CHASING VARSITY DREAMS
The Statement
:Iie lid198n BauM
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
michigandaily.com
BIG HOUSE ACCESSIBILITY DEBATE
Ed. Dept.
responds
on stadium
Civil rights office says
University has 10 more days to
offer solutions
before it takes action
By GABE NELSON
Daily News Editor
Two weeks after the Department of Education sent
a letter threatening to cut its funding to the Univer-
sity if Michigan Stadium isn't made more accessible to
disabled fans, the correspondence has continued with
neither side backing down.
The department's Office of Civil Rights sent a letter
sent to the University on Friday rejecting the Univer-
sity's response to allegations that it has failed to meet
the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities
Act.
Department of Education spokesperson Jim Brad-
shaw said in an e-mail interview that the University
has until Monday to "submit an agreement adequate
See STADIUM, Page 7A
CAMPUS TECHNOLOGY
Sy stem brings
'U' computers
to your screen
ITCS exec: This will 'change
campus computing'
By KYLE SWANSON
Daily StaffReporter
Students won't have to walk to computing sites to
access University software resources anymore.
The University's Information Technology Central
Services yesterday unveiled Virtual Sites, a free appli-
cation that allows users to remotely log onto a Univer-
sity computer at any time from any place that has an
Internet connection.
The application, which uses a Windows XP plat-
form, is compatible with PCs and Macs alike.
Through Virtual Sites, users can access about
100 software programs, ranging from the standard
iTunes, Google Earth and Microsoft Word to the more
advanced AutoCAD and Stata.
The application launches a window showing the
University computer's desktop on the user's monitor.
Kevin Jones, assistant manager of technical sup-
port for the University's information technology divi-
sion, said the University is one of the first schools of
its size to implement this type of application campus-
See COMPUTERS, Page 7A
A state police bomb squad was called to North University Avenue yesterday after a suspicious package was found on a University bus.
Bomb scare shuts North U.
Package bore
similarities to other
incidents, turned out to
be false alarm
By GABE NELSON
Daily News Editor
Police closed much of North Uni-
versity Avenue yesterday afternoon to
investigate a suspicious package found
in a University bus parked at a stop
between the Ruthven Exhibit Museum
of Natural History and the C.C. Little
Science Building.
The package turned out to contain
engine parts, including a supercharger
kit, according to police.
A bomb squad from the Michigan
State Police removed the package from
the bus at 1:59 p.m., about 40 minutes
after arriving onthe scene. Police issued
an "all clear" alert several minutes later.
Brown said the package especially
concerned police because it bore simi-
larities to several recent incidents in
which suspicious packages were found
in packages in Northville, Mich. In
two of those cases, the boxes contained
explosives.
The box was white, with open flaps
and black insulation covering its con-
tents, said Ken Massey, who drove the
bus with the package on it. The outside of
the box bore the word "Northville" writ-
ten in scratchy handwriting, he said.
Department of Public Safety spokes-
woman Diane Brown said she could not
confirm that description.
At 11:51 a.m., Massey called to report
a suspicious box on his bus. By 12:45
p.m., the North University Avenue was
barricaded with police tape between
Fletcher and Church Streets on the
northeast corner of the Diag.
Witnesses told police that a male
passenger entered the bus protectively
carrying a box. The man left the bus
without taking the box.
The bus was traveling southbound
from North Campus to the C.C. Little
bus stop.
The Exhibit Museum of Natural
History was evacuated and closed dur-
ing the investigation, but C.C. Little
remained open. Many students were
delayed getting to class as officers
directed them around the barricades.
The bomb squad joined officers
from the Department of Public Safety,
the Ann Arbor Fire Department, the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives and the United States
Postal Inspection Service.
A siren sounded at 1 p.m. as police
investigated the package. Brown said in
a written statement that the siren was
part of the city's monthly test and was
unrelated to the investigation.
Brown said DPS is trying to locate
the owner of the package.
"It's an investigation of an incident,"
she said. "Right now there aren't any
elements of a crime."
But that could change, she said.
Brown said people with information
about the incident should contact DPS
at 734-763-1131 or call the University's
anonymous tip line at 800-863-1355.
- Andy Kroll contributed to this report.
r
t
;.a
Prof. turns vibrations into electricity
REDUCING GLOBAL WARMING
Ford says he wants eco-friendly
cars, but many are still skeptical
New technology uses
river's motion to
generate power
without hurting fish
By ELAINE LAFAY
Daily StaffReporter
A University professor has devel-
oped new technology that he says
willextract energy fromwater in an
environmentally-friendly way. It's
slated to be deployed in the Detroit
River over the next 19 months.
Michael Bernitsas, professor
of naval architecture and chief
executive officer of Vortex Hydro
Energy, says his device -VIVACE,
which stands for Vortex Induced
Vibration for Aquatic Clean Energy
- presents "a totally new method
of extracting energy from water
flow."
The device in the Detroit River
would consist of a series of cylinders
Auto exec says
industry just part of
environment puzzle
By ELIZABETH LAI
Daily StaffReporter
Ford Motor Company's gas-
guzzling sport utility vehicles
have been labeled as chief culprits
in global warming.
Nonetheless, William Ford Jr.,
the executive chairman of Ford's
board of directors, spoke about
sustainability to a crowd of about
800 at Rackham Auditorium last
night.
The presentation was part of
the Peter M. Wege lecture series
about environmental issues.
During his speech and a brief
question-and-answer session,
Ford stressed the necessity of a
national dialogue between auto
industry, government, environ-
mental and consumer advocates
to ensure the success of creating
sustainable transportation.
"We need to do our part, but
we're only a piece of a much bigger
puzzle," he said.
The disclaimer leftstudents like
Evan Croen, a graduate student in
the School of Natural Resources
and Environment, skeptical about
Ford's green efforts.
"The auto industry carries a
huge responsibility for all of us,"
he said.
A responsibility, Croen said, the
industry seems to be shirking.
Ford acknowledged that auto-
mobiles are responsible for half of
the world's crude oil consumption.
But without cooperation from all
stakeholders in the economy, he
said, alternative energy will con-
tinue to be expensive and unfea-
sible.
The current price of purchas-
ing alternative fuel in America
is a major deterrent from buying
eco-friendly cars for many people.
Ford used the European govern-
ment's taxation of non-diesel fuel
as an example of national collabo-
ration.
"Ultimately, people don't want
trade-offs," Ford said.
Ford's speech also included
a reference to the legacy of his
great-grandfather, Henry Ford.
The elder Ford believed that etha-
nol from fruits and weeds would
fuel future automotives, William
Ford Jr. said.
See FORD, Page 7A
ROB MIGRIN/Daily
A new technology developed by a team led by naval architecture Prof. Michael Ber-
oitsas uses vibrations caused by flowing water to create electricity.
that would vibrate because of the the natural thing to do," Bernitsas
water rushing past them. The rush- said.
ing water creates a spinning pocket That's similar to the way a school
of water: a vortex. The energy given of fish moves through water. Fish
off by the vortex is then harnessed at the front of the school create
and used to generate electricity. vortices as they swim by curving
"To some, the idea of VIVACE their bodies back and forth. Then
may seem exotic, but in water it's See ELECTRICITY, Page 7A
TODAY'S
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