4 20C - The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition - Fall 2004 UNIVERSITY ADMISSIONS Continued from Page 2C of the relatively small pool of minority appli- cants. Small changes in numbers can create large changes in percentages, she said. Fur- thermore, the decrease in black student paid enrollments is more than 13 percent. The University also attributes these decreases to the transition year that admis- sions is going through and reassures that, like other schools who made changes, "typ- ically application numbers recover within a year or two," Peterson said. Peterson also emphasized that the num- bers for paid enrollment are not the same as those for student enrollment. Each year, there are a number of students who pay the deposit but later decide not to attend the University. These numbers are "close to final," and the official figures will not be available until after the third week of classes in the fall, Peterson added. The University credits the significant change in application and enrollment numbers to several factors, including the revised application process. As of May 16, the University received 21,261 appli- cations compared to the 25,918 received at the same time last year. In response to the Supreme Court's decision that LSA's admissions policies were unconstitutional, the University adjusted its application to include three additional essays and more personal information from the applicant. "People chose not to apply to Michigan because of the additional essays that we required," Spencer speculated. "For stu- dents that Michigan was not their first choice, they might not have elected to do the application." Other colleges, such as Ohio State Uni- versity, who also altered their admissions process, have seen decreases in applica- tions. In response to the Supreme Court's decision, OSU added four short essays to an application that previously required no writing. Total applications are down 15 percent from last year at OSU, said Mabel Freeman, OSU's assistant vice president for under- graduate admissions. Freeman also describes the incoming class as the "strongest academic pool of students ever." Additionally, OSU reports that applications from black students are down 28 percent and down 2 percent for Hispanic students. Peterson also attributes the decrease in applications to the national trend of individ- ual students applying to fewer colleges. Union adds wireless connections January 16, 2004 By Ashley Dinges Daily Staff Writer Students can expect to see wireless Internet access arriving in many new areas of campus by the end of this month, most notably the Michi- gan Union, the Michigan League and Pierpont Commons. The Union's wireless network came online shortly before winter break in December, but accessibility is not being publicized while Infor- mation Technology Central Services works out glitches in the system. "We brought it out without too much fanfare just to make sure all of the bugs were out of it," said John Brockett, director of technology for the Division of Student Affairs. The three buildings plan to advertise the new systems together once the other two locations are functioning properly. The League and Pier- pont Commons were expected to start running wireless connections this week, but work is still in progress. "It's a schedule of things getting set up. I believe all of the equipment, if not installed, is in the process of being installed. Hopefully, this month, we will have all three facilities up and running," Brockett said. Currently, the wireless networks on the ground and first floor of the Union are function- ing. On the ground floor, the only areas includ- ed in the network are the Tap Room and food court area. More areas are included on the first floor, such as the study lounge, art lounge, patio and terrace. Union Director Audrey Schwimmer said that ITCS has tested locations to make sure the system functions properly. "They've been working on the installation for probably over a year now and actually determin- ing the spread of the areas in which it would cover," Schwimmer said. There are currently no plans to add more wireless coverage areas in the Union, such as the offices on the third and fourth floors. "There is no plan to do internal office areas. The ground and first floors are areas we capital- ized on because there are so many more open areas for students that we thought would be advantageous for them to use," Schwimmer said. According to ITCS, it is more difficult to develop a wireless network in older buildings such as the Union because the building's archi- tecture cannot be modified. The process of converting areas of campus to offer wireless service depends on the individual buildings and is up to the discretion of different schools such as the College of Literature, Sci- ence and the Arts, said Andy Palms, director of Communication Systems for ITCS. "LSA is looking at doing most of their build- ings. I expect LSA to be doing a fair amount of wireless networking," Palms said. The main benefit of the new networks in the Union, League and Pierpont Commons is that all students can access the system. The School of Engineering and School of Education also have systems, but they are only available to stu- dents of those schools. "Certainly our board - the Michigan Union Board of Representatives - has been working with ITCS for a couple of years now, trying to partner to bring wireless to the Union, knowing and kind of having a good sense that this is something that students want," Palms said. 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