The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Tuesday, April 19, 2011 - 3B The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Tuesday, April 19, 2011 - 38 Campus to become completely smoke free by July 2011 President Obama during his speech at 2010 winter commencement held at Michigan Stadium on Saturday, May12010. SAM WOLSON/Daly Obama ta ks defiition o cit0izenship a grduion0 gc ie S shp R1 at gradat 'I he Apr versit' free w by t Wedn 2011. The reduc ated v reduce with s "A physic enhan our ca dent an can "Our free goalsc health Uni cer R of Pu Warn Free U tee, w ing a the pc from s Ina iganD is aim smoke impro Unive "Ce hand also it thing nity," Acc major J' officials aim the policy is to decrease the cost of health care for University fac- to establish a ulty and staff.Within five years of implementing such a policy, Win- althier campus field said health care costs usually start to decline. By NICOLE ABER "We learned, that the health Daily Staff Reporter care costs are at least $2,000 more per year for people who smoke il 20, 2009 - All three Uni- than for nonsmokers," he added. y campuses will be smoke According to a press release on hen a new policy announced the policy, about14 percent of Uni- University administrators versity employees are smokers. esday takes effect on July 1, A 2006 survey found that about 16 percent of University students e initiative is meant to smoke one or more cigarettes a e the health risks associ- month, according to Winfield. vith secondhand smoke and There will be five subcommit- e health costs associated tees - one each for students, com- moking. munity relations, faculty and staff, healthier, smoke-free communications and grounds and al environment will only facilities - working to create the ce the intellectual vigor of best way to implement the policy, ampuses," University Presi- Winfield said. lary Sue Coleman wrote in In order to help smokers tran- npus-wide e-mail yesterday. sition into a community with this decision to become smoke- new policy, the University will aligns perfectly with the offer free behavioral counseling of MHealthy to improve the and discounts on over-the-coun- of our community." tersmokingcessation products for iversity Chief Health Offi- students, faculty and staff. Uni- obert Winfield and School versity employees will also have blic Health Dean Kenneth reduced co-pays on prescription er will co-chair the Smoke cessation products,Winfield said. University Steering Commit- In the fall of 2010, Winfield hich is charged with creat- said the committee will bring the dialogue on campus about proposed policy before Univer- olicy in order to get input sity administrators for an official tudents, faculty and staff. review. tn interview with The Mich- But until that point, Winfield aily,Winfieldsaidthepolicy said there are still several ques- ted at reducing secondhand tions as to how the policy will be around campus in order to implemented to create a smooth ve the overall health of the transition for all members of the rsity community. University community. Because rtainly irritation of second- this plan is still in the develop- smoke is an issue and what's mental stages, Winfield said it is mportant is doing the right important to get input from many for the health of the commu- different groups on campus, as Winfield said. well as from other private com- ording to Winfield, another panies that neighbor University reason for implementing property. State officials join 0 crowd of more than 80,000 for speech By JACOB SMILOVITZ and KYLE SWANSON Editor in Chiefand . Daily News Editor May 5, 2010 - President Barack Obama challenged the political status quo in a speech before more than 80,000 at the University of Michigan's spring commencement Saturday, call- ing on graduates to embrace change as a means of strength- ening the country's democracy for years to come. Obama's speech in Michigan Stadium was a clear denun- ciation of the current state of American politics - an envi- ronment he said is never a place for the "thin-skinned or faint-of-heart" but has recent- ly been pushed further by the "incredibly difficult moment in which we find ourselves as a nation." Through his words, the president attempted to con- vey his notion of citizenship to the maturating generation before him. He tried at times to reshape current conceptions of small and big government, pushed for a more civil political discourse and implored gradu- ates to participate in their gov- ernment in the way they see most fit. After severe thunderstorms drenched Ann Arbor this morn- ing and threatened to under- mine some of the excitement over the event, the rain slowed to a drizzle about an hour out from the ceremony's start and came to a complete halt shortly before it was set to begin. The gray clouds overhead did linger though throughout most of the ceremony. In attendance for Obama's speech was a big crowd of University and state officials, including University President