The Michigan Daily - New Student Edition 2006 - 7F
Holiday break brings string
of robberies for 'U' students
By Ian Herbert
and Christina Hildreth
Daily Staff Reporters
When LSA sophomore Alex Sutton came home
after Thanksgiving Break to find thieves had bro-
ken into his house on the 800 block of East Ann
Street, he realized it would be a long night.
Thieves had kicked in his locked bedroom door
and stolen his desktop computer.
To finish his homework for Monday, Sutton
worked on a computer in the Shapiro Undergradu-
ate Library until the early hours of the morning.
He said the Ann Arbor Police Department told
him and his housemates, who lost thousands of
dollars in electronics, that it was unlikely they'd
ever see their belongings again.
The theft at Sutton's house was part of a string
of robberies and break-ins during the Thanks-
giving weekend, when thieves stole televisions,
DVD players, computers, a microwave and other
valuables. The Ann Arbor News reported that
the holiday robbers nabbed more than $20,000 in
electronics and jewelry from 10 residences in the
city. Ann Arbor police officers said they made one
arrest related to the break-ins.
According to the AAPD, there was no signifi-
cant spike in the number of burglaries compared
to past Thanksgiving weekends.
LSA senior Andy Zaspwa, who lives on the
400 block of East Kingsley Street, has a roommate
who lost a computer monitor, an iPod, a speaker
and a digital camera. He blamed the break-ins on
a lack of police patrols.
"(The problem is the) police presence," he said.
"There's none of it. It's horrible."
Sutton's housemate, Kinesiology sophomore
David Woodside, said he felt there was nothing he
could do to prevent the larceny and that the house-
mates had locked all their doors before leaving for
break.
"This house has a history of (robberies)' Sut-
ton added. "The people before us said it was bro-
ken into three times."
His housemate, LSA sophomore Kenny Alten-
burg, said that while they are gone during Christ-
mas break, they will probably ask their neighbor
to keep an eye on the house. The AAPD told
the housemates that the thieves probably entered
through an unlocked window. The residents said
they locked all but two windows, both of which
did not have locks.
LSA senior Dan Moranville and LSA senior
Greg Lavigne said there were at least six people
in the Phi Beta Alpha fraternity house on the 1400
block of Washtenaw Avenue when it was robbed.
Some of the residents of the house were awake
until 3 am. But when Lavigne came downstairs at
10 a.m., the house's microwave, a PlayStation and
the living-room television were gone.
There was no evidence of forced entry, and
members of the fraternity plan to change all of
the locks, Lavigne said, adding that the crime
appeared to be well-planned and that he thinks
the perpetrator was someone who had been to the
house before.
While the victims said they do not feel threat-
ened or less safe than before the break-ins, they
advised other students to lock all windows and
doors before leaving.
- This article originally ran Nov.29, 2005.
Cl. . a
Cluing in
City Council
When it comes to tack- sure the Council debates ordi-
ling all the popular nances that affect students on
student issues of the campus, and it must help current
day - housing, and future Michigan
parking, the right to Student Assembly
adorn our porches generations work
with unattractive with city govern-
upholstered fur- ment.
niture - the Ann Both Council
Arbor City Council members and stu-
should not be left dents agree that
to its own devices. communication
There are individual between the two
exceptions, but as a bodies is lacking.
body, the Council Students could
has demonstrated EMILY show up to Council
that without student BEAM meetings, but they'd
input, it will generally quickly realize that
misconstrue and ignore students' making their voices heard in City
perspectives. Council requires a commitment
Take Ann Arbor Mayor John of far more than a few hours a
Hieftje's proposed lease-sign- month. Council members could
ing ordinance. His plan would meet with students, but mem-
prevent landlords from showing bers' and students' schedules are
apartments and houses less than tight, and turnouts to town-hall
one-quarter into the lease term. style meetings tend to be disap-
It would seem that by now, City pointing. These obstacles and the
Council would be at least some- effective disenfranchisement of
what familiar with this plan - roughly 39,000 potential student
both The Michigan Daily and The votes via gerrymandered wards
Ann Arbor News covered the pro- suggest that holding out for the
posal, and Hieftje has discussed it student body to get involved
informally at Council meetings. might take a while.
But City Council member Marcia The committee will certainly
Higgins (D-Ward 4) had only address the lack of communication
heard of Hieftje's plan once - last between MSA and City Council,
year during an interview with The but it will have to prove whether it
Michigan Daily. Council member can also tackle the more troubling
Jean Carlberg (D-Ward 3) said disconnectbetween the entire stu-
she had only vaguely heard of the dentbody and the Council. In an
proposal. "I'm not sure what the ideal world with consistent 90-per-
student side is," she said. cent voter turnout, one stone could
This is where the new joint easily take outboth birds. But
student-City Council committee the studentbody's apathy toward
could shine. At its last meet- MSA is almost as problematic as
ing, City Council unanimously its indifference towardcity govern-
approved the committee, com- ment. These five (hopefully) dedi-
posed of five students and two cated students and two (hopefully)
Council members. By filling interested Councilmembers may
in the Council on Ann Arbor's be the start we need to get things
unique student-housing market moving. But when all City Council
dynamic that pressure students to hears from students is resounding
sign leases 10 months in advance, silence, they have to use their own
the committee can ensure that judgment. And for students,that
all Council members understand can be a scary thing.
what perpetuates these annual
mid-October housing rushes. - This column originally
Beyond lease dates, it must make ran Oct. 26, 2005.
