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Monday, March 30, 2009
ONE AND DONE
michigandaily.com
TRAVELING TO ISRAEL
Birthright
cuts back on
availability
Officials: Decline is result of high admissions num-
bers the past two years - a time
the result of more when Israel was celebrating its
60th birthday - not international
acceptances in past financial troubles or fallout from
Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme,
years, not economy which affected a disproportionate
number of wealthy Jewish people
By AMY MUNSLOW and Jewish charities.
Daily StaffReporter Allison Sheren, program direc-
tor for the University's Taglit-
LSA freshman Lauren Kap- Birthright Israel program, said
nick has never been to Israel, but the number of available spots on
thanks to the Taglit-Birthright the trip has decreased drastically
Israel program, she thought that this year, while registration has
this would be the year she would seen an unprecedented spike.
finally get the opportunity to visit Only 75 University of Michigan
the country - and for free, none- students are taking a Birthright
theless. trip through Hillel this summer,
But when Kapnick received down from 165 students last sum-
her admission decision from the mer. Sheren said this drop is a
organization, she got a surprising result of limited availability.
answer: She was rejected from "Unfortunately, a major-
the trip. ity of students who registered for
Record-breaking numbers of Taglit-Birthright this summer
Jewish students applying to the will be unable to actually go on a
Taglit-Birthright Israel program trip," Sheren wrote in an e-mail
this year, hoping to go on a free interview. "Many of them will be
trip to explore their heritage, waitlisted because of the number
have received similar responses of spots available."
from the program. But according The program, which is funded
to Birthright officials, the severe by private donations and the Israe-
decline in availability is the See BIRTHRIGHT, Page 7A
ELECTING MICHIGAN'S NEXT GOVERNOR
A2 businessman
throws hat into,
Republican race
ARIEL BOND/Daily
Junior forward Brian Lebler consoles senior forward Brandon Naurato after the Air Force hockey team upset the Wolverines 2-0 on Friday in the opening round of the NCAA
Tournament in Bridgeport, Conn. The top-seeded Wolverines outshot the fourth-seeded Falcons 43-13, but failed to score on goalie Andrew Volkening. After last year's run
to the Frozen Four, Michigan was heavily favored to go deep in this year's tournament. For more on the game, see Sports, Page1B.
A NEW MODEL FOR TEACHING BUSINESS
Ross ethinks finance studies
Industry woes haven't
hurt student interest
in field, officials say
By MALLORY BEBERMAN
Daily StaffReporter
Despite the nation's econom-
ic meltdown, driven primarily
through the collapse of Wall Street
and the suffering of large financial
institutions, officials at the Ross
School of Business report that the
decreased availability of jobs in
finance hasn't soured students'
interest in entering the field.
To meet this continuing demand
from students, Business adminis-
trators said they are restructuring
the Bachelor in Business Adminis-
tration Finance curriculum for the
upcoming academic year by alter-
ing existing classes and adding four
new courses.
"Very close to 60 percent of our
students are interested in finance
careers so we wanted to take a good
look at the curriculum," Business
School Prof. and Finance Depart-
ment Chair M.P. Narayanan said.
Narayanan said though the field
of finance has suffered of late, he
hasn't seen a related dip in enroll-
ment in finance classes for this
upcoming fall.
The new finance program will
feature an increase in action-based
learning, Narayanan said, which
will give students the chance to
use real money and information to
start and manage their own hedge
funds.
Additionally, the 2009 curricu-
lum will allow for more specialized
interests within the finance field.
Narayanan said the four new
courses will educate students in
financial trading, the macroeco-
nomics of capital markets, alterna-
tive investments and real-estate
finance.
But even with enrollment in
classes holding steady, Robert
Koonce, the director of undergrad-
uate student affairs in the BBA Pro-
gram office, said a change to the
program was more necessary than
ever to help students navigate the
current economy.
"The finance faculty thought it
was time for some changes based
on what's going on in the world
to try to keep the program presti-
gious," he said.
John Kavchak, a Business
See FINANCE, Page 7A
U students reconnect with Detroit Unvesityalu,"
More than 800 head
downtown for this
year's DP Day
By DEVON THORSBY
Daily StaffReporter
DETROIT - With brushes,
sandpaper and buckets of paint in
hand, more than 40 University stu-
dents gathered this weekend in the
halls of Priest Elementary to give
the school's lockers a much -needed
paint job.
The group, primarily made up
of members of the business frater-
nity Phi Chi Theta, was one of more
than 27 groups from the University
volunteering in the 10th-annual
Detroit Partnership Day.
This year, more than 800 stu-
dents participated in the annual day
of service known as "DP Day." The
event is organized by The Detroit
Partnership, a service-learning
organization focused on creating a
stronger connection between the
University and the city of Detroit.
Students worked in areas locat-
ed mostly around southwest and
northwest Detroit, doing a variety
of activities like repainting schools,
clearing abandoned buildings for
demolition and planting trees on
city blocks.
The first DP Day, in 2000, was
created as a way to get University
students more interested in Detroit
through community service proj-
ects. Beginning with about 400
participants, the event has now
Snyder forms
exploratory group
By A. BRAD SCHWARTZ
Daily StaffReporter
Michigan's next governor
could come from right here in
Ann Arbor. Rick Snyder, a local
venture capitalist and University
alum, is considering running as a
Republican candidate for gover-
nor in 2010.
Snyder announced in a press
release earlier this month that he
has formed an exploratory com-
mittee to assess the possibility of
a gubernatorial run next year.
"I am in the process of putting
together the best team of advisors
this state and countryhas to offer,"
Snyder wrote in the release.
Snyder went on to write that he
will travel around the state, talk-
ing with citizens for the next few
weeks to learn more about the
problems Michigan residents face.
"Oureconomyisinshamblesand
there is no doubt we are heading
in the wrong direction," he wrote
in the release. "The economic
problems in this state started long
before the economic meltdownhit-
ting the rest of this country due, in
See GOVERNOR, Page 7A
University students Sam Hamburger (left), Himesh Pathmanathan (left center), Ells Hamburger (right center) and Alex West
(right) sand lockers at Priest Middle School in southwest Detroit on Saturday. 800 students participated in this year's DP Day.
more than doubled in size, attract-
ing student groups seeking service
projects that help surrounding
communities.
LSA senior Julia Roberts, a
volunteer at Priest Elementary,
stressed the importance of service
work in Detroit.
"There is so much cleanup to be
done in Detroit. (DP Day) is a great
way to contribute," she said. "It's a
great form of solidarity with sur-
rounding communities."
Priest Elementary is located in a
neighborhood in southwest Detroit
that has seen better days. The walls
outside the schoolyard are littered
with graffiti and the lockers inside
are faded and paint-chipped.
The work of paintingthe school's
lockers began last year, when half
of the lockers in the main hallway
received a fresh coat. This year the
work continued, as students sand-
ed down lockers before giving the
hallway a new splash of color with
blue, yellow and red paint..
Business junior Cory Rosenfield,
who volunteered at Priest Elemen-
tary, said he found the work done
on DP Day to be simple, but impor-
tant in helping to clean up Detroit.
"We're here just to paint and do
anything that the janitor needs,"
he said. "It's really too bad that we
can't see how the kids react to what
we've done in the halls. It would be
nice to see that."
Rosenfield, who is also president
of Phi Chi Theta, attributes DP
Day's popularity amongstudents to
See DP DAY, Page 7A
WEAT HER HI: 54
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OPINION. . ........ . .4A SPORTS MONDAY ................1B