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Thursday, October 9, 2008

michigandaily.com

* CAMPAIGN 2008 *
Mich. GOP
in spat after
McCain
withdrawal
'U' student among former
McCain staffers in hot water for
taking campaign literature
By TREVOR CALERO
Daily StaffReporter
Four former employees of the Michigan Republican
Party, including one University student, were threat-
ened with arrest Monday after allegedly attempting
to steal 300,000 pieces of campaign literature from
the Michigan GOP's Oakland County headquarters in
Farmington Hills.
More than 30 Michigan GOP staffers were laid off
Friday after John McCain's presidential campaign
pulled its resources out of the state.
LSA senior Justin Zatkoff, the chairman of the
Michigan Federation of College Republicans, and
Scott Greenlee, the state's deputy campaign director,
were among employees laid off.
Zatkoff and Greenlee said they were offered paid
positions in other states but decided to stay in Michi-
gan as unpaid volunteers.
"I'd rather not take a paycheck and stay here in
Michigan to help build the grassroots here," said Zat-
koff, who is taking asemester off to work for the GOP.
Zatkoff said he decided the best way to support
that cause was to help distribute boxes of McCain
campaign literature to grassroots leaders throughout
the state. They were ultimately forced to return the
literature, officials said.
Michigan Republican Party spokesman Bill Nowl-
ing said Greenlee did not contact them about moving
the material, and since they were no longer employ-
ees, they were not authorized to distribute it.
"What we told them when we called was they are no
longer employees of the Michigan Republican Party,"
Nowling said. "What they were moving was Michigan
Republican Party property."
Greenlee said one of the biggest complaints he
hears from county headquarters around the state is
not having enough literature.
Knowing there were 300,000 pieces of campaign
literature at the Farmington Hills office, which Zat-
koff said were "collecting dust," the employees tried
to make use of those materials, he said.
Greenlee said he contacted the McCain Regional
Campaign Manager, Jennifer Hallowell, to ask if he
could distribute the material to Victory Centers -
McCain campaign offices - around the state.
Hallowell responded by giving Greenlee permis-
sion to distribute the material, he said.
See CAMPAIGN, Page 7A

THE ECONOMY AND STUDY ABROAD
Students
turn to
lands less
traveled
With dollar weak, economy
struggling, low-cost countries
get influx of bargain-seekers
By LINDY STEVENS
Daily StaffReporter
With the recent tumult in the U.S. economy and the
value of the U.S. dollar atits lowest levels in decades,
a growing number of American college students have
begun to change their study abroad plans and look
beyond traditional European destinations.
Offering better exchange rates and cheaper travel
costs, countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America
have grown in popularity among University students
during recentyears.
Between academic years 2005-2006 and 2006-
2007, the most recent years for which statistics were
available, the number of University students traveling
to China jumped from 53 to 135, from 26 to 39 in South
Africa, and from 12 to 39 in Brazil, according to the
Office of International Programs.
Indicativeof a larger national trend, the shift on
campus represents a growing interest in countries
that have traditionally been less traveled by American
college students.
According to data from the Institute of Interna-
tional Education, students traveling to "non-tradi-
tional countries," increased dramatically in 2007. The
IE reported a 31-percent increase among students
traveling to the Middle East, a 26-percent increase to
Asia, a 19-percent increase to Africa and a 14-percent
increase to Latin America.
Jessica Angelson, public affairs manager for IIE,
said part of that shift could be attributed to the
increased costs associated with travelingto more tra-
ditional European locations.
"Because the value of the dollar has been unreli-
able, students in addition to, I think, being savvier
about their budget when they go to more traditional
locations, are seeing that their dollar goes a lot fur-
ther in these non-traditional destinations," Angelson
said.
Nicole LeBlanc, assistant director of the OIP,
said the unfolding financial crises in the U.S. and
around the world have added another dimension to
the mix of considerations that come with traveling
See ABROAD, Page 7A

