NEWS
The Michigan Daily - Monday, October 24, 2005 - 3A
ON CAMPUS
University holds
Housing Fair
Students interested in finding housing
for next year can attend the Housing Fair
in the Michigan Union today from 1:00 to
5:30 p.m. This University-sponsored event
will have information for students about
both on- and off-campus housing options.
The event will take place on the second
floor of the Michigan Union in the ball-
room, and refreshments will be provided.
Students invited
to join Muslims
at Fast-a-thon
0 The Muslim Students' Association will
hold its annual Fast-a-thon on Wednesday.
Students are invited to "go hungry for
change" by fasting with Muslim students
for a day during Ramadan. For every stu-
dent that signs up to fast, local businesses
will donate money to hunger action orga-
nizations. Interested students can sign up
in the Michigan Union from 3 to 5 p.m.
today and tomorrow, and on the Diag from
noon to 3 p.m. tomorrow. Participants will
fast from dawn to dusk on Wednesday and
break fast with Muslim students at 6:30
p.m. at the Wedge Room in West Quad
Residence Hall. Dinner will be provided.
Ludacris tickets
still available
Students still interested in purchasing
tickets to the Ludacris concert at the Hill
Auditorium on Nov. 3 can purchase them
at the Michigan Union Ticket Office.
CRIME
NOTES
Student arrested
for dispute with
girlfriend
A female student reported a fight
between a boyfriend and a girlfriend in
Mark Markley Residence Hall on Satur-
day night around 7 p.m. She said she wit-
nessed the two students verbally arguing
and saw the male push the female. The
alleged witness also said the male suspect
became verbally abusive toward her. The
male was arrested and spent the night at
the county jail, according to the Depart-
ment of Public Safety. DPS said it would
be up to the county prosecutor's office to
issue a warrant.
Woman taken to
ER after spaghetti
r sauce assault
DPS reported a woman was taken
to the University Hospital Emergen-
cy Room after having hot spaghetti
sauce thrown at her. The victim said
the incident occurred in the city of
Inskter in Wayne County. She was
transported to the UMER from her
home in Ypsilanti. Inkster Private
Detectives is investigating the case.
Subject may
have broken nose
playing basketball
A caller notified DPS that a per-
son potentially broke their nose from
being hit with a basketball while
participating in a game on Saturday
around 4:45 p.m in the CCRB. Since
a report was not filed, the DPS shift
supervisor speculated the alleged
victim was a student and the injury
was an accident.
THIS DAY
In Daily History
Presidential
candidate aims for
student support
Oct. 24, 1984 - Democratic presi-
dential candidate Walter Mondale spoke
yesterday at the Diag in attempt to gain
support from University students and close
The little things matter on Gandhi day
By C.C. Song
Daily Staff Reporter
Despite only getting two hours of sleep, LSA junior Suman Chhabra
was energized for work on Saturday.
"I'm tired, but it's good," she said, as she cheered up other students at
Saturday's Gandhi Day of Service.
It is the third year that Chhabra, has participated in the annual com-
munity service event, which was founded by the Indian American Stu-
dent Association eight years ago to help students embrace the values of
Mahatma Gandhi.
Chhabra said she was thrilled when she learned on Saturday morn-
ing that she would volunteer at Gleaners, a food bank located in Detroit.
Although the work was exhausting and mainly involved stuffing boxes
with food to be sent to Hurricane Katrina victims, Chhabra said even
doing the small things matter.
"I've learned the importance of being selfless. Gandhi's day has
taught me that any active service strengthens the community," she said.
About a 150 students gathered for the start of the event in room 1800
of the Chemistry Building by singing Indian and American national
anthems. The students then departed and went their separate ways to the
community service sites they had chosen to volunteer at.
Rohit Setty, the keynote speaker at the event and a Rackham student,
aimed to inspire the volunteers, telling the students that Gandhi's vision
was not based on individuals receiving acknowledgement for their good
deeds, but rather to an individual's selfless contribution to the society.
He spoke on the values that Gandhi had - peace, compassion, service
and equality - and that these values are best embraced through build-
ing a community.
Since the Day of Service started at Michigan a few years ago, the col-
leges in 35 states have adopted the day and the South Asian American
Leaders of Tomorrow, an organization that organizes a national Gandhi
Day of Service every year.
