The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday December 4, 2008 - 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
MEXICO CITY
US releases first
part of drug aid for
Mexico
The U.S. government finally
released the first part of a $400 mil-
lion aid package Wednesday to sup-
port Mexico's police and soldiers in
their fight against drug cartels.
The money comes at a critical
time: Mexico's death toll from drug
violence has soared above 4,000 so
far this year, and drug-related mur-
ders and kidnappings are spilling
over the U.S. border as well.
U.S. Ambassador Tony Garza
formally released $197 million at a
signing ceremony in Mexico City,
callingit"themostsignificanteffort
ever undertaken" by the U.S. and
Mexico to fight drugs. The rest will
be disbursed throughout the year.
"The Merida Initiative is not just
about money. It is about a closer and
more collaborative effort by the
United States and Mexico to work
more effectively together to share
information in a more timely fash-
ion," Garza said.
But many questions remain
about the direction of this drug war.
Colombia, where 90 percent of U.S.-
bound cocaine is produced, worries
it would be handcuffed by concerns
about human rights once Barack
Obama is president.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska
Palm files late free
trip disclosures
Gov. Sarah Palin has added to her
financial disclosure forms two free
trips that she took nearly two years
ago but failed to report.
Palin, who was Republican presi-
dential candidate John McCain's
running mate, made the disclo-
sures last month, but after Election
Day when she and McCain lost to
Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The
trips were first revealed in a story
by TheAssociated Press in October.
The free trips were taken in April
and May of 2007 and should have
been reportedwithin 30 days under
state ethics law. The Nov. 17 dis-
closure forms note that the reports
were "not filed timely due to admin-
istrative error."
Bill McAllister, the governor's
spokesman, said this week that
the mistakes were made by travel
support staff. He said he could not
explain the timing of when and
how they were caught, but that it
" was irrelevant because the error
was corrected.
LANSING
State smoking ban
debate continues
The legislative tug-of-war over
Michigan's proposed workplace
smoking ban continued Wednesday.
The state House used a proce-
dural technique that clears the way
for the legislation to be moved to
a conference committee. The not-
yet-assembled panel would include
members of both the House and
Senate who would try to reach a
compromise between competing
versions of the legislation before
the end of the year.
The Democrat-led House has
passed legislation that would ban
smoking at restaurants and bars
but exempt Detroit casinos, smoke
shops and some other businesses.
The Republican-held Senate has
voted to ban smoking at all work-
places with no exceptions.
Current law won't change unless
both chambers agree on the same
version of legislation.
LANSING
Wayne State makes
cuts in wake of
student loss
Wayne State University is mak-
ing budget cuts and trying to help
students deal with tough economic
timesinthe face of decliningenroll-
ment.
The Detroit university on
Wednesday announced plans to
start tackling a projected $8 mil-
lion revenue shortfall. It will elim-
inate or freeze about 25 positions
that are now vacant, cut back on
spending for utilities and make
other changes.
Wayne State enrollment dropped
more than 4 percent this fall. The
school blames the economy for the
decline.
Wayne State will give students
who are behind on tuition pay-
ments more flexibility to remain
registered for classes. The univer-
sity will establish a response center
to help students learn more about fi-
nancial aid and receive counseling.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports
AUTO FAMILIES
From page 1A
said they feared for their parents'
jobs as automakers continue to
trim jobs to stay afloat.
For Dmitry Vodopyanov, 21, a
senior at the University of Mich-
igan-Ann Arbor, each week that
goes by holds another chance his
father, a Chrysler engineer, could
lose his job without any warning.
And what makes the situation
evenmore uncertain,Vodopyanov
added, is that his father relies
almost entirely on the media to
learn about the latest updates on
Chrysler's future.
"He's always worried about
it," Vodopyanov said. "And if he's
stressed, then I'm stressed."
Looking to cut costs, the Big
Three have thrown numerous
company benefits on the chop-
ping block this year. Among them
are tuition assistance programs,
which provide employees with
money for continuing education
classes and degrees.
At the end of October, Chrysler
suspended its tuition assistance
program for active and laid-off
unionized employees. General
Motors announced around the
same time that it was canceling
a similar program for salaried
workers by the end of this year.
And in June, Ford Motor Com-
pany announced that it was sus-
pending its own tuition assistance
program for salaried workers.
Each of the Big Three has
also said it will suspend depen-
dent scholarship programs, in
which dependents of employees
received scholarships to help pay
tuition costs.
Jerry Glasco, the director of
financial services and budget at
UM-Flint, said just over 200 stu-
dents at the university use GM
scholarships to pay for tuition.
But with GM suspending the
program soon, Glasco said, stu-
dents who rely on the scholar-
ships to cover most, if not all, of
their college expenses could have
trouble staying in school because
they can't pay their tuition.
"If that program goes away, it's
certainly more difficult for those
students to pursue their degrees,"
Glasco said.
Even students finishing up
their degrees and aiming for a
career in the auto industry will
face their own challenges.
According to a recent report
from the Center for Automotive
Research in Ann Arbor, nearly
3 million auto industry-related
jobs could be lost in a single year
if the Big Three companies stop
all operations.
Jake Obradovich, 21, a senior
at Kettering University in Flint,
a science and technology school
where students alternatebetween
taking classes and working full-
time jobs related to their degree,
said that about a year ago, he was
still considering the Big Three
companies as job possibilities
after graduation.
"Obviously, with the way
things have gone in the past six to
eight months, my desire to get a
job with one of the Big Three has
now really decreased," he said.
Ultimately, it's the day-to-day
uncertainty and mounting stress
that seem to weigh most on stu-
dents - and especially those,
like Amanda Emery, who come
from families with lifelong con-
nections to the American auto
industry.
