Friday, March 17, 2006
News 3 U.S., Iraq launch
largest air attack since
beginning of war
Opinion 4 Andrew Bielak
wants real news
Sports 8 Cagers find gold
against Miners
i
One-hundred-sixteen years ofeditorialfreedom
NNW , as
maymmalkangs,
www.mzc/zgandaiy com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Vol. CXVI, No. 93
@2006 The Michigan Daily
I
debati
What: The Michigan Daily and
WOLV-TV are sponsoring a
televised presidential debate
for next week's Michigan Stu-
dent Assembly elections.
When: Sunday at 7 p.m; peri-
odically broadcast Tuesday
and Wednesday on Channel
70 in the dorms and at mid-
night Monday and Tuesday on
Channel 22.
Where: Angell Hall Aud. D.
Video will be online at www.
wolv.org/debate.
Reporter
to, serve
as grad
Some students complain
that commencement
speaker does not have big
name for fifth straight year
By Ashlea Surles
Daily Staff Reporter
Christiane Amanpour may be prom-
inent in the journalism world, but to
many graduating seniors, she repre-
sents the fifth straight year of relatively
low-profile commencement speakers.
University President Mary Sue Cole-
man said yesterday that Amanpour,
CNN's chief international correspon-
dent, will likely give the main address
and receive an honorary degree at this
spring's undergraduate commence-
ment on April 29.
The University Board of Regents is
expected to vote today to confirm the
choice. Gary Krenz, special counsel to
the president, said "there is no ques-
tion that she will be the commence-
ment speaker."
Amanpour, a graduate of Rhode
Island University, has won nine Emmy
awards and gained worldwide rec-
ognition for her coverage of major
events in Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia,
Iran, Kuwait and Somalia. She is also
well-known for her advocacy of a free
press.
"Christiane Amanpour plays an
important role in communicating and
explaining the global challenges of our
time, and I am pleased she will share
her observations with our graduates,"
See SPEAKER, page 7
Media
workers.
face,
charges
Three former employees
could face heavy fines,
jail times for alleged
embezzlement
By Drew Philp
Daily Staff Reporter
The Washtenaw County prosecutor's office
arraigned three of Michigan Public Media's
former employees yesterday on felony charg-
es of embezzlement.
Michigan Public Media is owned and oper-
ated by the University.
Former deputy director Michael Coleman
is being charged with one felony count for
allegedly embezzling company funds.
The charge, which specifies the amount
embezzled to be between $1,000 and
$20,000, could land Coleman a sentence of
one to five years in prison in addition to a
possible fine of $10,000 or three times th
amount embezzled.
The prosecutor's office also charged former
development director Justin Ebright and for-
mer account executive Jeremy Nordquist with
one count of felony embezzlement each.
Ebright and Nordquist have also been
charged with conspiracy to embezzle, a
charge which carries a sentence of five years
in prison and a $20,000 fine or three times
the amount of the embezzlement, whichever
is greater.
All three men have been released on bond.
A preliminary examination of Coleman will
take place on March 29. Ebright and Nor-
dquist will be examined on April 12.
Their arrests stem from a criminal investi-
gation the Department of Public Safety began
in November.
Donovan Reynolds, former director of
Michigan Public Media, sparked the investi-
gation by notifying DPS of suspicious activ-
ity related to "on-air messages on behalf of
businesses and organizations," according to
a statement released by the media organiza-
tion.
Reynolds resigned from his position March 1.
He is not suspected of wrongdoing, Uni-
versity spokeswoman Julie Peterson said.
Steve Schram, a former executive at Infin-
ity Broadcasting's Detroit affiliates, was
named as Reynolds replacement Wednesday.
Schram has 30 years of experience in broad-
cast media.
Timothy Slottow, the University's chief
financial officer, said an audit the University
launched on Michigan Public Media's financ-
es because of Reynolds's concerns.
The audit discovered that the radio station
incurred more than $50,000 in losses related
to bonuses, purchasing cards and in-kind
See MEDIA, page 7
RODRIGO GAYA/Daily
CNN correspondent Sanjay Gupta addresses students at the Ford library yesterday. He talked about his campaign to slim down the United States.
