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 ,