The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
PEACE CORPS Thi
sity ce
From Page 1A 50th a
2a.m.
Boulder and the University of Union
Florida, which had 117 and 97 vol- to then
unteers, respectively, came in first annou
and second place, according to the creati(
press release. tion o
For the number of graduate stu- The
dent alumni who joined the Peace versiti
Corps, the University of Michigan, most t
along with George Washington the Pe
University and Virginia Polytech- The
nic Institute and State University, with
came in fourth with 15 volunteers. the pr
The University of Washington and to the
the University of Florida topped Berkel
the list with 21 and 20 students, The U
respectively. Michigan State Uni- Madis
versity came in third with 16 vol- Washi
unteers. places
Bill Nolting, the assistant Sari
director of the Education Abroad tor of
program at the University's Inter- nedy's
national Center, praised the char- away
acter of University volunteers. praise
"The statistics say a lot about the su
the idealism and willingness to "It
serve of University of Michigan but fo
students," Nolting wrote in an of tho
e-mail interview. "It's also a tes- facult
timonial to the outstanding work Kenne
done by the Returned Peace Corps on som
Volunteers (RPCVs) who staff our out a
Peace Corps office, giving pre- would
sentations, advising interested was im
individuals and interviewing "Th
applicants as the first stage in the ended
nominations process." was al
This year's RPCVs are Univer- comb
sity alumni Alexis Guild and Scott Curt
Burgess, Nolting said. Aaron
Guild, the coordinator at the sentim
University's International Cen- releas
ter's Peace Corps Office, and Bur- annou
gess, the recruiter at the ICPC "In
Office, are both graduate stu- dy cr
dents in the Ford School of Public respon
Policy. versity
Guild said the rankings demon- in the
strate University students' desire we co
to partake in community service. the e
"Ithinkitreallyshows thewill- creati
ingness for students to serve both Ameri
internationally and domestical- Colleg
ly," Guild said. "It reinforces the public
strong connection the University dents
of Michigan has with the Peace togeth
Corps." world
POLICY remai
Univer
From Page 1A aftern
celed
must take the day off as part of websil
their vacation time or paid time Mic
off, the press release states. Staff sity sh
members, however, won't get its re
r paid for their absences. peer i
"(Employees) are advised to use "Sh
good judgment about the risks of be sup
travel," the press release states. said.
The statement also says it is Wa
up to individual departments to Kalam
decide whether their employees ley Sta
may leave work early. Michig
University spokesman Rick amoni
Fitzgerald said in an interview versiti
last night that employees should cellati
check with their supervisors The
regarding whether they will be substa
compensated if they can't get to has u
campus. closini
"However it ultimately get's Eve
taken, that's really a discussion at all
between employee and the super- puses
visor," Fitzgerald said. North

Rackham student Chelsea Del cancel
Rio, agraduate student instructor terday
in the History department, said websit
she intends to show up for work Pen
today if public transportation is annou
running properly. that I
"As long as there's transporta- visit to
tion, I plan on coming," Del Rio uled I
said. "If transportation is prohib- poned
itive, I really don't have another U.S.
option." Eric C
Robert Mickey, an associate the Ut
professor of political science at to giv
the University, said last night that the Fo
he was quite concerned about the Howe'
severe weather because he was the sp
going to be on campus late into accord
the evening last night. release
"My fear is that I won't make it press
home," he said. ture w
Mickey added that if he did How
teach today, he would probably be ties pl
teaching in the same clothes he Univen
was wearing yesterday. while
"The Haven (Hall) lobby looks celled
nice," Mickey said, joking about cancel
where he might sleep last night.
While the University of Michi-
gan's Ann Arbor campus will Willia

