The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com How the U' saves energy over break Wednesday, January 7, 2009 - 7A THE NEXT CHAPTER Resident advisors checked rooms to make sure power wasn't wasted By STEPHANIE STEINBERG Daily StaffReporter After Bursley Hall residents left for winter vacation, LSA junior John Ray - a Bursley resi- dent advisor - entered 88 rooms to check if students defrosted their freezers, unplugged appli- ances and turned off lights. As an RA, Ray assisted the University's effort to conserve energy over winter break by inspecting each room to see if students followed the University's energy-saving techniques. "Most students complied with making sure their appliances were off," Ray said. "There were only a few incidents in which the refrig- erators were still plugged in." To conserve energy in the resi- dence halls, residential computing sites are completely shut down, and the dining services staff were instructed to turn off unnecessary lights and equipment. University Housing spokesman Peter Logan said the University cannot entirely shut down build- ings over breaks because people still work in them. "One of the challenges is that because there are some live-in residential education staff in some buildings, we can't turn the heat down completely nor can we turn the heat off in any facilities because that would run the risk of pipes freezing," Logan said. Logan said that while stu- dents are gone, housing staff walk through each building daily to make sure areas are secure and energy is not being wasted. Alan Levy, director of commu- nications for Information Tech- nology Central Services, said computers at ITCS campus com- puting sites were on low-energy consumption sleep mode during FRATERNITY P From Page 1A discovered. He said the repair costs, which are being covered by insurance, haven't been deter- mined. Despite the inconvenience the break. "IT administrators in schools, colleges and departments advise faculty and staff to turn off as much computing equipment, including printers, during the break as feasible given ongoing research, laboratory and other essential activities that don't stop during the break," Levy said. Other universities in Michigan practice similar energy conserva- tion strategies. Western Michigan University officials named its energy plan "Holiday Setback." Cheryl Roland, a spokeswoman at WMU, said WMU plans to save between $250,000 to $350,000 from Holiday Setback this year. "Our Energy Command Cen- ter has computer access to adjust the settings for about 3,000 ther- mostats in 75 buildings campus- wide," Roland said in an e-mail interview. "Beginning at noon Dec. 24, our entire campus will go into holiday mode with much of the building space at about 55 degrees." From 1996 to 2008 WMU's campus experienced a 19-percent increase in building square foot- age. During the same period, it reduced energy consumption by 17 percent. Roland said representatives from the University of Michigan and colleges in Ohio and Indiana have visited WMU this semester to observe its energy consumption practices. "Our campus regularly attracts colleagues from other institutions - including U of M - who pose just one question, 'How do you do it?"' she said. Michigan State University attempts to conserve energy through Environment Stewards, a group of 613 faculty volunteers who work to make MSU more environmentally friendly. Almost every building has one steward who engages co-workers in ener- gy-saving, waste reduction and recycling practices. Lauren Olson, one of the coor- dinators of Environment Stew- ards, said the program works well because it's easy for volunteers to talk to their co-workers working in the same department. "Having direct contact is bet- ter than getting some e-mail (with energy-savingtips)," Olson said. In preparation for winter break, the Environment Stewards advised co-workers to turn off and unplug appliances and turn down the heat. Sharri Margraves, MSU direc- tor of housing and food services and maintenance and interior design, said MSU saves $200,000 for every degree lowered in resi- dence halls and campus buildings. "In the campus buildingswe ask that we do not exceed 70 degrees," Margraves said in an e-mail inter- view. "In the residence halls, the heating is reduced to about 65 during the break." MSU Housing also set up post- ers in residence halls to remind students what to do before leav- ing for break. The posters alerted residents to unplug electronics because "plugged-in electronics create phantom energy waste by drawing electricity." The signs also told students to report any dripping faucets or showers since one dripping faucet can waste more than 100 gallons of water per day. The University of Michigan has not been able to estimate how much money it saves from energy reduc- tions over breaks due to weather variations, differences in vacation length and difficulties in measur- ing energy use for short periods. "Basically, University Housing has conducted these 'shutdown' efforts for years because we know that it reduces energy and water consumption, and it's the right thing to do," Logan said. When asked if the University could improve its energy conser- vation during breaks, Logan said the University does everything it can to cut consumption. "Given the facilities we need to manage, some of which are pret- ty old, we do a pretty good job," he said. MAX COLLIN5/Daily Michigan Book and Supply employee Jenny Gutsue checks out books yesterday for LSA sophomore Tricia Shine in preparation for the upcoming semester, which starts today. Apple alters song prices Tech company to use three-tier system for song purchases SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Apple Inc. is cutting the price of some songs in its market-leading iTunes online store to as little as 69 cents and plans to make every track avail- able without copy protection. In Apple's final appearance at the Macworld trade show, Apple's top marketing executive, Philip Schiller, said yesterday that iTunes song prices will come in three tiers: 69 cents, 99 cents and $1.29. Record companies will choose the prices, which marks a significant change, since Apple previously made all songs sell for 99 cents. Apple gave the record labels that flexibility on pricing as it got them to agree to sell all songs free of"dig- ital rights management," or DRM, technology that limits people's abil- ity to copy songs or move them to multiple computers. Applehad been offering a limited selection of songs without DRM, but bythe end of this quarter, the company said, all 10 million songs in its library will be available that way. While iTunes is the most popu- lar digital music store, others have been faster to offer more songs without copy protection. Amazon. com Inc. started selling DRM- free music downloads in 2007 and swayed all the major labels to sign on in less than a year. Schiller also announced that iPhone 3G users will be able to buy songs from the iTunes store using the cellular data network. Previous- ly, iPhone users could shop for tunes when connected to a Wi-Fi hotspot. The iTunes changes marked the highlights of Schiller's run as a stand-in for CEO Steve Jobs, who used to make Macworld the site for some of Apple's biggest prod- uct unveilings, such as the iPhone. Apple said last month that Jobs would not address the throngs this time because the company plans to pull out of Macworld next year. Apple shares slipped $1.56, or 1.7 percent, to close at $93.02. Schiller got a warm welcome from the attendees - who packed the convention hall despite the pall cast over the industry by the eco- nomic downturn - especially at the start of his talk, when he thanked them for showing up despite Jobs' notable absence. He ran seamlessly through his 90-minute presenta- tion, getting applause and dohs from the audience, varying little from the format of slides and demos established by Jobs. And like Jobs, he gushed about Apple's products being the best in the world. "Phil did an exceptionally good job in representing Apple," said Tim Bajarin, presidentoftechnologyana- lystgroup Creative Strategies Inc. Lower iTunes prices were Apple's only nod to the recession - and an oblique one atthat, as record labels have been asking for years to set varying song prices. Rather than an inexpensive new Mac to lure budget-conscious buyers, Schiller unveiled a new $2,800 Macbook Pro laptop with a 17-inch screen and the sleek aluminum casing the company debuted with the super- thin Macbook Air. He also unwrapped new versions of two software packages for Macs, includingthe iLife multimedia pro- grams. For instance, iPhoto '09 can recognize faces and sort photos based on who's in them. Garage- Band '09 includes videotaped, interactive music lessons given by Sting and other musicians. Apple added more professionalvideoedit- ing features to iMovie '09. Apple's answer to Microsoft Corp.'s Office productivity suite, called iWork, also got a makeover, including zippy new ways to add animation between slides in the Keynote presentation software. And Apple unveiled a "beta" test version of a Web site for sharing documents, iWork.com. Unlike Google Inc's online documents program, however, Apple's version does not allow people to edit docu- ments in a Web browser. Apple said the thin new 17-inch aluminum-cased Macbook Pro, which joins an existing 15-inch model, will start shipping at the end of January. Perhaps the biggest twist is the laptop's battery, which is designed to last longer on each charge - up to seven or eight hours. caused by the two incidents, spir- its remain high for the ADPhi brothers. Barack said the support- ive response from the Greek com- munity, is "the silver lining to this incident." "Members of the Greek commu- nity were very much open to and offering alternatives and options for the guys in the house," Barack said. "Some of the other Greek houses called and offered places to live. So the response was really nice." Any information regarding the case can be reported to Detective Amy Ellinger at 734-996-3282 or aellinger@a2gov.org. the michigan daily WWW800FULLER.COM QUIT SMOKING! $100, patches, & (734) 769-7520 personalized intervention. Make 3 T M ichigan ai l H oros cope 1 & 2 bdrm., modern, clean, quiet study visits including a brain scan. 5 min. walk, MED, DENT, and Campus sitemaker.a .c7edu 5stadies/quit For Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009 ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Be careful. Slow down. This is an accident-prone day: It's also very easy to fall into negative thinking or to be overly gloomy about something. Let it go. This is just a temporary dark cloud on your horizon. TAURUS (April 260 May 26) Your finances are definitely unpre- dictable today. Furthermore, you might feel broke. Keep an eye on your money. Guard against breakages of something you own. This stress will be gone soon! GEMINI (May21 toJune 20) Something unexpected might happen that gets you down today. It could relate to dealing with authority figures - par- ents, bosses, VIPs, teachers or the police. Easy does it. CANCER (June 21 to July 22) This is a mildly accident-prone day. It's also easy to fall into negative think- ing. Guard against all of this. This is just a temporary negative celestial influence. Yikes! LEO (July 23 to Aug. 22) Something about your financial scene might worry you today. Or you might lose something and regret it. However, whatever happens is minor in the big picture. VIRGO (Aug. 23 to Sept. 22) This is a poor day for dealing with authority figures, parents, teachers, VIPs and bosses. Wherever you turn, all you hear is, "Talk to the hand!" LIBRA (Sept. 23 to Oct. 22) Matters connected with work or even with your health might be disconcerting today. Things are difficult, and others are not cooperative. Just bear with all this as best you can. SCORPIO (Oct. 23 to Nov. 21) Parents, teachers and child-care work- ers must be vigilant with children under their care today, because it is an acci- dent-prone day for kids. Misunderstandings also can arise easily. