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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Monday, September 28, 2009
michigandaily.com
FINANCING YOUR EDUCATION
Federal aid
overhaul on
the horizon
Students would see students at the University took di-
rect loans through the subsidized
more funds, but no and unsubsidized programs for the
2008-2009 academic year.
change in'U'policy Though many students wouldn't
see a significant change in how they
By NICOLE ABER receive their funds, they would be
Daily StaffReporter affected by an increase in funding
for Pell Grants, which will be in-
While state funding for higher dexed to the rate of inflation plus
education continues to be slashed one percent if the bill is signed into
because of the state's budget defi- law.
cit, students may see a glimmer of The bill would also increase the
hope with a possible increase in maximum amount for Pell Grants
federal financial aid for the next to $5,500 in 2010 and to $6,900 by
academic year. 2019. Fowler said 3,400 University
The Student Aid and Fiscal Re- students received Pell Grants to-
sponsibility Act of 2009 - a bill taling over $11 million during the
passed by the U.S. House of Rep- 2008-2009 academic year.
resentatives last week - would Cindy Bank, assistant director
eliminate government subsidies for of the University's government re-
private loans and instead put the lations office in Washington D.C.,
loans in the government's hands, said this increase would boost the
effectively cutting out the lending amount of money available for all
industry as amiddle man. students receivingthe grants.
By eliminating the tax subsi- This Pell Grant increase is es-
dies for private lenders, govern- sential as the costof college tuition
ment officials say they could save continues to rise, U.S. Rep. John
$87 billion over the next 10 years, Dingell (D-Mich.) wrote in a press
with only $7 billion in new costs. release.
These savings would then be used "We have all watched the tuition
to increase funding for higher edu- at public and private colleges dou-
cation, including a boost in money ble, then triple as time has passed,
available for Pell Grants. creating a burdensome gap for our
So what do these changes mean students to overcome," Dingell
for University of Michigan stu- wrote. "The students of this coun-
dents? try are our greatest hope ... To not
Although the bill has been ensure that they have an afford-
praised as a historic overhaul of able, quality education would be to
financial aid, there won't be many shortchange their success and the
changes in how the University con- success of our country."
ducts its financial aid operations, Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of
said Pamela Fowler, executive fi- Finaid.org, an educational website
nancial aid director. on financial aid options, said al-
According to Fowler, 9,769 un- though University students will not
dergraduates and 4,080 graduate See FINANCIAL AID, Page 7A
SAID ALSALAH/Daily
Senior running back Brandon Minorfalls past the goal line for a second-quarter touchdown Saturday. A week after rushing for 380 yards, the most in Michigan coach Rich Rodri-
guez's tenure, the Wolverines put up only 149 yards on 50 attempts against Indiana. Despite the troubles, Michigan won 36-33. For more on the game, see SportsMonday, Page1B.
CITY COUNCIL
City: Argo Dam on back burner
Council delays
decision on what to do
about damaged dam
By ELYANA TWIGGS
Daily StaffReporter
City Councilmembers Sabra Bri-
ere (D-Ward 1) and Mike Anglin
(D-Ward 5) said yesterday that the
removal of the 90-year-old Argo
Dam, despite its structural problems
of late, is quite unlikely at least in the
foreseeable future.
Built in 1920, the dam originally
created hydropower for the city of
Ann Arbor. Today, it is no longer
functional forcreating electricity. In-
stead, it just serves as a barrier to the
natural flow of the Huron River, mak-
ing the body of water before it, called
Argo Pond, suitable for recreational
activities. Five Ann Arbor-area row-
ing teams currently use the pond
for practice, including the Michigan
Men's Club Rowing Team.
Members of the rowing team had
expressed concerns that a potential
closure of the dam would pose seri-
ous challenges for their program.
"Everything in my college life has
come out of this team;' said team
captain Matt Zoufaly, an Engineer-
ing senior. "It is a big tradition for
me and to have it taken away from us
would justbe heartbreaking."
On Aug. 6, the State of Michigan
Department of Environmental Qual-
ity sent a letter to City Administrator
Roger Fraser stating that the dam's
embankment was in "poor condition
due to seepage of water through the
earthen embankment and due to the
extensive growth of trees and brush
on the embankment."
The letter demands the city reach
a decision regarding whether to re-
move the dam or repair it no later
than April 2010. If the city wants to
repair it, it must do so by Dec. 31,
2010. If the city wants to remove it,
it must do so by Dec. 31, 2012. In the
meantime, the flow to the millrace
- a rapid current of water - of the
dam must be shut off by Nov. 1, 2009
so the "embankment deficiencies"
can be better monitored.
The letter ignited a debate over
whether the dam should be removed
or repaired, which ultimately ended
in the city council tablingthe discus-
sion indefinitely.
Anglin said any decision concern-
ing the dam's removal will be ad-
dressed much further in the future.
"It is not a top priority right now
for decision-making," Anglin said.
"The critical area we are talking
about is the millrace.
