NEWS
Wednesday, March 31, 2004
"Date: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 2:55 PM -0500From: Mary Sue Coleman marysuec at umich.edu
To: student.voices at umich.edu
Cc: MI-Roundtable at umich.edu, msa.reps at umich.edu
Subject: Letter from the President
Dear Students:
I was impressed with your thoughtful presentation of student concerns at the March board meeting. But I was disappointed we did not have a more productive dialogue regarding student concerns when we met at Trotter House on Monday. I had hoped we could use that time to put some important ideas on the table, and to talk together about plans moving forward.
I am not interested, however, in responding to a set of demands where no real discussion can take place. I believe that progress on important issues can only come from dialogue. I'd like to share my thoughts with you in more detail.
First, I have been listening carefully to your concerns. It is clear we have to establish productive dialogue among students and administrators-and in some cases, accelerate decisions that have taken too long. Also, we must build better decision-making processes on major University initiatives focused on students-processes that fully engage student input.
It is not possible for the administration to always be in one hundred percent agreement with students on every issue. We will certainly have some differences of opinion along the way. But when we do, I am prepared to share the principles and facts that have guided our final decisions.
On Monday Provost Courant, Vice President Harper and I wanted to share several actions with you to address many of the concerns you have expressed. Also, we want to keep the door open for continued discussion on these and other issues that will take more consideration and study. I hope you will join us in this work.
I will outline these ideas below.
Student Input
Establishment of a Standing Student Advisory Committee-Vice President Harper will establish an advisory committee to encourage additional student input on University issues that have an impact on student communities. The advisory group will include representatives from student organizations. Clear guidelines for nomination to the committee, terms of service and
other protocol issues will be established.
Re-establishment of annual Provost's discussion on budget convened by MSA-In past years, MSA convened a dialogue between University budget administrators and students, to discuss the budget-setting and prioritization process. Provost Courant would like to re-establish this tradition and ask MSA to host this discussion in April of this year and annually thereafter.
Trotter House project planning-In April, a team of student representatives, facilities experts and staff will be established to recommend possible options for Trotter House. Vice President Harper has asked Patricia Aqui Pacania, director of the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs, to lead this fast-track planning effort. The group's work will be shared widely with the campus community in the fall. We are looking carefully at the University's fundraising capacity and the Office of Development will provide counsel on realistic fundraising goals. I have made a commitment to be personally engaged in fundraising for Trotter House as well.
Greek System discussion-We believe this subject needs more time for consideration and discussion. There are many serious issues that need our attention. We want to establish a clearly prescribed process to 1) outline the issues and goals, 2) mutually agree on the student and faculty advisors, 3) provide for open discussion, and 4) determine an end date by which final decisions will be made.
SAPAC-The decisions regarding SAPAC were made in order to respond to very real and enduring concerns about our ability to serve all our students. Complete status quo is not an option. The changes will enable the University to provide a greater level of specialized counseling services to survivors of sexual assault and trauma. Vice President Harper has indicated her willingness to continue a dialogue about how to go forward in a way that is responsive to student needs, especially the need for safe space.
Student recruitment-Many students are currently involved in elements of the recruitment process within their schools and colleges, including LSA student government representatives as members of the LSA Admissions Advisory Committee. We welcome additional student input as we continue to evaluate our new undergraduate admissions process and enhance our outreach and recruiting efforts.
Budget and Program Issues
Budget cuts-The magnitude of our budget constraints and the effect of the resulting cuts is not easy on any part of our community. The hard reality is that all of us will have to deal with cuts to program support in an effort to manage the enormity of the short-term budget crisis. But you are right when you ask us to also find a way to support our University's work to be a truly diverse and inclusive community.
We will work to identify some additional resources, through reallocation, for areas where the funding levels are such that programs are at special risk. Also, we will work with students to ensure that the impact of budget cuts is minimized. Specifically with respect to Pow Wow, the University will cover the program's deficit this year as it has in the past. We will work to develop a sustainable budget model for the future.
Latino Coordinator-We are moving ahead and the position will be posted within two weeks.
Michigamua-The University took strong actions two years ago to establish an environment of respect related to Native American heritage. The Office of the Provost has begun investigating the transcript issue raised at the March Regents meeting. We have discovered that over 200 student organizations and affiliations are listed on transcripts, but the process is not clear and it is obviously out of date. The Provost has charged the Registrar with a study of the issue and will recommend appropriate next steps.
Hate Incidents
Your forceful description of the pain of hate incidents was very powerful to me and I am dedicated to addressing this for our whole campus. Hate incidents are insidious and have a damaging effect on our campus climate. I have asked the Campus Safety and Security Advisory Committee to explore the creation of a comprehensive hate incident reporting mechanism. I want the effort to achieve several goals:
--create a greater awareness of the issue on campus,
--make sure that those who experience hate incidents can reach out to us,
--and make sure DPS is engaged to address hate crimes that are identified by members of our community.
The Campus Safety and Security Committee is chaired by Vice President and Secretary of the University Lisa Tedesco. The charge of this advisory group is to assist with the ongoing review of issues related to campus safety, and its membership includes student representatives. The committee has already taken up the issue and is prepared to explore next steps.
Transgender, Bisexual, Lesbian and Gay Task Force
The TBLG Task Force, charged by Provost Courant, is expected to issue a report in April. We will be acting upon the report's recommendations in the coming months.
In summary, we are paying careful attention to the concerns you have raised. Some actions will take place immediately, and in other cases we have more work to do as a community. My goal, and I trust it is your goal, is to make the best decisions we can for the students who are here now and for those to come.
Sincerely,
Mary Sue Coleman
President"
Posted by Rob at 3:05 PM "the exact same thing happened to me earlier this year"
A woman has contacted me to say that she, also was raped at the SAE fraternity, and didn't report it because members of the SAE fraternity pressured her to keep quiet.
Following two stories in quick sucession in the Daily this week, yet another controversy swirls around the greek system, this time centered on the possibility a member of the SAE fraternity could be investigated for rape after the Daily reported that, "the victim remembered having sexual intercourse with an unknown male inside the fraternity house after consuming a large amount of alcohol. The victim did not, however, remember where in the house the incident occurred or how she got back to her residence hall." (Daily - March 29: "Alleged rape under investigation"
However, today's story contridicts the police report, the sexual assault survivor today telling the Daily that she has told the Ann Arbor Police the incident was consentual:
"The alleged victim of a reported sexual assault at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house said yesterday the act in question was consensual and she does not intend to press charges. ...
"The truth is that we snuck into the party, and SAE was not responsible for anything that happened that night," she said. The police had reported that the woman and her friends were allowed into an unregistered party although they were not on the guest list. ...
"I do not approve of (SAE) being kicked off campus because of this event," she added.
Nelson said SAE members have cooperated with AAPD detectives, and plan to continue doing so.
"We take this very seriously and it’s not a reflection on who we are as a group of brothers," he said. ...
Nelson added that the SAE member involved in the incident was a pledge."
> From today's Daily: (March 31) "Woman denies rape at SAE house"
Additionally, I've been contacted by a student insensed the Daily is "letting them off like that," saying "almost the exact same thing" happened to her, although she never reported the incident:
"... I just wanted to tell you how I feel about something in today's Daily because I think your site is the only place this is going to get addressed fairly. ... The girl who was taken advantage of at SAE has totally changed her story, and it really upsets me because almost the exact same thing happened to me earlier this year. ... I never told anybody because my friends were friends with some SAE guys, and they kept telling me that SAE would get kicked off campus if I said anything."
She added that she disagreed with the survivor's allegation she "snuck into the party," saying "those guys always let girls into their parties who arent on the guest list."
Concluding, "I dont know who was responsible, but its pretty well known that the guys there push girls to drink way too much to get them drunk, they gave me some mixed drink which was way stronger than they told me."
Meanwhile, a former president of SAE wrote a self-righteous letter in today's Daily attacking the newspaper: "The Daily has always been keen on disparaging the Greek system in its pages with false headlines that often have no factual backing. I think you need to put a stop to your campaign to unjustly ruin SAE’s reputation."
Luckily, saner voices prevail, here in a companion letter:
To the Daily:
After reading about the allegations of rape taking place inside a fraternity house (Alleged rape under investigation, 03/30/04), I am only further drawn to the conclusion that the interests of many of the social frats are simply incongruous with those of the University. Even if evidence shows consent on the behalf of the woman, the testimony of the friend is indicative of the institutionalized victimization occurring at social frats, and not only of women.
From the BB gun incident several years ago to the fairly recent kidney failure due to over-exhaustion, pledges are forced through a bizarre and dangerous boot camp in which their individuality is stripped for the sake of “brotherhood.” This, for one, is completely antithetical to the ideals of the American college experience, in which youth is given the chance for self-expression and realization of its individuality through study, art, sports, etc.
