Housing crunch displaces families, undergrads

A housing shortage caused by a larger-than-expected freshman
class prompted the University to relocate upperclassmen from Vera
Baits I and II Residence Halls to family housing units on North
Campus.

The undergraduate students who chose to give up their rooms this
fall to incoming freshmen relocated to Northwood I, II and III
complexes, which previously were only leased out to students with
families. They also had the option of canceling their leases with
University Housing.

The University also narrowed the number family-only housing
facilities on campus by encouraging residents in the Northwood I,
II and III complexes to move into the Northwood IV and V units,
which have more bedrooms but are also more expensive. But families
who relocated there were given the option of paying the lower rent
rates of the first three Northwood complexes

While the Residence Hall Association supports the
University’s decision, some Northwood residents have
protested the move.

City Council delays proposed couch ban

After months of unrest, students finally breathed a sigh of
relief after the Ann Arbor City Council decided to table a proposed
municipal ban on upholstered porch furniture.

The Council delayed the ban on Aug. 16 following protest by MSA
and deliberation from council members that concluded that students
and faculty were not adequately incorporated into the
decision-making process. The argument behind the ban stemmed from
the observed fire hazards posed by the furniture.

Dean of students resigns, interim dean selected

Two months after the resignation of then-Dean of Students Ed
Willis in May, the University chose his successor in late July.
Vice President for Student Affairs E. Royster Harper appointed
former Law School Dean Susan Ecklund as interim dean of
students.

New budget restores student affairs funding

The Student Affairs budget, which many students expected to be
decreased for the upcoming year, was injected with new funds in
mid-July when administrators discovered means to avoid 5-percent
funding cuts.

One program funded under the budget, the Sexual Assault
Prevention and Awareness Center, which the University reorganized
last year, is expected to receive funding increases of $70,000.

The Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs, Student Activities
and Leadership and Pow Wow — a Native American cultural show
— also stand to receive funding restorations.

Fall ballot to include decision on marijuana

Ann Arbor voters in November will decide whether medical
marijuana should be legalized, a controversial question that was
placed on the ballot as a result of 7,000 petition signatures
collected through the initiative of local supporters over the
course of one year.

The petition drive was led by Scio Township Trustee Charles Ream
and won the support of 5 percent of city residents. Ann Arbor
currently has a law that makes the possession of marijuana
punishable by a $25 fine.

Student, former professor die in plane crash

A plane crash in Vermontville Twp. claimed the lives of
Engineering student Jeffrey Chen and former University Mechanical
Engineering Prof. Allen Ward Memorial Day afternoon.

Ward was piloting the plane, which held two other passengers:
Chen and Roger Hertz, who is not affiliated with the
University.

The plane was headed from Ypsilanti to Billings, Montana.

According to a report from Eaton County Sheriff Rick Jones, all
three occupants of the privately-owned plane died on impact.

 

—Compiled by Daily News Editor Andrew Kaplan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ents, damaging facilities and leaving some victims homeless. At
approximately 2 a.m. Friday morning, a fire consumed the residence
Linden St.

Suspected to be caused by an electrical source, the fire quickly
ate much of the interior of the three-story wooden structure. None
of the occupants inside at the time were injured and Ann Arbor Fire
Department fire engines and crew were on the scene very
shortly.

The residents had no time to rescue any of their personal
belongings, some even without shoes. Early reports claimed the
residents to have smelled smoke in the house as early as an hour
before discovering the blaze.