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February 17, 2004 - Image 1

Resource type:
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Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 2004-02-17

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Tuesday, February 17, 2004
News 3 'U' heart center
among top nationwide
Opinion 4 The state's budget
proposal doesn't
make the cut
* Sports 8 Michigan hopes to
cut down on
turnovers

Military history revealed in 'The Fog of War' ... Arts, Page 5

it4Ufl

Weather
hI:32
LOW: 18
TOMORROW:
38/24

One-hundred-thirteen years ofeditorialfreedom
www.michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 98 ©2004 The Michigan Daily

ADMISSIONS
Applications
from abroad
on decline

By Melissa Benton
Daily Staff Reporter
Although more than 4,000 international
students are currently on campus, the Univer-
sity has seen a 12 percent decrease in interna-
tional student applications this year.
University administrators say the decrease is a
result of tightened U.S. security and challenges
with immigration paperwork since Sept. 11.
The University is losing international stu-
dents to England, France and other European
countries because there are fewer travel
restrictions than in the U.S., International
Center Director Rodolfo Altamirano said.
"The past couple of years, we have been
working double time and triple time to com-
pensate for the new regulations," hesaid.
MBA student Matthieu Garnier said he has
noticed that applications from students in
Europe to schools in the United States has
"dropped dramatically" from last year.
"I think it has something to do with the
economy, but also because it's harder to get a
visa and there's more paperwork," said Gar-
nier, who was born in France.
International students must be especially careful
when filling out their visa forms, Altamirano said.
"One wrong move could terminate or deac-
tivate their visa," he said.

Students must meet requirements and make
sure that their passports are valid, or they could
be deemed unlawful, Altamirano said. He said
while most international students are not deport-
ed, paperwork errors can complicate the process
of obtaining or renewing a visa.
In order to have a valid student visa, under-
graduates must take at least 12 credits at a
time, a graduate student must take eight cred-
its and a doctoral student must have at least
six credits. In addition, international students
are not allowed to work more than 20 hours
per week.
"For our international students, there are so
many hindrances to come to the U.S.,"
Altamirano said.
International students at the University said
they have noticed changes under new security
laws.
"Before 9-11, it used to be fine to travel
back and forth. But now just by looking at
our last name (immigration officials) check
us," LSA sophomore and India native
Aparnaa Bhatt said.
One of students' biggest fears is going
home and not being able to get back into the
United States. Because background checks
for a visa can take up to six months, interna-
tional students could miss the first semester
See VISAS, Page 7

PedsJanks coss Nrth University Avenue yesterday afternoon while the "Don't walk" sign flashes. Measures to Inform students on the dangers
of jaywalking continue.
Jaywalking causes greater
-concern since student deaths

Loss of reactor hurts

By Alison Go
Daily Staff Reporter

nuclear program

By Yasmin Elsayed
For the Daily

Only three months ago, Engineering
students Norhananim Zainol and Teh
Nanni Roshema Roslan were killed by a
driver in a pickup truck while crossing
Plymouth Road.
Despite the incident and the University's
efforts to prevent similar accidents in the
future, students and faculty alike continue
to jaywalk.
Although jaywalking is commonly
shrugged off as a minor fault and not
worth reporting, Ann Arbor Police Depart-
ment Lt. Mike Logghe said it has potential
danger.
"It might not be a serious issue now, but
it will be serious when someone gets hit
by a car," said Logghe.
According to Logghe, the reason indi-
viduals resort to crossing the street illegal-

ly is due to their fast-paced lifestyle.
"Most people think they're too busy to
wait, they don't think they have enough time
for anything anymore. People just have to
learn how to slow down," Logghe said.
Since the accident involving Zainol and
Roslan, members of the Malaysian Stu-
dents Association, Department of Public
Safety Director Bill Bess said there has
been discussion with the city police
regarding how to improve safety on Ply-
mouth Road.
Last week during a City Council meet-
ing, a preliminary report was issued that
showed that the University supports the
city's decisions regarding matters of safety
on Plymouth Road.
But students hold a variety of thoughts
regarding the seriousness of jaywalking.
Engineering junior Fatima Alkatheeri
said it's a good idea to wait the two or
three minutes for a traffic light to change.

