The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, September 28, 2007 - 7
More students
referred to OSCR
DUDERSTADT DANCE
CRIME From page 1
DPS spokeswoman Diane
Brown said she was intrigued by
the trend but didn't know what has
caused the increase in the number
of cases reported to OSCR.
"I don't know if it's because
there's been a change in leader-
ship at the Office of Student Con-
flict Resolution or if they are now
tracking their data differently,"
Brown said. "Maybe it hadn't
been done that accurately in the
past."
Brown said she didn't see any
other significant trends in this
year's data.
"I think it's all rather flat,
myself," Brown said. "I look at
these numbers and I say, 'OK,
there's a difference of one. There's
a difference of two.' That's pretty
small to me."
But Brown said the number
of larcenies on campus indi-
cates that University students
and employees have been more
watchful of their possessions.
Last year, 857 larcenies were
reported, a small decrease from
the previous two years.
"Most of these larcenies are
thefts of opportunity, meaning
our community has provided
an opportunity for someone to
come rip us off," Brown said. "We
could do a better job of securing
our property and reducing these
crimes of opportunity."
BUDGET
From page 1
to cut off state funding to all non-
essential services - including
higher education.
The budget approved by the
University Board of Regents this
summer predicts $320 million in
state funding for the upcoming
academic year, slightly less than
the University received last year.
The state already owes the Uni-
versity$29.6 millioninfundingfor
the month of August. That money
was withheld to offset unexpect-
edly low state revenue.
"We continue to press the case
for a budget resolution so we can
have some budget stability," said
Cynthia Wilbanks, the Universi-
ty's vice president for government
relations.
The Senate passed a bill last
week that would prevent a shut-
down by extending this year's
budget structure by 30 days, buy-
ing legislators more time to finish
the final budget.
HouseDemocratssaytheywon't
pass the bill unless they can also
find a way to secure more revenue
for the state. Gov. Jennifer.Gran-
holm also stressed her opposition
to a budget continuation bill in a
TV and radio address last night.
"All a continuation budget does
is continue to spend money we
don't have," she said.
A continuation budget would
cost the state $125 million per
month, according to Granholm.
Granholm issued an executive
order last night that will begin the
first stages of a government shut-
down on Sunday at midnight if the
legislature doesn't reach a com-
promise before then. But Gran-
holm said she is confident that the
order will never go into effect.
"We've narrowed our differ-
ences in the past 48 hours," Gra-
nholm said.
Although the legislature has
made many proposals to resolve
the crisis in the past month, few
concrete agreements have been
reached.
The Senate passed a bill Sun-
day that would cut $950 billion
from the budget, but the bill is still
pending in the House. That bill
would give the University as much
funding as it received last year and
pay back the August funding still
owed to the University.
Lawmakers are also debat-
ing increasing the income tax by
either 4.3 or 4.6 percent. The plan
before the deficit was discovered
was to raise the income tax by 3.9
percent.
A Republican-sponsored pro-
posal would cap the increase at
4.3 percent but extend the tax to
employer health benefits.
State Rep. George Cushingber-
ry (D-Detroit) said the proposal
would yield roughly the same
amount of money as the higher
rate - about $1.2 million.
But State Sen. Ron Jelinek (R-
Three Oaks) said the tax hike is
just one of many options.
"Everything is on the table," he
said.
- The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
Performers dance during Insert Applesauce Here at the Duderstadt Center yesterday. The performance - a collaboration of three sophomore School of Music, Theater and
Dance students, Stephanie Overton, Lara Martin, and Marly Sieser-Schneider- was meant to be off-the-wall and funny.
B*ush seeks to cut airline delays
White House floats
plans to reduce
airline congestion
By MATTHEW L. WALD
and JEFF BAILEY
The New York Times
WASHINGTON - After the
worst summer of airline delays on
record, President Bush on yester-
day ordered transportation officials
to work with airline executives to
reduce delays in the nation's over-
crowded airspaces, beginning in
New York.
White House officials said they
were considering options like cap-
ping the number of flights and
allowing airports to charge higher
fees to airlines for landing at the
busiest times of the day. The admin-
istration is also considering rules
that would require airlines to pro-
vide passengers with more infor-
mation about frequently delayed
flights and give more compensation
to travelers who are bumped from
flights.
"We've got a problem, we under-
stand there's a problem, and we're
goingto address the problem," Bush
said after calling Mary E. Peters,
the secretary oftransportation, and
aviation officials to the Oval Office
for a well-publicized meeting.
The president also said airlines
should treat passengers better
when delays occur. "There's a lot of
anger amongst our citizens about
the fact that, you know, they're just
not being treated right," Bush said.
some, lie said, have been subjected
to "egregious behavior."
Although the White House made
clear that it preferred that airlines
voluntarily reduce congestion at the
most crowded airports, it warned
that mandatory rules might be
imposed if the airlines did not act
on their own.
Airlines have been unable to
develop solutions to congestion
problems, which are steadily grow-
ing worse. As public frustration
grows, a consumer advocacy move-
ment has been building and state
and local governments have gotten
involved. And Congress is again
considering "passenger rights"
measures.
The transportation secretary,
Peters, told reporters that air trav-
elers "are cranky, and they have
STADIUM
From page 1
ing to the sidelines at the top of the
bowl. The project will also add new
concessions and restrooms to the
main concourse and widen bleacher
seats and aisles in the seating bowl.
Earlier this week, MPVA attor-
ney Richard Bernstein filed docu-
ments in federal district court
requesting depositions from
University employees including
President Mary Sue Coleman, all
eight members of the University
Board of Regents and six Athletic
Department employees. Bernstein
also requested all information
concerning the stadium's opera-
tions and maintenance since 1990.
good reason to be."
