Arts, Page 5 Ann Arbor, Michigan Tuesday, December 4,2007 MICHIGAN STUDENT ASSEMBLY Yost to resign tonight michigandaily.com President had been } attacked for offensive Facebook group By DAVE MEKELBURG and KARL STAMPFL Daily StaffReporters Zack Yost, the president of the Michigan Student Assembly, said early this morning that he plans to resign at tonight's meeting. Mohammad Dar, the assembly's vice president, is expected to be sworn in to the presidency. Yost has been under fire on campus since last week's meeting, when MSA Rep. Kenneth Baker revealed a private Facebook.com group that Yost had created more than a year earlier, when he was the assembly's student general counsel. The group, which was only visible to its handful of mem- bers, mocked MSA Rep. Tim Hull for the frequent amendments he proposed to the assembly's Com- piled Code. What prompted scattered out- rage on campus, though, was the group's description: "I'll give that kid a fucking disability he can write home about if he keeps sending these code amendments to everyone." Hull has Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism. "I'm resigning at 8 p.m. tomor- row night," Yost said just after midnight before declining further comment. Yost's accomplishments as president include helping organize a rally in Lansing for increased higher education funding, devel- oping an intern program to get more freshmen involved in stu- dent government and co-founding the Michigan Action Party. MAP helped Yost dominate in the spring MSA election, which he won with more than 75 percent of the vote. MAP also swept the vast majority ofthe assembly's seats inlast week's student government election. But his legacy - fairly or unfair- ly - will likely be defined by the Facebook group. According to MSA's website, this will be the first time a student body president has resigned since See YOST, Page 7 Under Zack Yost, the Michigan Student Assembly organized a march on Lansing and started an internship program to get freshmen involved with the assembly, but his legacy will likely be the Facebook.com group that led to his resignation. Res hail desk jobs cause ire Work-study students, RAs complain about new requirement FUNDRAISNG As colleges rake in cash, charities struggle in Mich. By JAKE HOLMES Daily StaffReporter A policy change requiring resident advisers in each dorm to work weekly two-hour shifts at the dorm's front desk this semes- ter - a job previously reserved for students enrolled in a work-study program - has upset both RAs and student employees. Students who work at the front desk for work-study say they can't work as many hours as they want. Some RAs complain that time spent behind the desk takes away from the key duties of an RA, like being available for students or planning hall events. Speaking on the condition of anonymity because RAs aren't allowed to talk to the media, one RA said he thinks spending time at the desk can cause him to miss problems arising in his hall. "I don't think you're going to intercept crises when you're at the front desk," he said. RAs have been required to work shifts at the front desk since the spring when the Residence Educa- tion branch of University Housing - which oversees dormitory staff and community development pro- grams such as hall social events or workshops - was restructured, according to Patty Griffin, interim student housing associate director. The original idea behind the change was to make the front desk less of a service counter and more of a focal point for residence hall communities, Griffin said. By having RAs working with student concerns outside of their hall, they would have more opportunities to meet with and help students. Grif- fin said it also gives students a bet- ter chance to have their problems resolved. "It gives us an opportunity to have a different kind of conversa- tion with students," she said. The RA who wished to remain anonymous said he disagrees with that reasoning. He said his time at the desk is spent doing clerical See RESIDENCE HALLS, Page 7 Out-of-state donors, loyalty cited as reasons university fundraising thrives By DANIEL STRAUSS Daily StaffReporter Donations to charities in Michi- gan have decreased more than 20 percent over the last year, accord- ing to a recent report, but donations to the University of Michigan and the state's two other research uni- versities are at some of their high- est levels ever. The report, released by Guid- eStar - a nonprofit group that surveys charities in Michigan - showed that 69 percent of chari- ties in the state reported increased demands for their services, but only 52 percent reported increased contributions. The study also found that 22 percent of the charities had reported a decrease in contribu- tions. Financialofficers atallthreeuni- versities said school loyalty gives donors an incentive for to give to their alma mater rather than char- ity organizations. About 40 percent of alumni who donate to the University live outside the