One hundred eleven years' ofediofil feedm
4w
tit
NEWS: 76-DAILY
CLASSIRED: 764-0557
www mlchlgandally. com
Thursday
March 28, 2002
IVoiCXIl No. 104Ag
Grads worry about jobs, go back to school
By Daniel Kim
Daily Staff Reporter
Although the economy is improving and the
labor markets are stabilizing with unemploy-
ment claims decreasing, University students'
fears of entering the job market still remain
very high and some are even turning to gradu-
ate schools instead.
"After my interviews in October, companies
told me that they are not hiring anymore, said
Stephen Suryo, a LSA senior majoring in com-
puter science, who has since then applied to the
University School of Information and to other
engineering graduate programs.
"But even going to the graduate school is
very competitive because people who didn't get
jobs and people who got laid off recently are all
going back to school," Suryo said. "It's a lose-
lose situation."
The number of students taking preparation
courses for graduate and professional schools
has increased by a double-digit gross, Jaime
Bederman, national director of graduate pro-
gram marketing of Princeton Review said. She
added that she couldn't give the exact figure
because of company policy.
Bederman said even after the economy picks
up, students will continue to face difficulty in
finding jobs, especially after three or five years
when students with graduate and professional
degrees flock back into the job market.
Fear of the job market isn't found only in
undergraduate students. Students graduating
this year with a master's degree are in a greater
dilemma without the option of turning to grad-
uate schools.
"It's been tough, especially for those of us
who are career switchers like myself. I have to
find a job because I have a fairly large amount
of student loans to pay off," said Billy Chan, an
MBA candidate at the Business School.
"There is certainly a trend for people to feel
that going to graduate school might be a better
option," said Lynne Sebille-White, assistant
director of recruiting services at Career Plan-
ning & Placement.
"Choosing to go to graduate school, we
wouldn't recommend that unless that has always
been your dream. You need the same motivation
to go to grad school as that you would need to
"I have to find a job because I have a fairly large
amount of student loans to pay off."
- Billy Chan
Business School MBA candidate
go to get a job," Sebille-White said.
But not all students are considering graduate
school as an alternative plan.
"Even if I wanted to, I don't think I could
handle another three to four years of school.
I am not to the point that I am actually wor-
ried about not getting a job at all. Even
though I am graduating in about a month, I
wouldn't have started working until the fall
anyway," said Business senior Curt Brewer,
who maintains an optimistic view of his cur-
rent situation.
"If anything, being out of school will allow
me to spend more time on my career search.
The job market might be tough, but people
have to remember that we are graduating from
a top University that prepares us well for
careers," Brewer added.
New search engine
allows for custom-
designed searches
Ray of light
By Shabina S. Khatri
Daily Staff Reporter
Students tired of using search engines that pro-
duce ambiguous results can look forward to using
a new search mechanism soon. NewsInEssence, a
research experiment combining artificial intelli-
gence and computer technology, is now offering a
web-based service that allows students to custom-
tailor their Internet searches to yield the most
favorable results.
Engineering Prof. Dragomir Radev, the project's
head, said in a written statement that the website is
unique because users can call up several different
news stories about one gven topic in seconds.
"NewsInEssence i§ personalized and interac-
tive" he said. "It allows users to specify a 'seed
story' or topic, to specify which sources they
prefer and how long the search should take, to
say how long the summary should be, and to
decide how often updates should _be sent to
them."
School of Information student Jay Jackson said
the ability to set search parameters is one of the
website's best features.
"If you use Google to find something, you'd
get 25,000 responses, but with NewslnEssence
you can pull up news stories based on your own
preferences," he said.
LSA sophomore Liana Reading said she likes
the idea behind the website but finds the Internet
site difficult to navigate.
"It's cool that you can type in one topic and get
so many news articles at once, but it took me a
while to figure out how to use the site," she said.
Jackson said the website was put together by a
team of University students and is operating
under funding from the National Science Foun-
dation.
"This is not a commercial project. Things may
seem kind of complicated right now, but they are
a lot less complicated than they were last week.
We expect the interface to get better every day'
he said.
The website will soon include additional fea-
tures that allow users to receive summary updates
directly to their e-mail accounts as well as a natu-
ral language search query that will allow users to
ask questions like, "when was the president of
France inaugurated?" and get a precise answer.
The website for the search engine is
www.newsinessence.com.
Prestigious awards
gain attention at 'U'
BRENDAN O'DUNNELL/Daily
Engineering graduate student Thanikarn Sumsuwan and Architecture graduate student Sunphol Sorakuh enjoyed the weather yesterday on
their walk near the School of Music on North Campus.
