LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Monday, November 24, 2003 - 5A U, marks ground- breaking of computer science building $40-million project to help further computer science department at College of Engineering By Andrew McCormack Daily Staff Reporter Construction of the 104,000 square-foot Computer Science and Engineering building officially began Friday with a groundbreaking ceremony at the site, located next to the Her- bert H. Dow Building. The $40-million price tag may raise some eyebrows with students whose tuition never seems to stop increasing, but David Munson, chair of the Electrical Engineering and Com- puter Science department, said the funds are coming entirely from private donors. "The state is not spending that money," Munson said. "We're very sensitive to the fact that -budgets are extremely tight. In fact, the budget in my department is extremely tight and it'll be tighter this next year." Munson added that alumni donate more often for long-term projects than to cover gen- eral operating costs. "Generally the alumni aren't going to give you money to support your continuing pro- gram ... but they do give us money for special things," he said One such alumnus, Kevin O'Connor, chairman of DoubleClick Inc., said he gave $5,000,000 to support the construction because the University has done a decent, but not exceptional job with its computer science program and needs the new facility to continue growing. He added that computer science is a contin- uously evolving field that, with the right sup- port, the University can be at the forefront of. "If you asked me today, '20 years from now, what's it going to look like?' I have no idea, but there are two things that I can tell you with certainty. One is that computers and machines will come to play an increas- ing role in our life, and the second one is that many of the innovations will come from the University of Michigan Computer Sci- ence Building," he said. O'Connor, who began DoubleClick in his basement, also said that he feels it is impor- tant for alumni to support their University's growth, and that he is personally grateful to the University for his own prosperity. "I've met with a lot of success in my life and a lot of it is because of the people I met here and what they taught me," he said. The facility, which is expected to be com- pleted in 2006, will feature a design that is intended to promote a sense of community for the College of Engineering. "The space generated between our building and the Dow Building will become a landmark exterior space," said David Dow, an architect with Diamond and Schmitt, the Toronto-based firm that designed the building. Munson said the new facility will feature a great deal of classroom space and labs for stu- dents, as well as support a new research proj- TONY DING/Daily Engineering Dean Steven Director speaks before the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Computer Science and Engineering Building to be located on North Campus. ect called Location-Aware Computing. The new technology uses sensors to identify the locations and identities of specific people in a given area. "It's not that anybody here wants to spy on students and faculty and know where they are, it's a research project to figure out how you could use this (technology)," he said. "Suppose you walk into a room and the room knows who you are, so it adjusts the lighting and temperature just the way you want it." Munson added that pains were taken to ensure that the building will use sunlight for much of its illumination. "It's going to be very light and very bright inside. There's a lot of glass, a lot of skylights and even a lot of interior walls that are made out of (translucent glass). There's going to be a lot of natural light throughout the building, and I think that in a long Michigan winter, it's going to feel very good." Bus gives students cultural experience By Mona Raf..q Daily StaffReporter Miniature and enormous drawings by Hendrick Goltzius and photographs by Ansel Adams were just some of the sights that greeted students who visited the Toledo Art Museum via the Culture Bus yesterday. The Culture Bus program began dur- ing the 2000-2001 academic year as part of a project sponsored by Arts at Michi- gan, which promotes student access to the arts. The project provides bus tours to museums, art and music festivals and other cultural attractions. The tours are open to students, facul- ty, staff and alumni. The bus tours have been popular among graduate students, international students and visiting fellows to the Uni- versity. But Nancy Lautenbach, coordinator of marketing and programs for Arts at Michigan, said the program is beneficial for undergraduate students too. "We want to promote the Culture Bus program to undergraduate students, because if you don't have a car or don't want to deal with traffic, these bus tours are a great way to enjoy art and culture opportunities in the