Opinion, Page 4A
Ann Arbor, Michigan Monday, November 26, 2007
michigandaily com
STREAK SNAPPED
BIG HOUSE CONTROVERSY
Feds get
OK to
inspect
stadium
Judge allows
Justice Department to
join MPVA lawsuit
By GABE NELSON
Daily News Editor
A judge on Wednesday granted the U.S.Department
of Justice permission to send a squad of investigators
to Michigan Stadium to examine the stadium facilities
and determine whether they comply with the Ameri-
cans with Disabilities Act.
U.S. District Judge Sean Cox approved the visit at
a hearing in federal court Wednesday where he also
approved the Justice Department's request to become
a co-plaintiff in a suit filed in April by the Michigan
Paralyzed Veterans of America. The suit says the sta-
dium violates federal accessibility standards.
The visit, scheduled to begin on noon tomorrow
and continue for at least five days, will allow Justice
Department attorneys to build a case against the Uni-
versity.
University spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham said
the University will provide the Justice Department
with whatever information it needs for its investi-
gation. The Education Department's Office of Civil
Rights has accused the University of impeding its
investigation by ignoring requests for information or
documents regarding the stadium.
"We're happy to accommodate them - whatever
they need," Cunningham said. "We'll continue to be
cooperative, just like we always have."
Cunningham said she thinks the Justice Depart-
ment's visit will clear up accusations made by the
Office of Civil Rights.
In a response to the office sent by the University
earlier this month, Gloria Hage, the University's inter-
im general counsel, wrote that the University repaired
some stadium facilities - like bathrooms and conces-
sions - after the Office of Civil Rights informed the
University that they didn't meet code.
Cunningham said the Office of Civil Rights has con-
tinued to claim that these problems exist, although
the University has sent the office photos showing that
they have been repaired. She said she hopes Justice
Department investigators will measure the dimen-
sions of stadium facilities and find that the University
has taken steps to bring the stadium into compliance.
Federal investigators joined the suit upon the
request of the office of Civil Rights, which began an
See STADIUM, Page 7A
Michigan hockey players Chad Kolarik, Kevin Porter and Max Pacioretty celebrate during the Wolverines 5-1 win over Minnesota at Yost Ice Arena on Saturday night. The win marked the first
time Michigan has beaten the Golden Gophers in the last seven tries. The Wolverines also beat Wisconsin on Friday. For more on the games, see SportsMonday.
BAR NIGHTS
Fundraisers questioned elsewhere, safe in A2
After underage drinking
busts, bar nights have
drawn ire in Evanston
By JAKE HOLMES
Daily StaffReporter
The bar night - a lucrative fund-
raising method often used by campus
groups - has drawn criticism in one
Big Ten college town because of per-
ceived problems with underage drink-
ing. In Ann Arbor, the bar night is alive
and well, and it's one of the most con-
venient moneymakers for University of
Michigan student groups.
After busts at several Northwestern
University bars for underage drink-
ing, the city council of Evanston, Ill.,
considered banning minors from bar
nights. Despite concerns about under-
age drinking in thebars, the city council
decided to renew a regulation allowing
minors to attend bar nights in the city.
The new law allows student groups at
Northwestern to hold a maximum of
40 bar nights per year with students 18
and older attending past midnight.
But for a student group at the Uni-
versity of Michigan trying to find a way
to connect members and raise money
without spending a lot of money up
front, a bar night remains a popular
- and legal - method.
At an Oct. 11 bar night at Touch-
down Caf, the University's chapter of
Dance Marathon received 80 percent
of all cover charges collected. About
400 people attended showed up, each
indirectly donating $4 of the $5 cover
charge to Dance Marathon. That raised
about $1,600 for the group.
Dance Marathon external direc-
tor and LSA senior Steve Crompton
arranged the evening with the bar
and sent e-mails and Facebook invites
about the night to Dance Marathon
members.
Touchdown Caf6 collected all the
money for drinks, but it provided music
and a venue for free.
Student groups bring guests and the
hosting venue manages the rest, mak-
ing bar nights an attractive proposition
for campus groups.
"(Bar nights) are a high return-on-
investment fundraiser," Crompton
said.
For smaller student groups, bar
nights can be the cheapest way to hold
a fundraising or social event, he said.
Groups hoping to hold such nights at
on-campus locations would have to
hire a DJ, provide drinks and snacks
and prepare and clean up the event
themselves.
For a large group like Dance Mara-
thon, booking bar nights is straightfor-
ward. Long-standingrelationshipswith
campus bars mean the group rarely has
to fight for space at venues.
But smaller groups, like the Ameri-
can Movement for Israel, also hold bar
See BAR NIGHTS, Page 7A
STUDENT GOV'T SCANDA l e
MSA rep. pleads not guilty
A MINIATURE CITY
Pre
Mic
Anton
prelim
day to
March
election
of usin
crime,
trial hearing set to four years in prison and a $5,000
fine, and the other was a high court
for Jan. 3 misdemeanor charge of interfering
with an electronic device, which
By JULIE ROWE carries penalties of up to two years
Daily StaffReporter in prison and a $1,000 fine.
Vuljaj was charged in connec-
higanStudentAssemblyRep. tion with the denial of service
Vuljaj pled not guilty at his attacks launched to shut down
inary examination Wednes- the Michigan Progressive Party's
two charges relating to the website duringthe election. Vuljaj
2006 student government was a member of rival party Stu-
n. One was a felony charge dents 4 Michigan.
ig a computer to commit a A preliminary examination
which carries penalties of up requires the prosecution to show
evidence providing probable cause
to believe that the defendant com-
mitted the crime. On Wednesday,
Doug Lewis, Vuljaj's attorney
and the director of Student Legal
Services, bypassed this step and
moved for a pretrial hearing.
Judge John B. Collins granted
the motion. The pretrial confer-
ence, an opportunity for the pros-
ecution and defense to discuss
matters that will simplify the trial,
was scheduled for Jan. 3.
Engineering senior Joel Sch-
See MSA, Page 7A
Classes seek to mold entrepreneurs
Engin school develops
courses to help
their own businesses, the College
of Engineering will offer courses
on entrepreneurship next semes-
ter.
students turn ideas "The classes are in response to
students' requests to learnmore of
into profit the mechanics of being an entre-
preneur, so we're really excited
By ELAINE LAFAY about offering these courses," said
Daily StaffReporter Thomas Zurbuchen, the direc-
- - ------- ftor of the University's Center for
To connect students with pro- Entrepreneurial Programs.
fessionals and help them launch The student initiative came
from the student entrepreneur
organization MPowered, which
was formed this semester to
help student entrepreneurs con-
nect with potential investors and
understand what it means to run a
small business.
"We have an extremely recep-
tive student base," said Ashwin
Lalendran, a junior in the College
of Engineering and president of
MPowered.
See CLASSES, Page 7A
Model train enthusiasts gathered at the Washtenaw Farm Council Grounds yesterday for a Southeast Michigan Model Railroad
Flea Market and show. Members of the Michigan LEGO Train Club displayed a model town that included many Detroit buildings.
The 30-by-7.5 foot model was made entirely out of LEGOs, with no glue or paint.
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