0 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, October 27, 2010 - 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, October 27, 2010 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
DETROIT -
Toyota, Honda lead
quality rankings
The most problem-free cars and
trucks are made by Honda and Toy-
ota, but U.S. automakers Ford and
General Motors are closing the gap
in quality, according to an annual
survey by Consumer Reports mag-
azine.
Ford and GM continue to narrow
the disparity that once separated
Asia-based atomakers from their
Detroit rivals. Large overhauls of
American car companies in the last
few years have resulted in fewer
brands and better vehicles from
Detroit.
For the third year in a row, Toy-
ota's Scion had the fewest prob-
lems of any brand in the survey. It
was followed by Porsche, Acura,
Honda, and Nissan's Infiniti luxury
brand. The Toyota brand ranked
sixth down fromthird last year. It
was followed by Subaru and Volvo.
Lexus, which had been a top finish-
er in past years, fell to ninth. Ford
waa 1th, ht rose from 16th the
previous year.
YAKIMA, Wash.
U.S. District Court
delays toxic cleanup
The U.S. District Court in Spo-
kane has approved a new schedule
that delays the cleanup of radioac-
tive waste from the nation's most
contaminated nuclear site by about
20 years.
Watchdog groups have com-
plained that the delays are too
long, but state and federal officials
said the agreement imposes a new,
enforceable and achievable sched-
ule for removing the toxic waste
from underground tanks at south-
central Washington's Hanford
nuclear reservation.
The two sides began negotiat-
ing in 2007 when it became clear
that the federal government would
be unable to meet required dead-
lines, and Washington state filed
suit in 2008 when those negotia-
tions imploded. The consent decree
resolves the lawsuit, allowing the
federal government more time for
complex environmental cleanup
but requiring it to answer directly
to the court if new deadlines are
missed.
5AN FRANCISO, Calif.
Soros donates $1M
to legalize weed
Billionaire financier George
Soros has thrown his weight
behind California's marijuana
legalization measure with a $1
millin donation a week before the
vote. The contribution reported
yesterday by The Sacramento Bee
is the single biggest donation from
an individual other than Proposi-
ion 19's main sponsor, Oakland
nedical marijuana entrepreneur
Richard Lee.
Soros, a high-profile liberal and
philanthropist, has long backed
drug law reform. He was one of the
top financial backers of Califor-
bia's first-in-the-nation measure
hat legalized medical marijuana
in the state in 1996.
But Soros held off on openly
endorsing the current measure
until writing an op-ed published
yesterday in The Wall Street Jour-
nal. in the piece, Soros said legal-
izing and taxing marijuana would
save taxpayers the costs of incar-
ceration and law enforcement
while raising revenue for the state.
NEW YORK
Charges dropped in
anti-gay attacks
Prosecutors yesterday dropped
charges against three people
accused of taking part in anti-gay
attacks on two men and two teens,
titing a lack of evidence.
Bryan Almonte and Brian
Cepeda, both 17, and Steven Cara-
hello, 16, had been charged with
robbery, gang assault and unlawful
imprisonment as hate crimes in the
Oct. 3 attacks.
Eight other people remain
accused in the case, which city
officials called the worst anti-gay
attacks in recent history. It's pos-
sible more people will be arrested
because investigators are still
Working.
Family members and friends
cheered outside court after the
pharges were dismissed, and the
three boys' attorneys said they
were pleased with the outcome.
4lmonte's attorney John O'Connell
said his client thought he was at
a party in the abandoned home
where prosecutors say three of the
'aictims were assaulted.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports.
A TDN ORAIO' S UD
EFETV
.AMU
Villagers who live on the slope of Mount Merapi gather at a temporary shelter in Pakem, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Indonesia's
most volatile volcano started erupting after scientists warned that pressure could trigger its most powerful eruption in years.
