Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Opinion 4
Science 5
Sports 9
Sam Singer won't join
Teach for America
Global positioning
satellites and you
Coleman steps
up for Cagers
EMBERS OF BROKEN SOCIAL CENE PLAY AT iND 0IG..ATS, PAGE 8
One-hundredfifteen years of edi'orzilfreedom
www.michiganday.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 60 62006 The Michigan Daily
Grant
to help
retain
minorities
Four state colleges
receive $5-million grant to
up number of minorities
with technical degress
By Molly Bowen
For the Daily
DETROIT - The state of Michigan
is hoping to tap a resource that universi-
ties say has only been trickling into the
higher education pipeline - underrepre-
sented minorities.
Now four state universities, including
the University of Michigan, are trying to
change that.
Representatives from the universities
gathered at the University of Michigan's
Detroit Center yesterday morning to cel-
ebrate the state leg of a federal initiative
to boost the number of underrepresented
minorities graduating with degrees in
science, technology, engineering and
mathematics.
The federal initiative is known as
The Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority
Participation. The Michigan leg of this
campaign, also known as MI-LSAMP,
received $5 million in November from
the National Science Foundation. This
funding will be used to attract and
retain high school and college students
of hispanic, black and Native American
descent in the fields of science, math and
engineering.
"I really have had concerns for a num-
ber of years about the production in the
nation of scientists and engineers " Uni-
versity President Mary Sue Coleman said
in an interview with The Michigan Daily
at yesterday's event. "Particularly get-
ting more underrepresented minorities
in these fields. The nation needs this for
competitiveness."
The four Michigan schools partici-
pating in the program are Wayne State
University, Michigan State University,
Western Michigan University and the
University of Michigan. These institu-
tions aim to boost the number of under-
represented minorities graduating with
degrees in science, technology, engineer-
ing and math by 50 percent in the next
five years and by 100 percent after a
decade.
Chemical Engineering Prof. Levi
Thompson, who served as director of the
MI-LSAMP steering committee, said
the major thrust of the program is the
See GRANT, page 7
Why do
students
leave
'U'?
CAITLIN KLEIBOER/Daily
LSA junior Kellie Reid works at Gratzi, one of her two jobs, In order to pay for her education. She Is taking 14 credits this semester, while juggling the
weight of putting herself through college. She also works as a clerical assistant at the Center for Forensic Psychiatry.
Without parental help,
students pay for college
Little help offered to
students who finance their
own educations
By Christine Beamer
Daily Staff Reporter
When Kinesiology sophomore Randy
Wills decided to come to the University, he
knew paying the $20,000 price tag would
be his own responsibility.
. Even after receiving financial aid, Wills
has to work 20 hours a week, splitting his
time between two jobs to pay the $5,500
that his scholarships do not cover.
Wills, and others like him, compose
a small minority of University students
who are financially independent of their
parents.
Though their parents may not contribute
to paying their tuition, the Free Applica-
tion for Federal Student Aid treats stu-
"To earn the cost of attendance by working would
require a full-time job paying at least $10 per hour."
Pam Fowler
Financial Aid Director
dents like Wills as dependents, meaning
their parents' income affects their finan-
cial aid offer.
According to Financial Aid Director
Pam Fowler, a student must either be 24,
a graduate/professional student, an Armed
Forces veteran, a previous ward of the court
(someone who has been removed from the
custody of their parents), married or have
legal dependents in order to have indepen-
dent student status. If a student does not
meet one of these requirements, the stu-
dent is still considered a dependent.
The U.S. Department of Education's
guidelines regarding financial aid state
that parental refusal to contribute to a
student's education does not affect a stu-
dent's dependency status on the FAFSA.
Neither does a student's demonstration of
self-sufficiency.
Despite the obvious disjunction
between their legal and actual financial
status, Wills and other independent stu-
dents have to rely on their own income to
pay for their tuition.
See AID, page 7
For a variety of reasons, about
13 percent of students fail to
graduate within six years
By Kelly Fraser
Daily Staff Reporter
Like many incoming freshman, Amulya Upadhya
came to the University on the pre-med fast track, piling
her courseload with a barrage of prerequisites. After
three semesters, though, Upadhya could no longer sup-
press her desire to work in the fashion industry.
