The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Thursday, March 19, 2009 - 3A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, March 19, 2009 - 3A

NEWS BRIEFS
LANSING
Stimulus to give
boost to food
stamp aid in Mich.
The federal stimulus package
will boost food stamp benefits and
nutrition services in Michigan.
Michigan families eligible for
the federal food assistance pro-
gram will get a 13.6 percent boost
in their monthly benefits starting
in April. State officials said yes-
terday that translates to about $80
more a month in grocery money for
a family of four.
Michigan also will get more than
$3 million from the stimulus plan
to boost nutrition services.
The cash will go to support meal
services for low-income people,
including homebound senior citi-
zens and programs at senior cen-
ters and schools.
WASHINGTON
Attorney General
announces change
in marijuana policy
Attorney General Eric Holder
signaled a change on medical mari-
juana policy Wednesday, saying
federal agents will target marijua-
na distributors only when they vio-
late both federal and state law.
That would be a departure from
the policy of the Bush administra-
tion, which targeted medical mari-
juana dispensaries in California
even if they complied with that
state's law.
"The policy is to go after those
people who violate both federal
and state law," Holder said in a
question-and-answer session with
reporters at the Justice Depart-
ment.
Medical marijuana advocates in
California welcomed the news, but
said they still worried about the
pending cases of those already in
court on drug charges.
California law permits the sale
of marijuana for medical purposes,
though it still is against federal
law.
SANTE FE, N.M.
New Mexico second
state to outlaw
death penalty
Gov. Bill Richardson signed leg-
islation Wednesday repealing New
Mexico's death penalty, making it
the second state to ban executions
since the U.S. Supreme Court rein-
stated the death penalty in 1976.
Richardson, a Democrat who
formerly supported capital pun-
ishment, said signing the bill was
the "most difficult decision" of his
political life.
"Faced with the reality that our
system for imposing the death pen-
alty can never be perfect, my con-
science compels me to replace the
death penalty with a solution that
keeps society safe," Richardson
told a news conference in the state
Capitol.
The most severe punishment
now will be a sentence of life in

prison without the possibility of
parole.
By signing the measure, New
Mexico joins 14 other states that
do not impose capital punishment.
New Jersey, in 2007, was the first
and only other state to outlaw capi-
tal punishment since its reinstate-
ment by the Supreme Court.
MANILA, Philippines
Filipino women
recants testimony
case against Marine
A Filipino woman whose accusa-
tions of rape led to the high-profile
conviction of a U.S. Marine has
altered her testimony, saying in an
affidavit that she may have led him
to believe she wanted sex.
The woman moved to the U.S.
this week and is no longer willing
to talk about the case, her lawyer
said yesterday. Lance Cpl. Daniel
Smith, convicted in 2006 of rap-
ing the woman and sentenced to 40
years in prison, remains detained
at the U.S. Embassy while he pur-
sues an appeal.
The case strained U.S.-Phil-
ippine military relations and
became a rallying point for anti-
American protesters who have
called for the scrapping of a pact
that allows U.S. troops to train
Filipino soldiers.
Smith's accuser submitted a five-
page affidavit to an appeals court
Tuesday saying she now doubts her
own version of events.
- Compiled from
Daily wire reports

University will
pay legal fees of
former student

AIG Chairmen Edward Liddy testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington yesterday before a House subcommittee.
Under pressure, AIG
exesreturn bonuses

Insurance giant to profits down the road. It's a lot
$ sweeter now than it's gonna be
give $165 millon later," said Rep. Gary Ackerman,
D-N.Y.
back to Congress Liddy slid into the witness
chair at a congressional hear-
WASHINGTON (AP) - Under ing as President Barack Obama
intense pressure from the Obama sought anew to quell a furor that
administration and Congress, has bedeviled his administration
the head of bailed-out insurance since word of the bonuses sur-
giant AIG declared yesterday faced over the weekend.
that some of the firm's execu- Obama, who took office just
tives have begun returning all under two months ago, told
or part of bonuses totaling $165 reporters his administration was
million. not responsible for a lack of fed-
Edward Liddy offered no eral supervision of AIG that pre-
details, and lawmakers were in no ceded the company's demise, nor
mood to wait. He was still field- for the decision made last year to
ing their questions when House pay what he called "outrageous
Democratic leaders announced bonuses."
plans for a vote today on legisla- Still, he said, "The buck stops
tion to tax away 90 percent of the with me." He said that "my goal
extra pay for executives at AIG is to make sure that we never
and many other bailed-out firms. put ourselves in this kind of
Liddy, brought in last year position again," and he dis-
to oversee a company that has closed the administration was
received $182 billion in federal consulting with Congress on
bailout funds, said he, too, was the possibility of creating a new
angry about the bonuses. But he agency to govern the meltdown
did not respond directly when of large financial institutions
advised in pungent terms to pay to such as AIG.
the Treasury all the money hand- He also gave a strongvote of con-
ed out last weekend in "retention fidence to Treasury Secretary Tim
payments." Geithner, who has been the target
"Eat it now. Take it out of your of growing Republican criticism.
the more likely they are to vote,"
TURNOUT he said. "We wanted to make it a
From Page 1A more personal thing."
One of the simpler techniques
occurring, they will have a great- the election board used was to
er incentive to vote. place banners on the Diag, inform-
"The more people see that the ing students to vote.
election is taking place and the "Certainly a lot of people
more they are contacted in per- should see it as they walk to and
son, rather than in mass e-mails, from class," Benson said.
the problem was caught early
LOST BALLOTS and affected students have been
From Page 1A notified. Also, a series of fol-
low-up e-mails reminding these
Election Director Emily students to recast their ballots
Winter, an LSA junior, said will also be sent, which Winter
she doesn't think the issue will said should help maintain voter
affect voter turnout because turnout.

