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Bidding the word "bitch" farewell
Opinion, Page 4A
ON I NT ) J-rI ,i] ,tIIT YEARS OF' W IT(Y R A ', jEiLO
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, March 10, 2008
michigandaily com
GEO CONT ACT NEOTIATIONS
Union
weighs
strike
options
University could bring in
mediator to help reach
agreement with union
By JACOB SMILOVITZ
Daily Staff Reporter
With three negotiating sessions left and no agree-
ments reached on the most contentious bargaining
points, representatives for the University and the
Graduate Employees' Organization have begun con-
sidering what course of action to take if they haven't
reached a consensus when the extended labor con-
tract for graduate student instructors expires on
March 17.
In discussions last week, the two sides signed four
smaller technical agreements but failed to make
inroads on salary increases or expanded health care
coverage - their stickiest sticky negotiating points.
"We didn't go backwards," said Jeff Frumkin,
senior director of academic human resources and a
member of the University's bargaining team. "But we
didn't go forwards either."
As the windowof time left to reach anew contract
winds down, GEO is beginning to make arrangements
for a possible strike. The union represents graduate
student employees at the University, including gradu-
ate student instructors.
"We're notcalling ita strike, we're calling it a work
stoppage, and we're definitely moving toward that,"
said Colleen Woods, the lead negotiator for GEO and
a History department GSI. "It would be irresponsible
for us not to prepare ourselves for that."
With so few bargaining sessions left and a possible
GSI strike looming, Woods said GEO is focusing its
See CONTRACT, Page 7A
CHANEL VON HABSBURG-LOTHRINGEN/ Daly
Rackham student Adam Hollier, a 22-year-old Detroit native, would be the youngest member of the Ann Arbor Public School Board if he succeeds in capturing a spot in the upcoming election.
Student to run for A2 school board
Although family calls
him 'crazy,' Hollier
promises fresh outlook
By LISA HAIDOSTIAN
Daily News Editor
Maybd it's the short black dread-
locks tucked behind his ears, or the
fact that he's not 50 and doesn't have
children, but it's hard to picture Rack-
ham student Adam Hollier as a mem-
ber of the Ann Arbor Public School
Board - until he starts talking.
As a first-year graduate student
studying urban planning at the Uni-
versity, Hollier is campaigning to join
Ann Arbor's seven-member school
board. The Detroit native, who hopes
to someday be a professor, said he
doesn't view the endeavor as a resume-
booster or a means to an end - unless
that end is improving Ann Arbor's
school system.
"It wasn't like a dream of mine to be
on the school board," said Hollier, who
will face off against incumbent Helen
Gates-Bryant for the spot on May 6.
"It was something where I thought I
could be of use."
He's been campaigning by sitting
down with parent groups and other
community figures and will soon begin
passing out fliers and launch a website
with personal information.
At 22, Hollier would be "by far the
youngest" member on the board if
elected. He said he thinks the age gap
will play to his advantage.
"I think it's really important that I'm
young," he said. "I know what colleges
and universities are looking for - I
know what you need to be prepared, to
be active and to be marketable."
Hollier, a recent graduate of Cornell
University, seems to understand the
formula for success himself. A mara-
thon runner and triathlon athlete,
Hollier was also a volunteer firefighter
and safety on Cornell's football team.
As a co-chair of the Urban Planning
Students Association, Hollier spends
time in Detroit helping a neighbor-
hood association by beautifying the
neighborhood and encouraging other
residents to get involved. But Hollier
said he wants to make an impact closer
to home.
"The Universityof Michigan encour-
ages its students to be very active and
make a difference in their community,
and Ann Arbor's my community," he
said.
Hollier could barely stop to breathe
as he explained what he would like to
See SCHOOL BOARD, Page 3A
To cut health care costs, lawmakers
urge colleges to stop hiring smokers
Ward Connerly's return to
campus sparks protest
One college in
Michigan has already
implemented policy
By DANIEL STRAUSS
Daily StaffReporter
When the presidents of Mich-
igan's three largest research
universities - Michigan State Uni-
versity, the University of Michi-
gan and Wayne State University
- appeared before the state's Sen-
ate Finance Committee last month,
Sen. Tom George (R-Kalamazoo)
suggested to them a simple waythey
could cut down on the state's health
care costs: refuse to hire smokers.
With the state budget strapped
for funds and lawmakers looking
to save money wherever possible,
George asked the three leaders to
not hire smokers as part of a broader
statewide cost-cutting measure.
"Where can universities help us
make the population healthier?"
George said. "I'm not talking build-
ingnew buildings. I'mtalking about
changing the behavior of the state's
population."
Sen. Bill Hardiman (R-Kent-
wood), who has supported George's
request, said the policy could have a
"major impact" on health care costs.
Because smokers' rights are not
protected in Michigan, a ban on hir-
ing smokers is legal, George said in
an interview.
University President Mary Sue
Coleman said she wouldn't consider
a policy that banned the hiring of
smokers. The presidents of Michi-
gan State and Wayne State echoed
Coleman's position.
Coleman told lawmakers that
See SMOKING, Page 8A
IF ANYONE ORDERS MERLOT, I'M LEAVING
Proposal 2 advocate
and BAMN clash at
Law School panel
By GEOFFREY GAURANO
For the Daily
Ward Connerly, the outspo-
ken affirmative action critic who
helped set legislation in motion
that banned affirmative action in
the state of Michigan, spoke at the
Law School this weekend.
A crowd of about 250 students,
activists and professors gathered
in Hutchins Hall Saturday morn-
ing to hear Connerly speak on a
panel that also included Univer-
sity, Law Prof. Sherman Clark
and Yeshiva University Law Prof.
Marci Hamilton.
During the program, called
"Popular Responses to Unpopular
Decisions,"thepanelists discussed
how the public has responded to
legislative decisions like the affir-
mative action ban. Robert Young,
a Michigan Supreme Court jus-
tice, moderated the event.
Connerly's appearance, which
was his first at the University
since the passage of Proposal 2
- a 2006 ballot initiative that
banned the use of race- and gen-
der-based affirmative action at
public institutions in Michigan
- drew a small group of protest-
ers. About 20 members of By Any
Means Necessary, a pro-affirma-
tive action group, protested out-
side before the event. As Connerly
began his opening remarks, some
of those members interrupted
cHANEL VON HABSBURG-LOTHRINGEN/Daily
Ward Connerly, the outspoken critic of affirmative action who spearheaded bans
in states including Michigan, addresses students and professors gathered in
Hutchins Hall on Saturday.
the founder and chairman of the
American - Civil Rights Institute
by shouting over him.
"You can't argue racism and
racist policy in public and get
away with it!" yelled Joyce Schon,
a second-year law student at
Wayne State University and a
BAMN organizer, from her seat.
Despite the interruptions,
Connerly simply continued
speaking. He mentioned the
University when he spoke of his-
displeasure with a 2003 Supreme
Court ruling that allowed the
University to continue using
affirmative action. That decision,
he said, contradicted the 1964
Civil Rights Act.
"Race has no place in American
life or law," Connerly said, quot-
ing President John F. Kennedy.
Everyone should be treated as
equals "without regard to race,
color, or national origin," he said.
Connerly also talked about
his past ballot initiatives in Cali-
fornia and Washington, which
also banned affirmative action in
those states.
Duringthe question and answer
See CONNERLY, Page 3A
Business School student David Giannino (LEFT), a member of the Wolverine Wine Club, talks to wine server Pascal Koyton
(RIGHT) and looks over the wine list during the Wolverine Wine Club's wine and cheese event in Kerrytown Friday.
WEATHER HI: 34
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