The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

NEWS BRIEFS
TEHRAN, Iran
Iran releases 15
. captive Britons
President Mahmoud Ahmadine-
jad defused a growing confronta-
tion with Britain, announcing the
surprise release of 15 captive Brit=
ish sailors yesterday and then glee-
fully accepting the crew's thanks
and handshakes in what he called
an Easter gift.
The announcement in Tehran
was a breakthrough in a crisis
that had escalated over nearly two
weeks, raising oil prices and fears
of military conflict in the volatile
region. The move to release the sail-
ors suggested that Iran's hard-line
leadership decided it had shown its
strength but did not want to push
the standoff too far.
DAMASCUS, Syria
Pelosi holds talks
with Syrian leader
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
held talks with Syria's leader yes-
terday despite White House objec-
tions, saying she pressed President
Bashar Assad over his country's
support for militant groups and
passed him a peace message from
Israel.
The meeting was an attempt to
push the Bush administration to
open a direct dialogue with Syria,
a step that the White House has
rejected. Congressional Demo-
crats insist the U.S. attempts to
isolate Syria have failed to force
the Assad government to change
its policies.
On Tuesday, President Bush
denounced Pelosi's visit to Syria,
saying it sends mixed signals to
Assad's government.

SHUTDOWN
From page lA
Slottow said the University would
have to grow its endowment by an
additional $7 billion to generate the
same amount of revenue that it cur-
rently receives from the state.
How the University responds to
a government shutdown could also
have an impact on its credit rating.
Cunningham said the University's
credit rating is partially dependent
on the way it has reacted to changes
in state appropriations over the
past five years. Right now, the Uni-
versity has the highest possible
credit rating, a triple "A" from both
Standard and Poor's and Moody's
Investor Services, two firms that
rate borrowers.
The state faces a possible shut-

down because Granholm and
Republicans in the state Senate have
not been able to reach an agreement
on how to shrink the state's massive
deficit.
Last week, Senate Republicans
passed a $600 million budget cut, but
voted down the governor's proposed 2
percentservicetaxonitemsnotalready
taxed by the 6 percent sales tax.
Supporters said the tax would
have helped ease the state's $940
million deficit.
Sen. Liz Brater (D-Ann Arbor)
said the best way to reduce the
deficit would be to increase state
income tax, which has been cut
from 4.4 percent to 3.9 percent
over the past 8 years. Brater said if
the state returned to a 4.4 percent
income tax, it would take in an
additional $900 million every year.

FIRES
From page IA
barracks and monasteries in 2000.
The University began outfitting
all residence halls with sprinkler
systems and new fire alarms in
2002, said Declan Lugin, a cap-
tain in the Housing Security office.
Michigan has no statewide man-
date requiring sprinklers in exist-
ing structures, and the National
Fire ProtectionAgency's Life Safety'
Code, which Lugin said forms the
basis for many fire codes around
the country, only requires them in
new buildings.
A total of seven residence halls
have had sprinklers installed, and
the other dorms have plans to
install the systems within the next
few years. Lugin said the University
is generally outfittingtwo residence
halls per year.
South Quad was the first to get
a sprinkler system. West Quad,
Bursley, Oxford, Fletcher, Barbour
and Newberry have also been com-
pletely outfitted. Markley is cur-
rently receiving its new sprinkler
system. Mosher-Jordan will have
n--w cnrin1Pr~ whn it rP-nn-n' i

fall 2008. Stockwell will be receiv-
ing its system as part of its recently
approved renovations.
Concern about fire safety on
campus spiked in 2000 the deaths
of three students in a Seton Hall
University residence hall. After the
tragedy, the state of New Jersey
mandated that all residence halls
and Greek houses install sprin-
klers, and the state also provided
the funding to do this.
"I think it was a wake-up call for
fire safety services across the coun-
try," Luginsaid of the SetonHallfire.
In addition to sprinklers, new
hard-wired alarms and smoke
detectors with a consistent power
source, unlike battery-operated
detectors, Lugin said the cinder
block and steel construction of resi-
dence halls makes them extremely
fireproof. Lugin also said all corri-
dor doors in residence halls are fire-
proof for up to 60 minutes.
It's those corridors that made
Tony Spica, a former resident advi-
sor in Couzens Hall, feel safe dur-
ing his three years there.
But RAs receive no fire extin-
guisher training.
Rnt+A Cnirn nnrT iian aul+tbp

Thursday, April 5, 2007 - 3A
University doesn't want residence
staff to feel responsible for fighting
fires, only for helping residents exit
the building in an efficient manner.
Lugin said that the only orien-
tation that residents receive about
fire safety comes from RAs at the
beginning of the semester.
Still, relying on RAs isn't a fool-
proof plan. Spica acknowledged
that while fire safety is an impor-
tant issue, it's generally not the pri-
mary concern of RAs.
The University's true enemy in
fighting fatal fires may be student
complacency when it comes to
responding to fire alarms and exit-
ing buildings quickly, especially
late at night or when it's cold out-
side, Lugin said.
One of the causes of that compla-
cency could be the number of false
fire alarms, which desensitizes res-
idents to real alarms.
The University has taken steps to
reducethenumber offalse firealarms
in hopes that it will improve the stu-
dent response to all fire alarms.
Since installing plastic stoppers
on fire alarm pull stations, Lugin
said his office has seen a significant
drnn-n them--ha--f fIcP aar-


