The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, October 27,.2011- 5A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, October 27, 2011 - 5A
Several of the many homeless cats that are waiting to be adopted at the Humane Society of Huron Valley last Thursday.
Cat hoarding cases cause
crowdingaf at Humane Society
LOANS
From Page 1A
705 out-of-state students had an
average federal debt of $22,399
during the same time period for
an average monthly repayment
of $257.78.
Fowler wrote in an e-mail
interview that the University
does not currently have any stu-
dents up for loan forgiveness,
so she could not determine how
many University students take
advantage of the income-based
repayment option. However,
many students do not consider
it "until they are near or at the
point of default," Fowler wrote.
Income-based repayment
helps graduates "keep monthly
payments low during years when
their gross pay is low and other
expenses high," Fowler wrote.
She added that it prevents many
graduates from defaulting on
their student loans and protects
their credit history.
Fowler wrote in an e-mail
interview that she thinks the
20-year forgiveness period is
much better than the original 25
years. She added that she hopes
the initiatives will draw atten-
tion to the underutilized income-
based repayment program.
"After 20 years, many stu-
dents will be faced with send-
ing their children to college,"
Fowler wrote. "Having both of
those financial priorities at the
same time is probably not a good
thing."
In a conference call with
reporters on Tuesday, U.S. Sec-
retary of Education Arne Dun-
can and Melody Barnes, director
of the Domestic Policy Council,
reiterated Obama's call of urgen-
cy as students are on the cusp of
entering an increasingly global
and competitive economy once
they graduate.
"Because we know the frus-
tration of crushing loan bur-
dens, we believed that we had
to act today," Barnes said. "This
president knows that getting
a postsecondary education is
important for economic security
and to make sure students are
ready and available for the jobs
of tomorrow."
Barnes added that reducing
the cap could lower monthly
payments by hundreds of dol-
lars a month, easing the debt of
graduates who enter the market
in low-paying fields.
Barnes and Duncan also
stressed that the cost of higher
education is a deterrent for many
young people, and they hope
Obama's efforts will change that.
"College continues to be a
great, great investment," Duncan
said during the call. "We have
to educate our way to a better
economy and have to continue to
make sure that college is acces-
sible and affordable, particularly
for young people that don't have
a lot of economic support."
As tuition rates rise nation-
wide - including at the Univer-
sity, which raised tuition by 6.7
percent for in-state students and
4.9 percent for out-of-state stu-
dents this year - the importance
of loan repayment measures like
Obama's recent initiative has
also risen, said Mark Kantrow-
itz, founder and publisher of
FinAid.org.
Kantrowitz said the
announcement was "good news"
amid a spate of cuts to financial
aid legislation like the elimi-
nation of the in-school inter-
est subsidy on federal loans in
August. However, the cap is only
a small measure, and borrowers
who have already taken out stu-
dent loans will continue to bear
the full burden of their debts, he
said.
Barnes acknowledged in the
conference call that the option
was not significant in scale and
would not provide the boost to
the economy Obama was hoping
for, though it would help some-
what.
"The steps we're taking today
are not a substitute for the bold
action we need to create jobs and
grow the economy," she said.
"But they will make a differ-
ence."
Huron Valley
shelter has
200 animals up
for adoption
By CHELSEA LANDRY
DailyStaffReporter
Forty homeless furry felines
slept in the hallways of the
Humane Society of Huron Val-
ley this weekend after their
owners were evicted for hoard-
ing.
The cats arrived on Oct. 18
and 19 as a result of two animal
hoarding incidents, accordingto
Deb Kern, marketing director of
the Humane Society of Huron
Valley. Police evicted the hoard-
ers, and the cats were immedi-
ately taken to the already packed
facility to await adoption.
"There's no room left, and
our foster homes are full," Kern
said. "Cats (are) in the hallway
and in other places we wouldn't
normally have them."
With the addition of the cats,
the shelter currently has about
200 pets waiting to be adopted.
Despite the unexpected influx
of pets, Kern made it clear that
HSHV will not euthanize any
of the animals. However, she
stressed the importance of fami-
lies adopting pets from shelters.
"If you're going to adopt, go
to shelters first," Kern said. "Do
the responsible thing."
