0 Monday, September 2 News 3A At Baker College, better grades mean cheaper housing Opinion 4A Imran Syed on the populist dilemma Arts 5A Studio 60 sizzles is debut 5, 2006 FEL HOCKEY WNS IN OVRT NDAY One-hundred-sixteen years ofeditorialfreedom www.michkandaiy.com Ann Arbor, Michigan Vol. CXVII, No. 15 62006 The Michigan Daily "(U of M College Republicans) have this naive outlook on the world that we can work together with the Democrats and la la la, things will happen." - Morgan Wilkins, former College Republican National Committee intern Speakers list prompts tiff 'Save the Big House' feels shorted on chances to voice displeasure to regents By Gabe Nelson Daily Staff Reporter University Athletic Director Bill Martin's plan to add luxu- ry boxes to Michigan Stadium has caused heated debates at the Board of Regents's meet- ings since the proposal was first brought to a vote in May. Yet four months into the plan- ning process, luxury box oppo- nents say they still aren't being heard. Out of the six people permit- ted to speak about the renova- tions at the regents meeting on Friday, only one was opposed to Martin's plan. According to leaders of Save the Big House, a group that has petitioned the regents to abandon the luxury boxes, that wasn't a mistake. The group's claims of exclu- sion date to May 19, when the regents approved the renovation project. The proposal was added to the meeting agenda after the deadline to sign up for public comments had passed. No mem- bers of the public were allowed to speak to the regents about the proposal. Opponents said they were shut out again Friday. When Bill Wilson, a member of Save the Big House, tried to sign up for the speakers list on July 19, Karen Spirl, adminis- trative assistant to the regents, told him the list would not open until noon on July 21. The list opened at 9 a.m. on July 20. But Wilson had relayed the incorrect date to Pollack, who spread the word to other Save the Big House supporters. By the time luxury box opponents e-mailed to sign up for the list, it was full. Spirl gave Wilson a single spot on the speakers list because of the original mistake, but fel- low luxury box opponents were out of luck. One of the speakers in favor of luxury boxes was John Kryk, author of a book about the rivalry between the Michigan and Notre Dame football teams. In support of Martin's plan, See SPEAKERS, page 7A Morgan Wilkins, a former intern with the College Republican National Committee. Wilkins suggested bringing "Catch an llegal Immigrant Day" and CONFESSIONS of young conservative Regents approve M-CARE sale After being fired, woman behind 'Catch an Illegal Immigrant Day' tells her story By Andrew Grossman Daily Staff Reporter Morgan Wilkins will not make out with you if you recruit 10 volunteers for Republican campaign efforts. Wilkins - a field organizer dispatched to Michigan to rally college students - created a group on Facebook.com prom- ising to make out with anyone who brought her 10 volunteers. Wilkins, a student at the Uni- versity of Louisville, said the group was a joke. The College Republican National Committee wasn't amused. The organization fired her on Friday. The creation of the Facebook group was the final straw for the CRNC. The national commit- tee put Wilkins on probation on Sept. 12 when she told The Michigan Daily that she wanted to plan recruiting events where participants would shoot BB guns at cardboard cutouts of Democratic leaders like John Kerry and try to catch someone posing as an illegal immigrant. The suggestions prompted an outcry from both Republicans and Democrats, including the University chapters of the Col- lege Republicans and College Democrats. Republican National Committee Chair Ken Mehlman and Democratic National Com- mittee Chair Howard Dean also condemned Wilkins's ideas. Wilkins's superiors banned her from working on the Univer- sity campus when she held up a sign at a Sept. 17 rally on the Diag for Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) that said "Debbie kills babies" - a reference to Stabenow's support for abortion rights. