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Wednesday, November 16, 2011- 3A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, November 16, 2011 - 3A

NEWS BRIEFS
LANSING, Mich.
Snyder signs sex
offender license,
bowling bills
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder
has signed three bills making it
easier to permanently revoke the
licenses of health care profession-
als who commit criminal sexual
conduct, and a fourth measure
protecting bowling alleys whose
customers fall while wearing
bowling shoes outside.
Snyder's office says he signed
the bills yesterday.
One bill allows for the per-
manent license or registration
revocation for health care profes-
sionals convicted of first-, second-
or third-degree criminal sexual
conduct. Another lets offenders
seek reinstatement only if their
convictions are for fourth-degree
offenses or for intent to commit
criminal sexual conduct.
NEW YORK
Journalists
detained at NYC
Occupy protests
Journalists at the overnight
raid of Occupy Wall Street's New
York encampment were kept at a
distance from covering it yester-
day, and several were arrested,
handcuffed and hauled onto
police buses along with hundreds
of protesters.
Atleasthalfadozenjournalists
were among those arrested in and
around Zuccotti Park and at other
protest sites in downtown Man-
hattan, according to demonstra-
tors and other journalists who
photographed and filmed their
peers being taken into custody.
Reporter Karen Matthews and
photographer Seth Wenig of The
Associated Press in New York
were taken into custody along
with about eight other people
after they followed protesters
through an opening in a chain-
link fence into a park, according
to an AP reporter and other wit-
nesses. Matthew Lysiak of the
Daily News of New York was also
arrested at the park, according to
witnesses and the Daily News.
WASHINGTON
Pentagon leaders
defend withdrawal
of U.S. from Iraq
Defense Secretary Leon
Panetta yesterday defended
President Barack Obama's deci-
sion to withdraw U.S. troops
from Iraq in seven weeks, but left
open the possibility for contin-
ued negotiations with Baghdad
over a force presence there.
In heated exchanges with
Republicans on the Senate
Armed Services Committee,
Panetta insisted that the admin-

istration had no choice in ful-
filling the agreement reached
by Obama's predecessor, GOP
President George W. Bush, to
. pull out troops by year's end.
Negotiations for a small, residual
force failed over Iraq's refusal to
grant legal immunity to Ameri-
can forces.
NAIROBI, Kenya
* Predictions of
war haunt Sudan's
southern border
The presidents of Sudan and
the new nation of South Sudan
are both predicting the possibility
of a new war in an oil-rich region
that has seen a spike in cross-bor-
der attacks.
Troop build-ups are being
reported on both sides of the
Sudan-South Sudan border, the
world's newest international
boundary, and rebels in Sudan
announced a new alliance with
" the aim of overthrowing their
own government, which is seated
in the capital, Khartoum.
The U.S. is pleading for cooler
heads to prevail, even as aid work-
ers are withdrawing from the
region after two bombing runs
into South Sudan by Sudan, its
northern neighbor, last week.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
A

LSA-SG
From Page 1A
resentative seat on LSA-SG, said
she's excited about the large pool
of candidates and expects that
this will result in a large voter
turnout.
"We're expecting a huge voter
turnout, more than last year, so
it'll be a close race and a good
race," Trupp said.
LSA freshman Tyler Hoff-
man, a candidate for a repre-
sentative seat on LSA-SG, wrote
in an e-mail interview that if
elected, he will push for the
installation of more water bottle
refill stations around campus,
especially in residence halls, in
an effort to improve campus sus-
tainability.
"I want to make student life
easier and more enjoyable while
making the campus more sus-
tainable," he wrote.
Hoffman added that his inter-
est in student government began
when he arrivei on campus and
it comes from his desire to help
spur change. Hoffman wrote
that though he is still new to
campus, he feels his previous
experience in high school stu-
dent government will help him
in the position.
"Although this is my first
semester at Michigan, I have
already attended a few general
meetings, and I'm actively par-
ticipating on the Communica-
tions Committee right now,"
Hoffman wrote.
LSA freshman Kendall John-
son, who is also running for
a position, wrote in an e-mail
interview that she decided to
run because she feels passion-
ate about representing students
and making sure their voices
are heard. If elected, Johnson
said she plans to help implement
programs geared toward student
health. As part of this initiative,
she would plan seminars to edu-
COMPETITION
From Page 1A
will win a $100 prize.
Engineering senior Matt
Friedrichs introduced the
competition to the Univer-
sity following his participa-
tion in a summer internship
in 2010 with the founders of
the Kill-A-Watt competition
at the University of Central
Florida.
"(The competition was
about) getting involved in
the environmental movement
on campus," Friedrichs said.
"I saw it as something (our)
campus lacked and thought it
would be a valuable addition
to campus."
According to Friedrichs,
the competition has been suc-
cessful at the University of
Central Florida and resulted
in a 10 to 15-percent reduc-
tion in energy consumption.
Friedrichs said he hopes to
see similar results on the Uni-
versity's campus, though he
does not anticipate dramatic
or immediate change.
"We just want to raise as
much awareness and thought

about these issues as pos-
sible," Friedrichs said. "(I
expect) moderate energy
reduction, not substantial,
and students being more
aware of energy use in gen-
eral."
University Housing
spokesman Peter Logan
said the competition should
inspire a more environmen-
tally-conscious mindset in
students.
"It's certainly a good way to
engage the students in think-
ing in terms of how they, indi-
vidually and as a community,
can help conserve energy and
be more sustainable in prac-
tice in terms of daily living,"
Logan said.
LSA senior Katie Kent, co-
founder of Kill-A-Watt, said
the goal of the competition
is to provide an easy way for
students to join the environ-
mental movement. She said
there are a variety of ways
students can contribute to
energy reduction in their resi-
dence halls.
"(Students can do) simple
actions like turning off lights
in common areas, unplugging
devices not in use like cell
phone chargers or Xboxes,
coming to Kill-A-Watt events
and learning more about it
and spreading the word,"
Kent said.

