The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, December 7, 2012 - 5
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, December 7, 2D12 - 5
BLIMPY
From Page 1
for him for several years and he
hopes the move won't negatively
impact them.
"My employees have kind of
invested themselves in this place
... it's a part of you," he said. "But
for the most part they're young
and if things go bad, they'll land
on their feet."
The owner said he hopes the
generations of loyal customers
will take solace in the fact that
he plans to reopen Blimpy else-
where. He also made a point to
emphasize that he is in no way
angry with the University or his
landlord over the move and will
make every effort to make aseam-
less transition.
"I want to keep Krazy Jim's
legacy going," he said.
Michael Magner, Rich's son,
said the news of the University's
purchase came as a "shock" to
him. He said though his father
could bid to keep the property, he
can't match the amount that the
University has reportedly offered.
Magner could not specify the
exact offer amount.
University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald said the University
could not comment on the prop-
erty acquisition until the Univer-
sity's Board of Regents approves
the purchase. The board is sched-
uled to meet on Dec. 13.
The University owns a park-
ing structure along South Divi-
sion Street and two houses at
South Division and East Jeffer-
son. These properties are close to
Blimpy and may suggest that the
University plans to build a new
structure in their place, AnnAr-
bor.com reported. It is unclear
whether the University has made
bids on the other buildings on the
street.
LSA junior Luke Thampy said
he eats at Blimpy habitually, and
though he's scared that it will
move to a distant location, he
doesn't foresee that changing his
eating habits.
"The building's really nice, it's
old, it has a nice history, a nice
location," Thampy said of the
burger joint's current location on
South Division. "It's got a nice
flavor down there and I feel if it
were to move down to like South
Forrest that would just be awful."
LSA junior David Hunt said the
move probably wouldn't affect
whether or not he dines at Blimpy
in the fall
"I enjoy the burgers," Hunt said
"As long as it's nottoo far away I'd
still go."
-Daily Staff Photographer
Teresa Mathew contributed
to this report.
RUBYWALLAU/Daily
Engineer senior Satish Subramanian performing at the Mr. Mr. Engineer Pageant at Stamps Auditorium on Thursday.
From Page 1
ethics round.
Engineering senior Rama
Mwenesi, a representative from
E-MAGINE, claimed the title of
Mr. Engineer 2013.
David Munson, the dean of the
College of Engineering, Chemical
Engineering Prof. OmololaEniola-
Adefeso and Michigan football
players Denard Robinson and Jor-
dan Kovacs selected Mwenesi as
the winner due to his high number.
of ticket sales - he sold more than
any other student - and perfor-
mance inthe competition.
"I feel absolutely mind-blown,"
Mwenesisaidinan interview after
the event. "I'm just so thrilled
because realizing the cause that
we're supporting, that's really
what made me do it and go above
and beyond and sell as many tick-
ets as I possiblycould, givethe tal-
ent portion as much as I could and
really just have a good time."
Mwenesi, who hails from
Washington, D.C. and Nairobi,
Kenya, said he has never gone to
the event, let alone competed in
it. He said the efforts of DAPCEP
encouraged him to get involved
and sell tickets.
"Getting this title of Mr. Engi-
neer is not necessarily the end
goal," Mwenesi said. "The end
goal is to use this position to go out
there and activelygo outthere and
say, 'As Mr. Engineer, I advocate
on behalf of DAPCEP."'
Mwenesi added that increas-
ing involvement for low-income
and minority students is a prior-
ity for him, because he himself is
a minority on campus.
Engineering junior Emily
Carroll, the college relations co-
chair of the Society of Women
Engineers, said the event was
sold out, and raised $3,300 for
DAPCEP.
Engineering senior Keith
Okimura served as the Michigan
Marching Band's first represen-
tative in the competition.
"To get our name out there
is good," Okimura said. "People
will know that we do engineer-
ing work as well as practicing."
For the talent portion, Okiu-
mura played the drums and
included a few sets played by the
band during football games.
The contestants represented
13 different engineering-relat-
ed organizations, including
E-MAGINE, the Solar Car Team,
the National Society of Black
Engineers, Engineering Global
Leadership, The Epeians, Michi-
gan Materials Society, American
Society of Mechanical Engi-
neers, the Michigan Marching
Band the Hybrid Racing Team,
the Mars Rover Team and three
fraternities, Theta Tau, Tau Beta
Pi and Sigma Gamma Tau.
Engineering graduate student
Mayank Agarwal said he has
consistently enjoyed attending
Mr. Engineer because of its abil-
ity to bring together different
groups.
"Some of the organizations I've
actually never heard of before, so
if's nice to be able to see all the
different groups represented in
engineering," Agarwal said.
Mwenesi said he hopes to con-
tinue to work passionately and
creatively.
"I always knew I wanted to
change the world by building
things, but I didn't know how,"
Mwenesi said. "Coming into col-
lege, engineering seemed like the
best possible route, and I hope to
proceed and get a Ph.D. in design
science to take that creativity
and engineering further."
