Monday, November 21, 2005
News 3A English prof wins prof
of the year award
Opinion 4A Chris Zbrozek: calling
a crisis a crisis
Sports 8B A look at other'
rivalries in
Michigan sports
HEw LARA/E PR&jE~CT" ENiGTENS STAGE .. ARTS, PAGE 8A
One-hundred-ifteen years ofeditorialfreedom
-- --------------- H WINNOW
www.michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXVI, No. 35
©2005 The Michigan Daily
Fire ravages apartment
Students living on second floor of
complex reportedly jumped out of
building to escape blazes
By Ashley Dinges
Daily Staff Reporter
Flames climbed out of a three-story student apartment
complex on South Campus early this morning as the Ann
Arbor Fire Department worked to put out the blaze.
Firefighters responded to a 12:52 a.m. call reporting the
fire at the 12-unit building and arrived at the scene within
minutes. They were still working to control and distinguish
the fire as of 1:42 a.m.
The building is located at 1611 South State St., on the cor-
ner of South State Street and Stimson Street, across from the
University's golf course. The complex, owned by Oppen-
heimer Properties, houses one- and two-bedroom units.
All residents of the burning apartment were able to escape.
Fire inspectors said the cause of the fire was unknown early
this morning as officers continued to monitor the scene.
Ann Arbor Police Department Sgt. Torn Hickey said the
fire started on the second floor and woke the resident of that
apartment and his visiting brother.
"We don't know anything," Hickey said.
Other residents on the third floor above the burning apart-
ment broke a window and jumped out. Officers were able to
catch a woman, but a man who tried to lower himself broke
a leg in the fall and was taken away via ambulance.
"People jumped out of the third floor. There was no fire
escape," said resident Sylvie Khajuria, a graduate student in
the School of Information.
Khajuria and her roommate, who live in the rear of the
building, left their apartment after another tenant screamed
to them.
"Some guy ran down the stairs yelling, 'This building is
on fire,"' she said, holding her roommate's cat across from
the burning building. "We live in the back. All we heard
was breaking glass."
"We were like, grab your coat and the cat," she said.
Khajuria said neither she nor her roommate heard a fire
alarm while she was watching television in her room.
"Nothing went off. I wasn't going to get out of bed,"
she said.
Some residents carried armfuls of belongings across the
street, including crates of textbooks.
While officers worked at the scene, tenants were escorted
to a University bus, parked in the Salvation Army parking
lot across the street. Department of Public Safety Sgt. Tim
Shannon spoke with residents aboard the bus.
Firefighters extinguish a fire in a three-story student
apartment complex located on 1611 South State St.
Greden: no seat for Rapundalo
Council member who
proposed joint MSA-
City Council committee
may not serve on it
By Jeremy Davidson
Daily Staff Reporter
When Stephen Rapundalo (D-
Ward 2) first proposed a joint
committee between the Michigan
Student Assembly and City Coun-
cil, his idea was to create a direct
channel between students and the
city government.
But it seems that Rapundalo's
hopes to open up to students in his
first term on Council may have to
find an outlet other than his pro-
posed committee.
The Council will vote tonight
whether or not to appoint Leigh
Greden (D-Ward 3) and Wendy
Woods (D-Ward 5) to the two
Council member spots on the com-
mittee.
"Stephen will have his hands full being
brand new on Council."
- John Hieftje
Mayor of Ann Arbor
The move comes as a surprise
because Greden and Ann Arbor
Mayor John Hieftje have suggested
that Rapundalo would be a likely
choice to serve on the committee
"Stephen will have his hands
full being brand new on Council,"
Mayor John Hieftje said.
Greden said that while he feels
See CITY, Page 7A
Ohio State 25, MICHIGAN 21
ALEX DZIADOSZ/ Daily
Stephen Hockenbarger, who traveled to Ann Arbor with his parents to
protest "The Laramie Project" on Saturday, stands in front of Michigan
League with other protesters.
'Project'
draws
protests from
religous group
By Neil Tambe
Daily Staff Reporter
. t
The drama spilled out of the
Mendelssohn Theatre and into Ann
Arbor when pastor Fred Phelps's
congregation arrived Saturday night
with the message "God Hates Fags"
to protest the University's produc-
tion of "The Laramie Project."
"The Laramie Project," a play
about the death of Matthew Sheph-
ard, a man killed because he was
gay, drew protests from about 15
members of the Westboro Bap-
tist Church - an ultra-conserva-
tive, independent religious group.
Wedged between the Michigan
League and North University Ave-
nue, the protesters arrived with
signs in hand at approximately 7:15,
displaying messages condemning
gays. Phelps himself was not pres-
ent at the protest.
The group often protests perfor-
mances of "The Laramie Project"
and other pro-gay events across the
Engineering junior Michael Elders-
veld speaks against members of the
Westboro Baptist Church.
nation because of their religious
views regarding homosexuality.
As soon as they arrived, the con-
gregation was met by 350 to 400
See LARAMIE, Page 7A
RYAN WEINER/ Daily
Michigan defenders Alan Branch (80) and Morgan Trent (14) miss Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith (10) during
the Wolverines' 21-25 loss on Saturday.
Once again, defense doesn't come through
Dep't name change
angers film students
of you fail four out of nine times, most people
wouldn't be lauding
you as an improved
line this year, the defense has failed and has
come up short most of the time. That's exactly
what doomed the Wolverines on Saturday, and
slip away. Unfortunately for everyone in the Big
House - especially the seniors watching their
last game as undergrads - the defense couldn't
By Jeffrey Bloomer1
Daily Film Editor
this year as part of its transition into
a department, along with several cur-
riculum changes and new requirements
for incomin~y concentrators.
i