The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Wednesday, November 24, 2010 - 3 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, November 24, 2010 - 3 NEWS BRIEFS EAST LANSING, Mich. Magic Johnson to give Michigan State commencement Michigan State University says former basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson will be one of three speakers for the school's December commencement ceremo- nies. The ceremonies are to be held Dec. 10-11 at the Breslin Center. The East Lansing school said yesterday Johnson will speak at the 10 a.m. ceremony on Dec.11 and also receive an honorary doctor of business degree. Also at that ceremony, Detroit Symphony Orchestra music direc- tor Leonard Slatkin will receive an honorary doctorate of fine arts. The other two commencement speakers are General Electric Co. Chairman Jeff Immelt and Indiana University political science profes- sor Elinor Ostrom. LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas Arkansas man sues TSA for invasive full-body scans An Arkansas man has filed a federal lawsuit against the Trans- portation Security Administration, claiming that the agency's new screening rules are detrimental to his "emotional, psychological and mental well-being." Robert Dean filed the lawsuit Monday in federal court in Little Rock, even though the Little Rock National Airport does not yet have the full-body scanners that have drawn criticism throughout the ' country. Dean's lawsuit asks a fed- eral judge to issue an injunction stopping the TSA from conducting full-body pat-down searches and using the full-body imaging scan- ners. The lawsuit claims that the new practices violate Dean's civil rights and his Fourth Amendment right protecting against unlawful searches and seizures. TSA says it does not comment on pendinglitigation. SAN ANTONIO, Texas Former priest accused of hiring hitman In a murder-for-hire case wor- thy of a Dan Brown novel, a Roman Catholic priest has been arrested on charges that he solicited a hit man to kill a teenager who had accused him of sexual abuse. Authorities said John Fiala first offered the job to a neighbor, who blew the whistle and helped police arrange a sting. They said Fiala got as far as negotiating a $5,000 price for the slaying before investigators moved in. The 52-year-old clergyman was arrested Nov. 18 at his sub- urban Dallas home and jailed on $700,000 bond. In April, he was named in a lawsuit filed by the boy's family, who accused Fiala of molesting the youth, including twice forcing him to have sex at gunpoint. The abuse allegedly took place in 2007 and 2008, when Fiala was a priest at the Sacred Heart of Mary Parish in the West Texas community of Rocksprings, a rural enclave known for sheep and goat. herding. The family's lawsuit also named the Archdiocese of San Antonio and Archbishop Jose Gomez, alleg- ing that church leadership should have known Fiala was abusive. GREYMOUTH, New Zealand Rescuers begin to dig for abandoned minors after blast Rescuers have drilled through to the main tunnel at the New Zea- land coal mine where 29 miners were caught in a methane-fueled explosion last week. They have not been heard from since. The drill hole, reaching 530 feet (162-meters), into the mine has broken through, causing "hot air and gases to rush up," Pike River Coal Ltd. chairman John Dow said today. Rescuers began immediately sampling gas rising from the hole, located near where some miners were working when the blast hap- pened on Friday. Rescuers plan to put a video camera down the hole to look for signs of the missing miners. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. HOUSING From Page 1 ideas and what we have to say." The submitted proposal recom- mended that returning students be given the option to select a roommate of the opposite gender or unidentified gender for Fall 2011. The proposal also included results from a campus survey that indicated that the majority of resi- dence hall residents support open housing, as well as student anec- dotes supporting the initiative and information on other insti- tutions that offer gender-neutral housing. MSA passed a resolution in December 2009 urging the Uni- versity to support a gender-neu- tral housing option. In April, the Residence Halls Association also voted to support the initiative. At last night's meeting, New- man also fielded questions about the possibility of re-introducing Saturday night meals in the din- ing halls - one of the main cam- paign platforms of the MForward party and of MSA President Chris Armstrong during last winter's election cycle. CLINIC From Page 1 said. "Your physician may not be as readily available." By communicating with a patient's primary physician, Rice said clinic officials can arrange for care for the patients over the course of the school year and into the summer. In addition, the clinic could also arrange for care after graduation. Rice added that University specialists encourage students to educate themselves and take own- ership of their disease so that they can remain in control of their IBD and ensure their success in col- lege. Members of the Crohn's & Coli- tis Student Initiative, a support group made up of undergraduate and graduate students, have pro- moted the clinic within the group as a valuable resource for manag- ing inflammatory bowel condi- tions. LSA senior Elan Green, the club's president, said in an inter- view with The Michigan Daily last month that students with Crohn's