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2 - The Michigan Daily - Orientation Edition 2006
In Katrina's wake
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LEFT AND CENTER: Inside the Astrodome in Houston, on Sept. 11, 2005. RIGHT: A protester identifying himself only as "Terrance" holds a sign reading "This Is not a natural disaster" near the Reliant
Stadium in Houston on Sept. 12, 2005.
City takes in more than
150,000 evacuees; volunteers
worry about increased crime
rates and housing shortages
Sept. 12, 2005
By Karl Stampfl
Daily Staff Reporter
HOUSTON - Some live with family. Others reside
in the apartments of welcoming strangers. But five-
year-old Diamondneshay Ward survives in a car
with her mother.
About 150,000 Hurricane Katrina evacuees
remain in the country's fourth-largest city. As
of two o'clock Sunday morning, 5,263 of the
evacuees live in the city's four major shelters:
Reliant City, Reliant Center, the Astrodome
and the George R. Brown Convention Center
downtown.
At one point, Houston housed as many 25,400
evacuees in its shelters.
City authorities and the displaced families say
many of the evacuees who have moved out of the
shelters dispersed themselves across the country
to find more permanent lodging and jobs with
friends and families.
Many of the remaining evacuees plan to stay
in Houston for an extended period of time. Some
say they will never go back to New Orleans and
may make Houston their new home.
Although there are tentative plans to condense
the shelters into one, no one is sure which shelter
will be used.
"It's a very fluid situation," said Frank Michel,
Houston Mayor Bill White's communication director.
Regularly scheduled events have been can-
celed at the convention centers through the end
of the month, Michel said. Until then, city offi-
cials are playing things by the ear.
Efforts are being made to move the evacuees into
more permanent housing.
As of Friday, 50 of the city's largest property own-
ers had signed leases agreeing to house evacuees but
not to price gouge, a crime that relatively few have
committed, Michel said.
"We don't want to be in the shelter business,"
Michel said.
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco and other mem-
bers of her legislative team thanked the city of Hous-
ton repeatedly during a press conference.
"No state took as large a number, as heavy a bur-
den, as did this state,' Blanco said. "Y'all have rede-
fined the word neighbor."
As displaced students head
to campus, U' continues
effort to locate students from
hurricane-affected areas
Sept. 7, 2005
By Christina Hildreth
Daily Staff Reporter
One day into the new semester,the University con-
tinues to make progress in locating students fromthe
areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina last week.
Dean of Students Sue Eklund said there are now
only 23 students from hurricane-affected areas that
have not contacted the University, down from 32 over
the Labor Day weekend.
Meanwhile, University admissions offices
are working to handle hundreds of inquiries
from students who had planned to attend
Tulane and Xavier universities, the University
of New Orleans and Loyola University New
Orleans, all of which are located in the disas-
ter-stricken areas.
As of yesterday, the Office of Undergraduate
Admissions has handled more than 100 inqui-
ries. Twenty students received admission, three
as incoming freshman and the rest as nondegree
guest students, administrators said.
"We are still looking at this on a case-by-case
basis," said Ted Spencer, director of undergraduate
admissions. "We are doing everything we can to
help those students continue their education."
Spencer said the majority of the students
admitted were enrolled at 'Iblane but had home-
towns in Michigan. Additional accepted students
hailed from New York and Ohio. The Law School
accepted nine students, and the Rackham School
of Graduate Studies also accepted one displaced
student. All arrived on campus in time for the start
of classes yesterday.
Other schools within the University have received
inquiries but have not admitted any new students.
Many of the students who had expressed inter-
est in attending the University after the hurricane
have decided to go to other universities, said Al
Cotrone, director of administration for the Ste-
phen M. Ross School of Business.
As students arrive, the Office of Financial Aid
has provided two or three students with emergen-
cy funds for food and clothing, said Pam Fowler,
financial aid director. The money for this aid
comes from private endowments set aside for stu-
dents with drastic circumstances, such as the sur-
vivors of Katrina, Fowler said.
Regents approve skyboxes by 5-3 vote
Plan increasing capacity of two new structures on the east and west sidelines. stadium for years. In 2003, several Regents vis- of the proposed changes to Michigan Stadium.
to 108,251passes in closest Extending several feet above the stadium's ited Ohio State University and Pennsylvania State "We have frankly fallen behind in many of our
p scoreboards, the structures will include 83 luxury University to get an idea of the competition facing facilities and we've got to address them," University
Regential vote of proposed boxes, or private suites. The renovated stadium will Michigan Stadium. athletic director Bill Martin said.
ldi also feature wider aisles, accessible seating for the After the visit, the Regents were excited about the Many Michigan fans are wary that the University
projects disabled, 3,180 outdoor and indoor club seats and possibilities for Michigan's stadium, Maynard said. is going too far to outdo competition.
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May 22, 2006
By Leah Grabosi
Daily Staff Reporter
The University's Board of Regents approved a
project to renovate the Michigan Stadium with a 5-
3 vote Friday morning. The $226-million renovation
project includes the addition of luxury boxes as part
650 chairback seats - individual seats with back
support and arm rests.
The renovated stadium, with a projected seating
capacity of 108,251, will accommodate nearly 1,000
more fans than the current stadium.
Regent Olivia Maynard (D-Goodrich) said some
seats will be removed tobuild the structures, but only
seats without current ticket-holders.
The Regents have discussed renovating the
Penn State's Beaver Stadium boosted its seat-
ing capacity to 107,282 after its seventh renovation
completed in 2001 - making Beaver Stadium sec-
ond to Michigan in capacity by only 219 seats.
The $194-million renovation to Ohio Stadium,
also completed in 2001, included 81 "hospitality
suites," a new press box and new bench seats.
University officials told the Daily in 2004
that Ohio Stadium served as a model for some
Friday's decision comes after eight months of
heated debate over whether the elite nature of the 0
private suites projects an incorrect message about the
University's values.
Critics of the project argue that the separa-
tion of wealthy fans in the luxury boxes from
the crowd below suggests the University is
more concerned with financial gain than a uni-
fied environment.