ONE-IHUN D11ED-TWENTY- Ti iYEARS )OF EIDITORIL FR El ELI)M
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, September 1T, 2013
michigandaily.com
NAVY YARD SHOOTING
Students safe
after deadly
. shooting in
Washington
TIRE-D?
Three 'U' students
who work in Navy
Yard not harmed in
armed attack
By TAYLOR WIZNER
Daily News Editor
After at 13 people were shot
and killed Monday morning
in Washington D.C.'s Navy
Yard area, three students in
the Michigan in Washington
Program who work in the area
as interns were reported to
0 be safe, according to a post on
the program's public Facebook
group.
The mass shooting began at
8:20 a.m. at Building 197, part of
the main headquarters for the
Naval Sea Systems Command,
which buys, builds and main-
tains ships, submarines and
combat systems. About 3,000
people, many civilians, work
at the headquarters, which is
located in the heart of D.C., less
than four miles from the White
House and two miles from the
Capitol.
In a Facebook post this
morning, MIW noted that
the students, who work in the
National Defense University's
Eisenhower Center in Navy
Yard, were safe and no longer at
the compound.
In an e-mail sent to MIW
alumni, a program staffer con-
firmed the students were safe,
and said each student will con-
tinue to update program lead-
ers on their whereabouts.
"Two of the three students
are at the Navy Yard but are
safe, and another, who was on
her way to work at Navy Yard,
has been detoured on her shut-
tle bus to Fort McNair, and the
bus has extra security en route
now," the e-mail said.
The gunman, killed by police,
was identified as Aaron Alexis,
a 34-year-old former Navy
reservist from Fort Worth,
Texas. Alexis, an employee at
a defense contractor, used his
pass to get into the Washington
Navy Yard and began shooting
bullets in hallways and firing
from a balcony on workers in an
See SHOOTING, PageS5
JAMES COLLER/faily
Amanda Brown, Battalion Assistant Operations Officer for Michigan Naval ROTC, works out by North Hall Monday afternoon.
ADMINISTRATION
'U' to renovate reactor
De
n
'commissioned are set to approve a $11.4-mil-
lion transformation of the build-
uclear reactor ing into a repurposed classroom
and laboratory center.
nakes way for In a communication to the
regents, Timothy Slottow, the
University's executive vice pres-
ident and chief financial officer,
JENNIFER CALFAS said the University will dem-
Daily Staff Reporter onstrate that the radioactive
levels of the facility, located on
er beginning the decom- Bonisteel Blvd. on North Cam-
sn process of the Ford pus, fits the standards of the U.S.
ar Reactor in 2004, the Nuclear Regulatory Commis-
rsity's Board of Regents sion before beginning the reno-
vation and expansion plans.
The project will add 5,200
square feet of space for labora-
tories, testing areas, offices and
support spaces for the Nuclear
Engineering and Radiological
Sciences Department. Since the
building will no longer house
a nuclear reactor, the build-
ing's name may change to the
"Nuclear Engineering Labo-
ratories" upon approval by the
regents.
Ronald Gilgenbach, chair
and Chihiro Kikuchi Colle-
giate Professor in the Nuclear
Engineering and Radiological
Sciences Department, said the
renovations will allow the pro-
gram to expand into much-
needed research space.
Since the program's research
funding has increased over the
years, Gilgenbach said the cur-
rent laboratory facilities do
not meet the faculty's needs.
However, with this building's
thick-shielded walls and expan-
sive space, it will serve as the
See REACTOR, Page 5
By
Aft
missit
Nucle
Unive
TUNNEL VISION
ANN ARBOR
PRESIDENTIAL SEARCH
Council looks at Students to
divesting from
fossil fuel funds
JAMES COLLER/Daily
LSA Freshman Louis Hagopian longboards down Washington Heights towards Mary Markley residence hal Monday
CRIME
UMPD: Solici ors are
impersonating students
Police cite several
incidents of fraud
in SE Michigan
By ARIANA ASSAF
Daily StaffReporter
University Police are
warning the campus com-
munity of fraudulent solici-
tation attempts in some
southeast Michigan neigh-
borhoods.
Solicitors pretended to be
University students who need-
ed money for class trips, Uni-
versity Police said. Some said
they were part of the Commu-
nications Department, while
others said that they were
fromthe School of Music, The-
atre & Dance.
