Friday, September 23, 2005
News 3 Experts critique John
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www.michkgandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXV, No. 153 ®2005 The Michigan Daily
Fire destroys house
Trotter
House
reopens
More student groups will be
able to base their offices in the
renovated center
By Carissa Miller
Daily Staff Reporter
MR YKINAVY/For [th y ily
A fire destroyed a house on Arbor Street early yesterday morning. All seven students living in the house were able to get out, but one is currently being treated
at the University Hospital's Burn Trauma Center.
One student was critically
injured after jumping from a
second-story bedroom window
By Rachel Kruer
Daily Staff Reporter
Asleep in his basement room, Engineering
senior Scott Perrin did not smell or see the
smoke that was gradually engulfing his house.
Not until his roommates called his cell phone at
about 4 a.m. did Perrin wake up to realize the
life-threatening situation he was in.
Without thinking, Perrin grabbed his wallet,
put on his shorts and ran upstairs. He escaped
to safety through, a side door as the front porch
blazed.
Five of his seven roommates were waiting
outside - many half-dressed and shoeless -
watching the fire swell into their house.
The last of the roommates did not wake as
easily as Perrin - his roommates tried unsuc-
cessfully to wake him minutes earlier by first
pounding on the door and then kicking it
down.
About five minutes after everyone else
escaped, the 21-year-old senior jumped out his
second-story window.
He is currently being treated at the Burn
Trauma Center at the Hospital.
LSA senior Jon Pargament said his house-
mate's condition has stabilized, but he is still in
serious condition.
All of the housemates spent most of yesterday
at the hospital to follow up on his recovery.
Pargament said the fire alarm went off, but it
was not heard until everyone made it to safety
because the fire started outside.
The house, located on 730 Arbor St., did not
have a fire escape.
Landlord David DeYoung did not return
repeated calls from The Michigan Daily.
LSA senior and former Daily editor Andrew
Kaplan, who lived in the house, said many of
the cars nearby were severely damaged - three
of them belonging to his housemates.
"The bodies of the car melted along with
the headlights," said Kaplan, a former Daily
news editor. "One of the car's windows shat-
tered. Basically, anything plastic was singed
and melted."
Kaplan said all of his roommates were in
agreement that the fire started on the porch.
Assistant Fire Chief Chris Brenner confirmed
the residents' suspicion. Due to the excessive
charring on the porch, he said fire inspectors
See FIRE, Page 7
--NI7 3..1
fter shutting down last April for summer reno-
>ns, the William Monroe Trotter Multicultural
ter is set to reopen its doors this Saturday after
rgoing a facelift and preparing to accommodate
e students.
he renovations, which were prompted by
ands from the now-defunct student-interest
ip Student Voices in Action and the Michigan
lent Assembly in the spring of last year, focused
nproving the infrastructure and interior appear-
of the facility.
'he renovations are the result of students and
activism," said Patricia Aqui Pacania, director
ie Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs.
We tried to think of everything students might
1, and hopefully this is a step toward serving stu-
s better."
Ithough major structural renovations, such as
ibing, electrical wiring and the construction of
tional bathrooms were finished in early Septem-
Pacania said more time was needed to complete
>uilding's interior.
ther improvements include increased handicap
:ssibility, cappuccino bars, electronic equipment
-ades and new carpeting, paint and furniture.
i addition, as requested by the Trotter House
isory Council - composed of students, fac-
members and Trotter staff - the center is also
pped with Ethernet and wireless Internet capa-
ies.
2004, when students were rallying for improve-
ts to the multicultural center in response to
MESA budget cut, the University allocated
1,000 for the renovation project and an addi-
i $200,000 for immediate repairs.
rotter House, which is most often used for
ent group meetings, informal gatherings and
arsals, also hopes to provide a variety of new
:ational programming for the various multicul-
I communities.
[he staffs of MESA and Trotter House work
ther to develop student organizations and stu-
leaders," Pacania said.