The victimization of women at social frats is simply undeniable and has led to a party design with that goal in mind. This is evident in this recent incident as well as the death of Courtney Cantor in 1998, for which her father sued the University with hopes of changing University policies toward the Greek system. With this in mind, I have to suggest that the recent considerations by the University — pushing back Rush and requiring a live-in advisor — are not so much in the interest of the University’s image but rather in the interest of the health and welfare of the student body.
Phil Muirhead
RC junior"
Posted by Rob at 11:53 AM Oh yeah, don't forget to check out Ari's column on the Old Fourth Ward's notorious "Neighbor Dave," titled "Not in their backyard"
Posted by Rob at 4:58 AM Michigamua Confronted During Initiation Week Rituals
What began as a leaked tidbit of information about the meeting time of Michigamua, Michigan's most controversial secret honor society, ended yesterday night with nearly a dozen student activists confronting Michigamua members about their organization's extensive history of abusing Native American culture.
Using cellular phones and a tip that Michigamua members would be meeting in the Law Quad at 7:00 PM, members of the Native American Student Association and their allies embarked on what devolved for some into a wild-goose chase through the evening's cold drizzle.
After seeing that 7pm meeting had in fact occurred, NASA members quickly alerted friends that Michigamua was on campus, apparently conducting activities as part of their initiation week for new members. An open discussion began between when NASA members encountered Michigamua inductees congregating at the Tappan Oak, a large oak tree located between Haven Hall and the Graduate library which has historically served as a meeting point for this campus "leadership" organization.
Confused Michigamua members stood awkwardly nearby before conferring on cellular phones and apparently agreeing to meet elsewhere. Of the roughly dozen student activists present, some were surprised to discover friends and acquaintances among the group's new members.
Meanwhile, another "secret" campus organization had activities planned for the evening, although they might prefer to be called "anonymous." First, some history - rewind to 2000, shortly after the 37-day sit-in which evicted Michigamua from their Michigan Union headquarters, and revealed they had been flagrantly disobeying a 1989 agreement about use of Native American references and artifacts.
Phoenix Members Visit Allegedly Closed Tower
"Consistent with the principles of fairness and access expressed in the panel’s recommendations," [Former University President Lee C.] Bollinger said in a letter to students in the affected organization, "I have decided that it is not appropriate to continue any special tenancy in the [Michigan Union] tower space for Michigamua, Phoenix and Vulcan." ...
Bollinger said the tower space is in need of renovation to conform to safety standards and regulations regarding access for the disabled. A decision about what to do with the space will be made after considering the cost of these renovations and other issues. ... " (Record: "Three student groups to be relocated")
It was on these terms that President Bolliger evicted the "Tower Societies" from their tower, although not heisitating to provide official University office space for two years, but saying that "If they choose to apply for office and meeting space after this transitional period, they will do so as part of the general process of student space allocation." Bollinger had acceped the reccomendations of a panel which was charged with a thorough review of allocation of office space to student groups, and who had decided every organization must apply for space every two years.
Members of the Student of Color Coalition, who had occupied the Michigan Union tower for over 30 days cried foul, alleging the allocation of office space was periphial of the central issue: the University administration's long and deep involvement with an elitist organization founded on an ideology fundamentally offensive to minority culture students. However, it appeared that whatever the justification given, the tower space would at least be made inaccessable to all organizations equally.
Tonight, however, that decision of Lee Bollinger was apparently overturned or broken as the current inductees to the Phoenix honor society held a meeting in the space of their former headquarters in the Michigan Union.
Three independent sources have confirmed new members were told they would visit the tower, and an eyewitness even spotted new Phoenix members, whose names were recently published on this website, entering the elevators in the lobby of the Michigan Union to travel to the 4th floor, where they would climb the stairs to the tower.
The timing of this stunning hypocricy on the part of University administrators couldn't be more opportune for the opponents of recent budget cuts at a variety of student services offices. In 2000, after the conclusion of the tower occupation, the University fired an employee of the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs named Shannon Martin, allegedly for "embezzlement," although student activists suspected it was because she was openly sympathetic and supportive of the Students of Color Coalition. At the time, the recently appointed Vice President for Student Affairs E. Royster Harper personally testified in the jury trial of Ms. Martin, although the jury would aquit Martin of all charges. (See a 10/01 letter to the Daily about Martin)
Since 2000, rumours that Royster Harper had close ties with the campus's secret honor societies have persisted. In recent weeks, student activists drawing from a wide variety of campus communities have rallied behind an effort to reverse deep cuts in already tiny support offices, identifiying Vice President Harper as the one ultimately responsible for their plight. The group's signature yellow t-shirts read, "Royster Cut Student Services ... and all I got was this Lousy T-Shirt."
This monday, Royster Harper participated in an unproductive negotiating session between these student leaders and University administrators.
Yesterday, Royster either failed to fulfil her charge to impliment the office space allocation policy decided on by President Bollinger and the panel he had appointed, or she decided to disobey its directive completely.
It is fully within the University's power to seal the Tower from all student organizations. If that is what they intend to do, they should do it. However, if Phoenix is allowed to hold meetings in the tower, every student organization must also be afforded the privlidge. To do otherwise would be to revert to their policies before 2000, where select elite campus organizations can on occassion don headdresses, smoke a "peace pipe," in their "wigwam," decorated with birchbark and a moose's head high atop the Michigan Union.
Last time I checked such racist and sophmoric antics have thoroughly passed out of vogue. Also, NASA has recently learned Michigamua membership is included on official university transcripts - a practice which should be abolished. The University should sever any remaining ties with the organization, including requiring its employees to renounce their membership as a condition of employment, and convert the tower into some purpose open to all students.
Read more:
> My Michigamua / Phoenix Page
> Detroit News: "Protesters call secret group's rituals offensive"
> U Toronto Student Paper: "Secret society conquered in Ann Arbor"
> Daily: "Michigan minority student group to end 37-day occupation of student union"
> Statement from the Native American Community, February 2000
> Michigan Today: "Michigamua Protest Ends"
Posted by Rob at 4:43 AM The Lecturers' Employee Organization, a new union representing lecturers on the U-M campuses, is planning a walkout next Thursday, April 8th. Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality (SOLE) are organizing a corresponding student strike of classes:
"================================================
Students Are Taking Action to Support the Lecturers' (LEO) as they
Demand for Fair Wages, Job Security and Benefits from the University
================================================
Get In On the Organizing
This Wednesday March 31
9:00 PM
Michigan Union Anderson Room D
Undergrads and graduate students are organizing their peers for a possible class STRIKE on April 8th in support of LEO. Come to the meeting on Wednesday where students will:
* Get ready for the walkout and teach-in
* Get the word out (flyer and chalk near the Union and Angell Hall)
* Paint and Hang Banners
* Plan to Speak to Another Student Group
* Prepare to speak to Classes About LEO
* Meet with other student group leaders about organizing picketting groups
If you want to help with any of these, or have ideas of your own, come to the union wednesday at 9pm.
If can't make the Wednesday meeting, there will be a second meeting for student organizers on Thursday, April 1 in the Michigan Union room 2105A.
SOLE
Students are not products
Teachers are not tools
The University is not a factory
SUPPORT LEO
***Information about LEO and their Demands***
> Over the past 30 years, there has been a tremendous increase in the number of Lecturers and adjunct faculty teaching in our undergraduate programs,and in the share of all undergraduate teaching done by these faculty. However, Lecturers and adjunct faculty have not been provided with the job security and professional recognition warranted by their critical role in undergraduate teaching, and the importance of teaching in a great public university. LEO was formed to address these issues.
Bottom Lines- what are LEO?s core demands?
1. Job Security: Replace the contract (or contingent) labor system for nontenure-track (NTT) faculty with genuine job security. Under our proposal, employment can only be terminated (a) for ?just cause? or (b) due to insufficient student demand for the courses faculty are competent to teach, in which case, lay-offs will be administered based on seniority.
2. Health benefits: extend benefits throughout the summer to all who teach at a .5 fraction (i.e., half time) or above; health benefits available to all who teach at less than a .5 fraction rate, throughout the year, on a pro-rated basis.
3. Wages: A living wage rate for all NTT faculty, regardless of what campus they teach on, and whether they are part-time or full-time. Reduction (and eventual elimination) in inequalities across campuses and units within campuses for work of equal value. Wages to be based on a combination of qualifications and experience (seniority).
Arguments:
Why are LEO's demands fair and just?