In an effort to provide good
homes for the animals, the
HSHV is offering adoption spe-
cials. From now until further
notice, HSHV is offering free
adoptions for cats seven months
or older on Fridays, Saturdays
and Sundays. It is also offering
free kitten adoptions with the
full-price adoption of another
kitten and will take $25 off the
adoption fee for any dog.
Kern said the specials seem
to be successful so far - 48
cats and 20 dogs found new
homes last weekend. While the
increased adoption rates are
encouraging, HSHV "could still
use help," she said.
To encourage donations for
the numerous animals in the
shelter, HSHV has a "Wish
List" posted on its website
Some needed items include
cat food, large rawhide bones,
paper plates and used blankets
or towels.
Kern said she hopes the
HSHV's recent efforts to
encourage adoption will open
more space at the HSHV facil-
ity, and the animals will find
safe homes.
Though it's often difficult for
students to adopt animals due
to housing restrictions, Kern
said there are other ways to
help resolve the crisis through
volunteer efforts. The shelter
frequently has volunteers from
the University of Michigan and
Eastern Michigan University,
and many students also hold
fundraisers, walks and food
drives for the organization.
LSA senior Jessica Gonzales
visitedtheshelterwithherroom-
mate last week totake advantage
of the adoption specials. They
brought home two kittens.
"The people at the Humane
Society are super nice and help-
ful ... they kindly answered all
the questions we had," Gonza-
les wrote in an e-mail interview.
"When we went through the
adoption process, they gave us
all the details necessary for tak-
ing the cats home, introducing
them to their new environment
and even (gave us) a few bags of
cat food to start off with."
She added that the adop-
tion of both kittens cost $100
because of the Humane Soci-
ety's adoption specials.
"I definitely think this is a
reasonable price," Gonzales
wrote.
'LIKE' THE DAILY ON FACEBOOK 6 1
Congratulations to the Fall 2011 Dare to Dream Grant
Recipients and TechArb Tenants
Zell Lurie Institute Awards $34,500 in Dare to Dream Grants to U-M Student Entrepreneurs
The Dare to Dream Grant program awards up to $100,000 per academic year to U-M Student Entrepreneurs to develop their business while earning their
degree. Venture Shaping grant recipients complete a business construct, Assessment grant recipients conduct a feasibility study and Integration grant recipients
complete a full business plan and investor pitch. In conjunction with Dare to Dream, eight student teams were awarded tenancy in TechArb, a U-M Student Busi-
ness Accelerator facility managed by the Center for Entrepreneurship at the College of Engineering and the Zell Lurie Institute at Ross. Applications for Dare to
Dream and TechArb will be accepted January 2012. See: www.zli.bus.umich.edu or www.techarb.org
Venture Shaping Grants
$500 per team
Don't Weed Me Solving how to connect tutors to
students in "weed out" classes. Spencer Scolnick
(BSE ChemE '14), Zach Simon (BBA '14)
DrupalAl Creating an intelligent recommender
system as a Drupal module. Marty Byle, Isis Li
(MSI '11), Daniel Zhou (PhD Info Sci '12)
eRent Solving landlord and tenant rent
collection and accounting problems. Zubair
Ahsan (MSE PharmE '13), Sumit Gupta (JD '14),
Arshabh Sarda (BBA/BSE Aero '12)
EVStation Addressing limited availability of
electric vehicle charging stations. Lawrence Han
(MBA/MS SNRE '14), Javier Rivera (MBA/MS
SNRE '14), Ajay Varadharajan
(MS SNRE/MSE '11)
FinAsk Connecting personal financial advisors
to those seeking financial advice. Sudeep Cherian
(MBA '12), Neal Pancholi, Nirav Shroff
Medicron Addressing needed nation-wide health
