The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

NEWS BRIEFS
LANSING, Mich.
Several protesters
arrested after day
of Capitol rallies
A day that saw at least 3,000
union members and others rally at
the Capitol against Gov. Rick Sny-
der's proposals to tax pensions and
give emergency financial manag-
ers sweeping new powers ended
with protesters being arrested
yesterday evening for refusing to
leave the building.
Police arrested five young adults
for trespassingabouttwo and ahalf
hours after they staged a sit-in in
the Capitol rotunda after the doors
were locked at 5:30 p.m. More peo-
ple had been inside, but most left
voluntarily when state and Capitol
police asked them to go.
A sixth person was arrested in
a melee outside the Capitol while
the five were being driven away in
a sheriff's department van.
Earlier in the evening, police
arrested a handful of others who
tried to open the locked doors and
let others into the building.
SAN DIEGO
Airline sued after
removing Muslim
woman from flight
A Muslim woman said yester-
day that she wants a Southwest
Airlines crew disciplined for
removing her from a flight for
wearing a headscarf.
Irum Abbasi, 31, told report-
ers at a news conference out-
side San Diego's airport that she
was forced off a San Jose-bound
flight in San Diego on Sunday
because a flight attendant found
her to be suspicious.
Abbasi said she was told that
a flight attendant overheard her
say on her cell phone words to
the effect of: "It's a go."
"I was in tears," Abbasi said.
"I was just crying. I have lived in
the United States for 10 years. I
am a U.S. citizen."
MEXICO CITY
Surveillance helps
authorities spy on
drug traffickers
U.S. Customs and Border Pro-
tection has been surreptitiously
flying Predator drones into Mex-
ico for two years, helping Mexi-
can authorities spy on suspected
drug traffickers, The Associated
Press has learned.
The border security agency's
surveillance flights, approved
by Mexico but never announced
by either country, predate occa-
sional flights into Mexico by
the U.S. Air Force's $38 million
Global Hawk drone that began
last month.
Mexico's National Security
Council said in a statement yes-
terday that unmanned aircraft
have flown over Mexico on spe-
cific occasions, mainly along the
border with the U.S., to gather

information at the request of the
Mexican government.
The flights expand the U.S.
role in the drug war, in which
Americans already have been
training Mexican soldiers and
police as well as cooperating on
other intelligence.
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti
U.S. missionary
released after five
months in prison
An American missionary who
was abruptly jailed in southern
Haiti and held without charges
for five months was just as sud-
denly released, he said yesterday.
Danny Pye, 29, a Christian
pastor who runs an orphanage
with his wife in the southern
city of Jacmel, said the same
judge who jailed him in October
signed his release order Tuesday,
allowing him to finally leave the
cell he had shared with 28 other
men.
"It's been an experience I'll
never forget," Pye said in a tele-
phone interview with The Asso-
ciated Press from Jacmel.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports

DPS
From Page 1A
Lab will examine any evidence
in the case, the website states.
DPS also announced yester-
day that it is offering a $500
reward for anyone who has
knowledge of an aggravated
assault on Feb. 27, according to
the DPS website. The incident
involved two people who were
hit with pellets ejected from a
blue, four-door vehicle driving
by. The pedestrians were com-
ing from the Michigan Union
and were walking across South
State Street at about 1 a.m. when
the incident occurred, the web-
site states.
There were no serious inju-
ries, according to the DPS web-
site. No crime alert was issued
for the incident.
DPS spokeswoman Diane
Brown said yesterday that there
is "no indication" that the two
crimes are connected.
The reward for the crime in
which two people were hit with
pellets comes three weeks after
the incident because DPS was
NORTHWOOD
From Page 1A
would be good to coincide the
timing of the fire safety system
update with the boiler replace-
ments.
But once the renovations are
completed, current residents of
Northwood I, II and III won't
be able to move back into their
apartments since University
Housing is giving priority to
undergraduates, Logan said.
"We anticipate that we'll
probably need spaces in North-
wood I and II for undergradu-
ate students," Logan said.
"We've already moved some
undergraduate students in the
(Northwood apartments) I and
II for this year. So that's the
thrust of the matter, right now."
As a result, University Hous-
ing will offer current residents
who will be staying in North-
wood after April 30, 2012 a sim-
ilar apartment in Northwood
IV or V, Logan said.
Logan said he is "pretty con-
fident," based on past patterns,
that there will be enough spaces
for all the students who choose
to be moved to Northwood IV
NYTIMES
From Page 1A
paper in Angell Hall and the
Michigan Union, but he hopes
that distribution will expand to
more locations across campus
like Pierpont Commons for the
duration of the trial.
The program will continue
until the end of MSA elections,
which are scheduled to be held
on March 23 and 24.
Summers, an Engineering
sophomore, said the current
number of distributed copies
is much smaller than what the
actual distribution proposes
- about 3,000 to 4,500 copies
of the paper Monday through
Friday. To cover the cost of
the paper, students would be
charged no more than $4 each