University Police Chief
Joseph Piersante said it's very
unlikely that the people going
door-to-door are legitimate
University students. He said
the University rarely, if ever,
uses door-to-door fundraising
methods.
The most common meth-
ods for University fundraising
are alumni outreach or mail-
ings. If University affiliates
do go door-to-door, they are
required to provide legitimate
University identification and
information for a contact for
follow up.
The first report, which
came to University Police
on Aug. 28, said people who
claimed to be University stu-
dents were soliciting funds
for an overseas trip to Lon-
don.
A second instance of solic-
iting was reported on Sept. 8.
This time, the solicitors were
attempting to sell magazine
subscriptions in order to fund
a Communications Depart-
ment trip.
"I don't know if that's a
coincidence or what," Pier-
sante said. "But these scams
aren't unusual. In this partic-
ular case (scammers) are tar-
geting the University."
While these particular
solicitations were door-to-
door, Piersante said that both
door-to-door and phone solici-
tors often try to raise money
for charity groups they say
benefit veterans or police sur-
vivors.
Police are not currently
aware whether or not these
solicitors have been success-
ful in raising any money, and
Piersante said the police don't
See SOLICITORS, Page 5
Postponed vote
may alter pension
make-up
By WILL GREENBERG
Daily Staff Reporter
At the AnnArbor City
Council meeting Monday
night, council members
reconsidered the Ann Arbor
Energy Commission's resolu-
tion to divest the city's pen-
sion fund of certain fossil
fuel industries, but they post-
poned a vote on the matter.
The original resolution,
proposed at the Sept. 2 meet-
ing, was one vote short of
approval. Council decided to
carry over the topic to Mon-
day's meeting to reconsider
the issue after it failed to pass
earlier in September. Coun-
cil again opened discussion
to vote on the resolution but
eventually ended in postpon-
ing the item.
The presented resolution,
which was drafted by the
Energy Commission, asked
that council recommend end-
ing any further investment
of pension funds to fossil
fuel industries. The resolu-
tion explains the city's duty
to support and maintain the
public health of residents and
also cites Ann Arbor's Cli-
mate Action Plan to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions by
25 percent by 2025.
Council members generally
expressed interest in support-
ing the resolution but were
hesitant to vote for the mea-
sure because the move could
result in a potential financial
loss for the employee pension
fund. Early on in the discus-
sion, Councilmember Mike
Anglin (D-Ward 5) reminded
the council that the resolution
was not a mandate to the pen-
sion board but still "urged"
the council to divest.
Council members dis-
cussed the viability of divest-
ing from fossil fuel industries
if the city adopted the policy.
Generally, council members
expressed concerns for the
future of pension funding.
Councilmember Stephen
Kunselman (D-Ward 3) said
he was wary of "meddling" in
the pensions, noting the eco-
nomic woes of Detroit over
the summer in part due to that
city's pension obligations.
Nancy Walker, executive
director of the employees'
retirement system, told coun-
cil members that the pension
board hasn't taken an official
position on the issue. How-
ever, a preliminary analysis of
index funds found that none
that are completely free of
fossil-fuel investment.
"Organizations, such as
pension funds, that do have
fiduciary duty really struggle
with how to balance that fidu-
ciary duty with what look like
an increase in cost," Walker
said.
Six members of the pub-
lic asked council to consider
divestment, including two
students and a University
professor. Individuals cited
divestments in the past
See COUNCIL, Page5
gather input
on search for
next pres.
Group recognized by
regents will advocate
student concerns
By RACHEL PREMACK
Daily StaffReporter
After demand for official stu-
dent input in the search for the
next University president, a student
committee. recognized by the Uni-
versity's Board of Regents met yes-
terday for the first time.
The committee was instituted
to add a student voice to the next
president with the presidential
search that is lead by the presiden-
tial-search advisory committee,
according to Engineering graduate
student Michael Hand, a Rackham
Student Government representa-
tive and committee member. It is
comprised of 12 student leaders
from a variety of campus organiza-
tions.
Campus leaders have previously
called for student representation on
the 16-person advisory committee
that gathered to selected UMPSC's
successor. In 2002, the 16-mem-
ber committee that hired Coleman
included two students: Matt Nolan,
the student government president,
and Lisa Jackson, a then-doctoral
student.
Though the committee will gath-
er student input, the students are
not directly involved in the search.
The new student committee will
garner student opinions on desired
qualities of the new president via
a five-question survey e-mailed to
the entire student body and through
See SEARCH, Page5
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