"Most of the time I do follow traffic
lights for my own safety, as well as the
safety of others. I don't see a reason why I
wouldn't," said Alkatheeri.
But LSA freshman Pauline Clark admits
that she jaywalks very frequently.
"I'm not obnoxious about it. I don't get
in the way of the flow of traffic. The cross-
walks just aren't always the most conven-
ient or efficient paths," Clark said.
University Planner and Traffic Consul-
tant Susan Gott has held meetings with
University officials regarding the matter,
to -inform the community about the risks
of jaywalking and the necessary safety
measures to avoid an accident.
"We've had many meetings with the
School of Public Health and the Ronald
McDonald House to communicate the
information regarding jaywalking. Pedes-
trians must realize that there are large
See JAYWALKING, Page 7

In the year since it completed shutting down
the Ford Nuclear Reactor on North Campus due
to financial concerns, the University has been
unable to meet the needs of students affected by
the loss.
While students in programs ranging from
geological sciences to engineering used the
reactor, one of the programs most affected by
its decommissioning is the Nuclear Engineering
and Radio Sciences department.
"This is a real loss to the department," said
NERS Prof. John Lee, chair of the department.
"This was one of the three flagship nuclear
reactors around the country."
The NERS undergraduate and graduate pro-
grams were once the top-ranked programs in
the country, according to U.S. News and World
Report rankings. Now, the programs are ranked
fifth and tied for third, respectively, said Antho-
ny Francis, the University's associate vice presi-
dent for research.
"I am very sad and worried that it will take a
considerable effort and time to make up for our

"This was one of the three
flagship nuclear reactors
around the country.
- Prof. John Lee
Chair of Nuclear Engineering and Radio
Sciences department
lost ranking and to improve the program to the
quality that students expect," Lee said.
However, other University officials say that a
nuclear reactor is not necessary for a top-ranked
school in nuclear engineering. The University
of California-Berkeley, the third-ranked school
for undergraduate nuclear engineering this year,
has never had a nuclear reactor.
"What would be an interesting test is the
effect (the decommissioning) has in the upcom-
ing years," Francis said.
Students who are now in NERS said the Uni-
versity has done little to alleviate the inconven-
ience caused by the loss of the reactor.
See REACTOR, Page 7

Spread of stomach
flu outbreak slows

Writer: War on
Iraq unjustifiable

'U' cts back on extra
health care measures due to
decline in number of infectrons
By Faraa Amine
Daily S Reporter

Preventive measures taken in the last
two weeks to combat the spread of viral
gastroenteritis across campus are being
cut down because of a decline in "clus-
ters of students" contracting the dis-
ease, University Housing spokesman
Alan Levy said.
By the end of this week, University
officials plan to gradually phase out
strict practices put into effect at the onset
of the outbreak on Feb. 5, Levy said.
Viral gastroenteritis, which Universi-
ty health officials said was caused by
..r n o A nhrra

now that the situation appears to be
under control, administrators are
pulling back on some of the more strict
measures.
"Dining services is going to let go of
some of its precautionary practices,"
Levy said.
Students who live in Markley Hall
said they can now serve themselves
food in the dining hall and swipe their
own M-card - actions which had been
prevented earlier.
Engineering freshman Fahim Islam,
who lives on the fourth floor of Reeves
House in Markley, where the outbreak
first appeared, said students in his hall
have become more lax on the hygiene
guidelines posted on bathroom doors.
Islam said students are ready to
return things back to normal. "Most
students are just happy they don't have
to deal with it anymore" he said.
Dnoi + tnn -dn r sti;tin

By Michael Kan
Daily Staff Reporter
For the past few years, writer Tariq Ali
has made it his mission to expose what
he sees as the deceit of President Bush
and the true intentions of U.S. foreign
policy to design a new imperial order.
Disgusted with the U.S. occupation of
Iraq, Ali took the opportunity last night
to speak at the Michigan League, urging
the University community to oppose the
Bush administration, which he sees as a
group of lying politicians serving their
own interests.
Ali came to the University in hopes of
sparking the motivation for students to
overcome their own apathy about what
he called an unjust war in Iraq and about
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But he
said he also wanted to make clear the
faults of the Bush administration by
attacking the oresident's justification for

conducting the war," he said.
Aliexplained it has become evident in
the aftermath of the war that the reasons
for invading Iraq were based on lies. He
added that statements from former Trea-
sury Secretary Paul O'Neill indicate the
Bush administration had begun prepar-
ing for an invasion of Iraq since Bush
was elected.
All the administration needed was a
pretext to start a war, so they began
using blurred photos of an Iraqi factory
to spread the lie that it was creating
weapons of mass destruction, Ali said.
Ali said the lies justifying the war
were apparent to him even before the
war began, because he said he knew
America would never attack a country
that possesses nuclear weapons that
could be used against it. "If America did
attack, (Saddam) would have used it,"
Ali said.
Now Iraq is being looted by America,

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