71W -
8 - Tuesday, February 7, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Arbor commits to the expanded
TRANSIT public transit system.
From Page 1 "If we approve the things at
council simply on a recommen-
an agreement that is one party dation from attorney language,
itself only. According to its terms the public would be confused as
it does nothing more." to what are their obligations to
Councilmember Stephen Kun- this new procedure, and since
selman (D-Ward 3) said he was they are the taxpayers and
concerned that Ann .Arbor had they're the ones paying this bill,
to pay more than other jurisdic- it's important that they under-
tions in the agreement. stand this clearly as possible."
"To be honest I don't under- Anglin said signing the agree-
stand why we have Ypsilanti ment without fully analyzing the
even in this agreement," Kunsel- financial responsibilities would
man said. "I mean we've got $9 be more of a commitment than
million on the table, they've got he is ready for.
$28D,000, and they don't even "Although this is given as just
have to opt in the new millage." ' a bargaining document, it has
Kunselman proceeded to ask something that will ultimately
Ford why Ypsilanti was a part commit us to move forward,"
of the agreement, but during Anglin said. "I think this is
his response Ford was cut off by important for us, it gives every-
Hieftje, who redirected the dis- body a chance to look at the doc-
cussion back to postponement of uments further."
the agreement. Anglin added that he thinks
In an interview afterthe meet- AATA has provided sufficient
ing, Anglin said he thought the financial information, and ques-
fiscal details of the agreement tions why the University has not-
need to be ironed out before Ann been more involved in discus-
sions.
"The one who's not at the table
- (and is) confusing to me - is
the University of Michigan, a
major player here in Ann Arbor"
Anglin said. "I have no idea (why
they haven't signed on) because
they have their own transpor-
tation system but they will par-
ticipate in ours, they use ours
right now, they use AATA a great
deal."
Anglin said students in par-
ticular stand to benefit from the
agreement to increase trans-
portation convenience and effi-
ciency. Currently, University
students and employees can ride
AATA buses for free with an
Meard.
"As student housing moves
further and further from main
campus, there's going to be a
need for more and more students
to commute and we would like
them to use AATA of course,.
because that's essential ... that's
what we're trying to do, that's
sustainability in transportation
and the environment."
0
TERESA MATHEW/Daily
New York Times columnist Roger Cohen speaks in the Michigan Union yesterday
Colu-mnist discusses Arab-
Israeli conflict on campus
SACUA
From Page 1
questions regarding extending
the jurisdiction of the oversight
committee to security personnel
at UHMS, Friedman said it was
beyond the authority of the com-
mittee. He added thathe thought
the advisory committee was not
functioning as well it should.
"The rules are in a pretty bad
state, and I've been working to
redraft them," Friedman said.
Committee members also
considered a resolution that
would further advise the Uni-
versity on the investigation.
SACUA member John Lehman,
a professor of ecology and evo-
lutionary biology, called for an
external investigation of the
case.
"We (should) ask the admin-
istration to engage in an inde-
pendent outside investigation
and make those results public,"
he said. .
Other committee members
said they agreed with the pro-
posal, but believed SACUA
should wait until the inter-
nal investigation is complete,
including Medical School Prof.
Charlie Koopmann.
"If there appears to be signifi-
cant felonious or criminal activ-
ity, it should be expected to turn
over to outside authorities who
would be impartial."
Inlightoftheincident, SACUA
drafted a statement questioning
the University's handling of the
child pornography case and urg-
ing the administration to con-
sider its recommendations.
"SACUA expects that the
University will use this inci-
dent to carefully consider the
recommendations of the Sen-
ate Assembly Resolution ... on
reporting criminal activity," the
Roger Cohen visits.
as part of 'Israel
'Today' symposium,
By CHELSEA LANDRY
Daily StaffReporter
Though students often hear.
about the Arab-Israeli conflict
from their peers and professors,
yesterday they had the opportu-
nity to hear from a columnist at
the nation's newspaper of record.
Several hundred people
packed the Rogel Ballroom in
the Michigan Union last night to
listen to a lecture by New York
Times columnist Roger Cohen.
Cohen's talk was a part of the
Center of Judaic Studies'two-day
"Israel Today" symposium and
focused on three major themes -
the role of Iran in Israel, Israel's
reaction to the Arab Spring and
internal Israeli tension due to
escalating tensions in the region.
Cohen began by discussing
his own heritage as a Lithuanian
Jew, a population nearly elimi-
nated during the Holocaust. In
his speech, he argued that the
Arab-Israeli conflict involves all
humans, regardless of faith, and
has perpetuated violence and
death over a slew of issues since
its onset.
"Out of this conflict has been
radicalism, violence (and) repeat-
ed wars, and there's no question
that the world would be a differ-
ent place if it were solved," Cohen
said.
Cohen said the Holocaust
shaped his view of the conflict
and influenced his preference for
a two-state solution. -
"We the Jews, who have been
through enough oppression (and)
humiliation in our history to
know that we as Jews do not want
to inflict that on another people,"
he said.
BothIsraeland thePalestinians
have, at different times, attempted
toportraytheirstates asvictimsof
the other, Cohen said. He dubbed
the issue "Victim Olympics," and
noted its lack of productivity in
solvingthe problem.
Though discord between the
two combatants has occurred for
almost a century, Cohen told the
audience that college students
can play a significant role in the
Arab-Israeli conflict.
"The more creative energy
young people can applythere, the
better," he said.
Cohen said the actions of Israel
and the United States in deal-
ing with Iran will have a lasting
effect on the region, also noting
that being a proponent of Israel
can also mean "being a critical
friend" of the country.
