The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Friday, March 6, 2009 - 3

NEWS BRIEFS
LANSING
Michigan jobless
rate hits 11.6
percent in January
Michigan's unemployment rate
hit its highest point in a quar-
ter century in January, and some
economists say the worst likely is
yet to come in an auto-dominated
state that slipped into recession
well before most of the nation.
The state's seasonally adjusted
jobless rate rose to 11.6 percent,
Michigan officials said yester-
day, up from a revised rate of 10.2
percent in December. It's likely
Michigan still will lead the nation
in unemployment when all states
are done reporting their January
numbers.
Economists had predicted that
Michigan's jobless situation would
worsen in 2009 before starting to
stabilize somewhat in 2010. Based
on January's jobs report, things
might be getting worse faster than
expected just a few months ago.
The last time Michigan's unem-
ployment rate was higher than the
current level was in March 1984,
when it reached 11.7 percent. Sev-
eral layoffs have been announced
that aren't included in the state's
latest jobless rate.
WASHINGTON
Gupta withdraws
from the search for
surgeon general
CNN medical correspondent Dr.
Sanjay Gupta won't be the next sur-
geon general, the Obama adminis-
tration confirmed yesterday.
Gupta, 39, a neurosurgeon with
star appeal, was seen as President
Barack Obama's first pick for the
job. He would have brought instant
recognition to the office of surgeon
general, a post that has lacked vis-
ibility since the days of C. Everett
Koop during Ronald Reagan's pres-
idency.
An administration said that
Gupta had been under "serious
consideration" but took himself out
of the running because he wants
to focus on his medical career and
spend more time with his family.
"We know he will continue
to serve and educate the public
th ouiglh h work with mfiedla and
in the medical arena," said the offi-
cial, speaking on condition of ano-
nymity because of the sensitivity of
nominations.
WASHINGTON
Senate Republicans
force vote delay of
huge spending bill
Senate Republicans, demanding
the right to try to change a huge
spending bill, forced Democrats
yesterday night to put off a final
vote on the measure until next
week.
The surprise development will
force Congress to pass a stopgap
fundingbill to avoid a partial shut-
down of the government.
Republicans have blasted the

$410 billion measure as too cost-
ly. But the reason for GOP unity
in advance of a key procedural
vote was that Democrats had not
allowed them enough opportuni-
ties to offer amendments.
Majority Leader Harry Reid,
D-Nev., canceled the vote, saying
he was one vote short of the 60
needed to close debate and free the
bill for President Barack Obama's
signature.
LANSING
Michigan lawmaker
wants to repeal
graduation rules
A Republican member of the
state House says he will introduce
legislation to get rid of Michigan's
new mandatory high school gradu-
ation requirements.
Rep. Brian Calley of Portland
said in a statement yesterday
the Michigan Merit Curriculum
requirements are inflexible, will
limit educational choice and lead to
higher dropout rates.
The requirements including four
m years of math take effect for the
graduating class of 2011. Students
now are taking the tougher classes
required for a diploma.
Democratic Gov. Jennifer Gra-
nholm is a strong supporter of the
more stringent mandatory curricu-
lum she signed into law in 2006.
Her administration has fought
efforts to water down the require-
ments.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports

With few jobs to offer,
recruiting declines

McDonald house
receives $1,400
in gifts from Psi
Upsilon brothers

From Page 1
ment numbers was noted for the
fall term. However, she already
estimated a 10- to 20-percent
decrease in the number of recruit-
ers appearing on campus for the
spring term - which began in
January.
Rudd noted that employers are
opting to post recruitment infor-
mation through the MSU website
to cut back on company costs. She
said that while interview sched-
ules for employers have often been
delayed due to company uncer-
tainty, most seek to maintain vis-
ibility in hopes of future greater
hiring needs.
The Colleges of Arts and Sci-
ences at Ohio State University
reported a similar trend.
According to Jennifer Colum-
ber, the program assistant for the
Arts and Sciences Career Ser-
vices Office, 100 spots for employ-
ers were reserved for last year's

