The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Thursday, September 6, 2012 - 7A
ADMISSION
From Page 1A
versity has been adjusting its
budget to better provide finan-
cial aid to students in need, espe-
cially in light of recent tuition
increases.
The University's Board of
Regents voted on a 2.8 percent
tuition increase for in-state stu-
dents and 3.5 for out-of-state stu-
dents for the 2012-2013 academic
year in. June. Though there has
been an uptick in prices, Univer-
sity President Mary Sue Coleman
said the University has strived to
compensate for the extra cost
with additional financial guid-
ance.
"For four straight years now,
we have presented a financial
aid budget that covers the full
increase in tuition for our needi-
est students," Coleman said at
the June regents meeting. "This
year's increase in financial aid
APARTMENTS
From Page 1A
with bathrooms and appliances
such as washers and dryers in
each room.
The rooms, which are
equipped with 60" HD TVs, Blue
Ray players and full furnishings,
start at $750 per month for a
single room, and a single loft unit
with a private study area can cost
up to $1,200 per month, Helmin-
ski said.
ZARAGON WEST
OFFERS ITALIAN-STYLE
RESTAURANT, PRIVATE
GYM TO TENANTS
The sister complex to Zaragon
Place, Zaragon West, located on
Thompson Street, also opened
last month.
Nicknamed ZW, the rent
expense of the luxury complex
exceeds most other apartments
in the city. A one-bedroom unit,
shared between two tenants,
costs $750 per month per person,
double the cost of a single room
in City Place.
In a joint phone interview on
Aug. 27, Richard Perlman, ZW
president, and Lisa Miner, exec-
utive vice president of Zaragon,
Inc., said the company strives to
create environmentally friendly
and comfortable living environ-
ments across campus.
In addition to the amenities
of the fitness center located on
the first floor and the attached
indoor parking complex, Zara-
gon West has leased first-floor
space to NeoPapalis, an Italian
style restaurant.
Perlman said the restaurant
will "have a very contemporary,
European feel."
The restaurant will serve Nea-
politan pizzas, pita sandwiches
and salads, all made-to-order,
according to Angelo Linardakis,
general manager of the restau-
rant. A full-service bar, owned
by popular Detroit restaurant
PizzaPapalis, will also add to the
lively atmosphere.
The restaurant is scheduled to
open the first week of October,
with prices for a base pizza start-
ing at $7, and sandwiches and
salads at $5.
LSA sophomore Arsh Patel,
a ZW resident, said the current
construction on the restaurant
g has been an issue since he moved
will come in the form of grants,
not loans, which helps reduce
(the) student debt burden."
Despite the record number
of applications, Hanlon said the
surplus of freshmen will not be
difficult to accommodate, as the
University accepted fewer stu-
dents than last year in order to
avoid significantly exceeding its
enrollment goal. For the 2011-
2012 academic year, 6, 251 stu-
dents were accepted, about 251
more than this year.
. Ted Spencer, the associate
vice provost and executive direc-
tor of undergraduate admissions,
said the University's move to the
Common Application in 2010
has led to a continual increase
'in the number of applications
each year. According to Spencer,
the University received applica-
tions from 5,000 high schools
last year, and the number of
out-of-state applicants has also
increased significantly.
Spencer added that the Uni-
versity has been increasing its
recruiting efforts in areas of the
country that are underrepresent-
ed, which has expanded applica-
tions.
Case, the Engineering student,
said she applied to the University
because of the esteemed reputa-
tion of the College of Engineer-
ing, though she wasn't sure she'd
receive an acceptance letter.
"I didn't really know what I
wanted to do. I thought I wanted-
to be an engineer so I applied to
schools that had good engineer-
ing programs,"- Case said. "I
applied (to Michigan) to see if I
could get in."
Though she is the only student
from her graduatingclass attend-.
ing the University, Case said she
is excited to start her freshman
year among the newly enrolled,
and the Ann Arbor environment
has already put her at ease.
"I've liked the really pretty
campus, it's different from Dal-
las which is all concrete," Case
Democrats conflicted
on platform values
in to his apartment.
"One thing that has been a
problem for a lot of us is the drill-
ing that's going on in the restau-
rant downstairs," Patel said.
"We've asked about it and man-
agement said it should be done
soon. It's just pretty loud."
Patel, who lives in a single-
unit room, said he chose to live at
ZW for its proximity to campus,
and he's enjoyed the short walk
to class as well as the building
amenities..
"Moving in, my initial reac-
tion was exactly how it was pic-
tured on the website. I go to the
gym every day. It's the perfect
size, never packed," Patel said.
LANDMARK WELCOMES
600 RESIDENTS TO SOUTH
UNIVERSITY AREA
The most recently completed
of the three new complexes,
Landmark, opened its doors to
600 residents on Aug. 30.
The facilities featured in Land-
mark include a fitness center,
a screening room, conference
rooms and an outdoor patio space.
Though the apartments have been
completed, the common
areas still require another
2-4 weeks' of construc-
tion before resident use
according to Nick Hill,
Landmark property man-
ager.
Campus Acquisitions,
the parent developer of
the Landmark building,
spans across 14 campuses
nationwide and the Ann
Arbor location is the first
to arrive in Michigan. It
is also the largest of all CA
projects.
