4 RETURN TO THE TOP Hockey team narrowly misses sweep of top-ranked Miami (Ohio) SportsMonday Nc 1Bidigan Daily IT )F EDITORIAL FREEDOM Ann Arbor, Michigan Monday, February 11, 2008 michigandaily.com TOP CHEF TURNS ON THE HEAT AT HILLEL SPRING COMMENCEMENT Graduation will be held on the Diag 66 percent of those BACKUP PLANS surveyed chose Diag 3,OO2graduating studentsvoted torthe Diag over Elbel Field CHRIS HERRING and ANDYKROLL Daily News Editors After a month-long process that included online surveys, student forums and failed protests, all in reaction to the announce- ment that spring commencement wouldn't be held at the Big House, University officials announced Friday that April's graduation ceremony will be held on the Diag. In an e-mail sent to graduating students, University Provost Teresa Sullivan and E. Royster Harper, the University's vice president for student affairs, said Univer- sity President Mary Sue Coleman and Uni- versity executive officers agreed;to hold the ceremony on the Diag after the venue received 66 percent of the 3,002 votes cast in an online survey. The decision came almost one month after University officials announced that SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGN' the ceremony would take place at Eastern Michigan University's Rynearson Stadium rather than Michigan Stadium because of ongoing construction in the Big House. Following the original announcement, angry callse-mails and letters from students and alumni pressured the University to reconsider its decision to move the ceremony off campus. In response, University officials surveyed graduates on arange of issues related to com- mencement, including whether they would prefer to hold the event on campus and See DIAG, Page 3A CZECH PRESIDENTIAL RACE 'U' prof.still in hunt for Czech presidency After three rounds, CZECH PRESIDENTIAL deputies still haven't ELECTION RESULTS reached a majority vote Through three rounds of voting Ilan Hall, winner of Bravo's Top Chef, competed against Hillel's own Chef Emil insa special competition yesterday. The proceeds of the event will help fund Hillel's upcoming alternative spring break trips to Nicaragua, Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans. TEACH FO R AMERICA 'U' leads nation in program applicants Seniors on pace to break application record for teaching program at underprivileged schools By JOE STAPLETON DailyStaffReporter Teaching underprivileged students in impoverished areas of the country may seem like a thankless job to some, but Uni- versity students have turned out in record numbers this year with hopes of joining the increasingly popular Teach For Amer- ica program. With the program's final application deadline Friday, about 300 applications have been submitted to join the program next year, Teach For America representa- tives said. In addition, more than 640 applications for the program have been started at the University, between undergraduate and graduate students. That's the most of any college in the country, ahead of the Uni- versityofCaliforniaatBerkeley,whichhas produced about 400. The University has consistently been the leader in applicants for Teach For America. But this year, the number of applicants is on track to make history. "The University is on pace to have more students join Teach For America than any school ever," said LSA senior Will Fogel, a campus campaign coordinator for the organization. "Everybody has their own theory as to why the numbers are way up this year." Teach For America, one of the largest nonprofits in the country, places college graduates in underprivileged and under- funded schools throughout the country to work for two years asa teacher. According to the organization's web- site, half of the students growing up in low-income communities will not gradu- ate from high school by the time they are 18, and of the half that do graduate, just one in1 will graduate from college. So far, Teach For America has accepted more than 50 applicants. Fogel said that only five have declined their offer. LSA senior Elizabeth Mann, who plans See PROGRAM, Page 7A By JULIE ROWE Daily Staff Reporter After six hours of intense debate, three rounds ofvoting and the hospitalization of two deputies, the parliament of the Czech Republic is no closer to choosing the country's next president. Incumbent presi- dent Vaclav Klaus is challenged by Ross School of Business Prof. Jan Svejnar, who received U.S. citizen- ship after fleeing his SVEJNAR native Czechoslovakia while the country was a communist state. The election should have been decided after three rounds of voting by the parlia- ment on Friday. But six hours of debate See ELECTION, Page 7A 1ST ROUND ON FEBRUARY 8, 2008 Ta win, a candidateoneeds a majnrityvoe from the Chamber of Deputies(101votes) and the Senate (41 vales). KLAUS:139 SVEJNAR: 138 2ND ROUNDON FEBRUARY8,2008 To win, a candidate needs a majority from present Deputies and present Senators. HOUSE OF DEPUTIES: KLAUS: 94 SVEJNAR: 104 SENATE: KLAUS: 48 SVEJNAR: 31 3RD ROUND ON FEBRUARY 9,2008 To win inthe final round, a candidate needs a majority from a joint vote of the House and Senate. Of the 281 parliament members, 278 voted. KLAUS: 139 SVEJNAR: 113 SOURCE: CZECH PRESS AGENCY WASHTENAW WIRELESS Cash shortfall slows down coverage County's wireless plan could be 18 months away By MATT GALVAN For the Daily Because of funding shortfalls, the completion of a project that would blanket all of Washtenaw County with free wireless Inter- net service remains at least a year away. Washtenaw Wireless, a pri- vately funded initiative to estab- lish outdoor wireless access for the entire county, was original- ly supposed to be complete by December 2007, but the project fell behind schedule after several investors backed out. Dan Skratek, Wireless Washt- enaw project manager for 20/20 Communications, the company behind the project, said he's con- fident the project will soon have enough financial support to move forward. He said he expects the project to be complete in 16 to 18 months. Originally estimated to cost $26 million, the project's cost has been reduced to $9 or $10 million, Skratek said. Skratek attributed the savings to improvements in technology since the planning stages of the project. While many cities, including Ann Arbor, have supported the project by allowing 20/20 Com- munications to mount equip- ment on street signs and other public structures, no public or taxpayer money is being used to the fund the project. That's one reason the project has hit a snag.. "Private investors have been very interested, but they have been scared off by the skittish economy," Skratek said. See WIRELESS, Page 3A Lecturer critiques racial gap in health care Wayne State prof. says iniquities stem from past failures By SARA LYNNE THELEN DailyStaffReporter The lives of 83,500 black people could be saved each year if the racial health care gap were nar- rowed, a Wayne State professor said in a lecture yesterday. Willie Underwood, a Wayne State University professor of urol- ogy, argued in a presentation that JEREMY CHO/Daily the disadvantages blacks face in Willie Underwood, a professor of urology at Wayne State University, spoke on the health care can be attributed to the racial disparities in health care in the Wedge Room of West Quad yesterday. He See LECTURE, Page 3A was invited by Alpha Kappa Alpha, a campus sorority. TODAY'S WEATHER H I:14 GOT A NEWS TIP? LO: 11 Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and letus know. ON T HE DAIY ILOGSE Is the U.S. scared of its own shadow? MICHIGANDAILY.COM/THEPODIUM INDEX NEWS................2A CROSSWORD.....................6A Vol.CXVIII,No.94 OPINION...........................4A CLASSIFIEDS .............. 6A micHTheMichiganailp ARTS............................ A SPORTSMONDAY. B ,~ . -..i r .: f 5