BUCKEYES BOUNCED STAMPFL: BETTER THAN BEFORE
Men's hoops beats OSU for third straight victory Why graduation should be on the Diag next year, too
SportsMonday Opinion, Page 4A
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Monday, February 18, 2008
michigandaily.com
CENTER: FILE PHOTO; LEFT AND RIGHT: JEREMYTCHO/Da
The City of Ann Arbor began cracking down on trash violations in 2002. Over the past three years, the number of citations has more than quadrupled as a result.
Near campus, a dirty war over garbage
As city cracks down on lawn trash, some say Ann Arborites use policy to target students
'U' prof
loses bid
for Czech
presidency
Svejnar will return to Ann Arbor,
but might consider another run
in home country
By JULIE ROWE
Daily StaffReporter
Although Ross School of Business Prof. Jan Svejnar
was narrowly defeated by incumbent Vaclav Klaus for
the presidency of the Czech Republic last Friday, Sve-
jnar said he considers his showinga "major success."
Initially the election's underdog, Svejnar gained
support from a significant number of parliament
emembers with varied pclitical affiliations.
Friday's election marked the Czech parliament's
second attempt to choose a presi-
dent. In the first election, held
Feb. 8 and 9, neither candidate had
the 140 votes necessary to hold a
majority. During that election,
Klaus received 139 votes and Sve-
jnar received 113.
The second time around, two
Svejnar supporters changed their SVEJNAR
allegiances, leavingKlaus with 141
votes to Svejnar's 111.
Many Czech officials, including Svejnar, said they
believe the two parliament members received a "sig-
nificant monetary payoff" to support the incumbent.
Svejnar said part of the reason he ran was to com-
bat rampant bribery in the Czech government.
"There was an incredible amount of pressure tac-
tics and corruption," Svejnar said. "What we have
done is, I think, contributed in a major way to the
progress of the young democracy that exists here."
After he finishes his sabbatical, Svejnar plans to
return to his position at the University. In addition
to his post at the Business school, Svejnar is also the
director ofthe International Policy Center in the Ford
School of Public Policy and an Economics professor
in LSA.
Klaus'victorywas not unexpected, but Svejnar held
widespread support witl4 citizens and legislators.
Svejnar beganhis run as the candidate of the Green
Party, which accounts for just 2 percent of the par-
liament. As he campaigned, though, Svejnar slowly
gained the support of most of the Czech Republic's
many political parties, including the Social Demo-
cratic Party, which nominated him for president.
The majority party - the right-wing Civic Demo-
cratic Party - which controls 45 percent of parlia-
ment, supported Klaus.
See ELECTION, Page 3A
By SARA LYNNE THELEN yard slap
Daily StaffReporter the city.
"We a
Dan Kovel, an LSA senior who were gon
lives on East University Avenue, Kovel'
was tired of getting trash violations who fee]
from the city. studentI
The LSA senior and his house- violation
mates, who routinely hosted tail- Ann P
gates outside their house before recently
football games last season, decided campus
it wasn't worth it to party outside Vaughn
the house before the Ohio State - "prob
game. They worried that doing it number
would draw another fine. receives,
Now, the housemates laugh, But man
recalling the result of that experi- that, in s
ment. They came home from the drawn f
game to find their nearly-empty spotless.
A FINED MESS WE'RE IN
300
200
100
2004 2005 2006 2007
YEAR
SOURCE: ANN ARBOR POLICE DEPARTMENT
pped with a $750 fine from
lmost did it just to prove we
na get one," Kovel said.
is just one of many students
Is the city unfairly targets
housing when giving trash
IS.
Arbor Mayor John Hieftje
called specific streets on
- East University Avenue,
Street and State Street
lem" areas because of the
of complaints the city
about trash on those blocks.
ty student residents claim
ome cases, their yards have
ines even when they were
"They're going out of the
to try to screw us over," sa:
senior Nathan Wicker, one o
el's housemates.
City records show that th,
ber of citations issued has inc
each year since 2004, when 6
tions were issued. In 2007, 26
tions were given.
During each of those yea
number of violations was 1
during football season. The n
of citations nearly doubled,
the fall months between 20
2007.