semester.
According to Summers, MSA
is currently "cooperating with
the trial as a wayto gain student
feedback," but has not yet taken
a stance on the program.
"I thought that a ballot ques-
tion would be the best way to
evaluate student interest in gen-
eral," Summers said. "I could
have brought forth an additional
resolution to seek endorsement
from (MSA) regarding the pro-
gram, but currently, we're really
interested in just what students
think."
Kevin Cappallo, the national
director of education sales for
The New York Times, wrote
in an e-mail interview that
the newspaper has established
programs on more than 1,200
college campuses nationwide.
More than 400 schools are
involved in the College Reader-
ship Program specifically.
"The fundamental purpose
of our college program is to
support the thousands of fac-
ulty members across the broad
spectrum of curriculum that

"spending aslot of hours dealing
with other cases," Brown said.
Rewards are being offered for
information pertaining to these
cases because they were crimes
against people, which are more
dangerous than crimes like lar-
ceny, Brownsaid. She added that
the rewards are being offered
because DPS believes there are
people who have more informa-
tion about the incidents.
Brown said rewards are
typically offered based on the
"investigator's instinct that
there are people out there with
additional information" who
would respond if there is a mon-
etary incentive. DPS has offered
rewards in the past, but it isn't
a common procedure because
many cases the department
encounters already have sus-
pects or it's the type of crime
in which the perpetrator is not
typically found, she added.
The last time DPS offered a
reward for a crime was on Oct.
31, 2009, when the department
offered $250 for information
leading to an arrest after a man
was assaulted by up to 10 men
while he was driving on Elm
and V after April 2012.
Several students at Tuesday's
meeting expressed concerns
with their possible relocation to
Northwood IV orV apartments,
with most of the apprehensions
relating to the apartments
being catered to families, more
expensive and less accessible to
University buses than the other
apartment buildings.
"Northwood IV and V are
much more like family-oriented
houses, with different rooms
inside, so that might also cause
problems because ... many peo-
ple who want to live with one
bedroom won't be able to find
one because most of the facili-
ties...are townhouses," one
Northwood resident, who will
be affected by the relocation,
said during the meeting.
For 2010-2011, an unfur-
nished one-bedroom apart-
ment costs $896 in Northwood
I, between $767 and $837 in
Northwood II and $896 or $950
with air conditioning in North-
wood IV and V, according to the
University Housing website.
An unfurnished two-bedroom
apartment in Northwood I
costs $1,004 per month, $968
in Northwood II and $1,086 or
use The New York Times as a
supplement to their required or
recommended readings in their
courses," Cappallo wrote. "Tra-
ditionally, copies of The Times
have been offered to both fac-
ulty and students at special edu-
cation rates to support faculty
utilization of the newspaper in
their coursework."
Representatives from USA
Today also talked to MSA at an
assembly meeting before spring
break about establishing a simi-
lar program on campus. Accord-
ing to Summers, the assembly
ultimately decided not to work
with the publication.
"The general consensus, at
least among the representatives,
was that we weren't interested
specifically in (USA Today),"
Summers said.

