The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, January 9, 2013- 3A
NEWS BRIEFS
LANSING
Snyder signs ban
on teen cell phone
use while driving
Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday
signed a law prohibiting novice
teen drivers from using a hand-
held cellphone while behind the
wheel, anod to agrievingmother's
push to enact the restrictions after
her daughter was killed in a car
crash.
The law "strikes our hearts in
terms of making a difference in
people's lives," the Republican
governor said. He was joined at
the bill signing by the family of
Kelsey Raffaele, a 17-year-old
from the Upper Peninsula town of
Sault Ste. Marie who in the winter
of 2010 veered into an oncoming
vehicle on a slippery road while
talking on her phone.
FORT MEADE
Court rules
Wiki-leaker was
mistreated
An Army private suspected'
of sending reams of classified
documents to the secret-sharing
WikiLeaks website was illegally
punished at a Marine Corps brig
and should get 112 days cut from
any prison sentence he receives
if convicted, a military judge
ruled Tuesday.
Army Col. Denise Lind ruled
during a pretrial hearing that
authorities went too far in their
strict confinement of Pfc. Brad-
ley Manning for nine months in
a Marine Corps brig in Quantico,
Va., in 2010 and 2011. Manning
was confined to a windowless
cell 23 hours a day, sometimes
with no clothing. Brig officials
said it was to keep him from
hurting himself or others.
Lind said Manning's confine-
ment was "more rigorous than
necessary." She added that the
conditions "became excessive
in relation to legitimate govern-
ment interests."
CARACAS, Venuzeula
Venezuelan leader
is reportedly ill
President Hugo Chavez won't
be able to attend his scheduled
swearing-in this week, Venezuela's
government announced Tuesday,
confirming suspicions that the
leader's illness will keep him in a
Cuban hospital past the key date.
Vice President Nicolas Mad-
uro broke the news in a letter
to National Assembly President
Diosdado Cabello, saying on the
recommendation of Chavez's
medical team, his recovery pro-
cess "should be extended beyond
Jan. 10" and for that reason he
won't be able to attend Thursday's
scheduled inauguration.
Maduro said Chavez was invok-
ing a provision in the constitution
allowinghim to be sworn in before
the Supreme Court at a "later
date." Cabello announced he had
received the request during a leg-
islative session.
Tensions between the govern-
ment and opposition have been
building in a constiutitonal dis-
pute over whether the ailing presi-
dent's swearing-in can legally be
postponed.
LAGOS, Nigeria
Flames threaten
Nigerian slums
A massive fire tore through
a waterfront slum in Nigeria's
megacity of Lagos on Tuesday,
burning down dozens of shack
workshops and homes. When
firefighters didn't turn up, locals
tried in vain to stop the blaze
with buckets of water.
The fire hit along the dirty
shoreline of the Lagos Lagoon, an
-area full of sawmills that process
lumber floated into the city from
hundreds of miles (kilometers)
away. Massive piles of sawdust
and loose shavings fill the area.
By Tuesday afternoon, a thick
plume of smoke rose from the
mills over the city's long Third
Mainland Bridge, which links
the metropolis to its islands.
-Compiled from
Daily wire reports
WALTON
From Page 1A
political science journals and
won the 2008 Best Paper award
from American Journal of
Political Science.
Students fondly remember
Walton for his lectures and
engaging personality.
LSA junior Chris Mays said
Walton was always making
jokes that made the material
easy to learn and recall.
"He was always in - direct
communication with his stu-
dents - he was always trying to
reach them at a personal level,"
Mays said. "He would challenge
you in his own unique way."
He added that Walton
inspired him to become a politi-
cal science major.
University alum Theresa
Bodwin wrote in an e-mail
interview that she remem-
bered his passionate rambling
remarks about anything from
"love letters between John
Adams and his wife" to "Ger-
man chocolate cake."
And although his teaching
methods were unorthodox,
Bodwin said Walton was an
incredible professor.
"I am sad for my loss, but
more sad for the students loss,"
Bodwin wrote. "Hanes was
truly an inspirational professor
that did not follow rules."
Former students also shared
Bodwin's grief and respect for
Walton on social media. Stu-
dents wrote on Twitter about
their fondness for Walton's
anecdotes and their experience
of him as a professor.
University alum Ghida Dagh-
er wrote on Twitter that she
was "shocked and saddened" by
Walton's passing.
"He was a great man and pro-
fessor. Definitely one of a kind."