1. Permanent employment unless there is just cause or insufficient demand is the system currently enjoyed by most other UM employees, including administrative staff. Why should faculty who perform a function as central to the UM community as ours be denied equal treatment in this regard?
2. Public school teachers and bus drivers don't lose their health benefits just because they don't drive / teach in the summer time - why do so many of us, even after many years of service?
3. The arguments for a living wage, as a general principle of labor market regulation, are well understood if not universally accepted. The argument for equal pay for work of equal value is perhaps even more widely accepted? differences in tuition rates do not justify the fact that NTT in Ann Arbor are paid almost twice what those in Flint and Dearborn are paid, on a per course basis. It?s unfair, to say the least, to pay someone who has devoted a decade of their life to teaching, service and research at UM the same as (or sometimes less than) someone teaching the same course who has just started here.
4. Faculty -- whether tenured, tenure-track or NTT -- should have input into bodies that make decisions with direct implications for the content of what they teach, the ways in which they teach, and the conditions under which they teach.
Why will LEO's demands, if realized, improve the quality of undergraduate education?
1. If NTT faculty have real job security, at least two things conducive to increasing quality education will happen:
*Faculty will feel a greater sense of loyalty to an institution that is willing to invest in them, and as a result, will want to invest more of their time in building programs, developing courses, etc.
*Faculty will also have more time to devote to these activities, because they will not be spending time searching out alternative sources of employment every term or year.
2.&3. Extended health care benefits and above-poverty wage levels will have the same effects, particularly on loyalty and investment.
4. Representation on decision-making bodies will give more influence to faculty whose primary commitment and function is undergraduate teaching.
Greater power for those with this priority will generally result in greater concern, attention and resources devoted to undergrad teaching.
But what about student tuition? Won't LEO's demands, if realized, cost students, their parents, and/or Michigan taxpayers a lot more money?
UM tuition, like that at other major universities, rose at well above the rate of inflation over the last decade, but the salaries and benefits of NTT faculty had little to do with this:
10 years ago (1992-93), the mean salary for full-time Lecturers on the AA campus was $29,687; a decade later (2001-2), it was $41,228. After inflation, this represented a real increase of about 1% per year.
Even if salary increases for NTT contributed little to past increases in tuition, wouldn?t raising our salaries and benefits add to the rate of tuition fee increases in the future? We do need to address the underlying causes of dramatic increases in tuition if we want to stop or slow this trend, which threatens the accessibility of the public university to all but the richest of our citizens. But the additional costs associated with improving our situation would not add a lot to the problem."
Posted by Rob at 12:19 AM
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
The University Library has created a special website dealing with how the budget cuts will effect their resources. Here's an excerpt from a letter sent by the University Librarian to the heads of U-M's schools and colleges:"As a result of these and other forces, our librarians and subject specialists are beginning to review a wide range of library commitments, seeking to reduce acquisitions. Such reviews are in some ways routine and ongoing, but the scale of the current effort will be more noticeable to our faculty and students. As always, we will seek and welcome your input, and that of the faculty, to inform the choices we make."
What will be cut? According to their FAQ:
"Reviews will be done by each library, primarily in conjunction with their faculty and students. While priorities will vary among disciplines, each library will be utilizing a common set of criteria to consider as part of the review process. The following criteria continue to be central for the management of our collections. Criteria include:
· Duplicate subscriptions of print journals
· Print journals when suitable electronic versions are available
· Duplicate copies of monographs
· Lesser used resources (print and electronic)
· Large one-time purchases that can be deferred "
I think Vice President for Student Affairs Royster Harper could take a nod from our friends over at the library: perhaps she should post online information about what she's cutting, and her general approach to budget tightening.
Posted by Rob at 5:02 PM Phoenix Classes of 2004 and 2005
Here's some information I was able to get about Phoenix, one of the other "Tower Societies" that used to be all female until both it and Michigamua went co-ed in the 1990s. I've heard "4 to 5" people turned down "taps" for the 2005 class, and their names are not included here. This list might not reflect members who decided to quit the organization, as occasionally happens. Also, to my knowledge, Phoenix does not bastardize Native American culture as Michigamua has. The Phoenix classes of 2001 through 2003 are listed at the bottom of my Michigamua page. If you have any reason to believe this information is inaccurate, please send me an email or leave an anonymous comment, and I will be sure to investigate and make corrections, in necessary. I'm still working on Michigamua for last year and this year, and I would also be interested in information about Vulcan.
Phoenix Class of 2004
Name Activities
Touseef Akram Bhatti Multicultural Greek Council, Alpha Iota Omicron
Mara Cazers Garden Club
Scott Davison Football Equipment Manager
Jake Fox Baseball
Joseph Gallitano
Jenny Gerteisen Circle K, Girls on the Run
Tom Gritter Men's Soccer
Ameil Herrera MSA, Sigma Nu, Phi Sigma Pi
Mark Hodges Eta Kappa Nu, Tau Beta Pi
Matt Kochanek Dance Marathon, Circle K, Mortar Board
Courtney Lewis Daily (sports staff)
Adam Maczik Marching Band, Fencing Club
Erica Margolius Michiganensian, K-Grams Bookmark
Matt McKee Marching Band, Golden Key
Jen Miller Outdoor Adventures, SGA
Deepa Patel Circle K, SAVE, Mortar Board
Christin Plunkett Women's Crew, Campus Crusade
Jenny Putvin Michiganensian
Bharat Sharma Alpha Iota Omicron
Megan Wilbur Dance Marathon, College Democrats
Kate Woolley APO, M-Flicks, Detroit Project
Malinda Matney (Honorary/Faculty Member)
Phoenix Class of 2005
Matt Burrows (Faculty/Alum)
Megan Bonde
Mike Penn
Colin Daly (Daily cartoonist)
Ruchi Talati
Priya Pai
Josh Holman
Ryan Shinska
Jarrod Wood
Melissa Mariola
Tony Ding (Daily Photographer)
Jasmine Singh
Melissa Hough
Julia Power
Steve Kren
George Kiwada
Kim Smith
Heidi Gilbert
Quynh-Nhu Vu
BreAnne McPhilamy
Evan Demko
Brittany Galisdorfer
Leah Ketcheson
Justine Silver
Rachel Chapin
Posted by Rob at 12:55 PM The Daily reports today about a couple new auction websites targeting U-M students: theDiag.com and UMToday.com. UMToday seems more ambitious, even including a U-M specific "hot or not" feature.
"... University alum Zach Price started the auction website TheDiag.com this week, in response to demand for a venue to advertise products for students that were not being auctioned elsewhere. ...
LSA junior Johnny Glase said his friend Scott Palko, a University of Notre Dame alum, started a website at Notre Dame that was very successful and planned to bring a similar one to the University.
Glase said he took up Palko’s offer, and the website UMtoday.com, which was started in December 2003, now has a couple hundred users. One of the site’s features is an online marketplace, where students can bid on furniture, books and electronics. Glase said he is now actively publicizing the website, which is 100 users short of attracting advertising contracts. ... "
> Daily : "Students start up online auction sites"
Posted by Rob at 3:37 AM The logo of the Jamaican Jerk Pit, a new restaurant located at 314 South Thayer (across from Hill Auditorium) has been drawing some attention by those who think the cartoon in its logo too closely resembles the racist "Mammy" stereotype from Blackface Minstrel Shows, popular in the United States in the middle of the 19th century. (See also this historical website for more information) Here's one email sent by a U-M faculty member to the contact email address on the restaurant's website (pickup at jerkpit.com):
"Although I have heard your food is tasty, your sign and web logos are completely tasteless and border on racist. The people are reminiscent of mammies, just updated with dreads. Please consider changing your signs and website design. I find both completely offensive and inexcusable."
Posted by Rob at 3:30 AM In a tense negotiating session at Trotter House yesterday, student activists seem to have be taken seriously by administrators in their demands for increased funding of student services, which experienced deep cuts this year. Although the administration didn't make any concessions or agree to any of the activist's demands, I think the students are well positioned to win at least some of their objectives.
"Coleman started the meeting, expressing her desire to work together with students to find solutions.
“Here’s what I want to do: Figure out ways to have more productive dialogues. We need to accelerate some decisions that are taking too long … You deserve that — the entire University deserves that,” Coleman said.
As Coleman began to address the University’s budget problems, LSA senior Jackie Bray, an SVA member, cut her off and moved forward with SVA’s 10 demands regarding undergraduate services.
RC senior Erik Glenn voiced SVA’s request that the University retain an Education Affairs Coordinator in the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Affairs on a permanent and full-time basis. The LGBT Affairs office recently announced the position will be terminated at the beginning of the next fiscal year. SVA also requested that gender identity be added to the University’s nondiscrimination policy.
