Thursday, February 2, 2006 Opinion 5A The dispute over Michigamua Arts 8A Student-written play premieres this weekend T WA MEN W T.On e- Y'Th K'yrf JNO ABOUT DPS ... THE STATEMVENT One-/rnndredfifteen years of edzton'alfreedom Sports 10A Cagers win fifth in a row 'won www.rmzchirandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVI, No. 67 @2006 The Michigan Daily IT 'S MORPHIN' TIME House slashes student aid Cuts to student-loan funding will make loans more expensive By Gabe Nelson Daily Staff Reporter Going to go college just got more expensive. By a 216-214 vote, the House of Representa- tives passed a bill cutting about $40 billion from the federal government. The bill includes a $12.7- billion cut to federal student-loan funding. The House approved the budget for the fiscal year 2006, joining the Senate, which approved it on Dec. 21. The cuts will make student loans more expen- sive for the nearly 10 million students receiving loans and grants each year. This includes 240,181 students in the state of Michigan. Their parents and the lending companies will also be affected by the cuts. "In the face of stagnant state and federal support for student aid, middle-class families increasingly rely on student loans to finance their children's education'" the State Public Interest Research Groups said in a press release. The bill raises the interest rate for parent loans from 79 to 8.5 percent, netting about $2 billion in savings for the government. It also requires lend- ers to pay the government an additional 1-percent fee - twice the previous fee - on each loan. Either loan companies will assume the extra cost or students and their parents will have to pay it. The budget cuts are part of a resolution trim- ming $39 billion from student aid, Medicare and Medicaid programs over five years. One such cut includes the cancellation of $2.2 billion in funding earmarked for the administration and distribution of student loans and grants. U.S. Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-Battle Creek), who is also president of the University's alumni asso- ciation, voted in favor of the cuts. "Congressman Schwarz has a very good record of supporting higher education, but I'm very dis- appointed with his vote on the budget cuts," said Jesse Levine, Michigan Student Assembly presi- dent. Schwarz helped cap the student-loan interest rate at 6.8 percent, Levine said. "Today the House of Representatives com- pleted the largest raid on student aid in history," said Luke Swarthout, State PIRG Higher Educa- tion Associate, in a written statement. "At a time when college costs continue to rise and students are going deeper into a financial hole, Congress has mistakenly decided to use students and fami- lies to pay for other priorities." The money saved will go toward tax cuts. To help pay for the tax cuts, the government will retain about $13 billion from overpayments on student loans over the next five years. "Some public officials think the public wants tax cuts, but I think the population really wants good education and access to education," Levine said. "I think people are going to figure out this era of tax cuts is hurting the country, it's keeping See CUTS, page 7A RYAN WEINER/Daily Michigan men's gymnastics freshmen Jamie Thompson (red power ranger) and Scott Bregman (blue power ranger) attempt to morph into their Zords during the Mock Rock charity event for C.S. Mott Children's Hospital at Hill Auditorium yesterday. A2 transformed into Super City Football recruiting class 13th in nation City one of eight in state officially sharing Super Bowl host duties with Detroit By Ian Herbert Daily Sports Writer When Mary Kerr, president of the Ann Arbor Convention and Visitor's Bureau, sat down with the Super Bowl planning committee in Detroit in 2004, she had a decision to make. Detroit's mayor and president of the Chamber of Commerce asked Kerr whether Ann Arbor was interested in being a "Super City" for Super Bowl XL, which will be played next Sunday in Detroit. "We immediately said, 'Why not?' " Kerr said. "We knew going into it that we wanted to have a lot of com- munity support." But it wasn't just commu- nity support that Kerr was interested in. , .w. Ti -t w a-.e ,j .. ' .a . a . guests at the Super Bowl are top decision-mak- ers in their companies, and the bureau wanted to show off what Ann Arbor has to offer. In the Super Bowl guide that will be in hotel rooms around the region, there is a four-page advertisement emphasizing the city's high-tech possibilities and successful technical compa- nies such as Pfizer. "We felt this was a great opportunity to have a long-term impact and develop an image of Ann Arbor as a high-tech city - and also for its quality of life," Kerr said. Kerr said when Ann Arbor was selected as a Suner Citv. she talked with people in Houston and Jacksonville - the sites of the last two Super Bowls. Both areas saw tremendous growth after the game, she said. I gg "Now, we're not the host city," she said. "But we're hop- ing it will spill over." Dana Jones, vice president el Week of tourism at the Putnam rage County Chamber of Com- merce, just 60 miles from Jacksonville, said the impact to the Putnam County economy has certainly been noticeable. One of the events they put on last year was a VIP bass fishing tournament with NFL celebrities - an event that brought an estimated $500,000 to the local economy. The county is holding the second annual event this weekend, and Jones expects the economic impact to again be similar. Jones said she has noticed a large increase in the number of people looking to buy or rent property in the area. "People didn't realize what we had to offer until they came to the Super Bowl," Jones said. Kerr and the bureau are hoping that peo- ple will similarly be impressed with what Ann Arbor has to offer, whether it be res- taurants, college sports or a high-tech hub for companies. In all, southeastern Michigan has eight Super Cities. The title requires cities to guarantee