The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Wednesday, November 2, 2011- 5A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycomWednesday, November 2, 2011 - 5A DIVERSITY From Page 1A resented minority students at the University has declined since the affirmative action ban took effect in December 2006. Admit- ted to the University before the ban, the class of 2010 had 12.6 percent underrepresented minority students. This year, 10.5 percent of the freshman class is comprised of underrep- resented minorities. Last year's freshman class had slightly more underrepresented minori- ties at 10.6 percent. This was an increase from the 9.1 percent in the 2009-2010 freshman class, though the augmentation could partly be a result of changes to ethnicity data reporting guide- lines of the Higher Education Opportunity Act. Social Work student Matthew Jones, treasurer of the AAAC, was one of the first members of the LEAD mentor team. He said he became a mentor since he has been part of an underrepresented minoritygroup atthe University. "I think it's critically impor- tant for African Americans to give back to the younger genera- tions because we are standing on someone's shoulders, and it's important for them to under- stand their responsibility in one, getting an education and two, being a responsible member of the community," Jones said. Through mentorship, the LEAD Program intends to create a network of students and alum- ni that future students can turn to for support. "We hope that the students will get an appreciation of giving back and the appreciation of con- necting with multigenerational people," Stacy said. "(They'll) start to realize they're not on an island as a student because many African American and under- represented minority students are first generation college stu- dents." Art & Design freshman Chris Ford, a LEAD Scholar, said he is making new connections through the program, which he called a "wonderful experience," and could see himself being a future mentor. "I'd love to talk to a mentee and help them out with their transition," Ford said. "I defi- nitely have a strong connection with my mentor." He added that since neither of his parents graduated from col- lege, he is especially determined to obtain his undergraduate degree. "Coming from a background where my mother and my father (didn't graduate) kind of pushed me to do better, strive better in life," Ford said. "At U of M... everyone wants to come here because it's a really well-known school or has intelligent students and great opportunities." Engineering junior Kyle Summers, an Engineering representative on the Michigan Student Assembly, dressed up as Pac- Man for MSA's weekly meeting in the Michigan Union last night. MSA to vote on GSRA resolution n week -o Resolution supports . possible GSRA vote to form union By RAYZA GOLDSMITH Daily StaffReporter Even though the Michigan Student Assembly won't vote on a resolution regarding the unionization of graduate student research assistants until next week, members of the campus community voiced their opinions on the issue at last night's assem- bly meeting. Graduate students of many different disciplines spoke at the meeting in the MSA Chambers about the assembly resolution, which would support GSRAs' ability to vote to form a union. MSA representatives consented to send the resolution onto the resolutions committee and the assembly vote is expected to take place next Tuesday. * About 10 members of the Grad- uate Employees Organization, a labor union that represents gradu- STORES From Page 1A most successful establishments on East Liberty Street are the ones that appeal to students and Ann Arbor residents. "I think that it's vital that (business owners) understand that..they have to perform their business to the local population as well as the students." Tom Yon, owner of Tomukun Noodle Bar at 505 East Liberty St., said he turned the challenges of his business into opportunities for improvement and vitality. "As a business owner, you can't just sit back and relax and think people are just going to start pouring into your door and buy- ing your stuff," Yon said. "You've got to keep fresh and be on your toes all of the time." Yon, who opened Tomukun in spring 2010, said he thinks for a business to be successful in the area, it needs to be "unique and fresh." "People want something that they like and something unique - not just the same old burger place or Middle Eastern res- taurant, or the same old candy shop," he said. Two stores on East Liberty - clothing store Poshh and candy store This & That - closed with- in the last week. Poshh owner Wendy Batiste-Johnson identi- fied her desire to spend more time with her family as the main reason for the store closing. How- ever, Andrea Graef, owner of This & That, cited an increase in pan- handling on the street and near- by competition as factors in her ate student instructors and gradu- ate student staff assistants at the University, attended the meeting to show support forthe resolution. In an interview after the meet- log, MSA president DeAndree Watson said he likes the language of the resolution because it dem- onstrates MSA's intention to sup- port the GSRAs' right to vote to form a union. "We agree it is important for GSRAs, as a group, to be able to have that choice," Watson said. _ He added that the assembly's vote on the resolution is