NDUN ON TRACK iue to shine on How a trip to Alaska .lbum. helped Michigan regain *Iits winning ways. PAGE*7 PAGE 8 Ann Arbor, Michigan Tuesday, December 6, 2011 michigandaily.com SUGAR BOWL 13,000 bowl tickets sold 'U' has not yet decided class attendence policy due to Jan. 3 game By ADAM RUBENFIRE Daily Staff Reporter Though the Sugar Bowl is on the eve of the first day of class next semester, students are flocking to buy tickets to the game. Steve Lambright, director of ticket operations for the Uni- versity's Athletic Department, said that as of 3:45 p.m. yester- day, his office had sold about 13,000 tickets out of the 17,500 that were allotted to the Univer- sity for the Jan. 3 game against Virginia Tech. Students bought 1,800 of those tickets at a price of $97 each. Lambright said he thought the ticket sales on the first day were "fantastic." "We didn't make any predic- tions. We were just hoping for some real strong sales, and I think that's what we saw," Lam- bright said. University spokesman Rick Fitzgerald said the Office of the Provost is currently look- See BOWL, Page 5 HOLIDAY HARMONIES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT Guidelines on diversity may not have effect on 'U' The University Symphony Band plays holiday songs at Hill Auditorium yesterday. UNIVERSITY RESEARCH Federal manufactrin group to meet at NR Obama's guidelines to diversify student bodies could be at odds with Prop. 2 By ANDREW SCHULMAN Daily StaffReporter A new set of affirmative action guidelines introduced by Presi- dent Barack Obama on Friday could boost diversity in colleges and universities across the coun- try. But the University may not be one of them. The guidelines made by the Departments of Justice and Edu- cation suggest that higher educa- tion institutions should consider criteria such as socioeconomic status, domestic instability and the hardships students have overcome when schools make admissions decisions. The idea behind the criteria is that they will create a diverse student make-up among these catego- ries, which will inherently diver- sify the racial makeup of the student body. However, the Uni- versity may not be able to operate under these guidelines because of the statewide ban on the con- sideration of race in higher edu- cation admissions, which was decided on by voters through a ballot proposal in 2006. Though the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Proposal 2 in a 2-1 decision in July, the court has decided to review the decision. George Washington, a lawyer with the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration and Fight for Equality By Any Means Neces- sary, said this means Proposal 2, or the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, will be in effect until judges re-try the case in March. Washington added that the guidelines, as a declaration of Obama's views, could influence the court's ruling. "It clearly endorses affirma- tive action, and that endorse- ment to us makes clear that state laws trying to ban it have to give way to federal civil rights," Washington said. The new guidelines replaced those put in place by the Bush administration in 2008. The Bush era guidelines cautioned higher education institutions against selecting students based on race. However, in an e-mail inter- See GUIDELINES, Page 5 Advanced Manufacturing Partnership to talk technologies By HALEY GLATTHORN Daily StaffReporter As the United States man- ufacturing sector faces an uncertain future, President Barack Obama is calling on the University and other insti- tutions to revitalize the indus- try. The Advanced Manufac- turing Partnership, which includes leaders from six universities in the U.S. and representatives from several manufacturing companies, will meet at the University's North Campus Research Complex on Monday to dis- cuss ways to implement and improve innovative manu- facturing technologies. The meeting will be the fourth regional event. The AMP was founded in June after a report from the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology recommended collaboration between univer- See NCRC, Page5 CITY COUNCIL A2 City Council votes against decrease in public art funding Amendment would tually voted to keep the funds at 1 percent and voted against have reduced installing a three-year time limit on spending and funding by half of allocating funds for public art. one percent They also voted against allocat- By JENNIFER LEE ing funds from Daily StaffReporter the city's general fund for public During a discussion that last- art and voted to eliminate rou- ed more than an hour and a half, tine sidewalk maintenance as a Ann Arbor City Council mem- capital improvement, which is bers voiced opinions about cut- defined as construction or reno- ting funding used for public art vation of a public facility. from 1 percent to halfa percent. The discussion was the set- City Council members even- ond reading of the issues, after City Council member Sabra Briere (D-Ward 1) introduced changes to the public art ordi- nance at the council's Nov. 21 meeting. The amendments to the ordinance proposed the decrease in public art funding from 1 percent to half of a per- cent of capital improvement funds. Cheryl Elliott, president and CEO of the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, was one of many speakers that urged council members to reconsider the proposed cuts during the public hearing. She said pieces See CITY COUNCIL, Page 2 AUSTEN HUFFORD/Daily University President Mary Sue Coleman answers students' questions at her Fireside Chat yesterday in North Quad. Coleman expresses delight over Sugar Bowl bid announcement CAMPUS CRIME Student reports sexual assault in Baits I 'U' administrators also discuss North Campus appeal By KAITLIN WILLIAMS Daily StaffReporter While a real fire may have been missing from Univer- sity President Mary Sue Cole- man's fireside chat yesterday, six high-definition fireplaces complete with crackling sound effects were on display. E. Royster Harper, the Uni- versity's vice president for stu- dent affairs, joined Coleman in a room replete with snacks and beanbag chairs in North Quad Residence Hall. The invited students "in attendance at the monthly discussion asked Coleman and Harper about a variety of topics ranging from the Sugar Bowl bid to ways to engage with residents in Detroit. Coleman said she plans to attend the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 3 when Michi- gan takes on Virginia Tech. "If you had asked me a year ago this time if I thought we were going to be invited to the Sugar Bowl, I would've said no way," Coleman told the group of about 40 students. She added that her trip to Louisiana next month will be See COLEMAN, Page 5 DPS: Suspect is acquaintance of survivor By ADAM RUBENFIRE Daily Staff Reporter A student reported that she was sexually assaulted in her room in Baits I Residence Hall yesterday at about 11 a.m., according to a crime alert sentby the University's Department of Public Safety last night. The suspect in the sexual. assault is a "visiting acquain- tance" of the survivor, according to the alert. DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown said in an interview last night that the suspect did not forcibly enter the survivor's room. At the time, Brown said there was no further information on the nature of the assault. The survivor provided a description of the suspect, and Brown said DPS officials are working to identify him. The suspect is described in the crime alert as being a light-skinned black man in his 20s with an "average build." See ASSAULT, Page 5 WEATHER HI 37 TOMORROW 27 GOT A NEWS TIP? Call 734-418-4115ore-mail news@michigandaily.com and let us know. NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM Saturday morning assault didn'toccur near Arha MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS/THE WIRE INDEX Vol. CXXII, No.62 X201t The Michigan Daily michigandaitycom AP NEW S...................3 CLA SSIFIEDS.................6 OPIN IO N .....................4 ARTS...................... 7 NEWS..............S SPORTS........................ 8 _j