I e ic1 i n il

* Ann Arbor, Michiganr

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

michigandaily.com

FINANCING YOUR EDUCATION
A 'Promise unkept?
In budget cuts, state Signed into law by Gov. Jen- scholarship. BY THE NUMBERS
nifer Granholm in 2006 as a way Megan Brown, Granholm's
could end merit to increase college graduates in deputy press secretary, said the Michigan Promise Scholarship

FIGHTING HiNi
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Michigan, the Michigan Prom-
Aarship program ise Scholarship provides students
from Michigan with grants total-
By NICOLE ABER ing $500 to $4,000 over four years
Daily StaffReporter to help pay tuition. To become eli-
gible., students must pass x-certain
ineering sophomore Jacky mark on a merit examination given
relies exclusively on finan- in high school.
d to pay for his education at On June 23, the state legislature
niversity. With his family's voted to cut funding for the schol-
es tight, he's taking a work- arship, which provides grants for
osition this fall and seeking over 96,000 college students.
time job. The elimination of the scholar-
Giang and more than 5,000 ship would save the state approxi-
students at the University, mately $140 million at a time when
for school this year could legislators, facing a looming $2.8
e even more difficult than billion deficit, are looking to cut
ated as the state struggles wherever possible, especially in
decision about whether to the Republican-controlled state
through with a cut to the Senate.
;an Promise Scholarship. Granholm has vowed to save the

governor "continues to support
the Michigan Promise Scholarship
because it is our first universal
scholarship and, as such, supports
our belief that everyone should
continue their education beyond
high school."
Granholm has come out in favor
of reducing the program's funding
if it means keeping it alive.
The deadline for a resolution is
October 1, which marks the start of
the 2010 fiscal year.
Accordingto Pamela Fowler, the
University's executive financial aid
director, 3,152 students received
more $3 million from the Michigan
Promise Scholarship during the
2007-2008 school year, the most
recent year for which such infor-
See SCHOLARSHIP, Page 8A

3r152
University students received Michigan
Promise scholarships in 2007-08, the
most recent data available
5,000+
University students estimated to receive
the scholarship if it's funded this year
96,000
Number of students who receive the
scholarship statewide
$140M
Amount the state would sane by
calling the scholarship this year

ROLLING OUT THE WELCOME MAT
r,
a
CH RiS OZOMBAK/Daiiy
More than 400 students waited in line yesterday to talk to Universi-
ty President Mary Sue coleman daring the annual President's Open
Hsuse at her University-owned house at 815 Sooth Universiny Ave.
The line of students started at the sidewalk in front of the President's
House and weaved through several rooms on the first fivor where
students could talk with coleman. Students waiting in line could also
munch on snacks from stations set up around the house, brvwse
through books in coleman's personal library and speak with other
Universityvofticiais, including Prvvost Teresa Sullivan avd E. Rvyster
Harper, vice president of student affairs. After the Open House,
coleman said she enisys hosting the event each year because she
wants students tv knvw that even though she is the president, she is
still accessible. "tStudents) see that house and I wavt them to know
that I love meeting them and I welcome them to the Uviversity and
I appreciate the tact that the students take the initiative to come
over she said. Coleman admitted h sythaleenjo s the event
she wshes she could spend more time with each student. "vme
times I regret that I can't spend more time because everybody is so
interesting she said out I wanted to get through so I could at least
shake everybody's hand."h
R EFOR MING H EA LTH CAR E
Aenational debate seen from campus

Provost instructs
professors to be easy
on ill students
By STEPHANIE STEINBERG
DailyStaffReporter
Getting sick is bad. Missing class
can be worse.
But this year, the University is
asking professors to be more flex-
ible with sick students who skip
class because of an illness, particu-
larly those who get the H1N1 virus.
Dr. Robert Winfield, the Univer-
sity's chief medical officer, said stu-
dents should not attend class if they
have H1NLso that they can't spread
the virus and infect faculty and fel-
low students.
"We're asking professors to be
lenient about this," Whifueld said,
adding that University Health Ser-
vice will not write notes for those
infectedwith H1N1because doctors
expect an overwhelming amount of
students may catch the virus.
"We're indicatingthe HealthSer-
vice can't give notes to everybody
because we'll be overwhelmed, and
we really need to take care of the
sick people," Winfield said.
Students who miss class because
they are ill are advised to e-mail
their professors and academic
adviser to notify them of their
absence.
Andrew Burchfield, manager of
emergency planning forthe Univer-
sity, said students have a personal
responsibility to take care of them-
selves and follow the University's
request to self-isolate when ill.
"People need to make sure that

they're heeding the advice of 'If
you're sick, stay home; Don't go in
and contaminate others because
that's the best way we're going to
stop the spread," Burchfield said.
VIRAL ATTENTION
As it has developed this year,
swine flu has proven to be more
perilous for people under age 24
than the general public. Because
the virus is a novel strain that first
BY THE NUMBERS
Swine flus impact so far