Anjali Modi, an LSA sophomore and the service co-chair of IASA,
said that the goal of Gandhi Day of Service is to provide an opportunity
to volunteer for students who seldom have time for community service
and would like to contribute.
"A lot of students want to get involved in the community, but it's easier
for them to come out for just one day. And although one day may seem
short, they really get to help a lot," Modi said.
The day of service is an eye-opening experience for many students
who come from upper- or middle-class families, Modi added, because
many of these students never realized that a day of volunteering could
impact the community significantly.
Lizzie Neilson, an LSA senior and a service day volunteer at Glean-
ers, said she truly appreciated the Gandhi Day of Service for providing
an opportunity to help hurricane victims.
She added that despite living in the United States., many peo-
ple who wanted to help were unable to travel to New Orleans.
"Being at Gleaners meant a lot to me," she said.
Fred Anthony, the volunteer coordinator at Gleaners said that the
service day had made a difference and that he was willing to have the
students come back next year.
"I'll always welcome them to come back. The nice thing about col
lege students is that they catch up easily with what we do here. And they
also have an idea of why they are here. Gandhi's day proved to be a good
example," Anthony said.
B-SCHOOL
Continued from page 1A
comments, expressed concern that the Univer-
sity would be tearing down two relatively new
buildings; the University built Assembly Hall in
1972 and the Paton Accounting Center in 1976.
He added that although classrooms in Davidson
Hall, built in 1948, were substandard, most teach-
ing is done in other classrooms that are already
semi-circular.
Associate professor of Finance Lu Zheng said
she is satisfied with the classrooms she has been
teaching in. "I think (the rooms we use) vary a lot,
but I think (they) were functioning," Zheng said.
But Associate Dean of the Business School,
Graham Mercer, said that the new classrooms
are essential to the kind of interactive environ-
ment the school wants to provide. He said that
after a long period of consideration, Business
School administrators had come to the conclu-
sion that, not only were different classrooms nec-
essary, but simply renovating old buildings was
out of the question.
"(We had) a couple of little a-ha moments when
we realized we couldn't accommodate the class-
room sizes we needed without building some sort
of new building," Mercer said.
During the construction period, classes will be
held in underutilized space within Davidson Hall,
the Executive Education Building and classrooms
normally used by LSA students - all of which
would be technologically updated to accommo-
date Business School class requirements.
Faculty offices will be temporarily moved to
the either Wyley Hall or the Executive Education
Residence building, which usually houses visiting
students and professors, Dolan said that the Busi-
ness School has already made arrangements with
nearby hotels for these students and professors.
The remaining $70 million in construction
costs will be partially paid with a $30 million
long-term loan; the other $40 million will come
from alumni donations, none of which has yet
been raised.
The new building will significantly add to the
amount of space in Business School buildings,
giving the school the flexibility to hire 10 percent
more faculty members. Dolan said that the school
will also have the option to create new degree
programs and possibly enroll more students.
An important new part of the building will
be the "winter quad," a place associate dean
Mercer described as the "heart of and soul" of
the new Business School campus. Currently,
the school has an outdoor courtyard that stu-
dents can socialize and study in. But Dolan
said that in the winter months the area is largely
abandoned.
"We have a great courtyard, but the problem
with that is it's really great in July and August
when hardly anybody's here," Dolan said.
The new commons will be a three-story-high
atrium capable of seating 500 people. The design
is likely to include a cafe or restaurant. Dolan said
he hopes that it will bring a sense of unity to the
campus.
"If I said to you now, meet me at the Busi-
ness School, I would have no idea what you
meant," Dolan said. He said he hopes this new
room will become the standard meeting place
for students and faculty, contributing to a sense
of community on campus.
Anuj Kapoor, a junior in the Business School's
BBA program, said that he is satisfied with the
current Business School campus. He said that he
isn't convinced that the Business School needs the
renovations.
He added if the money went to other schools
at the University, it could be used in projects that
really need it, such as residence halls that are fall-
ing apart.
"Do we really need to make the Business
School better? Not really. ... It might give us a
jump from number three to number two (in the
ratings), but I doubt if it's going to make that much
of a difference in education."
