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Ann Arbor, Michigan

Friday, December 2, 2011

michigandaily.com

STATE LEGISLATION
Decade later,
state Senate
passes anti-
bullying bill

A crowd at the University of Michigan Museum of Art listens at a Moth UP storytelling event in January.
UMMA grant of $650,000 is
largest in museum's history
Funding to be used Foundation awarded UMMA a within our museum and looking dents that you can be a special-
$650,000 grant last month. The at people beyond." ist in one component, but your
for collaboration grant will be distributed over With the grant, the museum interest is not limited to that
a period of 40 months to sup- will create exhibitions with area. It's about expanding what
with students port the museum's collabora- other campus museums and is possible and opening your

Lawmakers remove
clause punishing
bullying based on
gender, religion
ByANDREW SCHULMAN
Daily Staff Reporter
Since state Sen. Rick Jones
(R-Grand Ledge) was elected in
2004, he has supported an anti-
bullying law that would have
protected bullying victims like
his son and the granddaughter
of one of his former colleagues.
Until this week, his efforts had
received little response from the
state government.
On Tuesday, the state Senate
passed Matt's Safe School Law,
a bill that will require all school
districts in Michigan to imple-
ment anti-bullying policies. The
bill is waiting Republican Gov.
Rick Snyder's signature and state
lawmakers, and spokespeople for
the governor say they expect him
to sign it within the next week.
The bill's passing ended weeks
of wrangling between Demo-
crats and Republicans regarding

the measures included in the bill.
Republicans, who voted 88-18 in
the House and 35-2 in the Sen-
ate, favored taking out of the law
enumerations - listings of char-
acteristics like gender, religion
and sexual orientation for which
students cannot be bullied - and
reporting requirements to the
state.
Ani Adler, press secretary for
Speaker of the House Jase Bol-
ger (R-Marshall), said he pre-
ferred that enumerations not be
part of the lawbecause they may
encourage more opportunities
for bullying.
"As soon as you make a list-of
reasons why someone should not
be bullied, you open the door to
comingup with reasons why bul-
lying should be OK," Adler said.
"Whereas if you leave it general,
and you say bullying is wrong for
everyone - doesn't matter what
the reason is or who's doing or
why they're doing it - we felt
that provided more protection
for everyone."
In an interview two weeks
ago, state Sen. Rebekah Warren
(D-Ann Arbor) called the Repub-
licans' view of enumerations a
See BILL, Page 3

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By TAYLOR WIZNER
Daily StaffReporter
Museum patrons can look
forward to new exhibits at the
University of Michigan Muse-
um of Art due to a recent grant
that is the largest amount of
grant funding the museum has
received.
The Andrew W. Mellon

tion with students and faculty
according to UMMA Director
Joseph Rosa said.
"(The director of the founda-
tion) was very intrigued about
the direction the museum was
taking and how we are collabo-
rating more on campus," Rosa
said. "(UMMA is) doing things
on campus, but at the same time
looking at the world, using fac-
ulty and students as a vehicle

host guest curators and faculty
members, Rosa said. The grant
will also support teaching and
learning initiatives.
Rosa said the museum is in
the process of beginning a series
of exhibitions called "Flip Your
Field" where faculty members
examine topics not in their spe-
cialty and share why they find
the topic interesting.
"The purpose is to show stu-

mind to thinking," Rosa said.
Through its grants, the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
aims to help improve institu-
tions, improve collaboration
between those who fund and
receive grants and support "ini-
tiatives with long time hori-
zons," the foundation's website
states.
Ruth Slavin, a deputy director
See UMMA, Page 3


UNIVERSITY ACADEMICS
'U' Law School
restricts access
to Commons,
. Reading Room

CIRCLE OF LIFE

Aikens Commons
closed to non-Law
* School members
during select hours
By SYDNEY BERGER
For theDaily
A decision by the Law School
this week will restrict the times
non-Law students can find refuge
in the quiet of the Law Library.
Part of the west end of the
Reading Room in the Law
Library is now reserved exclu-
sively for Law School students,
faculty and staff. The Robert B.
Aikens Commons is also desig-
nated only for Law School mem-
bers on Sunday from 3 p.m. until
closing and on Monday, Tuesday
* and Wednesday from 8 p.m. until
closing. The change was imple-
mented on Monday, according
to a Nov. 28 e-mail sent to Law
students from David Baum, the

Law School's assistant dean for
student affairs.
Before Aikens Commons
opened on Sept. 7, there was no
space for Michigan Law School
community members to work
together, Baum said in an inter-
view this week. With the new
restrictions, Baum said Law
School students will be able to
study in a more collaborative
workspace.
"We want to make sure that
Law students have access to Aik-
ens Commons at the times of the
week when they need it most,"
Baum wrote in a separate e-mail
interview.
However, Baum stressed that
the upper and lower floors ofAik-
ens Commons will be available to
the general University commu-
nity for a majority of the time the
building is open.
He said the sign placed in
front of the Law Library should
effectively spread the message
about the new hours. During the
See LAW SCHOOL, Page 2

LEGAL DISPUTE
Gordon
tries to
dismiss
count
Attorney files
motion against
Andrew Shirvell's
complaint
By SABIRA KHAN
Daily StaffReporter
Attorney Deborah Gor-
don filed a motion with
the United States District
Court on Wednesday to dis-
miss a count in a complaint
filed against her by Andrew
Shirvell, a former Michigan
assistant attorney general.
Gordon's motion claims
Shirvell's count, which
accuses Gordon of improp-
erly interfering in the
investigation that led to his
termination as assistant
attorney general, was not
intended "to vindicate legiti-
mate interests, but to retali-
ate" against her. Gordon filed
for "dismissal with preju-
dice" of the count.
See GORDON, Page 3

ADAM SHNITZEK/Daily
Onlookers snap pictures of a hawk devouring a squirrell outside the Chemistry Building yesterday.
WORLD AID D s sA Ye
Peace Corps alumni discuss AIDS education

About 4,000
volunteers traveled
around world to
raise awareness
By MARY HANNAHAN
Daily StaffReporter
When Rackham student
Christina Hajj started her
Peace Corps project in south-
west China in 2009, she was

confident that the group of high
school girls she was working
with would be excited about
increasing the awareness of
HIV and AIDS. To Hajj's sur-
prise, the girls refused to par-
ticipate.
Hajj said the 30 girls later
told her that HIV or AIDS are
"not a problem for China - let's
not talk about it."
Returning members of the
Peace Corps marked the 23rd
annual World AIDS Day - held
every Dec. 1 - by sharing their

experiences educating commu-
nities about the deadly disease
at a forum on campus yesterday.
Last year, the Peace Corps
sent 4,000 volunteers around
the world to help people adopt
healthy behaviors and assist
communities in mitigating the
effects of HIV and AIDS. Even
if their projects weren't health-
related, 90 percent of the volun-
teers worked on HIV and AIDS
education. AIDS affects 33
million people worldwideand
See AIDS, Page 3


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