LEGA
From
applican
average
instituti
dent wi]
two yea
by their
Mass
from th
veyofFr
data fror
entered
tive colle
Mass
students
GPAs at
minorit
worse ac
and ath
ences th
sions pr
In 19
given br
47 poin
SAT tes
applican
of a 77-p
athletes
point bo
The s
ise that
ted wits
the av'
worse it
It fou
students

LCY
page IA
nt's high school grade point
and the mean GPA for the
ion - the worse that stu-
ll perform during their first
ars of college, as measured
GPA.
ey based his findings on data
e National Longitudinal Sur-
eshmen.Thesurveyincludes
am about 3,900 students who
28 public and private selec-
eges in the fall of 1999.
ey said although legacy
s generally had higher
nd lower dropout rates than
y students, they perfformed
cademicallythan minorities
letes relative to the prefer-
hey are given in the admis-
rocess.
99, legacy applicants were
onuses equivalent to about
ts on the old 1600-point
t, the study found. Minority
nts received the equivalent
point bonus on the SAT and
received on average a 108-
onus.
tudy works from the prem-
students who were admit-
h lower qualifications than
erage applicant perform
n college.
nd that 7 percent of legacy
s who were given prefer-
n the admissions process
pped out by the end of their
ear. During the same time
11 percent of minority stu-
nd 5 percent of athletes
re given preferences in the
ons process had dropped
Massey said legacy students
t of college at a higher rate
norities or athletes relative
dvantage they are given in
issions process.
wise, Massey said legacy stu-
d higher GPAs than minori-
mts or athletes because they
ven less of an advantage in
issions process.
eragelegacy students had a
A after two years in college.
athletes had an average
3.12 and minority students
verage GPA of 3.05 over the
riod.
e is a direct relation

between the ease of admission and
the average GPA of students at selec-
tive universities," Massey said.
The study said one reason legacy
students perform worse relative to
the preferences they are given is
that colleges do not have specially
targeted academic support and
counseling services for legacy stu-
dents like they often do for minori-
ties and athletes.
The study was released during a
growing national debate about the
practice of affirmative action in pub-
lic institutions. In November, Michi-
gan voters banned the consideration
of race in public college admissions,
but giving preference to athletes and
legacy students is still allowed.
Masseysaidthestudyshould make
people realize that minorities are not
the only subgroup that receives pref-
erence in college admissions.
"We do not expect these find-
ings to settle the debate on affir-
mative action," Massey said. "We
do hope, however, that they enable
readers to place the issue of minor-
ity affiimative action in a broader
context."
Barmak Nassirian, associate
executive director of the American
Association of Collegiate Regis-
trars and Admissions Officers, said
that many colleges give preferences
to the children of alumni because
they believe it will encourage those
alumni to donate.
The University of Michigan's
published evaluation guidelines say
that alumni provide "service and
support to the larger University
community."
As a result, the students related
to these alumni should be given
"discretionary consideration," the
guidelines say.
Students with parents who grad-
uated from the University are given
the strongest consideration, fol-
lowed by those with grandparents,
siblings or spouses who graduated
from the University.
Under the old point-based admis-
sions system, which was struck
down by the U.S. Supreme Court
in 2003, the University gave appli-
cants four points if their parent had
graduated from the University. It
gave applicants one point if they
had agrandparent, spouse or sibling
who graduated from the University.
Under that system, minority appli-
cants received 20 points.

DETROIT
Detr
publi

oit to close 34
c schools

A chaotic scene that escalated ences i
after an audience member began had drop
throwing objects on stage nearly junior y
overshadowed the school board's period,I
vote yesterday to approve the clo- dents a
sure of 34 city schools. who we
Detroit Board of Education admissio
board members voted 6-5 to close out.
the schools as a way of trimming a But M
$200 million deficit facing the trou- drop ou
bled district. than mi
The board last month rejected to the a
by the same margin a proposal to the adm
close 35 schools. Wednesday's vote Likew
calls for the schools to close at the dents ha
end of the current school year, ty stude:
and requires that eight additional were gir
schools meet enrollment targets the adm
to avoid being closed in 2008, the Onav
Detroit Free Press reported. 3.26 GP
The district, responding to Student
declining enrollment, has closed GPA of
 36 buildings in the past two years. had an a
It reported enrollment of 116,800 same pe
students last fall, compared with "Ther
129,100 a year earlier.
DAVENPORT, Iowa
Obama reports
raising $25 million,
rivaling Clinton
With a stunning $25 million
fundraising haul for his presiden-
tial campaign, Democrat Barack 810 S
Obama affirmed his status yester-
day as Hillary Rodham Clinton's
chief rival.
The freshman Illinois senator
proved he could channel his appeal
into significant financial muscle,
and he dispelled, for now, questions
about the durability of his anti-war,
"hope"-driven candidacy
Obama's three-month money
totalstoppedjustshortoftherecord
$26 million Clinton brought in. By
any measure, it was an astonish- TO p
ing figure for a political newcomer
elected to'the U.S. Senate just two
years ago.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
3,252
Number of American service
members who have died in the War
in Iraq, according to The Associat-
ed Press. The following were iden-
tified by the Department of Defense
yesterday:
Spc. Alan E. McPeek, 20, of
Tucson, Ariz.
Pvt. Matthew T. Zeimer, 18, of
Glendive, Mont.
Spc. Curtis R. Spivey, 25, of
r Chula Vista, Calif.
Pfc. Gabriel J. Figueroa, 20, of
Baldwin Park, Calif.
Staff Sgt. Shane R. Becker, 35,
of Helena, Mont.

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