Indonesian earthquake
triggers deadly tsnua-mi
Disasters could be
sign of future
volcanic eruptions
MOUNT MERAPI, Indonesia
(AP) - A volcanic eruption and
a tsunami killed scores of people
hundreds of miles apart in Indone-
sia - spasms from the Pacific "Ring
of Fire," which spawns disasters
from deep within the Earth.
Yesterday's eruption of Mount
Merapi killed at least 18 people,
forced thousands to flee down its
slopes and spewed burning ash
and smoke high into the air on the
island of Java.
Meanwhile, off the coast of
Sumatra, about 800 miles (1,300
kilometers) west of the volcano,
rescuers battled rough seas to
reach Indonesia's Mentawai
islands, where a 10-foot tsunami
triggered by an earthquake Mon-
day nightswept away hundreds of
homes, killing at least 113 villag-
ers, said Mujiharto of the Health
Ministry's crisis center. Up to 500
others are missing.
The twin disasters happened
hours apart in one of the most
seismically active regions on the
planet.
Scientists have warned that
pressure building beneath Mera-
pi's lava dome could trigger its
most powerful explosion in years.
But Gede Swantika, a govern-
ment volcanologist, expressed
hope the 9,737-foot (2,968-meter)
mountain, which sent rocks and
debris cascading down its south-
ern slope, could be releasing
steam slowly.
"It's too early to know for
sure," he said, adding that a big
blast could still be coming. "But if
it continues like this for a while,
we are looking at a slow, long
eruption."
A 2006 eruption at Merapi
killed two people, one in 1994
killed 60 people, and a 1930 blast
killed 1,300.
After refusing to budge from
the volcano's fertile slopes, saying
they wanted to tend to their crops
and protect their homes, villagers
started streaming by the thou-
sands into makeshift emergency
shelters late yesterday. Many car-
ried sleeping mats, bags of clothes
and food as they settled in.
Officials said earlier that by
closely monitoring the volcano
310 miles (500 kilometers) south-
east of the capital of Jakarta, they
thought they could avoid casual-
ties. But the death toll rose quickly.
Police and volunteers were
shown on Metro TV pulling at
least 14 ash-covered bodies and
carrying them to waiting vehicles.
Among the dead was a
2-month-old baby, said Mareta,
a hospital worker who goes by
only one name. The infant's tiny
body was draped in a sheet as his
mother cried.
Three people at Panti Nugroho
hospital died of burns after being
hit by a searing cloud of ash, said
Agustinus Parjo, a spokesman.
Even as they contended with
the volcano - one of 129 to watch
in the world's largest archipelago
- officials were trying to assess
the impact of Monday night's
7.7-magnitude earthquake off
Sumatra that triggered the killer
tsunami.
FIVE GUYS
From Page 1A
costs $5.29, according to the Five
Guys website.
Five Guys was founded in
Arlington, Va. by University alum
Jerry Murell, who opened the first
location in 1986 with the help of
his four sons. Though Five Guys
mostly sells burgers and fries,
Murell believed quality was more
important than offering a bunch
of different options, Adelman said.
Five Guys will bring about 50
jobs to Ann Arbor. The managers
of the State Street location will
hold interviews for part- and full- '
time jobs a week before the res-
taurant's opening.
Adelman said Ann Arbor is a
good city in which to open a new
location because of the diversity
and density of people - especially
on State Street where there is a lot
of foot traffic.
"I don't think we're compet-
ing with other businesses," Adel-
man said. "We just give a choice of
something different than what's
already there."
Varujan Arman, owner of
Quickie Burger on State St., said
Five Guys won't be a threat to his
business.
"I don't think it will affect our
business because we're complete-
ly different," Arman said. "Their
menu is very limited, and ours has
75 options. We have a great selec-
tion."
He added that the only thing
Five Guys has that Quickie Burger
doesn't is a corporate name.
LSA junior Katharine Zurek
said she thinks there is something
for everyone at Five Guys.
"As a vegan, I'm excited to see if
they have good fries," Zurek said.
