SHOWCASE SWEEP ON THE After a slow start, the Michigan hockey team posted impressive wins against Minnesota and with its plansto elec Wisconsin in the College Hockey Showcase. to the DPS Oversigh SEE SPORTSMONDAY, INSIDE SEE 4II 13ld4g an &IVi Ann Arbor, Michigan PATROLLING CAMPUS POLICE Student seats on oversight cmte. to be elected posts Monday, November 30,2009 michigandaily.con THE OPENING ACT MSA president says assembly made mistake in past by appointing reps. By STEPHANIE STEINBERG Daily StaffReporter Michigan Student Assembly President Abhishek Mahanti said the assembly's current practice of nominating and appointing rep- resentatives to the Department of Public Safety Oversight Commit- tee will soon be dropped. The move comes a little more than a week after independent lawyers quoted in a Michigan Daily article called into question the legality of the nomination pro- cess. Mahanti said the assembly will create a resolution in the coming weeks to revise the MSA Compiled Code, which will add an election each semester for student repre- sentatives to the Oversight Com- mittee. "We, as an executive board, realize our mistake in not taking a closer look at this Oversight Com- mittee issue," Mahanti wrote in an e-mail interview. "We've been pro- active in using this opportunity to learn from our mistake in regards to our relationship with General Counsel and to re-prioritize and strengthen our Campus Safety Commission." Officials from MSA have come under fire lately on two fronts with regard to the DPS Oversight Com- mittee - a body that was formed in 1992 to meet state law and act as a check on DPS, which was estab- lished that same year. First, an article published in the Nov.16 editionof the Dailyoutlined MSA's election process for student representatives to the committee - a process that independent law- yers said may violate state law. Then it came to light that MSA officials had refused to meet with a University professor who was concerned about the legality of election processes used to select students, faculty and staff to serve on the committee. MSA officials defended themselves by saying they opted not to meet with Prof Douglas Smith after consulting with the University's Office of General Counsel, which advised not to talk to him. After learning about the situ- ation at a Nov. 17 MSA meeting, MSA Public Health Rep. Hamdan Yousuf cautioned MSA's executive board from "becoming just an arm of the administration," according to a Nov. 18 Daily article. See DPS OVERSIGHT, Page 9A The Boychoir of Ann Arbor performs on the steps of Hill Auditorium yesterday just before the Vienna Boys Choir took the main stage. The Ann Arbor-based singing group, comprised of boys ages eight to 18, performs multiple concerts during the Christmas season. It's next is at First Presbyterian Church of Ypsilanti on Dec. 11. RE-L A U NCHING MS A'S W E BSIT E After some delay, MSA opts for stop-gap to launch website soon Officials say launch was delayed due to server problems By MALLORY JONES Daily StaffReporter After four months and more than $1,000 in Web develop- ment costs, the Michigan Student Assembly will make its new web- site available to students by next Tuesday, according to MSA Presi- dent Abhishek Mahanti. Mahanti, who made the new website one of his central cam- paign promises last spring, wrote in a Sept. 25 e-mail to the student body that the site would be up in "the next few days." "The website will be Wiki- based, which allows different committee and commission chairs of MSA to have access to their own pages, allowing for greater transparency and accountability in your student government," he wrote. "We plan on opening this framework to the entire student body. It'll be called Michipedia, and we think it will allow stu- dents, faculty and staff to have access to all Michigan-related information at their fingertips. It should be awesome." Mahanti said in a recent inter- view that MSA's Web team, which consists of two hired develop- ers making $8 per hour and a small group of MSA representa- 'tives, completed the website in the first week of October. But on Oct. 6, when the current site was replaced by a message saying the new site would be up that day, the See MSA WEBSITE, Page 10A MICHIGAN STUDENT ASSEMBLY A MSA elections begin today Assembly's leaders think new measures will increase turnout By JENNA SKOLLER Daily News Editor Despite the notoriously poor turnout in, Michigan Student Assembly fall elections, MSA mem- berssaytheyexpectincreased voter turnout in this fall's election, which began last night at midnight. Last fall, 9.6 percent of the stu- dent voting population took part in MSA elections, while only 5.3 percent took part in the 2007 fall elections. Election Director Emily Win- ter said she expects higher voter turnout because of the competitive nature of the election and quality of representatives this semester. "We have really competitive elections this year, and some really great candidates," she said. "And the candidates have been cam- paigning really hard this year and getting out their messages." This year, the MSA Election Board collaborated with Informa- tion Technology Central Services to put a link to the voting website - vote.umich.edu - on the desk- top of each ITCS computer, some- thing the Election Board has been working to get for the past several semesters. Winter said she thinks put- ting the link on each desktop will increase voter turnout because "it's a really easy way for people to vote." As in past years, Winter will also send a campus-wide e-mail today to remind students to vote. Addi- tionally, individual candidates and representatives will campaign and See MSA ELECTIONS, Page 10A TOKEHAN >HAKMAN/Daily Packard Pub, a new bar at the corner of Packard and State Streets, is set to open in January, according to the pub's owner. New bar to fill South Campus void STUDENT START-UPS Students start business to help athletes make leap to the pros Nearby residents have mixed feelings about new pub By LILLIAN XIAO For the Daily For students living near the corner of Packard and State, the void of a late night watering hole may soon be filled. The owner of a new sports bar, Packard Pub - set to open in Jan- uary - says his brew house will be a more convenient option than his competitors up State Street. The pub occupies what was once Artisan Bistro, an organic specialty cafai. The bistro closed last December, according to Pack- ard Pub owner Kyle Miller. The property remained vacant until Miller began renovations three weeks ago, installing a bar that runs against two walls of the pub and adding high-tops, projectors and wall-mounted plasma screen TVs. The venue includes two stories: a lower level reserved for private parties and an upper level for the general public. Miller plans to turn one of the walls of the bar into a painted mural of the Big House. While construction is under- way, Miller is awaiting the approval of a liquor license, a pro- cess which he says takes a mini- mum of six months. If the license is not granted in time for the pub's opening, Miller plans to continue the pub's launch as a "dry run" to begin serving food. Prior to opening Packard Pub, Miller managed a restaurant in Chesterfield, Mich., which he said closed because of the economic See PACKARD PUB, Page 10A Brandon Minor and Brandon Graham form first client base By JOSEPH LICHTERMAN Daily StaffEditor At the beginning of the year, Michigan football players Brandon Graham and Brandon Minor knew they were likely to enter the 2010 NFL Draft. They also knew that when the time came, they would need a lot of help. They knew they would have to train for the NFL combine, an annual event in which college foot- ball players showcase their athleti- cism in front of coaches, general managers and scouts. But when it came to the business side of things - finding agents and managing portfolios as well as numerous other money-related issues - they were at a loss. That's where LSA junior Jordan Klein and Business junior Daniel Sillman came in. The two started Compass Management Group to help college athletes manage their business affairs when they are transitioning to the pros. Graham and Minor are their first clients. See START-UP, Page BOA WEATHER HI:38 TOMORROW LO 33 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. NEWONMICHIGANDAILY.COM INDEX NEWS,.......... ............2A ART.S.....................5A The most influential songwriters of the past 3 years. Vol.CXX, No. 56 SUDOKU.. . . . 3A CLASSIFI EDS................A.....6A MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS/THE FILTER '2009 The Michigan Daily DPINION..............4A SPORTSMONDAY................1B michigundoily.comn