'M' seeks redemption after
Saturday's debacle. SPORTS, PAGE
4b'l 0i ign BiI0
NEIIAJNDItEDSEA'ENTEEN
OF EIT)1 O
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, September 7, 2007
michigandaily.com
'U': We're prepared for a crisis
Officials say system
in place to deal with
Va. Tech-like rampage
By MARA GAY
Daily StaffReporter
In response to the shootings at Vir-
ginia Tech in April, a panel created by
Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine released a
report last week detailing more than 90
ways universities and police officers can
make college campuses safer.
University of Michigan adminis-
trators said the report's findings are
important and there's always room for
improvement, but they maintain that
the University has developed its own
crisis management system that is capa-
ble of handling a similar crisis.
The panel's recommendations focus
on security, emergency preparedness
and mental health. The suggestions
include installing security cameras near
the entrances to campus buildings, cre-
ating a cell phone text messaging alert
system to immediately inform students
about a crisis situation and improv-
ing the communication of information
about troubled and potentially violent
students between mental health servic-
es and the school's administration.
Diane Brown, Department of Public
Safety spokeswoman, said the report is
relevantbut the University faces differ-
ent challenges because it's integrated
into the city of Ann Arbor as opposed to
being set apart from the city geographi-
cally or with walls or gates.
"We are an open campus," Brown
said. "Can one lock down the Univer-
sity? No."
Brown said that some of the panel's
recommendations are already in place
at the University. Weapons are already
illegal on campus, for example, and the
University trains police officers to deal
with active shooters.
She said some of the other mea-
See SAFETY, Page 3
A CA MPUS IN F LUX
UNDER
CONSTRUCTION
Here's why the scenery on your walk to class has
gone from bricks and ivy to fences and hard hats
By Emily Barton I Daily Staff Reporter
Chain link fences are like ivy
on campus this year. They're
everywhere.
Several construction proj-
ects dotting Central Campus
are forcing students to take
detours when walking to class..
Some of them aren't too happy
about it.
LSA freshman Susan Yang
said she's sick of dodging the
construction project in front
of the Shapiro Undergraduate
Library every day.
"I think it's really inconve-
nient," she said. "Sometimes I
walk over there and it's blocked
so I walk all the way back."
Other students aren't fazed
by the construction sites orsthe
campus.
"It doesn't bother me that
much," said LSA junior Anna
Miller. "I've gotten used to it."
MUSEUM OF ART RENOVATIONt
The 54,000 square-foot addition and the renovation of
the original musesm building on the southwest corner of
the Diag began in the fall of 2006, blocking the entrance
to the Diag from the south. The museum will reopen in
2008 with three additional floors and more room for
classrooms, exhibits and galleries. Diane Brown; the
University's facilities and operations spokeswornan, said
the project is on schedule.
HIGHER ED IN CONGRESS
BIlwould
hi'ke Pell
Grants
Bush says he'll sign legislation
that would also slash subsidies to
student loan companies
By DANIEL STRAUSS
For the Daily
After a summer of debate over how to relieve the
pressure of student loans on college graduates, Dem-
ocrats have proposed a compromise bill that would
increase grants and impose limits on how quickly stu-
dents can be forced to pay off loans.
The bill would cut subsidies to student loan compa-
nies by $21 billion and use that money to increase the
maximum Pell Grant from $4,310 to $5,400 by 2012. It
would also cut the interest rate in half on federal loans
for middle-class and poor students and guarantee that
low-income students won't have to spend more than15
percent of their monthly income repaying loans once
they graduate.
The bill is a toned-down version of two bills pro-
posed earlier this year by Democrats.
Although some Republicans voiced resistance to the
bills, a spokeswomanfor PresidentBush saidyesterday
that Bush would sign the bill ifit passes.
About 5 million students have Pell Grants, which,
unlike loans, don't have to be paid off. The loans are
only available to undergraduates, and the amount
awarded varies based on astudent's financial need.
Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said in a written state-
See GRANTS, Page 7
COLLEGE RANKINGS
'U' won't stop
sending info for
U.S. News list
Coleman calls rankings flawed
By EMILY BARTON
Daily Staff Reporter
Despite a growing revolt against the power of U.S.
News and World Report's influential college rank-
ings, the University of Michigan will continue to send
information to the magazine.
Several liberal arts colleges - including Sarah
Lawrence College and Barnard College - announced
in June thatthey would no longer provide data to U.S.
NewsandWorldReportbecause theysay therankings'
methodology doesn'tcfully reflect their strengths. Uni-
versity President Mary Sue Coleman was critical of
See RANKINGS, Page 7
HILL DINING CENTER
The construction blocking much of Palmer Field and
sidewalks on the Hill is due to the new Hill Dining Center,
expected to open in the fall of 2008, when Mosher-Jor-
dan residence hall reopens. The attached dorm will have
air conditioning and updated facilities. The two-story
dining center will have a cafe-style marketplace and
35,000 square feet of dining space.
UGLI TUNNELS
The hole in front of the Shapiro Undergraduate Library should
be filled by spring, clearing the path toward the East Hall Arch.
The hole was excavated so workers could rebuild tunnels con-
taining heating pipes under the University. Students say the
construction site is confusing because the fences are occa-
sionally shifted around, adjusting the route pedestrians must
take. Brown said construction workers have had to adjust traf-
fic flow more than once to leave a pathway open for students.
"The nature of having so many buildings makes it more chal-
lenging," she said.
Fourth in afive-part series
AROUND COUNTRY, NEW LAWS ON BOOKS
BANG-UP JOB
Mich. lawmakers haven't
tried to lower prices
since last year
By GABE NELSON
Daily News Editor
With the cost of higher education
climbing, state legislators from coast to
coast took aim at expensive textbooks
this year.
But the Michigan legislature hasn't
made any effort to cut textbook prices for
students since 2006.
According to data compiled by the
National Association of College Stores,
a trade group of campus bookstores, 26
states have considered legislation on text-
book prices this year, up from 19 states
last year and 18in 2005.
Some states have passed legisla-
tion requiring faculty to take price into
account when selecting textbooks. Oth-
ers have mandated that professors must
release their booklists early enough that
students have time to shop around.
Nothing has hit the Michigan state leg-
islature this year, but the issue has gained
momentum this year in part because of
a push by the Student PIRGs, a national
coalition of student-run public interest
research groups. The group has no chap-
ter in Michigan.
Nicole Allen, the national group's
affordable textbooks advocate, said she
realized how important textbook legis-
See BOOKS, Page 7
KELLYN JACKSON/Daily
School of Music sophomore Jack Stratton beats the lid of a trash can while promoting Groove, a student
group, at Festifall on th6 iag.
TODAY'S HI: 83
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ON THE DAILY BWG6 S
Sen. Larry Craig's double standard
MICHIGANDAILY.COM/THEPODIUM
INDEX N EW S ........................ ......2 ARTS ....... .........................5
Vol.CXvIII, No.4 SUDOKU..............................3 CLASSIFIEDS............6
2007 The MichigannDaily OPINION .......... ....4 SPORTS .............................9
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