till iC i an,4.3a....t. 19 Ann MArbor, Michigan Thursday, October 2i2008 michigandaily.com Michigan businesses struggle to find loans MAX COLLINS/Daily T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire oilman from Texas, spoke to a capacity crowd at the Power Center yesterday, touting his "Pickens Plan," which calls for a reduction in foreign oil dependence. His talk was part of the University's 'green'-themed Homecoming Week. Pikes It'9s about security P " e Y With economy slow, many banks wary of lending, particularly in Great Lakes State By LINDY STEVENS Daily StaffReporter With banks raising lending standards, small business own- ers in Michigan are having a hard time getting loans to start new ventures or expand current ones. V With the University as its eco- nomic stronghold, though, the loan market for small business owners in Ann Arbor remains one of the most promising in the state, lending experts say. Down from 3,297 in 2007, 2;166 small business loans were approved in Michigan during the 2008 fiscal year, according to the U.S. Small Business Admin- istration. Allen Cook, the assis- tant district director of the SBA's Lender Relations Division for the Detroit area, said statewide loan approvals for Michigan's 850,000 small business owners have declined even more in the past month. Cook said the 34 percent decline has to do with the anxi- ety surrounding the proposed $700 billion financial bailout, combined with banks ramping up credit standards. "Things are really kind of uncertain, and that uncertainty means less availability of funds," he said. "It doesn't mean they aren't out there, it just means that it's more of a struggle to get it and that the credit criteria has to be that much stronger." But even though most banks are keeping a closer eye on each loan, Cook said Ann Arbor's strong economy means it's still a place where small-business loans are likely to be approved. "Ann Arbor tendsto be one of the more vibrant economic areas of the state," Cook said. "The University is a strong anchor for the whole area, and generally it has fared better than other parts of the state." Michael Rogers, vice presi- dent of communications for the Small Business Association of Michigan, said Ann Arbor has See LOANS, Page 7A Oilman-turned-alternative energy advocate calls for U.S. to kick foreign oil habit By ELAINE LAFAY Daily StaffReporter T. Boone Pickens made his fortune in oil. Now, he's trying to convince Americans that they need to get less energy from oil and more from sources like wind, solar power and natural gas. The 80-year-old Pickens, invited by the Mich- igan Student Assembly as part of the Univer- sity's 'green'-themed Homecoming Week, said the plan's not about the environment. It's about national and economic security. The United States spends $700 billion a year to import 70 percent of its oil from foreign coun- tries. In July, Pickens, who is the chairman of the hedge fund BP Capital Management, unveiled the "Pickens Plan," which aims to reduce foreign oil consumption by investing in alternative energies like wind, solar and natural gas. With his plan, Pickens wants to build wind farms in the "wind belt" - a strip of land from Texas to Canada - one of the windiest areas in the nation. Pickens added that he'd like to make natural gas - mostly used to fuel power plants - avail- able as transportation fuel by replacing its cur- rent use with wind energy. "Anything we can capture back in the United States will help us, help our economy, it'll help jobs," Pickens told the packed room. "It must be done." Pickens said he would like to implement broad, sweeping change. "100 percent American, zero foreign oil, if I can get it done - I can't," said Pickens, who is also the founder of Mesa Petroleum, the U.S.'s largest independent producer of domestic oil and gas. "I'm not going to get rid of all the foreign oil, See OILMAN, Page 7A Alcohol violations down, report says HORSING AROUND IN THE DIAG Other crime figures flat in latest campus safety handbook By KYLE SWANSON Daily StaffReporter After a steady rise over the past three years, the number of alco- hol violations on campus is on the downturn, according to Univer- sity crimes figures. The annual Campus Safety Handbook, released yesterday by University Police, said 512 alcohol violations were report- ed to the University Police and 440 violations were reported to the Office of Student Conflict Resolution in 2007. In 2006, the handbook showed 616 violations reported to University Police and 930 violations reported to OSCR. If an incident is reported to the University Police, it means an arrest occurred or a citation was issued. If an incident was reported to OSCR, it means dis- ciplinary action was sought, but didn't necessarily result in con- tacting the University Police. If the incident is found to be a true violation of the law, the case can be sent for official arbitration. Often, students can settle OSCR charges through community ser- vice activities. Drug violations also fell over- all, but the number of violations reported to University Police rose from 66 to 79 incidents. University Police Spokes- See REPORTPage 7A MAX COLLINS/Daily Sophomore gymnast Torrance Laury performs on the pommel horse. The men's gymnastics team showed off its skills on the Diag FOR VIDEO OF THE EVENT, VISIT MICHIGANDAILY.COM/VIDEO Student aims to change city MIP laws FUNDING T HE UNIVERSITY Despite fund freeze, U money safe Wachovia move leaves some small colleges in cash crunch By ANDYKROLL Daily News Editor After agreeing on Monday to sell its bank- ing operations to Citigroup, Wachovia Corp. announced that it has frozen the accounts of almost 1,000 colleges that had investments with the financial institution. Among them is the University, which has $25 million of its financial reserves invested in Wachovia's Commonfund, a short-term invest- ment fund, said University spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham in a statement yesterday. Upon agreeing to sell its banking operations, Wachovia resigned as trustee of Commonfund to "provide for an orderly liquidation of the securi- ties in the fund," Cunningham said. As of Wednesday evening, Cunningham said the University had already received a third of its investments - about $8.3 million - in the fund. She added that University officials anticipate receiving the remaining balance as the remain- ing securities in the fund are sold in the coming weeks. According to Cunningham, the University's investments in Commonfund comprise less than one-third of one percent of its total financial reserves. But for smaller colleges with short-term See WACHOVIA, Page 7A DRUG AND ALCOHOL VIOLATIONS 2000 1000 Alcohol Drug violations violations DPS ciaions OSCR citations 2005 2006 2007 SOURCE: DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY Mayoral candidate Plourde says A2 should limit fines for underage drinking By JULIE ROWE DailyStaffReporter LSA junior Eric Plourde says that if he were to become mayor of Ann Arbor, he'd try to make it so University students would be the only college kids in the state who wouldn't have to worry about getting slapped with a misdemeanor and $100 fine for under- age drinking. Plourde, a Libertarian Party candidate for mayor, said he'd like to see the City Council create laws to treat minors between the ages of 18 and 21 in possession of alcohol similar to the way it treats those caught with mari- juana. "People of this age group shouldn't have a problem drinking alcohol legally," Plourde, who is 20, said of those 18 and older. Under Plourde's proposal, 18-year-olds who consume alcohol would be cited with civil infractions rather than misdemeanors. Plourde said he'd like to see the penalty in Ann Arbor be between $5 and $10, with the possibility of larger fines for repeat offenders. See CANDIDATE, Page 7A 0 TODAY'S WEATHER HI: 58 LO: 37 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. ON TE DAILYVBLOGS Explaining the 'freegan' movement THETABLE.BLOGS.MICHIGANDAILY.COM INDEX NEW S 2.................................2A SPO RTS... ...... ..... ....... .A Vol. CXIX, No.23 SUDOKU ............... ....3A CLASSIFIELDS......................6A 02008The Michigan Daily OPINION....... ................4A THE B-SIDE.. .. B michigandaiiycom1B . £ A