or ulcerative colitis may not be aware of the resources available for them on campus. Green said "I think it's very clear that there's a sizeable portion of stu- dents who are here on the week- end who really would like to see Saturday night dining," Newman said in an interview after the meeting. "And so we want to work with the students to figure out how we can do that." Newman and Trevor Grieb, president of the Residential Hall Association, said MSA members and other interested students cur- rently have limited options for working on the Saturday night dining initiative. Grieb said the proposed changes to the budget would have to come from an RHA committee, requiring "unprec- edented" action from University housing residents. Currently, only current resi- dents in University housing can attend RHA meetings, so this pro- cedure would exclude the major- ity of MSA members - many of whom live off campus. Newman noted that $35,000 would have to be re-allocated for Saturday night dining to be suc- cessfully implemented. "We can provide Saturday night dining, we just need to make choices," she said. he hopes to raise awareness about these resources. "We've been able to help pro- vide support for each other ... and also provide information," he said. A student - who wished to remain anonymous to protect the details of the illness - has vis- ited the clinic once for a check- up. Despite a considerable wait prior to beingseen by a doctor, the student is grateful for the clinic's presence on campus. "Being away from home, it's nice to have a place to go (for treatment) on campus," the stu- dent said. The student added that she plans to visit the clinic again soon. Rice said the clinic has poten- tial to grow in the months to come and may be able to expand its hours of operations and its num- ber of staff. Currently, he said the clinic sees about eight patients per morning. "Our goal is to include a nutri- tionist to address specific needs related to IBD and nutrition," he said. Rice, who added that he would like to see a behavioral psycholo- gist available, said he envisions the clinic as a "one-stop shop" for affected people in the University community. Obama pledges to defend S. Korea from N. Korea Obama: U.S. will stand 'shoulder to shoulder' with ally WASHINGTON (AP) - Presi- dent Barack Obama yesterday pledged the United States would stand "shoulder to shoulder" with South Korea after what the White House branded a provocative, out- rageous attack by North Korea on its neighbor. Its options limited, the U.S. sought a diplomatic rath- er a military response to one of the most ominous clashes between the Koreas in decades. "South Korea is our ally. It has been since the Korean war," Obama said in his first comments about the North Korean shelling of a South Korean island early yes- terday. "And we strongly affirm our commitment to defend South Korea as partof that alliance." Working to head off any esca- lation, the U.S. did not reposi- tion any of its 29,000 troops in the South or make other military moves after North Korea fired sal- vos of shells into the island, set- ting off an artillery duel between the two sides. The president, speaking to ABC News, would not speculate when asked about military options. Obama called South Korean President Lee Myung-bak later Tuesday night, saying the U.S. would work with the interna- tional community to strongly con- demn the attack that killed the two South Koreans and injured many more, the White House said. The White House said the two presidents agreedtoholdcombined military exercises and enhanced training in the days ahead to con- tinue the closensecurity cooperation between the two countries. Obama assured Lee that "the United States stands shoulder to shoulder with ourclose friend and ally, the Republic of Korea," the White House statement said. "President Obama said that North Korea must stop its pro- vocative actions, which will only lead to further isolation, and fully abide by the terms of the armi- stice agreement and its obliga- tions under international law," the statement said. The U.S. has relatively few options when dealing with the Pyongyang government. Military action is particularly unappeal- ing, since the unpredictable North possesses crude nuclear weapons as well as a huge standing army. North Korea exists largely outside the system of international finan- cial and diplomatic institutions that the U.S. has used as lever- age in dealing with other hostile countries, including Iran. North Korea has also resist- ed pressure from its major ally, China, which appears to be ner- vous about the signs of instability in its neighbor. "We strongly condemn the attack and we are rallying the international community to put pressure on North Korea," Obama said in the ABC interview, specifi- cally citing the need for China's help. Obama said every nation in the region must know "this is a serious and ongoing threat." An administration official said yesterday evening that U.S. offi- cials in Washington and in Beijing were appealing strongly to China to condemn the attack by arguing that it was an act that threatened the stability of the entire region, not just the Korean peninsula. ART From Page 1 enth Street and Miller Road, and will be recognized at the park's reopening in the spring. City Council member Sabra Bri- ere (D-Ward 1) said that when she voted on the Chapter 24 Public Art Ordinance to implement the Per- cent for Art program in 2007, she did