Tuesday February 21,2006 News 2 Holocaust denier sentenced to prison in Austria Opinion 4 From the Daily: Save the zoo ZNE FANS RATTLE ETWAY .. SPOR''S, PAGE 8 One-hundredfifteen years offeditorialfreedom Arts 5 Law students show off art - - ------ - -- - - - - ------- - ---- - - - - - --------------------- 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. I,- ,.':.:: Sit "'tilt ,.: ,+ ., t i '1t",t. 4' .,.... .a ..._ ,. 1m a ' n I ,.i . u . i.. a " .... +kah.'v.&iv _ _. ~ .' ... 4r d i iC .:..4 . t. }.;