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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, April 13, 2009
michigandaily.com
THE BEGINNINGS OF A TRADITION?
MICHIGAN STUDENT ASSEMBLY
MSA rules
for funding
get mixed
results
Members of the Michigan football team leap up and slap the GO BLUE M Club sign as the Wolverines enter this year's Spring Game at the Big House on Saturday. Attendance
for the game topped more than 50,000 people - a new record. For more on the game and what it means for the team's upcoming season, see SportsMondayinside.
FOOTBALL SATURDAYS
AthleticDept. extends tcket deadline
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ne student group "a waste of time."
"It is very confusing. It is not
ders say process clear what the different commit-
tees do or how they determine
complex, others how much money they are giving
you," Snider said.
ay it works well Former MSA Treasurer Lisa
Averill said, however, that the
By EMILY ORLEY process is made clear to student
Daily StaffReporter organizations who apply for fund-
ing.
e of the Michigan Student "We pretty clearly outline our
bly's primary purposes is entire process for them," she said.
buting funds to student "And if they come to office hours
s that need the funding. To or anything, we're always willing
the process easier for stu- to go over it with them in more
rganizations to obtain this depth."
y, the assembly completely The funding application is
ped its funding application made available online at the
beginning of last semester. beginning of each fall and win-
so far, student groups have ter semester. Around this time,
the new process mixed rev- the chairs and vice-chairs for the
some contending that the Budget Priorities and Community
ss provides a vital resource Service Committees hold office
roups during hard times = hours and funding workshops to
others complaining that help student organizations apply
ocess is still too opaque and for funding.
icated. For many student organiza-
A junior Brad Snider is in tions, navigating this process
atter of the two groups. hasn't been hard. It has, however,
r, who led an Alternative proved pivotal to the functioning
g Break team this semester of their groups, especially as tra-
ad to request funding from ditional funding sources back out
said the process of obtain- of giving because of tough eco-
nding from the assembly is nomic times.
nefficient and, quite simply, See MSA, Page 3A
Officials: Football
student season ticket
extension not because
of last season's record
By ERIK TORENBERG
Daily StaffReporter
While the Athletic Department
extended the deadline for students
to purchase season football and
basketball tickets to tomorrow, offi-
cials from the department stress
the decision had nothing to do with
the football team's 3-9 record last
season.
In an e-mail from Marty Bodnar,
associate director ofticketing sales,
sent last Thursday, the Athletic
Department announced that the
deadline for purchasing 2009 stu-
dent season football and men's bas-
ketball tickets would be extended
to tomorrow, April 14.
Calling the notion that lastyear's
abysmal season had anything to do
with the extension laughable, Ath-
letic Department spokesman Bruce
Madej highlighted the attendance
at this weekend's annual spring
game - more than 50,000 - as a
clear sign that fans still support the
program.
Madej wrote in an e-mail to The
Michigan Daily that Saturday's
attendance was "double what we
might have considered our best
numbers ever for a spring game in
our entire history."
"Ifa 3-9 season was going to be
bothersome for 2009, I think that
might have been visible today," he
wrote Saturday.
Madej said the Athletic Depart-
ment does not know if the current
economic climate will have an
impact on ticket sales, but that it
is concerned and has made adjust-
See TICKETS, Page 7A
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY SERIES, PART 1 OF S
Our energy future: Wind
STUDENT ENTREPRENEURS
Start-up lets fans invest in bands
Editor's Note: The perils of our
country's energy dilemma are well
known and often discussed. As the
nation's best scientists, engineers,
businessmen and policymakers work
to come up with a solution, one thing
is becoming ever more clear. The
tonic to our nation's energy illness
will not be one catch-all, but, rather,
the combination of budding indus-
tries of alternative energy - the
* fruits of"energy diversity." Over the
nextfive days, we will take a look at
how a variety of these developments
in different types of energy are play-
ing out on campus and in the greater
Ann Arbor area. Through this series
we hope to get a glimpse of what this
area's best researchers and entrepre-
neurs are doing to solve America's
energy quagmire.
By MATT AARONSON
DailyStaffReporter
In2008, morethan120gigawatts
ofenergy were generated fromwind
around the world, according to the
World Wind Energy Association, a
global nonprofit that works to pro-
mote wind energy technology.
However, a recent University of
Delaware study estimated that 72
terawatts (1 terawatt = 100 giga-
watts) of commercially viable wind
power is available.
That means that, as a planet,
we're only using about .17 percent
of the potential wind energy on
Earth. It also means that, if utilized
correctly, wind energy could satisfy
the world's total energy needs five
times over.
With the current economic cri-
sis and the United States' increased
dependence on foreign oil, it is now
more crucial than ever to tap into
this abundant and free natural
resource.
But you don't have to tell that to
the state of Michigan.
With 3,288 miles of coastline -
more than any other state except
Alaska - Michigan is currently in
a prime location to harvest its wind
potential. And there are many peo-
ple in and around Ann Arbor who
are working to do just that.
The day after signing a Memo-
randum of Understanding to mark
a collaboration with Denmark's
Minister of Climate and Energy
last month at the Michigan League,
See WIND ENERGY, Page 7A
Students design humble beginnings.
Typically, it's a romantic story
website where fans about four young misfits who set
up in the basement of the drum-
fund up-and-coming mer's parents' house and drive
the neighbors nuts as they experi-
musicians ment with their sound, write a few
songs, play a few gigs and end up
By MATT AARONSON with hoards of loyal fans following
Daily staffReporter them as they tour the country.
But it all comes to a halt one day
Bands who end up on maga- when the van breaks down on the
zine covers love to talk about their road and there's no money left to
fix it.
But what about the screaming
fans? Couldn't they have helped?
A group of guys here at the Uni-
versity think so.
A new Internet start-up from
University students aims to help
passionate music lovers support
their favorite artists by pledging
working capital to help finance
projects like albums, tours and
music videos.
See START-UP, Page 7A
BUSTING A MOVE IN THE BALLROOM
THE RULES ON TEACHING
Prof. charged in prostitution case will
return to the classroom next semester
Rules for return
dictated by crime
and its relation to
job, students
By DEVON THORSBY
Daily StaffReporter
Associate Prof. Yaron Eliav, who
was charged with a misdemeanor
for his involvement in a prostitu-
tion case with a female student in
the Law School, is set to return to
his teaching position next fall.
Eliav, whose felony charges were
brought down to a misdemeanor
in December, is scheduled to teach
History 277: The Land of Israel/
Palestine through the Ages during
the fall term.
In April 2008, Eliav paid a
University Law student $300 to
perform sexual acts after she
advertised herself on Craigslist.
com, according to a Dec. 12, 2008
Ann Arbor News article.
The 22-year-old student report-
ed that while she and Eliav did
not have intercourse, the encoun-
ter became dangerous when Eliav
allegedly slapped her twice across
the face with a belt, the article said.
While Eliav was originally
charged with prostitution/accost-
ing and solicitation, he pleaded no
contest to the misdemeanor charge
of using a computer to commit a
crime. In December, he was sen-
tenced to 12 months of probation.
Prof. Gary Beckman, the chair of
the Near Eastern Studies Depart-
See PROFESSOR, Page 7A
WILL MOELLER/Daily
Participants in the Master the Art 6th Edition competition perform on Friday in the Michigan League Ballroom. The hip-hop
event consisted of a 5-on-5 break-dancing tournament and 1-on-1 popping tournament.
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