important to members of the campus com- munity since MSA has an impact on the decisions made by Univer- sity administrators. "I actually think this is a reso- lution that's going to have some significant effects on this issue on campus," Watson said. Rackham student Samantha Montgomery, president of GEO, said she is in favor of the resolu- tion because its passage would show that the assembly recogniz- es GSRAs' right to vote to form a union. "As the president ofthe GEO, we stand with the tens of hundreds of graduate student research assis- tants who want to vote to form a union," Montgomery said in an interview after the meeting. The University's Board of Regents voted on May 19 to clas- sify GSRAs as University employ- ees, giving them the ability to unionize. But the decision isn't valid because of a 1981 ruling by the Michigan Employment Rela- tions Commission that says stu- dents are not public employees. Rackham student Stephen Raiman also attended yesterday's meeting as a representative of Stu- dents Against GSRA Unionization. "We believe that all GSRAs should be able to decide for them- selves, not as a group, whether they want to be able to join a union or not," Raiman said in an inter- view after the meeting. Raiman and Montgomery said they expect representatives from each of their groups to be at next week's meeting when the vote will take place. - Alex O'Connor and Damiana Sorrell contributed to this report. CONSTRUCTION From Page 1A Jeff Helminski, will incur during construction. Among those against the con- struction of City Place is City Council member Mike Anglin (D-Ward 5), who tried to make the homes part of a historic dis- trict to halt the development of the complex. Anglin said he pushed against the demolition because he feels the neighborhood already has ade- quate studenthousing -one of the goals is to increase student housing options - and constructing two large buildings would be detrimen- tal to the surrounding area. "I just feel that putting that many people in that small area is not going to help the community very much nor will the physical appearance of the buildings be very attractive," Anglin said. He added that City Place wouldtake awayfromthecurrent diversity the neighborhood fos- ters, since many older residents rent out the upper levels of their homes to University students. Anglin had planned to call for an emergency moratorium that would temporarily stop all demo- lition and construction if the pro- posal passed. But as a result of last week's vote, he withdrew the resolution. Anglin, who represents the ward in which City Place will be built, said the majority of the neighborhood's residents are against the construction, and many believe it is a historic dis- trict. "When you walk through it, you see all these little homes and you kind of get the impres- sion that, wow, someone took the effort to keep these around," Anglin said. "And yet that wasn't true." City Council member Christo- pher Taylor (D-Ward 3) said he is disappointed with the council and the neighborhood residents' inability to reach a compromise on the issue of City Place. The Heritage Row project was pro- posed as an alternative to City Place and would have preserved the old homes by constructing a new building behind them. How- ever, that project never came to fruition. "I think when folks on coun- cil and in the neighborhood approach an issue with an all or nothing approach, sometimes you get nothing," Taylor said. He said the demolition of the houses and the construction of the apartment complex will be unfortunate and expressed a common concern about the aes- thetics of the new development. "I think that it's a shame that the houses will be demol- ished," Taylor said. "I think that the buildings are going to be unsightly and a detriment to the neighborhood." store's closure. Batiste-Johnson, whose store closed on Oct. 30 after 10 years of business, said when she trav- eled to New York and Los Ange- les to buy clothes for her store, she would specifically look for unknown designers and unique brands to keep shoppers' inter- est. "My goal was to find the new designer," Batiste-Johnson said. "And I can honestly tell you that over the 10 years we have been here, we have been one of the first retailers in Michigan, and in the country, to sell certain designers who have completely blown up." Batiste-Johnson added that a friendly staff and high-quality customer service are important parts of having a successful busi- ness. "(Something) that is known at Poshh is we really pride ourselves on making sure all of our custom- ers are happy," Batiste-Johnson said. "If you provide customers with that type of dedication to their service, then they will in turn give you dedication." Batiste-Johnson added that she has been more than happy hav- ing her business on the "vibrant street" that is East Liberty. "For me, it was a bridge between the University and the city," she said. "I think it's the connector street so that you can attract a larger clientele." Abraham Hejazi, owner of Allure Boutique located at 607 E. Liberty St., echoed these sen- timents and said creating a loyal customer base keeps the business afloat even when the economy suffers. "In order to be successful in business, you have to have friends," Hejazi said. "You have to get the students to like you because if the students don't like you, (you) suffer because