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NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 3
Students start up online auction sites
City officials, 'U'
profs to discuss
urban sprawl
The Michigan Student Assembly's
Environmental Issues Commission will
sponsor a panel on urban sprawl today
at 7:30 p.m. in the Michigan Union
Ballroom. The title of the discussion is
"Sprawled Out." The panelists will dis-
cuss the fight against urban sprawl
statewide and locally.
Panelists will include Mayor John
Hieftje, City Council member Jean
Carlberg, history Prof. Matt Lassiter,
law Prof. Rick Hills and Conan Smith,
land programs director of the Michigan
Environmental Council and chair of the
Cool Cities Task Force. Co-sponsors
include Students for Public Interest
Research Group in Michigan and the
Urban Issues Collaborative.
Forum will address
war on terrorism
Victor Bernson, legislative counsel
for U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald
Rumsfeld, and Special Operator
Michael McGann, who recently
returned from Afghanistan, will speak
today at 8 p.m. in the Michigan Room
of the Michigan League.
The event, sponsored by the Univer-
sity of Michigan Foundation for the
Defense of Democracies, is part of an
open forum on the war on terrorism.
Bernson and McGann will discuss the
U.S. strategy in fighting terrorism and
give first-hand perspectives on opera-
tions. A question-and-answer session
will follow the forum.
Physics department
to host Nobel
laureate speaker
Nobel Prize winner Robert Laughlin
will speak tomorrow at 4:15 p.m. in
room 1324 of East Hall. Presented by
the Department of Physics, the event is
part of the fourth annual Ford Motor
Co. Distinguished Lecture in Physics.
The title of Laughlin's speech is "The
Emergent Age."
Laughlin is the physics Nobel laure-
ate at Stanford University. He won the
Nobel Prize in 1998 for his discovery
of a new form of quantum fluid related
to the fluids that occur in superconduc-
tivity and in liquid helium.
Australian prof to
discuss 10 rules
of city sustainability
Murdoch University city policy Prof.
and Australian Peter Newman will
speak as part of the Third Annual Peter
M. Wege Lecture tomorrow at 4 p.m.
in the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater. The
title of the lecture is "Cities as Sustain-
able Ecosystems"
The lecture focuses on the United
Nations Environment Program's 10
principles of how to build more sus-
tainable cities. The principles are fur-
ther explained in Newman's recently
published book, which uses case stud-
ies from around the world.
Activist will lecture
on challenge of
animal rights
Author Tom Regan will lecture on
animal rights at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the
Michigan League Ballroom. Michigan
State University Prof. David Favre
from the Animal Legal and Historical
Center will introduce Regan. The
Michigan Animal Rights Society is
hosting the event. A book signing will
follow the lecture.
Regan is a professor emeritus of
philosophy at North Carolina State
University. His most recent book,
"Empty Cages: Facing the Challenge
of Animal Rights" has been nominat-
ed for a Pulitzer Prize and a National
Book Award.
Campus, state
groups celebrate
Earth Day
Fifteen campus and state groups will
speak about environmental problems
and their solutions tomorrow from 10
am. to 4 p.m. on the Diag as part of
National Earth Day and as part of Earth
Week at the University. The event will
include raffle drawings and food.
Conference to
examine history of
Armenian church
The Armenian Studies Program
will host a three-day international
conference on the history of the
By Victoria Edwards
Daily Staff Reporter
With the high price of books and the long lines
at conventional stores, students are being offered
more up-and-coming venues where they can buy
and sell not only books, but also football tickets
and sublets.
University alum Zach Price started the auction
website TheDiag.com this week, in response to
demand for a venue to advertise products for stu-
dents that were not being auctioned elsewhere.
The website functions similarly to eBay, and
students can post bids and purchase items ranging
from computers to furniture to CDs after register-
ing with the site.
"Ever since I came to U of M, I was amazed at
the high demand for sublets, football tickets,
parking spots and used textbooks," Price said.
Price got the idea to start a website to help stu-
dents with these things four years ago, but said he
never had the resources or time to really pursue it
- until now.
Price is not the only one who will be compet-
ing with conventional stores by offering products
to students online.
LSA junior Johnny Glase said his friend Scott
Palko, a University of Notre Dame alum, started a
website at Notre Dame that was very successful
and planned to bring a similar one to the University.
Glase said he took up Palko's offer, and the
website UMtoday.com, which was started in
December 2003, now has a couple hundred users.
One of the site's features is an online market-
place, where students can bid on furniture, books
and electronics. Glase said he is now actively
publicizing the website, which is 100 users short
of attracting advertising contracts.
Palko, who bought the company and then start-
ed it at the University, said although the company
has not made a profit at the University yet, he
expects lucrative results in the fall.
Although Glase said he and Palko are waiting
for more advertisers before offering a link to
MEBay.com - an auction-type service for Uni-
versity students - the mementos of student life
on the website are attracting users.
Students' response to the different online ven-
ues has been mixed. LSA sophomore Erin
Luyendyk said she doesn't use either site.
"I just never got into (buying online), I guess.
My brother shopped online but someone got
ahold of his credit-card number and bought
something," Luyendyk said.
Although there are risks involved in buying
online, engineering junior Steve Bammert said he
would participate in online auctions.
"Ever since I came to U of
M, Iwasamazedatthehigh
demand for sublets, football
tickets, parking spots and
used textbooks:'
- Zach Price
University alum
"I think students need a website like that. At the
end of the year, there are TVs and futons that stu-
dents need to get rid of, and there is not really a
place do that besides the classifieds,' Bammert said.
He added that he already frequents Glase's site
and is looking forward to auctions that will be
featured in it.