Upadhya opted to transfer to Patricia Stevens Col-
lege in St. Louis, a small private all-girls school with a
degree program in fashion. Upadhya's choice to switch
schools is not uncommon. Nationwide, as many as
one in four students will transfer during their college
careers.
The drop-out rate at the University - those stu-
dents that do not complete a degree within six years
of entering - has hovered between 12 and 13 percent
in recent years.
This figure is comparably low nationwide and
competitive with other large universities such as the
University of California at Berkley and University of
California at Los Angeles, said Lester Monts, senior
vice provost for academic affairs.
A nationwide 2003-04 survey by the College Board
- a nonprofit examination board that compiles statis-
tics on colleges - reported a 76.1 percent freshman-
to-sophomore retention rate, leaving 23.9 percent who
either transfer or drop out of the initial college they
attend, said College Board spokeswoman Caren Sco-
ropanos.
Scoropanos said that nationwide after six years only
57.5 percent of students complete a degree at the first
school the enter.
Monts said that while records do not indicate wheth-
er a student left the University for academic reasons or
following disciplinary action, other reasons for with-
drawal vary on a case-by-case basis.
"It is so tough to pinpoint anyone," Monts said,
adding that the largest factors may include a student's
financial situation, the intimidating size of the Univer-
sity or the student's choice of major.
If financial aid restricts a student's ability to attend,
the University makes every effort to offer grants and
loans to help the student cover their costs, Monts said
But especially in the case of out-of-state students,
the University often cannot meet a student's complete
need, he added.
Monts also said the University works to keep finan-
cial aid funds in pace with tuition increases.
Despite the University's efforts to retain students,
some said they still feel lost in the large campus set-
ting.
"The size of the University was probably the biggest
factor' said Jake Fromer, who recently transferred to
Tufts University in Boston after completing one year
at the University.
See DROP OUTS, page 7
Robbers strike
in two separate
muggings
Two unrelated armed robberies
occur within two hours of each
other on Catherine and South Forest
By Anne VanderMey
Daily Staff Reporter
Crime doesn't always pay in Ann Arbor.
The Ann Arbor Police Department reported
two armed robberies early Saturday morning,
both allegedly involving a gun. Neither thief
managed to take more than $200.
Police said the incidents were unrelated and have not
been linked with other recent crimes. The robberies,
which were only two hours apart, happened at about 3
and 5 a.m., one in a parking structure on Catherine Street
and Fourth Street, the other on the 700 block of South
Forest. Neither victim was a student.
On Catherine St. a young man was approached by an
unshaven white male wearing a black hat, blue jeans and
a black wool coat. The man asked the victim to come
with him, according to the victim's statement as recorded
by the AAPD. The victim refused, saying that the man
looked like he was under the influence of drugs. The sus-
pect then showed him what appeared to be the handle of
a gun in his waistband, telling the victim he should come
with him.
Study center caters
to student athletes
Access for athletes only, but
is expected to eventually be
opened to general students
By Lindsey Ungar
Daily Staff Reporter
It's a Starbucks, the UGLi and the Math
Lab all in one.
The new Stephen M. Ross Academic Cen-
ter is a one-stop shop for athletes to access
satellite offices of academic resources locat-
ed around campus such as group study rooms,
a 71-station computing lab, classrooms and
casual study areas that look more like cof-
feehouses than traditional libraries.
"I think it's pretty cutting edge," said Shari
Acho, associate athletic director for academ-
ic success. "It's so decentralized on campus.
They don't just have one building with all the
support units."
Using research from similar centers at
other schools, the academic center created
with the unique demands of student athletes
in mind, all the way down to the last detail.
"We actually used (football defensive
tackle) Gabe Watson's rear-end to size up
"We actually used (football
defensive tackle) Gabe
Watson's rear-end to
size up the chairs."
Shari Acho
Associate athletic director
"They've been asking for ESPN and I said
'no,' I won't let them," Acho said. "I keep
telling them that all we get is CNN."
The center's location on State Street next
to Yost Ice Arena in the heart of South Cam-
pus makes it a convenient spot to merge ath-
letics and academics.
"We used to have study tables in three
different buildings," Acho said. "We were
above the police station, in the undergradu-
ate library and in Mason Hall."
Acho described athletes' reactions when
they first entered the center: "They were like,
'Is this for us?' They couldn't believe it."
Work crews are still putting the final
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