The city cracked down ot
in 2002, adopting a more st
set of codes and violations cal
Clean Communities program
ir way Hieftje said he developed the
id LSA stricter codes when he got tired of
f Kov- taking walks on Sunday mornings
to seeyards where "you couldn't
e num- even see the ground." He said he
reased intended to improve the living envi-
i2 cita- ronment for students.
i6 cita- "My motivation was to help the
residents of these neighborhoods
.rs, the not have to live with these kind of
highest conditions," he said.
umber The penalties for yard trash are
during $100 or more for the first ticket,
06 and between $250 and $500 forthe sec-
ond and up to $1,000 for each addi-
n trash tional violation within the same.
ringent two-year period. The exact amount
led the of each ticket is left to the discretion
See TRASH, Page SA
THE COST OF TRASH
How much Ann Arbor trash violations cost
First offense: $100+
Second offense: $250-500
Additionaloffenses: $1000 maximum
"We just don't feel
that young boys can
maintain a
historic house."
- Ann Arbor resident Cynthia Nixon
STUDENT CHIlD CARE
THE INTERNATIONAL UNVERSITY
PEACEFUL PROTEST
Policy gives more leave to Coleman to use Africa trip to
grad students with babies
develop more joint programs
Rackham seeks to
relieve twin burdens
of classes, kids
By BETH WITTENSTEIN
Daily Staff Reporter
In an effort to help graduate
students with children balance the
demands of schoolwork and rais-
ing a child, the Rackham Graduate
School has passed a policy granting
time off to new parents.
The Graduate Student Paren-
tal Accommodation Policy, open
to both male and female students,
is open to those who are adopt-
ing children under the age of six
or those expecting the birth of a
child. It gives graduate students a
six-week leave period with light-
ened deadlines and expectations so
new parents can take more time to
be with their children.
Darlene Ray-Johnson, director
of Graduate Student Affairs, said
the policy was originally drafted a
year ago and officiallytookeffectat
the end of January.
Johnson said she spoke with
focus groups consisting of students
and program staff to understand
student and staff concerns about
balancing education and parent-
ing.
Four focus groups agreed that
Rackhamneeded a universal policy
to accommodate graduate student
parents. Johnson said they felt six
weeks would give parents enough
time to adjust to raising a new child
while minimizing the interruption
to class work.
To be eligible, parents must use
the six-week leave immediately fol-
lowing their child's birth or adop-
tion.
Rackham student Annie Hesp,
whose first child is due nextmonth,
said in an e-mail interview that the
new policy would be helpful.
"For me, this policy provides
peace of mind," she said. "Simply
by having a written policy, it means
that I know what kind of support
See POLICY, Page 3A
Two-week visit will
mirror U president's
2005 trip to China
By CHARLES GREGG-GEIST
Daily StaffReporter
While many University stu-
dents plan to head home or fly to
the beach for spring break, which
starts Friday, University President
Mary Sue Coleman will travel to
Ghana and South Africa to devel-
op joint programs between the
University of Michigan and Afri-
can institutions.
Gary Krenz, Coleman's spe-
cial counsel, said Coleman plans
to meet with the president of
Ghana, the American ambassador
to Ghana, the king of the Ghana-
ian Asante Tribe, and top officials
at eight universities in Ghana and
South Africa during her two-week
stay. She will be accompanied by
Krenz and a delegation of 12 Uni-
versity professors and administra-
tors on the trip.
The trip is being funded almost
entirely through undesignated
private donations made to the
University of Michigan's general
fund, Krenz said.
The delegation has four main
goals: to improve health care
systems following the World
Health Organization's guide-
lines, increase the availability of
health-related resources through
the Internet, strengthen faculty
expertise at African Universities
and study how African institutions
preserve local heritage. Coleman
will deliver three lectures during
the triyS.
Ghana and South Africa were
selected for the visit because they
are the two South African coun-
tries where the University's pres-
ence is the greatest, Krenz said.
Coleman plans to meet with
students studying in the Univer-
sity of Michigan's study abroad
program at the University of Cape
Town during her visit and renew
the contract with the school,
Krenz said. She will also award
See TRIP, Page 3A
I mW W
CHANEL VON HABSBURG-LOTHRINGEN/Daily
A few minutes aftera rally against the war in Iraq concluded at the center of
campus Friday, a protester rests her sign on the bricks in the center of the Diag.
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