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY EUGENE ROBERTSON/E
A University student looks over a lease agreement. City Council recently approved an ordinance that would prohibit the signing of a rental agreement
until the current lease has been in effect for at least 90 days. Without the extended timeframe, students would have less time to make off-campus
housing decisions for the following school year.
LEASING
Sig Cnngdaes push
By Andrew Grossman
Daily Staff Reporter
In the culmination of what has
been an unprecedented level of col-
laboration between the Michigan
Student Assembly and Ann Arbor
City Council, the Council unani-
mously approved an ordinance
pushing back lease-signing dates.
The ordinance, first proposed
by Mayor John Hieftje in an inter-
view with The Michigan Daily
last year, prohibits the signing of
rental agreements until the cur-
rent lease has been in effect for
90 days. It also prevents landlords
from showing property to poten-
tial tenants for the same period.
For September-to-September
leases, that means contracts for the
following 'fall could not be signed
until Dec. 1.
One version of the ordinance
staggered the earliest date a prop-
erty can be shown and when a lease
can be signed, creating a one-month
"shopping period." The Council
unanimously voted to remove that
provision last night after landlords
pressured them to do so. Without
staggering, students will have less
time than they wanted to appraise
the true quality of the property they
are renting.
Students showed strong support
for the ordinance throughout its
development. Landlords generally
opposed it.
"We're jumping out of our seats
for this one," MSA President Jesse
Levine said.
Levine was so eager to lend his
support to the proposal that he
rushed to the microphone at the
first opportunity for public com-
ment. The mayor informed Levine
that the first public comment period
at the meeting was on the rezoning
of a lot on South Division Street,
not the lease-signing ordinance.
Landlords were not nearly as
enthusiastic about the proposal.
Landlord Mike Davalos sprinted
from his South Forest Street home
when he saw the proceedings
underway on television. Although
he arrived just after Hieftje closed
the comment period, Davalos was
allowed to speak.
Davalos placed the blame for the
housing rush on the shoulders of
students, not landlords. He argued
that student government should
educate students to help them make
informed choices about housing,
not push for legislation.
Landlord Lelahni Wessinger
presented an inch-thick pile of
listings printed from University
Housing's website to underscore
her point that there are still
many housing units available for
this fall.
"There are right now over
1,100 postings at the University
of Michigan website," she said.
- This article originally
ran Mar. 21, 2006
)UNCiI
4S
Dem victory marked by low voter turnout
By Jeremy Davidson
Daily StaffReporter
Ann Arbor City Council elections
ended in a sweep for the Democratic
Party and a disappointing voter turn-
out this year.
Democrat Stephen Rapundalo
beat Republican Thomas Bourque
by a count of 1,574 to 1,436, claiming
the seat in Ward 2 for the Democratic
Party for the first time in an off-year
in more than 18 years. Incumbents
Leigh Greden (D-Ward 3) and Mar-
cia Higgins (D-Ward 4) reclaimed
their seats, making the City Council
composed entirely of Democrats.-
Greden won in a decisive victory,
but Higgins only managed to beat
Republican challenger Jim Hood by
51 votes in what proved to be the
closest race for any seat. While Hig-
gins has already served as a Council
member for the past six years, this
will be the first term she serves as a
Democrat.
"We have 11 Democrats with 11
different opinions. I'm here to repre-
sent the opinions of the people of the
.second ward;" Rapundalo said.
Greden echoed Rapundalo's sen-
timents, and said the results were
telling of the political atmosphere in
Ann Arbor.
"I think this election is a show of
support for the direction this city is
moving;' Greden said.
Voter turnout was down from
21,000 in November 2003 to 12,000,
with several student precincts show-
ing disappointing numbers. Voter
turnout at Mary Markley Residence
Hall, one of the most concentrated
student-polling locations, fell from
25 in 2003 to 15 this year.
Markley falls in the second ward,
where Rapundalo canvassed heavily
to reach out to students.
"Of the 200 students I met in Mar-
kley, only about a dozen or so were
even registered to vote;' Rapundalo
said.
The Michigan Union,which count-
ed votes for precincts one and two of
the first ward, counted 49 ballots, up
from 26 in 2003. Sarah Packard and
Steve Lyons, co-chairs of precincts
one and two for the first ward, said
they were impressed by the turnout.
They estimated that students cast
about 60 percent of the ballots at their
polling station. Voter turnout in East
Quadrangle Residence Hall jumped
from 52 to 125.
South Quadrangle Residence Hall
and Bursley Residence Hall remained
close to their numbers from 2003, the
former jumping from 20 to 22, the
latter falling from 32 to 26.
The College Democrats were out
in much greater force than the Michi-
gan Student Assembly's Voice Your
Vote Commission, registering 210
students to vote.
"We set up tables in the Diag and
did informal voter registration in
Markley" said Libby Benton, presi-
dent of College Democrats. "We tried
to encourage residentsin Markley to
get registered and to encourage oth-
ers to get registered."
The Emerald Ash Borer Millage
failed by a vote of 6,748 to5,173. The
emerald-ash borer is a wood-boring
beetle that destroys ash trees. The
millage would have amended the
city charter to authorize a0.5 millage
tax to fund the removal of dead and
dying ash trees lost to the beetle.
- This article originally
ran Nov. 9, 2005.
Stephen Rapundalo (left) and Leigh Greden (right) celebrate in an Ann
Arbor home at the conclusion of City Council elections.
4