The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, September 30, 2013 - SA
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, September 30, 2013 - 5A
CRASH
From Page 1A
was to the left of the center of
the road. The Jeep "actually tried
to go up on the curb to avoid a
collision," before the suspect
"slammed into him (and) pushed
him up on the curb further,"
Metzer said.
The Jeep came to rest on the
sidewalk on the south side of
DEARBORN
From Page 1A
r
members spoke on the need for
expanding resource sharing for
students and staff in Dearborn,
as well as ensuring that funding
for research is made available to
Dearborn and Flint faculty.
"We collaborate with Ann
Arbor in multiple ways produc-
tively, and it's an extraordinary
advantage for us to be one of the
three campuses ... Ann Arbor has
differentiated itself in its mar-
ketplace, and its peers are clear,"
Catherine Davy, provost for the
Dearborn campus, said. "But the
Flint and Dearborn campuses
also have very distinct identities
Ann Arbor is global, but we
have a real role to play in south-
east Michigan, in the state in
general - and with the help of
Ann Arbor, we could get the mes-
sage out and differentiate among
the three campuses."
As in previous forums, some
r participants said they hoped the
next president would position the
University to confront important
PENSION
From Page 1A
combat global climate change.
The proposal first came to
vote at the Sept. 2 meeting but
failed to garner enough support
among City Council members.
After being reconsidered and
postponed at the Sept. 16 meet-
ing, council members have been
evaluating the possibility of the
r divestiture without adding risk
to the pension fund.
However, a resolution from
council doesn't necessarily mean
divestment will occur: council
members don't have the power to
direct the investment decisions
a of the Pension Board, so the pro-
posal would be merely an expres-
sion of support for divestment.
Similar movements for divest-
ment from traditional fossil-
fuel-focused energy companies
have been cropping up across the
country as the movement gains
more attention. Over the sum-
mer, Berkeley, Calif. passed a pro-
posal to have the city explore the
possibility of fossil-fuel divest-
ment for the retirement fund.
Nils Moe, senior aide to Berke-
ley Mayor Tom Bates, said the
divestment proposal originally
Packard, she said.
Witnesses at the scene said
after the collision, the suspect
appeared to exit the vehicle and
proceed on foot eastbound. A
passerby brought the suspect
back to the scene several minutes
later, where he was placed in cus-
tody, witnesses said.
Metzer said the suspect was on
scene by the time the first officers
arrived and couldn't comment
on whether the suspect initially
attempted to flee the scene.
The suspect was arrested and
transported by ambulance to Uni-
versity Hospital for treatment for
drugs and minor injuries from the
crash. Metzger could not confirm
what drugs the suspect had taken.
The suspect did not have a
wallet or phone in his possession
at the time of arrest, prompting
police to conduct a search east
of the scene after the incident,
Metzer said.
A pedestrian standing with a
bicycle on the south side of Pack-
ard Street was also involved in
the incident. The man, who had
stopped on the sidewalk, was
struck by one of the vehicles dur-
ing the collision, but was largely
unharmed, Metzer said.
"He was sitting here getting
directions and saw the whole
thing coming and just dropped
his bike and stepped away,"
Metzer said.
Police could not confirm the
suspect's condition Sunday eve-
ning.
global challenges and contribute
to finding solutions.
"A lot of our problems require
technology and science solutions,
but also social and behavioral
sciences need to be a part of the
mix if we're going to try to solve
global warming, adequate food
supply and all of those tough
problems we face," Dearborn
chancellor Daniel Little said.
Another major theme revolved
around improving the Dear-
born campus' competitiveness in
recruiting talented students since
it faces stiff competition from
other regional universities. The
Dearborn budget is also highly
tuition-sensitive. Dearborn Busi-
ness Dean Nagraj Balakrishnan
estimated in his public remarks
to the committee that around 80
percent of the campus's budget
comes from tuition alone.
In an interview after the event,
Little said he was proud that
Dearborn faculty had come out
and shared their concerns with
the members of the committee.
"We are distinct campuses,
but we are complementary cam-
puses," Little said. "On the Dear-
born campus, we have done an
excellent job of articulating a
metropolitan vision for this cam-
pus ... I think as a campus, we
have embraced the idea that this
campus exists to serve and help
move forward the communities
of southeast Michigan."
Little added that the Dear-
born campus has to face the
unique challenge and historical
issues of racial segregation and
economic separation - with 60
percent of its students being the
first generation in their family to
go to college. About 42 percent
of Dearborn students are eligible
for federal Pell Grants.
Jung Koral, transfer and inter-
national student advisor in the
College of Engineering and Com-
puter Science at the Dearborn
campus, said that in his travels to
other higher-education schemes
such as the University of Califor-
nia and the University of Texas
systems, he saw much higher lev-
els of integration among multiple
campuses.