Mary Sue Coleman, Demo- cratic Gov. Jennifer Granholm, University Provost Teresa Sul- livan, University President Emeritus James Duderstadt, the University's current Board of Regents and several former regents. Those on stage and in the crowd alike roared when Obama was presented with his honorary degree and took to the podium to deliver his remarks. As the president approached the microphone, one person in the crowd yelled out, "We love you," to which Obama respond- ed "I love you back." Beginning his speech, Obama described the current political atmosphere by high- lighting a letter sent to him by a kindergarten class that includ- ed the question, "Are people being nice?" "Well, if you turn on the news today, or yesterday, or a week ago, or a month ago -par- ticularly one of the cable chan- nels - you can see why even a kindergartener would ask this question," Obama told the audi- ence. And while Obama pointed to name calling by politicians and pundits and a media that high- lights "every hint of conflict," he admitted that recent events have largely contributed to the charged political climate. "The fact is, when you leave here today you will search for work in an economy that is still emerging from the worot crisis since the Great Depres- sion," Obama said. "You live in a century where the speed with which jobs and industries move across the globe is forcing America to compete like never before." However, Obama added that Americaihas had a long history of partisan rancor. "Since the days of our found- ing, American politics has never been a particularly nice business," Obama said. "It's always been a little less genteel during times of great change." Obama's speech then turned from these challenges and the toxic political discourse of today, to what role graduates must play to improve the coun- try's democracy in the future. "And now the question for your generation is this: how will you keep our democracy going?" Obama asked. "At a moment when our challenges seem so big and our politics seem so small, how will you keep our democracy alive and well in this century?" While not wishing to offer "some grand theory or detailed policy prescription," Obama did have three ingredients he said he believes are necessary for a functioning democracy: a limited, yet adaptive gov- ernment, the maintaining of a "basic level of civility in our public debate" and civic par- d icipafion. rirrsA m r" ..' On his first point, Obama conceded that there has, since the days of the Founding Fathers, been a belief in this country that government can- not solve every problem facing its people. But at the same time, he said many believe that some problems are too big for people to solve for themselves, "some things we can only do togeth- er." The president cited a series of examples of the govern- ment's greatest successes, from the construction of cross-con- tinental railroads to the cre- ation of a system of public high schools to the implementation of financial reforms in the wake of the Great Depression. NCAA imposes Ssanctions, three- yTear probation 'U' purchases 2 million-square foot, Pfizer facility to be used for research Board of Regents officer. "This purchase is an invest- approve purchase ment in the future of the Uni- versity of Michigan and of our of 174-acre complex state," University President Mary Sue Coleman said in a By JULIE ROWE written statement. "These Daily StaffReporter facilities will help attract more research funding to the area, Dec. 8 2008 - The University allowing us not only to broaden Board of Regents unanimously our contributions as one of the approved Thursday the pur- nation's premier research uni- chase of a 2 million-square-foot versities, but also to strengthen research and development facil- the region's ability to stimulate ity from Pfizer Inc., the pharma- new business." ceutical giant that announced Over the next decade, the last year it would close its Ann University hopes to create more Arbor location. than 2,000 jobs at the research The University will pay $108 center, which employed about million for the 174-acre Plym- 2,100 people before Pfizer outh Road facility vacated by moved out. the company earlier this year. At the meeting, all of the The University expects to close regents spoke in support of on the property in June after the purchase, praising it as an due diligence and ensuring the opportunity for the University site complies with state and fed- to expand its research in life sci- eral regulations. ence. The regents also said the The University Health Sys- purchase will be beneficial to the tem reserve fund will cover the Ann Arbor area and the state. bulk of the purchase with Uni- ' "If we don't invest in our- versity investment returns also selves, how can we expect any- shouldering some of the cost, body else to?" Regent S. Martin according to Timothy Slottow, Taylor (D-Grosse Point Farms) the University's chief financial said. "We have this capacity, we have the ability