lPie l~i pn DaiIlj
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, September 14, 2007
michigandaily.com
Why Michigan has started 0-2 Football Saturday
Iraq force to shrink
Bush says 5,700 soldiers
coming home soon. Page 3A
"(The University) continues to damage its reputation, undermine public trust, and
saddle itself with a costly stadium plan that does not reflect U-M's traditional values or mission."
- Part of a petition circulated by emeritus Prof. Irwin Goldstein that opposes the construction of skyboxes in Michigan Stadium
'U' might
not get
promised
state funds
One solution to budget shortfall
could lead to a mid-year tuition
hike for students
By ALESE BAGDOL
Daily Staff Reporter
One plan to eliminate the state's projected $1.7 bil-
lion deficit entirely through budget cuts would result
in the state permanently withholding the $29.6 mil-
lion in funding for the University that it was supposed
to pay in August.
If the University doesn't get those funds, it could be
forced to raise tuition in the middle of this academic
year.
The state held the money back to make up forlower-
than-expected revenues.
The plan - suggested by state Senate Republicans
- is one of many methods being proposed to fill the
shortfall. With the beginning of the 2008 fiscal year
only 16 days away, pressure is mounting for legislators
to find a way to balance the budget. If they don't, the
state could face a government shutdown.
The withholding of the $29.6 million was suggest-
ed in a presentation given on Tuesday to the Senate
Appropriations Committee by Senate Fiscal Agency
Director Gary Olson at the request of Senate Majority
Leader Mike Bishop (R-Rochester).
The presentation also suggested that the state could
save money byreducinglocal aid to cities notmandated
by the state constitution. The state gives $398 million
not required by the constitution to Michigan munici-
palities. That includes $208.8 million for Detroit and
$3.2 million for Ann Arbor that could be cut.
Cynthia Wilbanks, the University's vice president
for government relations, refused to speculate on
what budget moves the University would make if the
legislature withheld the funds. She did say, however,
See BUDGET, Page 7A
Irwin Goldstein, a professor emeritus of biochemistry, says he has collected 600 signatures from faculty and staff on a petition opposing the renovation of Michigan Sta-
dium. Goldstein says the University silenced opposing viewpoints during the approval process, which ended in June when the regents gave the plan its final go-ahead.
Petition indicates unrest among
facult stf over sk ox an
Professor says he
has gathered 600
signatures protesting
Big House renovation
By KIRSTY MCNAMARA
Daily StaffReporter
Six hundred faculty and staff
members oppose the planned
renovations to Michigan Stadium,
according to Irwin Goldstein, a
University professor emeritus of
biochemistry who has started a
petition asking faculty members'
to announce their opposition to
the plan.
It might be too late for the peti-
tion to make much of a difference,
though. The University Board of
Regents gave final approval to the
project in June.
The project would add struc-
tures containing premium seating
and luxury boxes atop the bowl.
The petition has 600 signatures,
according to Goldstein, who would
not release the signatures because
he said he wants University Presi-
dent Mary Sue Coleman and the
regents to be the first people to see
them.
The petition states that the
renovation approval process was
marked by the censorship of oppos-
ing viewpoints and that the $226
million price tag is too high. It says
faculty members are concerned
that the costs could put the Univer-
sity into debt and thereby affect the
University's academics.
"The University of Michigan
continues to damage its reputation,
undermine public trust, and saddle
itself with a costly stadium plan
that does not reflect U-M's tradi-
tional values or mission," the peti-
tion reads.
See STADIUM, Page 7A
BREAKING FAST
Thieves strike
Markley, Couzens
Police say trio led
students away, then
robbed rooms
By JAKE HOLMES
Daily StaffReporter
The police are searching for
three suspects in connection
with a string of burglaries in
Couzens and Mary Markley res-
idence halls.
The three suspects allegedly
burglarized several unlocked
rooms in both residence halls,
according to the Depart-
ment of Public Safety. In two
cases; women lured residents
out of their rooms by asking
for directions to the cafeteria
while accomplices took laptops
and other valuables from the
unguarded rooms.
DPS has also released descrip-
tions of the three suspects: a thin
male between 20 and 25 years of
age, an overweight woman about
30 years old with gaps between
her teeth and a woman between
17 and 19 years old with reddish-
blond hair.
On Sept. 7, a Mary Markley
resident reported a laptop sto-
len from his or her dorm room.
The student told police that two
women approached and asked
for directions to the residence
hall's cafeteria. The student left
the room to lead them to the caf-
eteria, leaving the door to the
room open and unlocked. DPS
spokeswoman Diane Brown
said police suspect that a male
See THEFT, Page 7A
COURTEST OF DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY
The people in the photos above are wanted in connection with burglaries in two
dorms. Police say one of the women asked a student for directions, luring the resi-
dent out of his or her room. The two others then burglarized the room.
For sophomore, an old fence turns into long canvas
By SARA THELEN
For the Daily
Erica Fink, a sophomore in the
school of Art and Design, grew up
near what her mother called "a
big, ugly, brown, wooden fence."
Fink didn't see it that way,
though. She saw the fence
between Nixon Road and Plym-
outh Road near Huron Parkway
as a canvas.
"It seemed an obvious place for
something beautiful to happen,"
Fink said.
Now the fence screams with a
colorful abstraction of people in
their environment., A
The project - called "The Story
of a Million Flowers" - is Fink's
first mural. It spans about 1,000
feet along the fence.
More than 300 volunteers,
including kindergartners and
retired professors, have helped
with the project. Work on the
mural, which began May 15, is
scheduled to finish in November.
Fink said she aimed to contrast
the technological world by dis-
playing natural themes changing
See MURAL, Page 7A
JEREMY CHO/Daily
Education junior Shafaq Akhter grabs some toad in West Quad yesterday atter
breaking her Ramadan fast. Yesterday was the tirst day t sthe Muslim holy month.
Catered food was served after the Muslim Students' Association's mass meeting.
TODAY'S
WEATHER
HI: 70 GOT A NEWS TIP?
LO: 44 Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.
ON THE DAILY BLOGS
Report: Minority college enrollment is up.
MICHIGANDAILY.COM/THEWIRE
INDEX NEWS.................
Vol. CXVIII,No.9 OPINION.................
0 7 The Michigan Daily A RTS..................
..2A CLASSIFIEDS.....................6A
.4A SPORTS ................. 8A
..5A FOOTBALLSATURDAY.........1B
I
p