10
Dleathstfrom 1-1181in Mirhigan

593

appeared in the United States in
April 2009, very few people have
any immunity to fight the virus.
The Centers for Disease Con-
trol and Prevention report that the
virus has caused 593 deaths in the
See SWINE FLU, Page 8A

FOOTBALL SATURDAYS
'U' puts halt to 'Fan
Can' beer campaign

Before Obama's
speech to Congress,
U' faculty and
students weigh in
By ESHWAR
THIRUNAVUKKARASU
Daily StaffReporter
Tonight before a joint session of
Congress, President Barack Obama
will give one of the most highly
scrutinized speeches of his presi-
dency. In an effort to rally support
for his health care plan, the Presi-
dent is expected to clearly explain
what he wants in a health care
reform bill.
"People will leave that speech

knowing where he stands," White
House Press Secretary Robert
Gibbs said on ABC's "This Week."
Health care reform has drawn
considerable attention this sum-
mer, from raucous town hall meet-
ings to factually incorrect talk of
government "death panels."
Much of that attention has come
from politicians and the national
news media. Meanwhile, the views
of those in medical community
seem to fly under the radar.
. In interviews this week, mem-
bers of the University's Medical
School expressed concerns about
the changing landscape of health
care but remain optimistic about
the enhanced coverage.
Nat Schuster, a third-year medi-
cal student who has been closely
following developments on the

issue, said many of his peers are
awaiting the forthcoming legisla-
tive decisions before deciding to
pursue a career in primary care.
"I think generally within the
med school that people are watch-
ing excitedly about what could
happen over the next few months,"
Schuster said. "All the stars are
aligning right now for health care
reform."
Schuster welcomed the possibil-
ity of providing universal access to
health care, citing substantial need
in the United States.
In 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau
estimated that nearly 46 million
Americans were uninsured while
another 25 million were underin-
sured, accordingto the U.S. Census
Bureau.
Schuster, amember ofthe Health

Policy Society (POSO), a student
group in the Medical School that
convenes weekly to discuss issues
like health care reform, is con-
vinced that a massive overhaul in
the system is not necessary to pro-
vide access to health care.
"Health care in the United States
right now is a patchwork quilt of
public and private payers," he said,
"and that's notgoing to change."
Dr. Mark Fendrick, an associ-
ate professor in the School of Pub-
lic Health, echoed the sentiment,
saying, "incremental reform is the
reform that happens."
. Fendrick anticipates that any
policy detailing both access to
care and quality improvement will
unavoidably lead to an increase in
overall expenditures.
See HEALTH CARE, Page 8A

Officials say Bud
Light gimmick
encourages underage
drinking on campus
ByANNIE THOMAS
Daily Staff Reporter
Real men of (marketing) genius?
University officials don't think so.
In the lead-up to this year's col-
lege football season, Anheuser-
Busch, the venerable beer producer,
has rolled out "Fan Cans" targeted
at winning over pigskin fans on
campuses across the country. But
University officials, in a series of
letters to the company, threatened
legal action if the beer company
didn't stop using the school's colors
in the controversial campaign that
sells Bud Light in color-coordinat-
ed cans that mimic the team colors
of 27 colleges.
University Spokeswoman Kelly
Cunningham said University offi-
cials urged Anheuser-Busch to
stop the campaign because yellow
and blue beer cans could give the
impression that the University pro-

motes underage drinking.
"If our name was associated with
an alcoholic beverage, the natural
next step for people would be that
the University is endorsing alco-
hol," she said. "Our students are
mostly underage, and so it doesn't
make any sense."
The University's initial letter to
Anheuser-Busch cited the Michi-
gan licensing program, which offi-
cially licenses products to support
the University's educational and
athletic programs. The letter said
the program is "carefully crafted to
assure that any products licensed
support the University's values
and its standards for excellence,"
and that the licensing of University
trademarks on alcoholic beverages
would not meet those standards.
The decision to lobby against the
campaign contradicts the Universi-
ty's position on a similar underage
drinking matter raised lastyear.
After 129 college and university
presidents chose to sign the Ame-
thyst initiative - a petitionto lower
the national drinking age from 21 to
18 - last year, University President
Mary Sue Coleman opted not to.
In an interview with the Daily
See FAN CANS, Page 9A


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