BREAK BURYING THE GOPHERS
iould align our In a must-win situation, the Michigan men's
i those of other basketball team dominated Minnesota to keep its
inion, Page 4. Tournament hopes alive. See Sports, Page 8.
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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, February 20, 2009
michigandaily.com
MICHIGAN FOOTBALL
Prices to
drop for
'090tickets
'U' bucks trend at BY THE NUMBERS
other schools, cites $1.43
tough economy The average decrease per game in
Michigan student season-ticket prices
By TREVOR CALERO
Daily News Editor $ .57
BillMarinthe nivrsiy's The average decrease per game in
ath etic Mre rh eUn ie rys Michiganregular-season ticket prices
terday that the price of football
tickets will decrease for the 2009
season. The average increase per gamein Ohio
"It's a tough economic time and State regular-season ticket prices
there's no need to increase ticket
prices," Bruce Madej, Athletic $ 0
Department spokesman, said in a The average increase per game in
phone interview yesterday. Michigan State regular-season ticket prices
University Union food service chefs Mike Szczepanski (right) and Tom Kulczynski (left) craving ice in front of the Michigan Union yesterday. The ice carving was part of the
Breaking the Ice event held by the Michigan Union Arts and Programs.
THE ANN ARBOR BOOK SCENE
Bookseller makes plea to
Poor economy, low
textbook sales and
e-commerce add up to
hurt Shaman Drum
By MATT AARONSON
Daily StaffReporter
with the economy mired in
recession, conditions are bleak for
Ann Arbor booksellers.
The Borders on Liberty Street,
in the city where the company
was founded, is the flagship store
of what used to be one of the most
prosperous nationwide retailers.
Today, with massive debts and the
company's stock value dropping,
bankruptcy could be in the chain's
future.
Just around the corner on State
Street, Shaman Drum Bookshop is
a different kind of bookstore. The
small, mostly literature-oriented
shop prides itself on its community
focus.
But independent bookstores like
Shaman Drum are facing troubles
of their own.
The AnnArbor Chronicle printed
an open letter from Shaman Drum
owner Karl Pohrt on Tuesday.
Pohrt lamented the "disinterme-
diation resulting from customers
migrating to the Internet coupled
with the frightening economic cri-
sis." He wrote that Shaman Drum
started losing money in September.
Pohrt admitted, though, that he
"sort of saw this coming."
"The book industry in the United
States, as a business model, really
doesn't work very well for anybody,"
Pohrt said in an interview with the
Daily earlier this month.
According to Pohrt, the conver-
gence of three main trends - the
falling popularity of books, the
cost-saving convenience of Inter-
net commerce and the state of the
economy - foretell the fate of the
already suffering independent
booksellers.
Pohrt said that textbook sales in
particular have been a drag on Sha-
man Drum's bottom line, as more
students buy their books online.
As a panelist on the University
Textbook Task Force last year,
Pohrt opposed the uBook program,
See SHAMAN DRUM, Page 7
The price of student tickets
will decrease an average of $1.43
per game, which will put the
price of the eight game season
ticket package at $200.
The average price per game for
.;regular season ticket holders will
be $50, down $3.57 from last year,
and will total $400.
Madej said the Athletic Depart-
ment has been considering the
price decrease since December,
when it normally starts looking
at next season's ticket pricing.
The decision comes in light of
the fact that many universities
around the country have been
forced to increase football ticket
prices because of the struggling
economy.
"The interesting portion of
this is that most everyone else is
increasing ticket (prices)," Madej
said. "We're fortunate enough
that we can hold the line, and
even decrease them."
On Feb. 15, Michigan State
University announced it was rais-
ing ticket prices after a four-year
freeze. General public season
tickets will increase 7.1 percent,
to a total cost of $308.
Similarly, Ohio State Univer-
sity Athletic Director Gene Smith
announced Feb. 4 that Ohio State
would be increasing the price of
football and basketball tickets by
$1 per game.
However, neither Michigan
State nor Ohio State chose to
increase the price of student tick-
ets.
Individual game tickets sold to
the general public will range from
$50 to $65 per game for University
of Notre Dame and Ohio State.
"Notre Dame, Penn State,
Ohio State plus the reminder
of the Big Ten schedule make
for a very strong and exciting
home schedule," Martin said in a
press release. "We also have two
in-state institutions (Western
Michigan University and East-
ern Michigan University) on the
schedule, which helps keep the
See FOOTBALL TICKETS, Page 7
REGENTS MEETING
Student group seeks
sustainability office
I Student Sustainability
Initiative says now is
the time to take lead
on energy efficiency
By KYLE SWANSON
Daily StaffReporter
A University student group that
aims to make campus more energy
efficient called on the University
Board of Regents yesterday at its
monthly meeting to create a cen-
tralized sustainability office at the
University.
Members of the Student Sus-
tainability Initiative, a coalition
of 14 sustainability-minded stu-
dent groups, said that by creating
a central office of sustainability
on campus, the University could
become a leader in environmental
sustainability and save money in
the long run.
The group submitted a letter at
the end of last month to University
President Mary Sue Coleman and
has met with the University Chief
Financial Officer Timothy Slottow
on the issue.
Merry Walker, team coordina-
tor for SSI, said now is the opti-
mal time for the University to
take action, considering President
Barack Obama's and Michigan
Gov. Jennifer Granholm's energy
plans.
"President Obama has outlined
energy and environmental legisla-
tion with plans to make more than
5 million green jobs in the new
economy," she said. "There is no
better time for our university to
seize this opportunity of change
and guide these transitions."
Walker added that many
companies are making sustain-
ability a priority, through part-
nerships with universities on
energy-related issues. In some
cases, companies are creating
new, executive-level positions
focusing on sustainability.
Walker said the biggest chal-
lenge to existing sustainability
groups on campus is the decentral-
ization of the University. Sixty-one
environmental groups currently
exist on campus, but Walker said
there is no central group to coor-
dinate events and communications
between the groups.
See SUSTAINABILITY, Page 7
Walker looks for new challenge at 'U'
Final dean of students candidate }
brings 26 years of diverse experience i
from the University of Miami
By DEVON THORSBY
For the Daily
After growing up in Tennessee and working for the past 22
years in Florida, Richard Walker, the assistant vice president
for Student Affairs at the University of Miami, may be trading
in his sandals for snow boots if selected as the University of
Michigan's new dean of students.
Walker, who has 26 years of experience working in higher
education student affairs, visited campus yesterday as one
of three finalist candidates for the dean of students. Students
were invited to attend an informal lunch and forum with the
candidate, followed by a public presentation by Walker on his
philosophy as a university administrator.
In his 22 years at the University of Miami, Walker has held a
wide range of responsibilities involving student affairs, includ-
ing positions in Greek Affairs, Judicial Affairs, Intercollegiate
Athletics and Alumni Relations.
Walker is also an active member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon,
the U.S.'s largest social fraternity, having served in local, state
and national levels within the fraternity, according to a biogra-
phy released by the University of Michigan.
When asked why he chose to apply for the position of Univer-
sity of Michigan dean of students in his public presentation to
students and faculty yesterday, Walker explained that he want-
ed to move on in his professional career, and that the University
offered the challenge he desires.
"This is the one position that piqued my interest ... partly
because it is the University of Michigan," he said. ROB MIGRIN/Daily
See CANDIDATE, Page 7 Dean of students candidate, Richard Walker, in the Michigan Union yesterday.
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