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www.michinandaily.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXV, No. 91 62006 The Michigan Daily
FIGHTING FOR FRIEZE
Grant helps
lure 2-year
college
students
$1-million grant will help U'
recruit more low- to moderate-
income transfer students
By Mariem Qamruzzaman
Daily Staff Reporter
When LSA junior Jim Straub transferred to the Uni-
versity from Washtenaw Community College at the
beginning of the year, he was one of only 15 community
college transfer students who received financial aid from
the University.
That number will dramatically increase in the next four
years, thanks in part to a $1-million grant given to the
University by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation.
The grant was given to eight universities specifically to
help them recruit more low- to moderate-income commu-
nity college students and provide programs to facilitate
their transition.
The grant is expected to increase the number of low- to
moderate-income students at the University because par-
ents of community college students generally earn lower
incomes.
LSA senior Alena Jirjis, who transferred from Macomb
Community College last year, said she had to adjust to a
very different lifestyle when she arrived at the Univer-
sity.
"It was very difficult for me," she said. "When I trans-
ferred I didn't know anything. I didn't even know how to
check my (University) e-mail for a while."
Straub said he found it difficult to adjust to a campus
lifestyle.
"It took me a good couple weeks before I found places
where I was comfortable studying," he said. "I was a little
overwhelmed by the size of the classroom, lecture halls
and the workload - a lot heavier workload."
Now Straub studies at the Harlan Hatcher Graduate
Library, but he says many other transfers may face simi-
lar problems adjusting to the University.
To be eligible for the grant, the University was required
to commit several million dollars of financial aid to assist
transfer students from low- to moderate-income fami-
lies.
See GRANT, page 7
TOM MASSO GOMEZ/Daily
Ann Arbor resident Thomas Scott, 81, who is campaigning to preserve the historic Frieze Building, protests outside of it on Monday. The Frieze Building is scheduled for
demolition to make way for a new residence hall, North Quad.
House gives wg iego-aha
Next stop for legislation
to raise minimum
wage by $1.80 an hour:
Granholm's desk
LANSING - The state House voted
yesterday to raise the state's minimum
wage by $1.80 an hour in October, the first
increase in nine years.
The legislation now heads to Demo-
cratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who is
expected to sign it despite opposition from
business owners.
Full-time workers making the mini-
mum wage could initially earn an extra
$288 per month, or about $3,700 a year,
under the measure.
It would boost the minimum wage from
its current rate of $5.15 an hour to $6.95
an hour in October and $7.15 in July 2007.
The minimum would rise to $7.40 an hour
in July 2008.
,"Today, we are doing the right thing
for the working people of this state," said
Rep. Andy Meisner, a Ferndale Democrat
who supported the measure.
About 90,000 of Michigan's 2.9 million
workers - around 3 percent - were paid
at or below the minimum wage rate in
2004, state figures show. Democrats said
the bill also would help hundreds of thou-
sands of other workers earning between
the current minimum wage and the pro-
posed increase.
The House approved the bill 73-34, with
more than half of the chamber's Republi-
can majority voting against it. The GOP-
controlled Senate unanimously passed the
Democratic-sponsored bill last week.
The legislative action was largely
prompted by a petition drive to place a
minimum wage increase in the state con-
stitution.
Labor unions gathering signatures for
the measure had hoped having the propos-
al on the ballot would bring more Demo-
crats to the polls in November, something
Republicans wanted to avoid. It's unclear
whether the petition drive will continue.
House Speaker Craig DeRoche, a Novi
Republican, said he voted for the bill
because it would "kill" fewer jobs than
the proposed constitutional amendment,
which ties future minimum wage increas-
es to inflation.
Yesterday's vote was a setback for busi-
nesses in the hospitality industry and other
opponents who said raising the minimum
wage will hurt Michigan's fragile econo-
my.
