0 0 NORTH CAMPUS Continued from page 9B Monorail, Monorail here are always new ideas spring- ing up as to how to avoid the iso- lation that North Campus can exude. In 1998, Kelbaugh and Bob Beckley, his predecessor as dean, co-taught a studio to explore pos- sibilities for constructing, of all things, a monorail connecting Central Campus or the Medical Campus to North. At first, con- sidering that the development of Central Campus is all but completed and well-established roads have been around for years, the mere idea seems ludicrous. However, Kelbaugh, pointing at vari- ous spots on the maps in his office, showed me several options. Track could be installed along Fuller Road - the only major thoroughfare to North Campus - or along Huron by the railroad tracks, or even cut into Nichols Arboretum. The beauty of Kelbaugh and Beckley's idea, even though it has never gotten past the discussion stage, was that the monorail could go above ground, at the grade (on the ground) or below grade (under- ground). At the time, the consensus was that it was ._ - - but the monorail would allow for a smaller fleet. Kelbaugh estimates that it would take about two miles of track to build the system he envisioned and he sees potential for future construction. "Over time, as congestion becomes worse, .;' ' R Over time, as congestion becomes worse, a monorail would become cost-effective. - Doug Kelbaugh Dean of Architecture and Urban Planning importance of a parking structure. One of the main reasons for this is because the Walgreen Drama Center, despite its great location, elimi- nated about half the parking spots near Pierpont Commons. Currently, there are only about 125 parking spaces for the Walgreen Drama Center, but plans are already in the works to expand on that lot when the center opens and to build a new parking structure near the new Computer Science and Engineering Building by 2009. Whether the addition is a restaurant near the campus - an establishment such as TGI Friday's, for example - a dorm or even, as Fletcher sug- gests, a shuttle that travels around North Campus and hits the hot spots - North Campus is still con- tinuing its evolution. There's more to it than the Maya Lin-designed wave field and the impressive, state-of-the art Duderstadt Center. Between one- fourth and one-third of the University community live and work on North Campus. It won't be the most exciting place on campus, but for those who venture up Fuller Road to 800 acres there will be something to do. Perhaps Swanigan said it best: "North Campus is growing." premature to have a monorail at the University and there wasn't enough density to support the high cost. Buses would still be widely used - because of the flexibility in their routes, according to Kelbaugh a monorail would become cost-effective," he said. What's next for North Campus? Many ideas are being tossed around. Kelbaugh stresses the PONT 0OUNT lERINT The stars and beyond The G.I Joes and Ninja Turtles debate the validity of outer space By: The Real American Heroes By: Heroes In A Half Shell Once again, our reptilian, communist friends are trying to discredit another one of the United States's greatest accomplishments: outer space. We all know that America dis- covered the final frontier. They're jealous that they didn't get to outer space first to claim it, so they are trying to spread rumors that it doesn't exist. Finders keepers, bitches. Space has to exist. There have been way too many movies and television shows about it for it not to. "Star Trek" was based on real events. Not sure if you knew that or not, but now you do. Also, you can't just make photos. Those shots had to be taken somewhere, and last time we checked, there aren't many places on Earth with stars and dark matter. Besides, what's past the atmosphere if it's not outer space? As much as we hope that the sky is just a big projection screen and that we all live on the set of "The Truman Show," it's just not possible. Plus, whenever America finally takes over the world like we've been trying to, there's got to be something else to dominate. Outer space is the biggest fraud ever, as long as that "DiVinci Code" shit isn't real anyway. All we really have to do is ask one question: Have y'all ever been there? Yeah, neither have we. So they pretend to send some washed- .up boy-band member into space. Does anyone really trust Lance Bass? And sometimes, they'll say that some crazy Russian bazillionaire wants to go to the "final frontier." Last time we checked, California was the final frontier. The moon? Who thought of that thing anyway. It's an optica1 illusion. The sun is just a bright spot on our retina that is lit by the gases in the atmosphere during daytime hours. Euclid had it right with geometry and phys- ics way back in the day: Ptolemy had it right too - Geocentric universe bitches - only he forgot one small detail: The Earth is the center, but there's nothing else besides it. Next you're going to tell us the Earth isn't flat. 12B - The Michigan Daly - Thursday, March 9, 2006