SEEKING ANSWERS TO
AMERICA'S ENERGY QUESTIONS
OP-ED, PAGE 5A
THE SPIN ZONE
'GIRL TALK' COMES TO THE LEAGUE THE B-SIDE
MICHIGAN'S FUTURE QB GETS
ACQUAINTED WITH AZ
SPORTS, PAGE 6A
L7 I i A I igataiI
Ann Arbor, Michigan
www.michigandaily.com
COWABUNGA. BABE
-hrsday, February i5, 2007
WAR IN IRAQ
Tape of
captive
A2soldier
released
FORESTCASEY/Daily
The Valentine's Day Ninjas, a group organized by members of the group of campus pranksters known as the UM Patriots, ride an escalator at the Duderstadt Center on North
Campus yesterday. The ninjas ran all over campus giving out Valentine's Day candy yesterday.
A students move in, neighbors
cringe and property values fall
Translator was
kidnapped in Oct.
BAGHDAD (AP) - A Shi-
ite militant group has released
a video of a kidnapped Iraqi-
American soldier, the first time
he has been seen alive since he
was abducted four months ago
in Baghdad, his uncle said yes-
terday.
U.S. Army translator Ahmed
Qusai al-Taayie, a 41-year-old
reserve soldier who was born
in Iraq and lives in Ann Arbor,
was seized by gunmen on Oct.
23 while visiting his Iraqi wife's
family in the Karadah neighbor-
hood of central Baghdad.
A previously unknown Shi-
ite militant group called Ah
al-Bayt Brigades posted a 10-
second video on the Internet on
Tuesday showing al-Taayie in
front of a greenish flat surface
with short dark cropped hair,
unshaven and wearing a wide
dark-green collared shirt, said
SITE, a U.S. group that moni-
tors extremist messages.
Al-Taayie's eyes were down-
cast and his lips were moving
as if he was reading aloud, SITE
said yesterday. Although the
video carried no sound, SITE
said that the militants also
issued a document, saying: "We
warn the American people of
the result of sending their sol-
diers to Iraq so they don't face
the same fate."
The video was also broadcast
earlier yesterday by CNN.
It was unclear when the video
was made but Entifadh Qan-
bar, al-Taayie's uncle, said he
had identified his nephew in it.
The Associated Press could not
immediately find the video in a
search of militant Web sites.
Qanbar, who spoke to The
Associated Press by telephone
from Washington, said the video
See SOLDIER, page 9A
Once the domain of
families, some parts
of town see often
unwelcome influx
By ASHLEA SURLES
Daily StaffReporter
Gwen Alexander and her daugh-
ter had been living on White Street
for 18 years when five University
students moved into the house
across the street and changed the
neighborhood.
"Whentheymovedinwe allknew
we were losing $10,000," Alexander
said.
Alexander said she her neighbors
knew their property values would
plummet because buyers wouldn't
want to purchase a home with the
possibility of loud parties and all
night beer pong on the porch a few
doors down.
"When you pay taxes, it is also
your home and investment," Alex-
ander said.
Alexander moved out of her
White Street home to a house fur-
ther from campus this summer. She
said encroaching student renters
were a key factor in her decision to
move. "People's hearts sink when
they find out students are moving
in," Alexander said. "It's kind of us
versus them."
White Street, which runs par-
allel to State Street south of cam-
pus, is just one area that used to be
inhabited primarily by families but
is now seeing an increase in student
residents. Other areas of student
sprawl include the southern part
of South Forest Avenue, Geddes
Avenue east of campus, the Burns
Park neighborhood and the Kerry-
town area.
Alexander still hasn't been able
to sell the house she bought when
she came to Ann Arbor for graduate
school. Although she hasn't turned
down any potential buyers, she said
she told her realtor not to sell the
house to someone who would turn
it into student housing.
Alex Milshtyne, an Ann Arbor
realtor, said an influx of students
into a neighborhood isn't the direct
cause of a price drop - it's their
habits and lifestyle.