Spring Career Day with 40 other
organizations on a waitlist. This
year, the number of available posi-
tions has been reduced to 80, and
only 70 have been confirmed so far
for the April event.
Columber said that, unlike pre-
vious years, many of those busi-
nesses and employers are looking
only to hire for internships, not
full-time positions.
Despite the evident trend in
recruitment numbers across
universities, students looking to
enter the job market or acquire an
internship can pursue options for
alternative businesses that do not
necessarily coincide with their
majors.
Lynne Sebille-White, the
senior assistant director for
employer relations at the Univer-
sity of Michigan's Career Cen-
ter, said students can still put
their skill set and knowledge to
use and work toward a career of
interest albeit through less tradi-

tional paths.
Sebille-White, who oversees
the recruiting system and works
with employers who come to the
University, mentioned how stu-
dents seeking to become investors
on Wall Street may do so through
analytical positions at the cor-
porate level in insurance orga-
nizations where numerical and
monetary analysis is still appli-
cable.
"If(students') firstchoice indus-
try isn't hiring in record numbers
right now, then they need to look
at alternative options in the short-
term," she said.
Sebille-White said that posi-
tions in financial planning,
fundraising and endowment man-
agement lend to marketable skills.
"The days of point-and-click job
searching and just relying on cam-
pus interviews are shifting now,"
she said. "Students need to be more
creative in terms of how they're
seeking out opportunities."


GRANHOLM
From Page 1
"The opportunities for us are
enormous, and who needs it more
than we do?" Granholmsaid. "This
is all about jobs and we're goingto
take advantage of it."
Hedegaard wished Michigan
the best in its efforts to bring a
renewable energy sector to the
state, saying, "it is crucial that we
NYPD
From Page 1
"It was a tough decision because
we have been there for five years,"
he said. "It was a move that we
thought over and over."
Grillo addedthat thetoughecon-
omy also factored into the owners'
decision to close the location.
"If the economy was great, I
would've never left," he said. "But
faced with the harsh reality, we
thought it was the best thing to
do."
LSA senior Avrille Hanzel said
that with the restaurant gone,
she'll be forced to change her late-
WORKSHOP
From Page 1
really open, and it's the athletics
and the Greek system," Stojanovs-
ki said.
Gabe Javier, the assistant
director of the Spectrum Center,
will be leading the workshop. He
said he wants the workshop to be
interactive and tailored to meet
the questions and concerns of the
attendees.
"We also want to talk about
myths versus facts and percep-
tions, perceptions versus the real
lives of people," Javier said. "We
wantto create spaces all over cam-
pus where people feel comfortable
being themselves."
During the winter and fall of
2007, the Spectrum Center con-
ducted a survey to gauge the
feelings of the Greek commu-
nity toward LGBT students. Sto-
janovski said that the survey's
results indicated that while many
individuals in the Greek commu-
nity were comfortable with LGBT
students, they perceived that their
houses were not.
"What came out of that sur-
vey was that, individually, people
were OK with it, but as you got
into bigger realms such as houses
and chapters, it was a little more
homophobic, and then as you got
to the entire Greek system it was

