2B - Tuesday, April 21, 2009 TMi ly/g yc
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.comi
Students celebrate on the Diag after Barack Obama was elected president of the United States.
Obama's isturic win
ignites suetbd
University, Coke Split
The University temporarily sus-
pended the purchasing of Coca-Cola
products after the company missed the
deadline to elect a third-party review
of alleged human rights violations in
Asia and South America. The suspen-
sion lasted shount four months. On Apr.
to, the University decided to resume its
contract due to the company's compli-
ance with two independent investiga-
tions of its lahor practices in Colomhia
and India.
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrinabecame one of the
deadliest and most costly hurricanes in
United States history, taking 1,836 lives
and costing $89.6 billion. President
Mary Sue Coleman led the University
in relief efforts, offering financial aid
to students from the disaster areas and
allowing students from universities
affected by the hurricane to continue
their academic careers at the Univer-
sity. In addition, many campus groups RoDeito
funneled donations and helped rebuild Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Lou. the worst
lost homes. making its second landfall as a Category 3 hurricane.
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npus celebrates the Diag from all directions, a few
waving large American Flags. A
e nation's first handful of University police moni-
tored the crowd, including one
lack president car parked on a path between the
Diag and West Hall. The crowd
By JULIE ROWE remained peaceful, yet rowdy as
Daily StaffReporter police watched.
A group of students formed a
5, 2008 - It was through drumline on the steps of the Har-
creams and complete ela- lan Hatcher Graduate Library,
at Kinesiology sophomore while hundreds of students alter-
McCloud processed the nated chants of "Go-bama!" and
ion that the nation elected "Yes we can!" to the beat.
president. After receiving text messages,
chless, she dropped to her a group of students encouraged
n the midst of hundreds of those gathered to go to the streets.
s gathered on the Diag just Studentswere askingeach other for
p.m. last night, and prayed a destination but no one seemed to
grateful thatBarack Obama know or care where the crowd was
cted the next president of heading. Some headed to Michigan
ted States. Stadium, others to the intersection
e she knelt, students erupt- of State Street and Liberty Street.
eafening chants of "Yes we One group marched to the steps
nd "Obama!" which soared of the Michigan Union, clogging
aotic cheers, screams and State Street and chanting, "It's
great to see an Obama victory." A
tly after Obama gave his portion of the crowd walked along
noe speech near midnight, toward the home of University
of percussionists, a saxo- President Mary Sue Coleman and
and aetag-a-long didgeridoo called for herto make a speech. She
headed to the Diag play- never emerged and the group soon
zz version of the National moved eastward on South Univer-
. The hundreds already sity Avenue.
d at the center of campus The crowds and celebrations,
the band. though numerous and disparate,
ents continued topour into only grew through the evening as
national results came in.
As of 4 a.m., Obama had won 338
electoral votes, well above the 270
needed to secure the presidency.
Republican nominee John McCain
clinched 163 votes.
Students cheered well into the
early morning hours, celebrating
the Democratic candidate's deci-
sive victory.
"I feel this is the greatest
moment of our lives," said LSA
sophomore Rose Balzer. "There's
no doubt about that."
While students rejoiced in the
streets singing "The Star-Spangled
Banner" and choruses of "The Vic-
tors," results trickled in from Ann
Arbor precincts, showinga 14-per-
cent increase from the number of
people who cast ballots at student
dominated polling places of 2004.
Eighty-three percent of voters at
14 student-heavy Ann Arbor pre-
cincts supported Obama.
Obama, whose victory in the
Electoral College entered land-
slide territory, began the race two
years ago as the underdog. He had
to defeat the favored Sen. Hillary
Clinton of New York to win the
Democratic Party's nomination. In
doing so, he defied historical prec-
edent tobecome the firstblack man
to earna major party's nod.
The Democratic nominee once
See OBAMA, Page 3B
Affirmative Action Ban q
Proposal 2, The Michigan Civil
Rights Initiative, passed, banning
affirmative action in the state. The pro-
posal prohibited all public institutions,
including the University, from consid-
ering race and gender as factors for
admissions and hiring purposes. The
University, along with Wayne State
University and Michigan State Univer-
sity, was granted a delay in the enact-
ment of the law to complete its 2007
admission cycles, which had begun
before the passing of Proposal 2.
Bo Passes Away
Devoted football coach Bo Schem-
hedhlf," 4'ho' tame to 'ebodythb
essence of University athletics, passed
away at age 77 due to heart failure:
Coach Schembechler, knownas"Bo' by
his countless fans, ftiends, family ahd
colleagues, served as head coach for 21
years, beginning in 1969. In that time,
he won 13 Big Ten Titles, went to 10
Rose Bowls, and earned him the title of
the winningest head coach in Michigan
football history.
I1
Coach Bo Schembechler is carried off the field in this file
photo after a win over Washington in the 1981 Rose Bowl.
Zack Yost, a former president of
the Michigan Student Assembly and
leader of the Michigan Action Party,
resigned from the presidency a week
after a private group that he created on
Facebook.com was made public. The
group mocked MSA Rep. Tim Hull and
referenced his Asperger's syndrome, a
mild form of autism. Yost was the first
MSA president to resign since F. Scott
Kellman in 1977.
The Diag became a commencement
venue for the first time in the Univer-
sity's history after the Commencement
Advisory Committee decided that the
Big House, which traditionally holds
the event, was not a safe option to host
the spring 2008 commencement cer-
emony due to unfinished construction
on its east side. The decision to hold
the ceremony on the Diag was made by
University officials after students and
alumni protested a previous decision
to hold the ceremony at Eastern Michi-
gan University's Rynearson Stadium.
MSA Party Splits
After failing to relate to a disaffect-
ed student body, two representatives
from the Michigan Action Party decid-
ed to steer MSA in a new direction.
Engineering junior Abhishek Mahanti
and LSA junior Gibran Baydoun deter-
mined that their goals could not have
been met underthe association of their
then current party. Baydoun decided
to form the reMICHIGAN campaign.
Mahanti established the Michigan
Vision Party and led his team to vic-
tory in the 2009 MSA elections.
UMMA Reopens
The University of Michigan Muse-
um of Art reopened for the first time in
nearly three years. By the end of Satur-
day, nearly 24,000 people had attended
the opening weekend. The new Maxine
and Stuart Frankel and the Franke
Family Wing increased the museum's
gallery space and added lecture halls
andmeetingrooms.UMMAalsogained
state-of-the-art conservation and stor-
age facilities, a225-seatauditorium and
a Wi-Fi accessible caf.
Students crowd the entrance of UMMA on the night of its
grand reopening.