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NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Monday, April 5, 2004 - 3A
In loving memo
Renovations to Rackham
revealed in ceremony
Student assaulted
while walking
across Diag
DPS reports from Friday indicate that
while four students were walking in the
Diag, a man assaulted one of them. After
'the assault, the man fled toward State and
William streets, where DPS units arrested
him. Huron Valley Ambulance arrived at
the scene, but the victim did not sustain
any injuries, nor was anything stolen
from the victim. The suspect was not
affiliated with the University.
Toilet destroyed
at Hill Auditorium
A caller reported to DPS yesterday
that someone damaged a toilet in one of
the Hill Auditorium bathrooms. The
suspect kicked over and broke marble
slabs separating toilets, one of which
fell onto a toilet. There is no value esti-
mate for the toilet and slabs.
Daughter steals
prescription drugs
from mother
University Hospital security report-
ed to DPS Saturday that a woman
stole prescription drugs from her
mother's purse at the Maternal and
Child Health Center. DPS could not
release information about the stolen
-drugs., Neither woman is affiliated
with the University, but the mother is
a hospital patient.
$3,500 charged
..on stolen cards
DPS reports from yesterday indicate
a caller reported leaving her credit card
at an ATM machine in the Michigan
Union. Later, her credit card company
notified her that $3,500 had been used
on the card.
Victim receives
harassing e-mails
A person reported to DPS yesterday
that they received several harassing e-
mails. The victim knew the person who
sent the messages, who is now consid-
ered a suspect in the incident.
Suspects steal
paintings from
Markley lobby
Staff of Mary Markley Residence
Hall reported to DPS Thursday that two
paintings were stolen from the hall's
south lobby area. DPS currently has no
suspects in the incident, but each paint-
ing is valued at about $250.
Driver arrested for
operating while
:intoxicated
A driver, unaffiliated with the Uni-
versity, was arrested by DPS for operat-
ing while intoxicated, a new term from
the state in which a person does not
have full capacity to operate a vehicle.
A prosecutor determines if the driver is
$ intoxicated based on a blood alcohol
content test, if the level is above .02. A
-first offense can result in three to nine
days in jail, and a judge can determine
other penalties, such as revoking a
license.
Snow remover
stolen from
unlocked shed
DPS reports from Friday indicate that
a snow blower was stolen from an
unlocked wooden shed on Thompson
Street. The caller who reported the inci-
dent did not list a value for the
machine.
Student reports
staffers possibly
flashing people
A student reported to DPS Saturday
that two staff members were collecting
cans from West Quad Residence Hall
and being very loud. The caller also
reported that the staff members alleged-
ly flashed other people in the area. The
suspects did not appear to be intoxicat-
ed, but DPS is still investigating the
incident.
Wallet with credit
By Kate Tomkie
For the Daily
Sunlight filtered through newly
draped windows and flooded the fresh-
ly painted rooms of the recently reno-
vated Horace H. Rackham School of
Graduate Studies, where students, fac-
ulty and staff celebrated the official
opening last week.
Rackham's roughly $28 million reno-
vation budget, of which $22 million
came from central administration fund-
ing, covered problems in the building's
technology and safety, infrastructure,
layout and interior design.
The project, an eight-year-long
task, began as a scrapbook of pic-
tures and ideas presented to former
University President James Duder-
stadt in 1996. Planning and construc-
tion began soon afterward, and the
renovations unofficially ended in
January of this year, though minor
touch-ups to the building continue.
According to those involved in the
project, the renovations were long over-
due. "We were at the point where the
graduate school couldn't function in
this space anymore. And it looked terri-
ble. You'd touch the draperies and they'd
disintegrate in your hands," Rackham,
Facilities Manager Tom Mull said.
The building underwent several
technological changes. In addition to a
new fire safety system - the first for
some parts of the building - most
study lounges, offices and conference
rooms received wireless Internet.
Rackham's interiors now sparkle and
shine with new light fixtures,
draperies, carpets and wall colorings.
Design coordinators based modifica-
tions on themes from existing architec-
tural features within the building. The
east and west study lounges, formerly
women's and men's lounges, were
repainted in color schemes designed to
appeal to either gender.
"It was easy to come up with the
designs - we just let the building
itself dictate that," Mull said.
Students were already back in Rack-
ham's study rooms during last week's
open house, and many said they liked
the changes. Rackham student James
Sallee said he's enjoyed the renovated
study spaces. "My program is housed
in Lorch (Hall), so I was basically
stuck studying in the (Shapiro Under-
graduate Library). I'm excited that we
have our own nice place to study now,"
Sallee said.
Rackham student Dan Rivas said
despite the extensive cost of the reno-
vation, he is glad to see the University
investing in the preservation of its
facilities. "(The University) is pre-
serving something historical, and to
let it decline would be a terrible loss,"
Rivas said.
The building's open house also
attracted large numbers of alumni, who
paced the halls of the nearly century-
old building. Gordon and Marilyn
Bigelow, both University alumni and
local residents, said they are pleased to
see proof of the University's ongoing
commitment to the preservation of its
older facilities.
