The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 3A * The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, December10, 2009 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS WASHINGTON White House crashers served with subpoena Congress authorized subpoenas yesterday for the White House gate- crashers to testify about how the couple got into a state dinner without an invitation. Lawmakers on the House Home- land Security Committee voted yesterday to compel the attention- hungry couple to answer questions about the Nov.24 incident. The couple, Tareq and Michale Salahi, have said they will invoke their Fifth Amendment right to refuse to answer questions. Secret Service Director Mark Sul- livan has said normal security pro- tocols weren't followed, and three uniformed Secret Service officers have been placed on administrative leave. While the committee authorized subpoenas for the Salahis, it would not accept its top Republican's pro- posal to subpoena White House social secretary Desiree Rogers. HAVANA Pro-government crowd rallies for Cuban rights Hundredsofgovernmentsupport- ers shouted insults and pro-Castro slogans at about 50 wives, mothers and other female relatives of Cuban political prisoners as they marched yesterdaythroughacrowded Havana neighborhood in the name of human rights. There were no injuries among the "Women in White," a political opposition group that holds small, silent marches along Fifth Avenue in a wealthier part of the Cuban capital each Sunday after attending Roman Catholic Mass. The women dress head-to-toe in white. The demonstrations usually only go for a few blocks and rarely draw the ire of supporters of Fidel and Raul Castro, nor do they generate much support among the general population, who know little about the dissidents. But this time, the group left from the central Havana apart- ment of Laura Pollan, one of the organization's founders and the wife of Hector Maceda, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for his political views. They also marched for more than an hour. DETROIT From Page 1A more students from Detroit Public Schools to apply to the University. Thomas Moss, assistant princi- palatCooleyHigh School inDetroit and a University alum, said in an e-mail interview that the reception urged educators to encourage stu- dents who would normally apply to schools like Wayne County Com- munity College or Wayne State University to give the University of Michigan's applicationa try. in a school where 99 percent of the student population is African- American, according to www.pub- licschoolreview.com, Moss said that economic and academic barri- ers commonly discourage students capable of excelling at the Univer- sity from even applying. in order to cut down these barriers, Moss said that more guidance counsel- ors have been hired to "insure aca- demic continuity and success for all of our students." Moss said that Coleman's speech and the efforts of other University officials have helped to supplement the work of the school's guidance counselors. "They've encouraged those of us who are front-line players in this ever-changing landscape of pub- lic education to keep pushing our young charges to stay focused on their very attainable life by maxi- mizing on all of their opportuni- ties," he said. Moss said that while some Detroithigh schools likeCassTech- nical High School, Renaissance High School, King High School and Communication and Media Arts High School are "prime areas for Detroit public school recruit- ment," other schools including Cooley High School, Denby High School, Osborn College Preparato- ry Academy, Cody College Prepara- tory Upper School of Teaching and Learning and Central High School are not - meaning that students in the first group would be more likely to attend the University than those in the second group. Kenyetta Wilbourn, principal of Denby High School in Detroit, wrote in an e-mail interview that she is satisfied with the support that the University has shown to her school through the years, but does have a few recommendations. She suggested that the Univer- sity put more emphasis-on "teach- ing the students how to complete applications, test-taking skills, and how to matriculate at higher levels of learning." Ken Watson, the college and scholarship coordinator of Central High School, said that while the University currently helps his stu- dents prepare for the SAT and sends guest speakers to talk about the benefits of a college education, he envisions the University eventually playing a larger role in encouraging the school's students to apply. Central is currently undergoing a transformation to help the school better promote a college-going cul- ture. Watson explained that Cen- tral aims to house educators from Michigan colleges directly within its school walls in order to give stu- dents first-hand access to informa- tion about colleges. Watson said the success of this initiative is crucial because the stu- dents who willreap the benefits "will for the most part be first generation ofcollege goers" intheir family. He added that he hopes the Uni- versity members will participate because "they are the leaders of our state." According to William Collins, director of the University's Cen- ter for Educational Outreach and Academic Success, the aim of Cole- man's speech at the reception was to encourage college-going culture among underrepresented minority students in Detroit Public Schools. "President Mary Sue Coleman spoke about her own interests in having a diverse student body here," he said. Ted Spencer, associate vice pro- vost and executive director of the Office of Undergraduate Admis- sions, said this year was the first time that the Wolverine Outreach Workshop spoke directlyto "prima- rypeopleintheDetroitpublicschool system" like superintendents, prin- cipals and guidance counselors. "For our president to go down and talk about our commitment to Detroit and how we want to do everything we can to encourage Detroit public school students is vitallyessential andextremelyhelp- ful to any effort that we have for attracting students," Spencer said. In her speech, Coleman used the story of University alum Jawuan Meeks as an example of a stu- dent who came from Detroit and achieved success at the University and beyond. Meeks - now a middle school teacher in physics and geog- raphy in Boston - said he decided to apply to the University after hearing a speech like Coleman's from a University representative at his high school. "I think that students need to know that getting to college is believable, something that can happen," he said. Though Spencer said that "in terms of a