2 - Friday, January 12, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com MONDAY: The Extremist TUESDAY: Arbor Anecdotes WEDNESDAY: Before You Were Here THURSDAY:F- Campus Characters Explained Why you're in class while your friends are in Cancun The University's vacation calendar explained Have you spent the last week sit- ting on the beech, sipping drinks with umbrellas in them? If you're at the University, the answer is probably no. While the University's holiday break ends just after New Year's, many other schools have breaks that stretch well into January. Yale University starts its second semester Jan. 16, and students at the University of Virginia won't be back from their vacations until Wednesday, giving students at both schools a couple extra weeks to relax. Why is it that students at the University must work while their peers play? It's a result of how the Univer- sity divides the year, said Gretch- en Weir, assistant vice provost for academic affairs. In the early 1970s, the University moved from a standard semester system to a trimester system, designed to let students go abroad or take courses during the summer. Evenly dividing the year gave students more flexibility to persue their education outside the class- room in the summer, Weir said. Switching to the trimester sys- tem made the University's Win- ter Break short because it forced the University to fit 67 to 70 class days into each trimester while still operating within a few calendar restraints. In the fall, the University usu- ally starts classes after Labor Day and ends by Christmas. Then the University needs to start class- es early enough in January to ensure 14 or 15 weeks of instruc- tion before commencement in late April - leaving enough time for a 15 week summer term before class- es resume in the fall. The schedule became tighter a few years ago after students suc- cessfully lobbied for a fall break. The University then had to start the academic year a day earlier to compensate for the lost instruc- tion time. Weir said there are always com- plaints when breaks are short, but the trimester system remains too popular and useful to abandon for a couple extra days on the slopes or at the beach. WALTER NOWINSKI FIL E PHOTO A snowplowdrives in front of the Chemistry Building in 2002. Uni- versitystudents often retatrfrom breaktoface the bruntawter weather while their friends at other schools enoy the hooch. 413 E. Huron St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com DONN M. 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Dowd Magazine Editor . dowd@rmichigandaily.com ASSOCIATE MAGAZINE EDI'TOR: Chris Gaerig BUSINESS STAFF Robert Chin Display Sales Manager ASSOCIATE DISPLAY SALES MANAGER: Ben Schrotenboer SPECIA L SECTIONS MANAGER: David Dai Kristina Diamantoni Classified Sales Manager ASSISTANTCLASSIFIED SALES MANAGER: Michael Moore ilyt Cipniano onlineSalesManager Ryan VanTassel FinanceManager BritanylO'eefe LayoutManager thelsea Honand Productio Manager, The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967)ispublished Monday through Friday duringthe fall and wintertterms bystudentsat the University of Michigan.One copy is available free of charge toallreaders.Additionalcopiesmay be picked upat the Daily'sofficefor $2. Subscriptionsfor fall termstarting inSeptember viaU.S.mailare$110. Winter term (JanuarythroughAprilis$115,yearlong(September throughApril)is$195.University affiliates are subjectoareduced subscriptionrate.On-campussubscriptions for fall term are $35.Subscriptionsmust be prepaid.The Michigan Dailyis amemberofThe - Associated Pressand The Associated CollegiateFPress 0k CRIME NOTES Vomiting man Copper wire refuses help stolen from 'U' CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES WHERE: Northwood V WHEN: Thursday at about 2:30 a.m, WHAT: A male Northwood resident refused medical transport after his wife called an ambulance, the Department of Public Safety reported. The man had been vomiting for more than 20 minutes. WHERE: North Campus Transfer Facility, 1655 Dean St. WHEN: Wednesday at about 12:30 p.m. WHAT: About 150 feet of copper wire was stolen from a storage facility, DPS report- ed. The bundle of wire was worth $3,700. Conference on the future of universities WHAT: A daylong seminar called "Challenges to Higher Education in the 21st Centu- ry," with speeches by past and present university presidents WHO: School of Education WHEN: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Rackham Amphi- theatre Discussion on LGBT figures in entertainment WHAT: A panel discussion called "Beyond Will and Grace" about portrayals of LGBT people in the media WHO: University's Office of LGBT Affairs WHEN: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: MSA Chambers, Michigan Union Discussion on HIV prevention WHAT: A talk on strategies for reducing sexually trans- mitted disease WHO: The Institute for Research on Women and Gender WHEN: Noon to 1:130 p.m. WHERE: 1136 Lane Hall Dogsledding trip in U.P. WHAT: A dogsledding trip to the Upper Peninsula for about $200 WHO: Michigan Department of Recreational Sports WHEN: This weekend WHERE: Sign up atthe Out- door Adventures Center, 336 Hill St CORRECTIONS Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@ michigandaily.com. Soccer superstar David Beckham yesterday signed a five-year contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy of Major League Soccer. The Real Madrid midfielder will make $250 million over the next five years, the highest salary ever paid to an MLS player. The State Theater is show- ing a different film by the Coen Brothers at midnight every Saturday this month. This Saturday, they will show "The Hudsucker Proxy." On Jan. 20, the theater will show "Raising Arizona" and on Jan. 27, it will screen "The Big Lebowski." 3A man pretending to be a Catholic priest was arrested this week for selling fake tickets to see the Pope, Reuters reported. The man had charged customers over $250 for tickets to Pope Benedict's scheduled visit to Brazil this May. Parking permit Valuables stolen stolen from car from student WHERE: Earl Moore Build- ing,1100 Baits Dr. WHEN: Wednesday at about noon WHAT: A student reported the larceny of her wallet, credit cards, driver's license and MCard, DPS reported. WHERE: Parking lot M-75, 1900 Fuller Rd. WHEN: Wednesday at about 8:30 a.m. WHAT: A female staff mem- ber's parking pass was stolen from her car, DPS reported. Police did not know whether her car was locked. 0 0 0 0 6