"I can assure you one thing,"
he said. "If Israel and the United
States were to bomb Iran, a move
which I oppose passionately ...
any visitor to Tehran 50 years
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from now would be reminded of
that one day in 2012 thatthe West
bombed Iran," he said.
Despite all of the current tur-
moil, Cohen said he ultimately
remains hopeful for a peaceful
solution.
"I'm not a complete pessimist,"
he said. "I do believe extraordi-
nary things can happen."
Organizations like J Street -
a pro-Israel organization that
advocates for collaboration in
developing policy that establish-
es a two-state solution - which
Cohen mentioned several times
during the lecture, support his
hope for a two-state solution.
Mandy Kain, an executive
member of J Street Umich, the
University's chapter of the orga-
nization, attended the lecture
and wrote in an e-mail that she
agreed with Cohen's ideas.
"I think Roger Cohen's talk did
a fantastic job of demonstrating
that you can be an avid supporter
of Israel, can treasure its peace
and security and still advocate for
a Palestinian state," Kain wrote.
She added that she believes
effective policy that advocates
for peace can be attained through
increased collaboration and dis-
cussion among opposing groups.
"I think the future of Israel
can be a very bright one if people
let go of the old, divisive rhetoric
of 'Pro Israel' vs. 'Pro Palestine'
and embrace dialogue and a two-
state solution," Kain wrote.
mitted and hopes the judge will
fully consider the information
presented.
Though he could not reveal
whether or not he will testify,
Raiman said information about
who will present material in front
of the judge will be made public
on Feb. 9.
Raiman added that regardless
of what MERC decides in March,
his group will continue to fight
against unionization.
"If MERC comes up with a
decision that's unfavorable to
us we definitely plan to appeal,"
Raiman said. " ... We do strongly
believe that we are students not
employees, and we'll ... pursue
whatever legal avenues."
Raiman said if MERC decides
to allow a vote for unionization,
his'group's options to appeal lie
with state appeals courts rather
than MERC.
"I think there will be some
interest within the judicial system
in our case, so we're prepared to
go that route," he said.
UNIONIZATION
From Page 1
ing the commissioners will have
the opportunity to decide for
themselves the fate of the GSRAs'
effort.
GRO President Sam Montgom-
ery, a Rackham graduate student,
wrote in an e-mail that she was
content with the hearing.
"GSRAs have testified aboutthe
work that they do," Montgomery
wrote. "We are confident that the
judge will review the facts fairly."
. Stephen Raiman, founder of
Students Against GSRA Unioniza-
tion and a Rackham graduate stu-
dent, said he was not impressed by
GEO'sperformance atthehearing.
"I think the case that was made
by the union attorney was very
weak," Raiman said. "I think that
a lot of their supporting evidence
and testimony was not compel-
ling to me. It seemed to be a lot of
semantics. "
The dispute at hand is tech-
nically between the University
and GEO, but in May, the Univer-
sity's Board of Regents voted 6-2
fo classify GSRAs as employees,
meaning the official University
position was in favor of calling
GSRAs public employees. Still,
Mary Sue Coleman and other
University officials publicly said
they oppose unionization despite
the regents' support. Outside
parties, such as SAGU and Attor-
ney General Bill Schuette, were
not allowed to participate in the
hearing and have said that they
consider the decision unfair given
that the University and GEO do
not actually disagree.
In the official hearing, SAGU
and Schuette could not present
facts or cross-examine witnesses.
However, time has been set aside
during the week of Feb. 20 for
those opposed to unionization to
present facts and possibly testify
before the administrative judge.
Raiman said he was pleasantly
surprised by the decision to allow
third-party evidence to be sub-
Must be a registered Student Organization
day, Feb.9th by 2:30pm
EMF
From Page 1
Ryan, who contributed to writ-
ing the legislation, said the law
provides leeway for the local gov-
ernment to work with the finan-
cial manager to solve financial
problems.
"(The) provisions (are) there.
to allow flexibility for local units
of government," Ryan said. "The
emergency manager himself does
have alot of power, but gets to that
position after everything has been
systematically broken in one way
or another."
Ryan added that an emergency
manager is appointed to munici-
palities that can no longer sal-
vage their debt, a problem most
frequently caused by population
decentralization in the wake of
the automobile industry's down-
fall. the end product was not as objec-
Appointed financial managers tive as the initial vision.
have a higher salary than local "At the same time as we'retalk-
elected officials, due to the rigor ing about changing the rules to
of the occupation, Ryan said. make it easier for (financial man-
"(The financial manager posi- agers) to come in, we're cutting
tion is) one of the hardest, most school districts at a time when we
difficult jobs imaginable," Ryan don't have to," Irwin said.
said. "You are going into an envi- He added that the power of
ronment where no one wants you financial managers to void cpn-
there." tracts and sell public assets is a
Walling said he faced disap- potential danger to the residents
proval from Flint residents after of cities with financially unstable
a manager was appointed in local governments.
November, though reaction from LSA junior Christopher Thom-
labor unions were mixed, adding as said as that as'a citizen of Clin-
that the city's work force dropped ton Township, a Detroit suburb,
from 1,200 to 750 over the past he is concerned about.the poten-
five years. tial ramifications of Public Act 4.
"We're dealing with so-called "I was eager to become a more
emergencies with tools that competent citizen by learning
haven't been court tested," Wall- firsthand from community and
ingsaid. state leaders about the complex
Irwin said the process for pass- implications of the emergency
ing the legislation was rushed and manager law."
te: Tuesday,