Friday October 5, 2003 ©2003 The Michigan Daily Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 24 - U ~.. U.M ~ EU ~m U One-hundred-tA rteenyears ofeditorirafreedom 8ODY: Evening showers with winds from the South- west at 24 9 miles per hour. Tomorrow: 53138 www.michigandailycom Honors Program criticized for shortage of diversity Program looks to increase underrepresented minority participation By Aymw Jean Daily Staff Reporter At nine in the morning, about 500 freshman honors students listlessly assemble for Prof H.D. Cameron's lecture. On this morning, Great Books 191 seats one black person. The glaring lack of underrepresented minorities is no secret to students in the Honors Program, a division s MmrR1 of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Since the program is relatively small - enrolling about 2,000 students - most students and administrators have noticed the lack of blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans. "We are always looking to recruit more minorities. It's one of the things that we worry about a lot," said Donna Wessel Walker, assistant director of the Honors Program. In order to more effectively recruit minorities to the program, the program's administrators say that it is altering its admissions procedure. The current process relies on an appellate system, where students can request an additional review of their application. Many F students, however, are unaware of this option. The program will use the new undergraduate appli- cation to look at candidates more holistically, a deci- sion it hopes will increase minority enrollment. Under the former admissions criteria, students were virtually required to hold at least a 1400 on their SAT and about a 31 on their ACT. Administration officials said the standard was only loosely enforced, acting more as a guideline than a restrictive barrier. According to Wessel Walker, no stu- dent has ever needed these scores to gain admission. "You never had to, because we've always accepted students below those levels,"Wessel Walker said. See HONORS, Page 7 SHUBRA OHRI/Daily LSA freshman and honors student Yulanda Curtis sits in a Great Books lecture yesterday in the Modern Languages Building. Mistakes in state' budget calculations may affect 'U' funding By Andrew Kaplan Daily Staff Reporter Having just lifted off into the first week of fiscal year 2004, state officials are already spotting errors in the budget. Although the state has previously cut funds to match a $1.7 billion budget shortfall reckoned in the last business cycle, officials said Michigan may still come up $350 to $500 million short of projec- tions. In haste, the state treasurer and directors of the House and Senate Fiscal Agencies have agreed to meet Oct. 14 to determine the exact size of the losses. From there, the state may cut certain pro- grams and services - including higher education. State and University officials said they do not know if higher education will take funding cuts, but they added that a number of other programs will inevitably be affected by the deficits. "At this point we're just waiting to see just how bad the problem is," said Greg Bird, spokesman for the State Budget Office. "It became clear in our May projections that we had projected in the last three or four months of the fiscal year that the economy would begin to pick up, and that just did- n't seem to happen." To cope with $37 million in cuts to its own budg- et since the last fiscal year, the University has already begun "tightening the belt" on services, said Cynthia Wilbanks, University vice president for government relations. In addition to raising tuition 6.5 percent last July, the University has increased class sizes, limited course offerings, laid off faculty and reduced department budgets. Regardless of the state's resolution of the current budget situation, the University will continue to enact cost-reducing measures, Wilbanks said. "When you see the final decision reached by the individuals involved in the revenue conference, See BUDGET, Page 3 I 'WASTED AGAIN?' Students network and gather information from potential employers at Job Fair 2008 held In the Michigan Union Ballroom yesterday. An increase from last year, 75 companies recruited students at the fair this year. Amid ailing economy, students seek post-graduate opportunities at fair By Tomislav Ladika and Ryan Vicko Daily Staff Reporters Many students and recent graduates hope to secure a job with one of the 75 companies at Job Fair 2003 yesterday on the first three floors of the Michigan Union. But others who are more skeptical of the economy are finding creative ways of gaining experience as they attend grad- uate school. LSA senior Alison Haar, who is interest- ed in pursuing a career in social work, said she plans on going to graduate school. "I'm not anticipating getting a job," she said. "The field of social work is not that lucrative." Rather, she hopes to gain experi- ence by working as a volunteer. LSA senior Shyla Kinhal also plans on attending graduate school. Speaking of the job fair she said, "I was a little disappointed because it was more corporate-based ... I was looking more for not-for-profit organi- zations." Kinhal, who wanted to go to law school "It'shard to tell at this time, but (the job market is) looking optimistic." - Lynne Sebille-White University Career Center long before the economic downturn, said she