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Ann Arbor, Michigan
Friday, February 3, 2012
michigandailycom
UNIVERSITY RESEARCH
- 'U' could
see drop
in federal
funding
VP for research still
optimistic with gov't
cuts looming
By MARISA WINTER
Daily StaffReporter
At the University's Board of
Regents meeting last month, Ste-
phen Forrest, the University's vice
president for research, introduced
the University's annual research
report with the pretense that the
future of research funding from the
federal government appears bleak.
The report revealed that while
federal funding has increased mar-
ginally this year in comparison to
last, future funding is uncertain
amid fluctuating trends in financial
support from industry and federal-
level partnerships. Possible funding
cuts from the government and the
National Institutes of Health could
cause major changes in the Univer-
sity's research funding plan, accord-
ing to University officials.
In an interview with The Michi-
gan Daily last month, University
President Mary Sue Coleman said if
federal financial support decreases,
funding research at the University
could be problematic.
"If that happens, we're going to
have to look at everything; there's
See FUNDING, Page 3
THE FUNNY PAGES
CAMPUS SAFETY
Students
petition for
more Oxford
bus service
TERESA MATHEW/Daly
Robert Mankoff, The New Yorker's comic editor, speaks in Hatcher Graduate Library about humor and language
yesterday.
STUDENT IF
SA*asfor collaboration
Group hopes to
increase mid-day
routes on weekend
By LIANA'ROSENBLOOM
Daily StaffReporter
With help from the Oxford
Bus Petition, students traveling
back and forth between Oxford
Housing and Central Campus
on weekends may no longer
need to walk down South Uni-
versity Avenue from 10 a.m. to
2 p.m.
Creators of the petition -
developed last October by the
Oxford Community Council -
continue to garner support for
an appeal for the Oxford Shuttle
to run on the same schedule on
the weekend as it does during
the week. Thus far, more than
900 people have signed the peti-
tion.
The shuttle runs from Oxford
Housing to the C.C. Little
bus stop, with stops at Shap-
iro Undergraduate Library,
the Michigan Union and Hill
Auditorium. Currently, stu-
dents seeking transportation
to Oxford Housing from Cen-
tral Campus during midday on
weekends are forced to walk or
seek alternative forms of trans-
portation, since service doesn't
begin until 5 p.m.
Oxford Housing is home to
more than 350 undergraduate
students according to Univer-
sity housing. The Sigma Alpha
Mu and Phi Gamma Delta fra-
ternities, and the Delta Gamma
and Alpha Phi sororities, are
also located in the Oxford area,
which has had a history ofcrime
in recent years.
LSA senior Parisa Behzadi,
a diversity peer educator for
Oxford Housing who oversees
Oxford Community Council,
said the petition follows a previ-
ous, separate request to extend
Oxford bus hours from 5p.m. to
10 p.m. on weekends, which was
implemented last winter. Before
then, there were no Oxford
buses running on Saturdays or
Sundays.
Behzadi said many people
signed the petition after it was
introduced, but at the end of
last semester, the pace began to
slow. She said she then sent the
petition to other diversity peer
editors and asked them to for-
ward it to other Housing staff
members to rekindle interest.
See OXFORD, Page 3
Ad
st
ti
By G
Las
from
gather
studen
ministrators, with faculty and administra-
', tors in an effort to increase
.udents, seek transparency.
At the event, hosted by LSA
increased Student Government at North
Quad Residence Hall, LSA
ransparency Dean Terrence McDonald
addressed and answered ques-
IACOMO BOLOGNA tions from a group of about
Daily StaffReporter 25 students. The discussion
covered topics including sus-
t night, student leaders tainability, diversity, profes-
programs within LSA sor evaluations, state funding
ed to discuss ways for for the University and recent
its to better connect accomplishments within LSA.
As the largest college at the
University with nearly 20,000
students, McDonald said the
size of the student body can
present special obstacles.
"The things that we worry
about and think about the most
and wonder if we're doing
well enough (with) is access to
courses, and frankly informa-
tion about opportunities (for
students)," McDonald said.
"These are two things that are
affected by the size."
See LSA, Page 3
DETERMINED DRIVE CAMPUS TRANSPORTATION
Student group works to
create bike share program
CSG, PTS also
involved in
planning process
By TAYLOR WIZNER
Daily StaffReporter
Campus transportation may
soon become more accessible
and environmentally friendly
with the introduction of a new
bike-sharing program awaiting
approval from the University.
TruMich, a student organiza-
tion focused on alternative and
mass transit on campus, is work-
ing to promote and coordinate
with the University bike-sharing
program. The initiative would
allow students to take a bike
from a kiosk with the swipe of
an MCard and deposit it at any of
several other kiosks on campus.
While the bike share program
is still in its beginning stages,
LSA junior Joseph Elliott, presi-
dent of TruMich, said its increas-
ing potential is limitless and and
the group has high levels of stu-
dent support.
"Bike-sharing could be the
most accessible form of transit
here," Elliott said. "Even though
Main Street is not that far away,
it is still a hassle. The sharing
system will enable students to
explore the city and campus
more."
The group started a petition
See BIKE, Page 3
Classes, programs inspired by
environmentally friendly efforts
Sustainability
unites academic
disciplines
By ANDREW SCHULMAN
Daily StaffReporter
Of the 11 students in Engi-
neering Prof. Steven Wright's
400-level civil and environmen-
tal engineering class, only one
is in the College of Engineering
- a fact Wright said showcases
the increasing interdisciplinary
nature of sustainability efforts
at the University.
In recent years, a growing
number of students and profes-
sors from all fields of study have
demonstrated an interest in
environmental affairs, accord-
ing to University professors and
officials. To meet the increased
demand for sustainable efforts,
a variety of classes and pro-
grams have been instituted at
CONTINUING SERIES
SUSTAINABILITY
ON CAMPUS
the University that utilize skills
from multiple disciplines.
Wright's class includes a
month-long trip to Liberia this
July, where students will devel-
op a sustainability assessment
for a Liberian community and
explore possible links between
See PROGRAMS, Page 3
MCKENZIE B
Senior guard Courtney Boylan drives to the basket in Michigan's 79-68 win over Northwestern yesterday.
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* WEATHER HI 41
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