The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, December 9, 2011 -- 3
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, December 9, 2D11 - 3
NEWS BRIEFS
LANSING, Mich.
Michigan House
may eliminate 44
state judgeships
The Michigan House is
approving bills that would allow
elimination of 44 judgeships in
Michigan through attrition.
The reduced judge count
would come in district and circuit
courts in many areas of the state.
The House was beginning
votes on the multiple-bill package
yesterday. Bills were passing by
varying margins, depending on
the area of the state affected. The
measures advance to the Senate.
The bills come after recom-
mendations made earlier this
year by the State Court Adminis-
trative Office.
That report also suggested
eliminating four positions on the
Michigan Court of Appeals that
by law is now allowed to have 28
judges. Republican lawmakers
so far have advanced bills that
would continue with28 positions.
MONTGOMERY, Ala.
Lawmakers call
for immigration
legislation changes
Alabama Republicans who
pushed through the nation's
toughest law against illegal
immigrants are having second
thouglts amid a backlash from
big business, fueled by the embar-
rassing traffic stops of two for-
eign employees tied to the state's
prized Honda and Mercedes
plants.
The Republican attorney gen-
eral is calling for some of the
strictest parts of it to be repealed.
Some Republican lawmak-
ers say they now want to make
changes in the law that was
pushed quickly through the leg-
islature.
Gov. Robert Bentley, who
signed the law, said he's contact-
ing foreign executives to tell them
they and their companies are still
welcome in Alabama.
"We are not anti-foreign com-
panies. We are very pro-foreign
companies," he said.
CHICAGO
Blagojevich to
appeal 14-year
prison sentence
Rod Blagojevich has one last,
slim hope to reduce his tough
14-year sentence: an appeal.
Experts say lawyers for the
impeached Illinois governor face
long odds in chipping away at the
time he'll serve for attempting
to auction off President Barack
Obama's old Senate seat and other
crimes.
Lance Northcutt, an adjunct
professor at John Marshall Law
School, says they must convince
a higher court that trial Judge
James Zagel made serious errors
at trial and in calculating a sen-
tence. But he says the veteran
judge has a reputation for care-
fully avoiding such mistakes that
could overturn his decisions.
KINSHASA, Congo
Congo election
results delayed
until today
The head of Congo's election
commission said results from the
presidential race that were due
to be published yesterday have
been postponed until today.
Daniel Ngoy Mulunda said
the commission is in the process
of checking each figure against
tally sheets from polling stations
in the remote corners of this
enormous nation.
Mulunda said: "We are before
a very demanding public." He
. added: "We want to double-
check each number, each tally
sheet."
Congo has been tense for days
as its people await the outcome
of last week's disputed election,
with partial results making vic-
tory all but certain for incum-
bent President Joseph Kabila.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
REAL RELAXATION
LSA freshman Alexander Addiego participates in MRC Keep Calm yesterday in Mosher-Jordan Residence Hall. The event
was put on by Counseling and Psychological Services to help students relax during finals.
BENEFITS
From Page 1
want the best and brightest,
that we want to open our doors to
people from around the world."
In an interview yesterday
afternoon, state Sen. Rebekah
Warren (D-Ann Arbor) said
the bills would put the state at
an "economic disadvantage" by
making it unattractive to some
employees.
At the time of the interview,
Warren had notheard ofthe bills'
passinginthe Housebutthought
the clause meant that employees
of public universities would be
exempt from the prohibitions.
"It sends the message that
Michigan does not have the
doors wide open for every kind
of family," Warren said. "And ...
given the place that Michigan is
in right now and our struggle to
rebuild our economy, I think we
need to have our arms and doors
open for all kinds of talent, and
we can't afford to be shutting
anybody out."
Warren said she thought the
bills would have the opposite
effect of what its Republican pro-
ponents in the Legislature had
hoped - reducing state expendi-
tures.
"If you look at that situation
and say, 'OK, we're not going to
allow public employers to give
benefits to people who have part-
ners,' those people are not going
to come here, and they're not
going to stay here," Warren said.
"So it actually increases costs."
University officials and profes-
sors have also criticized the bills
for risking the school's abilities
to recruit and retain top talent.
Several University professors
said last month that they would
consider leaving the University
if Republican Gov. Rick Snyder
signed the bills into law.
