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