The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
NEWS BRIEFS
DETROIT
Mayor reveals
plans to deal with
shrinking city
Detroit has released copies
of reports and analysis related
to Mayor Dave Bing's plans for
reshaping the city as it deals with
a shrinking population.
The Detroit News and the
Detroit Free Press report yester-
day the documents include ideas
up for discussion such as elimi-
nating some roads, shutting down
some water lines, turning off
street lights in depopulated areas
and reducing garbage pickup in
some neighborhoods. Any deci-
sions would come later.
Bing is working to strengthen
the most viable neighborhoods
and deal with some nearly vacant
parts of the city. He has said
incentives will be used to encour-
age people to move into certain
areas of Detroit.
JUNEAU, Alaska
Alaska lawmaker
pushes for drinking
age to be lowered
Alaska is the latest state to
weigh in on a long-running argu-
ment: If you're old enough to fight
and die for your country, you
should be old enough to drink a
beer.
An Alaska lawmaker who
served in Vietnam is pushing a
bill that would allow active-duty
service members under 21 to
drink alcohol as long as they could
produce an armed forces identi-
fication card. Those under 19 -
Alaska's smoking age - would be
allowed to buy tobacco products.
"It's not fair that one guy in a
fox hole can go home and have a
beer while another guy in the fox
hole can't," said Rep. Bob Lynn,
R-Anchorage. "It's not about
drinking, it's not about smoking,
it's about equality. If you get shot
at, you can have a shot."
WASHINGTON, D.C.
White House says
shutdown will
delay pay to troops
The Obama administration
warned yesterday that a federal
shutdown would undermine the
economic recovery, delay pay to
U.S. troops fightingin three wars,
* slow the processing of tax returns
and limit smallbusiness loans and
government-backed mortgages
during peak home buying season.
The dire message, delivered
two days before the federal gov-
ernment's spending authority
expires, appeared aimed at jolting
congressional Republicans into
a budget compromise. Billions of
dollars apart, congressional nego-
tiators were working to strike
a deal by Friday to avert a shut-
down by setting spending limits
through the end of September.
The last such shutdown took place
15 years ago and lasted 21 days.
President Barack Obama tele-
phoned House Speaker John
Boehner on Wednesday, and
Boehner's office said the speaker
told Obama he was hopeful a deal
could be reached.
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa
Floods in Namibia
leave thousands
homeless, 62 dead
The United Nations says 62
people have been killed and thou-
sands forced from their homes
since the start of the year by
flooding in northern Namibia.
U.N. officials in Namibia say
a new wave of water is expected
from Angola, and the forecast
is for more rains in northern
Namibia in the coming days.
UNICEF says northern Namib-
ia is already vulnerable. It is
among the most densely popu-
lated and poorest parts of the
country, with a high number of
people carrying the AIDS virus.
UNICEF says one in every fifteen
children dies before reaching the
age of five in the region.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
NORTH CAMPUS
From Page 1A
Initiative, a project started by
Royster Harper, the Univer-
sity's vice president for student
affairs, which intends to find
ways to make North Campus
more attractive for students.
Loren Rullman, the Univer-
sity's associate vice president
for student affairs, said in an
interview at the event that he
admires the vast amount of
academic and artistic activities
that take place on North Cam-
pus.
"There's lots of incredible
research going on here. Stu-
dents are engaged," Rullman
said. "I think of this campus as
an expressive campus ... It's a
campus where things are being
made."
However, Rullman said
North. Campus has some prob-
lems, which students have
complained about, including
transportation to and from the
area and accessibility to build-
ings. He added that some facili-
ties on North Campus need
ROSS
From Page 1A
independence, according to Paul
Gediman, executive director of
the C.K. Prahalad Initiative.
Business School Dean Bob
Dolan traveled to Dehli, India
last week to sign a memorandum
in support of the collaboration
and was joined by Chandrajit
Banerjee, director general of
CII, who also gave his signature
for the partnership, the press
release states. Dolan wrote in
the press release that these
experiences will be invaluable
for University students and fac-
ulty.
"We are extremely pleased
to develop this natural affin-
ity between our own C.K. Pra-
halad Initiative and India@75,"
Dolan wrote. "We think it is a
great foundation from which to
advance a global understanding
of how innovative next prac-
tices can shape the relationship
between business and society in
many parts of the world."
Banerjee wrote in the press
release that the partnership will
help India@75 reach its goals by
2022.
"The partnership with the
Business School and University
which Professor Prahalad made
his academic home for so many
years is therefore very special,"
SINCLAIR
From Page 1A
wealthiest Americans in society
today.
"It's the fascism of the rich
people," he said. "The rich peo-
ple own and control everything
in our society ... They control the
media, and consequently, their
goal is to reduce the intelligence
and the ability to discriminate
between reality and unreality...
because then people will believe
whatever they tell them."