LAME-DUCK
From Page 1A
bill that put new restrictions on
certain facets of clinics that pro-
vide abortion services, includ-
ing operating room size, facility
type and staff training.
Irwin said the move isn't
geared toward protecting
women utilizing the facilities.
"They were really just geared
toward blanketing so much
onerous and costly regulation
on these providers that they
couldn't afford to stay in busi-
ness," he said.
The bill also makes it illegal
for women to receive a prescrip-
tion for emergency contracep-
tion over the phone, an issue
Irwin also took issue with.
"If you're in a rural area that
doesn't have a lot of access to
clinics and providers and you
need emergency contraception
- they call it emergency for a
reason - you should be able to
call that in," Irwin said.
The emergency manager law
that was struck down by voters
on a statewide ballot in Novem-
ber was also rehashed in this
lame-duck session.
The original law allowed the
state government to appoint
an emergency manager to take
over the mayoral and financial
duties of cities deemed close to
bankruptcy or in need of help.
The new bill adds options
beyond the manager for the
affected cities: a consent agree-
ment, bankruptcy, mediation or
the original choice of an emer-
gency manager.
Irwin said he views these
options as "nonsensical"
because the point of the law was
to stop communities from hav-
ing to declare bankruptcy in the
first place.
"I think they did it for politi-
cal reasons ... it's a false choice,"
Irwin said.
The Internet Privacy Pro-
tection Act, also passed during
the session, makes it illegal for
employers to demand access to
or punish employees because of
personal Internet accounts such
as Twitter and Facebook.
Changes were also made to
the medical marijuana legisla-
tion: permit expiration dates
have been extended to two
years and anyone who has com-
mitted a felony involving drugs
cannot be a provider of medical
marijuana.
Personal property tax legisla-
tion eliminated a tax levied on
businesses that, according to
Irwin, raised more than a bil-
lion dollars a year.
Although Irwin said that
there was agreement in the
House that personal property
tax was "a really inelegant and
undesirable" revenue genera-
tor, he added that there needs to
be a strategy to replace this lost .
revenue.
"All this money - we're tak-
ing about just over a billion
dollars - goes to local govern-
ments, and the local govern-
ments use that money to provide
police and firemen," Irwin said.
Brown, the economics pro-
fessor, said he found it surpris-
ing that so much legislation
was passed in such a short
amount of time. He said he is
displeased with much of what
was passed.
"I think rushing to pass
things that you won't be able
to pass in the New Year doesn't
seem like a great idea," Brown
said. "On the other hand, not
doing anything seems like a bad
idea (too)."
CTOOLS
From Page 1A
dent's Google calendar. He said
students would then be able to
turn in their assignments on
Box.
ITS is currently working with
its partner services to establish
roster level access - the hier-
archy needed to differentiate
between kinds of users - and
integrate MCommunity Groups
to make these cross-platform
interactions possible.
Wolverine Access is also
due for an interface overhaul,
DeMonner said. He added that
although maintained by a sep-
arate group within ITS, the
multi-functional site is due for
an upgrade "within the next
couple of semesters."
"They're looking at updating
the underlying software and,
updating the user interface,"
DeMonner said. "Basically try-
ing to refresh it and make the
RACE
From Page 1A
Institutional Diversity, also
seeks to engage the community
of Washtenaw County through
monthly conversations, which
will create a safe place for com-
munity members to discuss
race, and facilitated dialogues at
the exhibit.
Kira Berman, assistant direc-
tor for education at the Uni-
versity's Museum of Natural
History, emphasized the role of
the younger generations in ame-
liorating and increasing aware-
ness about issues surrounding
race.
"I think we are trained not
to talk about race, and, in fact,
in order to solve any problems
about race we need to talk about
it more ... Looking forward,
the youth will be the people
involved in this change," Ber-
man said.
Zarinah El-Amin Naeem,
community engagement liaison
for the project, highlighted the
individual reality of race and
the necessity for discussion
user experience a little more
modern.
DeMonner added that stu-
dent input will be included in
the coming redesign of Wolver-
ine Access.
Even with the new upgrade,
ITS is looking to the future of
CTools and hopes to completely
replace the current system in
order to best implement its long-
term strategy. DeMonner pro-
jected the current incarnation
of CTools using this underlying
software package will continue
to be used for "at least one or
two (more) years."
"We're beginning to have con-
versations about what's next,"
DeMonner said. "We know these
platforms don't live forever ...