Her cousin recently purchased
a house, Emery said. But now,
with the threat that he could lose
his job for good, Emery said she's
concernedforhimhavingtomake
payments on the new house.
"It hits me directly with, you
know, my mom and my dad and
my family," she said. "I worry
about the future."
DUAL DEGREE
From Page 1A
"They must understand the
business component because
that's the world they live in," he
said.
In order to enroll in the pro-
gram, students will have to apply
and be accepted by both schools.
Smith said the program expects
to admit one to two people every
year. Applications for Fall 2009
are being accepted until Jan. 1.
The program is part of a larger
effort by the University to reach
across campus to combine differ-
ent areas of study, in addition to
hiring more interdisciplinary fac-
ulty and promoting more collabo-
ration between colleges.
Last November, President Mary
Sue Coleman announced plans to
hire 100 new tenure-track faculty
members for interdisciplinary
research.
LECTURE
From Page 1A
previous lecturers, he continues
the tradition of the Davis, Mark-
ert, Nickerson Lecture being pre-
sented by an eminent authority on
academic and intellectual freedom
as guaranteed by the United States
Constitution."
During his career, Sunstein
has testified before congressional
committees and has been involved
"This kind of work has never
been more important. Great uni-
versities like Michigan must tran-
scend disciplines to in order to
be truly effective in addressing
societal needs," Coleman said in a
speech at the time.
In addition to the hiring push,
individual schools are encourag-
ing students to be active all over
campus, not just in their own
school.
David Munson, dean of the Col-
lege of Engineering, has pushed
for interdisciplinary study since
he took the post in 2006. In an
interview with the Daily last
month, he said he sees a strong
parallel between engineering and
the arts.
In fall 2007, he and deans from
other schools on campus teamed
up for the Arts on Earth initia-
tive, an annual program sponsor-
ing multidisciplinary projects and
events.
"There's an aspect of the work
in legislation reform activities in
Ukraine, Poland, China, South
Africa, and Russia. He is also half
of what Esquire called the "Fun
Couple of the 21st Century." The
other half is Samantha Power, a
journalist, public policy professor
and a Pulitzer prize winner for her
book, "A Problem from Hell: Amer-
ica and the Age of Genocide."
The Academic and Intellectual
Freedom lecture series began in
1991, and has since hosted aca-
demics, lawyers and journalists.
that'svery creative and design-ori-
ented," Munson said in the inter-
view. "But there's another aspect
of the work that's all about refine-
ment and optimization and mak-
ing something better and better,
whether it's the design of a bridge
or playing a piece by Bach."
Most MBA students inter-
viewed yesterday said they didn't
think offering the joint degree
was necessary, but that it could be
very beneficial.
Bo Liu, a second year MBA stu-
dent in the Ross School of Busi-
ness, said the joint degree was a
much-needed program.
"I think this is very needed
because in the fine arts area, they
need some people who know about
the arts as well as the business, so
that they can really touch the eco-
nomic value of the fine arts," she
said.
- Daily Staff Reporter Kyle
Swanson contributed to this report.
The Senate Assembly established
the lecture to honor three Univer-
sity faculty members - Chandler
Davis, Clement Markert and Mark
Nickerson.
In 1954, the three were called
to testify before a Congressio-
nal Committee on Un-American
Activities, and refused to answer
questions about their political
affiliations. Asa consequence, they
were suspended and Nickerson
was denied the summer portion of
his fiscal year salary.
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flu "-t .., ,
EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN SENATE'S
DAVIS, MARKERT, NICKERSON LECTURE ON
ACADEMIC AND INTELLECTUAL FREEDOM
My University.com, My Government.com:
Is the Internet Really a Blessing for Democracy?
Thursday, December 4, 2008, 4:00 p.m.
Honigman Auditorium, Law School
University of Michigan
Cass R. Sunstein
Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law
Harvard Law School
CREATIVE
AN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIO-LECTURE COURSE
WINTER 2009-- UARTS --Class #29325
4 credits, No prerequisites
Sati s LSA requirements for Creative Expression
Friday -3, School of Art & Design, North Campus
Ma g creativity an integral part of
students'jlives and work.
ww.drtscledrth.0Cg/stuldents
sN ERTY
, . .. i i . .
Cass Sunstein is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at the Harvard Law .
School. He is the most-cited law professor of any faculty in the United States.
He is a contributing editor to The New Republic and is a frequent witness
before congressional committees. He worked in the Office of Legal Counsel
in the Justice Department as an Attorney-Advisor. He is a member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Law Institute.
Cass Sunstein is an expert on behavioral economics and its implications for
business and public policy-how thinking and emotions affect markets, and
how to use recent research in human behavior to improve human decisions.
He is the author of Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and
Happiness. Nudge urges that we design policies, in both the public and private
sectors, that make people better off, not with coercion but with nudges-
well-chosen default rules and other incentives that help us act in our own
best interest. Other books include Infotopia and Worst-Case Scenarios and
Republic.com 2.0. Professor Sunstein has testified frequently before various
government bodies on separation of powers, administrative law, regulatory
policy and constitutional law. He has worked on briefs in the US Supreme
Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals and the U.S. District Courts.
For additional information:
Web site: www.umich.edu/-aflf Telephone: 734-764-0303
The 2008 Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom is sponsored
by the Academic Freedom Lecture Fund, American Association of University Professors University
of Michigan-Ann Arbor Chapter and Michigan Conference, University of Michigan Office of the
President, University oftMichigan Office of the Vice President for Communications, University of
Michigan Vice Provost for Academic Information, University of Michigan Law School, University of
Michigan Board for Student Publications, and the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs.
This lecture is free and open tothe public.