Sinclair, who currently pro-
duces his own online radio
show, was jailed in the state of
Michigan in 1969 for selling two
marijuana joints to an under-
cover policewoman - resulting
in a 10-year prison sentence. His
imprisonment inspired the 1971
"Free John Now Rally" at Crisler
Arena that featured John Len-
non, who recorded a song titled
"John Sinclair" at the event. Sin-
clair's case led to redefining mar-
ijuana laws in Ann Arbor, and in
1972 an event similar to the rally,
then termed Hash Bash, took
place.
Additionally, Sinclair founded
the White Panther Party, which
supported the Black Panthers
during the Civil Rights Move-
updates.
"We know that our recre-
ational sports facilities need
improvement," Rullman said.
"We hear that from students."
Public Policy senior Stepha-
nie Parrish, a facilitator at the
event, said getting to North
Campus can be a hassle.
"There's not a convenient
way to get to the things that
are happening," Parrish said.
"If you have a busy schedule,
and you have an hour, it's not
worth it to ride the 20-minute
bus ride."
It's important North Campus
is "rebranded," Parrish said.
"It's a culture change," Par-
rish said. "... There's already
that culture that North Campus
is weird and far."
Kinesiology senior Andrew
Benintende said he goes to
North Campus because it has
quiet study spaces. However,
many of the buildings he likes
to frequent aren't accessible to
non-engineering students.
"Open up those buildings,"
Benintende said. "You can't get
in here on the weekends."
LSA senior Cameron MK-
Banerjee said.
The initiative's primary goal
is to "address the intersection
of business activity and social
responsibility," Gediman wrote.
The Business School began the
initiative this past fall in an effort
to honor Prahalad, who died last
April, and to carry on his vision
of business and his unique way
of thinking about the field, Gedi-
man said.
"I think it's important to say
that when you have somebody
like C.K. Prahalad, it's nice to
embrace the ambition of carry-
ing on his work as the best way
to honor his memory," Gediman
said.
The initiative - which will
be officially announced in the
coming weeks - will focus on
implementing the terms of the
memorandum between the Busi-
ness School and the CII. The first
step is starting a conversation,
Gediman said.
"India@75 is partnering with
us because we bring a certain
level of expertise ... and we're
partnering with them because
they will help us find projects
that offer the best educational
opportunities and research
opportunities to our faculty," he
said.
While this specific partner-
ship is new, the Business School
has already been engaged with
India for some time, Gediman
ment. He was also an active fig-
ure in the music scene duringthe
1960s as manager for the rock
band MCS.
Sinclair said he and other
activists at the time were moti-
vated by a desire to change the
way they lived.
"We didn't want to be like
everyone else," he said. "We
wanted to do something differ-
ent. We didn't know what it was
going to be, we just wanted to do
something different."
Sinclair said he believes
today's generation faces more
difficulty in creating social
change despite the existence of
the Internet and social media.
"You can do damn near any-
thing now, but nobody seems
to have any idea what to do," he
said.
Sinclair's visit was an unex-
pected addition to the class cur-
riculum, Conforth said. Sinclair
is an old friend of Conforth's, and
since he was in town for Hash
Bash this past Saturday, Con-
forth invited him to come speak
to his students about his experi-
ences.
"At this point in the class, we
just finished covering the sixties,
and the timing was just right,"
Conforth said.
In an interview after the class,
night said she regularly enjoys
the fine arts shows on North
Campus, but is concerned the
events aren't widely promoted.
"I've never seen an adver-
tisement for one that I remem-
ber," McKnight said.
She added that more park-
ing on North Campus would
encourage upperclassmen to
make the trip.
Public Policy junior Chris
Sorenson said he thinks the
campus should have more
activities for students.
"I think one way to increase
the liveliness of North Campus
is to add social events," Soren-
son said.
Elizabeth Zollweg, project
manager of the North Campus
Initiative, said she thinks the
event drew only a small crowd
since it was planned recently,
leaving the group little time to
fully market the event. Despite
the low turnout, Zollweg said it
was important to hold the event
before students began to study
for finals and became too busy.
- Andrew Schulman
contributed to this report.
said.
"We have six or seven student
teams in India right now doing
projects," he said.
Dolan wrote in the press
release that Indian citizens com-
prise 8 percent of the school's
MBA class of 2012.
Though this collaboration
focuses on India, the Business
School also plans to pursue simi-
lar programs in other countries
to expand its work abroad. Work-
ing with about 725 organizations
in more than 30 nations, the
Business School has orchestrated
more than 1,500 programs, the
press release states.
Gediman said the partner-
ship is also an example of what
the Business School sees as its
strength - combining business
with social and environmental
responsibility. He added that not
just the Business School, but the
University as a whole, will ben-
efit from the agreement.
