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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, December 9, 2011
michigandaily.com
STUDENT START-UPS
MBC
tofund
student
business
Sixteen student
start-ups in
running for
$20,000 award
By CLAIRE HALL
Daily Staff Reporter
@Fingertips, a student team
that builds devices enabling
blind people to use touch-screen
technology, is one of 16 groups
competing for an entrepreneur-
ial grand prize of $20,000.
The competition, the Michi-
gan Business Challenge, is a pro-
gram at the Samuel Zell& Robert
H. Lurie Institute for Entrepre-
neurial Studies and is currently
in its finals stages. It offers stu-
dents as much as $60,000 in
funding and a forum for pitching
abusinessventureideathat could
lead to a successful business.
According to Anne Perigo, the
program coordinator at the insti-
tute who manages the MBC, 45
teams presented their proposals
in the first round of competition,
which took place last Friday, and
16 teams made it to the second
round and are in the running to
win the top prize of $20,000.
However, money isn't the
only motivation for participants.
Perigo said a significant number
of student teams would like to
see their business plans become
See BUSINESS, Page 3
STATE LEGISLATION
'U, unsure
of partner
benefits
bill impact
House passes bills or commission or "any other
branch of the public service."
to rid benefits for State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-
Ann Arbor) questioned the
partners of public bills' constitutionality in an
interview from Lansing after
employees the House vote. He said the
bills would ultimately be point-
By ANDREW SCHULMAN less due to the legal battles he
Daily StaffReporter predicted would come from the
dispute.
The state House passed two "We're probably going to
bills yesterday that would pro- spend more money on lawyers
hibit public employers from fighting this on both sides than
providing medical benefits to we're going to save revoking
partners and dependents of benefits from public employ-
their employees. ees," Irwin said. "And the really
Though the state Senate terrible thing about that is not
added an amendment to the only do we spend more money,
bills to clarify what consti- but it doesn't produce any pro-
tutes the definition of a public ductive results."
employee, the clause has left Irwin added that the bills
some University officials and were a "black mark" on the
state lawmakers uncertain state because they will dis-
about how the prohibitions suade potential employees
apply to the state's 15 public from working in the state. He
universities. said the bills are "discrimina-
The bills originally passed tory" and would label the state
in the House on Sept. 15, and as "unfriendly" toward gay and
the revised version of the bills lesbian workers.
passed in the Senate Wednes- "Even if courts come down
day and the House yesterday. later and correct this law, itstill
The final version includes an sends a terrible message about
amendment defining public what Michigan is about," Irwin
employees as workers in any said. "We should be sending a
level of state government, pub- message to the world that we
lic school district, state board See BENEFITS, Page 3
Residence Hall Association representatives discuss the new sign-up process at a meetingsin Couzens Hall last night.
Housing gives priority
tunderclassmen
Due to residence
hall updates,
fewer beds will
be available
By HALEY GOLDBERG
Daily StaffReporter
Juniors and seniors who plan
on living in the residence halls
next school year may not secure
their dream room due to a new
housing sign-up process that
will be implemented this winter.
University Housing sent an
e-mail to all current residents
on Tuesday detailing the new
process, which utilizes reverse
seniority and begins in Janu-
ary. Students who have lived in
University Housing for fewer
semesters will have first prior-
ity in the room selection pro-
cess, and students with the most
terms in residence halls will
have the lowest priority.
University Housing spokes-
man Peter Logan said the clos-
ing of Baits I and the renovation
of East Quad Residence Hall
called for the review and change
of the housing sign-up process
because there could be between
150 and 300 fewer beds for stu-
dents in the residence halls.
"You really don't know ulti-
mately how the demand for
space among returning for stu-
dents is goingto balance ... until
we getinto the sign-up process,"
Logan said. "Nevertheless, we
wanted to make sure we had the
right criteria in place."
Director of University Hous-
ing Linda Newman said Univer-
sity Housing worked with the
Residence Halls Association,
See HOUSING, Page 3
ELLEN DE-GENEROUS
Angell Hall Planetarium
offers total view of the sky
Ann Arbor residents and University students gather at Walgreens on Jackson Road vsitto AmArb'o
where "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" teamed up with Toys for Tots yesterday. atimichigandaily.com/blogs/The Filter- iNN
LOCAL CHARITIES
Salvation Army low on volunteers
Zeiss Skymaster
shows sky from
both hemispheres
By PAIGE PEARCY
Daily Staff Reporter
Nestled between English
department offices and class-
rooms on the third floor of
Angell Hall is the only place in
Ann Arbor where you can see
almost the entire night sky at
any time of day.
The Angell Hall Planetarium,
where five University classes
are held, can project about 7,000
stars along with coordinate sys-
tems, constellation diagrams
and planets. The planetarium
underwent ano$800,000remod-
el in 2004, which included the
installation of the Zeiss Sky-
master - a $350,000 projec-
tor that can "simulate the sky
from anywhere on earth," said
Astronomy Prof. Patrick Seitzer,
the project manager for the
planetarium upgrade.
The Zeiss projector enables
people to see the sky from
either the Northern or Southern
Hemisphere, Seitzer explained.
Within the dome of the plan-
etarium is a projector with
The Zeiss Skymaster located in the Angell Hall Planetarium on Nov.29
Washtenaw County
organization raised
$14,000 less than
this time last year
By CHELSEA LANDRY
Daily StaffReporter
The familiar sound of tin-
kling bells coming from Nickel's
Arcade this holiday season may
not be as frequent as years past.
Major Dianna Williams, who
oversees all the bell-ringer vol-
unteers for the Washtenaw
County Salvation Army, said
the organization is struggling to
find volunteers to man the bell-
ringing stations. As of last week,
volunteers were out in front of
Nickel's Arcade only six times
this season since the campaign
began, according to Williams.
Most of the volunteers at this
location are typically college stu-
dents, she said.
"It's not our biggest spot, (but)
we really depend on volunteers
to man those locations ... but this
year, they're not volunteering,"
Williams said. "So far, we've only
had paid bell ringers (at Nickel's
Arcade)."
On an average day, the Nick-
els Arcade location can bring in
See SALVATION ARMY, Page 3
two star balls, which are each
covered in laser cut holes and
facets to project a different
hemisphere of the night sky.
It shows the lunar orbit and
specific stars and seamlessly
rotates to the other star ball,
making it possible to see what
the sky looks like in Chile as
well as in Ann Arbor.
"You can see (the sky) from
the South as (if) you're at one
A look at the stars indoors. Watch
S a videoat MichiganDaily.com
of the Michigan facilities in
Chile," Seitzer said of the pro-
jector.
Though another planetarium
exists inthe University's Exhib-
it Museum of Natural History,
the one in Angell Hall offers a
See PLANETARIUM, Page 3
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