Arts 9 'Sith' brings visual punch
Sports 12 Softball makes Super
Regionals
Monday, May 23, 2005
One-hundred-fourteen years of editorial freedom Summer Weekly
www.michiandaiy.com Ann Arbor, Michigan m Vol. CXVI, No. 127 ©2005 The Michigan Daily
U, housing rates increase by 5 percent
By Amber Colvin
and Jeremy Davidson
Daily Staff Reporters
Living in University housing will cost more
next year because of an increase in the room and
board fee approved by the University Board of
Regents last week. Though the actual increase var-
ies depending on the type of room, the average for
those in residence halls is 4.9 percent, while those
living on North Campus in Northwood Apartments
will see an average increase of 5 percent.
For students living in a double room at a
traditional hall with the standard meal plan of
13 meals a week, the basic housing rate will be
$7,374 for the year, an increase of $334 from
last year's rate.
The new rate has risen in accordance with infla-
tion projections for the cost of operation next year,
though funding will also go to enhancing fire pro-
tection systems in West Quadrangle and Couzens
and upgrading the information technology system
in West Quad.
Alan Levy, director of Housing Public Affairs,
said that improvements in the fire system will
include upgrading the fire alarm systems in West
Quad and Couzens and adding sprinklers in every
room in West Quad.
When finished, the improvements to West Quad
- which represent a $12 million investment -
will exceed current state safety requirements.
"Safety is our paramount concern for our resi-
dents," Levy said.
In addition to renovating to the fire system,
Levy said West Quad will receive a significant
Internet Protocol network upgrade, and wire-
less Internet access will be added to most com-
mon areas.
Families, graduate students and several under-
graduates in Northwood Apartments will also have
varied increases depending the model they live in,
with units ranging from standard efficiency apart-
ments to three-bedroom apartments.
The 5 percent cost increase is an effort to make
rent payments for the apartments on par with
similar units on the market and also to keep up
with the rising cost of utilities, which are included
in the rent.
JAPANESE TEA TIME
Funding may be tied
to in-state enrollment
* Proposed formula would use
enrollment, degrees and research
money to gauge state higher
education funding
By Justin Miller
Daily News Editor
In-state students may be part of a formula that
will determine how much money universities
receive from the state under a funding plan pro-
posed by House Republicans last week.
On Wednesday the Higher Education Subcom-
mittee in the House will meet to further discuss
the plan that determines how much money univer-
sities receive from the state. The formula would
incorporate enrollment rates, the number and
types of degrees given to students and the amount
of federally funded research.
The formula may give universities a certain
amount of money for each enrolled in-state stu-
dent, said Rachel Birch, a legislative assistant to
Rep. John Stewart (R-Plymouth), who chairs the
subcommittee.
A formula that includes in-state enrollment
calculations would greatly affect the University,
for which more than 33 percent of its student
body hails from outside of Michigan. In con-
trast, out-of-state students make up about 6 per-
cent of Michigan State University's enrollment.
On enrollment alone, in-state students would be
worth more to universities than their out-of-state
counterparts.
The University will follow the proposal closely
as more details become available, but it is con-
cerned about the formula, said University spokes-
woman Julie Peterson.
"In the past, we have maintained that the Mich-
igan legislature is capable of making funding
decisions based on each institution's unique role
and mission in the state. We believe that funding
formulas are unlikely to account for the complex-
ity of major research universities, like the Univer-
sity of Michigan," Peterson said.
TREVOR CAMPBELL/Daisy Birch said that giving more money for in-state
Yasou Watanabe narrates the Japanese tradition of a tea ceremony at the University Museum of Art students has always been considered because the
on Sunday. The event, now in its ninth year, takes place every other month, but the ceremony can be state wants to encourage and reward Michigan
viewed every Thursday. residents. She said the greater overall in-state
population of large schools like the University
and Michigan State University would help offset
their out-of-state student populations.
"I really don't think the University of Michigan
or any other university would be hurt because of
lower enrollment. Across the state enrollment is
increasing," she said.
Currently there is no formula that determines
how much money universities receive from the
state - a decision often left to wrangling between
politicians, said Jason Brewer, spokesman for
Speaker of the House Craig DeRoche (R-Novi).
The exact amount in-state and out-of-state stu-
dents would be worth in that the formula has not
been decided, but it will be discussed during the
subcommittee's meeting this week.
Aside from enrollment, the formula would
group all degrees offered by universities into four
different categories: general education, agriculture
and natural sciences, engineering and technology
and health care.
"(This is) meant to recognize that some fields
are more expensive than others to provide instruc-
tion in," Brewer said. Giving higher monetary
value to some degrees would increase the incen-
tive to train highly-skilled workers, Brewer added.
The formula would also make universities eli-
gible to receive some state funding in an effort to
partially match federal dollars given for research.
Last year the University received $536 million in
research grants from the federal government.
The attempt to base some state funding on
federally funded research worried the subcommit-
tee's ranking Democrat Rep. Rich Brown from
Bessemer.
Brown said he was wary of the proposed for-
mula without seeing it in greater detail.
"I'm skeptical about the formula because I don't
know enough about it yet. We don't know the
weighting about these different aspects yet: gradua-
tion rates and federal dollars for research," he said.
Brown added that the proposal and its bill have "a
long way to go" before becoming law.
A new formula would not help universities and
colleges unless more money is appropriated to
them by the state, said Michael Boulus, executive
director of the Presidents Council that represents
the state's public universities.
"We've had four years of disinvestment in high-
er education and another four years of mid-year
cuts ... we need to stop this alarming trend," he
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