Ian a e( 4d1 xI y 111 ...lIXETL YA F I? J7 T .3Ej l jvf 1 1 T13{l ~lbLFREEI ION Ann Arbor, Michigan www.michigandaily.com Tuesday, April I, 2007 32 murdered at Va. Tech Coleman: 'We are all saddened and horrified" Police criticized for silence after first shooting Worst shooting rampage in American history Could it happen here? By ANDREW GROSSMAN Managing News Editor For Virginia Tech student Erin Sheehan, it was a morning that would have seemed so familiar to University of Michigan students: a 9 a.m. German class, some unsea- sonable snow. Then the shots came.By the time a gunman had finished spraying the classroom with bullets, Shee- han was one of only four survivors out of the 25 in the room, she told the Virginia Tech student newspa- per yesterday. In Ann Arbor, as students tried to make sense of the killings and contact friends and family in Blacksburg, Va., many wondered: Could this happen here? University of Michigan offi- cials said that while campus police could not be completely certain that a similar attack could not hap- pen here, Department of Public Safety officers have been trained to respond to such an incident. Uni- versity President Mary Sue Cole- man sought to reassure students in an e-mail message to campus last night. "We are all saddened and horri- fied by today's shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech," she wrote. University spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham said Coleman, who was traveling outside of Ann Arbor, sent a private condolence message to Virginia Tech President Charles Steger yesterday. Virginia Tech administration and police were already being criticized last night for failing to close down campus after a 7:15 a.m. shooting in a dorm. More than two hours later, a gunman opened fire across campus in Norris Hall - where Sheehan had German class - and killed more than 30 students. See 'U',RESPONSE, Page 9 Adayof terror on campus By SHAILA DEWAN The New York Times BLACKSBURG, Va. - The gun- shots were so slow and steady that some students thought they came from a nearby construction site, until they saw the police officers with rifles pointed at Norris Hall, the engineering building at Vir- ginia Tech. Bang. Bang. Bang. They went on and on, for what seemed like 10 or 15 or 20 minutes, an eternity with punctuation. Bang. Bang. On the third floor of Norris Hall, Scott L. Hendricks, a professor, looked out the window of his office and saw students crawl- ing away from the building. Bang. Tiffany Otey's account- ing class crammed into an office and locked themselves in, crying in fright. Every so often, the shots paused for a minute or so. That was the gunman, who was in the midst of the worst shooting rampage i American history, stopping to reload. When it was over, 33 people, including the gunman, were dead and at least 15 more were injured. "I was terrified," said Otey, a junior whose class met in the room above the one where much of the shooting took place. One student finished the day's assignment and tried to leave, but returned to tell the others that the hall was full of smoke and that there were police officers every- where. The class decided to go into a room with a lock. Hendricks, an engineering and mechanics profes- sor on the same floor, barricaded himself in his office, pushing a bookcase in front of the door. Some students on campus took refuge in the library, searching the Web to find out what was happening. No one knew. See GUNSHOTS, Page 9 'O:^AP VIA TiHE ROANOUK IMES, BO TOM: SHAY ANIOLA/Daily TOP: An unidentified person is carried out of Norris Hall at Virginia Tech yesterday after a gunman opened fire in the building. At least 33 people including the.gunman were killed. BOTTOM: LSA freshmen Danius Giedraltis and Dean Fefopoulosstand in shock as theywatch coverage of the kilings on CNN in Mary Markley Hall yesterday afternoon. ONCE, IT HAPPENED HERE In 1981, agunman killed two in Bursley Hall On April 17,1981,22-year-old University student Leo Kelly threw mul- tiple Molotovococktails down a wing of Bursley Hall's Douglas House, igniting small fires and prompting the evacuation offthe dormitory. In the pandemonium that followed, Kelly went into his single occu- pancy dorm room and reemerged in the hallway brandishing a sawed- off, 12-gauge shotgun. Kelly fired down the hallway, killing freshman Edward Siwik and resi- dent advisor Douglas McGreaham, who were shot at point-blank range. Policefound Kelly calm and coherent sitting on hisbed with the recently discharged shotgun, and took him into custody. Randy Moon, another RA in ,,, t n t555 t ' Bursley, described the occur- E.0 rence as a "random shooting" g y 'tN0 Y, and investigators were unable to * determine any kind of motive for Kelly's actions.- Ajuryfound Kelly guiltyafter a wee-longtrial. He was con- demned to life in prison. 2 t. . ' . 4. 5 L NATIONAL STUDENT LOAN SCANDAL 'U': No 'preferred lenders' a V I TASTY PROTEST As national scandal SELEC swirls, On April websites preferre hastily changed April 8 ByGABE NELSON DailyNews Editor Up until recently, visitors to the *I Ross School of Business's finan- cial aid website might have found information about student loans for international students on a page that said "Citibank is the pre- ferred lender for Ross Business School Students." April 13 Sometime last week, that sen- tence disappeared. The rest of the page remained intact. As an investigation by the tr office of New York Attorney Gen- eral Andrew Cuomo continues to uncover corrupt practices in the ways colleges recommend loan companies to their students, . at least two University units - including the Business School , - have made changes to the word- C~ t] ing of their financial aid literature and stopped calling the Universi- the Un ty's recommended loan companies said th "preferred lenders." tain pr The website changes and a indicat statement released on April 11 by to dist TIVE EDITING 8, the Ross School of Business's financial aid website listed Citibank as a dender.On April 13, that listing was gone. Itianr rS tle pree ed t ender Reoyn's Hules=s Scevol eetsd No tredit check orte signer required no rsantee of appiltation tee L ean amount up to the cost or ettendltte Onus ehol5rsHriireCt Lon , Prime rate 0.00% interest rate is variable &adjusted uerterly) Pe'rnipal & interest may be deferred whle student is enrolled. bterest wll u 6-ointh defterment after graduation Up to 2C year repayfmert bn .wa s 3g At MESA, a change in philosophy New director's vision draws some criticism By AMANDA MARKOWITZ Daily StaffReporter Nelson Acosta, a new director of the University's Office of Multi- Ethnic Student Affairs, is working to change the office's focus. Acosta wants MESA programs to encompass all types of people on campus, rather than planning activ- ities devoted to individual multicul- tural groups. He said MESA was never supposed to be an organiza- tion devoted solely to multi-ethnic students, but ithas beenhistorically perceived that way. "I think we need to move away from those perceptions," Acosta said. "Our primary mission in high- er education is to raise everybody's consciousness about diversity." Acosta became the director of MESA in August 2006 after holding various administrative positions at See MESA, Page 8 iversity News Service that doing Cuomo's investigation has e University does not main- uncovered at dozens of universi- eferred lender lists seem to ties nationwide. The University e a desire by the University has not yet been implicated in the ance itself from the wrong- See LENDERS, Page 8 LSA senior Reme Ramadasu (left), Rackham student Adam Mele (center) and Lecturer Margaretha Sudarsih (right) share an ice cream cake on the Diag yes- terday for their last Indonesian class. Some lecturers held class on Diag to tell students about their contract negotiations. For full story, see page 8. TODAY'S HI: 56 WEATHER LO:3 HAVE A NEWS TIP? Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail. news@michgandaily.com and let us know. SE YOUINMAY INDEX NEWs. The Daily will begin its summer weekly publishing Viol. The Michigan Daily OPNION..... schedule May1 .wPichi cEndailyom y D.... ............ 2 C LA SSIFIED ................ ............4 ARTS ............. ............5 SPORTS. ............. ...6 ..1a