11 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Friday, December 10, 2010 - 3A I The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, December10, 2010 - 3A NEWS BRIEFS DETROIT Snyder discusses Michigan job growth at WSU When Gov.-elect Rick Snyder attended a recent seminar for new governors, he received a personal- ized folder for Michigan with esti- mates showing his state will be among the nation's worst for job growth during the next five years. The numbers are now on his desk and in the hands of his staff mem- bers - and providing his incoming administration another rallying cry for the economically struggling state. "This is a piece of fiction - this is not what's going to happen," he said yesterday to an audience of Detroit college students, faculty and busi- ness and community leaders. "We are going to beat the living day- lights of out it." Wayne State University's School of Business Administration- and Department of Accounting invited the Ann Arbor executive, entre- preneur and first certified public accountant to be elected governor of Michigan to speak about rein- venting the state's economy - with an accounting twist. ROYAL OAK, Mich. Mich. congressmen to lead House Ways and Means Cmte. Two Michigan congressmen are officially switching roles on the House Ways and Means Commit- tee. Chairman Sander Levin of Royal Oak announced yesterday he's been selected to serve as the committee's ranking member in the next Con- gress. On Wednesday, Dave Camp of Midland said his fellow Republi- cans had chosen him to chair Ways and Means. Levin says he's "pleased to have received a vote of confidence" from the members of the Democratic caucus. The brother of Sen. Carl Levin took over in March as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee after New York Rep. Charles Ran- gel stepped aside amid questions over his fundraising and finances. LONDON Students attack Prince Charles in tuition hike protest Furious student protesters attacked a car carrying Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, vandalized buildings and battled riot police yesterday as a con- troversial hike in university fees , triggered Britain's worst political violence in years. In a major security breach, demonstrators set upon the heir to the throne's Rolls Royce as it drove through London's busy West End on its way to a theater. A group of up to 20 struck it with fists, sticks and bottles, break- ing a window and splattering the gleamingblackvehicle with paint. In the frenzy, some chanted "off with their heads!" Adnan Nazir, a 23-year-old podiatrist who was following the protesters, said Charles, 62, kept his calm, gently pushing his 63-year-old wife toward the floor to get her out of the line of fire. "Charles got her on the floor and put his hands on her," Nazir said. "Charles was still waving and giving the thumb's up. ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast President faces sanctions from U.S. The United States warned Lau- rent Gbagbo that he faces punitive sanctions if he continues to refuse to step down following a disputed election that the United Nations says were won by his opponent. The African Union, meanwhile, suspended Ivory Coast's member- ship yesterday in the latest sign of growing pressure against the coun- try's former president. Gbagbo has not spoken publicly since his rushed inauguration over the weekend, after he rejected the results released by his coun- try's electoral commission which showed that the opposition leader Alassane Ouattara had won by a nearly 10-point margin. Those results were certified by the United Nations who declared that Ouat- tara had won by "an irrefutable margin." - Compiled from Daily wire reports. ACLU From Page 1A rent policy denies transgender stu- dents the same amount of access to campus housing as the rest of the student body." LSA senior Rebecca Egler, ACLU's representative on the Open Housing Initiative, echoed the sentiments expressed by Jones and in the letter, adding that an open housing policy would espe- cially benefit transgender stu- dents. "Its implementation would pro- vide a more equitable housing sys- tem through an increase of options that are more aware of the mul- tiplicity of student needs on this campus," she wrote in an e-mail interview yesterday. According to a press release issued by the University's chapter of the ACLU, similar housing poli- cies have been enacted at 36 other colleges and universities across the country. The press release also stated "the University of Michigan has the opportunity to lead the Big Ten on this issue ... by making the residence halls a comfortable com- munity for all students." Egler wrote that so far, adminis- trators have responded positively to the report. At this time, though, the initiative is still under consid- eration. Social Work graduate student Allison Horky, a member of the Open Housing Initiative and a member of the Spectrum Cen- ter's Student Advisory Board, said members involved in the initiative will be meeting with administra- tors on Monday. "(We've) gotten a positive response (from administrators)," Horky said. "We're all working together to try and figure out what other information we need, and what we can do as far as imple- mentation." Jones said she and fellow mem- bers of the ACLU will continue encouraging the policy if it isn't enacted next year. "We're waiting