LSA sophomore Cassidy Dan-
iels said she is disappointed that
Five Guys doesn't sell milkshakes,
but is still excited to see some-
thing new move into the space
formally occupied by Shaman
Drum.
Adelman said he expects stu-
dents to make up a major portion
of their customer base, but he also
predicts that families will eat at
the restaurant because they can
order a lot of food for cheap.
PEACE CORPS
From Page 1A
Corps work prior to attending
graduate school and said her
overseas experience aided her in
determining what she wanted to
study in graduate school.
"I wasn't exactly sure what
I wanted to do and the Peace
Corps helped me figure that
out," Hyduke said.
The School of Social Work is
one of four social work schools
in the country to have a Mas-
ter's International program,
according to Srinkia Jayaratne,
director of the office of Global
Activities in the School of Social
Work.
Like with the SNRE program,
Jayaratne said officials are still
trying to figure out how students
abroad will communicate with
the school, adding that students
will be assigned an advisor from
the School of Social Work who
previously volunteered in the
Peace Corps.
Jayaratne said the school also
offers a special orientation class
for all Social Work students who
will be working abroad, includ-
ing those participating in the
Peace Corps. It is designed to
prepare them for the different
cultures and contexts they will
be facing. Upon return the stu-
dents will meet again and share
their experiences.
He said the program is a great
opportunity for students who
want to receive a master's degree
and take advantage of what the
Peace Corps can offer.
"It's an integration of what
it really means to live in a dif-
ferent country, live with the
people, work in pretty difficult
situations and then think about
the theories and concepts that
we'll be teaching in the class-
room prior to going abroad," he
said.
All students will be working
in some way with children and
youth programs, he said.
Jayaratne said since there is
no precedent for this program in
the School of Social Work, there
are bound to be challenges, but
said he is optimistic.
"There's a lot of interest," he
said. "We have had as many as 15
to 20 students inquire about the
program so far."
He added that there is a "long
window" before the school can
fully evaluate the effectiveness
of the four-year program since
the first set of students will be
coming in fall 2011.
Educational Studies Pro-
gram Chair Addison Stone said
the specifics of the program in
regards to the School of Educa-
tion are still a "work in prog-
ress," including the details of
maintaining contact with the
students once they are abroad.
He said the general set-up of
the program is similar to that of
other schools, with the student
spending at least one semester
at the University before going
overseas for his or her Peace
Corps work.
Stone said the idea behind
students spending time at the
University both before leaving
and after they return is to "deep-
en understanding of educational
issues" not only for themselves
but for the master's students
who aren't involved in the pro-
gram.
Stone said half of the Educa-
tion School students partici-
pating in the Peace Corps are
involved in second language
instruction while the other half
is involved primarily in math
and science instruction.
Stone said he hopes having a
Master's International program
will help the School of Educa-
tion establish a relationship with
the Peace Corps.
"We of course have had some
Peace Corps veterans apply to
our school but they are few and
far between," Stone said.
Social Work graduate student
Tim Polakowski said it's a "great
opportunity" for interested stu-
dents.
"One of the benefits of the
program is that before it (the
experience), a lot of people who
are doing the Peace Corps or
who want to are afraid to do it
because they don't see what to
do with their Peace Corps expe-
rience afterwards and how it
ties into an academic program,"
Polakowski said.
Carrie Rheingans, dual mas-
ter's student in the schools of
Public Health and Social Work,
said she would have applied for
the program had it existed when
she was applying for graduate
school.
She said it's "really exciting"
that a Peace Corps experience
could be combined with an aca-
demic program.
The only critiques she has of
the program are the amount of
credits given for the two years
of overseas work and, since the
program is roughly four years,
she suspects returning students
may feel disconnected.
"Being here for three years,
I know what it's like to not be
around the people I started
with," Rheingans said. "I feel
disconnected and people who do
the Peace Corps in the middle
for two years will feel that when
they come back."