(A .NE-HUNDE)-EIGHTEEN YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDDM

Ann Arbor, Mih gan

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

michigandaily.com

M'needs more time, not hype
know you were excited
for Michigan coach Rich
Rodriguez's first game Sat-
urday. I know because you
helped fill Michiga Stadium 30A
minutes before kickoff Last year
that only happened for Ohio State.
And I don't buy that it was be-
cause the Athletic Department
urged fans to
arive early
because of the
construction.
You wanted
to see the new
Michigan be-
cause of ev-
erything you DAN
heard this off- FELDMAN
season.
Rodriguez
is daring. A
fake punt call in the fourth quarter
of the Sugar Bowl in 2006 helped
his West Virginia team beat highly
favored Georgia.
The spread offense is unstop-
pable. Defenses could never figure
out all the formations and options.
Director of strength and con-
ditioning Mike Barwis is a wolf-
raising madman who can turn fat
into muscle by simply staring at it
hard enough. The players are prac-
tically robots now.
No more conservative, predict-
able plays run by plodding players,
right?
How did being daring go?
Instead oftakinggoinginto half-
time down 15-10, Rodriguez tried
to drive 60 yards in a minuteand
34 seconds by throwing downfield
with redshirt sophomore quarter-
back Nick Sheridan. By that point,
everyone in the stadium figured
out Sheridan couldn't throw deep,
but Rodriguez tried anyway..
Utah cornerback Sean Smith'
predictably intercepted a pass that
floated downfield just waiting to
be picked. The Utes used great
field position to score and expand
their lead to 22-10 at the break.
How about the complicated
spread offense?
Michigan averaged just 3.22
yards per play Saturday. Since 1999 RODRIGO GAYA/Daily
(as far back as NCAA has stats Quarterback Steven Threet and Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez ook on from the sideline during Michigan's 25-23 loss to Utah
See FELDMAN, Page 11A Saturday. The game marked the beginning of the Rodriguez era.

* CAMPAIGN 2008*
Young GOP
members
aim to liven
up the party

As party struggles,
Republicans try to
I -I nm l] d- o

can" - and hopes to remake it
to tackle the issues facing young
Americans.

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These
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exits,
is poi
ailing
brand
bemoo

Luse new w es UPGRADING THE PARTY
-OF DIAL-UP
By ANDY KROLL Soren Dayton, co-founder
Daily NewsEditor of the popular blog The Next
Right, is a driving force within
PAUL, Minn. (UWIRE) - this resurgent Republican move-
ts of thousands of Repub- ment.
descend on St. Paul and Dayton, along with fellow
eapolis for the Republican bloggers Jon Henke and Patrick
nal Convention, - before Ruffini, created The'Next Right
lies a week of speeches, because of his dissatisfaction
corporate parties, star- with the conservative media
ed panels and otherwise and what he calls its lack of real
op revelry. reporting.
as these loyal Republicans "The conservative media for a
ate all that is'great about variety of reasons is focused on
beloved Party, they will opinions more thanlacts," Day-
'et a first-hand glimpse of ton explained. "And what I mean
ew divide growing within by that is the people that head
and Ole Party. the conservative magazines and
the one hand, there is the stuff like that are opinion writ-
ar old guard - the "coun- ers."
ub" Republicans, clad in The goal of The Next Right,
blazers, khaki pants and he continued, is to provide that
ed loafers, small golden in-depth research and factual
ants pinned to their lapels. information for conservatives,
are the Party faithfuls with the hope that they will
ance dominated the ranks "convert facts into activism and
Republican Party. what people should do in the
w, however, with the Bush world."
nistration headed for the Dayton also believes the GOP
a new, youth-driven GOP as a whole needs to be brought up
sed to take control of the to speed in the new technologies
Republican brand - a used in political organizing - an
Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) upgrade he said is clearest seen
aned was "in the trash See GOP, Page 9A


ALCOHOL POLICY

DORM RENOVATIONS

OBAMA SPEAKS IN MICHIGAN

Coleman hasn'tjoined push Mosher-Jordan, Hill

to return drinking age to 18
129 college leaders PRESIDENTSCALLING FOR
have signed petition REFORM TO NATION'S
advocating reform DRINKING LAWS
in alcohol laws Below aresome of the college presi-
dents and chancellors who have
By LINDY STEVENS signed on to the Amethyst Initiative,
Daily StaffReporter a petition to lower the drinking age
from 21to 18 in order to crub under-
On any given night in Ann Arbor, age binge drinking, in total, 129
thousands of college students cram schools have signed on.
into dorm rooms, bars, and house
parties for the hallowed campus 0 President James E. Wright,
diversion of recreational drinking. Dartmouth College
Though adults must be 21 to " President Richard Brodhead,
drink alcohol throughout the Unit- Duke University
ed States, binge drinking remains " President William Brody,
rampant on college campuses. Johns Hopkins University
With a key government policy re- s President E. Gordon Gee,
lated to the drinking age up for re- Ohio State University
newal next year, more than100 col- " Chancellor Nancy Cantor,
lege presidents have signed onto a Syracuse University
new petition urging lawmakers to " President Lawrencet. Bacow,
reconsider the country's alcohol Tufts University
laws. " Chancellor William E. Kirwan,
Twenty-five years ago, Congress University System of Maryland
passed the National Minimum " President Eric R. Gilbertson,
Drinking Age Act, which drove Saginaw Valley State University
Mevery U.S. state to raise the legal
drinking age from 18 to 21.
John McCardell, president FOR MORE INFORMATION...
emeritus of Middlebury College in Including the full text of the initiative
Vermont and the petition's creator, see www.michigandaily.com.
See DRINKING LAWS, Page 11A

Dining Center show
future of housing

Dorm reopens with
'marketplace'
dining hall after
$65-million project
By JILLIAN BERMAN
Daily StaffReporter
The days of bland casseroles
are slowly coming to a close at
the University's dining halls,
starting with the new Hill Din-
ing Center, which opened last
week.R
The dining center, the cen-
terpiece of the newly renovated
Mosher-Jordan Residence Hall,
offers students "marketplace-
style" dining, with stations serv-
ing stone-oven pizza, grilled
sandwiches and rotating inter-
national dishes.'
LSA freshman Michael Bull
said he likes the Hill Dining Cen-
ter so much that he regularly eats
there instead of at Markley Hall,
where he lives.
"This is amazing compared to

the Markley cafeteria," he said.
"The Markley cafeteriais noth-
ing compared to this."
The two-year, $65-million
renovation to Mosher-Jordan is
the first large-scale project com-
pleted under the Residential Life
Initiatives, an effort to reorga-
nize campus dining and modern-
ize residence halls.
Housing officials have said
they plan to move toward a sys-
tem with fewer cafeterias, in
part to curtail rising costs, while
serving more students and offer-
See MOJO, Page 9A

ZACHvAYMERE/Daily
In one of his first appearances following his historic presidential nomination,
Barack Obama speaks to a crowd of supporters in Detroit Monday. More than
10,000 came out to hear the Illinois Democrat speak. FOR MORE,SEE PAGE 7A


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