Gupta to America:
CNN medical
correspondent Sanjay Gupta
urges students to attack
obesity on campus
By Mariem Qamruzzaman
Daily Staff Reporter
Sanjay Gupta, CNN's renowned medical cor-
respondent, spoke last night about what he says is
the largest health threat in America: fat.
Gupta's speech was the second stop on his "Fit
Nation" tour, a seven-city campaign to encour-
age students to implement health programs in
their communities.
"We believe college campuses are the places
where the very best changes take place in our
society," he told a crowd of several hundred in
the Gerald R. Ford Library.
Gupta, a University alum, began his program
by talking about the grave dangers of obesity.
"Obesity may overtake smoking as the lead-
ing cause of preventable death in the U.S.;' he
said.
At the beginning of the program, everyone
in the audience was given a placard with "true"
written in block letters on one side and "false" on
the other. As Gupta made statements about obe-
sity, the audience lifted up their placards.
The majority of students believed that most
people preferred dieting to exercising in order
to lose weight. Yet 61 percent of adults preferred
exercise, Gupta said. They were also mistaken
about the proportion of University students who
get enough exercise each week, which is 60 per-
cent.
Although these statistics may seem positive,
there are still serious problems with obesity in
America, Gupta said.
"Something President Clinton told me is that
the kids that are being born right now have a
greater chance of having shorter lifespans than
their parents because of the issue of obesity,"
Gupta said in an interview.
After Gupta's speech, students divided into
four groups to discuss possible ways to reduce
obesity at the University.
Some students offered solutions based on their
academic studies.
Kinesiology junior Heather Neary said she
has recently completed research on the vend-
ing machines in the Central Campus Recreation
Building.
According to Neary, most of the vending
machines on campus carry primarily junk food.
She said there are 9,000 different food options in
vending machines, but only 20 of them are fruits
or vegetables.
Kinesiology junior Tim Martin posed a dif-
ferent solution to the audience after the group
discussions.
"One of the things we talked about was having
the dorms have more competitive activities, like
exercising more and using intramural sports to
We're fat
1986-90: Sanjay Gupta studied at
University as an undergraduate
1993: Completed a medical
degree at the University
2001: Hired by CNN
2003: Embedded with a Navy
medical unit in Iraq, performed
five emergency surgical opera-
tions while reporting
2006: Launched Fit Nation cam-
paign
get fit," he said.
Kenneth Warner, dean of the School of Public
Health, said he especially liked Martin's idea.
"There are lots of examples of improvements
in health behavior that result from competition
and incentives," Warner said.
He said the competition to get more active
could be between dorms, fraternities and sorori-
ties or between different Big Ten schools.
Currently, there are several programs at the
See GUPTA, page 7
LIFE ON THE EDGE
'U' delays North Quad approval
CFO Tim Slottow
pulls North Quad
proposal from today's
Regents meeting
By Gabe Nelson
Daily Staff Reporter
Alluding to unspecified problems
with North Quad's design, the University
administrators said yesterday they have
decided not to present the building's sche-
matic designs to the University Board of
Regents at its meeting this morning.
"Based on consultation with the
(University) president and other proj-
ect stakeholders, I have decided that we
need to do more work on the North Quad
design before bringing it to the regents
for approval," said Timothy Slottow, the
University's chief financial officer, in a
statement released to The Michigan Daily
yesterday afternoon.
University spokeswoman Julie Peterson
said she didn't know the reasons behind
the delay or what administrators hope to
improve about North Quad's design. Slot-
tow could not be reached for comment.
At each monthly regents meeting,
Slottow presents proposals related to
finance and property. When the agenda
for today's meeting was released earlier
this week, it said Slottow would submit
the North Quad designs to the regents for
their approval. "
Last night, most faculty and adminis-
trators involved in North Quad's planning
had no idea that Slottow had cancelled the
announcement.
Those who did, like Housing Director
Carole Henry, had only recently learned
of the decision and did not know why
Slottow chose to remove the proposal
from the agenda.
Information Prof. Paul Edwards said
See NORTH QUAD, page 7
LSA-SG candidates face off
Upstart Michigan
Progressive Party
challenges Students 4
Michigan's foothold
Benson for vice
president - next
Tueseday and
Wednesday.'
While there's'
no telling who is
in the lead, Slott
minors for LSA
students.
"One of the
hallmarks of
a liberal arts
education is the
ability to obtain
mt
I