The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com NCW SWednesday, April 4, 2012 - 7A CANDIDATES From Page 1A contributed to numerous Demo- crats in the past, she said her continued support of Obama is based on his sound handling of the economic crisis. "I believe we were in a depres- sion, not a recession, when he became president, and you don't get out of those quickly, but we're beginning to make prog- ress," Maynard said. University President Mary Sue Coleman's husband Ken- neth, a political science faculty associate, was listed as donating a combined total of $400 to the Obama campaign between July 2011 and February 2012. Cole- man declined to comment on the contribution when contacted by The Michigan Daily. Regent Andrew Richner (R- Grosse Pointe Park) began sup- porting Romney early in the race, and is listed as donating $1,000 to the former Massachusetts governor's campaign on May 16, 2011. Though Richner said his main reason for support is his belief that Romney is the most likely candidate to beat Obama in the general election, he also noted that Romney's Michigan roots and leadership style are attractive attributes. "I think Governor Romney is our best shot at winning the White House," Richner said. "I think our economy needs a new direction and new leadership. I ROTC From Page 1A people who are receiving an award for either military excellence or being a superior cadet," Poznan- ski said. "(It's) for outstanding accomplishments that they've done over the course of the year." The ceremony featured open- ing remarks by Lt. Col. Allana Bryantofthe U.S.Army and guest speaker Col. Graydon Krapohl of the U.S. Marine Corps. Krapohl, who was presented with a football signed by Michi- gan football coach Brady Hoke, emphasized the importance of the four branches of the ROTC working jointly in his speech. "It is important to learn about your sister services," Krapohl said. "If you're in the Army, reach out to the Marines ... reach out to the Navy, to the Air Force." Major Alex Garn said the ASSEMBLY From Page 1A $10,000 to examine the potential implementation of a zero-waste program in Michigan Stadium in connection with the resolu- tion passed last week supporting a zero-waste initiative, as part of an effort to compost and recycle as much waste as possible. LSA senior Brendan Campbell, vice president of CSG, authored the resolution and said it was part of a larger movement to improve the University's standing as an "environmental steward." other aspects of this initia- tive include giving all incoming freshman reusable water bottles and installing more water bottle refilling stations throughout campus. According to the resolution, an DEAN From Page 1A "(I hope to lead a school that) has a strong research presence and profile, and embraces other disci- plines and fields in collaborative spirit to tackle the complex chal- lenges of our times," Nadarajan said inthe release. Rogers wrote in an e-mail interview yesterday that he thinks Nadarajan is well equipped to fill a position that encompasses a wide range of fields. "His broad educational back- ground will serve him well in negotiating the complex disci- plinary and interdisciplinary think that we do need a change." Regent Andrea Fischer New- man (R-Ann Arbor) was listed as donating $2,500 to Mitt Rom- ney and an additional $5,000 to the Every Republican is Crucial Political Action Committee - an organization dedicated to elect- ing a Republican candidate as president. She did not return requests for comment. According to the FEC website, donors contributing directly to candidates can only give a maxi- mum of $2,500 to any one can- didate in an election cycle, but anyone can donate unlimited amounts of money to political action committees. Maynard said it's important to donate directly to candidates whenever possible. Despite her own donation, she added that she is troubled by the amount of money currently in the cam- paign process. "People have to start raising money from the minute they're elected, and I think that can have a negative consequence on their ability to govern," Maynard said. "(But) just because I'd pre- fer public funding for elections, I'm not going to sit on my hands while everybody else is raising dollars ... To play in the ballgame you're going to have to put the money in." Walter Mebane, Jr., a profes- sorofpolitical science and statis- tics, agreed, noting the demand for fundraising from politicians often directs their time away from formulating policies. "They have to talk about things that they think work at their fundraising ability, which usually is very inflammatory, defensive kind of rhetoric," Mebane said. "The question is whether you want voters to decide or dollars to decide." Richner said contributing money is a necessary exercise of free speech and a way of encour- aging involvement in politics. He said he believes that as long as politicians and their cam- paigns are open about where their money is coming from and how it's being spent, donating gives individuals a unique way to engage and express their politi- cal views. "I understand the concerns people have about the amount of money in politics, but what is the solution?" Richner said. "The solution of restraining speech is not a good one to me." While many college students cannot afford to contribute financially, Richner and May- nard agree that it's essential for young people to get involved in any way they can. Maynard recalled the zeal held by University students dur- ing the 2008 presidential elec- tion, and said she hopes this year will be the same. "It's an important part of the Democratic process that stu- dents engage and support can- didates with whom they agree," Richner said. "Student engage- ment can shape the views of can- didates." PAuLiSHOM AN/Dally Panelists discuss experiences as undocumented immigrants at the Our Voices, Our Struggle, Our Movement yesterday. Panel discusses efforts for tuition equality at 'U' ROTC has a "great mutual rela- tionship with the University," especially through the academic support the University provides for ROTC members. "The University has been very supportive in what we do in our Officer Education Program," Garn said. "It's great to be able to do