use this crisis to rethink business
as usual."
Ross School of Business grad-
uate student Bharath Iyengar,
who attended the event, said he
thinks it's beneficial for the state
to have leaders committed to a
renewable energy industry. But
he was a bit skeptical of the part-
nership.
"I would like to know exactly
how this collaboration is going to
work," he said. "But at the same
time I think (the Danish officials)
night routine.
"NYPD was always open later
than a lotofother places," she said.
"I'm always on South U. and that's
a common place that we'll stop on
our way home so I'm kind of a little
disappointed."
Hanzel said that although she'll
be upset once the store closes, she
expects that some will benefit
from the pizza joint's departure.
"I guess Backroom (Backroom
Pizza) is going to get a little more
business," she said.
LSA freshman Mike Jenkins
said he was "sad, disturbed and
distraught" to find out the restau-
rant will be leaving South U.
"It's such a good atmosphere
even more homophobic," Sto-
janovski said.
Stojanovski said the aim of the
workshop is to further the con-
versation and increase awareness
about issues LGBT students face
in the Greek community. The
workshop, which Stojanovski
said he hopes becomes an annual
event, was also introduced to
new members of the Greek com-
munity through a similar work-
shop during the Interfraterntiy
Council's New Member Day last
semester.
"What we want to do is increase
the awareness and make people
realize that this isn't so weird
and it's not so awkward and it
shouldn't be so difficult to deal
with, because the entire concept
of the Greek system is that they're
supposed to be brothers and sis-
ters and support each other," he
said.
Stojanovski, LSA senior and
former member of Chi Psi, said
another goal of the workshop is to
change people's views of the rela-
tionship between the LGBT com-
munity and the Greek system.
"I'm a member of the Greek
system and I think it's a great
thing," he said. "So we want to
change people's perceptions from
the outside looking in, and from
the inside looking out."
Javier also said the workshop is
an important first step in bridging
the gap between LGBT students

have a lot to offer."
U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow
(D-Mich.), who joined the summit
through a video connection, reit-
erated the need for the state not
to merely adapt alternative, envi-
ronmentally-friendly energy prac-
tices, but to create a new industry
altogether.
"The bottom line for me is to
make sure we're not just using
alternative energy," she said,
"but making the technology
here."
because it's so college student-ori-
ented," he said. "There's nothing
better than that barbeque chicken
pizza at 3 a.m."
Grillo said the restaurant will
be offering discounts to help stu-
dents cope with the location's
departure.
"We're going to be running
some farewell specials to just let
everyone know that we're saying
goodbye to South U. for a while,"
he said.
Grillo added that he hasn't com-
pletely ruled out the possibility-
that the restaurant will return to
South U.
"You never know what's going
ta0- jen," hesaid.'
and Greeks, who serve as central
figures on campus.
"Greeks are really great lead-
ers on campus, and their leading
can also be a really good example
for social justice," Javier said. "I
think that there are stereotypes
about gay people and we want to
debunk those and there are also
stereotypes about people who are
in fraternities and sororities and
we want to debunk those too.
"We want to add depth to the
experience of being Greek and
giving people the opportunity to
be allies and to learn more about
different folks is part of that," he
said.
IFC President Ari Parritz said
that while the workshop is not
mandatory for fraternity mem-
bers, it is strongly encouraged
because increasing awareness of
LGBT issues in the Greek commu-
nity is a high priority for the IFC.
"We recognize that IFC in
particular struggles with LGBT
awareness, and we understand
that the topic is uncomfortable
for many of our members, but we
are moving ahead as quickly, effi-
ciently, and practically as we can,"
Parritz said in an e-mail inter-
view.
"Right now, there is little doubt
that some of our members do
not feel comfortable coming out
within our system," he said. "That
is a reality we are doing all in our
power to change."