Summers said he believes The
New York Times will appeal
more.to the student body. On
Monday, Summers said the
majority of the papers were off
the racks by about 4:30 p.m.
"If students support it over-
whelmingly, if there's at least
a majority of support - and
hopefully we'll see if there's
a supermajority - then we'll
move from there," he said.
LSA senior Elizabeth Hat-
field said she would appreciate
another news source on campus
and is in favor of the program.
"I think the availability of
the news is really important ... I
enjoy reading newspapers, I like
to read (them) more so than on
the Internet," Hatfield said.
Cappallo wrote that other
campuses that participate in
The New York Times College
Readership Program, such as
Pennsylvania State University
and the Ohio State University,
have seen positive results.
"Many college educators
believe a quality newspaper can
play a vital role in keeping stu-
dents informed about the world

Street, according to the DPS
archives.
The incident occurred dur-
ing the annual Elm Street block
party on Halloween. A man
attempting to drive down the
crowded street was dragged
from his vehicle and beaten to
the point that he needed treat-
ment from a hospital.
According to the DPS
archives, a $1,000 reward
was also offered for informa-
tion leading to the arrest of
the person involved with the
arson at West Quad Residence
Hall on March 26, 2009. The
arson was later linked to then-
LSA senior Timothy Burke,
who said his target was former
Michigan football player Justin
Feagin because a drug deal they
planned fell through.
Members of the Ann Arbor
Police Department with infor-
mation on the recent cases were
unable to be reached last night.
People with any information
regarding either of the recent
crimes can contact DPS at 734-
763-1131 or the University's
anonymous tip line at 800-863-
1355.
$1,146 in Northwood IV and V.
University Housing is
addressing these concerns by
offering an individual adviser
to every student who wants to
stay, Logan said. The adviser
would help students find an
apartment similar in style and
rent to their current apart-
ments, he said.
During the meeting, some
students said they would have
been willing to stay in their
apartments and bear the distur-
bances of the three-month con-
struction updates rather than
abandon their apartments after
April 2012.
However, Logan said, let-
ting students remain in their
housing unit during a repair
period can be problematic. He
said that, in this case, it would
be especially inconvenient for
residents if they remained in
the building since work will be
done in every apartment.
"The experience was stu-
dents thought it very disruptive,
very unpleasant. It disturbs
study, it disturbs their day-to-
day routines," Logan said. " ...
There is dust, there is noise and
of course there is the intrusion
into the apartment space."
while stimulating conversation
and civic engagement," Cappal-
lo wrote. "They believe reading
a newspaper on a regular basis
contributes to the development
of critical thinking skills and
the practice of responsible citi-
zenship while helping students
connect classroom concepts to
everyday life."
The college programs aren't
just about a cost-effective
means of giving students access
to national newspapers, Cap-
pallo wrote.
"(The Times) offers these
campuses much more than just a
greatpriceonnewspapers,"Cap-
pallo wrote. "We offered several
scalable value-added benefits to
our participating campuses that
include free speaker events with
Times journalists, faculty work-

shops, student contests and
other special discounts on NY
Times services."
Engineering junior Megan
Kao said she thinks students
would respond well to having
more print newspapers on cam-
pus.
"I think it's a good idea
because there's probably a lot
of people that are not liking the
fact that newspapers are kind
of dying, and I think it's good
to have newspapers available,"
Kao said.
LSA senior Michael Powers
said he thinks the availability of
more national and global news
would complement the local
news already on campus.
"Obviously it lets you know
what's going on in the more
national and global scale, and I
think it would be a nice supple-
ment to The (Michigan) Daily,"
Powers said. "The Daily is great
for local issues, butI don't think
anybody reads the Daily for any
issue outside of campus or even
outside of the state. So I think
it would be a good initiative to
inform students."