this is a student town." Yon added that being located in the working district of Ann Arbor attracts more customers to his restaurant. "Being next to Google, being next to a lot of the offices, it defi- nitely helps out," he said. "When I thought about opening in Ann Arbor, this was where I wanted to open. I can't complain." Hejazi said one of the reasons stores have been closing on East Liberty Street is the high rent rates. "What happens is every year it goes up 1 or 2 percent," he said. "With this economy and the lease going up so much, if you think about it, it's really not worth it." Hejazi, whose boutique has been a part of the East Liberty Street community for 11 years, said he plans on relocating his business to somewhere on State Street in the future. "Liberty is a great location because of the Michigan The- atre," he said. "It was a good location because of Borders, but I don't think Liberty is really a great location anymore. If I could, I would move tomorrow to State Street." Welton said Borders is current- ly trying to sell its lease, which stretched into the next decade. He added that it is possible the space could be split into three business areas. In terms of the businesses that will occupy the empty space, Welton said there is no definite interested party. MARLENE LACASSE/Daily 1960s activists Odile Huguenot-Haber and Alan Haber speak about revolutionary thought and action at the OccupyWnn Arbor site at Liberty Plaza yesterday. ACTIVISTS From Page 1A together different structure with more imagination," she said. "We need to take the money out of politics." Huguenot-Haber added that one of the best aspects of the Occupy Ann Arbor movement is the sense of community it is fostering. "We are outside together instead of alone in front of (our) computer," she said. Huguenot-Haber spoke at length about her activism while living in France, where she pro- tested on behalf of exploited workers and fought against a system that she said put the lower and middle classes at a disadvantage. Haber and Huguenot-Haber were interrupted periodically by audience members, and the speakers welcomed them to voice their opinions on social matters. Some people called for an end to privatized education, while others voiced support for the re-election of public offi- cials and asked for a peaceful end to current wars. Haber welcomed the inter- jections and told the audience to "continue to challenge the rul- ing powers" to create change. "People need to meet togeth- er and talk to see eye to eye," he said. "Make this a political fam- ily seeking to transform Ann, Arbor and the world." Larry Horvath, a local com- munity activist and former school teacher, said that while he is not a frequent visitor to the Occupy Ann Arbor site, he attended the event to hear Haber's speech because he was involved in activism in the 1960s. "(The revolution) that Alan Haber was part of was at the jumping-off point for a genera- tion," Horvath said. "(Haber) will help you build the barri- cades, even if you can't climb them anymore." Alexandra Hoffman, who has been living in a tent in Liberty Plaza for the past two weeks, expressed her excitement about hearing Haber's speech. His visit is one of several events happening at Occupy Ann Arbor this week to raise awareness of the movement, she said. "We try to do something every day to draw people here," Hoffman added. "It's exhaust- ing, but it's rewarding." 0 FOLLOW THE DAILY ON TWITTER @MichiganDaily @MichDailyNews @MichDailyFball @Mich DailyArts @MichDailyOpEd MEDALISTS From Page1A said. Ohno, a short track speed skater, emphasized the impor- tance of dedication, a positive mindset and preparation in his speech. "Four years of your life is dedicated to 40 seconds in short track," Ohno said, pointing out that such a long training period keeps him in shape to skate at his best. In response to an audi- ence member's question about switching careers, Ohno said a high-performance mindset can be applied in any job. He said the reason he visits campuses is to help "motivate younger genera- lions to work at their best abil- ity." "Mindset is applicable to any- thing you choose," Ohno said. Deloitte Managing Director Robert Coury, a graduate of the Ross School of Business, said the University of Michigan was an important stop on the tour. In addition to listening to the athletes, attendees met with Deloitte recruiters to discuss career aspirations and potential job opportunities. Business graduate student Julie Chen, who attended a simi- lar event hosted by Deloitte last year, praised its unique format. She said Nichols' story resonated with her. "This is my favorite recruiting event because it's less about sell- ing the company and more about the athletes (sharing) with you their strategies and how to apply themto your ownlife," Chensaid. Business graduate student Dorothy Greg said she attended because she wanted to hear from some of the most inspiring ath- letes of the day. "I came to the event because I was a track athlete in college, so for me it was a great way to revisit that mindset in a different page of my life," Greg said. Business graduate student Patrick Lord said the talk made him consider the importance of setting small goals every day. "Sometimes we set very high goals for ourselves, ... (but) it's actually remembering the mechanics and making sure that we do the preparation," Lord said.