~11E ffid~igan M
' Ann Arbor, Michigan
Thursday, September 17, 2009
michigandaily.com
MICHIGAN STATE G VERNMENT
Deal could
end. budget
stalemate
In Hutchins Hall yesterday, officials from the University's Innocence Clinic announce the filing of a motion in the case of Karl Vinson.
Clinic: Free this innocent man
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awmakers must ment between legislative leaders
allows the budget chairmen to
ss budget by end move forward with making spe-
cific budget reductions to bring
f month or face our fiscal house in order."
The agreement represents a
major breakthrough in the leg-
islative stalemate over the 2010
By NICOLE ABER budget, according to Rep. Joan
Daily StaffReporter Bauer (D-Lansing), who heads
up the House's Higher Education
sterday afternoon leaders Appropriations Committee.
e state legislature made key If lawmakers don't reach a de-
ments regarding the state cision by the Oct. Ideadline, there
et for the 2010 fiscal year, will be a partial government shut-
acing hopes that a deal will down akin to the one policymak-
srked out before the legisla- ers faced in 2007, which lasted
October deadline, four hours.
a closed-door meeting. Sen- Over thenexttwo weeks,'legis-
lajority Leader Mike Bishop lators are hoping to strike enough
ochester) and House Speak- compromises between the House
dy Dillon (D-Redford Twp.) and Senate to avoid a similar epi-
ewly established budget tar- sode.
including a $1.2 billion cut According to The Associated
ending without increasing Press, Gov. Jennifer Granholm
according to The Associ- doesn'tsupporttheagreements in
Press. cuts Bishop and Dillon reached.
lis :1160in we have Granholm proposed raising $685
to a bi-partisan, bicameral million in revenue through rais-
ment which establishes ing some taxes and reducing
lines for reaching a bud- business tax credits to cut spend-
esolution," Bishop wrote in ing by $862 million.
ss release distributed after "The governor has made it
eeting. "This signed agree- See BUDGET, Page 7A
New evidence should
exonerate Vinson,
attorneys say
By JILLIAN BERMAN
and JACOB SMILOVITZ
Daily News Editors
At a press conference yesterday,
officials from the University's In-
nocence Clinic announced that the
clinic filed a motion Monday to free
Karl Vinson, a man they say is in
prison because of false evidence.
In the motion, the organization,
which seeks to exonerate wrong-
fully convicted prisoners, argues
that Vinson could not have com-
mitted the crime for which he has
spent the last 23 years of his life in
prison.
After clinic officials secured the
scientific evidence they believe ex-
onerates Vinson, they informed the
Wayne County Prosecutor's office
in June 2009, in hopes that the of-
fice would join them in asking for a
relief of judgment.
After meeting with senior
members of the prosecutor's staff
multiple times and testing a slide
from the victim's rape kit - at the
Innocence Clinic's expense - the
prosecution is still dragging its feet,
according to Law School Associate
Dean Bridget McCormack, co-di-
rector of the Innocence Clinic.
"We filed our motion on Monday
because we couldn't move forward
in good conscience," she said.
In 1986, Vinson was accused of
sexual criminal conduct and break-
ing and entering with intent to com-
unit a felony. In May of that yoar, ht
was sentenced to concurrent sen-
tences of 10 to 50 years and 5 to 15
years for, as prosecutors claimed,
raping a nine-year-old girl.
But Innocence Clinic attorneys
See INNOCENCE CLINIC, Page 7A
FOOTBALL SATURDAYS
New beats, and
mixed reactions
Despite hard times,
a place for hard hats
C~~tM
Breaking tradition,
the Big House now
pumps in music
By MALLORY BEBERMAN
Daily StaffReporter
Michigan fans young and old
take pride in the marching band.
This year, though, officials threw
tradition to the wind and decided to
give the band a break. That's right,
Michigan has finally jumped on the
"canned" music bandwagon.
For the first time ever, the Big
House is playing popular music
over the public address system dur-
ing some breaks in game play.
