0 Tuesday, November 23, 2004 Weather Opinion 4 Steve Cotner on traveling in Europe Arts 8 U2 drops a 'Bomb,' but doesn't tarnish its legacy on new album lel~raI ~h: 52 kOW: 38 TOMORROW: 4pp/j[ One-hundredfourteen years ofeditorialfreedom www.m higanday.com Ann Arbor, Michigan n Vol. CXV, No. 39 @2004 The Michigan Daily Alum gives $44M to diabetes center By Abby Stassn Daily Staff Reporter Dee Brehm is no stranger to needles. For the past 55 years, the McLean, Va., resident has injected herself with insulin more than 100,000 times and pricked her finger with a personal blood monitor more than 60,000 times in an effort to control her Type I diabetes. Yesterday morning, she and her husband took a shot at ending the disease forever. Bill and Dee Brehm gave the University of Michigan Health System $44 million to accelerate the search for a cure to the disease that has plagued her since she Record donation to help researchers find a cure for juvenile-onset diabetes was 19 years old. The gift is thet largest ever received by UMHS, and it will be used to construct a new research facil- ity. The exact location has not been chosen, but it should be completed within three and a half years. Type 1 diabetes, or juvenile-onset diabetes, affects about 1.3 million people in the United States. The chronic illness occurs when cells in the pancreas stop functioning and no longer produce insulin, a hormone that regulates the level of sugar in a person's blood. It is less common than Type 2, which sets in later in life. In Type 2, a person's body still produces insulin but no longer uses it effectively. Both types have similar symptoms and complications, which include loss of eyesight and increased risk of car- diovascular disease. The Brehms chose to give their money to the University for personal and scientific reasons. "When I was diagnosed with diabetes, I was sent to the University Hospital and they cared for me for two weeks and started me on a program," Dee Brehm said. Bill Brehm is a University alum, former U.S. assistant secretary of defense and founder of an information technology firm. When the couple moved to San Diego, a Univer- sity doctor practicing in California guided Brehm through two successful pregnancies, an unusual accomplishment for a woman with Type 1 diabetes at that time. Since then, she has become one of 500 people afflicted with the disease in the United States and Canada to live into her 70s, and one of only 70 people to remain relatively complication-free, said Brehm. However, the donation goes beyond Brehm's personal experience. The couple also feels that the University is a good place for scientific research. "Michigan is very collaborative and very open to new ideas, and that's an important thing to bring in. We've had a wonderful exchange of ideas and meeting of the minds," Bill Brehm said. See DONATION, Page 3 Study: Job hunt will get easier By Donn M. Fresard Daily Staff Reporter This year's college graduates may have an easier time finding jobs than any graduates since the dot-com boom of the late 1990s. Overall hiring of new college graduates nationwide will increase by 20 percent this year, according to a survey released last week by Michigan State University's Col- legiate Employment Research Institute. And despite recent losses in automotive jobs, which are expected to continue over the next two years, Michigan's economy is set to reverse its four-year trend of net job losses this year, according to a new forecast by University economists. The economists, Joan Crary, George Fulton and Saul Hymans, predicted an overall increase of 132,100 jobs in the state through 2006, with 60 percent of those jobs in the service industry. The service industry includes profes- sional, business, leisure and hospitality services. The University's senior class this year is already seeing the benefits of increased hiring, said Lynne Seville-White, assistant director of recruiter services at the University Career Center. "We're definitely seeing more seniors with offers in hand by the end of first semester than we've seen in the last couple of years," Seville-White said. "We have seen more consulting firms on campus, more financial institutions and investment banks." Eun Ja Yu, associate director of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business's Office of Career Development, said students graduating with business degrees this year have seen more offers, more choices and higher starting sala- ries than graduates in recent years. "We're cautiously optimistic," Seville-White said. "Things seem to be going in a positive direction, but we're not at the levels that we were at in 1999, when there was some astronomical hiring because of dot-coms and some other reasons." The industries in Michigan that reported the great- est hiring increases include retail, professional services, management consulting, accounting and pharmaceuti- cal, according to the report. The automotive industry and other manufacturing sectors have failed to add jobs, said Phil Gardner, the author of the MSU report. See JOBS, Page 7 Bartender Dave Patera prepares Mitch's Place for the night before the bar on South University Avenue closes. Last al for Mitch's beore bar moves By Aymar Jean Daily Staff Reporter The bar will re-open in February at Tonight is David Fox's favorite night at Mitch's Place, mostly because of the live music.. Fox, an LSA senior, enjoys the bar on Wednesday nights as well, but starting tomor- row, he'll have to sip $1 pitchers elsewhere. Mitch's will close