Monday, April 10, 2006
News 3A Employers snub U
of Wisc. because
it lacks diversity
Opinion 4A
Suhael Momin: The
value of noblesse oblige
NID .One-hundre dLSxt E E e neFECT WEEKEND ..eoRONDAY
One-/iundred-sAeteen years ofedkoriailfreedom
Arts 8A 'Take the Lead'
falls out of step
11
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www.michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXVI, No. 109
2006 The Michigan Daily
North
to dra
Dissatisfaction with
exterior design for new
residence hall delays
project by at least a year
By Farayha Arrine
Daily Staff Reporter
Students will have to wait at least
another year for the opening of North
Quad Residence Hall and Academic
Complex, a state-of-the-art resi-
dence hall slated to replace the Frieze
Building. The construction has been
delayed because University adminis-
trators were dissatisfied with plans for
the building's exterior.
According to University adminis-
trators, the opening of the residence
hall will be pushed back to the fall of
2010.
The setback will not affect the
demolition of the Frieze Building,
which will begin this summer as
scheduled.
Quad
wingl
Originally, the University hoped to
start housing students in North Quad
in the fall of 2009, but problems with
the exterior forced administrators to
pull schematic designs from the agen-
da of the University Board of Regents
meeting last month, when the regents
were slated to approve them.
University President Mary Sue
Coleman said administrators were
pleased with the interior of the build-
ing, but had concerns with the exte-
rior.
There are currently no plans to
have new designs ready for the regents
meeting this month.
Hanlon said the aesthetics of the
building were displeasing and created
messiness on State Street.
"(The building) didn't look wel-
coming. It was fortress-like," he said.
The building is expected to serve
as the gateway from the north to the
University's central campus.
Diane Brown, associate vice presi-
dent for facilities and operations, said
there is a possibility that the architec-
back
board
tural firm - Einhorn, Yaffee, Prescott
- that created the design will subcon-
tract another architect to bring a new
perspective to the project.
North Quad is the first new resi-
dence hall the University has built in
35 years. Both dorm rooms for stu-
dents and offices for various depart-
ments will be housed in the new quad
in an attempt to merge academic and
residential life. Other features of the
complex include high-tech vide.O
walls, a modern dining center anrd
study lounges.
But administrators said focusing on
the interior of the building caused the
exterior to be somewhat neglected.
"We were so consumed with the
inside, so excited, that we didn't have
enough time to reflect on the outside,"
Coleman said.
When schematic designs of the new
building were released last month,
Timothy Slottow, the University's
chief financial officer, began receiv-
ing complaints that the look was not
See NORTH QUAD, page 7A
'U' grad programs
fall from top 10
EUGENE ROBERTSON/Daily
A fellow reveler smears Engineering junior Neha Dhawan with a bright red powder during the celebration of the Hindu Holl festival
yesterday on Palmer Field. Holl, a holiday celebrated in Northern India, heralds the coming of spring.
Colors fly as H indu
students celebrate Holi
Deans dismiss importance of U.S.
News and World Report rankings,
which bumped the business and
medical schools down to 11th place
By Kelly Fraser
Daily Staff Reporter
In the world of rankings and lists, 11 is the loneliest
number.
Luckily, the University's 11th-ranked Medical School has
company on campus. The Business School's graduate pro-
gram also found itself one slot away from U.S. News and
World Report's list of the top 10 graduate business programs
in the country.
The newsmagazine published its 2007 graduate school
rankings last Monday.
Last year the Medical School ranked ninth, while the
Business School placed 10th.
The School of Engineering and the Law School did not
move from their positions last year, remaining sixth and
eighth respectively.
Despite the slip, neither Medical School Dean Allen Lich-
ter nor Business School Dean Robert Dolan said their pro-
grams' slight dips reflected a change in their quality.
"We're the same medical school we were last year,"
Lichter said.
While Dolan acknowledged that rankings are "a part of
life" for top programs, he was not concerned about small
ranking shifts from year to year.
"We hope to continue to do well enough in the ones that
matter so that prospective students will do their homework
(researching the school)," Dolan said.
