Arts, Page 5

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Friday, December 7, 2007

michigandaily.com

INTERNSHIPS
Due
dates
creep
earlier
Deadlines in October
and November put
pressure on students
By JILLIAN BERMAN
Daily Staff Reporter
Deadlines for summer intern-
ships have put many students under
pressure to send out applications
as early as October and Novem-
ber - six or seven months before
their potential jobs are scheduled
to start.
Many University students seek-
ing the perfect internship for next
summer said they were surprised
to find such early deadlines.
LSA junior Thomas Joseph said
an early deadline prevented him
from completing his application for
the Central Intelligence Agency to
the best of his ability. It was due by
Nov.1.
"I personally wasn't prepared
for it," Joseph said. "I sent in some
stuff, but it wasn't my best work."
Joseph said he wasn't sure about
his chances of being offered an
internship because he rushed the
application. He said an internship
at the CIA would have been one
of his top choices, but now he has
been forced to rethink his options.
The U.S. Department of State
offers students positions interning
in Washington, D.C. and its embas-
sies and consulates abroad. But like
the CIA, students have to get their
applications in by Nov. 1.
One reason for the early dead-
lines could be the need to conduct
background checks on students so
they can receive security clearanc-
es. According to an informational
brochure released by the State
Department, it takes about three
or four months to conduct a back-
ground check once students have
been accepted for internships.
But in many industries, com-
panies have pushed back their
internship deadlines to help them
compete for the best applicants.
Some media organizations, like
Newsweek, have deadlines as early
as Oct. 31.
Xavier Williams, a recruiting
coordinator for The Associated
Press, said stiff competition for tal-
ent in the journalism field was the
organization's reason for moving
its deadline to Nov.15.
It's a collective action problem,
Williams said. Once some organi-
zations move their dates forward
to get a jump-start on the field of
applicants, the rest have to follow
See DEADLINES, Page 7

Grad union
starts talks
with 'U'

be

wi
sched
negot
ate Ei
the I
earne
Me
repre
stude
tants
a pre
priori
Unive

GEO wants SELECTED ELEMENTS OF
.ie pTHE GEO PLATFORM
hig er pay,Wage inceasesand annual
tter health care e No insurance premiumsor increase
in co-paysfor GradCare health insurance
program
By GABE NELSON * Enhanced coveragetfortmental health
Daily News Editor care under GradCare
e Access to healthcare benefits during
th the group's contract the summer
luled to expire in March, 9 Elimination oftthe "ten-term rule,"
:iations between the Gradu- which limits many graduate students to
mployees Organization and receivingfinancial aid for ten terms
University have begun in ! The creation of a parental leave-of-
st. absence program
mbers of the union, which 0 Increased child-care subsidies
sents about 1,700 graduate * A "designated beneficiary" program
nt instructors and staff assis- covering either same-sexor different-sex
at the University, delivered partners
sentation about the group's 0 Equal per-hour compensation for
ties for a new contract to graduate students working different
rrsity human resources offi- appointment fractions

cials in a meeting at the Michigan
Union yesterday afternoon.
Rackham student Colleen
Woods, CEO's lead negotiator and
a history GSI, said the group is
focused on compensation, access
and equality. She said GEO's
three main goals in the contract
negotiations are to receive a liv-
ing wage, low-cost accessible
health care and enhanced child-

care and parental support.
According to data provided by
GEO, the average GSI working
20 hours per week earns $15,199
over the course of the academic
year - about $800 less than the
$15,980 itcosts for a graduate stu-
dent withoutdependentsto live in
Ann Arbor for the year, according
See GEO, Page 7


A student spins a dreidel on Ingalls Mall last night as part of an attempt sponsored by the University of Michigan Hillel to
break the world record for dreidels spun at once. The record, 602 dreidels, was set Wednesday at the University of Mary-
land at College Park. Despite the efforts of Ann Arborites and students, Maryland hangs on to the record.
n Hanukkah, Hillel takes
a spin at a world record

Despite 490 people spinning
dreidels at once on Ingalls Mall,
group falls short
By KATHERINE MITCHELL
Daily StaffReporter
Almost 500 people huddled together on Ingalls
Mall last night. Hunched over pieces of newspaper
in small circles, students and area residents cheered
as the countdown began: "3, 2, 1, spin!"
Four hundred ninety people spun their dreidels.
But it was not enough. Their attempt to set a world
record had failed.
The University of Michigan Hillel hosted a dreidel
spin-off last night in hopes of breaking a Guinness
World Record for the most dreidels spun at once.
Although the University fell short of the record
- 602 dreidels, set on Wednesday by the University
of Maryland at College Park - organizers put a posi-
tive spin on the event.

