The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, April 8, 2009 - 7A
Stimulus to
give boost to
food industry
Mich. communities
with food processing
companies could get
$9 million
LANSING, Mich. (AP) - An
upcoming wave of federal stimulus
spending in Michigan likely will
include some help for Michigan's
food processing industry.
Communities with food process-
ing companies may get a combined
$9 million in community develop-
ment block grants through a fed-
eral stimulus spending bill Gov.
Jennifer Granholm signed this
week and announced Tuesday. The
grant money to improve water sys-
tems may also serve as an example
of how some stimulus money will
flow to smaller Michigan commu-
nities.
The bill covers about $1.9 bil-
lion for a wide variety of programs
including education, job training
and public safety.
TWITTER
From Page A
athletic director for communica-
tions, insists that while Rodriguez
was "getting some help to start,"
the coach is now doing "90 percent
of it on his own with his Black-
berry."
Madej said the Twitter pages
will help fans better follow their
favorite sports.
"It's an easy, efficient way to keep
a segmented part of your fan base
following the sport that they want
to follow," he said.
Those with Twitter accounts can
sign up as a "follower" of a sport, to
receive live updates on a computer,
cell phone or PDA.
"The idea is simply to help indi-
viduals follow the Michigan sport
of their choice in an ever-changing,
new-media world," Madej said.
"Social networking is the new-
media world."
TICKETS
From Page1A
Bodnar said the boost in ticket
sales is good news for the team, too,
as having a full arena helps out the
players.
"Our goal is to fill those bleachers
up, because that creates a game day
atmosphere for our players," he said.
"We're on our way to filling those
bleachers up for each and every game
and we're excited about that."
LSA Freshman Brett Smith, is
one of many students already excit-
ed for the upcoming season.
MSA
From Page 1A
will make a new recommendation
for student general counsel because
Benson wasn't approved for the
position.
"Since Benson wasn't chosen,
we're opening up applications
again to all students, and we'll be
holding interviews and going for-
ward with another nomination
next week that we hope will (be)
approved by the assembly," Mah-
anti wrote.
Though his appointment as
student general counsel was not
approved, Benson was elected as
the chair of the Rules and Elec-
tions Committee, which is not an
executive board position.
"You don't need a title to make
a difference," Benson said in the
e-mail. "And I plan to live by that
motto to ensure that the student
body receives the best advocacy
possible."
Mahanti wrote in the e-mail
that though Benson is a "valuable
anchor ofknowledge on the assem-
bly," he doesn't consider the rejec-
tion of his appointment a negative.
"I'm not completely disappoint-
ed that Benson was declined,"
Mahanti wrote. "It demonstrates a
strength of MSA's checks and bal-
ances and shows that the assembly
is attentive of who is leading the
organization."
After the MSA president and
vice president are elected by a
campus-wide student vote, the
elected executives make rec-
ommendations for the other
executive positions. These rec-
ommendations must be approved
by a majority of the assembly in a
secret ballot.
Aftereachexecutive recommen-
dation is announced, if there is an
objection to the person's appoint-
ment, time is allotted for represen-
Recipients have not been final-
ized for the community develop-
ment block grants, which must be
approved by the Michigan Strate-
gic Fund board. The money itself,
in many cases, won't be enough
to fully pay for needed water or
wastewater system upgrades.
But examples of potential proj-
ects that eventually could benefit
from the money includea Burnette
Foods Inc. facility in Charlevoix
County and a possible milk pro-
cessing operation that is under dis-
cussion in Ottawa County. Those
projects are not listed in the bill
signed by Granholm, but they were
listed on a supplemental request
detail provided to lawmakers by
her administration.
It was not clear yesterday when
final approval will be made.
"The stimulus package was
intended to put the money to work
ASAP, and we certainly will be
workingto make that happen," said
Michael Shore, a spokesman with
the Michigan Economic Develop-
ment Corp.
The Twitter pages will feature
casual updates about things like
scheduling changes. For example,
a tweet on the rowing team's page
on Friday read "Too windy to race
in Indiana. We are delayed until
tomorrow. Racing will begin at 9
a.m. There will still be afternoon
racing as well."
Pieces of in-game action will be
tweeted too. On Sunday, an update
from the baseball Twitter read,
"Wolverines score twice in the
fourth ... we are tied again, 4-4."