UniversityPresident MarySue
Coleman and University Provost
Phil Hanlon sent a letter to state
Senate Majority Leader Randy
Richardville (R-Monroe) last
month urging him not to pass the
bills. Hanlon and Coleman wrote
in the letter that the bills rely on
little evidence that eliminating
the benefits would reduce costs,
and the legislation would impede
the University's ability to attract
faculty.
"Fortune 500 companies
nationwide and in the state of
Michigan offer partner benefits:
It is simply good business that
produces an excellent return on
investment," Coleman and Han-
lon wrote in the letter.
Cynthia Wilbanks, the Uni-
versity's vice president for gov-
ernment relations, wrote in an
e-mail interview yesterday that
while she was not sure whether
the University would be exempt
from the policy, she was still wor-
ried about the impact of the bills.
"There seems to be some dif-
ference of opinion about whether
the approved legislation applies
directly to state universities,"
Wilbanks wrote. "That remains a
serious concern."
Like Coleman and Hanlon,
Wilbanks added that the pos-
sibility worried her because the
bills could threaten the Univer-
sity's ability to attract and keep
its employees.
"We continue to believe and
will advocate that these benefits
are a critical component - for all
public and privateemployers - to
retaining and attractingthe very
best talent that is so important to
the continued economic recovery
in the state of Michigan," Wil-
banks wrote.
Republicans in the state Sen-
ate and House have argued that
the provision of costs for domes-
tic partners constituted an unfair
burden on state taxpayers. Ari
Adler, press secretary for Speaker
of the House Jase Bolger (R-Mar-
shall) - a proponent of the bills
- said Michigan taxpayers could
not afford to fund the benefits for
public employees' partners.
Adler said Bolger voted for
the bills in the House because
state voters passed an amend-
ment to the state constitution
that banned the state from rec-
ognizing any union other than
traditional marriage. He said
public interests and curbing
government spending are more
important than the possible
repercussions of passingthe bills.
"We had to be primarily con-
cerned about protecting taxpay-
ers in terms of spending, and
we had to protect voters in what
they requested by changing the
constitution," Adler said. "Pro-
tecting taxpayers by reining in
government spending and pro-
tecting the constitution trumps
other concerns."
Similarly, state Sen. Rick Jones
(R-Grand Ledge) said he voted
for the two bills because he said
limiting state spending and hon-
oring voters' wishes were para-
mount. Jones added that he did
not think the passing of the bill
would produce asignificant effect
on the state's economy since other
advantages, like the availability
of affordable housing in the state,
would outweighthem.
"If somebody's going to leave
simply because of this, there's
plenty of other people looking for
work," Jones said.
The bills passed by the House
yesterday, like those it passed in
September, still refer to employ-
ees of government at all levels as
public employees, which means
the prohibitions would apply to
House representatives as well.
Members of Ann Arbor's city
government have protested the
bills. Last month, City Council
member Sandi Smith (D-Ward 1)
passed a resolution opposing the
bills.
Mayor John Hieftje said he
opposes the bills, and the effect
could ultimately lead to a "brain
drain," or the mass exodus of stu-
dents from the state. In the past,
he said, Ann Arbor's offering of
benefits to employees' families
has aided the city government
in attracting top administrators
and politicians.
However, Hieftje said the new
bills would make it "difficult" for
the city's economy and govern-
ment.
"Michigan needs people to'
come here," Hieftje said. "We
need entrepreneurs who choose
to work here to help us turn our
economy around. And by say-
ing to a whole group of people,
'We really don't want you here,"
which is what these laws say -
that's a problem. It's going to
work against economic recov-
ery."
BUSINESS
From Page 1
reality.
"There are some that use this
to really develop that business
that they absolutely do intend to
launch, often upon graduation,"
Perigo said.
Business School graduate
student P.K. Mishra, who is part
of the @Fingertips team, said
the biggest benefit of the MBC
is that the teams experience
all the challenges in making a
business plan and the substan-
tial amount of money the win-
ner receives is enough to start a
company.
"It's, for me, the most enrich-
ing experience of being in the
Business School," he said. "To
take an idea and launch a busi-
ness out of it, it takes a lot more
than just developing the tech-
nology."
Business School senior
David Spiro's team, Thru.
im, also made it to the second
round and is in the process of
creating a plan to develop a
mobile and web application
that allows consumers to text
businesses about food orders
and reservations. Spiro said his
team participated in MBC last
year but didn't make it past the
first round because this group
members only focused on the
technology aspect. This year,
however, they learned how to
create a business around that
technology.
