Wednesday,January 18, 2006
SPATA 2 STONEWAL.L IER.T AST iAN-su . .SPRS i
Opinion 4
Science 5
Emily Beam doesn't
want a minivan
The science of
your sweet tooth
eA~l:i~jai~ai
Arts 8 Lackluster love story
"Tristan & Isolde"
fails to impress
One-hundredfifteen years of editorilfreedom
www.mi hkganday.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 56 ©2006 The Michigan Daily
Silver-medal
winner lived
life second
to none
FOREST CASEY/Daily
LSA junior Walker Hines, a former Tulane University student who decided to stay at the University of Michigan, outside of the Life Science Institute last night.
Tulane reopened yesterday after a semester spent rebuilding, but Hines will remain in Ann Arbor.
As Tulane reopens in New Orleans,
one student remains in Ann Arbor
Swimming is a sport domi-
nated by seconds.
Races are won and lost,
records are set and subsequently fall
and heroes are born based solely on
the ticking of a clock.
In such a black-and-white, cut-
and-dried world,
Eric Namesnik never
should've had a chance.
After all, he was
dwarfed by his tall,
lanky peers. And he
would've been the first
to admit he wasn't at the
top of the list in the tal-
ent department, either.'
So competing against
athletes who were far
bigger and more gifted,G
"Snik" wouldn't have EDE
raised an eyebrow if Hone
he had faded from the
scene as an anonymous
have-not when he graduated from the
University in 1993.
In a way, Snik was defined by
another kind of seconds. You see,
most people who never met him per-
sonally might point to his two Olym-
pic silver medals from 400-meter
individual medleys in 1992 and 1996
- the latter of which came after he
lost by a fraction of a second - as
his defining career achievements, a
testament to his status as the ultimate
runner-up.
But it would be grossly unfair
to judge Snik based on his lack of
an NCAA Championship or an
Olympic gold medal, because he
was the epitome of a winner in the
game of life.
I got to know Snik in the fall of
2003 when I started working at the
Daily. Aside from a few attempts at
women's golf stories, the first team
A
?St i
I covered was the men's swimming
and diving squad. It was Snik's
last year as an assistant coach at
Michigan.
As the season progressed, I found
myself talking to Snik more and
more. Part of the early silence had
to do with my inex-
perience as a sports
writer, and part of it
probably stemmed from
Snik's naturally quiet
demeanor. But as the
topics of conversation
gradually shifted from
strict swimming strat-
egy to more personal
areas, I began to realize
that Snik wasn't simply
BE a monomaniacal com-
SON petitor. He was a joker,
Gabe a friend, a father, a hus-
band, a teammate and a
trusted confidant.
We spoketabout then-coach Jon
Urbanchek's amazing stash of rings,
watches and other awards from
decades of swimming and coaching
"It looked like a pawn shop in
there," I'll never forget Snik tell-
ing me after shooting a glance into
Urbanchek's prize-filled office.
He reminisced about that final
race in Atlanta in 1996 - when he
finished behind fellow Wolverine
Tom Dolan - and his intense desire
to win gold for his family and his
coach, rather than for himself.
He even remembered what he was
thinking on the block before the final
heat began: Just leave nothing. Don't
leave anything to doubt on yourself.
So when Snik died a week ago
at age 35, a few days after suffering
serious injuries in a car accident, I
was devastated. I didn't know him
See EDELSON, page 7
One of the 65 students from
colleges in New Orleans who
spent last semester at 'U' stays
By Dave Mekelburg
For the Daily
After months of preparation, classes
resumed yesterday at Tulane University in
New Orleans.
According to Tulane officials, about 10,000
students, roughly 88 percent, have returned for
this semester.
Two other schools in the city, Dillard Uni-
versity and Xavier University of Louisiana,
also opened yesterday. All three universities
will share Tulane's facilities and classrooms.
Fanfare greeted the returning students.
"Good Morning America" was filming on
location and jazz legend Wynton Marsalis per-
formed on Monday night.
"Every student I've talked to is thrilled to be
back," said Tulane spokesman Mike Strecker.
Tulane senior Benjamin smith said most"
people have returned and the University is
almost back to normal, but he added that local
businesses haven't quite caught up.
"It's hard to find a grocery store," he said,
adding that campus buildings are in better
shape than they were before the hurricane.
For many, returning to school is the next
step in the rebuilding process for the city of
New Orleans and the Gulf Coast after Hurri-
cane Katrina.