"I think it was a really great success," said LSA
junior Melissa Morof, who organized the spin-off.
"I'm really happy with the way the event went."
The University of Michigan joined the Universi-
ty of Maryland and Indiana University in attempts
at breaking the world record this week. Before
Maryland broke the record on Wednesday, Temple
Emmanuel, a synagogue in Cherry Hill, N.J., set the
record in 2005 by spinning 541 dreidels simultane-
ously.
The official Guinness World Records rules stipu-
late that each person may only spin one dreidel and
the dreidels must spin simultaneously for 10 sec-
onds.
To keep an official count for Guinness, Hillel vol-
unteers registered people by number. Of the 490
participants, about 360 pre-registered online and
about 130 registered on the spot.
After pinning pieces of paper to their shirts like
marathon runners, participants were given com-
plimentary dreidels. Morof said she brought 1,300
dreidels to the event.
See DREIDELS, Page 7

Art and Design juniors Emily Cromwell and Hind Abdul-Jabbar make and sell
corn tortillas and cortido, an El Salvadorian coleslaw, at the School of Art and
Design yesterday. The food was made from local organic ingredients.
Local food could reverse
state's economic woes

Student government averts election do-over.

We]
Stu

b glitch lets some for conducting the online election,
gave the new results to Bouchard
dents vote in too yesterday.
If ITCS hadn't been able to do
many races filter the votes, the results would
have been invalid and the election
would have been held again.
By SCOTT MILLS Bouchard said the flaw was
Daily StaffReporter a result of a misunderstanding
between ITCS and himself about
results of last week's student which students could vote in which
ment elections will stand. Michigan Student Assembly repre-
tion Director Ryan Boucha- sentative race.
eLived word yesterday that He said such a situation can
ble votes, cast because of a be avoided in future elections by
the voting website, could be improvingcommunicationbetween
I out of the election results. the election director and ITCS.
ation Technology Central The new results do not differ
s, which was responsible greatly from those released Satur-

day. They do, however, raise a few
questions.
Rackham student Oshmi Dutta
was elected as the School of Den-
tistry representative on MSA with
one vote, but he was only eligible
to vote for Rackham races. Nei-
ther MSA Compiled Code nor the
assembly's constitution make clear
whether a student can hold a seat
on MSA for which they are not eli-
gible to vote.
The School of Pharmacy had
three candidates vying for its one
seat on MSA, but none received
any eligible votes. As a result, the
school will not be represented on
the assembly.
Additionally, there is a six-way

tie for the School of Music repre-
sentative seat, with each candi-
date receiving one vote. Those still
interested in the seat will be able to
make a case for themselves in front
of MSA next week, and the assem-
bly will choose one to represent the
school.
MSA Rep. Tim Hull noticed the
flaw - which allowed Rackham
students to vote for more than just
Rackham's seats on the assembly
- when the original results were
released over the weekend, and
brought it to the Central Student
Judiciary. After reviewing the new
results yesterday, CSJ gave MSA
the go-ahead to bring the new rep-
resentatives on board.

Group wants you to
buy from Mich.
businesses
By MICHAEL COULTER
Daily StaffReporter
Many economists and politi-
cians have sought ways to reverse
the slumping Michigan economy.
The answer, says Livonia resident
Lisa Diggs, is in your shopping
bag.
In her travels across the United
States, LivoniaresidentLisa Diggs
noticed that many thriving states
have benefited from a strong
agricultural base. She realized
that a resurgence in dedication to

agriculture could help revitalize
Michigan's economy.
Determined to turn Michigan
around, Diggs started buymichi-
gannow.com last month in an
effort to push Michigan residents
to purchase locally-grown prod-
ucts, including produce. Diggs
said supporting local farms and
businesses will be the key to
stimulating the state's struggling
economy.
That could mean something
as small as making an effort to
buy Michigan apples in the fall or
Michigan cherries and strawber-
ries in the summer.
"No one really thinks about it,"
Diggs said. "We need to look in
the mirror to see what we can do
See PRODUCE, Page 7

The
govern
Elec
rd rec
ineligib
flaw in
filtered
Inform
Service


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