... Harper agreed to rehire a Latino coordinator to replace the previous coordinator who left last semester.
"The Latino position will be posted within two weeks, and we're going to act more aggressively to fill this position. It has always been a permanent, full-time position," Harper said. ...
> Daily: "Administrators address cuts to student services"
> See also this story from yesterday: "Budget troubles burden celebration" Here's excerpts:
"... But budget cuts have undermined this year’s Pow Wow, most notably by reducing its usual three-day span to two. The University has cut the budget of the Division of Student Affairs, the event’s main sponsor, by 4 percent this year.
The Pow Wow has lost an estimated 25 percent of its University funding this year, coordinator Steven Abbott said. Administration officials could not be reached for specific budget figures.
The decrease in revenue has corresponded with continual increases in costs, including renting the Crisler Arena, hiring Department of Public Safety officers and covering maintenance fees.
"I feel that the upper administration has not taken student services like Pow Wow, the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center and the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs seriously and hasn't given them priority. They boast about diversity and boast about supporting diversity, but these budget cuts don't reflect that,” said LSA senior Nickole Fox, who is a co-chair of NASA.
Many other students are "frustrated and angry," as Fox said, and cuts and changes to student services have led to the formation of the group Student Voices in Action, which lobbies the administration for change." ...
> See the Daily's photo of University President Mary Sue Coleman, Vice President for Student Affairs E. Royster Harper, University Provost Paul Courant and Dean of Students Ed Willis speaking to students yesterday
Also of note:
> "Alleged rape under investigation"
Posted by Rob at 3:17 AM Michigamua "Pride" of 1999:
Andrew D. Berenzweig
Andrew R. Potts
Bobby L. Scales II
Christopher W. Bunt
Cory J. Fryling
Delano M. White
Don M. Chamberlin IV
Dwane Q. Fuqua
Erik W. Ranka
Evan M. Meyers
Frank J. Lodeserto
Gerald B. Olivari
Gregory R. Daddario
Jeffrey Smokevitch
Jonathan W. Jansen
Joseph C. Taylor
Manuel F. Munguia
Michael C. Fair
Pinkey L. Oliver
Rahul M. Shah
Robert D. Hayes
Ryan D. Freidrichs
Spencer F. Preis
Thomas A. Malchow
Posted by Rob at 2:06 AM Although Froogle, Google's new product search engine might think I'm selling LSA Senior Jackie Bray on my website, they are in fact mistaken. ($1.70 seems entirely too low ... ) She did, however, contribute to a book which was recently issued by Indyvoter.org called "How to Get Stupid White Men Out of Office: The Anti-Politics, Un-Boring Guide to Power" The book includes one chapter called "Students vs. Court of Public Opinion" co-wrote by Jackie Bray, Monique Luse, and Michelle Lin. (Luse and Lin graduated last year.) Their chapter is about their involvement with Student Supporting Affirmative Action helping plan the busses to DC last year, among other things.
If you'd like a copy, the organization which published it is giving away free copies to people who throw book parties the weekend of April 17-18 - just fill out a quick application on their website. They've even posted a bio of Ms. Bray. To order a copy, Powell's is offering it for $13.
Posted by Rob at 1:26 AM Just another day in our fine city:
"Gunman robs store on Washtenaw Ave.
A gunman dressed in black with a bandana pulled over his face robbed a clerk at gunpoint at an Ypsilanti Township party store Sunday evening, the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department reported.
The 42-year-old clerk said the robber entered the Huckleberry Party Store in the 2800 block of Washtenaw Avenue at about 8:45 p.m. Sunday, Sheriff's Cmdr. Dave Egeler said. He said the robber pulled out a handgun and ordered the clerk to open the cash register or he would shoot, Egeler said.
The clerk said he opened the register, and the robber grabbed $250 to $300, then told him to get on the floor, Egeler said. The clerk waited until the robber was gone before he got up and called 911, Egeler said.
Woman reports rape, weighs prosecution
A 22-year-old Ann Arbor woman said she was raped by a man she met at a party Friday night after he took her back to his fraternity house, city police said.
The woman said she couldn't find her friend when it was time to leave the party, so a man she met there offered her a ride, reports said. She said he took her back to his fraternity and eventually forced himself on her, reports said.
The woman then returned home and told friends, who persuaded her to go to police, reports said. She said she was unsure whether she wanted to prosecute.
KKK fliers placed in north-side mailboxes
Fliers from the Mystic Knights of the KKK were found in several mailboxes of homes on Ann Arbor's north side Sunday, city police reported.
The fliers appeared in mailboxes along Placid Way and included references to affirmative action and programs sponsored by McDonald's to support minorities, reports said. Officers did not find anyone distributing the fliers in the area, reports said.
The material itself is not illegal because it is protected by the First Amendment, but placing unauthorized items in mailboxes is a violation under federal law, police officials said. [...]
U-M student struck by BB on Oakland
A 21-year-old University of Michigan student said he was struck by a BB fired off by one of his neighbors early Saturday, Ann Arbor Police said.
The student and several friends were standing near their home in the 1000 block of Oakland Avenue when they said BBs were fired, reports said. They said the BBs were fired from the roof of the home across the street, reports said.
Officers questioned the two men in the home across from the victim, and they denied shooting BBs, reports said. Police arrested a man at the scene for disorderly conduct when he became belligerent and confrontational, reports said. The incident remains under investigation. ... (AANews Police Beat)
Can't forget break-ins:
"1000 block of South Main Street, 11 a.m. Saturday. Window broken to gain entry; $3,000 cash, financial documents, photographs and a revolver taken.
900 block of Greenwood Avenue, 2:45 a.m. Sunday. No signs of forced entry; laptop computer valued at $3,700 taken."
Posted by Rob at 12:24 AM
Monday, March 29, 2004
A member of the radical environmental organization the Earth Liberation Front has pled guilty to charges he caused $2.5 million in damages after participating in the fire bombing of new SUVs in Los Angeles, and faces a prison sentence of 25 years to life:> AP: "Student pleads innocent in SUV vandalism, firebombing spree in Southern California"
Posted by Rob at 11:55 PM The owner of Biener's Wieners, the hot dog stand which has been at the corner of State Street and North University of over 20 years, died on St. Patrick's Day of heart disease, although his partner will continue the business. Interestingly, on the day he died he experienced chest pains, but didn't go to the hospital because he didn't have health insurance. Now, had the United States had a national single-payer health insurance system like virtually every other industrialized nation, or even a state-regulated opt-in system like Mexico, who knows what might have happened ...
" Barry Biniarz, the chatty owner of Biener's Wieners, died unexpectedly of heart disease at his Michigan Center home in Jackson County on St. Patrick's Day. He had turned 50 in January.
Alan Fineran, his life and business partner of 14 years, will be back in business on the same corner one day soon. ...
"He was an exceptional guy, always nice to everybody," said Ashley Arbour, a clerk at Michigan Book & Supply just a few feet from the space Biener's Wieners typically occupies. "It's unbelievable that he's gone. It's kind of like I don't take that information as fact. It's like he's just on vacation. If there was an ice storm, they'd still be crazy and be out there selling hot dogs."
On the rare day Biniarz was a no-show, at least three or four students would stop in the store to ask where he was, Arbour said. Although he enjoyed a chili and cheese dog nearly every day, Arbour said he's changing his diet.
"After I heard the news, I've gone vegetarian," said Arbour. "I'm starting to bring in my own Boca burgers for lunch." ...
Fineran said Biniarz worked the day he died, but later at home complained that he didn't feel well. He didn't go to the doctor because he didn't have medical insurance and thought it was only indigestion anyhow, he said. Fineran's mother, Mary, said her son found him dead on the floor, and that an autopsy showed he had heart disease he hadn't known about. ...
> AANews: "Owner of Biener's Wieners, Barry Biniarz, dies"
Posted by Rob at 11:40 AM "The Trial of the Century"
A new book about the case of Dr. Ossian Sweet was released this week. Dr. Sweet was a wealthy and successful black doctor in Detroit in the 1920s. While attempting to move into a home he had purchased in an all-white neighborhood in 1925, the Sweet family and some of their friends were attacked by a white mob which surrounded the home. After one man died in the melee, Dr. Sweet and nine friends and family members were charged with murder. Clarence Darrow, recently famous for his oratory during the notorious Scopes "Monkey trial," agreed to accept the case. One trial resulted in a hung jury, and a second jury acquitted the defendants of all charges.
" ... What Dr. Sweet did was probably more American than most things that we consider today," said Baxter, 38. "He had to fight for what he believed in. That's what America is all about.
"I grew up always aware of Dr. Sweet. I kind of became the official spokesperson for the house. We'd have college students from as far away as Florida stop by to get firsthand experience of where Dr. Sweet lived."