The Employment Policies Institute, a
See WAGE, page 7
Alum to say so long to '60 Minutes'
Mike Wallace, 89, will retire
as a legendary correspondent
for landmark CBS news show
NEW YORK (AP) - Mike Wallace, the hard-driv-
ing reporter who has been with "60 Minutes" since its
start in 1968, said yesterday he will retire as a regular
correspondent on the show this spring.
Wallace is a 1939 graduate of the University. Last
month, he donated more than 150 linear feet of journal-
ism history. The documents included notes, transcripts
and research from his career in journalism.
A television news legend who was the last person an
accused wrongdoer would want to see on his doorstep,
Wallace said he'll still do occasional reports for the
show. CBS News President Sean McManus referred to
him as a "correspondent emeritus."
Wallace, 87, has often said he'll retire "when my toes
turn up."
"Well, they're just beginning to curl a trifle, which
means that, as I approach my 88th birthday, it's become
apparent to me that my eyes and
ears, among other appurtenanc-
es, aren't quite what they used to
be," he said.
Wallace has said for years that
he was cutting back, but he's
still done six reports in the cur-
rent season, including a profile
of actor Morgan Freeman and a
story on soldiers who lost their
limbs in Iraq. It was a significant
step last fall when Wallace relin- Wallace
quished his position as the first
face viewers saw after the ticking stopwatch on each
show. Ed Bradley now has that distinction.
"The time has come," he said. "I'd rather go this way
than be shoved."
He said he's still working on getting several big inter-
views for the show - bet on Tuesday's announcement
helping his cause - and he'd like to do a few hour-long
specials in the future. He'll keep an office at the CBS
News headquarters.
"It's hard for all of us to get used to," said Jeff Fager,
"60 Minutes" executive producer. "It's a sad day, but it's
also a chance to celebrate an incredible legacy and an
amazing guy."
Even as age slowed him down, Wallace was still able
to prod interview subjects in a style all his own. Fager
remembered an interview with Russian President Vladi-
mir Putin last year where Wallace said, "This isn't a real
democracy, come on!"
With founding executive producer Don Hewitt, Wal-
lace helped invent the television newsmagazine; the
Sunday-night staple was frequently TV's top-rated
See WALLACE, page 7
STEVEN TAI/Daily
LSA senior Alena Jirjis, who transferred from a community
college, works at the Center for the Child and the Family.
Her duties include playing with waiting kids and office
work.
Election board reprimands MPP
Economic conference
tackles tough state issues
. MPP member charged
with tearing down
S4M election poster
By Dave Mekelburg
Daily Staff Reporter
The Michigan Progressive Party
came under fire at a hearing last night
in Michigan Student Assembly cham-
bers when MPP's LSA Student Govern-
ment presidential nominee, Joe Golden,
was charged with removing a Students
4 Michigan candidate flyer.
The Michigan Student Assembly
Election Board held the hearing to
"in coordination" with MPP. Therefore,
instead of assigning Golden a penalty
of three demerits - which would be
the punishment for a candidate as deter-
mined by MSA's compiled code - the
board randomly distributed the demer-
its to three members of MPP running
for MSA offices. Three random MPP
representative candidates - Jen Hsu,
Saamir Rahman and Rachel Feldman
- each received a single demerit.
According to MSA's code, five
demerits against a single candidate
results in the candidate's expulsion
from the race.
Li, who brought the charge against
Golden, said he was posting flyers on
Economists, 'U' administrators
and others gather to talk about
Michigan's economic future'
By Bo He
Daily Staff Reporter
Economists at a conference yesterday said
Michigan must act swiftly to dodge a looming
financial crisis.
The University's Gerald R. Ford School of
Public Policy hosted the "Where Do We Go
ic policy agenda that reflected the collective
thinking and brainstorming of the participants.
The moderators and attendees included some
of the most brilliant and distinguished econom-
ic minds and civic leaders in the state. Notable
attendees from the University included former
University President Dean James Duderstadt,
former provost and current economics professor
Paul Courant and Rebecca Blank, Dean of the
Ford School of Public Policy Rebecca.
Challenges addressed at the conference
ranged from the state's budget crisis to its devel-
opment of human capital investment. According
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