not anticipate what the pro- gram would cost. She added that the first project has been "expensive" and "contro- versial." "Certainly I didn't know that in three years there would be more than $2 million put aside for art," she said. Briere said there are concerns with the program beyond expense, adding that with so many tastes to satisfy in the city someiay ques- tion where their money is going. "Expensive is perhaps the most important part here; art is con- troversial, and it's not always a matter of taste - but what you do with the money is important," she added. Briere said she's also not in favor of the program's latest proposed project, a water piece designed by German artist Herbert Dreiseitl which is to be placed outside the Police Municipal building. The project has been given a budget of $750,000 pooled from funds set aside from capital improvement projects since 2005. Briere argued against the art, saying that a piece like the planned Dreiseitl water art structure wouldn't benefit the city. "To me, that's not worth hav- ing in place for twenty or thirty or forty years. I would not go out of my way to see this," she said. Briere added that though she would never go against the con- cept of public art, the community should be gaining something that is "consistently demonstrable" from the projects. Briere added that the $2 million that has been pooled for art projects so far has the potential to go further as fund- ing for construction projects. "I firmly believe in public art but I think how this has been structured is a mistake, it's struc- tured to take money out of funds that I'm not really certain can go to public art," she said. But, Sue McCormick, Ann Arbor public service administra- tor, said that the Dreiseitl instal-. lation, which features a "green" roof that collects storm water that the Police building accumulates, would be worth the money. "This particular piece of art is going to be a landmark piece of art," she said. "Given the nature of the art installation and the worldwide renown of this artist, I think that this range of cost is commiserate with the type of art installation that it is," she added. McCormick said that the money being allocated to this project has many different fea- tures, from the artist fee to the reservoir for the rainwater underneath the building. "This isn't just a bronze sculp- ture," she said. Council member Stephen Kun- selman, (D-Ward 3) said that the funding recommendations to develop the Dreiseitl public art project were given to city staff by the city attorney, but were kept from other council members. Kun- selman added the funding for the Dreiseitl public art project is com- prised of revenue from utility bills, and that therefore city residents deserve to see tangible results. "I think that public art is good for our community, but I don't believe that we should fund it in such a way that is illegal," he said. "And until the city attorney pro- vides a public opinion, I have to assume that it's illegal." Kunselman said that his senti- ment is shared by few others on council. He said that especially in times of fiscal distress, it is hard for him to hear that the city coun- cil doesn't have enough money when a large sum is going toward public art. He said he thinks that the money could be allocated to more pressing issues facing the city, like homelessness. Parker said she understands the council members' concerns, but she hopes they'll give the program time to make an impact. "Since we haven't really fin- ished one project - we started with a pretty big one - I don't blame them for thinking this isn't working," Parker said. "But I say that we should finish the one proj- ect anid see what they think." SWEETLAND From Page 1 tutors and students to view the document at the same time in addition to communicate via text, video or audio. According to Anne Gere, direc- tor of the Sweetland Writing Cen- ter, developing SyncOWL was a "collaborative idea" that utilized the resources of the entire cen- ter. She added that it was part of a series of efforts to incorporate media into writing. "We offer courses in blogging and lots of different approaches to using media in writing, we intro- duced an electronic system for making our appointments, so this is sort of the next logical thing," she said. The SyncOWL is a revision of the original OWL program, which allows students to submit papers online and receive corrections and an explanatory letter in 72 hours. Peer tutor and LSA junior Joshua Brady said with the OWL, there's a "barrier" between the writer and tutor because they don't get the opportunity to inter- act with each other during the edit. "When you're actually doing an OWL session, it's really hard because you don't know how the person is going to react to what you're saying," he said. "So you can offer comments but you don't know if they're going to under- stand what you're saying or maybe you're not reading it the way they meant to say it". According to Brady, the Syn- cOWL makes up for the OWL's shortcomings because it offers the convenience of the OWL with- out compromising interaction between the tutor and writer. "There are back-and-forth con- versations, so it's basically like a normal tutoring session, but it's just online," Brady said. "The SyncOWL is more con- venient for (the writer) because they don't have to come into the tutoring center, but they still get the human interaction over the computer, where it's easier (for the