Matt Trevor, the Athletic Depart-
ment assistant director of media
relations, started tweeting for the
ice hockey and women's rowing
teams in February. He said he has
enjoyed it so far.
He added that Twitter's biggest
advantage is the 140-character
limit and the brevity it forces.
"It just fills in some of the gaps
between writing a full press release
and getting out some interesting
information," he said.
Smith didn't get tickets last sea-
son, but he said he couldn't pass up
the opportunity this year.
"I really look forward to what
our team is looking like next year,"
he said. "I really think that Coach
(John) Beilein has something going
for him and I'm glad to be a part of
it."
LSA senior Matt Sever, who is
attending the University for graduate
school in the fall, said he has plans to
buy hisbasketball ticketsotoday.
"It looks like we're going to be
even better this year," he said. "Our
program is on the right track - it's
terrific."
tatives to ask the candidate up to
six questions.
There were objections to each
recommended executive member,
but the questions directed toward
Benson were about specific issues
representatives took with his
actions in his previous term.
For example, many represen-
tatives took issue with Benson's
lack of follow through on longer-
term projects like updating MSA's
website. Questions directed to
the other two recommended
executives touched more on their
managerial styles and past expe-
riences.
The new chief of staff, Sayed,
said she hopes to guide the assem-
bly in becoming more efficient in
the future.
"I would love to have an assem-
bly by the end of this year where
every representative and every
chair can honestly say that they
made progress from a project that
they had right from the start," she
said. "And that essentially means
that the MSA as a whole is making
progress, which is something that
I would like to see, and something
I think the whole campus needs to
see."
Bajaj, who served as the trea-
surer for the Indian American
Student Association last year, said
he thinks his experience funding a
student organization will help him
in his new position as MSA trea-
surer.
"I'll bring an outside perspec-
tive. I think a lot of the ineffi-
ciencies in funding have been
continued for the past couple of
years just because that's the way
things have been done," he said.
"But I've become an expert at mas-
tering the system, so I know how
to cater it most effectively to stu-
dent organizations."
MSA also held elections for 26
committee and commission chairs
and vice-chairs last night.
JAVIER GANEAO/A
Rep. Bobby Rush, D- lIl., speaks during a news conference in Havana, yesterday. Cuba's President Raul Castro met with six visiting members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
In Cuba, Congressional Black
Caucus reps meet with Castro
Cuban ruler's first
meeting with U.S.
officials since 2006
HAVANA (AP) - Signaling its
willingness to discuss improved
relations with the U.S., Cuba yes-
terday granted three visitingmem-
bers of the Congressional Black
Caucus the first meeting with Fidel
Castro by American officials since
he fell ill in 2006.
Caucus leader Rep. Barbara Lee,
D-Calif., said she found Castro
"very healthy, very energetic, very
clear thinking" during his nearly
two-hour session with the lawmak-
ers. She said caucus members also
visited his home and met his wife.
The surprise encounter came a
TEST PREP
From Page 1A
Admissions to geta leg up.
While the rest of the world
may be hurting on account of the
economy, officials at Princeton
and Kaplan report that business is
booming.
Nick Lysaght, the marketing
manager at Princeton Review in
Ann Arbor said current economic
conditions are beneficial to Princ-
eton's enrollment rates.
"Obviously since the economy
is not doing so hot right now and
jobs are hard to come by, we are
seeing a lot of people choosing to
go back to school when theywould
have in the past gone straight to
the job market," Lysaght said.
Typically, courses at Princeton
and Kaplan, which both have
locations in Ann Arbor, run for
about $1,000 to $2,000 and offer
several classes for students to
choose.
According to Lysaght, enroll-
ment rates are up between 10
and 20 percent this year for all of
Princeton's graduate school prep
classes.
Kaplan enrollment rates for the
LSAT, GMAT and GRE programs
are also increasing, according to
Priya Dasgupta, the director of
graduate programs for Kaplan.
"Since the beginning of the
financial crisis starting in Sep-
tember, we've seen double digit
increases in interest in our busi-
ness, law and graduate test prep
courses for the GMAT, LSAT and
GRE," she said.
Dasgupta explained that good
early indicators of increased
enrollment rates were the hoards
of students at Kaplan's free infor-
mational events and the scores of
students who registered to take
Kaplan's free practice tests.
"During an economic down-
turn, many students will reassess
their career paths," she said. "This
is a great opportunity for people
to increase their education and to
ride out the storm."