"Many of the buildings that we
knew when we were students here
are gone now, so it's important to us
to see the University preserve the
ones we have left," said Marilyn
Bigelow, who attended the University
in the 1950s.
EUGENE ROBERTSON/Daily
The names of loved ones affected by cancer were written on rain-
soaked paper bags at the Relay for Life held on Palmer Field
Saturday night. The event ended early due to bad weather.
RANKINGS
Continued from Page IA
News and World Report's ranking is
lower because it focuses more on quanti-
tative statistics, such as grade point aver-
ages, than on recruiter rankings.
Ever since 2001, when the Medical
School was ranked 10th, it has steadily
advanced in its placement among grad-
uate schools. With its new rank, the
Medical School outranks institutions
such as Columbia (eighth), Stanford
(ninth), Yale (11th) and Cornell (12th)
universities.
Among the schools that placed
ahead of the University's Medical
School were Harvard University,
which finished first, John Hopkins
University and the University of Cali-
fornia at San Fransisco.
According to U.S. News and World
Report, each medical school's rank-
ing is determined by several factors.
Research activity, primary-care rate,
student selectivity (a combination of
the students' grade point averages
FEM FAIR
Continued from Page 1A
participated in Fem Fair and discussed
the organizations it supports.
Ninety percent of the $20,000 raised
from this year's Vagina Monologues
was donated to SAFEHouse, the
domestic abuse shelter for Washtenaw
County.
The other 10 percent of funds raised
went to Casa Amiga in Juarez, Mexico.
Juarez is an impoverished area where
many young women and children have
to take jobs to support their families.
Stewart said hundreds of women have
disappeared while walking to work
alone and have turned up murdered
days later.
and MCAT scores) and faculty
resources are all taken into consider-
ation when determining the overall
rank of a school.
Of the 4,767 applicants who applied
to the Medical School last year, only
170 first-year medical students were
selected. "It's really competitive," says
LSA senior Michael Lippicki, who
plans to attend a medical school.
"There are so many students who
would love to get the opportunity to go.
to a prestigious med school like U of
M. The only problem is that students
work their hardest throughout their col-
lege years, and come senior year, they
realize exactly how low the acceptance
rates really are," Lippicki said.
According to the Medical School's
website, the qualities that led to its high
ranking include the millions of dollars it
spends on research, expansion of its
facilities and faculty comprised by
experienced doctors, researchers and
specialists in their field.
Lichter says the school has a histo-
ry of success that will continue in the
Casa Amiga not only investigates
the disappearances of the women, but
also provides resources to families so
their relatives do not need to work in
unsafe environments. The international.
organization provides safe modes of
transportation for those women who
still have to work.
LSA senior Tamar Sanodze, who
spent her time at Fem Fair touring the
tables, said she was impressed by the
event's theme and the interest that
passing students took in it.
"It's awesome that people can come
out and do this to build a more respon-
sible future for women here and
around the world," Sanodze said.
She said she hopes the campus takes
advantage of the opportunities offered
"The tradition of excellence that Michigan is known for allows us to
attract outstanding faculty and students and make meaningful
contributions to the health and health care of the population. We are
gratified that our work is noticed and recognized:'
- Allen Lichter
Medical School Dean
future. "We have been a great med-
ical school for over 150 years. The
tradition of excellence that Michigan
is known for allows us to attract out-
standing faculty and students and
make meaningful contributions to
the health and health care of the pop-
ulation. We are gratified that our
work is noticed and recognized."
He added that he believes the school's
ranking will continue to improve in the
years ahead as it invests in new facilities
and as the University focuses even
greater attention on the life sciences.
Dan Remick, the associate dean for
admissions at the Medical School, said
he also hopes the school will continue to
increase in rank. "The Medical School is
trying to move into the top five, and at
this rate, we seem to be moving toward
the right direction."
Administrators at other University
graduate schools said they were
pleased with the rankings. When dis-
cussing the rate of success that the
Law School has acquired for example,
Lisa Mitchell-Yellin, communications
director and web architect at the Law
School, said, "We take a lot of pride in
that we are the number one public law
school in the country. The only schools
above us are private schools."
But Mitchell-Yellin said Law School
administrators do not focus too much
on rankings alone.
According to U.S. News and World
Report, the Business School outranks
schools like Duke University (11th)
and University of California at Los
Angeles (12th), and the University's
Law School outranks the University of
Pennsylvania (eighth) and Northwest-
ern University (11th). The University's
School of Education is ranked higher
than New York University (12th) and
the College Engineering outranks
Princeton University (16th) and Har-
vard University (19th).
by Fem Fair to learn about atrocities .EU STRIKE LEFT YOU WITH EXTRA
committed against women, both on a
global and local level. E TH DAILY.
Other groups at Fem Fair included
No More Mercury, Amnesty Interna- CALL 76344$9 oi 0R NF .
tional and Students Organizing for
Labor and Economic Equality. :.kx d. . MI... .
Corectons
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