area," Lautenbach said. While many of the trips are open to the general public, Lautenbach said some professors have incorporated a visit with the Culture Bus into their class curriculum. "We encourage faculty and (graduate student instructors) to take advantage of this as a way to incorporate outside arts experiences into in-classroom learning," she said. Lautenbach said as an added incen- tive, special discounts are offered to undergraduate students. Many of the trips have been offered at no charge to students, while others include fees that are less than $5. Yesterday's Culture Bus riders had the opportunity to see exhibits on modern American photography and drawings, prints and paintings by Goltzius. "Dating from 1900 through 2002, 135 prints have been selected, including some of the best-known icons of the modern era. ... This exhibition cele- brates over 100 years of photography," the Toledo Art Museum website states. The display includes artists such as Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, Sally Mann and William Klein. The Goltzius exhibit is the first exhib- it ever devoted to the Dutch master. It opened in the Rijikmuseum in Amster- dam and also.stopped in the Metropoli- tan Museum of Art in New York City before coming to the museum in Toledo. "This exhibition offers a wonderful opportunity to enjoy dazzling drawings from a few inches in size to over six feet,"according to the museum website. The visit to the Toledo Art Museum is the seventh trip sponsored by the Culture Bus program this semester. Previous trips have included visits to the Detroit Festival of the Arts, the Motown Histori- cal Museum in Detroit and the Matthaei Botanical Gardens. Students celebrate festival of lights with new, old traditions By Alison Go and Amy Kim Daily Staff Reporters "This was symbolic of coming into a new beginning." Excitement and colored lights greeted members of the Indian Stu- dents Association on Friday during a celebration of Diwali, which some members see as a new beginning. "Diwali is the biggest event in India. It's like Christmas here," said LSA sophomore Uday Ahuja. Diwali is celebrated in honor of the return of the exiled god Ram, one of the three most important gods in the Hindu religion. "Almost every Hindu person is a devotee of Ram," said Ashish Desh- pande, ISA core member and grad- uate engineering student. Diwali is often referred to as the festival of lights. According to Hindu legend, Ram was welcomed back from the wilderness with the illumination of the city. Nowadays, celebrants honor the god's home- coming by lighting oil lamps and fireworks in accordance with the rituals practiced in India. Preparations for the celebration began nearly six months prior to the event. Despite this foresight, ISA was forced to postpone its celebra- tion due to scheduling conflicts. Worldwide, the beginning of Diwali was actually observed on Oct. 25. - Ashish Deshpande Core member, Indian Students Association Nearly all regions of India com- memorate Diwali as a five-day fes- tival marked by family gatherings, the new year and extensive lighting around the household. "This was symbolic of coming into a new beginning," Deshpande said. Another beginning Diwali marks is the onset of the new fiscal year. A prayer called Pooja, directed at the goddess of wealth, ensures financial security in the upcoming year, said Bharti Bothra, an Engi- neering junior. "You praise (the goddess Laxmi) so you get wealth throughout the year," Bothra added. Although the event began with prayer, the social aspect eventually became more prominent than the spiritual. The program held by ISA was mostly cultural, Deshpande said. "There is only a small religious aspect to this event." Following the prayer was a skit depicting and satirizing the experi- ences of international students. "The skit showed humorous situ- ations in the daily life of an Indian student at the University," Desh- pande said. Afterward, a cultural dance show was performed, with a dozen dancers participating in the pro- gram. "(The performance) was a mod- ernized dance to current hit num- bers in India," Deshpande said. The participants all wore traditional Indian garb in honor of their cultur- al background. The night's festivities concluded with dinner provided by Madras Masala and a dance party for ISA members. Preceding Friday's events, ISA displayed an exhibit at Pierpont Commons. "We displayed things about and around Diwali. It was an informa- tional booth to build up to tonight's events," Deshpande said. ASHLEY HARPER/Daily The Indian Students Association celebrates Diwali with traditional Indian music and singing at the Michigan League on Friday. Emergency bill to prevent contaminated drinking water WASHINGTON (AP) - Hoping to rescue ener- gy legislation stalled in the Senate, Republicans were discussing elimination of a controversial pro- vision to give legal protection to the makers of MTBE, a gasoline additive found to