The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Monday, January 30, 2012 -- 3A

NEWS BRIEFS
LANSING, Mich.
Mayor touts area's
manufacturing
Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero
says a new report shows the
Lansing-East Lansing region is
a leading manufacturing area for
the nation.
Bernero's office says the
assessment comes from the
Urban Institute's MetroTrends
study, which compares job
growth in the nation's 100 larg-
est metropolitan areas between
June 2009 and October 2011 in
key economic sectors.
Bernero says the Lansing
area stands out nationwide in
the report for goods producing,
manufacturing, and transporta-
tion and utilities.
SACRAMENTO, Calif.
SUV drives into
intersection,
causes train crash
Investigators yesterday were
trying to determine what moti-
vated the driver of a sport util-
ity vehicle to ignore a downed
crossing arm and flashing lights
and pull the vehicle into the path
of an oncoming commuter train
in Sacramento.
Three died after the Satur-
day afternoon collision south
of downtown, including a
21-month-old boy.
Authorities also were try-
ing to sort out the relationships
of those involved and were not
releasing their identifications.
Witness accounts appear to
support the video evidence that
the crossing arms were down
and warning lights were flashing
when the SUV tried to get across
the tracks.
BEIJING
Tension between
Sudan and China
heightens after
attack on Chinese
Militants apparently cap-
tured 29 Chinese workers after
attacking a remote worksite in
a volatile region of Sudan, and
Sudanese forces were increas-
ing security for Chinese projects
and personnel there, China said
yesterday.
China has close political and
economic relations with Sudan,
especially in the energy sector.
The Foreign Ministry in Bei-
jing said the militants attacked
Saturday and Sudanese forces
launched a rescue mission Sun-
day in coordination with the
Chinese embassy in Khartoum.
The Ministry's head of con-
sular affairs met with the Suda-
nese ambassador in Beijing and
"urged him to actively conduct
rescue missions under the pre-
requisite of ensuring the safety
of the Chinese personnel," the
statement said.

MARSEILLE, France
Breast implant
company owner
! sued after faulty

ADAM SCHNITZER/Daily
Interim DPS Chief Joe Piersante speaks at the second public crime meeting of the academic year. About 20 people
attended the meeting, including members of student government.
DPS talks crime stats a
second public meeting

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Interim DPS in trusted public environments
like libraries. Most thefts
Director says involve laptops and cell phones
and occur in the Medical Sci-
ircenies down, ence buildings, as well as the
Duderstadt Center on North
robberies up Campus.
Piersante said even though
By ALEXANDRA students think leaving their
MONDALEK items unattended for less than
Daily StaffReporter a minute isn't dangerous, the
thefts are "crimes of opportu-
hile University students nity," and therefore can hap-
staff were making their pen at any time, adding that
back from President many laptop thieves are repeat
ck Obama's address Friday offenders.
ing, another event was Though few University
g place just up South State administrators attended the
t. first DPS crime meeting , sev-
noon on Friday, the Uni- eral were present at Friday's
ty of Michigan Depart- forum.
Of Public Safety held In an interview after the
econd-ever public crime meeting, Timothy Slottow, the
ing at the Michigan University's executive vice
n. Twenty-one DPS offi- president and chief financial
and staff members led the officer, noted several challenges
ing, which was intended that DPS needs to consider for
ighlight crime statistics 2012.
community goals for the "Larceny, increasing the
ster. awareness of how to keep
ough about 20 civil- the campus safe and working
attended the meeting, together to use social media
about four students were are things we need to consider
nt, three of which were to make this an even safer, even
ral Student Government more inspiring place to do our
als. work and be students, staff and
erim DPS Director faculty," Slottow said.
h Piersante began the Laura Blake Jones, associ-
ing by describing crime ate vice president for student
s since 2007, noting that affairs and dean of students,
larcenies decreased commended DPS on its consis-
840 in 2010 to 611 in tent service to the community.
robberies are up since "They work day in and day
increasing from seven out 24/7 to make this as safe a
ne reports in 2011. Aggra- campus as possible and I can't
assault reports have also say enough about the contribu-
ased, from six in 2010, to tions they make," Jones said.
in 2011. LSA junior Stephanie Hamel,
rsante said sexual assault co-chair of the Central Student
ts have decreased since Government's Student Safety
but noted that statistics Commission and a student safe-
e misleading since sexual ty assistant in the Dean of Stu-
lt cases are often under- dent Affairs Office, said even
ted. though some students doubt the
reoccurring theme of the effectiveness of the DPS laptop
ing was the dangers of sticker program - a free ser-
ng valuables unattended vice that assigns a registration

