2 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday,May 10, 1995 'U' breaks ground on Huetwell visitors' center By Steve Townsend For the Daily The University is building a new weapon in the war of student recruit- ment, as construction officially began last month on a new 17,000 square foot visitors' center. The center has been named in honor of Frederick G.L. Huetwell, a graduate of the University and former executive director of the U-M Club of Detroit. A portion of Huetwell's bequest to the Uni- versity will help pay for the center. University Executive Vice President Farris Womack said the remainder of the $5.7 million projected price will be funded by "non-recurring capital re- sources (while fund raising continues), Plant accounts (including energy conser- vation sources), and previously approved infrastructure funds." The new facility, which will feature a three-story atrium lobby and two auditori- ums, will be an addition to the existing Student Activities Building. The project is scheduled to be com- T 11 "Best Bar in Annrbor" 1995 Michigan t Daily 338 S. State Readership 996-9191 I Email: Ashleys@msen.com Poll STOP LOKIN We've searched through all the newspapers, apartment guides and the yellow pages, and then listed all the best apartment communities. The places you would really want to live. 536 S. Forest Ave. Ann Arbor, Mi. 48104 1-313-761-2680 .8, 9, or 12 Month Leases " Fully Furnished Studio, 1, 2, & 3 Bdrm. Apts. * Rec Room / Big Screen Community TV " Free Computer System On Line With MTS * Swimming Pool / Exercise Room " 24 Hour Maintenance * 24 Hour Attended Lobby And, UNIVERSITY TOWERS is easy to find. We are conveniently located on U of M campus. Give them a call today or stop by for your personal tour! pleted next June, said University Archi- tect Paul Couture. "This cost, of course, includes more than just the visitors' center," Couture said. "It also includes renovation and win- dow replacement in the existing SAB." Couture said the four-phase process will consist of actual construction of the center, renovation of affected areas of SAB, overall renovation of the existing exterior, and final completion of the addition's upper floors. University Director of Undergraduate Admissions Ted Spencer, who was instru- mental in initiating the project, said he feels the center will provide a central start- ing point for visiting high school students and their parents. Increasingly competitive recruiting and the sophisticated nature of today's high school students were primary reasons Religious Services AVAVAVAVA UNIVERSITY LUTHERAN CHAPEL 1151Washtenaw (oar Hlt Steet) ummer Shedule SUNDAY :Worship 1 30am WEDNESDAY: Supper & Devotion 6pm Pastor Ed Krauss 663-5560 ZEN BUDDHIST TEMPLE 1214 Packard (at Wels),761-6520 SUNDAYS 930 am and 500gm Bddh s Birthday May 3 ad 14 Meditation course starts May 25 Pulic Se ices ROADWA Y PACKAGE SYSTEM PACKAGE HANDLERS PERFECT FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS Saving for tuition? Find part-time work, Year-round at RPS! Roadway Package System, a small package delivery service, hires package handlers to load and unload package vans and semi-trailers. If you are not afraid of hard work, are at least 18 years old and want to work 4-5 hours per day, Mon.-Fri., we can offer you $8.50/hr. plus $1/br. tuition assistance after 30 days. Excellent opportunity for promotion while a student and after graduation. Respond to: ROADWAY PACKAGE SYSTEM, INC. 296 Jackson Plaza Ann Arbor, MI 48103 313-65-3323 E0iAAE GREEK Contnued from page 1 meeting (membership) quotas," she said. Shapss cited Zeta Tau Alpha and Gamma Phi Beta as examples of sorori- ties forced to move out of their houses and to pass up new pledges as a result of financial hardship. She attributed the decline in student interest to "a lot of anti-Greek sentiment across the country." Shapss said the trend was so strong that even an official University suggestion not to rush could lead to "the downfall of the Greek sys- tem." "It won't finish us this year," Shapss said. "But five years down the road, it could mean the end." Tom Holden, the Interfraterity Council vice president of social affairs, criticized the suggested changes. "Students would miss a lot if they were prohibited from joining the Greek organizations as freshmen," Holden said. He added that the University would be making "a big mistake that could ex- plode in their faces. I hope they're smart enough not to try this." It is still not clear whether the Uni- versity will take any action. "Right now all we have is anecdotal information," Hartford said. She explained nothing could be done before the study is complete. If there is no evidence that rush is detrimental t academic performance, it is unlikely t University will take any action. Seiler said IFC and the Panhellenic Association already have data on the academic performance of their inem- bers. According to Seiler's study, Greek system members maintain higher grade point averages both in their first years and overall than the University aver- ages. Shapss attributes this to the academic support the Greek system provides i4 members. "When I moved into the house, I 9as much more motivated to study, and my GPA went up a full point," Shapss said. "Rush may be tough and may even hurt freshman GPAs, but the academic ben- efits of being in a sorority more than make up the difference." for the construction of the new facility, Spencer said. "Practically every other school in the Big Ten has a similar visitors' center," Spencer said. "It will give a good first im- pression to students and parents who visit the campus and are expecting certain things from a university like Michigan." Spencer, who helped organize a simi- lar center at the U.S. Air Force Academy before coming to the University in 1989, said he felt the campus needed a fonnal and friendly place to welcome the more than 24,000 perspective students and parents who visit Ann Arbor each year. The University utilizes a minimum of 12 differentcampus buildings for visitation programsas well as the conference room of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. None of these facilities provides a central location for visitors to easily ac- cess visitor and admissions information, a service Spencer hopes the new facility will provide. "We're trying to get kiosks with con piters attached in the lobby (for student to access infotmation)," Spencer said. While completion of the entir project is more than a year away, Spen cer hopes to begin using the center muc earlier. He is hoping for the constructio of the auditoriums and upper floors to completed by the end of this year. "I think we'll be ready to start in ing people by January 1996," Spence said. "We're really excited about it." Despite the enthusiasm felt by man involved in the visitors' center, there are still some concerns on campus regarding the financial timing of such an undertaking "I'm always encouraged by new steps to increase the University's acces- sibility," said Michigan Student Assem- bly President Flint Wainess, "but in a time of sky-rocketing tuition, I hope t was done in full fiscal responsibility.' The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Wednesdays during the spring and summer terms by students at the University of Michigan. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $90. Winter term (January through Apri)is 595, yearlongrSeptember through April) is t$S0.Oncampussubscriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of the Associated Press and the Associated Collegiate Press. 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