The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

NEWS BRIEFS
KALAMAZOO, Mich.
Amtrak to cancel
routes throughout
the month of May
Amtrak says there will be
some train cancellations and
delays for three days starting
today on the routes from Chicago
to Port Huron and Pontiac, Mich.
Amtrak says the service inter-
ruptions are necessary to allow
track work. It says normal travel
times should return by early
May. .
The passenger rail service
says certain trains will be can-
celled Monday through Wednes-
day, while slowdowns of up to 90
minutes will continue until the
work is done.
During those three days,
Amtrak will transfer passengers
to buses for the Kalamazoo, Bat-
tle Creek and Jackson stops.
SAN FRANSISCO
Sailor missing,
eight others dead
after yacht accident
The Coast Guard says one
sailor is dead and four are miss-
ing after their yacht ran aground
during a race off San Francisco.
Eight people were aboard the
38-foot sailing vessel when it
struck rocks near the Farallon
Islands Saturday.
Petty Officer Levi Read says
helicopters and boats rescued
three people and recovered the
body of a fourth, but four others
were still missing and a search
was under way late Saturday
night.
He says the accident occurred
when waves were running 10-12
feet and a large wave swept four
people off the boat. The boat ran
aground as it turned around to
rescue the four.
MADRID
Spanish King
criticized for
hunting elephants
Spain's 74-year-old king came
under scathing criticism yester-
day for going on an expensive
elephant hunting trip in Botswa-
na amid the nation's deep finan-
cial woes.
Making matters worse, an
accident on the trip sent King
Juan Carlos into surgery. Doc-
tors said Sunday that he was
recovering well after a hip
replacement but would not be
able to resume full duties for
more than a month.
His son, 44-year-old Prince
Felipe, was nominated to fill
in for his father, who Spain's
government relies on to patch
up diplomatic disputes, boost
international trade and serve as
" the country's high-profile liai-
son.
Tomas Gomez, Madrid's
regional Socialist party leader,
said the time had come for the

head of state to choose between
his public responsibilities "and
an abdication that would allow
him to enjoy a different life-
style."'
CARTAGENA, Columbia
12 Secret Service
agents sent home
from Colombia
A dozen Secret Service agents
sent to Colombia to provide
security for President Barack
Obama at an international sum-
mit have been relieved of duty
over alleged misconduct.
A caller who said he had
knowledge of the situation told
The Associated Press the mis-
conduct involved prostitutes in
Cartagena, site of the Summit of
the Americas. A Secret Service
spokesman did not dispute that.
A U.S. official, who was not
authorized to speak publicly on
the matter and requested ano-
nymity, put the number of agents
sent home at 12. Secret Service
was not releasing the number of
personnel involved.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
A

TUITION
From Page 1A
tuition equality plan has not been
adopted is because of its highly
controversial nature.
"They're really putting them-
selves out on the line with these
issues," Mersol-Barg said. "Right
now, I'm not sure that they're
willing to put out the political
capital to make sure that they
can litigate this issue if someone
opposes it."
Another challenge in imple-
menting the policy would be the
inevitable increase of competi-
tion for in-state admissions, Mer-
sol-Barg said.
He added that though the
University is constitutionally
autonomous, the Michigan state
legislature could potentially cut
funding if it disagrees with a poli-
cy that the regents adopt.
He also noted that a preview
of the Provost's report led him
to believe the outlook of the
situation is not in his organiza-
tion's favor. However, he said he
believes the regents should fight
any political pressure they expe-
rience in order to implement a
tuition equality plan.
According to Laura Sanders,
a lecturer in the School of Social
Work and the co-founder of the
Washtenaw Interfaith Coali-
tion for Immigrant Right - an
organization which aids families
affected by deportation and immi-
gration raids and detainments -
there are 65,000 undocumented
students estimated to be enrolled
in colleges around the country.
Mersol-Barg explained that it's
very hard to determine the num-
ber of undocumented students
currently enrolled at the Univer-
sity because undocumented stu-
dents are not often comfortable
with revealing their citizenship