specific area, (Detroit) is certainly one of the largest areas in the state and perhaps in the country that (the University) receives applications from and (has) students enrolled from," he believes there is always room for further improvement. "Our biggest effort is making certain that we program better with the city of Detroit and make as many students and faculty and staff aware of those programs," he said. One such program is in the works, according to University alum Thomas Parker, principal of the new Osborn College Prepara- tory School. He said his school is working on partnering with the University to encourage stu- dents to apply for the University by exposing them to it as early as ninth grade. In addition to an upcoming field trip to the University, Parker said he is planning for "financial train- ing and college application work- shops in the spring with the ninth graders to prepare them before tiey get to 12th grade, with the expectations that they should be doing it now." 16 Parker said that so far, the Uni- versity has been "very responsive" to his efforts to forge a relation- ship between the two schools. He added, "They're ready and waiting to help and assist in any way." CHINA From Page 1A China is incredibly important, and the strong economy has led the developing middle class to be able to afford an international education. "(Education)is the main means of social mobility in China," Gal- lagher wrote. "if you succeed academically in China, you can break down other barriers of dis- crimination." She went on to note that for many of these middle-class par- ents, post-secondary education in the United States is so attractive because they believe fluency in English is imperative for success. Similarly, Brown said that it's difficult to find a job straight out of college in China, and a U.S. education may serve as a leg-up. "You either want to get into the top-tier school in China," she said. "Or you want to maybe beat out the competition by having an American degree." John Greisberger, director of the University's International Center, said that while highly regarded universities and colleg- es do exist in China, there is not .enough space to accommodate every student who wants to go on to higher education. "My understanding is that there still aren't sufficient ter- tiary institutions in China to accommodate all those in China who want to go on to higher edu- cation," Greisberger said. "And so the Chinese need to look to another country for opportuni- ties, and the U.S. is well-known as being the best place in the world to go for higher educa- tion, and we're at one of the best schools in the country." Robyn Wang, an LSA senior, is originally from the Canton Prov- ince of China. When asked why she chose to study in the United States, and more specifically at the Uni- versity of Michigan, she said it was mainly because America has a better educational system than her native china, and that "Michigan has a good reputa- tion." Like Wang, Gallagher noted that the University is an appeal- ing place for Chinese students because "it is a large, well-known research university with strong historical ties to China." In an effort to promote and strengthen these ties, the Univer- sity established a joint institute with Shanghai Jiao Tong Uni- versity in 2006 and with Peking University in 2009. According the Griesberger, these joint institutes permit stu- dents to study for two years in China and then two years at the University, ultimately earning degrees from both institutions. They also allow for a "strategic global partnership" between the two universities, as stated on the UM-SJTU Joint Institute website. Though it's unclear whether the joint institutes have led to the increase in Chinese students at the University or vice-versa, Uni- versity President Mary Sue Cole- man spoke of the University's ongoing efforts to increase the school's international outreach, in particular to China, during a fireside chat with students on Tuesday. Coleman mentioned the pos- sibility of opening an office in China to make information about the University available to prospective students, as well improve connectionswith under- graduates. , With China's ever-growing presence in the world economy and the influx of Chinese col- lege students, Coleman said she believes it's time to "re-think" the way the University interacts with international students. "For us, the notion is to have successful programs that people can see that we deliver very high quality programs, high quality education," Colemansaid."That's part of the changing dynamic." abe MIChOtaU adtu PRESENTS University of Michigan's Largest _..___ Selection of REALTY Units Avaiiablelformmediae Occupancy Off CampusII Now Leasing for 2010-2011 Houses up to 14 bedrooms gog 616 Church St. (734) 995-9200 ousin www.archrealtyco.com LANSING, Mich. Battle over school funding continues Michigan lawmakers still haven't agreed on ways to generate more money for schools as a key deadline approaches. A $127 per student cut in state aid will be reflected in checks sent to schools Dec. 21 unless lawmakers agree on awayto avoid it. Democratic House Speaker Andy Dillon yesterday criticized a Senate Republican proposal that includes freezing a tax credit for low-income workers to raise money for schools. Dillon says that plan has provisions that would wind up costing the state money through tax breaks and lost federal matching funds. Republicans stood by their pro- posals yesterday. The Republican- led Senate has not approved a House Democratic plan to use more stimu- lus money for schools now because that would make schools' financial situation worse in 2011. DETROIT Ex-Detroit mayor violated parole The Wayne County prosecutor says former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick violated his 'probation by not following court orders and fail- ing to make full restitution payments to the city. Kym Worthy says in a statement she will file a motion against Kilpat- rick. Details of the motion were not released. Kilpatrick agreed to pay $1 mil- lion in restitution as part of pleas to two criminal cases. He says he cut his $6,000 monthly payments in half after his salary as a salesman was O reduced. Testimony in a restitution hearing ended yesterday. Wayne County Cir- cuit Court Judge David Groner told prosecutors the hearing is to decide whether Kilpatrick will pay more or less each month in restitution. Closing arguments in the case will be heard Jan. 12, followed by Groner's ruling on Jan. 20. - Compiled from Daily wire reports SICK OF THE DORMS? CAN'T FIND A PLACE TO LIVE? 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