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One-hundred-thirteen years ofeditorialfreedom
www.michigandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXIII, No. 113 ©2004 The Michigan Daily

ECONOMY
Gov. hopes to
boost number
of state grads

By Melissa Benton
and Alison Go
Daily Staff Reporters

In a move that corresponds with her Cool
Cities initiative, Gov. Jennifer Granholm
announced yesterday that she is creating a com-
mission in hopes of doubling the number of col-
lege graduates in Michigan.
"We need a more educated workforce to
improve the economy of the state," said Mary
Dettloff, spokeswoman for Granholm.
The Cherry Commission on Higher Education
and Economic Growth, headed by Lt. Gov. John
Cherry, will begin its work in June and report its
findings in January 2005.
"Our higher education system is the jet fuel
that propels our economy," Granholm said in a
news release. "If we want a high-performance
economy, we must work now to improve the
strength, depth and adaptability of our colleges
and universities."
Similarly, in an effort to boost the economy,
Cool Cities aims to make Michigan cities more
attractive to its young people.
According to population estimates recently
released by the U.S. Census Bureau, in the last
three years Michigan has lost more than 41,000
people between the ages of 15 and 44.
According to Maura Campbell, spokeswoman
for Cool Cities, the key to a strong economy is
attracting young people to the state because
business will follow them. "We don't want as
many young people to leave and we want more
young people to come," she said. "We are the
exporter of our most valuable commodity -
intelligent young people, our best and brightest."
Only 34 percent of Michigan residents
between the ages of 25 and 34 have bachelor's or
advanced degrees. Michigan is in the bottom tier
of states in terms of adults with post-secondary

"We need a more educated
workforce to improve the
economy of the state."
- Mary Dettloff
Spokeswoman for Gov. Jennifer Granholm
degrees, Granhoim's office said.
The commission will have two main objectives
- "doubling the number of Michigan college
graduates over the next 10 years, making Michi-
gan the national leader in producing college grad-
uates, and ... ensuring that Michigan's system of
higher education furnishes our citizens with the
general and specific skills they need to embrace
the jobs of the 21st century," states the release.
To jumpstart the initiative, Cool Cities has
collected more than 12,000 surveys from young
people that researchers will soon begin sorting
through. After their analysis is complete, the
information on how cities can be improved will
be distributed to the individual communities.
"We will share our information, but it's up to
them to make the connection with young people
and make their city cool," Campbell said.
The Cool Cities taskforce in Ann Arbor is com-
posed of a variety of people: professors, students,
recent graduates and community members. "We're
charged with identifying reasons why young peo-
ple aren't coming and why we're not retaining the
ones that we have," taskforce chair Conan Smith
said. "We've hashed out issues that we think need
to be addressed, like affordable housing, entrepre-
neurship, and support for the arts."
The taskforce is trying to change legislation to
make Ann Arbor more vibrant for young people.
See COOL CITIES, Page 3

MIKE HULSEBUS/Daily
Top: View of the William Trotter House Multicultural Center on Washtenaw Avenue. Bottom left: A hole In the wall of the center while a resident
walks down the hall. Bottom right: A pipe receiving maintenance in a bathroom of the center.

Students:

Trotter House badly

' in need of U'-funded repairs

* Michigan Student Assembly
ballot prop osal would hike
student fees to fund Trotter Hose
By Aymar Jean
Daily Staff Reporter
With couches draped in blue upholstery
and windows covered in pink-adorned drap-
ery, the lounge of the William Monroe Trotter
House appears clean and inviting. As a nod to
the house's "reason to be", the walls are fes-
tooned with artwork from various cultures -
mostly Native American, African American
and Latino American.
But signs of dilapidation and physical indi-
cations of age appear throughout the house.
Wood floors creak beneath sparsely stained
carpets, while chapped walls surround spar-
tanly furnished rooms. Few sound barriers
exist between floors, so events on one floor
leak noise throughout the house.
The center is in need of renovation, facili-
ties manager Ed Burnett said. But there are