TRANSIT
From Page 1
of bills failed to pass, it could be
reintroduced at some point in the
future, according to State Rep.
Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor).
"The actual meat and pota-
toes of the RTA were not accom-
plished," Irwin said. "Now we've
empowered a group of people
from across the region to get
together and talk about public
transit, but we haven't empow-
ered them actually do anything
about public transit."
Irwin said his main concern
with the proposal is its ramifica-
tions for Washtenaw County. Due
to how the system is currently set
up - adhering to protocol estab-
lished by the Regional Transit
Coordinating Council, the organi-
zation that handles regional tran-
sit - all funding decisions require
a unanimous vote. According to
Irwin, this is the main reason the
system doesn't work.
The new RTA would require a
unanimous vote for rail projects,
which Irwin said would contin-
ue to disadvantage Washtenaw.
County.
"Where we are geographically,
rail is the most appropriate, low-
est-cost way to service our com-
munity," Irwin said.
He added that Washtenaw
County is working to develop its
existing tracks, but the new leg-
islation could potentially hinder
that process.
"Unfortunately, the legislation
that Lansing has passed won't
allow us to develop those kinds
of things," Irwin said.
'Irwin added that the new
organization could siphon funds
from the Ann Arbor Transpor-
tation Authority, Ann Arbor's
current public transportation
system.
"The RTA was really designed
for Wayne, Oakland and Macomb
- not for Washtenaw," Irwin
said.
State Sen. Tom Casperson
(R-Escanaba), one of the spon-
sors of the bill in the Senate, said
the RTA is necessary in order to
mend a deeply flawed system of
public transportation in south-
eastern Michigan.
"If Detroit is going to be suc-
cessful and come back and grow,
I don't know how you do it with-.
out that component," Casperson
said.
He also said approval of the
legislation will affect the mil-
lions of dollars of funding for a-
metro Detroit light-rail line.
"The only way to make this
work is it has got to be region-
al," Casperson said. "There's
got to be buy-in from the whole
region, not just Wayne County or
Detroit. That's been kind of the
struggle all the way through this
thing."
RIGHT-TO-WORK
From Page 1
a whole.
"(Snyder) feels very strongly
that people ought to have the
choice," Weiss said. "He clearly
does not view this as an issue of
being anti-union. He's been very
clear that he supports unions,
he supports collective bargain-
ing, but he also supports choice,
and he very much feels that
folks ought to have the right to
choose whether or not they join
or not."
However, Democratic legis-
lators and those in favor of col-
lective bargaining have argued
that the legislation is purely an
attempt to dismantle unions.
State Rep. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann
Arbor) said Republican legisla-
tors are taking advantage of the
lame-duck session to enact leg-
islation that won't be feasible
once the new Legislature takes
over in January.
"Republicans lost elections
across the state of Michigan,
and their agenda was pretty
roundly repudiated, and now
this is their really last chance
to get this done before the will
of the voters is enacted with the
new Legislature in January,"
Irwin said. "So, this is the time
when a lot of their members
who lost elections because they
support things like right-to-
work are going to have one last
chance to exact retribution."
Irwin added that the asser-
tion that the legislation is a
response to failure of Proposal
2 - which appeared on the bal-
lot on Nov. 6 and sought to grant
Michiganders the constitution-
al right to collectively bargain
- is an excuse.
"It's no secret that the Repub-
lican Party represents rich and
powerful interests, and those
rich and powerful interests
want to pay workers less, and
so I think Rick Snyder's just
responding to the drum beat of
his party," Irwin said.
Irwin further asserted
that the implications of the
legislation are dire for the
state.
"What the governor's pro-
posing is a policy that will
drive down wages and hurt
Michigan's economy," Irwin
said. "And we know that
when you look around the
country, the states that have
the most dynamic, success-
ful economies are states that
respect their workers and
that invest in education."
According to White House
spokesman Keith Maley,
President Barack Obama,
who plans to visit the state
on Monday, is adamantly
opposed to right-to-work
legislation.
"President Obamahas long
opposed so-called 'right-to-
work' laws, and he continues
to oppose them now," Maley
said on Thursday. "The Pres-
ident believes our economy
is stronger when workers get
good wages and good bene-
fits, and he opposes attempts
to roll back their rights."
Right-to-work isn't the
only union legislation to be
addressed by the state Leg-
islature this term. In Febru-
ary, the Legislature passed
Senate Bill 971, amending
the Public Employment
Relations Act to include a
provision defining Graduate
Student Research Assistants
as students, not employees,
which effectively prohibited
them from collectively bar-
gaining.
The Graduate Employees'
Organization - the union rep-
resenting University gradu-
ate students - led the fight to
achieve collective bargaining
rights for GSRAs during the
winter semester. On Thursday,
representatives of the group
rallied along with other union
supporters on the steps of the
Capitol Building in Lansing to
oppose right-to-work legisla-
tion.
Rackham student Liz
Rodrigues, the communications
director for GEO, said group
members have been lobbying in
Lansing all week but showed up
early this morning amid reports
that right-to-work legislation
would actually be introduced.