Obama spoke as congressional
Democrats worked on legislation
designed to recoup most or all of
the $165 million by exposing it to
new taxes.
Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.,
chairman of the tax-writing
House Ways and Means Com-
mittee, said the new 90 percent
tax would apply to bonus money
paid to employees earning more
than $250,000 at firms that have
received more than $5 billion in
federal bailout funds. Mortgage
giants Fannie Mae and Freddie
Mac are covered under the pro-
posal.
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer,
D-Md., said the bill would be voted
onunderrulesrequiringatwo-thirds
majority for passage. Democrats are
in comfortable control of the House
but do not control two-thirds of the
seats, meaning the outcome of the
vote would probably be determined
bytax-averse Republicans.
Republicans raised pointed
questions about the extent of Gei-
thner's advance knowledge of the
bonuses, and stressed they had
been locked out of discussions
earlier this year when Democrats
decided to jettison a provision.
from legislation that could have
revoked the payments.
The Election Board also
bought non-partisan ads on
Facebook.com, encouraging stu-
dents to vote. Benson said the ads
would reach out to a vast audi-
ence, which he said should draw
in votes.
"Even if half of 1 percent of the
thousands of views click on it, that
would help," he said.

In December, Zwick
was awarded $1.72M
for being wrongly
expelled from'U'
By VERONICA MENALDI
Daily StaffReporter
The University will be forced
to pay approximately $320,990 in
legal fees to the law firm that rep-
resented Alissa Zwick, a former
University Dentistry student who
claimed she was unfairly expelled
from the University.
Inadditiontothe$320,990,Zwick
was awarded $1.72 million at a fed-
eral court hearing in December.
Zwick, who was expelled in
2005 after being told she wasn't fit
to practice dentistry by the associ-
ate dean of the Dental School and
other instructors, filed the lawsuit
in May 2006.
At the hearing in December, a
jury ruled that the University vio-
lated Zwick's rights since she was
discharged after her third year of
dental school while maintaining a
"B" average.
In response to the ruling, the
University is appealing the jury's
verdict, according to University
spokeswoman Kelly Cunningham.
"We believe that there was not
sufficient evidence for them to find
that Ms. Zwick's due process rights
were violated by the defendants or
MUSEUMS
From Page 1A
Steward said that with the expand-
ed building, new exhibitions, and
more accessible open hours, he
expects to see a large increase in
attendance from before the con-
struction.
"The fact that we're also free
suggests we will be an increasingly
attractive option for visitors watch-
ing their budgets, as we can be an
attractive alternativeto going to the
multiplex or to amusement parks
and other leisure options," Steward
wrote in an e-mail interview.
Lauren Talalay, associate direc-
tor and curator at the Kelsey Muse-
um ofArchaeology,said she expects
attendance to reach all-time highs

by the School of Dentistry," Cun-
ningham wrote in an e-mail state-
ment yesterday. "The evidence
shows that the School of Dentistry
complied with all legal require-
ments and with its own proce-
dures."
Cunningham added that before
anyone can be dismissed for aca-
demic reasons, the student is "enti-
tled to due process."
"To comply with the legal
requirements of due process, a stu-
dent must be made aware of the fac-
ulty's dissatisfaction with his/her
progress andthe decision to dismiss
him/her was careful and deliber-
ate," she said. "The Dental School
has well-established procedures
that protect a student's due process
rights before she is dismissed from
an academic program."
Cunningham said the University
has legal insurance that will pay for
them.
The $320,990 will be divided into
approximately $307,088 for legal fees
to Zwick's attorneys - which is near
the $309,388 that the attorneys origi-
nally requested - and the remaining
$13,902 will be used for other costs.
After the University dismissed
Zwick, she was unable to enter
other dental programs even though
before attending the University of
Michigan's School of Dentistry she
was accepted into eight other den-
tal schools. She is currently work-
ing toward a master's degree in
speech pathology at Eastern Michi-
gan University.
after the new wing of the building
opens in November. She said it is
important for exhibits to be free at
a public university.
"We've never charged anything,
and we don't plan on ever charging
anything," Talalay said.
Amy Majors, who was visiting
the Exhibit Museum of Natural
History from Texas, said she appre-
ciated that the museum provided
her with free entertainment for her
two daughters.
Aimee Pelletier, another visitor,
comes to the museum about once a
year, she said.
While-she appreciates that the
museum is technically free she
called the suggested donation "a lit-
tle bit high." She added that despite
the economic recession, she gives
whatever she can.

WANT TO JOIN NEWS?
E-MAIL
SMILOVITZ@MICHIGANDAILY.COM


ArborVitae Women's Center
We provide the following services FREE of charge:
Pregnancy testing
Ultrasounds
Women's health and abortion info
Material support and referrals
Spiritual support
A r b 0%-r V it
Day and Evening Appointments Available

Undergraduate Fellows Program
2009-2010
What: Six to eight fellowships funded with a $4000 stipend for the 2009-10 academic year.
Each Fellow will carry out an individual project related to ethics in public life, and
participate in twice monthly Fellows meeting and other Center activities and events.
Who: Undergraduates currently enrolled at UM Ann Arbor campus, who will be enrolled
full time and in residence for the entire 2009-10 academic year.
When: Applications are due via email to ethics@umich.edu by 5:00pm April 10, 2009.
The Center for Ethics in Public Life (www.ethics.umich.edu) is an interdisciplinary
center dedicated to the encouragement of teaching, research and creative projects, and
public discourse that promote understanding of the ethical dimensions of our lives, and
especially, the lives we live in common.
Questions? Email ethics@umich.edu