Over the years, the visitors waned. But Baxter has noticed a resurgence in interest.
On July 18, the National Black Prosecutors Association will be in Detroit for a convention. A ceremony is scheduled to unveil a Michigan historical marker on the house's front lawn.
"That marker to me means everything," Baxter said. "It acknowledges not just Dr. Sweet but all African Americans who had to struggle to be enfranchised with those unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." ..."
> From Freep: "RACE RELATIONS IN EARLY 20TH CENTURY: 1925 trial of black Detroit family who defended itself against a white mob is detailed in historical book"
> Purchase the book on Powell's: "One Man's Castle: Clarence Darrow in Defense of the American Dream"
Posted by Rob at 4:49 AM On The Slow Death of Student Journalism at Michigan
Yes, part of the changing ideology of the editorial page of the Michigan Daily is an institutionalized and regular hostility towards student activists. I first wrote about this phenomenon on February 2 after reading editorial page editor Jason Pesick's signed editorial announcing the beginning of his term as editor. In it, he likens patriarchal administrators of the 1960s to a multiethnic coalition of student organizations who boycotted the newspaper last year. In this brave new world of fiercely professional journalism, apparently if you dare to criticize the newspaper, you are fair game for attack - whether you are an administrator seeking to expel students, or a student activist seeking fair treatment in the media.
Mr. Pesick and the editorial staff of the Daily have taken it a step farther in today's newspaper, running a full left-side editorial criticizing "inconsistencies" in the platform of Student Voices in Action, accusing them of being "loose with the facts." It turns out that the facts seem fairly clear-cut, and the only inconsistencies I can find are with this editorial and the Daily's own editorial precedents. Among their complaints - the Daily says that SVA should mention that President Coleman has pledged $500,000 to the University's capital campaign, and that although the salaries of coaches Lloyd Carr and Tommy Amaker are high, "they fail to mention the importance of these two positions to the athletic department." Yes, apparently "failing to mention" the arguments that might be made against your position means your entire organization should be the victim of a full left-side editorial attack, on the day when they need as much support as possible since they'll be meeting with administrators about their demands.
Meanwhile, I would argue that it's the Daily's job to provide the facts about the situation, something it has failed to do. Almost every issue raised by Student Voices in Action has either been underreported by the Daily, or not reported on at all - in fact it is a testament to the knowledge and skill of the student activists involved that they have been able to sift through the facts on their own, independent any help from mainstream student media. Hopefully, the Daily news department is burning the midnight oil preparing FOIA requests to get to the bottom of the funding changes, aggressively seeking Royster Harper's papers, and planning an investigative series on the budget cuts and the plight of minority students on campus. Although I doubt it - former Daily Editor-In-Chief Jon Schwartz said in staff meeting once that "The Daily used to do investigations, and now we have Rob." And then he fired me a few weeks later. Hopefully, the editorial staff is trying to brainstorm innovative ways the University could find funding so that all-important student services can be maintained, and making sure they're writing supportive editorials when the activists need it the most. Although today's editorial makes me think that's not about to happen, - however, I have a few ideas of my own, for what they're worth. And after I hand in my 80-page honors thesis Wednesday, I'll get cracking on the FOIAs.
In case you're not familiar with my little saga at the Daily, not might be a good time to check out my "Inside the Daily" series, which I have available in print form if anyone is interested.
Posted by Rob at 3:09 AM
Sunday, March 28, 2004
U-M Alumni FriendsterThe U-M Alumni Association has purchased software developed by Stanford Alumni and plans to launch a Friendster-like service targeting only U-M alumni sometime this spring. Here's what Stanford had to say about the software, called "Affinity engines," on their "customers" page which includes the University of Michigan:
Stanford University
"Affinity Engines helped the Stanford Alumni Association build an online community for its 170,000 members. In just 3 months, we received over 8,000 updates to alumni contact information, 2,000 new online alumni members, and over 180,000 connections between alumni. Affinity Engines is helping us realize a dream we have held for years - a virtual community of Stanford alumni.."
Howard Wolf
President, Stanford Alumni Association
Posted by Rob at 5:15 PM This website was featured in the April 2004 Ann Arbor Observer in a short "guide" to local weblogs published on pages 14 and 15. Read more about the coverage on Arborblogs, Airbeagle (and co-author Brandhast), srah blah blah, and commonmonkeyflower. Meanwhile, Hillary's The Bunker, and Steve's Seat of the Revolution resent being characterized as Ann Arbor blogs. My criticism is more elementary than that: it just doesn't seem to be a particularly good guide - they even listed the wrong URL for the arborblogs site, which I started back in December. Here's the entry they come up with for this site: (I've added links to the February and December posts they characterize as "recent")
"Goodspeed Update (Rob Goodspeed, goodspeedupdate.com)
Recent Posts: Lee Bolinger's "imperial presidency," support for AATA service to Metro Airport
Quote: "I'll be spending today at the 'Creating Cool' conference held as part of the governor's statewide cool cities initiative."
While I appreciate the publicity, I suspect the story has been "on hold" for a while - making its content a bit dated. I find it interesting that none of the city's media outlets has covered the local blog scene very well - although this 'guide' is probably the best so far. The Ann Arbor News hasn't printed anything, save a mention of Ann Arbor Is Overrated in their "Talk About Town" column, the Michigan Daily published a story about student blogs that didn't include any of the popular local blogs run by U-M students.
Posted by Rob at 4:48 PM "There's a new University of Michigan team on campus. It held tryouts, signed on the three top players, has a roster of coaches, and practices weekly.
But it will be brains - not brawn - that determine if this team is a winner.
The team is called The Mighty Hackers and it left Saturday for the Czech Republic for the World Finals of an international competition in computer programming.
This Olympics of the tech world pits 73 teams of college software programmers from all corners of the world against one another in a contest where speed counts as much as acumen. Teams will come from all continents but Antarctica.
The Mighty Hackers are U-M computer science undergrads Jim McCann, Nuttapong Chentanez and Galen Elias.
They won a berth in the international competition when they placed fourth out of 127 teams in a regional contest in Ashland, Ohio, in November. Since then, they've been meeting weekly to practice for the international contest, sponsored by the Association of Computing Machinery. ..
> AANews: "'Mighty Hackers' take on world in computer contest"
> See also this Daily article from December: "Computing team wins seat in global contest"
Posted by Rob at 3:21 PM Here's some more on the Thompson street home invasion:
"A University of Michigan student said she screamed and fought in fear as an intruder ripped at her clothing after climbing through a window in her Ann Arbor apartment early one morning last week.
She later learned he is suspected in a series of similar incidents - including one later the same morning - around the Eastern Michigan University campus in Ypsilanti.
The suspect, 25-year-old Garland Lane Hall of Ypsilanti Township, appeared in court Saturday to face a charge of first-degree home invasion, shaking his head in disagreement as the warrant was read. He became visibly upset after his bond was set at $100,000. ...
Police said the woman's computer was found in the vehicle Hall was driving. ...
> AANews: "Suspected Intruder Charged"
Posted by Rob at 3:16 PM "We Are Living in a Different Time"
Without, apparently, a constitutional right to freedom of assembly:
"GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- When opposition to the war in Iraq began to mount last year, city police sent undercover officers to anti-war meetings and rallies, collecting intelligence about the aims of activists, the department's chief confirmed. ...
The protesters were arrested when dozens marched through downtown streets after the main rally had concluded and refused police orders to disperse.
"We are living in a different time now. It's a different day," Dolan told The Grand Rapids Press for a story published Sunday.
But war protesters say the surveillance infringed on their civil rights more than it protected them from terror. In one case, they say, police threatened the job of a protester and said they would arrest her if she identified undercover officers she recognized. "
> AP: "Grand Rapids police monitored anti-war protests, chief says"
Posted by Rob at 3:11 PM Students for PIRGIM is sponsoring an event on sprawl this Tuesday at 7:30 PM, featuring Mayor John Hieftje, City Council Member Jean Carlberg, History Professor Matt Lassiter, Law Professor Rick Hills, and director of the Michigan Environmental Council & Chair of Ann Arbor's Cool Cities Task Force Conan Smith. Here's the event on Upcoming.org.
Posted by Rob at 3:08 PM "STUDENT VOICES IN ACTION: UNITE TO FIGHT
***RESPONSE FROM MARY SUE AND ROYSTER!!!***
We delivered our demands and now we're getting a response! COME put pressure on the administration and demand REAL responses and ACTION!!!
MONDAY, March 29th
at the TROTTER House
12 NOON
Please meet in front of the UNION at 11:00AM to March to Trotter! If you can't make it, please be at Trotter by 11:30AM! Bring your friends! Pack Trotter! Spread the word!
