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www.mizikandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXV, No. 80
62006 The Michigan Daily
o
Long waits
plague
'U'
co unselng
E CAPS, the University's counseling
service, has been overbooked
since the beginning of term
By Ashlea Surles
Daily Staff Reporter
If you expect to need University psychological services in the
near future, make an appointment today.
Todd Sevig, director of Counseling and Psychological Ser-
vices, said the current wait for a student's first appointment is
three weeks, although the CAPS website estimates only a three
-to nine-day wait.
Many similar-sized universities have shorter wait periods.
The current wait at Michigan State University and Ohio State
University is two weeks, while the University of Minnesota-
Twin Cities does not have a wait for
its psychological services.
The University's version is busier
than most.
"We have been full since the day
before classes started," Sevig said.
CAPS, a free service for students,
staffs 34 counselors who are avail-
able for appointments.
This allows for about one counsel-
This is the third
story in a three-
part series on
the University's
student services.
or per 1,200 students, and more than meets the standard set for
university counseling centers by the International Association
of Counseling Services of one per 1,500 students.
MSU does not meet the national standard, with only one
counselor per 1,650 students.
Sevig said an increased number of students seeking counsel-
ing has been a national trend over the last few years, and that
"the interest and demand for the services has been greater than
the increase in resources."
But "the reality is that school goes very fast and if you lose
a few weeks to illness your whole semester is affected," said
Louise Douce, director of OSU's Counseling and Consultation
Services.
LSA sophomore Kim Ruelle said the University of Michi-
gan's system is flawed because students are often not seen for
weeks.
"A lot could happen in two weeks," Ruelle said.
Ruelle is secretary of Finding Voice, a 120-member student
group whose mission is to improve the campus environment for
students with mental illnesses.
LSA sophomore Greta Wengenroth said the option to be seen
immediately is extremely valuable for students.
She said she would have abandoned the hope of counseling
if she had not been able to see a counselor immediately upon
request.
CAPS has a counselor available for emergency walk-ins dur-
ing business hours, but to be seen immediately, a student must
either tell a staff member or check a box on a form indicating
that his situation is urgent.
The application form reads: "If you are in crisis do you need
to be seen today?" in bold letters.
Some say the language is a deterrent for students seeking
help. Students might be uncomfortable saying they are in "cri-
See CAPS, page 7
CAITLIN KLEIBOER/Daily
LSA junior Mutiyat Ade-Salu performs In "The Vagina Monologues" at the Power Center on Sunday.
Vagina Monologues
light u Power Center
Coleman
rejects
criticism
of waste
According to Detroit
Free Press article, state
universities squander funds
By Gabe Nelson
Daily Staff Reporter
Michigan's universities are making the most
of what they have, University President Mary Sue
Coleman says.
But according to an article of John Bebow of the
Detroit Free Press, evidence from state audits shows
otherwise.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Cole-
man criticized a story Bebow wrote last month,
accusing the writer of one-sided reporting. Bebow's
article with the headline "Big waste found at state
universities" analyzed audits performed by the state
on 11 Michigan universities since 1999.
Coleman said the article did not represent the
current situation of the state's universities, because
the audits were performed up to six years ago.
Since then, many of the problems have likely been
corrected, said Mike Boulus, executive director of
the Presidents Council of the State Universities of
Michigan.
Bebow said he used the newest possible reports to
inform the public.
"Selfishly, as a reporter, would I have liked to
have been able to quote performance audits of every
university every year? You betcha," Bebow said in
an e-mail interview. "Is that practical? Probably not.
Tuition-paying parents and students have a right to
know how their universities operate."
The state audits state-funded organizations
regularly to assure that they make the best use of
taxpayer dollars. The auditors assess the organiza-
tions' efficiency and make suggestions about how to
increase it.
"Audits are primarily self-help mechanisms,"
Boulus said. "You're going to have some negative
findings."
The University of Michigan has not been audited
since 1984.
University spokeswoman Julie Peterson said
Bebow's story didn't put the criticisms in context.
"It failed to make the major point that the audits
found the institutions to be effective and well-run,"
Peterson said.
All 11 audit reports called the universities "effec-
tive" or "generally effective."
"I think the, reporter wrote the story before he
read the audit reports," Coleman said
Bebow said he considers Coleman's statement a
"shoot the messenger" reaction, because he feels he
reported the news accurately.
"I read every page of the audit reports cited in
the Free Press story and re-read the most pertinent
sections numerous times while writing the story,"
Bebow said. "In all cases, auditors found significant
operational concerns."