"I don't understand why the
campuses aren't more closely
linked with one another," Koral
said. "It just makes sense."
Koral, who has worked at all
three campuses, said during his
time at the University of Michi-
gan, Flint, regional competitor
Saginaw Valley State University
was "blowing us out of the water"
in terms of student recruitment.
He added that the University
of Michigan, Dearborn faces
tough competition from Wayne
State University and Oakland
University - but being tied to
the Ann Arbor campus provides
Dearborn with a unique, if not
fully exploited, advantage.
"If you're in a dogfight on the
neighborhood block and your big
brother comes up and says, 'no,
this is my brother,' suddenly the
other kids scatter away," Choral
said.
No current Dearborn students
attended Friday's forum.
Later Friday, around 20 peo-
ple attended the final search
forum, which was held in Blau
Auditorium at the Ross School
of Business. Participants praised
University President Mary Sue
Coleman's tenure as president
and said they hoped for someone
with a long-term plan to main-
tain the national profile of the
University.
NATGEO
From Page 1A
"This idea of reaching out to
undergrads is really fairly new
when it comes to our grant-mak-
ing," Francis said. "You're see-
ing sort of a beginning of what
should be big in going forward."
Although the program is still
growing, Francis said they cur-
rently visitthree universities per
year and plan to expand to Indo-
nesia next year.
"A lot depends on how many
people we can get to support
these programs," Francis said.
"It's just a matter of getting the
right people to evaluate and
make it happen. So, the sky's the
limit."
National Geographic supports
this demographic - 18 to 25
year olds - through individual
grants of up to $5,000,which are
awarded to select undergradu-
ates after a competitive applica-
tion process. In addition to the
lecture, the society sponsored
a workshop session Saturday to
teach students how to get the
financial support to follow their
passions.
"We go to institutions to teach
people how to ask us for money,"
Francis said. "And we also teach
people how to ... compact their
ideas - their dreams - into,
sometimes, 'elevator pitches'
that then can get people excit-
ed."
Students at the workshop
were also given the opportunity
to practice pitching their proj-
ects to the National Geographic
officials who are in charge of the
grant application decisions.
To date, National Geograph-
ic has provided 84 grants to
individuals at the University,
totaling more than $1 million,
according to Francis. He said
the decision to host an event on
campus this year was prompted
by the history of involvement in
the program by current and for-
mer University students.
"It's always been a hotspot,"
Francis said. "It's one of those
places that's on the map already
as a leading academic institu-
tion."
The event was highlighted
by presentations from two for-
mer National Geographic grant
recipients: William Saturno,
an assistant professor at Bos-
ton University, and profes-
sional climber Mark Synnott, a
filmmaker and researcher for
National Geographic and The
North Face.
Saturno spoke about his
research in Guatemala, where
he has spent more than a decade
finding and excavating ancient
Mayan archeological sites.
With the help of NASA satel-
lite images, Saturno was able to
visualize changes in tree color
around ancient Mayan settle-
ments, allowing him to locate
countless new structures and
relics.
Saturno has received multiple
grants from National Geograph-
ic, and he encouraged students
to seek similar support for their
areas of interest. He also dis-
cussed the importance of being
able to generate public support
for your projects.
"One of the important things
about working with Geographic
is being opened to narrative,"
Saturno said. "And being open
to the fact that other people can
probably tell your story better
than you."
Synnott's presentation chron-
icled his path to becoming a
self-described "professional
explorer." In particular, he dis-
cussed his development as a
professional climber, which has
sent him locations around the
world - most recently, the Per-
sian Gulf.
Synnott encouraged students
interested in grants to research
projects that have already
been funded before starting a
new project. Before every trip,
he catalogs any prior work or
exploration done in the area,
allowing him to find new areas
to explore.
"I'm not the first person who's
had this idea," Synnott said. "A
lot of really smart, amazing peo-
ple have dedicated their lives to
exploring our world."
Many grant recipients use
their experiences as a pathway
to careers or graduate programs
in their chosen field. Francis said
he hopes the grantswill inspire a
new generation of explorers and
researchers, thus ensuring the
continued mission of National
Geographic.
"The idea is you help people
along their way, you get a good
story back, you tell it to the
world and great things happen,"
Francis said. "This program, we
believe, is our effort to really
change the future."
came through the Mayors Inno-
vation Project, an initiative that
involves cities across the country
committing to combat climate
change and other projects. Stu-
dent groups at the University of
California, Berkeley were also
very vocal in supporting divest-
ment.
Similar to the Ann Arbor pro-
posal, the Berkeley proposal was
a request from the city to CalP-
ERS - a large retirement fund
the city has about $1.6 billion
invested in - to divest from fos-
sil fuels over a five-year period,
Moe said.
