Wolverines
anonymous
You've probably never heard of these three,
but they're the key to a successful start
to the John Beilein era.
Tipoff 2007
N U E EH N YE j EIT1111IA FEM
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, November 8, 2007
michigandaily.com
ENV1RONMENTALE
A degree
Ingreen
at engin
school
New masters
program to teach
sustainable
engineering
By LISA PAUL
For the Daily
Next fall, students will be able to
get a dual masters degree that will
combine engineering and natural
sciences to produce environmen-
tally conscious engineers.
Gregory Keoleian, an associate
professor in 'the School of Natu-
ral Resources and Environment
and one of the architects of the
Engineering Sustainable Systems
degree, said the program is a vital
step in the right direction for sus-
tainability.
"This program is important
because we want to educate engi-
neers about sustainability chal-
lenges and provide them with the
tools to address those challenges,"
Keoleian said. "This degree looks
at the nexus of sustainability and
technology."
Although the initial program
will only be available as a dual
masters degree, Keoleian said
there are other efforts to try to
integrate environmental concerns
into the undergraduate engineer-
ing programs as well.
The partnership between the
College of Engineering and the
School of Natural Resources for
the program is the first of its kind
in the nation. Students in the pro-
gram will have to complete all of
the requirements to earn a masters
of science in both engineering and
natural resources and environ-
ment.
When the program begins, par-
ticipants will follow one of three
tracks depending on their engi-
neering field. These tracks will
focus on sustainable energy sys-
tems, sustainable design and man-
ufacturing systems or sustainable
See DEGREE, Page 3A
Kinesiology senior Anjani Mahabir pays only $350 a month for half of a two-bedroom Ypsilanti apartment. She likes the apartment but
not the drive to campus.
ELECTION '08
Ruling
en dangers
Jan.15
J1primary
Judge says part of law
is unconstitutional
MASON, Mich. (AP) - Michigan's bid to have an
early role in picking 2008 presidential candidates is in
jeopardy after a judge ruled yesterday that part of a
state law establishing a Jan. 15 primary is unconsti-
tutional.
The ruling effectively cancels the primary date
unless there is a successful appeal or state law is
changed to allow the vote to go forward. The primary
date had been pushed up by state Republicans and
Democrats to make Michigan more relevant to the
selection of presidential candidates.
Michigan's move was under fire even before Ing-
ham County Circuit Court Judge William Collette
ruled unconstitutional a provision in the law to give
the Democratic- and Republican parties exclusive
access to lists of who voted in their party's primary.
The national Republican and Democratic parties
had threatened to slap the state parties with sanctions
for violating party rules if Michigan followed through
on the primary plan. Several Democratic candidates
withdrew from the Michigan primary, leaving Hillary
Rodham Clinton as the only top-tier candidate left on
the ballot.
Michigan's vote date is watched closely by other
states with early presidential primaries and caucuses.
State officials and lawmakers had not decided on
their next move as of yesterday afternoon. It is pos-
sible the state could appeal the ruling or have lawmak-
ers pass a different version of the law that resolves the
issues from yesterday's ruling. A two-thirds majority of
lawmakers supporting the existing law might also do
the trick.
See PRIMARY, Page 3A
MOVING EAST
Rents are lower in Ypsilanti,
but some students say it's not worth the commute
By Layla Aslani Daily Staff Reporter
During the upcoming search for
off-campus housing, some students
might be tempted by the lower rates
in Ypsilanti to make the move east.
But some who live there warn that the
lower prices are not always worth it.
Still, rent in Ypsilanti can often
be significantly lower than in Ann
Arbor.
The lower cost of living is a trade-
off for long daily commutes and social
isolation, they say.
LSA junior Kelly Kieft said financial
concerns were influential in her deci-
sion to live in Ypsilanti rather than
Ann Arbor. She said that two years
ago she paid approximately $230 a
month, including most utilities, to
share a two-bedroom apartment with
two friends.
On making the move to Ypsilanti,
Kieft advises other students, "Only do
it if you have to."
Dwight Amador, a broker at Hall-
mark Appraisal, a company that
appraises real estate in Southeast
Michigan, said Ypsilanti's housing is
typically 10 tot15 percent cheaper than
Ann Arbor's.