wants to make herself more marketable to law schools and increase her personal experience through non-profit work. LSA senior James Haskins also said many of the types of companies he was looking for did not send recruiters to the fair. Haskins, a chemistry major, said few industrial or research companies sent recruiters to the fair. He said that Pfizer, which was present last year, did not come this year. "I'm hoping, but with the job fair there weren't a lot of companies for students who are scientists," he said. Haskins said due to stagnant job growth he is considering "pursuing multiple options at once" by also applying for gradu- ate school. Even though students like Kinhal and Haskins were disappointed with the vari- ety of recruiters, more companies signed up to partake in the fair this year, said Lynne Sebille-White, assistant director of recruitment services at the University's Career Center. "We are starting to see some of the banking and financial institutions return," she said. Among the organizations that are show- ing up for the first time are NASA, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and DaimlerChrysler AG's financial division, she said. Sebille-White said students are realistic, and are pursuing alternative options in addition to looking for work right out of college. "It's hard to tell at this time, but it's look- ing optimistic," she said. See JOB FAIR, Page 7 UM ALCOHOL & OTHER DRUGS PREVENTION PROGRAM University-sponsored advertisements designed to prevent women from abusing alcohol have instead evoked criticism from some students who find the images degrading toward women. Students find 'U' alcohol awareness ads offensive New service to speed up Comcast Internet By Sara Eber and Perry Teicher Daily Staff Reporters Potentially offensive placards placed on res- idence hall dining tables have spurred criti- cism among students who disagree with the University's methods to deter women from alcohol abuse. "Wasted again? It doesn't take a lot of brains or therapy to figure out why your love life sucks," read the placards stand- ing on residence hall dining tables. RC junior Ellen Kolasky and LSA sopho- more Pamela Baker said they found this state- ment and others to be "degrading," insinuating that drinking is only a problem for women, who bring the associated consequences upon themselves. "It was as if to say, 'Women are the only ones who cannot handle their alcohol,"' T- 1 -, , 7 . . .1. A , - rrrn t women really want in life is a meaningful relationship." Teri Russiello Michigan Student Assembly Women's Issues Committee chair said she was "shocked" by the placards and could not believe they were allowed in the residence halls. Russiello, an LSA junior and a resident advisor in East Quad Residence Hall, researched how such information is approved to be in the dining halls, and discovered that the placards were deemed appropriate by dining hall staff. Russiello said her main objection to the placards was that it did not display any men and the consequences they face from alcohol. "It was implying, rather directly, that only women get drunk, and we are the only ones puking on a Saturday night," she said. "The ad where the girl was passed out, asking 'Why can't I have a meaningful relationship?' - is that what you think we think about?" r.ia -a --n - -rnf a PCt-nkz By Adam Rosen Daily Staff' Reporter Comcast announced yesterday that it has doubled the speed of its cable Internet access, allowing for faster online access in 65 percent of southeastern Michigan, including Ann Arbor. According to a written statement by Comcast, this upgrade will increase users' download speed from 1.5 megabytes per second to 3.0 mbps. Comcast increased upload speed from 128 kilobytes per second to 256 kbps ear- lier this year. In terminology more understandable to students, "Comcast has shortened the download time for a 15-track CD from six minutes to three minutes," Comcast spokesman Mark Gilman said. Gilman said Comcast has been testing upgrades in three cities as a trial run to observe customer responses. "(The ,--nnc- a e n veruhelmingli pnsitive Comcast service upgrades Upload speed increased to 256 kilo- bytes per second. * Download speed increased to 3 megabytes per second. Current Comcast high-speed Internet subscribers can expect automatic upgrades to their service. undergone upgrades in their Comcast high-speed Internet service. Although students said they were pleased to hear about service upgrades to Comcast Internet, they also expressed dis- satisfaction with their current Comcast servi e. Gilman said the price of Comcast high- speed Internet would not go up as a result of the upgrade. "We think (upgrading) adds more value to the system we have now," he added. Comcast cable customers pay $42.95 per month for high-speed Internet access, while non-Comcast cable subscribers pay $60.95 per month. One of Comcast's competitors, SBC Yahoo! DSL, offers high-speed Internet service with a download speed of 1.5 mbps, and upload speed of 126 kbps for $29.95 per month, but service is not avail- able to the entire Ann Arbor area. There are no possible complications that Comcast foresees as a result of the upgrade, Gilman said. "We've already tested it and there have been no issues," he said. For current Comcast Internet sub- scribers, the service upgrade will occur automatically. For those interested in exnediting the mI I