"I am still in favor of keeping the
Argo Pond as it is, repairing the mill-
race, and usingthe gate structure,"he
said. "There is nothing that is show-
See ARGO DAM, Page 7A
ECO-FRIENDINESS ON A BUDGET
At Botanical Gardens,lessons
on the high price of going green
MSA gathers influential alums,
student groups for conference
White House staffers,
Domino's CEO among
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stave o
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balanci
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In 2
drivew
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ter run
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The
ing Cre
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But
more p
gravel
vement removed, absorb runoff, which just ended up
back in the wetlands, as hadbeen the
hen replaced as case with the asphalt.
Officials are hopeful that by re-
erfect solutions to paving the driveways now - this
time reverting back to asphalt - they
can better control waterquality.
Botanical Gardens Director Rob-
By LILLIAN XIAO ert Grese wrote in an e-mail to the
For the Daily Daily that the cost of the repaving is
$360,000.
the second time in four years, In an e-mail response to a com-
s at the Matthaei Botanical plaint from an Ann Arbor resident
s are paving its driveways to about the project, Grese laid out the
ff concerns about the protec- problems with the gravel option.
nearby wetlands. "The gravel was not as porous as
episode highlights the dif- we had hoped," Grese wrote in the
s that even the most ecologi- e-mail that was passed along to the
onscious organizations face in Daily. "Once it was packed down,
ing environmental steward- something like 80-90 percent of the
ith the financial bottom line. water ran off rather than soaking
005 officials had the asphalt through much of the surfaces."
ays replaced with gravel in In addition to the gravel's inabil-
hat it would filter oil and wa- ity to absorb the runoff, April Pick-
ioff from the parking lot and rel, visitor services coordinator, said
t it from ending up in nearby the maintenance of the gravel also
ds. caused problems for the wetlands.
runoff often ends up in Flem- "We had to spraythe gravel with a
ek, a water source to Ann Ar- petroleum-based product," she said.
ilities like Radrick Farms Golf "Both the product and dust were
and Radrick Recreation Area. filtering into the constructed wet-
the gravel proved to cause lands."
roblems than it solved. As the in response to the complaint,
was packed down, it didn't Grese also wrote that the gravel
needed constant maintenance and
was often riddled with potholes. He
added that it was also difficult to re-
move snow in the winter.
Though Pickrel said one of the
reasons officials installed the gravel
was because it was better suited for
natural areas like the botanical gar-
dens, the problems with the gravel
seemed to outweigh the benefits.
She added that regular asphalt
isn't an ideal material for the project,
but it's the best they could afford.
"We would ideally have perme-
able asphalt;" Pickrel said. "(But) we
lacked the funds to properlyredo the
surface."
In addition to repaving the drive-
ways, officials are building more rain
gardens and managing vegetation to
encourage prairie species. Both ef-
forts will help filterthe runoff before
it reaches the wetlands, Grese wrote
in the e-mail.
"Even though the paving itself
isn't permeable, we try to handle
some of the water before it runs into
the stream," Grese wrote.
In addition to these projects, the
staff is currently overseeing the con-
struction of a children's garden. They
are also planning a labyrinth that is
expected to begin development in
the next two months.
guests at Leadership
Colloquium
By STEPHANIE BERLIANT
Daily StaffReporter
More than 100 student leaders
representing dozens of campus
organizations converged yester-
day to learn from eight distin-
guished alumni and University
affiliates, including four current
White House staffers and the
chairman and CEO of Domino's
Pizza.
The Michigan Student Assem-
bly sponsored the Campus Lead-
ership Colloquium, an invitation-
only event held at the University
of Michigan Museum of Art, dur-
ing which speakers briefly de-
scribed their leadership experi-
ences to the large group. Students
also had the opportunity to ask
questions in smaller breakout
sessions.
The represented organizations
ranged from mainstays like Dance
Marathon to lesser-known clubs
like the Michigan Backpacking
Club and Shmooze, a Jewish or-
ganization whose members meet
White House Special Projects Coordinator Eugene Kang speaks at the Campus
Leadership Colloquium at the University of Michigan Museum of Art yesterday.
to network and promote Jewish
culture.
"In the past, we've had this
event ... for the more political or-
ganizations on campus," said Ian
Margolis, an MSA representative
and event co-organizer. "This
year, we wanted to appeal to more
students, so we brought ina wider
variety of speakers:'
During a breakout session,
Domino's CEO and Chairman Da-
vid Brandon compared running
his company to leading a sports
team. Brandon, who played quar-
terback for the Wolverines in
the early 1970s under Bo Schem-
bechler, said that as an undergrad-
uate he had hoped to have a career
in teaching or coaching.
"But I spend most of my time
now actually teaching and coach-
ing," Brandon said. "We recruit,
we prepare, go out and execute.
We're a multibillion-dollar com-
pany, so we're competing at a very
high level. But now I worry about
See LEADERSHIP, Page 7A
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