Mark Riordan, the assistant ath-
letic director for marketing, said
the Athletic Department spent a lot
of time during the off-season dis-
cussing new ways it could enrich
the game day experience.
"All of our peers play music," he
said. "We were pretty much the last
school in our stature to do this."
In a press conference on Monday,
head football coach Rich Rodriguez
said anything that creates a more
interactive and lively experience in
the stadium is fine by him.
"The best experience is if we're
playing well and winning," he said.
"But you notice how long these TV
timeouts are? Oh, it's brutal. So with
all that dead time that you have with
the TV timeouts, if there's a way
that you can use the band, and the
student section, and the crowd and
music and get everybody into the
game so they enjoy the experience
and come back whether you win or
lose, that's a positive thing."
The Athletic Department hopes
to play music that Michigan fans
can relate to.
Riordan said the Athletic Depart-
ment want to play songs applicable
to the Michigan experience and
also avoid songs already claimed by
other schools.
"Lose Yourself" by Eminem and
"Seven Nation Army" by the White
Stripes have been played because
of the both artists' connection to
Detroit.
So far, Riordan said, feedback
has been mixed, though it has been
"more favorable than unfavorable
both weeks."
"I think it's a really good thing ex-
cept when they play songs played in
other team's stadiums" said LSA se-
nior Noah Weber. "I think 'Lose Your-
self' is an awesome choice but they
need to use (canned music) wisely"
Weber said the techno hit "Zom-
bie Nation" by Kernkraft 400,
which was used in both games this
year at the Big House, had long
been a favorite in Beaver Stadium
at Penn State University, and thus
should be avoided.
Business senior Jason Javer likes
the addition too.
"I think the music is really posi-
tive and adds a good atmosphere," he
said. "Because it's such a big stadium,
it really brings everyone together."
Junior safety Troy Woolfolk said in
Monday's press conference that he
didn't particularly like the music.
"I don't like none of the music,
but I have a tendency to dance some
of time, so regardless of what it is,
I'm going to dance to it," he said.
When asked what songs he would
prefer to hear instead of the music
currently played at the Big House,
Woolfolk had a few suggestions.
"See, I'm from Texas, and y'all
might not really know the type of
See BIG HOUSE BEATS, Page 8A
AND ACADEMIC COMPLEX
Project:This new residence hall will
provide living space for 460 students.
The 360,000-square-foot building will
also include offices, classrooms and
studios for the School of Information and
LSA departments of Communication
Studies, Screen Arts and Cultures, the
Language Resource Center and the
Sweetland Writing Center.
Targeted Completion Date: Summer 2010
NORTH UNIVERSITY AVE.
V~9
SOUTH UN
LAW SCHOOL ACADEMIC BUILDINGa
AND HUTCHINGS HALL LAW
SCHOOL COMMONS ADDITION %M
Project: Classrooms, offices and clinic
workspaces will be housed ina new 100,000
square-foot academic building. A 16,000
square-foot Law School commons will be
added between Hutchins Hall and the William
W. Cook Legal Research Library as a study
area for students. Renovations also will be
made in Hutchins Hall and Cook Library.
Targeted Completion Date: Spring 2012
Tunnels photograph by ZACHARY MEISNER/Daily. Schematics from
University Office of Architecture, Engineering and Construction.
RENOVATION AND EXPANSION
PROJECT
Project: The Big House will seat more than
108,000 fans after renovations are complete.
The expansion includes an additional
400,000 square feet of space on the west
and east sides of the stadium for 83 suites
and 3,000 seats. More restrooms,
concession stands and seating for disabled
fans will also be added.
Targeted Completion Date: Fall 2010
There are currently 10
ongoing construction
projects throughout campus,
costing more than $1.26
billion. Here's a look at some
of the more notable projects
that span from the northeast
tip to the southwest corner
of Central Campus. These
projects are expected to be
completed within the next
few years.
- Stephanie Steinberg
Graphic by Corey DeFever
WEATHER HI: 75
TOMORROW LO 50
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