There's certain kind of capa-
bilities that we'd like to make
available and require some new
technologies to do that."
LSA sophomore John Balle
said he was surprised by the
changeand wasn't aware that it
was coming.
about the topic.
"Everyone ifs America,
whether you are a person of
color or white, is affectedby race
on a daily basis," Naeem said.
"I think race and racism forces
me to seek answers to bigger
questions about the nature of
humanity and our current lack
of empathy for those 'outside' of
our supposed group."
Naeem also said that the proj-
ect is intended to motivate peo-
ple to resolve racial conflicts in
their own communities.
"Our hope is that the Under-
standing Race Project serves as
an educational and a motiva-
tional tool," Naeem said. "We
want to open minds around
issues of race, eliminate myths,
foster broader understanding
of how race and racism affects
us all ... We hope people are
inspired to join the racial jus-
tice movement and improve our
communities from within."
Harris believes the project
will create a strong foundation
for carrying on the open phi-
losophy about race even after
the semester is over - the new
courses will continue to be
"I thoughtI was on the wrong
site at first," Balle said. "Once
I clicked it, it works exactly the
same as it used to be, so I think
it's good."
Balle said he would like to see
tighter integration with Google
services to better facilitate col-
laborative efforts, particularly
with Google Docs.
Not all students were recep-
tive of the change, however. LSA
sophomore Taylor Hesano said
she didn't like needing to manu-
ally change the courses that
were available on the top menu
and that she was surprised by
the change.
Hesano added that transi-
tioning over the summer would
have given students more time
to acclimate to the new system,
rather than the recent transition
over Winter Break.
"I feel like it's kind of clut-
tered right now," Hesano said.
"I wish they hadn't done it so
close to the start of the semester
so I had time to get used to it."
offered, and those trained in
facilitating discussions about
race will continue to hone their
skills.
"We are (making an) invest-
ment in our community in terms
of skill-building and awareness
raising," she said.
Amy Harris, director of the
Museum of Natural History,
said the theme semester strives
to broaden students' perspec-
tives on race.
"Among our goals, one of
(them) is student engagement,
and another goal is to create as
many opportunities for people
to have discussions race as pos-
sible," she said.
The project is a major part
of the winter theme semes-
ter, Understanding Race. This
semester, more than 130 courses
explore the idea of race through
historical, psychological, legal
and cultural lenses. The semes-
ter is organized by the Museum
of Natural History, the Depart-
ment of Afroamerican and
African Studies, the Ginsberg
Center, the Program on Inter-
group Relations and the School
of Social Work.
G iffords forms group
to prevent gun violence
LOANS
From Page 1A
of non-resident undergraduates
receive need-based and/or non-
need-based financial aid.
Pam Fowler, executive direc-
tor of the Office of Financial
Aid, said this new plan is a step
in the right direction but still
foresees graduates running
into some difficulties. Because
the government offers mul-
tiple repayment plans, Fowler
said some students may find it
difficult to determine which
repayment plan is best for their
financial situation.
On the other hand, many
students are unaware of the
abundance of loan options
available, Fowler said. In some
cases, graduates are not getting
good information about alter-
native loan repayment options
from the federal servicer who
handles their case. As a result
students may have issues mak-
ing their payments in full and
on time.
If graduates are not receiv-
ing sufficient information
from their federal servicers,
Fowler suggested they contact
the Office of Financial Aid for
advice.
Pay As You Earn, which went
into effect at the end of last
month, will not have any effect
on the limit a student can borrow
from the federal government.
The Office of Financial Aid is
responsible for reporting costs
of attendance and the maximum
amount a student can borrow
each year for accuracy in govern-
ment loan collection.
The new plan will also not
affect how the Financial Aid
Office operates, Fowler said.
The Department of Educa-
tion will continue to send the
office a list of graduates who
are late on loan payments, and
the Financial Aid Office will try
to contact them in order to get
them back on track.
Fowler warns that students
need to borrow responsibly
and ensure that they are able to
repay the loan entirely.
"We still have to do a very
good job of cautioning students
to borrow for needs, not for
wants," Fowler said.
Still, she said Pay As You
Earn is a great way to give grad-
uates more relief in paying off
their debts.
"Any plan that will keep a
student out of default is a good
thing, and that is what these
plans are designed to do."
