Tuesday
@2003 The Michigan Daily
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXIII, No. 127
One-hundred-twelve years of editorialfreedom
TODAY
Snowshow-
ers in the
afternoon,n
cloudy by H:39
nightfall with LOW: 28
winds at 12 Tomorrow.,
miles per 45*29
hour.
www.michigandaily.com
Bombs target palace housing Iraqi officials
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - American troops
and tanks bore down on Baghdad with unstop-
pable force yesterday, seizing two of Saddam
Hussein's opulent palaces and bombing a build-
ing where the Iraqi leader and other regime
officials were believed to be staying.
A lone B-1B bomber carried out the strike
on what U.S. officials described as a "leader-
ship target" - senior Iraqi officials possibly
including Saddam and his two sons. It was not
immediately clear whether any of them were
killed or wounded.
Earlier yesterday, U.S. and British officials
said they believed Saddam's top commander in
southern Iraq had been killed in a U.S. airstrike.
The attacks came as American forces maneu-
vered through the capital with near impunity.
Some Iraqi soldiers jumped into the Tigris
River to flee the advancing column of more
than 100 armored vehicles. A dozen others
were captured and placed inside a hastily erect-
ed POW pen on the grounds of the bombed-
out, blue-and-gold-domed New Presidential
Palace.
An estimated 600 to 1,000 Iraqi troops were
killed during the operation, said Col. David
Perkins. "We had a lot of suicide attackers
today," he said. "These guys are going to die in
droves ... They keep trying to ram the tanks
with car bombs."
U.S. troops toppled a 40-foot statue of Sad-
dam and seized another of his many palaces,
the Sojoud. Tank-killing A-10 Warthog planes
and pilotless drones provided air cover as
Americans briefly surrounded another promi-
nent symbol of Saddam's power, the Informa-
tion Ministry, as well as the Al-Rashid hotel.
The attack on the leadership target - remi-
niscent of the opening volley of the war on
March 19 aimed at Saddam - occurred in
Baghdad's upscale Mansour neighborhood.
U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anon-
mymity, said American intelligence learned
yesterday morning of a high-level meeting in
Baghdad between senior Iraqi intelligence offi-
cials and, possibly, Saddam and his two sons,
Qusai and Odai.
The bombardment left a huge hole where the
building had been and reduced three adjoining
houses to a heap of concrete, mangled iron rods
and furniture.
A B-1B bomber dropped four 2,000-pound
bunker-penetrating bombs on a residential
building. "We are confirming that a leadership
target was indeed hit very hard," said Marine
Maj. Brad Bartelt, a spokesman for U.S. Cen-
tral Command in Qatar. He had no information
of the results of the attack.
It was the third straight day the Army pene-
See WAR, Page 11
Reporting from the palace
Virginia Tech retracts change in
race-conscious admissions policy
By Tomislav Ladika
Daily Staff Reporter
Administrators at Virginia Polytechnic Insti-
tute and State University reversed a controver-
sial change to its admissions policies by
reinstating race and sexual orientation as factors
Sunday. This decision came less than a week
after the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argu-
ments in the two lawsuits challenging the Uni-
versity of Michigan's use of race in admissions.
By a seven-to-five margin, Virginia Tech's
Board of Visitors decided to rescind changes
they approved to the admissions policy at a
March 10 meeting, when they voted to elimi-
nate race and sexual orientation as admissions
plus factors.
"The Board members had the opportunity to
further understand the complexity and impact
of their actions on March 10, and felt that they
did not need to implement a new policy, that the
old policy was sufficient to stay within the dic-
tates of the law," Virginia Tech spokesman
Larry Hincker said.
Jessica Hangey, Virginia Tech chapter secre-
tary of the American Civil Liberties Union, said
most of the student body supported Virginia
Tech's original policy and were pleased to see it
reinstated.
"I'm glad that they finally listened to the
community and students," she said. "Virginia
Tech has a policy that's pretty good as far as
affirmative action goes. The only time that race
comes into place is if there is a tie (between two
applicants)."