status.
He predicted that even with
a newly established policy, the
increase in undocumented stu-
dents at the University would
likely be minimalsince itwill still
be challenging for them to pay for
schoolwithout financial aid.
"(There is a) very entrenched
perception within the undocu-
mented community that higher
education isn't for them because
it is so difficult to pay for." Mer-
sol-Barg said. "Even if we pass
this policy we're still going to
have to supplement it with finan-
cial aid or other ways to make it
financially feasible for the major-
ity of students."
Sanders said she views offer-
ing undocumented residents in-
state tuition as an issue of human
rights, adding that it would be in
the University's best interest since
it could attract talented students.
She added most undocument-
ed families do pay taxes, using a
PIN number in place of a Social
Security number. Due to this,
Sanders said she believes they
should have access to the same
benefits as other taxpayers.
"They're not able to reap some
of the benefits like emergency
housing help (or) disability," she
said. "(Federal) financial aid is a
really good example."
Under current policy, undocu-
mented applicants are considered
international students due to
their inability to provide a Social
Security number. Since the Uni-
versity's Office of Admissions is
separate from the Office of the
Registrar - which deals with
enrollment and fees - undocu-
mented students can be admitted
into the University, but are unable
to claimresidencywiththe Office
of the Registrar.
Should the University adopt a
tuition equality plan, it is unclear
how undocumented students

could claim residency on the
application. Mersol-Barg said
there are several approaches the
University could take, depend-
ing on how overt they plan to be
about the integration.
"I think there are two ways to
go about it," Mersol-Barg said.
"One is explicitly extending in-
state tuition to undocumented
students. Or (the other is) kind
of casting a wider net through
providing particular criteria ...
like demonstrating that they've
attended high school for three
years or earned a high school
diploma or GED (from a Michi-
gan school)."
The University's Office of Pub-
lic Affairs declined to set up an
interview with Martha Pollack,
the University's vice provost for
academic and budgetary affairs.
LSA senior Alexis Smith, an
in-state student, said she believes
the increased competition would
be beneficial for the University.
"I can see how it would look
like it would be a disadvantage for
in-state students because we're
actually from here, so we should
feel like we're actually guar-
anteed those spots, but in this
situation I feel like since they're
already disadvantaged enough ...
it's a little even that way," Smith.
LSA freshman Edward Cali-
han, an out-of-state student,
said while he believes it's impor-
tant that individuals have equal
access to higher education, he
would be frustrated that they
would be offered in-state rates
when out-of-state students who
are residents would have to pay
much more than them.
"I don't mean to sound bitter,
but paying out-of-state tuition
makes me feel like it's unfair -
I'm mad that in-state kids pay
what they do to begin with, let
alone unregistered individuals."
Calihan said.

RELAY FOR LIFE
From Page 1A
wrote. "I am truly impressed
by the passion and enthusiasm
that students from all over cam-
pus showed on Palmer Field."
Public Policy junior Sam
Lewis, co-executive director
of the University's Relay for
Life, said the organization reg-
istered 2,599 participants for
this year's Relay, but hundreds,
if not thousands, of people vis-
ited Palmer Field throughout
the course of the day to support
the cause.
One of the highlights of Relay
events across the nation is the
Luminaria Ceremony, which
commemorates those who have
lost their battle with cancer.
At about 9 p.m., luminaries lit
the way for runners circling
the track and student speakers
shared personal stories to the.
crowd gathered in the middle of
Palmer Field.
LSA junior Holly Hein, a
Michigan soccer player cur-
rently battling thyroid cancer,
told the crowd that the most
important part of her fight with
cancer has been the support
she's received from her team-
mates and family. Hein was not
able to play last year because of
her treatment.
"They didn't know (I had
cancer) at the time, but they
were my rock, and just being
able to be with them and to play
meant everything to me," Hein
said. "I don't know howI would
react if one of my teammates
told me they had cancer, but
(when I told them) they were
so caring and concerned and
compassionate ... it was unbe-

Monday, April 16, 2012 - 3A
lievable."
At the end of the ceremony,
musical performances by stu-
dents provided participants
with time to reflect on their own
experiences with cancer and
remember fallen loved ones. The
Luminaria Ceremony conclud-
ed with a silent lap around the
track by all participants.
For the remaining 23 hours,
Relayhosted performances from
numerous student groups -
from a cappella singing to Scot-
tish dancing - food from local
sponsors and even massages.
Additionally, there was a
"Survivor Ceremony" to honor
those that have beaten cancer
and a brief closing ceremony
at 10 a.m. yesterday, where the
organizers announced the fund-
raising total.
Though unified for one cause,
Relay brought together a vari-
ety of typically unrelated stu-
dent organizations. LSA junior
Sara Haynes, a member of the
University's Pre-Med Club, said
many of the group's partici-
pants were eager to take part in
an event that would be relevant
to their future careers.
"As future doctors, we
wanted to take part, give back
and help support the cause,"
Haynes said.
The Pre-Med Club raised
$2,000 before Saturday and
sold bracelets at the event, in
which buyers accrued a bead
for each lap taken on the track,
to help raise additional money
for ACS.
Individually, Phi Gamma
Delta raised the most of any
organization with about
$43,000, followed closely by the
Chi Omega/Psi Upsilon team
with $42,000.

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