iC i aIZ a4dirt l Ann Arbor, Michigan Wednesday, December 9, 2009 michigandaily.com WARMING UP WITH THE PRE TM NT SU DENT RI.GHTS MSA draws back support for student code revision University President Mary Sue Coleman speaks during a fireside chat in the Michigan Union yesterday. Coleman meets with a small group of students at different loca- tions across campus once a month to answer questions and discuss campus issues. U NIV E RSIT Y ST EM C E LL RE SE A RC H Researchers clear major hurdle, can now accept donated embryos Controversial change would have lessened burden of proof for student violations By MALLORY JONES Daily Staff Reporter The Michigan Student Assembly voted last night to retract the most contentious of seven recommend- ed changes the body made for the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities earlier this semes- ter. MSA had previously endorsed an amendment to the student code that would lower the standard of evidence needed in a case brought against astudentthrough theOffice of Student Cunflict Resolution. But more debate on the topic - prompted by concern expressed by members of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs - brought forth an opinion among some members that the original recommendation was made with mostly sexual assault victims in mind, and that the lower standard might not be appropriate for other types of complaints. . Currently, OSCR requires a clear and convincing standard to find a student guilty of violating the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities - the main docu- ment that governs studentbehavior and activity on campus. On Oct. 6, MSA approved a rec- ommendation that the standard of evidence be lowered to a prepon- derance of the evidence standard. LSA Rep. Vickie Hwang, who co-authored the original resolution along with LSA Rep. Adam DeSan- tis, said the idea was to increase the likelihood of a victim of sexual assault coming forward. MSA retracted the recommenda- tion last night in a 14-13 vote, with three representatives abstaining. A preponderance of the evidence is defined as "the greater weight of the evidence," whereas the clear and convincing standard requires that the accusation be proven "highly probable or reasonably cer- tain," according to Central Student Judiciary Justice Ryan Particka, who read from Black's Law Dic- tionary. At its core, the amendment would have lessened the burden needed to punish a student for violating the Statement of Student Rights and See STUDENT CODE, Page 3A Approval makes way for first major 'U' project since voters lifted restrictions By GRACELIN BASKARAN Daily StaffReporter More than a year after Michi- gan voters passed an amendment allowing embryonic stem cell lines to be created in the state, Univer- sity scientists have finally received approval to accept donated embry- os - a necessary step for research- ers to begin developing stem cell lines. With the recent go-ahead from two University oversight boards, University researchers will be able to use the donated embryos to start the first major stem cell research project since the passage of a state- wide proposal last November that reduced restrictions on stem cell research in Michigan. Through the project, researchers will use donated embryos to create the University's first human embry- onic stem cell lines. Eva Feldman, director of the Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute, announced the approval yesterday during a speech to the Detroit Economic Club. Proposal 2, a ballot initiative passed by state voters in November 2008, allows researchers to derive embryonic stem cell lines from donated embryos. But without the approval from the University's Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee and the Medical School's institutional Review Board - announced yes- terday - researchers couldn't move forward with their plan to create a human stem cell line. The project was approved on Nov. 11, according to a University press release. See STEM CELLS, Page 3A PATRLLNG THE CAMPIJS P rr POST-GRAD JOB HUNT MSA moves ahead with Site aims to keep grads in Mich. DPS Oversight fixes Proposal would put 0 election of student representatives to campus-wide vote By MALLORY JONES Daily StaffReporter A resolution proposed last night at the Michigan Student Assembly meeting would allow the student body to vote for the two student members of the Department of Public Safety Oversight Committee. The proposed resolution comes after The Michigan Daily pub- lished an article on Nov. 16 high- lighting a series of problems with the DPS Oversight Committee, including analysis from indepen- dent lawyers who said that the assembly's current appointment process for representatives may violate state law. Although state law requires stu- dent, faculty and staff members of the DPS Oversight Committee to be "nominated and elected" to the committee by the each constitu- ency group, MSA has in recent years appointed students to serve. MSA President Abhishek Mah- anti, who co-authored the reso- lution, urged MSA members to support it to ensure the assem- bly would no longer violate state law. He also said that many of the members were motivated to get a resolution on the table after first hearing about the issue. "It's nice that the entire assem- bly got behind (the issue) to fig- ure out what can be done to go See DPS OVERSIGHT, Page 7A Intern In Michigan matches students with employers By SUZANNE JACOBS For the Daily About half of Michigan college students leave the state once they graduate - a sobering fact that significantly hampers the state's prospects for future economic and job growth. But Intern In Michigan, a joint project between the Detroit Regional Chamber and West Michigan Strategic Alliance, is an initiative launched earlier this year that seeks to remedy the state's brain drain. Intern In Michigan matches college students with prospective employers through a website with a model similar to an Internet dating service. The programwaslaunched this past April and already has more than 7,000 student and 700 employ- er profiles, according to Greg Han- del, senior director of workforce development for the Detroit Cham- ber of Commerce. Britany Affolter-Caine, the director of Intern In Michigan, said See WEBSITE, Page 7A PUTTING YOUR FEET UP GETTING INTO GRAD SCHOOL Data show more are taking GRE Officials point to down economy as reason for increase By JOSEPH LICHTERMAN Daily StaffReporter With a treacherous job market and a dismal economy, recently released numbers show that more students are electing to take the Graduate Record Examination and apply to graduate school WEATHER HI 19 TOMORROW LU instead of looking for jobs after they graduate. Statistics provided by Educa- tional Testing Service, the com- pany that administers the .GRE, show there has been a 13-percent increase this year over last year in the number of students taking the GREin the United States. The GRE is used as an admis- sions test for graduate school. The test is made up of three sections: verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and analytical writing. While ofAcials from the compa- ny point to several reasons for the increase, the most clear-cut one is simply that students are looking at graduate school in larger numbers in this tough job market. Mark McNutt, ETS manager of media relations, said histori- cally the number of people who take the GRE increases during a recession. He added that one cause of this may be that individ- uals with advanced degrees are more likely to find jobs once they leave school. See GRE, Page 7A MARISSA MCCLAIN/Daily Residential College freshman Lily Springsteen relaxes by doing some yoga at an event hosted by the Health and Wellness Forum at East Quad Residence HalI yesterday. GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-763-2459 or e-mail news dimichigandaily.com and let us know. NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM Brandon Graham wins Chicago Trib. Silver Football. MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS/THE GAME INDEX NEWS............. Vol CX X,No, 63 OPINION. 2009The Michigan Daily ARTS ............ michiovoduilycom . ............. 2A C LA SSIFIED S............. h...... 6A 4A SPORTS.. . ..........8A . 5A THE STATEMENT..................1B