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 -------------- - - - ------ - - ------- - - - ---------------- 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 : EL, :.""AMERM