Former U.S.-Rep.
forms PAC for gun
control
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -
Tuesday was not just a day for
Tucson to remember the victims
of the deadly shooting that
severely injured then-U.S. Rep.
Gabrielle Giffords. It was also
a day when residents could see
firsthand the nation's gun debate
play out in a busy parking lot
outside a city police station.
On one side was a councilman
who supports gun controlleading
anefforttogive $50grocerystore
gift cards to anyone who turned
intheir firearmsto police. Onthe
other was an event organized by
a state senator that turned into
an open, unregulated and legal
marketplace for firearms.
"We have a fundamental hole
in the private sales of guns. You
can walk up right in front of a cop
and buy a gun, no background
check, ' nothing," said
Councilman Steve Kozachik.
"How much more flawed can the
system be?"
The people who bought
guns from each other declined
repeated requests for comments.
The senator and gun rights
advocate didn't stay at the event,
but earlier said he was angered
by the timing of Kozachik's
event and that paying $50 for a
gun was such little money that it
amounted to theft.
The dueling gun buyback
programs - and the annual
ringing of bells to remember
the six dead and 13 injured,
including Giffords, during the
January 2011 attack - came as
the congresswoman and her
husband announced that they
were forming a political action
committee aimed at preventing
gun violence.
Giffords and husband Mark
Kelly, a former astronaut,
discussed the effort in an op-ed
published in USA Today and
in an interview on ABC News.
The interview also provided
a glimpse of Giffords' long
recovery since being shot in the
head two years ago.
She does speech and physical
therapy and yoga. She has a
service dog named Nelson who
helps her keep balance and
guides her. She recently gained
more movement in her right
foot and can walk faster. She
still struggles with her vision,
especially on her periphery. She
said family is what makes her the
happiest.
Giffords struggled to speak
in complete sentences, but
provided several one-word
answers to anchor Diane Sawyer
in describing her recovery and
response to the shootings in
Tucson and Connecticut. She
used the word "enough" to react
to the thoughtofchildrengetting
killed in a classroom. She said
"daggers" to recount her tense,
face-to-face encounter with
shooter Jared Lee Loughner at
his sentencing in November. She
said "sad" to describe his mental
illness. She is frustrated that
her recovery has not progressed
more quickly.
Kelly and Giffords wrote in
the op-ed that their Americans
for Responsible Solutions
initiative would help raise money
to support greater gun control
efforts and take on the powerful
gun lobby.
"Achieving reforms to reduce
gun violence and prevent mass
shootings will mean matching
gun lobbyists in their reach and
resources," the couple wrote.
They said that it will "raise
funds necessary to balance the
influence of the gun lobby."
There was already some
concern among gun control
advocates that they were losing
the momentum they hoped to
have after the Newtown, Conn.,
elementary school shooting that
left 20 children and six adults
dead in December. Congress was
already occupied with budget
concerns.
Giffords' announcement
brought back memories from
the 1980s when Jim and Sarah
Brady formed the Brady Center
to Prevent Gun Violence. Brady,
then-President Ronald Reagan's
press secretary, was wounded
in the 1981 presidential assassi-
nation attempt by a mentally ill
gunman.
Brady's organization has
been among the most vocal
champions of gun control since
then, but it remains to be seen
whether Giffords' group can
better compete against the
National Rifle Association and
its huge fundraising and politi-
cal clout.
The NRA spent at least $24
million in the 2012 election
cycle, including $16.8 million
through its political action com-
mittee and $7.5 million through
its affiliated Institute for Legis-
lative Action. By comparison, the
Brady . Campaign spent around
$5,800.
And when it comes to direct
lobbying of lawmakers, the NRA
was also dominant. Through
July 1, the NRA spent $4.4 mil-
lionto lobby Congress, compared
with the Brady Campaign's
$60,000.
"This country is known for
using its determination and inge-
nuity to solve problems, big and
small.Wise policyhas conquered
disease, protected us from dan-
gerous products and substances,
and made transportation safer"
Giffords and Kelly wrote. "But
when it comes to protecting our
communities from gun violence,
we're not even trying - and for
the worst of reasons."
As a House member, Gif-
fords was a centrist Democrat
who represented much of lib-
eral-leaning Tucson but also
more conservative, rural areas.
She supported gun rights and
owned a Glock pistol. The cou-
ple said they still own two guns
that are locked ina safe at their
house.
JOIN 'NEWS!,
Email K.C. Wassman at
KWASSMAN@MICHIGANDAILY.COM
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