Wednesday, February 2, 2011 - 5A

s past October, the Univer-
'lebrated the Peace Corps's
nniversary with an event at
onthe stepsofthe Michigan
. The event acted as a tribute
n-Senator John F. Kennedy's
ncement of his plans for the
on of the service organiza-
n Oct. 4,1960.
report also ranked the uni-
es that have contributed the
otal alumni volunteers since
ace Corps's establishment.
University came in fourth
a total 2,409, according to
ess release. First place went
University of California at
ey with 3,457 volunteers.
iniversity of Wisconsin at
on and the University of
ngton took second and third
, respectively.
gent Shriver, the first direc-
the Peace Corps and Ken-
brother-in-law, who passed
last month, previously
d University students for
ccess of the organization.
might still be just an idea
r the affirmative response
se Michigan students and
y," Shriver said. "Possibly
dy would have tried it once
me other occasion, but with-
strong popular response he
have concluded the idea
npractical or premature.
at probably would have
it then and there. Instead it
most a case of spontaneous
stion."
rent Peace Corps Director
Williams echoed Shriver's
vents in a Peace Corps press
e after the rankings were
nce.
1961, President Kenne-
eated the Peace Corps in
se to the passion of uni-
y students," Williams wrote
press release. "And today
ntinue to be inspired by
athusiasm, dedication, and
vity of the thousands of
cans now serving overseas.
es instill a commitment to
service among their stu-
and share our belief that,
er, we can work to make the
a better place."
n open, Michigan State
rsity announced yesterday
oon that all classes are can-
today, according to MSU's
te.
key added that the Univer-
ould stay open to maintain
putation compared to its
nstitution.
ouldn't that embolden us to
perior and have class?" he
yne State University,
azoo College, Grand Val-
ate University and Eastern
gan University are also
g the list of Michigan uni-
es announcing class can-
ions.
snowstorm slamming a
ntial part of the Midwest
niversities in other states
g their doors as well.
ning classes were cancelled
Ohio State University cam-
across the state last night.
western University also
led its evening classes yes-
, according to the school's
te.
nsylvania State University
nced on its website today
President Barack Obama's

campus, which was sched-
for today, has been post-
until tomorrow.
. House Majority Leader
antor was going to come to
niversity of Michigan today
e a lecture sponsored by
rd School of Public Policy.
ver, because of the weather,
peech has been cancelled,
ding to a University press
e sent out yesterday. The
release states that the lec-
'ill be rescheduled.
wever, some large universi-
an to remain open. Indiana
rsity's website stated that
evening classes were can-
last night, classes are not
led today.
- Daily Staff Reporter Kaitlin
ms contributed to this report.

STUDENTS
From Page 1A
in the state of Michigan are Chi-
nese.
The University's long history
of accommodating international
students has helped it establish a
strong reputation abroad, Greis-
berger said.
"We've always had high num-
bers of international (Chinese)
students," Greisberger said.
"Word spreads when people tell
their friends and family."
Lin said he chose to come to
the University based on informa-
tion from alumni.
"A lot of people study at Michi-
gan, and they give positive feed-
back," Lin said. "We all agree
that it is a great place for us to
study and explore life."
Peggy Blumenthal, senior
counselor of the Institute of
International Education, wrote
in an e-mail interview that as
education becomes more acces-
sible to students in countries like
China and India, these nations
face difficulty in accommodating
the growing number of under-
graduates. For students com-
ing to the United States from
these countries, Peggy wrote,
that America offers hands-on
research opportunities and
alternative teaching approaches.
"It's not rote learning; it's
much more interdisciplinary and
participatory and stresses criti-
cal thinking," Blumenthal wrote.
Lin said getting an education
in engineering abroad offers the
opportunity to study more mod-
ern concepts.
"The quality of this education
is better than many Chinese uni-
versities, so it's good for me," he
said.
LSA and Business senior
Chenli Zhu said she chose

to study abroad because she
thought it would lead to more
future employment opportuni-
ties.
"I think this education is more
valued in Asia than (going to) a
university in (a student's) home
country," she said.
For these students looking
for a high-quality education at a
competitive price, the University
is an optimal choice, Greisberger
said.
But once students are on cam-
pus, they are often met by an
overwhelming culture shock. As
Lin pointed out, though his expe-
rience at the University has been
positive, he said the challenge of
acclimating was daunting.
In order to combat this obsta-
cle, orientations and programs at
the University help international
students. And these programs
reach beyond the walls of the
International Center, Greisberg-
er said.
"It really is a campus-wide
effort. It's not just one office
working to make these students
feel comfortable," he said.
Additionally, many student
organizations help to bridge the
cultural gap that spans halfway
around the world. Because of
the large international Chinese
population on campus, several
clubs and groups have surfaced
with an agenda that aids in the
transition to life at an American
university.
Groups including the Chinese
Students Association, the Asso-
ciation for Chinese Economic
Development, the China Entre-
preneur Network and the Michi-
gan China Fellows, help to form
a strong community within the
University that includes Chi-
nese-American and internation-
al Chinese students.
Zhu, a member of the Asso-
ciation for Chinese Economic

