" MARA GAY: HELPING DETROIT
HELP ITSELF
OPINION, PAGE 4
'SHOOTER' SCORES
WAHLBERG'S LATEST HITS TARGET ARTS, PAGE 5
OFF TO LA.: JACK JOHNSON INKS
DEAL WITH KINGS
SPORTS, PAGE 9
idian Dai
Ann Arbor, Michigar
www.michigandaily.com
sday March 27UO0
Coleman: Fix state funding system
President says the way the state funds its public to funding. last month.
universities. "You want to hold us account- Coleman also criticized th
allocation of state A battle is brewing in Lansing able? Then compare apples to Education Alliance for Michigan
over a proposal that would rei- apples," Coleman said, gestur- a coalition of nine state univers
higher ed funding magine the way the state legisla- ing as though she was holding an ties formed last week to oppose th
a ture funds higher education. The apple in each hand. "Set incentives idea of separate funding.
is unfair presidents of Michigan's three for us, set incentives for them." The debate began when th
public research universities - the The separate funding plan state of Michigan instituted a ne'
he
m,
i-
he
he
w
Uni
Colem
critici:
By GABE NELSON University of Michigan, Michigan
DailyNewsEditor State University and Wayne State
University - are arguing that their
versity President Mary Sue schools should be considered sepa-
an used strong language to rately from the other 12 public uni-
ze in an interview yesterday versities in the state when itcomes
was endorsed by Gov. Jennifer
Granholm in her proposed 2008
budget after the presidents of the
three research universities peti-
tioned a state higher education
appropriations subcommittee
appropriations system two years
ago, Coleman said. The system
was designed to increase account-
ability at the state's universities
by rewarding schools with more
See COLEMAN, page 7
s a h L ( ith f rien ad f e l i se iseNV-
University alum Chiara Levin (center) with friends and fellow alumni Elyse Wise-
man (left) and Robyn Sussman (right).
Friends
mourn
slain alum
Amnew campus group is taking
a two-pronged approach to help
the victims of genocide in Dafur, a
region of Sudan.
Will Work for Food, which is
headed by LSA junior Jeremy
Davidson and LSA sophomore Josh
Cohen, says their group is different
from others on campus because its
approach includes both work and
advocacy.
"So far, no one on campus has
taken a systematic approach to
advocacy," Davidson said. "A signif-
icant part of our approach is that it
is adaptable to other projects."
Starting today, students will be
able to purchase a T-shirt that says
"Working to Save Lives in Darfur, 1
Hour at a Time" in residence halls
and Central Campus buildings like
Angell Hall.
The shirts cost $10 - $5 of which
will go to Darfur relief through the
American Jewish World Service's
Darfur Action Campaign.
By purchasing a shirt, students
also promise to raise $10 for Darfur
by doing community service work.
"It doesn't have to be manual
labor," Davidson said. "It can be as
simple as tutoring a fellow student."
Davidson said he wants students
to voice their concern by sending
postcards or making phone calls to
their representatives in Congress.
The group will offer pre-addressed
postcards tostudents who need help
contacting government officials.
"There are 40,000 people on
this campus," said Davidson, a for-
mer news editor and summer edi-
nor in chief at The Michigan Daily.
"That's at least 40,000 letters to
congressmen."
There is already one group on
campus that has been trying to
draw attention to Darfur's plight:
the University's chapter of Stu-
dents Taking Action Now Darfur.
LSA senior Maggie Glass; a STAND
member, said she hopes the two
groups can work together.
LSA junior Justin Benson, who
drew up the group's constitution
last week, said he was enthusiastic
about the new method.
"The two-pronged approach
is great because it is an innova-
tive and effective way of address-
ing both the long and short-term
issues surrounding Darfur," he said.
"While ouroverall goal is to address
the short-term effects, advocacy
ensures that we put pressure on the
government and deal with the long
term problems as well."
Davidson and Hillel executive
director Michael Brooks decided to
create the group over breakfast and
racquetball last semester, Davidson
said.
Members of the organization
said that they have gotten positive
feedback from students on campus.
"I've had friends I haven't seen
for months calling to ask about
WWFF," Cohen.said. "They all real-
ly want to get involved and it's great
to knowthat."
Will Work For Food's leaders also
hope to expand the group's model
around the country, using the Uni-
versity as a template.
Chiara Levin 'didn't
have a negative bone
in her body'
By DAVE MEKELBURG
Daily News Editor
In a tragic shooting, a recent
University alum was killed in Bos-
ton early Saturday morning.
Chiara Levin, who graduated
less than a year ago, died after a
night spent doing what she loved:
meeting new people and spending
time with friends. She was in Bos-
ton for the weekend to celebrate
the 90th birthday of a great aunt.