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Wilkins said her experiences have strengthened her anti-abortion stance. She got pregnant at age 15. Wilkins said she could have ended the preg- nancy for $500. "The first thing that came to mind: If I get $500, no one has to know," Wilkins said. "I go to high school, I go to college, I get into a sorority. I'm a normal girl. I've always wanted to be a law- yer; I've always wanted to work in D.C." But she chose to have the child. "My son has got a personal- ity, he likes certain things, he doesn't like certain things, he thinks certain things are funny," she said. "Just because things are hard you don't kill a kid, a human being with likes and dis- likes:" Wilkins said deciding against having an abortion probably helped cement her conserva- tism. See WILKINS, page 7A Without investment, insurance company couldn't have remained profitable for 'U' By Kelly Fraser Daily Staff Reporter M-CARE will be sold for $240 million. The University's Board of Regents approved the deal to sell the health care provider to Blue Care Network of Michigan, a subsidiary of Blue Cross Blue Shield, by a 6-0 vote at its meet- ing Friday. Regents Larry Deitch (D- Bingham Farms) and Martin Taylor (D-Grosse Pointe Farms) recused themselves from the vote. Taylor is a member of the board of directors of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Deitch could not be reached for comment. Blue Cross's board approved the purchase prior to Friday's meeting. Before the sale becomes final, state and federal regulators must review the terms of the agree- ment for antitrust violations. The review is expected to last several months. The sale is slated to be final- ized late this year or in early 2007. No one spoke during a public comment period created to dis- cuss the sale, which was held before the vote. Robert Kelch, CEO of the Uni- versity Health System, said that since the sale's announcement, his office has received about three dozen letters from M- See MCARE, page 7A With revision, Phoenix Project rises from ashes r r r r !! o C;i"' s .: ; 1.1 C . MICHIGAN 27 i i _ S New energy institute envisioned as central hub for like-minded researchers on campus By Kelly Fraser Daily Staff Reporter True to its name, the Phoenix Project is undergoing a resurrec- tion. When it was founded in 1948, the project's mission was to find safe uses for atomic energy. After 1956, the North Campus lab even housed a nuclear reactor, which was later shut down. Fifty-eight years later, the Uni- versity Board of Regents has tweaked the project's mission. Now instead of advocating peaceful fis- sion, the project will be responsible for coordinating energy research across campus. The lab will be called the Michi- gan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute. The University is allocat- ing $9 million to the creation of the institute. Engineering Prof. Gary Was, who will be the institute's first director, said Phoenix will help connect researchers working on similar projects. "(The institute) will provide a unified voice and a focal point for energy research," Was said. "Sometimes just collecting and getting the researchers together is a significant challenge." The laboratory space itself is undergoing an $11 million facelift funded by money from the state and University. Regents approved the renovation in May. The Phoenix Project was origi- nally part of a memorial to 585 students, alumni, faculty and staff members who died in World War II. The idea was to find ways to use the nuclear technology that ended the war not for destruction, but for human welfare. Once completed, the lab will house Engineering Prof. Levi Thompson's Hydrogen Energy Technology Lab as well as com- mon space for the institute's proj- ects. "At the present time, the insti- tute is not going to be enormous in terms of its bricks-and-mortar presence," Was said. The lab won't be used as much for research space as it will as a collaboration center. Was said that in addition to researching new methods for sus- Phoenix basicss The offices of the Michi- gan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute will be housed at 2301 Bonisteel Blvd. on North Campus. The institute will bring together researchers from across campus as a central hub for energy research. The University has allo- cated $9 million to estab- lish the institute. tainable, clean and affordable ener- gy, the institute will also work in the public policy sector. Was said the University could be a leader in public policy and the social aspects of the energy devel- opment. Historically, the University has been known for its automo- tive and nuclear energy pro- grams. Was said the institute is aiming to strengthen research See PHOENIX, page 7A Mario Manningham (86) scores during Michigan's victory over the Wisconsin Badgers Saturday. FOR FULL STORY, SEE SPORTSMONDAY Touchdowns in the last two games for wide receiver Mario Manningham Total rushing yards Michigan has given up in four games 116 Steve Breaston's punt return yards in Saturday's game, his personal best i