-old father to a baby son. He expressed hope
that Michigan football coach and Mock Rock
judge Lloyd Carr would begin recruiting within
the next few weeks.
Karsch wasn't the only one to celebrate last
night, as everyone from the trainers to the reign-
ing national champion field hockey team gave it
their all in competing to become Mock Rock
champion.
The event opened with the water polo team and
a rendition of Spears' "I'm a Slave For You."
Carr awarded the team a "10" and declared,"I'd
coach any of these kids, any of them."
Participants from every staff participated in a
highlight performance of the night.
To the tunes of "The Heat is On," "Ice, Ice,

Baby," "I'm a Slave For You" and "Stronger" the
Wolverines' trainers did.a dance number using
props with each song, including an impersonation
of a football player who took advantage of the
trainers during "Slave." s
The women's gymnastics team also opened
with a shot at the football team. Dressed as foot-
ball players they sang the words to "Don't Know
Much About History."
They played to assistant field hockey coach
and judge Ashley Reichenbach with a tribute to
the field hockey team to the tune of Queen's "We
Are the Champions."
The trainers received the biggest response of.
the night from the crowd to edge out the women's
gymnastics team for the Mock Rock title.
Applause from the crowd was used to break

the tie between the two performances.
Wrestling coach Joe McFarland lived his
"worst nightmare" watching five from his squad,
led by captain Andy Hrovat, dance in tu-tus to
Madonna's "Like a Prayer."
"Wow, I was amazed," McFarland said. "I gave
them a '10' because anybody that can wear a
wrestling outfit with a tu-tu and headgear and go
out on stage deserves that. Andy also threatened
me with a headlock if I didn't give them that
score."
But after all the awards and fun, the reason for
the event was still remembered.
"It's for a great cause," McFarland said. "I'm
going to come every year in remembrance of Jeff
Reese and for the organizations that these stu-
dent-athletes are doing this for."

Browner: Climate change
disastrous but reversible

By Tyler Boersen
Daily Staff Reporter
Rapidly decreasing forests, con-
stant threats to the world water sup-
ply and higher carbon dioxide levels
are reversible trends, said Carol
Browner, former administrator of the
United States Environmental Protec-
tion Agency under President Clinton.
But yesterday, in the inaugural lec-
ture of the University's new Program
on the Environment, Browner said,
"climate change is the greatest chal-
lenge ever faced."
"To fail to act now is to leave future
generations not just a burning river,
but an irreversibly changed environ-
ment - a permanently altered earth,"
she said.
Carbon dioxide levels have
increased 30 percent since the indus-
trial revolution, Browner said, indi-
cating that human activity is
responsible for recent changes in
weather activity.
"These are not just threats to our
environment, but to our economy and
security as well," she said. "More than
2,000 experts have told us this is real,
and the time to act is now."
Browner urged that lawmakers not
wait for all studies to be completed, or
worry about how policies will be
implemented. She noted that lead was

banned from gasoline before there was
definitive proof that it was detrimental
to a person's health.
"If we wait until every single
study is done then we will have wait-
ed too long," she said. "To have
waited for every study, two or three
more generations would have suf-
fered needlessly."
"We must be willing to set public
health standards even when costs
appear greater than benefits," Browner
said. "After the fact, we find costs
tend to be less than estimated, and the
benefits far greater."
Browner urged the creation of public
standards that protect not only the
environment, but improve the status of
public health. ,
. She said that in the past standards
were based on the tolerance levels of
white males. Scientists now realize that
other demographics may be impacted
differently.
"Millions of our fellow human beings
lack health, dignity ... equality," she
said. "To argue for fairness, social jus-
tice and equality is this generation's
moral and ethical responsibility."
In her position as EPA administrator,
she said she often had difficulty con-
vincing the U.S. Congress of the need
to enact new standards and often acted
as an environmental educator.
School of Natural Resources Dean

"climate change is
the greatest
challenge ever
faced."
Carroll Brenner
Former EPA administrator
Rosina Bierbaum, former director of
the White Mouse Office of Science and
Technology, said Browner "can simpli-
fy scientific, legal and political issues
in a way very few others can."
"Conventional wisdom is that poli-
cymakers have a limited attention span
to deal with any particular issue" Bier-
baum said. Browner "was talking
about the quality of life for generations
to come."
Browner expressed optimism of that
future, saying she believes in the gen-
eral goodness of people and the power
of individuals.
"I don't believe this generation will
leave to the next an irreversible situa-
tion," she said.
The University's Program on the
Environment is a new joint degree pro-
gram implemented by SNRE and the
College of Literature, Science and the
Arts.

LAURIE BRESCOLL/Daily
Former EPA administrator Carol Browner speaks about environmental threats
yesterday at Mendelssohn Theater.
MSA proposes
change'in 'U'
cri-me jurisdiction

WANT TO WRITE FOR NEWIARCAlL ~A Y :~
I X* >

By Tomislav Ladika
Daily Staff Reporter

University students who commit
crimes off campus but within the city
of Ann Arbor can be charged and
convicted by University jurisdiction
under the current Statement of Stu-
dent Rights and Responsibilities, for-
merly known as the Code of Student
Conduct.
But changes to the statement by
the Michigan Student Assembly at
last night's meeting propose limiting
the University to what crimes it can
prosecute against students.
"If you act in a way that the code
condemns and you're not on Univer-
sity property - and you're not creat-
ing a threat to the University
community - then under our
changes you are no longer responsi-
ble by University disciplinary proce-
dures," said Law representative Chris
Sheehan, who co-sponsored the pro-
posal.
The proposal will next be reviewed
by the Senate Advisory Committee
on Undergraduate Affairs before
being sent to the University Board of
Regents.
Additional changes to the state-
ment proposed that 60 students be
randomly chosen to serve as poten-
tial panelists on cases violating the
statement. The current statement
instructs the student governments of
each University college select stu-
dent panelists.

LSA representative John Simpson
said occasionally students selected at
random are too busy to take their job
as panelists seriously.
"You're going to get a lot of apa-
thy on these very important issues,"
he said.
But Sheehan said the fairness of
trials is increased when "a random
selection of your peers decide if you
violate the Code or not."
The proposal also permits -students
who have committed violations of
the statement, which could lead to
potential criminal charges, to be rep-
resented by an attorney when going
before the University.
MSA also passed a resolution to
place a proposal on the student elec-
tion ballot to create a new $1 student
fee to fund the Ann Arbor Tenants
Union, which provides free advice
and counseling to students seeking
off-campus housing.
Additionally, the North Campus
Recreational Building's working
hours will be extended during March
until 3 a.m. The proposal is an exper-
iment to see if a year-long extension
of NCRB hours is feasible.
MSA also approved the Communi-
ty Service Commission's budget,
which appropriates $53,338.27 to 59
various student community projects.
Another resolution mandated MSA's-
Rules and Elections Committee to con-
sider an amendment providing the Res-
idential College with its own assembly
representative.

Correction:
U.S. District Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald did not plan to comment on the case of Rabih Haddad yesterday. This was
incorrectly reported in yesterday's Daily.
HE CALENDAR
What's happening in Ann Arbor today


EVENTS
"'Earth to Parents':

Studies, .noon - 1:00
p.m., Kalamazoo Room,
Michigan League

ies Program, 7:00 - 9:00
p.m., 1636 International
Institute, School of Social

SERVICES
Campus Information
Centers, 764-INF0,