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GLBT Center location could violate Disabilities Act MICHARA CANTY Daily Egyptian
No recent changes have been made in the relocation of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center to the C-Wing of Woody Hall, but efforts are being made to stop the move. Virginia Dicken, coordinator of the
GLBT Resource Center, said Tuesday the group’s advisory board is trying to overturn the decision to move the center. The physical inaccessibility of the center’s new location could conflict with some policies of the Americans with Disabilities Act. According to the Disability Support Services Web site, the university follows the guidelines of the American
with Disabilities Act. The ADA states that, “no qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity.� Please see GLBT | 2
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Toyota disputes professor’s findings Gilbert testifies at D.C. hearing, points to computer glitch
NICK JOHNSON Daily Egyptian
SIUC professor Dr. David Gilbert testified at a congressional hearing Tuesday that he may have identified a glitch in Toyota’s computer systems that prevents diagnosis of sudden unintended acceleration, a problem that has led to the company’s recall of millions of vehicles during the past few months. The Subcommittee of Oversight and Investigation evaluated consumer complaints and the findings of Gilbert and automotive technology professor Omar Trinidad at the Washington, D.C. hearing. The hearing was also held to determine whether Toyota and the National Highway Traffic and Safety Association knew about the SUA problems before they enacted a recall. Toyota Motor Corporation has taken more than six million vehicles off the road in two separate recalls since October because 11 different models have experienced SUA. The manufacturer has since said oversized floor mats and sticky accelerator pedals are the causes of SUA in its recalled models. But Trinidad, who did not accompany Gilbert to Washington, said he and Gilbert found a window where they could introduce a “fault�—an instance of unintended acceleration—in the vehicle’s computer system without the computer reporting an error. Jim Lentz, COO of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A, maintained that the SUA problem isn’t caused by any problem in the car’s electric system during his testimony Tuesday. “We have done extensive testing of this system and have never found a malfunction that caused unintended acceleration,� Lentz said in his testimony. “The absence of a stored diagnostic trouble code in the vehicle’s computer is no guarantee that a problem does not exist,� Gilbert said in his testimony in Washington. “I instruct all my automotive students with this fundamental statement: ‘You can have a code with no problem, and you can have a problem with no code.’� Toyota vehicles have a fail-safe mode in which the vehicle will immediately power down after its computer detects an error code, but if no code is detected, the SUA can continue, Trinidad said. Gilbert and Trinidad’s re-
A fault iin Toy Toyota’s throttle control computer cir circuits can allow for sudden unintended aacceleration. In this scenario, a driver would have no control over the rate of acceleration.
James Durbin | Daily Egyptian Pablo Tobon | Daily Egyptian
Due to a computer fault, no evidence of unintended acceleration is stored in the vehicle’s onboard memory for technicians to diagnose, even if the event did in fact occur.
search is the first of its kind, said subcommittee chairman and U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) in the opening statement of the hearing. Gilbert, who’s been a technical educator for more than 30 years, said at the hearing he has witnessed the evolution of more complex electronic systems in cars. Gilbert also said he recently purchased a Toyota vehicle, that he had “nothing against Toyota� and mentioned the company’s support of SIUC in the form of monetary and vehicle donations. Toyota was the first to know of Gilbert and Trinidad’s findings, said Jack Greer, chairman of the Automotive Technology Department. Gilbert and Trinidad have simply found a way to duplicate Toyota’s problem, which is the first step in fixing it, Greer said. “It’s kind of a starting place for a (Toyota) electrical engineer to go ahead and de-
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Toyota’s acceleration system is controlled by a computer that measures the position of the gas pedal and translates it into acceleration or deceleration based on the input of the driver. Under exact conditions, the possibility exists that the onboard computer will not notice an error in the acceleration system.
sign a cure for it,� he said. Gilbert recently recreated an instance of SUA during a demonstration for ABC News correspondent Brian Ross at the SIUC automotive technology campus in Carterville. After the car Ross was driving abruptly accelerated, Gilbert showed Ross the “no error� code in the diagnostic scanner connected to the vehicle’s computer. After the ABC News interview aired Monday, Toyota said in a press release that Gilbert made a “different claim� than when he first contacted the company Feb. 16. The manufacturer said in the release it would “welcome the opportunity to evalu-
instruct all my automotive students with this fundamental statement: ‘You can have a code with no problem, and you can have a problem with no code.
ate the Toyota Avalon shown in (Monday’s ABC broadcast) and the method by which Mr. Gilbert allegedly caused the vehicle to accelerate unintentionally.â€? Gilbert and Trinidad began research on Toyota vehicles Feb. 11, Trinidad said. Trinidad, who worked for Toyota as a dealership service technician before he began teaching, also said he harbors no ill will toward the manufacturer. “The biggest thing that most people are misunderstanding is that this is just a preliminary report and we are not stating that we have found a problem,â€? Trinidad said. “We’re ‌ stating that there is something that Toyota needs to look at.â€? Trinidad said he and Gilbert both hope Toyota and the university can work together to solve the problem. “My biggest hope in this is that we can improve the quality and safety standards of the automotive industry,â€? Trinidad said. “Because to die (in) an automotive accident that’s not your fault is just not right at all.â€?
— Dr. David Gilbert SIUC professor
Nick Johnson can be reached at njohnson@dailyegyptian.com or 536-3311 ext. 263.
Dyson hits Shryock with history lesson JEFF ENGELHARDT Daily Egyptian
He spoke it, sang it, rapped it and yelled it — Michael Eric Dyson wanted people to know where they came from. Dyson, a professor of sociology at Georgetown University and one of the leading academics and authors on race relations, spoke to close to 400 people
at Shryock Auditorium Tuesday about the importance of black history in paving a positive future. The reality and effects of the struggle for civil rights and equality have been lost on today’s youth, and the only way to ensure more progress in the future is through an uncensored, truthful understanding of the past, Dyson said. He said it’s easy for young people
to say they would have stood up to the injustice and fought back because they don’t realize how hard it really was for black people in the past. “The reason you’re able to talk a lot of trash now is because they endured a lot of trash then,� Dyson said. Through snippets of gospel songs, parts of Tupac raps and plenty of his powerful signature rhetoric, Dyson
conveyed the struggles of past generations and how they worked through it to create a future of opportunity. He gave a history of the music, style and religion in black culture and how each was used as a tool to overcome struggle. It is up to this generation to make sure the bloodshed does not go to waste, he said. “You had people struggling
and dying just to get an education, and now you all can’t get yourself to class on time,� he said. “One of the greatest contributions you can make to African-American history is becoming a graduate of an institution of higher education.� Please see DYSON | 6