tutors) to ask them things like 'What did you really mean here?"' he continued. According to Gere, Sweetland has been able to "reach many stu- dents" via the SyncOWL so far. "Certainly we are getting a very positive response," she said Both the OWL and SyncOWL make the Writing Center more accessible to students because they don't have to physically visit the center to get help. However, these online resources don't offer any more flexibility for the tutors, because they still have to work from the center during their shifts, Brady explained. LSA sophomore Sarah Awad said she's used Sweetland's walk- in appointments for help with many of her papers. She says that they are a great resource for Uni- versity students and admires the fact that they have taken such a proactive step to accommodate student preferences. "I think there is a small draw- back, because it gets complicated when you reference things in your paper and it will probably be more formal than when you are sitting and talking to a tutor in person," she said. "But it is a step up from the OWL." However, she said one draw- back might be that students become entirely dependent on the online resource. "The only issue it might cause is that students might get lazy and assume that it is always available, like put off writing papers until later knowing that they won't have to go to the office to get it edited, and so Sweetland has to be really clear about its online times," she said. LSA sophomore Sadie Besl said despite the convenience, she doesn't plan on using SyncOWL. "I've only ever used the walk- in appointments and they worked well for me," Besl said. Both Brady and Gere said they agree that the SyncOWL would never be able to replace the per- sonal peer tutoring that students can receive at the Sweetland Writ- ing Center. "We would always have face- to-face as an option - justbecause you send e-mails to your friends doesn't mean you don't see them in person," Gere said. "I know you can talk over the SyncOWL, but there's just some- thing unparalleled about coming into the center and interacting with people in person - you can put the paper in between you and both (tutor and student can) write on it and stuff," Brady added. "I don't think it can ever go online completely because a lot of people do like coming in." WATER From Page1 systems," Berki said. "We've got- ten lots of inquiries from students wanting to put more of these on campus. Berki said the stations, which allow users to set their water bot- tles under a spout and not have to tilt the bottle to refill, makes using a re-usable bottle less of a hassle for students. "They like having the abil- ity to fill up their containers and not have to attempt to fill it up at a water fountain," Berki said. "It also tastes a little cleaner to them." The water, which comes from Ann Arbor, used in the refilling stations is municipal water that is tested 5,000 times annually by the city, according to a plaque next to the refill station in Angell Hall. The plaque lists some numbers detailing the effects that using bottled water has on the environ- ment. Bottling water produces levels of carbon dioxide similar to the energy usage of 193,000 sin- gle-family homes, according to the sign. This amount of energy con- sumption is also equal to carbon dioxide emissions from 433,000 cars. The plaque also notes the eco- nomic repercussions of single-use water bottles. The production of single-use water bottles for domestic consumption in one year is equivalent to the energy of 17 million barrels of oil, the sign states. The refill stations are part of a larger University goal to make campus greener, Berki said. In conjunction with the University's Graham Institute, the Office of Campus Sustainability has been working on an initiative called Integrated Assessment. "It's a project to set long-term sustainability goals for the cam- pus," Berki said. The program consists of profes- sors and graduate students who work in seven teams, each with a different area of focus - build- ings, transportation, purchasing and recycling, land and water, energy, culture and food John Callewaert, director of the Integrated Assessment program, emphasized that the program is making significant strides when it comes to student involvement. According to Callewaert, there have been "over 160 appli- cations from students interested in participating in the program." LSA senior Elise McGowan said she much prefers the new water refill station in Angell Hall than the regular water fountains. "It's fun, it's fast, you can walk by, fill it up, and go," McGowan said. "There should be more of them." McGowan said she enjoys see- ing the number of bottles being saved every time she uses the refill station. McGowan added that she finds the stations easier to use than typical water fountains. "You don't need to worry about tilting your bottle and only getting it half full," she said. The Office of Campus Sustain- ability has plans to install more refill stations around campus, Berki said, specifically in places where buildings tend to be more reliant on bottled water. Serving Ann Arbor fi since 1980 PJgs RECORDS & USED CDS 617 Packard Upstairs from Subway Paying $4 to $6 for top CD's in top condition. Also buying premium LP's and cassettes. Open 7 days 663-3441 The selection is ENDLESS 44 . FREE 18K Whife GoldPladed Bweet/AnkI-t 6r , 1 1FREE18K1OM a Cleckout, Style mayry.r 'arls www.elliesoollection.com $16 CaCertificates avaiable for pulwea e