to hear what administrators say about what's practical and for a timeline," she said. "If (the Open Housing Ini- tiative and University Housing) agree, logistics need to be worked out." Egler wrote thatnmembers of the ACLU hope to facilitate education and dialogue about the issue in upcoming months and work along- side University Housing if the pro- posal is enacted. "In order to ensure a smooth transition if the policy is enacted, the ACLU and the rest of the Open Housing Initiative will work side- by-side with housingto implement these options in a way that contin- ues to uphold the Living at Michi- gan Credo," Egler wrote. Other studentcgroups on campus have also expressed support for the initiative. In April, the Univer- sity's Residence Halls Association passed a resolution supporting the addition of a gender-neutral hous- ing option. In addition, the Michi- gan Student Assembly passed a resolution in December 2009 in support of the proposal. TAXIS From Page 1A vehicles, which Fowler describes as "one of the two largest fleets in the area." According to Fowl- er, the company generates about $1.5 million a year in profits. Preston Woodward, a driver for Ann Arbor Yellow Cab, expressed similar positivity regarding the city's market for taxis. Wood- ward's business card denotes him as "King o'the Cabbies." "Clearly there's a market, a big market for taxi cabs here," Woodward said, adding that Ann Arbor's demand for taxis allows for a variety of compa- nies to co-exist in the area. "There's a lot of businesses to go around," Woodward said. Woodward also noted that Ann Arbor's taxi license process allows for easy access into the taxi business. "It's very easy, and very inex- pensive,"Woodward said. With so much business to go around, many taxi companies and drivers develop personali- ties of their own to distinguish themselves. While waiting for customers in front of Hill Audi- torium, Woodward plays the accordion. The Lady "M" Sedan Transportation Services driver known as "Mustang Sally" - Mryna Ismail - has decorated the exterior of her cab with pictures of mustangs, and often plays the song that inspired her nickname. LSA freshman Sami Hayek, a frequent taxi rider, said she has a specific driver she calls when she needs a ride. Hayek said she thinks students are comfort- able taking taxis around the city because Ann Arbor taxi drivers are particularly aware of stu- dents' transportation needs. "I think they are very in tune with (the fact that) kids that need to get around and don't necessar- ily have cars," Hayek said. Hayek also noted that taxi drivers are particularly conve- nient for students that may have consumed alcohol. "Drivers are aware that kids may be drinking and (do) a good service by giving them a safe ride home," Hayek said. According to the website of the Ann Arbor Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, taxis may not be hailed from a curb, but are often available for hire at popular landmarks throughout Ann Arbor. TICKETS From Page 1A general admission seating in the student section. The Athletic Department sent an e-mail to all student ticket holders in July, however, to tell students about a change in the policy. "We originally indicated that student seating would be gen- eral admission within the stu- dent area," the e-mail read. "Due to our experience with general admission seating at graduation in May, we have decided to use reserved seating for this event. This will ensure your seats for this once in a lifetime special event." Now, students who bought their Big Chill tickets in conjunc- tion with their football season tickets will be seated in the same location as their football groups. Students who bought their tickets with their hockey season tickets will be seated with their hockey se'ating group in section 33 - located in the north end zone. Finally, those who purchased additional tickets will be seated in sections in the end zone bor- dering the student section. Kinesiology and LSA junior Steve Davenport said he bought extra tickets for his family and was disappointed when he real- ized he wouldn't be able to sit with them at the game. "I bought seven extra tickets because in case they were sepa- rate I knew (my family) would be sitting together, but I'm also sitting with my football seat- ing group," Davenport said. "So, I knew if I wasn't sitting with them I'd have someone to sit with. I was hoping they'd be sit- ting with us." LSA senior Jasmine Hentschel said a friend bought her a ticket because she was abroad when the tickets went on sale last spring. She said the fact that their tickets weren't together would be a nui- sapce, but wouldn't deter them from sitting together at the game. "That's going to be a pain," Hentschel said of the seats being in different sections. "I'm sure we'll figure it out though the same way that people do with football (games), unless that's not possible for some reason, but I can't imagine that that will be the case." Meanwhile, LSA sophomore Nicole McIntyre said she didn't realize that a Big Chill ticket came with her football season tickets, so she bought an extra ticket herself. Once she real- ized that she had the ticket that game with her football tickets, McIntyre said she planned to give the extra ticket to a friend to sit with them, but due to the change in policy she changed her plans. "It'd be better if it was in