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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
michigandaily.com
STATE OF THE UNION
Education
costs focus
of address
A row of bikes locked outside the Michigan Union on South State Street. University and city officials are working to improve the local bike infrastructure.
OffIcialstalk ike rentals in
tC SalC1
President Obama
lauds importance of
college affordability
By KATIE BURKE
Daily Staff Reporter
In his annual State of the Union
address last night, President Barack
Obama highlighted the necessity of
economic and educational reform
along with Congressional coop-
eration as the country continues its
economic recovery.
Obama emphasized the impor-
tance of creating more jobs, holding
a higher standard of accountability
for Wall Street and Washington,
increasing accessibility to higher
education and continuing efforts
for peace in the Middle East, all by
creating an "America built to last."
U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-
Mich.) said in an interview with
The Michigan Daily after the
address that he felt the speech's
overall outlook was hopeful regard-
ing ongoing efforts toward national
recovery.
"It had an optimistic tone,"
Dingell said. "(Obama) talked about
making America better and he
pointed out the state of our union is
gettingstronger."
Job growth efforts have helped
spur the creation of three million
jobs in the past 22 months, Obama
said. The president added that its
necessary to prepare citizens for
new jobs through higher education
to successfully strengthening the
nation.
"To prepare for the jobs of
tomorrow, our commitment to
skills and education has to start
earlier," Obama said.
A major obstacle to this objec-
tive is the rising cost of higher edu-
cation, Obama said. He proposed
changes such as making additional
room in state budgets for financial
aid and encouraging colleges and
universities to keep their costs low
by using technology and allowing
students to graduate sooner.
"Higher education can't be alux-
ury -- it is an economic imperative
that every family in America should
be able to afford," Obama said.
Obama added having all stu-
dents graduate from high school
is imperative, and he encouraged
states to pass laws mandating that
See ADDRESS, Page SA
Forum fosters
discussion on
transporation
improvements
By TAYLOR WIZNER
Daily StaffReporter
In an effort to improve condi-
tions for bicyclists in Ann Arbor,
the Office of Campus Sustain-
ability and Parking and Trans-
portation Services sponsored a
town hall meeting at the Michi-
gan League last night to foster
discussion on transportation in
Ann Arbor.
Students, Ann Arbor citi-
zens and city and campus offi-
cials discussed the upcoming
implementation of a bike rent-
al system and brainstormed
the possible development of
increased bike lanes on city
streets, and the creation of addi-
tional areas for bicycle parking
on campus.
University Planner Susan
Gott said improving bicycle
parking conditions is an impor-
tant initiative for the Uni-
versity, particularly through
adding more parking stations
or advanced structures on cam-
pus.
"We are looking for the best
areas for the structures," Gott
said. "Would it be in our highest
use areas, for example around
the residential halls where we
have high volumes of students,
or by our transit centers..."
She added the University is
taking "competing interests
into consideration" in order to
create the most effective pro-
gram for students.
Steven Dolen, executive
director of Parking and Trans-
portation and panelist at the
forum, discussed how the
upcoming bike rental system
was developed largely as a
response to student need for
bike transportation on campus.
"The rental program. is our
first step in really showing our
commitment," Dolen said. "I
think it's a small step, but it is
something we can do quickly
See RENTALS, Page SA
CENTRAL STUDENT GOVERNMENT
At meeting, Assembly
passes two resolutions
Cost containment program to
save University $355 million
CSG approves medical
amnesty, tuition
equality proposals
By GIACOMO BOLOGNA
Daily Staff Reporter
The Student Assembly of the
Central StudentGovernmentunan-
imously passed two resolutions in
support of medical amnesty and
tuition equality at last night's meet-
ing.
The tuition equality plan would
allow undocumented residents
who have lived in Michigan to pay
in-state tuition, while the medical
amnesty policy would protect stu-
dents who call for medical attention
for others who are over-intoxicated
from receiving Minors in Pos-
session of alcohol citations. Both
resolutions were and members of
several campus organizations have
demonstrated for support of the
policies.
At the meeting, members of
various student groups attend-
ed to support the tuition equal-
ity plan, including Migrant and
Immigrant Rights Advocacy, the
undergraduate chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union,
See ASSEMBLY, Page SA
LOCAL BUSINESSES
Latest closure highlights
struggle of E. Liberty stores
Three-phase
program to be
completed by 2017
By PAIGE PEARCY
Daily News Editor
With the help of a three-
phase cost containment
model, University officials
have devised a long-term plan
that will save the University
an estimated $355 million by
the end of fiscal year 2017.
Ongoing cost containment
efforts, which first began in
fiscal year 2003, have kept the
University financially sound
amid the difficult economic
climate in the state of Michi-
gan, said University Provost
Philip Hanlon in an interview
with The Michigan Daily.
"I think this kind of fiscal
discipline is one of the things
that separates us from the
other elite universities in this
very difficult period," Hanlon
said. "The University of Mich-
igan ... remained on a stable
upper trajectory through the
collapse of 2008, the financial
collapse ... because of the fiscal
discipline we introduced."
The first phase of the con-
tainment model - held dur-
ing fiscal years 2003 through
2009 - saved the University
approximately $135 million in
recurring costs by increasing
energy efficiency, changing
Area sees decreased
sales since Borders
closed last fall
By DANIELLE STOPPELMAN
Fo theDaily
Sole Sisters, a boutique on East
Liberty Street, will be closing its
doors at the end of the month -
joining the growing list of busi-
nesses in the area that have ceased
operating in the past few months,
including Poshh, This and That, @
Burger and Borders.
According to local business
owners and Tim Faley, manag-
ing director of the Institute for
Entrepreneurial Studies in the
Ross School of Business, the rise
in store closures in the area could
be related to a variety of factors,
including the closure of Borders in
September and increased competi-
tion from upscale restaurants that
have began to flourish in the area.
Tamar Fowler, owner of Sole
See CLOSURE, Page SA
health care benefit strategies
and increasing productivity of
staff members:
Currently, the University
is in phase two of the model,
which will be completed by
the end of the current fiscal
year and is expected to save
the University an additional
$100 million.
Phase three, projected to
save an additional $120 mil-
lion, will commence at the
beginning of fiscal year 2013
and end in fiscal year 2017.
The entire model will result in
a total savings of about $23.7
million per year by the end of
fiscal year 2017.
Hanlon said long-term plan-
ning for savings is what makes
the plan successful.
"The winner for us is the
fact that we have this annual
effort, this annual commit-
ment to cut between 1.5 to 2.25
percent out of our budget,"
Hanlon said. "We know that
we need to do that in 2013 to
2017, so we're already putting
in place the programs which
may take a long time to devel-
See COST, Page SA
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