She and Bobby Sturgell, the act-
ing head of the Federal Aviation
Administration, said they would
convene an advisory group of
airline executives, airports, cor-
porate aviation interests and con-
sumer groups to work out a plan by
December to cut traffic at Kennedy
International Airport in New York.
Failing that, Peters warned, the
alternative might be to "return to
the days of government-regulated
flights and limited competition."
The goal is to have improvements
in place by the beginning of next
summer.
One-third of the nation's air traf-
fic passes through the New York
region, and three-fourths of the
chronic delays around the coun-
try can be traced to delays in New
York.
Peters also said the government
would propose raising compen-
sation for "bumped passengers"
to $624, from $200, and would
review whether the Transportation
Department's complaint division
was adequate.
Tales of passengers being
stranded on tarmacs for hours
have become leggn. One day last
Cunningham said the timing
and content of the Athletic Depart-
ment's announcement was not relat-
ed to the lawsuit. She said the plan
is not part of the $226 renovation
project approved by the University
Board of Regents in June, meaning
the plans don't have to be reworked
to accommodate the new seats.
"It's not specifically related to
the lawsuit, but the MPVA did raise
the issue of additional dispersed
seating," she said.
Bernstein called the decision to
add 14 additional seats "a joke" and
said it would not encourage his cli-
ents to drop the case.
"It's really remarkable that they
go and hold a press conference to
say they're going to add fourteen
seats when the law requires over a
December, 67 American Airlines
flights were stuck on the tarmac for
three hours or more. In February,
nine planeloads of JetBlue Airways
passengers were stranded on the
tarmac for six hours or more when
an ice storm hit New York.
Overall, about a quarter of
domestic flights run late.
Some critics voiced skepticism
that federal officials could curb the
competitive instincts of airlines
eager to make profits after years
of record losses and bankrupt-
cies. The policies being weighed by
the administration could produce
fewer flights and higher fares. "Per-
versely, this is good for the airlines,"
Roger E. King, an industry analyst
at CreditSights, noted in a report.
Because of antitrust laws, air-
lines are barred from meeting on
their own to agree to limit flights,
but solving the problem requires
joint action. One government offi-
cial pointed out that cutting flights,
perhaps by flying one large plane
instead of two smaller ones, would
help but that "there's no incentive if
you don't have some assurance your
competitors won't take advantage
of what you've just left behind" by
adding flights of their own.
thousand," Bernstein said. "They're
approachingthis with alevelofarro-
gance that I've never seen before."
Cunningham said the Athletic
Department hasn't decided exactly
where to place the new wheelchair-
accessible seats. They will have to
be located on the concourse level
near an entrance portal because
it's "structurally impossible" to
add seats above or below concourse
level, she said.
Because 12 bleacher seats must
be removed for every wheelchair-
accessible seat installed in the bowl,
at least 168 fans with bleacher seat
tickets must be relocated. Cunning-
ham said the Athletic Department
won'tknowhowmanyticketholders
will have to move until the location
of the accessible seats is decided.
Developer plans condos
aimed at Michigan fans
CONDOS From page 1
On the weekend of the Michi-
gan-Ohio State football game, a
room at the Super 8 Motel on Jack-
son Ave. - about two and a half
miles from the stadium - costs
$139 per night, according to hotels.
com. The next weekend, when
there's no game, the same room
costs $55 per night.
Brenan is also working on a
project near Michigan State Uni-
versity in East Lansing. The East
Lansing development is billed as
a "real estate opportunity for the
Spartan faithful" on the compa-
ny's website. Plans for the East
Lansing project were scheduled to
be finalized earlier this week but
were delayed, Brenan said yester-
O day. He said he hopes to announce
final plans for an Ann Arbor site in
October of next year.
Brenan's first foray into housing
for college football fans started sev-
eral years ago when he developed
hotel-style condominiums in South
Bend, Ind. for Notre Dame fans.
A company called Gameday
Centers Southeastern operates a
similar business in Southern col-
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lege towns with large football fan
bases. The company operates com-
plexes near Auburn University, the
University of Georgia, the Univer-
sity of Alabama and Florida State
University, with condos in the
works at five other colleges.
A small fraction of the profits
from the Gameday Centers go to the
athletic program of the associated
college. Brenan said his develop-
ment at Notre Dame doesn't share
profits with that school, but it is an
official sponsor of Notre Dame.
Although Brenan expressed con-
cern that the downturn in Michi-
gan's economy could affect sales,
he said he is optimistic that alumni
and fans will be interested in the
condos. Other developments in
the Midwest have been successful,
including Brenan's project at Notre
Dame and another company's con-
dos at Michigan State, he said.
Some alumni are skeptical about
the concept. Ronna Lerner, a 1963
University graduate who describes
herself as a big football fan, said she
doesn't understand why fans would
spend money on the condos.
"That's a luxury I can't imagine
I would want," said Lerner. "I won-
der why these people - for maybe
six, seven games a year - would
buy a place."
Thomas Mirowski, a University
alum who graduated in 1985, said
he didn't think Brenan's concept
would find much interest in Ann
Arbor. Mirowski has season tick-
ets to Michigan football games.
"Is there a market for condos
around the stadium? Probably
not," Mirowski said. "It doesn't
seem like it would pay off for the
cost. Let's just say I wouldn't invest
money in it."
American Culture Prof. John
Bacon, who teaches a course in
the history of college athletics,
said Ann Arbor is a perfect site
for these condominiums because
many fans come from the east and
west coasts to Ann Arbor for foot-
ball games.
"I think there's a high demand
for these things," Bacon said. "If it
works anywhere, it's going to work
here, because a loyalty to college
football surpasses all other loyal-
ties."
- Ryan Podges contributed
to this report.
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