8 - The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, June 11, 1997
New law increases
fleeing penalties
Spike it!
By Jason Stoffer
Daily Staff Reporter
Trying to elude police officers may
seem like fun and games, but, as of June
1, Michigan offenders may land them-
selves a spot in the nearest penitentiary.
Public Act 587 of 1996, a new state of
Michigan statute, increases the penalty
for fleeing and eluding an officer from a
misdemeanor to a felony.
The penalty's severity depends upon
the chase's outcome. Failing to stop upon
an officer's command results in two years
imprisonment. However, ifa death occurs
from the chase, the penalty increases to a
15-year prison term.
Ann Arbor police Sgt. Richard Blake
said the law has been a long time coming.
"When a person starts a chase, they
put themselves in charge of a 3,000-
pound weapon," Blake said. "Look at all
the high speed chases where there have
been injuries and death. I don't think a
prison term is too harsh a punishment."
Incoming University student
Andromache Mason shares Blake's view
of toughening the certain penalties.
"Obviously, you're doing something
wrong if you run from the cops," Mason
said. "In cases where chases result in
death and injury, I am very much in
favor of the law"
But Mason did not wholeheartedly
support the bill, expressing concern that
the new penalties may be too severe.
"The law is a scare tactic and a way
for officers to command respect, but I
think two years imprisonment is pushing
things a little too far," Mason said.
Doug Lewis, director of the
University's Student Legal Services, said
the statute will not affect most students.
"In my eight years here, I have seen
one student charged with fleeing and
eluding in a motor vehicle," Lewis said.
Nevertheless, the new law's enforce-
ment is a dire concern for LSA senior
Adam Burke.
"If you are actually running from the
cops, the law is justified," Burke said.
"But I don't think it's always clear
whether you are fleeing or just finding a
place to pull over."
Lewis said the new law is a way for the
police to shift the blame of high-speed
chases from themselves to offenders.
"The media spends a lot of time blam-
ing cops for high-speed chases," Lewis
said. "This new law puts the burden on
the defendant instead."
Lewis sees merit in people's anxiety
with regards to enforcement.
"I can see a felony if someone gets
hurt, but I think it's extreme if someone
doesn't pull over fast enough," Lewis
said. "However, as in many other laws,
the issue is not how the statute is written,
but how it is applied.'
Department of Public Safety Captain
Terry Seames said the intent to flee and
elude is clear cut.
"There are times people don't see an
officer for a couple of blocks trying to
pull them over," Seams said. "But it is
pretty clear if someone keeps going and
increases their speed they are trying to
get away."
Lewis said that enforcement concerns
could be minimized if students and offi-
cers both play their parts.
"Officers need to use their discretion-
wisely and not let this law become a big
blanket without regard to individual cir-
cumstances," Lewis said. "(However,) if
students see a cop wave at a red light,
just pull over."
JOE WESTRATE/Daiy
Art and Design senior Brad Gleske enjoys a good game of sand volleyball at
Elbel Field yesterday. Unfortunately, Gleske and his teammate lost, 16.14.
Words alone cannot express
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CELEBRATION
Continued from Page 1
Excited fans waved brooms to symbol-
ize the Detroit sweep.
TSA senior WillieNorthway.con-
structed his own Stanley Cup and parad-
ed it through the streets, much to the
delight of several passersby. Many went
as far as to kiss the replica, as many of
the players do with the actual trophy.
"I went and saw the Wings at the Joein
(an earlier) game and they rocked,"
Northway said. "So I came home and
made this cup. This is incredible!"
The blaring horns and raucous cheer-
ing could be heard from all parts of the
city, as fans showed their appreciation
for Detroit's first Stanley Cup champi-
onship in 42 years.
"We went all around Ann Arbor
screaming, knocking on people's cars,"
LSA junior Grace Meyer said.
Nearly every passing vehicle con-
tained people cheering, sticking out their
hands and reaching out to their fellow
Wings fanatics on the sidewalks.
The crowd was well behaved consid-
ering the emotional level of the situation,
said Ann Arbor Police officerJeff Flynn.
"We're not flipping cars over and
burning them, but we are having a good
time out here," Engineering senior Ehren
Barr said.
The victory was greeted with much
anticipation, and many die-hard fans felt
relieved to see a Red Wings
Championship. Last season, Detroit fin-
ished with the best record in the NHL,
but failed to reach the finals after being
ousted by eventual champion Colorado
Avalanche.
"I've been a fan since I was a little
kid," Morrisey said. "This is why I came
to Michigan. I've been a Wings fan my
whole life?"
'U' Prof.
0
creates sun
simulation
By Peter Meyers
Daily StafftReporter
A ship can be put in a bottle, but can
the sun be stuffed in a box?
University research scientists are try-
ing. For the past five years now, Tamas
Gombosi, professor of atmospheric,
oceanic and space sciences, has been
assembling a team of astronomers,
engineers and computer programmers
to do just that.
The teams goal is to create a simula-
tion of the sun's heliosphere, the outer-
most layer of the sun that encompasses
the entire solar system.
The model is considered a comput-
ing and applied physics masterwork.
With it, astronomers can forecast the
solar wind to predict how far the
heliosphere extends past the solar sys-
tem.
The heliosphere itself is a sea of pro-
tons and electrons that emanate in cur-
rents from the inner layers of the sun.
Within these currents, magnetic fields
push and pull the particles.
Gombosi compared the dynamics of
the heliosphere to a moving piece of
electrical circuitry.
"Just imagine that the whole electric
circuit is moving. Itsis on a truck,"
Gombosi said. "You can describe what
happens to the electric circuit (individ-
ually). What we are doing is describing
the electric circuit and the truck togeth-
er.
The model becomes tricky when
interaction between the two systems is
considered.
"Now imagine an electric truck,
where there is interaction between it
and the circuit," Gombosi said. In the
heliosphere, the magnetic forces
obeyed by the currents are in part
created by the flows of particles
within them. The complexity of the
systems' interaction compounds
itself.
Researchers needed enotmous com-
puting resources for a project of such
proportions. The University maintains
an IBM SP2 supercomputer with 48
processors on campus that was used to
conduct partial simulations and simpli-
fied heliospheric models, but for the
complete version, NASA lent the use of
a juggernaut 512 processor Cray T3E.
Darren DeZeeuw, Physics research
scientist, said University computing
resources are just enough to partially
operate the heliosphere simulator.
"We're kind of pushing the limits of
computing resources here on campus;'
he said.
The NASA computer was sufficient
to run the program in January; howev-
er, the program has continued to grow.
"The code is continually evolving,"
DeZeeuw said. At present, the program
only takes into account the solar system
as far out as the orbit of Mercury. Later
versions should include effects on the 0
entire heliosphere.
The program will eventually expand
so include every planet and its individual
magnetic field.bk