But at some universities, high-
priced courses at commercial test
preparation companies are not
the only option. For example, the
University of Wisconsin at Madi-
son offers an MCAT course for
$675.
IT MERGER
From Page 1A
that University officials have con-
sidered combining the organiza-
tions for more than a year.
He also hopes the merger will
help the University to "explore
much more aggressively how to
make information more available
on mobile phones, such as iPhones
and Blackberries."
Accordingto apress release, fac-
ulty, researchers, and academic IT
professionals will work together to
provide input for the merger pro-
day after the full delegation of six
representatives spentrmore than four
hours talking privately with Cuban
President Raul Castro, his first
encounter with U.S. officials since
formally replacing his brother as
head of state nearly14 months ago.
And it comes as Washington
discusses whether to warm up
long-chilly relations with Cuba.
President Barack Obama has
ordered an assessment of U.S. pol-
icy toward the communist nation
and some members of Congress
are pushing to lift a ban on Ameri-
cans visiting the island.
"We believe it is time to open
dialogue and discussion with
Cuba," Lee told a news conference
in Washington upon the caucus
members' return. "Cubans do want
dialogue. They do want talks. They
Despite its plethora of resources,
classrooms and graduate students
who just aced these tests, Universi-
ty officials say there are no plans to
add any more test prep courses to
the LSAT Familiarization Course
currently offered.
While the University's Career
Center website and advisers offer
information and advice to stu-
dents interested in learning about
the application process for gradu-
ate school, there is an absence of
University programs that instruct
students on how totake the exami-
nations.
University spokeswoman Kelly
Cunningham said, "the Uni-
versity has never offered test-
preparatory services for LSAT,
MCAT, GMAT or similar stan-
dardized tests, because that level
of instruction falls outside the
University's mission and custom-
ary roll."
In response to the lack of Uni-
versity prep courses, Mariella
Mecozzi, senior assistant director
of pre-professional services at The
Career Center, said that a few years
ago the LSA Student Government
approached The Career Center
to create a program for graduate
examination prep services.
The result of their collaboration
was the one preparation course
cateringto the LSAT exam.
Mecozzi said The Career Cen-
ter does not offer an MCAT class
because the nature of the test is
too specific for one generalized
course.
Instead, The Career Center
website offers the following advice
to students planning on taking the
MCAT: "Closer to the date of the
test, you may wish to join a study
group in preparation for the exam
or contact a test preparation orga-
nization."
Mecozzi added that students
have not confronted The Career
Center with a demand for GMAT
or GRE prep courses.
Around the country, few colleg-
es use the resources and personnel
on campus to offer a low-cost alter-
native to high-priced exam prep
courses.
Though the University of Wis-
consin offers oan MCAT course to
students, they are advised to con-
sider it as a part of their normal
courseload. According to the Uni-
versity of Wisconsin's website, stu-
cess.
"This action will change the way
(IT personnel) operate and inter-
act with the schools and colleges,"
Patterson wrote in ane-mail inter-
view. She added that the schools
and colleges "will be free to rede-
ploy their resources towards the
unique needs of their discipline
and students."
Patterson wrote in the e-mail
that the biggest benefactors of the
change will be faculty, staff and
students and added that the goal
of the merger will be to enable
the University to "expand their
research capability, connect in new
do want normal relations."
Lee said the group would pres-
ent its findings to Speaker Nancy
Pelosi, D.-Calif, and White House
and State Department officials.
Rep. Laura Richardson,
D-Calif, who also met Fidel with
Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., said Cas-
tro "looked directly into our eyes"
and asked how Cuba could help
Obama in his efforts to change the
course of U.S. foreign policy. Rich-
ardson said she had the impression
that 82-year-old Fidel wants to see
changes in U.S.-Cuba relations in
his lifetime.
Fidel Castro has not been seen in
public since undergoing emergen-
cy intestinal surgery in July 2006
and it was his first meeting in sev-
eral years with American officials.
Although he gave up his presidential
duties after becomingill, heremains
an influential force in Cuba.
Among the last U.S. officials to
see him face-to-face were state
governors visiting the island sepa-
rately on farm trade missions in
2005: Dave Heineman of Nebraska
and Kathleen Blanco of Louisiana.
Lee's group was in Cuba five
days on a trip meant to encour-
age dialogue between the United
States and Cuba.