the same section because then I wouldn't have to sell it to a ran- dom person," McIntyre said. Still, Ablauf said the Athletic Department has only received a handful of formal complaints from students. "We got a few inquiries, but I'd say fewer than 20-30 and they understood once we explained again the information in the e-mail," Ablauf wrote. "Since every student with a football season ticket received their same location for the Big Chill, we obviously couldn't assign their additional tickets next to their football ticket." The game is sold out and the stands at the Big House are expected to be filled to their capacity of 109,901. According to Ablauf, 26,000 of those tickets are held by students. An e-mail sent out to all stu- dent ticket holders Wednesday morning said there were approx- imately 3,000 student tickets that had yet to been picked up from the Athletic Department's Ticket Office at 1000 S. State St. Tickets are available for pick- up today at the ticket office from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will also be available tomorrow at Crisler Arena. The e-mail encouraged students to pick up their tickets at least 90 minutes prior to face- off in order to avoid long lines and arrive at the game on time. DREAM From Page 1A with the result. She said those who spoke both for and against the legislation made solid argu- ments. As a supporter of the bill, Pedraza highlighted the signifi- cance of the Republican vote. She said that while only eight House Republicans voted for the bill - five of whom were Hispanic - 20 Republicans abstained from voting altogether, meaning they weren't necessarily against the legislation. John Garcia, director of the Resource Center for Minor- ity Data and the community outreach director for the Inter- University Consortium for Political and Social Research, said that by abstaining from the vote, Republicans who have high Hispanic populations in their districts could save face by not offending their constituents out- right. "It would be interesting to look at the Republicans who abstained and look at what their districts look like," Garcia said. Garcia said he views the DREAM Act as "a kind of a potential shift away from immi- gration as exclusively a security, law enforcement issue" to a more social and educational issue. The Senate voted 59-40 yester- day to table the bill for one week. Since the legislation was filibus- tered in the past, it will need a 60-vote majority to receive a vote from the Senate. Garcia speculated that the postponement was a strategic move by Democrats to buy more time to rally support from Repub- lican senators by highlighting the economic benefits of the bill or emphasizing the threat of losing support from Hispanic constitu- ents. Pedraza said the DREAM Act's success in the Senate may depend on more than just the bill's own merits. Compromises made between President Barack Obama and Congressional Republicans on tax cuts may play a significant role in persuading Republicans to vote for the DREAM Act, she said. "That's not fair to the DREAM Act ... the DREAM Act has been discussed for ten years," she said. "That's very dirty politics I think." Garcia said he also thinks bi- partisan compromises will play a role in the debate. Especially after Obama made concessions on the tax cuts, Garcia said, the president might try to "keep that give-and-take kind of sentiment out there." In a statement released by the White House Office of the Press Secretary, Obama voiced his two- pronged support for the bill. "This vote is not only the right thing to do for a group of talented young people who seek to serve a country they know as their own by continuing their education or serving in the military," Obama wrote, "but it is the right thing for the United States of America." He cited a report from the Congressional Budget Office that found the DREAM Act would cut the nation's deficit by $2.2 billion dollars over ten years. Addressing Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Wednesday, U.S. Congressmen John Dingell (D-Mich.) said he supports the bill because it would help students who didn't decide on their own to come to this country illegally. "The DREAM Act will provide opportunity and hope to young immigrants brought to this coun- try by their parents who, through no fault of their own, cannot be a meaningful part of our soci- ety without this Act," he said in his address, according to a press release issued by Dingell's office. "Most of these individu- als speak English as well or bet- ter than their native tongue and they consider the United States their home, but they cannot real- ize their dreams because of their immigration status." Dingell highlighted how the bill will ultimately benefit the country as a whole by allowing a greater number of eager, young individuals to boost the power of the U.S. military and contribute to the college-educated work- force, according to the press release. Additionally, he added that the bill will also expand the overall federal, state and local tax base. Dingell emphasized that his support for the legislation came only after months of careful deliberation. I am tired of throwing patches at the immigration prob- lem," he said that what this coun- try truly needs is comprehensive immigration reform. While he said the DREAM Act is yet another "small patch," the young people targeted by