Moe said while divestment
would likely send a signal to
other cities to support the effort,
the practical implications are
still being explored and the city
is still involved in other sustain-
ability efforts.
"We certainly don't look at
this as a silver bullet or we will
hang our hats solely on the issue
of divestment, but this comes
within a package of climate-mit-
igation and climate-adaptation
programs that we, Berkeley, as a
city are working on," Moe said.
Moe added that while a divest-
ment plan has yet to be imple-
mented, he thinks the topic has
at least opened the discussion on
divestment and climate change
solutions.
In Ann Arbor, council mem-
bers, members of the pension
board and members of the ener-
gy commission are also in the
process of exploring the divest-
ment's financial implications.
Councilmember Jane Lumm
(I-Ward 2) sent an e-mail to the
involved parties explaining the
possible fund options for the pen-
sion. Lumm said the city essen-
tially faces a choice between
low-fee index funds and the more
costly, highly managed fund.
The issue, according to Lumm,
is that there are very few index
funds without fossil fuel as a por-
tion of their diversified portfolio,
and excluding those investments
would decrease returns.
Nancy Walker, executive
director of the Ann Arbor
Employees' Retirement System,
declined to comment for this
article. The Investment Policy
Committee will meet Tuesday
and the Administrative Policy
and Audit Committee will meet
on Oct. 8.
Kai Petainen, a lecturer in
the Business School, has been
advising the city council against
divestment. In an essay sent to
the council members, Petainen
wrote that the proposal asks for
the Pension Board to divest from
200 fossil-fuel companies, adding
that that eliminating an entire
sector of a portfolio is never
advisable.
Petainen also wrote that he
is unaware of any index funds
without fossil fuel invest-
ment and that the umbrella of
the proposed divested stocks
could potentially be widened to
include other large companies
like General Electric, which is
involved in supplying materials
to the energy sector.
He also wrote that the propos-
al includes several other flaws,
including a request to support
local projects, which could risk
issues of insider trading. His let-
ter concluded that the Pension
Board might consider removing a
handful of companies, but elimi-
nating all of them is fiscally irre-
sponsible.,
Councilmember Lumm said
that as much as the council wants
to make the symbolic gesture for
environmental awareness, such a
proposal would put the indepen-
dent Pension Board in a tough
position.
"We can't, nor should we, tie
the hands of the retirement man-
ager," Lumm said. "We're kind of
saying, 'You should do this but
you don't have to,' and I think
that's tough for them."
CONTRACT
From Page 1A
the letter from Fransway said
gaining the company's approval
is "customary and routine," Ful-
ton said 3P interpreted the con-
tract as assurance that Cottage
Inn trusted 3P's decisions.
In an e-mail Wednesday,
Fransway wrote that if further
legal action is taken, he is con-
fident Cottage Inn will win out.
" ... One of the great freedoms
that we enjoy in this country is
the right to present disputes like
this one to fair and impartial
judges who judge disputes based
upon facts and not merely some-
one's opinion that they are enti-
tled to something," Fransway
wrote. "We feel confident that if
a court proceeding does occur,
Cottage Inn will prevail based
upon the facts in this case."
The main point of contention
between the parties lies with
3P's actor choice for Cottage
Jim. Fulton said Cottage Inn
didn't like how local comedian
and actor, Marty Smith, looked
as Cottage Jim. He added that
Cottage Inn asked 3P, after see-
ing the completed videos, if
there was a way to put someone
else's face on Smith's body.
3P has since disbanded due
to lack of funds after going over
budget on the Cottage Inn vid-
eos and not receiving the second
$4,500 installment.
For the videos, 3P hired pro-
fessionals to work aspects of
the production, instead of the
student production teams they
usually used, and upgraded to a
higher-quality camera.
"We wanted to give them as
much value as possible so we
could foster a relationship that
would ultimately lead to future
work together," Pere said. "We
were very confident with our
abilities and, unfortunately, it
was not seen the same way by
Cottage Inn."
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!
FACEBOOK.COM/MICH IGAN DAILY
ANALYSIS GROUP
ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL and STRATEGY CONSULTANS
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
TO US!
We've enjoyed serving the campus
community since September 29,1890,
and we look forward to serving you for
124 more years of editorial freedom.
BE A PART OF THIS LEGENDARY
INSTITUTION. JOIN OUR STAFF
BY STOPPING BY 420 MAYNARD
OR VISITING OUR WEBSITE AT
MICHIGANDAILY.COM/JOIN-US
Analysis Group, Inc. provides economic, financial, and business strategy consulting to law firms, corporations, and government agencies. We have experience in a broad
range of practice areas across multiple industries, including finance and securities, intellectual property, antitrust, health care, growth strategy and innovation, insurance,
energy, telecommunications, environment, and commercial damages. We have built a reputation for excellence by providing fact-based, thoughtful interpretation of
complex legal and business issues.