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Ann Arbor, Michigan

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

michigandaily com

ANN ARBOR PUBLIC TRANSIT
Audit says
AATA in
violation of
labor law

Students gather in remembrance of Trayvon Martin and Shaima Aiwadi on the Diag yesterday.
Students unite at Diavigi
150 gather in wake intently as LSA senior Annie recently in separate instances of ida's Stand Your Ground law,
Sajid commenced a candlelight alleged hate crimes. which may allow Martin's killer,
of alleged hate vigil in honor of two recent Attendees of the vigil, which George Zimmerman, to walk
high-profile murders. featured seven speakers and free under claims of self defense.
crimes against "Tonight, we hope to come a moment of silence for the "It was important to me just
together in solidarity for a deceased, began arriving as dusk because I am African American,
world where hijabs and hood- settled over the Diag with can- and so, a lot of things were hap-
ies don't affect your life expec- dles and signs reading, "Justice pening, and I felt very strongly
By ALICIA ADAMCZYK tancy," Sajid said, referring to for those that the media missed" about it," Thomas said. "I just
Daily StaffReporter the clothing of Trayvon Martin, and "We are all Shaima." , wanted to perform something
a 17-year-old African-American LSA Junior Shanita Thomas, where we all had on hoodies;
A crowd of more than 150 stu- boy from Florida, and Shaima a speaker at the event, said she just like any of us here now, that
dents and faculty stood silently Alawadi, a 32-year-old Iraqi- organized the vigil for Martin could be us."
at the steps of the Hatcher Grad- American woman from Cali- when she learned that Michi- Sajid, a member of the Mus-
uate Library last night, listening fornia, who were both killed gan has a law similar to Flor- See VIGIL, Page 3

Annual financial
analysis finds that
authority withheld
information'
By TAYLORWIZNER
DailyStaffXeporter
Though a financial audit of
the Ann Arbor Transporta-
tion Authority's 2011 finances
found that the organization was
financially sound, the document
alleged that AATA was in viola-
tion of federal labor law.
Last week, the AATA released
the results of its annual audit con-
ducted by public accounting firm
Plante Moran: The audit found
the AATA to be in violation of the
Davis-Bacon Act, which requires
contractors and subcontractors
for government-funded agencies
provide their employees with pay

rates comparable tothose of other
employers in the region.
Prevailing wage requirements
of the Davis-Bacon Act apply to
contracts in excess of $2,000.
Instead of apply-
ing theact to the 5.GXAk5
total work of a
contractor, the p
report allegedex
that the AATA ___
considered each
individual proj-
ect within a contract separately.
Therefore, all vendor payments
were under $2,000, relievingcon-
tractors from sendingtheir week-
ly certified payroll reports to the
AATA for monitoring of compli-
ance with the law.
Since the AATA failed to
review payroll reports from con-
tractors and subcontractors,
wage rates were not monitored
and therefore wage violations
could have gone unnoticed.
See VIOLATION, Page 3

CAMPUS POLICE

CAMPUS POLICE
CALEA continues
0 assessment of DPS

PUT 'EM UP

Meeting held to
get public opinion
on campus police
By ADAM RUBENFIRE
Daily StaffReporter
The Commission on Accredi-
tation for Law Enforcement
Agencies held a public meeting
yesterday to hear comments
from the public regarding the
ge editation. of the Uni-
versity's Department of Public
Safety.
Dean Tondiglia, assistant
chief of the Kent State Univer-
sity Police Department and lead
assessor for CALEA, led the
ongoing assessment and evalu-
ation of DPS, along with Geof-
frey Ice of the Connecticut State
Police Academy Alumni Educa-
tional Foundation. For the past
two days, Todiglia and Ice have
been meeting with DPS staff,
reviewing internal procedure,
and riding along with DPS offi-
cers as part of the re-accredita-
tion process.
Three people attended the
public session today, including
former University Prof. Douglas
Smith. Smith told the assessors
that he had made a complaint at
the initial session in which DPS
was first accredited in 2009,
' alleging that the department
was in violation of federal law,
which required DPS to retain
a civilian oversight committee
- a regularly elected advisory
board of faculty and students

designed to make sugges-
tions for methods of discipline
againstpolice officers.
In 2009, the Michigan Daily
found that student seats on
the committee were often left
vacant and that both students
and faculty members of the
committee were often appoint-
ed illegally, since the members
of the committee needed to be
elected. The report led to sev-
eral reforms, including regular
elections of students and faculty
to the board.
Smith also referred to the
recent case of a six-month delay
in the reporting of the alleged
possession of child pornography
by former University of Michi-
gan Health System resident Ste-
phen Jenson. Citing this case and
others, Smith argued that there
is significant tension between
DPS and UMHS security.
"Basically, the campus police
and the hospital security hate
each other's guts," Smithsaid.
Linda Martinson, a former
Nursing student, also spoke at
the event. Martinson said she
spoke to assessors during DPS's
initial accreditation in 2009, but
because of a trespass warning
issued by the University, she
was forced to call in her com-
ments, rather than attend the
public session in person.
Martison claimed that DPS
officers who issued her trespass
warning refused to give her a
reason for the citation, which
forced her to withdraw from
the School of Nursing because
See DPS, Page 3

AUSTEN HUFFORD/Daily
Members of the University's Greek community perform a group dance during the Mr. Greek Week competition.
SENAT E A SSE MBLY
Coleman scrutinizes
formula funding again

FEDERAL POLICY
Ryan budget
plan offers
new student
loan program
House Republicans
say federal aid
currently increases
government debt
By KATIE BURKE
Daily StaffReporter
In a budget plan to be voted
on in the U.S. Senate this week,
Republican leaders in the House of
Representatives proposed the recal-
culation of federal student loans to
increase transparency for taxpayers
and decrease national debt.
The plan - introduced by U.S.
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) and
released last week - outlines a num-
ber of budget cuts as part of a method
for restructuring the national defi-
cit. Though Ryan's plan argues that
federal loans and subsidies currently
in place are not effective in lower-
ing the costs of higher education,
University officials are skeptical of
both the plan's implementation and
impact.
The proposal suggests a new cal-
culation for providing loans, which
eliminates certain avenues of fund-
ing and places caps on other areas.
Suggested cuts include in-school
interest subsidies, Pell Grant eligi-
bility for less-than-half-time stu-
dents and mandatory Pell Grant
funding. Cuts will "force schools to
See PLAN, Page 3

President says
state plan doesn't
suit the University
By KATIE BURKE
Daily StaffReporter
Speaking before the Uni-
versity's lead faculty govern-
ing body yesterday, University
President Mary Sue Coleman
again publicly rebuked Repub-
lican Gov. Rick Snyder's budget

proposal.
Under Snyder's proposed
budget, the University will
receive a 1.4 percent increase
in state support, and allotment
levels will be determined by a
system that measures factors
such as graduation rates and
affordability in comparison to
peer institutions in the state.
Snyder introduced the plan
last month, and Coleman has
vocally criticized the budget,
arguing that the governor's
formula isn't applicable to the

University.
"The metrics are based on
the expansion of graduates,"
Coleman told the Senate Advi-
sory Committee on University
Affairs. "They are based on met-
rics that aren't relevant to us."
Coleman said the formula
should provide greater weight
to a university's research and
graduate programs, rather than
focusing on improving gradua-
tion rates.
"Almost half of our students
See FUNDING, Page 3


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