Students wary of travel scams
By Christopher Johnson
Daily Staff Reporter
Piquing students' interest to walk to class
among ancient Gothic buildings and study under
some of the leading intellectuals of our time, the
University has implemented extended efforts to
inform students about the Rhodes, Marshall and
Mitchell scholarships.
These scholarships, often considered among
the most prestigious honors that a student can
achieve, allow its participants to attend schools in
the United Kingdom and Ireland, among the old-
est and most respected universities in the world.
Although many people identify each of these
scholarships as a single program because of their
similar prestige, they each have different compo-
nents. Students who receive the Rhodes or Mar-
shall scholarships receive funding for two or
three years of graduate study in Great Britain.
While Rhodes Scholars can participate in any
program at Oxford, Marshall Scholars can opt to
study at a number of universities in the United
Kingdom. The Mitchell Program, a new program
this year, allows students to participate in gradu-
ate studies in the Republic of Ireland or Northern
Ireland.
Despite the opportunities available in the pro-
gram, the University of Michigan has had diffi-
culty finding interested students in recent years.
"I knew about them before, I just haven't heard
about anything through the University" Engineer-
ing sophomore Eric Stone said.
LSA Scholarship Coordinator Douglas Fletch-
er attributed the lull in interest of University stu-
dents for these programs to the University's
failure to release information in sufficient time
See SCHOLARSHIPS, Page 7A
By Annie Gleason
Daily Staff Reporter
College students and spring break comprise
a travel agent's dream. Pamphlets, e-mails and
advertisements promoting student travel serv-
ices are not difficult to find during the months
preceding college breaks.
But for those who have yet to figure it out,
most e-mails boasting "exclusive discount
travel offers" or declaring recipients as "spe-
cially selected" are not legitimate and are gen-
erally sent to millions of specially selected
consumers at the same time.
Jim Rink, spokesman for AAA Michigan,
said that all travelers, but especially students,
need to be careful when planning vacations
through agencies and should keep an eye out
for travel scams.
"The first rule of thumb is that if it sounds
too good to be true, then it probably is;' he
said. "You need to make sure you are using a
reputable travel agency."
The most common scams often promise
discount prices, only to charge numerous fees
or provide low-quality services after agree-
ments have been signed.
"Sometimes you'll arrive and find the hotel
has been overbooked," Rink said. "Then
you'll have to spend the night on the beach."
Rink said there is very little a consumer
can do after all agreements have been signed.
The only course of action is to file a com-
plaint with the Federal Trade Commission.
The FTC does not resolve individual con-
sumer problems, but complaints help them
investigate fraud and can lead to law enforce-
ment action. However, it is unlikely that trav-
elers will be refunded.
"I would say nine times out of 10, you
would not get your money back," Rink said.
Consumers can avoid travel problems by
following a few precautions recommended by
the FTC. It is recommended that travelers
book vacations with a well-established travel
agency, use extreme caution when giving out
credit card or checking account numbers,
See TRAVEL, Page 7A
NUBS site will
close due to LSI
LIconstruction
By Lssle Ward
Daily Staff Reporter
Students who head to the North University Building com-
puting site will have to find a new place to work starting
next semester.
The site will be permanently shut down at the end of this
term due to the construction of the Life Sciences Initiative.
Many students say this will make finding a computer much
more difficult.
"That's the most inane thing they could possibly do. This
is the only computer lab where there aren't nine billion peo-
ple looking for a computer in here at the same time," Engi-
- . navn ndf- f.r Varr, i ca
April designated as Sexual
Assault Awareness Month
By Rahwa Ohebre-Ab
Daily Staff Reporter
In response to the thousands of
reported forcible rapes and sexual
assaults in the state, Michigan Gov.
John Engler issued an executive
declaration observing April 2002 as
Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
During the month, sexual assault
survivors, their families and supporters
will be participating in an increased
number of speak-out events and rallies
hosted by many organizations around
the state that provide advocacy and
sunort services to victims and their
opportunities for communities to learn
more about sexual assault and how to
show support for the numerous organi-
zations and individuals who are pro-
viding these services.
"This April provides the opportunity
for many services to be visible to the
community, and it also highlights the
work that is done by those who provide
support," said Latresa Wiley, interim
director of the Sexual Assault Preven-
tion and Awareness Center.
The significance of Engler's recog-
nition goes far beyond the ability of
many resources and service providers
to be more visible.
need to be aware that it is not only a
personal problem or even a community
problem - it's a national problem,"
Wiley said.
Many different factors went into
Engler's decision but the largest influ-
ence was the decision made by other
states to recognize April as Sexual
Assault Awareness Month.
"Governor Engler is following a
national trend by giving a month to
this cause. Every year people have to
apply for an executive declaration in
writing and for six years Engler has
been open to the idea," said Mary
Keefe, executive director of the
BRNN 'DONNE414rLL/DlJIy
Y ,