Fraternity members
delivered needed
supplies themselves
after event
By VERONICA MENALDI
Daily StaffReporter
The Ronald McDonald House
Charity, an organization that
strives to improve the health
and well being of children, just
received a boost to the funds that
go toward helping hospitalized
kids.
The Psi Upsilon Freternity
raised $1,400 through Winter-
fest, an event the fraternity has
hosted almost every year for the
past 10 to 15 years in their back-
yard. This year eight other frater-
nities and six sororities donated
$250 to compete in various games
on an ice rink in the fraternity's
back yard.
After the event, Psi U used the
money to buy bed sheets, snack
food, paper towels, coffee and
more to help "ease the burden"
of those staying in the Ronald
McDonald House of Ann Arbor,
Psi U President Luke Donahue
said. He and other fraternity
members delivered the items to
the house yesterday.
Donahue said that Winterfest
not only raised a lot of money for
the charity, it was also a fun way
to bring the Greek community
together.
"You usually don't see more
than two or three houses getting
together for an event," Donahue
said.
ELECTRIC CAR
From Page 1
electric cars at a price that is less
tlian what we pay today that dosfn't
pollute, it doesn'temit, doesn't cause
climate change," he said, "and can
actually become an asset to making
electricityrenewable."
According to a Better Place press
release from December2008, Isra-
el, the company's first region of
interest, is in the process of being
readied to take on mass ownership
of electric vehicles, with charg-
ing spots in parking lots to make
the use of electric cars possible for
everyday use.
"The (Israeli) President (Shi-
mon Peres) signed the bill to make
Israel free from oil by January
2018, it's the goal we're shooting
for and I think we're on target so
far to do that," Granoff said.
Granoff also explained the
importance of the expansion of
the electric car industry across
the United States, which would be
valuable from an economic per-
spective by decreasing the depen-

Josh Kappel, social chair of Psi
U said the event's turnout and
results were better than expect-
ed.
"It was an event that going
in not a lot of us knew what to
expect because we didn't have it
last year," he said. "This year we
met and passed all our expecta-
tions. The Greek community had
a great time and it's nice that they
were all able to give money to a
good cause."
Originally, the fraternity
brothers planned on donating
the money directly to the Ronald
McDonald charity but then they
decided that buying the items
themselves would more benefi-
cial.
"We thought it would be more
meaningful to them and to us to
go out and buy the supplies they
needed that are listed on their
website and drop it off there
directly," Kappel said. "It should
make more of a difference and
should be a lot easier for them
since they'll get the supplies
directly rather than having to go
and buy them themselves with
the money we raised."
On its wish list, the Ronald
McDonald house asked for items
like kitchen supplies, bathroom
and bedroom linens and family
entertainment items.
Donahue said the fraternity
chose the charity because of its
impact on the local community.
It houses parents of hospitalized
and sick children in Ann Arbor
for a low price.
"It's a larger charity that's well
known and well founded and also
since it's local it directly helps our
community," Donahue said.
dency on foreign oil.
"Close to 70 percent of (Ameri-
ca's) oilis imported, anditgoesup all
the time," he said. "Electrification is
something that should be a tier-one
priorityforitheUnited States."
Concerning other environmen-
tally friendly cars, like hybrid cars
that use ethanol, Granoff pointed
out the electric car's superiority
in performance.
"The bottom line is that the
performance on the electric car
is better," he said. "There's more
efficiency, there's instant torque,
there's no transmission."
LSA sophomore Daniel Neu-
mann, a member of American
Movement for Israel, one of many
sponsors for the event, said he
sees Better Place's work toward an
alternative energy source for cars
as the best option out there today.
"Of the different alternatives to
gasoline that I've heard of, I think
Better Place is the best in terms of
having the whole system planned
out," Neumann said. "They don't
just have an idea; they have the
actual, tangible system ready to
be in place."

OREKEE~*PER


FRIDAYS
Domestic Bottles are only
~ s~eeceej SCO to- gog
t.0 Ma 13dt 4.995J)100 locateeA ittofde wdP SGtnwe
U--,-

I I

- UARTS 250 -
WANT TO "CREATIVE PROCES
V RITE FOR AN INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIO-LECTURE COURSE
residency at the Abbey of Pontlevoy,7
T HE DAILY'S.
FRACE
NEW S May 18 - JuneI2, 2009
S ECTION?FourWeeks/Four Credits
Sati s the LSA Creative Expression Requirement
E-MAIL If you are interested,
please ntact Mary Schmidt (maryanna@umich.edu)
SM I LOVITZ@ for more information
M I C H IGA N DA I LY Makig r vi an integral pa of students' lives and work
.COM Learn more now: www.artsonearth.org/students
Od EARTH
This course is supported by the University of Michigan's Multidisciplinary Learning and Team Teaching Initiative