Development, said the organi-
zation succeeds in bringing stu-
dents together.
"I think we build a strong
close-knit group," she said.
Lin works with the Shanghai
Jiao Tong University Alumni
Association, which sponsors
social events on the University
of Michigan campus that bring
students together and help them
adjust to life abroad. To make
students feel more comfortable
with a new culture, the organi-
zation holds lectures on topics
ranging from the rules of Ameri-
can football to where to dine out
with friends.
"(American students) talk in
different ways, and students can-
not always get close with them
and talk comfortably," Lin said.
"We use these activities to let
Chinese students explore more
with their foreign friends."
The University also has a part-
nership with SJTU in the form of
a Joint Institute in Engineering.
The joint venture was created
when University President Mary
Sue Coleman went to China in
2005.
As part of other efforts to link
the University to Chinese orga-
nizations, the University created
a Confucius Institute in Novem-
ber 2009. The institute is one
component of Coleman's Task
Force on China, which was start-
ed in 2005. The goal of the task
force is to strengthen the con-
nection between the University
and China.
"Our relationship with China
goes back so far, to (former
University) President (James)
Angell," Coleman said in 2009,
referring to Angell's time in
China from 1880-1881, when he
took a hiatus from the University
to be the U.S. minister to China.
Though some national media
outlets have raised the concern

that the large number of Chinese
students in America is creating a
"pipeline" system rather than an
international network, Blumen-
thal wrote that she isn't aware of
any problems.
"While the number ofstudents
from China has grown rapidly,
international students still make
up a very small proportion of col-
lege and university students, so
the U.S. system has the capacity
for more international students,
from China and elsewhere," she
wrote.
Though Greisberger acknowl-
edged that no campus would
want to be overly dependent on
one country's student popula-
tion, he said it's not a cause for
concern at the University.
"It's true that we have a large
number of Chinese students, but
we have a lot of students from
other areas as well," he said,
Overall, the influx of Chi-
nese students contributes to the
United States's national agenda
of building global networks,
according to Blumenthal.
"Many linkages and col-
laborative research efforts .re
emerging from linkages between
American and Chinese higher
education institutions," she
wrote.
Blumenthal wrote that the
feedback from campuses across
the country has been over-
whelmingly positive.
"The Chinese students that
come to the U.S. are the best of
the best," she wrote. "And they
help to internationalize U.S.
classrooms."
International students offer
a global experience to mem-
bers of the American population
who are unable to travel abroad,
Greisberger said.
"You can benefit from a world
perspective while staying right
here on campus," he said.


DNA
From Page 1A
Professor of Chemistry, worked
with Rackham graduate student
Evgenia Nikoliva, LSA senior
Abigail Wise, Patrick O'Brien, an
assistant professor of biological
chemistry at the University, and
colleagues from the University of
California-Irvine, to determine
these findings.
"Using the NMR technol-
ogy was like having the first tele-
scope, but rather than looking at
the universe, we were looking at
movements in small molecules,"
Al-Hashimi said. "We observed
clearly that the G and A (nucle-

otides) in the base pairs were
doing something funny, moving
in away that was quite dramatic."
These movements turned out
to be 180 degree rotations, Al-
Hashimi said.
The new positioning of the
nucleotides classifies them as
Hoogsteenbasepairs,whichhave
only previously been observed in
damaged DNA or DNA proteins
bound to molecules or drugs,
Al-Hashimi said. Typical base
pairs are called Watson-Crick
base pairs, named after the scien-
tists James Watson and Francis
Crick, who discovered DNA in
the 1950s.
According to Hashimi, the rev-
elations could bring up new ideas

about how DNA can store differ-
ent types of genetic information.
For Nikolova, the findings
were startling.
"We had no pre-conceived
notion that we would discover
something like this," she said.
"We were looking for interesting
aspects of sequences ... and we
kind of came upon this."
Though slight "gyration"
of the DNA molecules in their
respective positions can occur,
the bases have generally been
thought to remain stable, accord-
ing to a University press release
about Al-Hashimi and Nikolova's
findings.
By showing that bases can
rotate, AI-Hashimi and his col-

leagues have opened the door to
further study on the alternative
pairings of DNA.
Structural changes that may
occur around the Hoogsteen base
pairs warrants further explora-
tion, Nikolova said.
"The formation of one (Hoog-
steen base pair) can facilitate the
formation of another chainosear-
by,' she said.
Al-Hashimi also said if DNA
is put under enough stress, the
alternative form could become
the standard form in the base
pairs.
"I think that generally, now
whenever we look at a structure,
we'll have to be wondering if
there's an alternative," he said.


TRANSIT
From Page 1A
tions. The AATA Board of Direc-
tors will decide between the
three plans based on the com-
munity feedback received at this
and forthcoming public meet-
ings, Stasiak said.
Each of the three plans has a
different set of features.
The Lifeline Plus Scenario
- projected to cost $48 mil-
lion - features improvements
in the urban bus network, Ann
Arbor bus stops and the creation
of countywide transit hubs in
Chelsea and Dexter, Mich.
The Accessible County Sce-
nario, estimated to cost $51

million, includes all the same
features as the Lifeline Plus,
but adds bus circulation in Dex-
ter and Saline, Mich., as well
as countywide transit hubs in
three more Washtenaw County
cities - Manchester, Milan and
Whitmore Lake. It also includes
five countywide express servic-
es between the transit hubs.
The third plan, the Smart
Growth Scenario, includes
everything in the other two
plans, and will add regional
rail services and High Capac-
ity Transit services including
an Ann Arbor connection to
the Detroit Metro Airport. At
an estimated $465 million, the
Smart Growth Scenario is the
most costly plan.