Jeffrey Davidow, the White
Houseadviser for this month's Sum-
mit of the Americas, which Obama
will attend, says the U.S. president
has no plans to lift the 47-year-old
trade embargo against Cuba. But
he says Obama will soon ease travel
and financial restrictions affect-
ing the island as his administration
reviews its Cuban policy.
dents are expected to have regular based in Washington D.C.
attendance and to treat the course one of the top reasons cited by
like any 3 to 4 credit class. students for seeking outside help,
Susan Nelson, a pre-health according to the Hatchet, was lim-
advisor at The University of Wis- ited assistance from GW as well as
consin, explained that 32 students the desire to excel.
are accepted into the course and The University of Texas at San
meet two times a week from Octo- Antonio offers a Summer Law
ber through April. She said medi- School Preparation Academy, cre-
cal school or Ph.D. students with ated to boost the number of its
experience in teaching are hired students admitted to law school.
for the class. Interested students submit appli-
Nelson said that they "generally cations to gain access to the pro-
have a waiting list of students hop- gram.
ing to get in, but it is a fairly small Mecozzi said a course is not
course given the size of the overall always necessary to achieve opti-
pre-med population at UW-Madi- mal performance on graduate
son." entrance exams. She said as long
She said the University of Wis- as students set aside time everyday
consin does not provide prep to study on their own and review
courses for other graduate school old exams that are available to the
entry exams. Nelson added that public, an expensive preparation
many students register in commer- course is expendable.
cial prep courses or online courses Huntsman, who said she felt
instead. that additional preparation was
Here at the University of Michi- necessary, eventually enrolled in a
gan, the LSAT Familiarization Kaplan LSAT course.
Course offeredby The Career Cen- "I would tell someone to ask
ter is compiled of eight sessions themselves if they are really com-
and costs $50, said Mecozzi. Each mitted to studying hard-core for a
semester there are one or two see- month by themselves and if they
tions of 25 students each. can't, I would definitely recom-
Mecozzisaid the course includes mend taking the (Kaplan or Princ-
an overview on the law school eton) class. It's really down to
application process, lessons on the personal preference," Huntsman
different sections of the exam and said.
a final practice test to evaluate stu- Huntsman said that despite
dents' progress. the hefty cost of her Kaplan class,
She said students who have the tremendous amount of help-
taken the course have been satis- ful resources she received made it
fied with their results. worth the price.
"They recognize that it's an "I got four huge books of prac-
unbelievable bargain, so everyone tice questions and tests and online
recognizes the value of the initia- access to every old LSAT test pos-
tive," Mecozzi said. sible," Huntsman said. She added
She said students do complain that the Kaplan class included "in-
that the course is not long enough, class activities, things online and
but added that test preparation is four diagnostic tests."
not one of The Career Center's core Huntsman said a major differ-
goals. ence between The Career Center's
"We don't want to run a full- Familiarization Course and the
blown prep course," Mecozzi said. Kaplan class she took was that at
"We just want to give students Kaplan, her instructor had much
a good sense of what the test is more teaching expertise than the
about." law student who taughtThe Career
Mecozzi said she does not fore- Center's class.
see an expansion in graduate , For students who do not have
school prep course services in the the financial means to pay for The
near future. Career Center's LSAT Familiariza-
According to The GW Hatchet tion Course, Mecozzi said that a
- George Washington University's scholarship is available. ForKaplan
student newspaper, many stu- and Princeton courses, students
dents are seeking LSAT prep from can apply to qualify for financial
private tutors like Jefferson Prep assistance to help cover the $1,000
and Mentor Test Prep, a company to $2,000 cost.
ways and improve IT support and
services such as security and stor-
age."
Though students won't see any
difference in the services - they
will still be able to go to the same
places for help and the computer
sites will still run the same - Pat-
terson said there will be many ben-
efits from the merger.
"In the future, this move will
better position us to provide the
media-rich experience expected
by today's students and offer new
services such as mobile comput-
ing," Patterson wrote.
She added that any cost efficien-
cies gained from the merger would
be redirected toward building the
University's "cyber infrastruc-
ture."
"Most importantly, we want to
ensure that we offer our faculty
and researchers the most techno-
logically sophisticated services
and infrastructure possible, and
our students the highest quality
educational and learning environ-
ment," Patterson said.
One area the new organization
will target, she added, will be to
support the "enormous biologi-
cal databases needed for human
genome sequencing."