Students experiment with the Microsoft Surface, which costs about $10,000 and functions using a giant touch screen.
While the coffee-table sized device is unavailable to everyday consumers, it's been sold to hotels and casinos.
Miecrosoft tech guru
offers look at future

Mundie: computers
will soon respond
to human behavior
By KYLE SWANSON
Daily StaffReporter
Microsoft's chief research and
strategy officer told students yes-
terday that computers will be
able to adapt to users' preferenc-
es and behaviors automatically in

five years time.
Talking about the future of
technology, Craig Mundie drew
about 300 University students
and staff to The Stamps Audi-
torium. His visit to the Uni-
versity was part of a five-day,
five-university tour designed
to provide insight into how
technology will direct the
nation's path.
During his talk, Mundie
demonstrated several tech-
nology prototypes that he
expects will be in production

in five years. He introduced
the Microsoft Surface, a coffee
table-sized device that allows a
user to set laptops, cell phones
or MP3 players on the approxi-
mately 30-inch touch screen
and manipulate files from one
device to another.
Mundie said the device would
be "somewhat pricey," - about
$10,000 - but he expects that it
will someday be a standard piece
of furniture. He said he expects
a major shift in the way comput-
See MICROSOFT, Page 7A

U. OF MICHIGAN RANKED HIGH IN WORLD RANKINGS NEW ENGLAND LITERATURE PROGRA

The Unvesity of Michigan wasonamed
the nation'stoppublic universityand the
world's18th-best university in a new setoft
rankings released yesterday.
The London-based Times Higher Educa-
tion created the rankings, which were based
on surveys doneby thousandsof professors
and job recruiters, the number oftacademic
papers cited and student-faculty ratios at
the institution.
The U.S. was the most-represented
nation in the rankings, landing 58 schools
on a list oft200. Great Britain, with 29
schools on the list, was second.
The Ivy League placedfourschools

-- Harvard University, Yale University,
Princeton Unersityand Columbia niver-
sity -in front oftMichigan.Among other
American institutions ranking higher were
the University oftChicago, Duke University
and Stanford University.
Michigan jumped 20 spots fromthe
2007 edition, in which it was ranked 38th.
The lofty position is a departure from
Michigan's place in the better-known U.S.
News and World Report rankings, which
tabbed the University as the 26th-best
school in America. On that list, the Uni-
versity was listed the fourth-best pubhlic
college.

Like Thoreau, Knuth finds truth in the wilderness

U.S. COLLEGES IN THE TIMES'TOP 20
University of Chicago Cornell University
MIT
Unioersitypt Michigan Harvard University
/ ..Yale University
Stantord -...'..,Columbia University
Unloerity - Princeton University
CalTech Johns Hopkins University
Duke University
sOURCE: TIMEs HIGHER EDUCATION

Program leader
teaches literature
away from modern
life's distractions
By JILLIAN BERMAN
Daily StaffReporter
As a University undergradu-
ate in 1997, Aric Knuth traveled
to Sebago Lake in Maine for the
University's New England Litera-
ture Program. Little did he know
that 12 years later, he'd still be a
part of the program - now as its
director.
"I just never stopped going,"
Knuth said.
The program, offered over the
spring half-term, is now entering
its 35th year. Each year, about 40
students and 12 staffers spend
six weeks in Maine's wilderness,
studying non-traditional English

subjects.
Knuth, a lecturer in the Eng-
lish Department, served his first
semester as director last school
year. He said that while NELP
teaches students about the lives
and writings of New England
authors like Henry David Thore-
au and Emily Dickinson, the pro-
gram goes beyond typical English
classes.
"The English professor part
of me has to say (the goal of the
program is) a newly heightened
awareness of New England lit-
erature and culture," he said.
"The entire program of NELP
is really built on this idea that
there's a depth of learning that
can take place when you remove
a set of distractions and a set of
barriers and limitations between
people."
Knuth said he's made some
small changes to the curriculum
since taking over, but he has tried
See NELP, Page 7A

ROB MlGKIN/Uaily
Aric Knuth, director of the New England Literature Program, has tried to implement
changes to the program without eliminating its transcendental charm.


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