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Ann Arbor, Michigan
ACADEMIC FREEDOM
Faculty to
seek speech
protections
Governing body concerned
about national trend it says
infringes on the right to dissent
By KYLE SWANSON
Daily StaffReporter
The state of academic freedom on college campuses
has changed, some argue, after several recent court
cases have arguably infringed on professors' right to
publicly disagree with their university's administra-
tion.
However, the University's leading faculty gover-
nance body is taking the first steps to prevent a similar
scenario from playing out on campus.
LSA Prof. Bruce Frier, a member of the Senate
Advisory Committee on University Affairs, said the
body will present the Board of Regents with a faculty
governance update report at this month's meeting.
The report focuses on faculty rights to dissent against
the University and its administrators without fear of
retribution - such as a decrease in pay or demotion.
Some have argued that several recent court cases
around the nation have restricted the right of pro-
fessors to speak out against their university while in
their official capacity, often citing that because they
are public employees, their rights are restricted.
Frier, who also teaches in the Law School, said the
court decisions represent a fundamental shift in fac-
ulty members' rights and protections.
"The basic question is a series of recent court deci-
sions that have altered some traditional understand-
} ings of the role of faculty members in governance of
the university," he said. "The general drift of these
decisions is that faculty members can be disciplined
for protesting administrative decisions that are
made."
See DISSENT, Page 3A
Monday, March 9,2009
michigandaily.com
SEALING THE DEAL?
THE ECONOMICS OF ALCOHOL
As economy
tanks, booze
sales boom
Owners say boost started," said Tim Kramer, man-
ager of Beer Depot. "What do you
in city alcohol sales think people run to? It's easier to
drink than go out."
not mirrored in It's one of the oldest remedies
known to man, and while people
campus customers may not necessarily be able to
afforda $30 bottle of Grey Goose,
By EMILY ORLEY theyare by no means cutting alco-
Daily StaffReporter hol from their shopping list.
"If we've seen anything, it's not
As the old saying goes, "When less sales," said Victor George, the
the going gets tough, the tough owner of Stadium Market. "We've
get drinking." just been selling less expensive
Well, not exactly. liquor."
But with today's economy, the George said cheaper vodkas,
sentiment is becoming more of a like Smirnoff and Burnett's, have
reality every day. been selling much better than the
As the stock market contin- more expensive ones.
ues to fall - hitting lows that Liquor stores that attract a stu-
haven't been seen since the mid- dent clientele are experiencing a
1990s - and economic stabil- slight decrease in their alcohol
ity deteriorates, Americans are sales, and while many factors
flocking to bars and liquor stores could contribute to this opposite
in record numbers. Studies have trend, tighter budgets could be an
shown that throughout history, obvious explanation.
in the United States and around "(Students) are staying home
the globe, increased ;economic and buying a case of beer from
turmoil has resulted in a spike in the corner store as opposed to
alcohol sales. going out and buying pitchers,"
Many businesses in down- said an employee at Scorekeep-
town Ann Arbor have reported ers Sportsgrill & Pub, who asked
an increase in alcohol sales to remain anonymous because he
recently, while some campus hot wasn't authorized to speak for the
spots, however, have seen inverse company.
effects. He said that at Scorekeeper's,
"(Our sales) have been increas- students just aren't spending as
ing since the economic situation See ALCOHOL, Page 7A
AN5A BAKPMAN/Daily
Fifth-year senior and captain CJ. Lee goes up for a layup in Michigan's 67-64 win at Minnesota Satur-
day. With the victory - Michigan's first road win against an RPI top-50 team - the Wolverines clinched
the seventh seed in this weekend's Big Ten Tournament and likely an at-large bid to the Big Dance.
POVERTY POLICY
Controversial sociologist
talks latest book, poverty
SOCIAL NETWORKING
New Facebook application pairs
prospective, random roommates
Wilson says poor are
in part to blame for
their place in society
By CHRIS HERRING
Daily StaffReporter
After spendingnearly 50 minutes
touting the main points of his lat-
est controversial book, renowned
sociologist William Julius Wilson
finally got to the part of his lecture
he had been most excited about: the
question-and-answer session.
And even though Wilson was
supposed to be the one taking the
inquiries - about a dozen people
had lined up at microphones to
pose questions to him - the Har-
vard University professor couldn't
help but ask the first one.
"Do you think the book will get
nailed?" Wilson asked an audience
member. The inflection in Wilson's
voice hinted that he wanted the
book to create a stir.
So when the woman standing
before a microphone answered
Wilson's question with a "maybe,"
it prompted a wave of laughter from
both the scholar and the crowd of
about 400 in the Rackham Audito-
rium Friday afternoon.
Echoing the central theme from
his new book, Wilson told attend-
ees that even though discrimi-
nation limits the progress of the
inner-city poor, people from that
social class need to shoulder some
of the responsibility for their place
in society. The book, "More Than
Just Race: Being Black and Poor
in The Inner City," hits bookstores
today.
Wilson, arguably the nation's
most prominent black academic,
said he favors President Barack
Obama's nuanced stance on race
and social policy. Simply blaming
racism without looking at a group's
troubling statistics - soaring high
See SOCIOLOGIST, Page 3A
RoomBug uses
personality profiles
to create matches
By LINDSAY KRAMER
Daily StaffReporter
While Facebook's infancy con-
sisted merely of students find-
ing friends they already knew
and making their relationships
truly "official," a new application
offered on the social networking
website goes so far as to help its
users find their college roommate.
RoomBug is a new application
developed by U-Match - a room-
mate matching website - that
aims to give students the oppor-
tunity to find a random roommate
who fits their unique profile. The
application involves users making
a profile for themselves and then
being automatically presented
with a list of people who match
different aspects of their profile.
The application offers students
who attend schools like the Uni-
versity, which does not have a
roommate questionnaire, to room
blindlywith someone with similar
interests. The University has been
added to the list of schools on the
RoomBug site, but currently no
students are registered.
Chief Marketing Officer for
U-Match, Robert Castellucci, says
RoomBug gives students control
over their roommates rather than
See ROOMMATES, Page 7A
PULLING FOR A CAUSE
UNIVERSITY RESEARCH
Curry cures? University researchers
uncover truth behind natural remedy
Tumeric ingredient
said to cure common,
human illnesses
By STEPHANIE STEINBERG
Daily StaffReporter
When a child gets sick, most par-
ents usually opt for traditional rem-
edies like Vicks VapoRub to break
up their child's congestion, instead
of taking the child to campus eat-
ery Shalimar for spicy jhinga curry.
However a recent study found that
tumeric powder may actually help
boost the immune system.
Turmeric powder, the main
spice that gives curry its distinctive
taste, has been used in India and
other Asian countries as a remedy
to combat fevers, colds, coughs and
wounds for thousands of years. But
now, after two years of research,
Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy, a pro-
fessor of chemistry and biophysics,
believes he has uncovered the sci-
entific reasoning behind the pow-
der's mysterious health benefits.
Ramamoorthy and a team of
University researchers released
a study last week explaining how
turmeric's main ingredient, cur-
cumin, works to cure illnesses in
the human body.
In the study, the researchers dis-
covered that curcumin interacts
with cell membranes, causing cells
to exhibit antitumor, anticancer,
antiviral and antioxidant effects.
See TUMERIC, Page 7A
Teachers and K-Grams supporters compete ina game of tug-of-war at the K-Grams Kids Fair in Crisler Arena on Friday. Each
year, around 900 elementary school children from Ann Arbor and other area schools celebrate the year in Kids Programs.
WEATHER HI: 40
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..2 A ARTS......5A
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