the bill should not be "held hostage" while the government works toward large- scale reform, according to the press release. Some of the young individu- als impacted by the legislation gathered Wednesday night to watch the House vote on C-Span with Sam Nawrocki, head of the Migrant and Immigrant Rights Advocacy group on campus. "I watched the vote with a group of undocumented stu- dents," Nawrocki said. "We're all very surprised and very excited about the House's vote :.. but very much know it's only the first step." Narwocki said she and other members of the "youth-led move- ment" advocating for the DREAM Act called Dingell and other con- gressmen to rally support for the bill leading up to last night's vote. Now that the legislation is before the Senate, she said her and oth- ers will reorganize and continue to make calls over the next week. advising, Fujita said she works CORPS on building a "college-going cul- From Page 1A ture" at Loy Norrix. "That can be really big or it of institutions or the range of can be really little," Fujita said. institutions that those students "It can be hanging a poster about go on to. The third is to build, to a college on the wall, which is increase, the number of students really easy, or it can be planning that finish college, and finally the a college night or meeting with goal is to create a college-going parents." culture in some of our under- College Corps advisers are served schools." selected through an applica- Rutherford said participat- tion and interview process that ing University graduates work to allows high school administra- create an atmosphere of excite- tors to interact directly with and ment about college within their select an adviser, and vice versa, assigned schools, as well as help to ensure that the adviser will fit students to attend a university in the school community. that will be a good fit. "It's kind of almost like a dat- "One of the things we find is ing game-type format," Ruther- that many of the students that ford said. "The school gets to pick are eligible to go to college have who they think would be the best misinformation as to how to get fit for their school, and the advis- there, and often times don't even ers also get to pick what school apply," he said. "And then there they think they want to go to." are students who may apply to Rutherford said program offi- say a community college but are cials reviewed relative matricu- capable of attending, say, a four- lation rates and general outreach year institution." efforts at interested schools And, according to Stephenson, before inviting them to join the helping students get the right program. resources to apply to andatted-- "Primarly--tfre- prore- college has been extremely involved just sending out a letter rewarding. to a number of different schools, "It's normal and expected for just based on the college-going a student from an affluent fam- rates from those schools. Then ily to go to college, but it really we looked at other things like feels great to see someone off to demographics, Title I, those college that came from a fam- types of things," Rutherford said. ily where higher education was "Obviously there were more that never considered an option," Ste- responded then we could serve, phenson wrote. however what we did is that we Rutherford said he believes went to those that responded first that students who have just grad- and responded the fastest." uated from the University are Rutherford added that the Col- able to guide and help students in lege Advising Corps is growing, a way thatctraditional high school and that he hopes seniors will counselors cannot. consider participating in the pro- "We believe in the 'near peer' gram. model, that because our students "We were initially planning are recent graduates of U of M to have up to 15 advisers within they are closer in age and ideas to three years, and now we will the students they'll be serving," have 24 advisers, 24 communi- Rutherford said. "We've found ties around the state, in the next that advisors develop a different three years," Rutherford said. rapport with students than the "This year we are going to add way students look at their teach- eight more advisers for the fall ers, because they aren't looked at of 2011. So we're hoping that stu- as part of an institution." dents will look for our notices to Megan Sims-Fujita, College apply and will consider us as an Corps adviser at Loy Norrix High option along with other options School in Kalamazoo, said that such as Teach For America and in addition to being in a unique Americorps." position to talk to students, she The University's College has time that normal counselors Advising Corps program is part do not to focus exclusively on col- of the National College Advis- lege applications. ing Corps, which is headquar- "I'm here just as an additional tered at University of North resource and my sole purpose is Carolina at Chapel Hill and to help kids go to college," Sims- includes programs at 12 other Fujita said. "So, it's nice, because universities. The University of I don't have a lot of the other Michigan's program is funded tedious responsibilities of sched- partly through the national offic- uling and things. I'm really here es, partly through the University to talk about college." and partly through the Jack Kent In addition to one-on-one Cooke Foundation.