a certain number of hotel rooms and to provide entertainment for guests. There are three criteria for being named a Super City: a vibrant downtown, a concentra- tion of hotels and a proven track record of host- ing events. Kerr said Ann Arbor has all three, and she wants visitors to enjoy the restaurants and nightlife available downtown. In addition to general nightlife at local res- taurants and bars, the bureau has planned a handful of events to make the stay in Ann Arbor more rewarding for Super Bowl guests. It worked with the University's athletic depart- ment to organize tours of Michigan Stadium and planned an ice-carving competition. The bureau organized a "Blues Cruise" around downtown bars and a "Cappuccino Crawl" as well. Probably the most visible activ- ity is "Pigskins on Parade" - 12 giant, painted footballs displayed around the city. By Nate Sandals Daily Sports Writer For those fans who treat Michigan football as a year-round obsession, yesterday marked the most exciting day of the off-season. Michigan signed 19 high school seniors to bind- ing letters of intent to play at Michigan yesterday, the first day of the signing period. According to Rivals.com, Michigan had the year's 13th best recruiting class. The University of Southern California ranked first with 23 players. Big Ten rival Penn State was sixth and Ohio State was 12th. The recruiting class includes four Scout.com five-star prospects. One of those top-rated players is Jonas Mouton, a defensive back from Los Angeles. Mouton, who visited campus for the Notre Dame game last Sep- tember, did not inform head coach Lloyd Carr of his decision until two days ago. "That was the longest recruiting process I have ever gone through with a guy," Carr said. The coach, who visited Mouton and his family in early January, said he had expected Mouton to make a decision earlier but understood the pres- sures he faced from other top schools. Southern Cal and Texas both heavily recruited Mouton. He is one a few freshmen Carr thinks might have the chance to get on the field next fall. Two other players whom Carr mentioned as potential early contributors are the two recruits who have already enrolled in classes at the University - offensive lineman Justin Boren and running back Carlos Brown. "The fact that they're here for the spring, I think, is a great advantage," Carr said. Steve Schilling, a top prospect from Bellevue, Wash., will join Boren on the offensive line. The coaches expected to have a hard time getting Schilling to come to Michigan because his parents and siblings attended or attend the University of Washington. Carr was quick to point out that his current players were the most critical part of the recruiting process. Mike Hart was particularly helpful of his vibrant personality, Carr said. As usual, the coaches looked close to home when possible to fill the team's needs. Detroit native Brandon Graham, a highly touted linebacker, was one of the first recruits to commit. The class also includes Quintin Woods and Quintin Patilla, both from Flint, and Obinna Ezeh of Grand Rapids. Michigan signed only one quarterback, States- boro, Ga. native David Cone. The coaches looked at other quarterbacks but decided not to sign any others. It is hard to recruit with a young starting quarterback as talented as Chad Henne atop the See RECRUITS, page 7A Super Born Cover The Super Bowl brings a lot of business to local restaurants and bars, but Kerr was more interested in long-term benefits. She worked with Dennis Doyle, marketing and sales direc- tor at the bureau as well as local corporations to make an advertisement of Ann Arbor's tech- nological side. According to Kerr, 65 percent of 'U' to switch to fair-trade coffee By Carissa Miller Daily Staff Reporter A month after suspending its contracts with soft- drink giant Coca-Cola, the University has set its sights on the environmental and economic implica- tions on another caffeinated beverage: coffee. On Feb. 15, students will find a new coffee in University dining halls. Residential Dining Services plans to replace the current coffee with an organic, fair-trade blend. The decision is the result of a two-year cam- paign led by the Environmental Justice Group, a student organization that works to solve environ- mental problems that disproportionately affect -inr;nm rnm-mn;ti Group proposes new voting system in A2 Instant-runoff voting would democratize process, supporters say By Bo He Daily StaffReporter Expensive elections. Poor voter turnout. Winners with low vote totals. A remedy for these problems could lie in instant-runoff voting, according to the Ann Arbor Fair Vote Coalition, which wants to implement the system in Ann Arbor. Almost every election held in the United States is conducted with a plurality, or two- round runoff, voting system. This means that the candidate with the most votes wins, majority or no majority. But, if. a local group has its way, this nrocess could be nearing extinction - at Using IRV, a voter ranks preferred candi- dates in numerical order. Voters can list as many or as few candidates as they want as their first choice, second choice, and so on. If one candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, that candidate is elected immediately, and the election is finished. If no one receives a majority, the candi- dates with the fewest first choice-votes are eliminated. The next highest choice on the eliminated ballots is counted instead of the first choice. In effect, the IRV process works similarly to a series of runoff elections. The field of candidates is ultimately reduced to two finalists, and the winner more likely to be the preference of the majority. Elections for members of the Australian Legislature, the president of the Republic of Ireland and the mayor of London use IRV. In the United States, various municipal and non- governmental institutions have adopted it. ISA freshman Don Hickman samples fair-trade coffee in Mary Markley Residence Hail yesterday. The i