it on campus here and have their professors come and sup- port this type of event." Nursing senior Catherine White, an Air Force cadet, won four awards last night, including the Scabbard and Blade Award, which is reserved for the top 20 percent of cadets and midship- men entering their fifth semester of collegiate studies. "It was just a really good end to the school year and a testa- ment to all the hard work that everyone here has done this whole year," White said after the event. "I'm really proud of everything that everyone else has done." Nursing sophomore Kim Kozlowski, a midshipman in the Naval ROTC, said she was pleas- antly surprised with the turnout for the event. "These might have been prior ROTC members or just people interested in military affairs," Kozlowski said. "It's really great to see all of the support." After the awards were pre- sented, the Army was presented with the Commander's Cup. The Cup is awarded each year to the branch that has received the most points during the year through various activities, including football, soccer, bas- ketball and cross-country com- petitions. "It came down to a three- way tie, and Army won in the 5K," said Kozlowski. "(But) it's friendly competition, it's broth- erly. We're all here for the same purpose. It's a camaraderie." Students share experiences being undocumented By RENUKA SANTHANA- GOPALAN For the Daily Activism for undocumented youth in America is one of the most vocal student-led social movements on campus, and yes- terday University students con- tinued to expand the nationwide movement. Five individuals spoke on a panel atthe Schoolof Social Work to discuss national immigration issues and their experiences as undocumented residents. The event, hosted by the Social Work Allies for Immigrant Rights and the Coalition for Tuition Equal- ity - a student-led movement encouraging the University to adopt more inclusive policies for undocumented students - aimed to raise awareness for the 12 million undocumented people living in the United States. The youngest panelist, Aket- zaly Ramirez-Lopez, a Pioneer High School senior, teared up while talking about the bullying she has endured at school and the lack of support she received from her teachers. "Counselors should have training and be more aware," Ramirez-Lopez said in an inter- view after the event. All the panelists discussed their involvement in various forms of activism, a few have even taken part in civil disobedi- ence to gain public recognition. Panelist Dayanna Rebolledo, a junior at Marygrove College in Detroit, said she has participated in a number of civil disobedi- ence protests. She was arrested along with seven other activists in Georgia for blocking traffic outside Georgia State Univer- sity in Atlanta and was detained for more than 27 hours in iso- lation with the threat of being deported, before being eventu- ally released. Rebolledo said despite her dif- ficult situation, she believes acts like these are necessary to gain public attention to issues sur- rounding undocumented resi- dents. Franco added that civil dis- obedience is important because it is a keyway to get sponsorship, make a statement, create aware- ness and prompt legislative attention. The panel also discussed the difficulty of being open about beingundocumented. "It was not something I talked about," Rebolledo said. "I didn't identify myself as undocument- ed." Maria Ibarra, a senior at the University of Detroit Mercy, didn't know she was undocu- mented until her senior year of high school. She said once she found out, she was hesitant to be open about her status because she was worried about what would happen to her family. Many higher education insti- tutions don't provide in-state tuition to undocumented stu- dents, making it difficult for many to pursue an education. Ibarra said she had planned to come to the University, but upon learning of her undocumented status, she had to alter her plans. She added that she needed to rely on scholarships to pay for her education and the cost is still difficult to manage. The panelists closed by dis- cussing how the undocumented youth movement is growing in the United States, adding that many states are seeing the emer- gence of their own movements advocating for federal aid in higher education. The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act proposes citizenship for undocu- mented youth who meet three major provisions - the individ- ual must have relocated to the United States before the age of 16, be pursuing a higher educa- tion or military service and must have lived in the country for at least five years from the date the bill is enacted. "People think it will encour- age illegal immigration," Ibarra said. "This isn't true because you wouldn't qualify." These groups are also attempting to challenge the stigma undocumented youth face, pointing to the work of the Coalition for Tuition Equality on campus. Ibarra said she hopes the Uni- versity will take a more active role in undocumented youth activism. Franco agreed, noting that if the University, implements this in-state policy, "others will fol- low its example." Social Work student Martha Valadez encouraged students to take action against the Univer- sity's "oppressive policies," add- ing that "an attack against this community is an attack on all communities." in-depth study on the possibil- ity of making the stadium zero- waste would cost $15,000, and the $10,000 pledge is contingent on the Athletic Department's commitment to the study. "It's one thing to say some words in an assembly meeting, but it's another thing to put skin in the game and really show that we're committed to sustainabil- ity," Campbell said. "By estab- lishing this grant, we are making a strongstatement to the Athletic Department that students care about sustainability." Another resolution passed instituted new operating proce- dures for the assembly, which had been operating under similar procedures for the past few weeks to finalize the details, according to Business senior Matt Eral, the assembly speaker. "I think the assembly is now fully positioned to be a delib- erative body," Eral said. "I think that (this) assembly is leaving the (next) assembly with the right