P Ic446pi0an 4,3at IV Ann Arbor, Michigan Wednesday, October 15, 2008 michigandaily.com NEAR-CAMPUS CRIME Kampfer's injury came in assault " Police investigating early Sunday morning in what his coach described as "an off-ice case, sources say incident," was taken to the hospi- tal with inju- focus is on ries after being thrown to the football player grown d- pground dur- ing an alterca- By MICHAEL EISENSTEIN tion near East -;" and GABE NELSON Quad. Daily StaffReporters An eyewit- ness account KAMPFER LSA junior Steve Kampfer, and several a defenseman on the Michigan sources place Kampfer at an hockey team who was injured assault that took place near the intersection of Church Street and Willard Street at about 2:25 a.m. Sunday. University Police described the victim as a 20-year-old male University student from Jackson, which fits Kampfer's description on the Athletic Department's web- site. An LSA senior who witnessed the incident and described it in an interview with the Daily confirmed from photographs that Kampfer was the victim. He asked to remain anonymous for his protection. University Police Lieutenant Robert Neumann said the vic- tim was picked up and "body- slammed" to the ground by a man, who was accompanied by two other men. Neumann said police have a suspect, whom he described as a 22-year-old male University student from Ohio. Because the assault is still under investigation and police have not yet arrested a suspect, police would not release the names of the victim and suspects. Multiple sources with knowl- See ASSAULT, Page 3A TRAVEL FOR ATHLETICS Rising costs push NCAA to cut back; 'U' sits tight Citing price of fuel, NCAA implements tighter spending policies By JACOB SMILOVITZ Daily StaffReporter Though the NCAA recently adopted a new set of cost-saving measures to combat higher trav- el costs for its sports teams, the University's Athletic Depart- ment says it won't have to take similar action to curb costs. , Last month, the NCAA amended its rules, regarding which costs will be covered when teams travel to fall sports championships. Under the new guidelines, only teams flying 400 miles or more will receive reimbursement from the NCAA - 50 miles more than the previ- ous threshold. Teams traveling less than 400 miles will not be reimbursed if they choose to fly rather than drive. The NCAA also implemented a cap on the number of airline baggage charges it will cover, at two per traveler, including sports equipment bags. In all, the NCAA hopes the measures will save about $500,000 during the fall sea- son, according to Stacey Osburn, NCAA spokeswoman. Jason Winters, senior asso- ciate athletic director of busi- ness operations for the Athletic Department, said increased trav- el expenses haven't impacted the University as much it has other schools around the country because the University budgeted for increasing fuel prices. "(When the budget was set) gas prices and other airline costs had been increasing," Winters said. "So, we had budgeted a fairly healthy increase." According to Winters, total travel expenses cost the Athletic Department just under $4 mil- lion last year, or 5 percent of the department's total expenses. Winters said he wasn't aware of any situations in previous years in which extra personnel, including the marching band, cheerleaders or extra coaches, had been restricted from travel- ing to events or away game's. He said that to stay under their bud- get9, some teams might have left personnel such as extra trainers behind on trips. For the NCAA, rising travel costs have historically "been on the Association's radar,".Osburn said. She said travel costs for Divi- sion I have increased by approx- imately $7 million, or 31 percent, from last year. Costs have also increased almost 58 percent over the past three years - a fig- ure that amounts to almost $12 million. Additionally, the NCAA is projecting an increase of $6 to $7 million for Division I travel expenses for next year. Along with increased costs, Osburn said NCAA officials are concerned about reductions in airline capacity. In an effort to help schools find more cost-effective hotel and airfare accommodations, NCAA officials have also asked tournament selection commit- See NCAA, Page 3A Former Detroit mayor Dennis Archer, who is considering running for Michigan governor n 2010, spoke to a group of law school hopefuls in the Michigan Union yesterday' At ' Archer avoids talking politics Possible gubernatorial candidate, a former Detroit mayor, urged to pursue law By BENJAMIN S. CHASE Daily StaffReporter Former Detroit mayor Dennis Archer, who is considering running for governor in 2010, largely avoid- ed politics during his talk with a group of about 25 law school hope- fuls Tuesday night in the Michigan Union. Instead, Archer