NEWS The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 16, 2005 - 3 ON CAMPUS Talk to focus on transgender issues The Office of Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Affairs will hold a lec- ture on "Demystifying the Transgender Umbrella" in Room 3909 of the Michi- gan Union from 12:00-1:30 p.m today. Student-made documentary to premiere at Lloyd "Mural," a documentary film by LSA student Sultan Sharrief, will premiere at 5 p.m, tonight in the Hill seminar room of Alice Lloyd Resi- dence Hall. The film follows a group of Uni- versity students as they create and install a mural in Detroit. 'U' prof leads off 'Einsten's Legacy' lecture series In, the first installment of a five- part lecture series, "The Invisible Universe: Einstein's Legacy," Astron- omy Prof. Joel Bregman discusses "X-Raying Black Holes." The event will be held tonight from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. in room 1800 of the Chemistry Building. CRIME NOTES Drunken students set off fire alarm, then flee A caller reporter that three subjects pulled a fire alarm in the Hale Audito- rium of Assembly Hall and fled toward the South University Avenue area, the Department of Public Safety reported. Two of the subjects were taken into custody and cited for setting off the fire alarm, as well as receiving minor in possession citations. The other subject got away. Unarmed robbers accost student on Diag A subject reported an unarmed rob- bery in the area between the Diag and the Chemistry Building, according to DPS . The subject said the robbers demanded money from him, rummaged through his backpack and took his cell phone before fleeing on foot. Laptop stolen in undergrad library A caller reported that his laptop com- puter was stolen from a study table on the fourth floor of the Shapiro Under- graduate Library while he was in the bathroom, according to DPS reports. THIS DAY In Daily History Student emerges from four-year stay in local church attic Sept. 16, 1959 - Cheng Guan Lim, the former Engineering student who spent four years in the attic of a local church, will begin classes on Monday in the literary college. Lim, a transfer from Albion College in 1952, had seen his academic record slip and his funds run out by 1954. The pressure was too much. Before the fall semester he threw his identification into the Huron River and resorted to living in the rafters of the Head of 'U' hospitals retires after 8 years By Christina Hildreth Daily Staff Reporter When was the last time you had to solve a $13-million problem? For Larry Warren, retiring director and chief executive officer of the University Hos- pitals and Health Centers, it was July 1996. Just days after his appointment to head one of the nation's leading hospitals, he faced a $740- million budget with only $727 million in rev- enue. In just a few short months, Warren turned the budget around, posting a profit in 1997. Yesterday, after nine years of financial gains, Warren announced his retirement, citing fam- ily circumstances. "It is with mixed emotions that I move ahead with this decision. I have worked here a long time and am grateful to many who have helped me along the way," Warren said in a written statement. During his time at the helm, Warren tackled many fiscal issues facing UMHHC. In spite of Medicare cuts and rising drug costs, Warren maintained profit margins, closing the 2005 fiscal year with a 5.4-percent profit and $1.31 billion in revenue. In the midst of mass construction - includ- ing the Cardiovascular Center, scheduled to open in 2007; and the Rachel Upjohn Build- ing on the East Ann Arbor Medical Campus - Warren led an effort to streamline existing operations. Officials said this allowed the hos- pitals to better accommodate patients and cut redundancy, thereby limiting costs. While UMHHC officials said Warren's leadership will be missed, his retirement was not unexpected. "I know Larry has been considering this for some time, so I respect and understand his decision," Dr. Robert Kelch, the University's executive vice president for medical affairs, said in a statement. Kelch oversees the U-M Health System, which includes UMHHC, the Medical School and M-CARE, a University- owned insurance firm. UMHHC officials said they expect to name an interim director by next week, adding that several candidates are being considered. Meanwhile, Kelch and University President Mary Sue Coleman have begun looking for a professional search firm to assist in finding Warren's successor. "It will be a nationwide search, looking at both internal and external candidates," said Kelch. He added that the ideal candidate is one who has strong leadership skills and can "help us go further but not change direction." A history of blue Warren began his professional career at the University Hospitals in 1973, when he served as a personnel representative and compensa- tion analyst. He left the University in 1982 to work at Mercy Hospital of Detroit, returning in 1986 as associate hospital director. Named interim director in 1996, he was confirmed as permanent executive director in 1998. Yet Warren did not spend all his time bal- ancing books. His was involved significantly in the community, serving on the board of directors of the American Red Cross's Washt- enaw County chapter for the past two and a half years. "His greatest value to me was his accessibil- ity in terms of problem-solving and accessing resources," said Pamela Horiszny, executive director of the Washtenaw County chapter of the American Red Cross. "He has the expertise and the experience to be someone who can come in and immediately add value to a situation." FreshmTan. tur'nout at activists' initiation event disappoints By Laura Frank Daily Staff Reporter The passion was there, but the people weren't. Last night's MPowered event, intended to acquaint freshmen with progressive activist groups on campus and the wide variety of ways to become involved, was full of veteran student organizers eager to share their love of activism, but lacked an audience. MPowered organizer Libby Benton, chair of Col- lege Democrats, estimated that there were probably fewer than 10 freshmen in attendance. This year's MPowered involved five student groups currently involved in active campaigns for social change: Environmental Justice, Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality, Stu- dents Allied for Freedom and Equality, Student Coalition to Cut Contracts with Coca-Cola and College Democrats. The groups presented informal workshops to explain the issues they are working on and how new students can get involved. The event focused on student groups with active campaigns. "It's hard to get people excited about issues," Reddy said. "It's easier to get people excited about campaigns - things they can do right here, right now." The issues covered by the five groups varied widely - from forcing Coca-Cola to improve human rights practices to bringing fair-trade cof- fee to the dining halls and campaigning for Univer- sity divestment from companies supporting Israel's occupation of the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Israel no longer occupies the Gaza Strip. While the groups do not necessarily agree on individual issues, each is committed to involving students in its campaigns and activism in general, Benton said. Many students were not involved in activism in high school and, upon reaching college, find it dif- ficult to know where to begin, added LSA senior Deepti Reddy, an MPowered organizer. MPowered organizers hoped to make it easier for freshmen to become involved by providing infor- mation about many activism groups and issues at once and in an informal setting. "There are so many acronyms and so many dif- ferent groups, and that's intimidating," Reddy said. Rama Salhi, president of the pro-divestment group SAFE, said she believes interest in social activism on campus is stronger this year than in the past, but the disappointing turnout at MPowered showed that it is still difficult to mobilize new students. Marissa Falk, a LSA freshman who attended the event, said many of her classmates are "more wrapped up in other stuff" at the beginning of the school year and don't have the time to become involved in activism. MPowered will hold a second event later this semester, which organizers hope will be better pro- moted and attended, Reddy said. LSA freshman Renee O'Neill summed up the general mood of the event: "If there were a lot of people, it would have been really great." MIKE HULSEBUS/Daily Ilan Brandvain, LSA senior and member of the Environmental Justice group as well as the Coke Coalition, talks about fair-trade coffee during MPowered at the Michigan Union yesterday. WRITE FOR THE DAILY. 76-DAILY 'S Y 'S R g~ " 55 t /M ยง CD SALE FIDAY-SUNDAY * Weather Permitting CD's $2.99 + Up! Located at 332 S. State St. inside and downstairs Bivouac 734-663-7448 I schoolkids@ameritech.net We deliver' t l4am '" 7days a week .A