4 8A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 11, 2004 NEWS Senate agrees to scrap 11th grade MEAP for new test LANSING (AP) - Eleventh-graders would no longer take the MEAP test but instead be tested with a version of a college entrance exam under legislation approved yesterday by the state Senate. The bills don't specify a replacement test but two of three components of the proposed new test resemble the ACT and an ACT work skills exam. All 11th-graders would start taking the test in the 2006-07 school year. A sample group could begin taking it next school year. The Michigan Educational Assessment Program is the state's K-12 standardized testing system. The legislation doesn't affect elementary and middle school students who take the MEAP. The new test would include a college entrance exam that tests English, math, reading and science and a "wraparound" exam-with a work skills component and a social studies test. Students wouldn't pay for the test. The new test also would be used to deter- mine eligibility for the Michigan Merit Award. Supporters say the new test, called the Michigan Merit Exam, would better prepare students for college and the workplace. It also wouldn't take as much time to admin- ister. Another rationale is that students would take the new test more seriously because it would have a bearing on their college admis- sion or post-high school employment. "This change would give students and their parents a strong reason to take the test seriously," said Sen. Wayne Kuipers (R-Holland). "We want to use a standard- ized test that students can use to apply to college instead of one that is used only by the state." Replacing the MEAP test also is being considered by Lt. Gov. John Cherry's com- mission studying higher education and eco- nomic growth. The Cherry commission's report is expected next month. Kuipers has said it appears the Cherry commission will endorse switching from the MEAP. The Senate voted 35-1 to approve the leg- islation yesterday. Republican Sen. Laura Toy of Livonia voted no, citing complaints from school officials in her district who thought it would cost more to administer a new test. Democratic Sens. Dennis Olshove of War- ren and Buzz Thomas of Detroit were absent and didn't vote. The legislation next heads to the House. 4 First hydrogen fuel station constructed i WASHINGTON (AP) - About four miles east of the U.S. Capitol, in an industrial section of town, sits a gas station that looks like any other. But yesterday, it became the first in North America to have a hydrogen- dispensing pump. Shell executives, Energy Secretary Spencer Abra- ham and District of Columbia Mayor Anthony Williams unveiled the technology, which the Bush administration hopes will help reduce the country's dependence on for- eign oil. "This will be, in fact, the first step toward the real transition in the economy from the carbon-based economies of the past to a hydrogen economy of the future," Abraham said at the station in Northeast Washington. The pump services just six minivans that General Motors Corp. uses to demonstrate the technology to government officials. But with 80,000 vehicles pass- ing by every weekday, Shell officials hope it'll get a lot of attention - and, eventually, a lot of use. GM hopes to sell affordable hydrogen-powered vehicles by 2010, and Shell envisions building on the number of stations and having mass-market penetra- tion between 2015 and 2025. iWashington The minivans are equipped with fuel cell stacks that turn hydrogen into electricity to power the vehi- cle. The only emission is water vapor. Not everyone supports the refueling station. More than two dozen neighborhood residents with safety concerns protested the opening. Organizers said they don't want the station located 50 yards from an elemen- tary school. "We have issues of how they would bring a truck into the neighborhood to fuel up the hydrogen tank," said Rev. Heath Cheek. Others complained there was little notification about the station. "We probably went to the community later than we should have to talk to them about the project," admitted George Smalley, a Shell Hydrogen spokesman. Smalley said the chances of an explosion were "very, very remote." Hydrogen deliveries will happen at night or on weekends, separately from gas deliver- ies, Smalley said. The underground storage tank has 24-hour elec- tronic monitoring, and the pump requires a security code to use. Local firefighters have also been trained on how to handle incidents with hydrogen. Senate bill requires treatment for mentally ill 4 LANSING (AP) - Mentally ill peo- ple who have been hospitalized, jailed or have a violent history could be ordered to receive outpatient treatment if they refuse to comply with their prescribed treatment under legislation approved yesterday by the state Senate. The measures also would let a person designate a patient advocate to make men- tal-health-treatment decisions for him or her in the future - much like what already is done for physical health decisions. The Senate voted 36 to 0 to pass the 13-bill package. Democratic Sens. Dennis Olshove of Warren and Buzz Thomas of Detroit were absent and didn't vote. Part of the package is known as Kevin's Law, named for Kevin Heisinger, a Univer- sity graduate student who was killed by a mentally ill man in a Kalamazoo bus sta- tion in August 2000. The attacker was a diagnosed schizo- phrenic with a history of problems who didn't comply with mental health treatment. Sen. Tom George, a Republican from Texas Township in Kalamazoo County, said the legislation would provide an alternative to hospitalization for individuals with a severe mental illness but still give them the help they need. He said too many of the mentally ill end up homeless or incarcerated. The bill would protect the public, George said, by letting family members and others intervene to get mentally ill people treat- ment before they hurt themselves or others. It would allow any person at least 18 years old Supporters say the bill protects the public by letting family members and others intervene to get mentally ill people treatment before they hurt themselves or others. to file a petition saying that a person meets the criteria for assisted outpatient treatment. A community mental health program would be required to provide the treatment - picked up by the program or Medicaid. Mark Reinstein, president of the Men- tal Health Association in Michigan, said Kevin's Law essentially gives courts and mentally ill people more options. Instead of ordering someone to receive treatment in a hospital or other facility, a judge could choose outpatient treatment. Another part of the package involves patient advocates - those who work on behalf of patients receiving treatment. Reinstein said extending patient advo- cacy to the mental health field would fol- low a trend of giving patients more choice early on. "At some point in time when people are functioning well they think about what could happen if they become highly dysfunction- al," he said. "They could record their wishes now ... to prepare for the future." - ~.IA. V ~4J~1~ UWUW :: .: m