* OPINION AT
From the Daily: Why
President Obama was the W B H d
right pick for graduation y e r -rs
speaker. PAGE 4 b a m g m

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Friday, February 12,2010

michigandailycom

OBAMA TO DELIVER
COM \MENCEMENT ADDRESS

University President
Mary Sue Coleman made
announcement last night
By JACOB SMILOVITZ and
KYLE SWANSON
Editor in Chief and Daily News Editor
President Barack Obama will be the
keynote speaker at this year's spring com-
mencement, University President Mary
Sue Coleman said in an announcement
yesterday evening.
"President Obama has captured the
imagination and enthusiasm of many stu-
dents with his inspir-
ing words of hope and First reported on
change," Coleman MI-gn[)arlcom
said in a statement.
"We are honored to welcome a leader of
his distinction and look forward to his
message.
"We could not be happier for the gradu-
ates who will celebrate their academic
SAM WOLSON/Daily achievements with the president of the
United States."

President Barack Obama speaks.at Michigan State University's Adams Field during a campaign rally on Oct. 2, 2008.
For U.S. presidents,
'U' a stage for talk of
- s
tomonrrow pl tICs

Obama will receive an honorary Doctor
of Laws degree during the ceremony.
This spring's commencement, which
will award degrees to approximately 3,500
undergraduates, will beheld on May l at 10
a.m. in Michigan Stadium. Officials expect
more than 40,000 family members and
friends of students to be in attendance for
the ceremony.
Obama's first year in the country's high-
est office has been plagued by the ongo-
ing financial crisis that has crippled many
industries throughout the country - like
the financial sector and the housing mar-
ket.
However, the Great Recession has fallen
especially hard on Michigan's auto indus-
try, causing the state's unemployment rate
- which is now the highest in the country
- to skyrocket. And while unemployment
nationally has begun to decrease recently,
the fiscal picture for the state continues
to be grim as legislators in Lansing face a
$1.5 billion budget deficit in the next fiscal
year.
Amid that economic uncertainty, Com-
munications and Political Science Prof.
See OBAMA, Page 7
Campus
reacts to
the news of
Obama visit
By NICOLE ABER and
MALLORY JONES
Daily News Editors
When it was announced that Barack
Obama would become the next president
of the United States in November 2008,
students ran through the streets of Ann
Arbor and congregated on the Diag in cele-
bration of his victory. And after yesterday's
announcement that he will deliver the
keynote address at commencement this
spring, the president is once again evoking
excitement in Ann Arbor.
In interviews following the announce-
ment last night, students across campus
students expressed their enthusiasm.
LSA junior Carly Grob said after a year
defined by disappointments for Univer-
sity students - including the elimination
of the Michigan Promise Scholarship in
the state's fiscal year 2010 budget and the
See REACTION, Page 7

Experts say Obama may
follow predecessors,
make major policy
announcement in speech
By JILLIAN BERMAN, KYLE
SWANSON and JACOB SMILOVITZ
Daily News Editors and Editor in Chief
Over the course of the last century,
current and former presidents of the
United States have used the University
of Michigan - and all it stands for - as
a grand stage to launch the policies of
tomorrow.
From the Peace Corps to the Great
Society to Gerald Ford's re-election cam-
paign, many of the landmark storylines
of 20th-century American history have
roots tracing back to speeches in Ann.
Arbor. The appearances, like almost any
remarks given by a president, follow a

careful calculus oSlocation, content and
tone - even those portrayed as non-
political send-offs for graduates.
In the last 50 years, three sitting presi-
dents have visited campus to deliver the
University's annual spring commence-
ment address. It was announced yester-
day that
President Barack Obama would
become the fourth name on this list as
this spring's commencement speaker.
And over the course of its existence, the
University has played host to 13 different
United States presidents - many on mul-
tiple occasions.
But presidential visits to Ann Arbor
haven't been run-of-the-mill campaign
stops during which candidates simply
shake hands or kiss babies. Many of these
presidential visits have involved major
national policy announcements with far-
reaching implications.
Political Science Prof. Kenneth Koll-
man said the state of Michigan - and its
See PRESIDENTS, Page 7

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: FILE PHOTO/Daily, COURTESY OF MICHIGANENSIAN, COURTESY OF BENTLEY LIBRARY
(LEFT) Former President Bill Clinton delivers the spring commencement address in 2007. (TOP RIGHT)
President George H.W. Bush delivers the 1991 spring commencement address. (BOTTOM RIGHT) Presi-
dent Lyndon B. Johnson delivers the 1964 University commencement address.


STATE GOVERNMENT
In Granholm's budget proposal, a
restored but altered Promise grant

HITTING ALL THE RIGHT NOTES

Program would be a
$4,000 tax credit for
students who stay in the
state after graduating
By BETHANY BIRON
Daily StaffReporter
Though Democratic Gov. Jennifer Gra-
nholm's proposed budget for the 2011 fis-
cal year includes funding for the Michigan
Promise Scholarship, the reinstated pro-
gram will now take on a new form.
Granholm's proposed new version of the
Promise Scholarship is a $4,000 tax credit
to any student who gets a college degree at
__ a state university and works for one year in

Michigan.
The original Michigan Promise Scholar-
ship, which was eliminated in the 2010 fis-
cal year budget despite Granholm's vocal
opposition, was a merit-based scholarship
that provided between $500-$4,000 over
the course of four years to about 96,000 stu-
dents across the state.
University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald
told The Michigan Daily in October that
6,096 students were eligible for the scholar-
ship for the 2009-2010 academic year.
With the state of Michigan facing about
a $1.5 billion deficit for the next fiscal year,
Granholm's $47.1billion budget proposal for
the 2011 fiscal year represents an increase
from the current fiscal year's budget of $45.2
billion. It also includes a freeze on higher
education appropriations, keeping funding
for state universities at the same level as pro-

vided by the 2010 budget.
Liz Boyd, press secretary for Granholm,
said higher education has always been a
priority for Granholm and reinstating the
Michigan Promise Scholarship has been
a major goal for the governor, especially in
light of the economic downturn.
"Everyone has to pursue their education
after high school and the Michigan Promise
Scholarship was a way for us to say to stu-
dents, 'not only do we want you to go to col-
lege, we want you to be prepared for college.
We feel so strongly about it, we're going to
help you pay for it,"' Boyd said. "That's the
whole promise behind the Promise, that we
would help students fund their education."
Granholm's budget also proposes ti allo-
cate about $325 million in state appropria-
tions to the University - the same amount
See BUDGET, Page 7


SAMANTHA TRAUBEN/Daily
School of Music, Theatre & Dance sophomore Brene' Jackson won the Michigan Idol talent com-
petition last night. Jackson won the competition's $500 prize.
INDEX NEWS... . . . 2 ARTS...............S.,.. 5
Vol CXX, No. 93 SUDOKU..... .......... ...........3 CLASSIFIE S.. ...... ...... 6
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