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Tuesday, September 21, 2010 - 7

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* The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, September 21, 2010 - 7

Detroit official
requests federal
funding to aid in
emergency plans

Fire that ravaged
streets underscores
city's need for
federal help
DETROIT (AP) - Blazes
that gutted more than two
dozen homes across Detroit
and pushed firefighters to their
limits underscore the cash-
strapped city's need for outside
help, a state lawmaker running
for Congress said yesterday.
Sen. Hansen Clarke,
D-Detroit, met with Federal
Emergency Management Agen-
cy officials in Washington and
asked them to award the city a
grant to hire 72 more firefight-
ers. He also requested funding
for equipment to make the city
prepared in case of another
emergency, such as the fire
storm that raged city streets on
Sept. 7.
"Many firefighters are older
and set to retire, and we've got
this large land mass and burned
out buildings ... and FEMA
understands that," Clarke said.
"They understand that we have
acres of burned out, blighted
buildings that pose a greater fire
hazard."
Clarke's Republican oppo-
nent, businessman John Hauler,
said Clarke's request amounts
to a "Band-Aid aid on a bullet
wound" and ignores Detroit's
need for a strong economic
stimulus.
More than 230 Detroit fire-
fighters responded to the Sept.
7 blazes, but they had difficulty
stopping the spread of the wind-
fed fires. The fires destroyed 29
occupied homes and damaged 71
vacant homes and garages.
APPAREL
From Page 1
featured the likeness of Michigan
quarterback Denard Robinson.
"That's abigpiece of it," Ablauf
said when asked whether the like-
ness of Robinson's was the reason
for sending the letters. "This isn't
like the professional ranks where
they can produce jerseys of stu-
dent-athletes with their names
on the back and stuff like that...
it's against NCAA rules."
Though this specific incident
might generate more attention
than most, Ablauf said taking
such action is routine.
"Anytime we see apparel out
in the market that involves a
student-athlete...we would send
a cease and desist letter to them,"
he said.
Ablauf added that he couldn't
definitively answer how fre-
quently the Athletic Depart-
ment sends out letters of this
nature, since every year is dif-
ferent and varies with regard to
what licensed apparel producers
choose to do.
And though it's not classi-
fied as a cease-and-desist order,
Ablauf said failure to comply with
the University's request to stop
producing and selling apparel
with the likeness of student-ath-
letes could lead to further conse-
quences.
"You could go as far as tak-
ing someone's license away from

them," Ablauf said, referenc-
ing that the University licenses
which commercial ventures may
print its logo. "If it was some-
thing where they didn't abide by
that regulation, then you could
just take away their license."
Among the more than half
dozen businesses to receive
notices was Underground Print-
ing, a local prominent Michigan
apparel retailer.
In the letter from the Athletic
Department to Underground
Printing, released to The Michi-
gan Daily last night by the Athlet-
ic Department, Van Horn wrote
that 11 t-shirts sold at Under-
ground Printing did not comply
with the NCAA regulation.
Among the shirts, were four
that focused on the likeness of
Robinson - one named "Nard
Dog," one named "Shoelace," one
named "The Five Hundred Yard
Man" and one named "We Don't
Need No Stinkin' Shoelaces."
Additionally, shirts with the
likenesses of Michigan Foot-

