The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, October 27, 2011 - 11A
ASSEMBLY
From Page 1A
son said it's important students
know when their representatives
are absent and how their absen-
teeism prevents the development
of a strong student government.
Without full participation, MSA
lacks "passionate, enthusiastic
people serving those positions"
and cannot represent the student
population objectively, Watson
said.
To bridge the gap, MSA
announced a Representative Out-
reach Task Force at the assem-
bly's meeting Tuesday night in
an effort to promote communica-
tion between students and their
individual governments, Eral
said.
"We do have a very tangible
effort," Eral said. "It's just when
representatives don't come to
represent their students, every-
one's hurt."
Despite the low attendance,
the assembly has achieved quo-
rum at every meeting this semes-
ter, according to Eral. But the
lack of representation is impact-
ing the assembly's effectiveness,
he said.
WAZOO
From Page 1A
renewed interest in the form.
"Vinyl is not obscure and anti-
quated - it's cool," he said. "It's
been really fun to see this vinyl
revival."
Kerr admitted that when he
was younger, he never thought
the music he listened to would
still be popular today. Kerr's
favorite musicians include Bob
Dylan, Van Morrison, Bob Mar-
ley and the Velvet Underground,
whose album The Velvet Under-
ground & Nico is his all-time
favorite.
tIn addition to vinyl records,
Wazoo sells cassette tapes, DVDs
and CDs. While Kerr acknowl-
edged that online music outlets
such as Napster, Amazon and
iTunes negatively affect his busi-
ness, he thinks record stores still
have a strong presence in Ann
Arbor. Kerr pointed to 1993 as
a peak year for sales at Wazoo,
crediting the booming business
to the lack of music availability
online.
"All of those things combined
to hurf-record stores, and quite
a few went but of business," he
Eral pointed to the example
of when MSA didn't take action
on the issue of bargaining rights
for graduate student research.
assistants when members of the
Graduate Employees Organiza-
tion attended the assembly's Oct.
11 meeting. Members of MSA felt
they didn't have enough informa-
tion on the subject since Rack-
ham representatives weren't in
attendance, Eral explained.
"If Rackham studentshad rep-
resentatives there, the Rackham
voice could have been heard,"
Eral said. "Ten people support-
ing a graduate student issue -
that would have done alot."
Michael Benson, president of
Rackham Student Government,
said no graduate student was
on the March 2011 ballot to run
for an MSA representative posi-
tion. Benson was unaware the
Rackham representatives had
resigned until he received a letter
from Eral. However, Benson said
that in the past five years, MSA
has only passed one resolution
specific to graduate students that
significantly affected them.
"I don't think many new ini-
tiatives that affect grad students
come out of this assembly," Ben-
son said.
said. "You really have to hustle
in every angle to survive in this
environment."
Kerr said ' he personally
enjoys purchasing records more
than buying music online. He
explained that certain aspects
of the record, including using a
turntable, examining cover art
and reading liner notes, are lost
when purchasing music on the.
Internet.
"There's a whole ritual
involved in playing records,"
Kerr said.
He added that the entire
Wazoo staff is knowledgeable
about the technical aspects of
listening to vinyl records, includ-
ing setting up the equipment -
details that people new to vinyl
often overlook.
Kerr said he is grateful to be
located so close to the Diag and
hopes the convenient location
encourages students to stop by in
between classes.
"Location is more important
than anything," he said, adding
that being on the second floor of
the building isn't a hindrance.
"We're comfortable here, kind
of hidden away," Kerr said. "The
people that want to know about
us will find us."
GOOGLE
From Page 1A
He added that the Google
products will allow the Universi-
ty community to better connect.
"We see the Google platform
as sortcof beingthe foundation for
collaborative tools for the Uni-
versity students, staff and facul-
ty," Wrobleski said.
The implementation of the
NextGen Michigan Collabora-
tion Project will cost $1.8 million,
but Wrobleski said the University
will save $750,000 a year on tech-
nological services from switch-
ing to the Google platform.
Students can expect to access
their new Gmail accounts -
which will incorporate their
current uniqname - and other
Google tools by the end of March.
Students will then have a six-
month period when they can
transfer their e-mail from the
IMAP platform to the Gmail plat-
form.
Wrobleski said this manual
transfer of e-mail stems from
student feedback on how to best
implement the change to the
Google platform. The Univer-
sity will provide students with a
"step-by-step process" on how to
move their mail.
Faculty and staff will have
all their existing mail automati-
cally moved from the IMAP
system to the Google platform.
Because of this, they will receive
their Gmail accounts later than
March. Once the University
community - except forthe Uni-
versity of Michigan Health Sys-
tem, which will not have Gmail
access due to data restrictions
- has successfully switched to
the Gmail platform, the IMAP
server will be disabled, accord-
ing to Wrobleski.
While the IMAP server will
disappear, Rita Girardi, market-
ing communications specialist
senior for the NextGen program,
said CTools and other University
web programs will still exist but
will be enhanced by Google's
services for better communica-
tion.
"The goal of this project is to
really create an environment
where people can work togeth-
er more easily, and that's why
things like CTools aren't going
away," Girardi said. "We're not
taking anything away. We're
hoping to add options for people
to make their lives easier and
allow them to work together
more easily."
The decision to choose the
Google platform stems from
research conducted last year,
which showed a community pref-
erence for Google. The University
also considered using a Micro-
soft platform before deciding on
Google.
"The decision was made by our
IT leaders to recommend Google
and then our senior executives
at the University supported that
selection at the beginning of this
calendar year," Wrobleski said.
The collaboration with Google
will also join the University with
more than 100 other universities
that are using "Google Apps for
Higher Education," according
to Wrobleski. With Google, the
University will be able to better
collaborate not only at a campus
level, but also at a global level, he
said.