"We're looking to build a
better business more than any-
thing," Spiro said. "While we
understand that there's great
cash prizes ... we're really most
concerned with the long-term
effect that MBC can have on us
as entrepreneurs and us start-
ing this business."
Perigo said MBC is different
than other programs across the
country in that it lasts several
months and has four rounds
rather than just one week with
a single round. As teams prog-
ress through each round, a new
panel of judges - often entre-
preneurs themselves - evalu-
ates the feasibility and market
viability of the ventures. In the
final round, Perigo said, teams
present to three venture capi-
talists in a "very realistic con-
versation ... that pretty closely
replicates what it's like to get
that first meeting with a ven-
ture capital firm."
The expanded timeline also
includes seven training semi-
nars, which spread over the
course of the competition and
tutor participants in pitching
their ideas, writing business
plans and executive summa-
ries and presenting to potential
investors, Perigo explained.
"Really, the goal of Michigan
Business Challenge is to ... help
students build their entrepre-
neurial skill set," Perigo said.
Business School graduate
student Sean Simpson, whose
team, Autobike, has made it to
the second round with a proto-
type of a bicycle that shiftsgears
automatically, said the train-
ings have been useful in helping
his team members develop the
business side of their project.
He described the seminars as "a
class (MBC is) offeringfor free,"
noting that his other courses at
the Business School don't gen-
erally teach entrepreneurship
skills.
According to Perigo, partici-
pants come from different areas
of the University, and often, the
multidisciplinary teams with
students from various colleges
and schools such as the Ross
School of Business, College of
Engineering, School of Infor-
mation and School of Art &
Design are the most successful.
Perigo added that though grad-
uate students tend to compete
more than undergraduate stu-
dents, there is a "nice balance"
of students in terms of age and
year.
Perigo said MBC is always
looking to engage more stu-
dents in the competition.
"We will continue to grow
and change to make it what it
needs to be (to assist student
entrepreneurs)," Perigo said.
PLANETARIUM
From Page 1
more expansive star field and a
mechanical projector instead of a
digital projector.
"(The Zeiss Skymaster) is
optimized and set up to do one
thing only and that is to show
the stars," Seitzer said. "(A digi-
tal projector) can do all sorts of
fancy things, but it has a lower
resolution and less dynamic
range so it's really not optimized
for showing the stars."
Another notable part of the
planetarium is its capability to
show the effects of city lights
on the night sky. This is done
through a system in which red
lights around the periphery of
the planetarium imitate Ann
Arbor city lights. Viewers can see
the projections once their eyes
adapt to the dark, which usually
takes about 15 minutes.
Rackham student Shannon
Schmoll teaches an astronomy
mini-course called Naked Eye
Astronomy,whichholdsits class-
es in the planetarium. On the
first day of her course, Schmoll
said she shows her students the
difference between a light-pol-
luted sky and a clear night sky so
they appreciate the contrast.
"I go straight from (the red
lights) to turning off ... all the
lights that I can," she said. "I
turn off all the classroom lights,
I turn off all the computer moni-
tors, everything."
As the lights disappear and
only the night sky remains, the
class usually reacts with sur-
prise.
"There's almost always an
audible 'aw' going on with just
how many stars you can see,"
Schmoll said. "There's a wonder
there that I think is really impor-
tant that the planetarium can
bring out."
The lights that surround the
University are a contributing fac-
tor in light pollution that distorts
students' perception of the night
sky, Seitzer said.
"There's more light going up
from the University of Michigan
than there is coming down from
the stars," he said.
LSA junior Emma Worm-
ser recently completed Schmoll's
mini-course this fall. Wormser
said she enjoyed having a class in
the planetarium and would rec-
ommend it to others.
"Rather than just using slides,
we actually had a point of ref-
erence, and we could look at
the stars and see exactly what
the teacher was talking about,"
Wormser said.
For Schmoll, one ofthe benefits
of the Angell Hall Planetarium is
its capability to show the night
sky clearly at any time of any day.
"There's no other place where
you can go and sit underneath
the stars in the middle of the day
and just ogle at the greatness of
the universe," Schmoll said.
HOUSING
From Page 1A
Housing staff and the Student
Housing Advisory Board in craft-
ing the new process. Newman
said RHA and University Housing
endorse reverse seniority since it
gives younger students a better
chance of living in a supportive
residence hall community.