As fire crews responded to
one blaze, others popped up
blocks or miles away.
Some of the fires were start-
ed when 50 mph winds caused
trees and branches to fall onto
power lines. Sparking wires are
believed to have set dry roof-
tops and foliage ablaze. Two of
the fires were being blamed on
arson.
No injuries were reported.
The city already has applied
for FEMA grants. Clarke said
he wants to make sure those
requests get the agency's full
attention.
The grant for the extra fire-
fighters is for about $11 million,
Clarke said.
Detroit has little cash of its
own to improve fire services or
hire more manpower. The city's
is facing a budget deficit of at
least $85 million.
The city is using federal stim-
ulus dollars to tear down 3,000
of its 33,000 empty houses this
year and another 3,000 next
year.
Hauler, a Grosse Pointe
Woods businessman running
against Clarke in the heavily
Democratic 13th Congressional
District, said Detroit residents
"want real, actionable solutions
that are homegrown and self-
sustaining."
He said his proposal to turn
Detroit into a 10-year federal
income tax free zone would
stimulate economic recovery
and help the city pay for its own
municipal services.
"The taxpayer base will
allow us to address the blighted
homes, fix the hazardous utility
environment, and provide our
first responders with the tools
and personnel they need to pro-
tect our city," Hauler said.
ball players Will Campbell, Tate
Forcier, Mike Martin, Martavi-
ous Odoms, Craig Roh and Renal-
do Sagesse were also listed as
violating NCAA regulations.
"All of these t-shirts represent
current student-athletes on the
University of Michigan Foot-
ball team," Van Horn wrote in
her letter. "Neither the Univer-
sity of Michigan nor any of these
student-athletes have provided
consent to use these names for
commercial purposes."
Van Horn wrote that such
sales jeopardize the eligibility of
student-athletes.
"Please be aware that NCAA
rules do not permit any cur-
rently enrolled student-athlete's
name or likeness to be utilized
in conjunction with the sale of
a commercial product when the
student-athlete in question has
eligibility remaining," Van Horn
wrote. "Such use is classified by
the NCAA as non-permissible
promotional activity, and it can
jeopardize the eligibility of the
involved student-athlete."
Van Horn continued, "In order
to protect the continuing eligi-
bility of these student-athletes,
NCAA rules require the Univer-
sity to take appropriate steps to
prevent this non-permissible pro-
motional activity. For this rea-
son, the University requests that
you immediately cease and desist
from selling these items."
In an interview with the Daily
yesterday, Underground Print-

ing co-owner Ryan Gregg said he
greatly values his organization's
relationship with the University
Athletic Department.
"Whatever they ask us to do,
we try to help," he said.
Asked during the interview
why Underground Printing had
received a letter from the Athlet-
ic Department, Gregg declined to
discuss the reasons.
"I really don't want to get into
any of that," Gregg said. "I'm not
trying to be shady or anything...
yea or nay on anything I could
possibly say, no good could come
of it."
However, Gregg said Under-
ground Printing would continue
to abide by the requests of the
Athletic Department.
"I would hope that anybody
that actually supports the Uni-
versity, so pretty much anyone in
Ann Arbor, would do the same,"
he said. "Whatever the reason or
cause, you know, if you work with
the University all you can do is
help support them."

Students celebrate Constitution Day at a panel hosted by the Law School yesterday in Hutchins Hall. Panelists discussed a wide range of topics including same-sex war-
riage, campaign finance and the Second Amendment.
To celebrate Constitution Day,
panel talks document'simpc

Law School profs.
discuss same-sex
marriage, campaign
finance laws
By SABIRA KHAN
DailyStaffReporter
The University Law School
held its annual Constitution Day
Commemoration yesterday, quiet-
ly celebrating the 223rd anniver-
sary of the signing of the United
States Constitution.
The ceremony, held in a packed
Hutchins Hall in the Law Quad-
rangle, included a panel dis-
cussion mediated by Law Prof.
Richard Friedman. The panel
made up of five University law
professors examined recent
developments in constitutional
law in the context of decisions
made by the Supreme Court.
Second-year law student Phil-
lip Hurst, who attended the event,
said the University's participation

in the federal observance was a
wonderful opportunity to learn
about different facets of law as
they are practiced today.
"It was great that they brought
in several different perspectives
and four different areas of case
law that evolved in the last year,"
he said.
Law Prof. Richard Primus
examined the Second Amend-
ment with the audience, which
included approximately 160 Law
students and members of the larg-
er Ann Arbor community.
Primus told his audience that
the Second Amendment was
originally intended to give states
the right to protect themselves
against the federal government,
and only in recent years has it
been used to give individuals the
right to bear arms.
Primus said the contempo-
rary interpretation reflects the
"changing and stable" nature of
constitutional law.
"If the text doesn't say exactly
what you want it to say, you have
to do a lot more heavy lifting to

convince people that it's funda-
mental," Primus said. "You have
to tell heroic tales from American
history. You don't build it out of
nothing; you build it out of what
people want."
Another member of the panel
discussion, Law Prof. Nicholas
Bagley offered his thoughts on the
tenure of former Supreme Court
Justice John Paul Stevens.
"The court has lost the only
justice who knew how to tie a
bowtie without a mirror," Bagley
said jokingly in reference to a
New York Times article about the
former justice.
Bagley, who previously worked
for Stevens and knew him person-
ally, said Stevens focused on com-
mon law and did not allow the
legislature or the text of the Con-
stitution to limit his decisions.
"At the end of the day, it was a
lot harder to fool Justice Stevens;
he was a lot more nimble on his
feet...he distrusted consensus for
the sake of consensus," Bagley
said.
Transitioning from Supreme