to do it." After the meeting, Robert Kelch, executive vice president for the University's medical affairs, said officials will put together a plan for the site's use over the next 12 to 18 months. "We don't know exactly yet, but we will come up with a great plan," Kelch said. "What this does is unleashing the intellec- tual capacity of the University. The restraining influence is the lack of high quality research space." Many of the laboratories are ready to use, he said, but some will need to be renovated and refitted. The Pfizer complex, once the largest taxpayer in the city with a combined taxable value of $147 million earlier this year, will come off the tax rolls when it becomes a University entity. Ann Arbor Mayor John Hief- tje said in a phone interview that he was excited about the poten- tial for job creation resulting from the University's purchase. However, he said that losing the tax revenue from the Pfizer complex - which accounted for 5 percent of the city's tax base - will only further complicate the city's struggling finances. "It'll be a serious hit. It'll be a long time before the serious benefits kick in." Hieftje said. "On top of what's going on in the economy, and then you have this happen, it's going to make things that much harder." Hieftje said he would have liked the city to have been involved in the negotiations to soften the impact on tax reve- nues, which are vital to the city's operations. "The city (government) is 20 percent smaller than it used to be," he said. "There will prob- ably have to be further reduc- tions. Almost surely. We've already taken all of the easy cuts. We're starting to get more into the substance of what the city already uses." Speculation about the site's future began in January 2007, when the company announced its decision to close the facil- ity. At the time of the announce- ment, Coleman and other administrators said they wanted to see private companies move into the facility, but did not rule out the University's interest. Program cited for five major violations By KYLE SWANSON Daily News Editor Nov. 4, 2010 - The National Collegiate Athletic Association has announced that it has placed the Michigan football program on a three-year probation. During a conference call Wednesday with University offi- cials and members of the media, Paul Dee, chairman of the NCAA Committee on Infractions, said the penalties from the NCAA also include a public scolding and censure of the University and a stipulation that Michigan football coach Rich Rodriguez must attend the 2011 NCAA Regional Rules Seminar. Additionally, University officials imposed reductions to the amount of time the Michigan football team can practice - 130 hours in total through the end of the 2011-2012 academic year. Experts interviewed by The Michigan Daily said the addi- tional one year of probation on top of what the University had self- imposed didn't seem out of line for the nature of the case. They also said it was important to note that the NCAA had downgraded the charge against Rodriguez from a charge that he had failed to pro- mote an atmosphere of compli- ance to the findingthathe failed to adequately monitor his program. The initial allegation against Rodriguez that he had failed to promote an atmosphere of com- pliance, Dee said, was changed to a violation of NCAA Constitution 2.8.1 because the committee felt that Rodriguez failed to properly oversee the program, not that he failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance. Asked during the call about what level of responsibility should be placed on Rodriguez, Dee com- pared Rodriguez to the captain of a ship. "The coach is ultimately responsible, but that doesn't mean that the coach is involved in all of the activities," Dee said. "Conse- quently, some of the things that did occur did not get all the way to the coach." At a University press confer- ence following the NCAA confer- ence call, University President Mary Sue Coleman said the Uni- versity had taken the investiga- tion seriously from the first day and that she was proud of how the University cooperated with the NCAA. "To the University of Michigan (this) could not be more serious," Coleman said. But Coleman made it clear that such violations should never have happened. "They should not have occurred," Coleman said of the violations, adding that corrective measures have been implemented. Speaking at the press confer- ence, Athletic Director David Brandon said he was happy the process was over and that he wasn't surprised by the NCAA's findings. "There will be no appeals because there's nothing to appeal," Brandon said. "They're majorviolations, absolutely. We've admitted to them and we're mov- ing forward." However, Brandon stressed that at no time was the welfare of student-athletes put in danger. Brandon cited a "very high-profile story" reported by a local newspa- per, which he did not name, that suggested the football program was putting student-athletes at risk.