At last night's meeting, some
of the community contributors
seemed skeptical of the Smart
Growth Scenario because of its
complexity.
Rackham student Prashanth
Gururaja attended the meeting
and expressed his reserved sup-
port for the Smart Growth Sce-
nario.
"I am partial to the Smart
Growth plan," Gururaja said.
"It seems like there is a sticker
shock, but if there's a cohesive
payment plan I think it will
work."
Ann Arbor resident Dan Cor-
win, who attended the meeting,
said he prefers the Lifeline Plus
Scenario but would like to see
other changes about the busing

system added to the plan.
"I think the cheapest one is
best, though I see the benefit of
a railway," Corwin said. "What
I'd really like to see is increased
nighttime and weekend routes."
Yuri Popov, a physics lec-
turer at the University, said he
favors the Lifeline Plus with
three additional changes that he
believes should be implemented
immediately. He said he thinks"
the AATA should add weekend
routes, an airport shuttle and
transportation to Detroit.
"It seems kind of obvious."
Popov said. "The airport is half
hour away, and there are no air-
port buses. Detroit is 40 miles
away and there is no way to get
to Detroit."

House GOP readies restrictions on EPA

Imminent bill
aims to nullify
EPA measures on
greenhouse gases
WASHINGTON (AP) - In a
sharp challenge to the Obama
administration, House Republi-
cans intend to unveil legislation
today to ban the Environmental
Protection Agency from regu-
lating greenhouse gases under
the Clean Air Act and expect to
advance the bill quickly, officials
disclosed last night.
The officials said the bill would
nullify all of the steps the EPA
has taken to date on the issue,
including a threshold finding
that greenhouse gases constitute
a danger to the public health and
welfare.
In addition, it seeks to strip
the agency of its authority to use
the law in any future attempts
to crack down on the emissions
from factories, utilities and other

stationary sources.
Many scientists say that carbon
dioxide and other heat-trapping
pollution contribute to global
warming,.and attempts at regu-
lating them is a major priority
for President Barack Obama as
well as environmentalists. Crit-
ics argue the evidence is thin and
that new rules will drive up the
cost of business and cause the loss
of jobs.
The officials who described
the GOP plans did so on condi-
tion of anonymity, saying they
were not authorized to pre-empt
the release of a draft measure
prepared by the Energy and Com-
merce Committee, chaired by
Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan.
The legislation marks yet
another arena in which newly
empowered House Republicans
are moving quickly to challenge
the administration.
Sworn into office less than
a month ago, the House has
already voted to repeal last year's
health care law and is advanc-
ing toward a series of expected

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confrontations with Obama over
Republican demands for deep
spendingcuts. In addition, Speak-
er John Boehner, R-Ohio, recently
announced support for legislation
to restrict abortions.
Avote on the greenhouse gases
bill would occur first in the Ener-
gy and Commerce Committee,
and is expected later this winter.
The measure would then go to the
House floor, where Republicans
express confidence they have a
strong enough majority to over-
come objections by Democrats,
many of whom are expected
to oppose it on environmental
grounds.
Republicans are attempting
similar restrictions in the Sen-
ate, where the Democrats are in
a majority and the political situ-
ation is more complicated. Sen.
John Barrasso of Wyoming has
introduced a more sweeping mea-
sure than the one House Repub-
licans are drafting. At the same
time, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.
Va., has proposed atwo-year mor-
atorium on EPA attempts to regu-
p

late greenhouse gases under the
Clean Air Act, a plan that already
has attracted a handful of Demo-
cratic supporters.
The Supreme Court ruled in
2007 that the EPA has author-
ity to regulate greenhouse gases
under the Clean Air Act, but it,
wasn't until the Obama adminis-
tration took office that the effort
began.
Initially, the administration's
principal focus in the area was on
passage of legislation to impose
restrictions, but that attempt
failed when the Senate balked at
a bill Democrats pushed through
the House in 2009.
Since the Republican elec-
tion gains of last fall, Obama has
made several moves to accom-
modate the concerns of business,
including an executive ordert&
weed out proposed new regula-
tions that would hurt job growth.
Despite the order, there has
been no indication to date that
the White House intends to stop
plans to regulate greenhouse
gases through the Clean Air Act.