Bebow cited concerns such as poor faculty per-
formance, insufficient documentation of sabbaticals
and small class sizes.
Auditors at the University of Michigan-Flint in
2002 found that 30 percent of classes had less than
14 students.
While some classes might be costly because of
their size, universities need to keep them small,
Coleman said.
"I find the angst about small classes ironic," Cole-
man said. "I'm always going to defend the music
class with one student in it, because you can't learn
violin, any other way."
Auditors from the 2005 Michigan State Univer-
See AUDITS, page 7
Production leaves casting
controversy behind, teaches women
to be comfortable with their bodies
By Caitlin Kleiboer
and Amanda Andrade
Daily Arts Writers
LSA sophomore Connie Chang stood on a dimly
lit stage Sunday night and defiantly proclaimed to
the packed Power Center audience, "My vagina's
angry!"
Angry or not, vaginas were feeling the love this
weekend at the annual celebration of V-Day - a
holiday created by playwright Eve Ensler in 1998 to
protest violence against women - which was topped
off by two performances of "The Vagina Mono-
logues," one at 2 p.m. and another at 7:30 p.m.
The monologues, a staple at the Power Cen-
ter every Valentine's Day weekend, are composed
of brief scenes all dealing with women speaking
proudly and candidly. Ensler based the influential
play on interviews she conducted with subjects rang-
ing from a six-year-old girl discussing the wardrobe
preferences of her vagina to a 72-year-old woman
disclosing her wet dreams about Burt Reynolds.
Plagued by controversy over the producers' deci-
sion to instate an "all-color" cast - one composed
entirely of women of color - the production none-
theless saw an enthusiastic turnout.
See MONOLOGUES, page 7
City to cut down most of its ash trees
Emerald ash borer has
infected 'Tree Town'; officials
say they have no choice
By Deepa Pendse
Daily Staff Reporter
The emerald ash borer is back, and this
time the city isn't taking any chances.
The ash borer is a species of beetle that
hails from Asia and survives off the ash tree.
Infestation not only kills the tree, but also
poses a threat to people living near ash trees,
because they become prone to toppling.
The city wants to remove nearly the entire
population of ash trees in Ann Arbor, about
10,500, all of which officials say pose a
threat to the public.
Ann Arbor voters rejected a proposal to
raise taxes to fund the removal last November.
The proposal would have garnered a $4.2-
million increase in tax revenue over two
years to remove the trees.
But the city has pressed on with the project.
City Council member Leigh Greden (D-
Ward 3) said the city now uses funds from
other sources such as parks and recreation
millage - money initially budgeted to
spend on the maintenance facility on Ells-
worth Road and the city's risk fund.
The project, which has already begun, is
scheduled to take three years.
The damage the beetle can do is devas-
tating because ash trees have no natural
defense systems against them, according to
.City Forester Kay Sicheneder.
The city is planning to cut down all ash
trees near populated areas. Efforts to cut
down only ash trees that have already been
infected proved fruitless.
"Now the city doesn't have the manpow-
er or budget to remove them selectively."
Sicheneder said.
She said it is extremely hard to find an ash
tree in Ann Arbor not infected with the bee-
tle. Even the healthy ash trees will eventually
See ASH TREES, page 7
PENNIES FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
Businessman sent alum to
'U'
Alum afforded tuition with unexpected. Unaware of its academic repu-
tation, he'd never even considered attend-
support from local benefactor ing the University. The visit was the first
who introduced him to school time Dalton had ever been in the state of
Michigan.
By Karl Stampfl "Why don't you apply here?" the busi-
Managing News Editor nessman asked.
So Dalton did, and was accepted. Still, he
University alum John Dalton almost had a merit scholarship to IU, and tuition at
never set foot on campus. the University of Michigan for out-of-state
By February of 1953 - his senior year students was steep for the son of two fac-
of high school - Dalton had tory workers in 1953 - $215
decided to go to a Big Ten rival, A L U M N I per semester.
Indiana University. That spring, the man called
It was the obvious choice. again, asking if he wanted to
He lived in Gas City, Ind., and travel to Ann Arbor to see a
tually becoming the president of a $200-
million bank, First Federal Savings, in
Marion, Ind.
"Whatever I've been able to achieve, this
man's had a great hand in," said Dalton,
now 71.
Just over 50 years later, Dalton still mar-
vels at his benefactor's generosity. And the,
man's motivation remains a mystery.
Dalton hardly knew the benefactor while
growing up. The man also had no ties to the
University of Michigan; he and his three
siblings had all gone to IU.
"I don't think he'd ever even seen the
school until he took me up there the first
time," Dalton.said.
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