But Patrick Gallagher, chairman of the Vir-
ginia Tech College Republicans, said he sup-
ported the new policy adopted March 10
because he believes race should never be con-
sidered in admissions.
He said the Board gave in to pressure from
the administration, faculty and student body.
"They gave in to the loudest voice;'he said.
The Board of Visitors modified the original
policy after Virginia state Attorney General
Jerry Kilgore told school administrators that the
policy might be deemed unconstitutional and
See VA TECH, Page 7
Ea~idx
'U' budget expected to
rely more on tuition
Infantry Capt. ToddKelly talks on a radio in the hall of one of $addam
palaces seized by tanks as they moved through Baghdad yesterday.
AP PHC
Husseis-
Engineering school ranked
6th in nation by U.S. News
By Afifa Assel
Daily Staff Reporter
As Gov. Jennifer Granholm slashes
the state budget to avoid further bal-
looning the deficit, University students
and their parents can anticipate signifi-
cant tuition increases come next fall.
Along with the usual moaning and
groaning about the increased costs of
education, students might wonder -
where exactly does all that tuition
money go?
All tuition
money goes Where your tur
directly into a
general fund,
which is then peae.bUIJa
used to pay for a
variety of student
services.
"Most of what
you see as a stu- 404 l
dent, with the 'a
exception of ath-
letics and the
hospital, are paid I~w
for out of the 4
from the projec-
tors used in
classrooms, to professors' salaries and
custodial staff pay' University Provost
Paul Courant said.
It may come as a surprise to many
students that tuition only contributes to
about 55 percent of the general fund,
while the bulk of educational revenue
comes from other sources, Glenna
Sweitzer, director of the Office of Bud-
get and Planning, said.
"The cost of educating (a student) is
mt
By Margaret Engoren
Daily Staff Reporter
The College of Engineering is one of the
10 best engineering schools in the nation,
according to U.S. News and World Report's
annual "America's Best Graduate Schools"
rankings, released Friday. Like last year, the
College of Engineering ranked sixth among
the country's 185 doctoral degree-granting
engineering schools.
"We are proud to be ranked high, but the
rankings must be taken with a grain of salt,"
said Stephen Director, College of Engineer-
ing dean. "There are many aspects of a col-
lege that are not accounted for, like our
interdisciplinary program, and there is an
ambiguity about how the data are computed.
What is interesting, for example, is that some
of the colleges ranked in the top 10 don't
have any top-10 ranked specialties. It seems
the rankings are partly a simple popularity
contest."
Director added that the top-10 schools are
probably comparable, and that the next 10
are, too, but it is hard to know why each
school gets its individual rank.
"Its also important to note that universities
don't change very rapidly - you wouldn't
expect to see much of a change from one year
to the next - but the rankings change each
year, sometimes dramatically," Director said.
"We must keep in mind that (U.S. News and
World Report's) motivation is to sell maga-
zines and make money."
Engineering Prof. Peter Adriaens said the
program's consistent top-10 rank will likely
increase competition for admission to the col-
lege.
See RANKINGS, Page 11
significantly more than what you pay
in tuition," Courant said.
The remaining percentage of educa-
tional revenue comes primarily from
the state's appropriation and federal
grants, Sweitzer said.
Education senior Agnes Aleobua
said she expects a large percentage of
the costs of education to be covered by
government aid. In fact, she thinks
more federal and state money should
help defer the costs of education.
"Education is something that should
be provided for
on money goes every citizen,
regardless of
cost. The U.S.
can afford to
educate more
people for less,"
Aleobua said.
Many students
said they were
not aware that
the government
contributed so
much to Univer-
sity costs.
"I had no idea
before," LSA
freshman Keny-
on Richardson said.
In 2003, an astounding $364 million
- or 35 percent of the general fund -
came from the state appropriation rev-
enue. In order to make up for some of
the lost revenue, the University will
also have to raise tuition more than it
expected, Courant said.
