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Sports 14A Icers set for
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wzmw.michandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan m Vol. CXV, No. 36 ©2004 The Michigan Daily
Greeks
elect
new
leaders
By Justin Miller
Daily Staff Reporter
The Interfraternity Council elected
10 new executive board members yes-
terday who will have plenty on their
agenda come Jan. 1 when they offi-
cially take power.
LSA junior Michael Caplan was
voted to be the new president of IFC 's
executive board last night.
"They are going to be dealing with
Greek life being in the spotlight and
forming a better relationship with the
administration," said LSA junior Jon
Anderson, IFC's outgoing vice presi-
dent of internal affairs.
The new leader will have to decide
on new social policy proposed by IFC
and its sorority counterpart, the Pan-
Hellenic Association, to limit the num-
ber of attendees at fraternity parties to
invited guests and require people to
bring their own alcohol. The new pol-
icy is aimed at relieving fraternities of
liability should someone be injured or
assaulted at one of their parties.
They will also deal with the reper-
cussions of hazing allegations made
against two sororities and five frater-
nities in October.
"The old policy was obviously not
working," Caplan said. "With every
new installation of (fraternity) presi-
dents, you want to make sure the social
policy is right because they are the
ones upholding it. After we vote on it,
we want to expand the social respon-
sibility committee and get someone
from every chapter on it."
Caplan said he would also like to
improve the Greeks' relationship with
the University administration. A peri-
od of tension culminated in last year's
proposed changes to the system by
*Vice President for Student Affairs E.
Royster Harper, which among other
things included delaying the rush
process. Many fraternity and soror-
ity members believed Harper did not
adequately solicit student input.
"I would like to put together a din-
ner where (the administration) could
sit with members of the Greek com-
munity," Caplan said, adding that he
would also reach out to faculty and
invite administrators to speak at IFC
and individual chapters.
Throughout the election, IFC mem-
bers and fraternity presidents said they
See IFC, Page 5A
TICKET TO MANHATTAN
follows
housing
trends
By Kristin Ostby
Daily Staff Reporter
To keep up with nationwide trends
and to attract students with modern
housing facilities, the University is
placing greater emphasis on building
suite-style residences with more space
and air-conditioning.
The proposed "North Quad" resi-
dence hall, to be constructed on the
current site of the Frieze Building,
will feature numerous suite-style resi-
dences. The new dorm symbolizes the
increasing number of upperclassmen
who want to live on campus but don't
want to feel like it's still freshman
year.
The building of suite-style rooms
- two larger rooms with a shared
bathroom - is part of the University's
Residential Life Initiatives. The proj-
ect proposes to renew and modernize
residence halls. Its biggest undertak-
ing so far is the announcement and
planning of the new residence hall to
replace the Frieze Building on East
Washington Street.
The University has not built or sub-
stantially renovated a residence hall in
more than 30 years, said Carole Henry,
director of University Housing.
Henry said changes are needed
because facilities are becoming out
of date and also because of student
demand. "Housing in many ways is
undergoing a renaissance nationally,"
she said. "We have to diversify our
housing options. We cannot simply
have traditional double rooms ... in a
corridor with larger community bath-
rooms."
"This is a trend around the country,
particularly for upper-class students,"
said University Housing spokesman
Alan Levy.
Henry said the decision to build
suite-style rooms is based on a number
of studies showing the trend toward
suite- and apartment-style residence
halls. Henry said the University has
also hired consultants to analyze focus
groups of students to find out what
they look for in a residence hall.
"The research data came out loud
and clear. As you look for why stu-
dents leave and move off campus, you
know they want to have more privacy,
more amenities, more space, more
flexibility," Henry said. She added
that students increasingly want to live
in campus housing when the option is
available.
LSA sophomore Andrew Admon, a
South Quad Residence Hall resident,
said he chose to live in the residence
halls for a second year because of the
convenience of on-campus housing.
"It's a lot easier to (look for off-cam-
pus housing) as a sophomore because
you're familiar with the area," he
added.
Henry said she would like to see
larger rooms and bathrooms, as well
as the addition of air conditioning,
which she expects will be installed in
the proposed residence hall.
Students said they welcome the idea
See HOUSING, Page 5A
RYAN WEINER/Daily
Michigan junior forward Courtney Sims rotates in the team's zone defense to prevent Colorado
freshman guard Richard Roby from driving to the basket in the Wolverines' 69-60 victory last night.,
Church's request to build auditorium denied
By Anne Joling
Daily Staff Reporter
Members of Ann Arbor's New Life Church,
which caters to University students, said they
were disheartened after their request to build an
auditorium for their expanding congregation was
denied by Ann Arbor's Planning Commission late
Tuesday night.
