0 2 - The Michigan Daily - Orientation Edition 2006 In Katrina's wake dN, h o - f 0 0 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. 0 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.