PROTEST
From Page 1A
read "Reconsider Snyder" and
"Not in our house" on the steps
of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate
Library.
The event's speakers included
Goldsmith and LSA senior Rick
Durance, who created an online
petition against the choice of
Snyder. The petition has gar-
nered more than 4,239 signa-
tures as of 8 p.m.
Durance said in an interview
that he started the petition
because he wants the Univer-
sity to stop inviting politicians
to speak at commencement cer-
emonies.
"It's clear that having political
speakers, whether it's (President
Barack) Obama or Rick Snyder,
is dividing our graduating class,"
Durance said. "This is the time
where we should be University
of Michigan students first - not
Republicans, not Democrats, not
affiliated with any of our politi-
cal parties, but University of
Michigan students. I don't think
that Governor Snyder is facilitat-
ing that."
He added that he would have
protested Obama's commence-
ment speech last spring if the
president proposed cuts to edu-
cation like Snyder has.
Michigan's public universi-
ties face a 15-percent funding
reduction from the state if Sny-
der's 2012 fiscal year budget pro-
posal is carried through. Such
a decrease would mean $47.5
million less for the University,
which received $316 million
from the state for the 2011 fis-
cal year. Snyder's budget also
includes a provision that would
raise funding cuts to 20 percent
if state colleges increase in-state
students' tuition by more than 7.1
percent.
Durance said by inviting Sny-
der, the University is supporting
his policies "by de facto."
LSA senior Michael Caruso,
who participated in the rally
yesterday, said he was protest-
ing because Snyder's proposal to
cut funding for higher education
would undoubtedly raise tuition
and put a financial strain on stu-
dents.
"I'm working 60 hours per
week trying to pay my tuition
to attend this university, and it's
ridiculous that Mary Sue Cole-
man would think that it would
be the right thing to bring in a
man (to) speak who's trying to
bump my tuition up and make
me work harder when I'm trying
to work my ass off in class alone,"
Caruso said. "It's absurd to me
that she would think that's the
right thing to do."
University spokeswoman

Thursday, March 17, 201 - 3A
Kelly Cunningham declined to
comment on the protests, but
wrote in an e-mail that the Uni-
versity traditionally invites first-
term governors to be the Spring
Commencement speaker.
"The choice of commence-
ment speaker is very important
to the graduating class, their
family and friends attending the
ceremony, and we work to find
someone who will inspire oth-
ers through the commencement
address and by virtue of his or
her distinguished accomplish-
ments," Cunningham wrote.
"We are very pleased that Gov-
ernor Snyder, a three-time alum
of the University before age 23,
was able to accept the invitation
in his first term."
Durance said he plans to
attend the regents meeting
tomorrow to present the Board
with the petition. He said he
anticipates that "several dozen"
students will be joining him.
Goldsmith said he will also go
to the meeting, adding that he
plans to protest atthe commence-
ment ceremony on April 30.
"(University administrators)
wanta peaceful and orderly com-
mencement, and if Rick Snyder
is the commencement speaker,
it will be none of those things,"
Goldsmith said. "It is not going
to be peaceful nor is it going
to be orderly if he is the com-
mencement speaker. It's going to
be ugly, and it's not going to be
good."
LSA senior Michelle Shirk
joined the Diag protest, but said
she doesn't want any protests at
the actual commencement cer-
emony.
"I've heard about silent pro-
tests happening during gradu-
ation, where during his speech,
people want to stand up and turn
around. I don't support that,"
Shirk said. "I don't want my
graduation to turn into a politi-
cal event that. It's not about that.
It should be about me, and my
graduation and my graduating
class."
Though a majority of people
at the protest yesterday opposed
Snyder, there were a handful of
counter protesters who support
the governor.
Engineering senior Nick Clay,
who said he is a Republican,
expressed disappointment that
there was such outcry against
Snyder.
"We think that at a univer-
sity like Michigan, a public
university, there should be a
platform where we can accept a
lot of diverse views - that's what
Obana said last year," Clay said.
"... (There's) alot of uncivil rhet-
oric. Let's just tone it down, and
let's just have a nice graduation."

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