Pakistan: Al-Qaida intelligence chief killed
A Pakistani soldier
mans a position
alonga road near
Wana In South
Warzistan yesterday.
An al-Qaida
Intelligence chief
was killed in
Pakistan's massive
sweep through
western tribal areas
to root out members
of Osama bin
Laden's terror
network and the
Taliban, a military
official said.
WANA, Pakistan (AP) - An al-
Qaida intelligence chief was killed in
Pakistan's massive military sweep
through western tribal areas to root
out members of Osama bin Laden's
terror network and the Taliban, a mil-
itary official said yesterday.
Army spokesman Maj. Gen.
Shaukat Sultan identified the intelli-
gence chief only as Abdullah.
When pressed for details, includ-
ing Abdullah's full name and nation-
ality, Sultan said he had no more
information.
The military declared the opera-
tion in South Waziristan province
over on Sunda, and claimed it was a
success.
Some 167 suspects were arrested,
but hundreds of other militants are
still at large. Uzbek terrorist leader
Tahir Yuldash was reportedly wound-
ed in the assault but escaped.
Sultan said the army had con-
firmed Abdullah's death through
"independent intelligence sources"
but would not say if it had his body.
Abdullah is a common name in the
Islamic world, and it was impossible
to know which of the many al-Qaida
and other terror suspects Sultan
might be referring to. Sultan said
that 63 militants were killed in the
operation, and 167 arrested.
Security officials had said Uzbeks,
Chechens and Arabs were among
them. He said 46 troops were killed
and 26 injured.
Villagers have begun returning to
their homes after seeking shelter in
Wana and other villages during the
operation, when thousands of Pak-
istani forces battled hundreds of for-
eign and local militants.
AP PHOTO
STUDENTS
Continued from Page 1.
services.
RC senior Erik Glenn voiced SVA's
request that the University retain an
Education Affairs Coordinator in the
Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender Affairs on a permanent and
full-time basis. The LGBT Affairs office
recently announced the position will be
terminated at the beginning of the next
fiscal year. SVA also requested that gen-
der identity be added to the University's
nondiscrimination policy.
Coleman said a task force will be
issuing a report concerning the LGBT
office by early next month. She said she
must wait to hear from the committee
before she can give an accurate answer.
SVA supporters also expressed their
opposition to the proposed changes to
the Sexual Assault Prevention and
Awareness Center. The changes include
eliminating the campus-based crisis hot-
line and moving two counseling posi-
tions to Counseling and Psychological
Services.
Harper said she hopes a solution to
the SAPAC changes can be reached
through small group discussions. "We
need to talk about the framing of it and
get our facts on the table and then we
can talk about what's on the table, within
the next four weeks," Harper said.
"I'm open to having my mind
changed and to changing others' minds,"
she added.
Students also expressed concern
because of the 30 percent decrease in
underrepresented minorities for the
upcoming academic year.
The University, however, expects an
increase in minority admissions after
next year, said University Provost Paul
Courant, who also attended the meeting.
SVA demanded that the University
hire a Latino and a Middle Eastern coor-
dinator by September for the Office of
Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs.
Harper agreed to rehire a Latino coor-
dinator to replace the previous coordina-
tor who left last semester.
"The Latino position will be posted
within two weeks, and we're going to act
more aggressively to fill this position. It
has always been a permanent, full-time
position," Harper said.
Harper agreed that Middle Eastern
students need support, but she said the
University is still figuring out how to
provide those services.
Hate crimes are another serious issue
on campus, according to both SVA and
University administrators. Coleman said
she is very concerned about hate inci-
dents and assured students that the Safe-
ty and Security Committee is already
working to combat the problem.
Native American students were par-
ticularly upset about the costs of last
weekend's Ann Arbor Dances for Moth-
er Earth Pow Wow - an annual event
that celebrates Native American culture.
Harper, however, said the Division of
Student Affairs always pays the deficit
for the Pow Wow at the end of the fiscal
year, but this year it was unable to pro-
vide an adequate budget for the event.
SVA also expressed its concerns
about secret society Michigamua. The
society was criticized a few years ago
for using Native American rituals. Cole-
man, however, said it is her understand-
ing that the society has moved off
campus.
When addressing the students'
demands for improvements to the Trot-
ter House - the student multicultural
center - Coleman said she is looking
into raising money to renovate the house
but added that she is not sure if com-
plete renovations are feasible.
Finally, SVA wants to establish a Stu-
dent Oversight Committee that will have
veto power over the Division of Student
Affairs. In response, Coleman said, "We
are open to having another advisory
committee ... but that group will he
advisory. We don't have advisory groups
that have veto power."
NASA
Continued from Page 1
sustain human life on the moon
and to produce fuel cells for power
generation and rocket propulsion.
"If we commit to building bases
and doing all this infrastructure
without understanding the prob-
lems we're going to find, we're
unlikely to spend our money or
spend our resources effectively,"
England said.
Students also questioned
NASA's new plan. Raphael Ramos,
a graduate student at the College
of Engineeering and project man-
ager for an instrument that will fly
on the next space shuttle, said his
engineering experience made him
question the directive's feasibility.
"I'm a young engineer, but I
already know that it's difficult to
establish a space program like the
one President Bush proposed of
this time frame and follow through
on it," he said.
Diaz seemed cognizant of the
time crunch NASA faces in
achieving its new goals. "One of
the things we've just realized is
we'd better get started because
2008 is a lot closer than you'd
think," he said.
Still, Diaz said he is confident
that NASA is moving in the right
direction.
"This is the kind of plan that
any administration will support,"
he said. "I really believe that a
version of this plan will be sus-
tainable."
Corrections:
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