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Friday, September 26, 2008

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CAMPUS HOUSING
Withhome
prices low,.
some opt to
buy, not rent
Parents hope to save on rent,
re-sell homes at a profit
By LINDY STEVENS
Daily StaffReporter
When the faucet leaks or the sink backs up in
their two-bedroom condominium, Engineering
S senior Chris Mikulski calls his landlord just like
everyone else. In his case, though, Mikulski's
landlords are also the people he calls mom and
dad.
With area home values dropping, many parents
may be tempted to snag a piece of prime campus
real estate for their kids. And despite the fact that
the investment can be risky, reaitors argue that
bargain prices and high demand for Ann Arbor
housing make it worth the risk.
For some, buying a dingy student home with
a $200,000 price tag isn't out of the question
- especially if it's near central campus. The
opportunity to invest in prime real estate is an
attractive option for a select few when compar-
ing it to paying monthly rent for their kids.
Until the economy improves; though, some
property-owning parents might have to keep
their campus accommodations for longer than it
takes their kids to graduate. Dennis Capozza, a
finance professor in the Ross School of Business
who specializes in real estate, said it typically
takes five or six years to recoup the costs of buy-
ing a home when property values are increasing
with the rate of inflation. -
With local property values depreciating,
Capozza said, a short-term purchase makes less
sense now than it did a year ago.
"The economy is in the middle of a financial
crisis, probably going into a recession or worse,"
he said. "And it just doesn't make any sense to
See HOUSING, Page 7A

GRANHOLM'S 'GREEN' PUSH

In speech kicking off
conference, governor
says renewable energy
will help revive Mich.
ByTREVORCALERO
Daily Staff Reporter
The answer to Michigan's economic
woes lies inthe state's natural resources,
Gov. Jennifer Granholm said yesterday
to kick off a two-day environmental law
conference. She said one of Michigan's
greatest economic opportunities is to
bolster the state's alternative energy
industry.
Granholm opened the Environmen-
tal Law and Policy Program's inaugu-
ral conference by paying tribute to six
University faculty members and two
graduate students for their work with
the IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate
Change, a group of scientists thatshared
the 2007 Nobel Prize with former Vice
President Al Gore.
In the speech at the Law School's
Honigman Auditorium, Granholm said
Michiganneeds touse its naturalresourc-
es to generate alternative and renewable
energy sources. She said doing so would
create a new industry for the state and
help to revive its struggling economy.
"If you're the CEO of a company,
you're going to try to figure out what it
is that makes you competitive," she said.
"So what does Michigan have?"
Her answer: water, wind, woods
and waste - all of which Michigan has
plenty of, she said. The state has more
than 12,000 inland lakes and the longest
freshwater shoreline in the world. And
because Michigan is surrounded by four
of the five great lakes, the wind generat-
ed from the shoreline provides the state
with another viable option for alterna-
tive energy, she said.
In an annual report released earlier
this month, the University Research Cor-
ridor - a research coalition between the
University, Michigan State University
and Wayne State University - found that
biomass waste and wind are the state's

SAM WOL
Gov. Jennifer Granholm, speaking in Honigman Auditorium yesterday, opened the Environmental Law and Policy Program's conference.

two most abundant energy sources.
The URC is currently working to devel-
op alternative energy technologies in line'
with Granholm's strategy. Some projects
include developing solar cells and biomass
and biodisel conversion technologies.
Granholm commended the Michigan
House of Representatives for passing a
comprehensive, long-term energy plan
last April, saying it was a significant step
for the Michigan to create a new market

for alternative sources of energy.
"In order to create a market, you have
to create a policy framework," she said.
As part of the energy plan, the state
pledged to obtain 10 percentof its energy
from renewable sources by 2015 - some-
thing Granholm said was necessary to
draw energy companies to Michigan.
Granholm also highlighted how the
energy plan would encourage Michigan
residents toinstallsolar panels

and small windturbinesto their homes; in
order to generate their own energy.
"If you want to install that and gener-
ate your own renewable energy, and you
generate enough so that it's more than
you can use," she said. "You can sell that
back to the grid."
Touching on the conference's topic,
"An Environmental Agenda for the Next
Administration", Granholm said the next
See GRANHOLM, Page 7A