Court politics, Law Prof. Mad-
eline Kochen, another panel
member, discussed the issue of
same-sex marriage.
"Legislature creates classifica-
tions all the time, and the courts
aren't supposed to challenge
this," Kochen said. "People need-
ed to amend the state constitution
again to say that it (was violatr
ing personal freedoms), so now
we end up in the federal courts
again."
"Every presidential election
from now on will be determined
by this issue," Friedman added at
the end of Kochen's discussion.
Law Prof. Don Herzog conclud-
ed the event with a discussion of
free speech laws in regard to the
Citizens United case, a recent
court decision that loosened the
rules on campaign financing by
corporations.
"There are oceans of controver-
sial regulations to free speech...
the First Amendment doctrine is
extremely hostile to (statements
that attack) people based on who
they are," Herzog said.

MSA officials: 'Proposal will do little to
address comprehensive fire safety reform'

From Page 1
Michigan Student Assembly offi-
cials wrote that the ban does not
adequately address fire safety.
Before the meeting, about 25 of
LeMasters' family, friends, and sup-
porters gathered outside City Hall
holding signs reading "VOTE YES"
with a large picture of LeMasters
underneath.
Among those present was
LeMasters' father, Bob LeMasters,
who said in an interview that the
passage of the ordinance would
provide some sense of closure for
his family.
"When someone loses their life,
we need to take whatever steps we
can," Bob LeMasters said. "We're
just trying to do what we can."
LeMasters's brother, Ryan
LeMasters, added that the passage
of the ordinance would be the sole
positive outcome of Renden's death.
"We need to do something about
why he died," Ryan LeMasters said
in an interview.
During the public hearings sec-
tion of City Council's meeting,
several other members of LeMas-
ters' family spoke in favor of the
ordinance and harshly criticized
City Council's postponement of the
2004 proposed ban.
"One of the single most amaz-
ing people I have ever met is gone
now because this law wasn't passed
before," Semifaro told the council.
In a separate address, LeMasters'
stepmother Dianna said she wished
it hadn't taken Renden's death for
City Council to seriously consider
the ordinance.
"One death is too many, espe-
cially if it can be solved very easily,"
Dianna LeMasters said.
However, the public hearings

''
4

JAKE FROMM/Daily
Ann Arbor residents hold signs in support of the porch couch ban passed by City Council last night. Renden LeMasters, pictured
on the sign, died in April in a house fire that was believed to be fueled by a couch onra porch.

section concluded with two strong
voices of opposition from the Uni-
versity community.
In their addresses to the coun-
cil, University graduate students
Michael Benson and Cherisse
Loucks - the president and trea-
surer of the Rackham Student Gov-
ernment respectively - said that at
a recent RSG meeting, group mem-
bers were largely opposed to the
ordinance.
"I don't understand the justifi-
cation of this fine amount," Loucks
said. "I think it just needs a lot more
thought and research before it can
be passed."
Nevertheless, the ordinance
passed amidst loud applause and
cheers.
Afterward, LeMasters's family
and supporters spilled out into the

lobby for a bittersweet celebration.
In an interview, LeMasters's
brother Ryan called the passage of
the ordinance a "relief."
"I'm glad ... he'll be remembered
through this community," Ryan
LeMasters said.
In supporting the ordinance,
Council member Christopher Tay-
lor (D-Ward 2) said he hopes the
ban will be viewed by the commu-
nity-at-large as a safety measure
rather than a penalty.
"It is my hope and expectation
that this (ordinance) will rarely,
if ever, result in a nickel being
assessed to anyone," Taylor said.
In an interview after the meet-
ing, Ann Arbor Fire Marshall Kath-
leen Chamberlain echoed Taylor's
wish, saying the Fire Department
will issue ample warning before

actually handing out a fine.
According to Chamberlain,
those in violation of the ordinance
will first be issued a "pre-citation"
which will offer a "reasonable"
period of time during which to
remove the furniture.
Nevertheless, MSA officials
spoke out strongly against the pas-
sage of the ordinance in their press
release.
"The City Council failed to gen-
uinely consult students and the
proposal will do little to address
comprehensive fire safety reform,"
the press release states.
Despite the assembly's opposi-
tion to the ordinance, MSA vowed
in the release to "build a strong
working relationship with the City
Council over fire safety reform and
other issues."

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