According to a survey of average
rental rates released yesterday by Uni-
versity Housing's off-campus housing
office, the average rent for a two-bed-
room unit is $1,117.
The survey was compiled using
data reported by landlords registered
with the office. The majority of prop-
erties included in the survey are in
Ann Arbor, but the data also includes
landlords with properties in nearby
cities.
BrianEvans, arealtor inWashtenaw
County, paid home prices are higher in
Ann Arbor because the city has more
jobs, a higher household income and a
better public school system. .
Amador pointed to different factors
than Evans. Amador said the price
difference is due to the fact that Ann
Arbor's economy is more diversified
than the surrounding cities like Ypsi-
lanti, and because of this Ann Arbor
is less affected by the state's economic
troubles.
Amador also attributed the price
difference to Eastern Michigan Uni-
versity's declining enrollment rate.
The school's enrollment rate has
steadily declined from 2002 to 2006
by about 7 percent.
Amador said this decline creates a
surplus of Ypsilanti housing, which
translates to savings for prospective
tenants. The longer units go unoccu-
pied, the more likely landlords are to
cut rental rates, he said.
Amador said living in Ypsilanti
might be a good option for students,
adding that he doesn't think commut-
ing would be difficult because of the
Ann Arbor Transportation Authori-
ty's bus system.
Kieft, who currently lives in Ypsi-
lanti with her parents, said she was
frustrated with commuting. .
Kieft used toride a city bus 40 min-
utes one way to get to class daily. She
said she often read for class on the bus
to pass the time.
Now she drives to campus, but she
said it is not much better because she
has to find a parking spot, usually a
20-minute walk away.
"I told myself I'm not going to force
myself to exercise because I usually
walk about an hour a day," she joked.
"I'm not lookingforward tothe winter
- I may have to change my system."
Study abroad plans influenced
Kinesiology senior Anjani Mahabir to
live in Ypsilanti this semester before
going to Prague in January.
See YPSILANTI, Page 7A
TUG-O-WAR FOR JENA
CAMPUS CRIME
Students robbed
in home at gunpoint
Two suspects
still at large
By KELLY FRASER
Daily NewsEditor
Ann Arbor police are search-
ing for two suspects after two
female students were robbed at
gunpoint Tuesday night when
two men entered their home on
West William Street through an
unlocked door.
The women were not hurt
in the robbery, which occurred
at about 9 p.m, said Lt. Angella
Abrams of the Ann Arbor Police
Department.
The men rummaged through
the house and stole the women's
cell phones, two laptop comput-
ers and cash before fleeing the
scene, Abrams said.
The first suspect is described
as a black male with slightly
pockmarked skin. He has a medi-
um build and is about 6-feet tall
and 220 pounds. He is between
25 and 30 years old. The man was
wearing a black or brown leather
coat and was carrying a small
semi-automatic handgun.
The second man is described
as a black male also between 25
and 30 years old and with a medi-
um build about 5-feet 9 inches
tall and between 190 and 200
See ROBBERY, Page 3A
University alum Jerry White co-founded the Landmine Sur-
vivors Network to connect survivors of landmine explosions.
White spoke in Rackham Auditorium yesterday.
Alum who survived
landmine calls for end
to 'victim mentality'
Landmines are 'weapons of mass
destruction in slow motion"
By ELIZABETH LAI
For the Daily
University alum Jerry White was hiking in North-
ern Israel with two of his friends when he wandered
onto an unmarked landmine. The earth beneath him
exploded, severing his right foot from the rest of his
body.
"I kept thinking, 'Where's my foot? Where's my
foot?" White told an audience at Rackham auditorium
last night.
He said as the blood flowed from his limbs, he
thought "I'm watching myself die."
Last night, White addressed an audience of about
200 students, alumni and faculty for the Ross School
See SURVIVORS, Page 7A
CHANEL VON HABSBURG-LOTH RINGEN/Dai
Members of the Social Welfare Action Alliance rallied on the Diag yesterday to demand freedom for
the lena 6, a group of black youths from Louisiana charged with assault in fiat many belieoe isa
racially-otiated prosecution. They held a tag-n-war to show that tie mooement to free the hena
is locked in a lag-of-war with the Louisiana justice system.
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