"If one neighbor has a bunch of
junk in their front yard, it's going to
affect the value of the surrounding
properties," Milshtyne said.
Milshtyne said that one run-
down home with red cups on the
lawn could drag surrounding
home prices down by more than
$10,000, depending on the neigh-
borhood.
'US VERSUS THEM'
Ten students living in one unas-
suming house on South Forest
Avenue - originally meant for six
- know how to deal with the Ann
Arbor Police Department.
One of the women, Business
school junior Jennifer Sedney,
said the AAPD has knocked on the
door five or six times in the two
years the women have lived in the
house. The girls in the four-story
colonial have received two noise
See NEIGHBORS, page 12A
Profs get lesson in
social networking
A composting toilet in the Dana Building. The building's solar panels are one
of tbe olesoorces of renewable energy on campus.
R OB SIMON/Daily
Medical School Prof. Gerard Doherty says he is intrigued by the possibility of using
Facebook.com to connect with alumni.
Once just for students,
teachers find new uses
By AMANDA MARKOWITZ
Daily StaffReporter
Associate Engineering Prof.
Joanna Millunchick stopped looking
at students' Facebook.com profiles
after she saw a picture of a former
studentpassed out in his underwear
on his dorm room floor.
Millunchick also accepted a friend
request from a student whose profile
picture was of the student bonging a
beer.
"Oh my God, I'm your professor,"
Millunchick said about the photos.
"Is this what you want me to see,
want me to know about you?"
Millunchick joined Facebook
See PROFESSORS, page 9A
HOW GREEN
IS THE 'U'?
Student out to devour Internet competition
Website combines
event listings from
Ann Arbor, campus
By DANIELLE KRUIZENGA
For the Daily
If you feel lost or confused by the
number of groups and events on
campus, a new website might help
you find your way.
Engineering Senior Daniel Feld-
man built a new website called
Eventivore.com, which serves as
a day-by-day guide to events and
group meetings on campus.
He hopes that his site, which also
has a student group directory, make
it easier for students to navigate the
overwhelming number of groups
and activities on campus.
"There are a million great events
and organizations on campus, but
it's hard for students to find the
ones for them," he said.
Feldman said he wants the web-
Visit Feldman's new
website at
eventivore.com.
site, aimed at both undergraduate
and graduate students, to serve as a
connection between students, groups
and events and the University.
Feldman said he is convinced
that Eventivore's features trump
the University's current events site,
events.umich.edu.
"The fault with the UM events
site, aside from its poor design, is
that it doesn't connect to the Maize
Pages," Feldman said. "Eventivore
has tools for students to find both
events and specific groups that
interest them."
Still, the site has holes. It doesn't
list all of the events posted on the
University's site.
The site also includes a keyword
system that allows group leaders
to tag words to their groups for so
people can easily find them.
Feldman said he hopes to get
See WEBSITE, page 9A
Students dispute
high marks on
environment
By LISA HAIDOSTIAN
Daily StaffReporter
Ann Arbor has a reputation
as an environmental leader.
According to a recent study,
the University, the city's largest
landowner is also leading the
pack among colleges in protect-
ing the environment.
The Cambridge, Mass.-based
Sustainable Endowments Insti-
tute graded the 100 largest
endowed universities based on
a number of environmentally
friendly campus practices and
investment factors. The Uni-
versity of Michigan received a
B-plus overall.
Harvard, Stanford, Dart-
mouth and Williams College
topped the list by earning A
minuses.
MarkOrlowski,theinstitute's
executive director said the Uni-
versity of Michigan is definitely
a leader in campus sustainabil-
ity.
The University received A
grades in administration, cli-
mate change and energy, food
and recycling and investment
priorities. The Institute gave
the University a B for endow-
ment transparency, a C for
green buildings, and a D for
shareholder engagement.
Some students, though, dis-
agree with the high scores.
Shari Pomerantz and Chris
Detjen, co-chairs of the Michi-
gan Student Assembly's Envi-
ronmental Issues Commission,
See ENVIRONMENT, page 12A
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