Tuesday, February 7, 2006 Opinion 4 Sam Singer won't vote for Hillary Arts 8 Huffman soars in Transamerica Sports 10 Matt Singer: Get ready for Turin ~7~'Tf _ 7IT rI: f- ~j-V~<- - r. i a ~Jt,: -,P'>T ,! GE rlrk Oane-hundredsifteen years of editorial freedom - - - ------------------ -- - - - --------------------------- 019981990MORMIM lRelpe. www. mckandaily. com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 70 62006 The Michigan Daily Tangled wires Absentee parents to factor into aid package Students with non- custodial parents may see University aid allotment shrink By Christine Beamer Daily Staff Reporter LSA senior Hannah Roberts has not had contact with her father in a decade. When she filed for finan- cial aid four years ago, she knew her mother would be solely responsible for paying her college tuition bill. But if Roberts were applying this non-custodial parent has, the higher the expected family contribution will be, decreasing the amount of finan- cial aid offered. The University is one of six public schools nationwide that will require this form for undergraduates, and the only public school in Michigan to use the profile. "We firmly believe that parents divorce one another but not their children. Therefore, an expectation of support (from a non-custodial par- ent) is reasonable," said Financial Aid Director Pam Fowler. However, some non-custodial par- ents are unwilling to provide support for their children. Roberts said the year, a new Uni- versity require- ment would count her non-custodial father toward the family's estimat- ed contribution, potentially driving her financial aid down. Starting in 2006, paying for col- lege will become the responsibility of both biological parents, regardless of the situation. The University is implementing a form called the CSS/Profile, put out by the College Board, to help uni- versities decide how to distribute their non-federal financial aid. "If one parent isn't going to be contributing anything, they shouldn't have to submit info. It could end up in someone not having financial aid." -Keenan Patterson Engineering sophomore required forms could create prob- lems for students in her situation. "My father makes a lot of money, but I don't see it, so reporting it would hinder my financial aid,' Roberts said. Roberts also added that it would be emotionally stressful for her, and other students in her situation, to contact their non- custodial parents. "It would be an incredibly emo- tional process that I don't want to deal SA lags behind in wireless coverage By Michael Kan Daily Staff Reporter Something's missing in most of LSA freshman Lauren Boumaroun's classrooms. That something - wire- less Internet - is preventing her from obtaining notes during lectures. "Many classrooms and lecture halls are limited in wireless access," Boumaroun said. "And sometimes it's nice to be able to access the Inter- net during class to get lecture notes and such." Like many students on cam- pus, Boumaroun carries a laptop equipped to receive wireless Inter- net access. From the Business and Law Schools to North Campus, the University has cov- ered the interiors of many of its buildings with wi-fi hotspots. The hot spots are less common in LSA buildings. Although wireless coverage is First in a three-part series about the University's wireless Internet coverage slowly expanding, budget cuts and the size of LSA's footprint on campus have hindered the school on its path to achieve complete wireless internet access over its buildings. How wireless are we? Both Intel and the Princeton Review conduct annual surveys to rate which colleges in the nation are the most wireless. On both surveys, the University is unranked. Despite the lack of complete cov- erage, University administrators hail the progress that has been made on the wireless front. They say the col- leges with the greatest need for the technology can access wireless Inter- net anywhere in their buildings. See WIRELESS, page 7 All entering freshmen will be required to fill out the form in addi- tion to the FAFSA. In addition to requiring the family unit, defined as the people the student lives with, to report their income, it includes a non- custodial parent section. This form requires non-custodial parents to report their income and assets. The non-custodial parent's assets and income are then factored into the University's decision on how to dis- tribute non-federal funds. The more assets and income a with right now," she said. Engineering sophomore Keenan Patterson also has a non-custodial parent who doesn't contribute to his tuition. "If one parent isn't going to be contributing anything, they shouldn't have to submit info," Patterson said. "It could end up in someone not hav- ing financial aid." The profile assesses the non-custo- dial parent for a contribution regard- less of the parent's involvement with the child. Requiring non-custodial parents to report their assets and income in See AID, page 7 Coleman takes on publishers over Google WHAT IS POP QUIz, ALEX? The wait is over: Int'l studies minor finally approved University President advocates digitizing University libraries to reluctant publishers By Gabe Nelson Daily Staff Reporter Using strong rhetoric, University President Mary Sue Coleman reaffirmed her support for the controversial Google Book Search project yesterday. And she did it in front of an audience that is hos- tile to the project - the American Asso- ciation of Publishers. Google aims to copy every volume in the University's libraries along with those of several other libraries, and make the texts searchable online. At the association's conference in For a complete transcript of Coleman's speech, see www.michigandaily.com. library marks a step forward for schol- arship because it embraces the modern technology preferred by today's genera- tion of college students, Coleman said. "Search engines have genuinely reshaped our world," Coleman said. "When students do research, they use the Internet for digitized library resources more than they use the library proper." Five of the AAP's member companies filed a copyright-infringement lawsuit against Google last fall. Coleman said despite the University's commitment to digitization, it will con- tinue buying books at the usual rate and its print libraries will retain their impor- tance. After two and a half years of work, LSA-SG succeeds in creating minor By Dylan Saunders Daily Staff Reporter Students looking to broaden their horizons will soon be able to minor in a new area: international studies. The University's Curriculum Committee approved the creation of the minor last week. The minor will be available to students begin- ning this fall. The University is the last school in the Big Ten to implement such a minor. "In the globalizing world like the one we live in, it's crucial that kind said. In order to complete the minor, students will need to obtain 18 to 21 credits. Students will be required to pick both a geographic emphasis and a thematic empha- sis. There will be several options for students looking to select a thematic emphasis. They include human rights; gender and sexual- ity; global health; race and ethnic- ity; and international conflict and security. "The thematic emphasis will be the lens through which students will focus their studies," LSA-SG Vice President Paige Butler said. The minor will operate out of the Center for International and Comparative Studies, which opened its doors last year and is part of the University's Interna- tional Institute. The International Institute is responsible for research I f