number and barcode to student
computers - it has aided in the
recovery of many computers.
"If your laptop is recovered,
(DPS) will be able to trace it to
you and let you pick up your
recovered laptop," Hamel said.
CSG President DeAndree
Watson, who was also in atten-
dance at the event, praised the
work of DPS on campus and
their initiatives to make law
enforcement more transparent
to students and staff.
"I'm really excited that they
are eager to engage the stu-
dent body in the process, that
they're actively listening to the
concerns that are coming from
our student safety commission
and that they look forward to
working with them to imple-
ment some of the strategies in
the best possible manner," Wat-
son said.
After the meeting, Piersante
said DPS is working to under-
stand at what time, location and
date more students would be
able to attend meetings.
"What I would like to do is
reach out with different stu-
dents and the dean of students
to find out what is a good time
for students to get to these
things," Piersante said. "Yes, I
would like to see more student
involvement."
Crime meetings were a
product of former DPS Chief
Greg O'Dell, who committed
suicide last month. Piersante
said O'Dell would have wanted
the meetings to continue.
"I knew Greg fairly well for
about 15 years going back to
when he was a deputy chief
in Ann Arbor and when I was
a deputy chief here, and we
worked together," Piersante
said. "I have a lot of respect
for him, and I want to continue
this program in the future."
-Daily News Editor
Adam Rubenfire contributed
to this report
Michigan how to set their tuition
rate. The Board of Regents figures
it out."
Still, DesJardins said his
master's students questioned
the actual mechanism of how
Obama's plans would be imple-
mented, especially since they
would all need to be approved by
Congress.
Though Cecilia Munoz, direc-
tor of the White House Domestic
Policy Council, told reporters on
a conference call Friday that the
"administration is very commit-
ted to doing whatever we can even
in the absence of congressional
action," White House press secre-
tary Jay Carney told reporters on
Air Force One Friday afternoon
that Obama's tuition proposals
are "long-term" plans.
"All the things that he dis-
cussed in these past three days
are his absolute top priorities,"
Carney said. "But the thing that
he focuses on more than any other
every day is economic growth and

LEED
From Page IA
registered and certified (higher-
education related) projects in the
nation. You could think of one
project per campus."
The USGBC's ultimate goal is
to convert all existing buildings
and implement LEED standards
for new construction to create a
sustainable building model for
the nation.
"We say that within a gen-
eration everybody will be living,
working, playing, doing anything
and everything in a green build-
ing," Van Mourik said.
Van Mourik added that the
costs and difficulty of work-
ing with LEED standards has
decreased dramatically over the
years, as the market has adopted
the standards and manufactur-
ers have begun producing special
LEED products.
"When the LEED building
system launched in 2000, the
concept of green building was
still very new." Van Mourik said.
"We've seen quite the transfor-
mation in the way the industry is
working, professionals are being
trained and what manufacturers
are doing. To date, we have over
175,000 LEED accredited profes-
sionals across the globe."
Alexander added that adopt-
ing LEED practices costs about
4 percent more in building costs
than using non-LEED materi-
als and standards. Several other
buildings on campuswould prob-
ably qualify for LEED certifica-
tion, but the University has not
formally pursued the certifica-
tion process, he said.
"Not everything you do for
LEED has an actual payback to
it." Alexander said. "There are
things that LEED requires you
do that does have a payback, such
as water conservation and energy
conservation."
Alexander said that at the time
of the Council's decision to adopt
LEED standards, the clinical
buildings were exempt because
the USGBC had not yet finalized
the guidelines for medical facili-
ties. However, Alexander saidthe
USGBC has since published these
standards, and he expects the
Council to vote on adopting them
in the next few months.
Both Alexander and Van
Mourik said that LEED certi-
fication for medical centers is
especially challenging due to the
energy-intensive nature of medi-
cal technology. However, theC.S.
Mott Children's and Von Voigt-
lander Women's Hospital which
opened last December expects to
be LEED certified and has sev-
eral innovative features to help
it achieve qualification. The deci-
sion on its certification isnexpect-
ed next month.
Loree Collett, administrative
director of Children's and Wom-
en's Services at the University
of Michigan Health System, said
the University began the build-
ing process fully committed to
achieving LEED certification as a
priority - the question was more
a matter of degree. Collett cited
the non-wax rubber flooring and
the "green roof" as some of the
main elements of the building's
bid for LEED certification.
"Our roof has somewhere
between 16 and 24 inches of dirt,
of barriers, gravel, plants, differ-

ent things in order to make this
(a) green roof. So, we have right
around 70,000 little seedlings
growing up on our roof." Collett
job creation."
DesJardins added that his class
questioned how Obama has heav-
ily credited a college education to
improving the economy. While
DesJardins said a college educa-
tion undoubtedly allows people to
get better-paying jobs, he added
there's value in a liberal arts edu-
cation in and of itself.
"They were worried about how
tightly he had linked the idea of
education, and some instrumen-
tal goal, the instrumental goal
being, get a job," DesJardins said.
DesJardins said the students
were also disappointed that
Obama's speech focused on sev-
eral other issues - like manufac-
turing, job creation and the auto
industry - aside from higher edu-
cation.
"The first thing to come out
of their mouth was, 'Great cam-
paign speech,"' DesJardins said.
"It seemed like the first order
was, this seems like a campaign
speech, and then the second or