DINING NEAR CAMPUS
With Chipotle close to opening,
campus burrito wars heat up
Ranks of Mexican WRAP BATTLE
joints near campus °C i
have swollen in To a
recent years Sao
Salsaritas Fresh
Cantina
By CAITLIN SCHNEIDER
Daily Staff Reporter
Rio Wraps
y S. JiesesityhAve
The already hotly contested bat- Msv
tle for best burrito on campus will
heat up again next month with the
opening of a new Chipotle restau-
rant on State Street. HillSr. Panchern's cTn
' Chipotle, a national burrito M
chain with more than 700 locations
nationwide, plans to hold a "Free

Students, some Muslim and some not, break a Ramadan fast in West Quad. The event raised $1,300 for charity.
A sundown, fast friends

Students, only some
Muslim, break fast
together at charity
'Fast-a-thon'
By CHARLES GREGG-GEIST
Daily StaffReporter
At exactly 7:28 p.m. yesterday,
right at sundown, about 300 people
gathered in West Quad's Wedge
* Room bit into a dried date. For most
of the group, the fruit was the first
thing to pass through their lips
since just after 6 that morning.
Muslims traditionally break
their fast on dates during the holy

month of Ramadan, when they
don't eat or drink from sunup until
sundown. But for one night, non-
Muslims fasted with them as part
of a fundraiser sponsored by the
Muslim Student Association.
During the event, called Fast-a-
thon, students of all backgrounds
pledge not to eat or drink from
dawn to dusk for one day. Three
hundred and seventy-seven non-
Muslims registered to participate
this year.
MSA asks local. businesses and
alumni to donate money, with
all proceeds going to a local food
bank. This year, the event raised
about $1,300 for Food Gatherers, a
food bank that serves Washtenaw
County.

"You've provided food for about
1,000 meals," Kate MacEwen,
director of the annual fund for
Food Gatherers, told the crowd.
"That's fantastic."
LSA senior Sarah Jukaku, this
year's Fast-a-thon chair, said it was'
the largest sum ever raised for the
food bank by a student organiza-
tion.
Engineering freshman Kristen
Hinkle, who isn't a Muslim, said
knowing her fasting would help a
good cause made itceasier to endure.
"I guess because I told myself
I had to fast, it wasn't as bad as I
thought it was going to be," she
said. "I just had to tell myself that
I was doing it for a good cause, and
See FASTING, Page 3A

Burrito Day" Oct. 2 and officially
open the next day. Itjoins a slew of
Ann Arbor eateries offering afford-
able south-of-the-border-inspired
cuisine, includingQdoba, BTB Bur-
rito, The Burrito Joint, Panchero's,
Taco Bell, Tios and Rio Wraps.
Ann Arbor's burgeoning burrito
bull market, which has grown rap-
idly over the last five years, shows
no signs of slowing.
"When we opened BTB in 2004,
it was just us and Panchero's," said
Adam Lowenstein, owner and
founder of BTB. "Ever since, it's
justbeennewplace after new place
after new place. That's been the
trend across the country, I guess."
Lowenstein said the new-found
popularity of burrito restaurants
stemslargelyfromthepublic'sdesire
for a healthier type of fast food.
"It's a lot better for you than
pizza or a burger, and I think that's

Ass Arbtr
burrito
restaurant

TNe urrto nnt

kind ofthe direction the country has
moved in - wanting fast food that's
also healthy," Lowenstein said.
Megan. McCully, a manager at
The Burrito Joint, said the height-
ened demand might show that stu-
dents want to break the monotony
of fast food.
"It gives you a little variety,"
she said. "I think people get tired
of eating the same thing everyday.
It's something different."
Ross School of Business senior
Danny Leonard, a self-described
burrito enthusiast, said he's excited
about Chipotle's newlocation. Once

GRAPHICS BY ALLISON GH MAN/Daily
it opens, no longer will he have to
make his usual trek to the Chipotle
on Washtenaw Avenue, farther off
campus, for aburrito fix.
"It has the best ingredients and
the best preparation,"he said.
Any economic major will tell you
that competition is a good thing
for students who want a quesadilla
or chips with queso. On campus, a
chicken burrito consistently goes
for about $5.50, with allrestaurants
callingtheirs the biggest andbest.
In a crowded market with so
many restaurants offering similar
See RESTAURANTS, Page 7A


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