"There will be tuition increases, I'm
sure. There would have been tuition
See TUITION, Page 11
Studc
The Sigma DNita Tau sorority house on Hill Street Is one
student house that will be affected by the new ordinance.
A2 ityCo''unci
vote to affect Hil
S t housing costs
By Emily Kraack
Daily Staff Reporter
Stately fraternity and sorority houses such as Phi Delta
Theta and Kappa Kappa Gamma have long been fixtures of
the Hill Street and Washtenaw Avenue area. However, many of
those involved with the Greek system on campus fear that last
night's City Council vote on the proposed expansion of the
Washtenaw Hill Historic District could soon make it more
expensive to live under Greek letters.
The councilvoted' 6-3 in favor of tabling the ordinance,
which gives them a year to decide on the resolution.
The ordinance stipulates that residences in the historic dis-
trict must make any external changes that are visible from the
street historically consistent. This means repairing - rather
than replacing - historic windows if possible and using his-
toric roofing materials such as slate. The proposed expansion
See HILL, Page 11
knts awarded for
Weather pu
iz hope ofe
By Alison Go
Daily Staff Reporter
If April showers bring May flow-
ers, what do April snowstorms:
bring? A very confused and
grumpy student body.
About five inches of snow cov-
ered campus yesterday, leaving
pants soggy and sidewalks icy.
"I thought it was a nightmare
when I woke up. I don't like the
wind, and I don't like the cold,"
LSA freshmen Rachel Johnson
said.
But the drastic change in weather
conditions is not remarkable and
carries no global implication, Engi-
neering junior Doug Gossiaux said.
"The amount of snow is more than
normal, but is still not that unusual
for April," he said.
"Yesterday's downfall does not
even compete with the record 25
inches of snow," added Gossiaux, a
meteorninv maior who is in the
(zzles those
any sprAg
Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space
Sciences program.
The sudden blast of wintry
weather has not surprised many
students.
"That's the thing about Michigan
weather. When you think there is
going to be change, it goes back to
what it was three months ago,"
LSA freshmen Gerald Duncan said.
Although students recognized the
change was not out of the ordinary,
some were still unenthusiastic
about the colder climate. "I'm sick
of slipping and sliding. I wish
spring would just come and stay,"
LSA freshmen Esther Cho said.
But, not everyone had negative
things to say about yesterday's
weather.
"This is very Michigan-like and
never fails to surprise me. Every-
thing is still so beautiful," LSA
freshmen Olga Mantilla said.
Gossiaux attributed the snowfall
See LATE SNOW. Page 7
leadership on campus
By Min Kyung Yoon
Daily Staff Reporter
Clapping and cheering rang through-
out the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater
yesterday as students and University
community members gathered to honor
fellow peers for their positive impact
on the University community.
The 24th Annual Michigan Leader-
ship Awards recognized outstanding
new members, student leaders and
organizations and programs and advi-
sors of the year for their dedication and
commitment to enhancing the Universi-
ty community. The Student Legacy and
the Tapestry awards, given for outstand-
ing student leadership, were also recog-
nized.
Provost Paul Courant opened the
awards ceremony by reflecting on the
importance of learning and gaining
knowledge over and beyond the
achievements in classrooms.
"The connection between the class-
room and the world ... is a seamless
connection." Courant said. He added
"The connection
between the
classroom and the
world ... is a seamless
connection."
- Paul Courant
University provost
become the shapers of identity and citi-
zenship.
The Society of Women Engineers,
one of five outstanding student organ-
izations recognized, is a non-profit
educational service organization dedi-
cated to promoting the need for
women engineers.
"We are deeply honored," said
Brooke Bunnell, Engineering sopho-
more and SWE co-chair of young inter-
est. "Our society has grown over the
years. It grows everyday."
"We not only have female mem-
bers, but also male members," said
Snow blankets the rooftops of buildings and sidewalks on South University Avenue
vAstArdalv after what most hnA etn hA thA last snnwfal of this Aan.
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