encour- aged those in attendance that they could approach his level of success through hard work and taking advantage of the University's net- working resources. Archer, who introduced himself to the audience as "a recovering politician," also never mentioned Kwame Kilpatrick, his successor who recently resigned as Detroit's mayor in a plea deal for two crimi- nal charges. Instead, Archer, the first black person to ever serve as president of the American Bar Association, talked about the rewards that accompany studying law. "The majesty of the power of the law in terms of what you can do with it is enormous," he said. Though he stressed the impor- tance of doing well in school, Archer said students should reach out and develop relationships with classmates. The former mayor, who served two terms from1993 to 2001, also cited the various networking possibilities available to students at the University. He cited his son - a Law School alum - as an example of someone who benefited from the school's resources. Recognizing his audience, most- ly comprised of members from the Black Undergraduate Law Asso- ciation - the group that sponsored the event - Archer recalled his SeeARCHER, Page 3A Incumbent mayor, LSA senior duel at debate IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID Incumbent Hieftje and LSA senior offer visions for Ann Arbor By JULIE ROWE Daily StaffReporter Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje met his opponent for the upcom- ing mayoral election for the first time last night - LSA senior Eric Plourde. Plourde, a Libertarian, and Hieftje, a Democrat, met about 10 minutes before the pair partici- pated in a debate sponsored by the Community Television Network and the League of Women Voters of the Ann Arbor Area, a nonparti- san political organization. The debate, which consisted of five questions drafted by league members, centered on the con- tenders' vision for the city and their qualifications for the job - a topic likely raised in light of the 20-year-old Plourde's candidacy. Plourde, who admitted that he is not nearly as experienced as the incumbent Hieftje, said he has excelled in his academic endeav- ors. He cited his positions as presi- dent of the College Libertarians and on the executive board of the Plourde said he'd like to see property taxes cut to encourage businesses to come to the area. He said he'd like to evaluate cur- rent city services and cut certain programs to cut spending. Hieftje said the current tax rates were as low as they could be in order to maintain the quality of life Ann Arbor offers. He cited a 20 percent decrease in the number of city employees as one way he's made the city more efficient during his eight years as mayor. "We're very efficient now," Hieftje said in an interview after the debate. "We're as well-posi- tioned as a city could be to weath- er this storm." The candidates were also asked about their views on setting a height cap on buildings in the city, in light of resident dismay over the proposed 601 Forest apartment building on the corner of South University Avenue and Forest Street. At one point the complex was planned to be 25 stories high, though the building is now only 14 stories tall under the current pro- posal. Hieftje said he supported a 14-story height cap for the South University area. Plourde said he was against imposing a height cap See DEBATE, Page 3A Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje, a Democrat, and LSA senior Eric Plourde, ian, take part in yesterday night's mayoral debate. pre-law fraternity Kappa Alpha Pi. Hieftje, who was first elected in 2000, cited his previous four terms as mayor and a recent lead- ership award he earned from the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. "I feel like Sarah Palin," Plourde said before the debate began. ref- erencing his lack of experience in government. Hieftje said Ann Arbor needs a candidate with experience, who understands the budgetbecause of the current economic recession. "He clearly has more experience than I do," Plourde said in an inter- view after the debate. "I'm trying to run a campaign about how his ideas and my ideas differ." Both candidates stressed a need for the city to budget efficiently in light of the faltering economy, though the two disagreed over property tax rates. Joel Slemrod, Thomas Buchmueller and James Levinsohn, three University experts on the economy, listen to a John McCain clip yesterday'during a panel discussion on the election at Palmer Commons. The panelists analyzed how each presidential candidate's tax policies would affect the nation. WEATHER HI: 59 TOMORROW L040 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-763-2459ore-mail news@michigandaily.comand letus know. 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