WEAR YOUR YELLOW SHIRTS!!! If you don't have one, you can still purchase them at the MSA Office or on Monday for $4,
UNITE TO FIGHT and let your voice be heard. As students, we deserve avoice. Come claim it."
Posted by Rob at 3:05 PM
Saturday, March 27, 2004
Amid budget controversy, and after a vote of no confidence by the faculty, Michigan Tech has fired their president.Posted by Rob at 12:29 PM Two determined U-M undergrads just finished internships with the Royal Shakespeare Company - but there's only one catch - the company doesn't have an internship program:
" ... What the two women proposed to Boyd was, by RSC standards, radical: they wanted to spend a summer in Stratford watching RSC directors rehearse shows. "The two of us would do whatever it took to have the opportunity to observe rehearsals," they wrote, "even if that meant working in the gift shop or serving in the cafeteria!" ... "
> Michigan Today: "With Their Will, They Made Their Way"
Posted by Rob at 12:02 PM
Friday, March 26, 2004
If you would like a $10 ride to Washington D.C. to participate in this year's massive "March for Women" planned to occur on April 24 and 25, there are still spaces avaliable on the busses organized by the Michigan Student Assembly. Here's information about how to reserve a spot:"* ATTENTION STUDENTS *
The Michigan Student Assembly is now sending a total of FOUR busses to Washington DC on the weekend of April 24-25 and students are encouraged to register early in order to reserve a spot [see below]. On that weekend, over one million people are expected to gather in the nation's capitol to attend events and activities surrounding the March for Freedom of Choice.
Every student is welcome to reserve a spot on these busses, regardless of his or her own personal views on the issue of choice. MSA wishes to support and encourage all students to become involved in the arenas of contemporary politics and social justice, and this trip to Washington is a great way to become active in a very pressing and controversial issue.
* SCHEDULE *
The busses will leave on the evening of Saturday, April 24 and will return to Ann Arbor very early in the morning on Monday, April 26. Tentatively, participants should expect to leave at 6:00 pm on the 24th and return by 6:00 am on the 26th. No lodging will be required as participants will not only be in Washington during the day on the 25th. Participants should expect to sleep on the rides down and back.
During their time in Washington, students may participate in any activities they wish, and should make plans ahead of time to meet up with any groups in which they are interested. Further details on the trip and transportation will be sent to participants once registration is complete.
* REGISTRATION *
On Monday, March 15th at 3:00 pm, students may send their registration requests to MSA.BUSSES at UMICH.EDU. REGISTRATION REQUESTS WILL NOT BE HONORED BEFORE THIS TIME. All registration requests must contain the following information:
FULL NAME:
UNIQNAME:
UMID #:
LOCAL ADDRESS:
* LOCAL/HOME/OFFICE PHONE #:
* MOBILE PHONE/PAGER #:
AGAIN, please do not send registration requests until Monday at 3 pm.
PLEASE SEND COMPLETED REGISTRATIONS TO MSA.BUSSES@UMICH.EDU. Students who have successfully registered WILL BE NOTIFIED once registration is complete. A reserve waitlist will also be compiled and students on this list will be notified of this and informed of standby procedures.
* At least one phone number must be provided for registration. This does not need to be a local number and MAY be the number at your permanent residence (e.g. your parents' home). Participants are strongly advised to bring a mobile phone or pager on the trip, though this is not required.
*Cost*
The cost of the trip is $10. Once you have received a confirmation e-mail from MSA, please visit MSA Office, 3909 Michigan Union, between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm to pay $10 with a check or money order made out to MSA- Committee Discretionary. NO CASH WILL BE ACCEPTED. Those who receive confirmations but do not pay ten dollars will be dropped and moved to the waitlist. No one will be turned away due to financial difficulties, arrangements can be made.
Please read this e-mail carefully and note process:
1) Send an e-mail to msa.busses@umich.edu AFTER monday at 3 pm
2) receive a confirmation e-mail
3) Go to MSA from 9 am - 5pm and pay $10
4) Get on bus to DC!
If you have additional questions or concerns, please e-mail ask.MSA at umich.edu.
Thank you,
The Michigan Student Assembly"
Posted by Rob at 3:33 PM Life Sciences or Student Services: A Question of Fundraising Priorities
In early April, the University's Development Office will announce the start of another major fundraising campaign. The most recent, completed in the 1990's, was titled "The Margin of Excellence," and raised in excess of $1.4 Billion, used to fund the University's academic programs, endow professorships, and meet a variety of other financial needs. In the 1980's, a similar campaign raised early $300 Million, and in the 1960's, the University raised $50 Million.
If administrators take their commitment to all types of campus diversity seriously, they should include in the campaign a major effort to fund the Student Services Offices which have seen their budgets slashed in recent years: the Sexual Assault Prevention & Awareness Center (SAPAC), the Office of Lesbian Gay Bisexual & Transgender Affairs (LGBTA), and office of Multi Ethnic Student Affairs (MESA). In addition, funds should be raised to dramatically increase funding to the Native American Student Association's Annual Pow Wow, renovate and endow the Trotter Multicultural Center, and further fund efforts to recruit and retain students of color.
These offices and programs should be endowed - meaning the University should make investments whose dividends would go exclusively to specific student services programs. As it currently stands, the University is leading their promotional material with information about the Life Sciences Institute - however, I would argue these rather small offices are just as important to the life and future excellence of the University as the Life Sciences.
Posted by Rob at 3:13 PM "For the second week in a row, donning their signature yellow shirts and armed with a list of demands, students marched to the Fleming Administration Building yesterday afternoon to protest projected cuts in funding to and reorganization of several student services.
Last week, about 50 students attended the University Board of Regents meeting where several campus leaders complained about the budget cuts to the University administration.
Several members of the newly-formed Students Voices in Action sent demands in a sealed manila envelope to Vice President for Student Affairs E. Royster Harper, and Dean of Students Ed Willis. They said the demands are a reaffirmation of the purpose of the Division of Student Affairs, the organization responsible for projected cuts in several student services. ...
Harper and Willis responded to the rally by listening to the concerns by members of SVA outside Fleming. Harper acknowledged a lack of student input thus far in regard to the proposed changes and tentatively scheduled a meeting with herself, SVA, and possibly University President Mary Sue Coleman on Monday. ... "
> Daily: "Protesters target cuts to services"
Posted by Rob at 3:01 PM
Thursday, March 25, 2004
I'm not sure if the Daily is going to print this letter, but the author sent it to me and I have decided to post it here:"To the Daily,
On March 25, Laura Davis’s article, U’ should provide academic instruction, not unrelated student services, strongly supported the current cuts to various student groups and accessories. Her reason, “The University’s job is to provide students today with the classes, the professors and the buildings to hold classes in and for which students pay tuition,” Unfortunately, this reasoning falls to two arguments.
When compared with the University of Michigan 2003-2004 Application’s Mission Statement, it becomes obvious why the university funds student group services. According to the application; “The University of Michigan seeks to enroll and graduate applicants who will develop and grow educationally and personally and will contribute to the University community, the State of Michigan, and the broader society. It is the University’s experience and judgment that this mix of students will foster the vibrant educational atmosphere that provides the best educational experience for all students.” In other words, the university supports education both within and outside of university classrooms through recruiting those who can add to the ambiance of the university, an educational aspect not caused directly by the university faculty. Even if one doesn’t accept the university’s mission statement, constitutional law should suffice.
American constitutional law upholds this mission statement. In the famous decision, Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System v. Southworth, the United States Supreme Court ruled that public institutions can charge students for extracurricular activities that are funded with unbiased intention. In Justice Anthony Kennedy’s opinion of the court, he wrote; “The First Amendment permits a public university to charge its students an activity fee used to fund a program to facilitate extracurricular student speech if the program is viewpoint neutral.” Expounding in the opinion of the court, he wrote; “The University may determine that its mission is well served if students have the means to engage in dynamic discussions of philosophical, religious, scientific, social, and political subjects in their extracurricular campus life outside the lecture hall - it is entitled to impose a mandatory fee to sustain an open dialogue to these ends.”
Don’t let Davis’s title, Co-Chair of Young Americans for Freedom, fool you. The name, in this context, is used as a façade for a counterintuitive purpose: to narrow the definition of academics. Contrary to her title, if Davis favored true freedom, she would allow the University to define academia, instead of imposing her conservative agenda-based definition to academia and its so-called limits. Or, she could simply accept the Supreme Court decision.
Sincerely,
Stuart Wagner
LSA Student Government Representative "
Posted by Rob at 11:56 PM Ward Connerly's anti-affirmative action ballot initiative could be delayed or potentially permanently derailed after a judge ruled today that the language was misleading.