In 1992, New Life purchased the former Delta
Zeta sorority house located on Washtenaw Avenue
and Hill Street. They had hoped to build a 9,490
square foot auditorium on the site. The congregation
currently meets in the Modern Languages Building.
One reason the church's request was denied was
because the auditorium was too big to fit in with
the neighborhood, city officials said.
"I would have liked the proposal to have been
accepted. I'm disappointed," said RC junior Julia
Mallete, who attends New Life and was present at
the meeting.
The issue of granting the church permission to
build on its property has been before the commis-
sion for several months, each time receiving approv-
al from the planning commission staff, who make
recommendations to the commission. However, the
Planning Commission itself has consistently tabled
a decision on the proposal until this week.
New Life needed a grant of special exception
use, as well as a recomrpendation from the Com-
mission to the Ann Arbor City Council advis-
ing them to approve the church's request. Both
motions failed at Tuesday's meeting.
Approval of special exception use status is nec-
essary when building structures do not conform to
the normal building standards in a particular area.
Structures seeking special exception' use status
must meet a variety of different standards, which
are established by the city.
New Life's proposal was rejected by the Plan-
ning Commission in a vote of 5 to 3.
Representatives from neighborhood groups in
the areas surrounding the proposed building site
were also present at the meeting and voiced their
opposition to the plan. Neighbors said they appreci-
ated the outcome of the meeting, but regretted hav-
ing to interfere with the church's plans to expand.
"It's what the neighborhood was hoping for, but
this wasn't about the church outright, but about the
proposal for the site. No one ever wins on an issue
like this," said Susan Contratto, a former co-chair
See CHURCH, Page 5A
Transgender community speaks
out to increase visibility
By Leslie Rott
Daily Staff Reporter
The Transgender Day of Remembrance will be held
on campus this weekend, putting a human face to a group
that is often largely invisible.
"When people don't know what your gender is, you
become an it.... You are no longer human," said Andre
A. Wilson, graduate student in the College of Archi-
tecture and lead negotiator for the Graduate Employee
Organization.
Transgender is a loose umbrella term used to
describe people who do not fit into rigid gender stereo-
types, according to a brochure produced by the cam-
pus group Transforum.
Increased attention is being placed on transgender
issues, with the Graduate Employees' Organization
calling for the University to add transgender rights to
its non-discrimination policies. The University has
also commissioned a task force to examine the campus
climate for transgender students and faculty.
Opening Up, Speaking Out - Denise
Denise Brogan is a 49-year-old Law School student.
Born a man, Brogan began to seriously consider sur-
gery to change her sex 12 years ago. .
But Brogan's conflicts with her gender identity
began long before she made the decision or even con-
sidered a sex change operation.
"When I was a small child, I believed at first that I
was a girl. When I realized that I was not, I wished for
it with all my heart," she said.
As a teenager and into her adult years, Brogan was able
to repress her feeling about wanting to be a woman. Even-
tually, however, she said her desire to be a woman came
back and she sought psychological advice. "After several
years, I began again, unwittingly, to think about the feel-
ings I had as a child. I began again to 'cross-dress' on an
episodic basis. I began to realize that I was simply happier
as a woman than I was as a man," Brogan said.
At age 38, Brogan began her transition from male
to female. Although she is very open about her trans-
sexual identity, she says she is aware of the issues that
both explicitly and implicitly affect the transgender
community.
She said she was fired from three jobs because of
her transgender identity, but had no legal recourse in
order to fight back.
"When people don't know
what your gender is, you
become an it.... You
are no longer human."
- Andre A. Wilson
Rackham student
When she got another job with a new company and
was accepted with open arms, she said she knew that
she would have to speak out about her experiences.
She said she decided the best way to do this was to
become a lawyer and help defend those like her, who
- she said do not have anyone else to fight for them.
"Coming here was the first time where no one knew
my history," she said, speaking of her experience as a
Law School student.
Before her surgery, Brogan was married and had
See TRANSGENDER, Page 8A
CRISTINA FOTIEO/Daily
Andr6 Wilson struggled with gender identity for years before embracing
transgenderism and undergoing hormone therapy to become a man.
'U' helps Detroit schools incorporate technology into classes
By Carlssa Miller
Daily Staff Reporter
The learning environments and academic per-
"We work on a number of different fronts that
influence school systems," said Education Prof.
Joseph Krajcik, who participated in the project.
He added that the project provides profession-
edge through working with the program," Peek-
Brown said, adding that the program stresses
inquiry-based teaching methods centered on
students.
science concepts such as motion, ecology and
astronomy in a real-life context by asking a
driving question and conducting various experi-
ments. One lesson involved the driving question
make a project like LeTUS succeed.
"Difficulties and challenges always exist when
trying to bring about large-scale change. It takes
a constant effort on all parties and it is a never-
- I