tomorrow and move to a larger venue on South University Avenue. The bar, currently located on South Uni- versity across from Village Corner, will be closed until early next year. The owner expects the store to re-open in February two doors down at 1313 S. University Ave., where the Korean restaurant Rich J.C. is currently located. "We've been at that site since 1991. So we're expanding to a larger facility," owner Mitch Savas said. The bar's owner had intended to keep its current location until February. But the lease ends in less than two weeks, and the build- ing's owner decided to advertise the sale of the property. Both the tenant and landlord agreed to keep the bar open until the end of the football season. "It's kind of ridiculous," said Chris Ramos, an employee at Mitch's. "They had hoped that they could at least get a few months out of it." While the situation may not be ideal, Savas said both he and the landlord agreed on this plan. The property is owned by First Martin Corp, founded by University Athletic Department Director Bill Martin. a larger venue "It was just a mutual agreement, no prob- lems at all," Savas said. The new location will span 5,000 square feet, including a basement, up from the current 4,000 square-foot-spot on the sec- ond floor of the a business complex on the corner of South University and South For- est avenues. The bar will be looking for a new con- cept, Savas said. He hopes it will resemble See BAR, Page 7 Residence hall association enjoys praise for leadership By Farayha Arrine Daily Staff Reporter More than 10,000 University students live in the 16 residence halls scattered throughout campus. The organization that serves as the voice of the residents recently won a regional award recog- nizing its work on behalf of students. The University's Residence Halls Association was awarded Large School of the Year at the 2004 Great Lakes Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls. Yesterday the associa- " tion held a reception to celebrate winning the award this month. The award indicates that the quality of the association's role as a representative for students living in the University's residence halls surpassed other schools in the Great Lakes regions. The board members said their biggest accomplishment has been working to increase transportation going from North Cam- pus to Central Campus. In the last year, they have succeeded in persuading the University to add a bus stop at Oxford House. "A third of our constituency lives on North Campus and we want to make sure they can get to Central Campus on time," RHA President Amy Keller said. The LSA senior was also the recipient of the Student of the Year Award for her leadership of the organization. Keller said the organization is still working to add more bus stops to North Campus. A related accomplishment was the association's involve- ment with the housing crunch this fall, when upperclassmen from Baits and Bursley residence halls were relocated to Fam- ily Housing apartments so that all freshmen could be placed in University housing. The association's other suggestions for making off-campus housing more appealing to upperclassmen and opening enough residence hall space for freshmen have yet to be acted on, but members of the University Board of Regents have expressed interest at looking into the possibilities. "We haven't made a lot of progress because it's still kind of new," said Tom Brenner the association's vice president of The Residence Hall Association serves as the voice of students living on campus. finance, referring to the association's recommendations on the housing crunch. "But we're still looking to help out (upperclass- men on North Campus) because it's pretty isolated." RHA Executive assistant and LSA senior Jeff Souva pointed to a number of efforts by the association that proved its com- See HOUSING, Page 7 Women's basketball impresses in debut at home by defeating Washington By Matt Singer Daily Sports Writer Opening its home schedule against a formidable, Washington squad, the youthful Michigan women's basketball team could have been intimidated. After digging themselves a 12-point hole late in the first half, the Wolverines could have panicked. When Michigan struggled to ice the game from the free throw line, it could have let the Huskies roar back. But on this day, poise was ter led all scorers with 22 points, shooting 7-for-10 from the field. Walker's physical play in the paint also earned her plenty of trips to the charity stripe, where she went 8-for-12, including two late free throws which sealed the game for the Wolverines. "Walker, we couldn't handle," Washington coach June Daugherty said. "We did not have an answer for her. I thought she did a good job establishing herself down there on the blocks." After Washington (2-1) jumped out to a 32-20 lead with less than 4:00 remaining in the first half, Walker responded. She scored the Wolverines' next into the lane and scored, cutting the Husky lead to 37-34. On Michigan's next possession, Helvey once again darted into the paint. She missed the shot, but grabbed her own rebound and found a wide-open Flippin, who drilled a three to tie the game at 37-37. "The first five minutes of the second half really set the tone for us," Burnett said. "The fans were loud enough and gave us enough momentum that, once we started rolling, we kept the momentum." Michigan's lead grew as high as 10 in the second half, but Washington stayed within striking distance throughout. With time winding down, the Huskies i -~ ~