AP: Judge rules against petition drive aimed at ending affirmative action
Posted by Rob at 11:53 PM Although the prevailing sentiment seems decidedly against him, the May commencement speaker David E. Davis is not without his defenders. LSA John Laich speculates in a letter to the editor today that the administration has "finally made the decision to play it smart and safe and pick someone more local and sanguine rather than some pompous celebrity from the East Coast who flies in, ridicules us provincial Michigan types and smugly runs back to wherever he or she came from." Expressing exactly how glad he is that the administration is getting away from "the usual Ivy League commencement blather," adding "hopefully Davis will impress us at graduation." I hope so too - I must say I rather like the "usual Ivy League commencement blather."
Commencement speakers at top universities last year included former president of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo (Harvard), President of Peru Alejandro Toledo (Stanford), 1984 Nobel Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Penn), Queen Noor of Jordan (William & Mary), and of course secretary-general of the United Nations Kofi Annan (Duke). First, it's difficult to characterize these people as "pompous celebrities from the East Coast" since none are from the U.S. And second, I doubt that any of them issued the "usual blather," but I suppose that's a judgment you'll have to make. Oh, my source? The Young Americans Foundation (similar politics to the other YAF).
What, exactly, does Mr. Davis stand for? According to a recent column in Automotive magazine, he thinks a $1-per-gallon "War on Terrorism" tax might be a good idea:
"If you would like to defray some of the cost of the War on Terrorism and, at the same time, do some worthwhile good on the automotive home front, please consider slapping a one-dollar War on Terrorism Gasoline Surtax on every gallon of gasoline sold in these United States of America. At the same time, however, I beg that you resist the natural and near-irresistible temptation to impose a similar surtax on diesel fuel.
But wait, let's consider all the things the money could be used for:
"If the War on Terrorism Gasoline Surtax were fairly and consistently applied across the gasoline-burning universe - no exemptions, no loopholes - it would generate some $133 billion in 2003 alone. This would not pay for a full-scale war, but it would buy an awful lot of 5.57-millimeter community relations ammunition and warehouses full of whatever those things were that turned a carload of al-Qaida enthusiasts into a grease spot on the floor of the Yemeni desert. This fresh stream of revenue might allow our republic to pursue the War on Terrorism with less dislocation among the day-to-day governmental activities that help to make this the one nation in the world where everybody else wants to live. And since the politics of oil are all bound up in these disputes, let oil pay its share of the cost. ... "
I actually like his idea of a gas tax, which, he notes, would incidentally help encourage public transit, save fuel, and encourage auto companies to develop smaller, more efficient vehicles. I don't, however, share his same relish for recycling the money as wars on whole peoples who haven't done anything but live within a few hundred miles of someone we've determined needs a "regime change." In another column, titled "Our Neighborhood Auto Show," Davis suggests the auto industry itself should do a bit more to help out Detroit, after noting that the Detroit he knew as a child is no longer:
" ... The automobile industry didn't cause this, but the automobile industry didn't throw itself on the barbed wire to prevent it, either. Clearly, many automotive executives, most particularly the late Henry Ford II, have worked hard to help salvage something from Detroit's half-century of decline, but the industry itself, working as a team, never really put its shoulder to that wheel. Everybody building and selling cars in Detroit ought to visit Wolfsburg, headquarters town for Volkswagen in northern Germany. It's an automotive and civic tour de force, a city that really celebrates its role in the automotive universe. If you were the North American automobile industry, wouldn't you want your hometown to be an absolute showplace, the best-case scenario for the automotive metropolis?"
He's no Tom Sugrue, but it's a start I suppose. Now, I know a Detroiter who might have made very interesting speaker: Grace Lee Boggs.
Posted by Rob at 10:09 PM Billions of dollars for freeways criss-crossing the state - now how about some pennies (relatively) for a few bike lanes? Maybe it'll happen after a few get killed - that seems to be the city's attitude when it comes to adequately accommodating pedestrians near the Michigan Union or along Plymouth Road - oh, woops - the crosswalk by the Islamic center is still in the works. God forbid we slow down those busy bobos on their way to the farmer's market!
"Kris Talley was biking on Scio Church Road west of Ann Arbor last summer when she experienced the kind of scare every cyclist dreads.
A large gravel truck topped a hill and was coming up behind her fast, she said. There was no paved shoulder to slip out of the way, and an oncoming car meant the truck driver couldn't ease into the other lane to pass. Talley said she managed to bail out on the rough gravel shoulder as the trucker blasted by, hand on horn.
The Ann Arbor resident and chair of the Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition managed to follow the driver until he pulled into a nearby gravel pit, where she confronted him about driving too fast. In the end, the two agreed on one thing after their hour-long conversation: Both motorist and cyclist would be better off with a paved shoulder for an emergency exit.
Such incidents are the reason Talley and others in the Ann Arbor Bicycle Touring Society and the Washtenaw Bicycling and Walking Coalition are campaigning to have paved shoulders added to many county roads.
Paving road shoulders is part of an increasing effort by area residents to create many more safe places for people to walk and cycle - not just for recreation, but for transportation. And it can be done far more cheaply and quickly than can buying land or acquiring easements for greenways, advocates say.
The city of Ann Arbor, the Downtown Development Authority and the University of Michigan commissioned a $100,000 project on non-motorized transportation to find out how to get more people to bike and walk. Ann Arbor is paying $60,000, with $20,000 each from the DDA and U-M. ... "
> AANews: "Road shoulders get 2nd look Bicyclists campaign for paving along roads"
Posted by Rob at 4:44 PM Once again, Jane Jacobs is vindicated: safety isn't determined by police, locks, chains, or elaborate security consulting firms, devices, electric fences, or even tasers, but simply the presence of a few people around to keep an eye (or an ear) out for trouble. Here's the text of an Ann Arbor News article from today titled "Student fights off attacker in home":
"Thursday, March 25, 2004
BY AMALIE NASH
A University of Michigan student fought off an attacker who broke into her ground-floor apartment early today and fled with a laptop computer after a neighbor came to her aid, Ann Arbor Police said.
Police arrested a man in Ypsilanti Township a short time later who may be connected to the attack, Detective Sgt. Richard Kinsey said.
The woman was sleeping in her apartment in the 300 block of Thompson Street at 4:39 a.m. when she was attacked, police said. The intruder apparently entered through a window because the front door was locked and chained, but he propped the door open once he got inside, Detective Brian Zasadny said.
A neighbor in the building heard the woman screaming and went to her apartment, calling inside the partially open door to see if she was OK, Kinsey said. The intruder bolted from the apartment, police said.
Kinsey said police are still investigating whether the man intended to sexually assault the woman.
Just before the 911 call was placed, officers on routine patrol saw a black Dodge Intrepid driving in the area of State and Huron streets with its lights out, Kinsey said. They jotted down the license plate but didn't stop the car.
When the officers heard radio traffic about the break-in, they ran the license plate and discovered the registered owner was wanted on a warrant for window peeping, Kinsey said. Officers from Ypsilanti and the Washtenaw County Sheriff's Department eventually tracked down the car in the area of the I-94 Service Drive and Share Avenue, Kinsey said.
The driver was being questioned by police early today.
Several similar incidents of a man entering apartments in Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti Township have occurred in recent weeks. Kinsey said detectives from each local department are working to determine if they are linked.
"The information is sketchy at this point ..." Kinsey said. "We need to see what kind of predator we're dealing with here."
Amalie Nash can be reached at anash at annarbornews.com or
(734) 994-6832. "
Posted by Rob at 4:32 PM After a much-publicized request by the U.S. Department of Justice that the University turn over abortion-related medical documents as evidence for an ongoing lawsuit, the University couldn't find any documents that met the requirements:
> AP: "University of Michigan finds no abortion records to hand over"
> AANews: "U-M refuses to give feds abortion files"
Posted by Rob at 4:26 PM Reminder: Today is the "Student Voices Day of Action":
"STUDENT VOICES IN ACTION: UNITE TO FIGHT
***DAY OF ACTION!!***
The Regents meeting was a success! Now COME for some real action - the Day to DEMAND, the DIAG day!!
THURSDAY, March 25TH (TODAY!!!!)
at the DIAG
12 NOON
Come and march to Fleming to present our demands for REAL STUDENT SERVICES and an end to DIVERSITY DOUBLETALK
UNITE TO FIGHT and let your voice be heard. As students, we deserve a voice. Come claim it.
(If you have a yellow Student Voices in Action: Unite to Fight T-shirt, wear it everyday and especially ON Thursday! If you don't- come to MSA Offices in the Union and buy one for $4!!)"