Levin had gone to a bar Friday
night with two friends, the Boston
Police Department reported on its
website.
After leaving the bar, Levin and
her friends were invited to the party
in the city's Dorchester neighbor-
hood with some people she and her
friends had met at the bar. When
they decided to leave the party,
Levin and her friends accepted a
ride home, police reported.
While waiting to leave, gun-
shots were fired into the idle car
and Levin was struck. She was pro-
nounced dead at Boston Medical
Center two hours later.
Police said there is no evidence
to suggest that Levin was the tar-
get of the shooter. The case is still
under investigation.
Friends remembered Levin for
connecting with people from across
campus, whether on the equestrian
team, in her sorority or among the
football players she tutored.
"If you were ever walking to
class or walking to go out or what-
ever (with Levin), you'd have to
allot two hours to get there," said
University alum Seema Singh.
Singh said Levin seemed to
know everyone that she passed on
campus and she would stop talk to
each for atleast 15 minutes.
Singh knew Levin well: She was
one of her roommates in New York
City.
Levin, a native of Danville, Ky.,
had been working at a public rela-
tions firm in Manhattan since she
graduated.
Friends said Levin was some-
one who brought people together.
Perhaps it is fitting, then, that her
death created a reunion of sorts for
the people who knew her.
"A lot of us live in New York, and
we've all been banded together,"
Singh said.
OnSundaynight,15ofherfriends
See LEVIN, page 7
Officials caution
students on crime,
OFF-CAMPUS CRIME
Bar fight leaves student in
custody, cop bloodied
DPS director:
Larceny most
common campus
crime
By EMILY BARTON
Daily StaffReporter
LSA senior Stephanie Tillman
asked police at a campus safety
forum last night whether she could
carry mace on campus for self-
defense
Department of Public Safety
Director Bill Bess said she could, but
recommended what he said was a
more practical solution for keeping
safe at night: the buddy system.
Tillman,wholives on MaryStreet,
near where a student reported being
raped on Feb. 28, said she came to
the forum because she is concerned
about her safety.
Michigan Student Assembly and
the Office of the Dean of Students
sponsored the forum, which also
featured Ann Arbor Deputy Police
Chief Greg O'Dell, Dean of Students
Sue Eklund and DPS spokeswoman
Diane Brown.
The meeting's purpose was "to
have a check-in for how things feel
on campus," Eklund said. Only ten
students attended the event last
night in the MSA chambers in the
Michigan Union
Bess said the most common crim-
inal activity on campus is larceny.
Brown said that these larcenies
are often just crimes of opportunity.
She said people leave laptops and
ALLISON GHAMAN/Daily
DPS Director Bill Bess at a forum on
campus safety last night
cell phones in a public area unat-
tended and that "all it takes is five
minutes" for someone to pick up a
device and walk away with it.
Bess said that personal crimes
- those that involve interaction
between the suspect and the-victim
- are relatively low on campus.
See FORUM, page 3
T
By J
AI
ended
senior
and a:
bleedi
Bri.
bar w
Yops
after s
Unive
confir
assaul
Drunken tiff Saturday.
Peters said that at about 9:30
escalates to p.m. Yops threw something at
a man in the booth next his.
blows at Everyone at the two booths
stood up."
he Brown Jug Yops walked around to the
other booth and pushed the man
ESSICA VOSGERCHIAN into the table, Peters said.
Daily StaffReporter The table - which Peters said
was securely bolted to the wall
fight at The Brown Jug - collapsed under the man's
Saturday night with LSA weight:
Jack Yops in custody Peters said the second man
n Ann Arbor Police officer was about 6 feet 4 inches tall.
ng from the lip. Yops is 5 feet 9 inches, accord-
an Peters, a doorman at the ing to his Michigan driver's
ho saw the fight, told police license, which a Brown Jug
assaulted a police officer employee photocopied after the
tarting a fight in the South fight.
rsity Avenue bar. Police Peters said he stepped between
med that an officer was Yops and the table while the sec-
ted at The Brown Jug on and man stayed on the ground.
He saidYopsclaimedtheother
man had spit on him.
Employees asked for Yops's
driver's license andcreditcard to
photocopy for their records and
to close his tab, Peters said.
AfterYopsrefusedanemploy-
ee called the police, Peters said.
Yops began yelling at a group
of people that included football
players Jake Long and Garrett
Rivas, calling them "third-
string English majors," Peters
said.
.After several minutes, Yops
gave his credit card and driver's
license to an employee, who then
closed his $25 tab.
Peters said Yops then began
taunting one of the two Ann
Arbor Police officers who arrived
on the scene.
See FIGHT, page 7
TODAY'S HII 69
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