At least one student, though, will not return.
Last semester, 65 students from -colleges
in New Orleans enrolled at the University of
Michigan.
One of those was LSA freshman Walker
Hines.
The University admitted the students under
Not-Candidate-for-Degree status. If they
decided they wanted to stay, they needed to
apply for a transfer.
Hines wanted to stay.
This meant applying for transfer only a few
See TULANE, page 7
Conservative
website attacks
Schwarz as liberal
University alum
will face GOP
challenger for his spot
in the House
By Justin Miller
Daily Staff Reporter
"Liberal" is a dirty word in the
Republican Party, and it is being
thrown at one of its own: Univer-
sity alumnus and U.S. Rep. Joe
Schwarz of Battle Creek.
The first-term congressman,
who chairs the University's
alumni association, has already
been attacked at a website cre-
ated by the Club for Growth,
joeschwarzisaliberal.com. The
club is a Washington, D.C.-based
conservative political advocacy
group that promotes fiscally con-
servative Republican candidates,
often in party primaries. .
The group has stirred up a
fight in Schwarz's district, which
borders Ann Arbor to the west.
It is backing former state repre-
sentative Tim Walberg to take
the Republican nomination from
Schwarz in this summer's prima-
ry elections.
David Keating, the club's exec-
utive director, said Schwarz is
part of a larger problem of fiscal
irresponsibility in the Republi-
can-controlled Congress.
"What we see in Washington
votes against the recent 1-per-
cent federal spending cut and an
amendment to divert $250 mil-
lion from the building of a bridge
in Alaska to use it for Hurricane
Katrina relief. Schwarz voted in
the majority on both issues.
Matt Marsden, Schwarz's
chief of staff, said the liberal
label is unfair because Schwarz
has voted with leading Repub-
licans like Roy Blunt (R-Mo.),
who is running for house major-
ity leader and House Speaker
Dennis Hastert (R-I1ll.).
"They certainly haven't looked
at the congressmen's first year
in Congress," Marsden said. "Is
Congressman Blunt a liberal, is
Speaker Hastert a liberal? If you
go through and look at his vote
record, except for (the Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge), the
congressman has stood with his
party," Marsden said.
Schwarz voted against drill-
ing for oil in the refuge last
November, keeping his cam-
paign promise.
Most congressional vote ratings
are still unavailable for the 2005
term, but the Club for Growth has
released a partial vote rating that
gives some indication of its view
of Schwarz, who voted fewer
times with the club than Blunt
and Hastert did.
The club is only concerned with
fiscal issues, not social issues,
where Schwarz holds moderate
Class
registration
reform?
Not yet
LSA student government's
efforts to make registration
process fairer is low on the list
of registrar's priorities
By Ekjyot Saini
Daily Staff Reporter
A storm is brewing at the University
about the class registration process and
the credit bracket system that goes along
with it.
The LSA Student Government has pro-
posed a plan that would reform the current
system the University uses to designate
registration appointments, but the Office
of the Registrar says it is reluctant to make
any drastic changes.
LSA-SG wants to revamp the current
system under which students are given
a registration appointment based on the
number of credits they have.
There are seven different groups stu-
dents fall into. The earliest registration
dates are given to the group of students
with more than 100 credits, and the later
appointments are given to students with
fewer credits, descending in increments of
15. Students are then randomly assigned
an appointment date and time within their
category.
LSA-SG has proposed a new system with
more registration groups - 17 instead of
PETER SCHOTTENFELS/Daily
Funk and Kool
Hip-hop legend plays The Blind Pig in Ann Arbor. For complete story, SEE ARTS, PAGE 8
Group fihsfor, stem cell research
'U' researcher says state
laws make it hard to do
some kinds of research
By Kingson Man
Daily Staff Reporter
In a maroon blazer, University alum
she steadied herself by grabbing hold of a
chair, all the while continuing conversa-
tions with attendees.
Russell explained that she had early-
onset Parkinson's disease, and that tonight
was about advocacy for stem cell research
to help people like her.
In response to news last fall that the
University had created the Center for Stem
harvesting cells from embryos that would
otherwise be destroyed.
Detractors of this research find ethical
and religious cause for putting it on hold.
But many say for patients with spinal
cord injuries, diabetes, Parkinson's disease
and a great number of other diseases, wait-
ing comes at too great a price.
In an address to a crowd of 60 at the
I
t