"The kinds of organizations
you might be working with
aren't limited to business," Gedi-
man said. "The most interesting
problems of the world aren't just
business problems, so ultimately,
I could easily imagine that you
could have Ross students with
students from Public Policy and
Public Health and any of the
other schools ... working on field
projects that are Prahalad Initia-
tive field projects."
Sinclair said he enjoyed coming
to speak to Conforth's students
because he rarely gets the oppor-
tunity to communicate with col-
lege-aged individuals.
"I'm what I call a public intel-
lectual, and a historical figure -
if I can say that without meaning
to sound like an asshole," he said.
"I was witness to a lot of history
and a participant, and I just think
it's part of my job to respond to
requests to share this informa-
tion."
LSA senior Elan Green, a stu-
dent in the class, said he found
the talk to be interesting and
informative.
"He really helped embody
what we had already been dis-
cussing (in class) and take the
theory and apply it to reality,"
Green said.
LSA senior Allison Herbert,
who is also in the class, said she
had grown up with an origi-
nal poster from the "Free John
Now Rally" hanging in her living
room.
"A lot of people asked about
how our generation can fight
against this, how to do this,
do that in the world that we
live in," Herbert said. "It was
just cool to see his perspective
because he's been there and he's
done that."
ARMSTRONG
From Page 1A
representing Shirvell in the case
before the Attorney Grievance
Commission, said in an interview
yesterday that he isn't represent-
ing Shirvell in the civil lawsuit.
"I don't know if he could even
afford an'attorney," Thomas said.
Prior to filing the lawsuit,
Gordon and Armstrong filed
complaints with the Michigan
Attorney Grievance Commis-
sion in an effort to force Shirvell
to retract his statements against
Armstrong and to have Shirvell
disbarred.
Shirvell was fired from his
post in the Attorney Gener-
al's office last November "for
conduct unbecoming a state
employee," former Michigan
Attorney General Mike Cox
wrote in a statement at the time.
The incident became national
news last fall when Shirvell,
Armstrong and Cox appeared
on separate occasions on CNN's
Anderson Cooper 360.
Neither Armstrong nor
Shirvell could be reached for
comment yesterday.
Though Thomas isn't repre-
senting Shirvell in the lawsuit,
he said he has no doubts that
Shirvell will be acquitted of
wrongdoing.
BORDERS
From Page 1A
closure. As of Dec. 25, 2010, the
corporation had about 19,500
total employees.
Borders Group Inc., which
also owns Waldenbooks, had
$1.28 billion in assets and $1.29
billion in liabilities as of Dec. 25,
2010, according to the February
bankruptcy petition. During the
company's bankruptcy period,
GE Capitol is loaning the corpo-
ration $505 million.
Despite the impending move,
Davis wrote that no decisions
about the new location have
been officially announced, add-
ing that it may remain in Ann
Arbor, just in different place.
"It's been widely reported ...
that we are moving out of Ann
Arbor. We have not announced
that - the only thing we have
said is we are exploring pos-
sible locations within the great-
er Metro Detroit area, which
includes Ann Arbor," Davis
wrote. "The final decision about
where the (headquarters) will
ultimately physically be has not
Thursday, April 7, 2011 - 3A
"While I'm not going to
be involved in the defense of
Andrew regarding the civil
lawsuit that Mr. Armstrong has
filed, I'm very confident that
when Andrew has his day in
court regarding that matter he
is going to prevail and that his
free speech rights are going to
be upheld," Thomas said.
Thomas added that while
Shirvell's actions may have been
offensive to some, he believes
Shirvell was well within his
First Amendment rights.
"While individuals may be
offended by things that Andrew
said on his blog and in the signs
that he would carry when he
protested certain events over on
campus, he had the right to be
there, and he had the right to do
that," Thomas said.
Shirvell was initially banned
from the University's Ann Arbor
campus in September by the
University's Department of Pub-
lic Safety. DPS altered the order
on Nov. 5, allowing Shirvell on
University property, but dictat-
ing that he can't be in the vicin-
ity of Armstrong.
The University is currently
reviewing its trespass warning
policy. Initial recommendations
have been made to modify the
policy, but the Office of the Gen-
eral Counsel has not yet final-
ized its plans.
been decided yet."
Hieftje said he isn't con-
cerned about the local economy,
but more about people losing
their jobs as a result of the pos-
sible move. He estimated that
Borders has already gone from
about 1,000 to 550 employees in
the area.
"Economically, this is some-
thing we'll handle," Hieftje
said. "It won't really affect
property taxes to any great
degree."
He added that he thinks los-
ing the Borders store on East
Liberty Street would have a
slightly greater impact on the
city's economy. However, the
company hasn't mentioned any
possible closing of the location.
"The Borders store is kind
of an anchor, and we would
like to see it stay there," Hief-
tje said, adding that if Borders
does decide to close its East
Liberty location, another com-
pany would most likely move
in promptly since it is a "prime
space."
- Daily Staff Reporter Brienne
Prusak contributed to this report.
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