STORY IN "STITCHES": Michigan native presents humorous and surprising account of his experiences in medical school PAGE 7A IiffFid igan & i j Oi H \lT. l 1) E TY T T4 \A R o F EDITIS ALj F EE11) 1111, lAI1Il1L.M)'l Ann Arbor, Michigan Wednesday, March 21, 2012 michigandailycom .... , ou ..,, . ..,,,.. . UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS Football ticket prices increase Individual student tickets up $2.50 35 r from last year E By ZENA DAVE M 35 Daily Staff Reporter 32,57 31.25 28 ,/~ 7 2/25ii / A volunteer undertakes a prescribed burn at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens yesterday. CAMPUS SAFETY S'U'e emergency response syste-m effective in stor-m Though the 2012 Michigan football schedule features 2 fewer homes games than last year, students will be paying more to attend each game this season for the second straight year. Season tickets for students will cost $195 for six home games, or $32.50 per game, with an additional $10 service fee - up from $250 for eight homes games, or $31.25 per game in 2011. Hunter Lochmann, aenior associaterathletic director and the Athletic Department's chief marketing officer, said the price increase is necessary for the Athletic Department to maintain competitive and match the price level of other institutions. "We realize that we are a little underpriced in some areas, and this (raise in ticket prices) gets us a little closer to that price (of peer institu- tions)," Lochmann said. Lochmann added that v . 25 , l' 2009 2010 2011 2012 E-mails, phone calls and text messages warned of inclement weather on campus By CHARLENE LERNER Daily StaffReporter While emergency sirens blast- ed throughout Ann Arbor last Thursday amid hail and lightning to warn locals of a fast-approach- ing tornado, the University used its own system to caution campus of an impending emergency. The University's Emergency Alert system, implemented in February 2008 by the Univer- sity's Department of Public Safe- ty, has bridged the gap between mass-warning signaling and the lack of informative details. On Thursday, the system sent e-mails to all University students, fac- ulty and staff. Text and voicemail messages were also sent to those who registered for the additional notification service. The system is the most reliable communication system in send- ing direct information to the Uni- versity community, according to DPS spokeswoman Diane Brown. "With the emergency alert, you can send a text message, voice message and an e-mail mes- sage so that people can get more information than they would get from a non-worded siren," Brown said. Though all students, faculty See EMERGENCY, Page 6A Notre Dame charges $38 per game for student tickets and Ohio State charges $32. Including the service fee, student season ticket prices amount to $2.50 more per ticket for the 2012 season, and the team will play only six games at home instead of the eight played this past season. Michigan is scheduled to play Air Force, Massachu- setts, Illinois, Michigan State, Northwestern and Iowa at home this season. Marquee games against Alabama, Notre Dame, Nebraska and Ohio State will all be played away from the Big House this fall. Lochmann said one reason prices were raised was to give students an incentive to arrive Year at the stadium prior to kick- off and not waste their well- spent money. "We want more students who buy their student tick- ets to come (to home games). We want them to attend, we want them to get there early," Lochmann said. "So by rais- ing these prices minimally, we're definitely not trying to price anybody out. We want students to show up early, it's such a huge home advantage when they're there early and loud." LSA sophomore Kate Maknev said she does not think the increase in prices will impact student atten- dance. "Personally I don't think See TICKET, Page 3A STUDENT GOVERNMENT Fiercely contested election nears end FLASH ACTTVTSM CSG candidates make last-ditch efforts to win votes By GIACOMO BOLOGNA Daily StaffReporter As of 12:01 a.m. today, the polls opened for one of the most con- tested Central Student Govern- ment elections in recent history as five pairs of students vie for the presidential and vice presidential seats and more than 100 students seek to fill representative posi- tions. CSG President and LSA senior See who the Daily editorial board thinks is best suited for the CSG presidency. Page 4A DeAndree Watson, who hand- ily won his election last year, said this year's election is more com- petitive than in years past. "The enthusiasm and the ener- gy that's present with the candi- dates in this election definitely surpasses what I've seen in previ- ous elections," Watson said. Watson added that this elec- tion may attract students who hadn't previously voted or paid attention to student government due to the vast array of candidates See CSG, Page 3A Members of Arab Expression, a coalition of Muslim groups on campus, participate in flash mob on the Diag yesterday. SPEAKERS ON CAMPUS Obama's half-sister to give talk LSA-SG candidates unopposed in election Canning, Burns running for president, VP seats, 19 for reps By GIACOMO BOLOGNA DailyStaffReporter Along with Central Student Government elections, stu- dents will also vote for LSA Student Government's represen- tative positions online today and tomorrow. LSA students, who comprise the University's largest student body, will elect their student government's next administra- tive pair and nine of the 19 LSA- SG representative positions for one-year terms. LSA junior Caroline Canning, LSA-SG secretary, and LSA junior Melissa Burns, LSA-SG See LSA-SG, Page 3A Soetoro-Ng visit honors Asian- Pacific American Heritage month By SYDNEY BERGER Daily StaffReporter In January, President Barack Obama visited the University, emphasizing the importance of college affordability and accessibility during his address at Al Glick Field House. This Thursday, his half-sister Maya Soetoro-Ng will be addressing campus as part of the Universi- ty's celebration of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month. The University's Asian/ Pacific Islander American Stud- ies program will be hosting Soetoro-Ng for a lecture titled "Education for Peace and Global Awareness." The lecture will be delivered at the Michigan Union and will come in preparation for Asian-Pacific American Heri- tage Month, which will be cele- brated in May. Soetoro-Ng is an assistant professor of education at the University of Hawaii - Manoa and a published author. "We are extremely honored tohave her," saidAssociate Prof. Scott Kurashige, director of the Asian/Pacific Islander Ameri- can Studies program. "She is a very distinguished scholar." The month of May was offi- cially designated Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month in 1992, and it was chosen as the celebratory month because Jap- anese immigrants first arrived in the United States on May 7, 1843, according to a website dedicated to the month. Kurashige said there is a need for greater awareness of Asian/ Pacific Islander American stud- ies on campus to provide a new perspective on issues like gender, sexuality, history and immigration. "It's an important time where people learn about the significance of Asian American and Pacific Islander history and some of the important con- temporary issues facing Asian American/Pacific Islander communities on campus and off campus," Kurashige said. Soetoro-Ng has made a large impact in promoting intercul- tural awareness through her advocacy work, in which she connects her domestic under- standing of diversity with global awareness. "She is well known for her political activism and for her writings on education," Kurashige said. "Even though her own work hasn't focused See HALF-SISTER, Page 3A WEATHER HI: 81 TOMORROW LO: 52 GOT A NEWS TIP? NEW ON MICHIGANDAILY.COM Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail Hear Me Out: I Will Protect This House news@michigandaily.com and let us know. MICHIGANDAILY.COM/BLOGS/THE PODIUM INDEX NEWS .........................2A SUDOKU..... ...5A Vol. CXXII, No.112 OPINION....................4A CLASSIFIEDS ...............6A 0212 The Michigan Daily SPORTSMONDAY.........5A THE STATEMENT..........1B michigandoilycom 5 'V r