procedures and format to fully operate under the new constitu- tion." One resolution that dominated the meeting's discussion con- cerned the impartiality of CSG members during elections. The resolution attempted to prevent public endorsements of candidates by members of CSG. Eral said the resolution, which the assembly eventually voted against, was not comprehensive enough and led to questions about students' rights to free speech. "I think that the assembly felt that the resolution was way too broad, was not specific enough, did not properly address the needs that it was trying to," Eral said. challenges and opportunities of the University of Michigan and the emergent culture of art and design," Rogers wrote. Rogers added that Nadarajan has the potential to broaden the scope of the school and introduce it to the international arena. "(Nadarajan's) deep under- standing of the arts, solid experience as an academic admin- istrator, and extensive scholarly accomplishments will undoubted- ly combine to advance the school both nationally and internation- ally," Rogers wrote. Nadarajan studied at the National University of Singapore's Faculty of Arts and Social Sci- ences, where he received a mas- ter's degree in social sciences and anthropology, before obtaining a master's of arts degree in conti- nental philosophy from the Uni- versity of Warwick in the United Kingdom. He also served as a senior lec- turer at the Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore in 1996, the school's dean of visual arts beginning in 2001 and he was also appointed Lasalle's founding dean of research in 2003. From 2005 to 2008, Nadara- jan was the associate dean for research and graduate studies at Pennsylvania State University. He then filled the newly-creat- ed position of vice provost for research at MICA. CHRONICLE From Page 1A grams," Cunningham wrote. "It's especially misleading for major research universities, such as the University of Michigan, that have a full range of graduate and pro- fessional educational programs." Cunningham wrote that one of the major reasons the Univer- sity's costs are higher than peer institutions is the cost of graduate programs, which were not differ- entiated by the Chronicle during its analysis. "The total cost of educational services (the numerator) includes spending for undergraduates, graduate degrees, post-master's certificates, and all doctor- ates," Cunningham wrote. "The graduation data (the denomina- tor) includes only the number of undergraduate degrees granted. This calculation will naturally lead to a higher 'cost of degree' calculation for any school with a significant number of graduate and professional programs." Michael Van Beek, director of education policy for the Macki- nac Center for Public Policy, a non-profit organization in Mid- land, Mich., said the University compared favorably on a national scale to peer institutions, but still faced strong competition. Van Beek cited the University of Cali- fornia, Berkley's higher gradua- tion rate, at about 91 percent, and that it spent significantlyless than the University for each degree. "That's really the important question," Van Beek said. "To get an 89 percent graduation rate for six years, does it require $130,000 per completion?" In general, Van Beek said smaller schools are more effective atlimiting costs thanlarger public institutions because of their abil- ity to specialize in certain areas. He cited the liberal arts program at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia as a model of specialization, but one that isn't easily comparable to the University. "The cost to provide every- thing for all people certainly would expand what the Univer- sity would need to spend to do those things," Van Beek said. "A school that is more specialized ... that is focused on liberal arts or a certain strength in one area may have the ability to spend less with that focus, and maybe it's because they are able to attract students who would excel in that area." Van Beek said the data indi- cated no significant differences between the funding and effi- ciency between public and pri- vate institutions in Michigan. "On the whole, if you looked at Michigan, at the private colleges, they have slightly higher gradua- tion rates overall for a four-year period, (but) their spending var- ies more and it is lower on aver- age," Van Beek said. On a national scale, costs at leading private institutions were much higher than at the Univer- sity. Yale University had the high- est spending per completion at $502,748, followed by Wake For- est University at $417,946. Michigan State University had the second highest six-year graduation rate in Michigan at 77.2 percent and the fourth high- est spending per completion at $75,738. Donald Heller, dean of the College of Education at MSU, was not familiar with the data, but cautioned against drawing conclusions based on graduation rates and costs alone. The most important quality, according to Heller, is the preparedness of the student entering college in deter- mining whether or not he or she will graduate. "I'd be very cautious about inferring causality," Heller said. "The reason for that is that the institutions that spend more money are the wealthy institu- tions which tend to be the more selective and attract better stu- dents. We know that the most important factor that determines whether astudentgraduatesfrom college or how quickly they grad- uate from college is their own background and characteristics." Hellersaid itwasn'tparticular- ly useful to compare large institu- tions such as the University of Michigan or MSU to other small- er Michigan schools because they have different focuses and sizes. He added that research institu- tions across the board have high- er costs than institutions without a significant research component. "It makes very little com- parison (sense) to compare U-M Ann Arbor to Eastern Michi- gan University, for example," Heller said. "It's a much more valid comparison to compare (the University of Michigan and Michigan State University) to other research universities around the country." LIKE THE STATEMENT'S PHOTOS OF THE YEAR? GET A PRINT OF YOUR FAVORITE FROM THE MICHIGAN DAILY'S ONLINE PHOTO STORE