"The RHA assembly started
with privileging seniors and then
really evolved to the younger
students actually have a greater
need for the programs, resources
and staffing that come with the
residential environment," New-
man said.
RHA President Haley Prasad,
an LSA sophomore, said another
factor RHA took into consider-
ation before passing the resolu-
tion for reverse seniority housing
was that it is easier for upper
classmen to find off-campus
housing.
"With the way Ann Arbor
leasing signings work, you have
to kind of have something fig-
ured out by November and a lot
of freshmen don't feel prepared
to make those kinds of decisions
at that time," Prasad said. "We
think that students, as they are
older ... are probably more famil-
iar with the way housing in Ann
Arbor works."
While University Housing
will not provide students with
alternate housing if they are not
granted a spot in a residence
hall, Newman said students who
look for leases in the winter are
typically able to find off-campus
housing.
Prasad said she hopes the new
process doesn't deter students
from applying to live in the resi-
dence halls out of fear they may
not be granted a spot. She added,
however, that fear existed for
students even with the former
seniority sign-up process.
"For sophomores, there
always was that fear in previous
years ... about what if you don't
get the dorm of your choice,"
Prasad said. "It's just that the fear
is placed on a different group of
students (now)."
After hearing about the new
sign-up procedure, LSA sopho-
more Killian Rohn started a peti-
tion to convince RHA to remove
their resolution supporting
reverse seniority sign-up. Rohn
said she thinks the new process
will push juniors and seniors out
of residence halls.
"I think it's a social justice
issue that (University Hous-
ing is) basically telling juniors
and seniors, we don't want you,"
Rohnsaid. "...I thinkiftheywere
to keep it this way, I think the
trend would become we expect
freshmen and sophomores to live
in the dorms, and we don't want
juniors and seniors."
Rohn added that there is only
a slight possibility that there
would be a shortage of beds since
a low percentage of juniors and
seniors typically return to the
residence halls. She said only 16
percent of upperclassmen lived
on campus this year.
"Why is someone who's paid
multiple terms of housing and
tuition ... would say, 'I want to
stay because I might not get the
room that I want or might not
get the dorm that I want?"' Rohn'
said.
Rohn and four other students
attended RHA's assembly meet-
ing last night and voiced their
concerns about the new sign-up
process during Resident's Time
- a portion of the meeting in
which 10 residents have two min-
utes each to speak. The assembly
consists of representatives from
each residence hall on campus.
At the meeting, Rohn suggest-
ed RHA should solve the issue
of a potential lack of housing by
"increasing density by turning
spacious doubles into triples"
instead of implementing reverse
seniority sign-up.
Engineering sophomore Jeff
Cwagenberg also spoke during-
Resident's Time and said he is
concerned about why under-
classmen could choose to stay
in Housing since they now have
first priority of rooms.
"Why does Housing want to
keep these freshmen who may
not have an interest in the com-
munity, (who are) deciding to
stay in based on the place they
are living?" Cwagenberg said.
"This forces out juniors and
seniors that have invested inter-
est in the community."
SALVATION ARMY
From Page 1
up to $199. Some of the high-
er-grossing locations include
Busch's on Main Street, which
averages $422 per day, and out-,
side Macy's at Briarwood Mall,
which collects $571 on an aver-
age day.
Williams said the char-
ity has raised $14,000 less than
this time last year, which is
problematic because fundrais-
ing during the holiday season
accounts for 75 percent of the
Salvation Army's yearly budget.
"It's very important that we
raise our money," Williams said.
The donations are used to
support the charity's programs
for youth and adults and pro-
vide goods for the Salvation
Army's food pantry and shelter.
"Whatever the need is, if we
can provide it (to our clients),
we will," Williams said. "But
without (the money), we may
have to cut those services ...
that's how drastic it is."
Despite the lack of general
volunteers this season, some
University students are still
trying to do their part. Alpha
Phi Omega, a community ser-
vice fraternity at the University,
raised $171 for the Salvation
Army last month, an amount
Williams said is "not too shab-
by."
LSA senior Spencer Shepard,
who was in charge of organiz-
ing the project for APO, wrote
in an e-mail interview that the
fundraiser was very successful.
"It's a very important fund-
raiser for them, and we're all
glad we have the opportunity to
help out, as the Salvation Army
does a lot of good for our com-
munity," Spencer wrote.