'Thursday, November 18, 2004 W.*aber Opinion 4A Joel Hoard tells liberals to stop whining Sports 14A Icers set for showdown with State c . e t Y taugti HI: #1 LOW: 42 One-hundred-fourteen years of editorialfreedom 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