state of Michigan, said Jerry May, the University's vice president for development. That same group accounts for 60 percent of the money donated, he said. Even though Michigan suffers from a 7.7 percent unemployment rate - one of the nation's worst - a large portion of the donors to the University are Michigan residents. May explained that these alumni haven't been as affected by the state's troubles, because many have job and financial security. "We have a very large concen- tration of alumni from the greater Detroit area, many of them have had jobs at companies and corpora- tions their whole lives, and they're people who have done well in spite of the last decade," May said. Colleges regularly run fund- raising campaigns to meet fiscal goals, but officials say creating a good experience for students while they're in school is the best way to motivate alumni to donate large amounts to their schools. The University reported that it raised a record $1.4 billion during the 2007 fiscal year. May said the record fundraising efforts were because the Universi- ty creates a community to draw in potential donors. "Everybody develops those relationships," May said. "Deans do, faculty do, fundraisers do, the president does; all those people and the volunteers are behind the insti- tution that helps raise that money." Wayne State University also had arecord-breakingyearforfundrais- ing. The schooltookin $818 million. David Ripple, Wayne State's associ- ate vice president for development and alumni affairs, said donors rec- ognize the impact Wayne State has on' the state's economy, especially the Detroit area. Charities did not report such positive results. Barbara Willyard, executive director of the Com- munity Foundation for Northeast Michigan, which raises money for civic issues in Michigan, said it was a challenging year for nonprofits and charities like hers. "I don't know what exactly the University of Michigan's secret is See DONATIONS, Page 8 Shawna Stover, a resident adviser in East Quad, answers the phone while RC sophomore Sarah Oas and RC freshman Caro- line Thomas wait for a new room key. Some RAs are upset about being forced to work at dorm front desks. A doctor found not guilty inlecture fracas case TESTING ALASKAN WATER Wi pol The with t interfe medict in the was fou The four an argum Ikerson had been The defense argued that Cath- erine Wilkerson, a physician at the charged with Packard Community Clinic and a protester at the event, was acting as lice interference a physician, not a protester, when she criticized the treatment fellow By JULIE ROWE protester Blaine Coleman received Daily StaffReporter from police and paramedics. Wilkerson and Coleman were Ann Arbor doctor charged protesting at an event sponsored wo counts of attempting to by the American Movement for re with police and emergency Israel. Georgetown University al personnel at an event held Prof. Raymond Tanter discussed Michigan League last year U.S. foreign policy in Iran. Pro- und not guilty last night. testers said that Tanter's speech jury deliberated for about called for military action against nd a half hours after closing Iran, which they opposed. ents ended yesterday. Prosecuting attorney Margaret Connors argued that Wilkerson's actions were an attempt to create chaos during Coleman's arrest, not out of concern for Coleman's safety. "They knew what they were doing," Connors said of Wilkerson and Coleman. "They went there with an agenda; they went there to confront. She was acting as a protester confronting a situation, certainly not as a physician." In his final argument yesterday, Hugh Davis, Wilkerson's attorney, cited Wilkerson's testimony that she was only concerned for Cole- man's safety. Davis argued that Wilkerson's actions saved Cole- man from potentially serious con- sequences. Wilkerson, who was identified by the court as an expert witness on emergency medicine, testified that officers put Coleman at risk for positional asphyxia - a con- dition she says is responsible for many deaths. "I saw someone who was suffer- ing and might have his life at risk," Wilkerson said. Numerous witnesses said Cole- man, lying face down as police handcuffed him, stopped respond- ing and appeared to be uncon- scious. Officer Mark West of the Department of Public Safety said See TRIAL, Page 7 SAM WyL505/Daily Maria Dzul tests ammonia levels in water from Alaskan rivers in the Natural Science Building. The amount of ammonia in a sample indicates where nutrients build up in the rivers. TODAY'S WEATHERw HI: 29 GOT A NEWS TIP? LO: 22 Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. ON Tie DAILY WOGS Schiano not contacted for coaching job MICHIGANDAILY.COM/THEGAME INDEX NEW S................... ....2 CLA SSIFIEDS .........................6 Vol.CXVIII,No.62 OPINION.............................4 SPORTS.................. 9 c2007The M ichiganDaily ARTS S...................... ....,....5 SUDO KU ..... ..,......................9 michigandoily cam s.