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 221t Dec. 21) Be patient with family members and partners today. People are quick to take offense and then suddenly do something rash or unthinking. Cool your jets. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 to Jan. 19) Keep an eye on your money today. Financial matters are unpredictable. Something to do with your possessions is also subject to loss, theft or breakage. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 to Feb. 18) Romance is disappointing today. Parents must be extra patient when deal- ing with children. Even your finances are shaky, Fortunately, this is temporary! PISCES (Feb. 19 to March 20) It's hard to know what is happening today, because you could be discouraged or caught off guard by something. Take it easy. Don't overreact to anything. YOU BORN TODAY You're an origi- nal thinker, and you're not afraid to blaze new paths. Sometimes your dis- coveries allow you to make a huge impact on others. Many of you experi- ence the so-called overnight success. You're motivated, determined and will- ing to drive yourself to the limit. Partnerships, marriage and close friend- ships will be a major focus this year. Birthdate of: David Bowie, singer; Elvis Presley, rock 'n' roll icon; Stephen -Hawking, physicist, cosmologist. SMOKING BAN From Page 1A customers were no longer allowed to smoke in the tin-covered diner. "People come here every single day because they can smoke," Woodward said. "We had a couple customers who flat out said we don't only come here for the food." But Byrnes said some of her constituents have told her that the ban would in fact make them more likely to go to a restaurant or bar. EVALUATIONS From Page 1A dents for gettingthem in." Later this month, teams will meet toreviewtheperformanceofthenew system and discuss ways to improve it. The teams include representatives from the Office of Evaluations and Exams, Administrative Information Services and CTools. One team will focus on communication and design and other teams on evaluation issues and software design. In tweaking the system,Kulik said the teams will also consider input from students and faculty. LSA freshman Amanda Gram- lich filled out all of her course evaluations without any problems. She said that her sociology profes- M-DEN From Page 1A local retailers that sell University apparel. "We'll all still survive," Duerk- sen said. "But in this economy we have to become more lean in each and every way that we can." At Moe's Sport Shops, which sells the same Adidas and offi- cial University apparel carried by M-Den, store manager Drew Christensen said it's too early to tell what kind of impact the new competition will have. Christensen said he had his fingers crossed that a rival "I have been told by many that theywouldmakemorefrequentvis- its to local business if smoking were no longer allowed," Byrnes said. Public health experts argue that the ban is necessary to protect non-smoking patrons and restau- rant employees from second-hand smoke, a point that Byrnes said made a decision on the ban par- ticularly important. "This legislation was about workers' health and is an impor- tant preventative healthcare mea- sure," she said. sor devoted class time to having students fill his out and that all her instructors pushed for student par- ticipation. "One of my political science GSIs even brought us candy and asked us to please do it and fill them out" Gramlich said. College of Engineering senior Ray Smith said one of his profes- sors made filling outthe evaluation extra credit. After completing that one, he figured he might aswell do the rest. Smith said the transition to online evaluations was easy. "For me it doesn't make that big of a difference," Smith said. "It's probably easier in terms of keep- ing track of sheets of paper versus keeping track online. And, I can generally type faster than I can write, so it's just faster in general." retailer wouldn't fill the Steve and Barry's vacancy. He added, though, that his .store already has a good working relationship with M-Den and that the two regularly refer customers back and forth. Though the two stores sell the same name brand apparel and tar- get the same shoppers, Christens- en said Moe's would find a way to remain competitive in the local retail market. "We've been here since 1915 and we've seen companies come and go," Christensen said. "We always find a way to adapt, and Moe's will find a way to adapt to this change." READER KNOWS BEST. Vote for the Best of Ann Arbor before January 23 on our web site. michigandaily.com/aabest CONQUERING FEAR - A Spiritual Approach. Sat., 10 Jan 09, 2:00-4:00 pm. trazy Wisdom Book Store, Main St, Ann Arbor. Open discussioneregard- ing the antidote to any fear and the path to self-mastership. Facilitated by local members of Eckankar, Religion of the Light and Sound of God. 734-255-7691. s2009 King Features Syndicate, Inc.