cate students on health issues
in addition to arranging for free
miniature hand sanitizers and
tissue boxes to be passed out to
students.
Though this is Trupp's first
time running for an LSA-SG
position, she said she has been
involved with the organization
since her freshman year when
she got involved with LSA-SG's
Taking Responsibility for the
Earth and Environment Sub-
committee, or TREES.
Trupp said her position as
vice chair of TREES has helped
her realize the impact she can
make working with members of
LSA-SG.
"I would really like to contin-
ue being a representative on stu-
dent government to give others
a voice that they don't have and
also have my input in student
government," Trupp said.
She added that her election
platform focuses on improving
communication within LSA-SG
and between LSA-SG and the
student body. Trupp said she
wants to start holding town hall
meetings where students can
ask questions and voice their
opinions about LSA-SG initia-
tives.
"The things that we do as
student government are for the
students, so if they're not happy
about what we're doing, then
we're not doing our job," Trupp
said.
Similarly, LSA-SG Vice Presi-
dent Jeffrey Larkin said he and
other members of LSA-SG want
to hold college-wide town halls
and round tables to get student
input on which measures the
student government should
focus on.
"LSA-SG is a great resource
for all LSA students, and we're
always trying to strengthen and
broaden that resource," Larkin
said.
Larkin said he is excited
about the large candidate pool

and the wide range of represen-
tation among existing student
government members and new
candidates. According to Lar-
kin, this semester's candidate
pool is the largest in more than
three years.
"It's always nice to have a lot
of people interested, and I think
it shows that there are students
that take a very vested interest
in their education and obviously
want to see things improve,"
Larkin said.
Larkin added that because
there are so many projects and
initiatives - ranging from com-
munication with constituents
to academic projects and cam-
pus life - within the LSA-SG
domain, there's a place for every-
one to get involved.
"I think that when you bring
a wide range of ideas to the
table, that's what makes student
government special in a sense
because no two people are the
same, and that's what brings us
different project ideas and a lot
of perspectives on the work,"
Larkin said.
The other candidates run-
ning for seats on LSA-SG did
not respond to several inquiries
from The Michigan Daily.
In addition to voting for can-
didates in this week's election,
LSA students will have the
chance to answer three ballot
questions regarding their expe-
riences as undergraduates in
the college. The ballot questions
ask student views on a potential
minor. in the School of Art &
Design for LSA students, what
buildings students would want
to see water bottle refill stations
in and whether students would
want to receive an automatic
notification from Wolverine
Access when grades are posted.
The election began last night
at midnight and polls will close
at 11:59 p.m. tomorrow. Students
can cast their ballot at vote.
umich.edu.

COMMITTEE
From Page 1A
elected to the committee.
MSA President DeAndree
Watson said he believes more
candidates are interested in run-
ning for the position this semes-
ter because MSA has successfully
publicized the vacancies. In an
attempt to make students aware
of the openings, MSA e-mailed
the University student body to
encourage them to apply. MSA
cannot control who runs for the
election or choose candidates -
which the assembly did before
2009 when The Michigan Daily
reported that the nomination
process for the committee was in
violation of state law.
"We don't control (the) num-
ber of students," Watson said.
"We only notify students that
the election is coming. It really
depends on the student body."
LSA sophomore Lucy Zhao,
a candidate for the DPS Over-
sight Committee, wrote in an
e-mail interview that she found
out about MSA on her first day
on campus. She wrote that she
wanted to get involved in stu-
dent government to impact the
campus community.
Zhao added that she has
joined various student govern-
ment commissions and decided
to run for the DPS Oversight
Committee because she is pas-
sionate about equality.
"Students are not always able
to have their voice heard in deal-
ing with the authority ofthe DPS
officers," Zhao wrote. "I want to
change this. I want to hear what
students think and have the abil-
ity to make a difference in the

way that they experience this
campus."
Public Policy junior Brock
Grosso, a write-in candidate for
the DPS Oversight Committee,
said he is interested in issues
related to civil liberty, crimi-
nal justice and policing. Grosso
said he thinks working with the
DPS Oversight Committee could
allow him to affect how these
issues play out on campus.
"I wanted to help students
with liberties and thought the
DPS Oversight Committee
would be the place for it," Grosso
said.
He added that with the recent
assault cases on and near cam-
pus, the committee could pro-
vide a voice for students and
cultivate increased transparency
between students and police on
campus.
"I want to improve com-
munication lines between DPS
and the students," Grosso said.
"I want them to feel comfort-
able going to DPS for concerns.
I want to foster that relation-
ship."
Engineering freshman Timo-
thy Newberger, also a candidate
for the committee, wrote in an
e-mail interview that he read
about the committee's vacancies
in the Daily.
"I found this bizarre consid-
ering the large size of the Uni-
versity and decided it would be
best if someone filled the empty
spots," wrote Newberger, who is
also running for an MSA repre-
sentative spot.
The other candidates running
for the DPS Oversight Commit-
tee seats did not respond to sev-
eral interview requests from The
Michigan Daily.

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