"There's a lot of cooperative
work that needs to go on in this
learning and teaching process
as well as in the research pro-
cess ... and part of that isn't just
inside of Ann Arbor," Wrobleski
said. "Of course you're going to
want to work with faculty and
researchers and people around
the world, and working with
Google should make that a little
bit easier."
While Wrobleski said the
change will inevitably cause
some disruptions, he hopes con-
necting the University network
through the Google platform
will allow for easier and more
enhanced communication for the
University community.
"People who are program-
mers and innovators in tech-
nology, they can build on top of
Google and enhance it, so we'd
like to put the tools in the hands
of these smart people so they can
use them as creatively as they can
imagine," Wrobleski said.
Former top Wall Street board
member denies insider trading
Gupta's lawyer calls
allegations, 'totally
baseless'
NEW YORK (AP) - A former
board member of Goldman Sachs
and Procter & Gamble pleaded not
guilty yesterday to federal charges
accusing him of acting as "the ille-
gal eyes and ears in the boardroom"
for a friend, a billionaire hedge fund
founder sentenced this month to 11
years in prison incthe biggest insider
trading case in history.
The case, built partially on
wiretaps used for the first time
in insider trading, has offered
unprecedented insight into greed
at the highest levels of Wall Street.
The arrest of Rajat Gupta took it
one step higher.
The indictment unsealed yes-
terday accuses Gupta of cheating
the markets with Raj Rajaratnam,
the 54-year-old convicted hedge
fund founder who was the probe's
prime target.
Gupta, 62, quietly surrendered
early in the day at the FBI's New
York Cityoffice, a few blocks north
of the ongoing Occupy Wall Street
demonstration against what pro-
testers call a culture of corporate
greed. His lawyer called the alle-
gations "totally baseless."
Swarmed by photographers,
Gupta left the courthouse shortly
before 4p.m.
Gupta, of Westport, Conn.,
pleaded not guilty to one count of
conspiracy to commit securities
fraud and five counts of securities
fraud, charges that carry a poten-
tial penalty of 105 years in prison.
He was freed on $10 million bail,
and conditions require him to
remain in the continental United
States. An April 9 trial date was set.
. The indictment in U.S. District
Court in Manhattan alleges Gupta
shared confidential information
about both Goldman Sachs and
Procter & Gamble at the height
of the financial crisis from 2008
through January 2009, knowing
that Rajaratnam would use the
secrets to buy and sell stock ahead
of public announcements..
In a release, U.S. Attorney Preet
BhararasaidGuptabrokethetrust
of some of the nation's top public
companies and "became the ille-
gal eyes and ears in the board-
room for his friend and business
associate, Raj Rajaratnam, who
reaped enormous profits from Mr.
Gupta's breach of duty."
Alluding to the wide scope of
the prosecutionhe added: "Today
we allege that the corruption we
have seen in the trading cubicles,
investment firms, law firms,
expert consulting firms, medi-
cal labs; and corporate suites also
insinuated itself into the board-
rooms of elite companies."
In all, 56 people have been
charged in insider trading cases
since Bharara took over shortly
before Rajaratanam's October
2009 arrest. Of those, 51 have
been convicted and 21 sentenced
to prison terms ranging from no
prisontime to11years, the longest
prison term ever given in an insid-
er trading case.
. _
LICENSING
From Page 1A
make sense," Postema said.
"Again, it is a big square peg try-
ing to fit in the small round hole
of this statute. I want to disabuse
anybody of the notion that the
staff here is workinghard to pre-
vent things."
The dispensaries that opened
before the city's temporary mor-
atorium - that went into effect
in August 2010 and preceded
the ordinance - are encouraged
to apply before others, though
they are not guaranteed licenses,
Postema added.
The board members also dis-
cussed their concerns with the
zoning districts laid out in the
ordinance. Despite the city's
compliance with state regula-
tions on medical marijuana, the
state leaves zoning up to local
governments.
"The problem is that every
metaphor relies on higher gov-
ernment legislation and the
higher government has no word
on dispensaries," Postema said.
"In the zoning ordinance, unless
it's specifically allowed, the dis-
tribution of medical marijuana is
prohibited."
He added that there will con-
tinue to be higher level discus-
sions surrounding the city's
ordinances and the state's Mich-
igan Medical Marihuana Act,
which made medical marijuana
legal for registered patients in
2008.
Postema said he is commit-
ted to enforcing legislation, but
* added that he is "distressed"
with some of the inefficiencies
he has seen in the city's statutes.
"The city is in a difficult posi-
tion because when you think
about it, the act of licensing and
using the government to license
something raises some prob-
lematic issues for us," he said.
"I know it is a disappointment,
and I am not here to apologize
for the law. The law is imperfect,
and the law can be changed and
I would encourage the law to be
changed."
City Council member Sabra
Briere (D-Ward 1) - a support-
er of the ordinance - said in an
interview after the meeting that
the changes in policy over the
past few months have caused
confusion among board mem-
bers regarding state and city
medical marijuana regulations.
"The most interesting thing
to me was the endorsement of a
local option for dispensaries - a
change in the state law to create
that local option," Briere said.
"Because if that local option were
to pass at the state level ... we in
Ann Arbor, and governments
in Lansing and Ypsilanti, and
any of the communities around
the state that have passed local
licenses or zoning ordinances,
are going to be able to figure out
what the heck they're doing."
Jim Kenyon, a medical mari-
juana patient appointed to the
city's Medical Marijuana Advi-
sory Board, said during the
meeting he appreciated that
Postema attended the meeting
to hear the concerns of medical
marijuana advocates.
"We need to find a way that
gets through this with the least
carnage, and that's most expe-
dient and lets us live our gen-
tile bohemian state lives in Ann
Arbor," Kenyon said.
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