contaminate drinking water, officials said. These sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Senate and House officials, as well as the Bush administration, have discussed the sug- gestion, but no decisions have been made. Another GOP source emphasized that House Republican leaders so far have refused to give in on the MTBE liability protection. This source expressed doubt that a solution can be reached over the next three days, meaning an energy bill proba- bly would have to be put off until next year. The energy bill, a top priority of President Bush, is stymied in the Senate. Supporters fell two votes short of the 60 needed to advance it to final passage last week. The proposal under discussion would remove the legal protection in the bill for makers of MBTE as well as ethanol, along the lines of a suggestion made on the Senate floor by Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota. Daschle, whose state would benefit from a vari- ety of ethanol-related provisions in the measure, supports the bill and voted to advance it to passage last week. After that vote, he said there "should be no doubt" that if the MTBE liability provisions were taken out, the energy bill would pass the Senate and be enacted into law. He proposed that "safe harbor language be eliminated for ethanol as well as MTBE." The MTBE provision originated in the House, where it has the strong support of Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas and Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.) who led the House energy bill negotiations. Most MTBE is produced in Texas and Louisiana. House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) yesterday blamed the gridlock over energy on lawyers who are flooding the courts with lawsuits against MTBE manufacturers. "The trial lawyers held the bill up," he said, appearing on "Fox News Sunday," arguing that the industry turned to MTBE because of "a federally mandated program to reduce (air) pollution" and should be protected. "They were forced to create the product," said Hastert. Critics of the additive have argued that the oil industry chose MTBE to meet federal air pollution requirements, although they knew as far back as the mid-1980s that the oxygenate would be difficult to control and clean up if it got into water supplies. Cleanup costs have been put as high as $29 billion, although the industry has said that number is exag- gerated. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said he was giving senators 48 hours to find a solution. "If we can't get it done by Tuesday, we won't see (the energy bill again) until Janu- ary," he said on CNN. While many senators complained the bill had too many favors for special interests, cost too much and failed to do enough to curb energy use, it was the MTBE issue that tipped sentiment against the legislation, which earli- er had breezed through the House. "A safe harbor for manufacturers of MTBE is unacceptable," said Sen. John Sununu (R- N.H.), whose state has filed a lawsuit against 22 oil and chemical companies seeking dam- ages from water contamination. House Republicans appeared to be digging in. DeLay accused Senate opponents of the energy bill of using MTBE "as a scapegoat to S g ng obstruct" the energy legislation. He said MTBE manufacturers be protected as part of a compromise expanding use of etha ol k .:g;::;:x :>}>"kt.:;.. y . ....;....x: .}' ~ corn-based ethanol, arival additive. "The MTBE and ethanol provisions are a true falH term on : Dec. Riders wilr compromise that will become law," said DeLay, visit the New Detroit Science .. who pushed to make the waiver retroactive to Sept. c.nt r to see the travelling 5 so a string of new lawsuits would be covered. xt. ran: The Wor1d nside Once viewed as important to reducing pollution Your Head." University psyohia- from automobiles, MTBE became an object of try e'w Lewisirain will speak scorn when it was found that it was difficult to con- at 2 pm. tain and clean up once it gets into drinking water. Traces of MTBE have been found in almost every : Th. bus wdl dpart at. nioon state and it has the potential of becoming a serious and arrive bac+ .n}AnRArbir %t. problem in at least 28 states, according to govern- abOu t 5 r The t .... ment and private studies. $4.50 and online reg.stratIon is "Cash-strapped local governments should availabe. not be forced to bear the cost" of MTBE cleanup and "it is unconscionable that MTBE 34) o 58formi c manufacturers should be shielded," said Don- (4:oturr buamich. d uii ald Borut, executive director of the National League of Cities. 800 feet of Gulf Beach Frontage " 2 Large Outdoor Swimming Pools Sailboat, Jet Ski & Parasail Rentals " Lazy River Ride & Water Slide Huge Beachfront Hot Tub . Volleyball . Suites up to 12 people World's Longest Keg Party " Live Band & DJ Wet T-Shirt, Hard Body & Venus Swimwear Contests . BOOK EARLY -' . . SAVE $$$ YOUR MOM U - ------------ ~ p IArfri aiiHEAT YOUR HOME I i