"If it becomes law, the evi-
dence is pretty much in that
workers in Michigan are going
to see their wages go down,"
Rodrigues said. "That's what's
happened in every single state
because the tools that they
negotiate for their wages and
benefits are substantially weak-
ened by bills like this, so that,
will be what happens at a state-
wide level."
Rodrigues added that GEO
will continue to try to organize,
but their ability to do so will be
significantly limited if the bill is
signed into law.
Rodrigues further asserted
that the success of the legisla-
tion has negative implications
for the University.
"I think in the long run this
means the University of Michi-
gan will become less com-
petitive for graduate students
because we will not be able to
negotiate for good wages and
benefits for our work," she said.
Rodrigues said Michigan is
unlikely to see backlash to the
same degree as was experienced
in Ohio after Republican Gov.
John Kasich pushed right-to-
work legislation in 2010, given
the way in which the legislation
has come about.
Though many have taken
note that all action on the legis-
lation has octurred in the lame-
duck session, a provision for the
bill to take immediate effect
- and therefore avoid the stan-
dard 90-day vetting process for
bills - has not been attached to
the pendinglegislation.
Furthermore, the legisla-
tion notably excludes firefight-
ers and police officers, though
Irwinwas skeptical of the inten-
tions behind such action.
"It takes a little bit of edge off
of the political consequences
that some of these Republican
legislators might have to face,"
he said.
LSA junior Russell Hayes,
a member of the University's
chapter of the College Repub-
licans, echoed the governor's
sentiments regarding the legis-
lation.
"I think it's a positive thing,"
Hayes said. "It reflects the
mandate of the voters and the
referendum that endorsed this
opportunity for right-to-work.
As we saw, Proposition 2, which
would pretty much ban right-to-
work,.was struck down by the
majority of voters in the state of
Michigan."
Hayes added that the state's
manufacturers will reap ben-
efits from the legislation.
Katie Oppenheim, the chair
of the University of Michigan
Professional Nurse Council,
also weighed in on the legisla-
tion, and said the UMPNC will
be forced to reevaluate their
tactics should it pass.
"For us as nurses, we know
that we will have to contin-
ue to fight to have appropri-
ate staffing and appropriate ...
devices and such to take care
of our patients," Oppenheim
said. "We're going to continue
to fight for our patients like we
always do. This is obviously dis-
appointing, but we'll continue to
fight. We'll have to regroup and
decide what our next step will
be.
Daily Staff Reporter Molly
Block contributed to this report.
COLLEGEHUMOR
From Page 1
backs in our set, so if you're
a fan of the 'Jake and Amir'
series, I think you'll be happily
surprised by some of the jokes,"
Hurwitz said. "But we also try
and make sure that it's funny for
people who are seeing us for the
first time. It probably is catered
a little more toward - in fact,
you know what, if you're writ-
ing this for the paper - every-
body will enjoy the show."
"And 'Jake and Amir' fans
will enjoy the show even more!"
Blumenfeld said.
"And Ben Schwartz will
definitely be there ..." Hurwitz
joked.
"No! He will not be there,"
Blumenfeld quickly interjected.
Though the chance of a Ben
Schwartz cameo is out, Hurwitz
hinted that students will have
the opportunity to get involved
in the show, with the possibility
of some free stuff.
"We end the show with a very
special surprise where there's
going to be some audience par-
ticipation and some free give-
aways," Hurwitz said.
Despite the live audience,
Hurwitz said the duo would
stick to the roots that propelled
them to fame. He said the show
originated with them both just
goofing around.
"It started sort of organi-
cally: I was given a digital cam-
era, and I sat across from Amir
at work and we started making
funny videos and putting them
online," Hurwitz said. "And
once people started watch-
ing them, we made more vid-
eos, and then we put them on a
website, and that kind of slowly
grew into what 'Jake and Amir'
is now."
Hurwitz and Blumenfeld said
they keep their skits fresh and
original by sticking with their
gut.
"I think we just write what
makes us laugh," Amir said.
"And, as long as you do that,
and people enjoy it, you have
nothing to be regretful about,
because you're not compromis-
ing anything. If you worry too
much about keeping it fresh,
you might sort of 'lose the game'
so to speak."
"So far we've trusted that our
fans have the exact same sense
of humor as us, and it hasn't let
us down," Jake agreed.
Still, they were both quick to
mention their excitement at the
prospect of performing in front
of a live audience while visiting
Ann Arbor, Blumenfeld insist-
ing that this time, he <em>will</
em> visit Zingerman's Deli.
"It's always fun to travel and
meet fans'from different areas,
especially when we get to come
to a cool place like Ann Arbor,"
Hurwitz said.
"Everyone told me to go to
Zingerman's, so this time, I'm
going to go to Zingerman's,"
Blumenfeld said.
When asked about how they
will pry students away from
studying for finals, going to
parties or hitting the bars on a
Friday night, Hurwitz quickly
jumped ship.
"If there's bars and parties,
I might do that instead of the
show," he laughed.