data tracking across Tanzania. Zahid Hasan (MSE
AOSS '11), Calvin Park MSE AOSS '11), San-
geetha Krishnan (MBA '12)
Myinfluence Solving limited offline interactions
of online social networking tool users. Kwesi
Buabeng (MBA '12), Andrew Rauhu(BSE CSE '15),
Raj Vir (BSE CSE '15)
Smart Peru Solving limited availability of online
information for Peruvians. Shila Arias (MBA '12),
Erick Figueroa (MBAs '12)
Stoowards Creating rewards system connecting
college students with local merchants. Pinak
Deshpande (MBA '13), Puneet Dikshit (MBA '13)
Thrively Addressing lack of tools for employee
feedback and self-development. Nick Fassler
(MBA/MS '12), Emily Luke (MSI '12)
Torch Hybrid Boat Co. Addressing carbon emissions
and water pollution solutions, and the high cost of
fuel prices with current boating options. Justin D'Atri
(MS SNRE '12), Matt Lankowski (MS NAME/ME '12),
Siddharth Menon (ME ESE '12), Matt Sexton (MS
NAME/ME '12), Ira Shaughnessy (MBA/MS '12)
Assessment Grants
$1,500 per team
AddressMe Application automatically updating
electronic address book. Cam Smith (MBA/MS
SNRE '13)
Conspire Platform for individuals seeking collabora-
tors and companies seeking managers. Sudeep Eldo
K. Cherian (MBA '12), Jason Garfield (MBA '12), Hi-
manshu Sharma (MBA '12), Ryan Stenson (MBA '12),
Julia Tran (MBA '12)
Dean Adam Web-based retailer of high-end men's
grooming and personal care items Jason Garfield
(MBA '12), Nick Lewis (MBA '12), Samuel Nathan
(MBA '12)
DIIME R&D Company designing low-cost medical
devices in collaboration with developing country
clinicians. Elaine Chang (MBA '12), Theresa Fisher
(BSE ME '11), ), Rajen Kumar (MSE ME '11), Chris
Maue (MSE BME '1.1), Caitlin Winget (MSE BME '12)
IFM Database Software plug-in solution for facility
management applications. Darius Banasik (MBA '12)
Knuron Knowledge sharing platform connecting
students, employers and advertisers. Sunny Arora
(MSE Robotics '11), Hariprasad Govardhanam (MSE
Robotics '11), Devin O'Rourke
Real Good Food Platform coordinating homemade
food exchanges and collaborativcooking and dining
events. Devin McIntire (MBA/MS SNRE '13)
Vault Health Solutions Platform to enable
healthcare providers greater access to patients'
medical histories. Shaun Smolarz (MBA '12),
B. Gabriel Smolarz, MD
EVo Hair ($2,000) Business to business wholesale
hair extension supplier. Ian Grant (BA '13), Brittney
Wright (MAcc '11), Amber Wright
SecureHealing ($10,000) Specializing in privacy
monitoring and reporting across numerous healthcare
software systems. Amit Kulkarni (MBA '12), Ramya
Panchangam (MBA '12), Jonathan Roelofs (MBA '12)
Thru.im ($5,000) Providing businesses with Live
Chat that increases brand equity through IM and
text conversation. David Spiro (BBA '12), Chad Stark
(BBA '12)
TechArb Tenancy
November 1, 2011-April 30, 2012
EVStation Lawrence Han (MBA/MS SNRE '14),
Javier Rivera (MBA/MS SNRE '14), Ajay Varadharajan
(MS SNRE/MSE '11)
FinAsk Sudeep Cherian (MBA '12), Neal Pancholi,
Nirav Shroff
IFM Database Darius Banasik (MBA '12)
Secure Healing Amit Kulkarni (MBA '12), Ramya
Panchangam (MBA '12), Jonathan Roelofs (MBA '12)
SynapTech Specializing in moveable microelectrode
arrays for neural interfaces to restore vision and treat
neurological disorders. Eugene Daneshvar (PhD BME
'11), Steven Koski , Duna Raoof-Daneshvar (MD Res
'13)
Team Fit Platform that allows dieters to maintain
motivation and accountability in their weight loss
goals. Brian Atz (MBA '12), JR Blaszek (MBA '12)
Thrively Nick Fassler (MBA/MS SNRE '12),
Emily Luke (MSI '12)
YouTrivia Platform that allows anyone to create
and share trivia games, Shamik Ganguly (MSE CSE
'11), Ujjwal Jain (MSE EE '11), Ricardo J. Rodriguez
(MSE CSE '11)
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