Posted by Rob at 10:54 AM This week's Alumni Association email newsletter for graduating seniors has a variety of helpful tips.
Posted by Rob at 10:38 AM Randy from Real World San Diego will be at the Michigan League on Monday March 29 at 6:30 pm at an event sponsored by STA Travel called "Europe Night," where students can enter to win a "rite of passage" trip to Europe.
Posted by Rob at 10:36 AM It's not just me: thefts are up - Daily: "A2 crime rate falls, but thefts increase"
The Daily also runs a letter from Laura Davis, co-chair of the campus chapter of Young Americans for Freedom, who concludes:
"The University, however, is not a nursery school, a babysitter or a project in social engineering. The University’s job is to provide academic instruction.
If cut services like Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center or the Trotter House are important enough to various individuals or groups, then those individuals and groups should work to fundraise and procure private funds for their continuation."
Meanwhile, Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality has a viewpoint advocating for wage disclosure : "At the University, students have pushed for a whole system to address the reality that our clothes are made in sweatshops, and administrators and faculty have been supportive, but it’s time to take the next step: wage
disclosure."
> Viewpoint: "SOLE demands wage disclosure and accountability"
Also, see this troubling story:
> Daily: "Justice Dept. looks into Michigan Cross Burning"
Posted by Rob at 10:33 AM WANTED: MICHIGAMUA "PRIDES" OF 2004 AND 2005
Can you help? Send me an anonymous email at rob at goodspeedupdate dot com. Michigamua selects ("taps") their new members around the first week in April each year - my directory doesn't include the people selected last year or who will be selected very soon.
Posted by Rob at 3:18 AM
Wednesday, March 24, 2004
Want to hear about Ward Connerly's ballot initiative? This event schedule for Thursday, April 1 has your name all over it.Posted by Rob at 3:31 PM An organization I am a member of, the Urban Issues Collective, is sponsoring an event this Friday which I think will prove very interesting. We have invited two leaders of an Ann Arbor organization which advocates for New Urbanism in the city to come and speak, they'll be discussing Granny Flats, the Greenbelt, mixed-use development, and a host of other issues. The talk will be from 12:00 to 1:00 PM in the Kunzel Room of the Michigan Union on Friday, followed by a Q and A period.
> Information about this event on Upcoming.org
> See the website of the organization: Community Organization for Urban Revitalization and Sustainable Environments (COURSE)
> See the Urban Issues Collective website
Here's the email that is being circulated:
****************************************************
The Urban Issues Collaborative invites undergrads to a presentation and
discussion on.
NEW URBANISM IN ANN ARBOR
****************************************************
Friday
March 26, 2004
Kuenzel Room, Michigan Union
12:00 - 1:00 PM
Find out:
What is New Urbanism?
Is there New Urbanism in Ann Arbor?
What could the future look like in our city?
Join us for a presentation by Arthur Nusbaum and Alan Wasserman, founders of COURSE, a local organization which advocates for new urbanism in the city of Ann Arbor, followed by a general discussion.
COURSE = Community Organization for Urban Revitilization And Sustainable Environments
Sponsored by the Urban Issues Collaborative & Students for PIRGIM
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Interested in learning more?
Learn about the local issues at our event before attending the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning's MICHIGAN DEBATES ON URBANISM II
: NEW URBANISM Featuring Peter Calthorpe and Lars Lerup, moderated by Robert Fishman.
Wednesday, 3/31/04, 5:30 pm
Auditorium, Room 2104
Art + Architecture Building
------------------------------------------------------------------
Please email kkintala at umich.edu with questions See http://www.umich.edu/~uic or
http://www.newcourse.org/ for more information
******************************************"
Posted by Rob at 3:25 PM The Lecturers' Employee Organization has authorized a vote among their membership about whether to stage a walk-out on April 8:
> Daily: "LEO authorizes vote to walk out"
> See the LEO website
The RIAA is targeting a few hundred students nationally in their latest round of lawsuits, including 9 U-M students:
> Daily: "RIAA will subpoena students"
> AANews: "Internet music suit may involve U-M"
Also of interest:
> Daily: " 'U' slows growth of wireless Internet service in buildings"
> Daily editorial: "Moving on up: Rezoning proposal should keep students in mind"
Posted by Rob at 3:03 PM " ... "We don’t see how colleges teaming with beer advertisers is in the best interests of students," said George Hacker, director of the Alcohol Policies Project for the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
The center is asking 1,200 colleges and universities to sign what it calls The College Commitment, a pledge to eliminate alcohol-related television ads during sports events.
The pledge applies to all levels of college sports, from local games to championship contests like the NCAA basketball tournament and national football bowls.
As of March 9, the group’s Campaign for Alcohol-Free Sports TV had signed up 105 schools, including three in the Big 10 Conference -- Ohio State University, Northwestern University and the University of Minnesota.
"It’s inconsistent to say you want to discourage underage drinking and turn around and huckster the stuff on your broadcasts," said Andy Geiger, athletic director for Ohio State, the first school to join the campaign. "I’m concerned about the message." ...
Schools that have signed on to the no-beer-ads campaign take a different view.
"That’s just not the image I want to convey," Rob Fournier, athletic director at Wayne State University in Detroit, said of the ads. "For years, I have brought in people to talk to my athletes about alcohol abuse. It just seems contradictory to me to take money from the beer industry."
> Gannett: "Beer industry too closely tied to college athletics"
Posted by Rob at 1:40 AM
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Let's Make U-M #1 In Moveon.org's College FundraiserThe activist web organization Moveon.org is working with the "Click Back America" website, which is encouraging college students to sign a petition protesting the impact of the massive budget deficits racked up by President Bush will have on education. For each college student who participates, the Click Back website will donate $1 to the Moveon.org voter fund, from anonymous donors who have pledged up to $1 million in matching funds to support progressive organizing. In their words "If you act, they will give." So far, the University of Michigan is only ranked #15, but the campaign was only launched today.
Posted by Rob at 6:58 PM Hans Masing, a U-M lecturer running an independent, web-based campaign for the U.S. House seat currently occupied by John Dingell, seems happy with his coverage in today's Daily, posting on his campaign blog: "The reporter was delightful to speak to, and got nearly everything I said right!" Read the Daily story: "U' lecturer takes on Dingell for House seat"
Posted by Rob at 4:22 PM A couple events coming up this week:
"Organizing Workshop: How to Gain Student Support the LEO Strike
Wednesday 9:00 PM
Michigan Union Room 2105 A
*Learn about the Lecturer's key demands
*Help Strategize for the Campaign
*Write slogans and make banners
Lecturer's will go on strike if necessary to win fair wages, benefits, job security, and respect from the University Administration, and students are prepared to support them. Join SOLE other undergrads for a workshop Wednesday night in the union.
SOLE
students are not products
teachers are not tools
and the University is not a factory
SUPPORT LEO
email sole.maintain at umich.edu for any questions "
And this demonstration planned for Thursday:
"STUDENT VOICES IN ACTION: UNITE TO FIGHT
***TAKE REAL ACTION***
The Regents meeting was a success! Now COME to the D-DAY, the Day to DEMAND, THE DIAG DAY!!
THURSDAY, March 25TH
at the DIAG
12 NOON
Come and march to Fleming and present our demands for REAL STUDENT SERVICES an an end to DIVERSITY DOUBLETALK
UNITE TO FIGHT and let your voice be heard. As students, we deserve a voice.C ome claim it.
If you have a yellow UNITE TO FIGHT T-shirt, wear it everyday and especially ON Thursday! If you don't- come to MSA Offices in the UNION and buy one for $4!!"
Posted by Rob at 11:33 AM Other articles of note in today's paper:
> Daily: "Student stabbed in foiled robbery"
> Daily: "Businesses propose rezoning South U"
Also, Boxes and Walls, originally to take place in the Student Activities Building but cancelled at the last minute, will be showing this week at the Hillel building:
Museum to focus on discrimination
Boxes and Walls, an interactive museum focusing on different types of existing oppression and discrimination, will be available for tours today at 5 p.m. at Hillel at 1429 Hill Street. The museum has nine rooms related to blacks, Asian Pacific Americans, classism, disabilities, Jews, Latinos, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, Native American and Muslims. The rooms are decorated with different facts about each group."
And this tidbit:
"Sociology prof to explain theory of terrorism
The Sociology department will sponsor the Social Movement Scholars Network’s inaugural lecture at 4 p.m. Thursday in room 283 of the Sociology building at 1225 South University St. New York University sociology Prof. Jeff Goodwin will address what factors encourage and discourage the use of terrorist tactics against civilians.
The title of Goodwin’s lecture is “A Theory of Terrorism.” The talk will reference a broad range of insurgent movements