no official plans to renovate the building.
"If you look at the building, it's not handi-
cap accessible. It can barely house three stu-
dent groups at one time," Michigan Student
Assembly Vice President Monique Perry said.
"The blue bus doesn't even come to that area."
The condition of the Trotter House has
aggravated students to demand conciliations
from the University. An ad hoc group of stu-
dents has accused the Division of Student
Affairs of negligence and budgetary misap-
propriation. To counteract this alledged neg-
lect, these students are urging the campus
community to vote for the Trotter House pro-
posal this week as part of MSA elections that
would increase student fees by one dollar to
fund renovations.
Students from numerous campus organiza-
tions, including La Voz Latina and the South
Asian Awareness Network, cite both the con-
dition of the house and the management of its
parent department, the Office of Multi-Eth-
nic Student Affairs, as evidence against the
University's commitment to diversity.
"The main reason why I'm very concerned
is that this University has put so much effort,

time and money into telling the Supreme
Court it's for diversity," LSA senior Rahul
Saksena said.
The issues at the Trotter House, including
its lack of a formal director, correlate with
administrative problems on campus, students
said. MESA currently lacks a Latino coordi-
nator - though most ethnic groups have one,
including African Americans, Native Ameri-
cans and Asian Pacific Islanders.
Native American Coordinator Steven
Abbott currently assumes the duties for the
Latino community, since former coordina-
tor Donney Moroney left her position in
August 2003.
But University administrators have repeated-
ly said budget cuts are difficult to make and
will inevitably affect some University services.
"Nobody can know what it's like to sit in
this seat and have to make these tough (budg-
et) decisions. And I don't expect people to
know. But ultimately I have to take in all the
information and do the best job that I can to
protect the University for the future," Univer-
sity President Mary Sue Coleman has said.
See TROTTER, Page 7

Spain study abroad to
go on despite attacks

By Donn M. Fresard
Daily Staff Reporter

Despite a series of train bombings in
Madrid last week that killed at least 200 peo-
ple and injured more than 1,400, the Univer-
sity's Office of International Programs is
planning to go ahead with its scheduled
study-abroad programs in Spain.
"At this point we do not have any plans to
cancel programs," said OIP Director Carol
Dickerman. "Nor do any of our colleagues in
other schools."
The OIP currently administers two programs
in Spain - one in Seville and one in Granada.
A third group of University students is sched-
uled to arrive in Salamanca on June 27.
The U.S. Department of State has not issued a

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Profs join students
in blogging craze
By Undsey Paterson ise and life experience," Cole said. "I
Daily Staff Reporter think they are wonderful in breaking
down the barriers between academics,
History Prof. Juan Cole's weblog journalists and readers." Cole's efforts
receives 200,000 page views per won him a Koufax Award for "Best
month - reaching people in The Unit- Expert Blog" last year.
ed States and Iraq with information LSA sophomore Amjad Tarsin was a
about developments in the Middle student in Cole's class fall term. Tarsin
East. He is one of the many individuals said although Cole listed his blog on his
who have come to count on this Inter- class syllabus as a resource for students,
net information medium to communi- he did not feel Cole's website was an
cate with the public. integral part in the class.
A weblog - or blog, for short - is "Overall, I don't want to put down
generally defined as a frequently Prof. Cole, but I don't think it was a
updated website similar to an online very important tool for that particular
journal or diary. Blogs contain person- class. We covered a certain subject and
al observations and excerpts from he'd say, for more information, check
other sources, and are an increasingly out my site," Tarsin said. He added that
popular way to connect with the com- it was supplemental material and was
munity. Howard Dean, for example, not covered on the tests.
relied on supporters of his presidential Tarsin said he never considered


Caught on camera

travel warning in response to the bombings. The
department did, however, release a public
announcement on Friday urging U.S. citizens in
Spain to "remain alert and avoid large crowds
when possible."
The announcement is set to expire June 11.
While students enrolling in the OIP's summer
program will not arrive in Salamanca until two
weeks after the warnings expire, the State
Department's announcement does apply to the
University students currently studying in Seville
and Granada.
In response to the announcement, the OIP
has taken measures to ensure the safety of the
students currently studying in the area, Dicker-
man said.
"We forwarded an announcement to the
See ABROAD, Page 2
AATA to
expand bus
routes to A
outskirs
By Jason Robinson
For the Daily
In August, Ann Arbor Transit Authority buses
will begin to travel to Chelsea, Plymouth, Can-
ton and other nearby municipalities. New routes
are being established, and buses will travel to
these cities every two hours.
Buses, however, will not travel to Detroit -
causing some people to question why the routes
will not be expanded to the city. Chris White,
manager of service development at AATA, says
changes were designed for commuters.
"We want to provide transportation to people

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