0 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, September 23, 2010 - 5A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, September 23, 2010 - 5A Fraternities get creative to cope with temporary housing Delta Upsilon and Sigma Phi Epsilon in temporary quarters By VERONICA MENALDI Daily StaffReporter With fraternity and soror- ity recruitment in full swing this week, Greek organizations on campus are taking advantage of their houses to show prospective pledges part of what Greek life has to offer. But two fraternities on cam- pus - Delta Upsilon and Sigma Phi Epsilon - are using some- what temporary housing situ- ations to recruit new members this fall. Delta Upsilon - the fraternity house that burned down in 2008 - is scheduled to have its house reconstructed by January, said LSA senior and president John Stevens. The chapter and those involved in its reconstruction were delayed three months over the summer after issues arose during negotia- tions with an insurance company. The negotiations, Stevens said, centered on the installation of a $500,000 Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning system in the house. Stevens said instead of settling the cost of installation and con- tinuingthe rebuilding process, the alumni in charge of the construc- tion planning decided to focus first on cheaper aspects like electricity and plumbing. Negotiations with the insurance company were settled within the past few weeks, Stevens said, and external construction has restart- ed along with the installation of the HVAC system. Stevens added that the alumni are concerned not with building the house quickly but rather build- ing one that will last with energy- efficient systems, like the HVAC system and electronic locks on the main doors. "Our fraternity house is the old- est one on campus built for a fra- ternity, and we plan to keep that tradition going far into the 22nd century," Stevens said. The majority of the brothers that are planning on living in the house at the start of next year are currently living at 1315 Cam- bridge St., with a few other mem- bers residing in a house on White Street. Stevens said the lack of a physi- cal fraternity house has not hin- dered recruitment efforts, adding that the chapter is in fact having one of its most successful recruit- ments in recent memory. "We're making the best of what was dealt to us," he said. "We got handed some lemons, and we're making lemonade." Another fraternity without a designated fraternity house last year, Sig Ep, has relocated to a house at 704 Hill St., chapter pres- ident Rick Stepanovic wrote in an e-mail interview. Stepanovic, who is an LSA junior, wrote that the chapter's Alumni Volunteer Corporation found the new house, which used to be leased to several groups unaf- filiated with the Greek communi- ty. The house is now leased to Sig Ep for two years with the option of renewal for up to 10 years. The tentative plan, Stepanovic wrote, is to stay in the newfound location unless a more desirable property becomes available to them. "Ironically, this is not the first time Sig Ep has been located at the intersection of State and Hill," Stepanovic wrote in the e-mail. "For roughly 70 years, we owned a house located where the Ford School of Public Policy now stands." Stepanovic added that hav- ing a house this year is helping with recruitment, given the new house's convenient location and "spacious" front lawn. "However, as can be seen by our recruitment success last year," Stepanovic wrote, "a fraternity is much more than a building." JASON DECROW/AP Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao addresses a dinner, hosted by the National Committee on US-China Relations and the US-China Business Council, at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel yesterday. Jiabao is scheduled to address the U.N. General Assembly today. Chinese Prim.ier Wen optimistic for futurj"e of US., Cina relat ions College Dems. and Republicans host events to educate, rally voters From Page 1A make Michigan a place that we all want to stay and work in." The group hopes to work with neighboring universities, like Michigan State University, to con- tinue to increase support for Sny- der. "I believe that the students who are involved in the campaign for RickSnyder,are intereste4 ir pull- ing people together more toward a common ground," Strecher said. Brendan Campbell, chairof Col" lege Democrats, said he believes that despite the fact that Snyder has received increased support from Democrats, Virg Bernero is the best candidate for represent- ing student needs, largely because he strongly supports greater fund- ing for Michigan's schools. "Virg Bernero has consistently demonstrated that he's going to invest in education, both K-12 and higher education, and adequately fund education to the point that it needs to be funded," Campbell said. "We think that students have been hit hard enough, and that it's time students vote for a candidate who's looking out for their best interests." LSA senior Joshua Arocho, the communications director for Wolverines for Rick Snyder, said that while Snyder has widespread appeal that transcends partisan lines, his election could also make strides for the Republican Party. "We feel like we can make a pretty big impact on this tradition- ally liberal campus," Arocho said. Arocho added that the group aims to gain more members through an upcoming mass meet- ing. Group members are also try- ing to host a town hall-type event for Snyder to speak to students, as well as have him speak on the steps of the Michigan Union in the week leading up to the election. Charles Bogren, chairman of College Republicans, said he believes Snyder has been receiving increased support because he is genuinely concerned about fixing the state, in addition to his strong business background. "He's a self-made man," Bogren said. "He's clearly an intelligent person who knows whetiha elednts to do in the business world and wants to bring that over to the political side and fix the state of Michigan. I think that's resonated really well with a lot of people in this state because this state has had a lot of problems in the past." Bogren said the support Sny- der has received from Democrats shows his dedication to improv- ing the state and uniting people together to reach this goal. "I think a lot of the crossover votes show how passionate he is about fixing and re-inventing Michigan," Bogren said. "He's done a really good job at reach- ing out to all corners across the board." In addition to mobilizing stu- dents to vote for Snyder, Bogren said the most important way for College Republicans to garner support for Republican candidates is through grassroots efforts. "We're focusing mainly on the actual student body, just trying to get them out to the meetings, talk- ing to them, wherever we can," Bogren said. "We're just kind of getting our message across and showing that there is an alterna- tive to just the Dems on this cam- pus." Bogren said College Republi- cans has been working to bring Republican candidates to speak on campus, including Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. They have also been campaigning from the Fix Michigan Center on State Street, making phone calls urging citi- zens to vote for Republicans. Similarly, College Democrats has been working to "actively, engage and encourage" students, acc6rding 50-ampbell. "The most important thing that we're doing on campus is mobi- lizing students in their residence halls, so that they talk with their neighbors and encourage their neighbors to register to vote and to vote democratic," Campbell said. Over the past few weeks, Col- lege Democrats has brought in candidates like U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich), U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Mich.), U.S. Rep. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean. They also invited Democratic candidate for Michi- gan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson last Thursday to speak with students. Campbell said the group hopes to bring in more candidates in the weeks to come, as well as contin- ue to help Democrats campaign across the state, particularly in areas where a competitive race is anticipated. They also plan to take a trip to Grand Rapids, Mich. during fall break to campaign for David LaGrand, Democratic candidate for state senate, and Patrick Miles, Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. Statement comes as U.S. claims Chinese currency policy costs American jobs NEW YORK (AP) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expressed optimism yesterday that the United States and China would resolve major trade frictions, even as he rejected U.S. claims that Beijing's currency policies cost American jobs.- Despite sometimes tough words, Wen used much of a speech on the sidelines of a Unit- ed Nations global summit to try to ease U.S. anger against China ahead of a meeting today with President Barack Obama. Relations between the pow- ers have suffered recently, but Wen sought to play down eco- nomic, military and diplomatic tensions. The United States and China, Wen told business lead- ers gathered at the Waldorf- Astoria hotel,= are "not rivals in competition but partners in cooperation." IV1 'r1i i' i Wen, however, pushed back against U.S. claims that Beijing's tightly regulated, underval- ued currency - the yuan - gives China's exporters an artificial advantage over U.S. manufactur- ers. Ahead of U.S. congressional elections in November and at a time of high American unem- ployment, China's economic and trade policies are a major friction in ties with Washington. Wen warned that China's cur- rency must not be turned into a political issue between the coun- tries. He saw no link between the yuan's value and China's trade advantage over the United States. The politically sensitive U.S. trade deficit with China jumped to $26.2 billion in June, the larg- est one-month gap since October 2008. "We do not seek a trade sur- plus," Wen said through an inter- preter. Many Chinese companies, he said, would go bankrupt and workers would suffer if the Chi- nese currency rose drastically. The Obama administration must balance pressure on Bei- jing's economic policies with its desire for Chinese help in settling nuclear standoffs with North Korea and Iran and on other global initiatives. China is a veto-wielding member of the U.N. Security Council and recently passed Japan as the world's second-biggest economy. Speaking ahead of Wen, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke pushedfor a change i- China'st currency policy and called for a fair business environment that allows Americans to compete with Chinese companies and invest without hindrance. Locke said a "worldwide rebalancing, in which America buys a little less and sells a little more to China and the rest of the world, will create a more pros- perous future for everyone." He said "strong and lasting global growth cannot be built on the backs of debt-ridden U.S. con- sumers." Some U.S. lawmakers are pushing for a bill that would pun- ish China if it doesn't do more to let the yuan rise. Obama, speaking Monday in Washington, said China's cur- rency "is valued lower than market conditions would say it should be." "So it gives them an advantage in trade," Obama said. "We are going to continue to insist that on this issue, and on all trade issues between us and China, that it's a two-way street." Currency is not the only point of tension between the countries. Thursday's Obama-Wen meet- ing also comes as China lashes out at the United States for what Beijing says is interference in its territorial disputes in the South China Sea. China is also angry over U.S. arms sales to Beijing rival Taiwan and Obama's meet- log earlier this year with the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan Buddhist leader China calls a separatist. Still, Wen was consistently optimistic in his speech, saying the countries' common interests far outweigh differences. "We don't have any reason to let our relationship back-peddle," Wen said, and "tens of thousands of reasons" to move forward in strengthening ties. GOOGLE From Page 1A city is currently waiting to hear which locations Google will chose. He estimated that of the 1,100 Google received a selected group of those applications will be looked at in more detail. Google employees will probably scope out potential Google Fiber communities, he said. "So we're waiting to see and we're excited to hear, hopefully, if we're on the 'short list,"' he said. While Google has not said how many cities will be selected as win- ners, the project's website said it will reach between 50,000 and 500,000 people. Crawford, who helped fill out the application, said he and other members of the community gath- ered data on the city and had the opportunity to write a few essays about why Ann Arbor should be chosen. The essays are available at www.a2fiber.com. "We have an intelligent commu- nity in Ann Arbor (that) is already highly wired," Crawford said. "There's just a tremendous amount of opportunity here, and I think it would be fantastic for Ann Arbor and for Google." Rackham student Augie Hill, a member of the "Ann Arbor for Google Fiber" Facebook group which had members as of late last night, said he thinks Ann Arbor would benefit greatly by becoming a Google Fiber trial location. "Making Ann Arbor the first place in the world for the next round of technological' improve- ments would bring much attention, opportunity and prosperity to the city and region," Hill said. WANT TO WORK AT THE MICHIGAN DAILY? Come to our LAST mass meeting at the Student Publications Building on 420 Maynard Street: THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 30 @ 7 P.M.