According to Land-
mark'swebsite, the cheap-
est unit - a six-bedroom
apartment - costs $989
per person, per month
to rent. Hill is adamant
about residents utilizing
the common facilities in
the building to create a
welcoming environment.
"We've got a broad
range of social and aca-
demic amenities," Hill
said. "We want to estab-
lish dorm-like camarade-
rie."
As a means to foster
a community lifestyle,
Landmark has developed
a guest management
smart phone application for resi-
dents to check-in theirguests.
"We believe that with 600 resi-
dents, at times with three to four
friends over, we want to balance
the line between convenience and
safety, but safety trumps our con-
cerns," Hill said.
LSA sophomore, Atessa
Lubischer, a Landmark commu-
nity assistant, explained that after
living on North Campus during
her first year at the University, she
has high hopes for the Landmark
experience.
"The modern furnishings and
amenities allow for a great social
environment," Lubischer said.
"I also wanted to sign at a place I
could call home."
Business junior Amit Desh-
pande said he's enjoyed the loca-
tion of Landmark, but his room
size was surprising.
"The rooms were much.small-
er than expected," Deshpande
said. "There is very minimal
storage because the rooms are so
small. They could have made bet-
ter use of the storage by making
the under-bed closet narrower,
but taller so that you can put
more stuff under the bed."
Positions on Israel,
religion, unclear
at convention in
North Carolina
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -
Needled by Mitt Romney and
other Republicans, Democrats
hurriedly rewrote their con-
vention platform Wednesday
to add a mention of God and
declare Jerusalem the capital
of Israel after President Barack
Obama intervened to order the
changes.
The embarrassing reversal
was compounded by chaos and
uncertainty on the convention
floor. Three times Los Ange-
les Mayor Antonio Villaraigo-
sa, the convention chairman,
called for a voice vote on the
changes and each time the yes
and no votes seemed to balance
each other out. On the third
attempt, Villaraigosa ruled the
amendments were approved -
triggering boos from many in
the audience.
The episode exposed ten;
sions on Israel within the party,
put Democrats on the defensive
and created a public relations
spectacle as Obama arrived in
the convention city to claim his
party's nomination fora second
term.
"There was no discussion.
We didn't even see it coming.
We were blindsided by it," said
Noor Ul-Hasan, a Muslim del-
egate from Salt Lake City, who
questioned whether the con-
vention hadenough ofaquorum
to even amend the platform.
"The majority spoke last
night," said Angela Urrea, a
delegate from Roy, Utah. "We
shouldn't be declaringJerusa-
lem as the capital of Israel."
The language in the platform
- a political document - does
not affect actual U.S. policy
toward Israel. The administra-
tion has long said that deter-
mining Jerusalem's status is an
issue that should be decided in
peace talks by Israelis and Pal-
estinians.
The American Israel Public
Affairs Committee, the power-
ful pro-Israel lobbying group,
welcomed the support of Dem-
ocrats and Republicans alike on
Israel. "Together, these party
platforms reflect strong bipar-
tisan support for the US-Israel
relationship," AIPAC said.
Obama intervened directly
to get the language changed
both on Jerusalem and to
reinstate God in the platform,
according to campaign officials
vyho insisted on anonymity to
describe behind-the-scenes
party negotiations. They said
Obama's reaction to the omis-
sion of God from the platform
was to wonder why it was
removed in the first place.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman
Schultz, D-Fla., the party
chairman, said both the God
and Jerusalem omissions were
"essentially a technical over-
sight." She insisted in a CNN
interview there had been no
discord on the floor and said
the vote definitely met the two-
thirds threshold.
The revisions came as
Obama struggles to win sup-
port from white working-class
voters, many of whom have
strong religious beliefs, and as
Republicans try to woo Jewish
voters and contributors away
from theDemocratic Party.
Republicans claimed the plat-
form omissions suggested
Obama was weak in his defense
of Israel and out of touch with
mainstream Americans.
GOP officials argued that
not taking a position on Jeru-
salem's status in the party plat-
form raised questions about
Obama's support for the Mid-
east ally. Romney said omitting
God "suggests a party that is
increasingly out of touch with
the mainstream of the Ameri-
can people."
"I think this party is veering
further and further away into
an extreme wing that Ameri-
cans don't recognize," Romney
said.
Added to the Democratic
platform was a declaration that
Jerusalem "is and will remain
the capital of Israel. The parties
have agreed that Jerusalem is a
matter for final status negotia-
tions. It should remain an undi-
vided city accessible to people
of all faiths."
That language was includ-
ed in the platform four years
ago when Obama ran for his
first term, but was left out
when Democrats on Tuesday
approved their 2012 platform,
which referred only to the
nation's "unshakable commit-
ment to Israel's security."
Also restored from the 2008
platform was language calling
for a government that "gives
everyone willing to work hard
the chance to make the most of
their God-given potential."
For decades, ' Republican
and Democratic administra-
tions alike have said it is up
to the Israelis and Palestin-
ians to settle Jerusalem's final
status - a position reiter-
ated earlier Wednesday bythe
White House. Both sides claim
Jerusalem as their capital, and
the city's status has-long been
among the thorniest issues in
Mideast peace talks.
The U.S. has its embassy in
Tel Aviv, although numerous
Republicans - including Mitt
Romney - have vowed to move
the embassy to Jerusalem.
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