The anonymous Business School professor
expressed a similar concern that the school's pre-
occupation with ratings may not benefit it.
"Maybe we'd all be better off if they stopped
playing the rankings game," he said.
TEACH-IN
Continued from page 1A
their opinions and discussing sensitive issues, said
Megan Biddinger, president of the Graduate Employees'
Organization. "We've achieved good campus climate
today," she said. "(It was) not just a lot of different peo-
ple in the room for the sake of having them there."
A positive campus climate means not only a more wel-
coming environment for minorities, but also improved
relations between University communities, including
undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff,
Biddinger said.
An environment that encourages respectful and open
communication would improve the quality of educa-
tion at the University by allowing students to ask harder
questions and explore ideas further, she added.
But creating a dialogue is only the first step for chang-
ing campus climate; students must actively fight stereo-
types and discrimination, said Sharon Lee, president of
Students of Color of Rackham.
Event organizers asked students to sign pledges com-
mitting themselves to at least three actions during the
academic year to curb discrimination and make the
campus climate more positive.
One of the most important actions students can take
is to speak up when they witness discrimination or hear
racial slurs, said SCOR member Melynda Price.
"When you see other people being discriminated
against, you need to speak it and recognize it for
what it is," she said. "Saying what happens, there's
a power in that."
The Office of Student Affairs has compiled a list of
University offices to which students can report incidents
of discrimination. The list will most likely be mailed out
to the entire student body this week, said Dean of Stu-
dents Sue Eklund, who attended Friday's event.
The OSA is also in the process of reevaluating its
existing services for minority groups and bringing
together students, officials from the Department of Pub-
lic Safety and staff to discuss the issue of ethnic stereo-
types in the context of crime prevention, Eklund said.
SCOR and the other groups will continue to work
together to determine the specific measures the Univer-
sity should take to continue to improve the campus cli-
mate, said Hugo Shi, SCOR's political action chair.
NAVY
Continued from page 1A
The old sea stories ranged in topic from Landis hav-
ing to "buy booze for the Officers Club", to old accounts
of duty, to the post wartime inflation of Japanese yen.
Current Navy ROTC members both from the Uni-
versity and Eastern Michigan University were also
present at the ceremony and most were in awe of the
tradition at hand.
"The military heritage of our navy is one of the things
you can gain," said LSA senior Midshipmen Jonathan
Zang, battalion commander of the Navy ROTC unit at
the University.
Other Navy ROTC members said it was exciting to
learn about the experiences of the V-12 members: "It
was a crazy time to be in the military, it was a crazy
time to be anywhere," said EMU junior, Sgt. Michael
Morrison. "We're so much about tradition," he added.
During the reception, the V-12 alums were presented
with certificates for their contributions, while the wives
of the V-12 alums were also honored with the pinning
of corsages, blue and yellow of course.
The commanding officers of the University's Navy
ROTC unit said they were just as excited to be hosting
the alumni, but for additional reasons.
Captain Michael Owens said that the alumni connect
very well with the student midshipmen, and spending
time with former servicemen gives the officers in train-
ing the opportunity to see what the military is really like.
Because of the benefit to ROTC students, the unit has
recently stepped up efforts to have alumni events.
Zelek, a key organizer for the event expressed that
the gratitude received from alumni is overwhelming.
The alumni enjoy coming back because when they do
"they have someone to share sea stories with ... they
have someone to reminisce (with)," he said.
The V-12 participants have come together every
five years since their 40th reunion, with numbers
shrinking at each meeting, according to Jim Thomp-
son, one of the V-12 alums. However, the future of
V-12 reunions was unclear to Landis. "(Will) we
have any more?" he asked, "Let's not wait five years.
Every year is precious."
SUPER PON2SI
EPIC MIL BE
INTER VIEHING
ON CAMPLS FOR:
PROOCT MANAGSMENT
PROBLEM SOLVR
SOFTWARE DEVELOPER
information Session
Tuesday, 10125108
1303: EECS
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Check out our web site at wwwapicsystems.com
for additional opportunities - all include great benefits
and a casual work environment.
I
STUDENT TRAVEL &, BEYOND
MM"
Hey, Freshmen,
Sophomores, and
Juniors...
.is yourj"-b .r,
simply not cut tin ?~