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. WANT TO GET CLOSE TO THE ACTION? JOIN DAILY PHOTO. E-MAIL PHOTO@MICHIGANDAILY.COM Cornell-University Summer in Washington June 1-July 24, 2009 A unique Cornell experience in Washington, DC * Earn 6 to 8 Cornell credits * Gain work experience with an internship in any of thousands of public and private institutions " Enjoy planned activities and a summer of living in one of the best neighborhoods of the nation's capital city! Cornell University Summer in Washington Program 2148 O Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037 202.466.2184 cwash@cornell.edu www.sce.cornell.edu/siw 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.