Many prospective students, particularly international stu-
dents who often cannot personally visit the campus, rely on
rankings and reputation in selecting their schools.
Amit Ahuja, a doctoral candidate in political science from
India, said reputation and rankings hold great influence for
prospective international students.
The magazine's rankings often draw criticism from
schools that say their programs are not accurately represent-
ed because of the methodology used to compile the lists. The
magazine uses a combination of peer reviews and statistical
indicators, like acceptance rate and total research funding, to
decide each school's rankings.
Critics argue that these methods favor programs with an
established reputation and high selectivity.
Lichter said that as a public institution, the University was
hurt by this year's addition of the category "grant dollars per
faculty;' because public schools typically have more faculty
than their private counterparts.
However, Lichter added that the University has advan-
tages private programs do not, noting the close relationship
See RANKINGS, page 7A
Indian students say
vibrant festival helps
them reaffirm culture,
traditions
By Shruti Saran
For the Daily
Anyone who ventured too close to
Palmer Field yesterday afternoon risked
being drenched in dye and thrown into
a mud pit by the more than 250 revelers
gathered to celebrate Holi, the Indian
festival of colors.
Holi is a Hindu holiday celebrated in
Northern India to herald the coming of
spring. Yesterday's burst of colorful rev-
elry gave hundreds of Indian students a
chance to celebrate their religious and
ethnic heritage.
The Hindu Students Council, the
group that sponsored the event, spared
people's clothes by using washable dye
- a deviation from the way the holiday
is traditionally celebrated.
"In India, they generally get perma-
nent colors, but we don't get that here
- I don't think people would be too
happy," said Nupur Srivastava, co-presi-
dent of the Hindu Students Council.
Still, organizers tried to make the cel-
ebration as authentic as possible.
"It makes it a possibility for someone
to be close to home even when they are
not at home," said Engineering senior
Devansh Gupta.
But for some Indian students, the
Holi celebrated on Palmer Field yester-
day couldn't compare to celebrations in
India.
"It's a lot more fun in India because
everyone is celebrating," said Engineer-
ing freshman Abhinav Chordia, who
lived in India for eight years before
moving to the United States.
After arriving, Chordia remained
mud and dye free for two minutes after
arriving before being blindsided and
smeared with rung, or colored powder,
by a woman who found his cleanliness
problematic. As she knocked him over
into the mud pit, she announced he was
"too clean."
The mud-flinging and color-smearing
are not just a playful annual pastime.
Although the holiday is famous for its
use of brightly colored dyes, yesterday's
celebration marked the second day of a
two-day festival.
Hindu Indians celebrate the first day
See HOLI, page 7A
SLIPPING FROM THE TOP
The U.S. News
and World Report
graduate rankings
rate schools on
factors like selec-
tivity and student/
faculty ratio
No change
in ranking:.
Business
(previously 10)
Medicine
(previously 9)
Education
Engineering
Law
Black engineering society honored
Members have
increased participation,
created leadership roles
for freshmen
By Mariem Qamruzzaman
Daily Staff Reporter
When the National Society
of Black Engineers' "chapter
of the vear" was annonnced
six years.
"I was crying," Engineering
senior Kimberly Lockhart said.
As one of the largest student
organizations on campus, the
group was expecting to receive
the award for being the largest
chapter at the National Society
of Black Engineers conference,
held from March 29 to April 2
in Pittsburgh. But the honor was
given to Florida A&M and Flor-
ida S'tate Universitv which share
recently. "Member retention was
low and the chapter was a little
disorganized."
Carter said the organization
has overcome many of these
obstacles since he left the Uni-
versity. Attendance at local,
regional and national confer-
ences has increased since 2004.
Current membership in the Uni-
versity's chapter now stands at
168 members.
The eron also created new
from it, and being several states
away from home, it's good to get
that family feeling."
The group also instituted a
mentorship program that pairs
freshmen with seniors by major.
On Fridays, members tutor
students at Ypsilanti High School
in math and science.
These activities are molded to
fit the group's mission statement,
which is "to increase the number
of culturally resnonsible Black
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