We believe Trotter House is a facility that
bring together different members of the
imunity."
one such program is the Student Success Pro-
n, which aims to offer a holistic approach to help
ents develop life skills, Pacania said. The pro-
n provides academic and financial advice, health
reness and tips on time management.
ether programs in the planning stage focus on the
es of bias, racism, oppression and inclusion.
dward Burnett, facilities manager of Trotter
se, said he feels the University responded well
:udents' demands, which he feels were very rea-
ible considering the usage of the facility.
['ve been here 11 years, and there was a definite
I for renovations," Burnett said.
urnett added that he expects students to be
:ked at the drastic changes to the center.
am very pleased with the way (the renovations)
,ed out, and I can't wait to see the reactions of the
Tents," Burnett said. "I think they will be pleas-
. surprised."
i the future, Burnett hopes Trotter House will
ible to make further improvements, such as the
llation of elevators and an addition to give the
ding more space.
We want the center to be very student friendly,"
nett said.
SA senior and Korean Students Association
nber Mary Hong said she believes the renova-
s will increase the center's appeal to students
student groups.
(The center) seemed outdated compared to the
of campus," Hong said. "Hopefully the renova-
s will help people realize how nice the building
sally is."
Long added that she feels Trotter House is a good
ipus resource that is often underestimated.
See TROTTER, Page 7
U'hospital
In 1998, the University hired Strong, and
later gave him the permanent position of
chief financial officer at UMHHC in 2004.
Strong received his M.B.A. in health care
admin istration from ITniveritv of Pennsvl-
The remains of the student rental house on Thursday morn-
ing after the fire.
Cole man
condemns
MSA will pick liaison to city
e
a
urinating
incident
Faculty members and students
hope to fight discrimination
against Asians in following weeks
By Karl Stampfl
Daily Staff Reporter
Mobilized by last week's racially motivated
assault on two Asian students, the faculty of the
Asian-Pacific Islander American Studies program
have demanded that the administration take steps to
eliminate similar crimes on campus.
Led by American Culture Prof. Amy Stillman,
the faculty sent an open letter to top-level University
leadership calling on it to "honor its commitment to
valuing diversity, by taking a public stand against
racially motivated bias and attacks, and to marshall
Elected member will serve to
improve communication between
students and the City Council
By Anne VanderMey
Daily Staff Reporter
Michigan Student Assembly President Jesse Levine endured
the first defeat of his presidential term Wednesday night when
his proposal to create a liaison between MSA and City Council
was shot down by the assembly, but quickly recovered last night
by forging a compromise with an MSA committee.
Instead of creating a new committee to establish a relation-
ship with Council members, as Levine had originally proposed,
MSA's External Relations Committee, which traditionally han-
dles relations with other governments - and whose members
saw Levine's original proposal as an intrusion on their authority
- will elect a liaison by itself.
"It's almost exactly the same thing," said Tim Wiggins, vice
chair of ERC.
Wiggins said the ERC's decision will create a committee
nearly identical to the one Levine originally wanted. The
only difference is that ERC will be responsible for nominat-
ing and electing the committee chair independently from the
rest of MSA.
Levine said on Wednesday that he felt relations with City
Council was an important enough issue to warrant its own com-
mittee. But after the meeting, he said that he felt the ERC's solu-
tion was just as good. "(This is) very similar, and I think the
assembly is behind it implicitly," he added.
Mike Forster, chair of ERC, said the reason he didn't vote for
the original proposal was a lack of communication on Levine's
See LIAISON, Page 7
New interim CEO named for
By Marlem Qamruzzaman
For the Daily
nationwide search
to find a permanent
CEO may take six to
nine months.
"Thm e IIner'rta
"Doug has served the health system very well
in several roles as interim associate vice presi-
dent, interim chief financial officer and perma-
nent chief financial officer," Kelch said. "He's
well nrenare- tn srve ainterimC O."
University Hospitals and Health Centers
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