said. "It's literally like havingdirt
and plants on top of the roof, and
what it does for us is it extends
the life of the roof of the building
about twice as long as a tradition-
al roof. It also helps reduce the
heating and the cooling costs."
Collett added that part of the
LEED certification is creating a
positive environment for those
working in the building. She said
she feels working in the build-
ing is easier and more enjoyable
because it has windows on all
floors and advanced HEPA air fil-
tration - a medical grade system
for infection control.
Rackham student Graham
Brown, team coordinator and
former board member for Stu-
dent Sustainability Initiative,
said the group has worked with
the University in advocating for
the construction of LEED build-
ings.
"I am very enthusiastic about
the progress that the Univer-
sity has made over the last few
years moving toward sustain-
ability." Brown said. "I think
that it is important to recognize
that three years ago, there was
no office on campus of sustain-
ability, there was no central coor-
dinated effort. What happened
on campus with regards to sus-
tainability and operations was
very 'ad hoc' and sort of disorga-
nized."
Graham said he was pleased
with the progress the University
has made toward sustainability,
but hopes to see the implementa-
tion of the most rigorous LEED
Gold or Platinum standards in
the future.
University alum Brian Swett,
who received a dual Master's
degree inthe Ross SchoolofBusi-
ness and the School of Natural
Resources and the Environment,
now oversees LEED projects for
Boston Properties, a real estate
firm in Massachusetts. During
his time at the University, Swett
said he was part of an advisory
panel for the construction of the
new Ross School of Business and
lobbied for the use of local and
sustainable materials, in addition
to energy efficiency.
"I think the University did a
much faster job of building this
into theireducationthanthey did
in building it into their building
standards," Swett said, referenc-
ing the beginning of the Univer-
sity's sustainability initiative in
2008.
Swett said having a Master's
of science and Master of Busi-
ness Administration, as well as
his hands-on expertise in LEED,
made him a much more competi-
tive candidate in the job market.
He added he was able to market
himself to companies as someone
with a new, valuable skill set for
the future.
"One of the things that sets
the University graduates apart
is their ability to take classes
in other schools and get dual
degrees," Swett said. "Those
integrated skill sets, you don't
get within one master's program.
Michigan does a phenomenal job
of allowing students to bridge
(many disciplines) and get a dual
education."
Swett said the availability of
LEED products and profession-
als has undergone a "night and
day" transformation from where
it was ten years ago, making

building a LEED certified struc-
ture much more economical.
-Alicia Adamczyk and Zena
Dave contributed to this report
third order was that there is this
education policy written into this
too."
Obama's visit to the University
reaffirmed Michigan's status as a
swing state in November's elec-
tion. According to a Detroit Free
Press/WXYZ-TV poll taken last
week, Obama led former Massa-
chusetts Gov. Mitt Romney by 48
percent to 40 percent in a poll of
600 voters. Romney led the presi-
dent 46 percent to 41 percent in
the same poll taken in November.
The Obama campaign itself has
also acknowledged Michigan's
importance in the 2012 race. In a
video posted on its campaign site,
Jim Messina, Obama's campaign
manager, showed six different
combinations of states Obama
could win to reclaim the presi-
dency. In each scenario, Michigan
was included as a state Obama
needed to win.
- Daily Staff Reporter Sydney
Berger and The Associated Press

implants found DOUBTS
From Page 1A

French authorities have filed
preliminary charges against the
former head of a now-defunct
company accused of supply-
ing potentially faulty breast
implants affecting thousands of
women.
A judge in the southeastern
city of Marseille placed Jean-
Claude Mas, the founder and
former chief of Poly Implant
Prothese, under investigation
for "involuntary injury," defense
lawyer Yves Haddad said Friday.
The judge's decision to
release him on $130,000 bail
caused indignation among
women who regard themselves
as his victims.
The suspect PIP implants
have been removed from the
marketplace in several countries
in and beyond Europe amid fears
that they could rupture and leak
silicone into the body.
-Compiled from
Daily mire reports

vision, but added that it would
be impossible to achieve with-
out additional state funding. The
state government cut funding to
Michigan's 15 public universi-
ties by 15 percent last year under
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder.
"What isn't sustainable is hav-
ing the state every year cut, cut,
cut, cut," Coleman said. "Then
you can't make it up, without low-
ering quality."
The tuition-based plan Obama
introduced on Friday would
increase the amount of directly
administered federal aid offered
to $10 billion - up from its cur-
rent $3 billion. In total though,
the amount of federal aid affected
by Obama's new proposals is min-
imal since a majority of the $140
billion in federal financial aid is
administered as grants or loans
that are already given directly to

students.
Stephen DesJardins, director
of the University's Center for the
Study of Higher and Postsecond-
ary Education, teaches a gradu-
ate course in higher education
policy and watched and analyzed
Obama's speech with his students
in class on Friday.
DesJardins said it could be dif-
ficult for the administration to
implement such wide reaching
policies because, in reality, the
higher education industry is quite
nuanced. He added that the fed-
eral government has little control
over institutions of higher educa-
tion.
"The federal government's
lever, their policy lever, is the
power of the purse," DesJardins
said. "They really have very little
leverage other than that on insti-
tutions, especi:rtn in a state like
Michigan, wvhere institutions
have constitutional autonomy.
Like the University of Michigan,
no one can tell the University of

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